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Vol. XXXV
July 4, 1918
Number 25
The Story of
"Old Glory"
By Charles S. Lobingier
The Minister's Wife
<Je
CHIC AG
O
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
juiy 4, 1918
OUR BIBLE
By Herbert L. Willett
One of the most popular volumes ever
published by The Christian Century Press.
This recent book by Dr. Willett has been
received with real enthusiasm by the re-
ligious and educational press of the coun-
try. The following are a few of the
estimates passed upon the volume :
"Just the book that has been needed for a long time
for thoughtful adults and senior students, a plain
statement of the sources and making of the books of
the Bible, of their history, of methods of criticism and
interpretation and of the place of the Bible in the life
of today." — Religious Education.
"Every Sunday school teacher and religious worker
should read this book as a beginning in the important
task of becoming intelligently religious." — Biblical
World.
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which is now rapidly discrediting the aristocratic
theology of the past." — The Public.
"The man who by long study and wide investiga-
tion, aided by the requisite scholarship and prompted
by the right motive — the love of truth, not only for
truth's sake but for humanity's sake — can help us to
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in this volume." — Dr. J. H. Garrison in The Christian-
Evangelist.
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Advance.
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nn
mominatloiial Journal of Religion
Volume XXXV
JULY 4, 1918
Number 25
EDITORIAL STAFF: CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON. EDITOR; HERBERT L. WILLETT. CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
ORVIS FAIRLEE JORDAN. ALVA W. TAYLOR. JOHN RAY EWERS :: THOMAS CURTIS CLARK. OFFICE MANAGER
Entered as second-class matter, Feb. 28, 1902, at the Post-office, Chicago. Published weekly by Disciples Publication Society, foo E. 40th St., Chicago
Subscription — $2.50 a year (to ministers, $2.00), strictly in advance. Canadian postage, 52 cents extra; foreign, $1.04 extra.
Change of date on wrapper is a receipt for remittance on subscription and shows month and year to which subscription is paid.
The Christian Century is a free interpreter of the essential ideals of Christianity as held historically by the Disciples of Christ.
It conceives the Disciples' religious movement as ideally an unsectarian and unecclesiastical fraternity, whose original impulse and
common tie are fundamentally the desire to practice Christian unity in the fellowship of all Christians. Published by Disciples, The
Christian Century, is not published for Disciples alone, but for the Christian world. It strives to interpret the wider followship
in religious faith and service. It desires definitely to occupy a catholic point of view and it seeks readers in all communions.
f
EDITORIAL
God's Blast Furnace
SECTARIANISM'S little loyalties left us all cold and
hard in the days before the war. A great man ex-
plained his lapse from the evangelical faith by tell-
ing of an evangelical meeting where a little sect barred all
from heaven but themselves. It was too narrow and dis-
gusting for the endurance of this large spirited man.
The war is the blast furnace of God. It has melted
down our sectionalism, our provincialism, our prejudices
until we are ready to fuse with any sort of good men for
the kingdom of God. Only this great world situation could
bring about a serious facing of the problems of denomina-
tionalism such as we now have.
These are great days for the preaching of the mes-
sage of union. Where our plea has been denomination-
alized, such preaching is an embarrassment. It seems to
weaken our cause. A church that must feel thus about a
sermon on union may be sure that it has not built on the
true foundation. While our old loyalties are going is a
time to find new and larger ones. It will be a shame to
the church if in our political life we should have the
United States of the World before we have the United
Church of Jesus Christ.
And in Texas, Too
HOW deep-going is the break-up of partisan organiza-
tions in religion is indicated by the temper of the
recent state convention of Disciples in Texas
which adopted a resolution looking toward the abandon-
ment of denominational churches in small towns and the
establishment of community churches in their stead. The
need is notorious, of course, but denominationalism is
illiberal in the south and has always counted it a God's
service to add another church of its own faith and order
to an already over-churched community.
Now come Texas Disciples who say the thing ought
to be stopped, and who propose to do their part in bring-
ing to these communities their day of emancipation. Their
action does not go very far ; it is not radical ; it asks only
for the appointment of a commission to investigate con-
ditions and make a report next year "on the advisability
of trying to get weak and disbanded churches in small
towns to unite with other such churches, forming strong
community religious organizations." Yet this resolution,
unanimously passed, registers another type of sentiment
than that which Southern Baptists and Methodists have
hitherto exemplified, and in considerable part Southern
Disciples too. Commenting on the resolution that sturdy
paper, the "Christian Courier," of Dallas, says:
The reader may think this a timid and cautious approach to
this vital problem in scores of small places in the State, and it is.
But what is heartening to the "Courier" is the fact that the breth-
ren are desirous of facing the facts as they are with a view of
doing the Master's will at any partisan or denominational cost. . . .
And yet in the villages, as well as in many other sections, there
are struggling Churches of the different denominations, which
united might prove a power for good, but which are in a pitiable
plight in their present state of division, conflict and competition.
The "Courier" does not know how the problem is to be solved,
but is much pleased to see that our brethren are studying the
question and have the temerity to attempt a solution regardless of
pre-conceived notions, criticisms and prejudices. And we believe
that those who would do God's will will be able to find out enough
of what he teaches as to any duty to fulfill his purposes.
Are we going to unite with Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians,
etc.? Well, the "Courier" does not know. But if after studying the
question and surveying the field, it should be found that it is
practical for the different communions to unite, we certainly could
not refuse to do so.
With Texas Disciples joining the ranks of progress in
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
July 4, 1913
this fashion all others who desire to see the Disciples
enterprise become a positive factor in the movement for
Christian unity may well take courage.
"If He Were My Boy"
JUST now there is a general community interest in
children, especially in boys, who are supposed to be
hard to bring up. Very often we hear some one be-
gin, "If he were my boy," and then propound some course
of action for the boy in question. It is said that old
bachelors and spinsters are especially fulsome in their sug-
gestions about the right way to raise boys. Their interest
is not to be resented, even though the amateurish advice
must be rejected. Boys are really a community asset. The
whole community must aid in bringing them up.
There are a lot of boys who have no father, or might
as well have none. The son of the drunkard, the son of
the traveling man and the son of the selfish man or the
ignoramus are alike orphans. How helpless the mother
always feels when these boys enter the adolescent period
and are subject to new moods every day. The best of
mothers needs community help in bringing up the boy.
"I hope the church really does something for my boy,''
said a mother whose son joined the church the other day.
We know how true her instinct is. We cannot trust a
sacrament alone to solve the problem of her boy. There
must be a Big Brother interest on the part of the elders
and the deacons of the church. The Sunday school teacher
can do wonders by taking his boys out to the country and,
with a flower or a bird as the text, expounding some of the
deep things of life.
Once the community did nothing but complain about
boys. The young criminals grew up with a feeling that
society was their enemy. Some who kicked their feet
against the pew were made to feel that the church was
an enemy. Instead of saying any more, "If he were my
boy," begin to say "He is my boy. I must do my duty by
him." In the juvenile courts, we have parole officers for
the delinquent boys. In the church of the living God we
need more interest in boys who are not legally delinquent,
but who are being robbed of their heritage of fatherhood.
The Reform of Ministerial Education
DISCUSSION continues among the leaders of the-
ological education as to a radical change in the
methods of training men for the service of the
church. It is suggested that the present departmental
divisions be entirely wiped out and in their place new divi-
sions established, based more upon our experiences in
religion and upon the actual needs of a minister's life. For
example, in place of the departments of Old and New
Testament and Church History, it is suggested that there
should be one department of the History of Religion, which
would include comparative religions. In place of systematic
theology, there would be a department broad enough to
comprehend the philosophy and psychology of religion,
systematic theology, and perhaps theoretical sociology.
There would be one further department of applied re
ligion in which the minister would have the usual courses
in homiletics, but would also study applied sociology and
many other phases of the modern minister's life.
The method with this new division of the courses
would be more clinical in character. The law student now-
adays has the case method of studying law. He must fol-
low a concrete problem through the courts. The young
medical student is brought into daily contact with the sub-
ject matter of his profession. The young minister should
Be sent into the world, not a hair-brained theorist who
must be still taught his most important lessons, but a man
who has faced actual conditions in religious institutions
through weekly contact with them during his seminary
course.
This new education will have less time for the lin-
guistic juggling of texts. Its great emphasis will be on
human life. We shall have less interest in the religious
3ogmas and more in religious fruitage.
Like all great reforms, this one must go through its
period of incubation and discussion. The war is smashing
traditions and making new demands for practical and vital
ministers. The schools must get ready to produce them.
Work for the Friendless Girl
HUNDREDS of girls disappear in Chicago and in
every large city every year, never to be heard of
again. In some cases the newspapers aid in the
search for such girls. It is a more rewarding task to pre-
vent these catastrophes than to undertake to find the girls
who have disappeared.
The Travelers' Aid Society is the recognized agency
in many sections of the country to care for women who
arrive at the railway stations without escort. This agency
has for a long time been able to secure co-operation from
Roman Catholics and Jews, but homeless Protestant girls
were a problem. There was no place to take them. This
has been remedied in Chicago by making the girl-saving
work one of the adjuncts of the Woman's Church Federa-
tion Council.
The Woman's Church Federation Protectorate is or-
ganized to receive homeless Christian girls into homes in
the city where there will be a mothering Christian influence
until some more permanent arrangement can be made.
Through this consecrated sisterhood, the girl running
away from her home town, the girl that is penniless, the
sick, the ill and the confused will be given the care which
they need to tide them over.
This is but another of the examples of co-operative
Christian activity. Any single denomination — even the
strongest — would find it impossible to meet all the trains
and watch out for their own. The presence of a well-or-
ganized society with workers of a highly specialized sort,
gives to each group of Christians the protection which is
needed for its women with a minimum of cost and labor.
The Child Labor Menace
THE recent decision of the Supreme Court declaring
invalid the federal child labor legislation is one of
the most disappointing events since the war began.
A man in South Carolina whose children had been dis-
July 4, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
charged from a factory for being under age brought suit
that his earnings from his children should not be cut off.
The court by a majority of one ruled the child labor legis-
lation, to be socially helpful but declared that the consti-
tutional rights of the complainant were not to be taken
away.
The churches of America have for many years been
signatory to a ''social creed" which declared against child
labor. We had supposed that this great social goal was
reached so far as federal legislation could do it. Now the
fight must begin for enabling legislation that will em-
power congress to deal with such questions.
The reason that the individual state should not con-
trol in the matter of child labor is that one reactionary
state can reap a great harvest at the expense of the states
more conscientious with regard to the rights of children.
It is ground for encouragement that our President, a
democrat and a southerner, has consistently stood against
the doctrine of states' rights in the matter of child labor.
The profiteering mill owners of the nation — especially
the cotton mill owners — are the enemy. The church has
never been compelled to fight in a better cause than to
secure the rights of those little ones who are dear to our
Lord. It is God against Mammon, and who can doubt
the issue?
Brightening Outlook for the
Sunday School
THE fifteenth annual gathering of the Sunday-School
forces of the country under the auspices of the In-
ternational Association was held in Buffalo, June
19-25. It was a noteworthy assembly in many respects.
The attendance was above two thousand, in spite of war
conditions, including very high railroad rates. The pro-
gram was excellent. The sessions were held in Elmwood
Hall, and conferences in the nearby churches.
Some very significant steps forward were taken. For
many years the International Association has lacked the
elements of educational leadership which would have given
its work a convincing character in the thought of the men
and women who are promoting serious instructional ac-
tivities, not only in the field of secular education, but as well
in connection with the church and the Christian colleges.
While organizations like the Religious Education Associa-
tion have attempted to attack the actual problems of ethical
and religious training, the Sunday School Association has
for the most part contented itself with the routine of con-
ventions and the propaganda of amiable but visionless
activity.
Instead of making a painstaking study of pedagogical
progress, visible in every field of education outside of the
Sunday school, the chief effort seemed to be the attainment
of mass attendance at Sunday school, with special em-
phasis upon the adult classes. It is a very noble thing to
enlist great numbers of people, particularly men, in at-
tendance upon the exercises of the Bible schools. But to
suppose that the mass men's classes which yielded them-
selves so successfully to exploitation in the religious press
were in any worthful sense instruments of religious edu-
cation was to be misled by enthusiasm for mere number
success. Such gatherings are useful, just as congrega-
tions are useful, in promotion of superficial knowledge of
the Bible and general religious feeling. But they have
little to do with religious education.
Similarly not a little of the literature devoted to the
Sunday school and its ideals have fallen far below the edu-
cational standards of the age. A notable example of this
failure is the "Sunday School Times." Once it was a jour-
nal of actual pedagogical leadership. Its founder was an
investigator, a man who paid the price of some educational
competence. Of late, however, and under other direction,
the paper has fallen into the lethergy of an unenlightened
conformity to outgrown ideas, and has become the organ
of obscurantism and millenarian vagaries. Features of
equally depressing character are discovered in much of the
denominationally prepared Sunday school literature of the
present day. A lost of this lack of efficiency and timeliness
can be attributed first and last to the incapacity or the un-
willingness of the International Association in recent
years to assume and justify any positive position in the
vanguard of the forces of religious education.
Instead of being a leader, inspired and inspiring, it
has taken only such steps as were forced upon it by an in-
creasingly disturbed educational sentiment, both within and
outside of the Sunday schools. Some of this immobility
and futility in organization and program was due to the
leadership of men who were unfitted by age and training
for their tasks. The plans of a generation ago were per-
haps sufficient for the time. But great educational ad-
vances cannot be registered by convention attendance, or
mass-meeting enthusiasm. Too much of the old self-con-
gratulatory speech-making was in evidence at Buffalo. But
the choice of new leadership, in part at least, gave promise
of a better order of things in the near future.
The best features of the Convention were disclosed
not in the main program, but in the conference which at-
tempted some actually constructive educational work. These
were not merely the department conferences, where for the
most part the familiar facts about divisional and graded
work were considered, but those particularly in which vital
problems of religious education were given consideration.
One of these, held on Tuesday, promises to be of very
great importance. At the invitation of the International
Sunday School Association representatives of the Council
of Church Boards, the Association of Bible Teachers in
Colleges and Universities, and the Religious Education As-
sociation met to consider the whole question of the teach-
ing of the Bible in connection with the public schools and
other secular educational agencies. A committee of find-
ings recommended the appointment of a commission to give
the entire subject such study as it merits, and present a
report as soon as possible.
This is but one of the signs of the times that a re-
spected and useful organization like the Sunday School
Association is becoming conscious of its failure in the past
to meet the needs of the age. The infusion of new blood
into the organization may save it for useful ends in the
future. If not, then some other instrument must be
devised for the prosecution of the task which cannot wait
longer for intelligent promotion.
Symbolic Figures and Angelic Guardians
A Study of the National Emblems, the Seventy Weeks, and the Angel Champions of the Book of Daniel
Fifteenth Article in the Scries on the Second Coming of Christ.
TO one who gives appreciative attention to the form
and method of the great apocalypse of the Old Testa-
ment there comes a growing recognition of its ad-
mirable plan and its impressive literary art. The fact that
it is one of the most interesting volumes in the Hebrew
collection has long been acknowledged. The charm and
stimulus of its narratives have made them a favorite por-
tion of the Scriptures. Yet of course these stories of
heroism in the first half of the book are intended only as
an introduction to the visions which follow. In this as in
other features, the book has close relation to the form and
method of the Book of Revelation, in which the Epistles
to the Churches serve as an introduction to the real con-
tent of the document — the visions of Rome's approaching
fall and the triumph of Christ.
Each of these books has its particular theme, and
holds to it with undeviating persistence. In Daniel, as has
been shown, the theme is the early deliverance of the Jew-
ish community from the tyranny and persecution of An-
tiochus Epiphanes, and the constancy of soul which the
faithful must maintain until that hour shall arrive. Never
for a moment does the author forget his thesis. In the
narratives of the first part of the book emphasis is laid on
the qualities which will save the holy faith of the nation
from extinction. Daniel and his friends are the glorious
exemplars. And in all these stories the figure of Nebucha-
drezzar is but a thin disguise for the masterful, stubborn
and unscrupulous Antiochus. In the visions of the second
part, where the author comes to his real purpose, the great
persecutor comes more clearly into view with each fresh re-
capitulation of the national story, with its background of
the four kingdoms, Babylonia, Media, Persia, and Greece.
ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES
In the perspective of history Antiochus IV, known as
Epiphanes, holds a place which is by no means important.
But like some other characters, he gains significance from
his contact with the fortunes of biblical people. His father,
Antiochus III, usually called the Great, decided the long
contest between Syria and Egypt by a victory in 198 B. C,
which made Palestine a Syrian province. The young prince
was sent to Rome as a hostage about 190 B. C. when the
growing Roman power had reduced the empire of An-
tiochus the Great to more modest dimensions. At the
death of this king an older brother, Seleucus IV, was
placed upon the throne (188-176 B. C.). At the same
time his son, Demetrius, was sent to Rome as a hostage,
and Antiochus was released. Filled with hatred of the
Roman power, he went to Athens, where for a time he was
magistrate of the city. Meantime Seleucus was murdered,
and an infant son was put in his place. Antiochus re-
turned to Antioch and seized the throne. The author of
Daniel declares that this was an act of perfidy (Dan.
11:21), and that he thereby displaced three kings (Dan.
7 :8, 20, 24) . His career, including his two expeditions to
Egypt, his rage at the failure of his second attempt upon
that land, and his ruthless treatment of Jerusalem and the
Jews in general, forms the theme of the earlier chapters
of the two Books of Maccabees, which should be read in
connection with a study of Daniel.
It is this figure, portentous and sinister, which claims in-
creasing attention as the book proceeds. In the vision of
the second chapter he does not appear. There the four
kingdoms denoted by the four metals of the image are
to be followed by the enduring kingdom which God is to
set up, the holy rule of the Jewish people. In the seventh
chapter the culmination of both the vision of the beasts
and its explanation is the little horn, the repeated refer-
ence to which as a man of audacity, arrogance, self-wor-
ship, and hatred of the sacred community point out the
person and career of Antiochus Epiphanes beyond all pos-
sibility of mistake. To the Jewish mind of that age tke
iniquity of the tyrant was brought to its climax in the re-
moval from office and the subsequent assassination of
Onias III, the high priest (171 B. C). That was an event
which, though unmentioned in the canonical Scriptures,
shocked the religious feelings of the still faithful Jews
almost as much as did the profanation of the temple.
THE RAM AND THE GOAT
In accordance with the method of the writer, the vis-
ion of the Ram and the Goat in chapter 8 repeats the
familiar historical scheme of the successive empires. In this
case, however, for reasons which are involved in the ever-
increasing emphasis upon the later periods as the book pro-
ceeds, no mention is made of the Babylonian power. But
all the more vividly do the Median, Persian and Greek,
kingdoms find description. Counting the vision of the
beasts in chapter 7 as the real beginning of the apocalypse,
the seer describes a second mystic panorama of the course
of history. A ram with two horns of unequal height, the
higher having come up last, was pushing his way from the
east into all the regions of hither Asia. In the explanation
later given to Daniel by the angel Gabriel, this ram de-
noted the dual ingdom of Medo-Persia, the component
parts of which had in the previous visions been treated
separately.
Against this ram a goat with a great horn between
his eyes came charging, and before him the ram was help-
less and soon overthrown. In the explicit interpretation
which follows this goat represents the Greek or Macedon-
ian power, and the horn is its first king, Alexander the
Great. At his death, betokened by the breaking of the
great horn, four others came up, representing the four
generals of Alexander's army, who portioned out as much
of the world as was possible among themselves. Accord-
ing to tradition, Kassander received Macedonia and
Greece ; Lysimachus, Thrace and Bythinia ; Seleucus,
Syria, Babylonia and the east ; and Ptolemy, Egypt. But
all these items are only preliminary to the important fea-
July 4, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
fare of the vision. From one of these horns came up a
little horn, as in the previous chapter. And here follows
(Dan : 8 :9-12) an enumeration of the arrogant and sacrileg-
ious acts which made Antiochus notorious and abominable
to the people of Jehovah. They did not stop short of an
intolerable affront to the "prince of the host" himself, by
which term the high priest, or perhaps even God himself,
is meant.
All this story of outrage was familiar to the people
for whose comfort the book was prepared. But what no
one knew was the probable duration of these afflictions.
To preserve the courage of the saints in so dark a time
was the writer's purpose. So in an angelic conversation
with which the scene is closed it is made known that two
thousand three hundred evening-mornings, or eleven hun-
dred and fifty days, shall be the measure of time until the
sanctuary shall be cleansed, and the sacred offices resumed.
As three years and a half (Dan. 7:25) was the usual
apocalyptic measure of the time of trouble until the day
of deliverance, this is probably a play upon the same idea,
or perhaps an intimation that even in less than the twelve
hundred and fifty days of the conventional period, the
happy end should be reached. The chapter closes with the
warning that the vision is not to be disclosed for a long
time to come, which would account to the men of the
author's day for the recent publication of the document.
THE SEVENTY WEEKS
In chapter 9 a still more interesting survey is given in
the form of an attempted explanation of the problem pre-
sented by the seeming failure of Jeremiah's predictions
(Jer. 25:11, 12; 29:10). The prophet had asserted twice
over in the course of his ministry in Jerusalem that the
exile of the people from their land should last for seventy
years. Whether that was meant by the prophet to be an
exact measure of the time (cf. 2 Chron. 36:21, 22; Zech.
1 :12; 7:5 ; Ezra 1 :1), or a term referring to an indefinite
but extended period (Isa. 23:15, and cf. for a similar gen-
eral use of the number Jud. 9 :2 ; 56 ; 2 Kings 10 :1, 6 ; Gen.
4:24; Matt. 18:22), is uncertain. But in the days of the
author of Daniel, although centuries had passed, no such
revival of Jerusalem had occurred as to fulfill the glowing
hopes of the ancient prophet. Through the whole of the
intervening period the little province of Judah and its
capital had suffered from poverty and failure, with re-
peated frustration of the commercial and political expec-
tations of the community. Had the great prophet of the
exile been in error?
Pondering this problem, the writer of the visions of
Daniel had hit upon a solution which he thought might
satisfy his brethren, and allay the sentiment of futility as
they reflected upon the outlook of the city. That solution
was found in the suggestion that Jeremiah meant not sev-
enty years, but seventy weeks of years, so that the term
specified by the prophet could be lengthened to seven times
its traditional extent. The seer is represented as setting
himself to the contemplation of the mystery with prayer
and fasting. At the close of this time of preparation
Gabriel, the divine champion and interpreter, comes to tell
him the secret. That explanation is found in the following
outline : Seventy weeks of years, 490 in all, were to pass
from the time of Jeremiah's oracle until the final close of
the age of sin and trouble, when all visions should be
realized, and the nation should begin its unending career
of blessedness under its anointed king.
Those seventy weeks were to be divided into three
sections. The first was the seven weeks from the going
forth of the prophet's prediction at the beginning of the
exile, regarding the restoration of Jerusalem, until the
anointed one, the prince (referring either to Cyrus the
Great or the high priest Joshua). This was the forty-nine
years from 586 to 538 B. C. Then for a long stretch of
time, which the author calls sixty-two weeks, the city
should be rebuilt slowly and with much distress of its
people. In this manner would the seemingly interminable
delay of the divine purpose be in some measure accounted
for. Concerning this interval of more than four centuries
the author seems to have as hazy and indefinite an impres-
sion as in regard to several of the items of his other
historical summaries. With no fixed chronology to rely
on, and with only relative estimates of duration available,
it is a general, rather than a specific scheme of history that
he is able to present. It need only be said in passing that
the vision of the weeks has always afforded speculative
readers with a moderately mathematical turn of mind a
most engaging domain for chronological guesswork. All
that should be kept in mind is the concern of the author
with the first seven weeks and the last one of his outline.
The other sixty-two were merely a necessary link, and he
estimated its length by the requirements of his plan.
The important feature of the vision, in so far as the
purpose of the writer was concerned, is reached with the
seventieth week ( Chapt. 9 :26, 27 ) . Its beginning is marked
by the cutting off of the anointed one, apparently referring
to the deposition or the death of the revered Onias III.
The prince and his people, who pollute the city and the
sanctuary, are Antiochus and his army. The one week
during which he makes his covenants with such as can be
seduced from their religion is the period of the persecution
(171-164 B. C). Half way through that seven years, in
December 168, occurred the desecration of the temple, from
which time until its reconsecration by Judas Maccabaeus
worship was suspended. The culminating act of the de-
filement of the house of God is described as "the abomin-
ation that maketh desolate." The reference here is un-
doubtedly to the altar erected to Zeus upon the brazen altar
of burnt offerings. It will be noticed that the statements
regarding the fate that is to befall the desolater are all in-
definite, but his end at the time indicated is considered
certain. Herein lay the value of the book as an aid to
faith. It predicted the destruction of the foes of God with
the same confidence with which it referred to current and
past events familiar to all the community. If the one set
of implied predictions had come to reality, surely the book
might be trusted as a faithful oracle regarding the re-
mainder.
ANGEL GUARDIANS
The final chapters of the book (10-12) again bring the
character and career of Antiochus into review with fresh
and astonishing wealth of detail. The whole is set in a
rich atmosphere of celestial glory as the seer finds himself
8
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
July 4, 1918
conversing once more with Gabriel, the chief of the angels
of God. Here some hint is given of that elaborate scheme
of angelology which found its fuller disclosure in Enoch
and the later apocalypses. According to this system of
cosmic arrangement, each nation had its heavenly cham-
pion, and the earthly fortunes of the various peoples were
determined by the success or failure of their angelic repre-
sentatives in the never-ending drama of heavenly action.
Michael was believed to be the special guardian of the
fortunes of Israel. And the course of Jewish history in
the post-exilic time is presumed to depend on his relation
\v:th the angel champions of Persia and. Greece. The help
of Gabriel in this important issue was believed to have
been effective in procuring the happy outcome which was
anticipated.
Then chapter 1 1 gives in astonishing detail the events
of the entire Persian and Greek periods, with increasing
elaboration as the age of the author is approached. Into
these details it is impossible to enter in this rapid treat-
ment of the book. Such a work as Porter's "Messages of
the Apocalyptical Writers," or any modern encyclopedia
or commentary may be consulted for the historical facts.
The long survey summarized in the earlier references to
the ten toes of the image and the ten horns of the fourth
beast is here presented in such careful array as to make
clear the author's acquaintance with at least the main facts
of the story. And when at last the career of Antiochus is
reached in chapt. 11:21 a statement so precise is pre-
sented that the least sensitive mind is assured of the fact
that we are in the realm of historical review and not of
prediction. The one portion of the account where predic-
tion is attempted is in the effort to trace the final stage in
the progress of Antiochus. This begins with verse 40, and
is for the most part at variance with the known facts as
derived from other sources. But the one outstanding item
on which emphasis is placed is the early fall of the king,
and this soon after came to pass.
The last chapter of the book lays stress upon the
familiar items of the apocalyptic belief, such as the angelic
contest over the fate of the nations, the period of dire suf-
fering just before the end, the necessity of sealing up the
message until the time of its fulfillment approaches, and
the three years and a half of waiting until the final mo-
ment. This idea is varied, as in the earlier passage, by
numbers that approximate the twelve hundred and sixty
days of the formula ; in one case twelve hundred and
ninety, and in the other thirteen hundred and thirty-five.
But the meaning seems to be the same in all. The one new
note struck is the emphatic affirmation of the physical
resurrection, both of the good and evil. Here for practi-
cally the only time in the Old Testment this belief is made
clear.
INFLUENCE OF THE BOOK
If it be asked what bearing this book has upon the
second coming of Christ, it need only be answered that the
two fundamental conceptions of that event as it took form
in the mind of the early Christian community were the
coming of the Son of Man in the clouds of heaven, and
the judgment upon the world powers. Both of these ideas
are taken directly from the Rook of Daniel, as has been
noted already. In their first usage they referred entirely
to the judgment of God upon the enemies of the Jewish
people, and the spectacular coming of that sacred race to
the supreme place among the nations. But the crisis of
the Antiochian persecution passed, the Maccabean revolu-
tion brought a brief and brilliant era of independence, and
the need of a catastrophic conclusion to the late Old Testa-
ment chapter of history faded out of mind.
However, the book never lost its charm. Both Jews
and Christians of the first century loved it. And the latter,
facing conditions of persecution so like those of their Jew-
ish brethren in the older time, found in Daniel a message
for a new crisis of which its author had never dreamed.
This is illustrated in the Savior's reference to the coming
siege of Jerusalem by the Romans and their desecration
of the temple, as "the abomination of desolation," words
borrowed from Daniel, but with entirely new significance.
It is not too much to affirm that the entire atmosphere of
both Judaism and Christianity in the first century was
tremulous with expectations based in no small degree upon
a new and eager study of this great apocalypse.
Still more vivid and personal were the hopes expressed
in other works of the apocalyptic order which did not find
their way into the accepted canon of Scripture. To the
most important of these, and their contribution to the doc-
trine of the Second Coming, the next study will be devoted.
Herbert L. Willett.
A Word for the Church
By W. A. Shullenberger
1TAKE off my hat to the American soldier. Who
does not? He's the knightliest soldier of the ages.
He fights for principles and ideals ; he is the apostle of
righteous wrath. He lives cleanly, accommodates himself
heroically to the new and trying conditions of life, and
in the battle-front defies the jaws of death to crush his in-
domitable soul. He is the priceless forfeit America has
posted before the world that our ''flesh may die, but not
the living soul." And when he comes back home the won-
ders of his rugged, glorious life will be enhanced a thou-
sand fold. Again, I say, hats off!
THE RETURNING SOLDIER AND THE CHURCH
But they tell us that so heroic is his task, and so
sacrificial is his response to duty that when he returns he
will have little use for the Church. These prophets of the
harrowing future tell us that the Church will look to him
quite tame and unheroic, uninviting and flabby. His vision
will be so enlarged, his quest for vital truth so far ad-
vanced, and his acquaintance with sacrifice and heroism
so extensive that he will feel that he has progressed leagues
beyond the vanguard of American Christianity.
Well, there is one thing to be remembered both by the
people who prophesy such dire things and by the returning
intelligent American who will feel that way. And that
thing is that the Church has been built and perpetuated in
July 4, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN C&NTURY
every age and in every new land wheresoever Christianity
has gone by just such heroism and sacrifice as is being
manifested by the eastward-facing regiments of America's
mighty force.
CHRISTIANITY CALLS FOR SACRIFICE
Wherever the Church of Christ has reared itself to
recognition and saving power, its foundations have been
laid in human blood and its cornices finished through
sacrifice incalculable. The Savior died to establish the
Church, James and Stephen were martyrs for the sake of
its continuation. Paul was an outcast and an advertised
impostor for the Church's sake. Are there those who do
not know that this has been repeated ad infinitum in every
decade and century since? Was not John Williams, mis-
sionary to the South Seas, clubbed to death and eaten by
the islanders he sought to befriend? Did not Bishop Man-
ning die for Christianity and the Church by the treachery
of an African chief near Lake Victoria Nyanza? Was not
Raymond Lull stoned to death by the wild Mohammedans
of Tunis for the faith's sake? And what of the suffering,
sacrifice, and terrible toil of John G. Paton, William Carey,
Adoniram Judson and David Livingstone?
To this day this is so. A missionary in a land which
is accounted perfectly safe "killed a cobra on his piazza,
nursed his cook who was dying of bubonic plague, and her
son who was dying of cholera — all within twenty-four
hours." Caroline Atwater Mason avers that "there is an
element of discipline in the occasional menace (for the
missionary) of wild beasts and the daily contact with
snakes, scorpions, deadly spiders, and endless varieties of
noxious vermin ; a greater element in the daily intercourse
with human beings infected with loathsome diseases of
corruption, filth and vice, in the continual hand-to-hand
fight with fever. It is not agreeable to one's moral sen-
sibilities to be in constant touch with shameless cruelty,
indecency and depravity, or to know the shuddering dread
that comes when nameless tokens make one feel that 'hell
is near.' "
So then, with hats off to our soldiers, give thanks for
the spirit that has made and sustained the Church. And,
American Christians, if you are not making your churches
heroic, take the hint.
The Story of "Old Glory"
By Charles Sumner Lobingier
Of the United States Court in China.
THE flag which we honor is not a mere piece of bunt-
ing designed to attract the eye or adorn the land-
scape. It is a great national emblem, expressing the
traditions and ideals of earth's mightiest democracy and
appealing to the deepest emotions of every patriotic Amer-
ican. More than that, our flag has a history and an his-
torical significance, of which far too little is generally
known. But, thanks to the encouragement offered by our
patriotic societies, groups of our people here and there
have seriously taken up "flag study."
THE COLORS
What are the elements of our flag ? or of any flag, for
that matter? Are they not (1) its colors and (2) its fig-
ures?
Joseph Rodman Drake, the first poetic panegyrist of
"old glory," sang in rhapsodic verse :
"When Freedom, from her mountain-height,
Unfurled her standard to the air,
She tore the azure robe of night,
And set the stars of glory there :
She mingled with its gorgeous dyes
The milky baldric of the skies,
And striped its pure, celestial white
With streakings of the morning light." * * *
# # * *
"Flag of the free heart's hope and home
By angel hands to valor given ;
Thy stars have lit the welkin dome
And all thy hues were born in heaven."
But these hues — the red, white and blue — which the
poet said "were born in heaven" are in fact found in many
other flags, e. g., the French, the Dutch, the Russian and
even the Chinese. And have you not noticed them in the
Union Jack? If not, do so, for thereby hangs an interest-
ing historical chain.
THE RED CROSS EMBLEM
In this fateful time when the Red Cross emblem is
omnipresent, one is much interested to find that it may
rightfully claim a kinship to our own. For that same figure
— a red cross in a white field — comes down to us from the
days "when knighthood was in flower." Spenser, describ-
ing in his "Faery Queen" the accoutrements of his knightly
hero, says :
"Upon his breast a bloodie cross he wore,
The clear remembrance of his dying Lord."
Such also was the standard of the crusaders, par-
ticularly the Knights Templar, who organized in 1118 to
protect pilgrims to the Holy Land. It was such a banner,
afterward known as the "Cross of St. George," that Rich-
ard Coeur de Lion, England's Crusader king, received from
the Bishop of Cappadocia, later made patron saint of the
kingdom. Such was the beginning of what Thomas Camp-
bell calls "The meteor flag of England."
By the time of Edward II (1327) it had become the
recognized English standard and remained such for nearly
three centuries. As the ensign of Henry VII, it was
planted on the shores of what is now Canada by Sebastian
Cabot in 1497 — the first European flag to float over the soil
of North America. And is it not fitting that this ensign
of chivalry should reappear in modern times as the emblem
10
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
July 4, 1918
of humanity? As early as 1830 Bishop Barage, a Roman
Catholic missionary, carried a red cross flag in his work
among the Indians of western America. And scarcely a
generation later the same flag became the emblem of that
world-wide movement which began with the Geneva con-
ference. Truly, if a league of nations is ever formed its
flag should be the Red Cross in a white field.
THE "BONNIE BLUE FLAG"
But there was another crusader standard borne by a
brave and hardy people who have contributed much to the
making of our own nation. This was the "bonnie blue
flag" of Scotland, consisting of the white cross of St.
Andrew in a blue field — a flag which seldom met defeat
and never conquest. It was under this standard that Robert
Bruce, addressing the assembled Scots at the break of that
fateful day of Bannockburn, uttered those fiery words of
which Burns made a Scotch Marseillaise, beginning
"Scots wha hae wi Wallace bled,
Scots wham Bruce hae often led,
Welcome to your gory bed,
Or to victory !"
In 1606, after James VI of Scotland had become
James I of England, these two historic standards were
combined in token of the union of the kingdoms. To the
red and white of St. George's banner was added the blue
of St. Andrew's ; and the red, white and blue, thus for the
first time appearing in a single flag, became known as the
"King's Colors." This was the flag under which our coun-
try was chiefly colonized. It was the flag which the May-
flower flew and which our colonial ancestors carried in all
their wars — including King William's, Queen Anne's,
George lis and the French and Indian. As a young lieu-
tenant, George Washington rendered his first military
service under that flag with General Braddock's ill-fated
expedition against Ft. Du Quesne. In all their history the
colonists had followed no other flag than the "King's
Colors." What was more natural than that they should
embody the same colors in their new banner of independ-
ence?
THE FIGURES
But what of the stars and stripes? How came they
to find a place in our flag? Drake, you will remember, tells
us that "Thy stars have lit the welkin dome."
But no flag with which our Revolutionary fathers had
been familiar ever contained stars and stripes. The only
figures in the older flags were crosses and these were
retained in the earliest revolutionary flags even so late as
January, 1776, scarcely a half year before the Declaration
of Independence, when a flag was hoisted over General
Washington's headquarters at Cambridge, Massachusetts,
with thirteen stripes, one for each of the revolting colonies,
but still with the united crosses of St. George and St. An-
d.ew on a blue field.
A flag containing thirteen red and white stripes and
a red cross appears to have been used by the East India
Company as early as 1704, and some have thought that it
furnished the suggestion of the stripes in our flag. If so,
it affords one more example of Asiatic origin.
In the colonial banner of Rhode Island there were
thirteen stars in a blue field and some would trace to that
source the stars of our flag — another tribute to the small-
est commonwealth.
But one fact seems clear : The stars and stripes were
never combined in any single flag until they appeared in
one designed and used by General Washington. Just when
this was accomplished remains a disputed question.
THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER FIRST APPEARS
In the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art is a
famous painting by Emanuel Leutze which represents
"Washington Crossing the Delaware," and in the prow of
the boat which bears the great leader, floats "the star
spangled banner." Of course, that picture was painted
long after the event, for the artist belongs to a recent
generation (1816-1868) ; but there are reasons for believ-
ing that in this respect he followed those who were con-
temporaries of the event. Charles Wilson Peale, the sol-
dier painter, commanded one of the companies which re-
crossed the Delaware on Christmas day, 1776, and par-
ticipated in the battle of Trenton on the day following.
Later he painted a picture of "Washington at Trenton," in
the background of which is a flag of thirteen white stars in
a blue field.
Colonel John Trumbull was one of the most famous of
early American painters. He was General Washington's
aide during the operations around Boston and later was
with him again "not long after his success at Trenton."
The battle of Princeton was fought one week later, and
Colonel Trumbull painted a picture of that battle showing
the stars and stripes in action. Thus the present figures of
our flag appear in these two leading engagements, as rep-
resented by contemporaries, directly under the eye of the
commander-in-chief.
THE FLAG AND THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
He seems to have been quite as closely identified also
with the circumstances which culminated about a half year
later, in the official adoption of those figures by Congress.
In the spring of 1776 Washington visited Philadelphia and
we are told that, in company with Robert Morris, the
financier of the Revolution, George Ross, a member of the
Continental Congress, and Betsey Ross, widow of the lat-
ter's nephew, he worked out the details of the new nation's
flag. Only last September it was my privilege to linger for
a time in the little two-story building on Arch street, in the
City of Brotherly Love, where Betsey Ross kept the up-
holstery shop in which her three distinguished visitors
gathered to discuss with her the designs for a new national
emblem.
On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress
"Resolved, That the Flag of the United States be 13 stripes,
alternate red and white," with "13 stars white in a blue field."
As no other details are prescribed, it is evident that
the author of this resolution assumed that the arrangement
and location of these figures would be understood and that
implies a flag already in existence — doubtless that designed
by Washington with the aid of Betsey Ross. It seems
clear, therefore, that the "father of his country" had a very
direct part in the making of its flag and particularly in the
July 4, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
11
union of the figures — the stars and stripes — which afford
its most distinguishing features.
Now it happens that those are also the figures of the
Washington family coat of arms. In the church of St.
Mary the Virgin, hamlet of Great Brighton, Northampton-
shire— the same county which furnished so many of the
Pilgrims — is the tomb of several Washingtons, among them
Lawrence, who died in 1616 and was a grandson of an-
other of that name who, in 1539, received a grant of Sul-
grave Manor in the same shire, having migrated there from
Lancashire. The tomb in question is marked by an in-
scription bearing this Washington coat of arms ; argent two
bars, and in chief three mullets (stars). They are also
carved on a sun dial found near the Washington home in
the adjoining hamlet of Little Brighton and were naturally
carried by two grandsons of Lawrence Washington who
emigrated to Virginia in 1657, one of whom (John) was
the great grandfather of George Washington. And it was
in this cherished heirloom that, so far as heraldic records
have disclosed, the stars and stripes were first combined in
the same shield.
The objection that General Washington himself never
referred to this device as a source of our national flag
seems to me without force. The man whose innate mod-
esty forbade him to remain — though a member — at the de-
liberations of the Continental Congress while his name was
being considered for the post of Commander-in-chief ; and
who shrank later from the mere suggestion that the na-
tional capital be located near his Virginia home, would
have been the last to draw public attention to the fact that
the figures of our flag are those of his ancestral coat of
arms. But that the one suggested the other seems to me
too obvious for argument.
The stars and the stripes thus united symbolized at
first the same fact — the original thirteen states. And this
connection lasted for a considerable time after the first new
states were admitted. For each one a new stripe, as well
as a new star, was added to the flag. But it soon became
apparent that these additional stripes if continued would
widen the flag unduly and spoil its symmetry. A com-
promise was finally reached by which the number of stripes
was restored to thirteen while a star was added for each
new state. Thus the stripes permanently symbolize the
original states while the stars represent the ever-expanding
union.
SYMBOLRY
And what a wealth of symbolism and historic allusion
lies back of this : chivalry, the crusades, the exploration and
colonization of the new world, the union of English-speak-
ing nations, the struggle to make and keep North America
Anglo-Saxon, the preservation of Anglo-Saxon ideals of
liberty and law, the defence of the rights of small nations
— these are the ideas perpetuated and preserved in the evo-
lution of our flag. And the present mighty conflict has
opened a new chapter in its history. For within recent
months the stars and stripes have been raised for the first
time over St. Paul's Cathedral, flown from the mastheads
of British vessels, and carried by American armies through
the streets of the world's metropolis amid thundering plau-
dits of a grateful people.
Scion of knightly standards, cousin of red cross
emblem, prophecy of a world-wide ensign, Old Glory floats
today over the bloodstained trenches of northern France,
heartening their wearied occupants who hail it as an omen
of victory, and inspiring them to fresh deeds of heroism.
From "The Four Brothers."
Why Is a Minister's Wife?
By David M. Jones
ABOUT the easiest way for a man to get into serious
trouble is to mix in woman's affairs. He is sure to
make some blunder which will call down the ire of
the sex upon his unfortunate head, while those of his own
sex will immediately brand him as over susceptible, and
mete to him a measure of contempt. Nevertheless, I am
going to venture on dangerous ground long enough to say
a few things which I think should be said about ministers'
wives, because I know they will never have the courage
to speak for themselves.
I suppose, primarily, a minister's wife exists for the
same reason that any other man's wife does : to make a
home for her husband and children. We often hear it said
that a man doesn't marry his mother-in-law, but in a much
stronger sense than with even the most aggressive mother-
in-law of the comic sheet, a minister's wife seems to be
expected to marry her husband's profession. This is not
true with any other line of business in which he might
engage. In any of these, she would be allowed a legiti-
mate amount of freedom to live her own life in her own
way. If her home duties should demand her entire time
and strength, she would be honored for her faithfulness.
If her husband's salary were inadequate — as most min-
isters' are — she could engage in any legitimate business,
from taking in washing up through the category of selling
extracts and taking soap orders, to that of becoming a
vaudeville performer, or a chautauqua lecturer, and she
would be respected as an honorable wage earner. If she
chanced to have some impelling desire to follow a hobby
of her own for the sheer pleasure of enjoying herself oc-
casionally, she could take up anything from movies to
gardening and poultry raising, and not lose her own self-
respect or that of her neighbors.
NO FREEDOM FOR THE MINISTER'S WIFE
But the minute a Avoman becomes a minister's wife,
the doors of freedom of thought and action are slammed
in her face, and she finds them locked to her efforts. If
she occasionally imagines them slightly ajar, and ventures
to peep longingly through, she hears — at least she thinks
she hears — jangling keys approaching, and becomes at
once the conventional creature she is supposed to be. If
she had deliberately chosen the profession of minister's
wife, all this would be bad enough, but usually this is not
true. Her husband may feel himself called to be a minister,
and she may feel herself called to be his wife, and not,
at the same time, feel at all called to the conventional pro-
fession of minister's wife. The distinction is subtle, but
real.
That so many ministers' wives cheerfully shoulder the
added responsibilities which are thrust upon them is partly
due to the vows they take "for better or worse," but more
often, perhaps, because of their God-given consecration
to the highest ideals of the ministry. This is as it should
be,, of course. The majority of successful ministers are
what they are, largely through the co-operation of their
wives. And the converse may also be true : the ministerial
failure may be what he is, largely through the lack of co-
operation of his wife. However, this is a psychological
matter rather than a theological one, and is just as true of
the vast multitude of men, as it is of ministers. If then,
the^ price a woman pays for the privilege of being the
wife of a man who chances to be a minister is far more
than she would pay if he were engaged in any other kind
of work, the responsibility of the church is relatively
greater because it forces this obligation upon her.
It sometimes seems as if a minister's wife is expected
to have conscience enough to cover all the deficiencies of
her more conscienceless sisters. Be is said for her that she
usually lives up to the standard to the best of her ability —
and, often, to the detriment of her health. Do the women
of her church attend prayer-meeting each week? She is
expected to do so, and usually does, frequently having also
to play the piano or lead the singing, because there is no
one else to perform this service. Do the other women of
the congregation with a family as numerous and as young
as hers attend Sunday school regularly ? She is expected
to do so, and also to superintend a department, teach a
class, or, what is harder, to serve unexpectedly as a sub-
stitute teacher. Does any other woman attempt to visit all
the sick, the shut-ins and those in trouble, or to call upon
all the women of the membership? Many people expect
much, or all this, of the minister's wife. In addition to
this, she is expected to be an active worker in the Ladies'
Aid Society, to be prominent in the work of the Missionary
Society, to be present at every church service, to act on
various important committees, to accept the presidency of
any and all organizations which are too lifeless to provide
officers from their own ranks. Besides, she is cordially
urged to become a member of all the clubs and of the
W. C. T. U. With all these duties, she is also expected to
keep the children clean and their clothes in good repair,
to have ample leisure to visit with those who call upon
her, either in person or over the telephone, to have her
house always in order and to be presentable herself at all
hours, so that any one running in at any time, and insisting
upon coming out where she may be working, may not find
that which will brand her as a slothful housekeeper.
PRESSING HOME DUTIES
Besides, she probably has to do most or all of her
own sewing, frequently making over garments in order to~
stretch the inadequate salary to meet the needs. Aside from
these more -or less physical requirements, she is expected
to keep sweet-tempered through all her annoyances ; to
greet everybody alike ; to calmly sustain her part of a
telephone conversation, however lengthy or at whatever
hour — although she may know the roast is burning or al-
though she hears a scream which convinces her that the
baby has fallen into the well ; to be a sort of useful com-
pendium of ministerial knowledge, so that she can answer
all questions pertaining to church or committee work —
July 4, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
13
whether her husband has called upon certain individuals,
the latest reports concerning the health of all the mem-
bership, her husband's opinion on any issue which may
arise. The minister, being a busy man, may not always
have had time to talk all these things over with her, and
she, being a busy woman, may not have been able to keep
in touch with them personally. It is possible that the brief
time which she and her husband have been allowed to
enjoy alone together since the issues arose, hag been taken
up with a discussion concerning the advisability of buying
Johnny new shoes, or to the possibility of getting a rug to
replace the old one, worn to tatters, or to the necessity of
cutting down expenses so as to keep within the family
income. If so, she may be made to feel some qualms of
conscience because she has allowed purely personal and
selfish matters to come into those precious minutes which
might have been used for the church, in order that she
might be prepared the better to do all tbat is expected of
her.
That last sentence suggests what seems to me to be
the two chief sources of the heartaches from which most
ministers' wives suffer. First that, try as she may, she can
never attain to the heights of efficiency which are expected
of her ; and second, that, owing to all these demands which
are made upon herself and her husband, there is never any
time which they may feel is theirs to really enjoy their
home or their family.
Of course, it is true that few people in any church
expect the pastor's wife to perform all these duties. But
while one person will expect one type of service from her,
another will expect her to do another kind of work, and
still another will think something else of prime importance,
and so it comes about that the consolidation of all these
ideals which the various members hold as necessary makes
for the poor victim an enormous task which overwhelms
her with a sense of inadequacy. She is sensitively con-
scious of all her failures, which weigh upon her so heavily
sometimes as to become a burden from which her spirit
cannot rise. She loves her children and her home with as
loyal a love as does any mother, but she is often forced
to feel that the great needs of the church must be first
with her and that living for her home and family, as other
mothers are expected to do, is considered for her a selfish
indulgence.
THE CARE OF THE CHILDREN
In order to support the church work, she must leave
her children to the care of hirelings, or alone, or else she
must drag them to the numerous meetings in which they
have no interest, and which serve either to make them
hate the church activities, or to become vain little prigs
because of over-attention from foolish people. She longs
for the uninterrupted enjoyment of the ''children's hour"
at bed time, with its lisped prayers and childish confidences,
but she must instead rush off to engagements of various
kinds, often with an aching heart which will not let her
forget the clinging baby arms about her neck, and the
trembling voice which murmurs, "Mother, I wish you
would stay at home sometimes." She knows that the years
are coming when she would give everything she possesses
in order to have her boys stay at home in the evenings, or
to know all about the activities of her girls, and she is torn
between her sense of responsibility to her children and her
sense of what is expected of her by her husband's church.
Someone has waggishly said that a minister's son is
the worst boy in town, and this idea has been humorously
and censoriously used repeatedly to express the attitude
of public sentiment toward any waywardness seen in him.
Knowing this, his mother is sensitively aware of the stigma
to which he is born, which gives to him something of the
same handicap to which the drunkard's or harlot's son is
heir. Hut many a minister's wife whose son has proved
himself indeed to be the worst boy in town, knows that it
was the unnatural home life in which he was forced to
develop and the ungenerous and hypercritical attitude of
people toward him, rather than the fact that he was the
son of his father, which led him astray. The child of any
other member of the church may do with impunity many
things which would be utterly condemned in a minister's
son or daughter. This condition not only brings many a
heart-ache to the mother of the minister's children, but it
also brings a rankling sense of injustice to the heart of the
child, who is never satisfied with the answers given to his
really unanswerable, "Why?" A better state of affairs can
never exist until Christian people are brought to realize
that God admits no double standard of right and wrong
for His followers.
IS THE CHURCH OF CHRIST GUILTLESS?
Is it any wonder that so many wives of ministers
suffer from melancholia and other nervous disorders?
Shall we members of the church hold ourselves free from
responsibility, if our minister's wife suffers through years
of ill health brought about by the excessive and unnatural
demands made upon her? One such wife pathetically
pleaded with her husband to take her away some place
where they could both be free to enjoy their home and
children, and really live for a while. To do so meant to
leave the ministry. No one knows his struggle or the
pain with which he made his final decision. He stayed
with what he felt to be the work given to him of God.
In two or three years, mental disorders became so pro-
nounced that his wife had to be placed in a sanitarium,
in which she made a doubtful recovery. He passed
through his Gethsemane, and so did she, and so also did
their children, and who knows whether, in the eternal
records, the Church of Jesus Christ shall be guiltless?
At best, we are all of us but poor stumbling mortals
prone to make mistakes. Few of us intentionally impose
hardships upon our fellowmen ; few indeed are there of
us who consciously overburden those- who minister to our
spiritual welfare. We are trying to be fair and just, but
the lethargy of years is hard to overcome. We are like
spoiled children in that, having been waited upon like
babies for so long, we still expect to have that done for
us which we are entirely able to do for ourselves and for
others. We forget that the great purpose for which we are
enlisted in the army of Jesus Christ is to save others, not
to be coddled and babied ad infinitum, in order that a
spark of life may be kept in us. We have become spiritual
mollycoddles.
Not all of us, however. There are strong, upright,
14
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
July 4, 1918
clear-sighted, consecrated soldiers of the cross in every
church. I wonder whether it is only because of these, or
whether it is the potential power which ministers and their
wives see in the rest of us, which makes it possible for
them to love us, work for us, fight for us, rejoice with us,
weep with us, comfort and advise us, when they themselves
may need all this help just as much as any of us, and
when the great, hungry world itself needs it still more —
and must do without it because of the selfish demands of
us within the church membership.
A Prayer at Church
By Burris A. Jenkins
OH God, our Heavenly Father, we praise Thee for
Thy blessings, which come down upon us like
rain upon mown grass ; like showers that water
the earth. We praise Thee for the plowed fields, for the
blossoms of the spring-time ; all the promise of harvest
and fruitage and plenty. We thank Thee for this blessed
land in which we live — of freedom and justice; for lib-
erty to speak the truth and to believe the truth. We
pray Thee that it may become a freer and a freer land.
That there may be taken away all forms of oppression
and injustice — "That man to man our country o'er shall
brothers be." That we shall know and love one another
better than we have ever done before. We come to
Thee thanking Thee also for the relaxation of the strain
upon our nerves and hearts.
We thank Thee for the increased confidence we
have that truth and right will prevail among the nations
of the earth. We thank Thee that victory is inclining
in our direction. So grant that in the near future uni-
versal peace may rest again, like a shaft of light, across
the world ; that war-weary people may go back to their
homes to beat the sword into the plow share and the
spears into pruning hooks. May we learn war no more.
Our hearts go out this morning to our sons and our
husbands and our brothers in the camp, and in the field,
and on the sea ; and our prayer to Thee is that Thou
wilt guard them tenderly. We do not ask, necessarily,
that Thou shouldst spare their lives, but we do ask
that Thou shouldst spare their manhood, their self-
respect and their honor. Let Thy blessing be with those
who wait at home, who, after all, have the hardest task
in these difficult days — the women who sit in the twi-
light and in the darkness. Send Thy spirit to rest upon
them — light at evening time.
We pray Thee, O God, our Heavenly Father, that
Thou wilt forgive us, as we come before Thee with a
sense of our own weakness and frailty and short-com-
ing. We know that Thou dost not accept us for what
we are, but for what we want to be ; and so do Thou
blot out our transgressions and give us relief from them,
a sense of harmony with Thyself, which is the end and
aim of all our worship.
Be Thou with the sick and afflicted, the aged and
the feeble, with those who sit in the house of grief and
mourning, with the stranger within our gates, and any
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— i
July 4, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
15
lonely and sad and wandering on the face of the earth.
Be Thou with little children ; their unhappiness and
their disappointments are as great as ours. God guide
them through the shadows and through the sunlight of
their world, and bring them up to the full stature of
manhood and womanhood.
Do Thou hear us, good Father, in behalf of those
who make and judge and execute the laws of our land ;
and especially be with the President of these United
States, on whose shoulders today rests so heavy a load
of responsibility. Make us wise, make us temperate,
make us brave, and help us to carry through the great
cause which Thou hast committed to our hands, in wis-
dom, in unity and in love, that men around the belted
globe may see the unselfishness and the idealism of this
people and be guided by it into truer and better rela-
tions.
Let Thy blessing be with the preached word of our
Lord and Master this day, as it rings from many pulpits.
Give wisdom to the men who, in these trying hours,
have grave responsibility as to what they say. Help
them to preach the gospel clear and strong and unafraid.
Help us with our wavering thoughts and shaken faiths
to find firm foothold for our feet, that we may not for-
get to believe ; that we may not fail to see the Master of
Men, who alone can solve the problems of this weary,
weary world. Help us to see the White Comrade in the
clouds and the shadows, and may we be conscious of
his presence in our hearts.
Hear us, good Father in Heaven Thy dwelling
place, hear us in the unspoken prayers of our souls, the
unutterable cries that well up within us, the aspirations
and the yearnings ; make them in accord with Thy will
and let Thy spirit enter into us and enroll us for Thine
own ; and unto Thee through Him who loved us and
gave himself for us, shall be our praises, world without
end. Amen.
Sunset
Dawn brings the consecration of beauty to a new epi-
sode of life, bidding the soul to remember throughout the
toil and eagerness of the day that the beginning was made
in the innocent onrush of dewy light ; but when the even-
ing comes, the deeds and words of the daylight are irrevoc-
able facts, and the mood is not one of forward-looking
hope and adventure, but of unalterable memory, and of
things dealt with so and not otherwise, which nothing can
henceforth change or modify. If in the morning we feel
that we have power over life, in the evening we know that,
whether we have done ill or well, life's power over our-
selves has been asserted, and that thus and thus the record
must stand. Arthur Christopher Benson
Three Poems for the Times
By Thomas Curtis Clark
A Question
GOD, who made the shining stars,
The circling planets, the fair, green earth,
With friendly seasons — jubilant spring,
Bountiful summer, winter that puts tired life to rest ;
God, who made morning songs and sweet night-crooning ;
God of the forests and silver rivers,
Gardens and orchards green and golden,
God of harmony, God of beauty,
Who made war?
By This Sign Conquer!
WE battle not that we may be
The arbiters of every sea,
And that our armies may be found
Triumphant to earth's farthest bound.
No single drop of blood shall flow
That we a victor's joy may know.
Behind our deadly shot and shell,
That shatter as a blast from hell,
Will be no selfish greed for gold ;
Man's life shall not for lust be sold.
The hand that wields the demon gun
Will feel no pride, its duty done.
The warrior's keen, unerring eye
Will fill with tears that men must die.
One thought shall stir us to the fight :
That war alone can save the right;
That shot and shell and cannon's roar
Alone can freedom's cause restore.
The Cross, the Cross — be this the sign
That gleams above our battle line !
* * *
On a European Battle Field
THEY are not dead, the soldiers fallen here ;
Their spirits walk throughout the world today
They still proclaim their message far and near :
Might is not right; God's truth must have its way!
The cold, damp soil cannot these heroes hide ;
These knightly lads who did not fear to die
That liberty and freedom still might bide :
Weep not for them, though here they lowly lie.
Go forth and tell their message to the world ;
In vain their fight, in vain the foe withstood,
Unless above all kingdoms be unfurled
The pure white flag of love and brotherhood.
Keep the Peace Terms Clear
Hating Germany Until
We Love War
AMERICA has not yet felt the tragedy of war. We have paid
our toll of death up to more than 1,000 men, but our minds
are on the millions ready for the call or already in training
and the billions being expended in our vast war machine. Eng-
land's death toll has been more than 3,000 per week all through
the spring and summer with ten times as many wounded and
made prisoner, and France has paid her sacrifice with hundreds
of thousands in the past four years. It is not surprising to find
a different temper on the other side of the sea. In the early days
of the war, Samuel Gompers proposed to English labor that the
workers should reserve the right to sit at the peace table, etc.
England was fresh and confident and her war spirit was untamed
by war's tragedies and the English leaders summarily refused to
consider anything but war to the hilt. Now English labor proposes
peace talk and Mr. Gompers almost indignantly rejects it for war
to the hilt. In the early days English public opinion was intolerant
of any criticism of the Asquith government and denounced the
expression of any differences of opinion as almost Pro-German ;
later they retired that government and recently, in a Parliamentary
by-election, one-third of the voters supported a radical "peace by
negotiation" candidate, and the Premier complains of "snipers"
in the rear. France has changed cabinets several times in the past
two years.
Today any criticism of the administration in this country is
looked upon as almost pro-German and the land is covered with
newspaper editorials denouncing any talk of peace and demanding
that unconditional surrender be made the preliminary requisite of
peace talk. But in England and France the terrible toll of war
has driven reason deeper and overthrown the superficial emotion-
alism that shouts for "unconditional surrender" and hints at the
old-time victor's toll of victory.
Hate of Germany has grown deep because of her barbarities.
She has made herself a by-word and stench to civilization by her
ruthlessness and her savagery and by trampling upon all the laws
of war. Now there is danger that we shall hate her so that we
will come to love war. When scientists like Franklin Giddings go
so far as to declare that it runs so deeply in Prussian nature to
be barbarous that it can never be chastised or educated out, and
that therefore the only hope is extermination or in so diluting the
blood that it will be overcome, reason begins to despair. If there
can be no peace until the Prussian nation is exterminated or made
prisoner en masse, there is little hope of peace soon or of a world
at permanent peace in centuries to come.
Military Minded or
Peace Minded?
In all the warring nations there are the military minded and
the peace minded. That there can be no peace without military
force all men of real vision know. The so-calld "visionary" is
really a man without a vision penetrating enough to see all phases
of the issue; therefore he jumps over the practical and unavoidable
conditions and preaches the impossible. That there can be the
most drastic and efficient use of military force without losing the
peace mind and the pristine purpose of fighting for peace some-
times seems debatable. On the other hand a danger threatens the
nations now saddened and broken by war's tragedies in that there
are those who would barter away permanent peace for the sake
of stopping the tragedy in their time, and thus accept a "negotiated
peace" that would leave Germany in possession of her eastern con-
quests and in such control of Austria and the Balkans as to realize
her Mitteleuropa dream and sit astride Europe as a conqueror.
In Germany there are also the two types of mind, i. e., those
who think war and those who think peace as the desired thing.
The Russian debacle is costing the Allies this summer's losses and
with the success of German arms the Junker comes again into the
ascendency, the Reichstag's peace formula is overthrown and a
Hohenzollern prince says: "We are justified in demanding an
economic and financial war indemnity, not only because he who
is responsible for war must pay the damages, but also because
without indemnities our people will become overburdened by taxes
and become incapable of sustaining foreign competition. This
would mean the ruin of the German laborer. Without indemnities
Germany would soon have to surrender to our hateful enemy's
good graces." On the other hand neutral travelers coming out
of Germany say the people are anxious for peace and that the
common soldier is tired of war and ready to lay down his arms
under any tolerable condition. In the English House of Lords
we hear Lord Charles Beresford saying, "No negotiation until
after victory, and even then it has got to be done at the point of
bayonet and machine gun," and in America a great representative
daily says no sane man cares anything about Germany's peace
terms.
* * *
The Prussian System
and the German People
To keep our minds clear while our arms grow strong and
strike valiantly we need to be ever reminded of President Wilson's
differentiation between the Prussian system and the German people.
That the German people are fighting under the Prussian system
should not becloud the issue. The French people fought under
Napoleon's system and the Russians began this war under the
Czar's; today the French people battle to the death against the
Kaiser's attempt to emulate Napoleon's dream of ruling all Europe
and the Russians have turned to such fantastic dreams of anti-
Czarism that they will not even fight against the Kaiser. We all
know Germans in this country and we know they are not blood-
thirsty savages, and some of us have traveled in Germany and
know the individual German to be a kindly, hospitable fellow.
Yet we all knew that he is no longer the kindly individual when
he goes forth to war under the dominance of the Prussian war
machine, but will obey his war lord's orders and turn barbarian.
It behooves us to find the secret of this transformation and
we find it in his theory of the state and in his education. He is
taught that the state is supreme over the individual and that any-
thing that is good for the state must be done without question
even unto death and that the ethical code that governs individual
relations does not apply in the case of the state. To this must
be added the great fear instilled in all the present generation —
the fear that the ring of nations around Germany planned to
destroy her some day. All this is so bred into him and taught him
at home and school and in the barracks that he believes it un-
hesitatingly. Thus he readily adopts the Prussian war policy of
terrorism and does as a soldier what he would abhor to do as
an individual. Our task is to destroy the system and free the
people from it. When England destroyed the Napoleonic system
she freed the French mind from it. The war-weary of our Allies
who would escape further tragedy in this war by signing a nego-
tiated peace with that system and leave it dominant would only
insure greater tragedies to their children. The military minded
who would turn us all into war lords by adopting a policy of
"crushing the German people," dividing their territories and dic-
tating a conqueror's peace, would leave the world Prussianized by
the very task of overthrowing the Prussian.
Peace by Negotiation
Peace by negotiation may mean anything from such a peace
as Germany would accept now to such a peace as we would be
willing to negotiate if Germany would admit defeat, but that there I
can ever be peace without negotiation is impossible. The question j.
is as to when we can negotiate and on what minimum of military
victory. When Lord Beresford made the declaration quoted above J
he was sharply rebuked by Lord Lansdowne, and Lord Curzon, j
speaking for the government, called such talk absurd. Lloyd- 11
George and Mr. Asquith have both declared that any unambiguous
peace declarations from the enemy will be given grave considera-
tion and Premier Clemenceau joins them in sdch declarations.
July 4, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
17
Now comes Foreign Secretary von Kuehlmann *king for
frank consideration of peace offers and deploring the attitude that
views every approach as war strategy rather than as an approach
to peace, and asking for a certain degree of mutual confidence and
chivalry from both sides. This with his declaration that neither
side can expect decisive military decision would, if we could accept
a Prussian statesman's statement with "a degree of confidence in
his honesty," be equivalent to a victory as great as any yet won
by the Allies. But just there is where the issue hangs; when can
we extend confidence to Germany and trust her honesty and act
chivalrously toward her? Are there not two indispensible mini-
mums of peace, viz., that there shall be so complete a defeat of
German arms that the Prussian war lord acknowledges it and
the German people lose all confidence in them and no negotiations
with any but a bona-fide representative of the German people
through the complete ascendency of the Reichstag in peace parleys?
There was no end of French aspiration for dominance until
Napoleon was unhorsed; will there be any end of Prussian aspira-
tion until the Prussian system with its Hohenzollern-Junker war
lords are unhorsed?
Peace made by the German people and for the German people
may alone safely be made ; such a peace can afford to drop all
military spoils of war and give Germany all von Kuehlmann asks,
i. e., "a free, strong, independent existence within the boundaries
drawn for us by history," with "overseas possessions" returned
and "freedom of the seas" guaranteed; a condition, by the way,
which Germany enjoyed to the full before Prussian Junkerdom
precipitated this terrible attempt to dominate the world.
KBi'..
Alva W. Taylor
CORRESPONDENCE
Confessions of a "Heretic"
Editor The Christian Century :
I have thought much since reading your comment on my
"heresy" and feel moved to write you about it.
To me Jesus seems to have been a man who let the spirit
have free way in the whole of His mind and heart. He broke
away from the intolerable ecclesiasticism of the priesthood.
Paul, the other prominent factor in the Christian (or gospel)
movement, was rudely shaken out of the Jewish order and
became nearly as free as Jesus was.
Christianity (or the gospel) as taught and inaugurated
by these men was a free, trusting, humane and joyful religion.
Those who accepted it experienced a gladness unknown to
the slaves of the old systems.
They felt delivered from a bondage to God-autocracy ad-
ministered through self-seeking priests, and lined up together
in a joyful brotherhood. The spirit had free way among them,
and it was a grand, good time with these believers in Jesus
Christ until the devil of autocracy began to devour them.
The writings of this period were incidental and called
forth, in the main, by affairs among the disciples which needed
the attention of the natural leaders in the movement.
Years later the first effervescence of the movement began
to subside, the free motions of the spirit began to be re-
stricted, and a religion of authority began to appear. Then,
and not until then, the incidental writings of the Apostolic
period were collected into an authoritative code and joined
together with the Jewish scriptures to form the Bible, which
now was held to be Word of God for the government of the
souls of men.
To me the incidental writings of the early years of Chris-
tianity possess the high value of testimony to a movement of
the spirit of the greatest importance to mankind.
I am desirous of enjoying such a movement in the world
of our time. I am confident that there is such a movement
going on now. I want to be in it — right in "the swim." I have
broken entirely, in mind, from the ecclesiasticisms of our time
which dispute and fuss over the letter of the Scriptures.
I am not greatly concerned with the thought forms of
that ancient day.
The free spirit will express itself in such forms and meth-
ods as may fit into the general conditions of our time. I preach
restoration of the religion of Jesus and Paul, which was a re-
ligion of the spirit and not of authority in the autocratic and
ecclesiastical sense.
This, I believe, is a fair statement of my "heresy" — a her-
esy in which I have great joy every day of my life.
F. M. Cummings,
Kensington, Ohio.
Mr. Sunday's Campaigns
Rditor The Christian Century:
I want to thank you for your editorial article of May 30,
discussing the campaign of Mr. Sunday in Chicago, and its results.
It is exceedingly clear and sane, and evidently states the facts in
the case.
1 have been through two campaigns with Mr. Sunday, in
Kansas City and Los Angeles, and most heartily endorse your
criticisms of his methods, manner and message. In my opinion it
is doubtful if the good he does, which is great in many instances,
can overbalance the harm which comes from the crudeness, vul-
garity, profanity and bigotry that mark his public address ; and
from the unhealthy fever for noise, crowds and machinery that is
kindled in the veins of the community. Not the least of the evils
resulting from his campaigns, in my judgment, is the premillennial
propaganda that accompanies and follows them. Here on the
Pacific coast, every form of religious fad that emphasizes the
immediate coming of the Lord has been mightily strengthened by
his meeting.
0 that the Church of God would rise above such childish and
secularizing methods of soul-saving.
Hollywood, Calif. W. F. Richardson.
Denominational Spirit in the South
Editor The Christian Century :
1 this week read a paper before the Ministerial Alliance of
this city on the subject, "A Re-united Church." I undertook to
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18
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
July 4, 1918
maintain that the only moral equivalent of this war was the pro-
gram of Jesus Christ, that this is the only thing big enough and
offering ideals high enough to take the place in the lives of the
men of the world after the war has ceased. I contended that only
a united church could understand and undertake this program in
the earth in any adequate manner. That unless this was done
we might not expect to enlist the interest of the world in the
church of the future.
Some of our Southern denominations are not enthusiastic
over the subject of Christian unity, and though I was received, in
my first number before the Allience, in a very fine manner, the
interesting discussion revealed the fact that not more than one
or two of those present wanted any change from our present
denominational arrangement, nor believed that any is to come.
Galveston, Tex. D. B. Titus.
Rev. John R. Ewers
The Sunday School
Reading the Bible*
I HOPE I will not be misunderstood when I say that it is not
a pleasure for me to read the Bible. I do not read the Bible
as I would go to the movies or out to the golf links ; rather
I read it as I would weed my garden or grease my car. It is hard
work to read the Bible. I greatly shocked
a dear, elderly lady at a convention the
other day by saying that. But it's the
truth and may only prove that I am a
hardened sinner. But I think that I am
human and very much like other men. I
do not find many people reading the Bible
as a pleasant exercise, and just because
it is hard work so few people read it at
all. There is the plain fact.
In the opening chapter of his wonder-
ful volume, "The Bible, Its Origin, Sig-
nificance and Abiding Worth," Mr. Peake
says : "The Bible may still be read as
great literature, but it is only a remnant who will be attracted to
it for this. The vast majority will either read it as revelation or
they will not read it at all. Another reason for the neglect of
the Bible is due to the impression that it is a dull book. Those
who used to read it conscientiously in earlier days did so often
as a duty rather than as a delight; and nowadays, when light,
bright, and frothy literature — if literature much of it may be
called — is all the food on which the great masses of people nourish
their intellects, what wonder if from this tasty confectionery they
turn with wry faces to the Bread of Life? And where the sense
of duty has disappeared they are naturally tempted to neglect it
altogether."
Please note, therefore, that I did not say that I did not read
the Bible, but only that I found it hard work to do so ; thus I
may not appear such a sinner after all. I freely confess that I do
read it from a sense of duty. I read it as one might mine gold
out of granite rocks. I read it as one might labor at anything
that appealed to him as worth doing. It is not easy. It is not like
reading the highly illustrated magazines. It is not like reading the
Sunday paper. It is not like reading clever books. For me it is
hard, painstaking, exhausting effort. We gain nothing by trying
to prove the other side of the case.
I found the soldiers in the camps reading their testaments.
The chaplains told me that on certain days you might find many
men in each company reading their Bibles. But I am here to tell
you that those men read those Bibles just as they got up at six
and just as they went to drill and just as they took the long hikes.
It was business. It was duty. The time has come when we need
*This article is based on the International Uniform Lesson for July 14,
"Reading God's Word." Scripture, Acts 8:26-39; Psa. 19:7-11.
to put it up to our congregations and to our classes in this precise
form : The Bible contains a divine revelation — that much we all
believe, no matter what school we represent. That being true, it
is our business to dig it out. God might have made it easier, but
He didn't. I don't find that he made anything worth while easy.
Mathematics is beastly hard. Languages are difficult. Science is
very exacting. Art makes heavy demands. We call all of our
studies "Disciplines," because they require attention and continued
effort. The Bible comes in the same class. Too long it has been
pictured as a dear old book which grandmothers love to hold be-
fore the fire and old men in Scotland love to read until midnight :
that is all very well — but it don't work out — that's all. For most
of us the Bible is a quartz rock : the gold is there — but we have
to dig it out and melt it. The average man thinks that there is
something wrong with him because he does not find the Bible
thrillingly interesting and fascinating. There is nothing the matter
with him nor with it ; he has been taught wrongly. The day has
come when we need to tell people two things: (1) It is necessary
to know what the Bible tells us about God and how to live ;
(2) The only way to find that out is to dig it out by the hardest
kind of persistent labor. It seems to me that this appeals to
common sense — and the soldiers prove it.
M
The War
A Weekly Analysis
ORE than two weeks have elapsed without a major opera-
tion by the enemy on the western front — a loss of time
invaluable, due to the heavy casualties suffered in his futile
drives on the French front.
In the meantime the allies have improved their positions ap-
preciably by two sharp blows at critical points. The British gained
a mile in depth on a front of three miles at the western end of the
channel port wedge, between Merville and Hazebrouck, lessening
the danger to the latter important strategic rail center, and menac-
ing the enemy hold upon the former town. The French wiped out
the enemy gains along the valley that runs south from the Aisne
to the northern edge of forest of Villers-Cotteret. The Germans
had attempted on this sector to drive in between the forest of
Villers Cotteret and the forest of Compiegne, and so to flank two
strong defensive positions, one of which guards the valley of the
Ourcq and the other Compiegne and the valley of the Oise.
While these successes did not merit the name of "drives," con-
ferred upon them by the headline writers, they are encouraging
evidence that the allied armies have not lost the power to react
vigorously against the enemy. Their tactical value was by no means
small, and their effect will be excellent upon the morale of the
British and French troops.
It is not unlikely they will have hastened the enemy drive, that
impends as this is written, and the nature of which may be known
to my readers before this appears in print. But I feel safer than
ever in predicting that the enemy will fail utterly in his main ob-
jective— the smashing of the allied line — and will reach no position
vital to the line's security.
The Italians have not followed up their victory on the west
bank of the Piave. They hold immensely strengthened positions,
but it must be borne in mind that they are now operating under the
supreme direction of General Foch, and his obvious policy is not
to resort to a general offensive until he is assured it will achieve
decisive results, or results holding the possibilities of decision.
The air is filled with rumors concerning Russia. Whether
Nicholas Romanoff is dead or alive matters little. More important
are the rumors of bolshevik overthrow and the inauguration of
a new autocratic dynasty under the Grand Duke Nicholas. These
reports lack confirmation, and are viewed with suspicion in well-
informed circles at the time this is written. But there are many
evidences that matters are nearing a crisis in the land of disorder,
and that significant developments may be anticipated. The sudden
July 4, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
19
emergence of Kerensky from his long obscurity hints at the pos-
sibility that plans in which he has had a part may be ripening.
One thing is obvious — unless some strong action is taken soon
to save Russia, the land of the Slav is doomed to a bondage worse
than that of czardom.
The only organized, effective, intelligently directed force in
Russia today is that of Germany. She is in occupation of the
strategic centers; she has a well-conceived plan, and there is no
opposition to its progressive realization. Report says she is even
now preparing a new military expedition that is designed to suppress
disorder. It is claimed the maximalist faction of the revolutionary
party will co-operate with it. Inconceivable as this may sound, it
is not impossible. The horror of continued and increasing chaos,
industrial paralysis, disease, starvation, may drive the people to
accept aid from the most repugnant source.
If Russia is to be saved, the allies must take early action, and
vigorous action. Russia is rapidly becoming an autocracy again,
with the kaiser as its autocrat. Before many weeks elapse armed
intervention will be the only possible means of redeeming the
Russian people and saving the world from the menace of German
control of Russian resources, material and human. President
Wilson is said to be giving the matter much thought, and we hope
it will speedily bear fruit.
S. J. Duncan-Clark.
The Larger Christian World
A Department of Interdenominational Acquaintance
A New Method
of Church Union
The Continent describes a very interesting experiment in church
union as follows : "In New Brunswick, N. J., the coal shortage of
the past winter has produced interesting ecclesiastical results with
possibly permanent influence on the problem of Christian unity.
The First and Second Reformed churches, the First Presbyterian
and the Church Episcopal, since the new year began, have been
worshiping together in Sunday evening services. Planned first for
fuel conservation mainly, these harmonious and successful joint
services promoted a spirit of fellowship unwilling to lapse back
into former congregational and denominational isolation. A plan
was demanded by which the four churches might maintain some
organic relationship permanently. Instead of the usual local church
federation proposal, the New Brunswick pastors have worked out
an idea of having the members of each separate church become
members of all— the Episcopalians joining the Presbyterian and
Reformed fellowships and Presbyterians and Reformed becoming
members of the Episcopalian body, all without changing their rela-
tions meanwhile to their own home churches. It is also suggested
that each congregation might add the ministers of the other three
to its own staff of pastors. A tentative additional suggestion is
that the Episcopalian house of bishops might be willing to ordain
one of the local Reformed clergy as a bishop according to their
rules."
Congregationalists
Issue Year-Book
The new Congregational Year-Book is on the press and
shows a gain in the number of communicants. There is a loss,
however, in the number of congregations, Sunday school mem-
bers and Christian Endeavorers. The total number of Con-
gregational churches in the United States is 6,050 and the
total membership is 808,415. The value of their church prop-
erty is $95,000,000 and the benevolences of the denomination
total $1,851,683.
Prison for Anti-War
Russellites
Joseph F. Rutherford and seven other defendants, followers
of the late "Pastor" Russell, have been convicted by a jury in the
federal court of New York on four counts, charging conspiracy
against the United States government, insubordination, disloyalty
and resistance to the selective draft law. They have been sentenced
each to twenty years in prison. These crimes are violations of the
espionage law recently passed by Congress. This is the closing-
scene of a case which had its beginnings almost a year ago when
draft dodgers and deserters from the army are alleged to have
been sheltered by the Russellites and even to have been encouraged
in seditious writings by them to quit the army. The Russellites in
court contended their religious belief excused their crimes, but this
contention early was defeated by the court which cited the federal
supreme court decision in the Mormon cases, which held that a
man could not have a plurality of wives merely because his religious
beliefs said such a practice was right. The Russellites also con-
tended that all but sinners should be exempted from fighting the
German kaiser. The judge refused to admit the prisoners to bail.
According to T. W. Gregory, attorney general at Washington,
the Italian government sometime ago complained to the United
States that Rutherford and his associates under the name of the
Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society had circulated in the Italian
armies a quantity of anti-war propaganda.
Church Union
Agreement in England
The cause of church unity is making remarkable advances
in these days and there has recently been drawn up in Eng-
land, preliminary to the World Conference on Faith and
Order, a platform for the union of the Established church and
the Free churches. The question of the episcopacy is the one
which has longest puzzled the church statesmen and it is thus
that certain Englishmen would solve this vexed problem:
"1. That continuity with the historic episcopate should be
effectively preserved. 2. That, in order that the rights and
responsibilities of the whole Christian community in the gov-
ernment of the Church may be adequately recognized, the
episcopate should re-assume a constitutional form, both as
regards the method of the election of the bishop, as by clergy
and people, and the method of government after election. It
is perhaps necessary that we should call to mind that such was
the primitive ideal and practice of episcopacy and it so remains
in many episcopal communions today. 3. That acceptance of
the fact of episcopacy, and not any theory as to its character,
should be all that is asked for. We think that this may be the
more easily taken for granted as the acceptance of any such
theory is not now required of ministers of the Church of
England. It would no doubt be necessary before any arrange-
ment for corporate reunion could be made to discuss the exact
functions which it may be agreed to recognize as belonging
to the episcopate, but we think this can be left to the future."
Baptists Erect Big
Sunday School Building
The Sunday school is coming into its own in Racine, Wis.
The First Baptist church of that city has recently built and dedi-
cated a building at a cost of $110,000, which will be called Gorton
Hall, in honor of Mr. George Gorton of the Gorton Machine Com-
pany, who made an outstanding gift toward the erection of the
building. Complete equipment has been provided in the building
for a social program for the local Sunday school.
War Ravages Protestant
Churches of France
The war zone has brought more sorrow to the Protestants
of France than their numbers might indicate, for the center of
20
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
July 4, 1918
Protestant strength is in northeastern France. Fifty-eight min-
isters and divinity students of these churches have been killed
in action and 102 ministers' sons have been killed. A million
dollars of damage has been done to the church buildings. The
Federal Council of Churches is asking for two million of dol-
lars that aid may be given the Protestant refugees.
Orvis F. Jordan.
Dr. Jowett at Westminster
Chapel
Walter Getty, in the Continent
THE opening service of the ministry of Dr. J. H. Jowett at
Westminster chapel, London, on Sunday morning, May 19,
was truly an event of international significance and inaugu-
rated a ministry that is destined to have a vital influence both on
America and England. Something of the importance of the occa-
sion may be gathered from the stirring words of Harold Begbie, *
in summing up for The Daily Chronicle his impressions of the
service: "At last the moral earnestness of England, that great
historical force, has found its voice. Never since August, 1914,
has any minister of the crown or any English preacher of relig-
ion, or any descendant of the great fathers of English literature,
sounded to the nation so surely so victoriously and with so
authentic an Englishness, this organ note of English character,
as Dr. Jowett sounded it yesterday in Westminster chapel, mak-
ing it ring through men's souls till at last the congregation, which
included the prime minister, had to break out in cheers."
Dr. Jowett entered on his ministry in this most important
center of London's religious and political life without ostentation.
The audience, which numbered 2,500 and filled every seat, was
made up of every rank of life, and to this people Dr. Jowett came
in the simplicity of the Master. In a few words he outlined his
platform for his ministry — to preach the full gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ for salvation; the gospel of holiness, righteousness,
the grace of God ; the great evangelical truths which are the foun-
dation of all life and thought. How refreshing it was to hear such
a statement when so many men think the time h?s come to preach
a "new" gospel.
PRESIDENT WILSON SORRY FOR DEPARTURE
Following this statement of purpose, Dr. Jowett read a letter
written to him by President Wilson with this most timely utter-
ance :
"While I am deeply sorry for your leaving America, I am
glad you will take away an intimate knowledge of our people
which will enable you to interpret them to those who have not
always understood them on the other side of the water. One of
the most difficult things I have attempted is to convince foreign
ministers and foreign peoples that the purposes and ideals of the
people of the United States are unselfish and altruistic. I am
sure you are convinced of the fact, as I am, and my great pleasure
in expressing such purposes has been derived from the confidence
that I was really and truly speaking for my people."
But it was the sermon Dr. Jowett preached that made the
service one long to be remembered. The text was Hebrews 2 :27.
"For he endured as seeing Him who is invisible," and the theme
was "The Dynamics of Endurance." Dr. Jowett referred to the
slow, hard grind that was the lot of Moses, and intimated that the
campaign of war has now reached the slow stage where the hard-
est thing is to "walk and not be weary."
Four springs or sources of energy were pointed out by Dr.
Jowett from which we must draw for our dynamics of endur-
ance. The first was that of righteous anger. Not hatred ; not
the sputtering anger which is like a firework, but the anger
Christ had and Paul had, and the great leaders of the church in
all times have had, when the cause of righteousness was at stake.
"A fierce and mighty passion of anger is of God."
The second spring was that of holy fear — not the fear of flight,
but of a tremendous recoil. How our hearts burned as Dr. Jowett
uttered these mighty words, "When I see children maimed, I am
afraid of it; when I see the defilement of virgins I am afraid of
it ; when I see the oppression of defenceless women I am afraid
of it."
CALLS TO FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD
Loftier heights of rectitude are places where we can find
springs for greater endurance. We must use the great alpine
words — freedom, justice, truth and righteousness, as Words-
worth, Milton and Whittier used them. We must have "mountain
minds for work in the valley."
The springs of noble ancestry and of great historical deeds
must also be touched. Both British and American hearts must
have thrilled as Dr. Jowett pleaded : "Tread the high roads of
history, make use, make use of your shrines," and then unfolded
to us the great events of history that can be reviewed time after
time for inspiration and new strength.
Finally, Dr. Jowett showed us that the deepest, greatest,
spring was that of intimate fellowship with the living God. We
will always endure if we continue to see Him who is invisible.
"It is a far greater thing to "live in the assurance of what God is
always thinking than to know what he may be doing at a partic-
ular moment."
The service came to a close with the playing by the organ of
"The Star Spangled Banner" and "God Save the King." Again
the words of Harold Begbie may not be out of place: "It was a
great sermon, the greatest utterance of English character since
August, 1914, for it contained no word of rage or vindictiveness,
but sounded only the diapason of righteous anger and the vox
humana of moral earnestness."
Books
American Poetry. By Percy H. Boynton. This is an an-
thology of the poetry of America, from the early years of the
history of the country to the days of Whitman, Lanier, Joaquin
Miller and William Vaughn Moody. The best of the work of the
New England classic writers — Longfellow, Whittier, Lowell,
F.merson, etc. — and much of the earlier colonial and war poetry
is included. Of great value are the hundred or more pages of
critical comment, in which are discussed the merits of the authors
included. The author is a professor in the University of Chicago.
(Scribners, New York. $2.25.)
The Three Black Pennys. By Joseph Hergesheimer. By
many critics this was held to be the most significant novel of last
year. It is a genuinely American story and is told by an artist.
Mr. Plergesheimer's writing is full of color and reflects the
natural characteristics of the Pennsylvania country which is the
scene of his stories. This novel traces the history of a family
through three generations, and reveals the outworking of certain
life tendencies in three individuals living through a period of a
century and a half. The book is a remarkable exhibit of the theory
of heredity. Those persons who read "only the best" should not
miss this book. (A. A. Knopf, New York. $1.60.)
The Man Who Was Thursday. By G. K. Chesterton. An
unusual treatment of some of the phases of socialism by the
brilliant English poet and essayist. In a sort of story form, this
discussion reaches its conclusions after carrying the reader over
sea and land, into the upper atmospheres and down into the
dungeons of the imagination. Reading it, one hardly knows where
he is going to land — that is what makes Chesterton's work in-
teresting! (Boni & Liveright, New York. 60 cts.)
Sunset Canada. By Archie Bell. The Page Company have
won the gratitude of lovers of travel by their exceptionally at-
tractive volumes dealing with the countries of Europe and the
Orient. America is still further in debt to these publishers, because
of the "See America First" series which they are now giving to
the world. A late volume is "Sunset Canada," which has also to
do with "British Columbia and Beyond." There are included a
map and fifty-six remarkably beautiful plates descriptive of the
Canadian scenery. It is a superb work. (Page, Boston. $3.50.)
July 4, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
21
News of the Churches
Many Disciple Ministers Enter
Upon War Service
The Disciples of Christ are doing their
part in furnishing chaplains and Y. M.
C. A. secretaries for war service. Every
week brings in reports of a dozen or more
who have either begun active work or are
contemplating such service. Horner E. Sala,
of Central church, Peoria, 111., has been
granted a leave of absence by his congre-
gation, and will leave, perhaps for France,
after a brief course of training. E. E.
Violette, acting pastor at Independence
Boulevard church, Kansas City, has ob-
tained consent of his board of deacons to
enter upon service as army chaplain, and
may go out a little later. John G. Slayter,
of East Dallas, Tex., church, will probably
go to France for work among the soldiers,
having been selected by the Shriners of
Dallas as their representative in the war
country. W. H. Hampton, of Dallas City,
111., has received a call from the Y war
work council to serve as secretary overseas,
and may go soon.
Morristown, Ind., Churches
Form Federation
T. J. Stephens, minister at Morristown,
Ind., writes that the churches there are
working out the problem of unity in a
practical way. Last winter the three
churches— the Methodist Episcopal, the
Methodist Protestant and the Disciples-
were forced to hold union services on
Sunday evenings on account of the coal
situation. The arrangement met with
such favor that when spring came the
leaders decided that the union meetings
should continue. There has now been
formed "The Federation of Churches of
Morristown," and the executive commit-
tee already has a constructive program
of work outlined for the summer. At
the close of the harvest season a "Com-
munity week" will be featured, with a
program varied enough to get the atten-
tion of all and with help for all classes
of the community. This will take the
place of the chautauqua. Following this,
it is planned to make a very careful sur-
vey of the community in preparation for
evangelistic campaigns in the autumn.
Ozark Assembly Plans, at
Lakeside Park, Mo., July 23— August 2
The second annual session of the Ozark
Assembly will be held at Lakeside Park, in
Jasper county, Mo., July 23-August 2.
Lakeside is on the Southwest Missouri in-
terurban road between Carthage and Jop-
lin. The Assembly is held under the aus-
pices of the Jasper County Christian Mis-
sionary Society, working in conjunction
with J. H. Jones, superintendent of Third
district, Missouri. C. C. Garrigues, of Jop-
lin, is president. Among the features of the
Assembly this year are: a school of meth-
ods ; a rural church institute; a missionary
institute, an elders' and deacons' confer-
ence, a Christian Endeavor rally; commun-
ity sings; a chautauqua of war lectures
and war films, and a course of vesper
Bible studies. Family tents for camping
purposes are provided and many recrea-
tional features are offered. Experts in
practical war economics will give lec-
tures, and among the lecturers on gen-
eral war topics are: A. Ross Hill,
president Missouri State University;
Herbert L. Willett, Chicago; Edgar D.
Jones, Bloomington, 111.; I. N. McCash,
president Phillips University; E. F. Leake,
Springfield, Mo.; B. A. Abbott, St. Louis;
F. D. Kershner, Cincinnati, and Mrs. R. S.
Latshaw, president of the state C. W.
B. M. Other speakers are Dean W. J.
Lhamon, D. W. Moore, C. H. Swift, C. C.
Garrigues, Mrs. O. W. Lawrence, David
Owen, John D. Zimmerman and J. H.
Jones.
Drake President
Not Yet Selected
The session of the board of Drake Uni-
versity resulted in considerable discussion
of the possibilities for the presidency to
succeed President Bell, but action was de-
layed until a later meeting. For the time
being the administrative duties of the uni-
versity are vested in a committee composed
of Keith Vawter, George B. Peak and
Howard J. Clarke. Drake graduated 220
young men and women from its various de-
partments this year, the Liberal Arts Col-
lege presenting a class of sixty, with
eighteen of its junior members in the army.
Charles S. Medbury delivered the com-
mencement address, on the topic, "The New
Citizenship."
S. G. Fisher to Remain in
Y. M. C. A. War Work
S. Grundy Fisher, for over five years
pastor at Portland Avenue church, Min-
neapolis, Minn., was given a leave of ab-
sence by his congregation early this year
that he might enter upon Y. M. C. A.
work at Kelly Field, San Antonio, Tex.
Mr. Fisher finds the work so alluring
that he has decided to remain in the
service. During the months of Mr.
Fisher's absence. Miss Ada L. Forster,
an ordained minister, and long connected
with the national C. W. B. M., has occu-
pied the pulpit and cared for the pas-
toral work. The chairman of the board
reports that her work has been "not
only able, but brilliant." Fifteen persons
have been added to the membership un-
der her ministry. Under her leadership
also a fund of over $2,000 was raised for
the Men and Millions emergency, al-
though the congregation was asked for
only $1,500. Portland Avenue has called
as a regular pastor Prof. G. S. Bennett,
of the Hiram College faculty. He be-
gins his work this month. Mr. Fisher's
present address is San Antonio, Tex.,
care Y. M. C. A., Kelly Field, Box 58.
I. S. Bussing, Iowa Minister,
Does Fruitful Missionary Work
Because of his wife's ill health, Isaac
S. Bussing, of Davis Street church, Ot-
tumwa, la., went to the southland, his
new post being at Waycross, Ga. The
Christian Record, published at Rome,
Ga., gives an account of his good service
there. When Mr. Bussing arrived at
Waycross last November, he found the
congregation worshipping in a tent. Re-
cently he dedicated a beautiful little
building, complete wth roomy audi-
torium, two extra class rooms and a
baptistry, located in one of the finest
residence districts in the town. Upon
Mrs. Bussing's return to health, Mr.
Bussing will return to the Ottumwa field.
* * *
— By an error in last week's issue of the
"Century" a number of divinity students of
the University of Chicago were reported
as taking their degrees "at the Quarterly
Convocation of the University of Illinois,
held on June 11." Those acquainted with
Illinois schools know, of course, that the
state university has no divinity school. The
students mentioned— W. E. Gordon, R. W.
Hoffman, S. W. Slaughter, Mary M. Stubbs,
F. PI. Swanson and J. F. Stubbs— have been
students at the Disciples Divinity House,
Chicago.
—Chicago Disciples will be interested in
the list of summer preachers at the Univer-
sity of Chicago. All have not yet been
selected, but the second, third and fourth
Sundays of July, Professors Theodore G.
Soares, Gerald B. Smith and Herbert L.
Willett, of the University, will preach. On
August 4, William S. Jacobs, D. D., of
Houston, Tex., will speak; on August 11,
Prof. George B. Foster; on August 18,
President Ozora S. Davis, of the Chicago
Theological Seminary; and on August 25,
William P. Merrill, of the famous Brick
Presbyterian church of New York.
— There have been forty-six additions to
the membership at Parkersburg, Va., since
the coming of H. E. Stafford to the church
there. Mr. Stafford has been preaching a
series ^of sermons on "Up to the Christ
Level," with the following sermon subjects:
"Thinking to His Level"; "Animated By
His Sympathy"; "Enthusiasm For His
Friendship"; "Permeated With His Pur-
pose"; "Grasping His Ideals"; "Now, What
Is Christianity?" The new leader at Par-
kersburg writes very highly of the work
accomplished by his predecessor, W. D.
Van Voorhis, and his family.
—Some Indiana pulpit changes are the
following: R. H. Jones, from Kokomo,
South Side, to Warsaw, Ind.; Rome G.
Jones, from Evansville, Bethany, to Linton,
Ind.; George T. Smith, Paxton, 111., to
Odon, Ind.; J. E. Bates, Tiffin, O., to
Evansville, Ind., First; R. S. Saum is the
new leader at Morocco, and J. J. Bare at
Loogootee. H. W. Schwan has resigned at
Central, Richmond, and M. S. Decker at
Greenfield.
UNION AVENUE
^T I flSIIQ CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Oil LUUIO Union and Von Versen Aves.
George A. Campbell, Minister
— The Southern California churches will
meet in convention this year at Long Beach,
July 28— August 4. F. M. Rogers is secre-
tary of the Southern California work.
— R. J. Bennett preached a Mother's day
sermon at his church, Sharon, Pa„ this
year, which had the honor of being repro-
duced in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle of
June 17.
— Drake Summer school opened this year
with a fair attendance, practically all
women, reports the Christian News of Des
Moines.
— W. D. Cunningham and family, who
have been in America the past year, are
reported on their return trip to Tokio,
Japan, where he is leading in an inde-
pendent mission work.
— C. J. Miller, of Windsor, Colo., has
received a call to Wellington, Kan., but
will remain in his present field.
— G. Stanley West is the new leader at
Brazil, Ind., church.
— On account of pressing duties and
the fact that he will be in Canada dur-
ing the summer and the month of Sep-
tember, Z. T. Sweeney will not serve as
Chairman of the Committee of the Inter-
national Convention on Necrology. In
his place I. J. Cahill, a member of the
committee, has been appointed Chair-
man by the President of the Convention;
and all correspondence relating to the
work of the committee should be di-
rected to I. J. Cahill, 592 The Arcade,
Cleveland, Ohio.
22
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
July 4, 1918
— Harvey T. Croyle, of the Indiana
School of Religion, is now "somewhere in
France" as a Y secretary.
NEW YORK
CENTRAL CHURCH
142 West 81st Street
Finis S. Idleman, Min'ster
— Fred Merrifield, of the New Testament
department of the University of Chicago,
and Herbert L. Willett, Jr., will occupy the
pulpit at Memorial church, Chicago, for ten
Sundays during the summer.
— Beginning with September 15th, First
Baptist church, Chicago, will worship with
Memorial church for an indefinite period.
The ministers, W. H. Main, and Herbert
L. Willett, respectively, will have charge of
the work and the various organizations will
have their activities in common.
— John I. Roberts, who graduated from
Drake two years ago, and spent a year in
the University of Chicago, going into army
Y. M. C. A. about a year ago, was at the
ancient city of Delhi, India, when last
heard from. William Rossa, who gradu-
ated from Drake at the same time, is also
somewhere in India. They are with the
British army.
— "Five Big Sunday Evenings" have been
featured at the Kenton, O., church during
June, with the following events : Children's
evening, Guest evening, Favorite old hymn
evening, Musical evening and Christian En-
deavor evening (with short talks by re-
turned delegates to the International C. E.
Convention). Leon H. Couch leads at
Kenton.
— B. S. Ferrall is again at his post in his
Buffalo church after a month spent in war
work at Norfolk, Va.
— W. B. Clemmer is reported as having
resigned the work at Central church, Rock-
ford, 111., to enter chaplaincy war service.
— C. J. Tannar, recently of Central
church, Detroit, has entered upon his work
as county extension secretary in the Ohio
county, of which Akron is the county seat.
Mr. Tannar will select points for new
churches in the county. Active work will
not be begun in this field until autumn.
_— O. C. Bolman, of the West Central dis-
trict of Illinois, reports that nearly $45,000
has been raised among the churches for the
Men and Millions emergency drive. The
drive has greatly emphasized the need of
county organization, Mr. Bolman writes.
— W. P. Honn, of Farmer City, 111., will
soon begin a new work at Lexington, 111.
G. W. Foley, recently with the Christopher
church, has accepted the pastorate at Fair-
bury.
— Robert and D wight Muckley, sons of
Secretary G. W. Muckley, are now at Camp
Dick.
— Burris A. Jenkins has investigated the
number of young men in the United States
army from Christian churches of the
United States and finds that the Disciples
rank second among the Protestants. The
M. E. church ranks first in the number of
enlisted men and the Roman Catholics sec-
ond.
— Dr. Ainslie, of the Association for the
Promotion of Christian Unity, sends the
following message for publication : "At
the instance of the Association for the
Promotion of Christian Unity, it is re-
quested that at all gatherings of Christians
throughout the summer and fall there may
be passed such resolutions regarding the
unity of Christendom as will deepen the
interest in this great cause, the reports of
this action to be sent to the journals of the
respective communions."
— R. H. Miller and Charles R. Hudson,
respectively pastors at Ninth Street church,
Washington, D. C, and Pomona, Cal., are
exchanging pulpits for the summer, that
the former may enjoy the California climate
for a season, and that the latter may get
nearer to the center of war affairs at the
nation's capital.
— H. G. Burgess, formerly leader of
the Canton, Mo., church, has been ap-
pointed a chaplain in the national army,
his station being Camp Pike, Little Rock,
Ark. Mr. Burgess is a Eureka and Yale
man.
MhMOKlAL (Disciples and Baptists)
CLI I C A P n Oakwood Blvd. Wesl of Callage Grove
OltflUU Herbert L WiHeii. Minister
— E. S. Priest, of Centralia, Mo.,
cburch, is now in France in Y. M. C. A.
war work.
—On July 2, Dr. and Mrs. J. H. Gar-
rison, now living at Claremont, Cal.,
celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of
their marriage. The Christian Century
joins with the many friends of Dr. and
Mrs. Garrison in wishing them many
more years of wedded happiness.
— The following papers are assured for
this year's meeting of the Campbell In-
stitute, which will be held at Hyde Park
church, Chicago, late in July: J. R.
Ewers "Our Church After the War."
E. S. Ames: "How Our Philosophies
Have Been Changed by the War." J.
E. Wolfe: "German Philosophy in
American Universities." R. E. Park:
"What Can the Church Do to Make
Democracy Safe for the World?" L. W.
Morgan: "The War and the British
Churches." W. A. Crowley: "The Re-
ligion of the American Red Cross." O.
F. Jordan: "How Far Are Our Liberal
Religious Views of German Origin?"
— George L. Snively dedicated the new
building of the congregation at Beck-
ley, W. Va., on June 16. An indebted-
ness of $17,000 was soon raised, then
Mr. Snively proposed that money be
raised also for a new parsonage and
better social and Bible school equip-
ment. The suggestion was accepted and
carried to success. Cash and notes ag-
gregating over $22,000 were raised dur-
ing the day, and not a dollar came from
classes or societies. The salary of the
pastor, C. E. Rossiter, will be increased
$20 per month, and the church will pur-
chase the house on which he is now
paying rent. Mr. Snively is proving that
it is not wise to postpone clearing finan-
cial obligations until "after the war."
— J. J. Cole, who recently gave up his
pastorate at Central church, Findlay, O.,
will devote his time to evangelistic work
this summer, or will accept a pulpit for
supply work. He may return to a pas-
torate this summer or later.
THE WHOLE TASK AT THE ILLI-
NOIS STATE CONVENTION
The State Convention of the Disciples
of Christ in Illinois will deal with "The
Whole Task of the Whole Church" this
year. This larger program has been grow-
ing in favor for a number of years and the
convention will record the sentiment thus
created. One session of the convention will
be devoted to the great missionary text of
the Bible, "The field is the world." The ten
organized interests of our Brotherhood will
be presented to the convention by ten suc-
cessful missionary pastors of the state.
This will be followed by an address by
Edgar DeWitt Jones of Bloomington,
President of the International Convention,
on "The 1918 International Convention of
the Disciples of Christ"; and then Frederick
W. Burnham, President of the American
Christian Missionary Society, will deliver an
address on "The Whole Task."
The various missionary interests will be
represented in the following manner : The
Illinois Christian Missionary Society, C. C.
Carpenter, Princeton ; Eureka College,
E. E. Higdon, Bellflower ; The American
Christian Missionary Society, J. Alexander
Agnew, Mt. Carmel ; The Board of Church
Extension, A. O. Hargis, Greenville ; The
Foreign Christian Missionary Society,
W. J. Montgomery, Niantic; The Christian
Women's Board of Missions, Floyd B. Tay-
lor, Chambersburg; The Board of Min-
isterial Relief, B. H. Bruner, Danville;
The American Temperance Board, Adam
K. Adcock, Centralia ; The Association for
the Promotion of Christian Unity, Allan T.
Gordon, Paris ; The National Benevolent
Association, B. H. Sealock, Illiopolis.
H. H. Peters, Secretary.
A LOOK-IN ON SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA
A recent trip to Southern California was
greatly enjoyed. It was a pleasure to
preach Sunday morning and evening for
Wilshire Boulevard church. This church
occupies a rather unique position in the
very best residential sections of Los An-
geles. Prof. B. C. Hagerman has been
supplying for many months. C. C. Chap-
man, the orange king, and his brother, S. J.
Chapman, are interested members. W. F.
Holt ("Jefferson Worth" of Harold Bell
Wright's "Winning of Barbara Worth")
is an elder. I enjoyed one night in his ele-
gant home and heard his story of the re-
demption of The Imperial Valley.
On Monday the ministers of Southern
California met in First Church. Mr. Ken-
drick presided throughout the all-day ses-
sion. The noon hour was spent at luncheon
in the basement of the church. J. H. Gar-
rison and son, W. E. Garrison, were pres-
ent. Dr. Garrison always smiles even in
the face of difficulties. His rich experience
and rare wisdom are sought in every con-
ference. The veteran D. R. Dungan was in
the front row. He had a few more copies
of his books to sell. E. F. Daugherty is
fast gaining the hearts of First Church
and the good opinion of the general public.
J. N. Jessup is accomplishing some large
things at Magnolia church. Bruce Brown
seems, from newspaper notices, to have a
A k for Catalogue arc Special Donation Plan Hq. 27
(Established 1858)
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MANHATTAN BUILDING, CHICAGO
July 4, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
23
growing influence. S. M. Bernard has re-
cently completed a lovely church home.
The beloved W. F. Richardson has gra-
ciously walked into the affections of all.
Hollywood is measuring big under his lead-
ership. Dr. Tyrrell holds the imperial way
I at Pasadena. This bower of beauty, fringed
| with the multimillionaires' masterly tread,
| creates a throne with its attendant thorns.
I noticed that on Memorial day, which was
everywhere a holiday, Mr. Tyrrell was chief
speaker at the grand ceremonies in Pasa-
dena. An hour with Prof. W. G. Conley
and wife and George Ringold brought back
happy remembrances of Old Kentucky Uni-
versity. At Long Beach I visited George
P. Taubman, who is doing one of the out-
standing pieces of church work. Long
Beach is the most positively religious wa-
tering resort that I ever visited, and it was
my pleasure to see most of the European
watering places.
Ernest C. Mobley.
Amarillo, Tex., June 17.
THE GATE STILL OPEN
A letter has just come to the Board
of_ Ministerial Relief from one of our
ministers expressing his regret that hav-
ing overlooked the forwarding of the
application for a Pension Certificate with
the first payment of dues before June
15, he would be cut out of participation
in the system, or at least in sharing the
honor of being one of the first three
hundred to help in its inauguration
We are glad to tell this brother, and
any others who may have made a simi-
lar mistake, that we do not believe in
capital punishment for minor delinquen-
cies and are hoping to see them com-
plete their enrollment at the earliest
possible date.
The large number who have sent in
their final applications and paid their
dues are naturally getting anxious to re-
ceive their Certificates which cannot be
sent out until the whole 300 are ready.
Board of Ministerial Relief,
W. R. Warren, Pres.
Indianapolis, Indiana.
EUREKA COLLEGE ATTAINS
HIGH STANDARD
As is already somewhat generally
known, Eureka College has been placed
in the first rank of colleges in Illinois
through a report of C. M. McConn, reg-
istrar of the University of Illinois. There
are only about a half dozen co-educa-
tional institutions in this state out of
the thirty or more colleges that meet
the requirements for this classification.
Some institutions that have much larger
student bodies, and perhaps wider repu-
tations than Eureka, are not able to
qualify. The standards in this state are
very high, and a college has to be fully
up to them before it is on the list. The
last paragraph of Mr. McConn's report
reads thus:
"As will have appeared from the fore-
going, Eureka College substantially
meets all our criterions at the present
time. The progress made on the physical
side is really notable, and I thought I
perceived on every hand, among both
students and faculty, the vigorous,
lealthy and happy spirit which springs
:rom the consciousness of progress. I
lave no hesitation in recommending that
Eureka be re-rated in Class A."
This is a great victory for Eureka and
•epresents an achievement worth while.
The institution is two notches higher
n the matter of standardization than it
A'as five years ago.
'The Most Beautiful Hymnal Ever Produced in the American Church"
•*j UNITED
wall
"I have heard nothing but the
highest praise for the hymnal
and a number are asking for
them for use in their homes.
In these days of crisis and
challenge it is a joy to be able
to build the mood essential for
such hours of worship as we
must have. The new day calls
for a new mood and Hymns of
the United Church is wonder-
fully prophetic in its emphasis
upon the older individualism in
religion coupled with the newer
social consciousness. The call
of the higher patriotism and
community service becomes
deeply religious, and preaching
on such themes is empowered
through the use of this hymnal.
LIN D. CARTWRIGHT,
Pastor Christian Church,
Fort Collins, Colo.
Send Today for information as to prices, returnable copy, etc.
Published by
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 EAST 40TH STREET, CHICAGO
The past year has witnessed a number
of victories in the way of advancement.
On Dec. 21, 1917, we dedicated our new
Vennum Science Hall, of which Mr. Mc-
Conn in his report says: "The provision
for chemistry, physics, biology and
household science in the new science
building is distinctly the best I have
found in any of the colleges that I have
visited for the committee."
The addition of this new building is
largely responsible for the new classifi-
cation of Eureka College, and it gives to
Eureka one of the best physical plants
possessed by any of our colleges.
H. O. Pritchard,
President.
AND
Transylvania has just closed a record year. Largest attendance of college students in her
history of one hundred and twenty years. Large group preparing for ministry, mission field
and public Christian service.
1. — Faculty unsurpassed in preparation, experience and teaching ability. Personal interest taken
in every student.
2. — Satisfactory elective courses leading to A.B., B.S., M.A., P.Th.B. and B.D. degrees.
3.— Adequate equipment in buildings, grounds, libraries, laboratories, gymnasium and athletic
field, representing $700,000.
4. — Situated in the midst of the world-famed Blue Grass region.
5. — Opportunities for students to make a large part of expenses. Scholarship aid for sons and
daughers of ministers, high school honor graduates, ministerial and missionary students,
and those financially embarrassed. A large number of pulpits available for our ministerial
students.
6. — Expenses reasonable. All regular fees, including library, athletic association, college
magazine, etc., $60. Furnished room for men (Ewing Hall), $40 for session; for women
(Lyons Hall), $60. Reservation fee of $2 should be sent at once.
7— Faculty of College of the Bible: R. H. Crossfield, B. C. DeWeese, A. W. Fortune, W. C.
Bower, E. E. Snoddy, George W. Brown, Edward Saxon.
Former students are sending their sons and daughters to us.
Write for catalogues and attractive booklets.
Lexington, Ky.
R. H. CROSSFIELD, President
A Book of Joy, Vision and Duty
TENDER PI
By EDGAR DeWITT JONES
IMS
TO PARENTS, PASTORS,
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LITTLE CHILDREN
THIS BOOK WILL BRING
DELIGHT AND LIGHT
AND INSPIRATION
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literature sets a new mark for itself in this exquisite little volume
on Childhood. Following "The Inner Circle," 'The Wisdom of
God's Fools," and "Fairhope," it is safe to say that in "The
Tender Pilgrims" the author has struck his most popular note.
This book will be widely read wherever children are loved and a
serious responsibility for their upbringing is felt. It is a little
dream in the book-making art and has been designed especially
to serve as an appropriate gift book. Order your copy now.
PRICE 85c
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THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
July 18, 1918
This is not a mere book
— it is a Sear Might I
German
Philosophy
and Politics
By JOHN DEWEY
Professor of Philosophy in Columbia University
THIS book gives the unprofessional
reader a succinct notion of the
development of classic German philoso-
phy from Kant to Hegel. Technical
details are omitted, while the ideas that
are significant for the history of culture
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It shows how German thought took
shape in the struggle for German nation-
ality against the Napoleonic menace, and
how profoundly that crisis affected the
philosophy of morals, of the state, and of
history which has since that time pene-
trated into the common consciousness
of Germany.
Incidentally it makes clear how
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Germany by reference to Nietzsche, etc.,
since that attitude is shown to have its
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OUR BIBLE
By Herbert L. Willett
One of the most popular volumes ever
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This recent book by Dr. Willett has been
received with real enthusiasm by the re-
ligious and educational press of the coun-
try. The following are a few of the
estimates passed upon the volume:
"Just the book that has been needed for a long time
for thoughtful adults and senior, students, a plain
statement of the sources and making of the books of
the Bible, of their history, of methods of criticism and
interpretation and of the place of the Bible in the life
of today." — Religious Education.
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should read this book as a beginning in the important
task of becoming intelligently religious." — Biblical
World.
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by the right motive — the love of truth, not only for
truth's sake but for humanity's sake — can help us to
a better understanding of the origin, history and value
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men. This we believe is what Dr. Willett has done
in this volume." — Dr. J. H. Garrison in The Christian-
Evangelist.
"Professor Willett has here told in a simple, graphic
way what everybody ought to know about our Bible."
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"Dr. Willett has the rare gift of disclosing the mind
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July 18, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
The 20th Century
Quarterly
For Adult and Young People's Bible Classes
Edited by Thomas Curtis Clark
Makers of the Quarterly:
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The governing purposes in the preparation of this new Lesson Quarterly are two:
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ized class.
Features of the Quarterly
Getting Into the Lesson. This department is
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try. Mr. Ryan presents the backgrounds of the
lesson.
Clearing Up Difficult Points. Herbert L. Willett,
Jr., whose extended experience and study in the
Orient have made him an able interpreter of
Scripture facts for modern students, has charge
of this department. His is a verse-by-verse
study.
The Lesson Brought Down to Date. The unique
work of John R. Ewers in straight-from-the-
shoulder adaptations of the Sunday school lessons
to today's life is too well known to call for ex-
planation. There is no other writer in the
Sunday school world today who approaches Mr.
Ewers in the art of making the Bible talk to
modern men.
The Lesson Forum. No man is better sufted to
furnish lesson questions with both scholarly and
practical bearings than Dr. W. C. Morro, of But-
ler College. His questions really count in the
consideration of lesson themes.
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Volume XXXV
JULY 18, 1918
Number 27
EDITORIAL STAFF: CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON. EDITOR; HERBERT L. WILLETT. CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
ORVIS FAIRLEE JORDAN. ALVA W. TAYLOR, JOHN RAY EWERS :: THOMAS CURTIS CLARK. OFFICE MANAGER
Entered as second-class matter, Feb. 28, 1902, at the Post-office, Chicago. Published weekly by Disciples Publication Society, foo E. 40th St., Chicago
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in religious faith and service. It desires definitely to occupy a catholic point of view and it seeks readers in all communions.
EDITORIAL
The Summer-Time of the Soul
NATURE spoke an articulate language to the de-
vout souls that wrote our Bible for us. Even
the seasons had their significance for the spirit-
ual life. Summer-time is often thought of by the city
dweller as an idle time, but for nature it is the busiest
time of all. The tiny plants make their growth and
make ready for the harvest. The burning sun is the
chemist working in his wonderful laboratory. The tiny
leaf works transformations in its being that puzzle the
most profound student of nature.
Middle life is the summer-time of the soul. There
is an obscure saying in Jeremiah, "The summer is past
and we are not saved." Whatever the prophet meant —
and it was undoubtedly different from our use of the
text — the verse may describe the tragedy of the soul
which uses up life's summer-time without accomplish-
ing definite results.
Middle-aged people quit too soon. They are likely
to think of youth as the time for doing things. They
forget such a life as that of Gladstone which achieved
its mightiest accomplishments long after youth was
past. How persistent a plant is ! In the dry times it
grows at the roots, and in wet times it grows above
ground. But only the most trying conditions prevent
it from achieving its destiny.
The summer-time brings with it hot sun and sud-
den storm. It lacks the beauty and promise of the
spring-time as well as the song of the harvest-time.
It brings the burden of heavy toil, but it has in it the
deep satisfactions of strength and achievement.
The middle-aged person needs to be reminded that
soon the summer will be past never to return. There
is only one summer-time to a human life, and the soul
that walks through it with no thought of its deeper
responsibilities will end in disillusionment and sorrow.
The summer-time of the soul well spent means that
winter-time will have no terrors but will bring rest and
peace.
War Service Growing More Diversified
WHEN the war first broke out, the church realized
at once that a change in program was involved
but for awhile the question was what to do. The
religious program in war time is being worked out by this
trial and error method by which so much of human prog-
ress has been made. Some activities which have proven
to be of rather negative value have been discontinued,
while others have come into great prominence.
The Methodists have made provision to outfit the
chaplains who go out from their fellowship. The work
of the chaplain has so lately come into its modern develop-
ment that there is still no government provision for the
things which any minister needs for religious work, such
as hymn books, an organ and in some places an automo-
bile truck to transport this equipment.
The churches adjacent to camps are finding an ever
larger social program effective. An energetic Presbyterian
church runs a bus to the adjoining military camp and
hauls several loads of men to the Sunday morning service,
besides keeping open house for the men during the week.
In some cities there is a Saturday night social where the
girls of the town may meet the enlisted men under proper
chaperonage, which tends to decrease street flirtations and
their attendant evils.
The local congregations that keep up correspondence
with their own men in the service are probably doing as
valuable service as any. The kindly religious letter which
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
July 18, 1918
does not preach but is solicitous without any cant always
has a great influence on the home-sick boy who is in a
foreign land.
The war-time program of the churches is largely a
matter of applying Christian kindness to new situations
as they arise. It is not so much the big sensational plans
that are valuable but the multitude of homely every-day
kinds of service that are making the church felt at this
time. It is our task to minister and to teach and to pray.
Thus we shall fulfil our obligations to our nation and to
the boys who serve the flag.
And the Heavens Did Not Fall!
THE wretched sectarianism that has found long-
time embodiment even in churches of the Dis-
ciples' communion is being broken down in various
cautious but determined ways by one congregation after
another. The practice of demanding re-baptism of
Presbyterians, Congregationalists and such like Christ-
ian people who may desire to have fellowship in our
congregations has long rubbed sore the souls of those
among us who really desire to practice Christian union.
Scores of churches among us — probably several hundred
— are today quietly receiving into some form of mem-
bership, ranging from "affiliated" to "full" — whatever
such terms can mean — those who present themselves
with credentials from any sister church of Christ re-
gardless of the particular form by which the applicants
were baptized.
This conviction of the larger fellowship, a fellow-
ship as large and wide as the whole church of Christ, is
spreading with great rapidity through our Disciples
communion. While it represents the attitude of the
modern-minded minister, it is, one might say, distinct-
ively a layman's movement. The average layman has
ceased to have an interest in the niceties of ritualistic
distinction. He seeks as by instinct for the practical
and generous and Christ-like thing to do. He can hardly
imagine our Lord as deeply concerned in the immersion-
sprinkling controversy in face of the great moral and
spiritual problems the church and the soul must meet to-
day. So it is not to be wondered at that laymen often
take the lead in bringing to their pastor's attention the
duty and the occasion of breaking down the sectarian
bars that we have erected at the doors of the local church
and allowing them to stand as wide open as Christ made
them. A typical illustration of this lay angle on the situ-
ation is afforded by the congregation of First Church,
Augusta, Ga. There a deacon whose heart was burdened
with the moral welfare of the soldiers at Camp Hancock
proposed to his pastor, Rev. Howard T. Cree, that they
receive into "affiliated" membership without rebaptism
all Christian men from the camp who might desire to
come. Gaining the by no means reluctant consent of
the pastor, this deacon on the following Sunday put the
proposal to the congregation, which, to the pastor's
surprise, voted unanimously to adopt it. In presenting
the matter, it was explained that this was no attempt
at proselyting, that the relation of any man coming in
this way to his church "back home" was not to be dis-
turbed, but that the point of the proposal was simply in
the spirit of Christ to provide a church home to their
men, with whatever protection and inspiration their
membership might mean to them.
On the following Sunday night Mr. Cree extended
the invitation on the broader basis adopted by the con-
gregation. The first to go forward was a lieutenant
from Texas to make the good confession and be bap-
tized. Following him went a dozen more and when
they stated their names and church affiliations the min-
ister found that he was giving the "right hand of fellow-
ship" to Presbyterians, Methodists, Congregationalists,
Episcopalians, and Lutherans. "It was a perfectly in-
spiring thing to feel that after all our preaching of
unity we were at last really practicing it in an indis-
putable and genuine way," so writes a member of the
congregation to whose communication we are indebted
for this gracious little story.
Now the really great feature of this little story is
not what actually happened, but what did not happen
at all. And what did not happen at all was that the
heavens did not fall ! Instead of that the worshippers
at that service must have walked away a little more
sure of the heavens remaining where God put them, a
little more respectful toward the church and a little
more hopeful of realizing our Lord's ideal of one flock
and one Shepherd, instead of continuing the wicked and
alienating sectarianism which weakens and scandalizes
the body of Christ.
A Movement Toward Brotherhood
THE allies are organized together as a group of
nations for the joint control of their economic
resources. . This is the biggest single piece of co-
operative enterprise that humanity has yet achieved.
We have said in our national church proclamations that
the co-operative control of industry is the final step in
industrial democracy, and here is a step toward it.
Those who would extend the Gospel of Jesus Christ
should insist that this partial measure should be made
a world measure ; that economic imperialism — the final
cause of world conflict — shall be removed once for all
by a permanent co-operative administration of the
world's resources, and that there shall be no exclusion,
not even of our enemies. Into that great family our
foes shall finally come, — not the family of sentiment, not
the family of mere statecraft, but a working family to
control the work of the world together in the spirit of
brotherhood for the good of all the peoples of the earth.
That will mean recognizing brotherhood in a greater
sense than the world has ever seen it before.
It will recognize that the great natural resources
are not the property of the strongest group or the
strongest nation, but belong to all the children of men,
put here by God for the development of all the people.
It will mean that the great powers will stop exploiting
the weaker peoples, that the world's great resources will
be co-operatively controlled for the good of all.
We must have this great advance in religion, or we
shall face its inevitable decline. Unless we have more
July 18, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
brotherhood out of this situation, we shall have less of
God, less of God in individual lives, and less in the
world at large.
The next article of Professor Willett's series on The
Second Coming has been delayed another tveek by his ex-
tended absence on a lecture engagement.
The Editors.
The Married Flirts
A Parable of Safed the Sage
NOW I was reading in the Daily Paper, and Ke-
turah entered my Room. And she spake unto
me saying, My lord.
And I answered, Trouble me not, for I am reading
the News.
And she said, Understandest thou what thou read-
est?
And I answered, Verily, I do not. For I was read-
ing that a Married Man had been Flirting with the
Wife of another man.
And she answered, What is the mystery about
that?
And I said, I understand neither the Why nor the
How.
And she said, I will show thee. It cometh to pass on
this wise. There sitteth a man reading his paper, and
there walketh past him in the Park or on the Trolley, a
Comely Lady, and she droppeth her Kerchief, quite by
Accident, even like this.
And she walked past my chair, and her skirts
brushed my knees so that I looked up. And behold, as
she passed, there fluttered to the ground a Kerchief.
And I picked it up, and passed it to her. And I said,
Madame, permit me.
And she said, That was very well done, Safed, my
lord. And now thou must look about in the Car, and see
that there is no other seat save beside thee, and so must
thou Shove Along.
And I did even so; and the Chair wherein I sat was
wide, so that there was room for us both ; neither sat
we Quite so Close as in the Trolley.
And she said, Now must thou lend me thy Paper,
and I must pretend to read it.
And I did even as she said.
Then she sat beside me, and read the paper, yea,
and I read also. Nevertheless, in twenty minutes we
had managed to talk of Browning, and Art, and the
Weather, and our Souls, and the Sad Condition of Mar-
ried Life, and had told each other Where we Lived,
and had discovered a Concert which we were both to
Attend. And I played the Game as Keturah Taught me.
And she said, How dost thou like it, Safed?
And I answered, It is Lots of Fun. Let us do thus
often.
And she said, Safed, would it be half so much fun
to Flirt with any Other Woman?
And I said, Oh, thou fairest and finest of all the
Daughters of Eve, if ever I desire to Flirt, may God
send thee to me to Flirt with ; for with thee only would
I thus behave and not feel like a Condemned Fool.
Whereas, when I flirt with thee, I feel like a Very Wise
man.
And Keturah said, Safed, my lord, I have something
to say.
And I said, Keturah, say on.
And she said, Oh, Safed, my lord. Thou hast given
good advice to many people. But nothing thou hast
ever said to the sons and daughters of men is more im-
portant than this. Speak to the men and women who
are married, who feel the Tug and Grind and Monotony
of Daily Life, and who have Grown Commonplace to
Each other. And say to them, Put on your Beautiful
Garments now and then, and Flirt a Little with Each
other. Yea, let not the Romance die out of your mar-
ried life, lest ye weary of each other, and Satan set a
snare for your feet. Say unto them that if they go at it
aright, it is quite as much fun to flirt with each other as
with other people, and much Safer.
And I said, Keturah, thou hast spoken words of
wisdom; and it would be for the salvation of thousands
of Fool Women and men who are Bigger Fools or
Worse, if they heeded thy words.
And I said unto Keturah that I would take the mes-
sage which she whispered in my ear, and I would Pro-
claim it from the Housetops.
Yea, and thus shall some of the Divorce Courts be
compelled to Take a Vacation.
The Reapers
RED are the hands of the Reapers,
And the harvest is so white!
Red are the feet that are treading
The threshing floors by night :
And, on the young brows, dripping
As with the dews of morn,
Deep rose-red are the woundings,
Like scars of a crown of thorn.
Tired, so many, with reaping —
Tired with treading the grain,
Still they lie, in their sleeping,
Low in the Valley of Pain —
Never again to be quaffing
The joy of life, like wine ;
Never again to be laughing
In Youth's glad hour divine.
Birds shall sing in the branches,
Children dance by the shore ;
But they who shared the red reaping
Shall come back never more.
Let whoso can forget them,
Walking life's noisy ways;
We who have looked on the Reapers
Go quietly, all our days.
-Lauchlan Maclean Watt, in Poems of the Great War.
The Man Hunt in Europe
By Lyman Abbott
WE talk of a war in Europe. If we used
language with accuracy we should not talk of
a war in Europe. There is no war in Europe.
There is a posse comitatus summoned from the various
civilized nations of the world to protect the nations of
Europe from the worst and most efficient brigandry
the civilized world has ever seen.
This is not rhetoric ; I am not a rhetorician ; this
is a calm, simple, accurate, scientific statement of facts.
The classical definition of war is furnished by
Charles Sumner in an address on the "Grandeur of
Nations," delivered in Boston in 1845, based on authori-
ties then and there by him cited, and accepted ever
since as an authoritative definition. It is substantially
in these words : "War is a conflict between the armed
forces of nations under international law to determine
a question of justice between them."
WHAT IS A WAR?
There are two things necessary to make a conflict
war. It must be to determine a question of justice,
and it must be under international law. There is no
question of justice at issue in Europe today. When
this war was begun in Germany, her prime minister
said to the reichstag: "We are going to do an act of
injustice to Belgium ; we shall try to repair it after-
wards."
In 1913, the year before that declaration, Bern-
hardi, one of the leaders of the military party in Ger-
many, had said : "War is a biological, a moral and a
Christian necessity." He had said: "We are going
into this war, among other things, to so crush France
that she can never cross our path again."
A few weeks ago a paper appeared before the
public issued from the pen of a German prince, who,
in 1914, was the German ambassador to England. In
that paper he declares explicitly that Germany egged
Austria on to make war against Serbia, that Germany
refused the urgent entreaties of Italy, France, Eng-
land and Russia to attempt a peaceable settlement of
the controversy. And he unmistakably, and in lan-
guage I should like to quote if I dared trust my mem-
ory, declares that Germany is guilty of having brought
this war upon Europe ; and with that paper was pub-
lished another by an ex-director of Krupp's, carrying
home to the kaiser, the emperor of Germany, that
guilt.
THE KAISER'S DECLARED AMBITION
I go back eighteen years. In 1900, the kaiser,
in the dedication of a monument, declared that his am-
bition was to re-establish a Roman empire, giving to
Germany the same domination of the world that the
Roman empire had in the first century.
In the face of these facts, it is impossible to say
that there is any question of justice to be determined
in this war. I must call it war because there is no
other short word to use.
Nor is that war conducted under the sanction of
international law. Germany has openly, flagrantly,
avowedly and with frankness — let us give her credit
for that virtue — she has openly and avowedly declared
that she does not recognize the laws of nations, that
she does not recognize the laws of war, that she does
not recognize the laws of humanity, that she does not
recognize the laws of God.
"Thou shalt not steal." She has robbed France
and Belgium of their iron and their coal ; she has
robbed their banks of their money ; she has robbed
their churches of their treasures ; she has robbed the
homes of their pictures and their statuary and their
furniture, and what she could not carry away, she has,
in her wantonness, destroyed.
"Thou shalt not kill." She has not only killed
soldiers in open warfare — she has murdered men, wo-
men and children, not a few, but by the score, by the
hundreds, by the thousands.
"Thou shalt not commit adultery." Her soldiers,
with the apparent sanction of the government, cer-
tainly with no opposition from the government, have
raped more women than has ever been known before
in the history of warfare.
Germany's outrages
I could not believe these things to be true. I
thought them, at first, the exaggerations of newspaper
reporters. Then I thought them to be the extravagant
outbursts of individual soldiers in violation of law.
But I have compared more or less carefully the com-
missions issued first by Belgium, then by France, then
by England, in which these outrages have been inves-
tigated with names, dates and places given in detail
with affidavits to substantiate the charges.
Germany has been asked by Great Britain to unite
with her in an investigation, and Germany, by refusing
to share in such an investigation, has plead guilty to
the charge. But that is not all. In our Civil war, Mr.
Lincoln apponted a commission to prepare rules of
warfare, and it is said that after the military officials
had prepared them he, if I may use a somewhat bar-
baric phrase, "englished" them. Those rules of warfare
prepared by our government under Lincoln's benefi-
cent administration, became the basis of the rules of
war accepted by the Hague tribunal.
RULES OF WAR
I wish I had time, I would like to compare these
sets of rules of war, that of America, that of the
Hague, that of the Hague Tribunal and those estab-
lished by the German war-book. According to the
rules of civilized warfare, war is conducted against
the army of the enemy. According to the German
July 18, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
9
war-book, it is conducted against the people of the
country. According to the rules of civilized warfare,
churches, hospitals, libraries, public buildings, are as
far as possible to be guarded from destruction. Ac-
cording to the German war-book, they are to be de-
stroyed. According to the laws of civilized warfare,
the property of non-combatants is to be generally re-
garded as sacred, unless great exigencies require de-
struction. According to the German war-book, the
property of non-combatants is to be destroyed for the
purpose of producing terror. According to the laws of
civilized warfare, the captives taken in war may be
used in peaceful industries, but not for maintaining the
armies or manufacturing the munitions to be used
against their own kinsfolk. According to the German
war-book, they may be so used.
The laws of war and the laws of nations have
been ruthlessly set aside. Nor is that all. The crimes
that have been committed by the band of brigands have
been glorified. They have been proud of their booty.
They have organized triumphant processions. They
have struck off medals ; they have sung hymns of
praise ; they have preached sermons in their pulpits
and addresses on the platforms in praise of the men
who have committed these unspeakable crimes.
HIGHWAY ROBBERY BY ORGANIZED GANGS
I repeat — it is not rhetoric ; it is simple, calm, his-
toric, scientific statement of a fact that in Europe
the Allies are fighting to protect lands of peace from
brigandry. The question is — what is brigandry? The
definition in the Century Dictionary has only five
words. You can easily remember it "Highway rob-
bery by organized gangs." Was there ever highway
robbery conducted on so enormous a scale by so ruth-
less and unscrupulous a gang as what Henry van Dyke
has well called "the predatory Potsdam gang"?
The archbishop of York has told us that we must
offer for our enemies the prayer of Christ upon the
cross — "Father, forgive them, for they know not what
they do." Christ offered that prayer for the soldiers
who did not know what they did, to whom Jesus was
only a common criminal, condemned by the courts of
his own country, and condemned by the Roman courts.
For them he asked his Father's forgiveness, but he
did not ask his Father's forgiveness for Caiaphas, who
declared, when he conspired Jesus' death, "It is better
that an innocent man should die than that we should
lose our faces." He will offer a prayer to his Father
for the Germans in the trenches who have been de-
luded or driven into this terrible warfare, but he will
not offer it for the kaiser or his pals. I may be tempt-
ed to lie to my fellowmen, but I will never lie to my
God,
Any man who proposes a compromise of a peace
negotiation with this band of brigands is guilty of
treason to the kingdom of liberty.
THE COMMISSION OF THE MASTER
I am a Christian minister. I am glad to acknowl-
edge Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour and my
Master. I take my commands from him. I can honest-
ly say that I have no desire so great as to have some-
thing of his spirit, no wish for my life so great as to be
his follower. I naturally turn to the book in which his
name is enshrined for my commission. I find it in the
words of the oldest prophet of the Old Testament.
"The serpent shall bruise man's heel, man's heel shall
bruise the head of the serpent." The head of the ser-
pent is upraised with wrath, its very breath is poison,
and we have, perhaps, a difficult task to get our heel
on its head, but when we do, we will grind it to
powder.
I turn the pages over to the New Testament, and
I find there the commission of my Master : "They that
take the sword shall perish — " How? Not by earth-
quake, not by peacefulness, not by thunderbolt, but
shall perish by the sword in the hand of man. We
have that sword given to us by our Master, and we
will not sheathe it until the predatory Potsdam gang
has perished from the face of the earth.
The Call
From the Public.
HAVE you heard it? The world call — penetrating
the hidden places in the hearts of all men? It is
shouting your name. In a new voice — in almost
a new language. Listen !
Out of the shambles of death, across desolate no-
man's land, comes the call of life.
The life that must be saved — to save the world.
Some of us will have to go through death to answer
it — to find what life had to give us.
In a dying world the only thing worth saving is
life. Life unbound, unbroken.
So, life has called out, expectantly.
To you, to me, to all of us.
Asking us to be free from the things of death. From
the things of waste, cruelty and injustice.
Asking us to experience a rebirth of the spirit.
To begin over again ; to see a new world with new
eyes.
Asking us to keep it fair and clean and joyous —
a place of smiling welcome and abundant opportunity.
Death is only a casting off of old things — old habits,
old debts and prisons, old fear and slavery, old impos-
sible beliefs.
That's what the wreckage of Europe is made up of.
All the tattered, rusty paraphernalia of worn-out sys-
tems and ancient codes.
Life asks us to look to ourselves — to save only
what is true and real — to cast off the old feudal tyran-
nies of mind or heart.
The world is going to be new again — must be new,
for death and destruction have claimed the old order.
The epidemic of regeneration reaches out to all
the nations — east and west.
Selfishness and vanity are withering away.
Pomp and power are stricken with shame.
10
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
July 18, 1918
The institution of profit is gasping, even as it
grasps.
The old authorities collapse upon their thrones and
in high places.
The new voice has spoken their fate.
As it has proclaimed the new order.
The Golden Rule is to be re-burnished.
Life, measured by it, will be simple and secure.
There will be enough for all, and no one to forbid.
Either by trickery of trade or might of arms.
The old inequalities will be evened ; the caste lines
cut; prejudice forgotten.
Men who have been chattels, pawns and exiles are
to live, humanly, as men. And women shall fear them
not.
That's the message of the new voice — of life, tri-
umphant, calling from the tombs of the kings, calling"
from the battlefields of death.
Calling your name.
Asking you to live — that life, itself, shall not die.
An Ancient Controversy and Its Lessson
By Ellis B. Barnes
OUR far-famed controversy over the use of the
organ in public worship was the most un-
musical performance the Disciples have given
to the generation that saw it rise, flourish and wane.
It was the most prolonged, intense and bitter of all
our controversies, for while on other subjects, true to
the genius of reformers, we have debated, on this we
have divided, and the division continues. The melodeon
was a Pandora's box, a golden calf, strange fire on the
altar, an Achan's wedge, and poor thing! it wist not
what it was until the latest issue of the "Jerusalem
Review" had been heard from. Had the controversy
survived until now those who favored the organ would
have been written up as Huns, as advocates of Ger-
man rationalism, by the true defenders of the faith
who have a genius for calling bad names when they
run out of arguments. To look at an organ was to be
bitten, not to be healed of a serpent's bite. Its sweet
harmonies put the brotherhood strangely out of tune.
The memory of those days or the reading of the tragic
history may now provoke a smile, but when the con-
troversy was on there were no smiles. The joy of
life had sunk behind a bank of gloom, "Life was one
continued battle, never ended, never o'er." Men might
well inquire then "When will this war end?" The par-
ticipants were in no merry mood. They rolled up their
sleeves, declared war to the knife and to the hilt and
brought to their aid all the logical Hessians and the
illogical Huns that pride of opinion or any other in-
fluence could command.
ARGUMENTS THAT NEVER CHANGE
It is interesting to recall the arguments used and
to compare the past with the present. Then as now
one party was attempting to seduce the faithful, and
in those blessed days now gone forever the seducers
were the organ party. The desire to introduce the
organ into the holy house was merely a symptom of
many diseases which were eating away the vitality of
the body; the organ was but the entering wedge for
other popish and Babylonian innovations which would
certainly follow unless this heresy was nipped in the
bud. Those who favored had departed from the faith ;
those who opposed were the Lord's anointed, even if
they were the self-appointed trustees of the faith.
The innovation was the beginning and the end of many
apostasies against which the faithful must set them-
selves without reserve. The organ, it was alleged,
was corrupting the worship of the saints wherever
introduced, and because of it the future of the Restora-
tion movement was beset with perils. The muzzle of
the wolf was already within the crack of the door.
The symbols of God's wrath, so numerous in the book
of Revelation, were freely drawn upon and applied to
those who were wearing the mark of the Beast — the
organ being the Beast, the love of it being the mark.
There was the same old determination to crush the
innovators, to give them no quarter, certainly no place
on the convention programs, and to do all manner of
violence to their pernicious schemes. The language
and methods of this ancient controversy seem strangely
familiar to our ears today. If we will allow the "faith-
ful" to tell the story the Restoration movement has
always pitched its tent on the crater of a volcano that
was about ready to get busy.
THE RESULT OF THE CONTROVERSY
As a result of this anti-organ crusade churches
were divided; many of our great preachers refused to
preach where an organ was used, and many lesser
lights followed their example, a few of whom remain
until this present, but most of them have wakened up.
The progressives, so called, and the loyal brethren, as
they called themselves — nothing like giving yourself
a good name — set up different standards in the same
community, each claiming to represent the faith once
delivered to the saints. The war was actually carried
into Africa, or into Japan, to be exact, and what the
Japanese thought of a system of religion that was
being divided over the use of instruments of music
in worship we do not know, and let us hope that we
never may! But it is easy to surmise the heights of
edification to which that people were led by an argu-
ment in favor of the tuning-fork when followed by an
argument in favor of the organ or the violin. The
brethren will now weep to the tune of number 23.
Unfortunately, the division in our own country
persists, though let us say for the benefit of those who
July 18, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
It
have lost interest in this ancient controversy, the old
animosities are dying out, and the day cannot be far
distant when all of us will sit down, organ users and
tuning-fork users, under our own vine and fig tree,
which being interpreted means pipe organs and choirs,
none daring to molest or to make us afraid. There
are risks of life and limb wherever there are organs
and choirs, but in a world like ours, to live is to invite
danger. And risks there are where no organs or choirs
presume to lord it over God's heritage, greatly to the
discomfiture of the elect. This surely is a world of
strife and discord which not even Mr. Carnegie's pipe
organs can bring to an end.
THE OPPOSITION TO THE OPPOSITION
There were, of course, those who could not accept
the terrific logic of the anti-organists. There were a
great host who could not believe that with the use or
the non-use of the organ the Restoration movement
must rise or fall. They had sufficient wit to slip in
between the openings of the heated controversy the
facts that Christ did not come into the world to save
the churches from the organ, nor did the apostles make
the use of the organ a test of fellowship. It was pointed
out by the progressive brethren that if the organ were
an innovation and sinful, all innovations would have
to go out when the organ went. And the man who
gave body and strength to the progressive movement
was Isaac Errett.
Mr. Errett at this period was the great leader of
the brotherhood, and he will ever be regarded as our
great reconstructionist in the most chaotic period of
our history. Although advising against the use of the
organ for the sake of peace, he took the wind out of
the sails of the anti-organ arguments so completely
that ever since they have hung limp and loose upon
their masts. It was so strange a thing for Mr. Errett
to do — to advise one course while dynamiting the
grounds on which that course rested — that the anti-
brethren must have wished that he had counselled his
brethren to use the organ and used his logic against it.
As a sample of Mr. Errett's defense of the organ, the
following incident will be of unusual interest.
When the "Apostolic Times" was founded in Lex-
ington by a group of the most prominent brethren
among us to resist the innovations, particularly the
organ, which seemed to be coming in upon the churches
like a flood, Mr. Errett wrote of them as follows :
"Our editorial brethren of the 'Times' are, with us,
guilty of a great innovation in publishing a weekly religious
newspaper; and if they do this as 'children of God' — and it
would be a great injustice to indulge a contrary supposition —
they are doing what they well know has neither a 'divine
command' nor 'an approved precedent' to support it.
When they preach they go into a meeting house, which is an
innovation, and take up a hymn-book, which is an innovation,
and give out a human hymn, which is an innovation, and this
hymn is sung to a tune, which is an innovation, by a choir,
which is an innovation, by the aid of a tune-book and tuning-
fork, which are innovations. They also read from a printed
Bible, which is an innovation. Yet who dreams in all this
of any inovation on the law of God, or the authority of the
Lord Jesus Christ? And who would gravely advocate seces-
sion in light of these innovations — insisting that they are
without divine command or approved precedent?"
After several broadsides of this sort, the thunders
of the opposition died away, though rumblings were
heard now and then for some years. The controversy
ended, though some of those who opposed the organ
continued the debate on their own account by making
the use of the organ a test of fellowship. By degrees
the organ made its way from the parlor of the home to
the sanctuary, not many being able to see the evil of
worshipping God with the instrument there if it were
proper to worship with the organ at home. Neither
could much progress be made by the anti-brethren with
their side of the argument when the Scriptures yielded
so little encouragement one way or the other toward
a settlement. The spirit of the age was on the side
of the progressives, and that fact in any controversy
must never be left out of our account.
A CHARITABLE VIEW OF ORGANS AND CHOIRS
But after all is said and done the fact remains
that organs and choirs are not necessary evils in them-
selves. All depends upon the character and abilities
of those who play and sing. There are organists and
organists, and choirs and choirs. I can testify that
I have heard excellent music in congregations which
made no pretensions to anything more than the most
ordinary musical abilities ; and I have also heard a few
efforts therein which compelled me to believe that the
Battle of Waterloo was being fought over again for
my particular benefit. While in churches which made
great pretensions to the very best in music I have
heard singing and playing which delighted and filled
the soul ; and I have also heard playing and singing
under the same dome which compelled me to believe
that another Armenian massacre had broken out.
THE LESSON OF THIS UNFORTUNATE CONTROVERSY
This controversy, deplorable as it is, has come to
be regarded as a landmark in our early disciples' his-
tory, one among the first attempts to reproduce what
was thought to be an essential of the worship of any
church claiming to be apostolic. Our pioneers were
trying to put into practice the principles they had
espoused, darkly groping their way, striving to find
a sure footing, experimenting with the new wine and
the old bottles, forgetting all the time the lesson which
it has taken every generation great patience to learn,
that the letter killeth but the spirit giveth life. It can
be admitted for the sake of the argument that there
were no instruments in the apostloic church, though
the early Christians were not unfamiliar with them,
according to Edersheim ; no baptistries, no heated
water, no baptismal suits, no such church furnishings
as we have. Yet the church has ever adjusted herself
to the demands of the pious and the cultured in every
age, rising in her appreciation of decency and order as
the leaders in her fellowship rise. And this adaptation
in matters of expediency is as binding upon the con-
science of the churches as an apostolic precedent. If
actual reproduction of Oriental ceremonies and forms
12
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
July 18, 1918
in our worship is binding upon us before we can have
an apostolic church, then we must recline at the Lord's
Table, and drink from a common cup.
It is also worthy of remark that our appeal to the
Scriptures for authority to use or to prohibit the organ
is of little value, as in primitive beginnings or with
reformations in their cradle the enrichment of worship
and its accessories are among the least concerns of the
reformers. When great principles are on trial for their
life it is not possible to give anything more than the
most meagre attention to ritual, or music, or an instru-
ment of ten strings. Graver issues than these were at
stake in the apostolic age. One searches the works of
Hort, Hatch, Fisher and Farrar in vain for references
to the musical customs of the early church. We are
compelled to make our appeal to "sanctified common
sense," the fine phrase which should never be for-
gotten, since it has proved itself to be a safe port in
many a storm and a city of refuge for many excellent
practices when they were hard pressed by the multi-
tude who, according to Macaulay's fine epigram, would
rather fail by rule than succeed by innovation. The
relevancy of these observations will be confirmed if
one will turn to the "Christian Baptist" wherein not
a single reference to the subject of music can be found.
Pioneers are not concerned about pianofortes. Those
who seek for organs and choirs in the New Testament
ought to be satisfied if they find the germs of either
one.
THE NATURAL DRIFT TO BROAD VIEWS
This controversy shows that the Disciples always
have inclined and probably always will incline to broad
views of any important issue when it goes through the
mills of their discussions, because of the rationalistic
bent of their mind, due, perhaps, to the influence of
John Locke upon Alexander Campbell. We will con-
tinue to take a common sense view of any question
that affords room for difference, no matter how in-
sistently the claims of the fathers or of some special
consideration may be urged. There are formidable and
even authoritative barriers of precedent and custom
which our reasoning processes break down, as our
history abundantly attests. We know how this organ
controversy with all its bitterness ended ; we know how
the discussion on the missionary societies ended; we
know how the discussion on admitting the unimmersed
to the Lord's Table ended ; and we may be assured that
history will continue to repeat itself, though reaction-
ary journals, true to their rule or ruin policy, will work
incalculable mischief while the discussions are on.
To watch the corn grow and the blossom set, to draw
hard breath over ploughshare and spade, to read, to think,
to love, to hope, to pray — these are the things to make
man happy. — Ruskin.
Community Workers for China
By Eva R. Baird
WE read with joy of the emphasis that the Men
and Millions movement is placing upon the con-
secration of life, and it is in the hope of making
clearer a vital need for one particular kind of work that
this is written. The young women who are turning their
faces toward the mission field have many of them been
teachers, and we need the best that you have to offer for
the task before us of educating the girls of China. It
has been my privilege to have a share in teaching the first
group of girls to have High School training in this district
of a million people, and I feel with great keenness the op-
portunities in the educational field. The call for nurses
whose support is provided is not being met. I can con-
ceive of no greater service for a woman fitted by tem-
perament and training than to come as a pioneer in this
work and to pass on to Chinese girls and women some
knowledge of how to alleviate pain. But I believe those
departments of mission work are better understood by
young women in America than our third department which
has always been classed in our reports and calls for work-
ers as Evangelistic work, or work among Women.
With all respect to the women who are professional
evangelists at home, I do not believe that type of work
makes a tremendous appeal to the average young woman
graduating from college or university. And it is more or
A man is so likely to mistake stubborness for
strength of will, and so make a vice his superior virtue.
On the other side, a good, stout will puts vigor into many
a lagging enterprise. — Bishop Quayle.
"THE RIGHT LITERATURE"
Last autumn our Bethany Graded Les-
son business was increased about 40%.
The new schools added to our list are en-
thusiastic in their praise of the literature.
An Ohio leader — formerly a state Sunday
school superintendent' — writes: "We are
delighted with the Bethany Lessons." The
pastor of a great Eastern school reports:
"We feel that we have at last found the
right literature." The religious education
director of another large school writes:
"Our people are entirely satisfied with the
Bethany Graded Lessons. " Have you and
your leaders given consideration to this
question, "Are we using the literature best
adapted to the spiritual development of our
children and young people?" If you have
been careless in this respect, you should at
once begin examination of all study litera-
ture available. Do not forget to include
the Bethany Graded Lessons in your in-
vestigation. Send for returnable samples
today.
The Christian Century Press
700 East Fortieth Street Chicago
July 18, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
13
less a misnomer with us. All our work is evangelistic ;
there is no place on the mission field for any kind of an
institution that is not, and the nurse or teacher has as
much opportunity to reach the souls of girls and women
as this third class of workers. The use of the word
"evangelistic" in this connection, I think, has sprung from
the fact that the woman who goes out into the homes and
gives her time entirely to knowing the community in the
most intimate way possible is bound to give the word of
Life in a very direct fashion. Nothing else meets the need
of humanity. To speak of our work as "Women's work"
is correct — certainly we do not work with men ; but I won-
der if that does not have a vague sound to the alert Amer-
ican girl who wants to do a practical work. May I tell
you about it, this great need that is not being met?
"friendly visiting"
I speak from my own experience and observation in
order to be concrete. Here we are, in a city of seventy
thousand people. We do not have the seclusion of women
of which we read in India, neither do we have the freedom
of America. The people are friendly, homes will open
to us. There is an enormous lot of calling to be done —
"friendly visiting," I believe you call it in Settlement work
in America. There was a time when it was difficult to
conserve results of this kind of work because we had no
center of activity. That day is past, thank God. We
have here one center that is distinctively for women. Be-
sides that, we have in our central church excellent facili-
ties for any form of work that materializes, also a center
in the west part of the city where the community worker
is free to carry out whatever ideas she may have for
neighborhood betterment. Two more centers of this sort
are to be built in other parts of the city in the next few
years. These centers provide for work among men and
children as well as among women, but there is no neces-
sity for clashing of interests.
The nature of the work in these centers depends
largely on the workers in charge. I do not want to give
you the impression that we have anything like Hull House.
West Gate would look very modest to western eyes— it
cost something like two thousand dollars, I think — but it
is adequate to the needs. In these centers work for chil-
dren has considerable attention. The lack of public schools
offers a special opportunity to interest the children in
classes, games, etc., and both our schools and Sunday
schools reap results from this more general work. Nat-
urally, all of this work should articulate with the mission
hospital, with the Boys' and Girls' schools as well as with
the church. The possibilities for classes among the women,
to learn to read, to learn the Gospel — or, if you wish, in-
dustrial work — are many. But all of these must be built
on the friendship the worker is able to develop and main-
tain in the community. The contact she has with the com-
munity is the crux of the situation. There, it seems to me,
is where the work must be done. It is quite possible that
others may have to take over the more organized work
that grows out of this that she may be free for this dis-
tinctive form of service.
And what about preaching? Well, I suppose we do
preach, but I am afraid preaching to Chinese women might
NOTE: The "20th Century Quarterly" is an
entirely new publication. The first issue is
now published for the autumn quarter.
HOW THE
20th
Century
Quarterly
DIFFERS FROM OTHERS:
It eliminates all the "padding"
that is usually found in quarterlies.
These usually contain lesson notes
that have come down through the
years. This moss-grown comment
is not to be found in the 20th Cen-
tury Quarterly. Nor are the tire-
some quotations from books
written fifty years ago allowed to
burden the pages of this new pub-
lication. W. D. Ryan's "Getting
Into the Lesson" is vivid, and really
takes the student straight into the
lesson. H. L. Willett, Jr.'s "Clear-
ing Up Difficult Points" does just
the thing implied in that title. It
does not "expostulate" on verses
whose meaning is obvious. John
R. Ewers' "The Lesson Brought
Down to Date" is vital and snappy
and yet reverential; and it fairly
throbs with the life of today. Dr.
W. C. Morro's "Lesson Forum"
presents just the kind of questions
your modern class needs for its
discussions. This Quarterly is
alive!
Send for free sample copy today
The Christian Century Press
700 E. 40th Street, CHICAGO
14
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
July 18, 1918
not stand a homiletic test; at least mine wouldn't. These
centers of which I speak center around a chapel, and be-
sides our regular church services we have at least one
public meeting for women each week. Here we have our
largest crowds, and many who come to these meetings
have no real interest. Those who do, we naturally grade
into classes. My own method is almost conversational ;
we must begin with something our listeners know some-
thing about, and fit our message to the knowledge of our
audience. Here the difficulties of the language come in,
and often the missionary does her best work in the prepara-
tion she gives her Bible woman.
That brings up another question. What is a Bible
woman? Well, a Bible woman is a Bible woman, and a
good one is a present help in time of trouble ; and a bad
one — but we won't discuss that. A Bible woman is the
best trained woman you can get to share your work, and
with her you have a rare opportunity for team work. She
can help you endlessly in matters that are native to her
and foreign to you, and you can repay her by constant
leadership along the lines in which you have been favored
and she has not. The training of Bible women is another
distinctive field of work, but in -the nature of the case the
missionary who cares for that must be some one who has
herself had considerable experience in the very kind of
service for which the Bible women must be prepared.
I would not picture this community work as easy;
there are many difficulties to be overcome, and constant
problems to be worked out ; but I do not believe that the
young women of America are looking for easy tasks. Here
is a work that will call out all of the resourcefulness and
all of the initiative of any young college woman, and with
those qualities she will need infinite patience and a great
faith. I believe I would put as the first requirement a pas-
sion for folks, the Christ spirit which looks with compas-
sion upon the multitudes and then seeks them one by one.
Of the fruitage, I can only speak from what I know in
my own life and that of others. "The hundred fold in this
Life" is given us. I remember when Mary Kelly was
seriously injured by a fall, and I was the one to go to the
Christian Women's prayer-meeting to tell them about it,
that there were thirty women whom she had taught to pray
whose entreaties went up to Heaven for her. If friend-
ships are among life's treasures, if leading people to higher
planes of living is a worthy occupation, if saving people
now is worth while, then here is a field of effort that will
satisfy the young woman who is looking for a large service
and is willing to pay the price. We are waiting for you
in Luchowfu and Wuhu, in Chuchow and Nantungchow,
and our need is very great.
Luchowfu, China.
Making the Earth a Home
By Catherine Breshkovsky
"The Little Grandmother of the Russian Revolution"
WHEN I write on woman's destiny, I take the
question in a large sense and consider her
significance as that of one-half of the human
race — a half that holds in its hands the future of man-
kind. The development of body and soul depends on
women's capacities, their experience, their love, their
accomplishments, moral and intellectual.
They are not doing for the welfare of mankind all
they can do as women, as mothers and governesses, as
sisters and companions, as leaders of the morality of our
world, as philosophers of the great love that unites all
souls together and establishes such a brotherhood
among us that no exterior form or political construc-
tions, no new principles or teachings can deprive us of
it. This poor earth-ball of ours ought to be our home
instead of our world, and we ought to be all one family,
not at all so large as not to be known to everybody.
Yes, I am sure it is time for the women to step out
as educators, as creators of new relations between one
another. There must be principles, but there ought to
be practice, too. Who will set the example? Only those
that can observe the functions of our body and mind
from the very infancy of its growth can inculcate suc-
cessfully new habits and new inclinations in the coming
generation.
The Unseen Captain
WHO is that unseen Captain where Freedom's
flag's unfurled?
Who, silent, takes unbidden place,
And walks with steadfast, spirit pace,
Each marching regiment beside,
Lost in its steady, pulsing tide :
Who is that unseen Captain where Freedom's flag un-
furled?
It is the "Man of Sorrows," who died to save the world !
Who is that unseen Captain, where Death's dark bombs
are hurled,
Who leads each tense and waiting throng
Toward victory's altars with a song;
Who calls to Death, "Where is thy sting?"
"And where, O Grave, thy triumphing?"
Who is that unseen Captain, where Death's dark bombs
are hurled?
It is the "Man of Sorrows," who died to save the world !
Who is that unseen Captain, where battle smoke lies curled
Above the silence of each soul.
And guides it to its mystic goal,
Who gives His courage to the faint,
His promise to each dying saint;
Who is that unseen Captain where battle smoke lies
curled ?
It is the "Man of Sorrows," who died to save the world !
Who is that unseen Captain where victory's dew lies
pearled
On the garden of earth's battlefield,
The crimson soil that soon will yield
A harvest of unbroken peace,
And love that brings each hour increase!
Who is that unseen Captain where victory's dew lies
pearled ?
It is the "Man of Sorrows," who died to save the world!
— Mary Alethea Woodward,
. -, > s . -, in The Living Church.
Economic Influences in War
Economic Causes in
the Present War
One of the most notable books that one who desires to
think dispassionately upon the causes of war can read is Loria's
"Economic Causes of War" (188 pages, $1.00, Charles Kerr &
Co., 1918). It was written before the war broke out and was
published by the Nobel Institute in 1912. In 1916 Professor
Loria wrote a supplemental chapter on the application of his
deductions to this conflict. The author is a professor in the
University of Turin and thoroughly loyal; his dispassionate
pre-war diagnosis of the causes of war and the means to per-
manent peace finds striking confirmation in the things that
precipitated this conflict and his principles have much value in
the consideration of negotiations for peace. The volume was
first published under the title "Le Bases Economiques de la
Justice Internationale" and is a major contribution to the liter-
ature of peace propaganda.
The last chapter will logically come first in interest and
importance because of the vital interest in this conflict and
because its material furnishes a striking test of the author's
previous deductions. He first points out how the Balkan wars
were promoted by the loaning of vast sums to the belligerent
states by French, German and English bankers with the pro-
vision that the money must be used to buy munitions in the
state loaning the money, then how the separable economic
interests of each of these small states brought on a relentless
war, first against the Turk, then among themselves — the latter
fact being sufficient answer to the cry that it was a war
between Christian and Mohammedan. Then he traces the
development of English and French imperialism and the men-
acing desire of Germany for the same imperialistic power in a
world that had largely been preoccupied by the others.
But democracy in England and France was more powerful
of late years than were the imperialists and sought means of
keeping the peace, because trade and labor always lose in war,
while in Germany and Russia and Austria government was
under the control of great landed proprietors and bankers who
profit by war. Russia had desired a Hague Tribunal because
she was exhausted at the time she called it; England was
willing to adopt a status quo disarmament policy because she
had first place in the world of trade; Germany vetoed all such
proposals because she was determined to wrest the world from
England. In Germany it was the mercantile and small trading
classes that opposed war, together with labor; and it was the
big captains of industry who desired to tear world trade out of
foreign hands, the landed Junkers who as a leisure class had
grown to be a military aristocracy, and the great bankers who
profit in a debtor society, who were determined to have it.
Professor Loria's contentions are not altogether upheld by
the purported revelations of the great German steel magnate
von Thyssen as published recently in the Wall Street Journal.
If the Interview is authentic, the dynasty and its auxiliary
corps of military autocrats forced the war against the desire
of trade, and men who, like himself, refused to yield have been
ruined arbitrarily by the Prussian war lords. He contends that
Germany was taking her place in the sun through her applica-
tions of science and efficiency to industry and world-salesman-
ship, but that the "Potsdam gang" saw autocracy doomed in
such a world and determined to fortify it with a war that would
crush all tendencies toward democracy and parliamentarian-
ism. This would bear up Professor Loria's contention in so far
as it agrees regarding the classes who were for and against
war in Germany, but it would make the military and dynastic
autocracy rather than the economic influences its direct precip-
itators.
* * *
The Dogma of Economic
Determinism
That economic causes are the most powerful factors in the
directing of human events may be readily admitted without
denying all other causes. The materialistic interpretation of
history has made a major contribution to an understanding of
the tides and currents of human destiny, but like every other
discovery it has overwrought its thesis and tends to dogmatize.
Here is just where the value of Professor Loria's work is great
in these times when so much is being written upon the diplo-
matic and other causes leading up to the war; it establishes
the major and fundamental economic factors. But it is also
where the dogma of "economic determinism" receives its just
and logical criticism; it brings us to a fresh analysis of the
causes of all war and establishes the fact that there are other,
even though less powerful causes, and that there may be a
complex of causes.
That economic exploitation was a primary, though not
necessarily the total cause of such conflicts as the Boer War,
the Mexican War of the Forties, the Italian war in Tripoli, the
English "Opium War" in China, the Franco-German war of
1870, and of this war, may be admitted; that exploitative inter-
ests came near engulfing us in a war with Mexico in recent
years is likewise true; that we fomented rebellion in Panama
to forward our Panama Canal enterprise is admitted at least
by many Americans and believed by all Columbians and by
most of the rest of the world; and that property in slaves led
up to the Civil War all will admit, though the fact that that
war was caused by the idealistic demand that slavery should
cease rather than by the encroachments of slavery strikes a
body blow at any dogmatizating about economic determinatives.
When Professor Loria carries his analysis to the extent of
claiming that the "sole purpose of the Crusades was to increase
the incomes of European feudal lords at the expense of the
Syrian and oriental revenue," that the Spanish war was "merely
the result of the decline in the profits of American sugar manu-
facturers"; that Holland's "struggle for independence against
Spain was in reality simply a privateering war on the Spanish
merchant marine," he certainly makes his thesis work over-
time.
But that economic aspirations have been the major factor
in most wars and the primary cause in many he would seem to
have fairly established. In the days when war was the chief
business of kings, when the landlords and bankers were their
feudal lieutenants and the small tradesmen and tenants their
helpless serfs or servants, they extended their "business" by
what the old Greek called the "glorious pleasure" of war.
Professor Loria points out that when great merchants and
"big business" do join in the military business it is not to open
markets, but to take away from others the markets already
opened. This covers well the interests of the captains of indus-
try and finance in Germany today, as it did also in 1870 when
Bismarck rewarded them with the iron regions of Lorraine;
it is the very raison d'etre of Pan-Germanism today.
Our author shows well how protective tariffs build up
enmities, fortify an exploitative nationalism, and obstruct the
growth of that international trade which is one of the highways
of permanent peace. He contends that, in the last analysis,
war is caused by decreasing revenue, and substantiates his con-
tention by many references; but one must, in the absence of
demonstration, either accept his declaration without question
or doubt that a mere "this therefore that" logic is sufficient.
To say that American and Australian prohibition of Oriental
immigration was caused by declining revenues just because
there was a decline in revenues at that period does not prove
so serious a contention.
* * *
Economic Fundamentals in
the Making of Peace
Our author traces rapidly the rise of international law in
the first part of his book. Trade and filchering and exploitation
v/ere closely allied. If the sea dog who preyed and bartered
had one ship, he was a pirate; if he had two hundred, he was
a king; privateering was an "honest" trade that made such
16
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
July 18, 1918
great admirals as Sir Francis Drake. Spain once went to war
with England because of the latter's slave trade. Ways of
peaceful bartering were found to be more profitable where
power was fairly, evenly balanced and rules were adopted.
From these rules of trade international law developed. Under
the slave state races joined to support each other; under serf-
dom, with a thousand petty lords, the pope was the arbiter;
when great nations grew they sought to make wars fewer
through "balance of power" arrangements — a diplomatic war
of wits and mutual nationalistic interests between great powers
with small peoples as pawns. Yet in all cases strong nations
have torn up treaties under the exigency of war and inter-
national law has no permanent authority. Might still makes
right between nations and classes.
The only way out would seem to be some means of endow-
ing international law with power to enforce its dictates. But
no strong state will voluntarily put what it calls "vital" issues
in the hands of other authority. There have been more than
one hundred difficulties settled by arbitration in the past cen-
tury, but this is only symptomatic of better things. Labor can
submit differences of a justiciable kind to arbitration, but it
cannot submit such fundamental contentions as revolve around
questions of what is a just wage and shall workingmen have
the right to unite, to a court of law until the human right
involved in them is settled in law. So there are inevitable
international questions that have found no solvent in the rec-
ognized law of nations, and men must have the right to fight
for their rights against all tradition and custom and temporary
policy or the advantage any one nation possesses at the time
arbitration is adopted.
* * #
Democracy, Industrial and Political,
the Only Way Out
Democracy is the only way out, and it must be an indus-
trial as well as a political democracy. The hope of the world,
our author contends, is in the international proletariat, a world
ruled by the small land-owner, the workingman and the small
tradesman, with free-trade, and such actual government by the
people in all lands as will insure no possibility of war without
their consent. Kant's formula (this for our friends who have
suddenly discovered that all German philosophy was auto-
cratic) he believes to hold the hope of the world, viz., abolition
of power to contract debts without public consent, the right to
declare war in the hands of the people only, and the universal
creation of democratic institutions.
At the present time the best an arbitrator can do is to
make awards upon the basis of what might have been won by
the stronger minus what it would have cost him to win, else
both industrial classes and nations will refuse arbitration for
war. Under an internationalizing of these interests which the
common people will find to be universal between them, as
the cost of war always falls upon the common man, he will
refuse to pay the price. Meanwhile the very expensiveness and
destructiveness of war is enforcing the lesson upon him; this
war will convince the men who gave their brothers to fight it
and taxed their future to pay for it and who bear its wounds
in their own bodies, that war brings evil only; and they will
learn to settle troubles between nations as they now settle
them between themselves in the nation. The author points out
the limitations of that labor crusade which seeks only larger
wages for its particular organization or the labor of its own
land and thinks it may be productive of war itself.
One may admit all the above, yet feel that Professor
Loria dogmatizes when he says that "in every case the forces
that dictate the conditions of peace are wholly economic in
character." Is it necessary to contend there are no other forces
just because the economic are so powerful? Is democracy
wholly based upon economic causes? Is there no power in
moral enthusiasm or religious idealism at all? Even economic
determinists will work for small wages to contend for their
theory and suffer martyrdom for their protest against tyranny.
In this book Professor Loria rises to heights of idealism when
he says "the real essence of the proletarian agitation . . .
does not concern itself at all with the prosaic and immediate
aim of securing fat wages, but seeks to assure the laborer,
even — if necessary — at the cost of suffering and privations, a
more noble destiny." Alva w_ Taylqr>
The Sunday School
Obey God*
Rev. John R. Ewers
MILLIONS of Americans are learning the lessons of
obedience and discipline as never before; the net re-
sult of this will be vastly beneficial. In the camps
we learn precise obedience. This influence will permeate all
places and classes. Jesus' command
is that we follow him. We need to
see a divine finger pointing at each
one of us and saying, "This means
you." Very helpful in this connection
are Jesus' words to Peter, "What is
that to thee? Follow thou me." It
seemed to Peter that his lot was to be
more sacrificial and more difficult than
John's. It seemed to him that John
had the most prominent place and the
best of it every time. "And, Master,
what of this man?" "What is that to
thee? Follow thou me."
Here is a young man, home on a furlough. He walks up
the main street of his town and he sees a lot of other young
fellows running about with the girls, going to the movies,
holding their fat positions in the offices and he says, "Why
should I suffer all the denials and hardships incident to mili-
tary life when these young fellows are having 'a soft time
at home?" And then the answer comes as it did to Peter,
"What is that to thee? follow thou me."
We are to measure life by the highest, not by the lowest
standards. Here is a good housewife who has been baking
honest war-bread. Her children have found fault with it and
her husband has growled unduly over it. He has said that
it seems to him that a man who works as hard as he does
should not be fed on stuff like that. She goes over to bor-
row some baking powder of her neighbor and finds that un-
scrupulous woman baking with pure white wheat flour. She
sees the fragrant brown loaves and remembers how her hus-
band boasts of her cooking. She goes home in a rage. "Why
should I save if other women do not observe the law," she
says. The answer comes, "What is that to thee? follow thou
Hoover."
Here is a man who has been denying himself clothes,
meat, trips and practically everything and has been buying
liberty bonds and thrift stamps and giving his money to the
Red Cross and to the Y. M. C. A. and to all good purposes,
not forgetting to keep up his missionary dues at the church.
Some evening he goes out with a group of his old time friends
and he finds to his utter dismay that not one of them has
been making any sacrifice. He comes home all upset. Then
the voice comes to him, "What is that to thee? follow thou
me."
Thus are we often disillusioned. We find that other peo-
ple are not giving to missions, to the church; are not toiling
for the Sunday school as we are; and we are disposed to relax
our efforts. Then the voice speaks to us as it did to Peter,
"What is that to thee? follow thou me." It is a call to endure
hardship. It is a call for magnificent independency.
*This article is based on the International Uniform lesson
for July 28, "Obeying God." Scripture, Matt. 4:18-22; John
34:22-24; Jas. 1:22-27.
July 18, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
1/
I know of a case where a man possessed of a tremendous
temperance conviction went into a convention and by his own
sheer power swung that whole vast company of men over to
his side, meeting every argument and sweeping aside all con-
servatives and conquering all vigorous opposition by the irre-
sistible power of his own big idea. We cannot excuse our-
selves because of the weaker brothers. Some one must be
big and brave enough to lead the way. This is the big need
of every Sunday school, of every church, of every city, of
every nation.
Examine your soul and seek to ascertain if you are hiding
behind a coward or behind some poor miserable man or woman
who lacks the courage and nerve to live up to the rigid de-
mands of this present time of testing. It takes courage to
stick by the plain task now. It takes courage to hold up that
class now. It takes conviction to hold the old church to
definite service now. A minister just left my study. He has
a great church. He said, "I am planning to stay right on the
job and help to create morale for the war." I replied, "I
have given up my vacation to do that very thing." We are
at war. War means sacrifice. War means conviction. Have
you got the stuff? r . John r Ewers_
W
The War
A Weekly Analysis
HILE the enemy still delays his drive in France, the
allies have been improving their positions along the
western front and in the Balkan theater.
The Franco-Italian drive in Albania has been the most
interesting activity of the last week. It marks the first exten-
sive movement in this long-dormant war zone that has taken
place since the hard fighting that captured Monastir and the
heights of the Cerna bend, in Serbia.
It is, in strategic effect, a turning movement against the
Austro-Bulgarian front that stretched across Albania and
Southern Serbia to the region of Lake Doiran on the Bulgar-
Greek frontier.
The Italians have driven north along the Adriatic coast
a distance of nearly twenty-five miles; on their right the
French have advanced with equal success. Barat and Fieri have
'been occupied, and the retreating Austrians have been com-
j pelled to defend themselves along the line of the Skumbi river,
I where they cover the important town of Elbassan, and the
jroad to the seaport of Durazzo.
They are also guarding a pass through the mountains that
j leads from Albania into Serbia around the north end of Lake
jOchrida.
It is not possible to say whether this movement will lead
!to any vigorous offensive along the Macedonian front, north
;of Saloniki; but the Bulgars display anxiety in their bombard-
ment of the allied line, and if the Franco-Italian forces can
uncover the mountain pass the whole Austro-Bulgar front may
be seriously affected.
Any success on the part of the allies in this region is
[important just now because of the effect it may have on the
[disaffected troops of Austria and the subject peoples of the
jdual monarchy. If a drive could be made through Serbia to the
iDanube it would be an immense help in embarrassing the
|Hapsburg empire, and inciting to revolt the Czecho-Slovak
land Jugo-Slav peoples.
The Czecho-Slovaks, by virtue of what they have done to
redeem Siberia from bolshevik misrule, and because of the
brave part they are taking in the fighting on the Italian front,
are winning for themselves and their just cause a measure of
world attention that ought to have been given them long ago.
We have lost great advantage to the cause of democracy as a
ivvhole by the halting, half-hearted manner in which we have
The
United
s Lomi
f
Anyone who reads the signs of the times
carefully is aware of the fact that church union
is coming very rapidly. The progress toward
unity has. been accentuated by the world war.
In this new age soon to be there must be a
broad, nonsectarian, highly social hymnody.
HYMNS OF THE
UNITED CHURCH
Is just the hymnal for this new and glorious age-
Read the following extract from the preface to the
book :
"Next to the delight of soul found in working over
and over these rich materials of poetry and harmony,
the editors regard as of greatest significance their
discovery through these hymns of a spiritually united
Church. Many creeds seem to melt together in the
great hymns of Christian experience. A true Chris-
tian hymn cannot be sectarian. It belongs to all
Christ's disciples. From many sources, far separated
ecclesiastically, there comes one voice of common
praise and devotion. It is from this perception of a
United Church existing underneath the denomina-
tional order, a Church united in praise, in aspiration
and in experience, and expressing its unity in these
glorious hymns, that the title which this book bears
was first suggested. Hymns of many creeds are here,
interpreting, however, but one faith. It is our hope
that wherever these hymns are sung the spirit of
unity may be deepened and Christians be drawn more
closely together as they draw near to their common
Father in united worship."
Send for a returnable copy of the hymnal; examine
it and see whether the book itself does not live up to
the spirit of these introductory words.
The Christian Century Press
700 E. 40th Street CHICAGO
18
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
July 18, 1918
responded to the pleas and encouraged the aspirations of these
people of Bohemia and Moravia.
General Foch has been winning tactical victories on the
west front, designed to strengthen his line, harrass the enemy
and capture prisoners from whom information may be ob-
tained of the enemy plans.
The delay in the expected renewal of the German offensive
must not be considered due to weakness, altho due in large
part to the need for reorganization and recruitment following
the heavy losses experienced in the last two big efforts. But
the enemy has the strength for a mighty smash, and we must
assume that his preparations are being made with the greatest
possible care.
In the meantime the allies and the United States are con-
sidering what shall be done to help Russia. The problem pre-
sents many perplexing angles. It seems obvious, however, that
Germany must not be permitted to absorb Russia, and to estab-
lish herself as master of its rich territory and its millions of
people.
The Czecho-Slovaks in Siberia offer a nucleus for re-
enforced effort. Propaganda and economic assistance, it is
agreed, ought to be sent; difference of opinion exists as to
whether military intervention should be attempted, and to what
extent. The disposition in Washington seems to be against
military intervention, but I am not sure that Washington is
allowing us to learn all that is thought and planned. It is
certainly the part of wisdom to keep from the enemy as long as
possible the details of any program that may be decided upon.
S. J. Duncan-Clark.
CORRESPONDENCE
Is Church in Danger of Being Displaced?
Editor The Christian Century :
I appreciate very much your position, and I assure you
that the "Century" has my sympathy in its stand for progress.
We are going through a great period in the history of the
world and it looks very much as if the church would not be
able to measure up to this period of history. It has already
stepped aside and permitted the Red Cross, Y. M. C. A. and
Knights of Columbus to take up a great work, and I have
no doubt some are now wondering just what the place of the
church is in this great hour. It looks to me as if the church
is losing a great opportunity.
The nations of the world are making progress rapidly.
There will undoubtedly be a league of nations for the pur-
pose of keeping the peace of the world at the conclusion of
this war. In other words, we are going to have a union of
nations and it appears that this will come in advance of any
union of churches. It looks very much as if institutional or-
ganizations which serve will outrank the church. This should not
be. The church should always have a call for the soul of
man, but men today are looking far beyond the little bicker-
ings and differences between denominations and churches. If
the church of the future thinks that it can maintain itself on
its denominational policies and its little isms, it, in my opinion,
will have a great awakening.
It is, therefore, a pleasure for me to receive weekly a
paper standing for progress as does The Christian Century,
and I wish that its influence might be multiplied a thousand
fold. j. o. Boyd.
Keokuk, Iowa.
Practical Steps Toward Union
Editor The Christian Century :
In your valuable paper you are having much to say con-
cerning Christian union — urging it in your forceful way or
citing some statement by another on the subject, or giving
some example of the practice of Christian union.
As to the practice of union, or an approach to it I wonder
if you would be interested in the progress being made in this
little wayside town. We have two Protestant churches,
Methodist and Christian, of about equal strength, and a strong
Catholic church. The two Protestant churches have been
co-operating along usual lines for a number of years, though
they never held a union revival. In addition to union services
on Memorial Sunday and at Thanksgiving, some years ago
they added union Sunday evening services, during July and
August, to be held in the little park, when the weather was
favorable. Five years ago another step was taken when the
two Protestant ministers agreed, and secured the consent of
their congregations to the same: That in case either minister
should be called out of town or for any reason was unable
to fill his pulpit on Sunday, the other minister should take
his congregation to the church of the unoccupied pulpit and
there hold a union service. This action caused a great deal
of comment, and nearly all favorable, for who dare speak
against it? The Christians in both churches were warming
up, and outsiders were wondering.
Three years ago the Sunday evening union services for
the summer began the middle of June and continued to the
middle of September, thus lasting three months instead of
two.
These services were not discontinued last fall, as the
custom had been for several years. But when the weather
became too cool to hold outdoor services they went to the
churches, but still as union Sunday evening services. So they
continued all winter long, one evening at the Methodist
church, the Christian minister preaching, next Sunday even-
ing at the Christian church, the Methodist minister preaching,
and I have not heard a single word of adverse criticism. In
addition to being the Christian thing to do, it also proved to
be a valuable conservation measure before the long hard
winter was over, and this we think Christian too, but it was
the desire for union and not conservation that prompted the
union services of last winter.
For more than a year we have been holding union Sun-
day evening services with increasing attendance and interest.
They have been held in the park this year since the 1st of
June. And to these large outdoor audiences we are urging
every possible angle of Christian union. Here is our latest
argument: If we can surrender our own liberties, likes and
dislikes, abstain from meat and flour and eat corn bread, in
order to win this war, which is only one of the great cam-
paigns in civilization's progress, what should we be willing
to surrender theologically for the Christ's sake? The former
is no doubt necessary in order to win this war for Democracy,
but union of all Christians is absolutely essential if the world
is to become Christian.
In this move we are being ably supported by local pro-
gressive business men, some of whom have spoken to these
Sunday evening audiences, and others will follow. In fact,
I discovered long ago that a great and growing host of
laymen are far in advance of a goodly portion of the min-
istry on this all important subject. b. H. Sealock.
Illiopolis, 111.
Disciples Chaplain Needed at Harvard
Editor The Christian Century:
A matter of vital importance to Disciples of Christ has
come to light in connection with the establishment in Cam-
bridge of the Harvard Radio School. For nearly a year there
have been in attendance 5,000 young men. Several of the halls
and dormitories of the University have been fitted up for
their accommodation. It is expected that by next September
fully 10,000 will be receiving instruction in this branch of
war service. To provide for this large increase in the Radio
School several buildings are being rapidly erected on the
July 18, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
19
historic Cambridge Common, made memorable by the stirring
scenes enacted there during the Revolutionary War.
In going through the files to get the names of the mar-
ried men in the Radio School, whose wives were to be visited,
Mrs. Manifold, as Secretary of the Harvard Dames Society,
came across at least one hundred names of those who were
registered as members of Disciples churches in other states.
If the same proportion is maintained there should be fully
two hundred of "our boys" attending the Radio School in the
fall. But the painful fact confronting us is that we have no
church in Cambridge, and distance and other causes prevents
our small churches in Roxbury and Everett from rendering
the efficient ministry desired.
We need a chaplain in Cambridge who could render social
and spiritual service on behalf of the boys. I believe that if
proper representation was made to the Harvard authorities
we could secure the necessary rooms in the Phillips Brooks
House, which is already being used as a social center and
hostess house for the radio boys. Will not one of our mis-
sionary organizations take this up, or some brother or church
make it possible for them to do so? Here is a great and
effectual door opened unto us. Are we ready to avail our-
selves of it? Now is the time.
Cambridge, Mass. George Manifold.
Evidently Doesn't Like the "Century"
Editor The Christian Century :
I want you to take my name off your mailing list for The
Christian Century. I received the paper under a special offer,
but I do not want it in my home any longer. I had heard so
much about the paper that I took advantage of the offer to
see if the things said about it were true. I find that they are
and far worse than I thought they were. It is unfit to come
into the home of anyone who believes in the dear old Bible.
You and your contributors are trying to tear the book to
pieces and leave us nothing to believe. I gather from your
paper that there is hardly any part of the Bible that is true.
Herbert Willett thinks he knows all about Daniel and
Revelation, but he has missed it all the way through. He
may be smart enough to teach in the Divinity House, but he
isn't smart enough to interpret these books. Why, he doesn't
know his a, b c's about the Bible. Our illiterate mountain
preachers here in Kentucky could teach him a whole lot, and
show him where the Bible is true from cover to cover. We
believe it from beginning to end, from the story of Creation
to the swallowing of Jonah by the whale and down through all
its pages. God says that his word is true and so we don't
doubt one thing in the Bible. It has stood the test of time,
the assaults of critics, the bitter attacks by such papers as
The Chrisian Century, the teachings of such men as are in
the College of the Bible at Lexington. It will stand till the
day of judgment and its words will condemn you and all such
us contribute to its pages. You are adding to and taking away
from its precious truths. Millions have died with triumphant
faith in all its teachings. They were men and women of
God and mighty men and women they were.
Oh, it is no wonder that the faith of Christian people is
being shattered and churches are dying by the hundreds be-
cause you have left them nothing to stand on or believe. You
have taken away their God and their Christ. But thank God,
there are some of us left who still believe in God as taught
in the Bible and believe that Christ was divine and the Son
of God. We believe that the writers of this dear old book
were inspired men of God, and they wrote what God told
them to write. And, thank God, because the Bible is true it
can stand all the assaults of its enemies. It could never have
stood these more than 1,900 years and have become the
greatest book in the world and have transformed the world
through its teachings had it been so full of false statements
and false meanings.
Germany has lost her soul because she attacked the
truths in the Bible and as a result she has no religion. You
are following in the footsteps of Germany, and because there
are men and women who will believe your false teachings our
country will soon have no soul.
Oh, I can see the drifting of the people. Only a remnant
left who hold to the faith of our forefathers. Colleges,
preachers, teachers, church papers have criticised the Bible
till vast numbers are believing them. No wonder the church
is losing its power and grip upon the people.
Oh, I know you think we are old fogies for believing the
story of creation, the story of Jonah and the whale, etc.;
but, thank God, my faith has never been shattered by the
teachings of these institutions and men.
So please take my name off. I have children in my home,
and I wouldn't for anything on earth have them read such
stuff as I have read in The Christian Century these past few
weeks. The good old "Christian Standard" suits me good
enough and furnishes me with wholesome reading.
Stanton, Ky. Paul Derthick.
Some Postscripts
Editor The Christian Century :
You are making a paper of great value to our brother-
hood and to the Christian world. Prof. Willett is giving a
clear, scholarly discussion greatly needed these days. It
should be widely read and studied. The confusion in the
popular mind is not so surprising as the amount of blind
"learning" on the subject.
The only "criticism" to be made on the Century is that it
requires more time than some papers do. There is little or
nothing to be skipped.
F. W. Collins.
Boyero, Colo.
Editor The Christian Century :
The paper gets better. It is one of the most stimulating
that comes to my desk. You are talking sensibly about mat-
ters that pertain to the time that now is. Dr. Willett's articles
are especially good.
Walter Scott Cook.
Pittsburgh, Pa.
A NEW FOSDICK BOOK
The Meaning of Faith
By HARRY EMERSON FOSDICK
Author of "The Meaning of Prayer," "The Manhood
of the Master," etc.
This is the book that Professor Fosdick has been
working on for years, and turned aside long enough to
write "The Challenge of the Present Crisis."
The author's purpose in these twelve studies is to
clear away the misapprehensions involved in the com-
monly accepted theories of faith, to indicate the rela-
tionship of faith to other aspects of life, to face frankly
the serious question of suffering as an obstacle of faith,
and to expound the vital significance of faith in Jesus
Christ.
Printed on thin paper. Round corners. Pocket size.
PRICE, NET, $1.00 POSTPAID
For Sale By
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 EAST 40th STREET, CHICAGO
The Larger Christian World
A Department of Interdenominational Acquaintance
Finds Churches Favor a
League of Nations
Secretary Henry A. Atkinson, of the National Committee
on the Churches and the Moral Aims of the War, expresses
the opinion that the churches of this country favor the forma-
tion of a League of Nations for the Prevention of War. Dr.
Atkinson has sent a letter to this effect to the Archbishop of
Canterbury in which he tells of a poll of sentiment taken. Over
four hundred ministers of all denominations were consulted
and only six replied adversely. Four were opposed to the agita-
tion of the matter during the period of the war, while two were
Quakers and were opposed to any plan that proposed to use
force in the preservation of peace. Dr. Atkinson declares in
his letter: "There is no doubt that on this fundamental ques-
tion of both war and peace the churches of America and Great
Britain are in close accord."
Dr. Charles S. Macfarland Received
With Honor in Paris
Dr. Charles S. Macfarland has received a royal welcome in
Paris as the secretary of the Federal Council of the Churches
of Christ in America. He has been given the honorary degree
of doctor of divinity from the Divinity School of Paris, which
marks a break with the traditions of the school. He has been
given an audience by President Poincare and Premier Clemen-
ceau. His messages to the French people have been printed in
Echo de Paris, and Maurice Barres of the French Academy has
declared, "France has never in the course of the centuries
received more beautiful messages than these." Dr. Macfarland
was greeted by the Premier as "the first of the second million
men."
Lutherans Making Rapid
Progress in Union
There is much good news among Lutherans of growing
union sentiment. The four hundredth anniversary of the Luth-
eran Reformation led to much talk of uniting the various
branches of Lutheranism in this country. The chief difficulty in
the way of union was the foreign allegiance of the different
bodies, but the war has served to bring these together. Already
the Lutheran General Council, the General Synod and the
United Synod of the South have voted to unite. Of the forty-
four synods interested in the union, only one has voted ad-
versely, the Swedish Augustana Synod, which cares for former
members of the state church of Sweden. The Missouri Synod,
representing a kind of Lutheran high-churchism, has not con-
sidered union as it has no relationships with other Lutheran
bodies. Its constituency is German.
Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C. A.
Join Forces for Drive
The next big Association drive will be for a combined fund
to be used by the Y. M. C. A. and the Y. W. C. A. for war
work. The amount to be asked for will be $112,000,000. Dr.
John R. Mott, president of the Y. M. C. A., has just issued a
statement concerning the matter and intimates that the cam-
paign will be put on just after the Liberty Loan campaign in
the fall.
Conference on
Rural Work
The Methodists of the middle west will hold a conference
on rural work at Garrett Biblical Institute, Evanston, July
22-26. A strong group of speakers has been provided, not all
of them Methodists. Bishop Nicholson, who presides over the
Chicago area, will be present and speak on the rural problem.
R. E. Hieronymus, of the University of Illinois, will speak on
the relationship of the educational program to the rural church.
Head of Bible
Society Resigns
After serving the American Bible Society for nearly twenty
years as president, Rev. John Fox, D.D., LL.D, has resigned.
The reason given for his resignation was the state of his
health. Dr. Fox was pastor of the Second Presbyterian church
of Brooklyn at the time when he was called to the presidency
of the Bible Society.
Want More Y. M. C. A.
Secretaries
The Y. M. C. A. is having more trouble finding the men
to carry on its work beyond the seas than in raising the
money. The quota of preachers for the service is better pro-
vided for than that of laymen. On July 7 a drive was started
in New York City to secure four thousand new recruits. Speak-
ers for the association appeared in the city pulpits and pre-
sented the call to Christian service through association work.
Noon-Day Prayers for
Victory and Peace
The people of Washington, D. C, observe noon of each day
as a time of united prayer for victory and peace. A committee
formed of people without regard to religious affiliation has
promoted this project. The street cars stop at the noon hour
for a moment and posters with the motto, "Give a moment to
God," hang in the lobbies of the hotels.
School for Army Chaplains
A New War Feature
In the rush of preparation for the great war, the United
States has found time to establish a school for army chaplains.
The first school was held at Fort Monroe, Virginia, but the
work is now done at Camp Taylor, near Louisville, Ky. As all
applicants for the position of chaplain are passed upon by
their ceremonial authorities it is assumed that they have the
necessary religious training. In the camp their training is
in emergency attendance on the wounded, censorship of the
mail, statistical reports on sickness and casualties and in addi-
tion to these forms of service the men must be prepared to
attend men sentenced to death by court martial. The school
hears each man preach once to be sure he has the gift for
army preaching and the candidates for the office of chaplain
who do not measure up to the standard are advised to resign.
There are at the present time openings for four hundred men
and there are three thousand applications on hand. It is
said that most of the applications are from men not prepared
to do the work and the Secretary of the Committee on Army
and Navy Chaplains, Rev. Clyde F. Armitage, is meeting per-
sonally men who aspire to this office. He was to be in Chi-
cago on June 22.
Methodists Establish Orphanages
in War-Ridden Countries
The women of the Methodist Episcopal church are estab-
lishing orphanages in France and Italy this year for the care of
children made orphans by the war. Fifty children will be cared
for in each institution during the first year and the work will
then be enlarged as there is opportunity.
Northfield
Conference
Northfield Conference, founded by Dwight L. Moody, was
held again this year in spite of the war, though with somewhat
depleted attendance. About 150 Chinese, Japanese and Latin-
American delegates were present. Patriotic as well as evan-
gelistic addresses were given.
Orvis F. Jordan.
July 18, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
21
News of the Churches
Late War Recruits From
Disciple Pulpits
Among the latest recruits to Y. M. C.
A. and chaplaincy service are the fol-
lowing: Charles Darsie, of Belmar
church, Pittsburgh, who has been given
leave of absence by his congregation to
spend a year in France under Y auspices;
he will leave July 30 for training in New
York City; his family will live in Hiram,
O., where his daughter will graduate
next June. J. F. Bickel, of Taylorville,
111., who has applied for work under the
Y. M. C. A., and will probably be across
the sea this year. Craig W. Schwartz,
of Lindenwald church, Hamilton, O.,
who has received instructions from
Washington to report at Camp Taylor,
Ky., for instruction for service as chap-
lain; Mr. Schwartz has already spent
six months at Camp Sherman, Ohio.
E. C. Boynton, of Plainview, Tex.,
church, who is now in Y training at San
Antonio, Tex., and will soon go over-
seas.
Drake Doing Nobly in the
War for Democracy
Drake University is doing her part in
furnishing religious leadership for the
war camps. The following young men
are just a few of Drake's men in serv-
ice; these are either qualifying for work
as chaplain or are already in the field:
W. E. Robb, with the "Rainbow Divi-
sion," chaplain of the 168th regiment,
made up mostly of Iowa men in active
service in France; W. B. Zimmerman,
chaplain of the 82d Field Artillery, Camp
Logan, Houston, Tex.; LeRoy Munyon,
i now in active chaplaincy service in
[Texas; Lloyd Ellis, chaplain at Fort
Dodge, in Iowa; Charles D. Priest, now
in a training school for chaplains; Har-
i old G. Barr, this year a graduate from
I Drake, and who has now entered the
! training school, and Perry G. Schuler,
l who is at Fort Worden, Wash., acting
;as chaplain. The University officials
!have names of about 500 men who have
been students at Drake who are now in
i the army.
Minneapolis Convention Held
Last Week at Mound
Peter Ainslie, of Baltimore, Md., was
the chief lecturer at the recent Minne-
isota convention held at Minneapolis, the
! second week of July. Several of the
'national secretaries were present and
J spoke. The opening session was a
patriotic service devoted to the unfurl-
ing and dedication of the state service
Iflag of the Minnesota Churches of Christ.
The flag represents 308 who have gone
into war service. Six preachers are in
'service, four in Army Y. M. C. A., one
las chaplain, and one as an engineer,
j Portland Avenue church, Minneapolis,
.has contributed the largest number of
(men, 27.
JO. F. Jordan Completes Eleven
jYears' Service at Evanston, 111.
O. F. Jordan preached his eleventh
janniversary sermon at Evanston, 111.,
Jon June 30th. His term of service in
Evanston is exceeded by that of only
[two other Protestant ministers. Since
jcoming to Evanston, his church has ac-
iquired a church home and the member-
ship has more than doubled. The sub-
ject of the sermon preached by Mr. Jor-
dan in the morning was, "My Funda-
mental Religious Convictions." Through
the years Mr. Jordan has come to have
a wider parish of activity in the com-
munity and he serves this year upon the
public library board and often addresses
gatherings outside his own church. In
the evening the church held a patriotic
service. New stars were put upon the
service flag, which increased the num-
ber to twenty. The parents of the boys
who have gone away were guests of
honor.
Foreign Society Leaders
in War Service
Among the contributions of the For-
eign Society to the war for world democ-
racy.should be mentioned especially the
loan of the following workers: Dr.
Kline, of Vigan, P. I., is now in the med-
ical corps at Camp Dodge. Dr. Bout-
well, who was to have sailed for China
last September, is now in the United
States Army. Rodney L. McQuary, as-
sistant secretary of the Society, is a
chaplain in the army, with the rank of
first lieutenant. R. A. Doan, laymen's
secretary, is serving as general secre-
tary of the Y. M. C. A. at Ft. Thomas,
Ky. One of the sons of M. B. Madden,
of Japan, is now "somewhere in France."
Donald Drummond, son of Dr. C. C.
Drummond, of India, is with the United
States Army "somewhere in France."
Dan Hagin, son of F. E. Hagin, has the
INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION
CHURCHES OF CHRIST
St. Louis, October 9-13, 1918
The Local Committee
W. Palmer Clarkson, chairman, 2 Win-
dermere place.
Geo. A. Campbell, vice-chairman, pas-
tor Union Avenue church.
L. W. .McCreary, secretary, pastor
Hamilton Avenue church.
S. H. Thomson, treasurer, 5305 Del-
mar.
Chairmen of Committees
Finance, Frank R. Henry, care Ma-
jestic Mfg. Co., 2014 Morgan street.
Pulpit Supply, B. A. Abbott, care
Christian Board of Publication, 2712
Pine street.
Building, W. F. Englehart, Central Na-
tional Bank building.
Entertainment, E. S. Hallett, 5156
Cabanne avenue.
Reception, B. H. Linville, pastor
Compton Heights church, 3009 Allen
avenue.
Registration, W. S. Campbell, Mer-
chants Laclede building.
Post Office, Telegraph, Telephone, W.
C. Sheridan, care S. W. Traffic Associa-
tion, Century building.
Usher, Geo. L. Williams, 4 Winder-
mere place.
Communion, Ben S. Couch, 3659 Bo-
tanical avenue.
Restaurant, A. C. Smither, pastor First
church, 5017 Washington avenue.
Hospital, J. H. Mohorter, National
Benevolent Association.
Publicity, W. C. Johnston, pastor
Hammett Place church.
Information, C. Hy Brown, 4141 Mc-
Pherson avenue.
C. W. B. M., Mrs. Frank L. Scott, 5398
Berlin avenue.
Clubs, Oreon E. Scott, 800 Chestnut
street.
distinction of being the tallest man in
the United States Navy — six feet, seven
and a half inches. Dr. Williams, who
was under appointment to go to the for-
eign field in September, 1919, has en-
listed in the medical corps of the army.
Justin N. Green, pastor of the church at
Evanston, Cincinnati, Ohio, and for
many years recording secretary of the
Society, has resigned and is acting as re-
ligious work director of the Army Y. M.
C. A. at Ft. Thomas, Ky. David Teach-
out, a young business man of Cleveland,
but a member of the executive commit-
tee of the Foreign Society, is general
secretary of the Army Y. M. C. A. at
Camp Sherman, Chillicothe, Ohio. J.
B. Earnest, assistant secretary of the
Society, has made application for chap-
laincy in the army. A. E. Cory, secre-
tary of the Society and of the Men and
Millions Movement, will spend three
months under the auspices of the Y. M.
C. A. in France and Italy.
Twenty-One Disciples at Lake Geneva
Student Conference This Year
The records of the Student Conference
at Lake Geneva show that there were
twenty-one Disciples in attendance this
year. The largest representation was
from the Methodists, who had sixty-
seven present. The Presbyterians came
second with thirty-two. Illinois had 117
delegates at the conference, Iowa 32,
Wisconsin 30. The total attendance this
year was 415.
The Service Flag at
the Illinois Convention
Secretary H. H. Peters writes that
an attractive feature of the Illinois State
Convention this year, to be held at Eu-
reka September 2-5, will be the unfurling
of a service flag for the boys from the
homes of Disciples of the state. Every
church in the state is requested to send
the number of young men from the con-
gregation in the service of Uncle Sam
to the office of the Illinois Christian Mis-
sionary Society, Bloomington, 111. The
total number will be announced at the
state convention and the service flag will
be unfurled. Judge Charles J. Scofield of
Carthage, famous as a preacher and law-
yer, will deliver the address. Frank Mc-
Donald of Arthur will sing "My Own
United States" at this service. This ses-
sion will be held Thursday immediately
after noon, and will be followed by a
patriotic address by someone who will
speak in behalf of the Council of National
Defense.
Fine Record of W. B. Clemmer
at Central, Rockford, 111.
As was stated in a recent issue of Thf
Christian Century, William B. Clem-
mer has closed his work at Central
church, Rockford, 111. For eight years
Mr. Clemmer has served in this field as
pastor. When he came to Rockford, he
found a congregation in a confused state
of mind as to its future; the services
were being held in a two-story frame
residence flat. As he leaves, the church
has a fine new building, with an audience
room of 700 and with a capacity for
a Sunday school of 1,000. About $40,000
has been raised by the congregation dur-
ing Mr. Clemmer's period of service.
There have been added to the congrega-
tion 513 persons; the present resident
membership is 347. Mr. Clemmer has
conducted 146 funerals and has per-
formed 202 wedding ceremonies. Dur-
ing the last year he has had oversight
also of the Freeport church, thirty miles
away, and the last act of his public serv-
ice was to open for worship a chapel for
22
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
July 18, 1918
the Second church (colored) in Rock-
ford, which work he has fostered and
made possible. Mr. Clemmer has been
active in all city and county welfare
work, especially in matters religious.
He has been accepted as a leader in
Sunday school work and in evangelistic
meetings and in publicity campaigns,
serving as president of the Rockford
pastor's association, and as chairman
of various religious campaigns. He also
led in the organization and propagation
of the old First District building syndi-
cate by which four churches were aided
in erecting buildings. He has been at
work in Camp Grant since June 1, as re-
ligious secretary to the colored troops,
an emergency having arisen which he
was asked to fill. His army Y. M. C. A.
work will be indefinite, lasting at least
until fall at Camp Grant, beyond which
time he has no definite plans. The
Rockford church is being served for
July and August by M. L. Pontius of
Jacksonville, 111., who is Camp Grant
pastor at this time. The Rockford
church will not seek another leader un-
til autumn.
NEW YORK
CENTRAL CHURCH
142 West 81st Street
Finis S. Idleman, Minister
— O. C. Bolman, evangelist of the
west central district of Illinois, writes
that "as the men enlist, the number of
vacant pulpits increase. Churches are
finding it difficult to find men with the
qualifications desired so that many pul-
pits are vacant for months before the
right man is found." Mr. Bolman re-
ports that a very high per cent of the
churches of his district have been
reached through the Men and Millions
drive. County organization is now be-
ing stressed by the west central district.
Three new counties are just forming
their organizations.
— Joseph L. Garvin, religious work
director under the Y. M. C. A. at Camp
Sherman in Ohio, writes that an unusual
patriotic rally was held at the camp on
the Fourth under "Y" auspices. David
W. Teachout, of Cleveland, who is Camp
General Secretary of the Y. M. C. A.,
presided. The general theme of the pro-
gram was "The Message of the Liberty
Bell," and four talks were given by a
Roman Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi,
a Captain of Infantry and by Mr. Gar-
vin. The latter spoke on the Liberty
Bell's "Ring Heard Round the World."
In the evening was given a minstrel
show by men of the infantry.
MFMORIAI CHURCH OF CHRIST
mCiVlV/rUAL (Disciples and Baptists)
r H I r A CI n OiWood BWi West tf &S«ge Crort
— Miss Fred Fillmore will conduct the
music and sing in the meeting at Flat
Rock, Ky., church, which begins Au-
gust 11. Clyde Darsie, of Mt. Sterling,
will preach. This will be the third con-
secutive meeting in which this church
has employed Miss Fillmore as soloist,
which fact speaks loud as to her ability.
—State Secretary H. H. Peters, of Illi-
nois, assisted at the installation service
of the new pastor at Mason City, 111.,
William J. Evans. He has been with
this church six months and has already
done some excellent work. The other
Protestant churches of the town united
in the* recent service, the pastors speak-
ing words of greeting. Mr. Evans came
to his new field from Neoga, 111.
— R. H. Robertson, Illinois evangelist,
reports the close of a meeting at Hurst,
111., with 127 accessions. The leaders
were Evangelists Sidwell and Seniff.
The congregation has called Mr. Sidwell
to its permanent pastorate.
— Fourth church, St. Louis, has lost
its minister, Mr. Baker, to "Y" war serv-
ice.
— Walter Scott Cook reports that
there have been about fifty accessions to
the membership at Wilkinsburg, Pa.,
church to date this year. The church is
represented by forty-three men in war
service. A recent increase of the Wil-
kinsburg pastor's salary makes it easier
for Mr. Cook to look the high cost of liv-
ing in the face.
— A patriotic day is being planned by
Central church, Youngstown, O., for the
last Sunday in July, when the service
flag, with more than a hundred stars,
will be unveiled and the honor men eulo-
gized. W. D. Ryan leads at Central.
— E. F. Daugherty, the new leader at
First church, Los Angeles, was recently
banqueted by a large number of mem-
bers of his congregation in honor of his
forty-fourth birthday. Among those
giving toasts to the honored minister
were S. M. Cooper and F. M. Rogers.
— Interest is reported to be increasing
in the proposed Bible chair for Texas
Christian University, at Fort Worth.
From all indications, the necessary
$30,000 endowment will be easily raised.
At last report forty-two schools of the
state had pledged toward the new en-
terprise. These pledges range from $30
to $750, the latter figure being the pledge
of Beaumont First church.
— R. A. Highsmith has resigned from
the work at Mineral Wells, Tex.
— A. N. Glover, of Van Alstyne, Tex.,
church, will hold his own meeting this
summer.
— W. P. Jennings, pastor of University
church, Fort Worth, Tex., has been
touring certain sections of the state in
the university car, making appeals for
more thorough education and securing
students for Texas Christian University.
From the viewpoint of The Christian
Century office, Texas appears to be in a
very unusual educational awakening,
especially in Disciple circles.
— A vacation Bible school is being con-
ducted at Monroe Street church, Chi-
cago, from 1:30 to 3:30 in the afternoons.
Among the features of the school are
singing, stories, picnics, toy-making,
union AVENUE
QT I filllQ CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Oil LUUIO Union and Ton Versen Avss.
Gsorgs A. Campbell, Minister
clay modeling, hammock-making, cook-
ing, sewing and basketry.
— H. P. Shaw has just been elected
treasurer of the Men and Millions
Movement. He has been a most effi-
cient campaign secretary of the Move-
ment for the past three years. It will
be remembered that Mr. Shaw was at
one time a missionary under the For-
eign Society at Shanghai, China.
— Last fall sixty-four students enrolled
in the class for Missions and Immigra-
tion in the Eugene Bible University, Eu-
gene, Ore. Ten of this number dropped
out to enter war service.
— Prof. Sherman Kirk, of Drake Uni-
versity, is supplying the pulpit at Keota,
la., for F. M. Warren, who is in Chau-
tauqua work for two months.
— Albia, la., church recently celebrated
home-coming week of former pastors of
the church. Among those present was
J. H. Ragan, who ministered at Albia
thirty years ago.
— Paul B. Rains, northwest Sunday
school secretary, was married in June.
Mrs. Rains will be associated with her
husband in his work in the northwest.
— Miss Grace Phillips, who received
her M. A. degree from the University
of Chicago this year, is assisting in the
pastoral work at Monroe Street church,
Chicago. Perry J. Rice, executive secre-
tary of the Disciple churches of Chicago,
Wa Retail Mdcfip for you daily everything
" c Ix^ttU printed J,, fa euirent country
and city press of America pertaining to he sub-
ject of particular interest to you.
Newspapers ^t^SZ4*
exclusively of where you can secure new busi-
ness, an order or a contracts where a new stare
has been started, a new firm ncerponted or •
contract is to be let A daily prew cupping
service maws more business.
For Yoil Send Stamp for Booklet
The Consolidated Press dipping Company
MANHATTAN BUILDING, CHICAGO
TRANSYLVANIA COLLEGE
AND
COLLEGE OF THE BIBLE
Transylvania has just closed a record year. Largest attendance of college students in her
history of one hundred and twenty years. Large group preparing for ministry, mission field
and public Christian service.
1. — Faculty unsurpassed in preparation, experience and teaching ability. Personal interest taken
ia every student.
2.— Satisfactory elective courses leading to A.B., B.S., M.A., P.Th.B. and B.D. degrees.
3. — Adequate equipment in buildings, grounds, libraries, laboratories, gymnasium and athletic
field, representing $700,000.
4. — Situated in the midst of the world-famed Blue Grass region.
S. — Opportunities for students to make a large part of expenses. Scholarship aid for sons and
da-ughers of ministers, high school honor graduates, ministerial and missionary students,
and those financially embarrassed. A large number of pulpits available for our ministerial
students.
6. — Expenses reasonable. All regular fees, including library, athletic association, college
magazine, etc., $60. Furnished room for men (Ewing Hall), $40 for session; for women
(Lyons Hall), $60. Reservation fee of $2 should be sent at once.
7.— Faculty of College of the Bible: R. H. Crossfield, B. C. DeWeese, A. W. Fortune, W. C
Bower, E. E. Snoddy, George W. Brown, Edward Saxon.
Former students are sending their sons and daughters to us.
Write for catalogues and attractive booklets.
Lexington, Ky.
R. H. CROSSFIELD, President
July 18, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
23
HAMILTON COLLEGE
College Preparatory and Junior College
Courses. College certificate privilege. 60th
vear. "The model junior college of the South."
Five teachers of music. Art, Expression and
Domestic Science courses. For catalogue
address
T. A. Hendricks, President
Lexington, Ky.
is preaching at Monroe street. Miss
jPhillips came to Chicago from Kansas
ICity, Mo., where she was a member of
:Dr. Jenkins' church at Linwood Boule-
vard.
— The Hyde Park, Chicago, Disciples
::hurch will unite with the Hyde Park
iJBaptist church in its morning services
Iduring the month of August and Ed-
jvvard S. Ames, pastor of the Disciples
iphurch, will be the preacher.
-Charles A. Pearce, for six years pas-
tor at Marion, O., has accepted a call
to the work at Tiffin, O.
— David N. Wetzel, of Second church,
Bloomington, 111., recently occupied the
jcongregational pulpit at Pittsfield, 111.
This was the first service held since the
Disciple and Congregational churches of
Pittsfield formed a federation; the new
organization will be known as the Fed-
erated church, and will soon employ a
||iew leader. Mr. Wetzel formerly served
!:he Pittsfield Disciples church as pastor.
j — M. L. Pontius, the new Camp Grant
pastor at Rockford, 111., came to his new
Held from Jacksonville, 111., by motor,
| iccompanied by his family.
I — Alva W. Taylor, who is down at
i lamp Taylor, Louisville, Ky., writes:
1 'Three addresses billed for today to or-
i lered meeting of over 4,000 men. Takes
I til you've got!"
• — First church, Norfolk, Va., minis-
Ijered to by Charles M. Watson, held a
i >atriotic celebration on the evening of
Ij'Uly 3. A pageant entitled "The Church
I ind the Nation's Need" was the chief
||)art of the program. This included,
i ,imong other features, a "Greeting of
I America to the allied nations"; the sing-
Ijng of the national airs of the allied
I aations; a hymn before action; the taking
■)f the oath of citizenship, in charge of
he pastor; many choruses by sixty sing-
ers, and musical numbers by a band.
i — Alden L. Hill, the new leader at
highland Park church, Los Angeles, Cal.,
jvas installed on the evening of June 26.
^.mong those participating in the service
vere W. F. Richardson, F. M. Rogers
nd S. M. Bernard.
— Robert F. Whiston, the evangelist, has
ancelled all his engagements, and is now
!ti Y. M. C. A. service across the water.
— The new building of the Independ-
nce, Mo., church, will be constructed so
s to meet three chief needs: that of wor-
ship, with a large well planned audito-
[ium; thorough instruction in religious
jducation, with a thoroughly modern and
jmple Sunday school departmental equip-
ollent; community service, with arrange-
Mients to seat 1,200 people for mass meet-
lags, a banquet hall and a large enter-
tainment hall.
\f\ — First church, Mexico, Mo., Henry
Ij'earce Atkins, minister, closed its fiscal
ii'ear with an active roll of 749 and an
C !
CHURCH
BELLS
SCHOOL
k for CatalegiM ug| Special Donation Plan No. 27
(Established 1858)
HE C. 8. BELL CO., HILLSBORO, OHIO
"The Most Beautiful Hymnal Ever Produced in the American Church"
It Sings Patriotism!
"I have heard nothing but the
highest praise for the hymnal
and a number are asking for
them for use in their homes.
In these days of crisis and
challenge it is a joy to be able
to build the mood essential for
such hours of worship as we
must have. The new day calls
for a new mood and Hymns of
the United Church is wonder-
fully prophetic in its emphasis
upon the older individualism in
religion coupled with the newer
social consciousness. The call
of the higher patriotism and
community service becomes
deeply religious, and preaching
on such themes is empowered
through the use of this hymnal.
LIN D. CARTWRIGHT,
Pastor Christian Church,
Fort Collins, Colo.
Send Today for information as to prices, returnable copy, etc.
Published by
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 EAST 40TH STREET, CHICAGO
"inactive roll" of 258. Offerings for mis-
sions and benevolences amounted to
$2,665.19; pledges to the emergency
drive, $5,600.
— A union arrangement for the sum-
mer has been made by Monroe Street
Disciples church and the California Ave-
nue Congregational church of Chicago.
On last Sunday the services were held at
the latter church and Perry J. Rice occu-
pied the pulpit.
— On last Friday C. C. Morrison gave
an address on "What the War Is Doing
to Missions" before the northwestern
branch of the Methodist Women's Mis-
sionary Society at Wesley Methodist
church. This branch includes all of Chi-
cago and vicinity.
— The fine new building at Flint, Mich.,
will be dedicated this month. J. O. Craw-
ford, the pastor, will be assisted by George
W. Snively. "The greatest victory ever
won in Michigan" is predicted by State
Secretary Green.
— T. S. Cleaver, of Hiram, takes up the
work as pastor at Battle Creek, Mich., this
month. Mr. Cleaver was born in England
and came to the States seven years ago.
Two years ago he was married to Miss
Celia M. Tannar, daughter of C. J. Tan-
nar, for many years pastor at Detroit,
Mich., Central. She had been instructor
in the piano department at Hiram for five
years.
— The National Benevolent Association
recently received a check for $1,000 provid-
ed in the will of the late Thomas P. Mc-
Daniel, of Liberty, O. The bequest was for
the especial benefit of the Christian Or-
phans Home at St. Louis.
— Commenting on the first year's work
of Arthur Stout, who came to the church
at Nevada, Mo. a year ago, one of the
leaders there states that Mr. Stout has
more friends in the city than almost any
man, regardless of his "length of stay."
The congregation there has recently
shown its appreciation of its leader by
increasing his salary $200.
— W. D. Van Voorhis, now leading at
Findlay, O., writes that the church there
enters the living link column in the
Foreign Society this year. Recently Mr.
Van Voorhis and his family motored to
Parkersburg, W. Va., for a visit with
their former field of work. H. E. Staf-
ford is reported beginning a promising
ministry at Parkersburg.
Send for Our Booklet
"Tools for Sunday School Work"
A Catalog of Helpful Book* on All
Phases of Sunday School Work.
DISCIPLES PUBLICATION S0CIE1Y
700 E. Fortieth Street i-i CHICAGO
The Bethany
Graded
Lessons
A NOTABLY SUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT
TO PRESENT RELIGIOUS TRUTH IN
A REASONABLE, ATTRACTIVE AND
EFFECTIVE WAY TO YOUNG AND
OLD. IT RESULTS IN AN ACCURATE
KNOWLEDGE OF BIBLICAL FACTS,
AND IN A VITAL APPRECIATION
OF SPIRITUAL TRUTH.
Spiritual: The great purpose of religious education — the training of
mind and heart and will to "see God" and feel God in the world of nature, history,
and especially in the revelation of His will in the life of the Savior of men — is not
made subservient to the presentation of mere historical facts. The study of the
Bethany Graded Lessons grows Christian character-, it doss not simply produce
scholars.
Thorough : Not a hop-skip-and-jump compromise scheme of study,
made as easy as possible. Thoroughness is not sacrificed to the minor end of
easiness. Each year of the life of child and youth is provided with a Bible course
perfectly adapted to that year. The Bethany Graded Lessons are psychologically
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Practical : An interesting fact relative to the Bethany Graded Lessons
is that they are fully as popular with small schools as with large. The system
is thoroughly adaptable to all conditions. The fact that a school is small does not
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can truthfully say that many of the finest schools using the Bethany Lessons do
not number more than 75 members. No matter what the conditions of your
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BETHANY GRADED LESSONS
Thoroughly approved and more popular than ever after
nine years of useful service.
Send for returnable samples today and prepare for a year
of genuine study of religion.
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 East 40th Street, CHICAGO, ILL.
1
FOR THE MEN AT THE FRONT
When you have finished reading this copy of
The Christian Century place a one-cent stamp
on this corner and hand the magazine to any
postal employe. The Post Office will send it
to some soldier or sailor In our forces at the
front. No wrapping — do address.
A. S. BUBLE80N, Postmaster-general.
Vol. XXXV
July 25, 1918
Number 28
Mobilizing the Mind
of America
By Charles S. Medbury
The Spirit of the
Training Camps
By Alva W. Taylor
CHIC AG
O
1
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY July 25, 1918
"FAIRHOPE"
An American "Beside the Bonnie Briar Bush"
lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllll!
By EDGAR DeWITT JONES
"A rarely beautiful piece of pastoral writing." — New York World.
"Tends to reconcile us with the present — even the war." — Boston Herald.
"Delightful humor and a most pleasing style." — Baltimore Sun.
"True, wholesome and sweet." — New York Times.
"Bitterless laughter." — Chicago Herald.
"Any one who likes to read David Grayson would like this book." — Oakland (Cal.) Tribune.
Says the Springfield (Mass.) Republican:
"Just west of Cincinnati, Boone County marks Kentucky's northernmost point, and
just back from the bend of the river lies a country parish to which for present pur-
poses Edgar DeWitt Jones has given the name FAIRHOPE. But it might have been
any other and been just as interesting under the magic pen of 'David Westbrooke,
rural churchman, sometime traveler, and hopeful bachelor.' Just what Ian MacLaren
did to put 'Drumtochty' on the map of Scotland, that has Mr. Jones as David West-
brooke done for 'FAIRHOPE,' in much the same spirit and with some striking par-
allelism. Lachlan Campbell, grand inquisitor of the Scotch parish, is closely matched
by Giles Shockley of Fairhope, 'a hound of the Lord.' But the chapter on Giles
begins with the supposition 'that every church has at least one self-appointed heresy
hunter who scrutinizes the preacher's sermons with painstaking care for possible de-
partures from the straight and narrow path of orthodoxy.' The supposition is well
made, and the annals of a thousand country churches might each be written with a
Giles or a Lachlan and with no ground for a charge of imitation."
Carl Vrooman, Ass't Secretary of Agriculture, writes:
"In times of national stress and excitement like the present, FAIRHOPE comes
bringing a calming, refreshing influence in the lives that have a popular need of such
a message."
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An Undenominational Journal of Religion
Volume XXXV
JULY 25, 1918
Number 28
EDITORIAL STAFF: CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON, EDITOR; HERBERT L. WILLETT. CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
ORVIS FAIRLEE JORDAN. ALVA W. TAYLOR, JOHN RAY EWERS :: THOMAS CURTIS CLARK, OFFICE MANAGER
Entered as second-class matter, Feb. 28, IQ02, at the Post-office, Chicago. Published weekly by Disciples Publication Society, 700 E. 40th St., Chicago
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The Christian Century is a free interpreter of the essential ideals of Christianity as held historically by the Disciples of Christ.
It conceives the Disciples' religious movement as ideally an unsectarian and unecclesiastical fraternity, whose original impulse and
common tie are fundamentally the desire to practice Christian unity in the fellowship of all Christians. Published by Disciples, The
Christian Century, is not published for Disciples alone, but for the Christian world. It strives to interpret the wider followship
in religious faith and service. It desires definitely to occupy a catholic point of view and it seeks readers in all communions.
EDITORIAL
T
Optimism About Religion
HE pessimistic note about religion has been sounded
by both preachers and literary critics of the preach-
ers in recent years. The minister finds this note use-
ful in the work of exhorting, and the literary man finds
that his wares are more saleable when he "muck-rakes"
something. The facts seem rather on the other side, how-
ever. According to the very best figures obtainable, it
would seem that the membership in the religious organi-
zations of America has increased by over ten million in
the past ten years, with only 15,000 increase in worship-
ping congregations, which indicates that stronger churches
are being formed. In the same period there was a gain
of five million in the Sunday Schools, which was pro-
portionately even a better gain.
In the matter of the circulation of the Bible, it is well
known that the presses are not able to produce copies of
the Holy Scriptures fast enough to meet the present de-
mand. Since the war broke out, the plates from which
Bibles are printed have been on the presses night and day.
In quick response to the needs of the hour since war
was declared, the church has shown itself a virile and
mobile institution. The government has never made such
use of worshipping groups as now. The memory of this
efficient and loyal service will not quickly pass away after
the war.
The soldiers who are recruited from the young man-
hood of the nation are often asked to enroll their religious
preferences. The number declaring for atheism and ag-
nosticism is negligible. At Camp Doniphan, Oklahoma,
of the 3,527 men in the 137th Infantry, all but 96 ex-
pressed a religious preference, though not all of these were
members of churches.
The world is undergoing a fresh examination of the
big values, and the judgment with regard to religion is not
adverse. There are many pressing problems, such as the
unification of the church, the preaching of a more rational
theology, the quickening of the social conscience, but there
is no reason to despair of the essential soundness of the
church of Christ.
The Negro Exodus
NUMERICALLY the exodus of the negroes from
the southland during the past year or so is a bigger
fact than the exodus of the Hebrews out of Egypt
ever was. At least 750,000 — perhaps a full million — of
negroes have left their old homes and their old masters in
the sunny south. They have forsaken the cotton fields
and the open skies for the tenement houses in northern
cities and the industrial operations of the big factories.
While the economic factor has had something to do
with the exodus, it is not the only factor. The sense of
racial injustice has also been a marked influence. The
negro has been taxed, but in many southern states has
had no vote. His taxes have helped support high schools
for white children, with none for the blacks. Libraries
have been founded in which no negro might enter, but
which negroes helped to pay for.
But in the north an economic exploitation is more
than overbalancing the negro's gaining of civil rights. In
Detroit fifteen thousand negroes are living in a section
which was once regarded as overcrowded with a popula-
tion of three thousand. The rent is five dollars a room
per week and rents continue to rise at a fabulous rate, so
the increase of wages paid by the factories is being ab-
sorbed by the real estate owners.
Meanwhile the social and religious perils to the negro
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
July 25, 1918
from such living are apparent. He has not yet acquired
a high standard of monogamy after the degradation of
slavery days. Tenement living will not improve him. In
the south he lived in prohibition states. In the northern
cities he finds the lowest saloons the only places where he
may have a welcome. We may expect from the negro
exodus a harvest of drunkenness, illegitimacy, tubercu-
losis, venereal diseases and other evils unless the church
and other social forces meet this new challenge.
The need of the hour is to establish a basis of working
cooperation between white and negro churches. Negro
leaders, in their new-found liberty, resent patronage. We
cannot meet the need by establishing missions. There
must be a cordial cooperation with the religious work the
negro has built up himself.
Baptist Attitude to the Church Press
BAPTIST missionary authorities hold the church
press of their denomination in grateful respect. At
the May gathering of the Northern Baptist Conven-
tion in Atlantic City the report presented by the Foreign
Mission Society contained this acknowledgment:
The importance of the denominational press in missionary
publicity was never more clearly demonstrated than during the
past fiscal year. In view of the large number of appeals for war
relief and other agencies, which have been presented to our con-
stituency, the missionary publicity furnished by the denominational
papers has been most essential for the promotion of a continued
interest and beneficence in the work of the Society. The Board
takes this occasion to record its grateful appreciation of the gen-
erous amount of space which has been devoted by the editors of
our papers to the cause of missions. ... In connection with the
campaign conducted by the laymen of the denomination, the pub-
licity given the campaign by the editors of our papers has been
especially notable. In view of the service rendered by these papers
during the past year, it can easily be estimated how much more
valuable such publicity would be in the future if some special
campaign could be conducted toward substantially increasing their
circulation.
During the past year more display advertising was
done by the various missionary societies in the Baptist
weekly papers than ever before. Indeed it appears to be
a rapidly growing policy in both the Baptist and Pres-
byterian denominations to promote their missionary and
educational enterprises through display advertising in
their independent press. The great educational numbers
of the various journals, carrying pages upon pages of
college advertising, testify to a kind of cooperation that is
highly significant of the good judgment of the educational
institutions. The pitiable drib of college advertising in
Disciples journals and the sporadic and scant patronage
given them by the missionary societies is both unjust to
the church press and an evidence of short-sightedness on
the part of the missionary agencies.
One of the Baptist papers, in commenting on the rev-
olution quoted above, savs that the next thing for the Con-
vention to do is "to treat the denominational press some-
what as it treats the other enterprises in which the denomi-
nation is engaged." The editor goes on to suggest that
certain days, or months, be designated by the Convention
in which special and concerted effort shall be made by
pastors and laymen for the obtaining of new subscribers to
the church paper.
Certainly the day of neglect and irresponsibility toward
the church press should by this time have reached its end.
Minister, Criticize Your Work
A MINISTER can keep other people from criticizing
him all the time only by doing the job himself,
thoroughly and adequately. There is no time like
the summer vacation for taking a backward look over the
whole year and trying to find the weak spot in the pro-
gram. The minister on his vacation will not want to fish
all the time. Let him make up a list of the activities of
all departments of his work for twelve months and
study it.
What will be the first thing he will discover? There
will be the evident lack of anything like a logical program
for his work. His preaching last year was all broken up
by special days. There were the missionary days and the
holidays and the patriotic calls so that the Protestant
church year looks like a hodge podge. The Catholic
church year may lack in modernity, but it does at least
have consistency and symmetry.
Gradually the minister must work out a schedule which
will provide for the preaching of the great vital interests
of religion in the course of the year. It would be logical,
for instance, to use November as the social service month,
for in that month comes election day, Thanksgiving d
and the World's Temperance Sunday. The month is
already pretty well pre-empted with social interests. Some
ministers have had a prison Sunday in the month as well.
Each month of the year should be unified as far as p
sible around some big interest of our religious life, so that
the regular church-goer may be kept in touch with a com-
plete interpretation of modern religion.
Just as the minister criticizes his sermor.:, so should
he criticize the activities of the church. The social activi-
ties usually minister to part of the parish, while others
are quite untouched by these. The Sunday School draws
some kinds of children but not others.
Especially should the minister ask what is deficient in
the spirit of the church. The morale of the Christian or-
ganization can only be maintained in fraternity, in loyalty
to Jesus Christ and in devotion to the ideals of his king-
dom. A church without religion is as bad as a school
without knowledge.
The War and the Red Cross
AMERICAN life in the ante-bellum days had grown
shockingly selfish, as we now apprehend. For the
price of a few days of the war expenditure we
might have blotted tuberculosis from the face of the earth,
but we did not give. Ten days war expenses would have
carried the gospel to every section of the globe, but we
closed our hearts against the appeals.
Even religion had come to sound the selfish note.
Sects flourished on the selfish appeal of material healing
without any program for the help of others. Many people
July 25, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
were bent upon a salvation which was as individualistic as
that of Pilgrim in Bunyan's masterpiece. They, like him,
were willing to leave their friends and neighbors behind
for damnation.
Sherwood Eddy tells of the American soldier who
threw his bomb, but making a failure of his throw, dropped
; on the bomb and took the full force of it in his body. He
jdied a martyr to save his company. In a second or two
he settled the questions of life or death. The army had
i taught him the lesson of unselfishness. He died for others.
In civil life there is the same growth of the spirit of
I the cross. Women of money and education from families
jof the nobility are at the front washing dishes for lack
of skill to do other work. They refuse to be idle when
the world needs them.
This spirit in the nation must be recognized, and its
kinship to the spirit of Calvary shown. It is only the
: Christian spirit that truly arms a nation for defense. The
: unselfish giving of one's self and one's possessions comes
ifrom a spirit which has solved some of the deeper problems
of life and which draws strength from Him who gave his
life a ransom for many.
Growing at the Top
ANEW strategy has come into mission work on
the foreign field. In China in recent years the
gospel has been carried to the literati with most
■[wonderful results. The missionaries have learned that
ithe easier road to the days of a Christian China is by
jthis process rather than by attempting to reach the
icoolie first.
Many of our American denominations are begin-
ning to see that something of this strategy must be
(applied to the home field. A church that reaches only
,one section of the population, passing by the educated
iand the well-to-do, is not a democratic church but a
(class organization that stands in the road of the
democratization of the family of God.
Particularly have the Disciples been mistaken in
(their method of realizing democracy. A suspicion of
(education has been fostered until the educated man
actually operates with a handicap in some of our con-
gregations. We have often failed to understand the
'psychology, the tastes and habits, of successful busi-
ness people and social leaders in other communities.
jTo glory that not many rich and not many wise after
|this world have been called is to repeat a text with a
quite different spirit than Paul once uttered it, for he
jspoke sadly out of his disappointment.
The aesthetics of worship must be cultivated in any
(communion that ministers to cultured people. That
jmay mean an elaborate ritual, as with Episcopalians,
or no ritual at all, as with Unitarians ; but there can be
jno crudities. The hymns must have dignity and the
leader of public worship must have a plan.
To minister to educated people one must talk their
language. Without pedantry but with perfect aware-
ness, the gospel must be preached without any entangle-
ments with obscurantism.
To despise the natural leadership of the community
is to show a social ignorance that spells defeat and a
limited vision that does not honor the gospel. A black-
smith may be as good as a factory owner, but he is
not better.
Mr. Hughes on the Zone Postal Law
IF any reader of The Christian Century is still hesi-
tating to act on the oft-repeated call to send a protest
to his congressmen and senators against the undemo-
cratic "zone" system of second-class postage, he should be
fully persuaded by the strong and enlightening words of
Mr. Charles E. Hughes, recently the Republican party's
candidate for the Presidency. Mr. Hughes condemns
absolutely the iniquitous, reactionary and destructive zone
feature of the new law that went into effect July 1. He
says :
I have no hesitation in saying that I regard the zone system
of postal rates for newspapers and periodicals, coming under the
definition of second-class mail matter, as ill advised. The Com-
mission on Second-Class Mail Matter (appointed in 1911), of which
I was a member, considered this question and reported unani-
mously against the zone system. We said in that report :
"The policy of zone rates was pursued in the earlier history
of our post office and has been given up in favor of a uniform
rate in view of the larger interest of the Nation as a whole. It
would seem to the Commission to be entirely impracticable to at-
tempt to establish a system of zone rates for second-class
matter. * * *
"Progress in the post office, with respect both to economy in
administration and to public convenience, leads away from a
variety of differential charges to uniform rates and broad classi-
fications."
In my judgment the zone system for second-class mail matter
is unjust to the publisher and unjust to the public. It not only
imposes upon the publisher the additional rates upon a sectional
basis, but it makes necessary the added expense for the necessary
zone classifications at a time when every economy in production
and distribution is most important. It introduces a complicated
postal system to the inconvenience of the publisher and public
when there should be a constant effort towards greater simplicity.
There is no more reason for a zone system of rates for news-
papers and magazines than for letters.
Newspapers and magazines are admitted to the second-class
postal rates on the well established policy of encouraging the dis-
semination of intelligence, but a zone system is a barrier to this
dissemination. If it is important that newspapers and magazines
should be circulated, it is equally important that there should not
be sectional divisions to impede their general circulaton through
the entire country.
We are proud at this moment of our united purpose, but if
we are to continue as a people to cherish united purposes and to
maintain our essential unity as a nation, we must foster the in-
fluences that promote unity. The greatest of these influences,
perhaps, is the spread of intelligence diffused by newspapers and
periodical literature. Abuses in connection with second-class mail
matter will not be cured by a zone system of rates. That will hurt
the good no less than the bad, and perhaps some of the best sort
of periodical literature will be hit the hardest.
We do not wish to promote sectionalism, and "one country"
means that in our correspondence and in the diffusion of necessary
intelligence we should have a uniform postal rate for the entire
country. The widest and freest interchange is the soundest public
policy.
I hope that Congress will repeal the provision for the zone
system which is decidedly a looking-backward and walking-back-
ward measure.
There is no good argument that can be made against
Mr. Hughes' position. If we are to be "one country" it
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
July 25, 1918
must be made as easy for opinion and intelligence to cir-
culate to the extremities of the nation as in the immediate
vicinity of its publication. The present campaign for the
repeal of the discriminatory legislation now going into
effect is not merely in the interest of the publishers, but in
the interest of the nation and of every man and woman
in it.
Acquaintance Among the Denominations
NOT the least of the services rendered by the Fed-
eral Council of Churches is the publication of a
year-book in which is given the statistics of the
various religious denominations of America, together with
many interesting facts about their organization.
There are denominations that few of us ever heard of.
Such interesting organizations as the Bullockite Baptists
suggest aggressiveness, while the Duck River Baptists
are another variety. Both of these should have the atten-
tion of B. L. T. in the "Chicago Tribune." If the list is
humorous, it is also an occasion for sorrow, for it is evi-
dent that schism, which was once regarded as a great sin
in the church, is no longer so regarded. The smaller the
sect the more pretentious are its claims likely to be.
While the little denominations are so numerous, it
becomes evident on a study of the statistics that the great
body of religious Americans belong to less than a dozen
religious organizations. These organizations are capable
of being united into three or four without much diffi-
culty. Catholics and Jews are likely to remain as they
are for some time, but among the evangelicals a combina-
tion might be made which would reduce the number of
organizations.
The list of denominations may be classified with ref-
erence to the vital need of the worshippers. The faith cure
sects are one group. The millennial interest has pro-
vided another group. The dervish type of religion has
given us a number of small sects. Mystical religion has
but a small representation, and the religion of service has
not yet created a separate organization, for those of this
Three Steps
By Katharine Lee Bates
spirit seek rather union than division. If a scientific method
for the study of religion once became familiar to the rank
and file it would end most of the little sects.
T
HREE steps there are our human life must climb.
The first is Force.
The savage struggled to it from the slime
And still it is our last, ashamed recourse.
Above that jagged stretch of red-veined stone
Is marble Law,
Carven zvith long endeavor, monotone
Of patient hammers, not yet free from flaw.
Three steps there are our human life must climb.
The last is Love,
Wrought from such starry element sublime
As touches the White Rose and Mystic Dove.
Poor world, that stumbles up with many a trip,
A child that clings
To the Great Hand, whose lifting guardianship
Quickens in wayward feet the dream of wings.
— From The Congregationalist.
The Different Kinds of Seed
A Parable of Safed the Sage
WE made a Garden, I and Keturah, for so have
our forefathers done, even from the First of
them, who was Fired from his Job. And we
made a place for Flowers, and a Place for Vegetables.
And wherever there was Room, there did I plant an
Hollyhock.
And we made a Bed, with Straight Rows across it,
three hand-breadths apart, which is two parts of a Cubit.
And in the Rows I planted Seed which I had bought
from the Vendor. And when the Envelope wherein the
seed came was Empty, then did I drive a Stake at the
end of the Row, and thereon I Stuck the Envelope.
And Keturah asked me, saying, Canst thou not re-
member that there be Three Rows of Radishes, and
Two of Lettuce, and one of Onions, and the Rest?
And I said, The Seeds are many, and they are very
Small. We must expect not Too Much of them. How
can each Seed know what it is to be? But now shall it
know. For if it cannot Read English, then may it look
on the Envelope, and say, Behold I am to be like unto
that Picture, and my name is Turnip.
And Keturah said, It is for thyself thou doest place
the Envelope so, that thou mayest know the plants from
the Label and conceal thine own Ignorance.
And I said, O Keturah, what is all the wisdom in
the world save this, that by some tag or label placed
here and there at the end of the Row, they that are
wise conceal their Ignorance? For that Ignorance is
very Vast, and it Shutteth Down about us on every side.
There be men who know more about Seed than I do, so
that they can tell a Radish Seed from a Lettuce Seed
before they plant it. But who of them knoweth on the
Law of Chances, that what seed Produced Radish last
year shall not of the same kind of Seed produce this"
year Pumpkin Vines, each bearing in every Blossom a
Pumpkin Pie?
So I entered into mine House, and 1 sat me down,
for I was weary, and I meditated much that God need-
eth not the Labels to remind Him what each Seed shall
produce. And I marveled at the Miracle of Life, that
every seed doth bring forth after its kind, so that even
the Grain of Mustard Seed hath in it a Great Tree, and
every package of Seed doth contain the Memory of
God, yea, and every tiniest seed the Veracity of God.
Now this human life is an Envelope, containing the
Seed of a Nature which though it be mine own I under-
stand but little. And I dimly Comprehend the Implica-
tions of Mine Own Soul when it seeketh to rise a little
space above the Ground, and put forth Blossoms and
Fruit. But I have felt within me Strong Impulses which
Lift me Upward, and fashion my Better Hopes in ways
Higher than mine own understanding. And it doth not
yet appear what I shall be, but some things I know.
The Extra- Biblical Apocalypses
A Study of the Most Important Jewish and Christian Writings of an Apocalyptic
Order Outside of the Canon
Sixteenth Article in the Series on the Second Coming of Christ
THE books that constitute our Bible are by no means
the only works that took form at the hands of Jew-
ish and Christian teachers in the ages nearest the
[dawn of Christianity. Most readers of the Scriptures are
iaware that there is a collection of books known as the
Apocrypha, related in some manner to the Bible, but
excluded from the selected list which makes up the Old
pad New Testaments. The Apocrypha of the Old Testa-
ment, which often in older copies of the Bible found a place
in smaller type, between the two Testaments, includes the
Lltwo Books of Esdras, Tobit, Judith, fragments of the Greek
edition of Esther, the Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus,
lor the Wisdom of Jesus ben Sirach, the Book of Baruch,
[with the Epistle of Jeremiah; fragments of the Greek
[Book of Daniel, including the Song of the Three Holy
[Children, the History of Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon ;
;a fragment called the Prayer of Manasses, supposed to
'belong to the Second Book of Chronicles, and finally the
two Books of Maccabees. The apocryphal books belong-
ing to the New Testament group are less easily named,
jbecause they shade off into the total body of early Christ-
ian literature. The most familiar of them are the extra-
canonical Gospels, the Pastor of Hermas, the Epistle of
jBarnabas, the Acts of Paul, the Apocalypse of Peter, the
Epistles of Clement, etc.
But there was also a collection of Jewish and Christ-
ian writings of the period covering the three centuries from
1200 B. C. which partake so fully of the spirit of Daniel
|and the Revelation that they are generally grouped to-
gether and are known as the extra-canonical Apocalypses.
jThey consist of the Book of Enoch, the Apocalypse of
jBaruch, the Fourth Book of Esdras, the Ascension of
(Isaiah, the Assumption of Moses, the Book of Jubilees,
jthe Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, the Psalms of
jSolomon, and the Sibylline Oracles. Most of these works
[circulated in Greek, although some of them appear to go
back to Hebrew originals. For the most part they are
known to us only in later translations, like the Ethiopic,
Syriac, Slavonic, Latin, etc. For the better understanding
of the influence of these books upon the New Testament,
and particularly the Jewish beliefs regarding the Messiah,
and the Christian views concerning the coming of the
Lord, a brief description of each of them is offered. It
must be understood, however, that this comment is only
of the most summary nature. The books themselves, which
are now easily accessible in the editions of Charles and
| others, should be read by those who wish to have an in-
telligent conception of the most outstanding features o
the Jewish thought in the days of Jesus. For no books
outside of the Old Testament were read with such interest
as these, and even the Old Testament itself was studied to
a marked degree in the light of the impressions gained
from the apocalyptic works.
The most extensive of these writings goes by the
name of the Book of Enoch. It is less a single volume than
a body of literature which gathered about the name of the
ancient patriarch. The statement in Genesis (5:24) that
"Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took
him," although it implied merely that he was a pious man
and passed to God at death, became the basis for very
elaborate Jewish theories as to the supernatural intimacy
enjoyed by him, and the disclosures made to him regard-
ing the nature and destiny of man and the universe. Some
of these even went so far as to assert that he was permitted
to escape the human experience of death, and was trans-
lated immediately to heaven. This current view is ex-
pressed by the author of Hebrews (11:5). Under the
shelter of a name so venerable it was natural that writings
of the apocalyptic order should gather.
THE BOOK OF ENOCH
The Book of Enoch, preserved to us in an Ethiopic
version, runs to 108 chapters, and falls into at least five
divisions of strikingly different character and origin, be-
side numerous interpolations from an otherwise lost Apoc-
alypse of Noah. The first section, Chapts. 1-36, appears
to have taken form prior to the persecutions under Anti-
ochus Epiphanes. It is therefore older than the Book of
Daniel, and may be dated about 170 B. C. It deals elab-
orately with the tradition of the angel marriages (cf. Gen.
6:1,2) and their unhappy consequences. It is this ma-
terial which forms the basis for the references in Jude
(5, 14, 15) and 2 Peter (2:4). The second section, Chapts.
83-90, dates from 166-161 B. C. and has for its back-
ground the situation presented in Daniel, save that it fea-
tures the Maccabean movement. In two visions the his-
tory of the world until the final judgment is given. In this
connection the Messiah is announced, whose kingdom on
earth lasts forever. This is the first appearance of the per-
sonal Messianic hope in extra-biblical literature. The third
section, Chapts. 91-104, omits the Messianic features, and
places the ground of hope in immortality in heaven. In
this section sheol has for the first time the retributive
character of hell.
Section 4 is the Similitudes, Chapts. 37-70. It is much
later than the other portions of the book, dating from the
earlier half of the first pre-Christian century. Here the
problem of evil is to be solved by the appearance of the
Son of Man, the eternal Messiah, who will judge all beings
and will dwell with the righteous in Paradise, Section 5,
Chapts. 72-78, 82, 79, is the Book of Celestial Physics, an
effort to vindicate a Hebrew calendar as contrasted with
the heathen calendars in vise. The remaining portions of
the book are fragmentary. The influence of Enoch upon
the New Testament is very obvious. It is directly quoted,
as though it were Scripture, in Jude, as noted above, and its
8
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
July 25, 1918
influence can be directly traced in Matthew, Luke, John,
Acts, Romans, Ephesians, Hebrews, 2 Peter and Revela-
tion, in which last work there are no less than seven al-
lusions to it. Furthermore, several of the titles employed
in the New Testament as designations of the Messiah are
used for the first time with that meaning in Enoch. They
are such as Christ, the Righteous One, the Elect One, and
the Son of Man.
The Book of the Secrets of Enoch, usually known as
Slavonic Enoch, from the fact that it has been preserved
only in a version of that language, is another fragment
of the voluminous Enoch literature. It contains 66 chap-
ters, and appears to have been the work of a Hellenistic
Jew, living in Egypt shortly after the beginning of the
Christian era. The book, although apparently written in
Greek, goes back to Hebrew presuppositions, and perhaps
has in part a Hebrew origin. It deals with the story of
Enoch in the free manner of apocalyptic. He is taken by
celestial guides up through the successive heavens to the
seventh, taking note of their various phenomena and in-
habitants, and passing through significant personal ex-
periences. To him is also made known by God in detail
the order of creation through its seven days. At the divine
direction he writes 366 books, and returns to earth to
instruct his sons and the remainder of mankind. In this
work there are many resemblances to New Testament ideas
and expressions. The most striking of these is the men-
tion of the thousand years in chapters 32 :2-33 :2. That
this passage is the foundation of the conception of a mil-
lennium as found in Revelation (20:2-7) is unmistakable.
BARUCH AND FOURTH ESDRAS
The Apocalypse of Baruch, like several other works
of value in their bearing on biblical studies, was unknown
until recent times. In 1866 Ceriani published a Latin
version of the work, which was derived from a Syriac
manuscript of the 6th century. This was later published
by the same scholar. This text seems to be based upon a
Greek version, and experts believe that this in turn goes
back to a Hebrew original. It contains 77 chapters, divided
into seven sections, which differ sufficiently in tone to make
it probable that they represent various authors. Its date
lies in the period from 50 to 100 A. D. Some portions are
clearly written before the fall of Jerusalem in the Roman
war, and others as evidently after that event. Its spirit
is intensely Jewish, representing the Pharisaic confidence
in the future of the nation, and its supremacy in the world,
in spite of present misfortunes.
The Baruch, who is made the central figure in the
book, was the friend and assistant of Jeremiah. The ap-
proaching investment of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans and
its subsequent capture are the background of the various
communications made to the seer concerning the future
of the holy people. The vividness of the Messianic hope,
the lengthened survey of the world's history, from creation
to the end, divided into twelve ages, six of which are to be
evil and six good, the glorification of the law, the intense
nationalism of the work, and the emphasis upon the doc-
trine of the resurrection, are outstanding features of this
apocalypse. Its influence upon the thought of the time
and upon the writers of the New Testament can hardly be
doubted by those who are interested to compare the strik-
ingly similar passages.
Fourth Esdras, which corresponds to Chapts. 3-14
of the Greek 2 Esdras found in the apocrypha, is a Jewish-
Christian work of the last decade of the first century A. D.
It has striking resemblances to the Apocalypse of Baruch.
Like that work, it chooses a venerable figure of the past
as its hero and speaker. Each laments the present unhappy
estate into which Israel has fallen, and forecasts a time of
glory to come. The historical scheme is in the usual apoca-
lyptic manner, with pictorial outlines of the ages, and sym- 1
bolic representation of Rome. The Messianic figure is
clear, the names Jesus and Christ or Messiah being applied,
and the period of his earthly reign being fixed at 400 years.
The speculative and theological features of the work lead
directly into the domain of Jewish and Christian doctrine,
particularly on such themes as divine providence, free will,
the origin of sin in the transgression of Adam, the resur-
rection and the judgment. At the end of the document
Esdras, the Ezra of the Old Testament, is reported to have
written ninety-four books at the divine dictation, thus
reproducing the lost volumes of the Scriptures. Of these
he was permitted to publish twenty-four, thus accounting
for the canonical writings. The remaining seventy, how-
ever, he was bidden to keep concealed, that the wise of the
future age alone might have access to them.
ASCENSION OF ISAIAH AND JUBILEES
The Ascension of Isaiah is both Jewish and Christian,
a work of the first century A. D., its Christian elements
taking form later than the Jewish. Its basis is the story
of the prophet and his supposed martyrdom at the hands
of Manasseh, to which it is believed the writer of the
Epistle to the Hebrews alludes (Heb. ll:37f). The vis-
ion which follows includes the prophet's journey through
the seven heavens, whose wonders he describes. He is
permitted to behold the entire sweep of human history,
particularly the holy men who have lived since the tinv
of Adam, including the Messiah and the story of the
church during the period from its founding until the per?'
cution under Nero. The conditions of life in the early
church are presented by an eye-witness, even to the con-i
troversies regarding the second coming of Christ. The'l
writer was confident that the end was near.
The Book of Jubilees is a work of Palestinian Judaismj
dating from the period between the Book of Enoch andji
the fall of Jerusalem (60 B. C.-70 A. D.). It presents
in the most urgent manner the legalistic side of Pharisee-
ism, and therefore forms a valuable commentary on an im-
portant phase of Judaism in the early Christian period.
It was written in Hebrew, and has been preserved M
Ethiopic and Latin versions, both of which seem to have
been derived from a Greek translation. Its name is taker;
from the author's chronological system, which dates all!
events in terms of the jubilee periods that are assumed!
to have begun with creation, and fifty of which covered:
the time down to the entrance of Israel into Canaan. The
work is in the form of a revelation made to Moses at Mtlfl
Sinai, and in it sanction is sought for the Jewish cultus by
affirming its divine origin in Adamic or even pre-Adamicj
days, the rigorous obligations of the Levitical laws, th«
July 25, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
righteousness of the patriarchs, and the supremacy of
Israel.
ASSUMPTION OF MOSES AND THE TESTAMENTS
The Assumption of Moses, a work long supposed to
be lost, has been recovered, in part, in a Latin version
made from a Greek rendering of a Semitic, perhaps an
Aramaic, but more probably a Hebrew, original. The date
appears to be the first third of the first Christian century.
The author was a Pharisee who wished to safeguard his
friends against the popular movements toward political
action in the attainment of national hopes. The Messianic
kingdom is to be established by God himself, and the
i archangel Michael is to be his instrument in this achieve-
ment. The form of that portion of the work which we
[have is a disclosure made by Moses to Joshua regarding
ihis approaching death, the commission to him of certain
i books of prophecy for safekeeping, and the outlining of
i the history of Israel down to the death of Herod the Great.
iThe passage in Jude 9 in which Michael is represented as
contending with the devil regarding the body of Moses is
| said by Origen to have been taken from a work bearing
la name which apparently identifies it with this apocalypse.
It is probable that the lost portion of the book dealt with
iother revelations of Moses, and closed with an account
of his death.
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs purports to
be the dying counsels of Jacob to his twelve sons. In each
lease some outline of the life of the particular patriarch is
igiven, and each is made the representative of some virtue
or vice which receives comment and admonition. These
litems are followed by predictions of the future, either of
the individual son or of the nation. The predictions appear
ijto be largely Jewish or Christian interpolations. The
[book, thus shown to be composite in character, was written
jin Hebrew or Greek, and represents a considerable period
of growth. It has much in common with the Book of
| Jubilees, and doubtless comes from the same period.
PSALMS OF SOLOMON AND THE SIBYLLINES
The Psalms of Solomon are eighteen in number, and
are accompanied by five Odes, probably the survivors of
a much larger collection. They deal with the conquest of
Jerusalem by Pompey (63 B. C), and the weakness of
the later Asmonean kings. Their hope is in the establish-
jment in God's own time of a Jewish dynasty, which shall
realize the Messianic dreams. The writers are of the
Pharisaic group, but the thought of the psalms is by no
means homogeneous. The date appears to have been 70-40
B. C. The Messiah, who is thought of merely as a human
(king, is called the Son of David and the Anointed One.
The Sibylline Oracles derived their vogue from the
| tradition that in the earliest period of Roman history one
bf the sacred sibyls or inspired prophetesses wrote out
j:he entire story of Rome to the remotest future. They
were said to have been purchased by King Tarquin, and
treasured as among the most precious of state possessions,
[nasmuch as there was no authoritative text of these revered
books, it was easy to fabricate copies, imitating in general
:he Homeric hexameter verse. Some of these copies con-
fined abundant references to Jewish and even Christian
narratives. In the widespread Jewish propaganda among
the people of the Empire in the first pre-Christian and the
first Christian centuries much use was made of this method
and of books bearing this name. Precise dates and author-
ships are, of course, impossible of determination. But to
be able to quote a heathen prophetess as having anticipated
events of Jewish and Christian history was a form of
apologetic not to be neglected by the ignorant or the in-
sensitive. Among other things the Nero myth gained
wide currency from its incorporation in these oracles.
It will thus be seen that the body of literature briefly
outlined in this study lent itself admirably to the propaga-
tion of ideas regarded as important, either by Jewish or
Christian teachers. While these documents possess no
such convincing character or moral urgency as the canon-
ical books, yet they were not marked off by any fixed lines
of approval or disapproval, and circulated freely in the
closing days of the Jewish state, and the early years of
the church. They throw great light upon the inner life of
Judaism in these decades, and account in no small degree
for currents of thought discerned in the Christian com-
munities of the period. To fail to take note of this ma-
terial in the study of New Testament problems, and par-
ticularly in the case of so important a theme as the second
coming of Christ is to ignore a very useful and essential
source of information. Indeed it is within bounds to
affirm with emphasis that the literature of the New Testa-
ment is not to be understood without some competent
knowledge of current Jewish thought as disclosed in these
extra-canonical apocalypses.
The next study will be devoted to some of the more
striking utterances of these non-biblical works that appear
to have impressed themselves upon the minds of the writ-
ers of the New Testament, particularly as relating to
apocalyptic hopes and the Second Coming of Christ.
Herbert L. Willett.
The Message of the Church
By Charles Stelzle
THERE are still large numbers of people in the
church who believe that it is their chief business
to save their own souls and to convict other men
of sin. There is just a grain of truth in this conception
but it is a mighty narrow, stingy outline of Christianity.
It is true that a man must become the possessor of that
which he offers to another. As a matter of fact, accord-
ing to the teachings of Jesus, when a man seeks to save
the lives of others, by that same act he is saving his
own. Indeed, it is only as he saves other men that he,
himself, will be saved.
Some excellent people are saying that the message
of Christianity is to the individual. True enough, but
here's the message : "You are not strictly an individual,
any more than the hand is an individual. You do not
live for yourself. If you try to save your life, you will
lose it. If you are willing to forget your individuality,
you will be saved." It is not the chief business of the
individual to save his own life.
As to the matter of the Church convicting men of
10
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
July 25, 1918
sin, this is also quite in harmony with the teachings of
Jesus. But it does not refer merely to sin in the ab-
stract. It means that the Church must convict men of
sin in concrete cases : the sin of child labor ; the sin of
the sweating system ; the sin of under-pay and over-
work; the sin of insufficient protection from fire in a
shirtwaist factory ; the sin of killing little children with
a tenement house as well as with an axe ; the sin of an
economic system which deprives men of their natural
rights. This is the business of the church.
Mobilizing the Mind of America
By Charles S. Medbury
NO one has yet sounded, as it should be sounded,
the clear note of distinction between a fighting
man and a man fighting. They represent two
worlds. The one, a machine creation, fights because
told to do so and trained to kill. He struggles to whip
a foe ; if he wins, he exults, grossly. If he loses, he dies
miserably, cursing his fate. The other, a man fighting,
is driven by a passion of devotion to the cause. He
fights because his foe blocks the pathway of light and
life. If he wins, he thanks God ; if he loses, he still wins,
having made his contribution, and is content. The one,
in victory, is to be feared ; in defeat, he is embittered.
The other, in victory, is humble as a child ; in defeat,
he counts every wound an honor and glories in his
sufferings. To have my boy a mere fighting man would
be to me a daily grief. To have him as a man fighting,
in this great day, is the joy and pride of every instant,
the inspiration of every task.
DESTROYERS AND UPBUILDERS
And as the boys, so the homes from which they go.
There are two levels of thought. On the one hand is
bitter passion, on the other constructive purpose. The
one thinks of destroying a foe, the other of upbuilding
humanity. The one yields its child because it must, the
other rejoices that it may. The one counts the cost,
the other the privilege of the world's most taxing and
yet most promising day. The one wishes, still, that we
might have avoided war. The other, rejoicing that
earnest protest was made against settlements of civil-
ization's problems by the carnage of battle fields, yet
welcomes with thanksgiving the thought of the Presi-
dent that a day has dawned in which America can
prove to the world that she was born to serve mankind.
The problem of the mobilization of the mind of
America is the problem of bringing both our boys with
the colors and the vast body of our civilian citizenship
to these exalted standards of thinking. And it need
hardly be said that a nation so united in the passion of
a holy purpose would prove — will prove — invincible.
He only will doubt who thinks the night greater than
the day, wrong stronger than right, who holds that
God is dead.
DREAMS AND VISIONS FOUND PRACTICAL
And that it is as possible to mobilize the mind of
the nation as its physical forces of men and treasure
has become to us a demonstration. The building of
great cantonments in a day, and the successful housing
of vast numbers of soldiers in them, is not so wonderful
as the growth of sentiment supporting the unprece-
dented expense involved and gladly enduring the
utmost of personal sacrifice. The mechanical operation
of the selective draft was as nothing compared to the
leap of sentiment to support it when once the need for
it and its essential democracy were discerned. In fact,
there is no marvel of the past year's history that is so
great as the complete mastery of widely divergent views
about the war and our part in it by the legitimately
stressed ideals of a humanity service.
Never again can so-called "practical men" make j
light of "dreams and visions" in the public life.
It is now as clear as the light to the thoughtful of
earth that nothing is so entirely practical as a great
ideal. It moves men when all else fails. Money will
be poured out like water, services will be rendered until
men drop in their tracks and life itself will be counted
precious only because it may be given, when a nation |
sees, as ours has seen, that an ideal of worth is in peril. -
Thank God for a President raised up for our day, who
has discerned in himself, and in us, a nation's soul and I
dared to declare it in papers of state. None remain to j
make light of phrases when those phrases- are found to j
be the living slogans of a mighty people's aspirations, i
America's cosmopolitan citizenship
I
And yet equal gratitude be voiced for other out-
standing servants of the republic who have welcomed j
the leadership of ideals in a day of world agony and!
instead of seeking personal or partisan advantage orj
revealing a partisan spirit have proved themselves, first j
and last, only Americans. Surely the increasing honor,
of the nation they love will be the increasing reward of
such citizens.
For three months and more I have mingled with
the boys in the camps. I have seen them in their trying
first days and I have seen them in their strong fare-
wells. I have seen them in the West and South and
East — Regulars, the Guard, the National Army — In-!
fantry, Artillery, Aviation, Navy and all related!
branches of the service. I have seen men of all colors, j
races and tongues represented in our cosmopolitan)
citizenship. One night I spoke where they told me:
that within the limits of what would be a city block, j
there were representatives of twenty-eight nationalities.)
To see what I have seen is to see democracy a live, j
breathing thing and to hear its heart beat. The peoples;
July 25, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
11
of the world, even our allies, even we ourselves have
hardly understood before.
Democracy has been more or less a theory, but
now it has become incarnate and in the resistless power
of this divine method of teaching walks the troubled
highways of the world in khaki or sails the seas in blue.
Never in all history has there been such folly as
autocracy's challenge of such a force. Doomed already
by its inherent wrong the mad call to arms will only
bring more quickly the freedom of the world.
"what are we fighting for?"
But these boys, thrown together as they have been
and thus adjusting themselves marvelously to the dem-
ocratic standards of army comradeship, need to be
given views of the war that will be their support when
first enthusiasms are challenged by the pitiful trage-
dies of coming days. It is our shame to let one boy
suffer or die without the knowledge of what pain and
death are purchasing. And they are eager to hear and
tremendously steadied by hearing. They tell over and
over again of the help that it is to them to have the
meaning of it all explained. Not one boy with his life
in the balance should be left to ask, as many have
asked, "What are we fighting for?"
Would it be wrong or in any way unwise to demand
for their own and the country's sake the attendance of
all non-commissioned officers and men in the ranks
upon schools of citizenship in which would be revealed
clearly our national spirit and our national objectives?
I have been told repeatedly by officers that such work
helps discipline in the camps. Of course it does. The
most irksome drudgery is welcomed by the boys who
see far beyond it to amazing ends in view. And that
such work will uphold at the front, giving to our
armies an enduring morale, and that it will sustain in
the hours of wounding or dying, no one will deny who
understands the play of human minds and the buoy-
ancy that is born of a passionate vision.
THE MESSAGE OF AMERICA TO THE WORLD
But what of the message? Your hearts cherish it
this hour. It is the appeal of a nation dedicated to the
liberties of men to declare itself anew. It is a protest
against the invasion not of Belgium only but of all
human rights. It is a cry against the devastation not
alone of the fields of beautiful France but of the sanc-
tities of womanhood and the helplessness of childhood.
It is a throwing of all that is in us against the hateful
philosophy of life that deifies might, crushes right to
the earth, blights utterly the hopes of the masses of
men and exalts a merciless and blasphemous autocracy.
And it is a reminder that America fights not for
land or for money or political power, but only that in
all the earth every man may have a full man's right to
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is a decla-
ration that through the unfolding providences of these
dark days every nation of earth is to receive a new
birth of freedom and that government of and for and
by the people is to be no longer a boast distinctively
our own but it is to be rather the glory of life from the
rising to the setting of the sun. It is a message pictur-
ing the coming new day when the world made
safe for democracy by the winning of this war and the
stripping from militarism of its boast and power, shall
be kept safe by nations in league for the common good,
and this, not as a matter of benevolent sentiment but
as the only way of preserving the life of the world
and as the only adequate compensation for present sac-
rifice.
SPIRITUAL VALUES MUST BE STRESSED
War's defeat is a supreme issue of this victorious
war and the thought of friendly international relations
maintaining permanent peace is no mere dream, or idly
cherished Utopia. The "impossibility" we ask for the
nations is only the "impossibility" already attained for
men of these nations in the unity of America. If
democracy can bind into the splendid fellowship of a
common citizenship the individuals of all the lands of
earth, the democratic ideal for which the allied govern-
ments stand can preserve the world's peace and foster
the world's growth when the units are nations rather
than men.
But to attain such ends, moral and spiritual values
must be stressed to the limit, for without the mainte-
nance of these all our victories will be in vain. We
dare not forget in this land, which, after all, is Christian
at heart, that, though we have blundered pitifully in
the way, the motives that have gripped us are divine
motives and our present ideals of human good are not
our own but His who planned blessings for "all the
families of the earth." Back of all democracy is the
manger-cradle. Greater than any other slogan ever
voiced for the good of man is the Master's commission
in behalf of "every creature." Any league of nations,
or any other plan to bind together the now distracted
world that counts out God will be but the voice of
human vanity. To the truth of this statement let the
unimpeachable testimony of the world's present sorrow
bear witness.
THE WHY OF THE WAR
The whole plea must be for the winning of the
war at whatever cost of years or treasure of life to the
end that the sum total of human interest may be ad-
vanced, war be beaten out of the world's life and a
new civilization established in harmony with the pat-
tern shown us in the mount. He who dares not stand
for such a day, either in his lack of vision or in his
moral cowardice, mocks the blood that is being shed
on the fields of Europe for the redemption of the world.
There is no withstanding such an appeal. And as
America accepts with joy the comradeship of allies
in war, it only needs to have its imagination kindled by
the possibilities of allied-life in days of peace to be
athrill with the message that is ours to bear— the mes-
sage of a league of nations for the common good, a
handclasp of free peoples in behalf of every man that
breathes. And so to have in mind the mighty ends to
be attained will fire men for such deeds of generosity
and heroism, in both civilian and military life, as will
12
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
July 25, 1918
be the inspiration of all coming time. It will take the
sting from death itself and make of those who mourn,
a nation's chief upholders.
WE ASK NOTHING FOR OURSELVES
America has done much, but it must do infinitely
more, and it will never do its all unless its patriotic
impulses, its culture and its conscience are alike mas-
tered by the passion of an outstanding moral objective.
And in the thought that the peace and enlightenment
and progress of all humankind depends upon our vic-
tory in arms this objective is supplied — an objective
sufficient to make our armies resistless and to bring
our civilian life to altars of sacrifice in a way never
known in human history. To these ends this day
summons us.
That we ask for nothing for ourselves must impress
mankind, that our passion is alone for human good is
complete vindication. We do not boast, but bow low
in deep humility in the presence of the sacrifices of
others. But out from a year in which we have at least
bared our heart to the task and the peril we come today
and stand by our first altar of freedom. And here we
declare again that all we have and are is in the balance
to give to all men what our fathers asked for us. We
believe the priceless gift of liberty to be the rightful
heritage of every soul bearing the image and likeness
of God and by the revered altar of our sacred past we
pledge anew and in an even larger sense, life, liberty
and sacred honor to the all-embracing cause of the
freedom of mankind. And to this dedication we call
the mind of all America.
America Militant
Three Poems by Thomas Curtis Clark
W
Drum Beats
HAT MEAN these hurrying feet?
What means this militant drum?
Along the sun-lit street
Ten thousand patriots come.
It means that death is near
For monarchy on earth;
It means the end of fear;
It means a new world's birth.
The age of kings is past,
The age of man has come ;
Tyranny cannot last —
Hark to the patriot drum !
No more can God endure
The pride of kings and lords :
His wrath is stern and sure —
More sure than a million swords.
The truth cannot be stayed ;
The right must rule o'er all ;
The false must low be laid ;
The pomp of power must fall.
What means that patriot cry?
What means that militant drum ?
That the end of kings is nigh,
That the People's Day has come.
\
The Challenge
/ OU have wasted our cities with fire,
You have blackened our treasured art,
You have blasted our shrines in your ire,
You have broken the whole world's heart
But your purpose will fail ;
The right will prevail ;
Though widely your flag be unfurled:
You can shatter the work of our hands, Wilhelm,
But you can't kill the soul of the world.
You have slaughtered our patriot sons,
You have ravished our womanhood,
You have strangled our babes, and your guns
Have every appeal withstood:
But your purpose will fail ;
The right will prevail;
Your banners of death shall be furled:
You can slaughter our patriot sons, Wilhelm,
But you can't kill the soul of the world.
"America Goes Forth to Slay
44 a MERICA goes forth to slay"—
/\ The giant Greed, the harlot Pride ;
i\ The Will that dares to override
The peopled earth with fire and sword,
That there may be one mighty lord!
"America goes forth to slay" —
The foes that lurk within herself:
The love of gold, the lust for pelf,
The self-content that could ignore
The slaughter on the Belgian shore!
America goes forth to bleed —
That Love may be earth's final creed,
That Mercy may in every land
Subdue the brutal Iron Hand.
America goes forth to die
For Faith, for Love, for Liberty!
»)*
*A current criticism.
Ministering to the Sick Poor of China
By W. E. Macklin
I
N turning over my work to the Union Medical School
and meditating on my labors for over twenty-five
years, the thing that gives me the most satisfac-
tion is the work I have done among the very poor. I
might take considerable pride in having treated the
rich and great, from viceroys and leading generals
down, also the richest business men. One general used
to give me a regular subscription, but on my refusing
to go to a feast with singing girls, he quit giving his
monthly contribution. I have another "large business
■man" friend who has given land and buildings, but in
Ijhis company there is a frequent suggestion of the world,
jthe flesh and the devil, as in invitations to doubtful
[places of amusement.
The simple children of nature are a thing of beauty
(and a joy forever. They are so simple, childlike and
bland. They are poor, dirty, sick and miserable, but
I are largely diamonds in the rough. Some say that they
lare poor because they are lazy, but I find that they
jare poor because they have been robbed of an oppor-
tunity to make a living. Nearly all of them will work
hard if they get a chance, and get a slave's reward —
enough to eat.
A GRADUALLY GROWING WORK
Over twenty-five years ago I took in my first poor
man before I had a hospital, and gradually increased
the number in the hospital till I had a regular list of
fifty or sixty, and in one or two years over one hundred.
They come with all kinds of troubles — malaria of a
malignant type, dysentery, cholera, typhoid, typhus,
tetanus, leprosy, fractures, ulcers, et cetera. They are
taken into the hospital, fed, bedded, clothed, treated.
Many seemingly hopeless recover. On recovery, the
problem is not ended. They are too weak to do a day's
work, and if turned adrift, they would sink into pauper-
ism and degradation, "and the last estate of that man
would be worse than the first."
For a great many years I have had an excellent
plan. I have a truck and flower garden, and when a
man can crawl out into the garden he goes and picks
weeds — unless he work, neither shall he eat! Contrary
to the general opinion, he usually works willingly.
After weeding for a while, he advances to hoeing and
mulching. Later he gains the strength to dig and carry.
Now he is ready to go out and get a job. I secure
work for very many of them. Others find work for
themselves. After Nanking was captured by the revo-
lutionists, all my workers enlisted in the army. I had
hard work to run my garden till a new lot advanced
to take their places as fully recovered.
One day I was out in the warden, when a spruce,
well-dressed military man came in and was talking to
my head gardener's wife and daughter. I thought the
thing looked rather incongruous, to say the least, and
called the gardener and asked who the gallant swash-
buckler was. "Don't you know," he said, "that is one
of our former workers." He had come to express his
gratitude.
GOOD RESULTS OF HOSPITAL SERVICE
I find that most of them are very grateful. We
raise mostly garden stuff for foreigners. They get all
they want and send contributions for the poor workers.
The head gardener is my own employe and his salary
is paid out of my own pocket. This year we raised
nearly one thousand quarts of strawberries, besides
all kinds of vegetables. There is no better form of
sanitarium than this. I myself was threatened with
nervous breakdown, two years ago, but my garden work
and a lessening of head and nerve strain have built me
up, so I still keep a-going.
This kind of sanitarium for my convalescents is
the most effective thing and the only thing that I could
work, as it is cheap. How could we give these cases
baths, fomentations, hot and cold treatments, elec-
tricity, massage, et cetera? My observation is that
most sanitarium cases are fussed with too much and
not allowed to forget their sicknesses ; that is, not
allowed to feel that their suffering is in their minds as
much at least as in their bodies. Then the sight of
healthy nature — flowers, trees— and the fresh air
and sunlight is better than any artificial expedients
to bring one back to health. In this sanitarium one
forgets to be sick, but in other kinds his rubbings,
baths, etc., are a constant reminder of the lack of health ;
and again, they are too costly except for the very few.
How about the finances of this work among the
poor? The Chinese have paid the bill. I find that rich
patients will give to this charity when they will give
to nothing else. It always appeals to the rich man,
who has sympathy for his robbed brother. I have had
a present of twenty mu (five acres) of land for my
hospital, and four Chinese buildings, also two modern
contagious hospitals as a result of this class of work.
NATURAL LIVING AND GOOD HEALTH
The only effective method of helping the poor is to
put them in charge of the Heavenly Father. The
Heavenly Father cares for His children by giving them
a full and free environment. He gives them the sun-
light, dews, and rain. He also gives the land. He gives
the means to be independent and free. Each man
should be able to sit "under his own vine and fig tree,"
or as the Chinese classics say, "To dig a well and drink
the water, plant a field and eat the crop, unconsciously
(i.e. as children) following the law of God." If the
Kingdom of God and His justice could be established
there would be no poverty. We would have as free
an environment as wild birds and flowers.
Some will say that there are floods and drouths
that cause famines. Let us consider the floods of the
14
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
July 25, 1918
Hwai river, which supplies most of the poor for Nan-
king and Chinkiang. The Red Cross engineer, Mr.
Jamieson, has shown that it is purely an engineering
proposition. I am sure also that it is not a charity
matter. It is very valuable land if not flooded, and if
sure of protection from flood will increase tenfold in
value. The improvement in value should pay for the
cost of the dikes and drainage canals.
Floods are not the most important thing keeping
the people from making a living out of the land that
God has given (read Nehemiah, chapter 5). The great
cause of poverty is the monopoly of land so that the
people cannot get it to use. This is rendered very easy,
as there is no tax on idle land but only on the industrious
who till their land. Much land is thus held out of use as
successfully as if it were covered with water. We talk
a great deal about flooded land keeping the people from
getting food. We should talk more about landlords
keeping the people from getting at the Heavenly
Father's storehouse and getting a living.
HOW TO GET RID OF POVERTY
God's hills in China are largely bare of trees, and
thus the gifts of the Father are slighted. The Chinese
population could be fed on the hills alone, and then
they would not look to foreign countries for lumber
and timber. The mines of China are untouched and
of enormous value. Properly leased, in time the royal-
ties would bring in perhaps $2,000,0(X),000, enough to
run the expenses of the whole country. The people
cannot eat coal and iron, but they can exchange these
for food stuffs. Poverty is not necessary in an en-
lightened age, and with a scientific political economy,
charity would become very rare. These continual ap-
peals for funds for famine relief should soon become a
thing of the past.
But — we must take care of the wrecks due to our
false systems. The diseases we are called on to care
for are largely due to poverty. Typhus and relapsing
fever, cholera, and such pestilences are due to the
famine and poverty. Let us get after the cause, and
these awful diseases will be a thing of the past. In a
scientific age there is no need of typhoid, tuberculosis,
and such vile diseases.
To sum up, the first thing of importance is to get
the people on God's earth. To do this it is only neces-
sary, first, to levy such a high tax on all idle land that
the owners will either use or give it up to those who
will make the proper use of it ; second, drain flooded
land at the expense of the owners ; third, forest the
hills ; fourth, open up mines by leasing them ; fifth,
open up waste land ; sixth, care for the wreckage of our
present evil system in hospitals.
Nanking, China.
Colleges "Carrying On"
By B. Warren Brown
Survey Secretary Council of Church Boards of Education
THERE has been no little anxiety among the friends
of our colleges in view of the well-known strain of
the past year on higher education. Students were
hurrying off to the war; many members of the faculties
were enlisting under the Red Triangle; great campaigns
for Liberty Loans, the Red Cross, and the Y. M. C. A.
were sweeping the country month after month, and appar-
ently draining the sources from which colleges had for-
merly drawn their support. A move was on foot to tax
heavily even the bequests to educational foundations.
Meanwhile, costs were rising and incomes falling. And
the climax of it all was the complete abandon with which
colleges threw themselves into the spirit of the war, re-
gardless of their own selfish interests. The questions
have been forced upon us again and again, "Will the col-
leges pull through?" "How long can they stand the
pressure of the war — one year, two years?" "When will
the country awake to the permanent needs of its schools ?"
From reports which have just come in, I am able to
say that the colleges have won through the first year of
the war in a truly remarkable way. They have econ-
omized here and gained new support there; increased
charges at one point, and raised new revenue at another
until the records for the year show hardly a deficit in ex-
cess of ordinary times. There was a loss of about $2,000,-
000 in tuition in the entire country, and according to the
figures submitted by more than one hundred institutions
an increase of $2,000,000 in the cost of supplies. These
losses have been met by the most rigid economy in col-
lege administration. The economies listed by forty insti-
tutions alone netted a saving of $180,000. In many cases
even the time-honored college catalogue has been dropped
as an unnecessary expense.
In order further to meet the financial pressure, one
out of every three colleges has increased tuition charges
by an average of 20 per cent. This policy seems eminently
reasonable, as parents have never paid more than about
one-third of the cost of educating their children in col-
lege. It has been necessary, also, to increase the charge
for board and room in fully half the institutions which J
provide these accommodations.
But the mainstay of the college has been its group
of loyal friends and alumni who have rallied around it
with firm determination to carry it past the crisis. As a j
result the deficits of over one hundred institutions are not
in excess of $250,000 for the year, and much of this has j
already been made up.
Certainly now is no time to stop. The coming year j
will doubtless be harder than the past, and every friend j
of Christian education must do double duty in this time j
July 25, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
15
of need. However, there are three things written into the
record of the past year which enable us as friends of the
College to hold our heads a little higher and to press for-
ward with greater confidence and energy.
First. The country has come to realize that it can do
no better than to utilize to the full the educational agencies
already at hand, and it is taking steps to do this right now.
Second : The colleges have given unstintedly of their
best in man power, research, enthusiasm, and spiritual in-
terpretation of the war, to an extent which no one thought
possible. They will therefore deserve of the future the
best that the country can give, and the outlook for educa-
tion after the war was never so bright.
Third : By demonstrating a capacity to live within
their income, to manage wisely the funds entrusted to
them, securing a maximum of output on a minimum ex-
penditure, colleges have commended themselves to the con-
fidence of sound business men, and the Church may invest
its funds with the assurance that its trust will not be mis-
placed.
President Wilson on the Bible
THERE are great problems before the American
people. There are problems which will need
purity of spirit and an integrity of purpose such
j as have never been called for before in the history of
this country. I should be afraid to go forward if I did
I not believe that there lay at the foundation of all our
j schooling and of all our thought this incomparable and
j unimpeachable Word of God. If we cannot derive our
i strength thence, there is no source from which we can
derive it, and so I would suggest, in these troubled days,
that we be inspired with the feeling that the Providence
of God is the foundation of affairs, and that only those
can guide, and only those can follow, who take this
Providence of God from the sources where it is authen-
tically interpreted.
I beseech all my fellow believers to ponder this
matter. By the blessing of God, I ascribe to Bible study
the help and strength which I have had from God to
pass in peace through deeper trials, in various ways,
than I had ever had before ; and after having now above
fourteen years tried this way, I can most fully, in the
fear of God, commend it. A soul that has been re-
freshed and made happy early in the morning meets
the service, the trials, and the temptations of the day
with a power how different from that of one that has
had no spiritual preparation.
The Bible has stood at the back of Progress. For
this is a book which reveals men unto themselves, not
as creatures in bondage, not as men under human
authority, not as those bidden to take counsel and com-
mand of any human source. It reveals every man to
himself as a distinct moral agent responsible not to
men, not even to those men whom he has put over him
in authority, but responsible to his Lord and Maker.
Whenever a man sees this vision he stands up a free
man ; whatever may be the government under which he
lives, he sees beyond the circumstances of his own life.
Master the War
this Summer!
T^\ON'T fritter away your time this
^-" summer. Use your holidays to
master the war situation. Go deep
into it — deeper than the merely descrip-
tive books take you. Go to the roots
and the background of the war. Get
into touch with the master minds
guiding the thought progress of the
world — especially in religion. Rau-
schenbusch, Fosdick, Dewey and such
men are pointing the way in this field.
Then you should by all means restudy
European history in the light of the
war. Hazen's "Europe Since 1815"
was written since the war began. It is a
brilliant and masterful work ($3.75 plus
10c to 18c postage). Seymour's "Diplo-
matic Background of the War" is a
calm, scholarly revelation of Germany's
machinations for the past generation
($2.00 plus 8c to 14c postage).
Along with such books as these, take
Edgar De Witt Jones' "Fairhope"—
ideal summer reading; and his "The
Tender Pilgrims." Also Willett's "Our
Bible" — filled with the very informa-
tion you want.
You are in a hurry and perhaps can't
spare the cash for the books now. Send
us on a post card the list of books you
wish and you may have thirty or sixty
days to pay for them. Make the
summer count !
The Christian Century Press
700 East 40th Street CHICAGO
The Spirit of the Training Camp
THE writer has been spending some time at one of
the army training camps in some special work for
the Y. M. C. A. It has been one of the most in-
teresting and illuminating experiences of a lifetime. Such
an experience is unequaled as a means of social study
and it is a schooling that furnishes the emotion of pa-
triotism with working ideas in terms of its cost, its
workmanship and its driving force. Here the "million
men who spring to arms over night" are turned into a
mighty fighting machine by a process that is to Fourth
of July oratory as the enginery of a great ship is to
the horn that signals out its warnings. We believe in
talk- — it is the very school-master of a democracy — but
we would that all talkers had to prove their vocation and
test and try and verify their message in some such
drill ground of actual activity. What a change there
would be in preaching, lecturing, the addressing of juries
and editorial writing. So much of our culture is grown
in the hot-house and forcing ground of institutional edu-
cation and then transferred to pulpit, sanctum and bar
without being hardened and tested in the soil and climate
of actual average experience that it tends to make a
caste apart instead of a practical working leadership for
the average of men.
But talk goes in the camp. The lads there are just
our lads from home and no mysterious transformation
has turned them into soldiers that are sui generis — they
have the same ears and minds and hearts as before plus
the hardening given by the rather highly specialized life
of the drill ground and thought of war. The same type
of message that interested young men at home will inter-
est them in the camp. Of course, we do not talk to
many of them in our churches and the man with the
conventional pulpit message will not talk to many of
them in the camp. We have special meetings for women,
children and adults in the church, but not many for the
young man, and as a result we do not have many young
men in the average church. The Y. M. C. A. is reaching
them by the thousands — yes, by the millions — in the camps.
Its Bible studies reach them by scores and hundreds
in the barracks and the religious addresses get audiences
as large as those of Douglas Fairbanks in the movies, once
the preacher has established the fact that he can talk
the soldiers' language.
* * *
No Rhetorical Acrobatics
Needed to Hold the Men
Our experience was a varied one. Our mission was
to speak on "The Moral Aims of the War." The little
daughter of the household doubted if Daddy could "hold
'em" after several years with students. But the com-
mandant had ordered them to turn out in companies and
battalions and to listen like soldiers at attention, so we
had a chance to write home that it was no trouble to
hold them. One day, after an address to the poor victims
in the "contact ward," as the special detention quaran-
tine barrack is called, we remarked to one of the "Y"
men on their eagerness and willingness to listen and to
sing indefinitely; he replied with an engaging frankness:
"Yes, poor fellows, they are glad to get anything to re-
lieve the monotony."
But chivalrously as the boys sat at attention and
gave it to full measure when ordered out, the thrilling
platform experiences are in the big "Y" auditoriums at
night after the dust and grime is washed off and "mess"
and an hour of jollying one another has turned them out
in crowds for recreation. The speaker needs no rhe-
torical acrobatics or cheap melodramatics, and he can get
along without a post-graduate course in the funny page
of the Ladies Home Journal and Life. He cannot put
over his old sermons or college hall lectures nor exploit
any doctrinaire notions and, above all, he must "cut" the
average doctrinal discourse, whether sermonic or political,
as he would a stale vermiform appendix. He can be as
serious as a battle field if only he is as up-to-date and
alive with things of worth to the moment, and he must
be as virile though he need not be as vociferous, and
he can tell stories if they are not emblamed and do really
illustrate — otherwise the vaudeville, where they do it ar-
tistically, is preferred. They like you coatless if it is
hot and they want you to come to the point with a snap
like orders on the drill ground. Gather seven hundred
like young men in your home town and all this will hold
for your address the same as in the army camp. Your
pay is big; it comes in hearty applause and a rousing
cheer at the close, and, if you struck them just rights with
a standing "tiger."
THAT was the remark made
by one of our readers as he
looked over the first issue of our
new 20th Century Quarterly, for
adult and young people's classes,
and read a few lessons from its
pages. And you will agree with
him when you examine a copy.
We are safe in saying that there
has never before been published a
lesson quarterly so interesting — as
well as thoroughly informative.
The autumn issue is now out. Send
for your free copy today. Then send
in your autumn order at once.
The Christian Century Press
700 East 40th Street Chicago
July 25, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
1/
Some Interesting Experiences
At the Negro "Y"
To none of these dynamic audiences did we talk
with more pleasure than to the big crowd that gathers
nightly at the negro "Y." First they sang, and such sing-
ing we heard no place else ; the Battle Hymn of the Re-
public is a favorite here and they sing it like they will
later fight for its sentiments. It ought to be the marching
hymn for the nation in a time like this, for no other
so expresses the religious fervor of this crusade for de-
mocracy. Through the twenty minutes of talk that burned
up an hour's energy they stayed to a man, though the
meeting was in the big out-of-doors ; they listened, said
the business-like "Y" man, just as if they knew what it
was about ; and then we stayed for their fun, a series
of friendly bouts with the gloves. It would have been a
queer mixture to the conventionalist — singing of senti-
mental, war and religious hymns with equal fervor, list-
ening to a religio-patriotic address as if it were a camp
meeting sermon, then the fun of the boxing bout, the
same crowd for this pot-pourri program all the way
through, like enthusiasm, kindred emotions and a long
list of names for the "war roll" in the midst of it all.
It is not so different in the white soldiers' "Y" meet-
ings, either ; the main difference is one of type, the white
lad being a little more sophisticated and restrained, but
the mixture is the same, as one evening's experience will
illustrate. Here the boxing came first, together with some
good wrestling — both excellent exercises in training for
bryonet and hand to hand fighting and thus much cul-
tivated in the "Y's" ; then came a sing in which popular
war songs blended over into some good old religious
hymns, followed by the address which was received with
hearty cheers and followed by a "tiger," and the eve-
ning's program concluded with a popular film the move-
ments in which were interspersed by calls and ejaculations
from the drill ground parlance that kept the audience
chuckling ; e. g., when the lovers flew into each other's
arms some one would shout, "As you were" ; after a
clasp another would cry, "Take intervals," etc.
Both Seriousness and
Good Cheer in Camp
There is much seriousness in the camp, but it is
relieved by cheer and hearty good spirits. A more gentle-
manly crowd one does not meet whether at mess, in bar-
racks, at play or in the near-by city. There is no drink-
ing or carousing and none of the "rough-house" that we
have read as always having characterized the old-time
camp. We say "gentlemanly" advisedly. The only blur
in the term is one that vanishes after a few days in the
camp; the blur is because one is not accustomed to hear-
ing so much use of "cuss words," but he soon adjusts
ears and accommodates thought to it even if he does not
condone or apologize for it; he meditates that these
boys are going out to risk life and limb for a holy cause,
and that life is rather tense in the prospect, that their
whole social life here is abnormal and that men usually
become profane when segregated to themselves, and
also that "cussin' " is an army tradition.
When your humble scribe asked a lieutenant at mess
The FOSDIC
BOOKS
By HARRY EMERSON FOSDICK
These are three of them :
The Meaning of Prayer
60 cents (add 6 cents postage )
A marvelous illumination of the prayer-life.
Nothing so good has appeared in a generation.
Not only every Christian leader, but every
Christian should have this book.
The Manhood of the Master
60 cents (add 6 cents postage)
An interpretation of Jesus that makes Him seem
fully and richly human without discounting His
divinity in the slightest degree. Dr. Fosdick
makes our Lord appear before us as one of us.
This book is being studied by the ten thousands
in the Y. M. C. A. classes in Europe's and
America's camps and cantonments.
The Challenge of the Crisis
50 cents (add 6 cents postage)
A clarion call to those whose spiritual and
moral vision is confused by their inner unpre-
paredness for war. This book takes a point of
view opposite to that of Dr. Orchard in "The
Outlook for Religion." They should both be
read in these days by every soul in earnest with
spiritual realities.
These Fosdick books are so urgent in their
appeal, so illuminating, and so widely read that
every reader of The Christian Century
should possess them at once.
The Christian Century Press
700 E. 40th Street
CHICAGO
18
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
July 25, 1918
what he thought of the conscientious objector, or C. O.
as he is dubbed ("combustible" the boys call them), he
replied "blank the blankety blank blanks," then apolo-
getically, "I am ashamed to talk that way before a man
like yourself" — but we replied : "Fire away if it's in you ;
we are no different from other men ;" and he answered
"Well, I know, but self-respect ought to make a man give
some regard to the ideals of another man, but when I
think of those blankety, blank blanks — well, I will say
no more." This led to a question about the swearing
habit in the army and this four-square, up-standing
young fellow said he did not swear before joining the
army, that he had led a church choir, etc., but that a
year of army life had led to his easy adoption of the
universal habit — "degenerated" he said he had, "into it."
We defended the manhood of a man who was willing to
give his life for his country and he then explained that
he "really" did not think the boys intended sacreligious-
ness at all, that they usually used the terms applicable
to the place to which they intended sending the Kaiser
and that they meant about the same as their mothers
did when they said "heavens !" and "good Lord !" as an
ejaculation. Of course the fellow who was profane be-
fore is more profane in the camp, but the lad who was
not should doubtless be excused on the basis offered by
our friend the Lieutenant.
A Clean Army in
Clean Quarters
When Charles S. Macfarland, of the Federal Coun-
cil of Churches, told General Pershing that he would say
to the folks back home that the American army was
clean and sound, the General asked him to add that it
was going to remain so too. And it is clean ; the bar-
racks are so clean that flies die of starvation on the camp
ground ; the reservation grounds are kept scrupulously
clean and germs simply cannot germinate ; the boys are
severely guarded from drink and vice, so severely that
it costs the guard house to risk a drink. Armies usually
degenerate in morals but if this one does it will be
because it is humanly impossible to prevent degenera-
tion when men are compelled to live so largely apart
from normal society.
This letter is long enough. Next week we will tell
something of how Uncle Sam cares for and trains the
lads. It will be a study in the efficiency of democracy
that is heartening to the writer at least. Then following
will be some comments upon religious work in the
cr-mPs- Alva W. Taylor.
We believe that obedience to duty is the way of life,
and no one can do wrong without suffering. We believe
in truthfulness, honesty of conduct, integrity of character,
wise and generous giving, purity of thought and life. We
believe that no real harm can befall the righteous in life
or death. — C. F, Dole.
The grand essentials of happiness are, something to do,
something to love, and something to hope for. — Thomas
Chalmers.
This is not a mere book
— it is a Searchlight!
German
Philosophy
and Politics
By JOHN DEWEY
Professor of Philosophy in Columbia University
THIS book gives the unprofessional
reader a succinct notion of the
development of classic German philoso-
phy from Kant to Hegel. Technical
details are omitted, while the ideas that
are significant for the history of culture
are emphasized.
It shows how German thought took
shape in the struggle for German nation-
ality against the Napoleonic menace, and
how profoundly that crisis affected the
philosophy of morals, of the state, and of
history which has since that time pene-
trated into the common consciousness
of Germany.
Incidentally it makes clear how
superficial is the current accounting for
the contemporary attitude of intellectual
Germany by reference to Nietzsche, etc.,
since that attitude is shown to have its
basis in the older idealistic philosophy.
Price $1.25
{Add 6c to ioc postage)
The Christian Century Press
700 East 40th Street
Chicago
The Larger Christian World
A Department of Interdenominational Acquaintance
How German Baptists
Stand on the War
Some weeks ago the Baptists of the British Isles prepared
a careful statement of their war attitude for the Baptists of
Germany, using Swedish Baptists as intermediaries. A reply has
been received signed by four of the most representative of the
German Baptists in which is contained this highly significant
statement : "In principle, we keep politics and religion apart.
We do not consider it our duty, as a Church, to be occupied with
political affairs." English Baptists were disappointed in not
finding in the reply any indication that German Baptists felt
their nation had committed any wrongs and regards this significant
of an acquiescence on the part of the civil population in the plans
of Germany's military masters.
The Idea of Noon Prayer
Spreading
Washington, D. C., is already observing a moment at the
noon hour for prayer and it is now proposed that this practice
should be made nation-wide. Owing to a reference in the reso-
lution to a Catholic practice called Angelus, "The Christian
Science Monitor" is opposing the resolution. The following is
the text of the resolution passed in the Senate : "Joint resolution
(S. J. Res. 164) requesting the President to commend by procla-
mation to the people of the United States observance of the prac-
I tice of prayer at noon each day for victory in the war. Whereas,
! What is called the Angelus, the practice of prayer for one minute
| at noon each day for the success of our country in the existing
l war, is being observed in the District of Columbia and some
| other parts of the United States ; and Whereas, It is the desire of
[ some good citizens that it be observed generally throughout the
; country to the end of the war ; and Whereas, The sentiment is
> in accord with the traditional spirit and sentiment of this coun-
J try and recognizes the overruling power of the Almighty ; there-
j fore, be it here Resolved : That the President is requested to
commend by proclamation to the people of the United States
observance in their homes and elsewhere, until the end of the
war, of the practice of prayer to God for at least one minute
at noon each day for victory for our cause in the existing war."
Congregationalist and
Unitarian Congregations Unite
The High Street Congregational church of Lowell, Mass.,
and the First Unitarian Society of that city have adopted articles
of agreement by which the two congregations will be federated
and henceforth have joint worship. The name of the new con-
gregation will be "All Souls' Church, Congregational-Unitarian."
The union grew out of the joint worship of last winter during
the fuel shortage.
Missionaries
Hold Meeting
The missionaries home on furlough have had a custom of
holding a national meeting once a year at Clifton Springs,
New York, but this year the meeting was held at New Rochelle,
New York. There were seventy-two missionaries present at the
gathering which was held June 12-16.
Methodists Hold Meeting to
Plan Extensive War Work
The Methodists of America are the first denomination to hold
a national meeting to plan for denominational work during the
war. The meeting was held in Philadelphia, July 2. At this
meeting it was reported that Bishop Anderson was now traveling
in Europe looking for locations for orphanages to care for
the war orphans. The plea of Bishop John L. Nuelsen, now in
Switzerland, for funds to buy books for war prisoners in Switzer-
land was immediately granted. Bishop McDowell reported that
it was his task to recruit twenty-five chaplains a month and
men who have never applied for these positions will be drafted
for the service by the bishop if they consent. Among the in-
teresting plans of the conference was a system oi providing
Methodist preachers with war sermon material through a pub-
licity bureau paralleling that maintained in Washington for the
Four Minute Men.
Canon Gore Will
Visit America
Canon Gore is a well known scholar of the English Church.
He will visit America during the coming autumn, sent to this
country by his government to take part in the Moral Aims Cam-
paign. This will be a continuation of the work of Sir George
Adam Smith, who expects to return to Aberdeen in time for the
opening of the university session.
Secretary Charles S. Macfarland
Visits General Pershing
Secretary Charles S. Macfarland of the Federal Council of
Churches is in France now and recently visited General Pershing
with a message from the American churches and from the Boy
Scouts' organization. Secretary Macfarland has cabled back as
follows : "I had an interview and delivered both American mes-
sages to General Pershing. He said he was very deeply touched
by the message from the churches. It was a wonderful source
of strength to him and to the army to have the thought, the
sympathy and the prayers of the churches at home He asks the
churches to send their very best ministers as chaplains, as they
are very important influences toward the highest efficiency of
the army. The men need them for all kinds of help. They sus-
tain the men especially at the critical times, when they need
help the most. He thanks tha churches for the men they have
sent and for the sense of their moral support. I told him the
message of the Federal Council expressed the moral and religious
feeling of our people and that his own spirit and attitude are
of great constant influence in deepening the loyalty of the churches
to the nation and to the army, and that he has the most thorough
and loyal confidence of the Christian people of America."
Student Conference
at Lake Geneva
One of the great events each summer at Lake Geneva, Wis.,
is the student conference held by the Y. M. C. A. in which
vocational matters are discussed and men are recruited for the
mission field and the ministry. This year the conference was
held June 14-23 and there were 264 American students present,
83 foreign delegates and 68 leaders and visitors. A well-balanced
piogram included Bishop McDowell, who never appeared in finer
form or preached with more power, Charles W. Gilkey, Harry
F. Ward, J. Campbell White, J. Lovell Murray, Ozora S. Davis,
E. W. Peck, Fred B. Smith and a unique character called famil-
iarly "Dad" Elliott, who is known to all Y. M. C. A. men and
who gave great leadership to the conference. The Methodists
had the largest delegation, while the Congregationalists, Pres-
byterians and Disciples had delegations almost equal in size.
Missionary Declares India Not
Ready for Home Rule
The situation in India is of much importance in war times
and the letters of the missionaries are being read with great
care for the news they contain. P. M. Buck, a Methodist mis-
sionary in Roorkee, writes: "Agitation for home rule is con-
fined to the higher classes of India, but far greater numbers
just now seem to be representing it as a sectional movement
that would leave the great masses unrepresented. It is clear
that India is not ready for self-government, as class is against
class. Mohammedans distrust the Hindus, Hindus cannot tol-
erate the Mohammedans, while the mass of the people are
indifferent."
Orvis F. Jordan.
20
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
July 25, 1918
Rev. John R. Ewers
The Sunday School
Growth
1HAD time the other day to take a slow walk — one of these
aimless strolls which give one opportunity to meditate. I
was impressed by the advancing season. Speeding along
in my car I had not noticed that July was here and that the
foliage was as dense as though carved
out of green marble and that the rank
grasses were developing seed. The war
gardens were knee-high and the season
was full of promise. Growth was going
on. This set up a train of thought about
growing in grace and knowledg: of truth
and I wondered whether I had developed
any graciousness of manner and any
depth of real sympathy since I entered
the ministry some nineteen years ago and
whether I had dug very deeply into truth.
I read from Watkinson, that English
preacher who never uses an illustration
that anyone else has used, this story. He says that in the Kew
gardens in England, the King's garden, a perfect paradise, every
plant and flower from the cedar of Lebanon to the Alpine moss,
from the flower in the crannied wall to the orchids of the tropics,
grows. It is most beautiful and complete. But the ordinary
Christian is content with one virtue. That is true. I know
men who say, for instance, "I am honest," "I mind my own busi-
ness," "I pay my grocery bills," "I am true to my own wife,"
"I attend church regularly," "I buy Liberty Bonds." They glory
in one or at most two virtues. They seem to cultivate the graces
just as the average person cultivates flowers. Here is a rose-
bush, there a few stately hollyhocks, there a few scattering
geraniums — a few homely, common, everyday flowers — very good,
but nothing to boast of — nothing to gloat over- — nothing to swell
up about. Nearly every one possesses the common virtues men-
tioned above. Why not some gardens for the king? Why
not some characters where the whole set of virtues are developed?
What paradise ! With diligence, faith, boldness, knowledge, self-
control, endurance, godliness, brotherly-kindness and love, culti-
vated. A King's garden! With earnestness, love, joy, peace,
long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and
temperance cultivated. What paradise !
I read another good story : The Comtesse de Castiglione was
a famous French beauty. When she was at her best (and who
so bold as to mention the year?) she had her portrait painted by
Paul Baudry. She set up this portrait on the walls of her
chauteau. Growing older, and in her selfishness growing uglier,
she came daily to contrast her fading reality with the glorious
picture of her prime. It maddened her and one day, in a fit of
uncontrollable rage, she tore the picture to shreds and threw
it out of her window. This is another of Watkinson's wonderful
illustrations. A friend of mine heard him say that lacking elo-
quence, presence and sensationalism, he determined to make his
place in the world as a thinker. The proud place he now holds
shows the value of his judgment. There will always be so few
thinkers that he who thinks will find himself high and prominent
among the favored few at the top. Well, Watkinson says that
many Christians grow older like the Comtesse. They grow
colder, sourer, narrower, more selfish. The former beauties fade.
The joys of earlier life pass away. As I come to think of it I
know men and women of this type. Gone are the warm en-
thusiasms, now there is only the cynical chill. Gone are all of
the fervent convictions, now there is only flabby tolerance. Gone
all of the sweet devotion, now only the empty formalities. Gone
are all of the heroisms, now only the cringing cowardices. Gone
all the starry hopefulness, now only the icy despair. Gone also
the pure love, now only the envies, the jealousies and the hates.
It is hell to grow old crabbily.
We grow as long as we learn and put into practice those
things which we learn. If you cannot learn, you are already old,
though only twenty-five. If you will not express what you know
you are already feeble though barely out of your teens. Grow
in grace and in the knowledge of the truth.
John R. Ewers.
*This article is based on the International Uniform lesson
for August 4, "Growing Stronger." Scripture, Luke 2:42-52; 2
Pet. 1:5-8.
The War j
A Weekly Analysis
IT IS difficult to write with restraint concerning the events of
the last few days — events that are only developing their full
possibilities as the writing is done, and that hold the promise
of great achievements for the armies of the allies.
Nor is it worth while attempting a detailed description of
the new battle front, since it is changing every hour, and, by the
time this appears in print, will bear no resemblance to its present
configuration.
But there are certain things that are now sufficiently clear
and determined to bear comment.
It is, first of all, obvious that for the enemy this battle is
likely to prove decisive — that is to say, it is likely to settle con-
clusively what our faith accepts as fact, the impossibility of a
German victory by military decision on the west front.
To demonstrate that beyond chance of further reasonable
dispute is worth the effort, even if nothing more be demon-
strated. But it is only one-half the task that has to be done.
It is now our business to prove that an allied victory can be
won by military decision. This demonstration will take more
time and greater effort.
Whether the enemy intended his new drive — now ending
so disastrously — to be his decisive effort we do not know. The
probability is that he has begun each new drive with the hope
that it would develop a situation from which victory could be
extracted. But this we do know, that the allied counter attack
has destroyed whatever purpose this drive had, and has, prob-
ably, destroyed the possibility of ever again making a big scale
assault upon the allied lines with any chance of success.
The enemy has been compelled to employ reserves in the
attempt to save his Marne wedge. These reserves were de-
signed for later use in driving home the victory on the Marne
front, or for launching a new drive on the British front.
There are several interesting things to note concerning the
Foch counter attack.
In the first place, it may be said without vainglory that
America made it possible. It was not until Foch knew that he
had an ample and increasing force behind him that he felt se-
cure in risking a smashing blow against the enemy. Foch is a
master of attack. He dislikes the defensive. It was sore trial
to him to have to await the hour when he could hit back, and
meantime let the enemy gain miles of ground. But Foch is first
of all a great soldier, and he knows the danger of moving prema-
turely. One of his maxims is, "He who tries to defend every-
thing saves nothing." On that maxim he operated, defending
only the security of the line and the integrity of his reserve
army as the two vital factors in ultimate success.
In the second place, we have an admirable illustration of
the tremendous value of the flank attack. We know now why
Foch fought so hard to hold the enemy between Montdidier and
Noyon — he was saving the Aisne-Marne flank on the west of the
enemy's wedge for his coming counter. It was fear of this
counter that led the enemy to try the elimination of the allied
salient between the Somme and the Marne. He failed, and
having failed he made the mistake of trusting to the weakness
of the allies, or to his own strength, and so starting his new
drive in spite of the continued menace on his flank. He had
warning in the tactical battles fought by General Foch along
the Soissons-Thierry front, but he ignored the warning.
In the third place we have seen the successful use of the
July 25, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
21
method employed first by the British at Cambrai — the attack
:by tanks without artillery preparation. Thus the surprise ele-
:ment was effectively introduced. Of the results the reader now
knows more than can be said at this hour. In achieving them
jour own boys have played a glorious part.
S. J. Duncan-Clark.
Books
Deductions from the World War. By Lt. Gen. Baron von
i7reytag-Loringhoven. The writer of this remarkably frank and
nteresting book is the deputy chief of the German imperial
;taff, a very distinguished authority on the technology of war,
ind one of the most trusted of the Kaiser's officers. He dis-
:usses the progress of the conflict up to a few months ago in a
ipirit surprisingly calm, and with none of the usual Teutonic bias
ind bitterness. He points out the strength and the weakness of
he different combatants, as he sees them, and comments with
Enthusiasm on the progress which military science has made
jluring the past three years. To this man war is the really
erious business of states. He is a true disciple of Frederick
he Great. Indeed for him the three greatest men in all history
lire Frederick, Napoleon and Moltke. He has no doubt as to
:he outcome of the present war. But even if he thought there
:vas the remotest chance for Germany to lose, the war would
i till be an interesting step in the development of a more effective
trategy for the next war, which he foresees at no great distance,
i Putnam, $1.25)
S. O. S. Stand To! By Sergt. Reginald Grant. It is not
bo much to say that this is one of the best of the war books
lealing with the actual experiences of the front lines. Of a
ertain sort of books, that tell the story of the horrors and the
-tathsomeness of war, we have had enough. That is a side of
he great conflict which must be kept in mind. But it is not the
reat side, and if over-emphasized it is not even true. Here in
his book one finds enough of the grime, the terror and the
eart-break of things at the front. But there is something else
nd something better. For three years this young Canadian was
i command of a small battery, whose men were more than
nee wiped completely out. Yet he seemed to bear a charmed
fe. But what was of more significance, he never failed to under-
Land something of the big meaning of things. For a vivid,
lrilling, yet restrained narrative of actual fighting, we commend
lis book. (Appleton, $1.50)
Long Heads and Round Heads. By Dr. W. S. Sadler. The
athor of this work, who is a successful physician of this city,
as read with profit Madison Grant's "The Passing of the Great
[ace," and has undertaken to interpret its leading ideas in a
^ries of addresses now put into this volume. The effort is made
> explain the present world conflict in terms of the break-down
f German character as the result of the mastering of the Nordic
id Mediterranean stock, the long-headed race, which has pro-
uced in Germany as elsewhere the scholars and artists, by the
lpine, round-headed, brutal type, represented by Hindenburg and
is sort. In a series of quotations from Thayer and Archer he
iustrates the ruthless, arrogant tendency of modern Germanism,
Inch he thinks due to qualities found in the blood. Whether
us is not too easy a solution of a much more complex problem
ie reader must decide for himself. The book is valuable among
:her things as a collection of quotable materials in connection
ith the discussion of the war. (McClurg, $1.)
The Sandman: His Indian Stories. By W. S. Phillips (El
omancho). Here are gathered together a wealth of "real Indian
ories" for children and young people. The author lived for
any years among the Indians, and knows their hearts. Most of
ie tales— which are for the most part stories of animals — are of
ie Sioux and Blackfeet tribes. (Page, Boston. $1.50.)
The Diplomatic
Background of
the War
BY CHARLES SEYMOUR
Professor in Yale University
A remarkably graphic and fascinating story
1 of the maneuvering and manipulating of
1 European politics since 1874. It interprets the
jj essential motifs of the several nations with
j§ unusual lucidity. No important diplomatic
1 incident is overlooked. The reader feels that
H he is being piloted through the labyrinth of
|| European political mysteries by a guide who
1 speaks as one acquainted with inside condi-
jj tions. It is a story worth reading and the
1 narrative grips like the climax of a novel.
% The Critics Say:
"A story worth reading and the narrative grips
like the climax of a novel."
"It is soul-stirring to read his dramatic story of
the formation of the Triple Entente."
jj "Impartial, clear and logical."
"Head and shoulders above most of the books
from the Front."
"The best book in this particular field written by
an American."
"An accurate presentation of historical facts in
a clear, agreeable and concise style."
"The most valuable book that has come to our
notice."
"One of the most scholarly historical studies that
the war has produced."
"Entirely unpartisan and unprejudicial."
"Is so intelligent and so reasonable that it seems
to exclude prejudice or bitter feeling."
"Sound and historically mature."
"No important diplomatic incident has been over-
looked."
"There is joy in reading the words of a man who
is not afraid of fundamentals nor too indolent to
seek them out."
"Beautifully printed, carefully indexed and, above
all, written in the best of historian-English."
$2.00 NET {add 8c to 14c postage)
The Christian Century Press
700 East 40th Street
CHICAGO
iailllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllM
22
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
July 25, 1918
News of the Churches
Altoona, Iowa, Pastor Will Prepare
For Missionary Service in Paraguay
Harry P. Leach has resigned as pastor
at Altoona, Iowa, with a view to entering
the College of Missions, Indianapolis, next
September. He will close his work Sep-
tember 1. Mr. and Mrs. Leach are looking
to Paraguay as their field and they hope
to be among the first of the Disciples to
enter that republic. Both are graduates
of Drake in recent years and post-gradu-
ate students in the University of Chicago,
Mr. Leach receiving a master's degree in
1917. He leaves Altoona after being with
the church one year and receiving 25 per-
sons into the membership.
War Emergency at the
Illinois State Convention
One of the most timely features of the
Illinois convention to be held at Eureka,
September 2-5, will be the report of Ward
E. Hall, evangelist of the Northwestern
district, on the special work at the Great
Lakes Naval Training Station at Wauke-
gan. About five months ago, upon the
urgent appeal of the church at Waukegan,
seconded by the Chicago Christian Mis-
sionary Society, the Illinois State Society
released Mr. Hall from his work that he
might enter upon special service at the
Naval Training Station, Waukegan. At that
time W. C. MacDougall was pastor of
First church. Mr. Hall began his task
with enthusiasm and has met with un-
usual success among the Jackies. When
Mr. MacDougall closed his work June 1
Mr. Hall was called to supply. He started
a campaign to raise funds to beautify the
building. The money has all been raised
and on Sunday, July 14, a rededication
service was held. Seth W. Slaughter has
been called to the pastorate of the church
and will begin his work August 1. Next
year the American Christian Missionary
Society and the Illinois Society will join
in the support of the pastor and the spe-
cial work at the Training Station.
Disciples at Summer Sessions of
University of Chicago
Herbert M. Garn of Culver-Stockton
College is spending the summer in resi-
dence at the University of Chicago, con-
tinuing work for the doctorate. Henry
B. Robinson of the same college is spend-
ing a short time in Chicago, whither he
came with his daughter, who is taking
work at the University. Dean Norton of
Drake is spending a part of his summer
working in the libraries of the University.
Among other men here for the summer
are Tyler Warren and W. H. Trainum.
P. J. Rice Has Interesting
Experience at Camp Logan
Perry J. Rice, Executive Secretary of the
Chicago Missionary Society, writes inter-
estingly of a visit recently made by him
to Camp Logan, about ten or twelve miles
north of the Great Lakes camp. Here is
his story: "Upon my arrival I was met
by the secretary of the 'Y.' He told me
of a young man who wanted to be bap-
tized. The young man was sent for and
after a few minutes' conversation he made
the confession. After the service in the
hut we went to the lake about 9 :30 o'clock
and in the light of the moon, with a small
company of his comrades present, I bap-
tized him in the waters of Lake Michigan.
It was an impressive service and what
made it the more impressive is the fact
that the young man who was baptized was
led to make his decision for Christ by
the Y. M. C. A. Secretary, who is him-
self a Baptist. He was further instructed
and encouraged by the civilian chaplain
at that camp who is a High Church Epis-
copalian and who helped to arrange for
the baptismal service and participated in
it. The young man was baptized by a
minister of the Disciple church, of which
fellowship his mother is a member, and
in which church he will take membership,
arrangements being made to ask the clerk
of the church of which his mother is a
member to place his name on the records."
Death of Weil-Known
Chicago Disciple
Mrs. Harriet L. Clarke, wife of Sam-
uel J. Clarke, and a leader for many
years in Disciple activities in Chicago
and Cook county, died on July 20 at her
home in this city. Mrs. Clarke was sev-
enty-one years of age. She was born at
Thorntown, Ind., and lived in Chicago
thirty years. She was past president of
the Cook County Woman's Christian
Temperance Union and was a state offi-
cer at the time of her death. Mr. and
Mrs. Clarke celebrated their golden wed-
ding January 1, 1917. She is survived
by her husband, two daughters and a
son. Mr. and Mrs. Clarke have been
very active workers in Jackson Boule-
vard church, Chicago, for many years,
and Mrs. Clarke's presence and inspira-
tion will be greatly missed there, as also
in other circles in which she ministered.
The funeral service was conducted last
Monday by her paster, Austin Hunter.
— Dr. Edgar DeWitt Jones, pastor at
Bloomington, 111., and president of the
Disciples General Convention, suffered
the loss by death of his beautiful
daughter, Mary Eunice, last week. The
little girl had been ill for several months.
The entire church and community
mourned with Dr. and Mrs. Jones in!
their sorrow. The funeral service was
held on last Sunday afternoon, con-
ducted by Charles Clayton Morrison, edi-
tor of The Christian Century, and as-
sisted by W. D. Deweese, David N.
Wetzel and Fred E. Hagin, local Bloom-j
ington ministers.
— Geo. W. Maxwell of Fairfax, Mo., is l
the only Disciples minister in Atchison!
county, Mo., where there are six goodj
congregations. He preaches half-time forj
the churches at Craig and Fairfax, alscj
twice a month for the church at Corning.!
During the month of May he delivered!
twenty-six sermons and addresses ; duringj
June twenty-four. On July 4 he gave aj
patriotic address at Cornin?. and is fullji
as busy during July as he was during May
and June. During his ministry of eighteerj
months at Fairfax, forty-three persons!
have been added to the congregation anc:
$8,500 worth of improvements and repair!!
Four" Months in Chicago
The writer came to Chicago to assume
the position of Executive Secretary of
the Chicago Christian Missionary Society
March 1 and has therefore been on the
field a little more than four months. He
was cordially received and found plenty
of work awaiting him. There were re-
ported at that time twenty-three churches
in Cook county, but one of these, known
as the West End church, has ceased to
meet, and several others were finding it
difficult to continue. Six of them were
without pastors and numbers of others
were depending upon pastors who could
only give a part of their time to the
church. Ten or a dozen of the churches
may be said to be well organized, self sup-
porting, and aggressive, though several of
these are inadequately housed.
The Chicago Christian Missionary So-
ciety is an organization with a history.
While it has not always been the aggres-
sive force that its friends have desired,
it has numerous achievements to its credit,
and there is a? general conviction tnat it
is now making a new beginning, with
promise of larger usefulness than it has
ever enjoyed.
Shortly after the arrival of the Execu-
tive Secretary, headquarters were opened
in the Association Building, and the place
fitted up to serve as an office for the
Secretary, and a place of meeting for the
Disciples of the city and for those who
may be visiting in the city. It has proved
its usefulness and promises to be a factor
of real importance in the work before us.
Since coming to the city the Secretary,
with a committee of which Austin Hunter
of the Jackson Boulevard church is the
chairman, has had charge of raising Chi-
cago's apportionment of the Men and Mil-
lions Emergency Fund and in this service
and in other services he has come in di-
rect personal relation with twelve of the
churches and into more or less definite
relation with all the others. Ail but tw(!
of the churches have been supplied witli
regular ministers, the work at the Greal
Lakes Naval Training Station has beer|
assisted, and in various ways the wholij
situation has been improved. The budge
of expenses for the current year has beeij
fully underwritten ; a majority of th<|
churches, and individuals from practically
all of the churches, having taken part in
it.
At its last regular meeting the Execu!
tive Council of the society approved th,
appointment of a Commission of Fifteei!
to make a survey of the work of thl
Disciples in Chicago and Cook county, and
upon the basis of their findings, to makJ
recommendations regarding future wort]
It is hoped that the survey will result ii)
further unifying the churches in supporj
of a program in which all may unite. Thj
Commission is at work and expects to b
able to make its report by the time of th
annual meeting of the society in Octobei
On June 20th a dinner was given i
the City Club in honor of S. Guy Inmat
One hundred and thirty-four persons wer
present, and the affair was in every wa
enjoyable and profitable. Mrs. S. J. Rue
sell, President of the City C. W. B. W.
Union, presided in a graceful manner; th
invocation was pronounced by C. G. Kir
dred of the Englewood church; Mr. E
M. Bowman, recently of Chicago, no^
of New York, made a brief address, an
Mr. Inman was introduced by the write
who, while residing in El Paso, Texa;
had had intimate knowledge of his wor
in Mexico. Mr. Inman's address was chai
acteristically optimistic and informing.
There are many features connected wit
the work in this great city at the centc
of the continent and contiguous to th
great body of the Disciples of Christ whic
should enlist a wide circle of active helper
Perry J. Rice.
ily 25, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
23
ve been put upon the church property,
lis has all been paid for except $500,
iiich is covered with more than $2,000
good personal pledges. All missionary
portionments have been met, besides a
bstantial cash offering to the Men and
illions movement.
CAMP
FUNSTON
CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Manhattan, Kansas
O. C. MOOMAW, Minister
Write us about your son.
— Illinois State Convention at Eureka,
iptember 2-5. Write H. H. Peters, Bloom-
l^ton, 111., for information.
i— Herbert L. Willett, Jr., is with the
s;dpath Lecture bureau for a few weeks,
eeting engagements in Illinois and Ken-
Icky. His principal subjects are "Turkey
War-time," "Subject Peoples of the
ijrkish Empire," and "In and Out of
jjrkey." In the last of these Mr. Willett
Ills of his personal experiences traveling
the land of the Sultan.
j — Not that it is especially important,
lit in the interest of facts, it is desired
Sat this department correct its recent
jitement that a record attendance was
lade at the DuQuoin, 111., Bible school
n a recent Sunday, a record figure of
)22 being reported by the pastor there
]!r that high day. A. K. Adcock writes
iat on September 6, 1914, while he was
Sinister at DuQuoin, there was an attend-
ee of 1,077. Meanwhile, the battle on
le west front goes on!
u rui uAnu CENTRAL CHURCH
MEW YORK 142 West 81st Street
hi. ii i vim pinis s#Idleman Minister
j — Sunday, July 14, was observed by the
jitavia, 111., church as Octogenarian Sun-
y in honor of four members who are
per eighty years of age. The three men
this group attend services regularly,
ich of the honored members received a
liquet of roses with the compliments of
ie congregation. W. E. Gordon, minister
| Batavia, reports this interesting occasion.
j — The Chicago Christian Missionary
jiciety, under the leadership of Perry J.
ice, is sending three or four men every
j;ek to the near-by camps to speak in
!e Y huts.
MFMHRIAI CHURCH OF CHRIST
VJCmimiAL. (Disciples and Baptists)
"HFPir.ft OikwOTd Blii Wed of dttap Crow
^nitAUU Herbert L WBlert. Minuter
J — R. V. Callaway, the new leader at
lerling, 111., reports that the church there
|cently paid $1,400 on its building debt,
iducing the obligation on the fine building
ere to $4,400. Mr. Callaway is one of
je Four Minute Men of Sterling.
— The convention of Michigan Disciples
11 be held the third week of the jubilee
ar of the state missionary society. The
stings will be held at Crystal Beach,
Culver-Stockton College
1 1 standard co-educational college located
I iigh on the hills overlooking the Father of
(Waters. Six major courses leading to A.
j 5. or B. S. degrees. Twenty-two teachers
| tnd instructors. Also courses in Music,
^rt, Expression and Economics. Modern
lormitory for young women. Board, room
ind literary tuition $300 for 36 weeks.
JOHN H. WOOD, President
CANTON, MO.
"On the Mississippi"
TRANSYLVANIA COLLEGE
AND
COLLEGE OF THE BIBLE
Transylvania has just closed a record year. Largest attendance of college students in her
history of one hundred and twenty years. Large group preparing for ministry, mission field
and public Christian service.
1.— Faculty unsurpassed in preparation, experience and teaching ability. Personal interest taken
ia every student.
2.— Satisfactory elective courses leading to A.B., B.S., M.A., P.Th.B. and B.D. degrees.
3. — Adequate equipment in buildings, grounds, libraries, laboratories, gymnasium and athletic
field, representing $700,000.
4. — Situated in the midst of the world-famed Blue Grass region.
5. — Opportunities for students to make a large part of expenses. Scholarship aid for sons and
daughers of ministers, high school honor graduates, ministerial and missionary students,
and those financially embarrassed. A large number of pulpits available for our ministerial
students.
6.— Expenses reasonable. All regular fees, including library, athletic association, college
magazine, etc., $60. Furnished room for men (Ewing Hall), $40 for session; for women
(Lyons Hall), $60. Reservation fee of $2 should be sent at once.
7.— Faculty of College of the Bible: E. H. Crossfield, B. C. DeWeese, A. W. Fortune, W. C.
Bower, E. E. Snoddy, George W. Brown, Edward Saxon.
Former students are sending their sons and daughters to us.
Write for catalogues and attractive booklets.
Lexington, Ky.
R. H. CROSSFIELD, President
near Frankfort, July 28-August 4. The
National society has been given 160 acres
bordering on Crystal Lake and will de-
velop it into a national outing grounds for
the Disciples of Christ.
— J. E. Foster is the new pastor at Kan-
kakee, 111.
— First church building, Waukegan, 111.,
has been undergoing extensive repairs and
remodeling. A rededication service was
held on July 14, in which W. C. McDou-
gall, former pastor, and Ward E. Hall,
acting pastor, participated.
— A. R. Liverett reports thirty accessions
to the membership at Central church,
Walla Walla, Wash., since his coming to
that pastorate in March. Offerings of
$100 and $132 respectively are reported
for Easter and Children's Day. Appor-
tioned but $2,500 by the Emergency Drive
leaders, the church went over with $4,200.
Mr. Liverett has been called upon to
preach the baccalaureate sermon at Spo-
kane University, address the Nezperce,
Idaho, convention and the Inland Empire
convention. Mr. Liverett is delighted with
the west and its people.
UWIOH AVENUE
QT I fillip CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Oil LUUIO Union and Von Versen Aves.
George A. Campbell, Minister
— A number of resignations of Disciples
ministers are reported : C. H. DeVoe, at
Oskaloosa, Iowa ; J. A. Agnew, Mt. Car-
mel, 111. ; L. M. Koser, Stuart Street
Springfield, 111., and H. W. Talley, Mays-
ville, Mo., are among the number.
— Frederick A. Mayhall, Disciple leader
and attorney of St. Louis, recently gave
an address before a union meeting of the
churches at Sedalia, Mo. In the morning
he preached at First Christian church.
— First church, Davenport,, Iowa, will
soon have a new building.
— A complete set of chimes has been in-
stalled in the tower of First Church,
Springfield, 111., as a memorial to the late
Clarkson W. Freeman from his wife. A
twilight service was held on last Sunday
evening at which the chimes were tested.
— O. F. Jordan, of Evanston, 111., church,
gave the principal address at a special
community service held under the auspices
of the Evanston War Council in honor of
the French on their national holiday,
July 14.
—The C. W. B. M. and the Foreign
Society are planning to send two single
women, Miss Musgrave and Miss Smith,
to Congo, Central Africa, in the autumn.
Because of the submarine activities, the
sailing will probably be via South Amer-
ica and Cape Town, South Africa. Other
missionaries to sail about the same time
are: Mr. and Mrs. B. E. Watson, for
Japan; Miss Nine DuPee and Miss Eliza-
beth Dieter, for China, as nurses; Mr.
and Mrs. Fay Livengood, for India, and
Dr. and Mrs. Herbert Swanson, for the
Philippines. All of these missionaries
are to fill emergencies and vacancies.
The Foreign Society is anxious to find a
matron or superintendent for the hos-
pital in Manila, to have charge of the
native nurses and also general direction
of the hospital.
— The faculty of the College of the Bible
Lexington, Ky, has not been able to sup-
ply all the calls that have been made for
ministerial students to serve as rural min-
isters in Central Kentucky. While the at-
tendance in the college has been large this
year, the above fact will no doubt have a
tendency greatly to increase the number
of matriculates next autumn. A number
of young ministers of the Disciples of
Christ, who are at present attending large
union theological seminaries, have already
made reservations for next year, it is re-
ported.
«O0H!Hl»l
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When the War Ends this Book will provide the Key-
note of Religious Reconstruction.
A Theology for the Social
Gospel
By WALTER RAUSCHENBUSCH
Author of "Christianity and the Social Crisis,"
"Christianizing the Social Order," etc.
TPHE social gospel has become orthodox. It is
* an established part of the modern religious
message. But our systematic theology has come
down from an individualistic age and gives no ade-
quate support to those who want to put the power
of religion behind the teachings of social righteous-
ness. Theology is, in fact, often a spiritual ob-
stacle. It needs readjustment and enlargement.
The social gospel means a wider and more
thorough-going salvation.
With this as his viewpoint, Dr. Rauschenbusch takes
up the old doctrines of the Christian faith, such as
Original Sin, The Atonement, Inspiration, The
Sacraments, and shows how they can be re-inter-
preted from the modern social point of view and
expanded in their scope so that they will make
room for the salvation of society as well as for the
salvation of individuals.
It Makes Christianity Seem Like a New Religion !
Price $1.50 (add 6c or 10c postage)
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 East 40th Street
CHICAGO
n't 1 1 1 1 s t . n i i 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 1 1 1 iTrTiTnTT77iTTTT 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 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 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 i 1 1 1 m 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 >
FOR THE MEN AT THE FRONT
When you have finished reading this copy of
The Christian Century place a one-cent Btamp
on this corner and hand the magazine to any
postal employe. The Post Office will send it
to some soldier or sailor in our forces at the
front. No wrapping — no address.
A. 8. BUBLESON, Postmaster-general.
Vol. XXXV
August 1, 1913
Number 29
E
The Minister for
To-morrow
By Herbert H. Fletcher
Dr. Rauschenbusch on the War
CHI GAG
6
1L
I
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 1, 1918
FIRST WORDS
Concerning the New
20th Century Quarterly
From Rev. Peter Ainslie, Baltimore, Md.
The 20th Century Quarterly is a charming
little publication ; so brief and yet so in-
clusive, so attractive mechanically that it
must take place among the very first and
best of Sunday school quarterlies.
From Rev. L. J. Marshall, Kansas City, Mo.
The 20th Century Quarterly, in concep-
tion and contents, size and shape, arrange-
ment and application, selection and sugges-
tion, is the best I have ever seen. I felicitate
you on your accomplishment.
From Rev. Henry W. Hunter, Des Moines,
Iowa
I am delighted with the new Quarterly.
It is what I have been looking forward to
for some time. I am glad you have con-
ceived the ideal in fact. Men's classes ought
to welcome it with open arms. It is a big
advance in Sunday school literature.
From Rev. Gerald Culberson, Bedford, Ind.
The 20th Century Quarterly is what the
name implies — the meaty manual for the
adult student in the Sunday school of today.
From Rev. W. H. Hampton, Dallas City, 111.
The Quarterly is an original and scholarly
work. It is thoroughly evangelical in its in-
terpretation of the "Word." It has a direct,
vigorous style, fresh and practical helpful-
ness. It is an important contribution to the
church school literature. It is the most help-
ful of all "helps" I have ever seen for ad-
vanced classes.
From Rev. Ben H. Smith, Ft. Riley, Kan.
I value the Quarterly so highly that I
want the back numbers. John R. Ewers'
talks on the lessons are "great" ; the book
ought to be in every home, just because of
these helpful pages of counsel and inspira-
tion. The work of the other men is just as
good. (Note: Several leaders have written
in for "back numbers," not realizing that
this is the first issue. This fact we consider
the best kind of commendation.)
From W. H. Hoover, North Canton, O.
The new publication fills a long-felt want
and need. It will be of inestimable value to
every conscientious teacher and leader,
whether learned or unlearned.
Rev. Wilford H. McLain, Niles, O., For-
merly Ohio State Bible School Superin-
tendent
The 20th Century Quarterly presents
facts in such manner as to move the user to
proper action. It should prove a winner in
men's classes. Attractive in appearance,
convenient in arrangement, prepared by men
who are achieving vital results, and based
upon a 20th century conception of the Bible,
it is rightly named the "20th Century Quar-
terly."
Rev. Allen T. Shaw, Pekin, 111.
This quarterly effectively meets the needs
of young people's Bible classes. It con-
serves time and energy by eliminating
duplication, presenting the practical lessons
in a way that spells "punch" and "pep." The
fine art of adapting ancient truths to mod-
ern conditions is strikingly illustrated in the
Quarterly.
Rev. James E. Davis, Kansas City, Mo.
The 20th Century Quarterly is in my
judgment the best quarterly for adults pub-
lished today. The four men who have pro-
duced it have done our brotherhood yeoman
service.
Rev. Madison A. Hart, Columbia, Mo.
I am greatly pleased with the 20th Cen-
tury Quarterly. In mechanical make-up it
is very attractive ; in exposition of the sub-
ject, it is suggestive, illuminating and vital.
Rev. F. M. Cummings, Kensington, O.
The new Quarterly is attractive to the
mind which seeks the truth of religion and
is a great improvement on the conventional
treatment of the Bible school lessons.
Rev. Austin Hunter, Chicago
The 20th Century Quarterly is a practical
and helpful publication. It is not overloaded
with unusable material, but gives the sub-
stance one needs in vital study of the les-
sons.
Send for your free sample copy of the 20th Century Quar-
terly today and mail us your school's order without delay
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS, 700 East Fortieth Street, CHICAGO
An Undenominational Journal of Religion
Volume XXXV
AUGUST 1, 1918
Number 29
EDITORIAL STAFF: CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON. EDITOR; HERBERT L. WILLETT. CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
i)RVIS FAIRLEE JORDAN. ALVA W. TAYLOR. JOHN RAY EWERS :: THOMAS CURTIS CLARK, OFFICE MANAGER
Intertd as second-class matter, Feb. 28, 1902, at the Post-office, Chicago. Published weekly by Disciples Publication Society, foo E. 40th St., Chicago
Subscription — $2.50 a year (to ministers, $2.00), strictly in advance. Canadian postage, 52 cents extra; foreign, $1.04 extra.
3hange of date on wrapper is a receipt for remittance on subscription and shows month and year to which subscription is paid.
The Christian Century is a free interpreter of the essential ideals of Christianity as held historically by the Disciples of Christ.
[t conceives the Disciples' religious movement as ideally an unsectarian and unecclesiastical fraternity, whose original impulse and
ommon tie are fundamentally the desire to practice Christian unity in the fellowship of all Christians. Published by Disciples, The
Christian Century, is not published for Disciples alone, but for the Christian world. It strives to interpret the wider fellowship
in religious faith and service. It desires definitely to occupy a catholic point of view and it seeks readers in all communions.
EDITORIAL
The Passing of a Prophet
[N the death of Professor Walter Rauschenbusch the
American church loses the leadership of its premier
prophet of social religion. The author of "Christianity
nd the Social Crisis" and "A Theology for the Social
jospel" had this preeminent distinction, that he kept the
uality and substance of evangelical faith while enlarging
hat faith to include the newly discovered forces of the
ocial order.
With Dr. Rauschenbusch the evangelical faith was not
mere harmless tradition which for diplomatic reasons
I tie social interpreter would do well to keep on sympa-
'hetic terms with. There are many such social leaders
jmong us who feel that way about the church and its con-
ventional gospel. But with Dr. Rauschenbusch the evan-
gelical faith was the vital substance of all his thinking.
jlis criticism of the church was that it did not take its own
onvictions seriously enough and apply them to the whole
f life.
And he applied them to the whole of life — the indi-
idual side as well as the social side of life — in such a way
s to make the social gospel really feel religious. In his
itest book, "A Theology for the Social Gospel", Dr.
lauschenbusch makes the social gospel seem as warmly
nd evangelically religious as is the gospel for the salva-
on of our personal souls. He shows us how sin is em-
odied in our community life in the same sense that it is
mbodied in the individual soul. Communities and states
re to be saved by the same laws of spiritual life which
-hristianity has historically applied to the salvation of
ersons.
To preacher and laymen alike, Dr. Rauschenbusch
as been an inspiration ever since his first book appeared
in the thrilling peace days when Roosevelt was President
and Ray Stannard Baker and Lincoln Steffins were writing
on social reform. Now that he has gone there will be an
augmentation of his influence among church and social
leaders. His place in the constructive thought life of the
church of his generation is large and secure.
Setting Forth the Ideals of the Disciples
UNLESS in God's providence we are altogether a
mistake, our Disciple fellowship of more than a
million souls is in the world for a purpose. We
sprang into being to meet a need. We have prospered
through fulfilling in some measure our destiny. Our
continued life is to be purchased by service. We may now
sound forth most of the historic testimonies of our people
and have sympathetic hearing in any community.
Just now the preachers in the Y. M. C. A. tabernacles
are preaching nothing so much as the primary importance
of Jesus in the Christian system. He is being exalted
over creeds and systems, and as the men respond in loving
obedience to the calls of the gospel it is evident that this
is one of the great testimonies for our time. The
Christo-centric theology was one of our enthusiasms
throughout the past century. The larger Christian world
has helped us to see the full implication of this doctrine.
The Disciples have also had an enthusiasm for the
preaching of Christian unity. This is no longer a peculiar
testimony of any people. At this hour it might seem
that the Presbyterians by their recent challenge at Colum-
bus had taken the most advanced ground of any of our
Protestant bodies. The apologists for the old denomina-
tional order are lonely souls these days. The world is
ready to hear our testimony. The other day a Jewish
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 1, 191!
chaplain had a cross pinned on his collar and a Christian
Science chaplain was vaccinated. The narrow prejudices
of the times of our blindness are passing away.
Meanwhile, there should come into our preaching the
Catholic sympathy which is connoted by these two great
messages. There is no place for a system of theology of
some other age. There is no place for carping criticisms
upon our religious neighbors. We cannot bind ourselves
hand and foot with any legalistic interpretations of the
plan of salvation. We must preach the gospel without
mingling in it a denominational interest.
With the revival of a thoroughly catholic type of
preaching, we might be useful more in proportion to the
strength we have in the world. Our numbers and power
are a trust from God to get our task accomplished.
Our Boy Across the Sea
IN the First Baptist church of Evanston, 111., is a Sun-
day school class room which was once the habitat of
a class of nineteen young men. They are now all
across the water. The old class pictures of hikes and
camping parties are there. This room is a holy place
for the people of that church, for it is associated these
days with the finest sentiments and feelings.
Not every church is able to visualize in such a striking
way the thing that has happened to its young men. They
have slipped away from us one by one and we hardly
realized that so many were gone as the service flag shows.
The other day at the, Sunday school picnic we noticed
we had no baseball game except a game of "tow old cat"
played by the younger boys. The fellows that enlivened
the picnics of the past are dodging cannon balls now in-
stead of playing baseball.
Once in a while one of them writes a timid letter
back to his pastor, and makes apologies for bothering a
busy man! If that pastor is half a man, he sits right
down and tells the young fellow far away all about the
church folks and the old home church and puts in a bit
of cheer and a bit of earnest counsel. The pastor who
would neglect such a letter is a formalist who has never
felt the human obligations of his great calling.
The boy away in the camp or in the battle line in
France where such great events are taking place has but
little need of material things. The American army is the
best fed and best clothed in the history of the world. What
the boy needs is friendship and cheer and spiritual uplift.
iHis job is one that is often repugnant to him. He has
to run a cold bayonet into the body of a human being, lest
bayonets be forever the order of our world. He is not
Revelation
All the beauty of the sky and the earth is like the smile
of God, and a smile shows us the disposition of the person
just as certainly as any words he can use. One cannot
sit down in the midst of this loveliness without being
conscious that it is a Divine Presence that makes it
lovely.
Henry Ware, Jr.
afraid, but a timid boy who once refused to kill a chicke:!
for his mother does not quite like his job.
So the letters must be kept going by the wholj
church. There must be no "ifs" about victory nor an;
about his coming back. The letter must breathe the won]
derful spirit of patriotism that has swept across our land!
It must set forth our faith that God is still with hi!
PeoPIe- i ■■■-,' .::;.,! is
The Vacation Books
THE minister's wife and his best friends will war
him about carrying off with him on his vacation
lot of books. Some men will be tempted to spen
their time on professional reading and the vacation wi
thus be defeated. Others will try to live without book
and find their souls very hungry before a week ha
passed. Since rest is change, the best of vacation read
ing will be something different than the professional gris
Why should the minister not use the vacation time fo
getting acquainted with some of the great nations o
Europe which we now understand too little? Russia i
peculiarly challenging for it seems now that the partitio:
of Russia is a greater threat to the peace of Europe tha
was the spoliation of Belgium. The novelists of Russi
such as Tolstoi, Turgeniev, Dostoievsky, and others hav
written books among the most interesting of the pa<
century. These are now accessible in cheap translation
The dramatists of Russia have spoken, too. The states
men of Russia, such as Miliukov have given us their vivi
descriptions of the Russian life.
With the present invasion of Siberia by Japan, it i
clear that the Oriental empire is to have a hand in (k
terminating some of our occidental questions. Most of th
literature about Japan has been the missionary literatur
written for a special purpose. There is another literatur!
which will reveal the significance of Japan and China an
the whole oriental question. The Japanese stories fur
nish relaxation for the lighter moods.
The historic isolation of America has made us thi
most provincial of the great nations. We have noij
fully embarked our craft upon the sea of international
politics. It is a time when we need fresh knowledg!
about our world and leaders of public thought must bj
educators of the people.
Is there not a religious significance to all this? W|
seek the coming of the kingdom of God and the brother!
hood of man. The new world situation is now full c!
blood and struggle, but the end of it may be a new realizsi
tion of our duty to the whole human race.
What Do We Expect From Our Schools
COLLEGE advertising appearing in the journals agai
reminds us that the opening of a new year is neaj
at hand. Though the advertising is more mode;]
than formerly and some of the schools have not eve
printed a catalogue, nevertheless, there has been mor
energy than formerly expended on the task of securin
students for these schools.
A long time ago Protagoras announced to Socrate
that he had found a teacher. When Socrates asked hit
August 1, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
what he expected this teacher to do to his soul, the young
man was greatly embarrassed. He only knew that it
was the fashion for well-to-do boys in Athens to hire a
sophist. What effect this would have on their spiritual
development was not clearly recognized by the people
who kept the trade of sophist alive.
The same anxious questioning about education is
going on in our own day. H. G. Wells has a serial going
in the New Republic in which the whole burden of the
investigation of schools is to show that the pedagogues
have no clear idea of the real end of education. Each
group is preparing pupils to be received by a higher group
according to a traditional curriculum. Will this curricu-
lum make the students more loyal to the nation? Will
it provide other great loyalties? The teachers are very
unsatisfying in their answers.
As we study and criticize education, we realize that
the old notion that it was carried on to furnish a certain
"broad-mindedness" is not an adequate ideal. A profes-
sor has been called "a person of a contrary opinion" and
by the same mark a university man has often been thought
of as an individualist whose opinion bordered on eccen-
tricity.
Education should make men and women more useful
In a Starving World
By Calvin Dill Wilson
MY PLENTY shames me when I think this bread,
This meat, of which I have too much, would be
As manna sent from God to famished ones
Across the sea — pale woman, fainting child,
Old man, or soldier maimed for our own sakes.
Here, take the half and more, and daily take,
And lade it on the giant ships, with share
From myriad tables in our land, and send
And send and send, past cursed foes that lurk
Beneath the waves, through tempest, fog and ice, .
To them who cry for crumbs as Dives moaned
For drops in hell to cool his parching tongue.
Here, take! 'Tis consecrate, as is the Bread
And Wine of Holy Sacrament! 'Tis God's
Not mine! His dying children lack and call.
Let me not eat in peace till this is done.
Let me not sit me down about my board
But specters come and stare at me, and ghosts
Stand by my side, and cries of children smite
My ears and ring through all my brain and soul —
Until I set apart this holy thing,
Due portion of my fullness in this time.
There is, by God's most wondrous chemistry,
Enough upon the planet in this hour
To keep the lives that are against the day
When earth will fructify and bear again.
Thou hast within thy walls, at thy command,
More than thy needs. Bring forth — divide —
Disgorge —
And then, with better heart and appetite,
Partake, in joy, thy meat. But not before!
While Hunger mourns and thou repliest not,
Let food be tasteless on thy lips, and gall
And wormwood to thy sated, selfish tongue.
— New York Times.
members of society. This is to be interpreted not only
from the standpoint of industry, but from that of the
cultural life as well. The war has shown us our need of
carefully trained experts. The schools must give us these
experts and coupled with their specialty must be the ability
to connect this helpfully with the whole world of human
effort. Let traditions in education pass and let us have
men trained for a world that now exists.
The Ice That Melted
A Parable of Safed the Sage
NOW it came to pass in the Summer that I visited
in a Town wherein I had a friend who was a
Lawyer ; and he had an Office that fronted on the
Court House Square. And the weather was so hot the
Sidewalks Sizzled ; and his office was Not Very Cool.
And he bought a Water Cooler, and paid for the same
Six Dollars. And he ordered the Ice-man to leave every
morning Twenty-five Pounds of Ice on the Sidewalk
that ran hard by his office. And he put the Ice in the
Water Cooler, and he poured Water thereon, and he
Drank, and he whistled a tune, the name whereof was,
Never Mind the Weather. And he thrust his head out
of the Window and he called to his friends in the Court
House, even to the Sheriff and the Surveyor and the
Recorder, and he said, Come across ; the Drinks are on
me ! And they came across and drank of his Ice Water,
which was better than some of them sometimes drank.
Now, the Iceman came early in the morning, and
the Lawyer came late. And the sun beat down on the
Sidewalk Something Fierce. And it beat upon his Ice,
and it Melted. And after the second or the third morn-
ing the lump of Ice was very small, and the Wet Spot
about it was exceeding large.
And it came to pass that I visited him on the first
day of October, when the quarterly bills for Ice came
round ; and the Iceman had charged him for Twenty-
five Pounds of Ice every day from the first day of July
till the thirtieth day of September, and the Price of Ice
was High. And he was of a sad countenance ; for about
Twenty Pounds of that Twenty-five had melted on the
Sidewalk.
And he rang up the Iceman and complained. And
he said, Behold, Thou gavest me Short Weight.
And the Iceman answered and said, Go thou to
grass ! If thou tarriest in thy bed in the morning and
lettest the ice melt on thy front walk, We should worry.
Get thou busy and send in the Cash, for we can use it
in our business.
And he knew that the Iceman was right.
And he sent in the money, and he was sad.
And I said to myself, The man who letteth the years
go by in hope of joys to come, and who getteth not busy
and useth the joys that God sendeth to him with the
dawn of every day, and who cometh to his latter years
with little to comfort him and with many regrets, he is
like unto the man who riseth late in summer, and in
the autumn must pay for a Wet Spot on the Sidewalk.
Apocalyptic Backgrounds
A Study of Significant Phrases and Ideas Found in Extra-Biblical Writings
Seventeenth Article in the Series on the Second Coming of Christ
IN those striking works known as the apocalypses
found among the Jewish writings of the last pre-
Christian centuries and the opening decades of
Christianity there are found many expressions which
throw light upon the current ideas of the days in which
Jesus was teaching and his first interpreters were ex-
tending the message of the gospel. To the study of
the most outstanding of those books the previous article
was devoted. In the present chapter a few of the most
important utterances of this non-canonical literature
are presented in order that the reader may appreciate
the familiar sound of these expressions in the ears of
Jewish Christians as a result of their acquaintance with
the works in which they were first set down. It is not
too much to assert that almost every term and every
conception found in the New Testament in connection
with the subject of the Second Coming of Jesus was to
be found in these popular works, and received its first
valuation as the result of that previous employment.
As has been noted in earlier studies, it was a fixed
belief of the Jewish people, from whose ranks the
entire body of the first disciples of Jesus was recruited,
that the long range of time was divided into two eons
or ages, the one then present and the one to be ex-
pected soon. These were called respectively the Present
Age and the Age to Come. They had technical names
in the popular vocabulary. In the Parable of the Tares
Jesus refers to the "consummation of the age," often
translated, and not improperly, the "end of the world,"
for the language meant the same to those who used it
(Matt. 13:39). The time of the change from one age
to the other would be the close of all present affairs,
and the inauguration of a new order. To this Jesus
refers as "the regeneration" (Matt. 19:28). Scores of
passages with the same import, though sometimes ex-
pressing it in variant manner, are to be found in the
New Testament. With that time of transformation
the judgment was naturally associated. The apocalyp-
tic writers had made this a familiar idea. Baruch
voices this thought (70:2) : "Behold the days come, and
it shall be when the time of the age has ripened, and
the harvest of its evil and good deeds has come, that
the Mighty One will bring upon the earth and its
inhabitants and upon its rulers perturbation of spirit
and stupor of heart." In the same book (32:6) there
is reference to the time "when the Mighty One will
renew his creation." The writer of 4 Esdras says,
"until the times come in which Thou shalt renew the
creation" (7:75). In Jubilees (1:29) occurs the lan-
guage, "the day of the creation, when the heavens and
the earth shall be renewed."
In the eschatological discourse recorded in Mat-
thew 24, questions concerning the coming of the Master
and the end of the age were answered in phrases which
show close relationship with the apocalypses, where
one finds such expressions as these : "The holy Great
One will come forth from his dwelling" (En. 1 :3) ; "My
second coming" (Sec. of En. 32:1); "The day of the
consummation, the great judgment in which the age
shall be consummated" (En. 16:1) ; "The consummation
of the times" (Test. Reub. 6:8) ; "The end of the ages"
(Test. Levi 10:2) ; "The time of consummation" (Test.
Zeb. 9:9) ; "The consummation of the age" (Test. Benj.
11:3); "The consummation of the end of the days"
(Assumpt. Mos. 1 :18) ; "The consummation of those
who have been righteous" (Bar. 21 :8) ; "The great
aeon" (Sec. En. 65 :8) ; "This age — the age to come"
(Sec. En. 8:1).
THE JUDGMENT SCENE
The judgment is given its most vivid description
in Matt. 25 :31ff. With that and other classic references
to the same theme one may well compare 4 Esdras
7:33,37,38, where the writer says, "The Most High
shall be revealed upon the throne of judgment; and'
then shall the Most High say to the nations that have
been raised, Look now and consider Whom ye have
denied, Whom ye have not served, Whose command-
ments ye have despised. Look now before you: here
delight and refreshment, there fire and torments." In
Baruch 72:2 are found these words: "After the signs
have come, of which thou hast been told before, when
the nations become turbulent, and the time of my
Messiah is come, he shall both summon all the nations,
and some of them he shall spare and some of them he
shall slay." And in Enoch 62:1-5 there is a passage
possessing so many resemblances to our Lord's descrip-
tion of the judgment that one can hafdly doubt that h
was familiar with it.
It was a common article of belief that preceding
the final days of the present age there would come a time
of trouble, portents, violence, tragedies and strife. Par-
ticularly is this impressed by the writers of Daniel and
Revelation. Not different is the thought of the extra-
canonical apocalypses. In speaking of the "day of
tribulation," Enoch (1 :l-7) says, "All shall be smitten
with fear, and the watchers shall quake and great fear
and trembling shall seize them unto the ends of the
earth. And the high mountains shall be shaken, and
the high hills shall be made low, and shall melt like
wax before the flame. And the earth shall be wholly
rent asunder, and all that is upon the earth shall perish.
And there shall be a judgment upon all men." In 91 :5
he says, "I know that violence must increase on the
earth." And in 100:12, "And in those days in one place
the fathers together with the sons shall be smitten,
and brothers one with another shall fall in death, till
the streams flow with their blood. For a man shall
August 1, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
not withhold his hand from slaying his son and his
i son's son." Baruch 70:3, 6, writes, "They shall hate
ji one another, and provoke one another to fight. . . .
Then shall confusion fall upon all men, and some of
I them shall fall in battle, and some of them shall perish
in anguish. And some of them shall be destroyed by
I their own." Similar are these sentences from other
portions of these writings : "For no man of wealth,
endowed with goods, will give any part to another, but
I miserable meanness shall be among all mortals, and
faith they shall never keep at all (Sib. 3:41-43);
"Iniquity shall be increased above that which thou
thyself now seest or that which thou hast heard of
long ago" (4 Esd. 5 :2) ; "Behold the days come when
the Most High is about to deliver them that are upon
the earth. And there shall come astonishment of mind
upon the dwellers on earth ; and they shall plan to war
one against another, city against city, place against
place, people against people, and kingdom against king-
dom" (4 Esd. 13:31).
TROUBLES OF THE LAST DAY
Columns could be filled with striking sayings of
these books which remind one of the words of the New
Testament, and show that the writers of the Christian
I Scriptures were familiar with this older literature. Wit-
ness the following: "For the barren shall above all
i rejoice, and those who have no sons shall be glad, and
| those who have sons shall have anguish" (Bar. 10:14.
J cf. Lu. 23 :29) ; "And there shall come upon them a
I second tribulation, such as hath not been from the
j beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall
be" (Assumpt. Mos. 8:1). This and similar words in
| Enoch 55:2 may be compared with Dan. 12:1 and Lu.
(24:21. The Master spoke of the coming of false Mes-
siahs and prophets who would show signs calculated
to deceive the very elect (Lu. 5:24). With this com-
Ipare the passage, "He (Beliar, the deceiver, who also
i plays his part in the Nero legend) shall perform many
signs for men. Nay, he deceives mortals, and many
shall he deceive, the faithful and elect, and the lawless,
[too" (Sib 3:65ff). The portents referred to in Matt.
: 24 :29f f . and the parallel passages as accompaniments
J of the Second Advent have a vivid commentary in a
i long passage in 4 Esdras 5 :lff. Shorter but not less
! pregnant utterances are the following: "When in the
world there shall appear quakings of places, tumults
of peoples, schemings of nations, confusion of leaders,
disquietude of princes, then shalt thou understand that
it is of these things the Most High has spoken since
the days that were aforetime from the beginning" (4
Esd. 9:3) ; "Darkling night shall fall at the middle hour
of day; the stars and the moon's disc shall fall from
heaven. And the earth, shaken by the upheaval of a
mighty earthquake, shall cast down headlong many
cities and works of men. Then there shall be all those
evil works which men pray to be spared, wars, and
murders, schisms and exiles" (Sib. 4:56f).
No single feature of the expected Parousia was
more spectacular than that of the sounded trumpet at
the moment of the great event. The trumpet was a
familiar instrument for the signals of battle ranks and
sanctuary, as frequent references in the Old Testament
show. But the sublime and unearthly voice of the
trumpet that was to be expected at the summons of the
last day was of a different sort. Perhaps it may have
had its suggestion in the epiphany of Exodus 19:16.
But the passage that seems to lie behind such references
as 2 Cor. 15:52 can hardly be other than this: "And
the trumpet shall sound aloud, at which all men, when
they hear it, shall be struck with sudden fear" (4 Esd.
6:23).
PUNISHMENTS AND PLEASURES
The punishment of the wicked is alluded to in
many passages of these writings. Many of them, like
those in the teachings of Jesus, rest upon the familiar
association of ideas between the destruction of evil and
the burning of refuse in the Valley of the Sons of Hin-
nom, the Ge-ben-Hinnom, or Gehenna of "the Gospels.
Thus Enoch 27:2, "This accursed valley is for those
who are accursed forever"; 90:26, 27, "And I saw at
that time how a like abyss was opened in the midst of
the earth, full of fire, and they brought those blinded
sheep (apostates), and they were all judged and found
guilty and cast into this fiery abyss, and they burned" ;
10:6, "On the day of the great judgment he shall be
cast into the fire"; 10:13, "the abyss of fire"; 98:3,
"Their spirits shall be cast into the furnace of fire";
100:9, "In blazing flames burning worse than fire shall
ye burn"; Ps. Sol. 15:6, "The flame of fire and the
wrath against the unrighteous shall not touch him".
The idea of feasting as one of the features of hap-
piness in the Messianic kingdom is frequently met,
reminding one of the language of the Gospels (cf. Matt.
8:11; 26:29; Lu. 14:15). In Enoch 62:14 are the words,
"With that Son of Man they shall eat"; in 4 Esdras
9:19 there is reference to "a world made ready with
both an unfailing table and an inexplorable pasture".
Notice may also be taken of the strange Jewish legend
that the half-mythical monsters, Behemoth and Levia-
than (cf. Job 40, 41) were created to furnish with their
flesh a banquet for the saints in the paradise to come
(4 Esd. 6:49-52; Bar. 29:4). Of less sensuous pleasures
there is frequent mention. "Whoever of you spends
gold or silver for his brother's sake he will receive ample
treasure in the world to come" (Sec. En. 1 :5. cf. Matt.
19:29, 30) ; "Those who inherit eternal life" (En. 40:9) ;
"Just as there is no retardation of those that are first,
so there is no hastening of those that are last" (4 Esd.
5:42); "This age the Most High has made for the
many, but the age to come for few" (4 Esd. 8:1).
THE UNKNOWN DAY
Jesus told the disciples that the time of the great
change was unknown to all but the Father. Similar is
the teaching of the apocalyptists. The writer of the
Secrets of Enoch makes the Eternal say : "For not to
my angels have I told my secret" (24:3), and "Not even
the angels see their number" (40:3). It has already
been observed in these studies that the foundations
for the millennarian idea of an age of definite extent
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 1, 1918
in which the saints were to share the glory of the
Messiah are to be found not in the Old Testament but
in the apocalyptic books. The passages which have
already been cited are repeated here for purposes of
greater completeness. The passage which gives four
hundred years as the duration of the blessed age is
4 Esdras 7:28, "For my son Jesus shall be revealed
with those that be with him, and shall rejoice them
that remain four hundred years". The other passage,
the one which furnishes the exact notation for the
chiliastic or millennarian conception of a reign of hap-
piness of a thousand years upon the earth, is found in
the Secrets of Enoch (32:2-33:2). It is quite too long
to quote, in spite of its importance as the point of
departure for so popular a speculation. It shows clearly
that the account of creation in Genesis 1 came in pre-
Christian times to be regarded not only as a veritable
history of primitive times, but as well an outline of
future history. Accepting the purely poetic suggestion
of Psalm 90:4 that a thousand years is as one day
(cf. Jub. 4:30), the author conjectured that as the
world was created in six days, it was to continue for
six thousand years ; and that as God rested on the
seventh day, there was to be a further period of one
thousand years of rest, the millennium.
MESSIANIC EXPECTATIONS
It hardly needs restatement that the Messianic
idea pervades much of this literature. It appears in
the most vivid and personal forms, though with a
variety of meanings which make it difficult to present
a consistent outline of the doctrine. In fact the various
strata of the same work, as in the case of Enoch, differ
wholly among themselves in the form of the great
expectation which they disclose. At times the expected
Vindicator is God himself. Again he is a wholly human
hero. At other times he is a divine being, an angel-
champion. Again he is a being of heavenly nature, the
creation of God, and the agent of the divine purpose.
And once again he is an eternal, pre-existent embodi-
ment of celestial prerogatives. The references to the
subject and the many titles employed outrun by far
the limits of this study. Among them are the following :
"The Christ", "The Anointed", "The Son of Man", "the
Mighty One", "The Light of the Gentiles", "the Be-
loved" (used repeatedly as a particular title of the
Messiah in the Ascension of Isaiah), "My Son the Mes-
siah", "The Chosen" and "The Elect One of Righteous-
ness and Faith".
It is impossible to suppose that even the most
casual perusal of this rich collection of apocalyptic
writing could leave any open-minded reader uncon-
vinced in regard to the genetic relationship between
the books here named and the teachings of our Lord.
The parallels are too numerous and too striking to be
considered mere coincidences. And when to those
which bear upon the problems of eschatology one adds
the equally voluminous and striking correspondences
on other themes which have an outstanding place in
the teachings of Jesus the result is beyond controversy.
It may then be affirmed with confidence that nearly
all the ideas and expressions which found their way
into the reported utterances of Jesus and the writers
of the New Testament on the subject of the Second
Coming were either derived from the Book of Daniel
or from the extra-canonical apocalypses.
This literature had almost the sanctity of Holy
Scripture to the Jews of the days of Jesus. To many
of them it had more than biblical attraction. Most of
the first Christians were Jews, and shared the common
apocalyptic hopes of their people. Jesus is represented
as having employed the language familiarized by this
literature in the presentation of his claims and purposes.
Did he do this because he was the child of his age
and shared its apocalyptic expectations? Or did he
perceive the unsubstantial nature of these catastrophic
anticipations and yet find it worth while to employ the
figures of speech and terms of description which they
had coined, because they aided him in reaching the
popular mind? Or, again, was the generation of his
first interpreters, to whom we owe all that we possess
of testimony regarding his person and teachings, so
saturated with these ideas that without deliberate in-
tention they wove them into the language of our Lord
as they reported it? This problem has been considered
already in these studies, in connection with the teach-
ings of Jesus regarding his second coming. It is
recalled here for fresh consideration in the light thrown
upon it by the study of these extra-biblical documents.
There is perhaps no problem related to biblical
study upon which more light may be thrown by the
judicious employment of the most recent and competent
literary helps. When these articles are arranged in
more permanent form, as it is hoped it may be possible
to do at no distant date, full bibliographical notes will
be appended. In the meantime those who wish to pur-
sue profitable studies in the apocalyptic literature may
well avail themselves of such helps as Drummond,
"The Jewish Messiah"; Shuerer, "The Jewish People
in the Days of Jesus Christ"; Burkitt, "Jewish and
Christian Apocalypses" ; Prideaux, "The Second Com-
ing of Christ", and the incomparable volumes of Charles
on the various portions of the Apocalyptic Literature.
The next study in this series will deal with
the influence of the expectation of the Second
Coming of Christ upon the church through the
centuries. Herbert L. Willett.
Sympathy
By Thomas Curtis Clark
i HE load is heavy I must bear!"
He groaned as, sad at heart,
He walked his chosen selfish way,
From other men apart.
"T
"How light the burden that He gives !'
She whispered as she trod
The road of life in sympathy
With other souls of God.
.**"
The Minister in the World of
To-morrow
By Herbert H. Fletcher*
Associate Managing Editor of the "Boston Transcript"
WHAT is to be the demand upon the minister by
the world of tomorrow which now is in the mak-
ing? We seem to be going through an experience
like that of a new creation and the throes and convulsions
are cataclysmic. On all sides we hear talk to the effect
that the old order is passing away. Statesmen and
publicists say that the conditions of the past will never
return, and some theologians and Bible students are pre-
dicting the beginning of a new age.
A widely known Boston physician, on returning from
a Red Cross mission to Macedonia, told me that what had
happened in Russia was to happen in every European
country now governed by a king. This, he said, was the
opinion of leading men in Europe. This prediction is dis-
| concerting to all who have not a profound trust in the im-
j manent working of divine power in the affairs of men,
1 for the long period of semi or complete anarchy which
i seems bound to precede the working out of the new order
! in Russia staggers faith and chills courage. This doctor
j also said that in the opinion of the same leaders the United
States would be the most conservative government on
i earth.
If any reliance whatever is to be placed upon these
opinions it cannot be assumed that this Government will
remain as conservative as it has been in the past. The
great wave of democracy that is sweeping over the world
cannot fail to beat with greatly modifying power upon the
shores of the American state. We see even now some of
its effects and we get premonitions of greater changes to
come.
FACING THE PROBLEM
The greatest danger which attends this floodtide of
democracy is in the upsetting of the economic, moral, and
religious standards of the masses of the people. We see
this in Russia, where robbery and even murder are given
a moral coloring. This danger is very threatening here
because of the diverse character of our people and the
wide-spread propaganda among them of isms of every
nature.
When this war ends and the millions of soldiers that
now are and are to be, return to peaceful pursuits with
their new experiences and newly acquired ideas of re-
ligion, brotherhood, etc., the effect upon the future of
society, church, and nation is to be very pronounced.
What the minister should do to meet the problems
♦Mr. Fletcher, who is widely known as "The Churchman
Afield" of the Saturday Evening Transcript of Boston, deliv-
ered this address before the union meeting of the Congrega-
tional, Baptist and Presbyterian ministers of Boston, and
aefore the Unitarian Ministerial Association and the Methodist
Preachers Meeting. Later it was delivered before the Boston
University School of Theology.
of the new era is a matter of opinion, and I can only give
my opinion. I wish to say at the outset that it is no hastily
formed idea, but is the outgrowth of a life which has come
in contact with human nature in many phases and has
suffered its due share of grueling.
MESSAGE MUST BE REAL
The first and most important thing which in my
opinion the world of tomorrow will demand of the pulpit
is that the occupant of the same shall have a real message
that shall constitute the spirit of every sermon and his
whole life. By a real message I mean a body of truth in
which he so firmly believes and which so firmly possesses
him that his soul is on fire to deliver the same and to en-
deavor to develop in others the faith which he has ac-
quired and which has become the ruling passion of his life.
This means that the pulpit must have a faith, a faith which
admits of no quibble or question, a faith based upon
spiritual experience, a faith which is an inspiration to the
believer and which is bound to find utterance.
I can conceive of no abstract theory, doctrine, or creed
which would inspire such a faith. No theory, doctrine, or
creed would inspire such a faith in me. I waited, longed,
and studied many weary years on these things. No satis-
factory faith came to me from them. I believe that
preachers who depend entirely upon theory, doctrine, or
creed for such a faith will wait in vain, that their preach-
ing will meet with only a modicum of success of any kind,
and that what little success they do attain will be largely,
if not altogether, mental and not spiritual ; also that the
world will flounder along for another two thousand years,
quarreling and fighting, gaining a little here and slipping
back as much there, so long as it has no anchor for its
soul except that which is based upon theory, doctrine, or
creed.
Human nature is the same the world over. It is now
what it has been since the early days of the race. It will
remain the same in all the coming years unless it comes in
contact with some touchstone other than pure intellectual-
ism. Napoleon said, "Prick a Cossack and you find a Tar-
tar." The events of the last three years have shown that
if you pricked many a so-called Christian you found a
barbarian, that our civilization is only skin deep, that our
Christianity is only a veneer, that while a few individuals
have attained to some semblance of the reality of Christ-
likeness, the faith with the multitude is merely a gloss, and
it has never become a supreme motive in the diplomacy
of so-called Christian nations. The grueling of these aw-
ful times is forcing its acknowledgement where otherwise
it would not have been acknowledged. In confirmation of
this, I ask if you can conceive of any nation's putting be-
fore the world four years ago, as an outline and policy
of international living, any such altruistic scheme as that
10
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 1, 1918
recently unfolded by Premier Lloyd-George and President
Wilson.
THREE YEARS MORE FRUITFUL THAN THREE CENTURIES
The three years just past have seen more accomplished
to force upon the attention of the human race the message
of the New Testament than all the preaching of pulpit
and press of the previous three centuries, powerful and
compelling as they have been.
What has done it? It has not been blood and iron.
It has not been bayonet and cannon. It has not been out-
rage and slaughter. The natural progeny of such things
is hatred and barbarism.
The mighty influence that is at work today, in camp
and on battlefield, in the trench and on No Man's Land,
over there and over the top, in hospital and in homes, and
that is working such marvelous results in Christianizing
individuals and nations, in spite of the contrary influence
of the horrors of the times, is a personality, the leadership
of a person, the spirit of an individual, the Holy Comforter
of the ever-living God, promised as a continual worker
and helper by the voice of the Master.
I express my profound conviction that the redemp-
tion of the world and the permanency of the church lie
only in the following of a personal leader. Nothing but the
vital touch and influence of a personality, and that the
greatest personality this poor humanity was ever permitted
to know, will prove a sufficient drawing power, a sufficient
holding power to create that republic of God of which
Mulford so learnedly wrote, that federation of the world
of which Tennyson so beautifully sang.
And no preacher of the Gospel of this Personality
can deliver the message, can touch the hearts of the people
and move them to decision and action, unless and until,
through a conscious experience with his living Lord, he has
come into vital union with him, received a portion of the
spirit which animates him, is consecrated to the cause
of him, and through an intimate daily communion with
him, so knows whereof he speaks, and is so constrained
to tell what he knows, that to restrain that message or
bottle up that voice would cause the very stones in the
street to cry out in remonstrance.
FAILURE OF MERE INTELLECTUALISM
I would not make statements so transparently obvious
but for the fact that so many evangelical pulpits today are
so coldly intellectual. The failure of the intellectual ap-
peal to transform lives, to create a virile righteous char-
acter, is so apparent that argument on that score is well-
nigh vain. The half-hearted condition of the American
people today, in spite of their advantages, their culture,
their wealth, and their benevolence, in the face of the
greatest opportunity in history and the most potent call of
ages, is a living illustration of what I mean. I do not refer
to the few great souls who from the beginning have seen
the vision and opportunity, and with prophetic voice have
endeavored to arouse a slumbering nation; nor to the
many hundreds of thousands, only a modicum of the whole
body of our people, who from the start have bared their
bosoms to the great sacrifice. I refer to the easy-going
masses.
If any of you could enter the washroom of some
of our industrial establishments at the hour when me-
chanics are off duty, and could listen for one hour to the
conversation, the debates that there take place, you would
be astounded and dismayed at the illogical processes of
the average intellect, at the immoral reasoning, the lack
of economic sense, the marvelous asininities that there find
expression. You would be surprised to know how many
of our respectable-appearing working-men have become so
topsy-turvied in their moral and intellectual processes that
they can heartily sympathize with the Bolsheviki view that
the looting of great banks, the stealing of millions that
do not belong to them, are highly moral acts. You would
get your eyes opened to the fact that there is spreading
over the world today a great wave of hysteria which is
upsetting moral standards, and that our own beloved
country is in danger from these heresies.
MOLLYCODDLES SURE TO FAIL
What the American people need, what they will con-
tinue to need, during this war and when the war is over,
and what the whole world needs, is the voice of the
prophets of the living God, who have received their mes-
sage as it were in living, vital communion, behind the
cloud, on Sinai; they need to be faced with the hammer
stroke of "Thou shalt" and "Thou shalt not," by a voice
as of one having authority, and to be rounded up in the
face of great sins and sinful tendencies with the bold,
face-to-face hold-up, "Thou art the man."
For such a message and such a mission no molly-
coddles are wanted. No hair-splitting theology will be
tolerated. No compromise with influential pewholders, no
lowering of the bars to money bags, however threatening,!
should even be thought of. The times call for the preach- 1
ing of the Word, as a positive faith, for reproof, for re-j
buke, for exhortation, since the times are here when they;
will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts
do they try to gather teachers having itching ears. Such!
teachers are in abundance everywhere, notably right here1
in Boston. I believe with Phillips Brooks that "there
must be a man behind every sermon." I go one step further;
and affirm that behind that man must be the Spirit of the,
living Christ.
WORLD WANTS MINISTRY OF HOPE
The second important thing which I believe the pew,
has a right to expect of the minister is that he shall be ai
fountain of hope to his people. His capacity to be this
will depend directly upon his possession of faith in a living!
ever-present Lord. Hope springs from faith as water;
bubbles from a spring. If a man believes with all hisi
heart in Jesus Christ, he will believe that Jesus Christ h:
willing and able to fulfil his promises to his followers anc
he will realize the glorious future that those promises fore;
cast. But if a man doubts the reality or the claims of Jesui
Christ, if he believes that Jesus Christ was merely a noble
God-aspiring man, somewhat visionary as to his own stand
ing and mission in creation, that man is like a balloor
which has no foundation or anchor, but which floats aim
lessly whithersoever the fickle winds may bear it.
The most pitiable creature in our social order, in nr
August 1, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
11
opinion, is a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in
whose soul lurks some doubt of the validity of that Gospel.
How can one who is uncertain of the here and the here-
after bear a message of hope to a sorrowing world? He
cannot. He is out of place. He has missed his calling.
Take away from me a faith in the genuineness of the
claims of Jesus Christ as set down by St. John, and I see
no stopping-place except in the doctrine of the survival
of the fittest, the German gospel that might makes right,
the creed of "Let him take who has the power and let him
keep who can."
BROKEN HEARTS EVERYWHERE
After all, the one outstanding fact in connection with
human life is the vast number of broken hearts on all sides.
A fact of almost equal impressiveness is the way these
broken hearts are ignored by almost everybody, even by
those whose first duty ought to be to take cognizance of
them and endeavor to furnish the solace and sympathy
which they need and which is their right.
These people all have within them a holy of holies,
to lift the veil of which would be sacrilege. But they long
for comfort and the hope that is contained in the message
of the Gospel. Although you cannot enter, it is no sacri-
lege to let them perceive that you know the holy of holies
is there, that you understand, and that you have to bestow
the only balm that can make tolerable for them this human
life, a balm that can transform what seems to them a
dreary waste into a victorious march, through vicarious
sacrifice, to the gates of life eternal.
These people are but samples of the great masses of
the unchurched. They are unchurched for a variety of
reasons. But one potent reason is that your preaching
does not help them solve their life problems.
"Christian Work" is not far wrong when it says that
"about three-fourths of the preaching does not touch at all
the life and circumstances of the average man." "The
sermon," it says, "has no more relation to his interests
than a lecture on botany has. His interests are generally
threefold: (1) how to get a living (a theme which is
worrying half our men so much that they have no interest
left in anything else) ; (2) the family and its hard problems
(and they are very hard) ; (3) how to have a good time
and escape the humdrum and monotony of life, without
violating his sense of morality (another hard thing for the
average man to do, in spite of the opinions of our good
church members to the contrary). Now preaching that
will interest this man of the community — and he is the
average unchurched man— has got to get right down to
these realities, for they are the real things of his life."
WORLD OF TOMORROW WILL CALL FOR LOVE
Bound up so intimately with this Christian virtue
of hope as to demand joint consideration is my third
essential for the ministry of tomorrow, namely, love. This
is the greatest virtue of them all, and is placed third in
the list solely because it is conditioned upon those that
have preceded it as a child is conditioned upon its parent.
The world of tomorrow will demand love from the min-
ster. There must be less austerity, less avoidance of the
Multitude, less choke-collar stiffness, less of the looking
for obeisance, and less difficulty of approach. To be a soul-
winner or even a respect-winner the minister must be one
with his kind; must empty himself of the faintest
semblance of selfish desire for ease and worldly ag-
grandizement and become, in reality, a servant of the
people as was his Lord before him and as is his Lord
now. There is nothing human beings want so much as
love and nothing wins them like love.
I am reminded of a native Japanese pastor, a convert
from heathenism, who was asked how he managed to in-
crease the membership of his church so rapidly. He gave
several reasons but they did not satisfy his inquisitor.
Finally he said, "I notice that all the people I really love
join my church." "Love never faileth." Cardinal Mercier
of Belgium is another example. With the courage of a
lion and in the face of threatened martyrdom he denounces
the cruelty of the Huns. With the tenderness of a mother
he cares for and comforts his enslaved and suffering
people.
The minister of tomorrow must go out after the
people. He must first feel and then manifest a genuine
love for the souls he would win.
A little poem by Thomas Curtis Clark, dedicated to
Jane Addams, sums up this phase of the subject so well
that I want to repeat it to you. It is called "The Cry of the
World's Wretched Ones :"
The touch of human hands —
That is the boon we ask;
For groping, day by day,
Along the stony way,
We need the comrade heart
That understands,
And the warmth, the living warmth
Of human hands.
The touch of human hands;
Not vain, unthinking words,
Nor that cold charity
Which shuns our misery;
We seek a loyal friend
Who understands,
And the warmth, the pulsing warmth
Of human hands.
The touch of human hands —
Such care as was in Him
Who walked in Galilee
Beside the silver sea;
We need a patient guide
Who understands,
And the warmth, the loving warmth
Of human hands.
In those three short stanzas you have expressed the
great need and great longing of the masses of people. They
want the comrade heart that understands, the loyal friend
that understands, the patient guide that understands, and
the living, pulsing, loving warmth of human hands.
MINISTER A FOUNTAIN OF JOY
Finally the minister must be a fountain of joy to his
people. He must be joyful, radiate joy and preach joy.
The world has a right to joy. The church in particular
has a right to joy. The Master promised joy. It is com-
prehended in peace. "My peace I give unto you, not as the
12
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 1, 1918
world giveth give I unto you. Let not your hearts be
troubled; neither let them be afraid." "Verily, verily, I
say unto you, ye shall be sorrowful but your sorrow shall
be turned into joy." "I will see you again and your heart
shall rejoice and your joy no man taketh from you." "Ask
and receive that your joy may be full."
To be sure, he predicted tribulation and sorrow, but
did he not also say, "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad"
when all men despise you and speak evil of you?
And how great is that joy he promises which no man
can take from you ! We take so much for granted in our
humdrum lives that we miss much of the joy offered us
even in human living. We do not think deeply enough on
the nature of continuing life hereafter to apprehend the
joy that is bound up in it. It is natural to love life and
to enjoy it. The assurance that no matter what happens
to the body we shall never cease to live should make for
continual joy. That assurance is what has come to so many
soldiers on the firing line and has called forth that
spiritual exaltation of which we read so much. They have
come to believe in the living Christ. He is with them, their
sustainer, comforter, friend. Their personalities already
are half freed from the body.
I find an epitome of the average experience of this
kind in a letter to a Protestant Episcopal clergyman from
his soldier son. He writes: "Well, I may not come home.
Those that take the sword must perish by the sword. I
like to think now — am I justified? — that we are modern
crusaders, that althugh we wear the modern uniforms
there is over each heart the cross of the crusaders."
Their crusade is for the war, but while they are
carrying on "over there," what are we doing over here?
tomorrow's crusade
I am sure no one will dispute the assertion of Dr.
Jowett that if the prophetic and apostolic vision is to be-
come incarnate we must have an aggressive crusade in the
interest of righteousness. We need such a crusade now.
All the more will it be needed in the world of tomorrow.
The interest of the masses, the principles of world brother-
hood, cannot be furthered except by the purification of
politics, statecraft, industry, and social life, and these
never can be purified except as Christian men and women
engage in the task and devote time and means to it with-
out expectation of other reward than the satisfaction of
duty done and the kingdom of God promoted. Large
minds, consecrated souls, disciplined talents, joyful lives
must be given freely to the service of the common life.
Dr. Rauschenbusch on the War
In this letter to Dr. Cornelius Woelfkin, Professor Raus-
chenbusch set forth shortly before his death his attitude to-
ward the present war. Dr. Rauschenbusch came through
great poignancy of experience to an adjustment of his mind
to the inevitable participation of the United States in the
world conflict. That his heart beat loyally to everything
American no one who knew him ever doubted, and this let-
ter, now given to the public through Dr. Clarence A. Bar-
bour, president of Rochester Theological Seminary, abun-
dantly testifies to the reasoned support given by this great
interpreter of social Christianity to the cause into which his
country has thrown itself with such consecration.
DEAR Dr. Woelfkin:
I appreciate deeply your very kind letter in
which you suggest an expression of my personal
attitude toward the war and its issues. You understand
that I am physically not in good shape for anything
requiring concentration, and I shall have to ask for
tolerance if anything should seem amiss in the follow-
ing statement.
ALWAYS AN AMERICAN
I was born an American citizen, as you know, and
have never dreamed of being anything else. Never at
any time have I had any sense whatever of allegiance
to any other government or nation. I could give you
many incidents from my life indicating my feeling for
our flag and my pride in our country, but they are too
intimate for a public statement. While I was engaged
in home mission work among the Germans in my youth,
I wrote a text-book on our Civil Government for the
use of German-American young people ; and the trans-
lation of "My Country, 'tis of Thee," most commonly
used in German hymn books in this country, was writ-
ten by me at that time.
I owe a great deal to the scientific life of Germany!
and have no intention of belittling that. On the other >
hand, when discussing social and political questions!
with German intellectuals, I was rarely able to get that!
sense of spiritual consent and harmony which I had in,
similar discussions with French and Swiss scholars.:
My book on "Christianizing the Social Order" has been!
published in Norway since the war; Swedish and Fin-i
nish translations are now being made; and a French
edition of "Christianity and the Social Crisis" has been
lying in a Paris publishing house since 1914 ready fori
publication when the war ends. On the other hand, in!
Germany, though I have had offers from perhaps a
dozen good translators, no publisher has been ready to
handle my books.
A THOROUGH-GOING DEMOCRAT
The American ideals of democracy have dominatec
my intellectual life. My literary and professional work
for years has been characterized by the consistent effor
to work out democratic interpretations of history, rej
ligion and social life. My social point of view is at th<i
farthest remove from the autocratic, imperialistic ancj
military philosophy, and my Christian social conviction:
are the direct negation of Nietzsche. My observation;
August 1, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
13
of European life have only intensified these convictions
and made me fear lest America travel the same old way
toward an aristocratic distribution of property and con-
sequently an oligarchical Junkerism in politics. I am,
therefore, not merely an American in sentiment, but
have taken our democratic principles very seriously, and
used my life to inculcate and spread them here and
abroad.
The Russian, Austrian and Prussian governments
have long been the chief reactionary and anti-democratic
forces in European politics. Their break-down would
certainly release the pent-up energies of liberal aspira-
tions for large classes. I heartily hope that out of all
this suffering will come the downfall of all autocratic
government in the Central Empires, and of the class
divisions which now hold down free and fraternal life,
so that the dreams of true German patriots will lie ful-
filled at last.
GERMANY NOT ALONE GUILTY
This will free the world of one malign force in
| diplomacy. It is true enough that Germany has not been
| the only power seeking geographical and economic ex-
pansion. The distribution of North Africa, the troubles
of China, the history of the entire colonial system, and
! the inside realities of all recent wars show that all mod-
ern civilization is on the same basis of covetousness, and
the difference is mainly between early pickings and late
leavings.
Yet Germany, by reason of her rapid growth of
population, her dangerous geographical position, her
successful social organization, and her scientific intel-
ligence, has become the chief exponent of the philosophy
of expansion and of the anti-democratic idea. It has
been her unhappy fate to formulate as a doctrine what
other nations practice under temptation, and to be the
champion of two hateful remnants of the past, autoc-
racy and war.
Being a hater of war, I know that nations hard
pressed in war inevitably tend to override the rights of
neutrals; that other invading armies have committed
acts of cruelty and horror toward the homes and the
civil population of the invaded nation ; that the victors
in war are always tempted to a policy of oppression and
spoliation. But Germany, being the heir of the tradi-
tions of war and the conscious and scientific exponent
of its methods, has done all these things more swiftly,
completely and deliberately; as the invasion of Bel-
gium, the destruction wrought in France, and the recent
subjugation of Russia have shown.
A victory for the Central Powers would doubtless
fasten this philosophy of imperialism and militarism on
the world. I should regard this as a terrible calamity
to the world, and have always feared a German triumph.
I am not as sure as others that a victory of the Allies
would of itself free the world from imperialism. The
Secret Treaties show what forces have been at work,
and they are only a continuation of the diplomacy be-
fore the war. My hope is that the terrible education of
the war has acted as an enforced repentance for all the
nations.
If the governments have not yet repudiated the
Secret Treaties, at least the working people of all na-
tions have risen above them and are demanding political
liberty, social reconstruction and guarantees of perma-
nent peace as the outcome of the war. The recent splen-
did utterances of the British Labor Party show where
our hope lies.
wilson's task and spirit
The controlling influence of America in the final
and decisive phases of the struggle opens a great his-
toric opportunity for our nation. We have fewer selfish
interests at stake than the other peoples ; we have the
great traditions of democracy ; we can lift the whole
contest above a fight for territory and trade privileges
and make it a battle for the freedom of the nations and
the achievement of international order and peace. We
have profound cause for thankfulness that in place of
the belligerent politicians who might conceivably now
control our destinies we have a leader who thinks in
terms of humanity, who wants peace, and who has set
the idea of democracy emphatically to the front as the
real issue.
Whatever the outcome may be, President Wilson
will have a tremendous task to translate his idealistic
utterances into realities against the pressure of selfish
interests at home and abroad. Again and again in the
past the peoples have been led to slaughter by noble
hopes only to be cheated at the peace table. Therefore
the President deserves our earnest support in standing
for the nobler ends to which he has given such remark-
able expression.
"in a stormy sea"
These, dear Dr. Woelfkin, are some of the consid-
erations which impress me most at present. In these
four years our nation has swung through many changes
of thought and feeling. We have all passed through
experiences shocking and unexpected, for which no pre-
vious experience has prepared us. I have all along felt
like a swimmer in a stormy sea, and have only been
able to struggle with each impact as it came. Others
seem to have found it easier to come to fixed conclu-
sions, perhaps because they are in readier contact with
public opinion than I can be.
You may like to know that my son Hilmar, with
whom you used to play, volunteered as soon as grad-
uated from Amherst College last June. With my ap-
proval he joined the Amherst unit for ambulance serv-
ice and went to France in August. He passed through
a submarine battle on the way over and had two months
of active service at the French front in the fall. He
then volunteered for transfer to aviation service, but
was not released by his colonel. He did succeed in being
transferred to an American ambulance section working
with the French armies, in order to get into more active
work; and at the last writing was expecting to go to
the front at once to help in meeting the present offen-
sive. We best realize some things through our children.
Sincerely yours,
Walter Rauschenbusch.
14
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 1, 1915:
The American's Creed
1 BELIEVE in the United States of America as a
government of the people, by the people, for the
people, whose just powers are derived from the con-
sent of the governed ; a democracy in a republic ; a
sovereign Nation of many sovereign States, a perfect
Union, one and inseparable ; established upon those
principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity
for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and
fortunes.
I, therefore, believe it is my duty to my country
to love it ; to support its Constitution ; to obey its laws ;
to respect its flag, and to defend it against all enemies.
STORY OF THE AMERICAN CREED
The idea of laying special emphasis upon the duties and
obligations of citizenship in the form of a national creed orig-
inated with Henry S. Chapman. In 1916-1917 a contest, open
to all Americans, was inaugurated in the press throughout the
country to secure the best summary of the political faith of
America. The contest was informally approved by the Presi-
dent of the United States. The artists and authors of the
Vigilantes, especially, and representatives of other patriotic
societies supported it; the city of Baltimore, as the birthplace
of the Star-Spangled Banner, offered a prize of $1,000, which
was accepted, and the following committees were appointed:
A committee on manuscripts; consisting of Porter Emerson
Browne and representatives from leading American maga-
zines with headquarters in New York City; a committee on
award, consisting of Matthew Page Andrews, Irvin S. Cobb,
Hamlin Garland, Ellen Glasgow, Julian Street, Booth Tar-
kington and Charles Hanson Towne and an advisory com-
mittee, consisting of Dr. P. P. Claxton, United States Com-
missioner of Education, Governors of States, United States
Senators and other National and State officials.
The winner of the contest and the author of the Creed
selected proved to be William Tyler Page, of Friendship
Heights, Maryland, a descendant of President Tyler and also
of Carter Braxton, one of the signers of the Declaration of
Independence. The Creed prepared by Mr. Page was recog-
nized by all as not only brief and simple and in every way
suitable for educational purposes but also remarkably com-
•prehensive of that which is basic in American ideals, history
and tradition, as expressed by the founders of the Republic
and its leading statesmen and writers. On April 3, 1918, in
the presence of members of the Senate and the House of Repre-
sentatives, The American's Creed was formally accepted in
the name of the United States Government by the Speaker
of the House, and it was there read in public for the first
time by the United States Commissioner of Education, who
has officially commended it as "a Creed worthy to be learned
and accepted as a guide to action by all Americans."
A Universal Prayer
For Time of War
THE following prayer was written by an officer in
the U. S. Navy: '
"We thank thee, O God, for Thy loving kind-
ness unto us and to all men. Help us to keep Thy com-
mandments and faithfully to perform all the duties oi
Christian men and women.
"We commend to Thy Fatherly goodness all Rulen
and others in authority, all soldiers, sailors and othei)
burden-bearers, men and women, righteously engageo
in the great war for freedom.
"We especially ask Thy protection for them fronj
the perils of the sea, from the dangers of battle anc;
from the ravages of sickness. Keep them strong in body!
pure in heart, brave in spirit and ever loyal to Thee anc!
to the cause of Liberty.
"Enable them to do valiant and valuable servic<
for justice and freedom. Strengthen them while the}
fight and work for the right. Succor and comfort tht;
afflicted and the wounded, and receive into Eternal Res
those that fall.
"Grant that those who return to us may come witl
victory on their banners, and with peace and love ir
their hearts, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.'
Faith
By John Kendrick Bangs
1 DON'T understand the hills,
Or the bounding sea,
Or the laughing mountain rills —
How they came to be.
I don't understand the sun,
Or the twinkling star —
How they ever were begun,
But I know they are.
So with faith — its mysteries
I can't analyze,
Holding certain verities
Too deep for my eyes ;
But I know this heart of mine
Rises from despair
Into joy and peace divine,
Knowing they are there.
THE NEXT GREAT
EVENT IN THE LIFE
OF THE BROTHER-
HOOD
BETHANY ASSEMBLY
The National Assembly and Chautauqua of the Disciples of Christ
or A O Senator Watson, W. J. Bryan,
***-»«*V Edmund Cooke, Consul Mow-
leart, Ainslie, Abbott, Peters, Powell, Pritcb-
ard, Kershner, Edgar D. Jones, etc.
THIRTY-SIXTH fflflBtfggg 1918
SEASON TICKET
$1.50
OVER 100 LECTURES, CONCERTS
AND CHAUTAUQUA ATTRACTIONS
Expenses low. Rooms, 25 cents and up
per person, two in a room. Meals,
$7.00 per week
Daisy Douglas Barr Meetings
July 26 — Aug. 4
Church Welfare Week Aug. 4-10
Bible Conference Week Aug. 11-18
Evangelistic Association Aug. 17-18
Training School, Singers' School
and Young People's Conference. .Aug. 6-16
RRflfWI VM INIH 20 Miks from Indianapolis on Penn.
DIYUUALIH, iniA, ijne, and Marunsrille Interurbai |
24 DAYS OF INSTRUCTION
Instruction, Fellowship, Entertainment
and Recreation, Boating, Fishing, Swim-
ming, Hikes, Tennis, Croquet, Volley
Ball, Quoits, Alumni Reunion, "Stunt
Night," etc.
ADDRESS FOR PROGRAM, W. E. M. HACKLEMAN, PRESIDENT, IRVINGTON STATION, INDIANAPOLIS, IND.
Military Efficiency in a Democracy
American and German
Armies Differ Radically
THE radical difference between the American and the Ger-
man armies lies in the intelligence of the common soldier.
Germany trains her youth, America educates hers ; the Ger-
man lad of common station is trained to docility, obedience and
skill of hand; the American boy is educated to think for himself
and to accept obedience when the necessity of team play de-
mands it. Obsessed with the autocratic notion of class and
mass and with his military dogma that some are born to rule
and others to obey, the German war-lords and their profes-
sorial and editorial mouth-pieces held American intervention
lightly. They thought a democracy could not be efficient in
military organization; that a nation of democrats would not
submit to war unless attacked; that we might furnish quantity,
but that Germanic quality would easily defeat us. They will
find that American democrats can be made into efficient sol-
diers in as many months as they have given ot years to their
men; that they can obey when the game demands it and then
think for themselves in every emergency; and that quality will
be equal to quantity and the sum total of the two will be over-
whelming. Englishmen and Frenchmen generously comment
upon our efficiency in calling up, organizing, training and put-
ting a million men in a year's time across three thousand miles
of sea and half as much land; this feat they pronounce a marvel
in military history.
Now comes a German editor demanding that Germans be
told the real truth about America's training and transporting
of so vast an army with no let-up in the progress in sight, and
warns them to hasten the "final blow" before the "organizing
genius" of America turns the tides. When they know the
whole truth, if ever they do, it will be a crushing blow to any
popular support of Junkerism's Pan-Germanic dreams, and
German morale must suffer. The question is whether or not
the Prussian is so much a bully that he swaggers when suc-
cess is on his side and cringes when defeat stares him in the
face, or whether he is so dogged and stubborn that he will fight
to the bitter end of destruction when put on the defensive.
Our only safety is to calculate on the latter and prepare ac-
cordingly. Meanwhile, it is gratifying to know that our pro-
gram of preparation is nowhere near its zenith and that its
marvels will increase from month to month.
Preaching Patriotism and
Practicing It
A stay in one of our training camps is a fine schooling in
patriotism. It is easy to declaim democracy and patriotism
and to preach service; some of us have accepted that easy and
gratifying task and modestly think we are heroic. Our part is
necessary, but is not heroic, nor should it receive any lauda-
tion. Uncle Sam uses us as "Four Minute Men" and asks us
to ring the tocsin in pulpit, on platform and by editorial. We
do it with a will and sometimes with a good deal of self-asser-
tion; we need, every one of us, to get down by the side of the
boys in field and camp to learn humility and the spirit and
method of efficient service. Patriotism needs more than vocal
articulation; it needs the silent articulation of grime and dust
and obedience and team play and an utter forgetfulness of self.
The American 'camp is democracy organized for service; it is
social organization rising triumphant over individualism; it is
the negation of personal selfishness and the triumph of organ-
ized efficiency; it is democracy assuming its just ascendency
over the democrat.
In saying this we do not glorify militarism, nor es-
teem the military method for anything but war. It is the
spirit of the camp we extol. Our very hatred of militarism
is magnified by one last reach for its weapons in a grim de-
termination to kill it with its own tools. The emergency
compels us to utilize the military machine and it is an emer-
gency use so far as the military business is concerned. We
love peace so much that we will fight for it; we hate war's
wholesale killing so terribly that we will kill more than them
all if there is no other way to conquer the professional killers.
But the spirit and practice of co-operation is the soul of our
war making; we would that every profiteer, every easy dis-
ciple of the military art, every juggling politician, every
shameless "exempt" who preaches sacrifice while wearing a
long coat and a stainless necktie could be compelled to live
with the lads in the barracks, "rush" the mess with a "kit,"
make his own bed, mend his own dusty clothes, drill the hot
hours through, obey orders implicitly, go to the guard house
for every infraction of rules, and do it all on thirty dollars
per month with half of it sent to the folks at home and half
of the remainder put into insurance for the sake of others; for
good measure we should like to see them sent to the front and
compelled to lie in the muddy ditches called trenches with
"cooties" forever present companions and clothed in a veneer
of mud, with heads down and eyes open nights through, and
then, for the completion of simple justice we would wish that
when German iron and steel finds a victim that it might be
of such as these instead of the brave fellows who go willingly
and serve uncomplainingly. Peace would then be enriched by
brave, self-sacrificing men who would bring the spirit of
service to the democracy, unburdened of the cowards and
profiteers.
Organizing the Democracy
for Efficiency
Among the most interesting places in the camps are the
examination wards where the boys are given the physical and
mental tests. The physical examination is thorough and not
all who are found physically deficient are rejected. Some are
sent to the hospital where needed operations are performed;
as a result the soldier lad is fixed up for civil as well as mili-
tary life; Uncle Sam gives his body a chance and gladly pays
the bill. A lieutenant told the writer his dental work at our
Uncle's expense was worth two hundred dollars. Contagious
diseases are put in detention wards if capable of ready cure;
here the majority of cases are of those unspeakable social
diseases which we have so tellingly begun to call the "black
plague." Some seven out of every hundred come into camp
with them, but with the severe precautions and prohibitions
of army discipline they are reduced more than one-half; in
other words, the army produces less than one-half as many
victims of the "black plague" as does civil life. This is some-
thing utterly new under the sun; the army was formerly given
ever to license and old military men thought tolerance the
only safe rule. This is true all too far even yet in all other
armies in this war; even the puritan English permit the
"maison toleree" and medical officers have testified that this
"plague" has cost as many days out of ranks as has German
bullets. Credit for the innovations in regard to this cure be-
longs to the Y. M. C. A., which guided the Exner investi-
gations on the border and put the results before the War
Department.
This ban and that on liquor have done as much to make
our armies healthy and efficient as any one thing yet done.
Stubborn cases are sent to the "development battalion," of
which we will speak later. The great hospitals, covering acres
of ground, are worth a visit to a camp if one sees nothing
else. The writer walked through ward after ward for the
better part of an afternoon and then covered less than one-
third of the entire plant. About five per cent of the men
were patients at the camps visited. This does not mean that
all were ill as they would be to be sent to a hospital at home;
in fact only a fraction of them were, the majority were de-
16
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 1, 1918
tained for measles and other light diseases, for operations
that would have been delayed or never performed at home,
and for the "Black Plague" above referred to.
Psychological Examinations and
the "Development Battalion"
The psychological examination is more interesting than
the physical, because newer; but it is not a mere innovation; it
is proving its worth. Here every select is given a mental test.
The first division is between those of normal and sub-normal
mentality. The great number are normal and the tests for
each individual are sent on to the personnel bureau as a part
of the record by which each man may be selected for that
particular type of work which he is best fitted to do. The
sub-normals are each tested for their "mental age"; if they
can think as well as a ten or twelve-year-old boy of normal
mentality they are sent on for drill and make fair soldiers;
if their mentality is less than this many can still be sent to
do the humbler duties of barrack and kitchen and reservation
grounds where their energies will count as much as that of
an able minded soldier, and where, too, they can find joy in
the service. Some are found of too low a grade of mind to
serve anywhere, and are relieved of duty; formerly they would
have gone to the ranks on the physical test and army life
would have proved a tragedy to them, an aggravation to their
fellows and officers and a weakness to the company.
The development battalion receives those with physical
defects that may be remedied by time and treatment, with
mental deficiencies that will yield to teaching and with diseases
that require time for cure. Such drill is given as can be taken
and a unique piece of social work is done for the men; some
fail to come through and are sent home all the better for the
treatment; others are saved to the service. Thus it will be
seen that the government is using the most modern social
instrumentalities to save and make men as well as to train
those who need neither. Then there are the illiterate classes.
At Camp Taylor hundreds of stalwart young fellows from the
mountains are getting their first training in the three Rs. It
was a diverting sight when the company was drawn up for
the evening classes to hear the sergeant call out "Illiterates,
go to your classes," and to see a score or two of tall, stout
young fellows march back into the barracks to be taught their
A, B, Cs. These will go back to their mountain valleys after
the war as apostles of education. Will we drop all these social
instrumentalities when the war is over, or will we consider
it quite as necessary to utilize them for peace and civil effi-
ciency as for war and military efficiency?
* * *
Training the Civilian
Space does not allow an attempt to describe or even cata-
log the many things being done to train the civilian to be an
adept soldier; these things are well known, anyhow, and the
thoroughness with which they are done is already well attested
at the front. The feeding and equipping of forty thousand
men in one camp is itself a piece of big business that vies with
the biggest of civil life; yet it is done by men on army pay —
another body blow to the undemocratic civil notion that enor-
mous salaries must be paid the "brains" of an enterprise
while the brawn are paid starvation wages. The student of
social affairs is interested in the manner in which the recrea-
tional life of the men is provided through the "Ys" and the
"Fosdick Commission," so called. Time ample is given for it
and every necessary provision made for it. After drill in the
afternoon there are games and every company is required to
play them, though the play is made as spontaneous as pos-
sible. The great American game of baseball is, of course,
easily the leader. The officers arrange all sorts of company,
battalion and regiment programs for evenings and the Y. M.
C. A.'s provide a live program every night with the heartiest
support of the military authorities. Here again the camp betters
civil life, because no film can be shown or play staged that
has not the sanction of the Y. M. C. A. or the "Fosdick Com-
mission," both moral agencies. The soldier lad has to go to
the city to see salacious things.
A major said to the writer that one of the best things
the Y. M. C. A. could do would be to arrange meetings at
home for the "selects" and their families before the boys
came to the camps, and to tell them in detail what camp life
was and what benefits it could bring them, and thus allay
fears and anxieties; he wished especially that mothers might
be importuned to be brave and allow no lad to see them in
tears or to hear a morbid, disheartening word either when they
leave or through letters thereafter. The Louisville Federation
of Churches, through its efficient secretary, W. S Lockhart,
arranged such a series of meetings and they were not only
largely attended but gratefully and did much good. There is
no reason why the lads who enter our army should not come
back stronger in body and mind than when they went in.
Next week we shall have something to say as to whether or
not the men can come back stronger in faith and character,
and we shall speak also of religious work in the camps.
Alva W. Taylor.
T
tive.
The War .1
A Weekly Analysis
HE great allied counter drive has achieved the following
fine results, at least:
1. It has temporarily deprived the enemy of the initia-
2. It has eliminated the menace to Paris.
3. It has occasioned the Germans very serious losses in
men and material.
4. It has eaten into their reserves.
5. It has seriously effected their morale — military and
civilian.
6. It has greatly helped allied morale, and built up the de-
fense against the enemy peace offensive.
What more it may achieve remains to be seen. Further
important results are perhaps already obvious to my readers.
Writing while the allied pressure is being steadily exerted on
three sides of the enemy salient against a stubborn resistance
the outlook does not incline me to think that a Sedan can be
hoped for.
The crown prince will escape from the allied trap, prob-
ably, with the greater part of his forces. He has succeeded
thus far in holding its flanking corners at Soissons and west of
Rheims, thus preventing the allies from closing in across his
path of retreat. His evacuation of the trap, however, is a
costly process, every step of which must be taken under the
cross fire of the French, British, Italian and American forces,
with their infantry pressing upon his heels.
Necessarily it has been a slow process because of the im-
mense congestion of traffic involved in the removal of his guns
and supplies. Hence he has had to fight a ceaseless rear and
flank guarding action, with local counter attacks designed to
gain time. His peril has been that at some point the allies
might break through his line and throw themselves across his
path. For days he has had but one railroad available, and that
has been under fire on its southern part.
Some surprise has been expressed because the allies did
not make a direct effort to occupy Soissons. This is probably
because Foch thought it better not to leave the high ground
west and south of Soissons for the Aisne valley, where he
would be under the observation and within the fire of the
enemy on the Craonne plateau. Instead he has pushed east-
ward south of Soissons, and if he can reach the region of
Braisne, on the Vesle, before the enemy has withdrawn from
LUgust 1, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
17
he territory south of the river, he will have done all that could
ave been done by taking Soissons — and more.
It is too soon to say with certainty that allied success has
nded the likelihood of any further enemy drives on the west
ront. It has not — yet — ended the possibility. The army of
j'rince Ruprecht is intact — saving nine divisions sent to the
rown prince — and it may be used in a smash against the Brit-
,h line. Some forty reserve divisions of shock troops are be-
eved to be available for a new offensive movement. Obvi-
usly Berlin must either try again or abandon all hope of re-
eeming the situation. This is her year. Next year will be
urs — unless she can obtain recruitment from Russia, a re-
;ote possibility. If she has any drive left now is the time to
low it. Internal conditions will go from bad to worse if she
:ils to change the thought of the people from defeat to vic-
>ry. I am inclined to look for another blow from Ludendorf,
ut he may shift to Italy, where Austria has had time to re-
aver from the Piave reverse.
There is, of course, the chance that Foch will strike again;
at this I think less likely. Foch knows that the big chance
ill not come until next year, and he is not inclined to employ
s energies indecisivly. The present counter offensive was de-
anded by the situation. Having achieved his immediate pur-
Dse he can afford to wait, unless conditions are exceedingly
vorable for a crushing attack elsewhere. It may be he will
t the enemy strike again, and so create the opportunity for
lother effective counter offensive.
S. J. Duncan-Clark.
Books
The Third and Fourth Generation. By Elliot Rowland Dow-
ig of the School of Education of the University of Chicago. This
a volume in the "Constructive Studies" for young people's
asses issued by the University of Chicago Press. It is issued
the faith that a simple, straightforward statement of the
cts of science are of more worth than much declaiming,
lere has been a morbid and unreasonable ban upon the facts
sex and inheritance and one result is the reign of the
Slack Plague" as the most deadly of our modern scourges,
lis well presented material is not, however, a treatise on
jc hygiene, but rather on the laws of inheritance. Its interest
classes of youth is eugenic and social and that means that
is an education in human welfare, which is always religious,
lurch classes in college towns can make good use of such
series of studies and no doubt such groups can be gathered
many city churches. (University of Chicago Press. $1.00.)
An Inductive Study in the Standards of Right. By Mathew
tie Wilson, Professor of Philosophy and Education in Park
liege. Courses in ethics have usually been based upon an
briori moral philosophy or upon certain interpretations of
ripture. Here is an attempt to discover, through inductive
ithods, the ethical practices of society and their causes and
5 "oughtness" of the better way. This makes for a scientific
proach and relates ethics to sociology, of which it is legiti-
tely a part. The concept of an absolute right is abolished
i the relativity of normal moral action recognized. With a
e teacher's method there is no dogmatising, though the
ef nature of the studies makes it impossible to escape the
•ralist's "must." The design is to stimulate inquiry and dis-
ision based upon actual social situations and personal ex-
iences. It is an excellent text in the elements of ethics.
ichard G. Badger, Boston. $1.50.)
Archeology and the Bible. By George A. Barton. There
several things to be said of this book. First: The informa-
i here presented is authoritative; Dr. Barton, of Bryn
wr, has been for many years a specialist in Semitics, and
ved for a time as director of the School of Oriental Re-
m
THE —
BETHANY
Graded Lessons
This unsurpassed system of study literature for
the Sunday School has now been thoroughly revised in
the light of nine years' experience, and as now sub-
mitted to our schools is even more thorough and
more attractive than ever.
Send for samples of the New Revised Bethany
Graded Lessons and plan to adopt the system in
your school in the Autumn — which means that your
examination of the literature should be made — NOW!
Courses Provided in the
Bethany Lessons
FOR CHILDREN
The Little Child and the Heavenly Father
(A two years* course (or children under 6 yean of age)
Bible Stories for the Sunday School and Home
(A three yean' course for children of 6. 7 and 8 years of age)
FOR BOYS AND GIRLS
Stories from the Olden Time
(For pupils about 9 years of age)
Hero Stories
Kingdom Stories
Gospel Stories
(For pupils about 10 years of age)
(For pupils about II years of age)
(For pupils about 12 years of age)
FOR TEEN AGE PUPILS
Leaders of Israel
Christian Leaders
The Life of Christ
Christian Living
(For pupils about 13 years of age)
(For pupils about 14 years of age)
(For pupils about 15 years of age)
(For pupils about 16 years of age)
FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
The World a Field for Christian Service
(For pupils about 17 years of age)
History and Literature of the Hebrew People
(For pupils about 18 years of age)
History of New Testament Times
(For pupils about 19 years of age)
The Bible and Social Living
(For pupils about 20 years of age)
Send for returnable sample* today
The Christian Century Press
700 East 40th Street, Chicago
Thoroughly Approved I
After nine years of useful service — 1
18
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 1, 1918
search in Jerusalem. Second: Here is a book which is prac-
tical for study use in Bible classes and other classes dealing
with Oriental topics. Third: It is a very attractive volume,
containing a large number of very fine plates of Oriental ruins
and relics, and being throughout a thoroughly readable and
gripping account of the interesting findings that the archeol-
ogists have made in the land of most interest to us. There are
many translations of ancient writings bearing upon Biblical
topics. (American Sunday School Union, Philadelphia. $2
plus 25 cts. postage.)
Serbia Crucified. By Lt. Milutin Krunich. In the great
tragedy of the war the remoteness of Serbia from the western
lands has prevented us from understanding much of the inner
meaning of events to that sturdy and patriotic people. But no
phase of the German plot has been darker, and no conduct more
brutal than that which has had to do with the crushing of this
noble race. In this book some personal account is given of the
struggle for the defense of their land by one of the men who
shared the pathetic experience. The chapters, though obscured
in some degree by the author's tendency to incoherent and ex-
clamatory style, and by long stretches of subjective and medi-
tative comment, are sufficiently vivid to give a stirring picture
of the appalling experiences of a high-souled people at the hands
of the Bulgarians, backed and directed by Germans. (Houghton
Mifflin Co., $1.50)
George Bernard Shaw: A Biography. By Archibald Hender-
son. This is a standard biography of the brilliant Irishman who
is perhaps the most talked of man in English literary life.
It contains the same materials as the large $5.00 edition of an
earlier date. The author is an American university professor, and
was granted every opportunity by his subject in delving into
the mysteries of Shaw's development into an intellectual mas-
ter. Shaw is treated as dramatist, socialist, artist, man, etc.,
and his many sidedness is thus clearly revealed. His works
are interestingly discussed by the author. (Boni & Liveright,
New York. $1.50.)
Poems. By Oscar Wilde. Whatever shortcomings in char-
acter and errors of living the eccentric Englishman had, it must
be conceded that he was a genius in the use of English, espe-
cially in verse forms. Even his prose is melodious. This volume,
beautifully bound in limp leather, contains all his poems. (Boni
& Liveright, New York. 60 cts.)
New Modern Library Issues
Now that we are on the way to a United States of the
World — if we may credit the predictions of many prophets—^
it behooves good Americans to become acquainted with the works
of thinkers and artists across the sea. This Modern Library
includes many titles in which ambitious readers will be interested.
These books are bound in limp croft leather, and are very
attractive. The following are some of the titles which have been
issued in recent months : Dame Care, by Sudermann — "the one
German author who knows how to write novels." Creatures That
Once Were Men, by Gorky, "the greatest literary representative
of revolutionary Russia." The Mayor of Casterbridge, by Thomas
Hardy, a "Wessex" novel by "one of the greatest exponents
of the spirit of the modern age." The Seven That Were Hanged,
by Andreyev, the best work of fiction of the most popular writer
of Russia today. Confessions of a Young Man, by George Mbore,
the story of "a young man's attempt to be sincere." Anatol and
Other Plays, by Schnitzler, a semi-cynical observer of life and
an artist. Married, by Strindberg, a propagandist who in Sweden
has become a popular hero. The Art of Aubrey Beardesley, by
Arthur Symons, with reproductions of a half-hundred of the
best of this young artist's remarkable drawings. Bertha Garlan,
a study in "flesh and soul," by Schnitzler, who it is interesting
to know was a physician before he became a writer. Miss Julie
and Other Plays, a number of life stories with more tragedy
than comedy, but sad to say quite true to life as it is often
lived. The publishers of this new Modern Library have been
in the business little over a year and there is abundant evidence
to indicate that they have had a remarkable success even thus
early. (Boni & Liveright, New York, 60 cents per volume.)
The Sunday School
Helping Others'
t fcHP
Rev. John E. Ewers
HE law of Christ" — Paul sums up the whole of
Christ's teaching in one law — help others. Paul had
a singular way of driving straight to the heart of
things and here he succeeded in laying his finger on the very
center of all that Jesus taught and demonstrated. Jesus went
about doing good. He helped others in every way. We have
been very slow to realize this funda-
mental. Wc Disciples have been very
busy trying to get people to see things
our way intellectually, meanwhile fall-
ing down on missions and social serv-
ice. We have built up a tremendous
Daptismal conscience and a very small
brotherly conscience. We might be
wrecked, as a communion, by this
error. I have been trying for nine
years to get a certain fine gentleman
to join our church. I have not suc-
ceeded. He thinks we are too rigid in
our demands; he feels we are not broad
enough in our terms of fellowship. I learned yesterday that
he risked his life to save another. I went to call upon him and
1 could not help wondering how Jesus estimates that man —
who was willing to die that a child might live!
I am sick and tired of your petty tests of fellowship. I
want fellowship with all noble souls. I want fellowship with
all who follow our Lord in a helpful spirit. Some of the most
contemptible people I know are those who are keenest upon
the four steps of admission into our particular church. Some
of the most pusillanimous and meanest-spirited folks that I
ever came in contact with have been rigid sticklers for what
they call "the faith once for all delivered to the saints." Can
you imagine the teacher of the parable of the "Good Samari-
tan" interested in the mint, anise and cummin of modern
church creeds? Is not the war making these divisive creeds
ridiculous? Are not all broad-minded people longing for the
possibilities of rich religious fellowship? Will anyone tell mei
how we can have such fellowship until we have fine respect]
for the earnestness, sincerity and value of our brother's]
thinking? The united church of the future will allow each!
good man to think for himself and will have but one test oi]
fellowship — the disposition of the man to loyally follow Jesus
Christ. I am not interested in any church that discounts]
Jesus Christ. I would exalt him to the highest possible point
then I would make the life-attitude toward him the one andi
only test of fellowship. I am not interested in the Unitarian
church. I am not interested in the Mohammedan faith. I an;
not interested in Christian Science. I am only interested ir ;
uniting for world conquest, including my own heart, all o
those who love and humbly serve my Lord Christ. I see nc
hope for such union as long as any of us insist upon peculiaii
things which we are sure at the outset cannot and will no
Le accepted by countless thousands of other excellent peoplej
Why not face it fearlessly?
But some one will immediately say, "All we can do is t(
♦This article is based on the International Uniform lessoi
for August 11, "Helping Others." Scripture, Luke 10:25-37
Gal. 6:1-10.
August 1, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
19
follow the book." No, you can do more — you can let your
brother interpret the book for himself. Whoever made you
a judge between men? Whoever set you up to do the thinking
for someone else? For freedom did Christ set you free — why
entangle yourself again in the yoke of bondage? Live and let
I live. Interpret and let interpret. Beautiful, broad-minded
freedom to think is absolutely necessary. Have we forgotten
that the crux of the whole Lutheran Reformation was to per-
mit freedom of individual interpretation of the book of God?
Have we forgotten how the Bible was unchained from the
church and given to the people? Have we forgotten how our
forefathers came to this world so that they might worship
God according to the dictates of their own consciences? Soon
; forgetting this, they drove out Roger Williams because he did
not agree — and we have been doing that ever since! We say,
1 "Well, if he doesn't like our way of doing let him go down the
i street and join the Methodists." Did you ever realize what
jwretched logic that is? Did you ever seek to find out what
[tragedies that necessitates upon mission fields? Did you ever
follow that logic into all the miserable overlapping conditions
of small towns, to all the criminal waste of God's money
\ everywhere? You need not surrender one whit of the truth
that seems precious to you, but you must allow your brother
10 hold the truth that seems precious to him also.
Complete uniform thinking is impossible and undesirable.
We must learn to live lovingly and helpfully together in the
(free fellowship of those who delight to follow Jesus. How
this freedom would clear away the obstacles and release ener-
igies to help the world! It must come. The war must teach
jus this. Only a united church can conquer the world. This
iwar, my friends, is the penalty for our love of having our own
way too long. Your son's life may be the penalty you will
ihave to pay for your narrowness in religious fellowship. No,
you would not receive into fellowship those who did not think
[precisely as you did. You therefore helped to keep the church
divided. A divided church had no voice. The devil had almost
unimpeded sweep. The hellish imps of war and selfishness
'started this world fire. The church had no influence in stop-
ping it. The loving, helpful spirit of Jesus had been smothered
jbeneath the mass of selfish theological trash. And you are
(blind if you cannot see it. Will you persist in your obstinate
way? Will this welter of blood teach you no new lesson?
Will you continue to cause the church to divide? Can you
jnot see that all good people cannot see it your way? When
| will you be persuaded that you cannot put the world in your
jhalf-bushel? When will you realize that the Lord never made
;you the only interpreter of the holy scriptures? Who are you
to tell the rest of us so cocksurely just what the New Testa-
iment does and does not teach? Cannot we read for ourselves?
(Cannot we set our own emphasis as we feel the spirit's guid-
jance?
Poor little self-centered egotist, a hard lesson is before
jyou and you must be compelled to allow every other sincere
|man the liberty, the Christ-born, American-reared liberty to
,read and follow the Bible according to the dictates of his own
jbrain and conscience. Remember, he may be more nearly
jcorrect than you! There must be a union of all who love
ijesus in the interest of all who suffer in society. We must
become a group of disciples who go about doing good.
John R. Ewers.
We reap what we sow ; but nature has love over and
ibove that justice, and gives us shadow and blossom and
fruit that springs from no planting of ours. — George Eliot.
Duty, be it in a small matter or a great, is duty still,
be command of heaven, the eldest voice of God. And it
s only they who are faithful in a few things, who will be
aithful over many things. — Charles Kingsley.
Master the War
this Summer!
IIIIHM1IITIIII1III
"p\ON'T fritter away your time this
•*-^ summer. Use your holidays to
master the war situation. Go deep
into it — deeper than the merely descrip-
tive books take you. Go to the roots
and the background of the war. Get
into touch with the master minds
guiding the thought progress of the
world — especially in religion. Rau-
schenbusch, Fosdick, Dewey and such
men are pointing the way in this field.
Then you should by all means restudy
European history in the light of the
war. Hazen's "Europe Since 1815"
was written since the war began. It is a
brilliant and masterful work ($3.75 plus
10c to 18c postage). Seymour's "Diplo-
matic Background of the War" is a
calm, scholarly revelation of Germany's
machinations for the past generation
($2.00 plus 8c to 14c postage).
Along with such books as these, take
Edgar De Witt Jones' "Fairhope"—
ideal summer reading; and his "The
Tender Pilgrims." Also Willett's "Our
Bible" — filled with the very informa-
tion you want.
You are in a hurry and perhaps can't
spare the cash for the books now. Send
us on a post card the list of books you
wish and you may have thirty or sixty
days to pay for them. Make the
summer count !
The Christian Century Press
700 East 40th Street CHICAGO
The Larger Christian World
A Department of Interdenominational Acquaintance
National Committee on the Churches
and the Moral Aims of the War
The office at 70 Fifth avenue, New York, is now a very
busy place for the National Committee on the Churches and
the Moral Aims of the War. This committee is now prepar-
ing the material for the fall drive. The committee includes
Ex-President Taft, Alton B. Parker and ten other men of na-
tional standing. It holds a regular meeting every week where
world-wide facts and principles are discussed. Many prob-
lems come before the committee. They are all parts of an
attempt to answer the inclusive question, How can the churches
of the land mobilize to their utmost their moral and spiritual
forces? The committee has concluded that the present war
has four great moral aims: First, to win the war against
autocracy; second, to make the world safe for democracy and
democracy safe for the world; third, to secure for all nations,
great and small, safety, justice and equal economic opportu-
nity; and fourth, to establish a League of Nations to insure the
permanent peace of the world.
City Federation in Pittsburgh
Is Efficient
The city federation of churches in Pittsburgh is a very
active one. It circulated 7,000 copies of the book, "The Chal-
lenge of Pittsburgh," last year. An ambitious program has
been laid out for this fall in which each month is devoted to
some special interest in the Protestant churches of the city.
This is to culminate in a big evangelistic effort with a slogan
of 25,000 new recruits by March 31, 1919. At a recent meeting
of the federation Dr. W. I. Wishart was re-elected president
and Dr. Charles R. Zahniser was continued as executive sec-
retary. The journal setting forth the activities is called "The
Christian Outlook."
Church Fails to
Make Permanent Gains
The statistics for the Presbyterian Church in the U. S.
(South) have some features which are typical of modern relig-
ious work. Though gaining a larger number of converts than
formerly, the net gain of the church was small. There were
22,441 persons admitted "by examination," the largest number
ever reported in the denomination. The net gain, however,
was less than four thousand. There was an increase of thirty-
eight in the number of ministers and a decrease of thirty-three
in the number of congregations. Candidates for the ministry
were fifty-seven fewer than last year.
Japanese Methodists Are
Increasing in Number
Mission work abroad is bringing success for all the boards,
but the report made recently by the Methodists is unusually
full of encouragement. The Methodist workers in Japan of
the north and south sections of the United States and of
Canada report that they have enrolled native Christians to the
number of 19,500. The gain last year was 2,812. The Sunday
school enrollment is 34,848, a gain during the year of four
thousand. The grants from the mother churches on this
side of the water are being reduced continually, so the native
churches will eventually stand alone. The schools, publishing
house and foreign missions department are under the super-
vision of Bishop Welch of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
A Polygamous Chaplain in the
United States Army
With the recent rule in the army that chaplains are to be
chosen from all religious organizations according to their
numerical strength there can be no quarrel. The recent ap-
pointment of Brigham H. Roberts, however, as a chaplain, is
a slap in the face of the country. He was excluded from the
House of Representatives in 1898 because he persisted in
polygamy, and the Outlook of November 18, 1889, stated that
he was convicted of polygamy and served a prison sentence j $
for it. There are many voices being raised in Christian cir-
cles demanding that Mormon chaplains, who will help in the
care of all our boys, shall not be polygamists.
Free Churchmen Not All
in Favor of Union
The proposed union of the Free churches in England with
the state church is not a matter of great discussion in the
national religious meetings. Dr. Griffith-Jones, in a Congrega-
tional convention, recently challenged the idea that visible unity!
is a demand made upon the church by Christ, but rather "the unity!
of the spirit in the bond of peace." "This unity might be!
secured by a clear and frank recognition of each other on the!
part of all faithful churches of Christ; and secondly, an opera-,
tive expression of that mutual love and brotherhood through
intercommunion." Dr. Garvie and Dr. Selbie explained the newj
plan as follows : "That ultimately there would be one form of!
church government, we admit, but it would not involve the sup-
pi ession of all other types in favor of one type as now existing,
but the harmonizing of the three types, the episcopal, presbyterial
and congregational, so as to preserve for the reunited church!
what each of these types has to contribute of enduring value."
Methodists Raise Money to
Equip Chaplains
The war work commission of the Methodist Episcopal]
Church, South, has initiated a movement for the equipping ofj
the chaplains chosen from that denomination. The commission
is asking for $300,000 for war work and a liberal percentage of
this money will go to the securing of proper equipment for the
chaplains. This church has also organized to encourage some
of its strongest and highest salaried men to go into the service!
abroad.
Missionary Education Movement
The Silver Bay Conference of the Missionary Education!
Movement recently sounded forth a most ambitious statement
about its aims for the coming year. It will raise money enough
to provide its deficit and the running expenses. New methods
of missionary education were discussed. One worker told of
a mock trial in which the indictment read, "Europe has brought
more evil than good to Africa from its secular civilization."
Dr. John R. Mott was present and left a word which will long
be remembered. He said, "A disbelieving world is the price!
we pay for a church divided." Ernest F. Hall was appointed]
general secretary of the movement and he will have to raise!
over a hundred thousand dollars this year.
Dr. Boynton Released from
T, o_k of ^nolain
Dr. Nehemiah Boynton, of Brooklyn, whose church onj
Clinton avenue released him for services as chaplain with the!
coast artillery, has been a popular sky pilot. Dr. Boynton
recently received an honorable discharge from the President]
of the United States, and he reports that the reason of his]
discharge was that he had seen too many summers to "go over]
the top." His younger son, Nehemiah Boynton, Jr., will sail|
soon in the service of his country as an ensign.
Installs Wife as Supply Preacher
The war seems to be bringing to the front the possibility
of a considerable increase in the number of women preachers.]
Rev. Frank L. Briggs, of the Union Evangelical Church, In-j
dian Orchard, Mass., is going to France with the Y. M. C. A.
and he is leaving Mrs. Briggs as supply preacher of the church.!
Orvis F. Jordan.
J
August 1, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
21
News of the Churches
H. H. Harmon Writes of
the Marne Fighting
In a letter written to his congregation
at First church, Lincoln, Neb., Pastor
H. H. Harmon writes from the Marne
front, where he is serving in "Y" work:
"The marvelous heroism of our
wounded men, their uncomplaining en-
durance is simply beyond belief. I
count myself fortunate to be in the very
midst of this splendid victory of our
men on the Marne, and shall always
thank God that we had just perfected
the machinery of the 'Y' in the hospitals
when the storm broke. I never saw men
work harder and do a finer ministry than
our men to the wounded: bearing
stretchers, giving coffee and food, help-
ing bind wounds, writing down farewell
messages to mother and home, and
countless other duties, together with
burial of the dead. Our losses were as
nothing, though, compared with the
splendid achievements of the men and
the consternation they wrought among
the Boche." The letter bore the date of
June 20.
Dr. Dye at Mount Hermon Federate
School of Missions
One of the most delightful features of
this year's session of the Mount Her-
mon Federate School of Missions, at
Mount Hermon, Cal., July 6-13, was the
work of Dr. Royal J. Dye, tfolenge mis-
sionary. Dr. Dye spoke twice; once at
the combined Disciple and Baptist rally,
when Dr. Dye spoke of the connecting
link between Disciple and Baptist work
in the Congo region. Mary E. Bamford,
press secretary of the school, writes:
"Touching was the story he told us of
the redemption of a native girl, Nkondo.
When Dr. Dye spoke on Thursday eve-
ning in the auditorium, he won the hearts
of the delighted small boys by his rendi-
tion of African folk-lore stories about
animals, and interested his audience in
accounts of African work, closing- with
an energetic appeal for missionaries to
go to the Bolenge region before the
Mohammedans take firm hold there."
There were daily classes conducted by
such leaders as Hallie Linn Hill, of New
York City, and very attractive evening
addresses. The paid registrants this
year numbered 151, the record registra-
tion. The Disciples were represented by
such leaders as Mrs. Mary J. Hartley,
state president of the C. W. B. M.; Miss
Aggie Z. Hester; Mrs. J. H. Bolton;
Mrs. J. N. Lester; Miss Helen Lester;
Mrs. J. H. McCartney; Mrs. Isabel Da-
vis and Mrs. R. W. Blosser.
Praise for Clifton
S. Weaver
W. P. Jennings, pastor at University
church, Fort Worth, Tex., and secre-
tary of the Board of Trustees of Texas
Christian University, writes in terms of
high praise of the work of Clifton S.
Weaver, who has served the school as
chancellor for three years, but has now
accepted the pastorate of First church,
Longview, Tex., and is already located
in that field. Mr. Jennings states that
Mr. Weaver did an outstanding work
for the university, inaugurating sane and
practical methods of securing liberal of-
ferings from the churches for the sup-
port of the state's colleges. His appeals
before the churches of the state in be-
half of education have been ethical and
dignified. Says Mr. Jennings: "He
has given to our educational work a
great high note of harmony and spirit-
ual tone that will bear a golden fruit-
age in the years to come, and has
paved an easy road for his successor.
Everybody regrets that Mr. Weaver has
given up this position in which he served
to the entire satisfaction of all con-
cerned. The only reason that the edu-
cational board considered his resigna-
tion at all was because they recognized
the fact that his work kept him from
home most of the time."
Church Welfare Week at
Bethany Assembly
Next week will be one of the big weeks
at Bethany Assembly, at Brooklyn, Ind.,
near Indianapolis. It will be a real feast
for ministers, Sunday school leaders and
ambitious laymen and laywomen. The
following are some of the speakers:
Edgar DeWitt Jones, of Bloomington,
111., president of the general convention,
and one of the most charming speakers
as well as writers in the country today.
Dr. Jones will speak daily on such
themes as the following: "Keep the
Home Fires Burning," "Living Letters,"
"The Thorn in the Flesh," "The Heart
of a Man," "The Ladder of Prayer," "If
Lincoln Were Living Now," "What Did
Jesus Mean?" "Literature and the War,"
and "Other Sheep." H. H. Peters, Illi-
nois' Disciple leader, and an expert in
social service and rural churches will
speak on "The Double Law of Life,"
"Soil and Souls," "Autocracy versus
Democracy," "Up From Slavery," "The
Science and Art of Religion," and "Con-
quering Creeds." Among the other
speakers are F. E. Smith, Muncie, Ind.;
D. H. Shields, Kokomo, Ind.; J. C. Todd,
Bloomington, Ind.; United States Sena-
tor James E. Watson, Rushville, Ind.;
L. E. Brown, Rushville, Ind.; Hon. A. C.
Moulaert, Belgian Consul, Chicago; L.
C. Howe, Noblesville, Ind., etc. There
will be popular recitals by Edmund
Vance Cook, poet; and two concerts
daily by the Metropolitan Glee Club.
Information, inspiration and plenty of
recreation can be found at Bethany As-
sembly. For further details write Beth-
any _ Assembly, Irvington Sta., Indian-
apolis, Ind.
* * *
— Floyd H. Randall is closing a pas-
torate of nearly four years with the
church at Willoughby, Ohio. During
this time, the membership has been al-
most doubled, the finances increased,
and over $700 raised on the recent Men
and Millions drive. He will take up the
work at North Eaton, Ohio, at once,
and also do post graduate work at the
Oberlin Graduate School of Theology.
— Dr. Paul Wakefield, missionary to
China, who has been in this country for
several months on a furlough, and who
has just completed a course of study in
the medical department of Harvard Col-
lege, was in Chicago last week on his
way to Springfield, 111., where he will
remain for a short time, before return-
ing to his mission field in September.
An incident of Dr. Wakefield's stay in
Chicago was the loss by theft of $80.
— At the dedication service of the new
$60,000 building of the church at Flint,
Mich., under the leadership of G. L.
Snively and the pastor, J. 0. Crawford,
over $42,000 was raised in cash and
pledges. Mr. Snively reports that there
is not a rich man in the congregation,
but that gifts were received from
wealthy people who were moved by the
generosity of the members. The date
of the dedication was July 21. Mr.
Snively writes that in the fifteen years
of his service of dedicating churches, he
has not seen so favorable a time to as-
semble funds for new buildings and to
liquidate old debts.
CAMP
FUNSTON
CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Manhattan, Kansas
O. C. MOOMAW, Minister
Write us about your son.
— O. C. Bolman, of the west central
district, Illinois, writes that a report has
come to him that the West Side church,
Springfield, 111., has extended a call to
R. T. Hicks, of Kansas City. He is to
take up the work in September. Mr.
Bolman also reports that W. H. Wag-
goner, of Eureka, 111., is holding a num-
ber of fine institutes in his district, with
stereopticon and mission curios.
— A. W. Kokendoffer, of Sedalia, Mo.,
is supplying the pulpit at Wilshire Boule-
vard church, Los Angeles, Cal.
— Carl H. Barnett, formerly leader of
the church at Brazil, Ind., but who has
been in "Y" work at Ellington Field,
Houston, Tex., writes that he and Mrs.
Barnett have placed their membership
with the South End church there. Mr.
Barnett came into the Association work
in March, and states that he expects to
continue a few more months in this serv-
ice, then will probably locate again with
some church in the Central west. Mr.
Barnett is in charge of one of the finest
buildings in the Southern department of
the "Y." He recently made a trip to
New York for the Association and on his
way back he stopped at Gulfport, Miss.,
and addresesd the Southern Sociological
Congress on the subject, "The Place of
the Church in Campaigns for Public
Health." He represented the Federal
Council of the Churches of Christ in
America, on the program. The address
will be published in the minutes of the
Congress.
— By a unanimous vote of the official
board and the individual vote of the
members of the Union Christian church
at North Salem, Ind., Lee Tinsley was
unanimously voted to be retained as pas-
tor. He had been given a call to the
pastorate of the church at Sheridan, Ind.
Mr. Tinsley, who has been preaching
half time, or twice each month, during
his affiliation with the Union and Nine-
veh churches, will preach full time at
the Union church, with an increase in
salary besides the parsonage. During
his pastorate of the Union and Nineveh
churches he has made the membership
numerically stronger and has developed
the Sunday schools of these churches in-
to front rank schools.
Culver-Stockton College
a standard co-educational college located
high on the hills overlooking the Father of
Waters. Six major courses leading to A.
B. or B. S. degrees. Twenty-two teachers
and instructors. Also courses in Music,
Art, Expression and Economics. Modern
dormitoryfor young women. Board, room
and literary tuition $300 for 36 weeks.
JOHN H. WOOD, President
CANTON, MO.
"On the Mississippi"
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 1, 1918
HAMILTON COLLEGE
College Preparatory and Junior College
Courses. College certificate privilege. 60th
year. "The model junior college of the South."
Five teachers of music. Art, Expression and
Domestic Science courses. For catalogue
address
T. A. Hendricks, President
Lexington, Ky.
— "The churches are making a new
slogan these days," writes State Secre-
tary I. J. Cahill, of Ohio. "Thus far it
has not been expressed in words, but it
is taking form in experience. The new
slogan is 'The church in war time — busi-
ness unusual.' Everyone is working over-
time. Regular phases of church work
and services are moving steadily on and
then the war extras without number af-
ford opportunity for all the ingenuity
and industry of which the workers are
capable."
HEW YORK
CENTRAL CHURCH
142 West 81st Street
Finis S« Idleman, Minister
— C. H. Winders and family, of First
church, Hanibal, Mo., are spending the
vacation period motoring in Illinois,
Wisconsin and Indiana. Mr. Winders'
son is not with him, being an enlisted
soldier. Mr. Winders attended the ses-
sions of the Campbell Institute last
week.
— Eureka College has closed a success-
ful summer school. The Bredin-Smith
party is touring through Illinois in the
interest of the college. They will then
spend a short time in Michigan before
returning for the winter work. Profes-
sor and Mrs. Silas Jones will spend a
part of the vacation period in Canada,
and his cousin, Coach Pritchard, will
make frequent trips in search of new
students. Dean Wampler is resting in
Wisconsin. Professors Gray, Jackson
and Compton will be near Eureka dur-
ing the vacation period, along with
President Pritchard and the college pas-
tor, Verle W. Blair.
— At the recent congress of the Inter-
national Christian Missionary Associa-
tion, held July 2-7 at the Bible College
in Minneapolis, among the speakers
were J. B. Briney, of Pewee Valley, Ky.;
P. Y. Pendleton, of Cedar Rapids, la.,
First church; C. C. Cline, of Little Rock,
Ark.; Basil S. Keusseff, of Chicago; D.
E. Olson, president of the College, and
M. P. Hayden, dean of the college.
Three new members were added to the
faculty during the congress: Basil
Keusseff, as head of the Slavic depart-
ment; John Baptist, of Omaha, a prac-
ticing physician born in Damascus, edu-
cated in America, as head of the Ar-
menian department; Gust H. Cachairas,
now pastor of the church at Earlham,
Iowa, born in Greece, educated at John-
son Bible College, who will head the
Greek department. J. B, Briney's sub-
ject was "The Bible and Its Critics."
MFMORIAI CHURCH OF CHRIST
1V1CJV1UIUAL. (ourf-Iw and Baptist*)
LniV/AUU Heibert L Wi?len, Mfawter
— C. E. Dunkleberger, of Columbia,
Mo., has been called to lead the Prai-
rie City, la., church.
— Since E. F. Daugherty has been at
Los Angeles, Cal., First church, the
"membership" of over 1,000 has been cut
to a list of members of 602. Seventy-
two persons have been received into fel-
lowship during the past year, fifty-four
members having been lost by removal
and death. An average attendance is
reported of 250 at morning services, 110
at the evening meetings. The church
gave for benevolences last year a total
of $5,900.37.
— The famous "Dwight Lewis's Class"
— the Philo-Christos — of Central church,
Des Moines, la., is reported by the Chris-
tian News as "almost wiped out by the
war." This organization has furnished
one captain, twelve lieutenants and
nearly two hundred non-coms and pri-
vates.
— Galen L. Rose, pastor of the Chico,
Cal., church, and son of Morton L. Rose,
was recently married to Miss Leola M.
Shirley. Mr. Rose is a Drake man.
— Illinois day will not be observed this
year on account of the program for mis-
sions. November has been the month
set for this day.
— The Ohio Convention instructed the
State Board of Managers to appoint a
committee to advise with a similar com-
mittee of Congregationalists in cases
that may arise where the two churches
in a given community find it advisable to
consider working together. The com-
mittee appointed consists of L. N. D.
Wells, T. L. Lowe and M. J. Grable, re-
ports I. J. Cahill.
— C. W. Flewelling, pastor of Collin-
wood church, Cleveland. O., has con-
sented to serve as Christian Endeavor
Superintendent for the coming year.
Mr. Flewelling is an earnest young min-
ister and greatly interested in the prob-
lems and power of the young people. C.
R. Sine, of Hamilton, is state president;
J. J. Tisdall, of Columbus, is trustee of
the State Association, and DeForest
Murch, of Cincinnati, is chairman of the
publicity committee.
— L. E. Murray, of First church, Rich-
mond, Ind., writes that the semi-annual
report of the work there shows that
sixty-one persons were added during
this period to the membership. For
"others" $1,434.34 was raised; for "our-
selves" $1,496.71. Mr. Murray is now in
his fifth year of service at Richmond.
— A special feature at Bethany As-
sembly this year, but not announced in
the program, is an address by William
Jennings Bryan on Saturday, August 3.
— Claude L. Jones has recently tend-
ered his resignation as pastor at Shreve-
port, La., but the congregation and
board are urging him to withdraw it.
Mr. Jones has served this church for
twenty years, and the work owes its
existence to his efforts. It was with
the purpose of taking up a general line
of work for the state organization that
Mr, Jones planned to leave the Shreve-
port church.
ST. LOUIS
union avewite
CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Union and Ten Yericn At**.
G*org* A. Camyb*U, Minister
— A reception was given by the Knox-
ville, Pittsburgh, congregation to their
new leader, George W. Wise, and his
family, the date being July 17.
— B. H. Bruner, of Third church, Dan-
ville, 111., has resigned this work, and
will go to France in "Y" service.
— F. R. Payne, of Auburn, N. Y., has
been asked to supply at North Tona-
wanda, N. Y., during the absence in
France of the minister there, George H.
Brown. He will take up his duties Au-
gust 1.
— C. L. McKim, of Red Oak, la., is the
new leader at Lanark, 111.
— Ludlow, 111., church will have a new
$9,000 building soon.
CONCERNING THE
INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION
To Be Held in October at St. Louis
All of our General Conventions have
been important, and each one has been
able to register something worth while.
It seems to us, however, that the com-
ing convention will be held at a mo-
ment not only in the spiritual history
of the Disciples of Christ, but of the
world, that is fraught with great respon-
sibilities, tremendous possibilities and
grave dangers. As for our own people,
we have been trying to find a way for
the co-operation of our churches in the
general missionary, benevolent and edu-
cational work of the churches that will
conserve our ideals of democracy and
liberty, and at the same time be efficient
as a business organization.
A new Constitution was adopted at
Kansas City last fall. This convention
will be the first to be held under this
Constitution. There is at least one rad-
ical departure that has not hitherto been
tried in any of our conventions. A large
Committee on Recommendations consti-
tutes the heart of the business idea of the
TRANSYLVANIA COLLEGE
AND
COLLEGE OF THE BIBLE
Transylvania has just closed a record year. Largest attendance of college student* in her
history of one hundred and twenty yean. Large group preparing for ministry, mission field
and public Christian service.
1.— Faculty unsurpassed in preparation, experience and teaching ability. Personal interest taken
in every student.
2. — Satisfactory elective courses leading to A.B., B.S., M.A., P.Th.B. and B.B. degree*.
3. — Adequate equipment in buildings, grounds, libraries, laboratories, gymnasium and athletic
field, representing $700,000.
4.— Situated in the midst of the world-famed Blue Grass region.
5. — Opportunities for students to make a large part of expenses. Scholarship aid for sons and
daughers of ministers, high school honor graduates, ministerial and missionary students.
and those financially embarrassed. A large number of pulpits available for oar ministerial
students.
6. — Expenses reasonable. All regular fees, including library, athletic association, college
magazine, etc., $60. Furnished room for men (Ewing Hall), $40 for session; for women
(Lyons Hall), $60. Reservation fee of $2 should be sent at once.
7.— Faculty of College of the Bible: R. H. Crossfield, B. C. DeWeese, A. W. Fortune, W. C
Bower, E. E. Snoddy, George W. Brown, Edward Saxon.
Former students are sending their sons and daughters to us.
Write for catalogues and attractive booklet*.
Lexington, Ky.
R. H. CROSSFIELD, President
August 1, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
23
convention. As to whether it works ill
or not depends upon the serious and wise
way in which those who have been ap-
pointed by the various agencies take the
matter.
Another element that enters into the
situation this year is the movement now
on foot to unite our missionarv and ben-
evolent associations into one great body
for the administration of the affairs of
the Kingdom. We are in the midst,
therefore, of a time of change and read-
justment, and the best wisdom of our
churches is required for the adoption of
wise and efficient plans for the future.
The churches ought to feel their respon-
sibility in a very keen way. Each church
should make an effort to be represented
at this convention by at least one dele-
gate, and the church should, if possible,
bear this delegate's expenses. There is
a provision in the Constitution that those
in attendance who enroll shall have the
privilege of voting, but if the churches
are to take the general business of our
co-operative work seriously, they should
carefully select wise men and appoint
them as their representatives. It is the
safest and sanest business method.
The general affairs of our churches
have too long been conducted in a hap-
hazard sort of way. The time for us to
get down to real business methods has
come, and if wise and thorough-going
methods of co-operation are not decided
upon it will be largely the fault of the
churches in not taking sufficient interest
in this matter of sending delegates to
the convention. Furthermore, our minds
should be disabused of the idea that be-
cause we are in the midst of a great war
and the word of conservation along all
lines has gone out, we should neglect
this greatest of all our gatherings in the
interest of the world-wide extension of
the Kingdom. It is not a time for the
churches to neglect any matter or meas-
ure that looks to the enlargement and
the intensification of their work. They
must, therefore, counsel together. Un-
less the spiritual interests are conserved
out of this world upheaval and given a
power of direction such as they have
never had, the world will be no better,
but rather worse, for the war that now
rages.
Again let us urge that each church ap-
point at least one representative and pro-
vide for the payment of his or her ex-
penses at the St. Louis Convention.
W. G. Johnston,
Chairman Publicity Committee.
CHURCH EXTENSION NOTES
Recently a bequest of $250 was received
I from the Estate of John Wesley Jacobs
j of Boulder, Colorado. There ought to be
j a campaign by our ministers on behalf of
bequests to the various Missionary and
Benevolent Agencies, and care should be
taken that bequests are properly writterk
The Societies should be consulted in every
case as to the form of bequest, and then
contests would be avoided in wills.
Two annuities have been received since
our last report — one of $100 from a con-
stant friend in California, who has been
making numerous gifts, and $500 from a
friend in Missouri, which is the second
gift this brother has made.
There is great activity in church build-
ing, in spite of war conditions. This is in
line with the spirit of President Wilson's
urgent recommendation : That the spirit-
ual fires must be kept burning if we are
to win the war.
At our Board meeting on July 2nd,
$500 was granted to Needles, Cal., to help
them enlarge their building; $2,500 was
granted the Main Street Church of Jack-
sonville, Fla., for the purpose of assisting
in the payment of its indebtedness ; $2,000
was granted to the church at Reidsville,
N. Car., to help complete its building; and
$1,200 was granted the church at Sillsbee,
Texas.
The people should now be thinking of the
Annual Offering for Church Extension
which begins the first Sunday in Septem-
ber. Wall posters of the new Community
Church Building and a statement of the
Board's needs for this fall will be sent to
all the churches. Please receive it as
coming from a great benevolent interest,
and do not throw it in the waste basket,
but put it on the wall. All remittances
should be sent to G. W. Muckley, Cor. Sec,
603 New England Bldg., Kansas City, Mo.
The House That Munro Built for $140
Last fall, when the catastrophe de-
stroyed our church and parsonage at
Seward, Alaska, Harry Munro took his
family to California for the winter. He
later returned to Petersburg, Alaska,
where, about the holiday season, he held
an evangelistic meeting. The people were
so eager to have him remain that he has
stayed with them ever since.
During the winter Mrs. Munro, Anna
Laura and baby Virginia returned to
Alaska at the urgent request of Mr.
Munro. The little town of Petersburg
was so crowded, due to the opening up
of the fishing industry in unprecedented
fashion and the reopening of the saw
mill at Petersburg, which is the largest
mill of its kind in Alaska, that Mr. Munro
had great difficulty in finding a home for
the little family.
He wrote: "We lived in two little
upstairs rooms during February, which
were given us just because we had to
have them. Then a little two-room cabin
was vacated by a lady going to Seattle
for a visit of several months and our
landlord told us about it and asked us
to move. Of course, we did so. We had
three beds, a dresser, study table, book
case, clothes press and two cabinets all
in a 9x8 room and everything else in a
living room just a little larger."
In May, the lady wrote that she would
return to Petersburg June 1 and would
need her home. Where to turn the Munro
family did not know. They tried every
house in town — even asking about a
wood shed that was vacant. No place
could be found, not even a tent was
available.
A letter came to the Cincinnati office
just about this time explaining the di-
lemma. For $140 Mr. Munro wrote he
could build at least a temporary summer
home. Bible School Secretary Robert M.
Hopkins read a part of this letter to the
Maryland state convention, which was
meeting in Baltimore. The superinten-
dent of the Twenty-fifth Street Bible
School of Baltimore, J. J. Meyer, heard
the story and sent this note to the plat-
form: "The Bible School of Twenty-
fifth Street church will build the house
for Mr. Munro at a cost of $140." This
announcement was read and greatly ap-
plauded by the convention.
A cable was sent to Munro, followed
by a letter, telling him to go ahead with
the home. It was a most welcome word
to him. With his own hands he has
performed almost all the labor; indeed
his only help was a little assistance, for
which he paid $5.25 in the delivery of
the lumber from the mill to the lot.
The pictures of the home show a very
neat building. It stands on a lot that
has been purchased by the people of
Petersburg and presented to us for a
church building and parsonage combined,
which we expect to build in the fall when
labor and other conditions will be more
favorable.
The description of the house reads like
the plan of a twentieth century apart-
ment in New York. The house is 12x18,
with three rooms — living room 12x13^,
kitchen 4^x6 and bedroom 4^x6. The
bedroom has three beds, one above the
other, as in a steamer stateroom. The
kitchen has table and cupboards with oil
stove and sink and a ladder to the loft.
Most of the furniture is also home-made.
Water and electric lights have been in-
stalled. Mr. Munro says: "We are quite
comfortable and have really a surprie-
ingly good house for the cost."
Thus in a little cabin 12x18 our mis-
sionary to Alaska with his family are liv-
ing this summer in a home that will be
sufficient for their needs during the warm
weather season, but must be greatly im-
proved before cold weather sets in.
Petersburg seems to be the place of
opportunity in Alaska just now. In addi-
tion to the work being done in this
thriving little city of twelve hundred in-
habitants where he has the only English-
speaking church, Mr. Munro maintains
a mission among the Indians who live in
a settlement several miles back from the
town. He has recently organized a Sun-
day school at Scow Bay, some four miles
across the water. His last letter says:
"The attendance at Scow Bay keeps up
remarkably well. I took some pictures
today of that Sunday school which I hope
soon to send. We are actually accom-
plishing more and reaching more people
at Scow Bay than we did at Seward.
They are people otherwise unevangel-
ized. There was not a Bible in the village
before we formed our school there. Now
several children can repeat an entire chap-
ter from memory, and they take the great-
est interest in any phase of the Old Story."
American Christian Missionary Society,
Bible School Department,
Cincinnati, Ohio.
Ask for Catstosao m SpadW BUMUon PUm N* 27
(BsUblistod IBM)
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When the War Ends this Book will provide the Key-
note of Religious Reconstruction.
A Theology for the Social
Gospel
EmEEaKHB^BUEnani
By WALTER RAUSCHENBUSCH
Author of "Christianity and the Social Crisis,"
"Christianizing the Social Order," etc.
THE social gospel has become orthodox. It is
* an established part of the modern religious
message. But our systematic theology has come
down from an individualistic age and gives no ade-
quate support to those who want to put the power
of religion behind the teachings of social righteous-
ness. Theology is, in fact, often a spiritual ob-
stacle. It needs readjustment and enlargement.
The social gospel means a wider and more
thorough-going salvation.
With this as his viewpoint. Dr. Rauschenbusch takes
up the old doctrines of the Christian faith, such as
Original Sin, The Atonement, Inspiration, The
Sacraments, and shows how they can be re-inter-
preted from the modern social point of view and
expanded in their scope so that they will make
room for the salvation of society as well as for the
salvation of individuals.
It Makes Christianity Seem Like a New Religion !
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Vol. XXXV
August 8, 1918
Number 30
The Religion of
America
By Joseph Fort Newton
Great Preachers I Have Heard
By J. J. Castleberry
CH1CAG
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THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 8, 1918
The 20th Century
Quarterly
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EDITORIAL
The Opportunity of the Peace
Advocate
THE dogmatic pacifist has had his day, with his
abstractions and his impracticability. The greatest
war of history has broken out in the midst of his
activities, and the greatest Republic of history, the home
!of his efforts, though led by a peace-loving president, is
now engaged in building up one of the greatest armies of
(history. No better demonstration could be given of the
I futility of trying to save the world apart from a proper
[study of how society moves forward.
Now that the pacifist has had his day, the time has
jcome for the peace-maker. He is a pragmatist, recogniz-
ing the relativity of all human plans and the tentativeness
of every bit of human progress. Just because he is able to
adopt evolution as his method, he is the more effective as
a reformer.
Two alternate propositions will face the world at the
close of the present war. One is a compromise peace with
a recognition of the status quo. On the basis of such a
peace, each nation would be compelled to adopt a program
of preparedness. The United States, which has never had
a standing army of any size, would keep the present can-
tonments full of young men, and hope for some measure
of security against surprise attack by such a policy.
The other alternative is to establish a League of Na-
tions which would reduce armaments to a size sufficient
to police the world in sections where civilization has not
yet extended and to enforce the decrees of a peace court
where arbitration would settle the quarrels of nations.
It is difficult to see how Christians could hesitate be-
tween these two positions. Doubtless, some Christians
will continue to be pacifists, but we cannot see how any
would deliberately become militarists. The Christian who
would free the world from the horror that now rests upon
it will work most effectively by supporting the idea of a
League of Nations to include all those of good will who
in democratic spirit will abide by the decisions of properly
constituted authority. It is by such means that the dream
of the prophets and the will of Christ shall be realized.
Life and the Higher Life
AMERICA before the war had become a hyper-sen-
sitive nation. We had many people actively opposed
to vivisection, though remedial surgery had made
most of its advances in this way. The success of Christian
Science has revealed how many people were afraid of pain.
Much of the opposition to war was nothing more than the
physical abhorrence of blood-letting. It did not arise out
of the deep social instincts which alone will guarantee the
future welfare of the race. The figures about the loss of
life in the great war, now running well up to twelve mil-
lions, brought great thrills of horror.
It will not serve the interests of civilization to make
organized murder seem good. But we shall never have a
proper perspective until we realize that there is a great
difference between life and the higher life.
Many a noble soul in the past has been confronted
with the choice of death or ignominy. These have not
hesitated to choose death as the less of two evils. Socrates
would not run away nor would he compromise his attitude
by any false appeal for mercy. Jesus Christ went down to
Jerusalem on the last journey with his disciples saying
"Let us die with him." He knew that journey was a
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 8, 1918
march into the face of death. It was better to die than
to live a fugitive existence that would accomplish nothing
for the great Cause.
Our brave soldiers who are dying today are only doing
what others of us would do if we had a chance. It seems
to us that it were better that three-fourths of the race
should perish — if such a sacrifice is thinkable — than that
the world should continue to live under the threat of a rule
of blood and iron. "Give us liberty or give us death," is
no boast. It is a sober evaluation of life. If humanity
can be honest and noble and free, it is worth while to live
here. Otherwise existence would become a burden and
a curse. It is the higher life alone that can justify the
pains and struggles of existence in this world.
Drake's New President
THE election of Dean Arthur Holmes of State Col-
lege, Pennsylvania, to the presidency of Drake Uni-
versity will give general satisfaction to the friends
of the largest of our educational institutions, and to all
who are interested in the progress of academic history of
the Disciples.
Dr. Holmes' training and experience have been of
the best. After finishing his educational preparation, and
taking his doctorate in psychology at the University of
Pennsylvania, he held important positions in that depart-
ment, conducting valuable researches in the laboratories of
that institution. He is the author of several books dealing
with various phases of his subject. From this work he
was called to the same department at State College, which
is in reality the state university of Pennsylvania. Here
his executive ability led to his choice as dean of the aca-
demic faculty, a position which he has held with distinction
for a number of years.
Thus both as a scientist in a field of increasing im-
portance, and as an educational administrator, Dr. Holme*
comes to his new position with an experience which should
guarantee to Drake University a new career of efficiency
and success. The trustees of the University are to be con-
gratulated on their wise selection of an executive.
The developments of the co-operative campaign for
the financing of the educational, missionary and philan-
thropic agencies among the Disciples will not only relieve
college heads of much of the unhappy obligation to be mere
money-getters for their institutions, but will throw upon
them a new responsibility for academic competence and
leadership. In this new phase of our educational program
Drake is setting a worthy example.
It need hardly be added that Dr. Holmes is a loyal
and enthusiastic Disciple, and a preacher of marked ability.
The friends of Drake University are to be congratulated
on the coming of President and Mrs. Holmes to the social
circle of the institution.
The World Needs Trained Men
THE cause of the college has assumed such import-
ance that the President of the United States has
joined with others in calling for recruits to fill the
vacant places of the men who have gone away to war.
There is no lack of eighteen-year-old men fresh out of the
high school who will decide this summer whether they will j
go to work right away or start in on a course of study i
which will fit them for more skilled service in the Republic.
The moral force in every community should be brought
to bear upon these young men to make the right choice.
It is true that these men see mechanics in garages get- j
ting more money than teachers, and plumbers faring better j
than preachers, so the argument cannot well be an eco-
nomic one. It must rest upon the conception of service j
or it will not carry.
The war has revealed, as nothing else could, the value ;
of the trained man. It is no accident that 85 per cent of j
the officers in the army are taken from the 3 per cent of \
the population who are college trained. Reading a list j
of the needs in government service today, one realizes that
there can be no adequate defense of the Republic apart
from college education. True preparedness is the prepara-
tion of men for the higher walks of life.
It is not chiefly for the service of our country in war
that we would urge the filling of the colleges. The days
of reconstruction are coming. Many of our trained men
will fall upon the field of battle. Some of the Russian j
socialists in their hatred for men with white shirts threw j
the chemist out of their factory and put a workman to I
mixing the chemicals in the manufacture of rubber. He
soon spoiled a vatful. Every great industry in America ;
rests upon the services of the educated man. If our chem-
ists are killed, we must train others.
In the study of the community itself, in the prepa- I
ration of community servants, the college is indispensable
in the rebuilding of the world. The Christian college is I
indispensable to the future of the Christian church. Many
a man with war profits that are not adequately taxed j
should help another man's son through college if he have
no son of his own.
i
New Responsibility in Christian
Benevolence
IT has been the glory of the church since the days of
Jesus and Paul to care for the unfortunate. The i
Disciples of Christ in establishing institutions for the
care of orphans and sick and aged have felt that this i
was in a true sense a restoration of primitive Christianity j
and of a sort most desirable.
The war is creating a new situation in the matter
of benevolence, and already we hear of many organiza- i
tions making preparation to meet the new need. Fra- I
ternal societies, like the Odd Fellows, are setting aside j
many thousands each year for war service and are per- I
fecting a new type of organization to distribute the re-
sponsibility for wounded soldiers lest any small commu-
nity be overburdened. The Methodist Episcopal church is i
searching in Europe for places for the location of or- I
phans. The American army is to be followed by the j
missionary and the philanthropist in the Roman Catholic
countries.
The two types of responsibility, caring for widows
and orphans and the re-education of crippled soldiers
is one that is at our very door. Ninety thousand soldiers
August 8, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
are going over every week now. As these lines are writ-
ten, the cost of the victory recently won in France is
following in the casualty lists and the string of hospital
ships that will find their way back home.
The National Benevolent Association has so well met
the benevolent needs of the Disciples of Christ ihat it
should be encouraged to go forward with new depart-
ments of work arising out of the war needs. We do not
want another society but more funds for the efficient
society now in existence. Without doubt this organiza-
tion is already facing out the implications of the war
situation and will come up to the convention in St. Louis
in October with a program. If this program is ambi-
tious enough, the Disciples of Christ will support it.
The Parable of the Potato Bug
A Parable of Safed the Sage
THERE came unto me a man, who sat him down
before I asked him to do so. And he inquired of
me, saying:
Dost thou believe in Prayer?
Now, I am a man of Prayer, neither hath there
been a day since my childhood when I have not prayed
to my God. But I answered him not, for I knew that
he had not come to learn what I believed about Prayer,
but to tell me what he believed, and that he would
Never Notice whether I answered him or no.
And he took up his parable and said, I was on the
train, on my way to a Very Important Business En-
gagement ; and if I made it, I should make Good Money,
and give unto the Lord a tenth thereof. And my train
was late. And I approached a Junction. And if the
other train had gone, I had Missed my Appointment.
So I took the matter to God in prayer, and behold, the
other train was later than mine own. So did I meet the
appointment, and I sold the Goods, and the Treasury
of the Lord shall prosper.
And he thought not of the many people on the Con-
necting Train who suffered by the delay which his
Prayer had Seemed to Produce.
And I said unto him, There is a place where I go in
Summer, where there are Trees and a Lake and
Streams. And there grew a Great Tree by the side of a
stream, and the waters washed under the roots upon
the one side thereof, so that the Tree grew out over the
Stream. And it was a Beautiful Tree, and it grew for an
Hundred Years. And the Cattle rested under the shade
thereof, and the Birds of Heaven did build their Nests
in the branches thereof.
Now, upon the one side of the Stream was there a
Potato Patch, and within the Patch there grew a Potato
Vine, and upon the Potato Vine there Crawled a Po-
tato Bug. And when the Potato Bug had filled his Belly
with the leaves of the Potato Vine, he looked across the
Stream, and behold there was another Potato Patch,
fairer than the one wherein he abode. And he said, I
will go forth, even into that other Potato Patch, and
there shall my soul Delight itself in Fatness. So he
came to the Stream, and he could not get across. And
he tarried there that night. And in the night there arose
a Great Wind, and it smote the Tree, so that it fell, and
its Mighty Trunk lay across the stream. And when the
morning was come, the Potato Bug climbed upon a root
of the Tree, and he crossed over, and came to the other
side, and he went to the other Potato Patch. And he
said, Now do I behold the Goodness of God who hath
made a Bridge for me, and brought me safe over the
Stream ; for this is an answer to my Prayer. And while
the Potato Bug gave thanks to God, the Cattle mourned
for the Shade which had sheltered them, and the Birds
were Sorrowing over their Broken Eggs, and over their
Little Birds that were Crushed, and over their Homes
that were Desolate. But the Potato Bug knew it not,
nor regarded it, but thanked his God for the answer of
the Prayer of the Potato Bug.
Now the man who had come to tell me that he be-
lieved in Prayer heard this parable, and he was wroth.
And he said, Dost thou compare me to a Potato Bug?
And I said unto him, I speak the truth in parables ;
for the good God hath made the outer world and the
things therein that they may be as a Mirror to the Souls
of men. I do not compare thee to a Potato Bug, but if
thou seest any Points of Similarity, that is thine own
affair.
And he departed.
Conscripts of the Dream
By Edwin Markham
GIVE thanks, O heart, for the high souls
That point us to the deathless goals —
For all the courage of their cry-
That echoes down from sky to sky;
Thanksgiving for the armed seers
And heroes called to mortal years —
Souls that have built our faith in man,
And lit the ages as they ran.
Lincoln, Mazzini, Lamennais,
Doing the deed that others pray;
Cromwell, St. Francis, and the rest,
Bearing the God-fire in the breast —
These are the sons of sacred flame,
Their brows marked with the sacred name —
The company of souls supreme,
The conscripts of the mighty Dream.
Made of unpurchasable stuff,
They went the way when ways were rough;
They, when the traitors had deceived,
Held the long purpose, and believed;
They, when the face of God grew dim,
Held thru the dark and trusted Him —
Brave souls that took the perilous trail
And felt the vision could not fail.
Give thanks for heroes that have stirred
Earth with the wonder of a word,
But all thanksgiving for the breed
Who have bent destiny with deed —
Souls of the high, heroic birth,
Souls sent to poise the shaken Earth,
And then called back to God again
To make heaven possible for men.
The Millenarian Hope Through the
Centuries
A Study of the Emergence of Apocalyptic Expectations at Different Periods in the
History of the Church
Eighteenth Article in the Series on the Second Coming of Christ.
THE standard works on Church History have very
little to say regarding the prevalence of millennial an-
ticipations in the various epochs of the Christian
record through the ages since the life of Jesus. This is
due to two facts. The first is that after the second cen-
tury such views fell gradually into obscurity, and came
even to be regarded as heretical. Historians prefer to give
attention to the main currents of the history rather than
to side eddies and diversions from sound biblical teaching.
The history of heresies is not without its value, but only
the scholar who can afford to turn aside from the control-
ling themes of the faith for the sake of some special studies
in the unusual or eccentric types of thinking cares to con-
sume time in these inquiries. The second fact is the lack
of value in the studies themselves. Neither for the sake
of fulfilling the obligations of a chronicle of past events
in the life of the church, nor for any personal interest in
the subject is the historian likely therefore to follow very
far the land marks of millennial speculations.
But in a series of studies like the present this phase
of the subject can hardly be ignored, and indeed the ex-
amination of some of the by-paths of church history
brings to light some curious examples of misplaced em-
phasis upon the second advent of our Lord. It is proba-
bly within due bounds to say that there has never been a
time in the Christian centuries when some individuals
or groups were not under the spell of apocalyptic expecta-
tions. The hopes of the early church were so clear, and
were so frequently expressed, that any believer who ac-
cepted the theory of verbal inerrancy as applied to the
documents of the New Testament, and was not safe-
guarded with any adequate recognition of historical per-
spective, was an easy and probably willing victim of such
aberrations. However, as time went on, and the necessity
of readjusting their beliefs to the manifest facts of experi-
ence became apparent, the ardent anticipations of an
earlier age fell into decline. It became increasingly clear
that the millennial dreams must either be abandoned or
pushed into the less definite future. But by this same
process those who found themselves impressed by the
imagery of the Books of Daniel and Revelation were able
to locate the pictured consummation in some age less close
to the apostolic period.
THE CHURCH FATHERS
Some account has been given of the views of the
earliest church fathers in the chapter on the Millennium in
this series. It is unnecessary to review these at any
length. It is enough to say that, in spite of the gradual
correction of fervid anticipations of a speedy and visible
coming of the Lord, there were teachers in the church
who still proclaimed the imminence of the end. Of this
number were Ignatius of Antioch and Polycarp of
Smyrna. The author of the Epistle of Barnabas antici-
pated the immediate close of the world-age, and the inau-
guration of the thousand years of good. Papias of Hier-
apolis, living early in the second century, represented in
vivid form the material blessings of the new era, which
he believed to be at hand. In the middle of the same cen-
tury Hennas made known in the terms of a vision his
conception of the all but completed story of the church,
and the assurance of the speedy return of Christ. A little
later Justin Martyr affirms his confidence in the early
coming of the Lord, at which time Jerusalem, rebuilt in
beauty, will be the home of the saints for the thousand
years of happiness. Similar was the belief of Irenaeus of
Lyons, a contemporary of Justin's. Most of these writers
accepted the millennial scheme first suggested, as has been
shown, by the author of the Secrets of Enoch, and de-
veloped by the writer of Revelation.
One of the movements in the early church that gave
a momentary revival to the waning hope of the immediate
advent of Jesus was Montanism. This was indeed but one
of several features of this system of belief, but it was not
without its influence upon the church for the reason that
it gave to the millennial expectation an extravagant em-
phasis and a materialistic atmosphere. The very fact that
the church as a whole had largely given over the belief
in the speedy return of the Lord as unlikely of realization,
made the Montanists all the more eager to revive the opin-
ion. In praying, "Thy kingdom come" they prayed for
the end of the world. They were enthusiastic in their proc-
lamation of the great event as near at hand. They looked
with contempt upon the present world order, and directed
their desires to the second advent of Christ. Maximilla,
one of their prophetesses, a companion of Montanus, was
accustomed to say, "After me there is no more prophecy,
but only the end of the world." The failure of, these vivid
hopes did much to weaken the movement and lessen its in-
fluence. And one of the evils resulting from the confident
proclamation of the millennial hope to adherents of the
system was the reaction to worldliness when such hopes
could no longer be entertained. In one form or another the
apocalyptic expectations of Montanism have been revived
at various periods in the history of the church.
Tertullian, who lived in North Africa in the opening
of the third century, was a defender of some of the Mon-
tanist doctrines, and among them that of the early approach
of the second advent. Perhaps none of the church fathers
equalled him in the realism with which he pictured the fea-
tures of the great consummation. A contemporary of his,
Hippolytus of Rome, was more definite in setting the date
of the expected event. He wrote the earliest surviving
commentary on the Book of Daniel, and found in this apo-
August 8, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
calypse, and in the measurements of the tabernacle, a
scheme of chronology on which he based his theory regard-
ing the end of the world. Fie affirmed that it would take
place six thousand years after creation, and five hundred
years after the birth of Christ. Commodian of North
Africa proposed a still more elaborate program, which re-
vived several of the features of the Nero-myth, based upon
the Sibylline books, and employed with effect by the author
of Revelation. From the same sources apparently, a fel-
low North African, Lactantius, developed a prediction of
the approaching but dreaded fall of Rome, which had far
outlived the limits set by the Revelator. Methodius of
Lycia was similarly active in the exposition of millenarian
speculations.
PROTESTS AGAINST MILLENNIAL TEACHINGS
The great teachers of the church, Origen (185-253
A. D.) and Augustine (354-430 A. D.), the one living in
Alexandria and later in Caesarea, the other in Carthage
and Tagaste, and later in Milan, were the chief figures,
respectively, in the Greek and Latin schools of church
doctrine. They did much to dispose of the remaining
tendencies toward millennial vagaries. The former suc-
cessfully refuted the belief in a literalistic interpretation
of Scripture, which has always been the refuge of the ad-
ventist speculations, and the other removed the founda-
tions of such teachings by the insistent assertion that the
millennium was not a blissful estate of the future, either
proximate or remote, but rather a condition already realized
in the increasing power of Christianity in the world, the
second coming of Christ taking place continually in the
church and its individual members. Augustine accepted,
in a somewhat vague manner, the view that at the close of
the thousand years of this pervasive spread of the faith, a
consummation, not unattended with apocalyptic features,
might be expected. But he disposed of the more spectacu-
lar items of the eschatological program in a manner con-
sistent with the historical expansion of the church.
There was sufficient survival of millennial feeling in
the Christian community, and enough hospitality to chilias-
tic hopes even in the writings of Augustine to cause an
outbreak of confidence and fear as the first millennium of
church history came to an end. Nearly all the scheme
of prediction which extended the period of world survival
beyond apostolic times insisted with an air of finality upon
the consummation of all things in the year 1000 A. D. Even
those who had done most to oppose the obscurantist fancies
of confident adventism with its ever-changing calendar of
predicted terminals of mundane events, were not without
the impression that the millennial year would witness the
great crisis. Not even the bitter struggle between church
and empire could wholly obscure these hopes and terrors.
A wave of excitement swept over Europe. Apocalyptic
preaching found a new vogue. The study of Daniel and
the Revelation was immensely stimulated. The wildest
rumors circulated. Vast sums were devoted to the church
and good works as a means of preparation for the ap-
proaching event. In many instances the price of property
fell to a fraction of its former value. Deeds were recorded
with the solemn words, "Forasmuch as the end of the
world is at hand." As the fateful day came on, ecstatic-
ally awaited by multitudes of convinced and prepared de-
votees, and anticipated with the direst apprehensions by
the worldly but alarmed, the suspense was impressive.
Even the most unpersuaded of Christian scholars, and the
most scoffing of unbelievers, were not without misgivings
as to what might happen.
But the day passed, and in spite of the fanciful efforts
of nervous apologists to explain the failure of the great
prediction on the ground of some error in the calendar,
or with various other suggestions, a reaction set in which
played havoc with morality and religion for a generation.
A tide of worldliness and self-indulgence rolled in upon
the communities that had waited with bated breath for the
day of judgment. The sickening disillusionment of the
proclaimers of the end was equalled only by the scoffing
of a resentful world that had been scared for a moment
into conforming piety. The total effect of the episode
with the consequent revulsion of sentiment toward religion
was disastrous. And such, in the more limited circles of
the like hopes and failures, is the invariable history of the
millenarian specluations.
FRESH PREDICTIONS
But the world easily forgets even its severest lessons.
New generations have to go to school to the same austere
teacher, experience. Only a few decades passed until new
predictions of the end were boldly announced. Among the
prophets who obtained a hearing none was more popular
than Joachim (1145-1202 A. D.) abbot of the (Cistercian)
monastary of Floris in southern Italy. He divides all his-
tory into three periods, that of the Father, which ended
with the coming of Jesus; that of the Son, which, on the
basis of his interpretation of Revelation, 12:6, was to end
in 1260 A. D. ; and that of the Spirit, which, beginning at
that eventful date was to behold the church purified and
made ideal in simplicity and monastic virtue. He had a
considerable following but that date passed uneventfully,
like the others.
The age of the Reformation produced many groups of
believers who in their persecution by the Roman Church
took refuge in fresh studies of the biblical apocalypses,
which they interpreted as referring to their own times.
Milicz of Kremsier, a Bohemian preacher of power, pro-
claimed the presence of Antichrist, and set the end of the
world first in 1365, and when that date passed, he advanced
it to 1367. One of the Flussite parties, the Taborites, under
their blind leader, John Ziska, believed that the day of
wrath was near, and prepared for it by disposing of their
property and gathering in five cities of Bohemia, which
they believed would alone be spared in the time of trial.
In the tragic days of the Thirty Years War such teachings
were very common. The Anabaptists, who were great suf-
ferers because of their conviction regarding the church and
the Bible, were led to anticipate a supernatural deliverance
from their troubles. Out of this movement arose the ef-
forts of Melchior Hoffman, whose apocalyptic preaching-
aroused wide interest in Friesland. He predicted that
Jesus would set up a kingdom on earth with its capital at
Strassburg, and that the end of the world would come in
1533. In hopes of witnessing this event he went to Strass-
burg, but was imprisoned, and died there in 1543.
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 8, 1918
The obscurer pages of church history would supply
many other names and incidents connected with various
abortive millenarian speculations, such as that of the Ger-
man, Alsted, who fixed the date for the beginning of the
millennium in 1694, or the French Protestant, Jurieu,
whose protest against the persecution of the Huguenots
led him to set the year 1689 for the overthrow of the
Roman Church, in which he discovered the Antichrist, the
Man of Sin and the Little Horn. In England a party
equally antagonistic to the royalists and to Cromwell pro-
claimed themselves as the Fifth Monarchy Men, taking
the suggestion from the little stone of Daniel's vision, and
insisting that they would have no ruler but King Jesus,
who was soon to appear. At Elberfeld in Germany arose
the Ronsdorf sect, claiming the fulfilment among them-
selves of the prophecies of Revelation 11 and 12, and set-
ting the date for the advent of the new age in 1730.
MODERN MILLENARIANISM
One of the founders of the modern critical method in
biblical study, Johann. Albrecht Bengel, in the early part
of the eighteenth century, by his very reaction from the
allegorizing methods of interpretation which had prevailed
since the days of Origen, unconsciously opened the door
for a return to literalism, which has always proved itself
one of the insidious foes of biblical scholarship, unless
safeguarded by historical perspective. He accepted the
millenarian view of Revelation, and set the date 1836 for
the end. This was sufficiently beyond his own death in
1752, so that, like the patriarchs, he was able to die in
faith. The Shaker movement in America, led by Ann Lee,
held among other opinions to the millenarian view, be-
lieving that the end was near. In England the Plymouth
Brethren, founded in 1826 by Edward Irving, and some-
times called the Irvingites, or the Darbyites, has held
apocalyptic ideas along with other insistences in Christian
belief and practice. Irving set the date 1864 for the sec-
ond advent. William Miller, of Low Hapton, N. Y., was
the leader of a movement named after him, which attained
some dimensions. Taking a text in Daniel (8:14) he as-
serted that the end of the world would arrive in 1843.
When that time expired and nothing happened, he stated
that a miscalculation had been made, and that the expected
time would arrive October 22, 1844. Many of his fol-
lowers prepared ascension robes for the great day, but
with the usual result. The Adventists as a body were the
result of Miller's activities, and various views regarding
the end have prevailed among the different branches of
this body.
Still more recent outcroppings of millenarian specu-
lation have taken place in connection with Mormonism,
which at the beginning held confident beliefs regarding the
early coming of Christ, and later took up an abode in Utah
to await his return. Russellism, interpreted through a
series of Millennial Dawn pamphlets, set the year 1914
as the time of the great consummation. Since the out-
break of the war many forms of adventism and millenar-
ianism have been promoted both in Europe and America.
The astonishing uses to which the Bible can be subjected,
and the extraordinary sums of money which interested
men can find it in their hearts to expend on so perverted
and discredited a form of religious propaganda would be
surprising if the long history of the church through the
ages did not disclose the emergence of just such illusory
hopes, and the practice of precisely the same perversion of
biblical inquiry at almost every epoch of the church's ex-
perience. In almost any other period save that of a great
world sorrow like the present, such views might pass as
amiable eccentricities, quite permissible in those who have
inclinations that way, and sure to be self-correcting and
self-annihilating as the spirit of intelligent study of the
Bible and of Christian history prevails. But, in a time like
this, they have insidious and baneful results which only
need to be pointed out to set the real seekers after truth in
a more open and luminous way.
The literature upon this phase of the subject is neither
large or accessible. The church histories give almost no
space to it. Even in so recent and admirable a work as
that of Professor Williston Walker there is no treatment
whatever of the subject, and only the scantiest references
to some of the most interesting figures in the various move-
ments. The reasons for this have been explained in part
in the opening of this article. But they seem insufficient.
By all odds .the best treatment of the matter is given by
Professor S. J. Case, in his admirable work, "The Millen-
nial Hope," in the chapter IV on "Later Christian Hopes,"
to which the present writer is obligated for most of the
material of the present study.
The next chapter in this series will be devoted to the
influence of millenarian views upon the church in the
present period. Herbert L. Willett.
Pray With Your Will
By William L. Bryan
President of Indiana University
OUT of a thousand things which may be said of
prayer — in this time when our people are called
to pray every day at noon for the success of
our cause — I wish to say one.
I must pray with my will — the will to do everything
inside myself, and outside myself, to make the prayer
come true. My prayer must be the will to make myself
fit for democracy and not by my practices its enemy. My
prayer must be the will to fight as hard as my boys are fight-
ing on the Marne ; the will to sacrifice in a degree not ut-
terly shameless in comparison with their sacrifice ; the will
to fight our secret foes here as they are fighting our open
foes there ; the will to resist to the uttermost treacherous
seductions to a peace which would mean a German victory,
a more dangerous Germany and soon a greater war — may-
hap with German armies fighting on the Hudson and the
Mississippi instead of on the Marne.
If our prayers are nothing but a cry for what we want,
with no determination to be better ourselves individually
and collectively, with no determination to sacrifice more
and fight harder, then the continuous praying of 100,000,-
000 people is but as the useless moaning of the sea. But,
if 100,000,000 people continuously join in the passionate
will to be right and to fight, this is to develop an enormous
power allied with the Power which is infinite. This is the
sword of Gideon which is also the sword of the Lord.
The Religion of America
By Joseph Fort Newton
RELIGION is a universal and elemental power in
human life, and to limit its scope by restrictive
adjectives would seem, at first sight, to be self -con-
tradictory. For this reason, to speak of the religion of
America borders on inconsistency. Since human life pul-
sates to the same great needs, the same great faiths, the
same great hopes, why speak of the religion of one nation
as if it were unique ? Surely the religious sentiment is the
supreme revelation of the essential unity of humanity,
and the ultimate basis of human fraternity. Exactly, but
the very fact that religion is the creative impulse of human-
ity promises variety of form, of accent, and of expression.
It has the unity of a flower garden, in which there is one
rich soil and one soft air, but every variety of color and
fragrance.
RELIGION IS ONE
Humanity is one, religion is one ; but in the economy
of progress a distinctive mission is assigned to each great
race, for the fulfillment of which it is held to account.
Naturally, in the working out of that destiny the common
impulse of race is given form, color and characteristic
expression by the national, social, political and intellectual
environment in which it develops. Thus the religion of
Greece, with its myriad gods, was different from the reli-
gion of Egypt, albeit springing from the same impulse.
The Tree of Life has many branches, and its leaves are
for the healing of the nations, its underlying unity taking
many shapes of beauty and of power, and this richness
of expression adds infinitely to its picturesqueness. Reli-
gions are many, but Religion is one, and those who know
this truth look with a new wonder upon the various robes
of faith and hope which man has worn in the midst of the
years.
No one can read the story of man aright unless he
sees that our human life has its inspiration in the primary
fact of religion The State, not less than the Church,
science equally with theology, have their roots in this
fundamental reality. At the center of human life is the
altar of faith and prayer, and from it the arts and sciences
spread out, fanwise, along all the avenues of culture. The
temples which crowned the hills of Athens were dreams
come true in stone, but they were primarily tributes to the
gods, the artistic genius finding its inspiration and motif
in religious faith. Unless we lay firm hold of the truth
of the essential religiousness of human life we have no clue
to its meaning and evolution. So, and only so, may anyone
ever hope to interpret the eager, aspiring, prophetic life
of America, whose ruling ideas and consecrating ideals
have their authority and appeal by virtue of an underlying
conception of life and of the world.
AMERICANS DISTINCTIVE CONTRIBUTION
TO WORLD IDEALS
For it is becoming increasingly manifest that our Re-
public— a melting-pot of nations and races — has a spirit
of its own, unique, particular, and significant, and a mission
to fulfill. Just as to the Greeks we owe art and philosophy,
to the Hebrews the profoundest religion, to the Romans
law and organization, and to Anglo-Saxons laws that were
self-created from the sense of justice in the people, just
so America has a distinct contribution to make to the
wealth of human ideals. America is not an accident. It
is not a fortuitous agglomeration of exiles and emigrants.
Nor is it a mere experiment to test an abstract ideal of
state. No, it is the natural development of a distinct life
— an inward life of visions, passions and hopes embodying
itself in outward laws, customs, institutions, ways of think-
ing and ways of doing things— a mighty spiritual fact
which may well detain us to inquire into its meaning. Be-
cause America is carving a new image in the pantheon of
history it behooves us to ask whether or not from its
teeming, multitudinous life there is not emerging an inter-
pretation of religion distinctively and characteristicallyy
American.
In a passage of singular elevation, both of language
and of thought, Hegel explains why he did not consider
America in his "Philosophy of History," written in 1823 :
America is the land of the future, where, in the ages that
lie before us, the burden of the world's history shall reveal
itself. It is the land of desire for all those who are weary of
the historical lumber-room of old Europe. It is for America
to abandon the ground on which hitherto the history of the
world has developed itself. What has taken place in the New
World up to the present time is only an echo of the Old World
— the expression of a foreign life, and as a land of the future,
it has no interest for us here, for, as regards history, our con-
cern must be with that which has been and that which is.
TRULY A NEW WORLD
Written by a great thinker who studied the history
of the world as unfolding the Divine life of man,
and who searched every page for the footprints of God,
those words are memorable. They are a recognition of
the unique and important mission of our Republic and its
inescapable responsibility in the arena of universal his-
tory. Much has happened since Hegel wrote in 1823, and
the drama of our national destiny, as so far unfolded since
that time, is a fulfillment of his prophecy, showing that we
have abandoned the ground on which history has hitherto
wrought and developed not only a life of our own, growing
out of a rich soul, but that we have undertaken a new
adventure. Today America is not a new England, not a
new Europe, but a new world, and as such it must be
reckoned with by all who would estimate the possessions
of humanity. As Oliver Wendell Holmes has said, setting
our history to music :
This is the New World's gospel: Be ye men!
Try well the legends of the children's time;
Ye are a chosen people, God has led
Your steps across the desert of the deep,
As now across the desert of the shore;
Mountains are cleft before you as the sea
Before the wandering tribes of Israel's sons;
Still onward rolls the thunderous caravan,
Its coming painted on the western sky,
A cloud by day, by night a pillar of flame.
10
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 8, 1918
Your prophets are a hundred to one
Of them of old who cried, "Thus said the Lord;"
They told of the cities that should fall in heaps,
But yours of mightier cities that shall rise
Where yet the lowly fishers spread their nets;
The tree of knowledge in your garden grows,
Not single, but at every humble door.
RELIGION THE GREATEST FACT
Long ago Carlyle said that the religion of a man is
the chief fact concerning him, and the same is true of
a nation. By religion he meant, as he went on to say, not
the creed which a man professes ; not that necessarily, often
not that at all, since we see men of all degrees of worth
and worthlessness professing all kinds of creeds. No, by
religion he meant that which a man practically believes,
lays to heart, acts upon, and therefore knows about this
mysterious universe and his duty and destiny therein ;
that is the chief fact about him and creatively determines
all the rest — that is his religion.
By the same token, the religion of a nation is not its
formal faith, its accepted theology, but something deeper,
more real, and more wonderful; its ideals, its dreams, its
temper, its ruling principles, its character. Socrates said
that the real religion of Greece was not to be found in its
temples, and Emerson made a like remark about the reli-
gion of England. Our Yankee Plato found the actual
religion of England something finer, more inwrought, at
once more noble and fruitful than the creeds of all its
churches.
Much of the theology taught in America even today
was transplanted to our shores from lands and times alien
to our own, and if taken literally, it would be incompatible
with our fundamental ideal. It was the product of minds
whose only ideal of the State was that of an absolute
monarchy; it is a shadow of vanished empires, a reminis-
cence of ages when the serfdom of the people and the
despotism of constituted authorities were established con-
ditions. Its idea of God, of man, of salvation, are such
as would naturally occur to the subjects of an autocracy,
and this may be one reason why it hardly touches the
actual life of men in our Republic.
AMERICA BOTH MATERIALISTIC AND IDEALISTIC
Fortunately, our fathers kept their theology and their
politics apart, seemingly unaware of the conflict between
them. No doubt here we find the reason why some of
our most typical men, like Lincoln and John Hay, while
profoundly religious, held aloof from the churches. If
we would know the real theology of America, to say
nothing of its religion, we must go further than to the
creeds of its churches, and find it in the life of the people,
their temper, spirit, and character. That is to say, we must
find it in the Spirit of America.
What is the spirit of America? There are those who
tell us that we are a race of crude, sordid folk, sodden in
materialism, and others who are equally sure that we are
a tribe of fantastic and incurable idealists. Both are
right, and it is in this blend of a hearty, wholesome,
robust materialism with a noble and skyey idealism that
the real spirit of our Republic is to be found; and our
glory is that we keep the two together. What idealism
alone leads to and ends in, history has shown us many
times — never more sadly than in Russia today. What
materialism is, when it has conceived and brought forth
its results, may be seen in the unimaginative, efficient bar-
barism of Germany. In America we hold the two together,
that so our materialism shall incarnate our idealism, and
our idealism consecrate and transfigure our materialism.
Because this is so, because our national spirit has this dual
aspect, it is a blunder to leave either element out of account
in the interpretation of our history.
"OUR HEARTS NOT IN OUR LEDGERS"
Historians are apt to emphasize the purely material
causes of our national growth, interpreting it as a matter
of chance, of geographical environment, or, as is now
the fashion, of economic necessity. Thus we find the
grand traits of New England character attributed to harsh
climate, sterile soil, and hostile conditions, and the Revolu-
tion and the Anti-Slavery movement explained as pri-
marily economic in motive. It is not true. While no one
denies the influence of climate and industry, it is little
short of blasphemy to overlook those deeper causes — those
glowing sentiments that have fired the hearts of our people.
America is a land of commercial opportunity, but our
hearts are not in our ledgers, and our aspirations are not
expressed in profits. What really rules our nation is a
passionate attachment to the ideals of liberty, justice and
fraternity ; and the soul of our people finds voice, not in
records of bank clearings, but in the far-flung visions of
our national poets and prophets.
Stephen Graham, having followed the Russian pil-
grims to the Holy City, came with poor emigrants to
America, and he tells us that it was a journey from the
most mystical lands to the most materialistic. And yet,
if we take Tolstoy as the typical man of Russia, of its
strength and its weakness, its lights and shadows, and
place him alongside Lincoln, the most typical man of
America, who will say that America is not also a land of
mysticism? Indeed, when Lincoln fell more than fifty
years ago, it was Tolstoy who said : "He was a Christ in
miniature."
AN INTENSELY RELIGIOUS NATION
To say that America is idealistic is only another way
of saying that it is intensely religious; that our national
life is rooted in spiritual reality; and this profound reli-
giousness has touched our history to finer issues, turning
an almanac of prices into an Epic of Humanity — nay, into
a chapter in the Biography of God. Consider now the
religious meaning of the fundamental ideas and aspirations
of American life, and it will become clear what our real
religion is.
Before there was ever an American Republic, thinkers
in other lands had wrought out the gospel of liberty,
equality and fraternity as a thesis; but our fathers pro-
ceeded from theory to practice. Holding that government
must be by the people and for the people, they laid the
foundations of a nation dedicated to the truth that all men
are created equal — equal before God, before the law, and
in their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,
each having inalienable rights which no State can confer
August 8, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
11
or deny — trusting the free man to guard his freedom and
to find in his freedom the solution of whatever problems
may. arise. That is to say, they reversed the theological
teaching of ages and risked the fate of a nation on faith
in the essential goodness of human nature and its kinship
with God ! Surely he is blind who does not see how radi-
cal is the religious meaning of this first principle of our
American theology. America is a symbol of confidence in
human nature ; it assumes the inherent divinity and sacred-
ness of man, and our history has justified that faith.
DOGMA OF STATE UNPOPULAR
Since ours is a government of the people by the peo-
ple, the hideous dogma of the State as an abstract entity,
a collective fiction, leading a life of its own, above and
beyond the lives of the men who compose it ; the frightful
dogma which makes the State a kind of mortal god who
can do no wrong, an irresponsible Moloch whose neces-
sity is law, and to which liberty and right are to be sacri-
ficed— that dogma has no place in America. Thank God
we know nothing of the atheism that the State must do
what it has to do, law or no law, right or no right, and
that ends justify any means, no matter how infernal.
Once a French king said : "I am the State" ; and that
is what every citizen of our Republic can say. We are
the State, and if the nation is guilty of a crime, each of us
is guilty, in his degree, of that crime. America, by its
very faith, repudiates the infamy of Machiavelli, Bismarck,
and their ilk, holding the moral law to be as binding upon
a State as upon a man. In other words, our fathers took
God into account and had respect for his eternal moral
order when they founded our Republic, basing it, as they
did, upon a religious conception of life and the world.
"the republic of god"
Always a new faith in man implies and involves a
new vision of God. It was natural for the men who
bowed low when the chariot of Caesar swept by to think
of God as an infinite Emperor, ruling the world with an
arbitrary and irresponsible almightiness. But for men who
live in a Republic such a conception is a caricature. The
citizens of a free land do not believe that God is an infinite
autocrat, nor do thy bow down to a divine despotism. No,
they worship in the presence of an Eternal Father, who is
always and everywhere accessible to the humblest man
who lifts his heart in prayer. The logic of the American
idea leads to faith in a Divine Love universal and impartial,
all-encompassing and everlasting.
Elisha Mulford was in accord with the theology of
How to Transform Your Life
Find a Friend, believe in him and love him ; see a
great Cause and give yourself to its work ; feel the power
of a Book and saturate yourself with its spirit; find a
Brotherhood of spirits like yours in aspiration and join it ;
and loving your Friend, serving your Cause, absorbing
your Book, and co-operating with your Brotherhood, do
not think too much about your character, for your charac-
ter will take care of itself. H. E. Fosdick.
his country when he entitled his noble book "The Republic
of God," and it is no wonder that he would fain open the
gates of Heaven a little wider than they have ever been.
Also, if the faith of the religion of democracy is the
Fatherhood of God, its practice is the Brotherhood of Man.
. America admits men of all nations and races into her
national fraternity, granting the right of equal suffrage
and citizenship. They walk with us along our avenues of
trade ; they sit with us in our halls of legislation ; they wor-
ship with us in our temples. Americans all, each race
brings some rich gift of enterprise, idealism, and tradition,
and all are loyal to our genius of liberty under wise and
just laws. Most of us could repeat with slight variations
the words of John Hay when he described the mingling of
many bloods in his veins : "When I look to the springs
from which my blood descends, the first ancestors I ever
heard of were a Scotchman who was half-English and a
German woman who was half-French. Of my more im-
mediate progenitors, my mother was from New England
and my father from the South. In this bewilderment of
origin and experience, I can only put on an aspect of deep
humility and confess that I am nothing but an American."
America knows nothing of the Slavic race, nothing of
the Teutonic race, nothing of the Saxon race, but only
the Human race, one in origin and destiny, as it must be
one in a great fellowship of sympathy and service.
THE PROPHECY OF AMERICA
Such is the ideal and prophecy of America, and if
to realize it all at once is denied us, surely it means much
to see it, found a great nation upon it, and seek practically
to realize it. Lord Bryce said that American patriotism
is itself a religion ; it is one with the spirit of all true reli-
gion, since the spirit of fraternity is the essence of both.
After this manner the religious spirit works itself out
in our Republic, colored by the political conditions under
which our nation has grown — a faith profound and fruit-
ful, hearty, happy, facing the future with the soul of
adventure, often shadowed but never eclipsed, sometimes
delayed, but never defeated. If it is revolutionary, it is
also redeeming, offering to every man the right to seek
that truth by which no man was ever injured, and to look
up from the lap of Mother Earth into the face of God
the Father. In the hymn of John Hay it is sung:
Not in dumb resignation
We lift our hands on high;
Not like the nerveless fatalist,
Content to trust and die.
Our faith springs like the eagle,
Who soars to meet the sun,
And cries exulting unto Thee,
O Lord, Thy will be done.
Thy will! It bids the weak be strong,
It bids the strong be just;
No lip to fawn, no hand to beg,
No brow to seek the dust.
Whenever man oppresses man
Beneath Thy liberal sun,
O Lord, be there, Thine arm made bare,
Thy righteous will be done.
Some Great Preachers I Have Heard
By J. J. Castleberry
IT IS sometimes said that the era of great preachers is
past. Men point back to the golden days of the pulpit
— the days of Robertson, Parker and Spurgeon in Eng-
land and of Brooks, Beecher and Swing in America — and
remind us that today no trumpet voices like these ring
out to challenge men's souls. Perhaps not, for the Ni-
agaras, Grand Canyons and Matterhorns are few in any
age or land. Still, there are great preachers in our gen-
eration, on both sides of the sea, men of giant mould and
prophet vision. If preaching is one of the fine arts, it cer-
tainly is not a lost art.
It has been my privilege to hear some of the great
present-day preachers of both England and America and
I shall here give a few impressions concerning certain par-
ticular stars among them. England has been pre-eminent
in producing not only great poets, but great preachers as
well. There the preacher passion has burned deepest and
the preaching art has attained its highest expression. The
English preacher, as a rule, is characterized by the finest
training, makes scrupulous preparation for his sermon and
is a man of the Book, his sermons being expositions of the
really great and vital themes of Holy Scripture. Among
some of the best known English preachers that I have heard
let me mention three.
j. H. JOWETT
I heard Dr. Jowett at Northfield, during his first visit
to this country, and he impressed me as a consummate mas-
ter in the art of pulpit utterance. Educated at Edinburgh,
he is a man of classical taste and superb finish. Every
phrase is like a polished gem and his sentences flow like
music.
I think one does not get the best in Dr. Jowett by
simply reading his sermons ; one must hear him to catch
the full inspiration of his message. A little past fifty, of
slender build, slightly above the average height, of white
hair and mustache, clear blue eyes, spiritual face and mel-
low voice, his personality is charming indeed. Ascending
the pulpit as a king coming to his throne, this man of God
from the first word holds you as if under a spell. Yet, his
manner is simple and there is no straining after effects.
His is a straight-forward, earnest message — a man speak-
ing to men — but speaking in the name of God and in behalf
of destiny-making human interests.
Dr. Jowett excels in textual preaching. He also de-
lights in the expository sermon. But he seems not to care
much for the topical discourse. He likes to take a single
passage, or more frequently a clause or word, hold it up
from every angle, analyze it and set it forth in clear and
illuminating interpretation. The first sermon I heard him
preach was on the words "Our Father," and for almost
an hour he hammered on the single thought of the social-
ism of prayer. One felt, when the sermon was finished,
that he had not only been lifted up into holier communion
with the Infinite, but that he was united as never before in
bonds of sympathy and love toward his brother. Surely,
America is poorer in the loss of this prophet and saint,
who, in these crisis hours, felt the lure of the home land,
and to save his own soul, as he explained, recently returned
to England, assuming the pastorate at Westminister Chapel,
London.
G. CAMPBELL MORGAN
Dr. Morgan has frequently visited America and it was
my pleasure to hear him at Winona Lake. Lacking some-
what in academic training and culture, he is yet one of the
foremost English preachers of our day. The son of a Wes-
leyan minister, and beginning his own career in that com-
munion, he later became a Congregationalist and for years
has preached to great throngs in London and whenever he
has traveled in English-speaking countries.
Dr. Morgan's personality, if not so winsome, is yet
impressive in its rugged virility. Tall and slender, with
waving iron-gray hair, face shaven smoothly, voice strong
and penetrating, he presents at once a commanding figure.
Like his distinguished successor at Westminster Chapel,
Dr. Morgan is a devout student of the Word and his ser-
mons are characteristically expository. A conservative in
his thinking, he loves the old time themes and expounds
them with great unction. One observes on first seeing Dr.
Morgan, that he is of extremely nervous temperament —
perhaps at times just a little irritable. I would not call him
an orator, except as oratory means to believe something
with all one's soul and proclaim it with passion. He does
not always speak in finely polished periods, but he has a
message from the King and delivers it with telling effect,
arising at times to the most dramatic and soul-stirring
utterance.
SILVESTER HORNE
Mr. Home had the distinction of being not only a
brilliant pulpiteer, but also a statesman, serving the double
function of London pastor and member of Parliament. It
was during this period that he first visited America and I
heard him preach and lecture several times. His interests
were not exclusively theological, but social and economic
as well. He loved the Bible, but he also loved men and that
with a consuming passion. I shall never forget the first
sermon I heard him deliver — a study of the story of the
Good Samaritan — the large human sympathies which he
manifested and the heights of eloquence to which he arose.
A plain Englishman, Mr. Home was anything but
fastidious in dress or appearance. He seemed to care noth-
ing for the conventionalities. Yet, all in all, I regard him
as the greatest orator that I have heard from the other side
of the Atlantic. Possessing a musical voice, with rich
English accent, and speaking with great fluency, he drew
people to him and swept them forward with him as by an
irresistible magnetism. At times one felt a thrill such as
comes only from the impact of a commanding personality
and a truly great utterance.
Just three years ago Mr. Home, already broken in
health, returned to this country to deliver the Lyman
Beecher lectures at Yale, choosing as his subject "The
August 8, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
13
Romance of Preaching." No man for years so stirred that
university community as did this big brained, kind-hearted
! Englishman. Following his Yale engagement he started
for a brief visit to Canada and while crossing Lake On-
tario, still in the prime of a useful life, he suddenly died
and his untimely going was mourned alike on both sides of
the sea.
Let me now turn to three great American preachers
I have heard. And, too, I do not wish to draw any in-
vidious comparisons here. The English preacher is per-
haps better trained, more scientific in the art of sermoniz-
ing and more distinctly a man of the study ; but the Ameri-
can preacher, I think, is more modern in his viewpoint,
social in his sympathies and masculine in his utterance.
F. W. GUNSAULUS
I have heard Dr. Gunsaulus at a summer assembly,
and later in pulpits of my own city. I have also been
thrown with him socially and talked with him about the
things of the Kingdom. He is democratic through and
through and is personally so likeable that one loses sight
of professional faults. He enjoys a good story with the
zest of a palatable meal and his fund of stories seems in-
exhaustible.
Of all our American preachers I think Dr. Gunsaulus
in sublimity of pulpit expression rises to the highest heights.
He is big, not only in body, but also in brain and soul.
Typically American, his message is strong and virile, and
masculine to the core. He is blessed with a voice at once
clear and resonant and possessing great range. He can
easily be heard in the largest auditorium. He speaks ex-
temporaneously and at times is thrillingly dramatic. One
feels that he would have made a great actor.
Moreover, Dr. Gunsaulus has the soul of a poet. He
delights in metaphor and symbol and soars oft into the
field of imagination. He lives close to the heart of the
iEternal and sees God in everything — in the flowers, the
snow, the mountains, the stars and planets, and the mighty
movements of history — and he interprets this Divine Pres-
ence in nature and life with rare insight and appreciation.
He is a discriminating student of history, philosophy and
literature and quotes liberally from the great masters of
thought. But a defect in Dr. Gunsaulus' preaching, it
seems to me, is a certain lack of concreteness. He takes
too much for granted as regards his audience and soars
at too high altitudes for most of us. One cannot help wish-
ing, as he hears this great preacher, that he might come
idown to the earth and just talk to us out of his own soul.
W. F. MCDOWELL
It was my good fortune to hear the venerable Bishop
deliver the Lyman Beecher lectures at Yale and also preach
on Sunday in the university chapel. He is indeed a rare
spirit, not only among Methodists, but in the church uni-
versal, and he grips one's soul as few men do. He is per-
haps not so scholarly as Bishop McConnell, or mystical
as Bishop Quayle, or keen-edged as Bishop Edwin Hughes,
but all things considered, he is the equal of any of them,
and is one of the masters of our American pulpit.
Large of body, with finely chiseled features, clear and
kindly eyes and white hair, and withal the dignity and
bearing of an aristocrat, Bishop McDowell looks the part
of the statesman and orator that he is. By his fine humor
and attractive personality he is at once en rapport with his
audience. His sermons, if not always profound, are at
least well thought out, lucid and to the point. While he
impresses one as being a man who reads widely and keeps
abreast of the age, yet the emotional element is more pro-
nounced in his preaching than in any other distinguished
preacher I have heard. This is perhaps due as much to his
Methodist up-bringing as to any natural temperament.
But, be this as it may, he is unquestionably a great Chris-
tian, and his words are so charged with spiritual power
and vibrant with enthusiasm for righteousness that they
move mightily the hearts of the people.
CHARLES E. JEFFERSON
I have always admired Dr. Jefferson and have read
practically everything he has written. It was my privilege
to hear him in a series of addresses before a Ministers' In-
stitute at Vanderbilt Lmiversity, Nashville, and later at
Chautauqua, N. Y. On first seeing Dr. Jefferson one feels
disappointment — he is so small of stature, unpretentious in
manner, and withal modest as a child. But when he begins
speaking a radiance comes upon his countenance and he
appears as if transfigured. This is true of him in a degree
that I have never observed in any other speaker. Dr. Jef-
ferson prepares his sermons with punctilious accuracy and
he speaks with beautiful grace and ease. I have seen him
use manuscript and again have heard him speak without
notes at all. His delivery is always conversational and
there is absolutely no effort to play the orator, though at
times he speaks with an emphasis that gives great force.
To my mind the distinctive thing about his pulpit work is
its utter simplicity and freedom from cant. He seems ab-
solutely to abhor pulpit pyrotechnics, glittering rhetoric or
florid eloquence of any kind.
While living in the world of today, thinking its
thoughts and speaking in its terms, Dr. Jefferson is none
the less anchored to the realities. He is a man of vital
and unquestioning faith. He firmly believes in God, in the
message of Holy Scripture and the soul's immortality. All
his preaching centers in Jesus Christ and has to do with
the eternal values. A lover of men, his whole personality
radiates kindness, fraternity and good will. He is not only
a great teacher and interpreter of truth, but what is more,
he is a great saint, seer and idealist.
FIVE-TALENT MEN
No loftier moments come into one's life than occasion-
ally to sit under the ministry of these princes of the pulpit
— these five-talent men. They rise above sect or creed and
belong to the whole Church of God. And there is a certain
bigness about them — a royalty of nature, generosity of spirit
and breadth of outlook — that is truly invigorating,
like the ozone-laden air coming from the snow-crowned
summit of some Pike's Peak. May God send us more of
these great guides of the Spirit, these torch-bearers of the
faith and prophets of the new day.
Mayfield, Ky.
14
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 8, 1918
The Sunday School and a Patri-
otic Opportunity
By William T. Ellis
TO "keep the home fires burning" ; to prevent a slump
in national idealism ; to maintain patriotism on the
highest levels ; to save America to essential religion ;
to help Christians to be big and brave enough for any
changes in conventional religious forms that the war may
bring to pass ; and to preserve the soul of the nation from
becoming calloused or embittered or darkened or otherwise
hurt by the war — this is the clear present task of the
Christian Church and all her agencies. "New occasions
teach new duties." This grave hour of history seriously
summons all leaders in religious thought and activity to
great and unusual efforts.
Some uncertain spirits may falter and ask whether
the Gospel has any word for this unprecedented day. Such
know neither the times nor the Gospel. The eternal con-
temporaneousness of the Message of Jesus was never more
clearly manifest than now. The war itself has unleashed
for all the nations, in newness and practicality, the princi-
ples and spirit of the Savior. Our present need is for
alert interpreters of the Gospel and of our times. The
clamant query is not "What?" but "How?" Methods of
pressing home to the hearts of all the people — especially
of those outside the normal reach of the Church — the per-
tinency and power of the truth should engross us now.
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AND THE NATION
Even more persuasive than the outreach of the pulpit
is the influence of the Sunday school. It goes to every
village and cross-roads of the nation. The Sunday school
lesson is possibly the most potent single educational or
character-shaping influence in the whole world today. Its
message is multiplied ways and times without number;
what the teacher reads is carried to classes and homes and
into conversation, growing like a snowball as it goes. I
wonder if even the Sunday school workers have realized
the full potency of the lesson? For these Scripture por-
tions are all related to life. They are selected for their
character- forming qualities. They contain the truth which,
if pressed home with regularity and with interest, will keep
the nation itself steady.
There are surprising potentialities for patriotic and
Christian propaganda in these lessons. Every qualified
commentator and teacher will interpret them in the light of
the world war and its implications. They offer a rare
opportunity for presenting the reality and workability of
the teachings of Jesus. As one who has been treating the
International Uniform Sunday school lessons for daily
newspaper readers, I can testify that I have found them
aglow with messages of fortitude for our fighters, of com-
fort for their kindred, of illumination for patriotic service,
of inspiration for new ministry to the world, and of vin-
dication for the ideals of America and the Allies, as
expressed by that stalwart Sunday school man, President
Wilson. These lessons bring the eternal word of God to
bear on present perplexities which will never be satisfac-
torily solved in any other manner. When the lessons are
linked with life, the throbbing, thrilling, tremendous life of
the present crisis, they are as absorbing as dispatches from
the battlefront. By them, the purposes and principles of
the people may be maintained at the lofty levels which the
occasion requires.
SPIRITUAL APPEALS DESIRED
Patriotism summons editors and writers and teachers
to utilize the Sunday school lessons as a vehicle for con-
veying the highest interpretation of our country's cause.
In times of great feeling, like the present, the public is
most sensitive to spiritual appeals. Therefore, if the sin-
cerely religious aspect of this war for righteousness is
clearly and consistently presented to the people, their spir-
its will be strengthened and their resolution will be estab-
lished. Patriotism is unshakable when founded upon
faith in God. Surely this is the hour wherein all the tides
of national feeling may be purified and directed by reli-
gious conviction. Both State and Church may greatly be
served now, if Christian leaders are alert to the occasion.
To help in any wise to publish the clear teachings of
Christ upon the problems of the present itme is to serve
the State as well as the Gospel. For the principles of
patriotism are established in the eternal verities of the
Christian religion.
That is the note which should be dominant during
these heart-hungry days, in Church press, Sunday school
publications, and wherever else the truth may be told.
Religion and patriotism should be inseparable. A reverent
and teachable respect for the truths of religion can keep
patriotism from deteriorating into mere blatant nation-
alism and militarism. So it becomes the task of all who
write or speak in the name of the Gospel to pour into the
day's spirit of patriotism the great impulses and inspira-
tions and inhibitions of the Christian religion. Thus shall
we not only help to win the war ; but also we shall help
the nation to win our souls.
Faith
By Thomas Curtis Clark
FAITH is to know that He
Who gave us poverty
Would thus our hearts prepare
His greater wealth to share.
It is to trust His power
To smite the darkest hour
That ever blurred our sight
With His dawn-bringing light.
Faith is to see His hand
In all that He has planned
For us ; to know that ill
Is good, if 'tis His will.
Religious Work in the Camps
THESE lines are written from the Y. M. C. A. camp
grounds at Estes Park, a mile and a half above sea
level and amid mountains girdling around a mile higher,
their ancient heads hoary with snow and with green mantles
robed about them. It seems so far from a war camp that the
transition from the one to the other might be a decade instead
of a week. Yet here, lifted above the plains and valleys of
our good land, like an altar high above turmoil, whence peace
and the handiwork of the Creator invites to worship, we are
in a war school, and in all the other schools war and the
readjustment to follow are the sole theme. This is a goodly
symbol of true religious experience. The times and places
apart are only for preparation for bitter trial in the crowds
and amid the perils and problems of human life wherever it
trails or fights or is baffled and waits.
There is prayer and worship in the camp work of the
"Y," but it is no more all their service than is thanks at the
table all the service of the bread winner. The religious work
in the camp is not that of the monastery, but of the master
among the multitudes ministering to body, mind and soul as
equally God-given.
* * *
Praise for the Young Men's
Christian Association
The religious work in the camps is done by the Young
Men's Christian Association to a degree that is all but con-
suming. The chaplain is there but not in numbers; in fact,
only a part of the regiments have one instead of the three
apiece they are to have in France. And the chaplain, if he is
a success, uses the "Y" building for his work, and co-operates
there in the common task. When the army is at the front and
is mobile in action there will be great need of the chaplain,
and he will be in great need of equipment, but the govern-
ment is not so seriously concerned about him in the training
camps where the "Y" functions so efficiently and is so well
equipped for the work needed there.
The camp pastor is also found, but he cannot work at
! all except as he co-operates with the Y. M. C. A. Good and
earnest men are engaging in this work but are finding it
I difficult to function serviceably enough to justify their labors;
the writer was given a hint by an interested major who is
' in a position to know, that the War Department was inclining
j to view the whole matter of camp pastors and denominational
I representatives as an experiment whose results do not justify
i its continuance. This is frankly the personal judgment of
I most of the active chaplains, Y. M. C. A. men and line offi-
cers. Their judgment is that such workers should join the
Y. M. C. A. forces and work as such. The "Y" has the organiza-
tion and equipment; it has the confidence of the army and the
hearty co-operation of the officers; it is articulated to the
military system; it is non-sectarian, yet genuinely Christian,
and its doors are open to all. Few young men care much
for sectarianism and least of all the soldier, while the average
army officer abominates it. If the denominations insist, the
camp pastor will probably be continued, but it will be because
of tolerance and not from any conviction at military head-
quarters.
Does the Denominational
Work Pay?
The Catholics are spending millions on their Knights of
Columbus huts, but they are getting small returns as com-
pared with the army "Y." The writer made daily comparisons
at all times and on all occasions and found the huts were
not patronized by a tithe of the men attending the "Y" huts.
With a "K. C." hut hard by, soldiers of Catholic faith not only
go to the Y. M. C. A. but they also work actively in them.
The truth is, the Knights of Columbus hut is not needed.
The "Y" gives every human, moral and social service they can
give and is open to the priest for any special service he desires
to perform, and he might articulate with it just as the Young
Men's Hebrew Association does. The "Y" is there to serve
the soldier, and if he needs or desires any type of sectarian
service its doors are open, though, of course, its staff sticks
to its Christian task. It represents the essentials of religion,
does all the common tasks of Christianity and opens its
doors to any specific ministration any particular conscience
demands.
There is ample work for the various denominational war
work commissions. First, they have a program for the local
church in its relation to the soldier lad from its membership
or its neighborhood and to his family left behind. • Second,
they need to lend aid to the church near the cantonment if
it is unable to meet the extra opportunities and duties brought
to it. Third, there is a type of volunteer sevrice that can be
offered in the Y. M. C. A. huts but which can be better done
as voluntary service under the "Y" auspices than by separate
denominational organizations. And, fourth, and most im-
portant just now, they can equip their chaplain for overseas
service.
Something About the
Chaplain's School
It was the writer's privilege to deliver the opening address
at the second session of the Chaplain's School. There are in
attendance some two hundred and fifty of the finest young
men of our American ministry. Here Uncle Sam is giving
them special schooling in the specific tasks of their office,
putting them through a selective process that will bring com-
missions to none who lack specific fitness, and training them
in physical health and military bearing. Our army is not only
to be well chaplained but the chaplains are to be well organ-
ized and articulated in the army machinery. Such equipment
as our army machine can give will be supplied, but just as the
army medical corps needs the Red Cross, so does the army
religious corps need the Y. M. C. A.; and just as the medical
officer can use the intimate services offered by Red Cross
equipment so does the chaplain need a personal equipment
that none can offer but the church. The government will
supply tent and hymn books so he can hold worship when
no "Y" is near, but he needs personal and minor equipment,
and above all he needs a "personal" fund to use in his minis-
trations to the individual soldier when ill, or wounded or in
trouble of any kind.
Lutherans, Catholics and Episcopalians are outfitting their
representatives generously. Other communions are giving
their men from two to five hundred dollars apiece. The Dis-
ciples of Christ are represented by as fine men as there are
in the service and by the very best from their pulpits; the
Church ought to honor them and co-operate with them in
this worthy work.
* * *
Some Objections to
the School
The other day a young man quit the war-work school out
here because the much praying at the many camp classes and
meetings overwhelmed him. He said: "I am a Christian and
I pray, but I can never do it this way." On another day a
great Chicago preacher told the boys that unless they be-
lieved a certain ancient theory of the atonement they ought not
go into war work. A skeptical friend of the writer thought
both the much praying and the theology of this camp preacher
ludicrous and therefore doubted whether or not the "Y" war-
work was functioning. A certain eminent pulpiteer came
home from France declaring that there was no place in "Y"
army work for a "man with a message." Another man who
16
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 8, 1918
was advocating a sectarian camp-pastors' staff for the entire
army called the "Y" work "social but not religious." Then
the War-Work Council is striving hardest to get "religious"
laymen to enter the war-work and instructs its secretaries to
be "directors," not platform speakers primarily.
The Objections
Answered
Thus there are many opinions and some minor conflicts
of judgments, but the Y. M. C. A. overcomes all by giving
efficient and Christlike service with the help of men of all
creeds and opinions, and on the basis of a fraternity of Christ-
like service instead of on one of creed or ritual or polity.
The young man lost his opportunity by going home, not
seeing that the devotional spirit here was to inspire and con-
secrate him and not to be duplicated in the camp. The over-
orthodox preacher would decimate the camp huts if his
creedal test were applied. But next week the camp preacher
will be liberal and apply no orthodox tests. Our skeptical
friend needs to but visit a war camp to find all his pre-con-
ceptions of religion as much praying and belief in a medieval
creed amputated. An eminent pastor answered the "pulpiteer"
by saying he had spent many days handing out hot cocoa at
the front and felt Christ was looking over his shoulder all the
time. When an evangelist said on such an occasion, "Put in
a word for Jesus," a lad in khaki answered, "Jesus is in that
cup of cocoa"; he saw that giving the "cup of water in my
name" was not only religious but was most eloquent preach-
ing.
Thus the "Y" answers the charge that its work is "social";
its social work is religious and Christlike and preaches and
evangelizes powerfully. But it preaches and prays and teaches
the Bible most diligently also. There are three religious
services weekly and tens of thousands listen to the Bible
studies right in the barracks. But it becomes all things to all
men and saves them by many means and by "services" held
in every manner of place and by all kinds of method for six-
teen hours per day and seven days a week.
Alva W. Taylor.
The War
A Weekly Analysis
THE Foch counter-offensive is a complete success. No
victory since the first battle of the Marne has compared in
importance with this great triumph that began on the same
field of conflict. It is the second great decisive turning point in
the war.
As this is written the enemy is falling rapidly back and
the signs are multiplying that he intends no long tarrying until
he is across the Aisne.
The capture of Soissons, made possible by the collapse of
the enemy center under the heavy pressure of the Franco-
American forces, dooms the line of the Vesle. Already the
allied troops are sweeping eastward along the Aisne valley to
the point where the Vesle enters it, while, from the opposite
end the French and British are pushing westward toward Fismes.
It is futile, however, to attempt detailed description of a front
that is undergoing continual change, and that will be completely
altered before this appears in print.
There are several things that are worth emphasizing as more
general features of the allied victory — features of vital impor-
tance for the future of the struggle.
First, it cannot be insisted upon too strongly that the supreme
achievement of General Foch has been the utter destruction of
the enemy's plan of campaign. It is shattered. The Hun command
is "up in the air." It has no program of offense left. For the
third time since March 21 its carefully conceived and prepared
designs against the allied armies have been defeated. On the
first two occasions — those of Picardy and the channel ports —
there was an alternative and the means for executing it with
hope of success. Now there is no alternative apparent, and if
there were, the means for carrying it out no longer exist. The
enemy must relapse into the defensive unless he is willing to
take big chances on risking another disaster by an inadequately
prepared and supported drive on some other sector of the front.
When we remember that the enemy offensive was heralded as the
blow that would bring decisive victory to Germny, and when
we remember that the blow was made imperative by the threat
of increasing American strength, we can better appreciate how
crushing is the failure. It is a failure from which recovery is
impossible. The only hope Germany has now is in the bare
possibility of recruiting from Russia and the eastern border
states. That possibility might be realized eventually if we did
nothing to intervene in Russia. But we must prevent its reali-
zation.
Second, although the enemy will hold vastly stronger posi-
tions if he retires to his old lines on the Croanne plateau, it
is manifestly true that he is generally much worse off now than
he was before he began his effort at decision last March. He
then held along the Hindenburg line the most powerful en-
trenched front ever constructed. In his anxiety to smash the
allies he left it far behind, and drove his three big pockets into
their line. The peril of pocket positions has been well exemplified
in the last three weeks. There are two more of them equally
perilous with which Foch can deal whenever he feels ready.
Third, American troops have played a decisive part in the
second victory of the Marne. American re-enforcements made
it possible, and American divisions, from the beginning of the
counter-offensive, have held important positions and carried on
their end of the work with magnificent courage and efficiency.
Nearly 200,000 Americans have been engaged in the battle. If
our casualty list numbers from 12,000 to 15,000 — as is intimated
at the time of writing, it is comparatively light.
General Pershing now has 1,000,000 American soldiers di-
rectly under his command. The balance of nearly half a million
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"The Life Indeed" —
ONE of John R. Ewers' lesson talks in the new
20th Century Quarterly. It is an elo-
quent tribute to the beauty and power of
the Christ, and it is a tribute that will go straight
to the hearts of strong men. Two letters have
just come in, filled with words of praise for the
new Quarterly. One is from Ben H. Smith, who
is in "Y" work at Ft. Riley, Kan. He says:
"This Quarterly is the thing for these soldiers —
and for anyone." The other letter is from H. W.
Hunter, of Des Moines, former Christian Endea-
vor Superintendent of Missouri. He says: "I am
delighted with the Quarterly. It is just what I
have been looking for."
The 20th Century Quarterly is for
modern men. It is for alert young people.
Every adult class, every young people's
class in your school should have it.
Send for Free Sample Copy.
The Christian Century Press
700 East 40th Street Chicago, 111.
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'i
I
August 8, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
V
is brigaded with our allies, and will be released as it becomes
efficient. In July we sent 300,000 men over seas, breaking all
records. Such facts as these must be vastly disturbing for the
kaiser. He needs the help of Lord Lansdowne and other pacifists
desperately now. S j_ DuNCAN-CLARK.
national meditation and humiliation. The term "blood money"
did not imply any particular wrong-doing on the part of our
munitions makers, but only the general scheme with which
all Christians and our Christian President regard the fact that
war has been necessary in our modern world. — The Editor.
CORRESPONDENCE
National Humiliation
Editor The Christian Century:
In a recent editorial on, "A New Kind of Decoration Day,"
occurred this sentence : "In her day of humiliation America
must remember that a part of her wealth is the blood money
of munition factories accumulated before our entrance into
the war." Similar expressions occurred frequently in your paper
before we entered the war, and occasionally since. I want to ask :
1. Is the cause in which we are fighting now a just cause?
Presumably your answer is, Yes.
2. If it is a just cause now, was it a just cause before we
entered it — the cause in which the Allies were fighting? Pre-
sumably your answer is, Yes.
3. If the Allies were fighting for a just cause — the same
cause for which we are fighting now — was it wrong to furnish
munitions to them, aside altogether from any legal phase of the
case?
4. What would have become of the righteous cause for
which the Allies were fighting, and incidentally what would have
become of us, if America had not furnished a part of the
munitions of war?
I do not think it fair to our munitions makers, nor the fair
reflection on America, to call their profits "blood money."
Los Angeles, Cal. * Newton Jessup-
The expression referred to occurred in an editorial on Pres-
ident Wilson's call to observe Decoration Day as a day of
Some Postscripts
Editor The Christian Century :
You are giving us a paper for the times, one with a message
for the people of today, in the thought of the people of today.
We Disciples must not deceive ourselves. We cannot take the
world back to a hundred years ago and ask that it think in
terms of that time. The Twentieth Century is here and the
thought of the people of today must be reckoned with. I am
glad you are not only recognizing the change in times and thought,
but that you are doing a large part in moulding the thought for
the tomorrow. I wish more of our journals could see the neces-
sity of bringing their writings down to the times in which we live.
r. r,,. Stanton E. Hoover.
Croton, Ohio.
You are giving us a really worth-while paper. Its up-to-date,
practical, forward-looking spirit is most refreshing; its inter-
pretation of world movements most helpful. £> \\r. Moore.
Webb City, Mo.
I want to thank the Century editors for all the good
things they are giving us. I wish especially to say Amen to what
has been said about Billy Sunday. There was never a time
when his work should have been tolerated by the church — much
less now ! I have helped keep him out of Indianapolis and I
have been glad of the opportunity. w E_ M Hackleman.
Indianapolis, Ind.
You are giving us a great paper for these critical days.
Baltimore, Md. Peter Ainslie.
I1IIBIIIIIM
"The Sunday School Lesson is possibly the most potent
single character-shaping influence in the world today"
NO, this is not a clever slogan prepared for advertising purposes, but a quotation
from an article by Dr. William T. Ellis, author, traveler and churchman, on "The
Sunday School and a Patriotic Opportunity." (The article is printed in this issue
of the "Century.") Read the article, then ask yourself whether, as minister, superin-
| tendent or teacher, you are a slacker. Are you making plans to prove yourself a true
| patriot the coming year by making the most of your school, your class? |
Many a minister is asking himself whether he should not go into "Y" or chap-
laincy service across the sea or in the home camps. Perhaps you cannot. But here is
one way in which you can serve your country and serve mightily, if Dr. Ellis is right.
Do not fail to see that your Sunday school activities are taken seriously during the
year beginning with the autumn quarter. Make a serious business of choosing the right
literature. Your younger pupils should have the best Graded materials obtainable, and
your adult and young people's classes should be provided writh Quarterlies that really
| get results in character. |
I Before making your choice of literature do not neglect to examine samples
| of (1) The Bethany Graded Lessons; (2) The 20th Century Quarterly. j|
The Christian Century Press, 700 E. 40th St., Chicago |
illllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllli
18
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August. 8, 1918
I enjoy the "Century" more and more. It has, in my judg-
ment, an important place today. It does my soul good each
week I read it. I like its catholic spirit and constructive work.
I wish you great success. My prayers are for you. These
are wonderful times in which we are living. I am glad that
you are dealing with the dynamics of religion. John R. Mott
says: "An alarming weakness among Christians is that we are
producing Christian activities faster than we are producing
Christian experience and Christian faith."
Your paper helps me. I rejoice that we have papers like
The Christian Century with a vision for the hour to help us
ministers who are striving to lead our congregations aright
during these troublous times. We must get our people ready
for the reconstructive period and the new age that shall follow.
North Salem, Ind. Lee Tinsley.
Rev. John E. Ewers
The Sunday School
What Is Church Work?*
A YOUNG woman came home after graduation in one
of our great Eastern colleges for women, and asked
her pastor for some definite church work. He an-
swered: "Well, my dear, I think we shall have you take care
of the pulpit flowers." Now, no one will for a moment dis-
count the pulpit flowers; they carry a sweet message into the
worship and they afterward carry a
bit of cheer into a sick room. But it
would seem that a college graduate
might be given some more challeng-
ing piece of definite work.
Church work means, in the mind
of the average person, sewing in the
Aid Society, calling on the sick, col-
lecting funds for various purposes from
pastor's salary to foreign missionary
offerings, getting up the Christmas en-
tertainment, teaching a Sunday school
class, planning the picnic, baking a
cake for a social, ushering, passing the
communion emblems and paying 50 cents a week for general
expenses — this is "Church work"! Indirectly, efforts for re-
forming the town and to promote prohibition are considered
semi-church work. But does this exhaust the catalogue? Are
these activities the limits of church endeavor? We have lost
many good people because the programme of the church has
been too petty. Now, particularly, the church must broaden
its labors to include all good work of every kind. In this
way the church will attract and include many more people,
and people of a bigger type.
It is very hard to get the average man and woman to
think broadly. They like little things. They like to have
water-tight compartments. They like to separate Sunday
from Monday. But wash-day can be holy. "Remember the
week-day to keep it holy," Every effort at good, honest work
is church work. The man who passed the holy emblems on
Sunday is the same man on Tuesday as on Sunday. He must
carry religion into his business, into the treatment of his help,
into his attitude to the newsboy, the waiter and the chauffeur.
This business of going to early mass and then going the limit
the rest of the time is all bosh. This idea of limiting church work
to certain petty activities is debasing. I spoke this noon in
a maufacturing plant, where the men were working very im-
portant machines for the government. I talked about lying.
I told those men that they were building their characters into
their machines. I told them that if they were honest the
machines would be honest and would do their important work
well, and that if they were dishonest they would build their
lies into the machines and they would do poor work or no
work at all and the government would be defeated by just
that much. Now, that was pure and undefiled religion! To
visit the sick and to build honest machines.
The church is composed of men and women. They come
to church for inspiration and comfort. They should not fail
to get it. They should get it in the Sunday school and in
the church, in the scriptures, addresses and hymns, in the
fellowship and conversation. Then after this meeting these
same human beings go back to their homes and to their places
of business. Church work must consist in all the activities of
their lives — so-called sacred, and so-called secular. Every-
thing is church work or nothing. Life is a continuous stream;
it flows on steadily; you cannot split the Ohio River up into
sections; you cannot separate your life up into sections; you
are you, you are either Christian or you are not. Sunday,
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday,
you are John Smith, and all that you do in all that time is
church work. And let us hope you help to do some big
things. The secret of having big people in your church is to
have big things for people to do. Too many preachers, Sun-
day school teachers and people are bound in shallows and in
miseries. John R. Ewers.
Books
"What Is Christianity?'
>*
THIS is a book for the open-minded student of the times.
Again and again one recalls Harnack as he reads. Har-
nack's book with the same title appeared eighteen years
ago. Both works are distinctly historical, distinctly critical, dis-
tinctly illuminating. In part they cover the same field, and in part
different fields. Both treat Roman Catholicism and Protestantism
as developments of Christianity, and inevitably there are minor
themes in common. But the differences are noticeable.
It is significant that the first chapter in this new book by
Dr. George Cross is on the .subject of "Apocalypticism," a subject
not treated at all by Harnack. Much attention has been given to
this feature of Christianity since Harnack wrote, and today it is
a vital question threatening to divide our American Protestant-
ism into two camps. The treatment of it in this book is judicial
and wholesome. It is the work of a scholar of the hour, and
this may be said of the book in toto. This "recrudescence of
millenarianism, with its pessimistic view of the world, this mod-
ern apocalypticism, springs out of a certain view of the Bible and
its function, a view which the Christianity of our day cannot as a
whole maintain." : ^
In his treatment of Roman Catholicism Dr. Cross is not quite
so positive as Harnack, who says, "The whole outward and visible
institution of a church claiming divine dignity had no foundation
whatever in the Gospel. It is a case not of distortion, but of total
perversion." Dr. Cross finds the essence of Catholicism to be a
matter of government, rather than a matter of faith. He says,
"The monastic vow of obedience is characteristic of the entire
system." Under the impetus of Catholicism the Eastern Church
became "an ecclesiastical hierarchy after the aristocratical pattern,
with its heads in many metropolitan cities. The Western Church
. . . an ecclesiastical hierarchy after the monarchical pattern.
There were many fathers, or popes, in the East, but only one
father, or pope, ultimately, in the West."
The treatments respectively of mysticism and rationalism
are especially attractive features of this book. Dr. Cross is a
master in antithesis, and his summaries afford him a field for
antithetical presentation of his material. Summing up rationalism
as related to mysticism, he says: "While both mysticism and
rationalism seek for the simple essence of the Christian faith and
endeavor to eliminate all adventitious forms or foreign accre
*This article is based on the International Uniform Lesson for August 18,
"Working in the Church." Scripture, Acts 8:41-47; 4:32-35; 6:2-4.
*A review of "What Is Christianity?" by George Cross. Published bj
the University of Chicago Press. $1.
August 8, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
19
tions from whatever source, they are to be contrasted in that
mysticism seeks its end in the realm of feeling, but rationalism
in the realm of thought. Mysticism is receptive, almost passive,
finds its good by way of contemplation, and discovers the One
and All by abandonment of the many; rationalism is intellectu-
ally active, inquisitive, analytic in temper, and finds the solution
of its problems in a scientific study of the many. Mysticism is
an aristocratic faith, while rationalism, professedly at least, is
democratic. Mysticism tends toward a pessimistic view of the
prospects of the human multitudes, rationalism toward an opti-
mistic view."
Dr. Cross gives full recognition to the most recent studies in
the history and the psychology of religion. This appears distinctly
in the chapter on "Evangelicalism." He finds these studies reaf-
firming the value of personality and the simple Christian faith itself
las "the greatest possession that has arisen in the soul." This — the
j faith itself — "is man's inalienable wealth, and its power is inex-
tinguishable. ... Its power of self -communication to others
and its unifying power in communities of men are as impressive
as its inner personal force."
The author maintains the academic spirit throughout, but his
leaning is not hard to discover. He is constructively Christian,
with the emphasis of his teaching on the spiritual. Forms,
rituals, dogmas, count for little. They have, or have had, devel-
opmental value. They must pass with the passing conditions
that called for them or made them possible. But the spiritual
content of the Christ, the Christ teaching and the Christ life
[abide. \y. J. LHAMON.
} Drury College, Springfield, Mo.
1 PROFESSOR WILLETT recommends this book
jj as the best preparation for his series on "THE
1 MILLENNIUM" now running in
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
1 The Millennial Hope
A Phase of War-Time Thinking
By SHIRLEY J. CASE
|j Professor of Early Church History, and New Testament
II Interpretation, the University of Chicago
Are the ills of society to be
1 righted by an early and
j sudden destruction of the
present world, or is per-
manent relief to be secured
only by a gradual process
of strenuous endeavor cover-
| ing a long period of years?
jg R ad the answer in this book.
£3
Just from the Press!
n
0 The author does not mince words in his vigorous
| and effective answer. Th3 general interest in the
H theme of the book and the author's reputation assure
i this volume a wide reading.
1 $1.25 (add 6c or 10c for postage)
The Christian Century Press
700 East 40th Street
Chicago
The
nited Church
Anyone who reads the signs of the times
carefully is aware of the fact that church union
is coming very rapidly. The progress toward
unity has been accentuated by the world war.
In this new age soon to be there must be a
broad, nonsectarian, highly social hymnody.
HYMNS OF THE
UNITED CHURCH
Is just the hymnal for this new and glorious age.
Read the following extract from the preface to the
book :
"Next to the delight of soul found in working over
and over these rich materials of poetry and harmony,
the editors regard as of greatest significance their
discovery through these hymns of a spiritually united
Church. Many creeds seem to melt together in the
great hymns of Christian experience. A true Chris-
tian hymn cannot be sectarian. It belongs to all
Christ's disciples. From many sources, far separated
ecclesiastically, there comes one voice of common
praise and devotion. It is from this perception of a
United Church existing underneath the denomina-
tional order, a Church united in praise, in aspiration
and in experience, and expressing its unity in these
glorious hymns, that the title which this book bears
was first suggested. Hymns of many creeds are here,
interpreting, however, but one faith. It is our hope
that wherever these hymns are sung the spirit of
unity may be deepened and Christians be drawn more
closely together as they draw near to their common
Father in united worship."
Send for a returnable copy of the hymnal; examine
it and see whether the book itself does not live up to
the spirit of these introductory words.
The Christian Century Press
700 E. 40th Street CHICAGO
The Larger Christian World
A Department of Interdenominational Acquaintance
A Teacher Training Drive
for North America
The teacher training committee of the Sunday School
council of the evangelical denominations of North America
has arranged for a continent wide teacher training drive be-
ginning September 15. The objectives of the efforts are to
organize in every evangelical Sunday school in North Amer-
ica a teacher training class to meet at the Sunday school hour.
A Worker's Conference to meet once a month is planned for
each school. It is also planned to hold a class for present
teachers to improve the methods of these teachers, this class
to have mid-week sessions. In addition to these plans the
community training school of religious education will be
favored for each community which is able to maintain one.
The ministers of the country are asked to preach on Sep-
tember 15th on the theme "Training for Leadership."
Noon-Day Prayer-Meeting in Chicago
Since the Senate of the United States has passed a reso-
lution asking the people to pray for the success of the Allied
cause, the Roman Catholic churches of the country have re-
vived the noonday prayers called the Angelus. The Chicago
Church Federation has established a prayer-meeting in the
Central Y. M. C. A. building which is conducted from 12 to
12:15 each day. There are no "opening remarks" but after
a few verses from the Bible the company engages in free
prayer.
A Nation-Wide Campaign for
College Enlistment
The President of the United States and the Department
of War have authorized a nation-wide campaign for the next
two months in behalf of college student enlistment, in view of
the urgent need of trained men and women. The campaign
is being conducted by the Emergency Council of Education,
which is made up of the officers of the Association of Amer-
ican Colleges, the Association of American Universities, the
Catholic Educational Association, the National Education Asso-
ciation and eight or ten other associations of national scope.
Dr. Robert Kelley, executive secretary of the Council of
Church Boards of Education and the Association of American
Colleges, has been chosen executive secretary of the emer-
gency council for this campaign and will spend the next two
months in its offices, in the Munsey Building at Washington,
D. C.
Bishop Would Break Up Exclusiveness
of Episcopal Church
The boasted social prestige of the Protestant Episcopal
Church would be broken down if Bishop Lines of the North
Jersey diocese had his way. He is opposed to church sup-
pers and fairs as modes of church revenue and says, "It is
time we put the Church as regards its support upon a plane
above the church supper and the church fair, with articles
given by unwilling givers and to be bought by unwilling
buyers." He wants social gatherings which shall have no
economic motive. He urges big business men to give more
time to the church and rich women to dress more simply at
church. Bishop Lines is a graduate of Yale University.
More Y. M. C. A. Men for Russia
Conditions in Russia are very unsettled, but the one hun-
dred Y. M. C. A. men in that country are standing by their
posts. It has been decided by the national Y. M. C. A. organi-
zation of this country to send many more representatives to
Russia to assist in the re-organization of that country. Agri-
cultural experts, physical directors and others familiar with
welfare work in rural communities are especially desired.
An Inter-Mountain
Conference
The mountain country of the west is a region of vast
distances and poor transportation. Christian workers suffer
from isolation. Four years ago a Christian workers' conference
for this section of the country was organized and the session
this year will be held in Westminster College in Salt Lake City.
Dr. William H. Ixtoby will have charge of the Bible study
course and Dr. Ernest F. Hall will be in charge of mission
study.
House of Commons Goes to Church
The House of Commons in England voted to attend St.
Margaret's, Westminster, on August 4, this being the fourth
anniversary of the declaration of war. Premier Lloyd George
said: "When millions of our young fellow countrymen are
daily hazarding their lives so right and justice shall prevail
on earth, and when the fate of our country and the destiny
of the world depends upon the issue of their efforts and the
efforts of their comrades from many lands it requires no
words from me to commend the motion."
Christian Endeavorers to Build Memorial Church
Recently, at the Illinois Conference of the United Brethren,
the Christian Endeavor forces of that communion decided to
gather funds the coming year for a church building to be
erected in Peoria. The building will be made a memorial of
the Christian Endeavor forces.
Methodist Italians
Hold Meetings
The Methodists have established a significant work for
Italians, both in Italy and in this country. Recently thirty-five
Italian Methodist pastors held a meeting in Matthew Simpson
Hall, Philadelphia, for the consideration of evangelistic meth-
ods among their people. Dr. Walter Morritt, in charge of
the foreign-speaking work of the home mission board of the
Methodist Episcopal church, presided over the conference.
Automobile Evangelism
The Y. M. C. A. in New York City is using automobiles
to transport speakers and musicians to hold meetings on the
streets of the city. The meetings are a combination of patriot-
ism and religion. Already a total attendance of 36,000 persons
has been registered. Immigrant speakers are used in the im-
migrant sections; this adds to the interest. It is stated, how-
ever, that newcomers and transients in the city are more often
found in the audiences than are the native New Yorkers.
Y. M. C. A. in Mission Work
Though the Y. M. C. A. is experiencing much difficulty
in securing enough workers for France, they are seeking with
great diligence for workers in China. They propose to
strengthen their forces on all of the mission fields. It is stated
that the foreign mission budget for the coming year in Asso-
ciation work will be a million dollars, and this will be raised
as a special fund by the workers of the various associations
throughout the country.
Chaplains Report on
Morals in France
Chaplain Francis B. Doherty and Chaplain Lyman Rollins
have recently returned from France on a military mission and
they speak in highest terms of both the morals and morale
of the American troops in France. They give a vivid picture of
the cooperation of the chaplains of the denominations in the
care of the men. Even Catholics and Protestants fraternize
with Jews in seeking the moral and spiritual uplift of the Amer-
ican forces abroad. Qrvis p j0RDAN>
August 8, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
21
News of the Churches
Ohio Churches in Great
Union Meeting
The yearly meeting of the churches of
Milford, Center Village, Utica, Center-
burg and Croton, O., was held July 28
on the fair grounds at Croton, O. Over
1,000 people attended, and the finest ar-
ray of talent and the widest range of
subjects ever presented at this meeting
was presented this year. There were 382
persons in attendance at the Sunday
school, with ninety men in the men's
class. J. E. Gordon, of Homestead, Pa.,
delivered sermons; C. A. Young, of Hi-
ram College, talked on education; Hon.
J. H. Miller, state senator, gave greet-
ings, and George H. Hamilton made an
appeal in behalf of the thrift stamp cam-
paign. T. T. Bass, pastor at Croton, was
host to this great meeting. The two
Christian union churches of the vicinity
came in a body with their pastor, Mr.
M. Gray, and they, with the Congrega-
tionalists of Croton, joined heartily in
all the services of the day. This union
meeting has been held annually for ten
or twelve years and "it is growing in im-
portance and influence as the years go
by," writes Stanton E. Hoover, a leader
of the Croton church. Five Disciples
churches and three others joined this
year, and another has asked to be ad-
mitted to the group next year. Twenty-
five people came from the Waterford
church, thirty miles away; some from
Newark, twenty-five miles away; some
from Columbus, thirty-two miles away.
"No meeting held in Croton in years has
been so rich in fellowship and the good
things of the Kingdom as this one," re-
ports Mr. Hoover.
Eureka, 111., Church, Carries
Off Honors
Verle W. Blair, of the Eureka, 111.,
church writes that the Christian Endea-
vor society of the church there was
awarded the highest honor pennant for
efficiency at the recent state convention
at Springfield; especial honors were
(awarded for efficiency in financial and
business plans. Two of the girls of the
society, delegates to the convention,
sang a duet which one of them had writ-
ten "just for the fun of the thing," and
carried off first prize in the song contest,
although may of the great city unions
and societies were represented, Chicago
being among the number. During the
chautauqua season this year at Eureka,
union meetings were held on the two
Sunday mornings in the chautauqua tab-
ernacle, Mr. Blair preaching at one of
the services.
Houston, Tex., Church
Serves War Camps
One of the most wide-awake congre-
gations in Houston, Texas, is that of
he South End Christian church, writes
Carl H. Barnett, of Ellington Field, at
Houston. He reports that the pastor, E.
5. Ewell, is leading his people in an ag-
gressive program. In spite of the hot
fveather, when most of the city churches
lold but one service, he is preaching to
ull houses morning and evening. He
lumbers among his best members some
)f Houston's well to do citizens. R. S.
sterling, president of the Humble Oil
Company, a man of great wealth, is
pving splendid support to every plan
^nd movement. The two nearby camps,
3amp Logan and Ellington Field, fur-
lish great opportunities and are fully
appreciated and utilized. Mr. Ewell with
his splendid choir is popular on the YJ
M. C. A. programs of the camps. At
present the congregation is small, but
new members are being added each Sun-
day and under the leadership of its pas-
tor a new building is planned for the
near future. The hope is to erect a
building costing more than $100,000 in
the center of the best residence district
of Houston.
Autumn Plans at Highland
Park Church, Des Moines
The program for the Highland Park
church of Des Moines, la., to which
Henry W. Hunter ministers, calls for
some big constructive autumn plans.
The prayer meetings will take up a study
of Old Testament characters and these
sessions will be under the direct leader-
ship of the pastor. For the social and
community life it is planned to hold fre-
quent inspirational social evenings with
varied programs. Young men of the
church are being called to the colors
every few weeks. The Service Flag now
has 35 stars on it. The church will
keep in close touch with all these boys
through personal letters. A follow-up
system of church advertising will be
used in the fall to acquaint the 10,000!
people of the parish of the good things
the church has in store for them through
all its channels of service. The women's
work of the church is well organized.
Bible Conference Week at
Bethany Assembly
Next week will be Bible Conference
Week at Bethany Assembly, Bethany
Park, Ind. Interesting features are
many in number. Among these are: A
series of Bible lectures by Dr. Peter
Ainslie: lectures by E. L. Powell of
Louisville, on the following subjects:
"Keeping the Faith," "The Secret of
Appropriation," "Salvage and Wreck-
age," "The Spiritual Significance of
Miracles," and "The Unique Personal-
ity"; an address by Oliver W. Stewart
on "Prohibition and the War"; vesper
addresses by Dr. Ainslie, his subjects
being: "The Personal Comforter,"
"The Treasure in Earthen Vessels,"
"Christian Unity," "Jesus on the Plains"
and "The Christian's Prayer"; addresses
bv Editor B. A. Abbott of St. Louis, on
"The Bible and the Making of Life,"
"The Bible an Honest Book," "The
Wisdom and Beauty of the Bible" and
"The Romance of the Bible"; an ad-
dress by Amos W. Butler of the State
Board of Charities, on "Freedom."
There will be attractive musical and
entertainment features. The National
Evangelistic Missionary Association
will hold its sessions August 17 and 18.
The ninth annual session of the Beth-
any Park Training School is being held
August 6-16, with Garry L. Cook as
dean.
Missouri Bible College
in War-Time
Dean G. D. Edwards, of the Bible
College of Missouri, writes that the total
enrollment of freshmen and sophomores
this year at the college has been a lit-
tle greater than last year; the total of
juniors, seniors and graduates is mark-
edly less. From this older class of stu-
dents the war has taken its chief toll.
The college has fallen off in enrollment
about 22^2 per cent the past year. The
loss in women is less than 13 per cent.
The loss in ministerial students is 40 per
cent; some have gone into army chap-
laincies, some into "Y" work and some
into the ranks of the soldiers. At the
Annual Conference of Church Work-
ers in State Universities held in Chi-
cago last January a resolution was
passed naming the Bible College of
Missouri, commending the character of
its work, commending the spirit in
which that work is done, and recom-
mending that a like work be attempted
in the environment of other state uni-
versities, and that such attempts be
made co-operative as proposed by the
Bible College of Missouri and by the
Indiana School of Religion.
Eureka College Makes Good
War-Time Record
^ The total number of students at
Eureka College last year was not quite
as large as the preceding year, but con-
sidering the great losses in numbers of
other colleges, it is considered that Eu-
reka's record is a good one. The sum-
mary of attendance is as follows:
1918 1917
Collegiate 143 142
Preparatory 44 44
Ministerial & Missionary.... 43 31
Music 131 156
Art 20 20
Totals, after deducting all
counted twice 258 286
These figures do not mean that Eu-
reka has not done its part in the war.
The service flag now has about seventy
stars and others are to be put on. The
college is well represented in every
branch of the service and the boys are
making fine records everywhere. Along
lines of intercollegiate competition, the
college won its share of the glory. Of
college finances the heads of the school
report that it is certain that the deficit
over regular receipts will be less than
last year, and this will be taken care of
by the Men and Millions emergency
drive, which will also wipe out a good
share of the accumulated indebtedness
of the school, and give Eureka a more
favorable situation than for several
years. President H. O. Pritchard has
been leading a summer campaign over
the state in behalf of the school's in-
terests. There have been about 100
persons in attendance at the summer
school, which is something of an experi-
ment.
At First Church,
Springfield, Illinois
W. F. Rothenburger, of First church,
Springfield, 111., delivered an address at
a union service of the Springfield
churches on the evening of July 14, his
subject being "Liberty and Democracy."
There were 2,500 persons present at the
service. Among the other features of the
program was an address by State Super-
intendent of Public Instruction Francis
G. Blair. There have been sixty-three
accessions to the church membership
since Easter, all at regular services. The
men and millions emergency apportion-
ment was fully reached. Miss Dieter,
who goes to Luchowfu, Nanking, China,
to train nurses in Dr. Paul Wakefield's
hospital, has been adopted as the church
living-link under the Foreign Society.
A campaign is being organized at First
church to provide for the indebtedness
of over $30,000 on the building. The
culmination of the campaign will prob-
ably come in the autumn. The Spring-
field church is rejoicing in the recent
gift of chimes provided by the will of
22
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 8, 1918
the late Mary Catherine Freeman, who
was for forty-four years a member of
the congregation.
Disciple Minister
Wins Honor in France
George W. Titus, of the church at
Mishawaka, Ind., who is now in France
in "Y" service, has distinguished him-
self in the performance of his duties, hav-
ing had the honor of personal mention
in dispatches from the front. Mr. Titus
acted as stretcher-bearer in hospital serv-
ice, being under fire day and night. The
dispatch says: "Titus loved by men for
heroism and self-sacrifice." Mr. Titus
left Mishawaka last February and will
resume work there in September. He is
a Canadian, and when he made applica-
tion to enlist in the Y. M. C. A. some
trouble was encountered on account of
his not having his second naturalization
papers, but influential friends took the
matter up with Y. M. C. A. headquarters
with the result that Mr. Titus was sent
over to France. On arriving there he
was one of a hundred picked for duty in
the front line trenches.
Frank L. Bowen Completes 21
Years as Kansas City Missionary
Twenty-one years of service as city
missionary of the Christian churches of
Kansas City, is the record of Frank L.
Bowen, who recently celebrated the
passing of this milestone with the
preaching of a sermon on "The Mes-
sage foi Twenty-one Years in Kansas
City. The sermon was preached at
Oak Park church. Mr. Bowen said, in
reviewing his work:
"Thirty Christian churches stand now
where about half that number stood
when I came here from Illinois. We
have established twelve new churches
besides keeping several of the older
ones from going to pieces at critical
tl?ieSJ We have raised $250,000 and
added 5,000 members to our church
rolls. Marriages and funerals I can't
begin to estimate, but they've come
along by hosts. As my work has al-
ways been largely in new additions in
the city, I can say that the people in
those sections have all been progressive
in working up new churches in their
communities. And the co-operation of
the older churches with the new ones
has been admirable, too. Of course
things haven't all been done without
work, but, just the same, I'm ready for
twenty-one more years of missionary
duty here."
* * *
— -Floyd A. Bash is the new leader at
Wellington, Kan., succeeding there
Henry W. Hunter, who is now pastor
at Highland Park, Des Moines.
— R. W. Gentry, of the Winfield, Kan.,
church, has offered his services as army
chaplain to the Government, and is now
awaiting orders. The church at Win-
field has granted him an indefinite leave
of absence.
— "The Yokefellow" is the new publi-
cation of the Fourth District, Kansas
edited by District President R. W. Gen-
try^ It has the sub-title "A Magazine of
Christian Service."
la., the school being held under the
auspices of the five leading churches of
the town, of which the Disciples church
NEW YORK
CENTRAL CHURCH
142 West 81st Street
Finis S. Idlemaa, Minister
MFMORIAI CHURCH OF CHRIST
iVlClYIU RIAL. ( DUcipUs and Baptists)
f H I f A P. fi Oibwod BItA We* ri CtfUp Crow
LniLAUU H.rkert L. WOTeU, Minister
was one. The churches raised $450 for
the expenses of the school. There were
courses for children, young people and
adults. There were more than 300 pupils
enrolled for the various courses, Profes-
sor Golightly reports.
— Chaplain Lloyd Ellis, until recently
of Corydon, la., has been speaking to the
men of Camp Dodge at the "Y" on Sun-
day evenings. The text of a recent talk
was "Fight the Good Fight of Faith,"
in which discussion the speaker em-
phasized the fact that the present great
conflict is a spiritual one. This is the
general theme of all Mr. Ellis' messages
to the men.
— Charles D. Priest, minister at Esther-
ville, la., has returned to his work there
after completing a course in the school
for chaplains at Louisville, Ky.
— J. B. Holmes, secretary of the Texas
state work, is planning to put about
forty men in the field next year, and will
make an effort to raise $40,000 to pay
the expenses of the campaign.
PAMP CHRISTIAN CHURCH
unmr Manhattan, Kansas
PIINQTflN O. C. MOOMAW, Minister
lUHOlun Write us about your son.
—Prof. T. J. Golightly, of Drake Uni-
versity, has just closed a successful Daily
Vacation Bible school at Shenandoah,
■ — T. F. Weaver, pastor at Childress,
Tex., recently lost an eye by an accident.
— Prof. E. R. Cockrell, of Texas Chris-
tian University, has been serving as pro-
fessor of government at the University
of Texas, located at Austin, this summer.
— A patriotic service was recently held
at the Beatrice, Neb., church, the guests
of honor being the mothers of the boys
in war service, the Boy Scouts and mem-
bers of the Woman's Relief Corps of the
city. C. S. Stevens leads at Beatrice.
— In the Knoxville, Pittsburg, church
school liberty bonds are being purchased
by the members, each pupil contributing
a penny each Sunday in addition to the
regular offering, this extra contribution
being turned over for the purchase of
bonds.
— The Philo-Christos class of young
men, organized by Dwight N. Lewis at
Central church, Des Moines, twenty-one
years ago, has enrolled over 3,000 mem-
bers during that time. Mr. Lewis is now
serving as State Railroad Commissioner
of Iowa.
- — A. B. Robertson, formerly leader at
Ashland, O., church, but now in "Y"
service, writes of the importance of the
writing of encouraging letters to the
boys in the army; but, he warns, "Write
no sob stuff." Mr. Robertson gives the
right kind of messages from home the
credit for real morale in the ranks of
the soldiers.
— R. H. Jones is now leading at War-
saw, Ind. ; J. T. Shreve at Connersville,
Ind.; W. H. Baker at Seymour, Ind.
■ — The death is reported of Ellsworth
Thorpe of Kempton, Ind., minister of
the church at Ligonier. "He was a
noble man and justly esteemed," re-
ports the Indiana Worker.
— B. F. Nesbitt of Vincennes, Ind.,
was elected president of the board of
the Indiana School of Religion, at
Bloomington, to succeed E. F. Daugh-
erty, who is now at First Church, Los
Angeles. A. L. Ward of Franklin was
elected a member of the board and vice-
president; E. L. Day, secretary; E. S.
Booe, auditor, and R. D. Smith, treas-
urer.
—Dr. E. L. Powell, First Church,
Louisville, Ky., has recently left the hos-
pital after undergoing another opera-
tion, which, he states, "concludes the
series; I thought it a good time to have
an operation as I had a vacation period
to spend and I could not reconcile it
with my own conscience to spend it
otherwise than by getting sick."
— Miss Fred Fillmore, singing evan-
gelist of Cincinnati, will assist John W.
Moody and the Madison, Ind., church
in a meeting in the autumn
«t_ ■«■•■«. UWIOH AVENUE
QT I f| 1 1 10 CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Oil LUUIO Union and Von Versen Aves.
George A. Campbell, Minister
—Pastor W. D. Darnell, of Thornton,
Tex., suggests to the Christian Courier
that the churches "Hooverize" in the
matter of preaching: Here is his propo-
sition: "Inasmuch as President Wilson
has suggested that physicians will be
furnished from places where there are
too many to such places as have been
robbed of their doctors who have gone
to war, thus Hooverizing on doctors, it
would be wise, patriotic and Christlike
for the churches to Hooverize on preach-
ing also by sending the minister from
the congregation that has regular preach-
ing to those that are without ministers
and cannot get any during the war."
— State Secretary H. H. Peters, of Illi-
nois, reports that the Metropolis church,
which has a debt of about $15,000 on its
$40,000 building, has outlined a campaign
for the next few months which will cul-
minate in a debt-raising and rededicat-
Century Subscribers!
FORM THE HABIT
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IF the date is, for example, Jun 17 —
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The Christian Century
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THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 E. Fortieth Street 1-1 CHICAGO
August 8, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
23
ing service the first Sunday in January.
Mr. Peters reports George R. Southgate,
the pastor at Metropolis, doing a heroic
work, both as leader of the congregation
and in general community work. Mr.
Peters recently had a conference with
the Metropolis leaders.
— Judge Charles J. Scofield, minister
and lawyer of Carthage, will give the ad-
dress in connection with the unfurling
of the state service flag at the Illinois
convention to be held at Eureka, Sep-
tember 2-5. Frank McDonald, evangelis-
tic leader, will sing "My Own United
States" at this service.
— Charles W. Ross, the new leader at
Central church, Kansas City, Kan., will
hold a series of evangelistic services at
Howett Street church, Peoria, 111., in
October.
— The Kentucky convention this year
will be held at Richmond, the date being
September 30-October 3. Homer W.
Carpenter, the new minister at Rich-
mond, sends this word of greeting: "Our
people, as well as those of the other
churches of the city, are looking for-
ward with a great deal of pleasure to
the coming of the hosts of Disciples of
Kentucky to this annual meeting. It is
the hour of great issues in our world life,
and such a convention gives opportunity
for .their discussion."
— The new leader at West Side
church, Springfield, 111., is R. H. Heicke,
now of Kansas City, Kan., rather than
"R. H. Hicks, of Kansas City, Mo.," as
reported in a recent issue of the Cen-
tury.
— The death is reported of H. C. Gar-
vin, who was professor for several years
at Butler College. Professor Garvin
was born in Chillicothe, O., in 1844. He
was educated at Bethany College and
Ohio University and later studied ex-
tensively in Germany. He was distin-
guished as a linguist. He died at Eldon,
Mo., on July 12, 1918. He is survived
by T. D. Garvin, who has done so much
to establish our work in the Sandwich
Islands, and by J. H. Garvin, who is
now retired from active ministerial life
and resides in Columbus, O.
■ — T. W. Grafton began his seventh
year with the Third church, Indianap-
olis, Ind., the first Sunday in July. The
past year has been one of the best in
the history of the church. There have
been 187 members added during the
year.
— C. C. Morrison is spending two
weeks at Pentwater, Mich.
— L. F. Drash, a Hoosier by birth, and
longtime minister in Indiana, will come
from Lemoyne, Pa., to Bloomington,
Ind., that his sons may attend the State
University.
HAMILTON COLLEGE
College Preparatory and Junior College
Courses. College certificate privilege. 60th
year. "The model junior college of the South."
Five teachers of music. Art, Expression and
Domestic Science courses. For catalogue
address
T. A. Hendricks, President Lexington, Ky.
A k for Catalogue an) Special Donation Plan No. 27
(Established 1858)
THE G. S. BELL CO., HILLSBORO, OHIO
Culver-Stockton College
a standard co-educational college located
high on the hills overlooking the Father of
Waters. Six major courses leading to A.
B. or B. S. degrees. Twenty-two teachers
and instructors. Also courses in Music,
Art, Expression and Economics. Modern
dormitory for young women. Board, room
and literary tuition $300 for 36 weeks.
JOHN H. WOOD, President
CANTON, MO.
"On the Mississippi"
Bible College of Missouri
Affiliated with University of Missouri. Mutual interchange of credits. Prepares
students for ministry, missions and social service. Supplies religious instruction to
State University students.
Session of University and Bible College opens August 30th and runs three terms of
sixteen weeks each, making it possible to crowd one and one-half years into one
year; or, to do a half year's work before Christmas, or between January 1st and
April 23rd, or from that time to August 15th.
For catalogues or information write, G. D. Edwards, Dean.
First Christian Church, Ogden, Utah.
Aided by $4,000 from our Church
Extension Fund.
^ Pream Come True
Through Our
Church Extension Fund
The Veteran Superintendent of the Northwest, W. F. Cowden,
organized this church in 1 890. Help for pastors was variously
given by the American Society and the C. W. B. M. They
prospered some with Pastors John L. Brandt, Bro. Filmore,
Melvin Putnam and Galen Wood. The brethren say "The
Church in Ogden was up and down — mostly down."
THE TIME TO BUILD
Back in 1898 J. H. Horton became the Sower That Went Forth to Sow
He became friendly with the people; he did them good; he loved them and preached them into the kingdom.
That was the time to build when the people "had a mind to build." But —
No Church Extension Help Was Offered
The Church Should have been growing with the city's growth. But we
WAITED 19 YEARS
Our Regional Secretary, Chas. W. Dean, went to Ogden in 1916 and encouraged the church, held a meeting,
secured the help of The Church Extension Board and the A. C. M. S., with the result that the new building
was begun and dedicated in February 1917. Now the church is growing.
Help Church Extension Work in September by taking the offering. Order supplies of literature and envelopes from
G. W. MUCKLEY, 603 New England Bldg., Kansas City, Mo.
Les
sons
A NOTABLY SUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT
TO PRESENT RELIGIOUS TRUTH IN
A REASONABLE, ATTRACTIVE AND
EFFECTIVE WAY TO YOUNG AND
OLD. IT RESULTS IN AN ACCURATE
KNOWLEDGE OF BIBLICAL FACTS,
AND IN A VITAL APPRECIATION
OF SPIRITUAL TRUTH.
Spiritual: The great purpose of religious education — the training of
mind and heart and will to "see God" and feel God in the world of nature, history,
and especially in the revelation of His will in the life of the Savior of men — is not
made subservient to the presentation of mere historical facts. The study of the
Bethany Graded Lessons grows Christian character ; it does not simply produce
scholars.
Thorough : Not a hop-skip-and-jump compromise scheme of study,
made as easy as possible. Thoroughness is not sacrificed to the minor end of
easiness. Each year of the life of child and youth is provided with a Bible course
perfectly adapted to that year. The Bethany Graded Lessons are psychologically
correct.
Practical : An interesting fact relative to the Bethany Graded Lessons
is that they are fully as popular with small schools as with large. The system
is thoroughly adaptable to all conditions. The fact that a school is small does not
mean that it is easy-going and careless in its choice of a system of study. We
can truthfully say that many of the finest schools using the Bethany Lessons do
not number more than 75 members. No matter what the conditions of your
school, the Bethany Graded Lessons will fill your need.
If your school is ambitious, if it is thorough- going,
if it is willing to take religious education
seriously, you must have the
BETHANY GRADED LESSONS
Thoroughly approved and more popular than ever after
nine years of useful service.
Send for returnable samples today and prepare for a year
of genuine study of religion.
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 East 40th Street, CHICAGO, ILL.
■
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The Christian Century place a one-cent stamp
on this coiner and hand the magazine to any
postal employe. The Post Office will send it
to some soldier or sailor in our forces at the
front. No wrapping — do address.
a. BUItLESOIN, Postmaster- general.
■ ■I, ■!. 111,111111
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY August 15, 1918
i:';:i:1'V ! ,ii!L;v ,:.'.:: .1 - : ,! . ! ::. m,i i: ;, : ,: : ;■,' ,, ; ■ i i:::.!-!i':, ,::i : m- ; ;i',.::.: ;, : :..i '.^;j,r;i ,!. i:;!:"'i :,.,'! ^I'j^'.i.riiii^Mii: ;ni: iii|
More Good Words |
concerning the I
20th Century
HIlWI <!■!■■— I^MM ■—>!■■!■ Illl IMIIMI—IMInmHiill — IMM Ifcll W IIU IHIIIIIIM
Quarterly I
"Nothing Dull in It From Beginning to End"
"Without any sort of flattery I can commend in
the highest terms the 20th Century Quarterly. The
work done is fine, up to date, and genuinely inter-
esting. The authors know how to guide the pen
because they have ideas that are worth while to be
put down and printed. There is nothing dull in it
from beginning to end. I tender congratulations."
E. L. Powell, Louisville, Ky.
"Ought and Will Prove a Winner"
"Some quarterly — this 20th Century Quarterly,
and full of good suggestive material! Right size,
too. Just goes into the pocket nicely. Ought and
will prove a winner. Why didn't you think of it be-
fore? It's a great line-up of writers you have."
Myron C. Settle, Kansas City, Mo.
"The Ideal Sunday School Quarterly"
"At last you have it — the thing we have all been
waiting for — an ideal Sunday school quarterly. No
wading through seas of useless stuff, but matter
that is concise, clear, comprehensive. The new
20th Century Quarterly will stimulate Biblical re-
search, quicken interest, and make teaching a pleas-
ure rather than a task."
James M. Philputt, Charlottesville, Va.
"The Inspiration of It Makes One Eager to
Teach"
"Am charmed with the new Quarterly. Each sec-
tion of it reads delightfully. The inspiration of it
makes one eager to teach."
J. H. Fillmore, Cincinnati, Ohio.
"Isn't Musty and Doesn't Drool"
"The 20th Century Quarterly isn't musty and
doesn't drool. It arrests attention by its freshness,
interests by its intelligence and inspires by its faith."
Irving S. Chenoweth, Philadelphia, Pa.
"It Takes Up the Lessons From Every Angle"
"I have been reading the 20th Century Quarterly
with real interest and real profit. It takes up the
lessons from every angle. This makes it of great
value. You are happy in the men you have selected
to do the work."
J. H. GoldiNer, Cleveland, Ohio.
"Near Perfection; an Efficient Tool"
"The 20th Century Quarterly appears to be about
as near perfection as skill and scholarship can make
it. It ought to prove an efficient 'tool' in the Sun-
day school workshop."
D. H. Shields, Kokomo, Ind.
"Awake to the Spiritual Needs of the Century"
"This Quarterly is awake to the spiritual needs of
this century. It puts biblical truth in an attractive
modern setting. I predict for it a wide circulation
because of its unusual merit."
Levi Marshall, Greencastle, Ind.
The Material in It Is All Usable"
"The 20th Century Quarterly was read as soon as
received. I like it. I like its size, the type, the order
of lesson departments. The material in it is all
usable."
John R. Golden, Decatur, 111.
If your school is alive— or if it is dead and needs to be resurrected —
you should have the 20th Century Quarterly for all adult and young
people's classes, and for your Home Department. Send for free
sample copy today, and send in your order without delay |
I THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS f
700 East 40th Street, CHICAGO J
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiM
An Undenominational Journal of Religion
Volume XXXV
AUGUST 15, 1918
Number 31
EDITORIAL STAFF: CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON. EDITOR; HERBERT L. WILLETT. CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
ORVIS FAIRLEE JORDAN. ALVA W. TAYLOR. JOHN RAY EWERS :: THOMAS CURTIS CLARK. OFFICE MANAGER
Entered as second-class matter, Feb. 28, 1902, at the Post-offict, Chicago. Published weekly by Disciples Publication Society, foo E. 40th St., Chicago
Subscription — $8.50 a year (to ministers, $2.00), strictly in advance. Canadian postage, 52 cents extra; foreign, $1.04 extra.
Change of date on wrapper is a receipt for remittance on subscription and shows month and year to which subscription is paid.
—*~— I I 1 I '■■ ■■- ■ ■ ' Bg "'■■ " " ■ ■ 1 ' MS m 8 I "" .•■■■<■■■ ■ ■ ' I S3 ' ■ ■ ' I '
Ths Christian Century is a free interpreter of the essential ideals of Christianity as held historically by the Disciples of Christ.
It conceives the Disciples' religious movement as ideally an unsectarian and unecclesiastical fraternity, whose original impulse and
I common tie are fundamentally the desire to practice Christian unity in the fellowship of all Christians. Published by Disciples, The
i Christian Century, is not published for Disciples alone, but for the Christian world. It strives to interpret the wider fellowship
I in religious faith and service. It desires definitely to occupy a catholic point of view and it seeks readers in all communions.
EDITORIAL
A Poet's Dream Fulfilled
IT was probably seventy-five years ago that Samuel
Taylor Coleridge, poet and essayist of England,
wrote prophetically of America : "The possible des-
tiny of the United States of America as a nation of a
hundred million of free men stretching from the Atlantic
to the Pacific, living under the laws of Alfred and
speaking the language of Shakespeare and Milton, is
an august conception." The dream of this poet is now
more than fulfilled in a material way. But we no
longer find our chief pride in the physical achieve-
ments of America.
We have driven out the wild beasts and subdued
the western prairies. Great forests have made way for
the farmer. The mountains have been tapped for pre-
cious ores, and great and wonderful cities have grown
up where the raw materials of the land are transformed
into manufactured products of great value. Never in
all history has a nation so chained the forces of nature
to serve her as has America.
Had we done no more than this, however, we
should only have earned the jealousy and hatred of
sister nations. It is in the realm of the moral and
I spiritual that we find our greatest pride today.
Before we entered the war, we were in a most for-
tunate material condition, with money in abundance
and an unlimited market. Had America been as greedy
as she has been represented as being, we would never
have entered the war.
The moral feeling of our country with reference
to Belgium, Poland and Armenia, and the enormous
sums given by us for relief in these countries indi-
cates the spirit that is now abroad in our land. We
have found that even better than the gift for producing
wealth is the gift of wisdom in spending it.
America's dream of a League of Nations which
>hall be the beginning of an organization in behalf of
world peace is our greatest offering toward the Chris-
tianizing of the world. If this should succeed, we
would have won for our nation an immortal place in
history.
The Coming National Convention
UNDER the cover of war conditions, the commit-
tee in charge of our general convention this
year is instituting a reform that has long been
overdue among us. The days of our revivalistic passion
fastened upon us a convention made up of great throngs
and emotional appeals. It is not difficult to remember
how fifteen years ago the returned missionary and the
veteran secretary were quite overshadowed by some
upstart young fellow who had many souls to his credit
in the revivalistic man-hunt. In these better days,
even when the revivalist is on the program, he attracts
little attention, for there has come a deepening and a
widening of the spiritual interests of our people.
The new arrangement will emphasize spiritual
quality rather than crowds. The noise and irreverence,
the restless hunt of new sensations which has often
characterized our larger gatherings will give way this
year to the deeper things of our religious life. We
shall have more prayer and less oratory ; more plans
and fewer booms.
For a time, perhaps, a convention that ignores
crowds and noise will suffer in attendance. The old
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 15, 1918;
convention crowd will be sifted and only those persons
with taste for the more spiritual order of things will
remain. But in the long run a convention that is a
center for the making of big plans for the kingdom,
and which is full of spiritual power, will bring large
numbers of people together on the new basis.
Never in any hour of history did we so need light
and guidance as now. We are challenged to take for-
ward steps toward the unity of the church. The war
has created religious problems of which we have yet
but a glimmering. The mission fields are crying for
help. At such an hour a great people like ours should
come up to the annual meeting seeking more earnestly
than ever before God's will- for us.
The Churches and the Nurses
THE first hospital of the world was a Christian in-
stitution, the gift of a Roman matron of the early
Christian centuries. It has been under the pro-
tecting care of the church that the modern hospital
movement has grown until there are now many hospi-
tals which are independent of religious control.
The women who have embraced the profession of
nursing have done so with a large amount of idealism
which has been Christian in character. Florence Night-
ingale is the patron saint of the order of nurses, and
the ideas of unselfish service and scientific preparation
have made the profession one of dignity so that most
of the states now provide a professional standing for
competent nurses by means of registration.
The government is sending nurses to France so
rapidly that the nursing service in this country is being
demoralized. Owing to the scarcity of nurses more
people are going to the hospitals for treatment and
these institutions are being overrun.
There is likely to be grave trouble during the com-
ing winter owing to the shortage of women for the
work of nursing. The shortage is to be made up by
exhorting married women who have served as nurses
to re-enter the service for the period of the war, and/
by recruiting young women to enter hospitals as stu-
dent nurses.
It is the Christian Endeavor sort of girl who is
being most sought out, the young woman of character
and high ideals and with at least a high school educa-
tion. The churches, better than any other organization,
can find the young women for the hospitals this winter.
It is part of the duty of the minister to call the atten-
tion of the young women of his congregation to this
great opportunity for serving humanity.
A Danger to the Ministry
ONE of the few ways of securing exemption from
military service in the United States is to be
a minister. Whether this exemption should be
granted ministers is now a moot question on both sides
of the ocean, but that is a question aside.
There is a certain type of young man who now
turns longing eyes toward the ministry in order to
escape what seems to him an unpleasant duty. En-
gaged in business before the war, and satisfied with it,
he is suddenly possessed with a great desire to preach,
that he may not be shot at. For such a young man the
world will have scant respect, and worst of all the man
will have but little respect for himself.
We do not wish to suggest that no young men
should enter the ministry during the war. Ministers
are dying and going into war service and already the
churches are gravely embarrassed for the lack of men.
We do not wish to raise suspicions with respect to the
motives of young men who are today choosing Chris-
tian fields of service. But we think two or three things
might be done to correct any evils that may have
arisen.
Exemption from military service should not be
granted to students in theological seminaries nor to
men who do not expect to continue in religious work
as a full-time occupation.
Christian leaders who talk with young men con
cerning the ministry should make sure that these young
men have the right conception of this work and that
they are entering it for reasons which are Christian
and loyal.
The War and the Chautauqua
IT might happen that the war will prove the salvation
of the popular chautauqua movement throughout
the country. In recent years the chautauqua has
lost much of its educational signficance and has catered
more to the amusement interests of the people. The!
lecturers have become more flippant and popular in
their manner of presentation. The organizing of chau-|
tauquas into circuits has built up a generation of profes-j
sional lecturers who have written speeches and whol
hope to emulate Rev. Russel H. Conwell in the number
of times they can deliver a single lecture. After ten
years of life on railroad trains and in hotels, the poor
professional lecturer usually finds himself out of ideas j
and out of a job, and he gives way to a new star.
The war has made practically every one of the old
lecturers out of date. Most of these lectures had to do
either with individualistic problems or with some sur-
face phase of reform. Our people are no longer think-
ing individualistically and they are reading and hearing
enough good plain talks on the war to be interested in
a new type of public address.
The result is' to be found in the passing of some of
the old timers with their memorized speeches and the
growing demand for new interpreters who have tried to
think through the implications of the new world situa-
tion.
The chautauqua in the country town, when proper-
ly managed, is a kind of popular university for plain
people. It arouses ambitions and aspirations in the young
people. It furnishes clean and wholesome recreation.
For a year many minds will feed upon the food that
has been gotten in a single week. If the movement can
< August 15, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
be saved from professionalism and kept true to its
I original educational and religious ideals, there is yet
much grist for it to grind.
The Typewriter
A Parable of Safed the Sage
I SAT me down at my Typewriter and I sought to
write a Parable, and I essayed to write, but I could
not. For the Typewriter went out on a Strike, and I
could not learn the reason therefor.
And I sought to discover what was the matter, and
I could not discover. And I turned the Machine over,
and I turned it upside down, and I found nothing. And
when I had sought long, I turned it back again, sor-
i owing that I could not use it. And I touched the keys,
and behold it had returned to Business, and was work-
ing as well as it ever had worked.
Then was I amazed, and I wondered with great
admiration. And I turned it back again, and looked it
over once more.
And Keturah answered me, saying, Wherefore art
thou Fooling with it now that it Runneth?
And I said, I am trying to discover what I did to
the thing to make it Go ; for it went not, and now it
goeth, and what I did to it I know not.
And Keturah said, Men call thee wise, but thou
art showing little wisdom. If it goeth, what doth it
matter what thou didst do to it? And if thou shouldest
know, what would it profit thee? Yea, and peradven-
ture, if thou continue to fool with it, thou shalt put it
out of business again ; whereas, if thou go straight to
thy work, it shall do well.
Therefore did I cease to monkey with it that I
might find what I had done to it. For this did I learn
from the Typewriter and Keturah, that when the ma-
chine goeth, it is better to accept the fact, and thank
God, and ask no questions. And some men call this
Pragmatism ; and others call it Good Horse Sense.
lllllilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllilllllilllllllllllllillllllllllN
Jflortturi te Halutant
By Walter Rauschenbusch
Died July 25, 1918.
OTHOU ETERNAL ONE, we who are doomed to die lift up our souls to thee for strength,
for Death has passed us in the throng of men and touched us, and we know that at some turn
of our pathway he stands waiting to take us hy the hand and lead us — we know not whither.
We praise thee that to us he is no more an enemy but thy great angel and our friend, who alone can
open for some of us the prison-house of pain and misery and set our feet in the roomy spaces of a
larger life. Yet we are but children, afraid of the dark and the unknown, and we dread the parting
from the life that is so sweet and from the loved ones that are so dear.
Grant us of thy mercy a valiant heart, that we may tread the road with head uplifted and a smiling
face. May we do our work to the last with a wholesome joy, and love our loved ones with an added
tenderness because the days of love are short. On thee we cast the heaviest burden that numbs our
soul, the gnawing fear for those we love, whom we must leave unsheltered in a selfish world. We trust
in thee, for through all our years thou hast been our stay. O thou Father of the fatherless, put thy
arm about our little ones! And ere we go, we pray that the days may come when the dying may
die unafraid, because men have ceased to prey on the weak and the great family of the nation enfolds
all with its strength and care.
We thank thee that we have tasted the rich life of humanity. We bless thee for every hour of life,
for all our share in the joys and strivings of our brothers, for the wisdom gained which will be part of
us forever. If soon we must go, yet through thee we have lived and our life flows on in the race.
By thy grace we too have helped to shape the future and bring in the better day.
If our spirit droops in loneliness, uphold us by thy companionship. When all the voices of love
grow faint and drift away, thy everlasting arms will still be there. Thou art the father of our spirits;
from thee we have come; to thee we go. We rejoice that in the hours of our purer vision, when
the pulse-throb of thine eternity is strong within us, we know that no pang of mortality can reach our
unconquerable soul, and that for those who abide in thee death is but the gateway to life eternal.
Into thy hands we commend our spirit.
— From "Prayers of the Social Awakening."
Safety of Liberty Depends on Colleges!
By Edward McShane Waits
President Texas Christian University
WE are living in an unprecedented age and at a
critical moment. The world has been hurt
within the last four years as it was never hurt
before. The gloomy and accusing procession of sor-
row and pain which was started on that thrice accursed
day of July, 1914, still creeps on. Words can not paint
or the imagination picture the scene. It is a story so
tragic, so filled with heartbreak and horror, that it
leaves the mind numb with the awfulness and the im-
mensity of it all. Truly, great principles of life are
being trodden in the winepress of war.
WAR FIGURES
Eight million men have gone down in the red
burial of battle ; 6,000,000 more are in the military pris-
ons of Europe ; 6,000.000 more are wounded in the
military hospitals ; 2,000,000 defenseless women and
children have perished in Armenia alone, and the scythe
of famine continues to reap its piteous harvest. Mil-
lions have been patched up and sent back to face death
again. Others rejected, crippled, and deformed for life
have been whirled back upon society from this black
whirlpool of disaster. There are 40,000,000 men with
the colors today.
Think of the terrible attrition of 50,000 casualties
per day from these walls of fire and death ! If you
could compute the infinite value, the preciousness and
potentiality of a single life destroyed, and then multiply
it by millions, you could begin to arrive at a conscious-
ness of this awful horror. Only the scales of the infinite
can weigh the real and the intangible sorrow of the
widow's heart, the mother's soul or the maiden's hopes
that have been buried forever in this fiendish abyss.
No mind is capable of fathoming the cost of such a
terrible conflict.
STUDENTS ANSWER CALL
The colleges, always in the vanguard of civiliza-
tion, have had their share in this world struggle and
sorrow. The colleges of France, of England and of
Canada have been literally emptied. Those fine young
men, the flower of a thousand years of culture and train-
ing, have already gone out into No Man's Land, or they
are lying in the mud and the blood of the trenches,
facing the murderous thunder and lightning with gun
in hand, looking over the parapet into the darkness with
death lurking in front, above, below, and by their side.
Those are noble words of the English poet, in "The
Spires of Oxford":
I saw the spires of Oxford
As I was passing by,
The gray, old spires of Oxford
Against the pearl-gray sky.
My heart was with the Oxford men
Who went abroad to die.
The years go fast at Oxford,
The happy years and gay;
The hoary colleges look down
On happy boys at play;
But when the bugle sounded forth
They put their games away.
They left the peaceful river,
The cricket ground and quad,
The shaven lawns of Oxford
To seek the bloody sod.
They gave their merry youth away
For country and for God.
God bless you, merry gentlemen,
Who laid your good lives down,
Who took the khaki and the gun
Instead of cap and gown.
God bring you to a happier piacc
Than even Oxford town.
The students of all the great institutions of Eng-
land and Frence were first to go out ; they were in the
vanguard of those conquering hosts that swept over
Vimy Ridge. This has been true of our American col-
leges. Already 43,000 have answered the call of the
colors. Two thousand of these have gone out from our
own Church and colleges. These are our sons who
have answered the call, who have thrown their swords
into the scale because to do so was indispensable for the
vindication of the basic and elementary principles of
right and peace among the nations, no less than for
our own honor and our own safety and for the preserva-
tion of our own institutions and our very destiny.
WHO STARTED THE WAR?
Who started this war? Our soldier boys answer in
song: "Old Bill Kaiser," but this question is as futile
as "Who Struck Billie Patterson?" The question of
really serious import is "Why are we involved and what
are we fighting for?" We have been answering glibly:
"We are fighting to make the world safe for democ-
racy," but, if we are to trust the interpretation of many
of our great thinkers who have been to the front and
who have sought to interpret the meaning of this ca-
tastrophe from first-hand information, the answer goes
deeper.
It is a veritable contest between Christianity and
paganism at this hour It is a conflict between the
civilization of the Dark Ages and the civilization of
the Twentieth Century interpreted in the life of Jesus |
of Nazareth. We are fighting, therefore, to shield our j
own from the wolf packs of Berlin. We are fighting J
to end war. It is war against war we are waging. The i
irrationality of war is manifest and everywhere con-
ceded. If we can put an end to war by war, it is worth j
every sacrifice which we are capable of putting forth to
slay it. We are fighting against aggressive autocracy. |
August 15, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
If the Huns like the methods of the Beast of Berlin,
! "Barkis is willing," but we are saying in the language
; of the Belgians, bleeding white in their efforts to stay
1 the tide, "they shall not pass" to impose such a system
upon the world.
CHALLENGE TO COLLEGES
We are fighting against a nation that has lost its
I conscience, one that is endeavoring to place might above
j right and self-interest above the laws of God and jus-
tice. We are fighting for a new world order. We are
fighting for that splendid age when truth, justice and
enduring peace shall control the hearts and lives of men
everywhere, for the golden rule of Christ which will
usher in the golden age of the world. This hurls a
mighty challenge into the face of the American people
and particularly into the face of the American colleges,
which have ever been the leader in the vanguard of
civilization. We are not claiming everything for the
1 college, but we are saying that in this hour it must hold
1 its sector in this fight for civilization. This world war
I presents a two-fold challenge ; a challenge to the col-
lege itself and a challenge to its friends.
It is the province of the college to prepare for com-
j plete living. A common school education increases
; one's chances for success 50 per cent ; a high school
I education increases one's chances for success 100 per
cent; a college education increases one's chances for
success 300 per cent. The fundamental work for all
I colleges is to furnish adequate leadership. The leader-
i less nation is a lost nation ; a leaderless Church is a lost
Church. The leadership of the nation and the Church
! must come, as it has ever come, from the colleges. The
! leadership of the European nations has gone, and it will
be another generation before their colleges can be re-
habilitated and create a new leadership; and Europe
will look increasingly to America and to the American
college to furnish leadership during the war and in those
great days of reconstruction that are to follow the war.
CONSCIENCE MUST BE TRAINED
The importance of this training for leadership can
not be overemphasized. With no school training, of
5,000,000 young people only thirty-one attained distinc-
tion; with elementary school education, of 3,000,000
only 808 attained distinction ; with high school training,
of 2,000,000 people 1,245 attained distinction; with col-
lege training, of 1,000,000 people 5,768 attained distinc-
tion. Less than 2 per cent of our boys go to college,
yet from this 2 per cent comes 90 per cent of the leader-
ship in the professions and the industries of America.
Of the men commissioned at the recent officers' train-
ing camps, 80 per cent were college men. Six per cent
of the total in camps are college men, but this 6 per
cent has furnished 60 per cent of the officers. Eighty
per cent of the college-trained men are officers. Only
3 per cent of the men who had not been to college are
officers. The New York Examiner declares that 70 per
cent of the leaders in all the important professions and
industries are from our Church colleges.
If the call is pre-eminently for leadership in the
nation, how urgent is that call to the Church and its
colleges ! How impressively, how terribly it has been
borne in upon us in the last few months that the most
efficient training of the intellect without the training
of the heart and conscience exposes a nation to greater
danger than utter ignorance ! Brains and heart can
never be separated. Only those whose vision is clear
and whose wills are set toward the highest can be truly
said to be rightly educated. Only the Christian college
can surely make civilization safe.
Alongside the question, "Am I true to my coun-
try?" is the question, "Am I true to my college?" which
holds the key to the future safety of the world. Min-
isters, missionaries, social workers and even Y. M. C. A.
secretaries are largely drawn from the ranks of the
Church and the church college. The need in our own
ranks for an increased ministry was never so imperative.
We have 333 more churches than we had last year ; we
have 3,147 vacant pulpits, and, by reason of the de-
mands laid upon us by the war, we have 201 ministers
less than we had at this time last year. The challenge
of the college is to supply this leadership. May God
help us to answer the call worthily.
COLLEGES MUST BE SUPPORTED
We must be aware that all duties and responsi-
bilities in this life are reciprocal. If it is the responsi-
bility of the college to furnish this leadership it must
be the responsibility of someone to stand back of these
colleges, to hold up their hands in this hour when they
are facing the greatest emergency of their existence.
The Men and Millions Movement in an awful hour of
revelation has brought the brotherhood face to face
with the bleeding necessities of the moment. The
emergency drive has awakened us not only to the neces-
sity, it has shown us our latent powers and aroused us
to action.
When our boys come back it would be an irre-
parable shock to their faith if they should find that,
while they were fighting for the world's freedom and
liberty abroad, we had closed the doors of the college,
the greatest bulwark of that liberty at home. The
conclusion is irresistible that the Disciples must do
their whole duty by supporting their own church col-
leges, which furnish leadership for our church brother-
hood.
The responsibility of the Church toward its col-
leges must not only involve the furnishing of the life
power through the young manhood and womanhood,
which is intrusted to it, but it must have a conscience
in regard to the financial support which is due the col-
lege.
THE COST OF A COLLEGE EDUCATION
The United States Bureau of Education declares
that a college education costs four times as much as is
paid for it. The difference between the amount fur-
nished by tuition and the amount necessary for higher
education is met by our state institutions through ap-
propriations, by our larger universities through endow-
ments but by our colleges, which are not endowed, by
8
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 15, 1918
gifts from the people. We have not as yet learned the
alphabet of service which it is possible to render in this
direction. We are expending millions and billions that
our boys may be comfortable and well fed in their
heroic fight for our liberty. We count no sacrifice too
great for the preservation of our national safety and
the safety of the world. This is all as it should be, but
is the Kingdom of Our Lord and its enterprises of less
moment when we are told by our President that the
success of this world adventure is dependent upon
strengthening the spiritual life of our churches?
Let us meet the emergency call of the nation and
the church : to help rebuild a new industrial, economic,
social and religious structure on the crumbling founda-
tion of the past ! This is your challenge, it is mine :
Then let's have faith; good cometh out of ill;
The power that shaped the strife shall end the strife;
Then let's bow down before the unknown will;
Fight on, believing all is well with life;
Seeing within the worst of war's red rage
The gleam, the glory of the Golden Age.
Judge Lindsay Praises Salvation
Army's Work at War Fronts
Judge Ben Lindsay, the "boys' judge" of Denver, Colo.,
has just returned from France, where he has been making
some investigations. After having studied conditions at the
front, Judge Lindsay returns filled with enthusiasm concerning
the work that is being done for the soldier lads by the Salva-
tion Army. While in Chicago he left a message with the
Tribune concerning the work of this organization. His story
follows:
A GOOD expression for American enthusiasm is
"I am crazy about — this, that, or the other thing
that excites our admiration." Well, "I am crazy
about the Salvation Army" — the Salvation Army as I
saw it and mingled with it and the doughboys in the
trenches. And when I happened to be passing through
Chicago today and saw an appeal for the Salvation
Army I remembered what our boys so often shouted
out to me as I passed them in the trenches and back of
the lines : "Judge, when you get back home tell the
folks not to forget the Salvation Army. They are the
real thing."
THEIR DOUGHNUTS APPROVED
And I know they are the real thing. I have
shared with the boys the doughnuts and chocolate and
coffee that seemed to be so much better than any other
doughnuts or coffee or chocolate I ever tasted before.
And when it seemed so wonderful to me after just
a mild sort of experience down a shell swept road,
through the damp and cold of a French winter day,
what must it be to those boys after trench raids or
redhot scraps down rain soaked trenches or under the
wet mists of No Man's land?
How well I remember after the "Battle of Sheis-
prey," as our boys called it, following with one of them
an exciting chase around dead man's curve down from
the heights of Beaumont, to draw up breathlessly in a
shell torn village, to be welcomed by "de gang," as it J
might seem at home, with the wild joyful acclaim:
"Come this way, Judge, the old Salvation Army is stick-
ing with us like a brother — sinkers and chocolate, coffee
and cigarets."
VISITS THEM IN CELLAR
And down around the broken buildings, with shells
still whizzing overhead, I was rushed by a group of
cheery doughboys to meet Miss So and So, and Miss
So and So (their names somewhere in my notebook),
down an old cellar, cleared of debris.
Over the cheeriest fire I ever saw, boiling in good
American lard, were the finest lot of fried cakes I ever
put in my mouth. In America two of them — however
good — would have put me out of business — but two,
three, four, and five only served to whet my appetite,
to the delight of one of the boys — who was just a
good natured little rascal in my court seven years be-
fore. And if all this for a sedentary judge, what must
it have meant to those boys? Do you wonder they love
the Salvation Army?
They know the proper way to a brave boy's heart
under conditions like that. And they have a right to
the affections of our boys.
Listen to some of the stories they tell me : "You
see, Judge, the good old Salvation Army is the real
thing. They don't put on no airs. There ain't no flub-
dub about 'em and you don't see their mugs in the
fancy magazines much. Why, you would never see
one of them in Paris around the hotels. Good Lord,
you'd never know they existed, Judge, unless you came
right up here as close to the front line as the colonel
will let you."
And they stick close to the boys as those fried
cakes must stick to their "tummys."
"Why, Judge," said an enthusiastic urchin — yes, he
seemed just that, so boyish in his enthusiasm — "after
the battle yesterday we couldn't get those women out
of the village till they'd seen every fellow had at least
a dozen fried cakes and all the coffee or chocolate he
could pile in. We just had to drag 'em out, for the boys
love 'em too much to lose 'em — we weren't goin' to
take no chances. Not much, for our Salvation ladies."
CO-OPERATIVE COOKING
And there in the old cellar the boys crowded around
helping the lassies with their work — one preparing a
great half-barrel like a tin tub for the roasting fire,
another sneaking out under shell fire bringing in the
wood, as he never did for mother back home in all his
life, so joyful at the task, eyes beaming with anticipa-
tion, as the fried cakes crackled and sizzled with each
new panful piled into the boiling grease.
I felt like a kid myself, and no more than those
boys, can I ever forget that cheery fireside beyond shell
torn Seicheprey, down in that old cellar as the sparks
flew up, no brighter than those boys' eyes as they
seemed glued to the sizzling pots, when not munching
l
August 15, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
doughnuts and gulping down their hot coffee as they
never did before. O, it was great.
"And, say, judge," chirped a ruddy faced, stomach-
joyed kid, "these guys don't preach to us, neither. They
just feed us up — that's what they do. And when you
see what those ladies are doing, how can a kid keep
from being good?" That's just a faint glimpse of our
boys before the peaceful, lovely firelights of the Salva-
tion Army in France.
SAME ON BRITISH FRONT
And when I came to British headquarters I heard
of a thousand wonderful things the Salvation Army has
done and is doing for the "Tommies" and I think of the
thousand other good things they are doing for our
boys, too.
When I left France just a few days ago, as that
actual few weeks now seems, I went over to call on
Capt. Archie Roosevelt, one of the four brave sons of
the man the American soldiers asked me most about.
And Archie looked so fine and yet so pale from the long
weeks of suffering in the hospital, I felt I might be
wearing on his strength to talk too long, and when I
was about to leave a light came in his fine face and he
fairly shouted to me, "You tell dad when you see him
that the first chance he gets to be sure and say a good
word for the Salvation Army. They are the real thing
over here, judge."
And after hearing Archie relate the tales of their
heroism as he had personally witnessed it with our
dead and dying and wounded and hungry boys, you
couldn't help but take off your hat and shout for the
Salvation Army — and, what is more important, go down
in your purse and dig up all you've got to spare for
them. The other war charities are all right — but the
words of the boys everywhere over there ring in my
ears over here : "Whatever you do, don't forget the
Salvation Army."
And when I was at the American front one of my
companions at one time was that magnificent Ameri-
can, Floyd Gibbons, Chicago newspaper reporter. I
was with him a short time before Chateau Thierry,
where, like the brave fellow we all knew him to be, he
never hesitated to take every desperate chance a soldier
takes to get the real thing and the real story of our
boys for his readers in the peaceful calm of their break-
fast tables.
I met one of our boys after Chateau Thierry and,
knowing I had been along the front with Floyd, he told
me a thrilling story of the battle and how as a soldier
he had ducked for cover from the German shells and
machine guns, "when," he continued, "all of a sudden
I looked back and saw Gibbons making for a tree that
had sheltered me till it got too hot for anything alive
to hang to. I wanted to yell to him for God's sake to
duck, when I saw him go forward through an open
wheat field to a little rise where he could see the real
show.
A NARROW ESCAPE
"Then suddenly he went down on his belly and a
shell tore that poor old tree to smithereens. How Gib-
bons ever escaped alive is too much for me. Gee, but
he is the luckiest fellow I know to lose nothing but an
eye and get soaked twice through the arm."
And that is just what Gibbons was doing in order
to see that his American readers had the "real thing."
Just like him — thinking about them, not about himself.
That's why he is so admired, loved, and respected as
one of the best, if not the very best, war correspondents
in Europe. How glad I was on leaving Paris to hear
from the newspaper boys that minus a good eye "Floyd
is himself again."
Along the front he never failed to say a good word
for the Salvation Army. I wish I had a million to give
them — but I am going on a lecture tour for govern-
ment work and the war, and I'll not forget the message
of the boys at the front :
"Don't forget the Salvation Army."
Three Saving Truths of God
W. R. Nicoll in the British Weekly
IT may be new to us, but this is no new situation for
faith. Men and women have often stood where we
stand today, under the lowering clouds of war, try-
ing to rally their faith in God and in one another. It is
by no means the first time that people of God have had
to keep their feet from slipping, and to lift their eyes
above the dust and noise of things to the Eternal Pur-
pose.
VIOLENCE IN EARLY DAYS
The Psalter by itself is a daily reminder of this,
and the ninety-third psalm especially. The great central
powers of the East were pouring like a cataract over
the country, threatening to overturn the entire order of
faith and justice in the small land of Palestine. The
psalmist looked out, as we today look out, upon a
flooded world — flooded by roaring tides of violence.
"The floods have lifted up their voice ; the floods lift up
their waves." And the voice is meant to be as daunting
as the wave; sometimes it is. Well, when our ears are
dinned not only with the clash of armies, but with the
exulting cries of an expected triumph over us, we shall
do best if we fall back, like the psalmist, on three sav-
ing truths about our God.
10
. V-,:
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 15, 1918
God's throne is the first encouragement. "The Lord
reigneth."
"Thy throne is established of old :
thou art from everlasting.
The floods have lifted up, O Lord,
the floods have lifted up their voice ;
the floods have lifted up their waves.
The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many-
waters,
Yea, than the mighty waves of the sea."
This is the witness of faith by which we are called to
honour God in broken days. In spite of loud assertions
to the contrary, in spite of all attempts to ignore or
deny the Divine will, the Lord reigneth. We acknowl-
edge today that the world has not broken loose from
his control. He does reign supreme. The nations may
have turned unruly, but he rules ; his throne is set and
stable.
This is the first article of our faith, especially dur-
ing times of stress and dismay. Many have received
strength to die in that faith. Many also at home have
received strength to live by it, when death has corrre up
into their homes ; they have been enabled to say : "O
death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy vic-
tory? Thanks be to God which giveth us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ." Many more are in
active service, surviving in soul as well as in body, be-
cause they stay themselves morning by morning on the
old cry and confidence, "Thy throne is established of
old."
HOW TO "CARRY ON"
And we must all set ourselves to this, for, if we
are to carry on, we must be carried by this unflinching
reliance on him whose throne is subject to no earthly
revolution. If a man's wisdom is to be judged by his
hopes — and surely that is a fair and searching test of
human life — it is the measure and the quality of our
trust in God's power which may be said to classify us,
proving that some are less ardent and tenacious than
others. Yet in the faith and fellowship of Jesus Christ
we have all a living assurance that God's kingdom is
God's care. Whatever we may miss in the shape of out-
ward and immediate evidence, ours is the inner guaran-
tee that no floods of wrong can sweep away the order
of his will. In his company we make our act of faith
still, and honour him as we rally ourselves by retaining
our hope unabated.
In King Arthur's day, we are told how Merlin built
him a mighty palace, over which a statue of the king
himself was erected. Britain was seething with turmoil,
but the statue towered and shone over the countryside
round Camelot, to remind the harassed peasantry that
there was still a king in power, to redress their wrongs.
The very sight of it was a visible sacrament of courage
and endurance.
And eastward fronts the statue, and the crown
And both the wings are made of gold, and flame
At sunrise till the people in far fields,
Wasted so often by the heathen hordes,
Behold it, crying, "We have still a King."
So with us in our faith and fellowship today. Look- i
ing out over a torn Europe and over our broken hopes
and homes, we, in the Church of the living God, lift our
eyes to the Cross and Throne of the Lord, crying, "We
have still a King." The Lord does reign.
II.
But God's throne would not be enough for us. We
need One who will not only reign over us, but speak
to us. And so we read, "Thy testimonies are very sure."
They are more sure than our testimonies to him. For
God testifies to himself, tells us something of his pur-
pose, reveals to us glimpses and hints of his meaning
under it all. Let us have ears for his voice. The other
and lower voices are loud around us. "The floods have
lifted up their voice," sometimes blustering, sometimes
subtle, whispering to us that it is no longer any use
for us to go on, threatening us with evil if we dare to
persist. We are plagued and troubled by these voices,
even those of us who have not to stand the drenching
onset of the wave itself. But faith is still lifting up the
witness : "The Lord on high is mightier than the noise
of many waters. Thy testimonies are very sure."
A MORNING PRIVILEGE
It is a saving experience to have our ears open
every day, before we open our newspapers in the morn-
ing, to the still, small voice of the Lord, speaking to us |
of himself, to nerve our wills, to encourage our hearts, |
and to check our godless passions and impatience. His j
testimonies are not dreams of our wistful spirits ; they {
are "very sure," reliable and real communications,
voices that reach us from the great Beyond, assuring
us that "all is well" with our beloved who have gone
before us, and that all shall be well with us, and what-
ever comes upon the earth. Our faith is the response to
this revelation.
If God is our Father and King, he must wish to say
something to us, to assure us personally that his good-
ness is never without purpose, and his purpose never
without goodness at its heart. And this is our second
strength and succor, that we have a God who does
speak to us, a God who lets us know something of what
he is and of the direction in which he is moving.
III.
A God who reigns is much ; a God who speaks is
much ; but a God who shelters is more. A throne may
be far away. Even testimonies might come from a dis-
tance. But the saving of life is in a God who is near, in
fellowship with us, touching and holding us. And this
also is ours. "Holiness becometh Thy house, O Lord,
forever." That is the last word of the psalm, the climax
of man's confidence. God provides sanctuary and shelter
for us in his household, when we are exposed to this
rough and bleak world. We are with him, not only as
August 15, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
n
those over whom he rules, not only as those to whom
he speaks, but as those for whom he makes intimate
provision. We are his household, and it becomes us to
be "holy" — that is, to live in the spirit of his household,
obedient to his discipline and loyal to his orders.
WHAT IS HOLINESS ?
Holiness means a good life, good because it belongs
to God, sharing his interests and aims. Our Lord Jesus
has translated this for us, by assuring us that it means
doing the will of God. "Whoso doeth the will of My
Father in heaven, the same is My brother and sister
and mother." These are the simple and exacting terms
of the Holy Family. God's household is, today, for all
who can say, "Thy will be done."
Nothing can put us out of that Divine household
except our own wilfulness, our disposition to be selfish
and to spare ourselves, our secret rebelliousness against
the orders of the household, our waywardness, our in-
dolence. Short of that, we are safe in his sanctuary. It
is' ours to make this saving truth our own, by diligent
submission and cheerful compliance. For we need never
be strangers to God. We are not left to ourselves, not
for one moment. His household is inviolate for us, if
we but choose to remain within his care and order, as
it becomes us.
Fear tells my heart that I may be
Some day an alien from Thy door,
May cease Thy lovely face to see,
And hear Thy whispers never more.
Tell me that hour shall never come,
Plant me so deep Thy courts among,
That I may have my final home
And end, where I began my song.
Those who can sincerely ask for such an assurance
are those who say, Holiness, devotion, loyalty, "becom-
eth Thy House, O Lord, forever." They know the con-
ditions of fellowship, and they care to breathe the
atmosphere of service and obedience and sacrifice which
fills the Divine household. When they have told God
that their will is to do and to bear his will, they find, to
the saving of their souls, that he tells them of their
certain shelter in his household. Let us be sure of that.
Let us be satisfied with it. It is our duty, day by day,
to keep at home with him in this common spirit. And,
like all duties, it will reward and enrich the soul, in all
the fasts and in all the festivals of life.
Dr. Willett's Article
Note: Dr. Willett was called from
the city, and his next article of the series
on the Second Coming of Christ will be
delayed for one week.
Sergeant Robert Willett Writes
Home
EVERY reader of the Century will greatly enjoy
the following letter written to the family of Dr.
H. L. Willett by his son Robert, who as a ser-
geant with the American Expeditionary Forces is serv-
ing his country in France, being located at one of the
base hospitals.
Beau Desert, July 7, 1918.
Dear Family :
Another batch of mail arrived last night and I was
among those also present. As much as we appreciated
mail in Camp it was nothing to the joy that was dis-
played here when the mail man began sorting out his
piles of letters. Work was temporarily shoved into the
background and you might have thought T. R. himself
had come to town or that the war had been called off.
Then every individual who had been fortunate enough
to have his name read made for some secluded spot,
whether bunk, shady nook, or stony road, there to de-
vour, with eager eyes and hungry heart the news from
home. Here and there, one could hear expressions of
mirth, or the opposite, as the reading continued, and
then individuals gathered into groups to exchange news
for news. In an hour everybody was familiar with all
the "inside dope" on American political, social and
sporting news. Such is the process of events each time
the mail arrives.
This past week has been a very strenuous one for
us. Beginning Wednesday, we of the Chicago delega-
tion celebrated our first anniversary as soldiers ; you
remember we were sworn into the service on July 3rd
of last year — and Thursday was a holiday.
Most of us went into Bordeaux in the morning for
the parade and it was the first time we had a chance
to see just how much the French people think of the
Americans. In everyday life there isn't much chance
to show the real feeling, but in a parade it is very evi-
dent. The poilus are given their share of the applause,
but the first American troops that pass get the real
ovation, and the cheering keeps up until the last com-
pany has passed. Then is the time that you realize
that these heroic and staunch servants of humanity are
counting heavily on the Sammies to terminate the
greatest massacre in the history of the world.
The last four years have changed the French peo-
ple a great deal. That frivolity and light-heartedness
which was so apparent before the war is practically
gone and everyone is working — working for those who
have gone, maybe only for a while, maybe for good,
but working nevertheless with a courage and endurance
that stamps itself on your memory as clearly as if it
were a red-hot brand. It is wonderful to see, and my
only regret is that every American can't see the same
things that I have in the last few weeks. Our part has
12
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 15, 1918
been so pitifully small both here and at home that it
could be almost blotted off the page and never be
missed, and I am thinking of Liberty loan, W. S. S.,
the draft, etc.
I think if you could just see and hear what some
of our own men have gone through — I don't mean as
individuals, but parts of a large unit now at the front —
if you could — but the censor stops me, and, besides, I'm
growing too warm (it is only 95 here in the coolest
spot I could find) ; but there is so much that America
has to learn about this war, and so many people think
they are sacrificing so much, that I feel that they ought
to know how little they really are doing, when put
alongside of a nation that has endured four years of
the struggle and is still fighting — at the front as well
as at home — as we Americans never thought of fight-
ing. But I mustn't let my feelings get the better of
me, so will take it out on the weather.
Talk about hot ! Man ! The devil's abode is an
ice palace compared to this place during the day, but
fortunately the nights are cool. But the days are ter-
rific— and flies ! I thought I had seen flies, but there
are more around here in a minute than I ever saw in
a day at home, and they are a particular breed, in fact,
I believe, closely related to the leech — savage, hungry
and persistent. But Chuck and Cole, two of my com-
rades, went into Bordeaux today and I asked them to
get me some mosquito netting with which to drape my
cot. It may look like a royal 17th century bed, but if
it keeps the flies out, what care I?
My duties since I have been here have consisted
of guard duty once every five days, and superintending
details 'twixt and 'tween times. The guard duty is real
— loaded guns and revolvers, and upon occasion we use
them, not for deadly purposes, but to convey to certain
individuals the idea that we mean business, but en tout
guard duty is very quiet. To make the rounds of the
guard takes a full hour, which will suggest the size of
the camp. Am on duty tonight and have been trying
to snatch a little sleep today, but the flies persist in
annoying me, and as they understand neither French,
English nor profanity, I gave up the struggle.
Last Saturday Cole and I were detailed to go with
the ambulances out of town about forty-five miles to
assist in unloading a trainload of wounded, and trans-
port the men to a nearby base hospital. We left here
at 6:30 p. m. and picked up en route two nurses and a
lieutenant, which made our trip more pleasant. At 1
a. m. the train arrived with 600 men, seventy-five per
cent of whom were stretcher cases and the rest could
walk. The train was one of the specially built Red
Cross trains and, to sum up all of its characteristics in
one word, it was efficient to the highest degree. The
wounded men were all Americans who had taken part
in the last drive around Chateau-Thierry and Soissons,
and had been shipped down here directly from the front.
They had been forty-eight hours on the way, were tired
and sore and little inclined to talk, so I learned very
little, but they all wanted to get back for another swipe
at the Huns. Some were badly shot to pieces, but the
majority had broken legs or arms and bore the pain
with little grumbling. By 4 a. m. the train was empty
and we started home soon after, arriving just in time
for steak and French fried at mess.
As in America, there is a national phrase here that
all merchants and dealers use when reproached by cus-
tomers for high prices, namely, "c'est la guerre" ("it's
the war"). When in doubt they all say it, and already
our men are very proficient in pronouncing those words,
though it may comprise their total knowledge of the
language. As usual, the Y. M. C. A. is the center of
town and the center of all activity. Eats, reading,
writing and loafing facilities are all abundantly sup-
nn^m^^^^^m^^^^Uffl^^^MBpg
QOm
?ntura
itarterl
sr
For Adult and Young People's
Bible Classes
FOURTH QUARTER
1918
The Christian Century Press
700 E. 40 ;h Street, Chicago
m.
MUJUIillHllllllllllllllilUlllllllllllHIIIIHllllllllllllllllllllllIllltlllllllllllllllllMIIIIIIIIIMMIIllllllllll
Send for free sample copy.
August 15, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
13
plied and the management is as efficient and capable
as could be desired. We won't realize until after the
war how much good the "Y." has done and is doing,
but even now the boys all regard the "Y." as a necessity,
though it is taken for granted everywhere. When you
strike a place without one, then you miss it and realize
what it means, because the by-word among the soldiers
seems to be, "Probably the 'Y.' has it," no matter what
the article in question may be.
This is more than I expected to write, because
there is so little going on that I have to save some news
lor later letters! But I'm gettting so good at type-
writing (this letter having consumed only five hours)
that I couldn't resist, and this is the result.
Remember me to all the friends, and love to you,
dearest family. It's you I'm thinking of all day and
all night and praying that I can live up to your wishes
and hopes.
Goodbye, and write soon and often.
Robert.
Why Boycott the Preacher?
By David M. Jones
SEVERAL of our states have laws prohibiting boycot-
ting, and the majority of the rest have made rulings
proving it illegal. It, like blackmail, is a weapon to
which a certain type of unprincipled people would always
resort, if permitted ; the fact that the state prohibits it,
proves its popularity with such characters, and its power
to injure those boycotted. All this is to protect busi-
ness enterprises, of course, but there is a form of boy-
cotting among church people which is just as subtle and
just as paralyzing to the pastor, as any of these proven
illegal practises are to any other man's business. If it is
ever wrong, why then resort with impunity to such methods
toward those who strive to lead us spiritually ?
SOME CRIMES OF MINISTERS
Does the preacher fail to call upon some family as
often as is deemed proper? The whole family refuses to
help support him, either financially or spiritually. Does he,
burdened with heavy problems, absent-mindedly fail to
greet some brother when he meets him in the street ? The
brother at once retaliates by becoming his sworn enemy.
Does he favor some particular man for election to the of-
fice of deacon or elder ? The man who wanted it, and did
not get it, has no further use for him. Does he need to
, reprove some loose tongued sister for her gossip ? She
retaliates by using that tongue to stir up discord against
him. Does he happen to know of some grave social dan-
ger which menaces the child of some home? The parents
resent his well-meant warning and no longer attend church.
If he is able to prove to some woman who prides herself
upon being all right that she is really a hypocrite, she never
forgives him, and joins the forces against him. If he knows
of some dishonesty, or unchristian act, on the part of an
elder or a deacon, and tries to lead him to make it right,
he also, not openly of course, but covertly and shrewdly,
plans his downfall. If some member of his church board
is proving a stumbling block to weaker members or to non-
christians, and the pastor tries either to reform him, or to
remove him from his place of prominence, he, too, becomes
a secret enemy.
These examples could be multiplied by hundreds, and
still not tell all the story of the various petty things which
constitute the reasons for ministerial boycotts. These are
annoying, of course, and the specters of such dead souls
serve to furnish unbidden guests to entertain the minister
during his sleepless nights. But these are all frailties of
human nature. Even in his sufferings, the minister can
find it in his heart, at least part of the time, to pray, "Father
forgive them." I have sometimes wondered how many
of these prayers are unanswered.
But here is another form of ministerial boycott more
serious than any of these. It is from this other kind that
ministers suffer more deeply, and they often give up en-
tirely, which is, of course, just what the boycotters desire.
A man may be a consecrated, conscientious pastor ; his life
may be above reproach; he may be an earnest personal
worker, and his ministry be most fruitful, but, if he chance
to be a little more charitable toward various shades of be-
lief with which he comes in contact, somewhat different
from those of his church, he is immediately marked. If he
should let it be known that he himself does not hold strictly
to all the tenets laid down by his church, matters are made
worse. If he should happen to let fall some remark which
could be construed to show that he is liberal in his belief,
he is fortunate if some time some conservative group does
not succeed in branding him a heretic. There is small
chance for him in the ministry after this occurs. Usually
he senses the situation before the crisis comes, and drops
out of sight, taking up some other business where he can
not only make a better living for himself and family, but
may also worship God according to the dictates of his own
conscience. But the scar is deep, if indeed the wound ever
heals.
THE PENALTIES OF LIBERALISM
After all, have we not thought entirely too much about
what we believe, and entirely too little about what we are,
or what we are doing? Are any of us justified in thinking
that what we believe is altogether right, and that which
everyone else believes is wrong? Are any two of us
exactly alike in our interpretation of the Scriptures ? Who
made me a judge to judge my neighbor's convictions, or
him a judge to judge mine? Where has all our contention
over what we believe led us? In the light of all the op-
portunities of the last nineteen hundred years, do we find
anything in the present conditions in heathendom, and in
so-called Christian lands, about which to be particularly
proud? Where would heathendom be now, if, instead of
wrangling over beliefs, we had put forth every effort to do
14
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 15, 1918
what God has asked of his followers ? Where, even, would
this war have been? In the light of the resurrection, will
it shock us, I wonder, if God raises up from the graves of
the heretics, souls as white as ours? After all, we would
all have been called heretics, if we had lived a few hundred
years ago.
PATRONIZING THE CHURCH GROCER
But, added to these serious ways in which a minister
is boycotted, there are some really ridiculous. Take, for
example, the idea that he must patronize the business and
professional men of his church, or they will not patronize
him. If there is a doctor, or a dentist, in his membership,
he dare not go to another, without danger of offence. It
makes no difference if the doctor is a quack, or is from the
wrong school, or if the dentist is a back number, and all
other discerning people go elsewhere, he must hide all pref-
erences and prejudices, and submit his family to their in-
efficiency. This, of course, is not always true of the large
city church. In fact, it is only in the smaller places that
most of these things occur. He must buy his groceries of
his church grocer, even if he knows that there is a com-
bine to boost prices, and that the near-by city will deliver
them to his door for much less.
Some real domestic tragedies result from this situa-
tion.
One minister's family, upon making a change in loca-
tion, found the need for a new rug. Funds were low, as
always after a move. The little wife had in mind a really
beautiful carpet of soft, harmonious shades, which was
within their means, and which she had seen in the neigh-
boring city. But her husband, mindful of former troubles,
and unwilling to arouse enmity so soon, urged her to let him
see what the local store could give them. With the reluc-
tance born of sad experience, she consented. An hour later,
preacher and proprietor arrived with the best the house
afforded for the money. The proprietor, eagerly anxious to
please, unrolled the rug upon the floor. It lay there, a
hideous riot of glaring colors, and he stood back proudly
awaiting her joyful acceptance. What could she do? Its
one good point was that it would not wear out, and this,
in time, became the chief of its annoyances. Eventually,
with its vivid reds and greens still undimmed, it was sent
to the rug weavers, and came back much smaller, but also,
much subdued.
THE PREACHER'S BABY CARRIAGE
I remember once, when a little chap came to my broth-
er's family, there was need for a new baby carriage. My
sister carefully described the kind she wanted, but my
brother thought best to see first what could be done in the
home town. Accordingly, he visited the local dealer, and
although he could not find what his wife had described, he
talked to her over the telephone, and advised her to take
the one offered, and she consented. When it was delivered,
instead of the snug, hood-protected carriage of her dreams,
she was called upon to accept a big ornate affair, with a
frivolous, lace-be-ruffled parasol, which was no protection
against either wind or sun — unless both should come from
straight up ! She got exactly ?what she did not want — for
ten dollars more than what sHe wanted would have cost
in the nearest city ; and she realized every time she used it
that it was probably the discard of the mothers of the town
for the last ten years. But she had been loyal to the home
merchant, simply because she was the minister's wife. No
one else in town would have taken what she had to accept.
Then, there is the disadvantage, in a small town, of
buying garments, or millinery, or dress goods, and possibly
meeting on the street in a few days the lewd woman of the
village clothed in duplicate. Or the problem of the church-
member agent, who comes to the door with articles which,
however good they may be, must be sold for a larger price
than paid elsewhere. Of course, such people would resent
charity, and yet that is just the spirit in which the minister's
wife buys.
RIGHTS OF THE MINISTER
Why is this handicap put upon ministers? Why do
our church people feel that they must put strings upon !
everything that he does, or believes, or says? If people
could only recognize that their minister is a full grown man, j
and should be given a man's privileges, the way would be
easier for him. He doesn't want any ten per cent discount, j
or any half fare, as if he is an object of charity. But he
0m draper Httjratj>
Meaning of Prayer. Fosdick. 60c, postage 5c
Assurance of Immortality. Fosdick. $1.00, postage 10c
The Second Mile. Fosdick. 40c, postage 5c
The Temple. A book of prayers by W.E. Orchard. $1.00
Prayers, Ancient and Modern. Tileston.
$1.00, postage 10c
Prayers for the Social Awakening. Rauschenbusch.
75c, postage 10c
Book of Prayers. McComb. $1.00, postage 10c
Book of Public Prayer. Beecher. 75c, postage 10c
For Each Day a Prayer. Elizabeth H. Davis.
$1.25, postage 10c
Why Men Pray. Charles L. Slattery. 75c, postage 10c
With Christ in the School of Prayer. Andrew Murray.
50c, postage 6c
The Still Hour. Austin Phelps. $1.00, postage 10c
Prayer, Its Nature and Scope. Trumbull.
60c, postage 10c
God's Minute. Sixty prayers by 365 Eminent Preachers.
35c, postpaid
A Girl's Book of Prayers. Margaret Slattery.
25c, postage 6c
Place of Prayer in the Christian Religion.
J. M. Campbell. $1.00, postage 10c
Prayer; What It Is, and What It Does. McComb.
50c, postage 6c
Quiet Talks on Prayer. S. D. Gordon. 75c, postage 10c
®be Christian Centura $re*tf
700 East 40th Street, Chicago
August 15, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
15
does want a man's wage — at least as much as is paid to any
other skilled laborer — with a man's privilege to spend it
how and where he pleases like any other man.
If each person who becomes disaffected would keep
his grouch to himself, the minister would not suffer so
much. But the grouches have some magnetic attraction
for each other, and they soon form the nucleus of a faction
which becomes an opposing element. It may be that these
people are not those most interested in the church or its
welfare. It may be that they are the least spiritual of all
its members. But nothing seems to paralyze those at the
head of the church affairs or strike panic to the heart of the
church membership so quickly as to let the fact become
known that some one has refused to support the pastor
financially. It is here that the boycott begins to get in its
deadly work. This is hastened materially, also, if some one
can start the rumor that the minister has been asked to
resign.
A CALL TO PATIENCE
If the boycotting of one engaged in secular enterprises
is illegal, is it not all the more reprehensible to boycott one
engaged in spiritual enterprises? Of course, "boycott" is
not a pretty word. It is not a pretty business, either. It is
this ungodly attitude on the part of thoughtless or small-
souled members which is responsible for much of the fric-
tion in our churches, and which so disheartens our min-
isters that many of them, even of our best, leave the min-
istry entirely. And I do not blame them. Yet, it is only
by the Godly patience and charity of those who stay with
us, and bear with our weakness and selfishness, for the
sake of the glorious church which ought to be, that we will
ever be led to the heights of Christian fellowship to attain
which Christ prayed and died.
The disciples of Providence are not deceived : they know by
'how many secret ways, how many hands, and how many opposite
intentions he brings about his own great designs. — Madame Sevigne.
The Coming of the Golden Age
By Meade E. Dutt
O GOLDEN AGE, so long have human hearts
Awaited thee! From yon dim, distant peak
Of cycles past have Prophet-eyes beheld
Thy radiance. Of thee hath Poet sung;
For thee hath Warrior flashed a keen-edged sword
To right the wrong, and crush the despot's pow'r.
Hail! Hail! For we behold thy rosy dawn!
But wait, O Soul, 'tis not with silver trump,
Or silken banners flung to golden light,
Or chargers prancing o'er a flow'r-strewn path;
O, no — but in a great Gethsemane
Of sweat and agony this Golden Age
Is born! The fateful hour comes on— the Blood—
The Sacrifice— the Death.
Wlhat mean these Stars
Upon that field of stainless white? They are
Our Mothers' Gifts— our Nation's Pledge— our Life.
They are the heralds of the Age-to-be,
Whose each Command is just; whose Hunger, Peace;
And best of all, whose only Law is Love.
ti
»
OUR BIBLE
By Herbert L. Willett
One of the most popular volumes ever
published by The Christian Century Press.
This recent book by Dr. Willett has been
received with real enthusiasm by the re-
ligious and educational press of the coun-
try. The following are a few of the
estimates passed upon the volume:
"Just the book that has been needed for a long time
for thoughtful adults and senior students, a plain
statement of the sources and making of the books of
the Bible, of their history, of methods of criticism and
interpretation and of the place of the Bible in the life
of today." — Religious Education.
"Every Sunday school teacher and religious worker
should read this book as a beginning in the important
task of becoming intelligently religious." — Biblical
World.
"The book will do good service in the movement
which is now rapidly discrediting the aristocratic
theology of the past." — The Public.
"The man who by long study and wide investiga-
tion, aided by the requisite scholarship and prompted
by the right motive — the love of truth, not only for
truth's sake but for humanity's sake — can help us to
a better understanding of the origin, history and value
of the Bible, has earned the gratitude of his fellow-
men. This we believe is what Dr. Willett has done
in this volume." — Dr. J. H. Garrison in The Christian-
Evangelist.
"Professor Willett has here told in a simple, graphic
way what everybody ought to know about our Bible."
— Jenkin Lloyd Jones in Unity.
"Dr. Willett has the rare gift of disclosing the mind
of the scholar in the speech of the people." — North-
western Christian Advocate.
"Interesting and illuminating, calculated to stimu-
late and satisfy the mind and to advance the devo-
tional as well as the historical appreciation of the
Bible." — Homiletic Review.
"One can recall a half-dozen volumes having to do
with the origin and the formation of the Scriptures,
all of them valuable, but not one so practical and
usable as this book." — Dr. Edgar DeWitt Jones.
"This readable work distinctly illuminates both
background and foreground of the most wonderful of
books." — Chicago Herald.
"The book evinces an evangelical spirit, intellectual
honesty and ripe scholarship." — Augsburg Teacher.
"Scholarly but thoroughly simple." — Presbyterian
Advance.
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Endeavor World.
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Professor Taylor Reviews Four
Important Books
THE Necessity of Christ. By W. E. Orchard. Whatever
Dr. Orchard writes has freshness, vigor of thinking and
charm of style. An eclectic would say this was an
able scholastic attempt to put Christ into the canon of mod-
ern liberal philosophy and scientific thinking. A disciple will
find it a fine exposition of Christ's place in them. The preacher
to the common people will find it useful in his own study, but
may be compelled to question some propositions made on be-
half of the mind of the modern man, for he will find that it is
the philosophical and educated mind that Dr. Orchard talks
about rather than that of the average man. The discussion
covers "The Necessity of Christ" to Thought, Religion, Chris-
tianity, Personality, Society and God. It is a rich bill of fare
and ably served. (Dutton, $1.00.)
Sfc ^ ♦
Universal Service the Hope of Humanity By Liberty
H. Bailey. President Bailey is always a poet as well as a scien-
tist— a combination of qualities that will be more and more
highly prized as science develops a better adjustment to life
and mind. This volume was written before we entered the
war, but was published after our enlistment, and it is a fine
comment upon the sanity of the author that though he offers a
substitute for military training he utters no word that needs to
be changed by our declaration of war. He pleads for a scien-
tific attitude of mind that facts may always be examined before
judgments are formulated and emotions aroused; he asks if
there is not as much to be gained by a training in the arts of
human service, through science and the humanities, as through
war. He denies that "business is war"; that labor can ever win
by "class war"; that no form of service but the military will
challenge the heroic. As an educator he pleads for a reverence
for the earth and its gifts and for humanity and its rights, and
asks that education be for service, not for personal prowess.
(Sturgis & Walton. $1.00.)
* * *
What Is Fair? By Wm. L. Raymond, Dean of the Col-
lege of Applied Science, University of Iowa. This well thought
out little volume might be accepted as the most enlightened
statement of the case of the corporation before a critical pub-
lic. It demands that the corporation be "fair" in the sense that
it deal honestly and frankly with the public and recognize that
it has rights. It condemns all those corporate methods that
have been branded unfair by modern public judgment, but
also defends certain "rights" of the corporation that a public
all too much exploited is inclined to condemn, such as "all the
traffic will bear" theory of profit, the watering of stock in pri-
vate business, though not in the case of a public utility; he
asks that public regulation of a utility be charged up as a
hazard to the business. While the position is an advance
one from the corporation and average "business" viewpoint
it is quite conservative from that of the reformer who would
grant a reasonable profit on actual investment and demand
that the service then be made as cheap as possible that the
public might have the advantage. (John Wiley & Sons. $1.)
* * *
A League of Nations. By Theodore Marburg, formerly
U. S. Minister to Belgium. In this small book is as able an
analysis and defense of the League of Nations idea as is in
print. We hear much talk about it and note from time to
time that President Wilson's advocacy of it meets with re-
sponses from first one and then another of the responsible
statesmen among our allies. Mr. Marburg has been one of
the pioneers in promoting the idea and his experience as a
diplomat and student of international law and history fits him
well to present the case. The layman feels that his proposals
are very moderate and conservative and can see no reason
why the allied nations should not demand that the essential
plan be incorporated in the terms of peace. Every public
speaker and writer owes it to our cause to acquaint himself
first hand with the principles of the league and to advocate
them on all occasions. (MacMillan. 50 cts.)
Alva W. Taylor.
Rev. John E. Eivers
The Sunday School
Speaking for Christ*
WHAT a wonderful thing it was for that old-time doctor,
Luke, to write his gospel. I like to think of him with
all of the early manuscripts spread around him on his
table, comparing them, studying them, setting the facts in or-
derly arrangement and then carefully, in the purest Greek, writ-
ing his story. I wonder if he dreamed what a mighty influence
it would have? I wonder if he imag-
ined the countless number it would pur-
suade concerning the truth of Him of
whom he wrote? To have written that
beautiful gospel — what more could a
man ask?
But why are we not eager to speak
for Christ? Why are we not eager to
build some noble monument for Him?
Do you ever think of the dollars you
give for our church buildings and the
good that will be accomplished in those
churches? Do you ever think of the
money you give for missions and the
influence that you thus release? No doubt some heathen per-
son has been converted by the use of your money — what if
he or she were to walk into your home this evening and tell
you the story of that conversion and the consequent deliver-
ance and happiness! Perhaps you have some investment in
Nanking University, in some hospital, in some home, in some
fund for ministerial relief, in church extension — brood over
the cumulative effects and be happy. I know a minister who,
some years ago, woke up a member of his church and kindled
his enthusiasm. A year afterward this reawakened Christian
moved to a far western community. His going was deeply re-
gretted, but soon afterward he gathered a few people into his
frontier home and started a church; later they called a min-
ister and today they have a good, active church in that distant
town. The minister sometimes thinks of this and his heart is
made happy.
Last summer on my vacation I ran, unexpectedly, into the
first man I ever definitely won for Jesus Christ. He was a col-
lege friend. It was very hard to approach him, some twenty
years ago, and speak a good word for the Master. But his
heart was hungry that Sunday afternoon for that word and
he became a very sincere Christian. All these years his light
has been shining and it is one of my chief sources of joy.
One day not long ago I met another old college friend in
another city. He greeted me cordially, took me to his home,
talked with me far into the night, and in the morning took me
to his elegant office. There he opened his heart and told me
*This article is based on the International Uniform Lesson for August
25, "Speaking for Christ." Scripture, Luke 12:8-12; Acts 1:8.
August 15, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
1;
of his business success; told me of the big deals he had put
across and of the large rewards business had given him. I
left him and for days I was unsettled. I wondered whether I
ought not to get into this business game and secure some of
these financial prizes. Then one day I took down a book in
which I have written the names of those who have in the past
nineteen years joined the church under my ministry. Lovingly
I read each name, and something of the circumstances sur-
rounding each one came before me. I laid the book down sat-
isfied. I was rich, surpassingly rich. I envied no millionaire.
These were my jewels. These were my riches. No bonds,
stocks, houses, lands could compare in value with these whom
I had helped to win to the Master. Then I thought how man}'
of these would win others to Him, how they would rear their
children in the church, how they would help reform the society
of which they were a part, and I was quiet content. From that
hour one thing alone has appealed to me as being of supreme
worth — the leading of men and women, boys and girls into the
Christian life and the developing of them in that life.
If we are truly wise we will invest our energies in writing
the gospel upon men's hearts. Then, on through the countless
years, the good influences which we have released will continue
to develop and to multiply, making for a better world.
John R. Ewers.
A
The War
A Weekly Analysis
SMASHING verification of what I said last week con-
cerning the collapse of the enemy plan for a decisive
offensive has been given by the allied success in Picardy.
I confess it came quicker and in larger measure than I had an-
ticipated. I did not suppose the effect of the Marne reverse
jUpon the enemy morale and the efficiency of the enemy com-
mand and organization had been so far-reaching.
In three days the British, French and American forces
north and south of the Somme advanced further than they did
in four months of the first Somme battle — the battle which, in
1916, we hailed as the "big push." It is of course to be borne
lin mind that the first Somme was an attack upon fortified posi-
tions scarcely less powerful than those of the Hindenburg
jline, and that the tank made its debut as an experimental
piethod of warfare.
The second Somme battle — in progress as I write — is a
jbattle in the open, and the tanks and "whippets," are vastly
jiiore numerous and their operators have developed a technique
J-hat could only come of experience.
Since July 18 — less than two months ago — the allies have
riped out the menace to Paris and the menace to Amiens. Two
jreat enemy salients have been driven in. At least 60,000 pris-
oners have been captured and probably 500 guns. The whole
nemy front from Ypres to the Argonne has been rudely
haken.
After the retreat from the Marne the enemy still had a
hance to recover the initiative by an immediate blow on the
British front. The armies of the Bavarian crown prince,
iupprecht, had enjoyed a long rest and were practically intact,
"en divisions had been sent to aid the Prussian crown prince,
ut the remaining force was formidable. Rupprecht hesitated.
Ie indicated uneasiness by minor withdrawals from salient
ositions.
Foch accepted the hint and struck. The story is better
nown to the reader by now than it can be to the writer. I
'ill not venture to predict what events may happen before
lis appears in type. Enough has happened already, however,
) make it clear that the enemy's last chance to recover has
one. Unless there is some utterly unforeseeable change in
ie situation the Hun is permanently on the defensive — on the
efensive until he surrenders, so far as the west front is con-
pillllllllllllllllllllllH
| The Diplomatic
| Background of
| the War
BY CHARLES SEYMOUR
H Professor in Yale University
A remarkably graphic and fascinating story
of the maneuvering and manipulating of
European politics since 1874. It interprets the
essential motifs of the several nations with
unusual lucidity. No important diplomatic
incident is overlooked. The reader feels that
he is being piloted through the labyrinth of
European political mysteries by a guide who
speaks as one acquainted with inside condi-
tions. It is a story worth reading and the
narrative grips like the climax of a novel.
The Critics Say:
"A story worth reading and the narrative grips
H like the climax of a novel."
"It is soul-stirring to read his dramatic story of
S the formation of the Triple Entente."
| "Impartial, clear and logical."
H "Head and shoulders above most of the books
g from the Front."
H "The best book in this particular field written by
§j an American."
"An accurate presentation of historical facts in
jj a clear, agreeable and concise style."
H "The most valuable book that has come to our
g notice."
"One of the most scholarly historical studies that
§j the war has produced."
j| "Entirely unpartisan and unprejudicial."
| "Is so intelligent and so reasonable that it seems
W= to exclude prejudice or bitter feeling."
8 "Sound and historically mature."
H "No important diplomatic incident has been over-
| looked."
S "There is joy in reading the words of a man who
| is not afraid of fundamentals nor too indolent to
H seek them out."
H "Beautifully printed, carefully indexed and, above
H all, written in the best of historian-English."
$2.00 NET (add 8c to 14c postage)
The Christian Century Press
1 700 East 40th Street
CHICAGO B
IS
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 15, 1918
cerned. He may attempt something in Italy, but that is doubt-
ful. The Austrian appetite for aggressive warfare will not be
improved by what has taken place in France. Vienna must
recall with derision the visit of Von Ludendorf to the Piave
front after the failure of the Austrian offensive, when he in-
sisted that the Austrian general staff must be Germanized.
The events on the Picardy battle-field sustain the belief
that there is trouble and discord in the supreme command of
the enemy. There were indications of divided council in the
vacillating course pursued during the retreat from the Marne.
On the Somme the evidences of failure in high authority are
even more conspicuous.
Allowing for the suddenness of the attack and the sur-
prise effect, the fact that after three days of fighting there was
neither any determined attempt to stabilize the line, nor any
adequate rear-guard action to cover a retreat is proof that
things went sadly wrong somewhere. The large number of
prisoners and guns captured points to demoralization of the
rank and file unusual in the well-disciplined German army.
Although ten divisions of the original line had suffered
enormous losses by the third day, only two reserve divisions
had been identified as re-enforcements. Where were the re-
serves? Was the crown prince holding them on his Vesle front?
Vitally important railroads have been occupied or cut by
the allies in their advance. The Cambrai-Paris railroad, cut at
Chaulnes, is the spinal column of the Hun army in Picardy. It
will not be surprising now if Foch follows this victory by
another smash further north. g_ j DuNCAN-ClaRK.
Books
A History of the Christian Church. By Williston Walker.
D. D. The making of a competent church history is a work
requiring many different gifts. There must be a mastering of
material such as few other disciplines demand. There must
be a judicial temper, which in spite of the best intentions few
men possess. And there must be the art of narrative to the
extent, at least, of making the work readable. Professor
Walker comes about as near to the happy combination of
these requisites as any teacher of Church History we know.
We have a feeling, too, that he has made an earnest effort
to break away from the familiar and hackneyed catagories of
the ecclesiastical histories of the past. It is not quite pos-
sible to affirm with confidence that he has succeeded. But he
has at all events produced a book, which, though large, is
not devoid of deep human interest and literary charm. It
would be almost a liberal education for a minister to read
thoughtfully through these six hundred pages. He would
preach the better for months afterward. The story of the
Church of Christ through the centuries is one of the most
thrilling narratives in literature. To tell it as compactly and
convincingly as Professor Walker has done is a very worthy
achievement. It is not too much to affirm that this is the
best single volume work on the subject. Is it venturing too
much to say that it is the last effort that will be made to cover
so much ground in one book? (Scribner. $3.)
The New Testament, translated from the Sinaitic Manu-
script of Tischendorf. By H .T. Anderson. The story of the
visit of Constantine Tischendorf to the monastery of St. Cath-
erine at the traditional site of Mt. Sinai is familiar to all
students of New Testament texts. Henry T. Anderson, who
had busied himself through many years in the tasks of biblical
translation, conceived the idea of putting into popular and
accessible form the rare and impressive codex of the Leipsig
scholar. This work is now published as a labor of love by
his daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Pickett Anderson
Timmins of this city. It is limited to the New Testament
material of the great Aleph text. The variations from the
usual renderings of the New Testament are not striking, but
where they occur they are valuable as a commentary. In
fact, any departure from the familiar phraseology of our com-
mon versions is an advantage. We hardly expect a version of
this sort to find a large audience, for its appeal is still largely
restricted to Greek scholars. But this work puts a great manu-
script within the reach of readers of English, and is a worthy
monument to a devoted life. (Standard Publishing Company.
$1.50.)
The Bible at a Single Glance. By Richard G. Moulton. Dr.
Moulton, of the English Department of the University of Chi-
cago, has the gift of seeing a book as a whole; in fact he holds
that only when thus viewed can a work of literature be rightly
appreciated. In this little volume he attempts to give his
readers this large point of view of the Bible. It is an exceed-
ingly suggestive volume. (Macmillan. $1.)
Christ and Sorrow. By H. C. G. Moule, Bishop of Dur-
ham. A series of brief letters to the sorrowing, apparently
intended especially for the consolation of those who have
been bereaved by war losses. A perfect little gift book for
those who have been called upon to face the Great Mystery.
(Macmillan Company. 60 cts.)
The Wife and Other Stories. By Anton Chekhov. Trans-
lated by Constance Garnett. This is without doubt the best
translation of these stories of "the greatest master of the
short story since Maupassant." Other of Chekhov's works
will be translated by Mrs. Garnett and published. When it is
considered that in these books is pictured truly the inner life
of that world puzzle, Russia, the importance of these transla-
tions is realized to some degree. Chekhov was a realist with
a vivid imagination and an artist's soul. (Macmillan. $1.50.)
The Time Spirit. By J. C. Snaith. As a literary perform-
ance, this book is a great improvement over "The Coming,"
which appeared a few months ago. It has a real plot, of
admirable value for dramatic purposes, although the climaxes
of the story could have been handled in a much more effective
manner. The narrative has to do with the love experiences of
the heir to an English title, and the foster-daughter of a police
officer, whose true history affords fine opportunities for thrill-
ing romance. It is a clean, wholesome record, with good open-
ings for skillful handling of character. (Appleton. $1.50.)
Marie Grubbe. By J. P. Jacobsen. Introducing to English
readers one of the foremost of Danish fiction writers. George
Brandes calls this book the greatest tour de force in Danish
literature. A historical romance in which the chief figure is
the son of King Frederick of Denmark, and the time of the
story is during the siege of Copenhagen. (Boni & Liveright.
$1.50.)
The Broom Fairies. By Ethel M. Gate. A group of charm-
ing fairy tales forming a most acceptable gift for the "little
fairies" of the home— and withal very interesting reading for
older fairies, as well. (Yale University Press. $1.)
Preparing for Womanhood. By Dr. E. B. Lowry. An-
other of the excellent series by Dr. Lowry on sex hygiene.
This latest volume is intended for girls from fifteen to twenty-
one years of age. A book widely needed. (Forbes & Co.,
Chicago; $1.)
Sunshine and Awkwardness. By Strickland Gillilan. Good
reading for hot war days by the famous author of "Finnigan,
which poem is here included. The material in this book is
some of the cream of Mr. Gillilan's lectures, and through its
pages another million or two people will have the pleasure ol
laughing with this jolly, brotherly fellow. (Forbes & Co.
Chicago: $1.)
Any of the books reviewed in this department, or any other
books now in print, may be secured from
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS,
yoo East 40th St., Chicago
The Larger Christian World
A Department of Interdenominational Acquaintance
Episcopalians Co-operate
in Union Service
Though the House of Bishops of the Protestant Episcopal
Church recently rejected the overture of the Congregational-
ists for a conference on Christian union, in many of the dio-
ceses of the country the Episcopalians do not hold themselves
aloof from Christians of other communions. St. Mary's Church*
of Baltimore, is holding union services on Sunday evenings
this summer with the other congregations of the community
co-operating. Both preachers and laymen make addresses
at the services.
Theological School Instructs
on Present Day Problems
The Newton Theological Institution (Baptist) has gone on
with the summer school this summer, the courses being ar-
ranged with reference to the war duties of the church. The
regular faculty of the seminary provided most of the instruc-
tion on such subjects as the pulpit and its message for today;
apocalypticism and the war; the moral issues of the war, and
post-war reconstruction. Conferences were held for two days
on the practical topic of present problems of church federation.
Noon Prayer Bill Fails
to Pass House
The resolution of the Senate favoring the observation of
the Angelus, or noon prayer, throughout the nation, did not
pass the House. Senator Thomas of Colorado had objected
to the resolution in the Senate but his objection was over-
ruled. He said: "Universal prayer by the contesting nations
could do no more at best than embarrass the Almighty power
if it shall pay due heed to the conflicting entreaties of friend
and foe." The resolution in the House was referred to the
committee on military affairs, by which it has been safely
buried. Meanwhile, the practice of prayer at noon time for
victory has spread into many cities of the nation and rests
upon more secure foundation than that of Congressional action.
Dr. Clark Speaks at Dedication
of Christian Endeavor Building
The new headquarters building of the United Society of
Christian Endeavor was dedicated in Boston on July 31. It
stands at the corner of Mt. Vernon and Joy streets. Mem-
bers of the society from all over the world made offerings
to make possible this $200,000 property. The building is of
Kick, with limestone trimmings. There were addresses by
3overnor McCall; ex-Governor John L. Bates, who was also
>n the finance committee of the new building; Rev. T. Makino,
ice-president of the Japanese Christian Endeavor Union; Dr.
\Villiam Shaw, and a brief historical address was given by
rVesident Clark. Dr. Clark said in the course of his address:
The apparent foundations rest on the solid base of Beacon
lill, but the more real foundation is the promise of the young
>eople, T will strive to do whatever he would like to have me
io.' It is not altogether fanciful to say that the foundation
jif our building is our pledge of loyalty and service; the bricks
jre the lives of Christian young people built up by the Chris-
tian Endeavor; and if you will not accuse me of using slang,
would say that every Christian Endeavorer is a brick in the
piritual structure."
>r. Macfarland's Visit Creates
Sensation in Paris
Dr. Charles S. Macfarland, secretary of the Federal Coun-
1 of the Churches of Christ, is now in France, and recently
}oke in the largest Protestant Church in Paris. Crowds
irrounded the building and shouted "Vive l'Amerique." Dr.
Macfarland carried a contribution to the Protestant cause from
America of a hundred thousand francs; he had hoped to have
a hundred thousand dollars. More money for the French
Protestant cause is being raised in America during his ab-
sence.
A Retreat for Episcopal Clergy
Bishop Rhinelander of Pennsylvania, of the Protestant
Episcopal Church, has sent out an announcement of a "re-
treat" for his clergy to be held in Chestnut Hill Academy,
September 18-21. The Rev. Messrs. C. Townsend, Jr., J. Mick-
ridge, D. D., and G. L. Richardson have been appointed to
work out the details. The bishop will have charge in the
mornings and in the afternoons the men who have been at
the front will speak.
Missions Council Will Study War
Product in Communities
The Home Missions Council has appointed "The Joint
Committee on War Production Communities," which will study
the cities which are undergoing radical changes of character
by reason of the war. The places requiring attention are of
three quite distinct types: First, there is the altogether new
development, apart by itself, by the sea or in the midst of a
great plain, which has sprung up for some specific industry
connected with the war. In many instances these are gov-
ernment reservations — camps to all intents and purposes,
neither military nor naval, but civil. In other instances indus-
tries have been builded and settlements created alongside of
old communities, and the new attached to the old in some
You Can Help
T
HE Christian Century Press will be
especially favored if each reader of
The Christian Century will take
pains to call the attention of his
Sunday-School superintendent (and
other persons of influence in the school)
to the Bethany System of Sunday School
Literature. This system includes not
only the Graded Lessons, but also the
International Uniform Lessons and every-
thing else needed in up-to-date schools.
A slight effort by our friends will prove
of great service to your school and will
be sincerely appreciated by us. See that
returnable samples are ordered at once,
for examination by your leaders. Ask
especially for a free copy of the new
"20TH CENTURY QUARTERLY"
which should be used in all your adult
and young people's classes, and in your
Home Department.
The Christian Century Press
700 E. 40th Street : : : CHICAGO
20
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 15, 1918
more or less loose way; these require special ministrations
which the old communities are helpless to render. The third
type is the old settlement with so many new industries spring-
ing up in it that it is congested, almost overwhelmed, with its
unprepared-for prosperity, and its unassimilated additions. The
help rendered must be fitted to the community and the com-
mittee will endeavor to select the denomination that is to do
each specific piece of work.
Three New Theological Professors for
Union Theological Seminary
The undenominational character of Union Theological
Seminary, New York, has been thoroughly vindicated in the
recent appointment of three new professors. The new ap-
pointees are Daniel J. Fleming, a Presbyterian; Eugene W.
Lyman, a Congregationalist, and Harry F. Ward, a Metho-
dist. Dr. Ward is well known for his services to the cause of
social service; he has been given the chair of Christian ethics.
A Conference of Foreign Missions
Nearly every type of activity now has a national organi-
zation, whether of dentists or hardware dealers. The mission
boards of North America have an annual conference and it will
be held this year at Garden City Hotel, Garden City, Long
Island, January 14-16, 1919. James H. Franklin is chairman
of the conference.
Protestant Work for
Boys' School
Protestant organization appears somewhat to a disadvan-
tage by the side of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in prompt
meeting of new situations. The Cook County authorities (Chi-
cago) recently established a School for Boys at Riverside, just
outside "Chicago, and arranged for two chapels, one Catholic
and the other Protestant. The Catholics promptly furnished
their chapel and put it to use, while the Prostestants are still
appealing through Secretary W. B. Millard, of the Chicago
Church Federation, for pulpit furniture and chairs. The serv-
ice of religion in public institutions is still a problem to be
adequately faced by the Protestant forces.
The War and Community
Religion
Already the war is bringing a closer fellowship among the
churches. At Dawson, Pa., the three churches now have a
Community Sunday evening service, which devotes itself to
patriotic ends, but is religious in character. At Evanston, 111.,
there is a community service with eight churches cooperating.
In that city the Congregationalists and Bapists are worship-
ping together during the summer and the series of morning
services was inaugurated with a communion sevrice in the
Baptist church.
Adventists Increase
Literary Output
N. Z. Town, secretary of the publishing department of the
general conference of the Seventh Day Adventists, reported at
a conference in San Francisco there has been sold by the
denomination $25,000,000 worth of literature and the increase in
the last five years has been 40 per cent more than in the previ-
ous five years. The denomination is working in thirty-two
different countries. Much of the increase in the distribution
of literature and in interest is attributed to the war, especially
as related to prophecy.
Activities and Plans of the
Home Missions Council
The Home Missions Council is a federation of thirty-five
home missions bodies of America which was organized in
1908. The typical home mission problems are studied in
unison. Just now the problem of the migrant negroes is re-
ceiving special attention. Dr. George Edmund Haynes has
written a pamphlet called "Negro Newcomers in Detroit,"
which is being circulated widely by the Council. There will
be an effort this year to secure the observation of Home
Mission Week November 17-24, during which the theme will
be "Christian Americanization: Our National Ideals and Mis-
sion." The literature for promoting the week includes a bul-
letin for pastors, a Sunday school program and stories, a
striking poster showing immigrant peoples and an attractive
pamphlet for use in the women's societies. The Council is
asking the churches to combine services as much as possible
during the coming winter for the conservation of fuel and to
release workers for service in the war work. Alfred W.
Anthony is the secretary of the Home Missions Council.
Organize Service Clubs
One of the features of the war situation is the organization
of Service Clubs, sometimes in a single church, sometimes sup-
ported by a group of churches. Such a club is supported by
Old South Congregational church, Central Congregational
church and First Unitarian church of Boston. Young women
and their mothers are associated in the entertaining of the
soldiers. The chairman of the committee makes a special re-
port on the interest the soldiers have in meeting the older
women and talking over their problems with them.
Bethany Graded Lesson Facts
1. — There is more to the Bethany Graded texts
— at least a third more — than is contained in
any other series.
2. — They are rich, vital and full of suggestion to
teacher and pupil.
3. — They are free from the sectarian spirit.
4. — They are soundly and fervently evangelical.
5. — They are truly artistic in all their illustra-
tions.
6. — They are printed on better paper with better
binding and in better taste than any other
series.
7. — Every lesson writer is an expert of interna-
tional reputation.
8. — They are a monument to the modern spirit
of unity — several leading denominations
have co-operated to produce them and are
now using them.
9. — The Disciples possess full editorial rights.
10. — Every Disciple school that uses them par-
ticipates in and promotes a great Christian
union enterprise.
SEND FOR RETURNABLE SAMPLES
The Christian Century Press
700 East Fortieth Street, Chicago
August 15, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
21
News of the Churches
Nine- Year Ministry at
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago
On Aug. 15 Austin Hunter completed
nine years' service as pastor at Jackson
Boulevard church, Chicago. During this
period an $8,000 mortgage has been paid
off and an annex, a social center build-
ing, adjoining the church, has been pur-
chased. There have been 1,176 persons
added to the membership during Mr.
Hunter's ministry; he has officiated at
362 weddings and 376 funerals. The
church has become a living link under
the C. W. B. M. Jackson Boulevard is
represented in the world war by 98 men.
Christian Endeavor Thrives
At Oakland, Cal.
Christian Endeavor is not dead or
dying at First church, Oakland, Cal,
where H. A. Van Winkle ministers. At
I the recent state convention, held at
! Santa Cruz, this society was awarded the
I banner for attendance, having 30 dele-
gates present. Mr. Van Winkle, who
has been doing some remarkable things
for Christian Endeavor the past year
was re-elected president of the organ-
ization in northern California. He was
lalso elected as state pastoral counselor
at the state meeting held in Sacramento,
j there are 45,000 Endeavorers in Califor-
nia. _ It is an interesting fact that the
presidents of the state Christian En-
deavor unions of the states of Washing-
ton Oregon and California are all Dis-
iciples.
Features of the 1918
jlllinois State Convention
[The annual meet of Illinois Disciples
this year will be held at Eureka College
[September 2-5. The program committee
is composed of H. O. Pritchard, R E
Hieronymus and H. E. Sala. W E M*
Hackleman will have charge of the music.
paring the women's missionary sessions
Much will be held on the evening of
September 2 and throughout September
i ' ^JUtZ^s,t{ng feature will be addresses
■>v Ida Withers Harrison, of Lexington
Lyw°" \he f,ol,!°wing subjects: "Women
hi War Work/' and "Teachings of Jesus
concerning Happiness." Addresses will
Also be given by Mrs. Venice B. Jackson
Pi Chicago and Miss Minnie Vautrin'
H Luchowfu, China. On the evening of
September 3 will begin the general ses-
sions, at which opening service will be
riven the address of the president, J. F.
P el'°fTTaylorville, and an address by
Li £ Jon3 now state secretary of
Pklahoma. The business session will be
lew on the morning of September 4, and
bllowing this an address will be given
ieW^riT S?#' °£Indiana' his subject
e.ng _ The Bible School Outlook for
jie Disciples of Christ." The Memorial
tiuT • udeceased Illinois preachers
lanton lnTch?,rge ?f J" G- Waggoner, of
lanton. In the afternoon there will be
Presses by B. J. Radford and State
!?aPiernnMndepn^0f,. PubHc Instruction
;'air, Mr. Radford's topic being "The
' ^^'p11 Anniversary of Eureka Col-
fSil ,Erly.in. the evening will be fea-
itt * 2?"stia,n Endeavor luncheon,
th an address by DeForest Murch of
eS1' ^nter' Preside"t Pritchard,
Eureka will outline future plans for
'" sc5?01. a"d J. W. Hancher, of the
ethodist Board of Education, will speak
1 Uur Educational Jubilee." On the
orrung of September 5th there will be
iet messages for the various national
organizations of the church by Illinois
pastors; President Edgar DeWitt Jones,
of the General Convention, will speak
in behalf of the coming meeting at St.
Louis; and Secretary Burnham will give
an address on "The Whole Task." In
the afternoon Mr. Hackleman will con-
duct a Community Sing, and C. J. Sco-
field, of Carthage, will speak at the un-
furling of the state service flag. There
will be given also an address by some
speaker of national prominence. An in-
spiring feature of the sessions this year
will be the series of devotional services,
conducted by Mrs. Harrison, F. Lewis
Starbuck, O .F. Jordan, Guy V. Ferguson,
C. W. Longman and M. L. Pontius. Most
of these services will have as themes
some phase of the work of the church.
H. E. Stafford Busy at
Parkersburg, W. Va.
H. E. Stafford, now leading at Parkers-
burg, W. Va., writes that he has been
visiting community war councils of de-
fense in the county, giving addresses
on "The War: Its Causes, Needs and
Products." Two weeks ago he dedi-
cated a flag at Lubeck. A religious sur-
vey has just been made of Vienna, a
suburb of Parkersburg, with view to
maintaining a Sunday school and, ulti-
mately, a church at this point. Mr. Staf-
ford writes that E. D. Murch, for manv
years in the ministry in southern Ohio,
but now in business, has taken the work
at the Chapel, a mission of Parkersburg
First church. The mission and First
church congregation recentlv visited old
Bethanv church, fourteen miles down the
river. Many of the leading members of
First church received their first Chris-
tian graining atthc "little church on the
hill." The service was presided over by
O. G. White, state secretary and evan-
gelist. The fellowship enjoyed was
'something like that which was enjoyed
bv the early Disciples," reports Mr
Stafford.
Closing Features at
Bethany Assembly, Ind.
Aug. 17 and 18, Saturday and Sunday,
will be the date of the annual meeting
of the National Evangelistic Missionary
Association at Bethany Park, Brooklyn,
Ind. The following are some of the fea-
c"r£s: The address of President Cravton
S. Brooks; a round table discussion "par-
ticipated in bv R. H. Fife, A. E Crabb
Lew D. Hill, W. J. Minges, C. L. Organ
and C. R. Vawter; an address bv W. S.
Canfield of Indianapolis, on "Evangel-
ism from a Business Man's View-
point; an address bv G. I. Hoover of
Tndiananolis, on "Life and Times of S.
K. Hnshour. a Contribution to Present-
Day Evangelism": discussion, led bv W.
T. Brooks: an address by Editor B. A'
Abbott of St. Louis; an address by Fred
W. Wolff of Arcadia, Ind., on "Some
Fallacies in Local Coneregations": dis-
cussion, led by R. H. Fife: an address
bv F. D. Kershner of Cincinnati, on
"The Death of the Gods." On Sundav
the morning and evening sermons will
be preached by P. H. Welsheimer of
Canton, Ohio; the communion service
will be held at 12 o'clock; an afternoon
sermon will be preached by W. J.
Minges. The evangelistic session will
be continued at Columbus, Ind., Mon-
day. Aug. 19. On the 16th will close the
ninth annual session of the Bethany Park
Training School, of which Garry L.
Cook is dean, the meetings of this or-
ganization having extended from Aug.
6, and the faculty being as follows: G. L.
Cook, Miss Ida Irvin, Miss Jennie Tay-
lor, Miss Cynthia P. Maus, Mrs. K. E.
Hodgdon, Mrs. Lida B. Pearce, H. H.
Peters, John D. Zimmerman, Edgar D.
Jones, Peter Ainslie and W. E. M. Hac-
kleman.
Ozark Assembly Reported
A Success
The Ozark Assembly closed a success-
ful eleven-day session Aug. 2 at "beau-
tiful Lakeside Park," in Jasper County,
Mo. There were forty-six graduates
from the six-day school of methods. The
Rural Institute, conducted by six ex-
perts, including Dr. F. L. Johnson, Kan-
sas City, rural church expert of the Pres-
byterian church; the mission institute;
the elders' and deacons' conference; the
Christian Endeavor rally, addressed by
John D. Zimmerman, were all success-
ful features. The war chautauqua of lec-
tures and latest Pathe war films were
unique. H. L. Willett, H. O. Pritchard,
Mrs. R. S. Latshaw, F. D. Kershner,
B. A. Abbott and E. F. Leake were among
the lecturers. Camp life was a feature
of the assembly. C. C. Garrigues of Jop-
lin, Mo., writes: "Lakeside Park, with
its beautiful natural scenery, excellent
improvements, superior bathing and boat-
ing facilities, tennis, ball grounds, play-
grounds, direct interurban connection
with towns in southwest Missouri, Kan-
sas and Oklahoma, aggregating a pop-
ulation of 150,000 or more, with superb
auto roads radiating over the Joplin dis-
trict, is an almost ideal location for a
district or interstate assembly."
Indiana Church Secures
Ira L. Parvin as Leader
For many years Ira L. Parvin has
been doing an unusually useful work
as minister at Niagara Falls, N. Y. The
report has come that, having resigned
from this field, he has already begun
service at Fort Wayne, Ind., succeeding
there O. E. Tomes, who now leads at
Central church, Gary, Ind.
* * *
— A. J. Bush, Disciple pioneer of
Texas, is reported as ill and failing in
strength.
— Byron Hester of Chickasha, Okla.,
is now in the Louisville, Ky., chaplains'
training school.
— Appreciation of C. C. Garrigues was
shown him by his Missouri district and
county in the presentation to him of a
purse to be used in the purchase of a
typewriter. Mr. Garrigues has led in
making Jasper County, Mo., one of the
best organized counties in Discipledom;
his work in the county and in his pas-
torate at First church, Joplin, are per-
haps two of the biggest reasons for his
recent elevation to the state presidency.
Minister T. S. Cleaver,
55 Kingman Ave.,
Battle Creek, Mich-
WRITE US ABOUT THAT BOY
CAMP CUSTER
—Walter M. White of Linden Avenue
church, Memphis. Tenn., recently com-
pleted his course of instruction in the
East regarding the management of
transport work, and is now in France
preparing to take up at once this branch
of the "Y" service.
— Central church, Rockford, is joining
with the First Baptist church there in
co-operative work for August and Sep-
tember. The Disciples church is with-
out a regular pastor, and the Baptist
22
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 15, 1918
congregation has no settled home. The
meetings will be held at the Central
church building and will for the time
being include the Wednesday evening
prayer meetings and morning Sunday
school and preaching services. The Bap-
tist minister, G. A. Sheets, with M. L.
Pontius, temporary leader at Central
Christian, Rockford, will act as co-oper-
ative pastors.
-_ . -...- UNIOH AVENUE
QT IfilllQ CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Oil LUUIO Union and Von Versen Aves.
George A. Campbell, Minister
— The Kellems brothers are in a meet-
ing at Denison, Tex., the two Disciple
congregations there participating in the
campaign.
— Frank G. Tyrrell of First church,
Pasadena, Cal., was convention speaker
at the annual meeting of the Disciples
of north California, which was held at
Santa Cruz late in July. He is reported
to have made a strong impression as
an "apostle of Christian liberty," as a
thinker, and a stimulator of thought.
— Features of the Oregon convention
this year, held at Turner, were addresses
by H. O. Breeden of Fresno, and a
series of sociological lectures by S. G.
Buckner, the new leader at North Yak-
ima, Wash. The attendance at this
year's convention was not large.
— After a ministry of three and a half
years at Orrville, Ohio, W. W. Johnson
has resigned there to accept a call to
the work at New Philadelphia, Ohio. He
will close his Orrville work the second
Sunday in September.
— Just before Myron L. Pontius left his
work at Central church, Jacksonville, 111.,
to serve as camp pastor at Camp Grant,
Rockford, some of the societies of the
church _ presented him with a portable
typewriter^ to be used in his work. Mr.
Pontius will return to Jacksonville Sept.
1. He is aiding the work at Central,
Rockford, during his stay there. William
Groves of Petersburg, 111., is supplying
the pulpit at Jacksonville during the
pastor's absence. The Jacksonville
church has seventy members in national
army and navy service.
— J. T. Bloom of the church at Palmy-
ra, Mo., has gone to Camp Travis, Tex.,
to take up duties as an army chaplain.
— C. C. Wisher of Camp Point, 111., is
occupying the pulpit at First church,
Bloomington, 111., during the absence
of Edgar DeWitt Jones for the month
of August. Dr. Jones has been speaking
at Bethany Assembly, in Indiana, and
is scheduled to speak at several Illinois
chautauquas during the month.
— A. B. Houze of Central church,
Bowling Green, Ohio, had 155 men pres-
ent in his Bible class on July 21.
— Kentucky will have a Christian En-
deavor camp Aug. 20-27, and Charles F.
Evans of Central church, Lexington, Ky.,
who is also southern field secretary of
Christian Endeavor, has charge of ar-
rangements.
NEW YORK
CENTRAL CHURCH
142 West 81st Street
Finis S. Idleman, Minister
— Vachel Lindsay is giving four re-
citals this week, Aug. 13-16, at the Uni-
versity of Chicago. The first recital was
on "The Gospel of Beauty"; the second
included "Verses for High Schools"; the
third, "Verses of Contemporary Ameri-
can Poets"; the last, "The Chinese Night-
ingale" and "Dramas for Impromptu Ac-
tors." Mr. Lindsay has already appeared
before audiences at the university with
great success.
— Robert Sellers, who recently re-
signed the work at Elwood, Ind., after
a ministry of about fourteen years, has
accepted a call to the pastorate at Peru,
Ind.
— In the election of members of the
Board of Trustees of Drake University
for the new year, four members of the
alumni were advanced to places on the
governing body of the school. The
men elected were John H. Booth, L. A.,
'07; George W. Graeser, Law, '02; D. S.
Kruidenier, L. A., '08, Law, '09, and
Fred W. Swanson, L. A., '07, Law, '08.
The offieers of the board are Keith
Vawter, chairman; D. H. Buxton, vice-
chairman; B. Frank Prunty, treasurer,
and George A. Jewett, secretary. The
additional members making up the ex-
ecutive committee are: R. S. Jones, W.
J. Goodwin, Howard J. Clarke, Lafay-
ette Higgins, George B. Peak and B. D.
Van Meter.
— Mrs. J. Miller Ice, minister at De
Land, 111., will assist her husband in a
meeting at Smyser, Moultrie county,
this month.
— It is reported that H. O. Pritchard,
president of Eureka College, has re-
ceived a call from the national board of
education of the Disciples of Christ to
act as secretary of the organization, at
a salary of $4,000 and expenses.
— Walter S. Athearn, professor of re-
ligious education, Boston, Mass., Uni-
versity, has recently undergone a seri-
ous surgical operation.
— R. H. Robertson, Illinois evangelist,
writes that C. W. Longman, of Albion,
111., had charge of the dedication service
of the new building at Ellery, and did
his work well.
MEMORIAL (Disciples and Baptists)
rUITArrt Sakwmd Blvd. West sf Callage Gran
lllllAuU Herbert U W2leo, RBnulet
— R. H. Fife and son Robert closed a
meeting at Mulkeytown, 111., reporting
sixty-seven additions to the church.
— C. R. Stauffer, of Norwood, O.,
church, is spending his vacation at his
old home, Delavan, 111.
— P. C. Macfarlane's series of articles
written from the war front are now ap-
pearing in the Saturday Evening Post.
A recent one had the title, "The Great-
est Game."
HOW DO YOU VOTE?
1. The Minister.
If you, as an active minister, are find-
ing it difficult to make ends meet in these
times of stress, how do you suppose it
must be with your fellow minister who
has been worn out in the service and
has no certain means of support? Can
you not realize what a blessing an as-
sured pension of $500 per year would be
to him? If you are in favor of having
such a pension for yourself when you
reach 65, whether incapacitated for work
or not, for your wife and minor children
in case of your death and for all of you
in the event of earlier disability, now is
the time to cast your vote by enrolling
in the new pension system. One out of
eight of your fellow ministers who are
eligible has done so.
2. Everybody Else.
J. E. Jeffries and wife voted to increase
the allowance of those who are on the
Relief Roll and to back up the younger
ministers who are enrolling for the fu-
ture benefits of the new pension system
by surrendering their annuity bond,
which they have held for the last three
years, so that the interest on the face
value of that bond may immediately be-
gin to count from year to year in the
present word of the board. Other in-
dividuals and churches have doubled their
previous offerings. Any such action is a
vote for the comfort of the veterans, the
efficiency of our active ministry and the
honor of the brotherhood.
In both votes July has been a record
breaking month. How do you vote?
Board of Ministerial Relief,
President, W. R. Warren,
106 E. Market St., Indianapolis, Indiana.
CHURCH EXTENSION OFFERING
The spirit of loyalty to the Board, and
interest in our work of Church Exten-
sion is constantly increasing among our
Ah for Catalogue aol Special Donation Plan No. 27
(Established 1858)
THE C. S. BELL CO., HILLSBORO, OHIO
BOVEE FURNACES
Plpeless and with Regular Piping
Sold at MANUFACTURERS' PRICES
24 years on the market. Last longer.
Use less fuel. Easy to install.
Send for full catalog and prices :: ::
BOVEE FURNACE WORKS
221 W. 8th Street. Waterloo, Iowa
HAMILTON COLLEGE
College Preparatory and Junior College
Courses. College certificate privilege. 50th
year. "The model junior college of the South."
Five teachers of music. Art, Expression and
Domestic Science courses. For catalogue
address
T. A. Hendricks, President Lexington, Ky.
Culver-Stockton College
a standard co-educational college located
high on the hills overlooking the Father of
Waters. Six major courses leading to A.
B. or B. S. degrees. Twenty-two teachers
and instructors. Also courses in Music,
Art, Expression and Economics. Modern
dormitory for young women. Board, room
and literary tuition $300 for 36 weeks.
JOHN H. WOOD, President
CANTON, MO.
"On the Mississippi"
W. PajsJ and clip for you daily everything
Tf C l\CdU prjntej m &e current country
and city press of America pertaining to he sub-
ject of particular interest to you.
Nowcnanare contain many items daily
eWSpaperS whkh woui/ jnform you
exclusively of where you can secure new bun*
ness, an order or a contract; where a new store
has been started, a new firm ncorporated or •
contract Is to be let. A daily press dipping
service msjans more business.
For YOU Send Stump for Booklet
The Consolidated Press Clipping Company
MANHATTAN BUILDING, CHICAGO
August 15, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
23
| brethren, as shown by the following
comparative statement of receipts one
year with another: The individual re-
j ceipts from October 1, 1917, to August 1
j of this year are $53,466.28, which, com-
j, pared to the amount of $43,573.10 re-
I ceived during the same period of time
I last year, shows a gain of $9,893.18. The
[receipts from churches from October 1,
( 1917, to August 1 of this year are $17,-
j 240.21, which as against $12,703.18 re-
ceived during the same period of tima
; last year, shows a gain of $4,477.03.
The literature has been sent out to
i all of our pastors and churches with a
! splendid Church Extension sermon by
'John E. Pounds of Hiram, Ohio. We
have also sent out wall charts which
we earnestly hope will be hung up in
all of our churches in a conspicuous
place for our people to see.
There was never an offering about
;\vhich there was greater anxiety as we
ilook to the September offering, begin-
ning Sunday, September 1. There is
the New York City Community House;
another that ought to be built in Chi-
cago next year.
There are churches in cities and
jtowns near cantonments and munition
'plants that need up-to-date equipment
fiike we gave Rockford, 111.; the 25th
iStreet church in Baltimore; Arcadia,
IFlorida; Hopewell, Virginia; Montgom-
ery, Alabama; Deming, New Mexico;
University Church, San Diego, and Lin-
toln Park, Tacoma, Washington, near
[Camp Lewis.
j More and more the permanency of
the Church Extension work is appar-
ent to our people. The efficient pastor
J<nows he cannot get along without the
Droper equipment which gives stability
jind respectability to a congregation.
^Therefore, because of past results and
future needs, the Board of Church Ex- Order supplies, literature and envel-
tension commands the confidence and opes. They are sent free. Send card to
respect of all Disciples. Let that be G. W. Muckley, Cor. Sec'y, 603 New
shown in a liberal offering in September. England Bldg-., Kansas City, Mo.
BIBLE COLLEGE OF MISSOURI Columbia, Mo.
Affiliated with University of Missouri. Mutual interchange of credits. Prepares
students for ministry, missions and social service. Supplies religious instruction to
State University students.
Session of University and Bible College opens August 30th and runs three terms of
sixteen weeks each, making it possible to crowd one and one-half years into one
year; or, to do a half year's work before Christmas, or between January 1st and
April 23rd, or from that time to August 1 5th.
For catalogues or information write. G. D. Edwards, Dean.
TRANSYLVANIA COLLEGE
AND
COLLEGE OF THE BIBLE
Transylvania has just closed a record year. Largest attendance of college students in her
history of one hundred and twenty years. Large group preparing for ministry, mission field
and public Christian service.
1.— Faculty unsurpassed in preparation, experience and teaching ability. Personal interest taken
im every student.
2.— Satisfactory electir* courses leading t* A.B., B.S., M.A., P.Th.B. and B.D. degrees.
3.— Adequate equipment in buildings, grounds, libraries, laboratories, gymnasium and athletic
field, representing $700,000.
4. — Situated in the- midst of the world-famed Blue Grass region.
5.— Opportunities for students to make a large part of expenses. Scholarship aid for sons and
da-ughers of ministers, high school honor graduates, ministerial and missionary students,
and those financially embarrassed. A large number of pulpits available for our ministerial
students.
<•— Expenses reasonable. All regular fees, including library athletic association, college
magazine, etc., $60. Furnished room for men (Ewing Hall), $40 for session; for women
(Lyons Hall), $60. Reservation fee of $2 should be sent at once.
7.— Faculty of College of the Bible: R. H. Crossfield, B. C. DeWeese, A. W. Fortune, W. C.
Bower, E. E. Snoddy, George W. Brown, Edward Saxon.
Former students are sending their sons and daughters to us.
Write for catalogues and attractive booklets.
Lexington, Ky.
R. H. CROSSFIELD, President
First Christian Church, Ogden, Utah.
Aided by $4,000 from our Church
Extension Fund.
A Dream Come True
Through Our
Church Extension Fund
The Veteran Superintendent of the Northwest, W. F. Cowden,
organized this church in 1 890. Help for pastors was variously
given by the American Society and the C. W. B. M. They
prospered some with Pastors John L. Brandt, Bro. Filmore,
Melvin Putnam and Galen Wood. The brethren say "The
Church in Ogden was up and down — mostly down."
THE TIME TO BUILD
Back in 1898 J. H. Horton became the Sower That Went Forth to Sow
He became friendly with the people; he did them good; he loved them and preached them into the kingdom,
lnat was the time to build when the people "had a mind to build." But—
No Church Extension Help Was Offered
The Church Should have been growing with the city's growth. But we
WAITED 19 YEARS
Our Regional Secretary, Chas. W. Dean, went to Ogden in 1916 and encouraged the church, held a meeting,
secured the help of The Church Extension Board and the A. C. M. S., with the result that the new building
was begun and dedicated in February 1917. Now the church is growing.
Help Church Extension Work in September by taking the offering. Order supplies of literature and envelopes from
G. W. MUCKLEY,
603 New England Bldg.,
Kansas City, Mo.
OF
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.
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 JESU.S. 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
"WAY OUT." YOU ARE INEXCUSABLY 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
1
FOR THE MEN AT THE FRONT
When you have finished reading this copy of
The Christian Century place a one-cent stamp
on Una corner and hand the magazine to any
postal employe. The Post Office will send It
to some soldier or sailor In our forces at the
front. No wrapping — do address.
Postmaster-general.
I
1
X
liiiinnwwiiii
Making Democracy Safe
for the World
By Charles H. Brent
Millenarian Misuse of
Scripture
By Herbert L. Willett
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 22, 1918
3
The 20th Century
Quarterly
For Adult and Young People's Bible Classes
Edited by Thomas Curtis Clark
Makers of the Quarterly:
John Ray Ewers
William Dunn Ryan
Herbert L. Willett, Jr.
Prof. W. C. Morro
The governing purposes in the preparation of this new Lesson Quarterly are two:
(1) To afford all necessary aids for a thorough and vital consideration of the Interna-
tional Uniform Sunday School Lessons; (2) To edit out all features of conventional
lesson quarterlies which are not actually used by and useful to the average class. This
quarterly is based upon many years' experience of the makers with the modern organ-
ized class.
Features of the Quarterly
Getting Into the Lesson. This department is
prepared by William Dunn Ryan, of Central
Church, Youngstown, O., who has one of the
most remarkable schools of adults in the coun-
try. Mr. Ryan presents the backgrounds of the
lesson.
Clearing Up Difficult Points. Herbert L. Willett,
Jr., whose extended experience and study in the
Orient have made him an able interpreter of
Scripture facts for modern students, has charge
of this department. His is a verse-by-verse
study.
The Lesson Brought Down to Date. The unique
work of John R. Ewers in straight-from-the-
shoulder adaptations of the Sunday school lessons
to today's life is too well known to call for ex-
planation. There is no other writer in the
Sunday school world today who approaches Mr.
Ewers in the art of making the Bible talk to
modern men.
The Lesson Forum. No man h better stated to
furnish lesson questions wittf both scholarly and
practical bearings than Dr. W. C. MorrO, of But-
ler College. His questions really count in the
consideration of lesson themes.
The lesson text (American revised versi on) and daily Scripture readings are printed
for each lesson. The Quarterly is a booklet of handy pocket size.
The Autumn issue of the Quarterly is now ready.
Send for free sample copy, and let us have your
order at once.
The Christian Century Press
700 East Fortieth St.
Chicago
An Undenominational Journal of Religion
Volume XXXV
AUGUST 22, 1918
Number 32
EDITORIAL STAFF: CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON, EDITOR; HERBERT L. WILLETT. CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
ORVIS FAIRLEE JORDAN. ALVA W. TAYLOR, JOHN RAY EWERS :: THOMAS CURTIS CLARK. OFFICE MANAGER
Entered as second-class matter, February 28, 1902, at the Post-office at Chicago, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
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EDITORIAL
T
What Will Win the War?
HE various slogans in use indicate the faith of
different people in certain features of our na-
tional program to bring victory. Soon after we
had entered the war we heard the note sounded, "Ships
will win the war." Now that we are delivering the
ships faster than the Germans can sink them, we are
not saying so much about this part of our program.
Others told us, "Food will win the war." The reason-
ableness of this argument struck us all. With our allies
producing thirty per cent less food than they need for
home use, it was apparent that America must make a
herculean effort to supply their wants.
But we have one of the banner crops of our history,
and still victory is not here, though it seems nearer than
a year ago. Is it not time to propose a new slogan,
"Religion will win the war"?
We can imagine two kinds of people shocked at
this suggestion, the professional pacifist and the old-
time orthodox. The pacifist, having erected peace into
some sort of absolute, now regards the activities of the
churches in behalf of the nation as a monster apostasy.
The old-time orthodox have had this conviction
that religion deals with quite another matter. They
hold that it is the business of religion now to prepare
dying soldiers to get to heaven. There is truly a min-
istry to the dying, but religion in the minds of the
thoughtful is a process of filling all of our daily life
with the religious spirit.
If it is right for us to have the victory, religion
ought to help win it. Religion is a builder of courage,
of patience, of cheerfulness and of faith. The elements
that make up the finest morale in a nation are essen-
tially religious in character. One side or the other will
after a while break in spirit. Religion in America may
build up the sense of a righteous cause and of a right
defense of this cause, and this will in surest measure
prove a defense to liberty and democracy throughout
the world.
The Faith of the Soldiers
THE trying conditions of the war strip men's
souls bare. The hypocrisies and conventionalities
that mask us even from our best friends now
drop off and each soul stands revealed in its true aspect.
The religious writers from the front have not yet
had time to study adequately the religious life of the sol-
diers or to analyze and interpret such studies. We have
chance allusions on the part of many writers which
make it possible to form some preliminary estimates of
just what this religious attitude is.
Much of the religion of the men at the front has
been described as natural religion. It has its root in
the desire for safety. Men who go into action seek the
protecting care of some deity, only dimly visioned in
faith, who shall bring them back again from their perils.
Many of those who develop this naturalistic religion
are experiencing for the first time anything like a re-
ligious attitude.
But this religion of naturalism may be rather
quickly transformed into a truly Christian attitude.
Donald Hankey tells of a man who lay in a shell hole
looking up at the stars and who felt utterly helpless.
As he was lying there, there came a strange new peace
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 22, 1918
to him. "God ! God everywhere," he said, and from that
day forward he had a new religious element in his life.
But even this experience lacks much of being the
full experience of the modern Christian. The soldiers
who have become centers for cheerfulness, kindness and
good-will have added to the prayers of religion a social
element which is essential to the well-rounded religious
life.
Probably the worship element in the soldier is
rather small, manifesting itself only in certain emergen-
cies. The religious life that is most common is the re-
ligion of the Y. M. C. A. hut, where we have a religion
of service expressing itself in deeds.
The religion the soldiers bring back from the
trenches will transform our churches. We need to
understand this fact, that we may be prepared to appro-
priate its strong qualities and supplement it where it is
weak.
Liberalism Winning
IT was an accident of history — if there are any acci-
dents of history — for which we are profoundly
grateful, that Great Britain entered the war under
a liberal ministry. The administration of Premier As-
quith had been in large measure the administration of
Lloyd George, who had inaugurated revolutionary re-
forms in behalf of the poor of his country.
At the outbreak of the war Americans were inclined
to look upon the contest as the struggle of kings for
place and power. It took time to reveal the war as a
struggle between great forces in the modern world, one
essentially progressive in its character and the other
conservative. The German empire stands for age-long
methods in government. Its frightfulness is only a
revival of older modes of administration which we had
hoped had disappeared from the world forever. On the
other hand, the liberals of the world in places of power
have been developing successfully a government which
proceeded not with arbitrary authority but by securing
the co-operation and good will of those who are gov-
erned.
In the long run, the religion which best fits the
social situation will tend to be favored by the people.
Should Germany win, there would be a great increase
of power for Roman Catholics and for dogmatic Protest-
ants. While the Pope has maintained an outward neu-
trality, he failed to protest the invasion and spoliation
of Belgium, though Cardinal Mercier made the most
earnest representations. His peace overtures have come
at times which favored German plans. In the long run,
every conservative force in the world both political and
religious would be helped by a German victory.
But Germany will not win. A new age of freedom
for the human race is about to dawn. Liberal govern-
ments throughout the world will feel that it is safe to
proceed with their plans for the improvement of the
conditions of the masses and for the extension of
democracy. And by the same token, the non-dogmatic
forms of religion are now about to come into their own.
Creeds and interpretations can no longer be imposed
by cardinals or autocratic Protestant church cliques.
Religion will be the expression of the free spirit of man.
The New Appreciation of Labor
THE war has brought decided changes in the
labor situation. Though the economic system
is rapidly altering to meet new conditions, there
have been fewer strikes than formerly. This is partly
due to government intervention in a number of essential
industries, but it is only fair to admit that it is in part
due to the patriotism of the workers themselves. They
have felt the urgency of the war situation and have
desired victory for the United States. The attitude of
labor in this country is much more commendable than
was the attitude of British labor at the opening of the
war.
Furthermore, the organized labor interests of
America have taken a firm stand against German propa-
ganda. Their answer to the British workingmen may
have been over-conservative, but it was wholesome for
that country. The loyalty of American workingmen
has brought a quickening of loyalty on the part of the
working people of the allied countries.
These facts alone would be sufficient to account for
a new attitude of friendliness in America for the labor
unions, but there are still more significant facts which
must be stated. We are made to realize that the work-
ing man is one of our most essential factors in modern
war. It takes ten men at home to serve a soldier abroad
and furnish the things needful for his warfare. Ship
builders and machinists have been especially valuable
factors in putting punch into the Foch drive this
summer.
Is not the war a time for reconciliation of the social
classes in our country? We are learning that no class
may be dispensed with in our industrial system. The
churches may well sound forth the message of recon-
ciliation at the approaching labor day season. It will
greatly advance the brotherhood of man to eliminate
the class feeling of the pre-war time.
God in Current Events
HUMANITY will never be satisfied with a deistic
God who created a world and then left it to its
own devices. The strength of the faith cults,
of the millennial sects, and of many another kind of fad
religion is that at their core is a faith in a God who does
things in the here and the now.
The old-time religionists cannot see God in other
than supernatural events. They must have God fur-
nishing good weather for allied cannonading or in other
ways interfering with the material order in a miraculous
way, to be sure that God is busy on our side. What
they do not see is that the established habits of God
are of more value to us than are special occurrences
which are of doubtful interpretation.
The religious man can find many wonderful things
at this present hour which are being wrought by none
other than the power of God. For a hundred years,
August 22, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
5
God has been at work preparing for this hour of amity
among the allied nations. A hundred years ago Great
Britain was still aristocratic in her make-up and her
common people had not learned the use of the House of
Commons. America had made a great declaration of
independence but was not yet aware of its full signifi-
cance. Italy was not yet born. Russia was the most
autocratic country in the world. But God has fostered
the same great ideas among all these peoples. Their
historic forms are different, but their political faith is
the same. The spiritual unity of these great nations
is one of the greatest miracles of the hour and is to be
counted among the supernatural events.
When we remember how the French and British
have held on through these hard years, not knowing
whether we would come in with them or not, but with
a wonderful faith in their cause, who kept them stead-
fast but God? In their stubborn resistance was a force
larger than anything created by statesmen.
We need not hesitate to claim that God actually
works in our modern world. He does not need to make
the sun stand still to win victories. His is a far more
subtle and powerful method of work. Not by power
nor by might, but by my spirit, saith the Lord.
The War Cities
WHILE the war has brought a measure of
change to every community, the changes in
some cities are of a revolutionary character.
In some cases the war industries are in fact creating
I new cities. In others, the camps and cantonments are
doubling or trebling the population contiguous to the
j cities with results that are often dangerous. When a
I camp with thirty thousand men settles down by the
;side of a village of eighteen hundred, the adjustments to
be made are enormous.
The Home Missions Council has a committee study-
ing the situation and a report will be made recom-
mending that the various denominational bodies take
Believe, O Friend
By Edwin Markham
IMPOSSIBLE you say that man survives
The grave — that there are other lives?
More strange, O friend, that we should ever rise
Out of the dark to walk below these skies.
Once having risen into life and light,
We need not wonder at our deathless flight.
Life is the unbelievable ; but now
That this Incredible has taught us how,
We can believe the all-imagining Power
That breathed the Cosmos forth as a golden flower,
Had potence in his breath
To plan us new surprises beyond death —
New spaces and new goals
For the adventure of ascending souls.
Be brave, O heart, be brave :
It is not strange man survives the grave :
'Twould be a stranger thing were he destroyed
Than that he ever vaulted from the void.
—The Nautilus.
action to meet the social and religious needs of these
communities. Perhaps in no way is a home missionary
society more needed than in meeting situations which
would not be met by local initiative. A new boom town
will not care for itself religiously in any adequate way.
The religious forces must go into these war cities
and help in the enforcement of the laws. These new
cities in the east can be just as abandoned in their life
as any boom city in the west ever was, unless the re-
ligious forces are there. Saloons, gambling hells, houses
of prostitution and other evil haunts spring up where
there is no corrective in the way of a religious force
in the community.
It is more in a constructive way, however, that the
home missionary societies will serve in the new com-
munities. They will undertake to supply quickly what
the community lacks, such as clean amusement and or-
ganized hospitality for visitors in addition to the more
distinctly religious activities. In some cases the war
industries and camps will go on for years after the war,
so that not all of the work done now for war cities will
be of a transient nature. The churches will undoubt-
edly respond generously to any call for these needy
communities.
The Value of Things Despised
A Parable of Safed the Sage
N' OW There is an Handmaiden of the Lord whom
I know and Honor, and she had an Accident, so
that her Arm was Bound Up in a Sling. And I
went to see her that I might Comfort her in her Afflic-
tion.
And I found her very Cheerful, for such is her
Wont.
And I asked her what ailed her Arm, and she an-
swered that she thought it was a Sprain, but that the
Physician had given it a name such as Physicians give
unto the ills of people who can afford it. And he told
her that it would be well in a Fortnight or Thereabout,
but meantime to be Careful, and look well to her Diet,
and have a Specialist examine her Tonsils, and have an
X-Ray made of her Teeth. For such is the habit of
Physicians.
And I said, I am glad that it will soon be well.
Meantime, be thou thankful that it is thy Left Hand.
And she answered and said, O Safed, art thou a
Wise man, and hast thou nothing better to say to me?
Behold, I have learned a better lesson than that.
And I asked her, What is the Lesson?
And she said, I am finding every blessed minute of
the day how few things I can do with my Right hand
alone. Wherefore, I am thanking God that all these
years I have had a good Left hand, as well as a Right.
And I meditated, and I said, Thou hast well said.
Well would it be for us all if we could learn thus the
value of the things we despise. For the Right Hand is
from God, and so also is the Left; and he who loveth
his Right Hand should not forget to thank God that He
hath given him the Left Hand also.
Millenarian Misuse of Scripture
A Study of Erratic Employment of the Bible in the Advocacy of Advent Speculations
Nineteenth Article in the Series on the Second Coming of Christ.
M
OHAMMED, the Prophet of Islam, paid the
Christians a high compliment when he called
them "the people of the Book." He had noted
with approval their devotion to their Scriptures ; and
he would have been well pleased if he could have fore-
seen the veneration, amounting to idolatry, with which
his Moslem followers came to regard the book he left
them. The study of the Bible is the most rewarding
of pursuits. And if one is to confine himself to the
study of one book, the Bible above all other volumes
should have that place. Yet there is timely warning
in the proverb, "Beware of the man of one book." And
the admonition is even the more needed when the Bible
is the one book to which a man limits his attention.
For no man ever understood the Scriptures who con-
fined his studies to them alone.
Such a warning is particularly timely when it
applies to the advocate of millenarian views. For the
Bible requires some adequate knowledge of the back-
ground of Hebrew history, manners, practices, tradi-
tions, superstitions and delusions to enable its readers
to follow with intelligence its rich and varied pages.
Nothing is less likely to lead to sound understanding
of its teachings than the application of Greco-Roman
and occidental categories of thinking and speech to a
literature which is oriental to its last fibre. And the
very flowering of oriental mysticism out of the rich soil
of Israel's life in the last centuries of the nation's
existence was this singular product which we know
as apocalypticism. To impose upon the literature of
this romantic and picturesque movement the logical
and ordered definitions of our western thinking is
either to reduce it to a feeble and foolish cabalism or
to transform it into a mysterious and awful system of
portents, of which the few who count themselves
initiated alone may claim the key. This second fate
has befallen the Bible at the hands of millennialists.
HAS THE BIBLE AN ESCHATOLOGICAL PROGRAM ?
One of the signal proofs of the divine origin and
nature of the Holy Scriptures is their ability to survive
the fantastic interpretations which eager but unfur-
nished exponents have imposed upon them. In no
regard is this more true than in the perennial emergence
of the Bible from the mass of apocalyptic theories with
which it has been overlaid in various periods of its
history. And if the process of disengagement from
obscurantism is restricted in the present age, and loses
somewhat its importance and necessity even in dramatic
times like these, it is only because a sounder method
of Bible study has removed the soil from the roots of
these rank weeds that have tended in less intelligent
periods to obscure the messages of prophets, apos-
tles, and our Lord himself.
The first error into which the devotees of adventism \
and kindred speculations fall is the belief that the Bible 1
discloses a definite program of future experience. This!
may take the form of a deliberate outline of historical:
happenings from the times of our Lord to the end of!
the world, or age, whenever that is to be; or it may be |
merely a scheme of final things from the day when
Jesus is to return, or when the millennium is to begin,
on to the final stage of the great drama. For it must
be clearly kept in mind that the programs offered by
these eschatologists are as numerous as the writers
themselves. It would be difficult to find any two of
them agreeing at all points. Yet each one is confident
that his own scheme of future events is the true one.
The different schools of pre-millenarians argue with
spirit and enthusiasm against each other's theories,
joining only in the happy certainty that all post-mil-
lennialists, and all who have no millennialistic tenden-
cies, are in error.
The simple fact, however, impresses itself increas-,
ingly upon the student of the Scriptures, that while the j
various writers of our Bible had their own views as to
the last things, and sometimes expressed them in the
progress of their teaching upon the more vital points
of the faith, they did not agree among themselves on
this minor theme, and the Bible itself nowhere presents
any clear and authoritative outline as to the time or
manner of the end. As has been shown in these studies,
beyond the possibility of denial, the most of the New
Testament writers expected the coming of the Lord
and the end of the world in that generation. Some of
them, like Paul, had certain definite notions, which they
did not hesitate to state, yet even the great apostle gave
them a subordinate place in his own thinking and in his
preaching. Others, like John the Revelator, had a muchj
more elaborate plan, to which he gave an unquestioned!
importance in his scheme of the imminent close of the!
world order. But these two plans of Paul and the
Apocalypse have little in common, and can be combined
into one series of events only by dealing violently with
one or the other, or with both. Yet this Procrustean
method is the very one at which no millennialist hesi-
tates. And herein lies the proof of the unjustifiable
use of the Bible in the advocacy of any such scheme.
PURPOSE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE BIBLE
The Holy Scriptures have their purpose and their
limitations. Their purpose is the disclosure of the
nature and plans of God, as they were understood by
the prophets of Israel, and brought to fuller manifesta-
tion by our Lord. In the process of that disclosure the
writers made use of their own knowledge of events,
their intellectual inheritance from the past, and what-
ever of their Jewish beliefs and traditions seemed of
August 22, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
value in the new experience, and not inconsistent with
their Christian faith. Among these Jewish legacies was
this one of apocalypticism. It had proved of value in
dark days in the past. It offered suggestions for the
strengthening of Christian courage in the difficult times
through which the church of the first century was com-
pelled to pass. But these apocalyptic hopes were only
the by-products of a declining religion, and were in no
degree a part of the inner texture of the new and won-
derful Christian message which was taking its place in
the world. Such expectations of present and catastro-
phic success for the church were not without worth in
keeping alive the confidence of many members of the
first community of believers. But they were superficial
at best, and destined to be corrected by the experiences
of the centuries to come.
The Bible presents many partial pictures of future
blessedness, as the simple and undefinable fact of
eternal life, so constantly kept in the forefront of the
teachings of the Master and the apostles, gave warrant
for doing. But the details of time and manner were
never known, and therefore they could not be disclosed.
Our Lord himself was anxious to let the disciples know
that these matters were beyond even his knowledge,
and in the keeping of God alone. As Professor Henry
Drummond wrote, "The program of the future life has
not yet been issued." And if it had been, there is no
speech nor language in which we could understand it.
The experiences of the new life of the spirit, freed from
the limitations of the flesh, will be as much beyond the
powers of our present minds to think or our present
speech to describe as would be the wonder and activity
of the present life to the unborn child, alive to be sure
and dimly conscious and feebly animate, but incapable
as yet of the great adventure of living.
Yet of course there is no method of restraining the
capricious and imaginative mind, anxious to spell out
future mysteries, from the nervous search of the Bible
for foretokens of the end. The writers of the Scriptures,
both the Old and New Testaments, were so saturated
with the figurative and oriental spirit that they have
left on record vivid representations of both historical
and imaginative events on which the searchers for
dramatic clothing for futurist hopes have seized with
avid spirit. And these passages of Scripture, torn from
their contexts, and robbed of all the meaning which
their writers and their earlier readers found in them,
are employed to furnish forth the motley portrayal of
millennialist speculations.
MILLENNIAL CLAIMS
Attention has been given, in the section on the
Millennium in this series, to the isolated and sporadic
nature of the references made in the one brief section
of the Apocalypse to the thousand years of the reign
of Christ upon the earth (Rev. 20:1-6). There is not
another allusion to such a doctrine in all the Bible from
beginning to end. The millenarians feel the force of
this isolation of their favorite text and attempt to
strengthen their position by the assertion that one text
is as good as many, for all are inerrent and authoritative.
But conscious that this is not a very convincing state-
ment, they affirm with astonishing assurance that the
millennnial doctrine is taught in many other parts of
the Scripture. In justification of this unwarranted
claim they cite the sevenfold order of the days of
creation, and appeal to that long suffering and misused
text, 2 Peter 3 :8, "A thousand years is as one day, and
one day as a thousand years." Far from affording the
least basis for the millennialistic speculation, this verse
boldly affirms that there is no such thing with God as
measuring time by human standards, for long and short
spaces are alike to him. The very last meaning that
could be imposed on this verse would be that of a fixed
notation, such as is required by the theory.
One writer on the millennium quotes the threats
of Isa. 24:22 against the foes of God in his day, that
the kings and high ones shall be shut up like prisoners
in a pit, and after many days they shall be visited and
punished, and solemnly insists that the "many days"
are the thousand years of the millennium. When once
the sober principle of a historical interpretation is
abandoned, books like Zechariah, Ezekiel, Daniel and
Revelation become the happy hunting ground of a
method of interpretation at once erratic and irrational,
now literalistic and now completely imaginative. For-
tunately the Bible cannot be injured by this process.
It emerges from every fresh assault of the apocalyptists
fresh and luminous. But in the meantime the deluded
disciples of the method are fed with the husks of vision
and fancy, when in the Father's house there is bread
enough and to spare.
PERVERSIONS OF SCRIPTURE
Nothing could exceed the audacity and persistence
with which the language of the Bible, no matter how
used or when employed, is appropriated to the exploita-
tion of eschatological notions by those wh oventure into
these speculative regions. The fundamental questions
of all legitimate Bible study, — "Who wrote this pas-
sage? When did he write it? To what group did he
address himself? What did he mean by what he
wrote? and, What did his first readers understand by
his words?" — seem never to suggest themselves to the
promoters of millennialist literature. The sober con-
sideration of almost any of these ryestions in connection
with most of the passages useu to buttress the ad-
ventistic theory would demolish the fabric of fancy, and
save the candid student from the common mistakes of
the order.
It is not an easy or profitable task to examine the
mass of books and pamphlets that have found their way
into print in the furtherance of these apocalyptic views.
Yet there is no better way to exhibit the ruthless and
brutal manner in which the Bible is handled by men of
this sort than to give a few out of hosts of illustrations
that might be cited. And it must be kept in mind that
the instances presented are not extreme cases, but such
as make evident the perversity with which a book whose
purpose is plain and whose interpretation is not diffi-
cult, is handled. From the wilderness of misquotation
8
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 22, 1918
which millennialist propaganda presents the following
are taken almost at random:
The writer of Deuteronomy 33 :2 presents a stately
and impressive picture of the march of Jehovah at the
time of the exodus through the desert with his people
from Sinia to Zion. Millennialists quote this passage
as a proof that Moses foresaw and described the second
coming of Christ. Isaiah's promise to his people that
in the future time of good the king of Judah shall reign
in righteousness and the princes of the royal house rule
with judgment (Isa. 33:1) is presented as an instance
of prophetic vision of the second advent of Jesus. The
psalmist who composed Psalm 72 pictured the ap-
proaching prosperity of Israel under a wise and power-
ful king. This is seized upon as a passage in proof of
the second coming of Christ. Jeremiah, rebuking the
nation for its waywardness, predicted an early chastise-
ment of Jerusalem, and a time of good to follow, when
the nations should look to the holy city for direction
(Jer. 3:17). This is claimed by millenarians as a proof
text in support of the doctrine of the thousand years of
happiness under the personal reign of Jesus in Jerusa-
lem. Ezekiel in Babylon described to his fellow exiles
the city of Zion that was soon to be rebuilt in greater
glory than ever upon their return to Palestine (Ezek.
chapts. 42, 43). This passage is made the prediction of
the building of the temple in Jerusalem at the second
advent. Micah's promise that the former dominion of
the city, which he calls the "tower of the flock," is to
return in the days that are to follow the exile (Mic. 4:8),
is made an assurance of the second advent and reign
of Jesus upon earth. Zephaniah's denunciation of Judah
and the neighboring lands (Zeph. 2:3, 3:8) included the
vivid oriental threat that the earth should be devoured
in the fire of the divine jealousy. This is pressed into
service as a forecast of the second coming.
The merest tyro in biblical literature knows at a
glance that there is not the remotest reference to the
second advent in one of these passages, or a score of
others that might be cited from the list worked and
overworked in the interest of the millenarian theory.
In the days when all portions of the Bible were regarded
as of equal authority, and the distinction between the
various portions had not been recognized as important,
such crude appropriation of Old Testament utterances
to the eschatological anticipations of New Testament
saints might have passed as permissible, although one
would have to go far back in the history of biblical
science to find standing room for so crude a practice.
But in days of fair intelligence like these men are
called upon to repent of these unscrupulous perversions
of Scripture. There are only two principles on which it
is possible to account for such indefensible treatment
of biblical texts. One is a deliberate intent to do vio-
lence to the plain teachings of the Scripture. The other
is such intellectual inability to understand the basic
elements of biblical literature and history. There is no
comfort in believing that millenaria are morally de-
linquent more than others. The second explanation
therefore alone remains.
The literature of pre-millennialism is voluminous.
Illustrations of the general theory and method of the
various groups will be found in the books and pamphlets
of Seiss, Kellogg, Andrews, Silver, Gaebelein, Gray and
Blackstone, and in the reports of so-called prophetic
conferences, held in Chicago and elsewhere. The errors
and dangers of the various millennialist theories are
presented in such works as those of Brown, Young,
Berg, Eaton, Sheldon, Eckman, Mathews and Case.
The closing study of this series will deal with the
Activities and Menace of Millennialism.
Herbert L. Willett.
"The Baby Who Never Had
Smiled"
They called him the Baby Who Never Had Smiled.
The lady doctor found him in one of the factory dispens-
aries to which her Red Cross automobile climbed twice a
week, in a smoky manufacturing village near the Amer-
ican front in France, so near, that the fire from the
guns flashed on the sky at night and on still days when
the fighting was heavy the "boom boom" itself could
be plainly heard.
At noon the women from the factory brought in
the babies for the lady doctor to see — and for some babies
she gave medicine and for others advice and still others
she took in her car back to the big barracks, once a mil-
itary school, now marked with huge red crosses in the slate
of their roofs to show strolling German aviators that they
were a hospital.
"But your baby does not look very well," she said
in correct American French to one woman who brought
forward a year-old mite.
"No, madame," said the woman shyly. "He has
never been well. First his eyes have been sore, then he
has a rash, and I must be nearly always in the factory
and can not take much care of him. He is always sick,
and he is not like my other children — madame, he never
has smiled!"
THEN THE CHANGE BEGAN
So the lady doctor took him to the hospital and had
him bathed and put to sleep in a crib in one of the long
white-washed rooms of the barracks. He spent weeks
looking wisely at the nurses who brought him his food
and gave him his bath. His two dozen compatriots in the
ward weren't a very happy looking lot ; most of them, too,
come from the little villages of the frontier where war
bore heavily on the mother and children whom a poilu
father had had to leave behind; but as their cheeks grew
plumper and pinker they learned to gurgle with joy at the
sight of an approaching milk-bottle and to catch the nurse's
finger gleefully.
"Never you mind," she would say, shaking that same
finger at him, "we'll make a real baby out of you yet in spite
of yourself." But he would only look at her like a wise
little old man.
Other babies in the ward had names and when the
night nurse came on she would say :
"Has Georgette been good today and eaten all her
August 22, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
meals properly?" or "I think Guillaume can go back to his
mother next week, don't you?" But, though he had a card
at the head of his bed with a name on it, no one ever used
it. The other doctors would say, "How about that baby
of yours that never has smiled?" "Has he laughed yet?"
And the nurse would answer, "Not yet, but just you wait
till he gets eight ounces fatter and see if he doesn't."
Parents come to visit on Sunday, and almost every
week his mother went through the complicated formali-
ties of even a short journey in the war zone and came toil-
ing up the hill to the hospital. She rejoiced in the added
ounces, in the vigorous fashion in which he could kick, in
approaching teeth and other technical details. She was a
tired little woman in black, but her face would light up as
she sat for hours beside his crib, prattling to him about
his father in the army, his uncle who had fallen at Ver-
dun (just over yonder, she would show the nurse pointing
across the hills out the window) and about his older
brothers and sister at home. But one day a glorified vision
of the mother flew toward the nurse when she came to an-
nounce that visiting time was over — there were tears of
happiness in her eyes — and she pointed incoherently to the
crib where the Baby Who Had Smiled was belying his
name with a broad infantile chuckle that showed unex-
pected dimples in his plump cheeks and puckered his mouth
invitingly.
"See," said the mother, "only see ! You of the Ameri-
can Red Cross have made my baby smile !"
Making Democracy Safe for the World
By Charles H. Brent
Senior Headquarters Chaplain of the American Expeditionary Forces in France
HE is a small man and but slimly endowed with
courage who does not exult and thank God for
having matched him with this, God's hour. It
is neither presumptuous nor mad to face the world of
today with fearlessness and expectancy. It is the normal
temper of the Christian to look up and lift up his head
in all times and all places but especially when hostile
forces set their battle array. Unless we are reading the
signs of the times amiss, the Kingdom of Heaven is
close at hand, closer than we think, and some new phase
of redemption draweth nigh. Nearness, however, is of
no value unless its contents are seized and appropriated
by skilled and courageous hands. This is not a mystical
and paradoxical assertion but one borne out by an in-
creasing volume of undeniable fact.
THE WAR IS A WEAPON
In the first place, a salutary whirlwind is sweeping
through the world, bearing both life and death in its
tearing, scorching breath. It is purifying and burnishing
that which is durable and clean; it is withering and
demolishing that which is unstable and unclean. The
war is not the whirlwind. It is rather its weapon, un-
sheathed by man but wielded by God. The whirlwind
is the fiery Spirit of God in a passion of love, bent on
revealing the good and destroying the bad. He is so
gentle that no grain of gold is lost in the process ; so
furious that no grain of dross escapes his wrath as he
comes flying on the sombre wings of war.
We have suddenly learned what a faulty and unre-
liable thing civilization as we have known it hitherto
was. We had outgrown it and did not know it. Our
loyalty to mere continuity was our undoing. We re-
sisted radical change as though the fault of those who
advocated it was that they were too extreme, whereas
the truth of the matter was that they were not extreme
enough. Now we see gasping in the grip of death the
civilization which cajoled us into paying it divine hon-
ors. Its soul will live, but its body will die and rise
again after the refinement of death, if we so will. Our
part is not to try to keep it alive as it was, but to help
it to die and win fresh life out of death. "What we are
striving for is a new international order, based upon the
broad universal principles of right and justice — no mere
peace of shreds and patches."
The struggle today is through victory to a righteous
and enduring peace — peace, not in the cold sense of
cessation of war, but of a structural and temperamental
change in the whole social order that will make war
impossible. Nothing else will suffice. We can accept no
terms of peace from the enemy that are not the repudia-
tion of tyranny and the acknowledgment of his crime.
But we, too, must admit where we are wrong. War
will be inevitable so long as the framework and temper
of the community life in small as well as in large units
is chiefly competitive and aggressively self-assertive.
We cannot hope to have international harmony, how-
ever fine the machinery of achieving it may be, if the
principles of national life remain untouched and un-
changed.
WHAT AFTER THE WAR?
It is of vital importance that this should be made
clear without delay and without equivocation. We must
know now exactly what we are going to do with peace
when we return to our firesides again. Unless we do,
we cannot insure morale sufficient to sustain us through
conflict to victory. Our soldiers are radically different
from those of the Central Powers. Ours are citizens
first and soldiers second ; citizens always, soldiers for a
moment; soldiers only so far as arms are an indispens-
able means of securing freedom for the exercise of citi-
zenship. Whereas theirs are soldiers first and citizens
second ; the State is force and the first duty of the citi-
10
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 22, 1918
zen is, according to the logic of the definition, to be a
soldier : the contention that Prussia is an army in char-
acter and a nation in name is not an empty epigram
but a self-confessed fact. The professional soldier and
the professional politician have a common motto : "To
the victors, the spoils." For the German it may be suffi-
cient to inspire him with the expectation of victory as
the final goal, because he is out for spoils. It is different
with our Allies and ourselves. We are soldiers only for
a season, and presently, please God, we shall be citizens
with nothing of the soldier about us but a soldier's mem-
ory.
We must know what lies beyond in our national
life. No one wishes to recall the old order. Everyone
counts the emergency or ad interim order tolerable only
until peace comes. So we must think straight, see
clearly, and plan wisely. If we get the main features of
life properly trimmed to a true plan in the lesser groups
within our power, the larger unity will almost be a
necessity flowing out of the other. A stable and right-
eous peace will make the world safe for democracy.
But we must, conversely, make democracy safe for the
world.
SOCIETY TO BE RESHAPED
There is the big task ready at hand for every citi-
zen— we must determine what we are going to do na-
tionally with peace when it is won, as won it must be.
Those who think ahead will hold the future in the hol-
low of their hand. The time of preparation, however
prolonged, will be all too short for the stupendous task
of reshaping society fundamentally. Democracy is not
a form of government; it is a principle of society. It
determines the disposition and framework of govern-
ment as one phase of social order. But it goes infinitely
beyond statecraft. It is not extravagant to say that, un-
less our citizen soldiers are inspired with a satisfactory
view of national as well as international democracy of
tomorrow, they will not have enough impetus to win
this war. And, even if they did, international peace
would probably have as its immediate sequence national
revolution and disorder. It is, however, a matter of
principles rather than platforms.
The first need of our own country is a more demo-
cratic conception of the whole of society. It is a defect
of democracy, as we have known it, that it has been
translated too exclusively into terms of government.
Lincoln did not intend his Gettysburg epigram to be a
complete or a final definition of democracy, if indeed he
thought of it as a definition at all. Democracy is, politi-
cally considered, government of, by, and for the people.
The sort of people who compose the government de-
termines the sort of government which will ensue. It
will be good, bad, or indifferent according as the people
are good, bad, or indifferent. There have been more
pains spent in the American Republic to make the vote
universal than to make the voter intelligent and clean.
Democracy is in its largest sense the complete develop-
ment of the complete capacity of complete man. Noth-
ing short of it is sufficient for the opportunity.
Whatever may be the defects of the Army, it puts
a conception of complete manhood before the glitter
and tinsel of accidental and superficial accessories and
acquirements. The German conception of the soldier is
a perfect military machine: the American, a complete
man with a well trained body, a clean soul, and a free
mind. The German conception of a soldier's duty is to
obey the State. The American, to serve the common-
wealth. The German purpose is to enslave. The Ameri-
can, to set men free. It is plain that, if this analysis be
true, the war is between the soldier and the citizen. The
former fights to militarize the world, the latter to en-
franchise it.
There is, of course, a danger of militarizing our
citizens. Yet there is absolutely no excuse for it. Mili-
tarization is the creation of military skill without regard
to the means employed, provided a good fighting ma-
chine is the result. Its ethics are determined by neces-
sity, not by principle. It is the creation of a mechanical
brute, whose chief equipment is force and whose chief
occupation is destruction.
The nation is being educated in the comprehensive
school of mankind and a public conscience on the sub-
ject is in preparation which will control society more
and more. The one thing for us to attempt to do is to
translate Democracy into terms of the Kingdom of God
as revealed in the uncontroverted portion of the teach-
ing of Jesus Christ, and to read into civil life virtues
some of which have become a commonplace in the
Army.
A HOPEFUL SIGN
There are indications that men are beginning to
think in terms of the whole race. For instance, the an-
nouncement at base camps in the British Expeditionary
Forces, where there are huge aggregations of men, that
a missionary subject will be presented, insures packed
audiences of men who listen breathlessly to the last
word. This is the record of a common experience and
not a snap judgment from exceptional occasions. As a
matter of fact, one explanation of missionary apathy
in the past is that men have not been educated in the
school of necessity to think in terms of the race. Our
American custom has been too much to think sectionally
for three years, nationally for one, and internationally
only when compelled to do so. For the first time in his-
tory, entire nations are beginning to think internation-
ally. We have a great distance to travel yet before this
becomes a universal and controlling habit of mind, but
it has gone far enough to preclude the possibility of
any democratic country from sinking back into habits
of insularity.
America is beginning to think and act internation-
ally. She can no more cease from progressing in this
direction than she can revert to colonial life. Our prin-
ciples of government are so deeply set that our State
Department is bound to be affected tremendously in all
future handling of foreign affairs by a nation which in a
first hand way is rapidly becoming interested in and
acquainted with international affairs. The Society of
Nations will be an impregnable guardian of peace only
when or if the conduct of foreign affairs is as much
August 22, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
11
and as intelligently democratised as the domestic de-
partments of government. The purity and truthfulness
of the daily press are in this connection of more vital
importance than its freedom.
THE ULTMIMATE AIM OF THE WAR
Towering above everything else today is the grow-
ing conviction that the ultimate aim of this war is to
give room in society for the Kingdom of God to dwell
— the plain advocacy and application through the
Church of those principles of Christian brotherhood
which are steadily capturing the imagination and sway-
ing the conduct of rapidly increasing numbers of men
who have not counted their lives dear unto themselves.
The things which, as they say, we have asked men to
die for must be so fused with common life as to make
men ready to live for them. The Church and the State,
which have expected and executed the great sacrifices
of our citizens which make every day in the year a
saint's day, must, when the immediate purpose for
which the sacrifices were demanded shall have been
gained, present to the citizen such a programme of
progress and richness as will be recognized by all to
compensate for and be commensurate with the pain and
loss sustained. There must be a joy set before us which
will inspire us to endure the Cross and despise the
shame of the moment. It must be worked out and pre-
sented now. Tomorrow is too late for it. Now is the
day of salvation.
It is inspiring and comforting to realize that, if we
put the practical inauguration of the Kingdom of God
I among men as the ultimate aim of this war, we are not
| impeded from beginning the process forthwith. The
Kingdom of God has as one of its main characteristics
nearness. It is always available and outward conditions
cannot exclude it. We can begin today committing our
lives to its strong tide. Its restraints and inspirations,
individual and social, are here, at hand, for the day, the
hour, the moment. Again, it is not even dependent upon
victory for its own highest triumph. Indeed, in the later
statements of the aims of the war there have been elim-
inated elements that, had they stood, might have im-
peded rather than have aided the progress of a Kingdom
whose roots are buried in the soil of meekness, humility,
forgiveness, and love. The Kingdom of God is never so
completely at home as in defeat and humiliation. Other-
wise the Cross means nothing. The slow torture of
Belgium has made place for the Kingdom in that nation
now.
But, of course, the final expression for which we
[wait is a society as wide as mankind, marked by the
nain principles of the teaching of Christ. Between now
ind then there may be many ad interim defeats. Those
ire best able to use victory who have proved themselves
ible to use defeat to high advantage.
THE HANDICAP OF DIVIDED CHRISTIANITY
There is no lesson which the churches are learning
n the war zone of greater importance than the impo-
ence of our divided Christianity. It is absurd to aim
t a united mankind, or even a united Christian civiliza-
tion, and to be content with a divided Church. Many
are feverishly anxious for something to be done to
bring us together, but the moment for action is slipping
by without action. Surely, surely, there must eventu-
ally be two peace tables, one of the exhausted nations,
the other of the exhausted churches. To have the former
without the latter would mean that the spiritual vision
and the moral conscience of the nations were superior
to those of the churches. So far as the churches are
concerned, if all of them will not gather at call in the
name of Christ, the only solid foundation for the pres-
ent, the sole hope of the future, at least those should
gather who are ready and willing. There is enough
catholic love, scholarship, impartiality, and intelligence
in our ranks to safeguard and present the position of
any absentees. The broken soul of the broken human
family must give place to a whole soul in a whole fam-
ily.
Unity in a real sense according to the mind of
Christ, and not according to my mind or yours, is so
elemental a phase of the Gospel that without it the
Gospel is a force making not for order but for confu-
sion. A confused Church will be a potent factor in
maintaining a confused world. I see no glimmer of
hope for permanent and fraternal peace among the
nations without at least as permanent and fraternal a
peace among the churches.
We, a complex and shattered world, stand face to
face with the simple and only God. We view him as
complex and try to reach him by complex methods.
His simplicity is not found as a condescension, but as
the supreme splendor of his character. When he is
simple toward us, he rises, he does not stoop. When
men and nations and churches shall have become as
simple as his only laws, the two laws of love, require
us to be, then the kingdoms of this world will become
the Kingdom of God and of his Christ.
Keep the Home Fires Burning
By L. E. Lakin
WE have challenged the most formidable foe that
ever went forth to enslave the race. They have
been schooled to murder. They have come to
respect nothing but power. To destroy and to kill is their
religion. Such fiendish instruments of torture the dark
ages were never able to produce. German "Kultur" sur-
passes all the heathenism that has gone before. This is
our enemy, this the task.
To accomplish this task we have chosen our best.
They are the choice of our communities, our churches, our
homes. They were our strength ; we relied upon them.
They were our hope. Without them the morrow must be
dark and lonely. We offer these, our boys, to serve our
homes, our land, our age.
A brilliant thinker has said: "If I read God's history
aright, civilization and Christianity have not come from the
survival of the fittest, but by the ascrifice of the best."
The story of Curtius represents the method of the world's
12
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 22, 1918
advancement. A great gulf suddenly opened in the city
of Rome. The Oracle declared: "That which is most
precious to Rome must be surrendered." The people
brought their wine, their wheat, and their jewels, but the
great gulf only yawned and cried for more. Finally Cur-
tius threw himself into the abyss, saying: "That which
is most precious to Rome is Rome's manhood.'' And the
gulf was closed, and the city was saved.
They go — our best. This is the old world's way, and
the old world's way must be.
We honor these, our chosen men. We honor all who
are serving us, no matter from what land they come, but
have double honor for those who go from us, and espe-
cially from our own church communities. We love them.
Their number will increase.
These are no idle words; from our heart we speak
them :
Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee,
Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears,
Our faith triumphant o'er our fears,
Are all with thee— are all with thee.
With our boys our hearts will be. That they may do
well their part and safely return is our ardent hope. If
they must pay the price, may the Father take them with
the "Well done." They will have served their country,
humanity and their God. And then back from the front
there comes a message. It is not the message of fear as
to what may happen there. The message reads like this :
"Sherman was right when he spoke of war. These scenes
beggar description. Try to think of humanity's sorrows
and sufferings from the beginning of time and you may
have some idea of the daily toll that this war exacts. To
you back home there we must look for daily help. To you
(and there is pathos in that expression), to you must the
future look. For God's sake, keep the home fires burning."
This is the message from the front : Keep the home fires
burning.
Keep the shop open and the old factory going. It
may not be financially profitable. You may have to run
with a half force. But what matters that? You will lose
but little. And when the boys come home, you have an
opening for them. If you quit business now, when the
boys return they will be without work. Positions will be
scarce and applicants many. Our problems will not be
solved with the coming of peace. Hard years will still be
before us. They will be years of readjustment. Keep the
home fires burning then. That will help when the boys
come home.
We see a tendency here and there to limit our char-
itable and educational work. Such an agitation developed
in England at the beginning of the war. But sane judg-
ment said : Don't ! We might as well face defeat today at
the hands of the Germans as to face defeat twenty years
hence at the hands of German "Kultur." For to close the
schools would be simply a welcome to ignorance and bar-
barity. And may this sane judgment of England govern
our policy in its relations to our schools and charitable
institutions. If we read correctly the message from the
front it is : Keep the home fires burning.
In the past we may have regarded the Church lightly
and spiritual forces as puerile, but that day is past. We
must down with that chorus : The world is growing worse ;
it is at its worst. Evil men are growing worse, deceiving
and being deceived. But there is a spiritual force that is
stronger than ever before. Just read a letter from the
front and you willbe convinced. The writer, when here,
thought but little of the Church and the message that it
brought, but he is thinking now. He urges Mother to be
more faithful, and Father to be true to the Eternal Cause,
and his reason is : "There is nothing that counts but God."
Keep the home fires burning — and do not forget the
altar fires !
Jackson, Miss.
M
A Failure of Old Ideals
By Nicholas Velimivovic
EN are seeing dimly through the smoke of battle
the failure of their old ideals. They built high
hopes a century ago on the assertion of the'
"rights of man" and the "rights of nations." The first
were to be secured by good laws and institutions; the
second by well-balanced treaties. What has come of it
all? Every man for himself: capital against labor and
labor against capital; every nation in Christendom try-
ing to secure its trade against the rivalry of all the rest.!
"In holding fast to rights we have lost sight of duties,
and above all, of the supreme duty of service and sacri-
fice." May we not pray that consideration for the inter-J
est of others, which we all commend in individuals, may,
by the grace of God, become the "leading light and solidj
principle in international relations"; that nations mayj
learn to serve one another, help one another, not merely
in distress, but in all that furthers growth and prog-j
ress — converted at last to the belief that this is really
the best policy?
These are great thoughts, and most of us have smal
influence. But we can pray continually, hopefully, foi
those in power, that their eyes and hearts may bf|
opened to the vision of the glory of God. Noble hearts;
many of them ;. not far from the Kingdom of God. W<|
need ask only this one thing; we need have no theories,
about what they ought to do ; only pray that they ma)
see the glory of God. Let us kneel down in a grea'j
quietness of spirit and bring before our minds, one t>3j
one, those who have power among the nations — thos<j
we call enemies as well as those we call friends. Kneel]
ing beside them so, in as full sympathy with each ow
as we can attain by our knowledge of their helps anc
hindrances, let us call up before us the vision of th<
"glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." Then pray
"Lord, open this man's eyes that he may see."
It is a selfish religion that grows querulous at its own coldnes
and cannot stir the will till it attains a rapture. Our sole busines
is to abide and serve, to keep our assigned place and grow.— Jami
Martineau.
Whoever would strike effective strokes for truth and ide;
must be afoot often and early to impart the stuff of things int
his thoughts : we must take the seasons into us if we will live i
earnest and take life with the zest that life is.— Thoreau.
Labor Day in War Times
Making Democracy
Safe for Labor
We cannot make the world safe for democracy without ex-
tending democracy to the world of labor. There can be no real
and continuing political democracy without an industrial democ-
racy. If we fight for the rights of oppressed nations we must
also fight for the rights of oppressed classes within the nations.
We cannot make the world safe for democracy without making
democracy safe for the world. It is as true today as in Lincoln's
day that a house divided against itself cannot stand. Lincoln
spoke of a political division in the house in uttering that famous
phrase, but he also saw the class division and warned of its
perils. The great Emancipator was not an academic economist
and doubtless knew little of the books on that subject, but he
had a naive, almost intuitional wisdom in regard to all things
human and his declaration that labor is the source of all wealth
was far nearer the truth than were the postulates of the schools
of Adam Smith and Ricardo. Lincoln was not a Marxian in
saying this, nor is a modern who says it necessarily a Marxian
or a socialist; but a seer with half a vision cannot but see that
the trend of thinking today is toward Marx's contention and
away from those of capitalism's defenders in the school of
Ricardo.
In other words, sound thinking today tends overwhelm-
ingly to substantiate Lincoln's declaration that the real source
of value is in the creations of labor and that society's over-
whelming debt is not primarily to the capitalist, but to the
elemental creative factor — labor. "Labor," however, does not
represent merely hand work; it represents work, and the man
who works with mind is just as much a worker as he who
labors with hand. In fact, how many work with mind or
hand alone? All use both, some more of one than the other,
but few one only. All laborers, so-called, use brains as well
as brawn, and artizanship or "skilled labor" uses a maximum
of brain work to direct the work of the hands. The writer
recently heard a kid-gloved "professor" denounce heatedly
those skilled workers who draw the "outrageous" wage of
from ten to thirteen dollars per day in ship yards and other
government works and utter ominous warnings of the horrors
of the industrial revolution it portended if something was not
done to thwart their "arrogance;" yet this same lily-handed
son of a capitalist was educated from his father's earnings
and drew from fifty to one hundred dollars per lecture for
such effusions. Verily, whom the gods would slay they first
make mad!
President Wilson as Leader of the
New Industrial Democracy
President Wilson has been aptly called, by an European
writer, the "President of the Allies" in his leadership to make
the world safe for democracy. The manner in which the or-
ganized world of labor is putting itself solidly behind his
peace terms makes him also the unofficial president of the
new industrial democracy. It is a notable fact that in all
allied countries organized labor has been first and foremost
to adopt and acclaim his peace terms as its own and to demand
that the respective governments do the same. Here at home
his stand on industrial democracy, as concreted in the relations
of capital and labor, constitutes a charter for industrial democ-
racy. Let the doubting reader look up the reports of his com-
missions to inquire into the Bisbee deportations, the Mooney
case and other labor troubles and his consequent action in re-
lation thereto; also his appointment of the arbitration board
and their various decisions upon the basis he formulated, and
then read his Buffalo address of one year ago before the Amer-
ican Federation of Labor. Then, just to get a dramatic picture
of the whole matter, turn back a few days in the daily paper
and read of the new charter of industrial democracy granted
the steel workers in overthrowing the feudalistic regime of
the mightiest of the world's industrial feudatories in regard
to the right of collective bargaining and the privileges of the
union, together with the grant of an eight-hour day.
There is little doubt that the President is quite as deter-
mined that industrial democracy shall win a victory in this
war as that political democracy shall be made secure; his activ-
ities on its behalf are not so conspicuous because they are not
related to the battle front, but they are none the less real
and are quite as intimately related to the war though in the
second line of defense.
Labor is coming into its own in a larger measure; it has
been a long and weary battle from slavery up through serfdom
and servantage to free labor, and even yet there is much to
win before the man who has nothing to sell but his handicraft
can cope with the man to whom law and custom give the prior
right because he owns the machinery. Law and custom both
base the relation of labor and capital, not on that of man to
man, but upon the prior rights of property; thus capitalists
can unite and deny their workingmen that same privilege; thus
they can claim the privileges of luxury and deny their work-
ingmen even the right to comforts; thus the "office" hours
can be reduced to seven and eight per day while the factory
hours are kept at ten and eleven. Industrial democracy will
put the human equation first, reduce the hours of labor to
those of the office and grant labor the same right to organiza-
tion and collective bargaining as it now grants to employers.
All this was approximated in the orders given the steel com-
panies and is at least a good beginning in industrial democracy.
* * *
Making the Labor Day
Sermon Count
The minister of the Gospel should celebrate this peaceful
emancipation of labor as an event in the history of the coming
of the Kingdom of God. He should so celebrate it because he
preaches brotherhood and the Gospel of the "inasmuch as ye
do it unto one of the least of these ye do it unto me;" because
Jesus was a carpenter, a humble workingman who toiled with
his hands many years before taking up his special ministry
and always made himself the friend of the poor; because the
emancipation of labor is coming with peace instead of revo-
lution in times that are so red with blood and in the midst of
a world of labor in which so many cry for revolution; because
labor looks suspiciously upon the church as a religious club
of the well-to-do, where Jesus, the carpenter, has been trans-
formed into a Christ of culture and business and middle-class
rule.
And the minister should celebrate with a championship of
labor's essential cause and not with sop to certain front pews
wherein more is made of the errors of socialists and the mis-
takes of labor union leaders than of the fundamentals of in-
dustrial democracy. Socialists are merely the counterparts of
capitalism and their class-conscious heresies are merely an
answer to the class-consciousness of wealth; they are a vast
minority in the world of labor and are not furnishing its
leadership; so why bungle the issue by using such an occasion
as Labor Day to denounce them, unless with the same breath
the deficiencies, materialism and class power of the capitalist
class be also denounced. Union labor's leaders have been
guilty of many errors, and selfishness and materialism bulk
large among them; they are of the same clay as the men they
fight and they use the same tactics; but the issue is not one
of personalities or classes, but a great human movement up-
ward.
The minister cannot champion class or ism. on either side;
he will be much more tempted to please his business man in
the pew than he will the absentee of the shop and road, but
14
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 22, 1918
if he has the courage of the prophet he will champion a great
human cause as such and then mediate between personalities.
* * *
A Special Feature in
Labor Day, 1918
The Federal Council of Churches has adopted the question
of "The Church and Woman in Industry" for Labor Day treat-
ment. The Social Service Commission has printed a pamphlet
for the occasion which will be sent to any minister wishing it
it he will drop a line to the writer at the Bible College, Colum-
bia, Mo. The great reconstruction pronouncement of the
British- Labor Party is also commended for consideration. It
was printed in a recent number of the Survey and in a supple-
ment to the New Republic of March 23d, of this year. If
neither are available, a copy can be obtained by sending ten
cents to the Social Service Commission of the Federal Council
of Churches, 105 E. 22nd St., New York. It is the most states-
manlike document on reconstruction and industrial democracy
ever issued and seems to us to be in striking relief to the
narrow viewpoint of Mr. Gompers in these critical days. Next
week we propose to furnish some specific material for pulpit
consideration on Labor Day.
Alva W. Taylor.
The War
A Weekly Analysis
THE enemy retreat on the Picardy front, as this is written,
has reached the edge of the old, entrenched Somme battle
field, and he has stabilized his line temporarily by using
the trenches for defense. The war of movement is at an end,
and the war of positions has been resumed.
But the British and French advance has wiped out the
Amiens salient and put an end to the ambitious plan of the
enemy to separate the two armies by pushing his wedge west-
ward down the Somme valley.
It is not improbable that the line of Albert-Bray-Chaulnes-
Lassigny-Noyon upon which the enemy is now standing has been
adopted merely for the purpose of gaining time in which to
prepare stronger positions further east where he hopes to estab-
lish a permanent defensive front.
The present line is vulnerable — an assertion that may be
proved true before this is printed. A better line could be made
east of the upper Somme and the Canal du Nord. Retirement
to this line, however, would necessitate, probably, a retirement
further north to the Bapaume ridge, where he made his last
stand prior to the great Hindenberg retreat of 1917.
There are indications in his withdrawal from salient positions
on the channel port front, and north of the Ancre, that a radical
rectification of his line is contemplated.
Should he vindicate these forecasts he will find it difficult
to conceal from his people and his vassal allies the real signifi-
cance of his action. It will be a confession that the hope for
decisive victory is no longer entertained, and that he now fights
merely to avert decisive defeat.
In any case this is true. With Germany, henceforth, the
chief desire will be to end the war — not to win it — but to end it in
a manner that will prevent the allies winning it. In other words,
to end it with a compromise that will save the Hohenzollern dy-
nasty and as much more as the allies can be persuaded to spare.
"End the war" is now a purely German phrase. Translated it
means "Save Prussia from defeat, from the punishment that she
deserves."
"Win the war" must be more than ever the watchword
of every American. Prussia must not escape defeat and pun-
ishment. Prussia must not be saved. The world must be saved,
and it can be saved only by Prussias's overthrow.
When the knowledge of German disasters on the western
front spreads through the countries of eastern Europe, through
Austria and Bulgaria and Turkey, through Poland and the
Baltic states and Russia, the allies of Germany will begin to
think of some way of freeing themselves from the menace
of complete defeat that threatens their over-lord, and the sub-
ject peoples will take new heart and turn with new confidence
to the Allies for aid.
Germany realizes this, hence we hear of haste to appoint
kings for the little conquered countries. She is eager to estab-
lish ownership and control before it is too late. She may hope that
she will be able to recruit her dwindling forces from Poland and
the Baltic states. It is, we think, a vain hope. These peoples are
less willing than ever to take chances with the central powers.
Meantime there are promising signs in Russia. The collapse
of the Bolsheviki seems to be imminent if not already accom-
plished. Lenine and Trotzky have fled from Moscow. Czecho-
slovak successes on the Volga and in Siberia indicate that the
people are deserting the soviet government. Allied forces are
now operating in the regions of Murmansk and Archangel, on both
sides and south of the White Sea ; at Vladivostok, where Amer-
ican troops have arrived, and in southeastern Russia, at Baku, on
the Caspian, where a British force is adventuring, possibly in an
effort to reach the Don Cossack territory. Germany's chance of
exploiting Russia cheaply is over. It will cost her armies now if
she undertakes it, and she has not the armies to spare.
S. J. Duncan-Clark.
The Sunday School
Christian Giving"
ONE day the Master stood watching the people place
their gifts in the temple chests. He saw rich men
giving ostentatiously, even as they sometimes, but
not always, do now; he saw tight-fisted middle-class people
giving with marked conservatism (conservatism in giving be-
ing as bad as conservatism in theology — and often accom-
panying it). He noticed the people of
all classes who gave generously and
finally he was attracted by the remark-
ably generous gifts of a poor widow.
Now, the thing which Jesus was ob-
serving in every case was the spirit
which prompted the gift. The amount
was insignificant in comparison with
the love of religion which motived the
giving. This is a very comforting fact.
There is no surer index to a man's
character than his giving. I recently
have been thrown into association with
a gentleman from another city. He is
a well-trained man; he has remarkable ability in his chosen
field; he is well-read; he is something of a philosopher — but
he is stingy. It causes one to pity him. He loses so much
by his tightness. He cannot make and keep friends on that
account. He can keep everything else! Of a certain brilliant
man I heard a wise old man say: "He may be very bright,
but he can never be great — he is too tight." The years have
proved the absolute truth of that phophesy. Generosity is the
surest index of a man's character. That is the reason why a
lot of tight little souls are conservative and stingy in every-
thing— money and religion.
Generosity is a part of a broad and noble style of living.
One should always be saying to himself, "I will always, and in
all things, live like a gentleman." This is partly a matter of
will and partly an affair of keen and discriminating imagina-
tion. Many people lack the mental power to think of them-
selves as they might well be. That is indeed a tragedy. Think
of all the Great-Souls of the world, run through all the pages
Rev. John E. Ezvers
* This article is based on the International Uniform lesson for Septem-
ber 1, "Christian Giving." Scripture, Luke 6:30-38; 21:1-4.
i
August 22, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
15
of history at your command and see for yourself that all great
I men and women have possessed the generous soul. Outstand-
ingly, this was true of Jesus. He was the One who was per-
fectly generous. He gave of his sympathy to the weak; of
! his boundless personality to the little-souled; of his wonderful
'. life in every way to every one. Had there been one trace of
littleness in our matchless Christ, He could not have been
jOur Saviour. By as much as there is stinginess in us our
value is imperiled.
You will notice this: There are people so big that they
(overcome all littleness round about them to a degree. Of
course, there will always be some characters that you cannot
iwin — even Christ failed to win that stiff-necked crowd of
selfish men who put him to death. But to a degree we may
disarm criticism, overpower evil, as a great organ or orchestra
(may drown out lesser discords. Do you not know many noble
Imen and many gracious women who seem not only to live
[above littleness, but who discourage in all whom they meet
jthe narrow, bigoted, selfish, unseemly elements? There will
always be evil spirits who will refuse to rise to the best about
them, but that should not dishearten us in our brave attempts
:o live our lives on a broad, generous, noble, cheerful scale.
I do not think we shall know much about generosity until
we give our lives to some cause. It is not a matter of tithing,
sood as that may be for a start; it is a matter of complete
iedication to a cause. This is the big note which the Christian
Church in a world at war must strike eternally.
John R. Ewers.
Books
Theories of Social Progress. By Arthur J. Todd, Ph.D.,
Professor of Sociology, University of Minnesota. Professor
"odd does not dogmatize about the problem of what is progress,
|'Ut he does believe it is a human goal and one that can be
onsciously forwarded. Neither does he overwork his thesis that
t consists of conscious efforts to promote social justice, brother-
ood and service. His review of the various schools, authors
nd parties that have formulated theories that time and the
rying has proved only partial explanations of progress forbids
lat asks cynically, "What is progress?" and insinuates that it may
lat asks cyniclly, "What is progress?" and insinuates that it may
e this or that, according to the ruling of the individual, the
lass or the times, and that after all there is no means of so
fcsting any of the theories as to make any acceptable. The
jiodern philosopher meets that issue by denying the possibility
f mortal mind conceiving an absolute, and the social philosopher
:cepts the naive concept of human welfare in terms of the
reatest good to the greatest number as sufficient norm for
is work. There was also a negativism that came out of the
pw born evolutionary theory that would leave the world to
lag on as it might, believing that in some mystic way the
pst would be accomplished. Our author posits that it is "by
king thought" that we shall promote human welfare and he
Jakes education, consciously directed to that end, the sovereign
jeans thereto. This demands an effective substituting of service
■r exploitation as the normative method of industrial, business
id international life; it demands an ethic that is Christian, and
extension beyond personal contacts into all relations whether
ar or remote; and it demands a scientific method. Applied
ciology furnishes the laboratory both for experimentation and
=thod and must replace philosophy as chief of the scholarly
cations. The review of theories of social progress covers
e chief of them in the past century and classifies them under
2 four heads of materialistic, biologic, institutional and
ttlogist. The review of them is necessarily brief, but it is
ceedingly well done, with thrusts at the heart of them that
'eal in a few pages their vital parts. The style is vivid
& readable and the book is not only commended to sociologists
t to all whose fields of work require a summary of sociological
:ones. In common with all modern sociologists, Dr. Todd de-
mands an objective criteria for socil thinking nd effort to-
wards a true science of society but he does not hold the effort
to do thinking sociologically apart from human interest. He well
says "a series of objective tests" because it is impossible that an
object so multifarious as human society could ever be reduced
to an objectivity akin to that made usable in the physical sciences.
(Macmillan. $2.85.)
Psychology and Preaching. By Chas. S. Gardner, Professor
of Homiletics and Sociology in The Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary. One who has read Professor Gardner's "Ethics of
Jesus and Social Progress" will look to any new book he writes
with anticipation. This volume is an able piece of work and
fills a niche into which we have been looking with expectancy
for some time. Teachers have long been studying their art
pcychologically and basing it thus upon scientific grounds ; preach-
ing has been studied from every other angle as an art; revivals
have been analyzed psychologically and revivialists have sought
for those psychological discoveries that would aid them in the
manipulations of crowds; but the regular pulpit ministrant has
received little of the best of modern psychology as an aid to his
fine art of persuading and morally educating men in crowds.
Effective preachers learn from observation and experience
that getting the crowd close up together, having a room full
even if it must be small to do it, singing "with a will," etc.,
are necessary for effective results; from a volume like this they
have these and many other things of kindred interest analyzed
and constructive suggestions made for their use in an educational
and dignified manner. Here is also ample and able discussion
of dialectic discourse and its limitations, of the use and abuse
of eomtionalism, of the power of suggestion, the crowd mind,
attention, belief, feeling, voluntary action, the use of litany]
ideals, etc. The chapter on "Occupational Types" is alone worth
the price of the book; it is refreshing for the preacher to thus
re-see himself through the spectrum. Religion requires "au-
thority''; may the pleacher therefore tend to acquire a dogmatic
temperament? The pastor must be an example of piety; is there
danger that he will become artificially grave and somber? What
are the subtle temptations unconsciously influencing him through
the very nature of his profession? This book is a rich
find to the intelligent precher. (Macmillan. $2.)
A History of the Great War. Vol. III. By A. Conan Doyle.
In Volume I of this history the author discussed the events
of what he calls the year of recoil, 1914; in the second volume
were treated the developments of 1915, the year of equilibrium;
in the present volume the first of the years of attack and
advance, 1916, is given ample description. The Battle of the
Somme is the one big event of the year 1916; the story of the
appearance of the "tank," that bizarre engine of warfare, is
an interesting feature of the narrative, and from a military
viewpoint, the first employment of cavalry— after the first
months— is of interest. This historian has not only the gift
of accuracy, but also the rare one of stirring narrative powers.
Students of the great war should secure the first three vol-
umes of Dr. Doyle's history and build foundations for a real
war library. (Doran, $2).
The Heart of a Soldier. By Lauchlan Maclean Watt. The
author of this volume of strikingly human war literature has
served as chaplain of the Gordon Highlanders and the Black
Watch, and is the author of "In the Land of War" and "The
Soldier's Friend" as well as the writer of some of the most
appealing verse of the War. The chapters of this book, en-
titled, "The Spirit of Pain," "The Soldier's Religion" "A
Ruined World," and "Sons of the Manse," will be especially
interesting to minister readers. The book is a human docu-
ment of great value. (Doran, $1.35).
Any of the books reviewed in this department, or any other
books now in print, may be secured from
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS,
700 East 40th St., Chicago
The Larger Christian World
A Department of Interdenominational Acquaintance
Labor Sunday This Year
Has Special Feature.
The Social Service Commission of the Federal Council
has sent out literature for the observance on September 1 of
Labor Sunday, which will this year emphasize the idea of
women in industry. Many women have left home to engage
in the war industries and the communities to which they have
gone have not provided proper housing facilities. These
women are to be sought out by the church and offered the
use of church rooms, when convenient, where the women may
lunch. It is suggested that in some communities parish houses
be secured as homes for these itinerant women workers. The
questions of wages and hours are also important.
Moral Aims of the War
to Be Emphasized
The Committee on the Moral Aims of the War has a
splendid report for the months of April, May and June of
this year. They had fifty-five speakers touring the country;
these addressed 270 conferences of clergymen and 211 popular
mass meetings, aggregating 16,060 ministers and 180,000 lay-
men. The work will be continued the coming year. The
Bishop of Oxford has written: "I am anxious to get religious
people of all kinds to press forward the idea of a League of
Nations, leaving it, of course, to the politicians to settle the
details, but asserting the principle. No one is more clear than
I am as to the moral necessity of entering upon this awful war
and of fighting it through; but I am exceedingly anxious that
the moral aim in all of this should be kept clearly to the fore;
and I fear that as the war goes on there is more and more
necessity that great efforts should be made to secure this.
The mere determination to beat Germany is apt to absorb
all else. Whereas, in fact, we might defeat Germany and at
the same time absorb so much of what is false in the spirit of
the war as to defeat our professed aims in entering upon it.
That is what makes me ready to do anything in my power to
keep the right moral principle of the war to the fore."
Campaign for Armenian and Syrian
Relief in November
It has been decided that the campaign for Armenian and
Syrian Relief this fall will be promoted in November. The
pastors of the country will be asked to preach on the theme
on Sunday, November 24. The Authors' League and the
Vigilantes have pledged themselves to support the campaign;
this means the service of 2,700 writers. There are three mil-
lion starving people in Bible lands, 400,000 of them being
orphan children.
Chaplains Get Good Training
at Kentucky School
The school for chaplains at Camp Taylor, in Kentucky,
is continually inproving its methods. There is a course on
training camp activities in which the prospective chaplain is
instructed in what the Y. M. C. A., Knights of Columbus and
Jewish Welfare Board are doing. A book is being prepared on
the tenets of the various religious bodies so the chaplain may
understand and sympathize with soldiers of all communions.
It is related that recently in France a man was shot and fell
back dying. His chaplain was a Jewish rabbi, but when the
man said he was a Catholic, the rabbi produced a cross and
held it before his eyes.
Belgian Protestant Churches Work
to Keep Churches Alive
The Belgian Protestants have braced themselves against
the storms of war. During the past year they have contrib-
uted to the cause of religion about fifty per cent of what they
used to give in times of peace and have given twelve per cent
more than last year. Protestants of various countries are
contributing to keep the churches alive, and the budget asked
of America is $40,000. The executive committee in Brussels
has recently decided to increase the salary of Belgian pastors
from $400 to $600 per year.
Gideons in Annual Meeting
in Denver
The Gideons of America, an organization of commercia
travelers with Christian motives, held their national meetitif
in Denver, July 25-28. Some of the founders of the society
were there: John H. Nicholson, S. E. Hill and W. J. Knights
Among the meetings held was a prayer and praise service oij
Mount Genesee, one of the peaks near the city. Eleven thou
sand of the 400,000 traveling men of the country are Gideon?
In addition to placing Bibles in the hotels, the Gideons hoi
religious meetings in various sections of the country.
New Men on Board of Missionary
Education Movement
A great financial campaign will be promoted in the autum
in behalf of the Missionary Education Movement. Before th
campaign begin three new men are to be added to the boar
of the organization: Dr. John A. Marquis, Dr. Charles I
Schaeffer, home secretary of the Reformed church, and D:
Warren H. Wilson, superintendent of the Country Life De
partment of the Presbyterian Board.
Orvis F. Jordan.
THAT was the remark made
by one of our readers as he
looked over the first issue of our
new 20th Century Quarterly, for
adult and young people's classes,
and read a few lessons from its
pages. And you will agree with
him when you examine a copy.
We are safe in saying that there
has never before been published a
lesson quarterly so interesting — as
well as thoroughly informative.
The autumn issue is now out. Send
for your free copy today. Then send
in your autumn order at once.
The Christian Century Press
700 East 40th Street Chicago
August 22, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
1/
News of the Churches
i Kentucky State Convention,
'Richmond, September 30-October 3
All plans are going forward at Rich-
mond, Ky., in preparation for the Ken-
tucky State convention, which will be
!held there September 30 to October 3,
at the new First church building. Homer
!W. Carpenter, who has recently come to
[the pastorate there, writes that, in spite
[of the fact that the war has undoubtedly
{affected some church gatherings, it is
Ibelieved that a large attendance will be
(recorded at the coming meeting. Rich-
jmond is a town of 7,000, with a large
(number of students in attendance at
|Madison Institute and Eastern Kentucky
Normal. ^
J. Fred Jones Tells of
Manhattan, Kan., Work
J. Fred Jones, secretary of the state
{work in Oklahoma, recently visited Man-
hattan, Kan., and reports with enthusi-
asm the church there led by pastor Otto
\Z. Moomaw. This live business and col-
lege town now has a population of about
M.OOO from transients drawn to the
ijrcat army camp stationed at Manhat-
tan. The college has about 3,000 stu-
jients and there are from 25,000 to 60,000
jnen at the camp. The church thus has a
peat task. Mr. Jones writes: "The
jthurch and its preacher keep open house
|or the soldiers. Mr. Moomaw visits the
tamp often, searches out all our own
>oys he can, widens his acquaintance
vith others and many of them come to
he services of the church of our own,
|ind many others are making the good
! onfession and among them many Cath-
)lic young men. Various groups of the
roung men attend the Bible classes.
\lso, great bodies of the boys come to
milding, at stated times, where they are
ntertained and refreshed on week eve-
.ings, and the house is open for their
laily comfort. For the stated enter-
ainments the churches at Highland and
Anthony have aided in furnishing funds,
ut the Manhattan church has borne the
runt of it with pleasure. Mr. Moomaw
as planned an educational program,
/hich is offered to every student that
/ill accept the opportunity; this includes
ourses of study on the History of the
'hosen People, Comparative Religion,
he Gospels and Sociology, and the Mis-
ionary Activities of the World."
'.entral Church, Youngstown, O., Has
09 Stars in Its Service Flag
One of the most impressive services
ver held in Youngstown, O., was that
t the recent dedication of the service
ag of the church, in which 109 stars
ave place. A pleasing feature of the
ccasion was the unfurling of the flags
f the five allied nations, the national
nthems of the various nations being
layed during the unfurling of the flags,
wo veterans of the Civil War assisted
i the unveiling of the service flag. Su-
erintendent Schrock, of Central Sun-
iy school, delivered a patriotic address,
nd the pastor, William Dunn Ryan,
)llowed with an address on "Heaven's
ervice Flag," in which his introductory
ords were as follows: "Almighty
od gave his only Son to live, to fight,
> die, for world freedom; and hung
the heavens a service flag containing
single star. And above our flag with
us glorious galaxy of stars, I trust we
ay see heaven's service flag as the in-
•iration of all.
"The background was very dark on
that far-off yesterday when wise men
saw a star. A tyrant sat upon his
throne. World empire was not a dream
but a fact. The cry of the oppressed
and afflicted could be heard in every
street. Human life was cheap and the
earth was deluged with the tears and
the blood of the innocent. God looked
with pity upon a world that was ruled
by force instead of by principles of
right and his service flag announced
that he had entered the field of action
to bring relief. This flag proclaimed a
new message. Service and sacrifice are
the two ennobling elements of life and
they are now to find complete expres-
sion in one whose life is dedicated to a
holy cause."
Nelson Trimble Writes From
New South Wales
Nelson Trimble the unique, the Mis-
souri pastor-evangelist, who is now doing
a bit of touring, had reached New South
Wales at last report, and sends a mes-
sage from Sydney. Here is a portion
of his interesting description of condi-
tions in that part of the world: "This
land, on topsy-turvy, needs several car-
goes of Christian Centuries to be spread
broadcast for spiritual enrichment, hor-
izon broadening. If the apostles of reac-
tion who hum and buzz about in our
communion could spend a few months
in Australia they would see the full
fruits of their folly and might repent
and turn before it is too late. The church
has a strong hold in Australia on formal
matters, but the real spirit of healthy
religion as we know it in America is
unknown here. For example, the church
is strong for the Sabbath, whatever that
is, and everything is tight shut one day.
On the other hand, liquor drinking is
almost universal, and I have scarcely
found a dozen preachers against it. Lot-
tery tickets are openly sold, and in a
country of less than five million, 400,000
tickets are sold at each drawing and I
have heard no preacher condemn.
Formal religion is supreme; vital religion
is unknown. Most of our churches are
in Victoria and South Australia. I have
attended several in New South Wales.
This country has sent 7 per cent of its
total population to France. In the
United States this per cent would mean
7,700,000 men."
* * *
— Texas Disciples have a big program
for the coming year: to raise $40,000 for
Texas missions, enlist 100 ministerial
students for Texas Christian University,
and employ 50 evangelists, pastor-evan-
gelists and other workers approved by
the missionary board.
— Evanston, 111., church, ministered to
by Orvis F. Jordan, is talking a $50,000
building, to be erected as soon as the
war is over.
— George W. Hemry has sailed for
France, where he will be engaged in
Y. M. C. A. work. He has been preach-
ing in Brooklyn, N. Y.
— Ray E. Rice, missionary in Damoh,
C. P. India, writes thus of conditions
there: "These are hard times in India.
The crops are short. The wheat is very
poor. The people will suffer much from
the conditions which are sure to prevail
this next year. It will not be strange
if several fathers bring their children
to us. They know that we will not re-
fuse to take them."
— The Oakland, Cal., church has three
members in "Y" service among the sol-
diers.
— The war is brought even nearer than
before to the Norfolk, Va., pastor,
Charles M'. Watson, by the recent en-
listment of his 18-year-old son. The
young soldier is now at Plattsburg, N. Y.
Charles M. Watson is perhaps as busy a
war pastor as the brotherhood has en-
listed because of his location at Norfolk,
where many thousands of navies are in
training.
— Elmo Higham, recently of Burling-
ton, Ind., now leads at Milton, Ind.
— C. W. Cauble had charge of the re-
dedication of the Hartsville, Ind., church
the last Sunday of July.
— J. F. Quisenberry, pastor at Wood-
ward, Okla., is doing "Y" work in his
own and neighboring counties. Mr.
Quisenberry has been very active in
both "Y" and Red Cross work.
— C. M. Ashmore of Yoakum, Tex.,
has been given an appointment as army
chaplain for overseas service.
— Charles McHatton, recently of
Marysville, has been called to succeed
Morton L. Rose at Watsonville, Cal.
— The largest school of the Disciples
in Oregon is that at Milton, with 500
enrollment; the second largest being
First, Portland. Roseburg school made
the largest contribution to missions last
year — an even $115.
— S. G. Buckner of North Yakima,
Wash., church, spent his vacation period
this year motoring along the Pacific.
With his family, he visited Seattle, Ta-
coma, American Lake, Camp Lewis,
Portland and Turner, Ore.
— The new church building at Benton,
111., will be dedicated in about six weeks.
Evangelist R. H. Robertson has been
ministering to this work during the build-
ing of the new home.
— J. C. Mullins, evangelist of the east
central district of Illinois, reports that
the Arthur church is the first in the
district to become unanimous on mis-
sions. The church at St. Elmo is plan-
ning to follow next year.
— B. E. Watson, minister at Shirley,
Ind., and student at Butler College and
the College of Missions, won first place
among several contestants in the East-
ern Intercollegate Prohibition Contest
at Alliance, O., recently.
—A. K. Adcock of the Centralia, 111.,
church is vacationing at Cambria, 111.,
and expects to be back at his work Sep-
tember 1. This church raised its full
emergency apportionment, and is pre-
paring to dedicate its beautiful new
house October 6. H. H. Peters will be
in charge of the service.
■ — The church at Barney's Prairie,
near Mt. Carmel, 111., recently cele-
brated the 99th anniversary of its found-
ing.
— Elmo B. Higham, a Butler graduate
and a student at the University of Chi-
cago for a year, will enter Yale School
of Religion next month. Mr. Higham
has for some time been preaching at
Burlington, Ind., but returned to his
home at Milton for ordination Aug. 4.
The pastor, Firman C. McCormick, as-
sisted by his senior elder, was in charge
of the service of ordination.
— H. O. Breeden of the Fresno, Cal.,
church, was chairman of the committee
on arrangements for the visit of George
Adam Smith of Fresno. Mr. Breeden
is reported again in excellent health.
IS
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 22, 1918
— A. F. Van Slyke has tendered his
resignation as minister at Clarkston,
Wash., to close his work there the last
of this month.
— There were twenty-one graduates at
Eugene Bible College this year, and
twenty-one persons were ordained to
Christian service.
— S. E. Brewster of Lakewood, Ohio,
church, has resigned there to enter "Y"
and other war work. Mr. Brewster has
had the honor of serving as president of
the local chamber of commerce. He is
the only minister in the country who
has been so honored, it is reported.
— It is reported that there are 15,739
Christian Endeavorers of the southern
states in war service.
UWIOM AVENUE
^T I fillip CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Oil LUUIO Union and Von Versen Aves.
Georg9 A. Campbell, Minister
— Claude E. Hill of Chattanooga,
Tenn., is one of the vice-chairmen of the
All-South Extension Committee of Na-
tional Christian Endeavor.
— According to the recent report of
Karl Lehmann, southern states secre-
tary of the United Society of Christian
Endeavor, the Disciples have 738 socie-
ties in the southland, being surpassed
only by the southern Presbyterians, who
have 906 societies. The Disciples are
strongest in Kentucky.
— During the year just closed there
were 121 accessions to the membership
at First church, Oakland, Cal., where
H. A. Van Winkle ministers.
— Bernard P. Smith of Kinston, N. C,
is spending his vacation in Virginia. He
spoke at Piedmont Assembly, at Gor-
donsville; preached at Charlottesville,
and attended a family reunion in Rad-
ford, Va. Most of his vacation will be
spent in southwest Virginia, and at the
end of this month he will return to Kins-
ton, where he has recently been elected
for his ninth year's service by unanimous
vote.
— Six auto loads of Endeavorers from
the church at Ottawa, Kan., recently
went to Norwood church, holding a
meeting there.
— The Christian Endeavor organiza-
tion at First church, Muskogee, Okla.,
is planning to organize societies in all
towns round about Muskogee.
— Two new missionaries for Africa
are Miss Wilhelmina Smith of Illinois,
a graduate of the University of Illinois
and of the College of Missions, and Miss
Ruth Musgrove of Texas, who is also
a graduate of the same schools. Both
will go to the Congo region.
— The church at Fayetteville, Ark., is
raising $700 for the hospital at Batang,
Tibet. C. A. Finch ministers at Fayette-
ville.
— Mr. and Mrs. F. E. Livengood will
soon sail for mission work in India. Mr.
Livengood is a graduate of the Uni-
versity of Kansas and of Yale. Mr. and
Mrs. Herbert Swanson will be located
in Vigan, P. I. Mr. Swanson is a "Drake"
and recently won his M. A. degree at
the University of Chicago.
— Royal J. Dye, M. D., who served
the foreign society on the Congo in the
early days of the mission there, and who
has since his return from Africa been
aiding in the Men and Millions cam-
paigns, has been designated by the for-
eign society as its field secretary for the
Pacific coast. Dr. and Mrs. Dye will be
located near Los Angeles.
— The endowment of Transylvania has
increased under the present administra-
tion from $218,889.79 to $419,426.23, and
a debt of $44,000 was paid in 1912. The
endowment of the College of the Bible
has increased under the present adminis-
tration from $179,804.48 to $255,599.88,
and the debt is being reduced. Less than
$5,000 of this increase has come from the
Men and Millions Movement.
— Students of Transylvania and the
College of the Bible are supplying about
one hundred pulpits in Kentucky.
MI-UJ vnni/ CBWTRA1 CHURCH
HEW YQHK US W«st 81st Street
ii I n i u 1 1 1\ Fiflis g< IdleHum Minister
— Clyde F. Armitage, representing the
General Committee on Army and Navy
Chaplains, will interview candidates for
the chaplaincy as follows: Camp Custer,
September 20; Chicago, September 23-
27; Camp Grant, October 2; Camp Zach-
ary Taylor, October 4-6. Those desiring
to interview Mr. Armitage may write to
him at the Woodward Building, Wash-
ington, D. C, at any time before the dates
designated.
— Three educational conferences were
held during a recent week in Kentucky
by Transylvania and the College of the
Bible. These were attended by one hun-
dred and thirty men representing one
hundred and thirteen Kentucky churches.
— The church in the brotherhood mak
ing the largest per member offering for
outside work, New Union, Woodford
county, is ministered to by Professor
WHAT WILL THEY DO IN TOWN
IF THEY DID THIS A MILE OUT
_ This crowd of children in the Sunday School at
H Silsbee, Texas, represents what could be done
Jjg a mile from town. Did anything ever look
better for the kingdom's growth?
A few years ago the Board of Extension, with
$700, helped this church to erect this building.
They are now moving the building into town
and enlarging the house, and again the Board
is making a liberal loan to help this marvel-
ous growth.
THIS IS CHURCH
EXTENSION INDEED
Ever since the Church Extension Fund was
started in 1888, Texas has been a great field
for its effort. 184 Churches have been aided
in erecting buildings at the right moment — and
$261,860 HAVE BEEN LOANED IN TEXAS
WHILE TEXAS GAVE BUT $75,630.70
Texas could not have builded these churches with the $75,000 they were able to raise in their own state.
DO YOU SEE THE USE OF THIS FUND?
Does the work of Church Extension commend itself enough to interest you and your church to make a gift in September?
Order supplies from
G. W. MUCKLEY, Cor. Sec. KANSAS CITY, MO.
August 22, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
19
Geo. W. Brown, of the College of the
Bible at Lexington. It gave fifteen dol-
lars per member for missions, benevo-
lence and education last year. Professor
Fortune was the former minister.
— The latest issue of the Christian
j; Union Quarterly, edited by Peter Ainslie,
contains a number of interesting fea-
• tures. Among these are an editorial by
Dr. Ainslie on "Explorers in Christian
Unity," and an article by Dr. J. H. Gar-
rison on "The Next Step Toward Chris-
tian Unity."
— Carey E. Morgan, of Nashville,
Tenn., is now in "Y" service in France.
— The marriage is reported of John
Leslie Lobingier, of the Great Lakes
Naval Station, to Miss Elizabeth Erwin,
the date of the wedding having been
August 7. Mr. Lobingier was formerly
a pastor in California, but has been in
service at the Great Lakes Station over
a year.
— T. C. Clark is spending two weeks
at Ottawa and Starved Rock, 111.
The Illinois Convention Program
Monday, September 2
Evening
5:00 — Mothers' and Daughters' Lunch-
eon, Miss Ida Strope, Oreana, presiding.
7:30 — Song service, led by W. E. M.
Hackleman, Indianapolis, Ind. Scripture
reading and prayer, Mrs. Anna Barbre
Colegrove, State Vice President, Taylor-
ville. Naming of Convention Commit-
tees.
8:15 — Address, "Women in War Work,"
Mrs. Ida Withers Harrison, International
Vice President, Lexington, Ky.
Tuesday, September 3
Morning
9:00 — Song service, led by Mr. Hackle-
man. Bible study, "Teachings of Jesus
Concerning Happiness," Mrs. Harrison.
Period of Intercession.
10:00 — Business period. Statement by
President, Mrs. Lura V. Porter. Sum-
mary of year's work and reading of rec-
ommendations of State Board, Miss Jen-
nie Call. Report of Committees.
11:00 — Song. Reading, Mrs. Venice B.
Jackson. Missionary Clinic. Slogan and
Aim for Five Year Campaign. Campaign
'Hymn, "O Zion Haste."
Afternoon
i 1:45 — Open service. Song, "America."
I 2:00 — Address, "Children's Missionary
ptories," Mrs. Venice B. Jackson, Vice
President of Chicago Graded Sunday
school Teachers.
3:00 — Address, Miss Minnie Vautrin,
missionary, Luchowfu, China. Song,
'There's a Call Comes Ringing O'er the
Restless Wave."
! 3:45 — Recognition service. Church
Rallying Song, "Awake! Awake! the
Alaster Now is Calling Us."
Tuesday, September 3
Evening
7:30 — Devotions: Song service and
>rayer. "The Founding of the Church,"
«. Lewis Starbuck, Peoria.
8:00— President's Address, J. F. Bickel,
taylorville.
8:30 — Address, J. Fred Jones, State
Secretary of Oklahoma.
Wednesday, September 4
Morning
8:00 — Mission study, "Women Workers
f the Orient," Mrs. Ida Withers Harri-
on.
9:00 — Devotions: Song service and
rayer. "The Creed of the Church," O.
'• Jordan, Evanston.
9:30 — Business session, S. H. Zendt,
ralesburg, President of the State Board,
residing. Report of the Board of Di-
Jctors, C. C. Carpenter, Princeton. Re-
ort of the State Secretary, H. H. Peters,
loomington. Report of Treasurer, John
. Shepard, Normal. Report of Treas-
rer of Permanent Fund and Student Aid
und, M. L. Harper, Eureka. Report of
uditor, W. S. Garlough, Bloomington.
eport of Districts: Chicago, Perry L
ice, Chicago; North Eastern, C. M.
Wright, Urbana; North Western, Ward
E. Hall, Knoxville; East Central, J. C.
Mullins, Mattoon; West Central, O. C.
Bolman, Greenville; Southern, R. H.
Robertson, Benton. Report of Illinois
Disciples Foundation, Luceba E. Miner,
Champaign.
11:00— Address, "The Bible School
Outlook for the Disciples of Christ,"
Garry L. Cook, Indianapolis, Ind.
11:40 — Memorial service: Solo,
"There's a Beautiful Land on High,"
Frank McDonald, Arthur. In Memo-
riam, J. G. Waggoner, Canton. Prayer,
T. T. Holton, Bloomington.
1:30 — Devotions: Song service and
prayer. "The Officiary of the Church,"
Guy V. Ferguson, Monmouth.
2:00 — Special music, Department of
Music, Eureka College.
2:15 — Address, "The Seventieth Anni-
versary of Eureka College," B. J. Rad-
ford, Eureka.
3:00 — Special music, Department of
Music, Eureka College.
3:15 — Address, Francis G. Blair,
Springfield, State Superintendent of Pub-
lic Instruction.
6:00 — Christian Endeavor Luncheon.
Address, DeForest Murch, Cincinnati, O.
Evening
7:30 — Devotions: Song service and
prayer. "The Mission of the Church,"
C. W. Longman, Albion.
8:30 — Special music, Department of
Music, Eureka College.
8:15— A Statement of Future Plans, H.
O. Pritchard, President Eureka College.
8:25 — Special music, Department of
Music, Eureka College.
8:30 — Address, "Our Educational Ju-
bilee," John W. Hancher, Methodist
Board of Education.
Thursday, September 5
Morning
8:00 — Mission study, "Women Work-
ers in the Orient," Mrs. Ida Withers
Harrison.
9:00 — Devotions: Song and prayer.
"The Future of the Church," M. L. Pon-
tius, Jacksonville.
9:30 — Convention business.
10:30— "The Field is the World." The
Illinois Christian Missionary Society, C.
C. Carpenter, Princeton; Eureka College,
E. E. Higdon, Bellflower; The American
Christian Missionary Society, J. Alexan-
der Agnew, Mt. Carmel; The Board of
Church Extension, A. O. Hargis, Green-
ville; The Foreign Christian Missionary
Society, W. J. Montgomery, Niantic;,The
Christian Woman's Board of Missions,
Floyd B. Taylor, Chambersburg; The
Board of Ministerial Relief, B. H.
Bruner, Danville; The American Tem-
perance Board, Adam K. Adcock, Cen-
tralia; The Association for the Promo-
tion of Christian Unity, Allen T. Gordon,
Paris; The National Benevolent Associa-
tion, B. H. Sealock, Illiopolis.
11:10— Address, "The 1918 Interna-
tional Convention of the Disciples of
Christ," Edgar DeWitt Jones, Bloom-
ington.
11:35— Address, "The Whole Task,"
Frederick W. Burnham, Cincinnati, O.,
President of the American Christian
Missionary Society.
Afternoon
1:30 — Community Sing, led by W. E.
M. Hackleman.
2:00 — Address, Judge Chas. J. Scofield,
Carthage. Unfurling of Service Flag for
Illinois Soldiers. Solo, "My Own United
States," Frank McDonald.
3:00 — Patriotic address. (The speaker
will be of national prominence and will
come to the Convention with the author-
ity of the Council of National Defense.)
MEMORIAL (Disciples and Baptist*)
C 14 I r A r* n •««•< «»<*> We»t ef (Wage Grow
tnitAUU Herbert L TOeB. Nfinutet
A SIGNAL VICTORY IN FARGO,
N. D.
By Norman Brighton
ABOUT twenty-five years ago a lit-
tle group of loyal Disciples opened
fire for the King in this thriving
and wonderful city of North Dakota.
Such loyal souls as the Judds and Mon-
sons were among that first group to set
up ihe standard and plead for the res-
\ oration of primitive Christianity, its
doctrines, its ordinances and its fruits in
this great Northwest. From that day
to this they have maintained their in-
tegrity amid scorn and criticism and
vicissitude of every degree; having no
resting place, they were aliens and
strangers in the very midst of God's
people. For twenty-five years they met,
to conduct the work of worship of God,
in rented halls, stores, parlors, and dur-
ing a goodly share of the time they
worked and worshipped in the Adventist
Church. In spite of it all, they were
blessed in their labors, and today their
work do follow them. They had addi-
tions to their numbers by letter and by
confession, so that today they number
about sixty in membership, with an
ever-growing constitutency from which
to draw.
About four years ago, at the earnest
solicitation of our state secretary, for
the C. W. B. M., F. B. Sapp, the Board
of Church Extension came to the aid of
this desperately needy and worthy peo-
ple with a loan of $1,600. Let me say
emphatically that but for that loan we
should never have attained to the place
of importance in the religious life of this
city that is ours today. We were de-
spised and rejected of men; we had been
advised times without number to save
ourselves by absorption in one of the
leading denomniations, but we knew that
some day we should witness the triumph
of our holy cause, and we thank our
Heavenly Father that at last our faith
has been changed into sight. The
church building is most beautiful and
complete, and taking into consideration
its size, one of the most commodious
buildings I have ever seen. Its ap-
pointments are perfect. John R. Booth
and F. W. Burnham have pronounced it
A-l. And these two gentlemen are con-
ceded to be experts in this line. Secre-
tary Booth endeared himself to us by
coming a long way out of his way to
conduct the opening services and assist
us in taking proper care of the money
matters pertaining to this enterprise.
We thank God for such a man in such a
place.
I cannot close this brief word without
mentioning the fact that for years the
20
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 22, 1918
C. W. B. M. has poured money into this
work; supporting its pastor to the ex-
tent of $800 a year, as well as the state
secretary to the full extent of his salary.
This calls forth our deepest gratitude
and places us under an everlasting obli-
gation. Our property is worth $13,000.
This is the only church building we, as
a people, have in all this great state, a
state leading all others in the produc-
tion of wheat; a state with unlimited re-
sources and possibilities. There is a
marvelous opportunity for expansion in
The St. Louis Convention
CAMP CUSTER
Minister T. S. Cleaver,
55 Kingman Are.,
Battle Creek, Mich
WRITE US ABOUT THAT BOY
this state at Minot, where there is a
basement, thanks to the Board of Church
Extension; at Willesden, where there is
a group of devoted Disciples worship-
ing in the court house, and at other
places.
Our Board of Church Extension and
our C. W. B. M. need the best offerings
that we can give, if they are to meet the
obligations and responsibilities and nrivi-
leges of this wonderful West.
By Graham Frank
Two months from the day on which
these notes are being written the Inter-
national Convention of Disciples of
Christ will convene in the Union Avenue
Christian Church, St. Louis.
For the encouragement of those who
are interested in the Convention and in
the organized activities of the brother-
hood, I would submit the following items
of inspiration:
First, the Committee on Recommenda-
tions, which is called for in the new
Constitution, is being assured by the
action of the several State Conventions
and State Boards in the election of their
respective quotas of members on this
important committee. Already the fol-
lowing States have chosen their repre-
sentatives for this committee: Mary-
land, New York, Georgia, Texas, Ohio,
Indiana, Iowa, Missouri and Western
Washington. Other states have agreed
to select their representatives. Every
State has been or will be asked to do so.
The Constitution thus sets forth the
purpose and personnel of this Commit-
tee on Recommendations:
"Throughout the annual assembly
there shall sit from day to day, with
power to appoint sub-committees, a
Committee on Recommendations, which
shall receive such reports of the various
general agencies as may be submitted to
it; shall analyze and scrutinize such re-
ports; shall make such recommendations
to said boards as it deems wise; and
shall submit the same to the convention.
To such committee all resolutions and
other business shall be referred without
debate. It shall report at each daily
business session of the convention; and
each item of business so reported shall
be approved or disapproved, or recom-
mended to it by the Convention to be
revised and again reported. The Com-
mittee on Recommendations shall be an-
nually constituted of members of
Churches of Christ who shall possess
A LETTER
Lima, Ohio
Editor
THE 20th CENTURY QUARTERLY,
Chicago, 111.
Dear Sir:
I am teacher of a class of 306 women in our Sunday school.
We are located in the industrial section of our city and are known as
the "Work-a-Day Folk" — fishermen in the rough — the kind out of which
Jesus saw fit to call twelve sturdy ones as His "own."
I realize always that under my care, each Sunday, sit future
Pounds, Lula Eldreds and Mrs. Dyes. So surely do I feel this
never go before the class without a well-prepared lesson from
rterly — but, honestly, if I stopped there, I know I should not
message throbbing with the spirit of the hour. Feeling this
, I have sought and found help for my "finishing touch"
h reading John R. Ewers' talks in the "Century" just before
to my Altar of Declaration.
Mattie
that I
my qua
have a
keenly
throug
going
Now you will understand how delighted I was on finding a
promise of a real-for-sure 20TH CENTURY QUARTERLY. I know before
seeing it that it is an answer to prayer — the prayers of countless
"great big" souls who have walked down among the crowd and have felt
its heart-throb — and have turned sick at the thought of applying the
old "hide-bound" plaster to the wounds of these people.
Welcome to your long-sought aid! The sun is going down on the
old, stingy, starved world. You have caught the gleams of the New Day.
MRS. CECIL FRANKLIN.
Does this letter find an echo in your hearts, teachers
of Adult and Young People's Bible Classes?
Send for free sample copy of the 20th Century Quarterly,
and send in your autumn order without delay.
The Christian Century Press, 700 E. 40th Street, Chicago
i August 22, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
21
good business qualifications and be act-
ively interested in the various agencies
bf the brotherhood, but not in their em-
ploy. It shall be composer of one
ippointee of each state or provincial
missionary convention, or district con-
tention where there is none more inclu-
jiive, and of one additional and preferably
ay appointee for every twenty-five
housand, or final major fraction, of
nembers of Churches of Christ within
he territory of such Convention. The
nembers of the Executive Committee
'hall also be ex-officio members of the
Jlommittee on Recommendations, which
nay fill vacancies in its own member-
hip."
To have the reports of our General
Agencies carefully sifted by this repre-
sentative committee and adopted by the
(Convention on the recommendation of
»he committee will, in my judgment, give
i weight to the action of the Convention
ihat will, in a very real sense, be repre-
sentative of the voice of the brotherhood.
Those who know the manner in which
leports have been usually adopted in our
iormer conventions will appreciate the
jiany advantages of this new method.
Second, while we do not anticipate the
ttendance of large numbers of people
It St. Louis, we may, I think, look for
very representative attendance. Out
f the experience of the Y. M. C. A.
rar-work conferences, Red Cross con-
prences, Liberty Loan pre-campaign
iieetings, and such gatherings, we have
(earned that the getting together of a
J'maller number of carefully chosen men
|nd women may carry with it an influ-
ence greater than that of assembling a
jirger crowd of more or less uninterested
lersons. If each church will select and
[end at least one of its best men or
|'omen, and if the best individuals of the
hurdies will come to the St. Louis
i'onvention, its power will reach very
ir through them.
Third, those who are somewhat weary
f the old convention program which
ccupied an entire week and covered
ery largely the same ground from year
) year, will be interested to know that
lie convention will be very much shorter
his year— it begins Wednesday night,
ret. 9, and closes Sunday night, Oct. 13
j-and that the program will be shot
irough with the great new things that
e being born out of the womb of war.
he leaders of our organized work are
Illy aware of the new and larger day
at has burst full upon us and in all
eir plans and programs this new day
the decisive factor.
For these and for many other reasons,
it us look forward to our St. Louis
pnvention and prepare for it with the
Surage, hopefulness and humility which
ese great todays and greater tomor-
ws demand and which they make pos-
)le.
N APPRECIATION OF MRS. J. Z.
TYLER.
Thursday, July 23, 1918, the following
egram was received: "Mamma
ssed peacefully away at 1 15 this morn-
?■ J. Z. Tyler." This announcement
111 awaken in thousands of people emo-
ns too deep for utterance. It may
md trite, but it is literally true; a
roine has gone.
On December 31, 1918, it will be nine-
;n years since J. Z. Tyler, on account
a permanent break in health, as a re-
: t of overwork, preached his last ser-
»n in the Euclid Avenue Christian
urch, Cleveland, Ohio, from this text:
eep yourselves in the love of God."
For the next sixteen years Mr. and Mrs.
Tyler remained with this church. While
their formal pastorate had closed, their
real ministry did not cease; it only as-
sumed another phase. There was no
public speech; but the silent, ceaseless
testimony of their lives was eloquent
and convincing.
This is to be an appreciation of Mrs.
Tyler, but it is difficult to write about
the wife without including the husband,
for the twain were one in the fullest
sense. Mr. Tyler's break-down came
when he was in the prime of life. Mrs.
Tyler, healthy, happy, buoyant, beauti-
ful, capable and fit for any task, now
bravely and cheerfully assumed the
maintenance of the houshold and the
care of her husband. For nearly sixteen
years she absolutely did the work of two
women. Mr. Tyler gradually grew more
helpless. He had to be dressed, fed, as-
sisted when he lay down and arose, sup-
ported when he walked and during the
night frequently turned in bed. All of
this Mrs. Tyler did, in addition to man-
aging a houseful of boarders. Through
all these years of toil and burden-bearing
there was no advertisement of misfor-
tune, no discontentent, no bitterness, no
complaint; but incurable optimism and
contagious good cheer. "The peace of
God which passeth all understanding"
stood guard over that home. The joy
of the Lord filled the whole house. Peo-
ple who went there to sympathize with
the afflicted and burdened had real dif-
ficulty in detecting any affliction or bur-
den; for they found nothing but good
cheer and came away rebuked by their
own discontent, vowing that never again
would they complain. Those who went
there to minister were ministered unto.
In time this house of good cheer became
a shrine to which editors, authors, mis-
sionary secretaries, educators, ministers
and laymen from every part of the world
made frequent pilgrimages. They went
there not to give but to get, not to bless
but for a blessing. They went there to
be initiated into the mystery of content-
ment.
In time disease made inroads upon a
body whose vitality was low and whose
powers of resistance were at a minimum.
Our hearts ached when we saw how Mrs.
Tyler was wasting away. An attack of
blood poison necessitated the amputation
of her right foot. When the operation
was proposed, she said: "For papa's
sake I am willing to risk it." In after
days when we saw Mr. Tyler lying help-
less upon his counch and Mrs. Tyler
sitting by his side, her crutches on the
floor, it was not pity, but admiration
that we felt for them; for there was the
same optimism and good cheer; there
was a mellowing and sweetening process.
They were more than conquerors; being
made "perfect through suffering." The
spiritual had gained the ascendency over
the physical. They had demonstrated
A k for Catalogue ud Special Donation Man No. 27
(Established 1S9S)
THE C S. BELL CO., HILLSSORO, OHIO
Culver-Stockton College
a standard co-educational college located
high on the hills overlooking the Father of
Waters. Six major courses leading to A.
B. or B. S. degrees. Twenty-two teachers
and instructors. Also courses in Music,
Art, Expression and Economics. Modern
dormitory for young women. Board, room
and literary tuition $300 for 36 weeks.
JOHN H. WOOD, President^
CANTON, MO.
"On the Mississippi"
Sr,BL;E ,CO]LLEGE OF MISSOURI Columbia, Mo.
Affiliated with University of Missouri. Mutual interchange of credits. Prepares
students for ministry, missions and social service. Supplies religious instruction to
otate University students.
Session of University and Bible College opens August 30th and runs three terms of
sixteen weeks each, making it possible to crowd one and one-half years into one
XeaT.\ or/ .t0 do a nalf year's W0I"k before Christmas, or between January 1st and
April 23rd, or from that time to August 15th.
For catalogues or information write, G. D. Edwards, Dean.
WILLIAM WOODS COLLEGE
FULTON, MO.
Announces to Alumnae, Students and Friends that it
has reached the capacity of its dormitories and there-
fore will accept no more reservations for this year.
This unequalled registration record includes the added
accommodations of the enlarged new dormitory.
Reservations for 1919-20 now being received.
Joseph A. Serena, President.
August 15, iqi8.
22
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 22, 1918
to us the supremacy of the spirit over
the body.
Nearly three years ago the Tylers re-
turned to Richmond, Virginia, the scene
of their earlier labors and triumphs and
the home of their older daughter, Ethel.
Mrs. Tyler became partially blind and
Mr. Tyler almost speechless and even
more helpless. Here these two happy
lovers, living more in the spirit than in
the body, continued to keep themselves
"in the love of God," each becoming more
precious to the other. At least the heroic
wife fell, "a living sacrifice" to the one
whom she took "for better, for worse,
for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in
health, in poverty and adversity, until
death do us part."
During these nineteen years of im-
prisonment and affliction, while Mr. Ty-
ler's body has been gradually failing, he
has been more than compensated with
increasing intellectual strength and spir-
itual insight, that seemed to us super-
human. But even greater than these has
been his compensation in the constant,
comforting companionship and unselfish
and skillful ministry of one of the noblest
wives that ever graced a home. The
Brother Tyler we know today could not
have been, had it not been for Sister
Tyler; and the Sister Tyler we have
known could not have been were it not
for God.
J. H. GOLDNER.
Cleveland, O., Aug. 12, 1918.
THAT $600,000 IN SIGHT
The receipts of the Foreign Society
for the month of July amounted to $91,-
482.64, a gain over the corresponding
month last year of $10,693.10. The gain
in the General Fund receipts reached
$27,750.63. The Sunday schools gained
$10,187.89. This is fine. The churches,
as churches, show a loss for July of
$1,525.05, but the individual gifts reveal
a gain of $4,789.00. These are good
figures and they cheer us on the way.
The gains on the year, up to August 14,
bound up to $49,452.83. That is, the to-
tal receipts reach $415,770.48 to Au-
gust 14.
There should be no difficulty in going
up to at least $600,000 by September 30,
when the books close for the year.
Let us rejoice in the opportunity of
spreading abroad a knowledge of the
Lord among the nations of the earth.
These are great days to serve. ,
May every church and all the friends
do their best now.
Stephen J. Corey, Secretary.
Cincinnati, Ohio.
— O. F. Jordan, of Evanston, 111., has
been invited by the Fourth Liberty Loan
Committee of Illinois to speak over the
state in the interests of the new loan.
Mr. Jordan has consented to give his
services in portions of the state adjoin-
ing Chicago.
"The Most Beautiful Hymnal Ever Produced in the American Church"
It Sings Patriotism!
"I have heard nothing but the
highest praise for the hymnal
and a number are asking for
them for use in their homes.
In these days of crisis and
challenge it is a joy to be able
to build the mood essential for
such hours of worship as we
must have. The new day calls
for a new mood and Hymns of
the United Church is wonder-
fully prophetic in its emphasis
upon the older individualism in
religion coupled with the newer
social consciousness. The call
of the higher patriotism and
community service becomes
deeply religious, and preaching
on such themes is empowered
through the use of this hymnal.
LIN D. CARTWRIGHT,
Pastor Christian Church,
Fort Collins, Colo.
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Here is the only book that tells the story of the
Disciples movement from first-hand observation.
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AND IN A VITAL APPRECIATION
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mind and heart and will to "see God" and feel God in the world of nature, history,
and especially in the revelation of His will in the life of the Savior of men— is not
made subservient to the presentation of mere historical facts. The study of the
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Thorough: Not a hop-skip-and-jump compromise scheme of study,
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Vol. XXXV
August 29, 1918
Number 33
How Can We Love
Our Enemies
By Raymond Calkins
The Red Tape of Duty
By W. A. Shullenburger
CHIC AG
o
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY August 29, 1918
AND STILL THEY PRAISE
The
20th Century
Quarterly
For Adult and Young People's Bible Classes
Edited by Thomas Curtis Clark
and prepared by the following well known leaders:
John Ray Ewers Herbert L. Willett, Jr.
William Dunn Ryan P rof . W. C. Morro
Graham Frank, of Dallas, Texas, finds it
fresh, vigorous, reverent and usable
"I have taken time to read entirely the first number of the 20th Century
Quarterly. It impresses me most favorably by its freshness, vigor, reverence and
usableness. I anticipate that it will make a large place for itself in the Sunday
Schools."
Dr. J. H. Garrison, of Claremont, Cal., says:
"It is Bible Study made profoundly interesting"
"The 20th Century Quarterly, first issue, is received. It is Bible study made
profoundly interesting. Ryan leads right into the heart of the lesson by the short-
est route. Ewers cuts out the heart of the lesson by his short, sharp and incisive
sentences and applies the great truths found therein to present day conditions.
Morro asks some revealing questions concerning each lesson, testing how far the
class has gone into it. Willett, Jr., throws oriental light on Hebraic allusions. It
is first-class, and I congratulate its editor on assembling such a galaxy of writers."
Allan B. Philputt, of Indianapolis, Ind.,
doesn't see how it could be better
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says it is "up to the minute"
"Your 20th Century Quarterly is admirable for its pocket size, its 'pepish,
punchful' contents and its up-to-the-minute analysis of ancient truths needing
modern emphasis."
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"It's fine. I did not suppose we needed any more quarterlies, but you have
show us that we did. Luck to you."
Send for your free sample copy of the 20th Century Quar-
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THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS, 700 East Fortieth Street, CHICAGO
,ii Undenominational Journal ©f Religion
Volume XXXV
AUGUST 29, 1918
Number 33
3DIT0RIAL STAFF: CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON, EDITOR; HERBERT L. WILLETT. CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
DRVIS FAIRLEE JORDAN, ALVA W. TAYLOR, JOHN RAY EWERS :: THOMAS CURTIS CLARK, OFFICE MANAGER
Entered as second-class matter, February 28, 1902, at the Post-office at Chicago, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Published Weekly By the Disciples Publication Society 700 East 40th Street, Chicago
subscription — $2.50 a year (to ministers, $2.00), strictly in advance. Canadian postage, 52 cents extra; foreign, $1.04 extra,
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The Christian Century is a free interpreter of the essential ideals of Christianity as held historically by the Disciples of Christ,
t conceives the Disciples' religious movement as ideally an unsectarian and unecclesiastical fraternity, whose original impulse and
•ommon tie are fundamentally the desire to practice Christian unity in the fellowship of all Christians. Published by Disciples, The
Christian Century, is not published for Disciples alone, but for the Christian world. It strives to interpret the wider fellowship
in religious faith and service. It desires definitely to occupy a catholic point of view and it seeks readers in all communions.
EDITORIAL
A Growing Function
CHURCH Extension among the Disciples has this
double credit, that it is growing substantially
from year to year in the financial resources that
lire at its disposal and growing also in its responsive-
ness to the newer ideals of Christian service which obtain
n the modern world. More vital to the Kingdom of
jod is the latter sort of growth than the former. For
jhough vast sums should be accumulated and invested
in the furtherance of merely institutional enlargement,
jvithout such modification of function these sums
jnight become obstructions to the essential interests of
Thrist's work, rather than helps. But though the Dis-
iples' Church Extension Society has now accumulated
: permanent fund of nearly a million and a half, it keeps
tself remarkably elastic and open-minded in adapting
ts expenditure to the new day in which we live.
At the beginning its work was conceived in the sim-
le terms of helping young congregations to get church
omes for themselves. While not in any degree aban-
doning, but rather greatly enlarging this its basic func-
lon, the Church Extension board has had imagination
nough to take on such work as the planting of a com-
nunity house in the heart of New York's East Side,
nd is already planning a similar project in Chicago and,
10 doubt, other cities.
This sensitiveness and adaptability of Church Ex-
ension is a virtue tha-t must be encouraged by all the
hurches. Church Extension must not become a mere
ested interest unless you conceive of its "interest" as
vested" in the future rather than the past. During the
nonth of September the call for offerings for this fund
is being sounded in all the churches. It is well in sound-
ing the call for gifts to reassure the givers that their
money is not being tied up in a fashion that may make
it a menace to progress in the future, but that by the
pledge of its past record, and by its very genius, Church
Extension will enlarge its function with the enlarging
ideals of each generation, and so serve Christ's cause
perennially.
Heresy Even in Heaven !
IT would be a pity for anyone to miss the delightful
humor of a paragraph in Dr. Garrison's "Easy
Chair" in a recent issue of the Christian Evangelist.
Out in Nebraska the defenders of the faith once for all
delivered to the saints, who feed upon the spiritual fod-
der which comes to them through a Cincinnati church-
paper, have made a list of the heretics who are alleged
to be spreading German Kultur in our colleges and in"
our pulpits. In this list is included the late Dr. F. D.
Power, pastor at Washington, D. C, for many years,
but whose address Dr. Garrison says is now Heaven.
Whether this change of address will furnish an alibi
in the minds of Dr. Powers' critics, we do not know.
Heresy has been cropping out in some very unexpected
places in recent years.
It was the genius of New Testament religion to say
continually, "Little children, love one another." Is the
watchword of those who would "restore New Testa-
ment Christianity" in our modern world to be, "Sus-
pect one another?" If so, we are quite sure just what
attitude our modern world will take to such a revival.
Do we not need another creed to place by the side
4
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 29, 1918
of the one which stands at the entrance door of the
church? We have confessed, "I believe in Jesus Christ,"
but one can hardly believe in Jesus Christ without shar-
ing his boundless faith in humanity. The man who
walks by the side of Jesus Christ must be able to say,
"I believe in my fellowmen." Where there is no trust,
there can be no love.
Our fellow Christians are bound to hold many re-
ligious opinions not our own. In the average religious
conference, where lay people express their true religious
attitudes, one will find a strange mixture of millennial-
ism, faith cure, spiritualism and every other kind of
element. To completely purify doctrine in such a gath-
ering would be to disrupt it.
We shall live more comfortably in the world if we
believe in the self-evidencing power of the gospel. To
preach the gospel is to defend it. No counter-proposi-
tions need be attached. The point of view which vigor-
ously persecutes every other type of opinion displays a
nervousness that is born of unfaith.
The Second Coming Series
OUR readers show by their correspondence that
they have taken profound and steady interest
in the twenty articles of Professor Willett's
series on The Second Coming of Christ. It is a hazard-
ous thing to hope to maintain the attention of news-
paper readers for so long a time as this series has run,
but it would appear that instead of dropping off the
articles have drawn to themselves a steadily increasing
body of readers as Dr. Willett's thesis has unfolded it-
self.
With one more article the series will be concluded.
Thereafter, as a means of responding to the large body
of inquiries received at our office and by Professor Wil-
lett personally, we have asked him to spend two or
three issues in a question and answer department deal-
ing with the subject of the Millennium and the Return
of our Lord. The articles have elicited criticisms in
other papers. Some of these will be answered along
with the typical questions that have come direct. Any
reader who desires to receive further treatment of any
point in the series, or who has a question to ask or a
criticism to offer will be assured of due consideration
if he will address his message to Professor Wlilett in
care of The Christian Century.
India and the War
ONE of the great objectives of the Pan-German
party in Berlin has been India. The Berlin-
Bagdad railway was a threat. The expedition
against the Suez canal was another threat. As soon as
the war broke out, certain Hindus from Canada and
the western part of the United States were hired by
the German propagandists to go home and start a sedi-
tious movement. It is charged by Mr. Rustom Rus-
tomjee, a distinguished Parsee touring this country,
that certain missionaries of German stock were also
compromised by revelations of their activity against
the government.
Even with the proclamation of a Jehad, or holy
war, by the Kaliph of Constantinople and by the Kaliph
of Bagdad, there has been no response by the Moham-
medan populations of India. Pictures of the kaiser
had been circulated all over the Mohammedan world
with the inscription "Protector of Islam," and it was "a
popular report that the kaiser had secretly joined the
Mohammedan faith. In spite of all this propaganda,
India remained true to Great Britain. She sent a half
million troops early in the war which were among the
first to reach the shores of Europe by the sea. Soon
another half million is to be sent which will make the
Indian participation in the war a significant one indeed.
India has learned that under British rule she has
the best opportunity possible of becoming a self-govern-
ing empire. Mr. Rustomjee was recently introduced to
one audience as being from the Indian nation, to the
amusement of the informed people in the audience.
India has never been a nation and has not even been
an empire until she became under British rule.
One of the most significant facts about the develop-
ment of modern India has been the educational work of
the missionaries. Even men of non-Christian faiths in
India pay a generous tribute to the splendid results of
this educational campaign. At present, self-government
would be impossible in India, but with another genera-
tion of missionary work, the dense populations of India
will be ready to participate in a free government. It is
education and religion which must be the background
of every movement for popular government.
Wasting Time on Sundays
IT has come to be part of the tradition of evangelical
churches that the proper way to keep the Lord's
Day holy is to loaf. We are shocked at the laxity
of our neighbors who belong to the churches of conti-
nental Europe and wonder if they are really religious
when they sanction Sunday baseball games. In our
homes we have often chosen to waste one day in seven
for the glory of God !
When one reflects that time is our most precious
possession, the gold which melts away with every mo-
ment, he wonders if it is ever the will of God for us
to loaf. Rest we need and relaxation we need, but not
necessarily inactivity.
The other day a member of the official board of a
certain church, when asked to do some Christian work,
made the objection that he had no time. It was sug-
gested to him that he perform the task on Sunday.
Like the man in the funny paper, he answered, "I never
thought of that." He accepted the suggestion and
found fully as much rest in doing something quite
apart from the week's business as if he had taken his
usual Sunday afternoon nap.
Children learn to despise Sunday because of the
spirit of repression for which it is made to stand. The
day is so hedged in by prohibitions that one may ask
whether more people are not lost to the evangelical
August 29, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN "CENTURY
;hurches from this one cause than from any other. The
solution of the Sunday problem for the children is or^
Df the problems of religious education. The solution
s neither in ungodly license nor in any attempt to curb
he children.
There will always be some people who will employ
;he day in the reading of good books. Others will wish
to do Christian work, and many a father will take ad-
vantage of the opportunity to get acquainted with his
rhildren. But let us never think that we serve God by
observing any holy day as purely a loafing day.
War Orphans Adopted by Soldiers
THE three hundredth French war orphan has just
been adopted by men of the American Expeditionary
Forces. Almost every branch of the United States
krmy in France has now taken a little French girl or boy
imd has contributed for its support for one year. Many of
[he little kiddies have been rendered homeless through the
,var, some have lost their fathers on the battlefields of
France, others have been released from the hands of Ger-
mans after long years of cruel captivity.
Adopting French war orphans has caused the great-
est interest both in Uncle Sam's Army and in the Navy.
[The record number of adoptions from one unit is fifty-four
children who were adopted in one week by an Ohio regi-
ment. Two companies of the same regiment each adopted
five kiddies which is the high water mark for a company.
j\n aero squadron has taken five children and others have
|aken four. Two balloon sections came in during a recent
iveek and adopted eight.
French laws dealing with adoption are so rigid that
actual adopton of war orphans by the American Expedi-
ionary Force is practically impossible. At the termination
)f the war this may change, but it is apparent that France
will need all her children, her boys in particular, and it is
ioubtful whether they will be permitted to go to the United
States.
The plan of providing for French war orphans orig-
nated with the "Stars and Stripes," the official newspaper
)f the American forces. The "Stars and Stripes" turns
wer the collected funds to the American Red Cross which
:hooses and takes charge of each orphan. Girls are the
nost asked for, but when no choice is given the American
^ed Cross usually favors boys. Many requests are made
or red-headed kiddies but the thorough search of the
\merican Red Cross has proved something that there are
10 red-headed children in France, not real red anyhow.
Hie Man Who Suspected His
Neighbor
A Parable of Safed the Sage
OW on a day there came to me a man who said,
May I look in the Philosopher's Stone?
And I led him within the house, and seated
iim where the Light of a Window might fall upon his
N
Countenance, and I said, Sit down and tell me, Why
dost thou wish to look in the Philosopher's Stone?
And he said, My neighbor is reputed to be a good
man, but I suspect he is a Bad man ; people trust him
with Money, and I suspect he misuseth it. And his
neighbor next beyond hath a lovely Wife, who is even
as a Peach, and I suspect that he visiteth her when her
husband is away. And because I have caught him in
none of these things, therefore would I look in the
Philosopher's Stone, and see if they be true.
And I took the Philosopher's Stone from the Table
and I gave it to him, and I said, Be sure thou keep it
This Side Up ; beware thou look not into the Other Side.
And he looked long in the side of the Stone which
I gave him Uppermost, and I looked into his face. And
what he saw I knew was Nothing ; but what I saw was
What he Hoped to see.
And after a time he handed me back the Stone, and
I held it in my hand the Same Side Up, that he might
see How I Held It ; but into the Stone I looked not.
And I asked him, What didst thou see?
And he said, I think I see that it is all just as I
have Suspected.
And I said, If thou hast seen what thou Camest
to see, go thy Way.
But he lingered. And he said to me, Although I
think I have read the Philosopher's Stone aright, yet
because I am in Another Line of Business and have
little Familiarity with Philosopher's Stones, look thou
and tell me ; and if thou seest what I think I see, I will
give thee a Talent of Silver.
And I Iffted the stone that was in mine Hand, and
I turned it over. And I looked in the Other Side of the
Stone and into his face, and he asked, Why dost thou
not look in the same side of the Stone wherein I looked ?
And I said, That side was for thee, and this for me.
And I looked the second time, first into the Stone
and then into his face. And he asked, What canst thou
see in that side more than in the other?
And I said, In this side I can see thy heart.
And I looked the third time into the Stone and
into his Face, and he was Uneasy.
And I looked the Fouth time, and his countenance
was Red.
And I looked the Fifth time, and he asked of me,
What was the side of the Stone into which I looked?
And I answered, That side is a Moral Mirror, which
reflecteth back whatever is in a man's own heart.
And I looked the Sixth time, and his face was white
like ashes.
And I looked the Seventh time, long at the Stone,
and longer in his face, and his Countenance fell, and he
Trembled.
And I was silent till he rose to go, and he went
away and spake not a word. And the Silver he forgot
to leave with me.
For this have I often seen, that the Root of Sus-
picion is this, that a man suspecteth his Neighbor of
doing what he himself would do in the like place.
And the man thought that I had seen this in the
Philosoper's Stone ; but I had been looking in his heart.
Activities and Menace of Millennialism
A Study of the Dangers to Faith and to Character Implicit in the
Millenarian Propaganda
Twentieth Article in the Scries on the Second Coming of Christ
IT has been made clear in the course of these artcles
that the belief that Jesus is about to return to the earth
in visible form to complete the overthrow of un-
righteousness and begin a new era of holiness and hap-
piness is one that recurs from time to time in the history
of the church. .Like other by-products of Christian teach-
ing, phases of apostolic preaching or practice that were
incidental rather than basic, — such as physical healing,
miraculous powers as bestowments of the Spirit, specu-
lations regarding the condition of the soul after death,
and the essential value of certain ritual acts as possessing
regenerative efficacy, — the millennialist belief has prob-
ably persisted at all times in certain sections of the church,
but has tended to break out in more self-assertive mani-
festations at particular periods.
Such periods have always been the times of trouble
and depression in the order of the world's life. Tragedies
that have affected considerable sections of the earth have
always been fruitful occasions for ardent hope of an early
coming of the Lord. Great conflagrations, epidemics that
carried off large populations, devastating wars, natural
calamities whose effects were widespread, have suggested
to impressionable minds the approach of the end, and have
led to outbursts of millennial zeal. There is every reason
therefore why the present world war, unprecedented in its
extent and violence, should be hailed by those inclined to
adventistic speculations as the time of the great consum-
mation, to which the mysterious words of biblical seers
have looked forward. Whenever the facts of current ex-
perience appear to conform to descriptions found in the
Bible there is a tendency on the part of untrained students
of the Scriptures and of history to connect them as fore-
seen event and inspired prediction. And never was there
a moment more congenial to such superficial readings of
the meanings of things than the present.
RECENT PROCLAMATIONS
Even men who have been trusted in broad circles of
Christian activity as leaders and teachers have yielded to
the lure of millenarian expectations, and under the im-
pulse of current events have been betrayed into the
advocacy of adventistic theories as of the most serious
importance just now. In a document issued last autumn
a group of English preachers, some of whom have been
widely honored by the churches, gave utterance to a set
of solemn declarations which included the following
among other affirmations : "The present crisis points to-
ward the close of the times of the Gentiles. The revela-
tion of our Lord may be expected at any moment, when
he will be manifested as evidently to his disciples as on
the evening of the resurrection. The completed church
will be translated to be 'forever with the Lord.' Israel
will be restored to its own land in unbelief, and be after-
wards converted by the appearance of Christ on its behalf.
All human schemes of reconstruction must be subsidiary
to the second coming of our Lord, because all nations
will then be subject to His rule."
If this document had not been signed by a considerable
list of names, two or three of which are well known among
the English churches, and to some extent on this side of
the ocean, it would have passed with scant notice, as one
more effort to attract Christian attention to certain
eccentric opinions held by excellent but over-zealous
propagandists. But as a matter of fact the declaration
is symptomatic of the disturbed times in which we live.
Like other periods of disquiet and trouble, the years just
now passing have stimulated a widespread recrudescence
of the millennialist agitation. Large sums of money are
being expended in the preparation and diffusion of mil-
lenarian books, tracts and pamphlets. Conferences of
those committed to such views, and others who may be
induced to attend, are conducted in various part of the
country, and their progranis are sent out with the claim
that the study of "prophecy" is the purpose of the gather-
ings. In reality the discussions conducted under these
auspices bear no relation to the study of any discipline
that can be called prophecy in the light of sober and
intelligent biblical scholarship.
On general principles there can be no rightful ob-
jection to any form of study of the Holy Scriptures. It
ought to be a matter of congratulation that people are
induced to investigate the teachings of the Bible, no mat-
ter what the motive. And no one doubts the good inten-
tions of the millennialists. They are very excellent people,
whose zeal in behalf of what they believe to be the
teaching of the Word of God ought to gain the approval
of all. One ought to be optimistic enough to rejoice that
time is devoted to so valuable an occupation as Bible study,
even under the stimulus of a mere fragment of Christian
truth, or even a positive error. But it is not difficult to
concede the excellent character and good intentions of
these eager investigators of the Scriptures, and at the same
time recognize the insidious and harmful nature of their
theories. The time and enthusiasm which they devote to
the spread of millennial speculations might be turned to
praiseworthy account if expended in some more profitable
and less harmful sort of Christian activity.
PESSIMISM
The first and most striking feature of the entire ad-
ventistic propaganda is its pessimism. The Bible is
frankly hopeful from beginning to end. The prophets of
the Old Testament preached and suffered in confidence
that they were helping to bring in the better days of
righteousness of which they evermore spoke. Our Lord
and his apostles gave forth the good news of a new social
August 29, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
i order which was to be realized through the preaching and
[prevalence of the gospel. This assurance of a better time
to come, that is to be attained by the winning of men to
a better comprehension of the divine purpose, is the very
■
! essence of the message of both Testaments. In contrast
Jwith this, millenarianism denies the efficacy of the gospel
land insists that nothing less than the personal return of
I Jesus can be of any value.
Considering the stress which is laid upon the preach-
ing of the truth of our Lord and his first disciples, and
the bold assertion of the greatest of these disciples that
the "gospel is the power of God unto salvation," it seems
well-nigh unbelievable that any group of men who profess
to take seriously the Word of God should be so frankly
skeptical of the value of that message to save the world.
And yet the outstanding assumption of all pre-millennialists
is that the world-order is rapidly deteriorating, that the
gospel is a failure as a means for the achievements of the
ends which Jesus desired, and that the only approach to
the desired consummation must be catastrophic and revo-
lutionary, a sudden overturning of human affairs in order
that they may be reshaped by the Lord in the kingly power
of his second advent. There is no more striking example
of a theology of denial and despair.
It is the calm and confident assumption of millenarians
that the efforts to establish the kingdom of God in the
world have been failures from the first, and are destined
to be failures until Christ shall return. It is their claim
that the kingdom has never come as yet, and that the
prayer for its coming which Jesus taught his disciples
| proves that it was not to be expected till he should come
I again. That kingdom is not the new social order in the
world, to which the Savior directed the thought and hope
of his followers, but a supernatural dispensation, whose
i blessings are strictly limited to a select company, appar-
i ently the advocates of the doctrine. One need not hope
| for the salvation of the world. It is too evil to be saved,
| and is becoming continually worse. To use the words of
j a prominent expounder of the theory, "the world is a
wrecked vessel." All that can be expected is that from
[ the mass of humanity doomed to destruction "we may
save some."
It might appear strange that a doctrine of this sort
should be held by any of missionary or evangelistic con-
victions. Yet many of both these classes are claimed by
the pre-millenarians as members of their company. This
they explain on the ground that the gospel must be
preached as widely as possible, not with the hope of its
efficacy in saving many, but in order that there may be
no excuse, and that the sin of humanity may be evident
and without appeal before God. The world is destined
to continue in evil courses, and wax worse and worse. The
worse it becomes the better is the situation, for only the
extremity of evil can bring the anticipated cataclysm. It
is this curious frame of mind which causes millenarians
to take what seems a melancholy satisfaction in whatever
signs of disorder and trouble the age witnesses. It is
almost past belief, were it not so common an occurrence,
that those of adventist leanings hail the reports of trage-
dies by sea or land, devastations by field and flood, epi-
demics, wars and tumults, with a kind of avid delight as
the proof of still greater disturbances to come, and the
signs of the end.
MATERIALISM
The second objection to the millenarian propaganda
is its materialism. It anticipates a physical transformation
which shall see Jerusalem made the new and glorious
capital of a physical kingdom of God. Instead of placing
the ideal of Christianity in the attainment of character
which shall make one a worthful citizen of the new order
that is to be, there is postulated a series of rewards for
loyalty, especially loyalty to the particular doctrine of the
second advent. And these rewards are in their nature
material and sensuous. Every objection which can be urged
against the Mohammedan conception of the future life as
a series of physical rewards and punishments lies equally
against the millenarian idea. If the grossness of the
Moslem paradise is not imitated to the full in the apocalyp-
tist anticipations, the basic features are not essentially
different.
But the most depressing feature of this materialized
view of the future is the imposition upon the Master him-
self of the physical elements of visible, fleshly manifestation
as necessary to the accomplishment of his divine purpose
in the universe. In spite of the fact that he warned the
disciples that his visible, fleshly presence with them was a
limitation upon their efficiency, that as long as he remained
in their midst they would wait for his initiative and fail
to throw themselves into the supreme mission of evange-
lism ; in short, that if he did not go away the Comforter
could not come, the millenarians insist that what we need
is the visible, tangible presence of the Lord in order to
get his work done. This view reverses the entire program
of Christianity, and reverts to the conception of a material
rather than a spiritual leadership as the means of realizing
the ideals of Jesus. With entire naivete the leading mil-
lennialist textbook declares that "to be with Christ bodily"
is the great desideratum, and that this can be attained
only by the resurrection at his coming.
Less and less can such an interpretation of the great
hopes of our faith appeal to a Christian society which is
gradually disengaging itself from crass, childish and ma-
terialistic notions of religion, and is finding in the realiza-
tion and joy of the actual presence of Jesus day by day
the fulfilment of its highest anticipations. The coming
of the Lord does not depend upon the visible and spectacu-
lar. It is increasingly realized in personal experience and
in the prevalence of his ideals in human society and insti-
tutions. Nothing but spiritual blindness or perversity
can prevent the recognition of the gradual attainment,
however slow and painful, of the objectives toward which
our Savior directed the thought of his followers. There
may be a pedagogical value to certain types of mind in
the use of the vivid and apocalyptic conception of the com-
ing kingdom, just as in the Old Testament it seemed
necessary at times to describe Jehovah in-anthropomorphic
terms. But the great spiritual teachers of both the old
and the new dispensations have made it clear that bodies,
shapes and appearances are but means to aid in the dis-
8
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 29, 1918
>18
cernment of spiritual realities, and that as soon as it is
possible to perceive the reality without the use of its
symbols we ought to "put away childish things."
MENACE TO PATRIOTISM
That, however, which at the present moment consti-
tutes the most serious menace of millenarianism is its
inevitable effect upon the loyalty, courage and devotion of
our citizenship in the present world war. It is unnecessary
and far from the purpose of this discussion to charge the
advocates of pre-millennialism with disloyalty to the
government and the national cause in this time of peril.
They have enough else for which to answer. But it re-
quires only a moment's reflection to discover the curve
of all such speculations. It is the basic contention of all
who hold such opinions that the Lord is likely to return
to the earth at any moment. Still more, as has been
pointed out, it is the fixed belief of all the more ardent
representatives of the theory that he is practically certain
to come at once. What then can be the value of any efforts
in behalf of democracy, decency and world-brotherhood ?
The very atrocities which have shocked the soul of man-
kind, and branded the Prussian name with infamy for
generations to come, are in fact to be welcomed as proof
of the failure of civilization and the gospel, and the token
of the last times. If the millennialist does not openly deny
the efficacy of the present struggle in behalf of freedom,
justice, honor and good-will, he is to that extent recreant
to his theory. As a matter of fact it is not difficult to
discover that full commitment to the adventistic views
absolutely incapacitates one for whole-hearted devotion
to the cause for which the allied armies are fighting.
It is conceivable that one who has turned to millen-
nialist doctrines might give himself in entire devotion to
any redemptive task necessitated by the war. He could
perform hospital or Red Cross service, and thus join in the
great issue with what patriotism he can command. But to
accept any active work that involved an effort to restrain
and defeat the forces that have arrayed themselves against
morality and Christianity would require a belief in the
righteousness of the cause and the possibility of its success.
And such hope and confidence are a denial of the funda-
mentals of pre-millenarianism. If one of this persuasion
speaks with awareness and candor, he will affirm that there
may be nothing else for him to do than to follow the
course marked out by the government and the opinion of
the nation ; but that in reality the war is futile, and human
affairs are destined to wax worse and worse until the return
of the Lord.
If the millenarian position were the only alternative
to a rejection of the coming of the Lord, there would be
some satisfactory justification for the efforts to spread the
theory. Even a crude and unscriptural doctrine would be
better than a world from which Christ were excluded.
But there is no such paradox. There has never been a
moment in the history of the church when the blessed
hope of the coming of the Lord has not been cherished
in a manner to meet the highest needs of the soul and to
avoid all the entanglements which the passing years have
woven for the feet of advent heralds. To turn away from
a satisfying, biblical and demonstrable reality to a specula-
tion which has strewn the highway of nineteen centuries
with frustrate expectations is to exchange the substance
for a shadow. When to this one adds the fact that mil-
lenarianism offers the strangest contrast to the hopefulness, I
spirituality, and loyalty of the gospel by its mingling of j
pessimism, materialism, triviality and disbelief in the great \
causes which enlist the courage and devotion of our noblest
citizenship, the exhibit is a sorry one at best.
The last study of this series will discuss the con- 1
trasted positions of pre-millennialists and post-millennial- j
ists, and compare them both with the biblical doctrine of j
the Coming of the Lord. In two or three subsequent num- j
bers certain questions which have been presented in the
course of this series will receive consideration. And to
this further investigation of the subject any who desire j
to contribute are invited to do so.
Herbert L. Willett.
The Legal End of Church Extension
Editor The Christian Century :
The advantage of a fund for church extension, which
means the advancement of Christianity, suggests itself to
many thoughtful persons, and its advantages are all the more
made manifest by the observation of the successful working of
such a fund. Success, in anything, we may safely say, is what
counts, and to manage an extension fund as it should be, and
to insure its success and its usefulness, means careful handling
of the funds; not only in placing them wisely, but in the ad-
ministrative management in the way of the details as to the
proper evidences of title, and evidences of security for moneys
loaned.
We have had some complaints in the administration of
our fund on account of "red tape," which is a much abused
term, which, properly understood, means only carefulness and
prudence, which is absolutely necessary if funds are to be
handled successfully on business lines. It may be said among
Christian people there should not be the exactness that exists,
or should exist, in ordinary business transactions. That might
be true if all Christian people were wise and prudent, and fur-
ther, if the people that were dealt with were Christian people
altogether, but this is not so. While loans are made to
churches, other classes that are non-Christian are to be dealt
with, in which case it would not be wise to place implicit con-
fidence on the ground of religious fidelity. Furthermore, the
adjustment of titles of the property of a congregation and
their legal affairs generally, inures to the benefit of the church
in that it gives them a proper example of the way their legal
business should be transacted, and in fact, their business affairs j
generally. In this respect, the proper handling of a church'
extension fund is a valuable educator for the congregation.
I would say that the ideal way of handling an extension
fund would be one freed from all legal exactions, and merely
upon the granting of the loan, sending the money to the con-
gregation, relying on their promise to return it according to
the conditions thereof, with no legal requirements or obliga-
tions. But, owing to the weakness, errors and frailties of hu-
man nature, such a course would prove disastrous, and in a
short time the fund would be dissipated and lost, with but a
modicum of good from its use. It is to be hoped that some
day such conditions will exist, but at present, such an ideal
state seems far distant, and we doubt whether it will ever be,
owing to the inhered weakness of man. Weakness not alto-
gether of the heart, but of the will to transact religious matter?
in a careful, conservative way. Langston Bacon,
Attorney of the Church Extension Board.
Kansas City, Mo.
How Can We Love Our Enemies?
By Raymond Calkins
In the Congregationalist and Advance
Love your enemies. — Matt. 5:44.
THIS has been called the impossible command-
ment. People who have read the Sermon on the
Mount up to this verse with sentiments of ap-
proval stop short when they come to this commandment.
\ Now that, surely, they say, is an exaggeration. That is
j one of those striking utterances of Jesus that must not
' be taken too literally. That is one of his sayings that
j: were intended to excite attention, but not to be an actual
guide to conduct. Who can love his enemies? The
proposition is irrational and unnatural.
AN INEVITABLE TEACHING
And yet this hard saying of Christ stands right in
the foreground of his teaching. The lexicon does not
help us. The words mean just what they say. The con-
text does not help us. The words that precede and that
follow this extraordinary injunction do not contradict,
rather they reinforce and complete it. The commentary
does not help us. When we turn to see how scholars
explain this word of Jesus, we find that they do not ex-
plain it away. It stands when they have finished just as
it stood when they began. And then we begin to get
concerned about this saying of Jesus. We become more
so, when we discover that this is not a detached isolated
statement, but that the main teaching of Jesus has to do
with love and forgiveness. And furthermore that he
himself has set us the perfect example of his teaching,
when he prayed for and forgave his enemies who nailed
him to the Cross.
Suppose, then, we face it. But what a thing to face !
Love your enemies. Well, the word enemy means some-
thing today. It means just one thing today. It means
something portentous, huge, real. It does not mean
some one who has done me some petty, mean thing;
played some underhand trick, on me ; said some unkind
thing about me. How such personal, little enmities as
that have sunk all out of sight in the fact of the great
world-situation that we confront today !
A SEEMING IMPASSE
No, let us lift the question today to the height
where it belongs. Jesus did not limit the word and we
cannot limit it. He did not say personal enemies, "or put
any other adjective before it. Love your enemies. There
it stands. And for us today that means just one thing.
It means our enemies the Germans. We are told by our
Lord Jesus Christ to love the Germans.
And there we seem to have come to an impasse.
Now we have run into a stonewall. The teaching of
Jesus now seems not only impossible but positively
pernicious. It seems to connote moral blindness to
crimes that shriek for vengeance ; it seems to tell us to
be mild and loving, while all the unspoiled manhood in
us prompts us to leap upon our murderous foes and pin
them to the ground. Suppose all the churches in the
land were to preach this doctrine of loving the Germans
to our civilian population. Would congregations of men
and women who are laboring, suffering to win the war,
whose sons are at the front or in the trenches, listen
kindly to it? With their souls on fire with indignation
and with passionate desire for victory, would they sit
quietly while they were told to love their enemies?
Well, we are not left in doubt. These questions
have been answered and with emphasis. Not long ago
one of the most honored and trusted Christian minis-
ters in New England spoke of the necessity of cherish-
ing love and good-will for our enemies the Germans.
There was at once a great outcry. The press was filled
with articles decrying and denouncing what he said.
And yet, what was he saying? What had he said? Ap-
parently nothing but what lies right on the surface of
our New Testament : the simplest and most evident of
the teachings of Christ. It would appear, therefore,
that there is at least one of the teachings of Jesus which
it will not do for a man to preach publicly in these
days. And if he were to preach it publicly, would a
modern congregation act the way that congregation at
Nazareth did?
WILLIAM J. LOCKE QUOTED
Some have admitted this frankly. In his novel,
"The Red Planet," Mr. William J. Locke says this in
so many words. "I hope" (I quote his words roughly)
"that my rector will not preach to me about loving our
enemies the Germans. If he does. I will tell him that
I am a miserable sinner and unable and unwilling to
keep this law, or else I will tell him that when these
words were uttered there were no Germans."
And we cannot forget that the Germans have the
same difficulty with this saying of Jesus. Miss Slocum
in one of her articles has described this difficulty. She
once heard a German on the street say, "I wish all the
English would starve to death." And when his com-
panion protested, "That's not Christian," then the
Briton-hater answered: "No, I don't suppose it is. I'll
reef it in somewhat. I wish the English would nearly
starve to death.." When the war broke out, she tells
us, the Kaiser wrote a prayer for an "honorable peace
and for divine grace to treat our enemies in a Christian
manner." But by his Majesty's orders this prayer is
no longer read in the churches. This amount of Chris-
tianity was evidently not able to survive the rigors and
demands of the war.
WILL LOVING HINDER FIGHTING?
Indeed, we are told that precisely the opposite of
all this is now the notion that is inculcated in season
and out of season in the armies on both sides. In order
10
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 29, 1918
to be good fighting machines, they must feel just the
other way. No one wants to bayonet a man whom he
loves any too well. So in order to be good at the bay-
onet, he must not be good at the other thing. But it
is equally true of our civilian population. Is the too
loving and benevolent kind of disposition what is want-
ed at this crisis? Would the United States Government
like to have this sort of thing preached Sunday after
Sunday to the people? Or is the kind of temper that
they want quite the reverse of this — a determination,
a resistance, a feeling in which love and good-will and
all that sort of thing is conspicuous rather by its ab-
sence?
Where are we then? Are we to conclude that we
have arrived at a point in human affairs when to be a
Christian, in this sense at least, is impossible, or un-
desirable, if it were possible?
Let us begin at the beginning. If loving our ene-
mies the Germans implies any lack of hatred, detesta-
tion, deep-seated and inveterate moral indignation in
the face of the crimes which they have committed in
the conduct of this war, then, whether or not this in-
junction is in the New Testament, whether or not
Christianity teaches it, we ourselves can have nothing
whatever to do with it. Here, at least, we are on solid
ground.
THE DAMNING RECORD
If we do not hate with perfect hatred the well-
attested German atrocities, then morally we are hope-
less. I think that morally and spiritually there is more
hope for a poor thief or a poor prostitute than there is
for a well-dressed and so-called respected and respect-
able American who can read the undenied and undenia-
ble crimes against our common humanity committed in
defiance of all recognized laws and conventions of na-
tions as well as the common instincts of humanity
without the rising of an overwhelming tide of indignant
wrath. I am inclined to agree also that on the whole
there has been too little of this moral indignation rather
than too much of it. There are some things that we
ought not to forget, and that we ought not to be able to
forget. One's soul has to be hopelessly corrupt unless
he can say: "I hate it with a perfect hatred."
Have you read — and if not, why not? — what the
German armies have done to Belgium and northern
France? For many years leaders in every civilized na-
tion have been trying to make warfare less brutal. Con-
ventions at Geneva, at The Hague, made rules to pro- '
tect nurses, doctors, hospitals and non-combatants.
Germany signed them with other nations. My pen
refuses to write what German frightfulness has perpe-
trated on the non-combatant population of Belgium
and France, but the record of it is written.
You have read of the sinking of hospital ships — an
act of barbarity prevented only by loading them with
German captives. On Good Friday noon, women and
children were murdered by a long-distance shell as they
were saying their prayers in church. Young orchards
have been cut clean by German armies in retreat — a
practice forbidden even by the Turks in the Middle
Ages — churches have been rifled, -wells poisoned and
every other act of deviltry perpetrated that a debased
and abnormal mind -can conceive of. And you must
loathe it, hate it, and be filled with a consuming wrath
toward it, unless you yourself are loathsome' and hate-
ful. There is no other way.
According to the Bible there is no other way.
Anger and hatred are moral motives. They are central
to morality. They are central to the morality of the
Bible. "Ye that love the Lord hate evil." "The Lord
is angry with the wicked every day." "A wicked man
is an abomination to the Lord." Such hatred lies cen-
tral to the teachings of Jesus Christ. What else do you
make out of such language as this : "Woe unto you,
hypocrites, for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, full
Of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness.- Woe unto
you because ye build the tombs of the prophets and
garnish the sepulchres of the righteous. Ye serpents,
ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damna-
tion of hell !" Love and hate, that is, are not ex-
clusive terms. To love good is to hate evil. The more
one loves righteousness, the more one is bound to
abominate iniquity. To love the Lord is to hate evil.
HATE AND LOVE GO TOGETHER
We can go farther than that. Truly to love an
individual or a collection of individuals is to hate the
evil committed by that individual or by that group of
individuals. To love a person — using that term in its
broadest sense — is to magnify one's personality to the
utmost in the service of that person whom we love.
And truly to serve that person whom we love implies
the positive detestation and abhorrence of the evil of
which that person may be guilty by perpetrating which
he not only does wrong to others but also grievous
wrong to himself; and to determine to put an end to it.
Imagine yourself loving a man — a brother, a son,i
a husband. Imagine that man guilty of the most dread-j
ful crimes. How will your love for him show itself ?|
It will not be love if it does not detest and hate the
crimes of which he is guilty and unless it is willing]
to go to the limit of strength and ability in the deter-l
mination to force an abandonment of the crimes of
which he is guilty. But neither will it be love if it
turns into sheer hatred for the man himself — an utter
abandonment of him to the sins and lust that have
mastered him, and a turning into vindictive detestation
of the current of brotherliness and care and unselfish
effort in his behalf.
Here are our enemies the Germans. Well, if we
truly love them — and use that term now in its broadest
sense, use it in the sense that God loves the wicked
against whom he is angry, that Christ loved the Scribe?)
and Pharisees whom he cursed — that love will not mean!
that we will condone, overlook or excuse the crimes anc
evils perpetrated by them, or temper in any sense out
hatred or indignation or detestation of those evils; noi
will it mean that we will lessen by a hair's breadth oui
determination to prevent by force the continuation QJ
them. It would not be love if it meant that. W<
August 29, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
11
should not then be magnifying our whole personality
to the utmost in their interest.
SERVING THE BETTER GERMANY
The interest of the German people themselves, as
well as our own interests demands that this thing shall
cease. No one who has known the real German char-
acter can think anything else. This recrudescence of
barbarity simply must not mean the Germans. German
Kultur must not for all time mean frightfulness. Ger-
man ideals must not forever spell the quintessence of
barbarity. The nation of Luther and of Schiller, of
Goethe and Beethoven, must not mean for all future
generations the Lnsitania and Belgium, Edith Cavell
and Lissauer's Hymn of Hate.
Von Tirpitz and von Hindenburg, von Bissing and
von Reventlow, Prussianism and barbarity shall not
preempt this thing called German for the world to
loathe and to hate — a hissing and a byword of reproach.
In the interest of the German himself, in the discovery
that our true interests are identical, we will fight him
now to the death. The German we are now trying to
i defeat must be defeated in order that the true German
may live. The Germany we are now trying to lay low
| must be laid low — and shall be laid low — that the true
Germany that now lies low, under foot of junker and
; pirate, of vampire and beast, shall be permitted to rise.
SAVING BY KILLING
The Prussians we are trying to annihilate must be
; annihilated that the heart of Prussia which her rulers
and blood-drunk generals are trying to annihilate may
be saved from extermination. If this perverted Ger-
many wins, true Germany is lost. If this monstrous,
abnormal, Teutonic monster emerges victor, the spirit-
ual ideals of a nation that began in the long-ago sagas
to sing her note of idealism that has enriched in a
hundred ways the soul of humanity is forever lost.
And if that is lost how irreparable and irredeemable
that loss will be ! To prevent it, to save this misguided,
perverted, distorted and deformed nation from itself
is to love it. And to love it is to hate this sinister and
hideous modern caricature of its real self.
This is to love our enemies : not to hate them with-
out distinction ; not to loathe the whole people and to
abandon them to their evil ways; not to fight and to kill
from no other motive than vengeance and vindictive-
ness; not to send the whole people to hell and damna-
tion without a thought of redemption or recovery or
salvation of the people from themselves for us and for
the world to come.
Imagine that this false hatred could have its way,
would there be anything ultimately of which we could
be proud? Imagine the whole German people extermi-
Inated. Would there be anything there that we could
truly say was a permanent gain for ourselves or for all
mankind? Unless hatred has the highest kind of love
enshrined within it, it defeats its own highest object.
It defeats the moral purpose and the moral character
sf him who thus hates, debases him, ruins him, makes
him less the thing he was and ought to be. But let
hate have this love within it that spells the redemption
of him whom one resists unto death, and not only such
a love and such a hate means the ennobling and mag-
nifying of the character of him who feels it, but it
means the ultimate salvation of him whom one thus
loves.
Can we love our enemy so? Alas, if we cannot!
But indeed we must and we will. Let us then highly
resolve that we will hate and master the Germany that
seeks to ruin itself as it seeks to ruin the world, that
we may truly love and ultimately save the Germany
that now lies forgotten and debased to herself, to us
and to all the world.
The Red Tape of Duty
By W. A. Shullenberger
DUTY is the most over-lauded word in the 'whole
vocabulary of life. Duty is the cold, bare an-
atomy of rightfulness. Duty looks at life as
a debt to be paid ; love sees life as a debt to be collected.
Duty is ever paying assessments ; love is constantly count-
ing its premiums. Duty is forced, like a pump ; love is
spontaneous, like a fountain. Duty is prescrbed and
formal ; it is a part of the red tape of life. It means run-
ning on moral rails. It is good enough as a beginning; it
is poor as a finality.
The captain who goes down with his sinking vessel,
when he has done everything in his power to save others
and when he can save his own life without dishonor, is
the victim of a false sense of duty. He is cruelly forget-
ful of the loved ones on shore whom he is sacrificing.
His death means a spectacular exit from life, the cowardly
fear of an investigating committee, or a brave man's loyal,
yet misguided, sense of duty. A human life, with its
wondrous possibilities, is too sacred an individual trust to
be thus lightly thrown into eternity".
The workman who drops his tools at the stroke of
twelve, as suddenly as if he had been struck by lightning
may be doing his duty — but he is doing nothing more. No
man has made a great success of life or fit preparation for
immortality by merely doing his duty. He must do that —
and more. If he puts love into his work, the "more" will
be easy.
The nurse may watch faithfully at the bedside of a
sick child as a duty. But to the mother's heart, the care
of the little one, in the battle against death is never a duty,
the golden mantle of love thrown over every act makes the
word "duty" have a jarring sound as if it were the voice
of desecration.
When a child turns out badly in later years, the
parent sometimes says, "Well, I always did my duty by
him." Then it is no wonder the boy turned out wrong.
"Doing his duty by his son" too often implies merely food,
lodging, clothes and education supplied by the father.
Why, a public institution would give that ! What the boy
needed most was deep draughts of love; he needed to live
in an atmosphere of sweet sympathy, counsel and trust.
The parents should ever be an unfailing refuge, a con-
12
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 29, 1918
stant resource and inspiration, not a mere larder, or hotel,
or wardrobe, or school that furnishes these necessities free.
The empty boast of mere parental duty is one of the
dangers of modern society.
Christianity stands forth as the one religion based on
love, not duty. Love is the one great duty enjoined by the
Christian religion. What duty creeps to laboriously, love
reaches in a moment on the wings of a dove. Duty is not
lost, condemned or destroyed in Christianity ; it is digni-
fied, purified and exalted and all its rough ways are made
smooth by love.
France's Crosses; Christ's Cross
By William T. Ellis
A SPIRIT sublimely sacrificial pervades this war.
There is less talk of religion than the folk at home
imagine. Of formal piety there is very little ; sol-
diers have a horror of parading their religion, or of
anything that may seem like pharisaism. They often cloak
their deepest feelings beneath jesting speech. The ideals
of the war are not discussed in the camps and in the
trenchs as much as they are among the people at home.
Soldiers have reached the action stage. Yet their pur-
pose and spirit are branded with the cross of service and
sacrifice. Does it seem irreverent to say that the army
wears the stigmata on its hidden soul?
"over the top" for others
Startling in its indifference to conventional forms and
phraseology of religion, the army has none the less
glimpsed the glory of the cross spirit. Men who go to
death for reasons entirely outside of themselves, and for
the sake of others who have no immediate personal claim
upon them, cannot be indifferent to the example and in-
spiration of the Saviour who "went over the top" of Cal-
vary for the redemption of men. Much of the finest hero-
ism of this war finds its spring in the death of that other
young man, the Hero of the ages, who gave up all, and
suffered all, for the sake of an ideal and of service.
Reverently, many soldiers know in their deepest
hearts that they are following in His footsteps when they
fling their lives into this ministry of mankind. Chaplains
remark upon the eagerness of soldiers for the Lord's Sup-
per ; men who have never partaken 6f the sacred emblems
in civil life kneel reverently in Y. M. C. A. hut or in bar-
racks or in a dug-out to receive the Memorials of the Cru-
cified. What is this but a craving for the fellowship of the
Redeemed who first gave his body to be broken for the
sake of the world? The sense of fellowship in sacrifice is
real. The soldier servants of a cause that would have been
impossible had not Jesus taught men how to die for an
ideal and a duty feel their kinship with, as well as de-
pendence upon, the Christ who became a sacrifice: With
a new an dliving and untheological reality the cross has
become central to this war. All the countless battlefield
crosses that point backward and forward and upward
with their arms of faith testify to a fresh appreciation of
Christ and him crucified.
FROM CALVARY TO THE 80MME
Horror-smitten by the awfulness of this war, many i
persons are unable to look beyond the moment, with its ,
weight of suffering and death. They see no reason for it I
all. To such, it is well to recall Calvary. It has been
nearly two thousand years since Christ died, the just for ,
the unjust. How many times during these long centuries)
it has seemed as if his supreme sacrifice was in vain ! The
cross-principle seemed to triumph with heart-breaking
slowness. Ancient selfishness and sordidness and smallness
persisted. Twenty centuries is a long time to wait for the
vindication of an act and a principle.
But behold! In an unexpected day, when materialism
was rampant on earth, and pride and ambition stalked!
abroad in vaunting arrogance, there sounded the call of the!
cross — the summons to lay down life for the sake of God's i
goals of righteousness and justice and mercy. A power!
calling itself "Superman," that scoffed at right and sneered,
at Jesus as a weakling, flung its iron gauntlet into the whole:
world's arena. Would the nations dare to respond? Or
would the crushing of Belgium be permitted and the de-
struction of Serbia, and the nullification of all the slowly!
erected sanctities of civilization be allowed to go by de-i
fault?
Then came the answer that proved the reality of the
cross principle in the life of Christian peoples. Great na-
tions flung themselves, in sublime surrender of all the.
former prizes of life, upon the cross of sacrifice. The)
lesson of Calvary has not gone unlearned. Life laid down
is still the highest conception of existence. Life laid down
all for the sake of others, and of principles, is the act that
links man with God, and that relates Calvary to the Som-
me. Whoever would see the outworking of the Cruci-
fixion of Jesus needs but to behold the stream of dedi-
cated soldiers pouring across the waters to France. These
young men who go forth to die are in the train of the
Hero of the Cross. By their labors and death they an!
establishing the supremacy of the cross-principle in civ-
ilization. It is a new world, pledged to vicariousness, thai*
is being created on the battlefields of France. This re-'
ward is worth all that it costs ; even as God deemed th<j
salvation of mankind worthy the sacrifice of his onl)
Son.
THE GIFT FROM THE GARDEN
"I find myself liking this cross best of all my treasures
and wearing it oftenest," said one, a few days ago, to whon
I had once brought a little olive-wood cross that I ha<
made in Jerusalem, from a piece of wood of the ancien
olive tree that still grows in the Garden of Gethsemane
The sentiment symbolizes the mood of our world today
We are learning to prize the cross of sacrifice, and to ente
into its deeper meanings. Uncounted parents an<
wives and sweethearts have come to a new spiritua
height as they have offered up their spirits upoi
the world's cross. Theirs is the greatest sacrifice!
and by it they have come to know the fellowshi
of the Crucified. Life at home is being sanctified b
August 29, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
13
the self-surrender of all who suffer because of what
they have given up for this war's sacred cause. It
seems, at times, as if this Calvary experience of our coun-
tries may be their real salvation. To bear a cross, and even
to be crucified in spirit on the cross, is to know life's re-
demption and life's Redeemer.
Two great words of Scripture are often found in many
minds during these days. One is, "Without the shedding
of blood there is no remission of sin." We percieve how
war's unmeasured sacrifice is purging the nations of gross-
ness and evil. The price that is being paid should free us
from our national sins. Should this war end without the
transformation of the life of the nations engaged, it will
have been fought in vain. Every drop of blood shed on the
battlefield is a call to sanctification at home. The other
Bible verse in mind is, "He shall see of the travail of his
soul and be satisfied." Out of all this harvest of woe
there is being threshed the fine grain of the fulfilled pur-
poses of a Supreme Authority whose thoughts are greater
than our thoughts. Somehow, in ways we cannot fully
understand, God is fulfilling the sacrifice of his Son in
this great hour. All who serve and suffer vicariously in
this hour of crucifixion are sharers in the travail and tri-
umph of the patient Christ.
THE LITTLE CROSSES OF1 BRITTANY
A few weeks ago, in traveling about fair Brittany, I
saw a new usage and learned a new lesson. Like all the
devout peasants of France, it is the custom of these people
to erect wayside crosses, with the figure of the Crucified
upon them. In Brittany, however, they have a practice all
their own. For at the base of the crosses by the roadside
they have laid little wooden crosses, which represent their
personal prayers and thanksgivings. It is common to see
a cross, where roads meet, with dozens of simple little
wooden crosses heaped about its foot.
That is the best thing to do with our little crosses —
the cares and perplexities and burdens and sorrows and
misunderstandings and bitternesses and defeats of life.
Take them to the Cross of Christ and leave them there.
Into his great sacrifice all our little sacrifices may be
merged. His cross is the refuge for our crosses. There is
no care too small as there is no sorrow too great, to be
comprehended in the salvation wrought on Calvary's Cross.
Pro Patria
A Story by an Unknown Author
ADMIRAL BRAITHWAITE retired to his library,
reading for the fiftieth time a news item in which
it was stated that Lieutenant Gerald Braithwaite
of H. M. S. Orcel had been arrested last night, in a
drunken brawl in a public house, and that the Naval
Board would today institute an investigation, since this
was not the first time Lieutenant Braithwaite's name
had been mentioned in connection with similar episodes.
As he finished, the old admiral seemed to crumple
in the depths of his big chair. His fingers relaxed and
the newspaper dropped to the floor. Then his eyes
turned toward the opposite wall where three- full-length
portraits stared at him.
The first was that of a robust man in the uniform
j of a commodore of the early eighties. Beneath the por-
trait was the inscription, "Gerald Braithwaite, Commo-
dore, R. N." and several beribboned decorations.
The second was his own portrait, beneath which
hung a small vice-admiral's flag, and the "Distinguished
Service" bar on a blue ribbon.
The third portrait showed a young man in the
dress uniform of a lieutenant in His Majesty's Navy.
The space beneath it was empty.
The library door opened and the butler announced :
"Captain Reynolds, sir."
As Reynolds crossed the room and shook the Ad-
miral's hand, an awkward silence fell between them.
Then the admiral spoke.
"I cannot blame them for the investigation. I
would not blame them if the man were other than my
son, and I cannot blame them because he is. But it
hurts, Reynolds."
"Of course. Why is it, Admiral? What is it? God
knows the boy had the right stuff in him?"
"It's as old as the Braithwaites — the all-consuming
desire for alcohol. I fought it. The commodore, my
father, fought it before me and educated me to fight
it as I educated my son. We won. The boy loses. It
isn't because he doesn't try. It is a disease with him —
almost dipsomania. He lives a Jekyll-and-Hyde exist-
ence. He's a fine boy, Reynolds, a magnificent boy.
That's the horror of it. Great God! Must he lose?"
"He hasn't lost. No man of thirty-two has lost."
"God grant you are correct. They will do nothing?"
"Not at present. They are giving him another
chance. We are sailing tonight."
"Gerald — goes with you?"
"Yes, he sails with the Orcel, although God alone
knows how he will come through."
"It was square of the Admiralty."
"You should have heard. I swore that he was the
greatest ordnance officer in the service ; and I couldn't
do without him. I vouched for him."
"I understand, Reynolds. It hurts to know that my
son needed such a friend before the Admiralty ; that a
navy Braithwaite should have come to that point. But
by the great God, he'll repay you, Reynolds, repay you
and England. Blood will tell."
The library door swung back and the young man
of the third portrait entered, then stopped. "Beg par-
don—"
"Come in, Gerald. I'm just leaving."
"You've been to the Admiralty Building?"
"Yes."
14
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 29, 1918
"And the verdict—"
"You sail with the Orcel tonight. It is — "
"My last chance?"
"Yes, my boy !"
"Thank you, Captain. I'll — I'll try to be worthy."
The captain was ushered out by the butler. For a
long time the father stared at his son, the light of
paternal worship in his fine eyes. Then he said, "Come
here, Gerald."
"Yes, sir?"
"Your grandfather's portrait there — see it?"
"You were proud of that when you were a young-
ster. You used to boast about it to your friends. Nor
were you ashamed of my 'portrait and my record. I'm
not going to lecture you, lad. You recognize the gravity
of it all as keenly as I. I know the battle and your ugly
heritage. I would that I might help you. But I can't
It's sink or swim by yourself. The little frame under
your portrait is vacant. See to it that it does not suffer
by contrast with mine and my father's. We live for
posterity, lad. You are a navy Braithwaite. You will
win — because you must — my boy."
"Father, I'll try," and he hurriedly left the room.
In the hall he shook the hand of the old butler and said :
"I'm off tonight, Henry, with the Orcel. Goodbye,
Henry. And sort — of look after him, will you?"
"That Hi will, sir, mighty close hindeed, sir. And
when we 'ear you've distinguished yourself, sir, it's
right proud we'll be — 'im and Hi, sir."
Braithwaite swung rapidly down the street; the
light of the navy Braithwaites flashing from his eyes.
When he stepped onto the immaculately swabbed deck
of the Orcel, Captain Reynolds was waiting for him,
and the two officers clasped hands.
Six weeks later the captain of the Orcel was pacing
the deck when an excited hail from the foremost lookout
broke sharply into his reverie.
"Submarine on the sta'board bow !"
The captain's trained eyes leaped to starboard. The
torpedo-lieutenant bounded to his side and thrust into
his hands a pair of binoculars. With the aid of these
he discerned, far off, a partially submerged submarine.
The captain spoke briefly into the telephone and
the big ship trembled as a thousand pound messenger
of destruction went hurtling across the sun-kissed wa-
ters of the Mediterranean.
A bugle sharply blared the command to abandon
ship. Men poured from the Orcel's hatches, fore, aft
and amidships. It was clear that the Orcel was doomed
to destruction. The bugle repeated the shrill "Aban-
onn ship" call and the crew stood ready.
Suddenly a sub-lieutenant screamed, "The dispatch
boat! Look!"
The captain swung his binoculars and saw, under
Lieutenant Braithwaite's expert guidance, the dispatch
boat flashing at full speed into the path of the onrushing
torpedo. On it came. Straight across its course
raced the dispatch boat. Officers and men hung over
the side and watched the battle which meant life or
death to all of them. The boat and torpedo came closer,
closer. The captain, spell-bound, watched Braithwaite
alter his course slightly so that he might be more certain
of meeting the weapon of death from the enemy sub-
marine. Then he murmured :
"He can't make it! He can't. The torpedo will
get by! Great God!" There came a muffled roar and
.400 pounds of gun cotton, exploding on impact, had
wiped the dispatch boat from the seas.
In London a few days later, the old butler entered
the library and handed a newspaper to the old vice-
admiral. Slowly he unfolded the paper and read. Then
he said:
"Listen, Henry, I will read you what they have to
say about Gerald — and so the last and greatest of the
.navy Braithwaites met death unflinchingly that he
might save a ship and its complement. He was a man,
and as a man he died." Old Henry brushed his hand
across his eyes, unashamed of the tears.
Today the plate below the third portrait is in-
scribed:
GERALD BRAITHWAITE
Lieutenant R. N.
Lost in Action in the Mediterranean.
Pro Patria.
And beneath the plate is a small maltese cross
strung on a blue ribbon and in its center is a crown sur-
mounted by a lion, and deeply indented in the scroll are
the words, "For Valor."
The Story of Dr. Gladden's
Famous Hymn
The following interesting history of Dr. Gladden's hymn,
"O Master Let Me Walk with Thee," was sent by the author,!
about a month before his death, to the editor of the Congrega-J
tionalist:
I
I HAVE often been asked to relate the circumstancesl
which led to the writing of the hymn, "O Master, let
me walk with thee." The first answer is that it was!
not written as a hymn ; that I had no more expectation,!
when I wrote it, that anybody would ever sing it, than,
Paul probably had when he wrote his letter to the Philip-j
pians, that it would be a part, some day, of a collection
known as the Holy Scriptures.
When I wrote these verses I was editing a magazine
published in Springfield, Mass., and known at first as "Sun-
day Afternoon" and later as "Good Company." The maga-
zine had social aims, but it sought to furnish devotionaj
reading also; and one of its departments was "The Stilj
Hour," made up of brief editorials, to which I had under
taken to furnish, every month, a short contribution in verse
One of these contributions was a little poem, without i
title, consisting of three eight-line stanzas, and beginning
"O, Master, let me walk with thee !" It was a purely per
sonal expression of religious feeling, with no hint of Htur
gical uses.
About this time my old friend, Dr. Charles H. Rich
August 29, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
15
ards, was collecting matter for a new hymnal, and in look-
ing over old numbers of my maagzine he came upon the
three stanzas to which I have alluded. The second of these
did not suit his purpose ; but he thought that he could make
a hymn of the first and third of them. Thus came into
being the four four-line stanzas of the hymn whose history
we are considering.
It hadL as I have said, not liturgical purpose and no
theological significance, but it was an honest cry of human
need, of the need of divine companionship.
I had been trying to do a little honest thinking about
theology, and had been compelled to differ from some of
my brethren on such subjects as the nature of punishment
and the theory of atonement; and some of them were in-
clined to part company with me. Such controversy gener-
ally fails to bring out the best part of us, and some things
were said on both sides which would better have been left
unsaid. The memory of some of these things is reflected
in the verse which Dr. Richards wisely omitted :
Help me to bear the sting of spite,
The hate of men who hide thy light
The sore distrust of souls sincere
Who cannot read thy judgments clear;
The dullness of the multitude
Who dimly guess that thou are good.
There is something too much of this, no doubt; but
the main fact is that a young man in that rather remote
time had watched his Master going through some such
(experiences, and felt that he was going through them
' bravely and sweetly, and he wanted to walk by his Master's
side. That companionship would bring the calmness and
strength which he sorely needed.
The prayer brought not only the divine help which
never fails those who seek it, but also a great response of
human sympathy and friendship which grows as the years
increase.
^ Dr. Richards set the hymn to an air of Rossini's—
' Giardini." In the next dozen hymn-books it was never
jset twice to the same tune. The hymn-book makers seemed
Ibound to make a tramp of it. Not wishing to see it
reduced to that extremity, I finally made it the condition
of my permission to use it, that it be set to the tune of
"Maryton," with which it appears in most modern
hymnals. The hymn is not copyrighted, and not a penny
has ever been paid for the use of it; my control of it is
jpurely by courtesy.
One of my friends, long the executive officer of the
faculty of one of our Eastern colleges, wrote to me of the
personal help which he had found in the hymn. It was a
Dean's hymn, he said. It touched me not a little to hear
such a testimony from one burdened so heavily with "the
strain of toil, the fret of care."
A Congregational minister from England came to
'ring me greetings, and to tell me of a ministerial brother
)f his to whom the hymn had become very dear. Just be-
ore leaving England he had called to say farewell to his
riend, who was in the last stages of a fatal illness. The
nends talked of the change approaching, until the sick
aan said, naming the hymn, "I want to hear it once more "
■hose standing by the bed lifted their voices, and the sick
ian's voice was joined with theirs. It was clear and
strong, they said ; the breath that he needed seemed to be
lent him, and he sang the hymn through. Those were his
last words.
Our Voice After Death
By J- H. Jowett
WE go on speaking after we are dead. That is
a very solemn thought. What will be the char-
acter of the voice with which we shall speak?
What will our life continue to say in the lives and re-
membrances of others ? The continuing voice has some-
times been described as the echo of the life and shares
its character. But it is far other than that. An echo
is only a weak and weakening continuance of the orig-
inal voice, and it speedily passes into unobserved and
unregistered silence. But death does not change life's
voice into a fading echo. The life itself persists, vital
and positive, radiating quickening or deadening influ-
ence. Death does not change character, and character
never loses its contagion. We live on, and after death
the influence 'of our life is what it was before. The
quality of the river is unchanged, whether its waters
be clear and pure as crystal, or the vehicles of the most
nauseous corruption. "He that is holy, let him be holy
still; he that is unrighteous, let him be unrighteous
still."
If, therefore, we would know with what kind of
voice we shall continue to speak after death, we need
only consider the character of our life. I do not mean
our reputation. A man's reputation may seem to repre-
sent his influence, but it is by no means the main cur-
rent of his life. Reputation is like an outer garment
which we can frequently change ; it may be changed a
dozen times in the course of seventy years. But char-
acter is an inner garment, whose texture is woven by
thought, and feeling, and desire, and action; and this
garment is not exposed to the fickle whims of men or
the caprice of circumstances. Happy the man who is
clothed in the robe of righteousness and the garment of
salvation! It is that inner self, our very self, with its
own abiding purpose and devotion, which determines
what happens in the way of continuance when death
removes us from our visible place among the children
of men. "He, being dead, yet speaketh!"
All this is very solemn. And it would be over-
whelming if we knew no way by which our lives may
be made pure and harmonious, and, even now, able to
radiate influences which will help to sweeten and in-
spire our fellow-men. But the secret has been unveiled
to us, and we know the way. Our Saviour had his own
wonderful figure of speech which no one else could
employ. "The water that I shall give him shall be in
him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."
And from that infilling there results an overflowing.
From that well there flows a river. "Out of him shall
flow rivers of water," irrigating and fertilizing the lives
of others. Death does not dry up that living well, and
therefore death does not dry up the river. And so with
the river of John, and of Paul ! And so it will be with
thy river and mine!
Three Labor Day Homilies
Labor and the New World
After the War. (Is. 32:17.)
ONE "drive" that has long been a strategical necessity is
now being made. It is a "drive" to clarify our war aims
and to state clearly to all the world, our enemies most
of all, just what we are fighting for and what are the exact
terms upon which they can have peace. Imperialistic statesmen
found it difficult to agree because each wanted special favors
for his nation. Trade leaders look for trade advantage, and any
seeking of advantage irritates rather than allays friction. Mili-
tary minds think only in terms of force, both now and forever,
and this would make peace a part of a longer extended cam-
paign strategy. Church leaders, so far, have done little but act
as sub-lieutenants of whatever government they are under and
have never agreed on any fundamental terms for international
comity or a peace formula. It is a striking, and, to the ardent
Christian man, a disappointing fact that there is no means at
hand whereby the Christian church can formally lodge a judg-
ment or a moral demand upon the war or upon the coming
peace conference. It has remained for the united labor of
Europe to put forth the clearest statement yet formulated. It
is a fervent advocacy of President Wilson's fundamentals but
goes even more into a concrete application of them and to the
questions that must be discussed at the peace conferences than
he has yet done. In it there is no checker-board diplomacy, no
military strategy, no traders trading. It is a clear demand for
democracy and a settlement that will put an end to trade advan-
tage, conquest and imperialism, militarism and balance of power
politics.
The following short summary is eloquent with pin-points
for pulpit discussion, based upon the Christian demand for uni-
versal brotherhood, the reign of the Prince of Peace as Lord
of Lords and the work of righteousness as peace. The demands
for no annexations (in the sense of conquests) and of no
indemnities (as penalties assessed by victors) are asserted, but
the fundamental demand is for justice. Justice means, in the
concrete terms of this formula, the restoration of devastated
territories and such disposal of subject peoples as will assure
their freedom. This means that Germany must restore Belgium
and Serbia and that German colonies and Turkish tyrannies
shall be disposed of for the benefit of the peoples concerned,
though not to increase any.nation's colonial domain. It is un-
thinkable that Armenia and Syria should be left to Turkey or
that the Jews should ever again be cursed with anti-Semitism;
and the oppressed Czechs and Jugo-Slavs and all other subject
peoples must be allowed the "consent of the governed" princi-
ple as a basis for their new national life. Poland must be
restored to nationality and the Balkan question settled by a
conference that will guarantee autonomy with no interference
from imperialistic powers or the designs of their own imperial-
istic statesmen.
The most fundamental demand, however, is that the peace
agreement itself shall embody provisions that will insure an
end of war, in the old competitive sense at least. It must pro-
vide for a world court, a codified international law and a
League of Nations to enforce it; it must also initiate a plan
for progressive disarmament, and all compulsory military serv-
ice and training, put all war manufacture under government
control and thus remove the munition makers from the role of
war-makers, and there must be no economic boycots or war-
after-the-war trade combinations. Of course, we understand
that President Wilson's declaration that failure to chastise
Germany out of her wicked designs by military means may
compel us to outlaw her by an economic boycott until she
removes the menace of her autocracy and is willing to join the
sisterhood of nations. In place of war-after-the-war labor
demands that the nations shall arrange an international court
of claims that will assess justice and remuneration wherever
wrong was done to individuals during the war, and also an
international council that will apportion raw materials and
assist all peoples in reconstruction. It asks also for the employ-
ment of soldiers and all idle workers on public works during
demobilization and until industry can regain its equilibrium.
Our plea for a new world wherein righteousness reigns finds
in this pronouncement the best practical program yet enunci-
ated, and our plea is of little worth if we leave the program to
the old time diplomacy.
^ ^ ^
Making Democracy Safe
for the World. (Ex. 2; 11. Deut. 24; 14-15.)
While we are making the world safe for democracy
we must also make our form and type of democracy safe
for the world. That is, we must move on with our prin-
ciples into the world of industry. President Wilson is quite as
much concerned with this as with the other. He is warring on
autocracy in industry as well as in politics. Hitherto the em-
ployer has organized vast corporations, even monopolistic in
their reach, yet denied labor the right to organize at all. The
"price" of labor has been fixed like that of a senseless, soulless
material commodity. Labor has even been treated by the econ-
omists as a "commodity" just as if it were coal, iron and '
machinery, and court decisions have so construed it. The basis i
«of it all was that the relations between employer and employee
were those of property rather than those of human beings.
President Wilson procured first an enactment forbidding courts
to construe labor as a mere "commodity." Then he investi-
gated such scandals as the Bisbee deportations, along with
those of the I. W. W., and found they were of the same class.
His Industrial Relations Commission let the light in upon
capitalistic and I. W. W. crime alike and awakened the nation
to the evils of an industrial system that "hired and fired" and
paid labor on the same basis that it installed and "scrapped"
machinery. Now comes the emergency of war putting huge
corporations at governmental work under the control of the
administration. The Western Union discharged men who
dared join a union; the Steel Trust did the same; the majority
of the firms refused to recognize the right of "collective bar-
gaining," i. e., they fixed the wage and the workingman could
take it or leave it — there was usually a man at the gate. Pow-
erful unions of investors "bargained" (?) with the single
laborer. Now industrial democracy gets a new charter. The
administration, through its War Labor Board, establishes four
fundamental principles of industrial democracy, namely: 1.
The right of any man to belong to a union without interfer-
ence. 2. The right of all employees to collective bargaining
with their employers. 3. The obligation to conciliate the gov-
ernment, representing the big innocent third party — the people
— to arbitrate and compose all differences that are otherwise
irreconciliable. 4. A wage based upon a just standard of liv-
ing. It strikes at those labor leaders who term the relations of
labor and capital as "war" also by compelling conciliation and
denying the "closed shop." Here is a program for industrial
democracy that is concrete and forward looking. Again, it is
of little use to plead for industrial peace if we do not have a
program that will effect it. The church that pleads for broth
erhood and champions the oppressed will find in the Presi-
dent's program a practical application of the Gospel to a con-
crete situation that is full of strife and unbrotherliness.
The Woman Who Works.
(Jer. 22; 13.)
The war has brought millions of women into the shops
In the United States there were 8,000,000 women and gir
wage earners before the war. To their number have nov
been addd 1,500,000, and the withdrawing of 250,000 men pe
month for the army will add hundreds of thousands more. Ii
England 2,000,000 women have taken up war work, thu
August 29, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
17
doubling the host of woman wage-earners. In France, before
the war, women worked in the fields by the side of men, but
now they do most of the farming and furnish enough shop
labor to equal the entire munition making of the nation. In
America woman has been an economic dependent until re-
cently; she has been cloistered, and the result has been the
cultivation of the parasitic status. Hitherto economic misfor-
tune or the low wage of the father forced her to accept a wage
until she could get married, or, if married, to supplement the hus-
band's wage until the children were able to work. Thus the
"commodity" wage system took advantage of her and paid a
supplementary instead of a living wage. It exploited her as a
sort of accessory or by-product of the wage system. If she
lived at home she shared the home standards; if not, there was
no relation between her wage and the cost of her living, and
the rule was devil take her if he can. She did not regard her-
self as a permanent wage earner so did not organize with her
I sisters to any extent, and thus could enforce no demands as to
; hours, wages, working conditions or aught else. An employ-
ting system that treats labor as a commodity instead of a
j humanity is careless of anything except labor output. The
[rush of war emergency in England's first days at war entailed
long hours, heavy burdens and insanitary conditions. The
result was a fatigue that destroyed efficiency, a resort to stimu-
jlants that destroyed character, a neglect of health and home and
| future motherhood. Then came a reversal of policy and short
Ihours, equal pay for equal work with men, hygienic work-
shops and lifting adjusted to woman's strength and her future
jas a mother. America is passing through some of the same
difficulties, but has learned much from England and France.
The church that builds the social foundations on the home,
and whose Gospel is a charter right of womanhood wherever
it goes in the world, will find a great labor day message in the
program for the conservation of womanhood while woman
jtakes up the industrial burden of war; and it will plead that
[she take it up and never again make it possible for the charge
of industrial parasitism to be lodged against her. There are
sufficient unused reserves of woman power in the country to
take up all the burdens men must lay down to go to war, but
we must rearrange the burden-bearing so muscular men shall
lift the heavy loads and the agile fingers of women do the
work that requires deftness and skill, for woman is first of all
the home keeper and maker. England's awakening has re-
sulted in a gain in child saving that will equal the losses in
killed at war. The plea for woman's right to a woman's type
pf work, the same wage for the same work as the man receives,
! he protection of her home and children and her right to moth-
erhood are a practical application of the Gospel to an imminent
uiman problem. Alva Wj Taylor.
Books
Two Thousand Questions and Answers About the War.
"his is an unusual and an unusually interesting volume, giving
a attractive form the information one naturally desires to
>ave with regard to the War. Methods of fighting; the armies,
avies and air fleets; the personalities, politics and geography
f the war lands — these are some of the subjects treated in the
iOok. There are seventeen new war maps, also a pronouncing
, ictionary of names. There is also included a record of events
jf the war from the beginning. Here are two or three sample
uestions asked and answered: "Is it true that the Germans
>re officially encouraging polygamy?" "How many wounded
oldiers recover?" "Would it be cheaper for Germany to restore
elgium than to continue the war for a week?" (Doran, $2).
French-English and English-French Dictionary. For the
3y at the front this handy dictionary would make a welcome
ift, as well as a most useful one. It is one of the Thomas
elson pocket dictionaries, and is stoutly bound in leather,
mall as it is, yet the volume contains over 600 pages. (Nel-
•n, $1).
Life in a Tank. By Richard Haigh. Captain Haigh was a
tank commander at Arras and Ypres, and was in charge of
the "Brittania," the tank that visited this country a few months
ago in the interest of the British recruiting mission. He here
tells of that "strangest weapon the war has yet produced."
His is as thrilling a story as was ever written by Jules Verne,
of early memories. (Houghton, Mifflin. $1.25).
A Reporter at Armageddon. 'By Will Irwin. This author
was a real writer before the war began, and had revealed a
genius for reporting, but the war has made him truly "The
'Ace' of American correspondents." In the present volume
he narrates vividly his experiences at the battle fronts in
France and Italy, and also gives his personal observations with
the civilian population behind the lines, and in the neutral
countries of Spain and Switzerland. (Appleton. $1.50).
The Way Out. By Emerson Hough. The author of "The
Mississippi Bubble" here gives his readers a romance of the
feud districts of Kentucky, and tells how David Joslin, heart-
sick of conditions there, went out to secure an education that
he might come back and bring a saving message to his dark-
ened people. Some surprising adventures are met with before
success comes to him. (Appleton. $1.50).
The Sunday School
Intoxicated Men !*
I CHOOSE today the last verse of the last section of our
lesson on "Conquering Evil." "And be not drunken with
wine, wherein is riot, but be filled with the Spirit." It is
all right to talk about overcoming evil, but evil is a big, hard
proposition and it will never be conquered by little half-hearted
efforts, lacking in enthusiasm and constancy. Paul was in-
toxicated with the Spirit of Christ.
That Spirit caused him to do the most
unheard of things; it caused him to
leave his business and rush off into
strange cities preaching the gospel; it
caused him to risk his life not once, but
a hundred times; it caused him to
break with past traditions and hurl
himself body and soul into a brand new
cause; it caused him at last to lay down
his life in a far away metropolis.
Surely Paul was drunk with the wine
of heaven. How I glory in Paul! How
magnificent he was! How lion-like!
How dauntless! How reckless! How adventurous! How
original and free! Above all, how grandly enthusiastic — the
very word means God in us.
Christ was God-intoxicated. He was filled with the Spirit.
Filled! vHe hurled his life into the cause. He died on a cross.
He broke with the blood-rusted past. He dreamed of world-
empire. He was never discouraged. His life was charged
with a strange buoyancy. He radiated a new light. His touch
thrilled. His look melted. His words inspired. His per-
sonality created a new epoch in history on this planet. He
was surcharged with powerful enthusiasm.
Every great preacher has possessed this trait — he has
been intoxicated. Augustine, Ambrose, Knox, Wesley,
Beecher, Brooks, Moody, Jowett, each and all have had this
marvelous element— more than mere men; true super-men be-
cause God-intoxicated. Great Sunday school teachers have
this note. They may not know it, but they have. That is the
reason their classes are full; that is the reason their pupils
stay for church; that is the reason the class as such does so
many deeds of mercy; that is the reason every scholar becomes
a Christian. Every worthy church-member has it. That power
Rev. John E. Eivers
* This article is based on the International Uniform lesson for Septem-
ber 8, "Conquering Evil." Scripture, I Kings, 21:1-29; Eph. 5:6-21.
18
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 29, 1918
not self that makes for righteousness — filled with the spirit.
Many freakish people and long-haired religionists have
spoiled this noble phrase, "Spirit-filled," and have given it a
sorry connotation, but we must live down that perversion, for
the idea is right — Christians should be spirit filled! The
church has a right to expect it.
You are back from your vacation, the new church year
has begun. Tell me, are you any different? A great English
preacher tells us that he left his great London pulpit some
years ago completely dissatisfied with himself and his work.
He had had crowds, but the spirit of Christ was not in his
church to any marked degree. He spent weeks in earnest
study of his own soul: he had not committed any sin, he had
not neglected his work, he had not lost his faith, he had not
ceased to study, he had not lost touch with his times, he had
not failed in being social, he had not failed in popularity. What
was wrong? At last he found that he had lost his enthusiasm.
He was not God-intoxicated. He was not fire; but ashes. The
Spirit did not stir mightily in him. For that reason rhetoric
took the place of passion; for that reason conversions were
few.
In the hour of that discovery he sought God's help in
remaking his life. From the very altars of heaven he re-
kindled his soul. Coming back to his parish in the late autumn
the people at once recognized the strange note, the new pas-
sion, the mystic power. People flocked to the inquiry room,
converts were many. The church took on new life; the whole
community was stirred. People of every class thronged the
church, finding the very word of life. God grant that you may
come back not only with fresh physical vigor and mental
strength, but with a new spirit — "filled with the spirit."
John R. Ewers.
The Manliness of Discipleship
Fearless, open loyalty is our great need today — a
choice of right principle and true character and the Son
of God as Lord. It is a man's duty and privilege to stand
up in clear and open discipleship ; because Christ was not
ashamed to stand up and die for men; because loyalty is
the noblest of all manly virtues ; because the unwillingness
to be decisively with Christ and own him openly saps the
very foundations of vigorous manhood ; because the world
needs today men who have God for their master, and who
will honor their master openly before all mankind. Are
you this kind of man, or are you a waiverer, or a ques-
tioner, or a compromiser, or a concealer? "Come and
satisfy yourself," says Christ. "Do you believe in me?
Then confess me before men."
Robert E. Speer.
America's Answers
In Flanders Fields
(Written by Lieut. Col. John McCrae —
Died in France, Jan. 28, 1918)
/N Flanders fields, the poppies grow
Between the crosses, row on rozv
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns beloiv.
We are the dead; short days ago
We lived, felt dazvn, saw sunset glozv,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe!
To you, from failing hands, we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high!
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies blozv
In Flanders Fields.
America's Answer
IN Flanders fields the cannon boom
And fitful flashes light the gloom,
While up above, like eagles, fly
The fierce destroyers of the sky;
With stains the earth wherein you lie
Is redder than the poppy bloom,
In Flanders Fields.
Sleep on, ye brave; the shrieking shell,
The quaking trench, the startled yell,
The fury of the battle hell
Shall wake you not, for all is well.
Sleep peacefully, for all is well.
Your flaming torch aloft we bear,
With burning heart an oath we swear
To keep the faith, to fight it through,
To crush the foe or sleep with you
In Flanders Fields.
— C. B. Galbreath.
II.
REST in peace, ye Flanders dead.
The fight that ye so bravely led
We've taken up. And we will keep
True Faith with you who lie asleep
With each a cross to mark his bed,
And poppies blowing overhead,
Where once his own life blood ran red,-
So let your rest be sweet and deep
In Flanders Fields.
Fear not that ye have died for naught.
The torch ye threw to us we caught.
Ten million hands will hold it high,
And Freedom's light shall never die!
We've learned the lesson that ye taught
In Flanders Fields.
R. W. Lillard.
The Larger Christian World
A Department of Interdenominational Acquaintance
The Rock River Conference
One of the strongest conferences in Methodism is the
Rock River Conference, which includes Chicago and most of
northern Illinois. This year's meeting of this conference will
be held on October 1, and it will be presided over by Bishop
Qaayle, formerly a Chicago man. The fate of several hun-
dred Methodist preachers for the coming year will be decided
at this meeting.
Evangelical Counterpart
to New Thought
Mrs. Edith Armstrong Talbot has in recent years been a
jclose student of Christian Science, New Thought and other
idealistic movements which claim to cure through prayer or
[metaphysics. She finds them all objectionable in certain fea-
tures and in her speaking and writing has developed an evangel-
ical substitute for these religious attitudes. Speaking recently
in a series of meetings in 'the First Congregational church of
Buffalo she attracted much attention. Taking as her general
;theme, "A Religion of Power, or Getting the Most Out of Our
Religion," she spoke successively on "Finding Our Health in
Religion," "Finding Our Success in Religion," "Finding Our
[Happiness in Religion," "How to Pray for Results," "Dealing
[With Difficulties," "How Can the Church Supplant Christian
Science and New Thought?" and "Living by a Victorious
Faith."
Contest Over Modernism
The two Houses of the Convocation of the Provision of
Canterbury in the English church met recently at Westminster.
The bishop of Chemlsford presented a petition signed by 54,000
people asserting their faith in the virgin birth and the physical
j-esurrection of Christ. The Archbishop stopped the way to
|he discussion of the petition and the petitioners were referred
o a pronouncement of an orthodox character by the Houses of
Convocation in 1914. Bishop Henson arose and pronounced
he petition and resolution a gross personal attack and there
\-as some tension over the situation. While the orthodox ele-
aent in the church is decidedly in the seat of power, there is a
onsiderable latitudinarian element in the church who would
ispense with many of the miraculous elements of the Bible.
)iscussion of Cooperation With Protestants
The recent meeting of the two Houses of Convocation of
anterbury of the English church discussed a resolution look-
g toward closer cooperation with dissenters. With a few
nnor modifications the following resolution, presented by
anon Burroughs was passed: "That this House, being con-
need of the importance especially at this time, of visible unity
id united witness among all who acknowledge Christ as Lord,
'ges upon churchmen, as a step toward ultimate reunion, the
jity of seeking and welcoming opportunities of joint witness
id joint action with those who, while not of the same com-
| union with us, are engaged in the service of the kingdom of
od." The motion was regarded with much suspicion by the
Catholics," received but a half-hearted support from the
angelicals andwas warmly favored by the latitudinarians.
was finally passed, however, after considerable debate.
imp Pastors to Be Abolished
Many religious bodies have been sustaining camp pastors
do religious work in the camps, but a recent order from the
lice of the Adjutant General seems to take away the privi-
es of these men. "In view of the greatly increased number
chaplains authorized by recent legislation, and the provi-
»ns now being made for the professional training- of chaplains
in their duties before appointment, it has been determined, as
soon as the services of a sufficient number of additional chap-
lains become available, to bring to an end the present arrange-
ment at camps and posts whereby privileges within the camps
are granted to camp pastors of various denominations and to
voluntary chaplains not members of the military establishment.
An appropriate period, not to exceed three months, will be
granted for such persons to complete the work that they now
have in hand, and to make arrangements for leaving camps and
posts."
Selling Bricks for the Orphans
Some years ago Dr. W. T. Grenfell, of Labrador, brought
together various waste materials and erected a poor building
to house the orphan children of the section to which he min-
istered. The building was of unseasoned lumber, the only
kind to be had, and it is now a very draughty and unsuitable
structure. It is proposed to erect a brick building for the
orphans and in various sections of America the children of
Sunday school classes are buying bricks for the new orphan-
Bible Society Calls New Worker
The American Bible Society has called as a worker in the
West Indies, on the Spanish speaking islands, a new worker,
Dr. Jose Marcial. He is a graduate of the University of Ma-
drid, a native of Spain and is well known in literary and re-
ligious circles. He is making a tour of the islands and will
make a report on their needs.
Catholic Editors Hold Meeting
The Catholic Press Association of the United States held
a four-day meeting recently at the Congress hotel in Chicago.
They were welcomed to the city by the Rt. Rev. Francis C.
Kelley, D. D. Many well-known' newspaper men were on the
program, among them being Arthur Brisbane, John T. Mc-
Cutcheon, Emerson Hough, and S. J. Duncan-Clark. Mr. Bris-
bane urged the Catholic church to take a middle ground on the
liquor question, favoring neither whiskey nor prohibition.
Urges Union Services This Winter
The Home Missions Council, anticipating a shortage of
coal again this winter, has urged that churches arrange as far
as possible to hold union services in order to economize on
coal. It is also pointed out that the war has caused a great
shortage in ministers and this shortage may in part be made up
for the period of the war by combinations of churches holding
somewhat the same attitude in religion.
Hymn Writer Dies
There are not many of the modern hymn writers which
have been honored by having their verses included in the great
hymnals, but one of them was Professor Joseph Henry Gil-
more of Rochester University who wrote, "He leadeth me."
He died recently in his eighty-fourth year. His hymn has
been sung by millions of Christian people with appreciation
of its beautiful thought.
Daily Vacation Bible Schools in Chicago
The Daily Vacation Bible School is becoming a fixed insti-
tution in Chicago, helping to solve a problem felt by every
parent. Conferences of the workers are held every Monday in
the St. Paul's Methodist church in Chicago on the West Side.
Over one hundred schools are in operation, with an enrollment
of fifteen thousand children. One small church reports the en-
rollment of children from seventeen families not previously
interested in the church. ^ ^ T
Orris t. Jordan.
20
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 29, 1918
News of the Churches
Charles M. Sharpe Sends
Note From France
Dr. Charles M. Sharpe, who has been
in France in Y. M. C. A. service for a
number of months, writes this brief note
to the "Century:" "After a real experi-
ence of the dangers and hardships of
war, I am enjoying here in the heart of
the French Alps a much appreciated rest.
I was under shell fire by day and aero
attacks at night for a week. Much work
and strain. But I stood it all right, and
•in a few days I shall go back to my post
at the front."
Every Member Canvas in
the Philippines
Frank V. Stipp, of the church at Laoag,
Philippine Islands, gives the following
"twelve facts concerning the every mem-
ber canvas" which was carried through
at this church: 1 — It was conducted ac-
cording to the instructions in the Men
and Millions literature, with Philippine
adaptations. 2 — The emphasis was placed
on "men" as well as "millions." 3 — A
year's educational program preceded the
campaign. 4 — A six weeks' intensive
campaign preceded the canvas. 5 — The
budget was displayed, together with
some striking facts of missions and giv-
ing. 6 — The committee of twenty was
composed partly of women — they carry
the pocketbook in the Philippines, and
can therefore make the appeal to other
holders. 7 — The budget called for 600
pounds ($300) per year, 20 per cent of
which was for others. 8 — The budget
was exceeded by 156 pounds, a total of
756 pounds, many times that given in
the past. 9 — There were givers, averag-
ing more than thirteen cantavos (6^2
cents) each per week. 10 — The highest
pledge was 1 pound per week and the
lowest one ' centavo. 11 — The Laoag
church is now self-supporting and has a
chance to become self-governing and
self-respecting. 12 — The church recom-
mends the plan especially to her sister
churches on the mission field.
Widely Influential Illinois
Layman Passes Away
The death of L. H. Coleman, an elder
in First Church, Springfield, 111., removes
one of Illinois' most prominent and use-
ful laymen from the active service of the
church. Pie passed away suddenly on
Aug. 10. Mr. Coleman was prominent in
business and church circles in Spring-
field for more than forty years. He was
a trustee of Eureka College. Four chil-
dren survive him, all vitally connected
with the church, one of his sons being
Dr. C. B. Coleman, professor of history
in Butler College, Indianapolis. The
funeral service was held in First Church,
conducted by Charles Clayton Morrison,
editor of The Christian Century, a for-
mer pastor. Mr. Coleman gave to his
community a remarkably winsome and
virile illustration of the Christian life.
— Some of the churches of La Salle and
Livingston counties, of Illinois, are plan-
ning a get-together meeting at Long
Point, Sunday, Sept. 1. District Evange-
list C. M. Wright has been invited to be
present as one of the leaders at the
meeting.
— Northwestern District of Illinois has
its final report to make of its successs in
the recent emergency drive, reports C.
M. Wright. The district was apportioned
$41,300, but raised a total of $47,590, thus
exceeding the apportionment by $6,290.
Seventy-two churches are on the con-
tributing list. Mr. Wright believes that
"the success of this undertaking has
greatly emphasized the importance of
co-ordinating national interests and of
organizing the forces into one great co-
operating body."
— The following men are preaching at
Euclid Avenue church, Cleveland, O.,
during August, in the absence of the pas-
tor, J. H. Goldner: M. E. Chatley, of
Ashtabula, O., August 4; J. C. B. Stivers,
of Cleveland, August 11; M. E. Chatley,
August 18; R. H. Miller, of the Men and
Millions Movement, August 25, and Da-
vid W. Teachout, general secretary of
the Y. M. C. A. at Camp Sherman, on
September 1. Euclid has about 140 men
in the army service, one member being
represented on the service flag by a gold
star.
— Special: Report comes that a re-
ligious debate, "conducted in ye old-
time manner," was recently held at Hut-
ton Valley Christian church, near West
Plains, Mo., "to settle the mooted contro-
versey over the use of the organ in the
church." A three-day debate held the
community breathless, awaiting final de-
cision. Unfortunately for our readers,
the newspaper reporting the "event"
does not state the verdict of the judges.
CAMP CUSTER
WRITE US
Minister T. S. Cleaver,
55 Kingman Ave.,
Battle Creek, Mich.
ABOUT THAT BOY
— The Board of Ministerial Relief at
Indianapolis reports contributions from
the churches in July amounting to
$2,028.96, a gain of $522.73 over July,
1917, and twenty times as much as was
received in July, 1911. The total increase
in church offerings to date for the year
is $3,385.00. This, together with the re-
turns from the Emergency Drive of the
Men and Millions Movement, has en-
abled the Board to increase payments by
from $2.00 to $18.00 each to 94 of the
180 aged and disabled ministers and wid-
ows of ministers who are on the roll.
— William M. Mayfield, of the Roanoke
church, Kansas City, Mo., celebrated the
twentieth anniversary of his ministry the
last Sunday of July. He began his work
at Roanoke January 1, 1917. His early
work was in Kansas.
— J. E. Chase, of the Lubbock (Texas)
church, has entered "Y" work, and is now
at San Antonio attending the Y. M. C.
A. training school in preparation for
overseas duty.
— Ernest C. Mobley, of the church at
Amarillo, Texas, has been unanimously
granted a leave of absence for six months
overseas work with the Y. M. C. A. The
church will pay his full salary during
this period. The Rotarians of the city,
Mr. Mobley reports, recently attended his
Sunday morning service, being accom-
panied by their wives.
— The enrollment in Transylvania Col-
lege last session represented the largest
college student body the institution has
had in its history of one hundred and
twenty years.
— C. R. Stauffer began the seventh
year of his ministry at Norwood, O. — a
thriving suburb of Cincinnati — two weeks
ago. During the six years of his pas-
torate there, more than 800 persons have
been added to the membership of the
church. A fine Sunday school plant has
been erected and nearly paid for. The
Norwood pastor has recently been ap-
pointed chairman of the war work com-
mittee of the Cincinnati Federation of
Churches, which has as one of its aims
to minister to every home where sorrow
enters as a result of the war.
— Dr. Arthur Plolmes was unable to
finish out his Chautauqua dates in Ohio
owing to his call to the presidency of
Drake University. O. F. Jordan took up
his circuit the end of August for ten
days with his lecture on "The New
America."
— E. T. McFarland, recently of Texar-
kana, Tex., begins his new work as su-
perintendent of city extension work at
Dallas, Tex., next month.
bi fin t/nnii CENTRAL CHURCH
NEW YIIRK 142 West 81st Street
11 b 11 i v 1 1 1\ pinis g> Idleman) Minister
— W. F. Mott, minister at Dublin, Ga.,
has accepted a chair in the Southeastern
Christian College at Auburn, Ga.
— The new Kingshighway church, St.
Louis, Mo., will be dedicated next month.
W. G. Johnson ministers to this work.
— Including a few wives, Transylvania
and the College of the Bible have thirty-
two representatives under the Foreign
Society, twenty-six under the C. W. B.
M., twenty-two under the American So-
ciety, and more than one hundred serv-
ing under state boards.
— Elmer Ward Cole, of Huntington,
Ind., church, will give the address at
Fort Wayne, Ind., at the memorial serv-
ice held in honor of Allen county's sol-
dier boys who have fallen in France.
The date of the service is September 8.
— John McD. Home, of the Sullivan
(Ind.) church, has received notice of his
appointment as a chaplain in the Ameri-
can Red Cross for overseas service. Mr
Home is the third Sullivan minister to
take up war work.
■ — Joseph Myers, Jr., of Transylvania
College, and now minister at Millers
burg, Ky., has been spending the sum-
mer farming and threshing; he reports
a "casualty," having lost the end of one
finger of his left hand. Mr. Myers is
now spending three weeks at his home in
Crawfordsville, Ind. In the autumn,|
Oscar E. Kelley, rural church expert ofj
Indiana, will hold a meeting at Millers-|
burg for Mr. Myers, Mr. Boatright, ol
Paris, Ky., leading in the music.
—The C. W. B. M. of First church
South Bend, Ind., has entered the Liv
ing link column. Their missionary wil
be C. Emory Ross, of South Africa, whe
went out under the joint arrangemen
between the Foreign Society and th<
C. W. B. M. John M. Alexander, th
pastor, reports forty-five young men
two nurses and one surgeon now in th
service of the nation.
ST. LOUIS
UNION AVENUE
CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Union and Von Versen Aves.
George A. Campbell, Minister
— W. E. M. Hackleman, of Bethan
Assembly, writes that Dr. E. L. Powe
was unable to fill his engagement £
Bethany this year because of a recer
operation. He sent Professor A. W. F01
tune, of Transylvania College, in h
place.
August 29, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
21
Disciple Ministers on War Themes
L. J. Marshall, Kansas City, Mo.,
Declares Home Forces Must Fight as
Bravely as Boys at Front
"With such fighting spirit exhibited
[ over yonder in France, it is necessary
for us here at home to give in like
measure. Some way or other we will
; be called on to do heroic things, sacri-
; fice, and keep stout hearts no matter
\ what happens. And there is no such
' thing as being too brave. If we act as
i bravely as did our boys who fought and
: died where they stood, we will only be
j: doing our -little share in the struggle."
Ira L. Parvin, Fort Wayne, Ind., Says
! Greater Sacrifices Are Coming
if War Goes On
"If this war goes on and Germany
igrows more threatening, the time will
come when we will be willing to give all
j that we are and all that we have. And
jthose who have been enjoying the free
'institutions of our land and have still
jbeen lending the enemy comfort will be
willing to get down off the fence and line
themselves up as loyal patriots where
ithey should have been months ago.
t'Eternal vigilance is the price of lib-
erty.' "
Edgar DeWitt Jones, Bloomington, 111.,
Sees Greater Unity in America
Through National Army
"The last vestige of sectionalism in
iA.merica due to the Civil War, has been
Obliterated through the new national
irmy. The Spanish-American war did
|much to destroy the Mason-Dixon line
jind the rallying to the call of the colors
in the present conflict has brought the
■North and South together in a unity as
beautiful as it is effectual. Out of this
pelting pot will come a new solidarity
:o American citizenship — a better under-
standing between men of different race
ind condition of life. It is not difficult
0 dislike people at long range, but to
vork together, to suffer together — these
:xperiences make for new appraisals of
nanhood and for a consequent unity of
lurpose and fellowship."
-has. M. Fillmore, Indianapolis, Ind,
Considers Question, "Why Does Not
>od End the War?"
"God has not ended this war be-
ause it is not his war, but the devil's.
■Ian can not be made moral by
hysical compulsion. The war itself will
ot settle the moral principles involved
1 the conflict, it only opens up the way
)r their settlement. After the war, the
tatesmen of the nations will have to get
)gether in council and there settle the
eal problems back of the war. If they
o this on the high moral plane on which
ich questions should be settled, then
ie world will have abiding peace, the
eace of God, based upon good will. And
ius God will end the war and end all
ar among men."
Boyd Jones, Terre Haute, Ind., Points
|ut Some Effects of the War on
eligion in America
'After the war we will test a man's
)irituality, not by what he says, but
hat he does. We will insist that the
•e be in harmony with the profession,
he man will be recognized as a Chris-
,in who, like the Master, goes about do-
S good. He will be expected to render
iselfish service to his fellows. It will
>t be enough for him to pay his pew
rent and attend divine services once a
day and then serve the devil the rest of
the week. Our soldiers in the trenches
are teaching us a lesson of genuine sac-
rifice and when they are with us again
they will insist that we practice what we
preach. Shams and pretentions will not
be accepted by men who have faced hell
in 'No Man's Land.' It is glorious to
live now, but tomorrow is filled with such
large possibilities that a heroic soul is
thrilled when he thinks of having a part
in the reconstruction of the world and
especially in helping to adapt the church
to the new conditions created by the
war."
J. J. Tisdall, Columbus, O., Asks.
"What if Christ Were Here Today?"
"If Christ were living in Germany to-
day he would be convicted of treason and
probably killed, for he would not sub-
scribe to the doctrine that might is right.
If Jesus were a citizen of the United
States today — hearing the call for en-
listed men to defend Christian rights
and life — that he would place a sword in
your hand and mine and himself stand
idly by is unthinkable. He came not to
send peace but a sword; and a sword he
would carry in the cause of the ideals
for which he died. To him death in a
trench for these ideals would be equal to
the bloody cross."
What the War Did for
Our Church
Some time ago I noticed a request —
where, I do not remember, but it may
have been in The Christian Century —
as follows: "Tell us just what the war
has done for your church." Because of
the peculiarly interesting history of our
church here in Vacaville, Cal., during the
last six months, it occurred to me, dur-
ing the absence of my minister husband,
Charles H. Foster, in France, to briefly
outline the changes which the war has
brought to us.
On the first Sunday of the year we
made the motto of the church for 1918,
"Keep the Home Fires Burning in the
Church," and on the walls of the homes
of the members and friends of the church
can be found neatly printed cards upon
which are the following words:
Keep the Home Fires Burning in Our
Church
"This is the motto for our church dur-
ing 1918. We have before us a year of
unprecedented opportunity. Let us keep
the h:>me fires burning in the church.
What do we need most in the year 1918?
Cheerfulness, hopefulness, courage, a
spirit that can carry a heavy burden with
a light heart, a smile for everybody and
a love that is ready to help those who
need us. How can we get all these?
There is one sure way: Keep the home
fires burning in the church. Come to
church smiling and full of hope. Come
determined to make somebody else glad
and then you will be sure to find glad-
ness yourself. Come determined to make
the services full of life and faith and
song. While the boys are over there,
sacrificing for the truths and liberties
we cherish more than life itself, we must
assure them that back here in the home-
land the fires are burning brightly. So
let us keep the home fires burning in the
church more than ever before. Let us
make each Sunday a day of faith and joy
until the boys come home."
When we made this our motto we had
no idea just where it would lead us, but
we had the spirit of the motto in our
hearts. Our boys were going, our hearts
were feeling heavy, and we knew that it
was our duty to keep the fires bright at
home. We renovated the interior of the
church, because it was in a run-down
condition, just to help us to keep our
spirits high. Our services grew sweeter
and more impressive, but best of all, we
caught a new vision of what we could
do.
Through the inspiration of the motto,
we organized a young people's society
called "The Home Fires Young People's
Society." At first its work was to keep
in touch with the boys who had gone
forth from the community. It then
branched out to the task of entertaining
enlisted men from the great navy yard
and marine barracks about thirty miles
away — not just to dinner, but from Sat-
urday night to Monday morning. Things
in the church began to brighten, and a
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MANHATTAN BUILDING, CHICAGO
BIBLE COLLEGE OF MISSOURI Columbia, Mo.
Affiliated with University of Missouri. Mutual interchange of credits. Prepares
students for ministry, missions and social service. Supplies religious instruction to
State University students.
Session of University and Bible College opens August 30th and runs three terms of
sixteen weeks each, making it possible to crowd one and one-half years into one
year; or, to do a half year's work before Christmas, or between January 1st and
April 23rd, or from that time to August 1 5th.
For catalogues or information write, G. D. Edwards, Dean.
22
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
August 29, 1918
new life and energy came into our mem-
bership— especially among the young
people. We had large evening meetings,
where before we found it hard to have
any at all. Our young people adopted
"war orphans" and entered actively into
various phases of relief work, until at
last they became one of the plincipal pa-
triotic organizations in the community,
and even beyond the community. It was
not the members, but the vision and the
work done that made them count and
their influence felt.
There was a good deal of misunder-
standing on the part of many people,
especially in the beginning of the war,
about the aims of our allies, so this
young people's society was given the
management of the evening service, and
for four months about every other week
we had some, wonderfully inspiring
meetings. Once or twice more persons
MFMORUI CHURCH OF CHRIST
IVlI^lVlUIVl/VLi (Disciples and Baptists)
rHIPAr.fl ©akwood Bivi West of Collage Grow
V/niV/AUU Herbert L Wiltetl, Minister
attended than could be seated, especially
when the marines and some men of one
of the Stanford University Ambulance
Units took charge of the meeting. The
general consulates of France, Japan,
Great Britain and Belgium were inter-
viewed and they sent to these evening
gatherings some very brilliant and dis-
tinguished men who inspired the people
with a new spirit of unity in the great
task ahead of us.
One of the most significant meetings
was when Mr. Kasai of the Japanese
Press Association represented Japan.
Vacaville was one of the centers of anti-
Japanese propaganda, and the racial
prejudice was very deep-set and stub-
born in the community. We felt that
the future peace of the world depended
upon the destruction of such prejudices,
so we started building for peace in the
midst of war. The results were truly re-
markable for so small an outlay of effort.
Mr. Kasai made an impression which
was followed up, and in a few weeks the
small society and the church which
backed it did more to kill the anti-Jap-
anese spirit than has been done in the
last ten years. An entirely new feeling
is growing up between the two peoples
and the promises for the future are very
bright.
When the services came to a close for
the season the governor of the state was
invited to close the series of meetings
held through the winter, and he spoke to
a great meeting. This was the first time
in the history of our churches in Cali-
fornia that the governor of the state had
T
New Community Church Building of Disciples of Christ
set
■ai
147 Second Ave.,
New York City
The Broadway of Foreigners
The offerings of the churches are to be used this year
in the completion of this Community Church, which has all
of the latest and tried-out facilities for needed work among
immigrant populations.
This building will cost about $75,000. It will have mod-
ern heating and plumbing, will be lighted by electricity and
is to be fireproof.
The Board of Church Extension buys the lot, erects
the building and will hold title to the property for our
Brotherhood. The money is not to be returned to the
Board, nor is any interest to be charged.
This building will be the new home for our Russian
Work in New York City. The Otitlook said that if such
work as we shall do in this district had been done consecu-
tively for the last twenty years, social and industrial con-
ditions would have been such that Trotzky would never
have gone to Russia and destroyed one of our allies in this
World War.
Wherever the Disciples of Christ have done this work
— in Chicago, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Buffalo, Western
Pennsylvania and New York City — no Anarchists can be
recruited by the Industrial Workers of the World. This
kind of work will make conditions in society safe for our
children.
The American Society and the Disciples Missionary Union of New York City will carry on the work in this
Community House with competent Superintendent and helpers, doing a work after the most approved plans. The
building is in the center of the Russian population.
What the Annual Offering Must Do
1. Finish this House with an additional $25,000 above the $50,000 appropriated by the Kansas City Convention.
2. Furnish money to complete church buildings at the following cities near which are cantonments: For Montgomery, Alabama, $10,000;
for Arcadia, Florida, where there are 1,000 aviators, $1,200; for Deming, New Mexico, near Camp Cody, $3,500; for University Church,
San Diego, Cal., located on Audubon Park, where soldiers and sailors are camped, $3,500; and $5,000 for Lincoln Park Church, Ta-
coma, Wash., doing service for Camp Lewis.
3. Help to provide other needed buildings.
The Annual Offering for Church Extension begins Sunday, September 1st.
Remit to
G. W. MUCKLEY, Cor. Sec,
603 New England Building KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
August 29, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
23
spoken from one of our platforms.
Now the pastor of the church is in
France working- for the Red Cross, and
jour "Young People's Home Fires So-
il ciety" is to see that the great meetings
| of last winter are carried on through the
i coming season. This is what the war
!' did for our church.
Gladys Bowman Forster
.
[SEVENTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF
EUREKA COLLEGE
One of the points of interest in con-
nection with the forthcoming Illinois
Christian Missionary Convention will be
(the celebration of the Seventieth Anni-
versary of the founding of Eureka Col-
lege. Of course, the college proper has
.not been chartered that long, but the in-
stitution of learning out of which it grew
.dates back for seventy years.
The community known as Walnut
Grove, Woodford county, 111., had its
•origin in the early twenties, while central
|Ulinois was practically a vast wilderness.
It was rapidly settled by emigrants from
the adjoining states, most of them hail-
sing from Kentucky, bringing with them
characteristics of that noble people, and
;soon the community became widely and
favorably known for its hospitality and
other social distinctions.
About the year 1847, Elder B. Major,
E. B. Myers, Elder William Davenport'
David Deweese, A. M. Myers, B. J. Rad-
ford, Sr., Elder E. Dickinson, Elder John
T. Jones, William P. Atterberry and R.
M. Clark were the prominent and lead-
ing citizens of the community, and major
bart of them immigrants from Kentucky,
ind all were members of the Christian
Church. They were all men of advanced
pews on the subject of education, and
recognized the establishment of schools
pf a high order as essential in the great
Work of developing the resources of the
jPraine State.
I In August, 1848, A. S. Fisher, a stu-
dent from Bethany College, appeared in
i.he community and made application for
|i school, proposing to teach all the com-
mon English branches, the higher mathe-
matics, natural philosophy, chemistry
ketone, logic, etc., etc. He was em-
ployed to teach a school for ten months,
Elder B. Major, E. B. Myers, Elder E
pickinson, B. J. Radford, Sr., and others
guaranteeing his salary. On September
,0, 1848, the school was opened in a
Imall frame building, modestly provided
vith seats, desks and other furniture,
jnd located near the northeast corner of
pe present Eureka cemetery.
The institution, now known as Eureka
College, grew out of the attempts at
igner education which have just been
i'Uthned, and it was in 1854 that the trus-
ses made application to the legislature
3r a special college charter. This char-
er was granted and approved on Feb-
juary 6, 1855. In September, 1855, the
ollege was formally opened as Eureka
allege, so this September marks the
'.seventieth Anniversary of the opening
i Walnut Grove Academy, and the
•ixty-third Anniversary of the beginning
* Eureka College proper. It is planned
o make it a great event, and all the
?rmer students, alumni and friends of
-ureka will want to be present on the
jtternoon and evening of Wednesday,
■ept, 4, at which time the anniversary
xercises will be held. Prof. B. J. Rad-
ord will deliver the anniversary address
t the afternoon session. He, perhaps
nows more about the history of Eureka
-ouege than any other living man, and
mainly no more worthy representative
ould have been chosen to deliver the
aaress on this occasion.
H. O. Pritchard, President.
=7
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL HYMNAL EVER PRODUCED BY THE AMERICAN CHURCH
HYMNS OF THE
UNITED CHURCH
Edited by CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON
and HERBERT L. WILLETT
FORjTHE]USE OF CHURCHES OF ALL DENOMINATIONS
/^ONTAINS all the great hymns which have become fixed in the affec-
V>" tions of the Church and adds thereto three distinctive features:
Hymns of Christian Unity
Hymns of Social Service
Hymns of the Inner Life
These three features give HYMNS OF THE UNITED
CHURCH a modernness of character and a vitality not
found in any other book. This hymnal is alive!
It sings the very same gospel that is being
preached in modern evangelical pulpits
Great care has been bestowed on the "make-up" of the
pages. They are attractive to the eye. The hymns seem
almost to sing themselves when the book is open. They
are not crowded together on the page. No hymn is
smothered in a corner. The notes are larger than are
usually employed in hymnals. The words are set in
bold and legible type, and all the stanzas are in the staves.
Everything has been done to make a perfect hymnal.
Price, per single copy, in cloth, $1.15. In half-leather, $1.40
Write today for further information as to" sample copies, etc.
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
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ADDITIONAL NEWS ITEMS
— Geo. W. Buckner, Jr., has resigned
at Mokane, Mo., after a ministry of
something over two years. He begins
his pastorate at La Monte September 1.
During the brief ministry at Mokane
much of enduring good has been accom-
plished. About seventy-five members
have been added, the church has changed
from a "half-time" to a full-time church.
Something over $2,000 has been raised
for all purposes during the past year.
The church has been changed from an
"omissionary" church to a "unanimous"
church, giving to every enterprise of the
Disciples. In the recent emergency
drive the church went well over its $500
apportionment. Eighteen names appear
on the Honor roll — more than from all
other churches of the town combined.
— M. M. Long, of Windfall, Ind., has
accepted the work at Portland, Ind., and
will begin his service there September 1.
— The men's class of Niles (O.) church
has 37 men in war service. The first man
from Niles to be killed in action was
Sergeant Carl L. Gilbert of this class.
Pastor W. H. McLain writes that an
impressive memorial service in his honor
was conducted by the church in the new-
ly _ erected McKinley Birthplace Mem-
orial. Approximately 1,000 people from
all parts of the county attended. In ad-
dition to all the protestant ministers of
the city, B. F. Leitch, of Girard, O., and
L, G. Batman, of Youngstown, assisted
m the service.
— L. J. Marshall, of Wabash Avenue
church, Kansas City, Mo., is spending
August at his Jackson county (Mo.)
farm. George H. Combs is rusticating at
West Plains, Mo. Burris A. Jenkins has
sailed for France. E. E. Violette is reg-
ularly in charge at Independence Boule-
vard. C. C. Sinclair is now leading at
Swope Park church.
—At a recent all-day meeting at East
Broadway church, Sedalia, Mo., under the
leadership of the pastor, W. W. Kratzer,
over $600 was raised to apply on the
church indebtedness. In the evening a
patriotic sermon was preached by Law-
rence Ashley, leader at Marshall, Mo., his
subject being "What Do Ye More Than
Others?"
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OUR BIBLE
By HERBERT L. WILLETT
The Things the Aver-
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Know.
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Who wrote it?
How is it different from other
Bibles?
What authority has the Bible?
What do we mean by Inspira-
tion?
What is "Higher Criticism"?
Does "Higher Criticism" hurt or
help the Bible?
What is "Lower Criticism?"
How to use the Bible.
How the Bible may be misused —
even by those who believe
in it.
These and a score of other
practical questions are treated by
Professor Willett in the style
that has made him for twenty
years the most popular lecturer
on the Bible before the American
public.
This Book Will Answer YOUR Questions
The times demand a fair knowledge of the facts about the Bible by the average lay-
man Without such he is a prey to all sorts of vagaries and even superstitions Modern
scholarship, working for the past half century, has brought to light a great body of new
facts which, taken as a whole, make the Bible a new book. These new facts have oiten
been the subject of premature interpretation, of prejudiced misstatement, of lll-intormed
advocacy. As a result, there is widespread confusion among the laity and even among
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I
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When you hare finished reading this copy of
The Christian Century place a one-cent stamp
on this comer and hand the magazine to any
postal employe. The Post Office will send It
to some soldier or sailor In our forces at the
front. No wrapping — oo address.
A. a BUBDB8GN, Postmaster-general.
Vol. XXXV
September 5, 1918
Number 34
The Ball of
Controversy
By E. W. McDiarmid
Is Christ Coming Again?
By Herbert L. Willett
CHIC AG
C
2
□
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
September 5, 1918
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiin
Three Forthcoming Books
OF FIRST-RANK IMPORTANCE
The Daily Altar
By HERBERT L. WILLETTand CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON
A GUIDE and inspiration to private devotion and family worship. Presenting
for each day in the year a theme, a meditation, a Scripture verse, a poem and a
prayer. A remarkable and unique contribution to the life of the spirit. In these
hurried and high-tension days it makes possible the habit of daily devotion in every
home, at every bedside, and in every heart. The book is a work of art — printed on
exquisitely fine paper, bound in full leather, with gilt edges, round corners and silk
marker. It is a delight to the hand and eye, and will invite itself to a permanent
place on the library table or the book-shelf of one's bed-chamber. It will prove to
be the most popular Christmas gift of the season. Orders received now.
NOW IN PRESS. READY SEPTEMBER 25.
Price, $2.00. In Lots of Six, $10.00.
The Protestant
By BURRIS A. JENKINS
THE author calls this "a scrap book for
insurgents" and dedicates it "to the
bravest men I know, the heretics." He frankly
confesses himself a destructive critic. Look-
ing abroad over the Church today, Dr. Jen-
kins sees its follies, its waste, its ineptness, its
bondage to tradition, and he yearns for the
coming of a great Protestant, another Luther,
who will not only shatter the present order of
things but lead the Church into a new day.
While he disavows any constructive purpose
in the book, it is in reality a master-work of
constructive and helpful criticism. Without
apparently trying to do so the author marks
out positive paths along which progress must
be made. It is safe to predict that this book
will have a wide reading. It is bound to pro-
voke discussion. Dr. Jenkins writes with a
facile, even a racy, pen. Orders received now.
NOW IN PRESS. READY OCTOBER 1
Price, $1.35 net
Love Off to the War
By THOMAS CURTIS CLARK
READERS of religious and secular jour-
nals the country over have become famil-
iar with the verse of Mr. Clark. He has
grown steadily into favor with those minds
that still have taste for the normal and sound
simplicities of poetry. This exquisitely made
volume — a poem in itself — now gives the
cream of Mr. Clark's work to the book-read-
ing public. Poems of war and love and
"Friendly Town" and idyllic peace are here,
as well as poems of mystical Christian expe-
rience. Everywhere that Christian journalism
has carried Thomas Curtis Clark's verses there
will be a keen desire to possess this book. It
is a book to keep and to love, and a beautiful
book to give to a friend. Orders received now.
NOW IN PRESS. READY OCTOBER 1
Price, $1.25 net
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 East 40th Street, CHICAGO
m
□
D
An Undenominational Journal of Religion
Volume XXXV
SEPTEMBER 5, 1918
Number 34
EDITORIAL STAFF: CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON, EDITOR; HERBERT L. WILLETT. CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
ORVIS FAIRLEE JORDAN, ALVA W. TAYLOR. JOHN RAY EWERS :: THOMAS CURTIS CLARK, OFFICE MANAGER
i Entered as second-class matter, February 28, 1902, at the Post-office at Chicago, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
j Published Weekly By the Disciples Publication Society 700 East 40th Street, Chicago
) Subscription — $2.50 a year (to ministers, $2.00), strictly in advance. Canadian postage, 52 cents extra; foreign, $1.04 extra.
; Change of date on wrapper is a receipt for remittance on subscription and shows month and year to which subscription is paid.
===== , -
; The Christian Century is a free interpreter of the essential ideals of Christianity as held historically by the Disciples of Christ.
j It conceives the Disciples' religious movement as ideally an unsectarian and unecclesiastical fraternity, whose original impulse and
! common tie are fundamentally the desire to practice Christian unity in the fellowship of all Christians. Published by Disciples, The
I Christian Century, is not published for Disciples alone, but for the Christian world. It strives to interpret the wider fellowship
t in religious faith and service. It desires definitely to occupy a catholic point of view and it seeks readers in all communions.
EDITORIAL
Making the Church Safe for Democracy
IT IS a strange phenomenon of our time that the
political life of the world is developed in the direc-
tion of more democracy at the same time that cer-
tain religious leaders are seeking to fasten upon the
I church more autocracy. In England today there is the
i greatest opportunity since the time of Cromwell of
uniting the Christian forces. The nonconformist de-
nominations, though as prosperous as the state church
in most regards, and numerically about as strong, are yet
willing to merge their individuality in the state church.
But there is no proposal for union which does not in-
volve an outgrown episcopacy, which in religion stands
in the road of the democracy which characterized Jesus
Christ and his apostles.
In the name of efficiency, many denominations are
getting more centralization of ecclesiastical power. In
recent years Disciples, Baptists and Congregationalists
have organized national conventions and to these con-
ventions are being accorded more and more leadership
in the life of the denomination. How easy it is for a
seeming democracy in religion to become an oligarchy
and at last a tyranny is only too well illustrated by the
history of the church.
Those who hold the social view of religion insist
that religion shall always embody the highest ideals of
the social structure. Should the church of Jesus Christ
these days fail to convince the world that it is a truly
democratic institution, then we may look for new re-
ligious organizations to arise (as proposed even now by
some literary men) and if these were democratic and
in other ways serviceable, one could imagine an era of
eclipse for Christianity.
Our task is to define what true democracy in re-
ligion is. Certainly it could involve no coercion of
opinion. There must be room for the free expression
and activity of lay as well as clerical elements in the
church. There must be the respect for human life of
every sort and the sympathy without which no indi-
vidual and no church can claim to be democratic in
spirit.
A Meeting of National Importance
A MEETING of national importance will be held
in Chicago at the Hotel Sherman, September 26
and 27. National organizations which study the
church in its relationship to the war will cooperate
with the Chicago Interchurch War-Work Committee
in holding one of the most significant gatherings of
churchmen that has come together since the war be-
gan. There will be distinguished visitors from Eng-
land on the program, among them being Bishop Charles
Gore of the Oxford diocese and Rev. Arthur T. Guttery,
member of the National Free Church Council, of Liver-
pool, England. Such distinguished Americans as Rev.
Arthur J. Brown and Mr. Hamilton Holt will also speak
and it is partly promised that Ex-President William H.
Taft will be present.
The topic that will be discussed will be interna-
tional Christian fellowship in the war. This topic will
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 5, 1918
help to answer the anxious questions that ministers are
asking, What direction will religious progress take as
a result of the war?
When religion fails to express the bigness of life
and the spirit of the social order, we always start in to
reform it. The reformation of religion has been done
over and over again and perhaps will always need to be
done. In these days when we have twenty-four nations
fighting side by side for some of the most precious
spiritual possessions of the race, it is altogether im-
possible for us to be satisfied with the narrowness and
division of our religious situation.
Unfortunately the movement for international
Christian fellowship has been taking on a reactionary
character. It is argued that for the sake of realizing
the unbroken fellowship in Christ, we should be willing
to forget our protests against superstition and error
and autocracy in church government and accept the
older forms of doctrine and polity. At the coming con-
ference there will be opportunity for another type of
leadership, that which shall truly lead, showing that
unity is to be had by going forward and not by retreat-
ing. If the main theme is really discussed, Chicago will
be in the limelight of the religious world this month.
Disfellowshipping the Christian World
ACCORDING to his account, John Ruskin was lost
to the evangelical practice of Religion in a little
religious service. A half-educated man was ad-
dressing a dozen or more people and arguing that they
alone would be saved. The narrower the sect, the more
certain it is of being the elect. The Dunkards claim
that only those receiving trine immersion are safe. The
Plymouth Brethren will not even let the man of another
denomination drop his dime on the contribution plate,
for the money of the outsider is worse than tainted — it is
polluted.
Is it conceivable that the Disciples of Christ could
ever have become one of these narrow intolerant sects?
When one considers their fundamental principles, with
their motto "In matters of opinion, liberty," it would
seem impossible. Yet if a Disciple becomes unduly
proud of the breadth and tolerance of his people he is
soon humbled by some statement in a reactionary
journal supposed to be representative of this movement
for Christian unity.
There are now many Disciples churches which
practice Christian union by some method, as well as
preach it. Concerning the unimmersed people received
into such churches, a recent writer says that they are
attached to that particular congregation but are not a
part of the body of Christ. Of course, receiving a
Methodist into one of our churches does not make him
a part of the body of Christ. He became a part of
Christ's body when he received Christ in faith and
baptism.
What an unhappy man this writer must be! He
sees large cities full of noble buildings, which are hardly
better than idol temples, for their worship and teaching
do not make of the people true Christians. And the
prosperity of these organizations is in his eyes only a
further extension of error and unbelief!
We cannot believe that such shocking views of
their Christian brethren of the various communions can
ever become very common among Disciples. Even our
most conservative ministers are delightfully inconsistent
in their treatment of their neighboring ministers. But
narrowness and bigotry must be scotched out of corners
of our great brotherhood. Our brethren, though wear-
ing names which we cannot wear are, beneath all that,
Christians, and their churches are true churches of
Christ.
A Day on a Troop Train
IN the gathering of conscripts and the shipping of i
them to the camps and cantonments, there have;
been some interesting experiences. Civilians
usually accompany these trains to represent the Y. M.
C. A. and these men have stories to tell which are of j
real significance to religion.
Before the train leaves, the families come to the!
station to bid the men good-bye and there one can1
estimate the spirit with which America has received!
conscription. There is a woman's face swollen with
weeping; she looks into the future with a nameless
fear. There are the jolly, thoughtless folks with their
jokes about bringing back some personal belonging of
the kaiser for a souvenir. Some of the conscripts are
busy studying war manuals that they may understand
their new duties.
A day on the troop trains indicates the quality of
men aboard. These men are from every social class.
The farmer and the factory worker are there. The im-
migrant and the native American, the rich and the poor,
are alike found on these trains. The religious and the
irreligious are there.
The Y. M. C. A. man who boards these trains finds
that a majority of the men are church members, but
that many of them have been living a long way from
God and the religious life. The challenge of the new
situation will soon decide which way they are to go,
whether into a complete renunciation of religious ideals
or toward a new and earnest service to Christ.
We cannot help but feel that the troop trains reveal
the fact that the church has not been succeeding very
well with young men. Has our religious education beenj
at fault? Have our churches been conducted too much!
for the older adults who make the subscriptions and
"do the church work"? The lessons of the troop trains
need to be assembled and studied for the sake of the
valuable information that might be gained.
A Better Teaching Force
THE Sunday school has awakened in some measun
to its opportunities as an educational force. One*
conceived in terms of enthusiasm for numbers
filled with a zeal not according to knowledge, it is now
becoming more useful in educating the people and espe
cially the children into the likeness of Jesus Christ.
The key person in the Sunday school is not the super
iptember 5, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
Itendent but the teacher. The administrator has his
|ace, but the teacher who deals with the problem at first
iind must be a person of parts.
In the first place, a teacher should be an educated
;:rson. Our secular teachers use good grammar and
gnified speech. Our children cannot be with this kind
| instructor through the week and then find satisfaction
\ a slangy enthusiast on Sunday. Some schools will want
b teachers who are not high school graduates. Other
hools may not establish so high a standard. But we
ust have a standard.
The teacher of religion must know what religion is.
is not so important that the teacher belong to "our
rurch," but it is altogether essential that a teacher of
ligion should know of the religious life other than by
;ar-say. The person who has a real delight in the
ible, in the church and in Christian service is the sort
person who should teach.
Our Sunday school teacher must be the sort of per-
m that we should like our children to imitate and
inulate. Religious education is not a question just of
jaintaining attendance or of any other purely organiza-
iDnal matter. The teacher must be a fair sample of the
i'ligion we propagate.
For this reason the teacher training class is in many
;ays a necessity in the school. It not only imparts neces-
!,ry knowledge of religion to the prospective teacher, but
so provides opportunity to reveal the quality of the
•ospective teacher. There should be organized a sys-
m of instruction which will not only prepare new teach-
■s, but keep the old ones growing. It is time now to
an for next year's class.
Mr. S. J. Duncan-Clark to France
\i K R. S. J. DUNCAN-CLARK'S war articles will be
}A/1 suspended for the next two months while their
j » *■ author is in France. Mr. Duncan-Clark, the
jar analyst of the "Chicago Evening Post," has created
; department in The Christian Century that has made
{large place for itself in the minds of our readers. Upon
is return he will resume his weekly articles with an
jided authority gained by his visit to the front.
Two Shadows
A Parable of Safed the Sage
NOW it came to pass in the Summer that I so-
journed by the side of a Little Lake that lay to
the westward of my habitation. And there was
ti evening when I watched the Sun as it was going
own, and behold it was Glorious. And as I turned
way from it and entered my dwelling, behold mine
vn Shadow went before me, and climbed up upon the
mer wall of the Room as I entered. And as I went
•rward, lo, another Shadow rose upon the wall, and it
as like unto the first, even mine own Shadow. And I
arveled much that one man should cast Two Shadows,
nd the Thing Seemed Passing Strange.
But the reason was this, that the Sun as it was
>ing down shone on the water and was like unto an-
other Sun, and cast a Shadow even brighter and taller
than the Sun in the heavens. For the Sun in the heavens
was partly obscured by the trees; but the Sun in the
lake cast its reflected rays under the branches and shone
clearly. And so it was that in the sight of men the
reflected Sun was brighter than the real Sun, and cast
the greater and taller Shadow.
And I thought within my soul how to men the
vision of the Most High God is often obscured ; and
how there be men who must see the exceeding bright-
ness of His Person by reflected light. And I prayed to
my God that such light of Him as I may reflect might
reveal to such men as behold it the true glory of the
Sun of Righteousness.
A Mother's Thoughts, 1918
By Lynn Harold Hough
OUR eyes are shining in my heart tonight ;
Are they shining bright in France?
Your face is glowing with courageous light;
Is it strong and firm in France ?
Y
Your voice is singing in my heart to-night;
Does it lift gay songs in France?
You're all a-tingle for the great, stern fight ;
Have you kept your zeal in France?
Your feet are marching in my heart tonight;
Do they keep bold time in France?
Your arms are stalwart with a soldier's might;
Do they do brave deeds in France?
You're a spotless baby in my arms tonight;
Are you clean and true in France?
You have said your prayer in the waning light ;
Have you kept the faith in France?
* * *
Father and Son
The following poem was written by a Canadian
father whose son, not long after these words were written,
fell in battle on the French front. The author is James
D. Hughes, superintendent of public schools in Toronto.
The verses were first printed in the "Continent" :
GOD gave my son in trust to me;
Christ died for him and he should be
A man for Christ. He is his own
And God's and man's — not mine alone.
He was not mine to give. He gave
Himself that he might help to save
All that a Christian should revere —
All that enlightened men hold dear.
"What if he does not come?" you say.
Ah, well ! my sky would be more gray ;
But through the clouds the sun would shine
And vital memories be mine.
God's test of manhood is, I know,
Not "Will he come?" but "Did he go?"
Is Christ Coming Again?
A Study of the Second Coming of Our Lord in the Light of the New Testament ari(
Christian History
Conclusion of the Series on the Second Advent
THERE are two schools of millennialists, known
as pre-millenarians and post-millenarians re-
spectively. The former look for an early return
of the Lord, either at a date which they are willing to
designate, or at an unknown time within the near
future. They hold to the millennial program set forth
in the locus classicus of their group, Rev. 20:1-7. This
scripture they interpret with complete literalness, and to
it they compel all other biblical utterances to conform.
In accordance with this passage so interpreted, they
believe that the second coming of Christ will be the
means, and the only possible means, of rewarding right-
eousness and bringing sin to its proper punishment.
This great event is to be followed by a period of
a thousand years, during which the saints will dwell in
a rebuilt and beautified Jerusalem, and Satan will be
confined. At the end of that time, Satan will be loosed
for a final conflict with good, only to meet his doom,
and the judgment will close the present world-order
and usher in the era of enduring happiness for the saints,
and punishment for the wicked.
The post-millenarians find difficulty in this literal-
istic vfew, and yet wish to hold as far as possible to the
doctrine of an actual second coming. They do not
?gree among themselves as to details, any more than
do the pre-millenarians. But they look for the coming
of a period of righteousness worthy to be called, in
contrast with the present imperfect realization of the
ideals of Jesus, the Millennium. This is to be followed
by the second coming of the Lord, and the end of the
world-order. Until the- modern period of closer exam-
ination of the subject in the light of comparative studies
in Jewish apocalyptic literature, and the recognition
of the evolutionary principle in science and history, the
position of the post-millennialist was supposed to be
the only alternative to the bald literalism of the other
opinion. It was taken for granted that some doctrine
of millennialism was held by all Christians, for no one
denied the fact that in some manner Christ is to come
to make the earth and its people his possession and
for this reason to the conscious post-millennialists is
due the gradual release of the term "Millennium" from
the hard and fast literalism which makes the entire idea
impossible to such a large proportion of the Christian
world. In this modified sense the word has come to
stand for the golden age ahead, and even for the gradual
realization of the purposes of our Lord in accordance
Avith his plan of development, — "first the blade, then the
ear, then the full corn in the ear."
TEACHINGS OF SCIENCE AND HISTORY
But the studies in science and history, particularly
Christian history, to which the most scholarly and
reverent of religious leaders have devoted themselves ii
the modern age have made less and less convincing air
theory of millennialism whatever. At the time the pre
millennialist manifesto was issued last year in Eng
land, Dr. Forsyth challenged its authors to point to
single scholar of any outstanding reputation who wa
an advocate of the theory. It was merely a by-produc
of Jewish-Christian teaching in an atmosphere heavil;
charged with apocalyptic hopes. The studies of thi
series have made it clear that the early Christians share
the Jewish views of the time regarding a catastrophi
consummation of their own age and the life of the work
This view was in no manner of the essence of Christian
ity. We do not know to what extent, if at all, Jesu
shared this current conception of things. We are wholl
dependent upon his first interpreters for our knowledg
of what he thought and said. As has been shown i:
the studies on that part of our theme, these testimonie
differ. In some of the Gospel records the apocalypti
element in the teaching of our Lord is considerable. I
some it is much less, and in some it is entirely wanting
Did Jesus share the opinions of his age? Or did h
employ them as useful in reaching the minds of th
people? We cannot be sure. It is the same questio
which confronts us in reference to his employment c
current erroneous ideas regarding Old Testament book
and the facts of nature.
We know today by the very processes of carefi
investigation, the inspiration of which is due to th
teachings and influence of Jesus, that the early Chris
tians, like their Jewish contemporaries, were in erro
regarding matters in all three of these fields of fac
We also know that either Jesus shared these views, o
he employed them in accordance with the laws of ac
commodation, or that his first reporters represente
him as doing so. None of these facts affect in any mar
ner the vital themes of his life, over which there is n
debate. If anyone wishes to affirm that the authorit
of Jesus is discredited because of these perfectly paten
facts, he must assume the responsibility for such a
unwarrented and unforgivable affront to our Mastei
The centuries stand with uncovered head in the presenc
of the great truths he spoke in reference to the Fathei
the Kingdom of Heaven, the salvability of humanity
and the coming realization of his ideals in a change
social order. The centuries have cared very little
to what was mistakenly thought by the early Christian
regarding the end of the world and a spectacular comin
of the Lord. It is simply a difference of values, and b
such differences the significance of all doctrines must b
audited.
We know today that the earth is not approaching
catastrophic end at any period within calculable tim<
ptember 5, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
om the days of the Apocalypse, on through the times
the mediaeval writers who loved to write hymns
iter the manner of the "Dies Irae," and "The days are
:ry evil, the time is waxing late," on to the latest
surance that the end is at hand, and that President
rilson is the apocalyptic angel of Rev. 10, as one confi-
:nt prophet affirms, men have been busy with specula-
jns regarding what they thought to be fulfillments of
Iblical utterances. But we are not living in the last
nes. The world is very young as yet. It could not
: as foolish and childish as it is in many regards if it
ere not extremely young. One does not discount these
)Ocalyptic predictions of an early catacylsm with the
sumption of any superior knowledge, but rather be-
use of confidence in the teachings of science and
story regarding an almost incalculable past in which
.price and catastrophe have played no part, but the
derly unfolding of a divine plan has been manifested
the spirit of the promise long ago recorded that "seed-
me and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and
inter, and day and night shall not cease." In that
;titude of mind the human race may confidently anti-
pate a far longer career to come than any measure
hitherto accomplished time can span.
THE STRUGGLE AHEAD
Today we know by all the teachings of the proph-
s, and of our Lord and the apostles, that the salvation
the world is not going to be realized in any such
nooth and easy manner as the millenarian assumes,
we lived in the sort of world of which he is thinking,
hich God could change from evil to good by some
)asm of divine energy, some supernatural intervention
i the order of the years, it would be a smug satisfac-
on to sit down in indolence and wait for such a time,
id it would be little less than a colossal crime on God's
irt to delay it for an hour. But we confront no such
techanical and childish solution of the great problem
t the world's sin and redemption. That solemn and
lagnificent task has been committed to us, as Paul on
imost every page of his epistles assures us with
lingled triumph and tears. It is nothing less than the
ansformation of society by the slow but effective
tethods of Christian education and social service. In
ie realization of this ideal almost incalculable distances
ave already been traversed. But far greater areas
re yet to be won. It is an enterprise so overwhelming
ad sublime that centuries and millenniums to come
'ill see it uncompleted, but moving on with the cer-
linty of the promise of God to its completion. It is
ie "one far-off, divine event to which the whole crea-
on moves."
The fact that the great company of Christian be-
evers in the present time as in the past have slight
iterest in any millenarian program with its insistence
pon imminent manifestations of divine power in spec-
icular events, is no proof that the hope of the coming
f the Lord has been abandoned, or that the church is
;ss concerned to realize that blessed experience than
i the days of the apostles or at any period since. The
ssurance of the coming of Jesus is written in letters
plain past all misreading on the pages of the New Testa-
ment and in the hearts of the followers of our Lord
through the years. That hope has never waned, for the
simple reason that it has been in process of actual real-
ization in every epoch of Christian history. To the
early church it was a vivid and precious embodiment of
the entire drama of the divine purpose in the world. In
that hard pagan society where religion was the cloak
of scepticism and oppression, where sloth and lust cor-
rupted, and where thieves staid in to steal, there ap-
peared a marvelous new message and motive.
Viewed as one of the moral forces in the Roman
Empire the gospel seemed insignificant and futile.
But the friends of Jesus knew that it was the power of
God to save a helpless world. The Master had tarried
with them in the flesh so brief a time that they thought
of those few short years with a wistful yearning that
craved only the satisfaction of having him come back.
And he had said he would not leave them comfortless,
he would return, he would be with them evermore.
Meantime the faith was spreading on every hand. To
their astonished eyes the message was winning its way
in unbelieveable manner. It was beyond all human
anticipation, mystic, wonderful. Every day brought
new marvels of conversion and extension. Little seemed
to remain but the coming of the Lord himself. When
persecution laid its heavy hand upon groups of the
faithful the need was increased and the hope became
more vivid. It is not strange that many sections of
the church shared the confident anticipation.
THE REAL COMING OF THE LORD
And that hope was not an error. Back of all the
forms in which the primitive church represented to itself
the growing power of the gospel in the world was the
great reality, the actual spread of Christian truth, the
increasing prevalence of the spirit of the Lord. Some
of the later writers of the New Testament perceived this
fact, and understood that old things were passing away
and all things were becoming new. To be sure many,
perhaps even most, of the members of the Christian
community still looked for a visible return of Jesus,
and some of them were growing impatient that their
hopes were not more speedily realized. But longer
experience and closer reading of the records of Jesus'
life and the facts of Christian history made it increas-
ingly clear that the great expectation had a deeper mean-
ing than any spectacular event could measure, and
that the coming of the Lord was not to be an episode
but a process. This was not to allegorize it out of
meaning; it was rather to invest it with a vaster and
more permanent value. Truth may be clothed in many
forms, some of which are inadequate to express its full
significance, though useful in the effort to illustrate it.
The figure may prove partial and insufficient, but the
truth remains. The figure was the apocalyptic imagery
with which the coming of Jesus was clothed in the cur-
rent speech of the Jewish-Christian believers. The
truth is the presence of the Lord with His church, real-
ized in ever increasing measure.
The coming of the Lord is as fundamental an ele-
8
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 5, 191*
ment of the Christian faith as it was at the beginning.
But it has a larger meaning and a vaster significance
than at first. It is not an event either of the past or of
the future. It is a continuous process by which the spirit
and ideals of the Lord become increasingly the motives
of his people. It takes place not at some moment of
time which can be set down in the calendar, but at all
times when the waiting and watchful soul welcomes her
Lord to fuller mastery, when the quickened church in
humility and prayer opens wider its doors to let the
great Head of the Church assume his ever growingly
impressive place in her life. It is pathetic to see intelli-
gent and earnest Christians storming heaven with
prayers for the coming of a Lord who is here all the
time working with his people and asking only their
clearer perception of his presence to make their joy
complete. The Lord comes just as rapidly as we give
him place and room in our lives, our homes and our in-
stitutions. If a hope of this sort misses something of
the dramatic value which a visible coming of the Lord
might possess, it has the far greater meaning of an un-
folding order of life of which Christ is the author and su-
preme example, the inspiration and the goal.
NEED OF WATCH FULNEES
Nor does such a view lack anything of the urgency
which has been supposed to reside in the pre-millen-
arian theory. To be sure there is no hectic fever of
expectancy regarding some anticipated moment for
which the supreme epiphany is set, a day evermore in
need of readajustment as disappointment succeeds fail-
ure through the years; but rather a steady, calm pre-
paredness of heart and life for all eventualities, any one
cf which may be as significant for personal choice and
the consummation of character as the open appearance of
the Lord. The emphasis is thus removed from curiosity to
determination, from the interest of an onlooker as partici-
pant in a pageant to the attainment of an ideal, the realiza-
tion of a growing friendship with the Master, and the
achievement in the due measure of one's power of the
great objectives of the gospel. Does one need a
sharper spur to stimulate him to watchfulness and
preparation? If so, then no resurrection morn-
ing, with the shout of angels and the trump
of God would be adequate. If men require greater per-
suasives than the call and the program of Jesus to win
them to tireless effort and a Christlike character, they
would not believe though one should come from the
dead. :\ ||lp
The attitude of watchfulness and preparation has a
classic example in the answer which John Wesley gave
to a millenarian friend who asked him what he should
do if he were suddenly made aware that Christ was to
come that very day. He pointed to his memorandum of
activities laid out for that period, with its notation of a
sermon to preach, certain calls to be made, some letters
to write, and a conference with a committee, and said,
"That is what I should do. I do not see why I should
change a single item." The believer in the truer and
deeper doctrine of the coming of the Lord will be ever
ready, knowing that every fresh experience of life,
whether of joy or of sorrow, of achievement or failure
may rightly be the occasion of a new disclosure of the
presence of Christ. We learn to know each other, tc
find each other out, in the crises of life when greal
needs are felt and character is revealed. The Chrisl
comes in the same manner, and is made known to us
in the breaking of the bread of life.
The vast majority of Christians have little interesl
in the millennial speculation, and will have less as
knowledge grows from more to more. Yet they hole
no brief for God, and are in no sense concerned to limi
the operations of the divine Spirit. They are ready no1
only to admit but insist that if ever in the achievemen
of the gracious purposes of our Lord a visible, spectac-
ular manifestation of himself should be necessary, il
will doubtless occur, whether at a time near or re-
mote. But such an event they neither expect nor de-
sire, since every purpose of which the Master gave as-
surance is being realized by processes in harmony witr
the divine methods employed throughout the ages. The
way of God with man is that of seed sowing and patient
waiting for the harvest. Our impetuous lives demanc
rapid and often violent results. The Sower sows the
good seed of the kingdom and is content to wait til!
it comes to maturity. To be able thus to see him in the
gracious ministries of his unceasing presence with us
is to realize the mystery and power of the Coming of the
Lord.
Protestants Must Unite
By Perry J. Rice
THERE is just one thing that Protestants of Amer
ica and of 4he world should be saying to themselve
under present circumstances, and that one thing is
We must get together, unite our divided hosts, adjus
our service programs, mobilize our forces and thus pre
pare ourselves for the performance of the new and Her
culean tasks that are awaiting us in this great new da)
into which we are coming.
We do not need more churches. In many places w<
now have two or three or four times as many churches a;
we need. We must unite them and thus make them sig-
nificant and worth while to the people residing near them
We must conserve our resources ; we must make the fullesi
possible use of our money, materials and men. It take;
labor and materials to build churches, and it takes monej
and men to maintain them. Churches we must have al
any price, but not too many of them.
The war may make the world safe for democracy
it cannot make democracy safe for the world. That is th<
constructive task that awaits the church, and it is a greatei
task than carrying on the war. We must vision this tasl
in its true proportions; we must see it in its length, it:
breadth and its depth, and we must get ready to perforn
it. If there is one thing more certain than another it i
that a divided church cannot perform the task. A unitec
church might have prevented the war with all its vasi
wastes, its unimaginable losses and its heart-breaking sor
eptember 5, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
9
ows. That opportunity is forever gone. Another oppor-
tunity presents itself. It is the opportunity of filling the
/odd full of the gospel of Christ, the gospel of love, of
ervice and of sacrifice in constructive labors.
BIG SOULED MEN NEEDED
The church is to have a chance to preach this gospel
3 the awakened consciences of men and women such as
he has never had in all the centuries of her history. Such
gospel cannot be preached by little struggling churches
itent upon the petty problems of selfmaintenance and
ommitted to the pronouncement of party shibboleths. It
lust be preached by big souled men who have been amply
rained to meet the great issues of this crucial hour in
lie world's life, and it must be given publicity and em-
hasis by churches adequately housed and amply equipped
3 render the service they may reasonably be expected to
ender.
This country would not seriously suffer if there were
ot another protestant church of any kind organized
rithin it for the next five years. The religious life of
jeople would be vastly advantaged if there should be a
lousand unions or federations in as many communities
f two or three or four churches. We must make the
lurches significant from an institutional point of view,
nd what is more important, we must arrange service pro-
rams that will grip the people of the several communities.
Ve must appeal to their imaginations and meet their social
nd their educational as well as their spiritual needs. It
not enough that we should unite or federate; we must,
ath new determination, address ourselves to the great
ractical tasks that lie nearest our doors.
Speaking recently of the work of the LaSalle Avenue
iaptist church in the city of Chicago, its pastor, Rev.
oseph B. Rogers said: "Twenty years ago this was a
ich family church. The inevitable removal of its par-
hioners to the suburbs has changed the character of our
rork. Today this is an institutional church, ministering
) the needs of a neighborhood made up largely of a
ansient population. We are in the midst of thousands
I people who come from everywhere. Some are students,
:hers clerks, stenographers, young people who are trying
) get a foothold in the life of a great city. We minister
> the stranger, the children and the poor. We preach
ie gospel in four languages. We help in the Americaniza-
on of these people, leading them toward the high ideals
f our American civilization, and they respond quickly
this appeal."
NOT MORE CHURCHES, BUT BETTER CHURCHES
There are hundreds of places both in the city and in
ie country where similar adjustments to environment
iust be made. We do not need more churches, but we
3 need better churches and we must so equip and man
iem that they will be able to cope with the hundred and
ie problems that are arising on every hand.
I am not indifferent to the place which doctrinal con-
ctions and group consciousness have in our religious life,
>r am I wishing that these be compromised or over-
men. I am simply saying— and this is one of the con-
ctions I hold which I shall not easily allow to be com-
promised— that we must somehow so hold these convic-
tions and these sentiments that we shall be able to address
ourselves to the great practical problems involved in mak-
ing the world Christian. We must get rid of that bump
of conceit which makes us assume that the world cannot
be Christian except by adopting our standards of ortho-
doxy. It is not true. The creeds have none of them far
outlived the generations in which they were written.
"Our little systems have their day,
They have their day and cease to be.
They are but broken lights of Thee,
And Thou, O Lord, art more than they."
I repeat it, there is just one thing Protestants should
be saying to themselves these days, and that is : We
must get together, unite our divided hosts, adjust our serv-
ice programs, mobilize our forces and thus prepare our-
selves for the performance of the new and Herculean
tasks that are awaiting us in the great new day into which
we are coming. We must say it to ourselves over and
over again. We must say it on all occasions ; we must
say it when the difficulties in the way seem greatest ; we
must say it when we are feeling that it cannot be done,
and when, in the profound conviction that it is the will
of Heaven, we are feeling that it must and can be done.
When enough of us begin to repeat it often enough, a way
will be found to do it and it will be done.
America in France
By Thomas Curtis Clark
YOU have not fought in vain, O dead,
Who sleep amid the poppies red;
Your plea, attested with your blood,
By all the world is understood,
And we, your brothers, come from far
To win our nation's service star.
How could we fail you, in your fight
For liberty, for truth and right !
You quailed not when the tempest broke
About your homes ; your bold guns spoke
A message we ourselves would speak,
Who stand as guardians of the weak;
And we are here : with mighty tread,
Our sons avenge your noble dead.
Brave France! We cross the troubled sea,
Not only at your battle plea ;
Though stirred to strife by war's alarms,
We come not only men in arms.
We come to seal our broken past
With fellowship and friendship fast —
One heart, one mind, for all the years,
Till earth may hide her warlike fears,
Till Freedom, idol of your sires,
May pledge to all her sacred fires.
— The Boston Transcript.
"The Ball of Controversy"
By E. W. McDiarmid
TOSSING the ball of controversy to and fro has
from the beginning been a favorite pastime among
the Disciples of Christ. May it be appropriately
indulged in at the present time, when the fate of Chris-
tian civilization is in the balance, and when an insistent
call is coming to every man to bend all his efforts to
its preservation, forsaking non-essential employments?
Our men in France cannot understand why profes-
sional baseball is allowed to go on. Dexterity with a
baseball is a prime qualification for hurling hand-gre-
nades. So Eddie Collins has given up a $15,000 job at
second base and has gone to first base to do what he
can with the marines. Here is a parable for the polem-
ics among us, who will have fightings and disputations.
There is a long line in Flanders and in France, where
may be had to the full the best and most important
fighting against the "world, the flesh and the devil."
LET WRANGLING BE ADJOURNED
There are no greater desiderata now than the
abandonment of "politics," the cessation of denomina-
tional disputes, the giving over of internal bickerings
and strife in lodge, in school and in church. Even im-
portant questions in these arenas must be shelved for
the present. The government is calling for unanimity
of action and for agreement in the one great purpose
before us. To our colleges the government will send
back this month trained young men to lead and to
drill their fellows. For the time being, at least, our
colleges are training posts for service and for sacrifice.
The government has put, so to speak, its imprimatur
upon these institutions. Ought not the Church of God,
in this crisis, to have a whole-hearted policy of sym-
pathy and endorsement for those institutions out of
which thousands of our bravest and best are going, all
of them dedicated in purpose and in will to a great
Cause, some of them destined surely never to return?
Failing that generous word of approval, will it not bor-
der dangerously upon the disloyal, if by needless criti-
cisms of our colleges governmental plans for enlisting
trained men are shattered at their source?
Always there have been many who have thought
that the incessant attacks upon our colleges and other
agencies among us have lacked a Christian justification.
When these colleges are aflame with a fervent religious
and patriotic spirit that is finding expression in every
form of devoted and loyal service, surely the business
of attempting to quench that great light is entirely
out of time and place.
KANT ON MORAL DUTY
Let it be said to the credit of Kant that he put this
question of the immediate moral duty to a very clear
test: "Is what I am about to do a moral law for all?
Will my act become a universal law?" The controver-
sialist lugging into the. arena and propounding questions
in which at this time there can be no real interest ms
well apply Kant's test to his conduct. For instanc
should the "Y" men at the front be called back fortl
with in order to take a part in the discussions that ag|
tate us at home? Imagine the disgust with which the,''
valiant men of the Cross would receive the proposi
that they are to forsake their work at the front ar!
return home to engage in theological pugilistics ari
ing out of a difference of opinion regarding the Mosa
authorship of the Pentateuch !
After all, is it not a question of relative values
Are there not other matters which at present may b
pressed to the greater advantage of the Kingdom
Augustine Birrell raises this same question most sujj
gestively. He asks : "Would it not be better for mo;
people if, instead of stuffing their heads with contrc
versy, they were to devote their scanty leisure to reaij
ing books, such as, to name one only, Kaye's 'Histoij
of the Sepoy War,' which are crammed full of activitiij
and heroisms, and which force upon the reader's mir
the healthy conviction that, after all, whatever my
teries may appertain to mind and matter, and notwitl
standing grave doubts as to the authenticity of tl
Fourth Gospel, it is bravery, truth and honor, loyall
and hard work, each man at his post, which makes th
planet inhabitable?"
DISCIPLES NEED A NEW LEADER
If ever there was such a need, the Disciples
Christ need a Moses to lead them away from petty i
sues and inconsequential disputes and wranglings, ar
to bring them to a consuming passion for and intere
in the great international movements that are swee
ing the world forward into the righteousness of tl
Kingdom of God.
There is also the question of justice. Heresy hun
ing through all the Christian years has been consii
ently scandalous for the bitter injustice of its mi
directed efforts. In the eighteenth century, Thorn;
Woodston was sentenced to a fine of £100 and a yeai
imprisonment, among other things, for commentii
ing as follows on the miracle of the Pool of Bethesd;
"An odd and a merry way of conferring a Divine mere
And one would think that the angels of God did this f<
their own diversion more than to do good to mai
kind." Woolston died in prison, but the only trouble
waters that remain are the waters of the recollectic
of the treatment accorded him.
So likely are the zealous defenders of truth to i<
into this unchristian spirit that they would find
profitable to read frequently Ruskin's words to tl
women of England: "You women of England are t
shrieking with one voice, you and your clergymen t>
gether, because you hear of your Bible being attacke
If you chose to obey your Bibles, you would not mir
who attacked them. It is just because you never fulf
September 5, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
11
a single downright precept of the Book that you are
so careful about its credit; and just because you do not
care to obey its whole words, that you are so careful
:i,jout the letter of them .... the Bible tells you to do
justice, and you do not know nor care to know what the
Bible word 'Justice' means. Do but learn what so much
of God's truth as that comes to, and then this 'attack
on the Bible,' as you wrongly call it, will cause you no
further anxiety."
THE BIBLE AND PERSONAL LIVING
In other words, ceaseless compliance with Bible
teaching for one's own personal life will crush out all
fears for the safety of that Book, and will leave neither
time nor inclination for self-righteous censure of other
Christians who do not see eye to eye with us.
One final word — and that a mighty one — from John
Wesley. Can anyone read his words without knowing
in his heart that here is a distinct and appealing mes-
sage, to which the Disciples of Christ would do well
to give heed?
Said John Wesley : "Nearly fifty years ago a great
and good man, Dr. Potter, then Archbishop of Canter-
bury, gave me an advice for which I have even since
had occasion to bless God: 'If you desire to be exten-
sively useful, do not spend your time and strength in
contending for or against such things as are of a dis-
putable nature, but in testifying against open notorious
vice, and in promoting real essential holiness.' Let us
keep to this, leaving a thousand disputable points to
those that have no better business than to toss the ball
of controversy to and fro ; let us keep close to our
point; let us bear a faithful testimony, in our several
stations, against all ungodliness and unrighteousness,
and with all our might, recommend that inward and out-
ward holiness without which no man shall see the
Lord."
America in Action
Another Family Letter from Sergeant Robert
Willett
Dear Friend Family: Last Sunday was July the
14th, and there was quite a celebration, with a
big parade in the Stade in the afternoon. After
that we went into the hotel to cool off, and got into con-
versation with a funny little Frenchman who had spent
fourteen years in the States. He talked excellent English
and several other languages, and was very pronounced in
his praise of our troops. That led on to further discus-
sion, and soon we were deep in the study of the problem
our Government has had to face in sending our troops
over here.
Very few people, I think, realize just what a big thing
we are doing. This man had spent four months in one of
the French ports prior to coming to Bordeaux, and had
been stationed at various other places. He says that
France is literally covered with American troops and sup-
plies. What he wanted to make clear was that practically
no one over here and few at home know what that means.
At the place where we landed there were miles upon miles
of warehouses; and I have seen a few of the warehouses
here. I have seen the trucks come up to the meat house
by the dozens and haul away hundreds of sides of beef,
and from various other storehouses potatoes, canned goods,
bread, etc. And think — here at Bordeaux there are but
a handful of men as compared to the whole army.
Another striking thing: Our little hospital unit with
250 men and 125 nurses requires what seems an immense
amount of material ; it would surprise you to know how
much, not only food, but clothing, medical supplies, utensils,
trucks, etc. Then multiply that — Great Caesar! It is
unbelievable. Sears-Roebuck's catalogue hasn't a single
item that isn't over here, from pins to locomotives, and
rifiiniiriirtiiitmuimiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiniiiHitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiitiiHiiiitiiiiiiiiniiii
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiii
MiMMimiiiiimiiNiiuimiim
-
The Abiding Christ
By John R. Mott
NOTHING has happened in this war which has invalidated a single claim ever made
by Christ or on behalf of Christ. Not a thing has taken place in the world which has
weakened one of Christ's principles. Christ never was so necessary, never more so;
never more unique and never more sufficient. It is a great thing by an infinite process of
exclusion, like this war has been, gradually to rivet the attention of the world upon the
Unchangeable One, the One who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He came
not only to proclaim a message, but that there might be a message to proclaim. Thank
God for the chance of the ages to go back to our colleges and into our homes and into non-
Christian nations and fix attention on the only One who has not slipped and fallen. There
he stands other than all the rest, strong among the weak, erect among the fallen, clean among
the defiled, living among the dead — Jesus Christ the Lord.
oumiuiuftutuiuujiuiaimndgmuitaiwiuiimuijuiiMni^^
12
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 5, 1918
from soup to nuts. We see what there is here, others
see what there is somewhere else, but very few see the
total amount, and therefore we don't realize what we have
accomplished. We may have been slow about entering the
war, but it didn't take us long to get over here when we did
get in. By this time we must have a million and a quarter
of men here — our sector of the front is growing every day
— and there are enough supplies here to feed all the men
for three months if all the boats in the world were sunk
tonight. I am not mentioning the engineering construction
work we have had in our charge, nor the aviation situa-
tion.
I read in a Paris paper about an American regiment
of artillery that was sent up to the front. It was on the
road without sleep for seventy-two hours, found its po-
sition taken, was forced to find any sort of shelter, and in
thirty minutes from the time of arrival was after the Huns !
It is also common talk that whenever the Boches signal
for a barrage fire, the United States artillery outposts get
the signal, and in thirty seconds the Boches are getting
what they expected to give, with no chance to start ! What
does that and hundreds of other examples mean, but that
we are better trained men in one year than the whole
Kaiser bunch put together — and how he raves! I have
heard so much knocking from those weak-kneed patriots
who are always complaining about the Government — par-
ticularly the President, Mr. Baker, Mr. Daniels, General
Pershing and the others — that I wish they could see what
I have seen, and then make the tour of the other ports and
camps. Then there would be less kicking and more cheer-
ing than is now the case. Everytime anybody knocks the
Administration, I get a little more enthusiastic about it.
And you don't hear much knocking over here. Everybody
knows the truth.
Good night, and write often,
Robert.
Beau Desert, July 22.
The Will to Serve
By Harry F. Ward
IT was only a few days since I heard a teacher of the
philosophy of religion identify freedom and democ-
racy. Without the principle of service neither religion
nor democracy is complete. To identify freedom with
democracy leaves us with nothing but individualism. The
elimination of the principle of service from the religion
and democracy of the Western world has resulted in the
spirit of selfish pietism in religion, of cut-throat competi-
tion in industry and of destructive nationalism in gov-
ernment that has finally involved the world in the welter
of this war. Without service liberalism in religion be-
comes just as sterile as the emotional self-seeking of
evangelicalism. It may seek fellowship, but without yield-
ing to the law of service, fellowship becomes a mere pla-
tonic affection, a vague and ineffective sentiment.
JESUS QUOTED
The task of religion in democracy is to generate the
will to serve, for the highest freedom for the individual
is the freedom to serve, and one's own personal reli-
gious experience is only complete, or, rather, it has only
reached its final stage of development when the yoke of
service with its burden is undertaken. But it will be
remembered that when Jesus was trying, after three
years of preaching, to make that plain to His disciples,
He faced a condition which led Him to point out that
they were to endeavor to put the principle of service
into effect in a world which was organized around a
contrary principle. He pointed out that the Gentiles had
their lords and rulers, who had dominion over them.
"Ye shall not be as the Gentiles," He said, "but who-
ever would be greatest among you, let him be the servant
of all."
And there lies the conflict. There is brought to light
the fact that all the civilizations of this world, including
that in which we now live, whatever may have been their
form of political control, have been organized around
the will to power. The right of the strong man to rule
has been the essential organizing principle.
But in the community life that is to express the
religion which Jesus taught, the religion which was the
culmination of the teaching of the old Hebrew prophets,
there is to be this change in organization — the central
power is to be the will to serve. Those who endeavor
to do that in this age find not simply that the world is
organized on a different principle, but they find that the
will to power has been strengthened by an intellectual
discipline, by a philosophy which has intrenched itself not
simply in one nation, but which has been taught in the
universities of all the nations. They find that the will
to power has been so strengthened in the practical world
that it has been able to reward the men who have
expressed it with the richest prizes, not simply in the
state but in the economic life. High office and big for-
tunes have been the reward of the will to power, and
for the will to serve there has been little offered except
that which Jesus had to offer His followers when, seek-
ing a throne, He could give them nothing but a cross.
Therefore, if religion would be effective it must meet
this intellectual culture and this practical discipline of the
will to power with an equally effective mental discipline
and practical cultivation of the will to serve.
NO SELF-SEEKING IN THE CHURCH
Not long since I heard one of the greatest teachers
and investigators of church history that this country has
produced, speaking on "The Unfinished Reformation,"
declare that the great task which lay before the churches
now to complete the Reformation was to develop the
technique of service. But there is something more than
September 5, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
13
a technique to be developed ; there needs also to be devel-
i oped a propaganda of intellectual discipline, a teaching
of the principle of service and of its application. And
we might as well begin in the church.
If religion is going to require for its fulfilment that
the whole of society be organized around the will to serve,
of necessity the church as a social group, one member
of the social organism, must itself manifest that principle.
The will to serve must be the controlling principle of its
own life. About the church there must be no shadow
of a suspicion of self-seeking. It must not be an organ-
ization living off the community, in any sense. Its motive
before the community must not even appear to be simply
I the seeking of members or of income. It must be a group
which is recognized by the community as existing simply
to serve, willing, if need be, to lose its own life in its
quest for religion and democracy; willing to meet all
: opposition, seeking only to minister to all the needs of
all the people in the community.
Only so can the church today find authority, because
authority today rests entirely upon the democratic basis
of service rendered. The church can never sustain
authority today on the external principle of king or pope.
;When the church begins to seek an authority based only
:on service, then the church will begin to reveal to the
world a God adequate for democracy, and if we are
going to develop a world-wide democracy we must needs
have an interpretation of God that is adequate for such
ja condition of world life.
h. g. wells' god
Under the stress and strain of the war even Mr.
Wells must needs get himself a god, but when he gets
lis god, lo and behold, his god is a king, and he conceives
md accepts a mediaeval theology. This may well make
Us consider that our concept of God has been worked
put in an aristocratic state of society. It remains to
iievelop a god whom democracy can fellowship with— a
vorkingman's god, if you please— one with whom we may
ndeed have communion as we work with him in the
iervice of mankind.
Then we have the task before us of demanding and
ecuring that the world of work, this bread-and-butter
i>usiness, this industrial process of modern society, be
Jrganized around the will to serve, for there, of course,
5 the last iritrenchment of the will to power. After you
ave overthrown autocracy in the form of a military caste
ou still have left that same old principle dug deep into
be conflict of the economic life. Here you have the will
3 power no longer grasping a throne, but grasping eco-
omic control, and able under the law of profit to secure
nd enforce it.
It seeks not merely gain in the sense of the piling
P of goods, but it seeks the control which success in
iat process gives. Instead of a feudal military aristoc-
icy intrenched in and sustained by land ownership, the
ill to power today builds up by fortunes and by eco-
miic control a plutocratic group of special privilege,
ith special opportunity for culture and for luxury. As
counterpart of that there grows at the other end of
Kiety a dependent group denied the privileges and
sometimes the decent necessities of life, and in between
a middle class, thwarted and baffled in its longings and
aspirations, denied full opportunity for its development.
THE INDUSTRIAL MOTIVE
When you come to get the facts behind the recent
denials of free speech and mob terrorisms of this coun-
try you find that the dominant motive is not political,
it is industrial. It is an attempt to defeat any rebellion
against the principle of autocracy in the economic world.
We are faced, then, with the necessity of demand-
ing and securing that the state be organized around
the will to serve. At once we are confronted by our
nationalistic states, holding on fast to the principle of
absolute sovereignty, willing to yield nothing of it. When
we begin to talk about making the world safe for democ-
racy, what do we mean? Do we mean simply the old
principles of States' rights carried over into the interna-
tional field? Do we mean to propose presently to sign
a paper contract which will give the right of free action
and free development to the smaller states, which will
give people everywhere the right to walk to the ballot
box once in so often and choose their rulers even as we
do? And then do we mean that these states, being free,
shall simply be left with no obligation of service to the
common life, each securely intrenched in its absolute
sovereignty? Because if we do mean nothing but that,
all that we have done is to increase the complication and
the antagonism in the international field by multiplying
the sovereign units and the possible causes of conflict
between them.
THE CHALLENGE TO RELIGION
Here lie the supreme challenge and the supreme
opportunity for religion. If American resources, eco-
nomic and military, are to have the balance of power
in this conflict, are the religious resources of America
to be cast into the scale? Are they to have any decisive
voice in the issue of this struggle? Is the United States,
coming for the first time into the fellowship of the nations,
getting unto itself great military power, developing great
economic strength— is the United States to seek mastery
or service?
The mere fact of political democracy has not saved
any people yet from economic imperialism in interna-
tional relations. Read the story of diplomacy in Europe
for the last ten years and ask what France did in Mo-
rocco and what England did in Persia, and then see if
the mere fact of political democracy means the will to
serve in international relations. And unless the United
States becomes dominated by the will to serve, her entrance
mto the family of nations as a force of supreme strength
simply means another great menace to the future peace
of the world. Is the United States to come into the inter-
national sphere not as one seeking power, not as one
seeking economic control, but as the suffering servant
among the nations, willing to pay the price to the utter-
most to lead the peoples of the earth into a fellowship
of co-operative service?
That is the question for religion in this country to
answer.
Justice to the Conscientious Objector
The Conscientious Objector
and the Military Machine
IS Uncle Sam dealing justly with the conscientious objector?
Is it possible for a good citizen to refuse to accept war
service of any kind? Here is a bit of colloquy the writer in-
dulged in recently at one of the cantonments.
After some talk about pacifism we asked what was being
done with the "C. O." in that camp. "Well," was the reply,
"here is a sample. A young man of twenty-eight years, a
Ph. D. from the University of Illinois and a professor of en-
gineering in one of the southwestern state universities, was
sent to Ft. Leavenworth the other day under sentence at hard
labor for twenty-five years. He was born and raised a Men-
nonite and was so educated and prejudiced against taking
human life that every fiber of his being revolted at the idea
of becoming a soldier. Certainly he was no coward, for car-
rying a rifle in France would have been far easier than such
a sentence. The fact is, he was heroic in his resistance. We
have few men in these times with such moral courage. It
made our blood boil to see him marched away under such
sentence, but it is war and one can say nothing."
"You do not mean to tell us that Uncle Sam will send
a man to the rock pile for twenty-five years if he is really
conscientious in his objection to active war service. We un-
derstood that the President and Secretary of War were both
very anxious to preserve that constitutional right and that
they had appointed a commission of eminent jurists to review
all such cases and that these men in the 'C. O.' barracks
were allowed temporary exemption until their cases could be
heard by this civil commission. On what specific charge
was this man court-martialed?"
"Well, he was ordered to the hospital for duty and re-
fused to go. He said that any form of service rendered to
the war establishment was promotion of war and he was
conscientiously opposed to all war."
There was the rub. When must tolerance cease to be a
virtue? How far can an organized society grant exemption
from every form of duty to the social body? When a man
will not nurse a sick boy who is putting on the khaki for his
country just as conscientiously as the Objector is refusing
to do it, or will say that to bind up the wounds of a lad who
has offered his life for the protection and safety of those whom
the Prussian heel would mercilessly crush is "promoting war,"
is not the issue removed from that of exemption for con-
science sake to coercion for the sake of duty and the pres-
ervation of the social bond? When does it cease to be a mat-
ter oi individual conscience and become one of social obliga-
tion?
* * *
Two Typos of
"Personal Liberty"
In truth this educated, refined young man was demanding
that his privilege of personal liberty should be recognized to
an absurd limit. He was not only refusing war service, he
was refusing human service. The government benignly ex-
cused him from doing his part in the army that is organized
to save civilization, because it wished to guarantee a certain
maximum of individual liberty. It feels that there is a con-
stitutional right in conscience that must not be coerced even
to the universal will. It prefers that the individual should
fail to do his duty rather than for the government to fail to
protect fundamental personal rights to conscience; so it gives
him the benefit of any modicum of doubt anyone may have
and exempts him from active military service. But the gov-
ernment is society organized to enforce certain social obli-
gations and to guarantee the peace of all the people against
the selfish encroachments of the few. Therefore, there is an-
other side to the equation, viz., how far can the individual
refuse to yield to the common judgment and the prevailing
social conscience of his fellow countrymen? Where do the
individual "rights" end and society's "rights" begin? Or
where do "rights" end and "duties" begin? Is it a matter for
the individual to determine wholly for himself? If so, whenj
is the social bond? What becomes of law? If "personal
liberty" is the sole criteria, where is social control to functior'
and what is to validate it?
The brewer, saloon-keeper, dope pedlar, gambler and
every other enemy of social welfare argues for the principhj
of "personal liberty." "If the individual wants to drink o:
use cocaine or gamble away his earnings, whose business is
it but his," is his eternal contention. Just so, the laisse;!
faire advocate of industrial Prussianism; if a man is willing
to contract to work in unsanitary surroundings or for lesj
than a living wage, whose business is it? he asks, and piousl;
adds that "freedom of contract" must be maintained. Nov!
"freedom of contract" is like "conscientious objection" an
"personal liberty." It is a question of where social right,
cross individual privileges. It is the line of division betweej;
social duty and obligation and respect for the rights and in
munities of others and the rights of the person. "Persona!
liberty" easily degenerates into anarchy; social obligation ma]
harden into tyranny. America is in no danger of the lattej
— that is Germany's sin. Our danger is in refusal to givj
full consideration to the claims of society. Our Mennonit
non-resistant would get no consideration in Germany; is h
not abusing liberty in the land of his people's adoption whe
he refuses even to care for a sick man because his duty
in a war organization? His demand for "personal liberty"
refined and idealistic while that of the man who preys upo
the weakness of men is depraved, but they are both at a
extremity that runs them perilously near each other so far i
the net result on social obligation is concerned. The or
would kill men or for sake of gain contribute to their killin
of themselves; the other would refuse to save the brave
of men because of a rather abstruse and idealistic "conscience
Conscience or Moral
Judgment
When does a matter of this kind cease to be a thing <
conscience and become one of moral judgment? One can 1
conscientious about all manner of absurd and dangeroi
things. Shall his conscientious scruples be always respectei
What of the head hunter, the thug's caste of India, the Orie
tal's idea of woman's rights, the human sacrifice of the Jiu-ji
the aristocrat's class contention, the auto de fe of the Midd
Ages, the Salem witch burners, the slaveholder who argu<
that slavery was a means of grace to the slave, the priesi
sacramentarianism and an endless list of other absurditie
Conscience abounded and its scruples were limited only 1
ignorance, but the quality of moral judgment was either alt
gether lacking or was limited by inability to submit questio
to sane thinking and the test of experience.
There will always be a border land where differences
judgment must be .recognized. There will always be mo
questions. But there will also always be some bounda
lines in an organized society within which the individual vj
be guaranteed "personal liberty" and "rights of conscienc
on the one hand and compelled to recognize social obligati
and duty to an organized society on the other. In Germa
the former is at a minimum; in America it is at a maximu
But the individual cannot defy all social obligation in Am>
ica. Increasingly we are demanding that he acknowled
his obligations to society. We give him the benefit of 1
discussion when we exempt him from carrying arms. We
no more than justice when we ask him to care for the si
September 5, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
15
help raise the wheat, or perform any sort of non-combatant
service for his fellow men.
Of course, the tension is high in the army and intolerence
is liable to arise when a nation goes to war. The average
soldier shoulders his gun, faces the hardships and danger
and finds it all but impossible to conceive of the chap by his
side being anything but a coward and a slacker if he is un-
willing to do the same. He finds some suddenly becoming
"conscientious objectors" when danger looms before them and
he believes all who make such claims smitten with the same
cowardice. When one endures to the limit of the young pro-
fessor described in this article he denounces him for a fool.
The question is as to whether or not there is not much truth
in this last judgment, though perhaps the word should be
softened into "foolish." Some of these men have been very
roughly treated by the boys in uniform. We heard stories
of very severe man-handling and we know that even the gov-
ernment gave such men harsh judgment in England in the
first days of the war. Many are now accepting dangerous
non-combatant service. They ask no questions when men
suffer but go to their aid. Many Friends in England have
joined the mine sweepers and stretcher bearers — two of the
most dangerous forms of service. This type of conscience
can be respected. The writer knows of one Y. M. C. A. staff
that has persuaded four such men to take up arms. They
were detailed for duty in the "Y," and the secretaries, in a
friendly manner, educated them into a sense of duty to their
fellow men.
Uncle Sam's Commission is ferreting out the frauds and it
seems to us they have drawn the line in justice when they
refuse to absolve them from all duty but give them the bene-
fit of the doubt by assigning them non-combatant duty.
Alva W. Taylor.
Books
Drink and Be Sober. By Vance Thompson. We are well
past the days when drinking songs are popular at college,
with drinking bouts the chief entertainment of gentlemen.
But we must recognize that there has been a subtle charm
about the taking of liquor's narcotic poison that has not only
fastened the habit upon multitudes but inspired poets and
conditioned moral codes. Vance Thompson is a witty, grace-
ful, imaginative, poetic and charming writer. The best of
prohibitionists can be tolerant toward his descriptions of the
charm of the bibulous little goddess Bacchante's insinuating
charms because he also describes in striking fashion this allur-
ing way that leads to rags and disillusionment and death. In
other words, we need to know the secret of the temptation
as well as the sordidness of its denouement. A good reformer
will understand the subtleties of his opponent and of the evil
he would reform. He will not thereby be made more mod-
erate, only more statesmanlike; he will strike deeper even if
less wildly. Mr. Thompson strikes deep and resolutely and
lays squarely upon the nation the responsibility of uprooting
for all time an evil so desperate because so subtle and so
fortified in ancient habit. (Dutton. $1.00.)
Trades Unionism in teus United States. By Robert F.
Hoxie, Ph.D., with an Introduction by E. H. Downey, Ph.D. Pro-
fessor Hoxie was a teacher of economics in the University of
Chicago. His tragic death cut short a career that promised, to
the minds of many, an authority on the labor question in this
country of an eminence equal to that of Sydney Webb of Eng-
land. This volume is made up of his writings and class lectures,
put together in orderly fashion by his wife and Mr. Nathan
fine. Being the material for his regular course on the subject,
« is homogeneous and logically related. The material is so
rich and the field so multifarious that an exposition of it is im-
possible in a short review. Labor is coming into its own during
We war. The world is at present organized, and its governments
and industry with it, on a business man's viewpoint. Thus the
assertion so constantly made regarding the right to "hire and
fire" and do "what you wish with your own." Labor represents
a more humane demand and a more cooperative social spirit
and, if English experience is any index, will have more to say
henceforth as to government and social and industrial matters.
Unionism is in the formative stage; it is in a state of ferment-
that ferment of chaos becoming creation; therefore there are
unions and unions, and the opponent denounces them all by
judgment upon the worst and most revolutionary. Professor
Hoxie analyzes the situation from a genetic standpoint and finds
that the union is essentially an organization of the like-minded
and that they are in various stages of evolution. Why craft
war? What is the I. W. W.? What is the difference between
the American Federation and the socialists? Why does labor
fight scientific management in workshops? Why is it distrustful
of courts and arbitration? Why are the well organized careless
of the poorly organized or the unorganized? Every student of
current events should know, for labor will progressively influence
them and the partisan editorials of the daily press, the paid
advertisements of manufacturer's associations at times of strike,
and the rantings of the soap-box orator are poor means of
enlightenment in regard to them. (Macmillan. $2.50.)
HOW THE
20th Century Quarterly
May be used:
1. AH classes above Senior 4th year should use
it. Up to and including that year, all pupils of
the school are supplied with our regular Bethany-
Graded Lessons. The "20th Century" is just as
well suited to classes of 80-year-olds as to classes
of High School pupils.
2. Home Departments should use it. The
Quarterly contains all the material that is essen-
tial for a thorough and vital study of the Bible
lessons ; the "padding" of the conventional Home
Department Quarterly is eliminated, thus saving
the time and patience of the student.
3. All teachers of classes in the Uniform
lessons should use it.
4. AU superintendents should use it. It is
handy as well as complete.
5. AH Pastors should have it as a handy guide
on the lessons.
6. AH persons who are not in the regular Sun-
day school, or in the Home Department, should
have this booklet for personal study of the Bible.
It makes a fine home study reading course.
This Quarterly is the one you have been wishing
for for many years. It will keep
your classes awake.
Send for free sample copy.
The Christian Century Press
700 East 40th Street
CHICAGO, ILL.
J
16
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 5, 1918
A Traveler in War-Time. By Winston Churchill. The
famous author of "The Inside of the Cup," and other American
stories, has recently returned from abroad, and here sets down
some of his observations of conditions in the war countries,
especially in England and France. He tells of famous battle-
fields seen, of distinguished leaders interviewed, and with the
insight and descriptive powers for which he is noted, he lets
his "readers see as he sees the war spirit at work in Europe.
A most valuable feature of the book is an essay closing the
volume on the theme, "The American Contribution and the
Democratic Idea." (Macmillan. $1.25.)
The Last Days of Jesus. By Lyman Abbott. A series
of lenten meditations on the closing experiences of the Mas-
ter, all of them inspirational and written in Dr. Abbott's clear
and charming style. (Macmillan. 60 cts.)
High Adventure. By James Normal Hall. This is no theo-
retical treatise on what will happen after the war, but a very
vivid narrative of some things that are happening during the
war in the realm of aeronautics. This is a new feature of war, as
is also the work of the tanks, and perhaps has more possi-
bility of romance than any other branch of war service. Cap-
tain Hall's story of a battle with seven German airplanes is
a narrative new and thrilling; during this conflict the Ameri-
can was shot through the lungs, and lost consciousness, but
by a miracle became conscious long enough to gain the ground
without injury. (Houghton, Mifflin. $1.50).
The Inferno. By Henri Barbusse. "Under Fire," the
earlier book of this vivid French author, has taken rank as the
leader among books descriptive of the conditions of modern
warfare, and it is predicted that "The Inferno" will be the
most widely discussed book of this year. It depicts that other
conflict, the war between the sexes, and from another point
of view it is an expression of the human cry against the fate
which keeps men in the darkness of mystery. The sales or
this book in France amounted to a hundred thousand copies in
1917 alone. Edward J. O'Brien has given apt translation to
the work, and it is now given to the English reading public.
Mr. O'Brien says of it: "The Inferno is a great and pitiless
book, but there is a cleansing wind blowing through it, and
it leaves a new hope for the future in our hearts." (Bom &
Liveright. $1.50.)
A Golden Treasury of Magazine Verse. Edited by Wil-
liam Stanley Braithwaite. The editor of this charming vol-
ume has for many years prepared an annual review of the
magazine poetry of the year, and here brings into a single
volume the finest of the poems that have come under his
notice during the past twelve years. There are poems of
rhyme and meter, and also some of the newest of the new
rhymeless verse. Amy Lowell is there as well as Richard Le-
Gallienne. Mr. Braithwaite has performed a real service for
lovers of poetry in thus preserving in book form many poems
which have appeared in the leading magazines but which would
perhaps have been lost in the files had they not been gathered
together into this volume. (Small, Maynard & Co., Boston.
$1.50.)
The Gilded Man. By Clifford Smyth. One who has wearied
of war and its terrible realism will find the remedy for his
mental and spiritual aches and pains in this startling tale of
the finding of the Eldorado, the land of gold. Gertrude Ather-
ton calls it "the most breathless yarn I have ever read."
Richard LeGallienne, the poet, says it is the greatest romance
since Rider Haggard's "King Solomon's Mines." For several
years Dr. Smyth served his country as consul at Carthagena,
and has breathed in the spirit of the Spanish Main from that
point of vantage. The tale has the modern atmosphere to as
great a degree as most other books written by twentieth cen-
tury romancers, but there is also the spell of the fabled Eldo-
rado of other centuries. The scene is laid in South America.
Finishing the story one asks, Is it indeed true or is it only a
work of the imagination? (Boni & Liveright. $1.50.)
The Sunday School
The World View
Rev. John E. Elvers
THE time has come when the narrow outlook must be
banished. Only the man who can see in terms of the
world counts now. The new world wherein righteous-
ness reigns is about to be born. Christianity is to have its
inning and if it fails — well — it will not fail.
I sat at a luncheon recently and heard Sherwood Eddy,
just home from China, discuss the big
problems of the Orient. We felt the
appalling needs and the marvelous re-
sponse. He took most of his time in
telling how the literati of China, the
leading citizens, the most prominent
rulers, the largest business men, were
clamoring for Christianity. If only we
could get the Y. M. C. A. secretaries,
the buildings, the missionaries, the
schools, we may yet save that great
Orient. The problems there are most
complicated, but this much we must
learn: that now is the time to drive into
all Japan and all China with the essential Christian message.
Christian statesmen feel chagrined to death while facing
the fact that the Church has had so little voice in the present
world crisis. Why did not the Church stand up and stop the
war? Why did not the Church have some commanding voice
and stirring message in the hour of danger? The protestant
Church was divided. There was no spokesman. The Catholic
Church also was not listened to. What had the Church been
doing all these years? Why had the Church not succeeded in
establishing the principles of love and brotherhood? Why
had 2,000 years elapsed and only one-third of the world been
won? The Church had been asleep! The Church had been
more interested in dogmas than in living. The Church had
been very selfish. Even in America we had boasted of our
social prestige, our brilliance, our rich members, our oratorical
preachers, our high-salaried singers— and the devil must have
held his sides in raucous laughter to see how short-sighted the
great, divided Church was! But having failed, it remains to
be seen whether we shall profit by our failure. Already the
journals are full of more or less clever apologists explaining
how the Church has not failed. Very plausible and adroit
rhetoric is palmed off on the undiscerning, seeking to show
how splendid and divine the Church is in spite of all. Christ
has not failed, but the Church has. So few church people
actually accepted Him and those few possessed so little of His
spirit that the world went wrong. We were supposed to be
the salt. But the savor was very, very weak. It was not
strong enough to stop the decay of morals, not vigorous
enough to stop the Prussian putrefaction. We were supposed
to be the light of the world. But our lighting system was
almost a joke. I remember that when I was a small boy the
hamlet in which I was reared put up oil street lamps; they
were so poor and unsatisfactory and far apart that the people
preferred the darkness, with what natural gleams came from
the moon and stars, and the oil system was cast aside— only
the poor, old posts remain to tell the tale of that melancholy
period— like the steeples of dead churches! No, you cannot
light the world with tallow dips, and most of the folks seem
to be afraid of arc lights even yet. New light scares them.
They want the "old-fashioned religion" of hyper-emotionalism,
wild evangelism and "The-once-for-all-delivered" variety. Very
well, if you cannot learn from your failures you are hopeless.
* This article is based on the International Uniform lesson for SepW»;
ber 15, "Winning the World to Christ." Scripture, Matt., 5:18-10; 28:18-iu,
Acts, 16:6-15; Neh., 1:1-11.
September 5, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
17
I tell you, the old scheme has failed. You cannot go on nar-
rowly building up your own pet scheme; you must take in the
world, and if your plan is not big enough to work for all the
world then you are headed wrong— that's all. We can call
upon all men to accept Jesus as Son of God. We can try to
persuade all men everywhere to live in his spirit. But you
cannot go on dividing up the communicants according to
every whim of doctrine and every variety of polity. The
program must be more generous and free than that.
Great men are predicting that within a very few years all
the western world will be in a death grapple with the Orient.
That is the next big event. We must get busy on the essen-
tials or we shall lose everything. Mint, anise and cummin
must go. Christ must be enthroned. John R. EwERS.
The Larger Christian World
A Department of Interdenominational Acquaintance
Roman Catholic Political
Activities in Ireland
The innerness of the Irish problem may be sensed some-
what by recent utterances of some of the more extreme
priests of that unhappy land who have used their religious
authority to back up certain political propaganda. Father
Murphy is reported as saying in the Church of Killenena, on
April 28: "All Irishmen are asked by the Irish hierarchy
not to do anything to facilitate conscription. If any police-
man should go out to force Irishmen to join the English army
and were shot down when doing so, they would be damned
in hell, even though maybe in a state of grace that morning."
Father Gerald Dennehy of Eyries, County Cork, is reported to
have told three hundred men at mass that any Roman Catholic
policeman or agent of the government who assisted in putting
conscription in force would be excommunicated— "The curse
of God would follow them in every land."
John R. Mott Tells of
Y. M. C. A. Needs
The Young Men's Christian Association has fixed its
budget for the coming autumn drive at $112,000,000. Dr. John
R. Mott spoke recently on the needs of the organization, as
follows: "We need this money because of the vast increases
in the United States army. We have more than a million men
now on the other side. There are 1,500,000 more in can-
tonments, and General Crowder has said there would be 3,000,-
000 men in camps and overseas before winter. The $112,000,-
000 would hardly allow ten cents a day to be spent for the I
individual soldier. Our navy is larger than the British navy I
was at the beginning of the war, and we must stand by our I
navy, for if they were not there, girdling the British isles [
and down the eastern shores of the Azores, our men would !
not reach France. We must extend our ministry to the navy 1
and to industries engaged in war work as well. As this I
budget involves the women, we have included in our budget f
the sum of fifteen millions for the Young Women's Christian 1
Association." |
Federal Council Considers Rights
of Women in Industry |
The Social Service Commission of the Federal Council |
has issued a bulletin on women workers which is full of the |
most interesting facts and figures on the subject of women in §
industry. In Great Britain there are 3,500,000 women in the 1
ranks of labor, 1,500„000 of them new recruits. There are |
women working in 295 of the 303 occupations listed in the |
census. It is urged by the Federal Council that the great §
task of the church this year in co-operating with the workers §
is to insist upon an equitable wage and better working con- 1
ditions for the women workers. i
Friends' Church of Indianapolis |
Has Service Flag B
The idea that every Quaker is a conscientious objector to 1
war does not seem to be borne out by facts, for the First |
fiends' church of Indianapolis has a service flag which is an 1
object of pride to the members. It bears, besides the stars of
those in military service, the red triangle of the Y. M. C. A.
and the black eight-pointed stars of the American Friends'
Reconstruction Bureau of Civil Affairs of the American Red
Cross.
United Presbyterians Prepare Book
for Enlisted Men
The United Presbyterian church has done a unique thing
in preparing a book containing helpful messages from great
Christian leaders. The book is called "The Church's Message
to Her Men with the Colors." The book has been mailed
to several thousand men in the service.
Is Something Wrong
With Methodism?
The schism within the ranks of the denominations is a
source of anxiety and discontent today. A Methodist journal
reports: "The Wesleyan Methodists have recently held their
annual conferences in Indiana; last week the Methodist Protes-
You Can Help
T
'HE Christian Century Press will be
especially favored if each reader of
The Christian Century will take
pains to call the attention of his
Sunday-School superintendent (and
other persons of influence in the school)
to the Bethany System of Sunday School
Literature. This system includes not
only the Graded Lessons, but also the
International Uniform Lessons and every-
thing else needed in up-to-date schools.
A slight effort by our friends will prove
of great service to your school and will
be sincerely appreciated by us. See that
returnable samples are ordered at once,
for examination by your leaders. Ask
especially for a free copy of the new
"20TH CENTURY QUARTERLY"
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18
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 5, 1918
tant conference of that state was held; in a few weeks two
Methodist Episcopal conferences of that state will convene;
the date of the Free Methodist conference has not been made
public; the Southern Illinois conference of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, South, having congregations in Indiana,
will convene in November. Methodism means system, but
it spells schism."
Great Conference of Theological
Seminaries Held at Cambridge, Mass.
A conference of the theological seminaries of America
was held in Cambridge, August 13-16. Fifty-three schools
representing fifteen denominations participated in the con-
ference. The fellowship was larger than usual, for the so-
called "liberal" denominations were represented and even the
seminary of the Swedenborgian faith. The conference revealed
the fact that all theological seminaries had been experiencing
a falling off in attendance and this was regarded as being due
to wrong attitude both in church and home with regard to
the ministry. The schools were agreed that men pursuing
theological studies should be college graduates except in un-
usual cases. The course of study was given a thorough-going
examination, some advocating a four year course and most of
the speakers favoring the teaching of some new disciplines
not usually included in the curriculum of a seminary. The
recognition of "clinical work" was also advocated. It was
the belief of the conference that after the war many Chris-
tian workers would enter the seminaries to prepare for tht
work of the Christian ministry.
Conferences on Union the
Fashion in Britain
The spirit of Christian unity is now in the air in Great
Britain. The Church of Scotland (established) has recently
approached the Free church with a proposal for union, and
the Scottish Episcopal church has asked the Church of Scot-
land for a conference. The Wesleyan, the United Methodist
and the Primitive Methodist churches in England are having
conferences that look very much like a speedy union. These
are but a few of the evidences that denominational spirit is
making way for the larger fellowship of all Christ's believers.
Methodists Use Instructive Books
in Centenary Campaign
The Methodists have a big program in their "Centenary
movement" which they are making something more than an
instrument for money-collecting. Three study manuals are
already in use in the churches. They are: "The Christian
Crusade for World Democracy," by S. Earl Taylor and Hal-
ford H. Luccock; "Christian Democracy for America," by
D. D. Forsyth and Ralph Welles Keeler, and "Studies in
Stewardship," by Ralph S. Cushman. Concerning the latter
book the following statement is made: "Dr. Cushman says
that the stewardship revival must be steered between the bald
legalism which can see in Christian stewardship nothing
larger than the tithe, and the sophistry of the really insin-
cere man who is ready to acknowledge only with words that
'all I have belongs to God.' " The use of such books in the
Methodist campaign will keep to the front some educational
and social motives that will give it dignity and respectability
outside the ranks of Methodism.
Methodists Arrange to
Care for War Orphans
The Methodist Episcopal Church recently bought a farm
near Lyons, France, with over two hundred acres and com-
modious buildings, and into this purchase they have put $55,-
000. On this property the Methodists will gather together
war orphans; it is expected that they will be able to take care
of 250 boys on this farm. A similar program is being worked
out for Italy. E. W. Bysshe is the Methodist superintendent
in France and recently Bishop Anderson has been in that
country negotiating for the purchase of the property. The
whole enterprise is being managed by the Methodist War
Council.
Church Gains Fall Off
The stated clerk of the Presbyterian church has issued
the statistics for his denomination for the past year, and they
show the smallest gain in membership for six years; the
money given to benevolence, however, has increased two mil-
lions over the previous year's record. The gain in member-
ship was 27,703. The money given for the benevolences of
the church reaches the imposing figure of $33,138,387. This
is one answer to the question, What is the war doing to the
churches?
Discuss Millennialism at Winona
The conference on prophecy at Winona Lake this year
between Aug. 7 and 15 had various attitudes toward the sub-
ject presented. Postmillennial views were advocated by Dr.
McClenahan of the Pittsburgh Presbyterian Assembly, by Dr.
J. H. Snowden of Western Theological Seminary and Bishop
Hughes of the Methodist Episcopal church; the premillennial
speakers were President C. A. Blanchard, Doctors J. H. Gray,
W. B. Riley and Massee; independent positions were presented
by Dr. Haegle and Dr. Wesley. The conference was not a
debate, but an exchange of views on a subject that has of late
been given more attention in the religious world.
Christian Endeavor Succeeds in the South
The program agreed on three years ago for the promotion
of Christian Endeavor in the southland is succeeding. It was
a five-year program and it was hoped to organize one thou-
sand new societies. At the All-South convention, held in
Memphis recently it was reported that there were 1,799 new
societies and 100,000 new members. It seems likely now that
2,500 new societies will be organized instead of the original
1,000 sought.
Not a Sleepy
In It!
Lesson
That's the Fact Concerning —
The 20th Century Quarterly
Most lesson quarterlies are made up largely of
reprint matter from commentaries and quarterlies
of twenty-five years ago. Much of this material
is unimportant and uninteresting, and is therefore
an imposition on the busy Bible student of these
hurried days. The 20th Century Quarterly
is not only informational ; it is also attractive and
intensely interesting. It will keep your class of
men, women or young people awake.
The first issue — for the Autumn
quarter — is now ready. Send
for sample copy.
The Christian Century Press
700 E. 40th Street, Chicago
September 5, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
19
A Page of Miscellany
"PRAY WITHOUT CEASING"
By P. T. Forsyth
Go into your chamber, shut the
door, and cultivate the habit of pray-
ing audibly. Write prayers and burn
them. Formulate your soul. Pay no
attention to literary form, only to
spiritual reality. Read a passage of
Scripture and then sit down and turn
it into a prayer, written or spoken.
Learn to be particular, specific, and de-
tailed in your prayer as long as you are
not trivial. General prayers and
stately phrases are, for private prayer,
traps and sops to the soul. To
formulate your soul is one valuable
means to escape formalizing it. This
is the best kind of self-examination.
Speaking with God discovers us safely
to ourselves. We "find" ourselves,
come to ourselves in the Spirit. Face
your special weaknesses and sins be-
fore God. Force yourself to say to
God exactly where you are wrong.
When anything goes wrong, do not
ask to have it set right, without asking
t in prayer what it was in you that made
i it go wrong. It is somewhat fruitless
to ask for a general grace to help
; specific flaws, sins, trials and griefs.
Let prayer be concrete, actual, a direct
Product of life's real experiences,
'ray without ceasing in this sense.
Pray without a break between your
prayer and your life. Pray so that
there is a real continuity between your
prayer and your whole actual life
THE SECRET OF THE LORD
Archbishop Benson said, "We are
■ hearing a great deal today about high
i churchmen and broad churchmen, but
I I am convinced that what we need
\ most is deep churchmen. We need
I men who know the secret of the Lord ;
; who, like the canny old Scotchman,
I know that they are converted because
they 'were there.' "
So much of our hurried modern
life and thought are merely on the sur-
face. We do not get down into the
depths. And because this is true we
fail to gather the treasures of the
"riches in Christ" which might be
ours. In his Paracelsus, Browning
makes his hero say, in speaking of the
eastern pearl diver, "There are two
points in the adventure of a diver.
One when, a beggar, he plunges into
the depths. And the other, when a
prince, he comes up with a priceless
pearl in his hand. But they can be
found only in the deep places."
And this is true of the best things —
the^ splendid truths — of Christian ex-
perience. There is no get-rich-quick
device for expediting this matter.
There are certain phases of experi-
ence— of travail — through which each
*oul must pass ere results are won.
There must be a personal entrance into
the secret place of the Most High, if
we would truly abide under the
shadow of the Almighty. — Exchange.
Words and Music
NOW among the men whom I
count my friends is a Great Mu-
sician. And he standeth before his
Orchestra, wherein are an hundred
men, and he swingeth his arms and
wieldeth a Baton, and they Play. And
they play skillfully with a loud noise,
even upon the Timbrel and the Harp,
the Viol and the Pipe, and the Dulci-
mer and the Cornet and the Sackbut.
And he said to me:
Music is the Language of Heaven,
and the true Language of Souls.
Words are Clumsy Makeshifts; for a
Word meaneth one thing to one man,
and Another Thing to another man,
and Nothing Whatever to another
man, and many kinds of things to the
Dictionary. Wherefore when thou
Preachest, thy Trumpet giveth forth
an Uncertain Sound. But with my
trumpets it is not so.
And I said, Thinkest thou that men
hear Music with more United Minds
than they hear a Sermon?
And he said, Verily it is so. When
thou preachest, one man thinketh of
his Business, and another of the Price
of Gasoline; and one woman thinketh
of her Bonnet and another of her
Neighbor's Bonnet. There is no
Unity. But with Music it is not So.
Come to the Concert of my Orchestra,
and thou shalt see Four Thousand
people All Swayed by One Common
Impulse. There shalt thou behold
True Harmony of Soul induced by
Harmony of Sound.
So I went and listened. And it was
Enjoyable.
And I stood in the door as men
went out, and Women also, yea, seven
women to one man, and I asked one
and another, What was thy thought
while the Orchestra played?
And the first woman answered me,
and said, My Thought was of Heaven,
where only, as I believe, may one hear
Sweeter Music.
And a Maiden answered me, and
said, My thought was, O, for a good
Partner and a Slippery Floor!
And a man said, I thought it was
a Beastly Bore.
And a woman said, I thought the
Soloist had Perfectly Lovely Hair,
and I wondered how he made it Stand
Out So.
And a man said, I thought if each
of those Hundred Musicians would
Swap his Horn or Fiddle for a Gun,
and go over with Pershing, they
could make Quite as much Noise, and
maybe get Now and Then a German.
And when I heard these Comments,
I did not feel so Badly about the Dis-
cordant Impressions of my Preaching.
IIIIIIIIMIIIHIIIf
The Silent Army
By Ian Adanac
NO bugle is blown, no roll of drums,
No sound of army marching.
No banners wave high, no battle-cry
Comes from the war-worn fields where they lie,
The blue sky overarching.
The call sounds clearer than bugle call
From this silent, dreamless army.
"No cowards were we, when we heard the call,
For freedom we grudged not to give our all,"
Is the call from the silent army.
Hushed and quiet and still they lie,
This silent, dreamless army,
While living comrades spring to their side,
And the bugle call and the battle-cry
Is heard as dreamer and dreamless lie
Under the stars of the arching sky,
The men who have heard from the men who have died
The call of the silent army.
"umiiiiiiiuiuiiiHiimnimmnuiimnmiiiii
MiiiuiiiiifiiiiiiiiiiiniuiiiiriiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiciiHiiviiuiiiiiMiiiMinuniMinini mum -I-; !. numiiiiniiMiiiiiiiiuitiitiHHiitiiiiiMrinMniiiiMiinRiniiHmrrwiinajiiifmiiiiiiHiiJiinmi
20
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 5, 1918
News of the Churches
E. W. McDiarmid Goes to
Texas Christian University
Professor E. W. McDiarmid, for many-
years president of Hamilton College,
Lexington, Ky., has accepted the chair
of philosophy at Texas Christian Uni-
versity at Ft. Worth, Tex. He has spent
this summer in study at the University
of Chicago.
Secretary George W. Muckley
Has Three Warrior Sons
Secretary George W. Muckley, of the
Church Extension Board, is proud of
his soldier sons. He has three now in
service. His oldest son, Dwight, 29
years old, is in the Ground School,
Austin, Tex., preparing for aviation.
His second son, Herbert, 27 years of
age, is preparing for an officers' position
at the Municipal Pier School, Chicago;
he hopes to serve as an ensign in the
navy. The youngest son, Robert, 22
years old, is a second lieutenant in avia-
tion, having secured his commission
May 25 at Wichita Falls, Tex.; he is now
training at Brooks Field, San Antonio,
Tex., in pursuit work and for service as
an instructor; when he shall have been
in the instructor's work for ten weeks,
he will go to France. The boys are all
graduates or students of the University
of Michigan.
Some Changes in
Indiana Pastorates
Last spring the pulpit at Vincennes,
Ind., was made vacant by the going of
Edgar F. Daugherty to First church,
Los Angeles, Cal. Word comes that
L. C. Howe, many years leader at
Noblesville, Ind., has been called to this
field, his service to begin next month.
John M. Alexander, who has served
First church, South Bend, Ind., for five
years, has resigned there to accept a call
to First church, Marshall, Mo., the seat
of Missouri Valley College, a Presby-
terian institution. The Marshall church
is one of the six largest of the state.
One of the outstanding achievements of
Mr. Alexander at South Bend has been
the raising in cash and pledges of $22,-
000 of a $28,000 church debt. Another
change in Indiana fields is the coming
of Ira L. Parvin from Niagara Falls,
N. Y., to West Jefferson church, Ft.
Wayne, Ind. He began work there last
Sunday. During his service at Niagara
Falls Mr. Parvin led in the raising of
over $8,000 for missions.
"The Seventy" a New Organization
at Central Church, Peoria, 111.
— A successful feature of the work at
Central church, Peoria, 111., is an or-
ganization of women known as "The
Seventy," the purpose of which organi-
zation is to see that "friendlv visits"
are made on members of the congrega-
tion who need help or sympathy. The
city has been divided into fourteen dis-
tricts. Each district has its chairman
and four assistant workers. It is the
duty of this committee in each district
to see to it that any new person who
moves into the district is called upon
and made to feel welcome in the com-
munity. Persons who are ill are to be
given special attention and in addition
to the visits made by the committees
they are called upon by every member
in the church during the year. Anyone
in need of financial aid or comfort is
also looked after through the activities
of "The Seventy." There is a general
superintendent in charge of the organi-
zation. H. E. Sala leads the Peoria
church.
Secretary Corey Reports War Has
Not Hurt Mission Work
It has been a great year on the for-
eign fields in spite of the war, writes
S. J. Corey. India reports 156 baptisms
as against 140 last year. The Philip-
pine Islands report over 1,000 baptisms.
Every mission station in Japan reports
a number of new converts baptized. In
China, the Sherwood Eddy meetings
have added a new stimulus to evangel-
ism. In Nanking, more than 500 deci-
sions for Christ were made; leading
officials, prominent students, business
men and Confucian teachers were
among the converts. In Tibet the
school numbers over 100. Two head
men in the rug factory were baptized
recently. Africa reports 72 baptisms on
one day and 147 other baptisms at a
conference of the evangelists.
National Evangelistic Association
Elects New Officers
At its recent annual meeting held at
Bethany Park the National Evangelistic
Missionary Association elected the fol-
lowing officers for the year: President,
Crayton S. Brooks; vice-president, Fred
Wolff; treasurer, T. J. Legg; secretary,
Ray H. Montgomery. It was thought
wise to change the name of the asso-
ciation. In the future it will be known
as "The Association for the Promotion
of New Testament Evangelism." Of
the program features of this year, the
address of G. I. Hoover made a very
strong impression, his subject being
"Life and Times of S. K. Hoshour, a
Contribution to Present Day Evangel-
ism." The address is being printed in
tract form. A number of successful
meetings have been held this year under
the direction of the association. About
500 members have been added to the
weaker churches through these efforts.
Entertainment at the St. Louis
Convention
The Entertainment Committee of the
International Convention, October 9-13,
is listing hotels and homes in St. Louis
to accommodate all delegates and visit-
ors. All who expect to attend the con-
vention should write the chairman of
the committee at once, stating the kind
of entertainment desired. Lodging and
breakfast will be provided in homes at
reasonable rates, and luncheon and
supper at restaurants in the vicinity of
the church. Communications should be
addressed to E. S. Hallett, Chairman
Entertainment Committee, Union Ave-
nue Christian Church, Union and En-
right Avenues, St. Louis.
H. O. Pritchard New
Educational Secretary
H. O. Pritchard, of Eureka College,
has accepted the secretaryship of the
Board of Education of the Disciples,
and has resigned the presidency of Eu-
reka, that he may take up his new task
at once.
—Editor B. A. Abbott of the Chris-
tian-Evangelist, St. Louis, now has three
sons in war service. Lyman S. Abbott,
in his senior year at the medical college
at Baltimore, enlisted in the medical re-
serves. Fred B. Abbott has been in
France for two years. The latest to
enter the service is Robert D. Abbott,
who has just enlisted with the Marines.
— New recruits from the Disciples
ministry to war service are B. H. Bruner
of Third church, Danville, 111., who is
now in the chaplains' training school at
Louisville for a five weeks' course of
instruction; J. T. Bloom of Palmyra,
Mo., who is serving as chaplain at Camp
Travis, Tex.; D. F. Cross of Lyons,
Kan., who will undertake service under
the Y. M. C. A.; A. M. Growden of
Tullahoma, Tenn., and J. D. Montgom-
ery of Nashville, Tenn., both of whom
are at Camp Jackson, Columbia, S. C;
and Ross Williams of Hebron, Neb.,
who will leave immediately for France
to take up "Y." work. George H.
Combs, of Independence Boulevard
church, Kansas City, Mo., will spend the
next six months in Y. M. C. A. work in
Europe. Mr. Combs has three sons
who have joined the colors. C. H.
Swift, of Carthage, Mo., has enlisted for
six months' service with the Y. M. C. A.
R. A. Doan, of the F. C. M. S., who has
been serving as Y. M. C. A. secretary
at Ft. Thomas, Ky., has been trans-
ferred to Camp Sherman, O. David
Teachout, who has been general camp
secretary for the Y. M. C. A. at Camp
Sherman, Chillicothe, O., has left that
place to become religious director for
the central department of the Associa-
tion. His new field of work extends
from Pennsylvania to Utah and from
Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.
— Roy E. Deadman, who has led the
church at Auburn, Neb., during the past
five years, has accepted a call to the
work at Lebanon, Ind,
— T. J. Golightly, recently of the
Drake University faculty, is under ap-
pointment as chaplain in the army and
has been ordered to report to Camp
Sherman, Chillicothe, O., not later than
September 9. Mr. Golightly is now
visiting with his aged parents in south-
ern Illinois. After closing the com-
munity school of religion, over which
he had charge, at Shenandoah, la., Mr.
Golightly went to Bethany, Mo., where
he formerly ministered, and there oc-
cupied the pulpit on one Sunday by
invitation of the present pastor, C. V.
Pearce. While at Shenandoah, he oc-
cupied the pulpit for three weeks, in the
absence of the pastor, E. L. Karstadt.
— Dr. and Mrs. Herbert Swanson,
while at San Francisco en route to the
Philippines, for mission work under the
Foreign Society, gave inspiring mes-
sages to the First Church congregation
there.
— Secretary S. J. Corey reports that
April 29 was "red letter day" in the
church at Takinogawa, Japan. At the
close of the morning service fourteen
persons were baptized. This is the
largest number ever received in this
church at one time.
— Nelson T. Rice, son of Perry J.
Rice, executive secretary of the Chicago
Christian Missionary Society, has re-
cently been commissioned as second
lieutenant of the aviation service and is j
now at home on a brief furlough, visit-
ing his parents. He is stationed at
Payne Field, West Point, Mississippi,
where he will return in a few days to
continue his flying.
— Arthur Dillinger, of the Salina, Kan.,
church, has been spending his summer
vacation in the west in chautauqua work.
He acted as superintendent of chaqtau-
September 5, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
21
qnas in Oregon, Washington and Idaho.
He held two assemblies in Spokane and
preached once at Central church and
once at University church, while in that
; city. He reports that the Disciples are
strong in Spokane. During Mr. Dil-
; finger's absence from Salina, his pulpit
was occupied by leaders of his own con-
gregation. His church is the only down-
town church of Salina which held Au-
gust evening services.
n-r t Aiii a UNION AVENUE
\T iflllQ „ CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Oil LUUIO Union and Von Versen Aves.
George A. Campbell, Minister
—Fred M. Gordon, one of the Brook-
lyn ministers, has been conducting a
summer chautauqua at Branchville, N. J.,
iduring the past weeks. It has been a
community welfare enterprise and has
[jeen quite successful and most delight-
ful, Mr. Gordon reports.
— F. M. Warren, who has been out in
jChautauqua work during the summer,
;will soon return to his pastorate at
jfteota, la. Prof. Sherman Kirk of Drake
has been supplying for him during his
tbsence.
—George E. Purdy, for five years
leader at Bloomfield, la., goes October
to Oskaloosa, la., succeeding there
H. DeVoe, who has resigned.
— The West Virginia convention is be-
ng held this week at Fairmount. Among
he speakers are State President W. H.
>heffer, Mrs. J. M. Stearns, Editor B.
V. Abbott, President T. E. Cramblet,
Drof. J. W. Carpenter, Mrs. Laura G.
Craig; pastors H. A. Van Winkle, H. E.
>tafford, J. W. Yoho and others; and
number of the national secretaries.
i_— Miss Vera Adamson, of the Philip-
pines, writes that the training school in
.aoag opened June 10 and will close
December 8. The following courses are
aught: English, arithmetic, history,
eographhy, hygiene, dietetics; Life of
hrist, Acts and Apostles, Old and New
'estament history; music, crocheting,
ice-making, sewing and domestic sci-
nee.
—First church, Freeport, 111., reports
ood feeling and good works under the
■adership of William B. Clemmer, who
as given the church a single weekly
;rvice since May, 1917. He will con-
nue to preach there every Sunday
/emng during his stay at Camp Grant
3 religious work secretary, which will
J indefinitely. A recent report showed
1 bdls met and cash on hand in every
easury. Ninety dollars in cash was
ven by this small group of thirty-five
• more persons to the Men and Mil-
ns Movement. The Church Extension
fenng will also be called for this
onth.
MEMORIAL c?S,^<rH 0^ Christ
n »» . ~ * _ (Disciples and Baptists)
CHICAGO 0a'lW0t"1 ",1 We* rf <*'»«• G»»
uuiVAUU Herbert L WSIett, Mtater
-The training school for evangelists
Bolenge, Africa, is getting a good
art. Dr. Barger teaches lessons in phy-
alogy, Mrs. Hensey has regular les-
ns in French and Mr. Hensey gives
urses in the Old Testament and the
ew Testament. Mrs. Barger has over-
a °J t.e PrintinS Press. Several
ndreds of volumes are turned out each
ar. About two-thirds of the entire
"^ T(:stament has now been printed
the language of the people and a
arterly paper of the native tongue is
!<> issued from this press.
—On July 21, F. A. Poffenberger
closed a two years' work at Edgerton,
O., and on August 11th he began his
ministry at Waynesboro, Pa. This city
has a population of twelve thousand and
the church is located on the city's best
street. Two years ago the church audi-
torium was remodeled and a Sunday
school building erected in the rear, thus
the plant is adequate for immediate
needs. One reason for Mr. Poffenber-
ger's change of work is that he is now
only a few miles from his old home at
Hagerstown, Md. He is a Bethany and
Yale man.
—George W. Wise writes from Pitts-
burgh, Pa., Knoxville church: "We
have every reason to be encouraged with
the work here. The Sunday school
keeps above the 200 mark during the
hot weather and our treasurer has sold
more than $6,500 worth of war savings
stamps since the first of June. The men
are planning a big membership cam-
paign for the men's class, with a lunch-
eon, on September 3rd. I baptized two
persons last Wednesday night at prayer-
meeting, and there were two more ad-
ditions yesterday. The outlook is hope-
ful."
— Dr. W. E. Macklin, veteran mis-
sionary of China, with his wife, is now
visiting his son at Coon Rapids, la. Dr.
Macklin has a younger son who leaves
soon for France as a soldier.
of the new $60,000 building at Flint,
Mich., with the entire cost covered, puts
new hope into the Michigan Disciples.
— The Arkansas state convention is
held at Jonesboro this year, the dates
being September 2-5. John S. Zeran is
state superintendent of missions, and
Gilbert Jones leads the work at Jones-
boro.
— R. A. Thibos, after seven years'
service at Fremont, Mich., has accepted
a call from the church at Fairfield, 111
NEW YORK
CENTRAL CHURCH
142 West 81st Street
Finis S. Idlemaa, Minister
CAMP CUSTER
WRITE US ABOUT
Minister T. S. Cleaver,
55 Kingman Ave.,
Battle Creek, Mich.
THA T BOY
—The Christian Banner, of Michigan
Discipledom, reports that among the
fine features of this year's state conven-
tion (at Crystal Beach) were the ad-
dresses of Peter Ainslie, John E. Pounds
and Professor W. C. Morro; Professor
F. E. Lumley's talks on social service;
and the great messages of Secretaries
Corey and Muckley. The Michigan so-
ciety closed this year free of debt, be-
cause of which fact State Secretary J.
Frank Green rejoices. The dedication
— A new daughter has entered the
home of Mr. and Mrs. Champ Clark
Buckner, formerly of Chicago and Con-
nellsville, Pa., but now leading the
church at Ionia, Mich.
— Dr. Paul Wakefield, medical mis-
sionary to China, who has been spend-
ing some of his furlough in this coun-
try at his old home in Springfield, 111.,
gave an address at First church there
last Sunday on the effect of the war on
the work in China. In part he said:
"The Chinese mission workers and
Chinese Christians have stood for a
united Christian church, so this war,
driving denominations together at
home, is extremely pleasing and hope-
ful to the workers in the foreign fields."
Doctor Wakefield, Mrs. Wakefield and
their three children have left Spring-
field on their return trip to China. They
will sail from Seattle this week.
— Garry L. Cook, secretary of the
Central regional district of the A. C. M.
S., and located at Indianapolis, has a
son with the Rainbow Division in
France.
A k for Catalogue ami Special Donation Plan No. 27
(Established 1858)
HILLSBORO, OHIO
THE C. S. BELL CO.
MAKE PROGRESS
IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
During the coming year
by using these publications
The Constructive Studies
Textbooks and teachers' notebooks
for all classes and departments of
the Sunday school.
Outline Bible-Study Courses
A series of extension courses in
religious subjects for private study
or for classes.
Handbooks of Ethics and Religion
Texts and reference books for college
classes and for general reading, pro-
viding work for the four college years.
Principles and Methods of
Religious Education
A series of handbooks recording
practical and successful experiments
in religious education.
Write for circulars and further information to
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
5808 ELLIS AVENUE
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
22
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 5, 1918
FACTS ABOUT THE COMING
CONVENTION
October 9-13 is the time. St. Louis,
Mo., is the city. Union Avenue Chris-
tian church is the place where the con-
vention will be held. It is large and
commodious. Two other large churches
are in the immediate vicinity, where
meetings can be held, if desired.
Abe Corey, of Men and Millions fame,
is now in France, but expects to return
in time for the convention. He will
bring a first-hand message from the
front. There is to be a special session,
we learn, devoted to problems growing
out of the war. It will, without ques-
tion, be one of the most interesting ses-
sions of the entire convention.
Peter Ainslie will be happy in his
Christian Union session this year, which,
we believe, is scheduled to close the
convention on Sunday evening. World-
events are bringing home to the Chris-
tian consciousness with much poignancy
our religious inefficiency on account of
division, to say nothing of the scandal
of it. All signs point to closer coopera-
tion among Christians. The Disciples
earnestly desire union. Have they suffi-
cient catholicity of spirit to promote it
in a time like this? This session of the
convention will reveal what grasp they
have of the entire situation, and with
what measures they propose to bring
about union and concord among all re-
ligious bodies. This session will be an-
ticipated with a lively interest.
Then there is the unification program
of the societies. It is the biggest proj-
ect on the immediate horizon of the
Disciples of Christ. Every church
among us is vitally interested in this
question, and should have one loyal, sen-
sible, delegate present to help settle this
great problem in the right way. The
religious efficiency of our movement de-
pends, to a very large extent, on the
result of this effort at unification. The
principle involved is unquestionably
right. Cooperation and Liberty; in
other words, Cooperation in order to
Liberty, should be our watch-word.
The various societies are now assured
that this year will be the very best. It
is a wonderful record. Many thought
there would be a falling off in receipts
on account of heavy war taxes and the
high cost of living. But contrary to
this expectation the receipts will be
larger, and there will not be a single
society, but what, in all probability, will
be able to report the largest financial
receipts this year in its history. These
reports will be eagerly awaited by con-
vention goers. W G Johnston,
Chairman Publicity Committee.
f
New Community Church Building of Disciples of Christ
147 Second Ave.,
New York City
The Broadway of Foreigners
m
WMlf
i
*P IF
w
The offerings of the churches are to be used this year
in the completion of this Community Church, which has all
of the latest and tried-out facilities for needed work among
immigrant populations.
This building will cost about $75,000. It will have mod-
ern heating and plumbing, will be lighted by electricity and
is to be fireproof.
The Board of Church Extension buys the lot, erects
the building and will hold title to the property for our
Brotherhood. The money is not to be returned to the
Board, nor is any interest to be charged.
This building will be the new home for our Russian
Work in New York City. The Outlook said that if such
work as we shall do in this district had been done consecu-
tively for the last twenty years, social and industrial con-
ditions would have been such that Trotzky would never
have gone to Russia and destroyed one of our allies in this
World War.
Wherever the Disciples of Christ have done this work
— in Chicago, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Buffalo, Western
Pennsylvania and New York City — no Anarchists can be
recruited by the Industrial Workers of the World. This
kind of work will make conditions in society safe for our
children.
The American Society and the Disciples Missionary Union of New York City will carry on the work in this
Community House with competent Superintendent and helpers, doing a work after the most approved plans. The
building is in the center of the Russian population.
What the Annual Offering Must Do
1. Finish this House with an additional $25,000 above the $50,000 appropriated by the Kansas City Convention.
2. Furnish money to complete church buildings at the following cities near which are cantonments: For Montgomery, Alabama, $10,000;
for Arcadia, Florida, where there are 1,000 aviators, $1,200; for Deming, New Mexico, near Camp Cody, $3,500; for University Church,
San Diego, Cal., located on Audubon Park, where soldiers and sailors are camped, $3,500; and $5,000 for Lincoln Park Church, Ta-
coma, Wash., doing service for Camp Lewis.
3. Help to provide other needed buildings.
The Annual Offering for Church Extension begins Sunday, September 1st.
Remit to
G. W. MUCKLEY, Cor. Sec,
603 New England Building KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
September 5, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
23
The
Century
uarter
For Adult and Young Peopled Bible Classes
Edited by Thomas Curtis Clark
Makers of the Quarterly:
John Ray Ewers
William Dunn Ryan
Herbert L. Willett, Jr.
Prof. W. C. Morro
The governing purposes in the preparation of this new Lesson Quarterly are two:
(1) To afford all necessary aids for a thorough and vital consideration of the Interna-
tional Uniform Sunday School Lessons; (2) To edit out all features of conventional
lesson quarterlies which are not actually used by and useful to the average class. This
quarterly is based upon many years' experience of the makers with the modern organ-
ized class.
Features of the Quarterly
Getting Into the Lesson. This department is
prepared by William Dunn Ryan, of Central
Church, Youngstown, O., who has one of the
most remarkable schools of adults in the coun-
try. Mr. Ryan presents the backgrounds of the
lesson.
Clearing Up Difficult Points. Herbert L. Willett,
Jr., whose extended experience and study in the
Orient have made him an able interpreter of
Scripture facts for modern students, has charge
of this department. His is a verse-by-verse
study.
The Lesson Brought Down to Date. The unique
work of John R. Ewers in straight-from-the-
shoulder adaptations of the Sunday school lessons
to today's life is too well known to call for ex-
planation. There is no other writer in the
Sunday school world today who approaches Mr.
Ewers in the art of making the Bible talk to
modern men.
The Lesson Forum. No man is better strfted to
furnish lesson questions with both scholarly and
practical bearings than Dr. W. C. Morro, of Bug-
ler College. His questions really count in the
consideration of lesson themes.
The lesson text (American revised versi on) and daily Scripture readings are printed
for each lesson. The Quarterly is a booklet of handy pocket size.
The Autumn issue of the Quarterly is now ready.
Send for free sample copy, and let us have your
order at once.
The Christian Century Press
700 East Fortieth St.
Chicago
The Bethany
Grade
Lessons
A NOTABLY SUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT
TO PRESENT RELIGIOUS TRUTH IN
A REASONABLE, ATTRACTIVE AND
EFFECTIVE WAY TO YOUNG AND
OLD. IT RESULTS IN AN ACCURATE
KNOWLEDGE OF BIBLICAL FACTS,
AND IN A VITAL APPRECIATION
OF SPIRITUAL TRUTH.
Spiritual: The great purpose of religious education — the training of
mind and heart and will to "see God" and feel God in the world of nature, history,
and especially in the revelation of His will in the life of the Savior of men — is not
made subservient to the presentation of mere historical facts. The study of the
Bethany Graded Lessons grows Christian character', it does not simply produce
scholars.
Thorough : Not a hop-skip-and-jump compromise scheme of study,
made as easy as possible. Thoroughness is not sacrificed to the minor end of
easiness. Each year of the life of child and youth is provided with a Bible course
perfectly adapted to that year. The Bethany Graded Lessons are psychologically
correct.
Practical: An interesting fact relative to the Bethany Graded Lessons
is that they are fully as popular with small schools as with large. The system
is thoroughly adaptable to all conditions. The fact that a school is small does not
mean that it is easy-going and careless in its choice of a system of study. We
can truthfully say that many of the finest schools using the Bethany Lessons do
not number more than 75 members. No matter what the conditions of your
school, the Bethany Graded Lessons will fill your need.
If your school is ambitious, if it is thorough- going,
if it is willing to take religious education
seriously, you must have the
BETHANY GRADED LESSONS
Thoroughly approved and more popular than ever after
nine years of useful service.
Send for returnable samples today and prepare for a year
of genuine study of religion.
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 East 40th Street, CHICAGO, ILL.
FOR THE MEN AT THE FRONT
When you bare finished reading this copy of
The Christian Century place a one-cent stamp
on this corner and hand the magazine to any
postal employe. The Post Office will send It
to some soldier or sailor in our forces at the
front. No wrapping — no address.
A. S. BUBLESOJi, Postmaster-general.
Vol. XXXV
September 12, 1918
Number 35
Will the Jews Return
to Palestine?
By Herbert L. Willett
Burying Booze with the Kaiser
By Alva W. Taylor
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY September 12, 1918
"Different," "Admirable," "Excellent"
Say the Church and Sunday School Leaders of the
20th Century Quarterly
For Adult and Young People's Bible Classes
Edited by Thomas Curtis Clark
Makers of the Quarterly:
John Ray Ewers Herbert L. Willett, Jr.
William Dunn Ryan Prof. W. C. Morro
A. B. Houze, of First Church, Bowling Green, Ky.,
Is "Charmed" with the Quarterly."
"I am charmed with the new Quarterly. It is beautifully conceived, and the
material is presented in a most scriptural and logical manner. I have found no
more satisfactory interpretation of the Sunday school lessons in this crisis hour
of the world's history." (Mr. Houze is the teacher of a great class of more than
200 men.)
C. C. Garrigues, First Church, Joplin, Mo.,
Says the Quarterly is "Different."
"The Quarterly is 'different.' Its convenient pocket size; its superior me-
chanical make-up; its brevity; its originality; its freedom from cant; its suggest-
iveness ; the careful work of the authors — these things impress me. I find myself
differing with the writers a little here and there. That, however, but adds interest
and drives me to closer investigation and more careful thinking."
S. W. Hutton, Southwestern Bible School Superintendent,
Finds it "Get-at-able."
"I like the Quarterly very much. Have found it rich in thought, comprehensive,
yet compact and get-at-able. It should appeal to all who read and study its
pages."
A. McLean, Foreign Mission Veteran,
Thinks the Quarterly "Admirable."
"I consider your 20th Century Quarterly admirable. It furnishes the teacher
and the student with the information needed. I am sure I shall find it helpful."
Secretary Robt. M. Hopkins, National Bible School Leader,
Says "Excellent."
"The Christian Century Press is giving us a very excellent Quarterly in the
20th Century Quarterly. I am glad to see its appearance and trust it may have a
long and useful life among our Sunday school leaders."
P. A. Wood, of Indianapolis,
Finds it "Out of the Beaten Path."
"I have examined your new Quarterly, and must confess that it looks mighty
good. You seem to have gotten out of the beaten path and given us something
that will really meet the needs of our classes."
Send for free sample copy and send in your
order at once for the Autumn Quarter
The Christian Century Press
700 E. Fortieth Street
C I C A G O
An Undenominational Journal of Religion
Volume XXXV
SEPTEMBER 12, 1918
Number 35
EDITORIAL STAFF: CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON. EDITOR; HERBERT L. WILLETT. CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
ORVIS FAIRLEE JORDAN. ALVA W. TAYLOR. JOHN RAY EWERS :: THOMAS CURTIS CLARK. OFFICE MANAGER
Entered as second-class matter, February 28, 1902, at the Post-office at Chicago, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Published Weekly By the Disciples Publication Society 700 East 40th Street, Chicago
Subscription — $2.50 a year (to ministers, $2.00), strictly in advance. Canadian postage, 52 cents extra; foreign, $1.04 extra.
Change of date on wrapper is a receipt for remittance on subscription and shows month and year to which subscription is paid.
The Christian Century is a free interpreter of the essential ideals of Christianity as held historically by the Disciples of Christ.
It conceives the Disciples' religious movement as ideally an unsectarian and unecclesiastical fraternity, whose original impulse and
common tie are fundamentally the desire to practice Christian unity in the fellowship of all Christians. Published by Disciples, The
Christian Century, is not published for Disciples alone, but for the Christian world. It strives to interpret the wider fellowship
in religious faith and service. It desires definitely to occupy a catholic point of view and it seeks readers in all communions.
EDITORIAL
The Control of Opinion
IT was once the proud boast of the Disciples of Christ
that they had no creed. Those reading some of our
journals these days might be tempted to believe that
this is not now the case.
The Pope of Rome issues on various occasions ana-
themas against certain kinds of religious opinion. His
decree Gregis Pascendi was directed against modernism.
Translating into modern English, it was, Let any man
be damned who holds modern views of religion. The
threat of eternal damnation or of excommunication from
the church, or the severence of one's social ties has been
effective in that organization, and modernism now lan-
guishes. It is not likely that similar pronouncements
among the Disciples of Christ will ever prove effective,
for we have no purgatory and no official with the power
of the keys.
No threat of punishment ever modifies opinion.
Galileo, under fear of death denied that the earth
turned round, but under his breath declared it did turn
anyhow. A young man might be intimidated by
threats from talking publicly about evolution, or higher
criticism, or philosophy, but this would never lead to
any real change of opinion.
There is only one effective method of controlling
opinion, and that is by the logical presentation of facts.
A fact stands like a rock, while the turbulent stream
of denunciation breaks upon it. If any man would
overthrow evolution or higher criticism or any doc-
trine that he regards dangerous, he can settle the whole
matter by presenting facts that will upset these hy-
potheses.
Young men are hungry to hear a constructive word
spoken in behalf of religion. They are flocking into
modernism because the denunciation that they hear in
reactionary camps convinces them that the older views
of religion must be hopeless. There is only one cure for
the modern trend in religion, and that is by meeting it
with its own weapons. But no one seems to think this
possible.
Putting the Big Preacher on a Circuit
ANY given denomination has only a few great
preachers. These men are often burdened with
administrative details in a parish for which they
have no particular genius. The man with one outstand-
ing talent is not likely to have another equally great.
Such great ministers once circulated to a limited extent
outside their parishes by going out occasionally to hold
revival meetings. But great preachers are no longer in-
terested in the sort of revivalism that has been prevail-
ing and now the churches know their faces only on the
lecture platform or at church conventions.
In Ohio, Dr. John E. Pounds has been sent over
the state with his great address on the subject of a
Christian's duty to make a will in the interest of the
kingdom of God. Dr. John Ernest McAfee, who was
until recently secretary of the Home Mission Board of
the Presbyterian church, advocates sending all preach-
ers of outstanding ability out over the country, from
town to town, where they will present a message of far-
reaching significance to hundreds of thousands of people
in the course of a year.
Why should not all of the churches in Indianapolis
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 12, 1918
or Chicago or Kansas City secure the presence of some
man with a prophetic message to spend a month in the
city, addressing the various churches and holding con-
ferences with the ministers for the practical realization
of the ideals of which that minister is a conspicuous
spokesman? Such an interchange of thought and of
spiritual power would vitalize many a city and lift it
out of the ruts into which church work is too often apt
to fall.
It is manifest that there is use on such a circuit for
the missionary who comes back from the foreign field
with an unusual story to tell and power with the people
in the telling of it. People are still confused about the
implications of the modern attitude in religion. Some
one who could in a single evening clear up many of the
doubts and difficulties that are in the people's minds
these days with regard to religion would do a great
service. The Disciples have a score or more men who
c.ught to speak every day for ten years.
The Harvest Time of the Soul
WE no longer follow the religion of nature, with
moods dominated by the seasons and the
seasonal occupations. But we have not trav-
eled so far away from these primitive religious
attitudes as to be absolutely unresponsive to our
environment. When the autumn days come, we enter
the season of the Feast of Tabernacles which our Lord
once helped to celebrate. It is hard to look upon the
tinted leaves, the bursting granaries and the autumn
skies without feeling once more religious emotions.
Is there not a harvest time for the soul, as well as
for nature? This has been one of the most compelling
ideas of Christianity. The medieval church may be said
to have been chiefly busy getting people out of purga-
tory into heaven. The harvest of the soul was a mat-
ter of primary concern.
There is a certain sense in which this harvest is
being reaped all of the time. Just as in the tropics cer-
tain trees are always bearing blossoms and fruit to-
gether, so human life is in the midst of daily choices and
daily judgments. John declared that some were con-
demned already because they had chosen darkness
rather than light.
But not all of our spiritual harvest is so closely re-
lated to the sowing of the spiritual seed. The careless
boy does not immediately develop into the useless man.
The tippler does not at once become a drunkard, nor
the idler in any brief space a beggar. It is just because
the judgments of God upon sin are so often deferred that
sin flourishes in the world. When we place a hand upon
a hot stove the penalty is immediate. Were spiritual
penalties as immediate, sin might almost disappear from
the world.
But the spiritual harvests are inevitable, even if
they are deferred. The man who sows tares will also
reap tares. The golden leaves compel us to ask of our
souls, What will the harvest be? Do we lay up for our-
selves the wrath of God and the sting of our guilty con-
sciences, or do we make ready the harvest of kindness
and brotherhood which we have sown through the
years r
Recruiting Sunday School Teachers
THE summer time always results in a certain
amount of disintegration in the local church.
Sunday school teachers quit or move away and
the result is that the beginning of the new season is a
time of desperate search for new teachers for the church
school.
A great many people will not volunteer for service,
being modestly acquainted with their lack of equipment
for such a task. They respect too highly the great office
of moulding the souls of the young in religion to under-
take the work unprepared. On the other hand, there
are some who seek this work with little idea of the
social and religious responsibilities involved.
It might be a good thing for the minister to preach
a sermon soon on the ideal Sunday school teacher. Just
what must a person know and be in order to be fitted
for the task of guiding the young into a knowledge of
Christ? Must not the prospective teacher be something
of an embodiment of the religion he or she sets forth?
When it is remembered that it has ever been the ten-
dency of the youth to idealize the Sunday school
teacher, this latter point will be seen in its true im-
portance.
The choosing of a teacher is often a matter of acci-
dent. A desperate superintendent looks over the adult
class for a likely candidate. Some one has to be chosen,
so one is chosen. If this person does fairly well, he or
she will probably remain permanently in charge of the
class.
But suppose the pastor and the superintendent
should spend an evening in a consideration of the church
members according to their relative availability for this
work. Then if they would call on the person who ought
to take up the task and make the needs of the particular
class a call of God upon him, a fortunate selection
would usually be made.
When we study the religious attitude of our young
men who are going away to war, we know that in many
cases we have failed in the fundamental aim of religious
education. It is more a matter of teacher than curricu-
lum just now. We must find the right people to teach.
Federation During the War
THE Presbyterian church at White Hall, Illinois,
has made overtures to the Disciples' church to
federate with them for the period of the war. They
propose to retain the Disciples' pastor, and to hold the
services alternately in the two church buildings. In Chi-
cago, there is a proposed war federation of the Monroe
Street Church of Disciples and the California Avenue
Congregational church. In this case, the first pastor
would be a Disciple, the Sunday services would be held
in the Congregational church and the mid-week services
in the Disciples' church.
It is to be noted that in both of these cases our re-
September 12, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
igious neighbors propose to treat us with great gener-
osity. This spirit is one of the splendid by-products of
he war. The proposed mergers are occasioned by the
lew conditions. The ministers of the various denomi-
nations have gone away to the camps and to France for
jeligious ministry to the soldiers. There is a greater
ihortage than ever of educated and capable ministers,
i coal shortage also threatens this winter. With mil-
ions in the army and the Red Cross, the congregations
will be smaller. The war merger is the logical solution
if the problem for many churches.
Those who ask what effect the war is going to have
m religion will find one kind of answer in this circum-
tance. The war conditions are driving the churches
nto temporary alliances. In many communities, there
s going to be a need for more churches instead of less
iter the war, and in such communities the federation
vill not develop into a permanent policy. But in other
ommunities there have always been too many churches
nd there would still be after the war, unless the various
lenominations see the wisdom of permanent local
i .
imons.
The opponents of this kind of federation will be
jhurch officials who fear that a church merger will re-
lect upon their administration. We, however, dare to
iiope that Disciple secretaries and superintendents will
let in harmony with Disciple history and teaching.
Concerning Lemons
A Parable of Safed the Sage
NOW it came to pass that I journeyed to a far
country called California. And there I found a
friend, a citizen of that country, and he had an
Automobile, and he took me on swift journeys to show
ne Orange Groves and Grape Fruit Orchards, and
i/ineyards, and many trees whereon grew Prunes.
And it came to pass that I heard often of a town
tailed Corona, and always this was said of it :
! Corona, Home of the Lemon.
Now on a day we passed through Corona, and the
lay was warm and dusty, and I spake to my friends :
Behold, this is Corona, the Home of the Lemon,
^et us tarry, I pray thee, for of lemons are concocted
i cunning drink that maketh glad the heart of man and
loth not intoxicate.
So we rode through the street, and we came to a
)lace where it was written :
Ice Cream, Soda Water, Sundaes and All Kinds of
■>oft Drinks.
And we alighted from the chariot, and went in, and
)ehold, a man in a White Apron.
And I was about to speak to him, but my friend
spake :
Be thou silent, and keep thy money in thine own
Docket; I am paying for this.
And I kept silent willingly, for those are pleasant
vords to hear.
Then spake my friend to the man in the white
ipron: Hasten thee, lad, and prepare for us four good,
ice-cold lemonades, and make them Good, and make
them Speedily.
And the man in the White Apron heard him as one
who understood not what he said.
Then spake my friend again :
This friend of mine is from Chicago, and these
other friends are from Boston, and they think they
know what good lemonade is ; but I want them to have
a drink of lemonade that is Lemonade. Hasten thee,
and prepare it for them.
Then spake the man in the White Apron :
We have no Lemonade.
And the man of California grew red in the face,
and he said: What? No lemonade in Corona, the home
of the lemon?
And the man in the white apron answered. We have
Soda Water, Root Beer, Ginger Ale, Ice Cream, but no
lemonade.
Then spake my friend :
Hasten now to the grocery store, and buy a half-
dozen good lemons, and quickly make us Lemonade.
And the man in the White Apron hastened, and re-
turned, and said :
There isn't a lemon in town. They ship them all
t© Chicago and Boston.
And when I heard this I meditated, and I said:
I have suffered for lack of good Fish at the Sea-
shore, and Fresh Eggs in the Country, when both were
abundant in Town, and now I behold that the place to
buy good Lemonade is where they do not raise Lemons.
And as I meditated, I remembered that in many
other things the shoemaker's wife goeth unshod.
Now my business is commending goodness for ex-
port, even as that of Corona is the production of lemons.
And I said within myself: Glad will I be if the demand
for goodness ever shall grow like the demand for lem-
ons from Corona, and I will seek to supply all the de-
mand. Yet will I seek to keep some of it on hand ; for
my peril is even as the peril of the man in the white
apron. Yea, he shall be to me as a Parable, lest having
preached to others I should become a Castaway.
So I resolved that with all my exportations of
goodness, I would keep some for Home Consumption.
Earth Is Enough
WE men of earth have here the stuff
Of Paradise — we have enough !
We need no other stones to build
The stairs into the Unfulfilled —
No other ivory for the doors —
No other marble for the floors —
No other cedar for the beam
And dome of man's immortal dream.
Here on the paths of every-day —
Here on the common human way
Is all the stuff the gods would take
To build a Heaven, to mold and make
New Edens. Ours the stuff sublime
To build Eternity in time!_Er)wiN Markham
Will the Jews Return to Palestine?
In the course of the series of articles which Professor Willett has presented concerning the Second Coming
of Christ a considerable number of comments and questions have been received either by him or at this
office. It seems proper that some of these, bearing as they do on the general theme or on specific phases of
the subject, should be given attention. This will be done in the present and one or two following issues.
Those who are interested in presenting criticisms or questions are invited to send their communications to
Professor Willett, either at the University of Chicago or in care of The Christian Century.
IT seems surprising that one phase of the subject of the second
coming of Christ which is intimately connected with the prob-
lems that Professor Willett has been discussing should have
failed to receive any consideration at his hands. I refer to the
return of the Jews to Palestine, which is certainly a matter of
direct and unmistakable prophecy, and is being so wonderfully
fulfilled in these days. If there were no other proof that the end
of the age is at hand, bringing with it the second coming of our
Lord, this remarkable realization of expectations long ago pre-
dicted ought to be sufficient to convince any unprejudiced observer
that the "times of the Gentiles" were complete1 ar d Israel is about
to return to its ancient home and enter upon that redeemed
career which the prophets foretold. Is it not worth while taking
account of this aspect of the question in a candid review of the
facts?
It is indeed a satisfaction to have attention called
to an angle of the subject which has for many readers of
the Bible a particular significance. The reason that it
has not been included among the topics treated in the series
which has been running for several weeks past is that it
is not an essential feature of millenarianism, although
most of those who hold advent views find somewhere in
their list of cherished opinions a place for this one. And
in several discussions of the problems of millenarianism
it holds an important place.
What are the facts? The two most serious shocks
that disturbed the life of ancient Israel were the fall of
Samaria and the closing of the chapter of Northern
Israel's history in 721 B. C, and the destruction of Jeru-
salem and the beginning of the exile of the most impor-
tant section of the people of Judah in Babylonia in 586
B. C. Of course neither of these events removed a very
large proportion of the population either of the north
or of the south. Some of the more resourceful of the
people, those who were most likely to promote new ef-
forts for national revival, or those who were most prom-
ising as citizens of the lands in the Mesopotamian Val-
ley, were removed. The remainder, which included the
vast majority, was not disturbed. Those who refer to
the "ten lost tribes" as though they were taken some-
where else and lost, forget that the most serious disloca-
tion of this unhappy people was not of population, but
of racial integrity and institutional life. They "lost
out" by intermigration and neglect. For more than half
a century from the fall of Jerusalem the territory of
Judah was occupied by the depressed though numerous
remnant of the kingdom of Judah, while the region to
the north did not recover its importance until shortly
before the Christian era.
PROPHECIES OF THE RETURN
All through this time the prophets preached the
need of faith in Israel's future. Hardly one of the not-
able moral leaders of the nation who were witnesses of
these sad experiences, or lived in the dark days that fol
lowed them, failed to bear insistent witness to the con
fidence that the people would be permitted to returr
to their land and rebuild their institutions. Pages couk
be filled with prophetic words of this sort. They ar<
found in Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, th
Evangelical Prophecy and the oracles of the later days
The later voices were as insistent as the earlier ones, fo
at best the return of the exiles in 538 B. C. was par
tial and unsatisfactory. During at least a century mort
the leaders kept urging the prosperous and satisfie(
Jews in the lands of the east to come back to the lam
of their fathers and assume their part in its rehabilita
tion.- The glowing hopes of the past had been realize<
in only the most meagre manner. The fragments of th
nation, both in Palestine and beyond the great Rivei
needed assurance that there was really a future for Israel
In part, such hopes and promises were fulfilled in th
return of the exiles when Cyrus came to the throne an
Babylon fell in 538. In part, they were fulfilled in th
long years of slow and painful revival of Judah that fol
lowed. In part, they were based on conditions
obedience and consecration which were not realizec
and therefore were never fulfilled, and never will b(
New Testament writers, like the apostle Paul, say tha
the royal hopes for a Davidic line of rulers in Palestin
were futile, and that the vivid expectations of the earlie
generations must be transferred from the political to th
spiritual plane. This did not mean that these promise
were to be allegorized and rendered ineffectual. Ij
meant, as Jeremiah affirmed, that God was not shut uj
to one instrument for the accomplishment of his will
but could select another people who should achieve hi
designs by faith and evangelism. This was what Pau;
made the thesis of his Epistle to the Romans, wherein hj
made clear the eternal purpose of God to reach all me!
through the message of the gospel. To the Jew tha
was first committed. But upon his failure to accept tha
responsibility, it was made the joy and privilege of th
Gentiles to undertake it. None the less Paul loved hi
nation so much that he was not without confident hop
that in spite of their former indifference to their hig!
vocation, they would yet come to prize the divine gif
which at first they despised.
But in all this there was no assurance that the;
should ever go back to their ancient land. The prophet
had hoped that such a consummation might be enjoyec
In part it was actually realized. In part it could no
be accomplished. And beyond the fulfilments whici
the returned exiles obtained, and the achievemenl
through faith in Christ and the attainment of Christia
character to which the Jew and the Gentile alike ma
aspire, there is nowhere in Scripture the slightest ind:
September 12, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
rcation that the Jewish people are to return to their an-
■cient land. Those long lists of prophetic texts on which
f fmillenarian interpreters love to dwell have not the re-
Imotest reference to such a reassembling of Israel in Pal-
Bestine in the present or any future time. They dealt
- wholly with the political fortunes of the ancient nation.
CAN THE JEWS RETURN
So much for the biblical aspects of the matter. What
Ijabout the more material facts of Israel's reoccupation of
the Holy Land? The situation is not difficult to under-
stand. There have always been many Jews in Pales-
tine since the days when for some dozen centuries, from
[ jthe days of Moses to the fall of Jerusalem in the Roman
|war of 70 A. D., they were masters of the land. Before
jthem there was a long Amorite and Canaanite history.
(Since that tragic event which closed the volume of Jew-
ish national life, apparently forever, there has been a
considerable population in the land, mostly Arabic by
race. Today they are as much the possessors of Pales-
tine as are the French of France or the Italians of Italy.
Under all the forms of government Arabian, Saracen,
Christian and Turkish, which has prevailed in Palestine
for the last twelve centuries, as long a period as Hebrew
ihistory covered, the Arabs have been in possession.
There has always, however, been a small group of
» (jews in the land. Today they number, among the 650,-
000 population, about one-tenth. They are of four sorts.
i There is the company of Jewish pensioners, including
jthe Sephardio Jews that originally came from Spain in
j jthe days of the persecutions under Ferdinand and Isa-
bella, and those of the Askinazin group from Russia and
■ Germany. They receive regular stipend from Jewish
jtunds, but are not of a sort to contribute in any help-
|"ul manner to the life of the land. Secondly, there are
i;he industrial Jews, who make up the membership of
. jsome dozen communities planted by wealthy Jewish
patrons in various parts of the land, and exhibiting a
jnost commendable spirit of thrift. In the third place
i here is the commercial Jew, who has taken advantage
pf the tourist traffic which will always be a considerable
part of the business of Palestine. Money is to be made
here, and no one knows better than the Jew how to
)rofit by catering to the needs of the public. Lastly
:here is the Jew of the Zionist type, whose emotions are
timulated by the memories of the land, and the dream
hat it may again become the home of his race.
It is only fair to believe that there will always be
fews in Palestine. The land is dear to them as a race.
But no dearer than it is to Christian and Mohammedans,
o both of whom it is truly the Holy Land. But when
>ne faces the simple facts he is instantly aware that the
ewish people are not going to return to Palestine.' To
ome to this conclusion it is only necessary to look at
onditions as they exist. There are some twelve or four-
een millions of Jews in the world. The total population
>f Palestine today is about six hundred and fifty thou-
and. Under improved agricultural conditions, such as
t is fair to believe are likely to prevail with better gov-
rnment, the land would sustain a population of a mil-
l°n. If adequate dams and other irrigation projects
could be constructed, another three hundred thousand
might be added to the population, but hardly more.
Palestine is a very small country. Its area is only about
a quarter that of the state of Illinois, and about the same
as the state of Connecticut or the principality of Wales.
Even of this the Hebrews never occupied more than
the central mountainous district, a stretch of territory
some seventy or eighty miles in length by about twenty
to thirty in breadth. The lowlands were for the most
part in the hands of other people, like the Phoenicians in
the north and the Philistines on the southwest. The
richest section of Palestine, that portion on the east
of the Jordan, was never counted as a Hebrew posses-
sion, but belonged to Moab and Ammon.
Moreover the description of the country as "flow-
ing with milk and honey" must be understood as the
regard in which it was held by the desert tribes, among
whom the Hebrews tarried in the wilderness. It was
not the measure of its fertility as judged by standards
prevailing in agricultural regions. Portions of the land
are fertile, and very beautiful in the spring. But on the
other hand large parts return only grudging harvests to
the most careful cultivation. Close study of the Old
Testament shows that the land never supported a large
population at any time within the historical period. The
notations of numbers in the Hebrew records, particu-
larly the size of armies and the numbers slain in battles
are picturesque rather than authentic, while the patriotic
exaggerations of Josephus have long been discounted.
War and devastation have greatly reduced the capacity
of the land to support its population. But even in its
most prosperous times this could never have compared
in proportionate numbers to the teeming multitudes of
Egypt, Babylon or Central Europe. When it is further
remembered that of the total population about sixty per
cent are Mohammedans and about thirty per cent
Christians, it is at once evident that a considerable prob-
lem confronts those who propose to replace ninety per
cent of the present inhabitants, mostly Arabic or Syrian
by race, with a new element represented by but ten
per cent of the present population.
DO THE JEWS WISH TO RETURN
Furthermore, the Jews as a race have neither the
wish nor intention to emigrate to Palestine. A small
and very sincere portion of them would be glad to do so.
They are the scholars, the poets, the dreamers of the
nation, whose affection for the land and the traditions
of their race has issued in the creation and spread of
Zionism. In the aggregate they number many thou-
sands, and include some of the choicest spirits in Juda-
ism. But in proportion to the total number of Jews
they are a negligible fraction. For the Jew is a commer-
cial spirit. He is and has been since the days of Baby-
lonian exile the world's typical middle-man. He flour-
ishes only where he can take his place between producer
and consumer. Palestine offers only the most meagre
opportunities for such a vocation, even were its extent
many times what it is.
There seems to be no reason why many Jews may
not go to the Holy Land to make it their home. Small
8
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 12, 1918
groups have already enlisted with one or another of the
allied armies with the express stipulation that they shall
be sent to Palestine to assist in its emancipation from
the Turkish yoke. Others are organizing for hospital
and other relief work there. Many of these will prob-
ably remain in the land. They ought to carry out their
fine project of organizing in Jerusalem a Jewish uni-
versity, where the ancient Hebrew language shall be
taught, and be the medium of instruction. Their col- .
onies ought to increase there in the land which their
fathers once possessed. There is no reason why they
should not secure complete political privileges under
the new regime which the Entente nations will establish,
probably under either French or English direction. But
there is not the least prospect of a Jewish state being or-
ganized in Palestine. The great mass of the Jewish peo-
ple, both orthodox and liberal, are opposed to such a
plan. Perhaps this sentiment is as well expressed as
anywhere in the resolutions of the recent Conference of
American Rabbis, held in Chicago in July of this year.
The pertinent portion of these resolutions has the fol-
lowing statement : "We are opposed to the idea that
Palestine should be considered the homeland of the
Jews. Jews in America are part of the American na-
tion. The idea of the Jew is not the establishment of a
Jewish state, not the re-assertion of Jewish nationality,
which has long been outgrown. The mission of the
Jew is to witness to God all over the world."
THE FUTURE OF ISRAEL
In a word, then, it may be asserted with emphasis
that there are no predictions of restoration of Israel to
Palestine which were not fulfilled in the home-coming of
the various groups of exiles, or were rendered incapable
of fulfillment by failure of co-operation with the divine
purpose. The occupation of Palestine by Jews would
require the expulsion of its rightful possessors, the
Arabic peoples who have today the same rights in the
land that Israel once had, rights that it is one of the great
purposes of the present war to guarantee to every people
by the privileges of self-determination. The Jewish
race could not occupy Palestine. No stretch of imagin-
ation could picture that "least of all lands" accommodat-
ing the millions of that people, scattered throughout the
world. Palestine is wholly unfitted by location, char-
acter and extent to be the home of the modern Jew, and
the vast majority of the race are wholly uninterested in
any project that looks to such an end.
The future of the Jewish race is not to be deter-
mined in any light or doctrinaire manner. Its place in
history has been remarkable. Its persistence has been
phenomenal, though to be sure its modification through
admixture with other people and changes in environ-
ment has broken it up into many groups, markedly dif-
ferent and often wholly antagonistic. The moral and re-
ligious problems of modern Judaism are perhaps of all
most perplexing and acute, for Christianity has too often
stood for an arrogant and persecuting force, and is
therefore repellent to a vast majority of that race, and
the same time the power of the synagogue declines
yearly. The Jew has gone into all the world, and there
he will remain, either to be absorbed at last like other
scattered races which have ceased to be nations, or to
play some other as yet undisclosed role in the future.
But in spite of the bald materialism and commercialism
which seem to dominate so broad a zone of Jewish life,
all Christians are under obligation to sustain an atti-
tude of sympathy and good will toward this unique peo-
ple, partly as an atonement for immeasurable wrongs in
the past, and partly in the hope that gradually through
the years they may realize that the crowning glory
of their race, the greatest gift they ever made to the
world, was the Man of Nazareth, the lover of Israel, and
the Savior of the World.
Herbert L. Willett
Lavender Hedges and Faith
An English woman in a message to English soldiers.
I HAVE an idea that there have been people who de-
scribed Faith as believing in something that you know
isn't true. I expect one needn't combat that point of J
view, for perhaps we are all more or less agreed that faith is
believing in something we cannot yet see. And I should per-!
sonally like to go a step further than that: I should like,
to describe Faith as acting as though we believed in some-;
thing we cannot yet see.
There are some days in the last few years that will]
always stand out in one's memory, and one is a certain day;
towards the end of 1914, just before the First Battle of
Ypres, when one came down to breakfast to find in the
"Times" the most pessimistic article I have ever read. It
put it to one that England was in imminent danger of in
vasion, and described, for those of us who live in those
countries not far from the coast, exactly what we ought
to do with our sick and aged relations, how we must move
our goods and chattels, that we must leave our houses and
gardens to take care of themselves — in fact, there seemed
little hope by the end of the article of our even being ablej
to look forward to having a home at all! And, for the
first and only time in the war, I remember the family sitting
down under it buried in gloom! But after about half ar
hour, I could bear it ho longer. I felt that I must go out
and do something with a future in it. I shall go out and
plant that Lavender Hedge I've been waiting to plant foi
days. So I hunted up the gardener, and together we sel
to work, and every root we stuck into that obstinate olc
clay soil of ours, I felt, "Now, that's an act of Faith. Whai
is the good of our men at the Front, if one isn't believing
as one always has believed, that they are indomitable anc
invincible, and just because of it that one will have i
garden, next year and in the years to come, as their gif
to us?" And after an hour's hard work (and there's noth
ing like contact with the soil for refreshing one's soul'
you wouldn't believe how different one felt !
Now, I don't know that I can claim the victory of th<
First Battle of Ypres as the direct result of my Lavende
Hedge ! But I do know that for the last three years, whei
it's been the joy of the garden, it's not only lavender tha
it represented to me, but faith in the future, and in the in
September 12, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
9
domitable courage of those men who were holding the line.
So, if ever you feel your faith in something you can't
yet see being clouded over, just go out and plant a Lavender
Hedge, or whatever may be the nearest approach to it in
the world you are in, and I can't help believing you'll feel
different.
The Door
By Joseph Fort Newton
Prayer
SANCTIFY us, O God, our Father, by the cleansing breath
of thy Holy Spirit, as we bow before thee in answer to the
call of the soul, that we may worship thee in the beauty of
holiness. As birds in a deep forest forget to sing, not know-
ing in the twilight when the dawn arrives, so our hearts are
silent and voiceless by reason of the dense darkness in which
we walk. Care, and labor, and sickness, and anxiety over-
shadow us; sorrow haunts us; death is feeling after those we
love most. Lift us on the wings of this hour into the upper
air where thou art, where there is light and liberty and com-
munion, and where we can see the truth that is hidden from us
in the valley.
Open the door of prayer, our Father, and admit us into
thy secret place, that we may hide, for a little space, from the
things that torment us, from the fears that pursue us, and
from the sorrows that will not let us rest. Show us once more
the reality of thy Fatherhood, some faint knowledge of which
we have in our yearning for our children, for whom we are
willing to give all, suffer all, do all. Thus may our own hearts
teach us to know thee, to love thee, and to trust thee with all
that we are, all that we love, knowing that thou wilt lead us
thither where we seek to go. Forgive us if too close we lean
our human hearts on thee, for there is no other who can
help us.
Renew our faiths in the truths that make life deep and
rich and noble; help us to lay hold of thy great and precious
promises and find strength in our labor and solace in our
sorrow. Minister of thy grace to those who bear the heat
and burden of the day; be very near the young in their beset-
ments and temptations as they are trying to find their way
in life; support the old, many of whom are left to walk alone,
bereft of those on whom they hoped to lean in the evening of
their days. Suffer none to go away untaught, unhealed, un-
forgiven; but may each find his heart growing strangely warm
and happy.
Ever the Door stands ajar; day by day a door is opened
for one and another, and they fly thither from the winter
storm, and are safe. For others it will be opened, and at last
for us, admitting us to thy nearer presence where there is
realization and reunion. As life deepens may faith become
more profound, until at last we stand upright at thy Door,
0 Lord, and Lover of all souls, looking for the Face long de-
sired, even the face of Uttermost Love. And to thy name
shall be the praise, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
*
Sermon
WHAT an artist Jesus was in taking the simple,
homely things of life and making them figures
of eternal truth, parables of Divine beauty! He
was so wise that he was simple, and so simple that he was
wise, teaching the highest truths by the humblest facts.
He did not fly away into philosophy, but began near by,
using the everydayness of life to reveal the everywhere-
ness of God. No familiar thing but was transfigured at
his touch and became forever lovely. No other teacher
would have likened himself to a hen sheltering her chicks,
yet that image remains a perfect picture of the brooding,
protecting solicitude of God.
But it is not with the artistry of the Master that
we are now concerned, but with something far deeper, far
more revealing. Truly, never man spake like this Man,
and never was he more wonderful than when he spoke of
himself in his relation to the souls of men, as, for example,
"the sevenfold I AM," of which our text, "I Am the
Door," is one. Now he is the light of the world, now a
road for our pilgrim feet, now a loaf of bread, a well of
water, a coat, a house, and, in the text a door — all these
images telling us how necessary he is to our life. No one
else has ever spoken to us in that manner ; no one else can
do it without jarring our hearts. Yet somehow, when we
listen to him, we know that he knows what we want, what
we need, and the way we go ; and we do not resent him as
an intruder, but admit him into the innermost room of our
nature.
"our father," not "an eternal energy"
Softly, surely, he opens the door of our hearts and
enters in, identifying himself with our most inward needs,
our most intimate longings. Somehow, as if by instinct,
we know that he has a right to be there, and we do not
ask him to explain his presence. Our very need is an in-
vitation, and we yield to his authority as we do to the spell
of music, without seeking to analyse or define it ; knowing,
as a child knows a friend, that he is an ally of all that we
wish to be. Should we ever stop to ask why it is so, surely
the reason is not far to seek if we consider what it is that
he seeks to do with us.
Let me illustrate. Our philosophers tell us of an
Eternal Energy from which all things proceed, a Vital
Urge taking myriad forms, a Power not ourselves that
makes for righteousness. These words do not move our
hearts. But when Jesus speaks of "our Father," it is dif-
ferent; at once we are lifted into the world of spiritual
values, into the world of personality and its fellowships.
In that world he lives, from it he speaks, and it is thus
that his words unlock doors in us for which no one else has
the key. Others speak of that world, but Jesus speaks
from its centre of light, and therefore he commands us by
a lure and authority no other can know. Against this
background we must read the text.
SYMBOLISM OF THE DOOR
Nothing is more familiar than a door, and nothing
more eloquent as a symbol. For a door, with its uses and
associations, has much to tell us, alike of welcome and
farewell. If it is open, how inviting; if closed, how ex-
10
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 12, 1918
eluding; if ajar, what a vista. There is all the difference
in the world on which side of a door we stand, the outside
or the inside. Artists have lavished their skill on doors,
making them attractive, and many legends have been en-
graved over them. Often a door is an emblem of separa-
tion. On one side are strangers ; on the other friends.
Outside care, inside quiet. Full oft it is a symbol of se-
curity, of protection from injury and intrusion, of safety
from temptation. Of course, it is eloquent of hospitality,
and Charles Lamb was not far wrong when he said that
no sound could equal in interest a knock at the door.
Friendliness has no finer speech than a door opened in
greeting and welcome; and love no truer token. Much
might be written on the duty of keeping some doors open
that are too often closed, and also on the duty of keeping
other doors shut that are too easily opened.
SOME CLOSED DOORS
Think of the old home in which you grew up, and
you will begin to see how many beautiful things Jesus
meant to tell us when he called himself the door. Memories
as many and as fragrant as the flowers that grew about it
came back to us as we think of that old front door, whose
openings and shuttings made such music in our life as our
friends or guests came and went. What happy surprises
seized us there, as some loved faces, unexpected, appeared
at the door! What sorrows, it may be, gripped us there,
as our dead were carried out and we realized that they
were gone! For they do not seem quite to have left us
until we part with them at the door. At the door we took
our farewell of our parents, with many hopes and long-
ings, as we started out into the world to make our fortune.
They stood in the door and watched us as far as they could
see, wondering, hoping, praying. Years pass, and our eyes
grow dim at the thought of that old doorway and all that
happened there, and of the vanished figures that stood in
it. So great is the power of association, by which the
Master would lead us to the door of the home of the soul :
Around the portal are angel faces,
Within, the everlasting Bread and Wine.
Much of our life is spent in opening and closing doors.
There are doors that shut and stay shut, doors of oppor-
tunity, of privilege, of joy. Slowly the door of youth shuts,
and no man can open it. Oh, the things we must leave
behind in our pilgrimage ! Sadly we learn that a man can
go back to the place of his birth, but he can never go
back to his youth. So far we can develop the body, and
no further; the door is shut. There is a time when more
than one door is open to a man, and he must decide which
one he will enter; and having made his choice the other
doors close. That is why it is so difficult to begin a new
vocation after forty; so many doors are shut. Often we
see a man who can do one thing, and do it well, but he is
little more than a by-product of his own business — like a
horseman whose mind has become a stable. Darwin paid
the penalty of narrowness and neglect, as all men must
who are not at pains to keep the doors of the mind ajar.
Imperceptibly they close, and life loses in richness of in-
terest and variety of outlook, making old age a mere
Nursery of Memory.
Every five years — so reads the opening page of "The
Abbot" — we find ourselves another, and yet the same ; there
is a change of views and not less of the light in which we
regard them. What is more inspiring than youth, its face
aglow with dreams, the doors of its heart wide open to
the winds of God ! What is sadder than to meet the same
man ten years later and find many doors of the heart shut,
locked, and barred? Often the man is unaware of his
loss, thinking that he has attained to wisdom, when in
reality he has only become cynical and hard; something
fine has gone out of his life. This is the great tragedy —
that youth rules the world when it is no longer young, and
its ideals are damaged and dim. Time makes subtle
changes in our inner life of thought and character, as in
outward aspect. Unless we have a care, selfishness or
avarice or ambition will shut doors that ought to be kept
open. In the Holman Hunt painting, "The Light of the
World," the door has long been shut, dust is on the step,
and weeds are growing in neglect, the while the Master
knocks in vain.
DOORS THAT ARE NEVER SHUT
Happily, if there are doors that shut, there are also
doors that never shut. "Behold, I have set before thee an
open door, and no man can shut it," reads the Book of
Vision. The Door of Service, like the gates of the City
of God, is open always, everywhere, to everybody. Age
does not shut it, nor poverty, nor ignorance, nor sin.
There is no human situation in which a man cannot be of
some help to his fellows, if he sets his hand to do it. When
Sterling returned to England ill and helpless, he wondered
what use he could be in the world ; a question which many
a man, broken by the war, is asking himself today. But
his friends wrote to tell him that his very existence was a
blessing as indeed it must have been to have won such
loyal love.
Some of you will recall the story of "The Worn Door-
step," telling of a young woman waiting for her lover who
had gone to the war ; she waited in vain, but found healing
for her sorrow in serving others beshadowed like herself.
How many doors this war has opened, doors within our-
selves of which we knew nothing, doors of sympathy and
service, taking us out of ourselves into a larger life.
Christ as the Door is Christ as the entrance to the
life of faith and service. What a life it is to which he
admits us, a life not of subtraction, but of addition, as
Drummond told the boys at Edinburgh. He transfigures
all our joys. He takes the poison out of all our wild
flowers.
PAINTING THE REAL CHRIST
In the "Dreamers of the Ghetto" Zangwill has a
story of a Jewish artist who discovered behind the Christ
of the creeds a Joyous Comrade, a Great Friend of all the
sons of men. He sought to remove the mists and paint the
real Christ, in his simplicity and beauty, his fellowship with
man and beast, his love of God and little children. So, day
by day, he worked at his picture, trying to give back to the
world a Christ the Jews can now accept, and the Christians
have forgotten.
What that artist sought to do it is the business of all
lovers of Christ to do, revealing the real Christ to men.
September 12, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
11
knowing that they needs must love the highest when they
see it. Drummond was such an artist, and many a man
today owes his vision of the real Christ to the influence,
and still more to the example of that strong and winsome
man. What such a ministry means F. W. H. Myers has
told us in an unforgetable passage:
I had never yet realized faith in its emotional fulness; I
had been converted by the Phsedo and not by the Gospel. Chris-
tian conversion now came to me in a potent form, through the
agency of Josephine Butler, whose name will not be forgotten
in the annals of English philanthropy. She introduced me to
Christianity, so to say, by an inner door.
Happy are those who find such a guide amidst the
labyrinthine windings of creed and dogma and rite, cne
who knows the path to that inner door opening into a new
life. Josephine Butler knew the way home. She was not
an official minister, not a theologian; but she knew how
to lead wandering, bewildered souls — alike the cultured
and the uncultured — to the door.
THE MINISTRY MOST NEEDED
Much is said about social ministry today, and rightly
so, because the need is great and urgent. But never was
there more need of experts who are Apostles of the Inner
Door, men and women of spiritual simplicity and direct-
ness to lead human souls immediately to the Door. It is
a great art, asking for tact, skill, love, and, above all,
knowledge of the Door and the life to which it leads.
There is no higher service one mortal may render to
The Day Breaks!
M
A PROPHECY
AN-MADE laws and doctrines pass ;
Statesmanship is withered grass ;
They who spake as sovereign gods
Now are mute as lifeless clods :
Some sure voice the world must seek —
Let the Gentle Teacher speak!
Thrones are fallen ; wisdom rules ;
Foolish kings are kingly fools;
Royal pomp, which craved the sun,
Prostrate is as Babylon;
Love has come to power again :
Lo, the Christ stands—/^ Him reign!
Dead is every king and czar —
Dead as all the millions are
Whom they slew in fiendish pride,
Slew to swell war's bloody tide:
Righteous God, the past forgive!
Kings are dead: Oh, King Christ, live!
— Thomas Curtis Clark in the Living Church.
another than to lead him to know Christ, who is the Door
of that life whereof we all have dreamed but never yet
have lived. Until a man finds that Inner Door, no matter
how learned he may be, there will be in his heart, as
Myers testified, a lack of that fulness of faith, that victory
of hope, that joy of ministry which adds a whole dimen-
sion to life.
THE FALSE DOGMA OF LIFE
There is another door that is never shut, the Door of
Hope. Man cannot shut it, and God will not shut it, here
or hereafter. During the week two men have written to
tell me that they have lost heart, lost hold, and are medi-
tating death at their own hands. One letter is a rambling
scrawl pitiful to read, showing tokens of a mind all ajangle
— like a delirious child feeling for a door in the dark. The
other is grim, hard, bitter, defiant, black with despair — as
of a man about to take a wild leap off a cliff. If there be
any of you who may have lost your way, let me beg of you
to believe that there is a Door out of darkness into light,
out of despair into hope. Do not give up. Do not let go.
Times like these try us to the utmost, but if that Door is
open, it matters little what other doors may be shut. And
that Door is ever open. It is never closed by day or by
night. Sin does not shut it. There is forgiveness, cleans-
ing and newness of life. Death does not shut it. There
is always hope here, hereafter, eternally!
Surely no one any longer holds the hideous dogma
of the finality of death. Think of the absurdity of the idea
that the fate of the soul is fixed forever by a physical fact !
It is false. Nothing could be more false.
Death is a beginning, not an end. It is a step not only
into another life, but into a new life. It is an awakening.
It must open mortal eyes. It sets men free from the flesh
that so easily besets them. Hell is a place of hope, else it
were a symbol of Divine defeat. Retribution there is; re-
tribution there will be, here and hereafter. But, if God
rules, retribution is redemptive, not vindictive, much less
hopeless. Know ye that God is Love, and love never stops,
never tarries, never tires, never gives up, never loses hope.
Nothing can forever resist the Love of God in Christ.
Love never faileth — for God is Love.
"l AM THE DOOR"
A well-known traveler in the Holy Land tells how he
talked with a shepherd at work near a sheepfold. He
learned many things, but the best thing came unexpectedly.
Every feature he had expected to see in the sheepfold was
there except one. There was a doorway, but no door.
When he asked the shepherd to explain, he replied : "Door?
I am the door! I lie down across the entrance at night.
No sheep can pass out, no wolf come in, except over my
body."
Even so, Christ is the Door through whom we have
refuge and freedom, going in and out and finding pasture.
"By Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved" — saved
from himself, from the ills that beset the soul ; saved from
lonely wanderings that lead to nothing.
Why Is a Church?
By David M. Jones
THE world is in turmoil. Primal elements long
held in abeyance are in the ascendancy. Those
things which have for all the years of our lives
been considered personal matters to be decided indi-
vidually have come under a dictation which considers
neither our choice nor our convenience. That which
we considered ours by every right of possession, even
to the sacred limits of human relationships, has been
commandeered to the cause of humanity, and it is a
humanity in which we have had scant interest hereto-
fore. Searching questions, backed by an authority which
demands an answer, have been put to us until our inmost
souls have been laid bare, and we have seen that within
ourselves which we did not know existed. The old com-
fortable feeling of satisfaction and security is gone.
WHAT DOES THE CHURCH MEAN?
Even in religious matters an upheaval is taking place.
That of which we were so sure only a year ago we
doubt today. That which seemed important then sinks
into insignificance now. Old forms and customs do not
entirely satisfy. We are beginning to get a glimpse of
that which has been lacking. Some of us are asking in
sincerity, "Why is a church?"
To many of us the church means little more than
a building where we gather at intervals to enjoy a cer-
tain fellowship which we feel to be necessary. To such,
a church is considered as thriving so long as the visible
and external is in good condition. It is largely a matter
of paint and paper, of new roof and carpet, of plenty
of fuel and adequate lighting system, of regular preach-
ing, open doors and no indebtedness.
Others of us have the conception that a church is
a sort of benevolent order, where, after proper initia-
tion and upon the payment of trifling dues, we may have
our lives insured for eternity. The dues are sometimes
so insignificant that they are entirely lost to sight, but
the eternal life insurance, never!
A large number of people look upon a church very
much as they do upon a club or society. These enter
its membership largely because of the prestige which it
gives them in the community. Matters of congeniality
and social prominence, as well as of dress and culture,
enter in. These judge the sermons and music by lyceum
standards and put a premium upon the eloquence of the
pulpit entertainer. They give largely in a showy way
to certain philanthropies and exclude the more needy
but less popular benevolences.
IS IT A SANITARIUM?
Another large group of members seems to feel that
the church is a great sanitarium, where spiritual, moral
and imaginary ailments must receive perpetual attention
or death will ensue. These expect constant and faithful
attention from the pastor, and his assistants to apply
divine liniment to their rheumatic faith, supply digestive
tablets for their moral dyspepsia and strive to invigorate
the dead tissues of their spiritual paralysis.
Akin to these are those who act as if the church is
a free kindergarten, where the pastor and a few others
are to be kept busy in supplying nourishment for church
babies, soothing injured feelings, putting healing oint-
ment on imaginary bruises, administering teething lotions
for those cutting teeth, using infinite patience in cases
of tantrums.
Permeating all these various groups, of them, and
yet not of them, the life germ which keeps the whole
alive is another group of people, to whom the church is
something deeper and broader and higher than human
conception, a part of Christ Himself — His body upon
earth, holy, full of power and glory and blessing. To
these, the building where the church meets is a house
of God, to be approached with reverence — a place of
sacred communion. To these, church membership is an
overflowing, soul-satisfying, throbbing, life-giving experi-
ence. Having entered into this Holy of Holies, the idea
of an eternal life insurance policy does not concern them
at all. To these, fellowship with the members of the
church is not like fellowship with the members of any
club or society or lodge or any other organization in
the world, for all have become brothers with Jesus
Christ. To these the hours spent in the church are hours
of worship, not hours for entertainment and enjoyment
of a musical program. Prestige and social prominence
can have no attraction. Why be satisfied with husks
when all the sweetness and richness of heavenly manna
is theirs for the taking?
GOD'S CONCEPTION OF A CHURCH
These go to the Source of strength for balm for
their pain and heartache, considering the calling and
time of the minister too valuable, as an ambassador of
Jesus Christ, to be entirely dissipated by sanitarium
regulations and kindergarten requirements.
Which of these groups of people is nearest the
Divine conception of the purpose of the church? Is it
true that, having gotten people into his membership,
the duty of the minister is to follow them persistently
and help them so that they will stay in? Is a man really
converted who has to be babied and petted continually
to keep him converted? Is it the duty of the minister
and his music director to keep the membership enter-
tained? Have the members of any church no greater
obligation than to don their best clothes and sit in the
pews, pass judgment upon the sermon and the music,
pay the bills, keep the building in repair and refrain
from heinous sins during the week? Is a church nothing
more than a mutual benefit association?
Of course, Jesus said "Follow me," just as we
preach it, but He co-ordinated the "Follow me" with
"fishers of men," which we have failed to preach enough.
Certainly He said, "Lo, I am with you alway," just as
September 12, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
13
we comfort ourselves and others; but the "Lo, I am
with you" follows a definite task which we have not
performed, and which our churches have only half-
; heartedly taught. How can we claim the promise until
we have fulfilled His command, "Go ye into all the
j world"? We are like children who, having accepted a
\ task, expect the full recompense without fulfilling any
! of the obligation. No wonder people get no higher
conception of a church than that it is a benevolent order
to issue eternal life insurance !
THE RELIGION OF CHRIST
Every "Follow me" must be balanced by "fishers
j of men." That is the religion of Jesus Christ. For two
i thousand years we have ignored the "fishers of men."
i For two thousand years we have played at going into
all the world. But we have never seriously acknowl-
( edged to ourselves, nor taught our people, that the
! church was organized not to be ministered unto, but
i to minister. If, then, having failed to fulfill the condi-
tion imposed in the great commission, what right have
i we to claim the promise, "And lo, I am with you alway" ?
\ Would not God be justified in having forgotten us, as
I some people feel that world conditions today indicate
I He has done?
We have had two thousand precious years of oppor-
tunity, but we have been niggardly with our God. He
asked for our children, but we clung to them. He asked
for our money, but we kept it, giving Him a pittance
instead. He asked for our time, but we gave Him only
what was left after we had done for ourselves. He
asked for our lives, but we gave Him only a little part
of our love and allegiance. If, having despaired, He
has let the world turmoil come to teach us what we
would not learn, it is not because He has forgotten His
church, but only that He loves it so much that, even in
the sorrow and the suffering, He will bring it forth
j strengthened and purified. For, having refused our
i children to Him, we have been compelled to give them
j up for humanity in this world war. Having kept our
j money from God, we have been forced to part with it,
!• in order that Red Cross and Y. M. C. A. and govern-
ment needs may be met. Having been selfish with our
time, we have been commanded to give up hours of it
in order that wounded men may have necessities and
comforts, and that other men, women and children may
be fed and clothed. And, having learned how to give
up our children, our gold and our time, we are growing
less selfish. That which we refused God, the nations
have taken. Perhaps only in this way could we be taught
that nothing belongs to us individually if humanity needs
it worse. This is what Christ meant when He said, "I
came not to be ministered unto, but to minister." This
is what He tried to teach His disciples was to be the
purpose of His Church.
THE CHURCH OF YESTERDAY IS IMPOTENT
In the needs of today and tomorrow the church of
yesterday can do little. The men who have risked their
lives in the trenches with the men of France and Eng-
land, of Belgium and Italy and India and Africa, know-
ing no difference of color or training or belief, so long
as each stood in his place and did his bit, will have
scant respect for a religion of people who are more
concerned in making themselves comfortable and saving
their own souls than they are in helping to put down
the common foe. These can have no zeal in serving
any church which, instead of loyally uniting under the
allied army of Jesus Christ, spends precious time and
strength and ammunition in unfraternal theological bom-
bardments of fellow churches while the hordes of the
enemy devastate the land, unchallenged. The purpose
and power of the Church must be as broad and as high
and as deep as the needs of humanity — limitless, bound-
less, redemptive.
This is the challenge of today to the churches of
yesterday. Thus only can the love of Jesus Christ work
untrammeled in the hearts of men.
A Bible Class at the Front
M
R. L. E. BUELL, Michigan state secretary of the
Y. M. C. A., and now an Association secretary in
France, has written to some of his friends and
narrates some of his experiences in his religious work
among the soldiers :
"I think you will be interested in an account of a
Bible class which I have conducted one night since I've
been in France. I dropped in as a visitor upon a group
that meets every night after supper on the hillside over-
looking the land occupied by the sons of Anak. I had
been at Miami, Florida, in 1898 with the ancestors of some
of the members of the class who asked me to tell of some
of my experiences then. Consequently I took the same
texts as starting points that I did then, viz., John 3 :16 and
John 20:30, 31, and we were getting along nicely when
the commas for my speech were put in rapidly by machine
guns not far behind us firing at an aeroplane out of our
sight over us, and the periods were frequently inserted by
the heavier guns whose flash was visible in front of us.
Then as the boys recounted what that little Bible class of
from 15 to 80 men meant to them as they came back to it
after doing their week or ten days in the trenches, I realized
afresh that the canteen and the letter paper is not the
only service that the boys crave over here.
"Last night just a little informal sing-song filled the
hut and they listened intently to one of their number, a
private, who in ten minutes gave one of the most effective
blows against the kind of language the boys use too freely
that I have ever heard. The day closed with a personal
talk with a man who waylaid me just as I snapped out the
lights. There can be no compromise in this war and the
biggest fight is not with the Hun but his satanic majesty
clothed in many forms but intensely active both within
and without the lines."
Christianity wants nothing so much in the world as
sunny people, and the old are hungrier for love than for
bread. The Oil of Joy is very cheap, and if you can help
the poor with a Garment of Praise, it will be better for
them than blankets. — Henry Drummond.
Burying Booze With the Kaiser
How the War Has Helped
Prohibition
THE Senate has gone on record for war-time prohibition
and by the time these paragraphs are read Congress
will no doubt have nailed up the funeral notices for Old
John Barleycorn. The final vote was a compromise and
ardent prohibitionists wish the date of the obsequies could
have been made January 1st, at least. But all reforms win,
in the last stages, by compromise between the radicals and
those who come through much kicking to a surrender. We
may be grateful for an affirmative vote with the extended
time limit. The time was put over until next July, less
through any belief of the die-hards that the war would be
ended and the law nullified than because of their conviction
that booze had only limited days for business anyhow, and
they would at least secure for it as liberal a chance as pos-
sible to wind up its affairs with profit.
That the boozer's cause was hopeless is shown by the
manner in which the government has been drawing the cord
about his neck since the war began. One year ago the dis-
tillation of liquor was proscribed, then the alcoholic content
of beer was reduced to two and three-quarters per cent and
the brewers' use of grain cut to seventy per cent of the last
year's waste. Secretary Daniels had already made the navy
dry, and now dry zones were established around all army
camps, naval stations, arsenals and munition and shipbuild-
ing plants. Next the order that brought the wrath of the
politician down on Daniels and made him the butt of much
booze caricature was extended to all men in uniform. Then
came prohibition for Hawaii and Porto Rico and the Canal
Zone, as well as a bone-dry District of Columbia. Next booze
met food and fuel and went down in the fray. Notice was
given that coal for beer making would be denied and the
booze makers were ordered to buy no more grain for malt
until the new harvest was well in, and with no assurance
that the order would not even then be extended. Finally the
Railway Administration cut it by ordering all advertisements
removed from refrigerator cars carrying the stuff, and then
prohibited its sale on any train or in any depot or about any
railroad premises. Meanwhile the states, one after another,
wet and dry alike, were counting up to the fatal thirty-six
that pronounces extinction.
The war may bring back to us a much enhanced cigar-
ette habit, and engulf our conventions of clean speech in a
tide of profanity, but it has hastened the doom of alcohol
drinking. Morals joined hands with science, and such allies
are bound to be victorious. The fundamental of every moral
crusade is a fight for humanity that can be more efficient in
terms of the best and happiest life for every man and for all
men. War brought efficiency to a critical test. Morals had
always argued for temperance on the basis of a chance for
the weak will, the drinker's dependents, society's release from
its entail of crime and poverty, etc., but only of late years had
it joined hands with science in its acute discernment of those
things which morals had discerned but had not technically
verified. A knowledge of the facts plus a passion for human-
ity equals social salvation. In other words, Christianity plus
science will bring in the Kingdom of God.
Shall Kaiser Alcohol Be Interned
or Executed?
But the war will end some day and several million young
men will come trooping back from blood-soaked France with
the dark influence of war upon them. In France they see all
the other armies drinking, and the loneliness, the discomfort
of wet garments and muddy trenches and camps, the nerve-
racking ordeal of war, the abnormal life of camp and field all
make the appetite crave the sedative influences of alcohol.
The rum ration is issued their comrades in arms in Allied
camps, and those who drink it when it is wet and just before
they go over the top, usually contend for it because they feel
the momentary stimulus and do not reckon with its ultimate
effects. Everywhere the lonely lad is met with the French-
men's cordial offer of the cup of cheer in wine and his failure
to comprehend a refusal to share it with him as a token of
friendship and a symbol of gratitude. With the impetus of
the moment strong within him and the incubus of war's bur-
dens heavy upon him it is not in the least to be wondered at
that he craves that which alcohol offers and forgets that which
it never promises but always delivers in the end. The result
may be that the sentiment of the army's millions will veer
toward that of their comrades in arms and of the brave
people among whom they live and fight. When one of the
western Canadian provinces voted on the prohibition issue
they provided for a referendum among the men in France
also, and it is noteworthy that while the home folks voted dry
the soldier majority "over there" was for the wets.
Just as we protect them against alcohol without asking
them to vote it out we need to protect the munition and ship-
makers and the farmers and all others who stand behind the
dry front lines. So, too, do we need to insure that the recon-
struction period have the same chance for efficiency that war
times do, and that the boys who come back to rebuild and
help repay the cost be protected against intemperance just
as they are while they fight. Thus war-time prohibition must
not be allowed to lull us into security or satisfy us. There
is grave danger that the securing of war-time prohibition will
dull the edge of prohibition activity and some of the states
that are to vote this coming November may be allowed to i
go wet by default and thus give legislatures cause to refuse
to ratify the constitutional amendment.
The following wet states are to vote, viz., California, Mis-
souri, Florida, Ohio, Minnesota, Wyoming, Nevada and Ken-
tucky, and everyone of them should be put high in the dry
column to insure ratification by their legislatures. Kentucky's
legislature has ratified. Utah is dry by statute but will be
asked to ratify that action by popular vote. In Missouri both
parties allowed the Anti-Saloon League to write a clause in
their platforms pledging ratification, but added, politically
wise, that each representative should represent his own con-j
stituents, i. e., vote wet if they did. This is an illustration!
in point. If Missouri, through indifference, over-confidence!
or by any default fails to produce a dry majority it mayi
prevent ratification by a legislature apparently safe. Cali-J
fornia, Missouri, Minnesota and Ohio are the fighting ground,
and by all odds the drys should win in at least three of the
four states with a fighting chance in them all. Florida,;
Wyoming, Nevada and Kentucky look as good as alreadyj
counted.
* * *
The Country's Legislators Make
Some Prophecies
The Literary Digest recently asked the members of the
legislatures in states that have not yet ratified to give their
best judgment as to what will be done in their respective
states. They were asked not to state their preferences or
how they would vote individually, but to give their judgment
as to how the legislature, of which they were a member,
would vote. The only states about which there is any ex-
pression of doubt are Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania,
Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Minnesota, Missouri
and California. Doubt has been raised in some quarters about
Nebraska, Iowa and Nevada, because Nebraska refused to
vote last winter, Iowa went wet by default in the referendum
and Nevada is now wet. But Nebraska has given a clear
mandate by a referendum making the state dry and unhorsed
the German elements that held the Democratic machine and
state senate under duress. There seems not the least doubl
September 12, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
15
that Nevada will join the great progressive west in an over-
whelming dry vote in November that will carry the legis-
lature by storm. In Iowa, both parties have declared for
ratification, thus removing it from the questionable column.
Of the doubtful states, Rhode Island and New York re-
fused to ratify but did not vote it down. Rhode Island is 75
per cent foreign and is one of the worst boss-ridden political
states in the union. If any state is hopeless, it is. In New
York, the women now vote and the up-country state is rapidly
being painted white; the war sentiment may carry it over.
In Illinois, the senate will probably be safely dry and it is
possible that the big woman vote may procure a dry house
of representatives. In Ohio the battle is hot. The wets won
in the last referendum by only 1,137 and the drys feel assured
of victory this year, with consequent ratification. In Penn-
sylvania, all Republican candidates and the leading Democrat
have declared for ratification. With coal and steel, dry Penn-
sylvania may also go dry. In New Jersey, the action of
Woodrow Wilson in asking the party to get off the rum keg
and his signing of the war-time prohibition bill will have a
powerful influence. Legislators vote nine to eight that it will
ratify. Missouri and California will ratify if the referendum
carries, and it seems assured in both if prohibitionists do their
whole duty. In Minnesota, fifty-two legislators say the state
will ratify and only two that it will not. In Wisconsin, the
vote is slightly in favor of the wets, but there is no doubt
that sentiment is rapidly veering to the popular side of the
question.
The preponderance of the lawmakers' opinion is that
ratification will be voted in every state with the exception of
Rhode Island and Wisconsin, with the latter turning toward
the right. This is the judgment of 2,100 of the men who are
to settle the question. A Rhode Island representative says
that while his state will be the last to ratify anything, he
still thinks it will join the majority inside two years. This
looks like victory, but we should make assurance doubly
sure and raise the battle cry "make it unanimous" and insure
the execution not merely the war-time internment of Kaiser
Booze.
Now for an International
Prohibition Movement
The war has taken all foodstuffs from the brewers in
Germany and Austria, it is reported. France has banned all
strong alcoholic drinks. Old General Gallieni, the hero of
Paris, answered the cry that French water was bad and
therefore our boys must drink wine by saying "better bad
water than any kind of wine." The grape is a great industry
in France, but wheat is a greater, and reconstruction will be
a great opportunity for scientific temperance in France and
also in Italy. Russia banned vodka, but it has come back
with the break-down of law and order. But law and order
will come back and with the new era all friends of humanity
should encourage Russia to put her ditch of despair out of her
way. England has dallied with the question, but has made
great progress. She cut beer production from 36,000,000 bar-
rels, first to 26,000,000 then to 18,000,000, and reduced the
alcoholic content to about one-half. She then promised to
still further cut the boozemaker to 10,000,000 barrels, but his
grasp was too great and his portion was increased instead.
Distillation was stopped, hours were curtailed in saloons to
five and one-half and much damage was saved, but the drink
bill of the nation went up from $820,000,000, in 1914, to $910,-
000,000, in 1915, and then to $1,020,000,000 in 1916, and still
on up to $1,295,000,000 in 1917.
The government said it could not prohibit drink because
the workingmen wanted it. Great labor leaders like Arthur
Henderson resented the insult warmly and now we have the
results of plebiscites taken in twenty-seven great industrial,
ship-building and munition centers. The workers themselves
flung the insult into the teeth of the government by voting
overwhelmingly for war-time prohibition in every one of
them and giving a total of more than two to one. They sent
word to Downing street and Westminster that it was not the
demands of the workers at all that prevented prohibition,
but the powerful influence of the brewers in national politics.
The Wesleyan Conference recently declared for war-time pro-
hibition, but the powerful Church of England voted against
it; with 1,200 clergymen and many of the bishops owning
brewery stock and with great brewers in full standing in
its membership, the state church is inocuous.
General Pershing an Advocate
of Prohibition
Here is General Pershing's word to America: "Banish
the entire liquor industry from the United States; close every
saloon, every brewery; suppress drinking by severe punish-
ment to the drinker, and if necessary by death to the seller,
or the maker, or both as traitors, and the nation will suddenly
find itself amazed at its efficiency and startled at the increase
of its labor supply. I shall not go slow on prohibition, for
I know what is the greatest foe to my men, greater even
than the bullets of the enemy."
If America breaks the isolation of her water-barricaded
shores to help make the world safe for democracy, she must
also cross them to help make it possible for that democracy
to be sober and efficient. If we could not keep our own
democracy with an autocrat-ridden Europe before us, neither
can we keep our nation sober with a booze-ridden Europe
before us. There are vast forces for temperance and sobriety
gathering in Europe, and our next move should be to organize
the world for the final battle on Kaiser Alcohol; let us bury
the two Kaisers in the same grave.
Alva W. Taylor.
John R. Ewers as
an Interpreter
of the Bible
'N a letter written to the editor of the
"20th Century Quarterly" — which is
n now first published for the autumn quar ■
ter— one of the most prominent Disciple
leaders, the pastor of a great church of
2500 members, said: "Turn John R.
Ewers loose on the lessons. He's the big-
gest man among us in the field of Scripture
interpretation for Bible classes."
But — Mr. Ewers' lesson talks form but one
feature of the new Quarterly. Herbert
L. Willett, Jr., Prof. W. C. Morro and
W. D. Ryan are fully as good in their
respective fields as Mr. Ewers is in his.
See the ad on page 24 of this issue for
a statement of their part in the making
of the "20th Century Quarterly."
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700 E. 40th Street,
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16
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 12, 1918
The Sunday School
"Fruit
it *
IN Galatians 5 :22 we are told what the fruit of the Spirit is.
Notice it does not say "Fruits" but "fruit." All the fruit of
the Christian life must have certain qualities. I say of an
apple, it is red, round, mellow, fragrant, spicy, smooth and crisp.
I say of the fruit of Christ's Spirit in your life that it is loving,
joyful, peaceful, longsuffering, kindly, good, faithful, meek, con-
trolled. Nine qualities. Each virtue po-
sesses all of those qualities and finally
all of life takes on that coloring.
It does not matter about the num-
ber of talents, whether there be one or
ten, we may be sure that the same qual-
ities will be present and the presence of
these qualities is the thing that the
searcher of hearts will look for. At the
great examination we shall be tested
upon whether we are loving, happy,
peaceful, enduring, gracious, solidly
good, loyal, humble, controlled.
Every quality is the result of culture,
of discipline. None of these good things comes easily. It is
easy to hate, to be sour, to fight, to give up without an effort, to
be cruel, to be bad, to be unfaithful, to be haughty, and to lack
utterly wise control over passion and lust. Long must we strug-
gle, frequently must we be defeated, high must be our courage,
if after the years we come to possess a portion of the fruit of the
Spirit.
Rev. John E. Eivers
*This article is based on the International Uniform lesson for Sept. 22,
"Fruits of the Christian Life." Scripture, Matt. 25:14-30; 5:1-12.
You Can Help
T
HE Christian Century Press will be
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pains to call the attention of his
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other persons of influence in the school)
to the Bethany System of Sunday School
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only the Graded Lessons, but also the
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thing else needed in up-to-date schools.
A slight effort by our friends will prove
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be sincerely appreciated by us. See that
returnable samples are ordered at once,
for examination by your leaders. Ask
especially for a free copy of the new
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And therein lies the gospel that the Spirit of Jesus will give
to us the victory. Paul, not the least of the saints, graphically
narrates his struggle, always doing what he wanted not to do,
always failing to do what he knew was right. From whence the
victory? "I thank God, through Jesus Christ my Lord." The
Spirit of Jesus dwelling always in our hearts helps us to gain
the victory.
How may we possess this Spirit of Life? It is no mechanical
thing. How do you come to possess the spirit of music, of art,
of war, of business? Is it not by loving, brooding, coming into
constant contact with music, art or war? Is it not by association
with those of kindred taste and thought? That is the value of
the Sunday school, of Christian fellowship. One could not as-
sociate long with Angelo and not come to love art. One could
not walk in the company of MacDowell and not love the song
of the "Wild Rose," nor could one dwell in the same house with
the Kaiser and not come to admire vast companies of well-drilled
soldiers. Can one spend years in the Christian church and net
come to love the things which Jesus loved and share his Spirit?
If that ever be possible it must be because in some churches the
Living Spirit is gone and only the shell and form remain.
It only remains to face the actual fact — Do I love the things
that Jesus loved? Have I similar tastes? A man who truly
loved his wife wrote back from Europe : "I seem always to be
seeing things with your eyes, to be asking what you would say
and think." Do we see things with the eyes of Jesus ? Do we
ask what he would say and think? In such a mood his Spirit
acts with power. Through the years comes the discipline of his
Holy Spirit, until we know that deep in our very souls, fashion-
ing our minds, motiving our bodies is the fruit of His Spirit,
which is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faith-
fulness, meekness and self-control.
When one begins to live in such an atmosphere he is con-
scious of the superiority of that type of life over the mere bestial
existence. As the mountains are better than miasmic swamps, so
is the Spirity of Christ better than the spirit of the earth.
John R. Ewers.
THAT was the remark made
by one of our readers as he
looked over the first issue of our
new 20th Century Quarterly, for
adult and young people's classes,
and read a few lessons from its
pages. And you will agree with
him when you examine a copy.
We are safe in saying that there
has never before been published a
lesson quarterly so interesting — as
well as thoroughly informative.
The autumn issue is now out. Send
for your free copy today. Then send
in your autumn order at once.
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Centennial of Methodist Mission Work
Planned for Next Year
Next year the Methodist Episcopal church will celebrate
the one hundredth anniversary of the inauguration of mission
work by the denomination. All the Methodist mission boards
will join in the celebration of this centennial. The northern
Methodists are now out on a campaign to raise eighty millions
of dollars to celebrate the event and the southern Methodists
have a budget that calls for thirty-five millions. Already
meetings are being held in various sections of America to
arouse interest in this, the biggest single enterprise ever un-
dertaken by a protestant denomination in the history of the
country.
Federal Council Secretary Will Interview
Candidates for Chaplaincy
General Pershing has called for the appointment of some
of the strongest ministers of the church to the office of chap-
lain. There has been considerable progress made this summer
in the recruiting of these men. The Federal Council of the
Churches of Christ is helping to secure men of high standing
and Rev. Clyde F. Armitage of that organization is making a
trip through the middle west to meet men who are interested
in the work. His dates are as follows: Youngstown, Septem-
ber 19; Battle Creek, September 20; Chicago, September 23;
Rockford, October 2; Indianapolis, October 3; Louisville,
October 5.
Special Prayer for Christian
Union Planned
The Commission of the American Episcopal church on
the World Conference on Faith and Order requested the
whole Christian world to observe January 18-25, 1918, as a
season of special prayer for the reunion of Christendom and
for the guidance of the preparations for the World's Confer-
ence. The same days of January will be observed again this
coming year. Reports from various parts of the world indi-
cate that the observance of the octave last year was very
widespread indeed. Some very interesting meetings were held
in India.
Episcopalians Promote Home Study of
Scriptures and Church History
The late Miss Sarah Frances Smiley is remembered in
the Protestant Episcopal denomination for her service in
establishing the Society for the Home Study of Holy Scrip-
ture and Church History, and since her death it is planned to
greatly enlarge the library of the society. A revision of the
library is going on under the charge of Bishop Matthews of
New Jersey.
War Brings Distinguished
Visitors in Chicago
The war is bringing a wide interchange of religious fel-
lowship between the nations. A number of men from Great
Britain and France are now in this country, and recently Rev.
Reuben Saillens of Paris, and Rev. J. Stuart Holden, vicar of
St. Paul's, London, made a visit to Chicago. The Rev. Mr.
Saillens has an interesting story to tell of the sacrifices of
his country during the war.
The Bible Being Circulated
by Millions
The war has brought such a demand for Bibles and testa-
ments that the printing houses are working the presses night
and day, and all the plates from which Bibles are printed
are in constant use. A year ago the American Bible society
granted the Y. M. C. A. a million testaments. After experi-
encing great difficulty in getting paper for these testaments, a
New York printery was able to finish the job last May. The
British Bible society distributed 10,000,000 Bibles in 1917-18,
sending 3,000,000 of them to China.
War Makes Church Mergers
Common
The war has brought about such a lack of competent
ministers and has resulted in such economies in the budgets
of the churches that the merger of churches of different de-
nominations is now common. One of the most recent is the
federation of the Congregational and Presbyterian churches
at Hinsdale, 111., a suburb of Chicago. Rev. W. H. Spence
was pastor of the Congregational church and during his two-
year ministry has led in the building of a hundred thousand
dollar building. He has resigned, insisting that the merger
has better chances under the leadership of a new minister.
Bishop Perry Goes to France
Bishop Perry of the Protestant Episcopal church has gone
to France to relieve Bishop McCormick for six months. The
latter has been in charge of all of the Red Cross chaplains
in France. Bishop Perry will also have complete charge of
the work of the War Commission of the Episcopal church in
France. It is not stated just how Bishop McCormick will be
engaged during his furlough.
Quakers May Be Reunited
as War Result
Many years ago the Quakers of America divided over
matters of doctrine and the Hicksite branch of the denomina-
tion came into being. This branch was accused of holding
views that were not evangelical and of having in the member-
ship men with a unitarian attitude toward Christ. The Ortho-
dox Quakers have a hundred thousand members in America,
while the Hicksite branch has twenty thousand. The spirit
of unity resulting from war conditions has borne fruit in the
inauguration of parleys between the two main branches of
Quakerism over the question of reunion.
Lutherans and the War
The Lutherans in this country have been the subject of
some adverse comments by secular newspapers on account of
the unfortunate attitude of a few German Lutheran pastors.
The record of the denomination in America is good, however.
There are fifty-three Lutheran chaplains in army and navy;
ninety-one camp pastors are giving full-time service and there
are seven soldier centers which are conducted near the camps.
There are 195,000 Lutherans in the army which is about eight per
cent of the total membership of the denomination.
Advertising Club Will Offer Publicity
Lectures to Seminaries
The Chicago Advertising Club is hardly to be matched
by any organization in the energy with which it carries on its
work. A few years ago it began gathering preachers together
for lectures on church publicity. The dominies were at first
shy and a bit skeptical, but soon found a great deal of help
from the club, which they are now able to join at a nominal
fee. The Chicago Club is now arranging to offer to theolog-
ical seminaries a course of lectures on publicity and there is
a committee at work now on a program of publicity for rural
churches. qrvis p. Jordan
18
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 12, 1918
Books
illlllil!llllllilll!ll!li;illllllllllli!lllllllllilllM
Fighting France. By Stephane Lauzanne. M. Lauzanne is
the editor of "Le Matin," of Paris, and is a member of the French
Commission. He shows authoritatively that France is in the war
for a great ideal, that she is in to fight to the end, and that she
is not "bled white." Vivid descriptions are given of the fight-
ing of the French soldiers. The volume has additional value be-
cause of the introductory note by James M. Beck, lawyer and
author, and expert on war facts. (Appleton. $1.50.)
Above the Battle. By Captain Vivian Drake. Another
thrilling account of the life of the fighting airman of the present
war. Being a member of the British Flying Force, and having
served in this phase of the conflict for many months, the author
has at hand many unusual stories of exciting incidents and hair-
breadth escapes of airmen while battling the modern Huns. The
feeling that an airman has when he is permitted first to under-
take "solo flying," the sensations that come when making a raid
over the enemy's lines, the emotions that nearly overwhelm when
one is compelled to serve as target for the enemy aces — these are
well described in the book. (Appleton. $1.50.)
Free and Other Stories. By Theodore Dreiser. Mr. Dreiser
is praised and condemned as a realist of the "realest" type. If
these stories are typical of his writings, with their cynical de-
scription of the woman who marries for money and social position,
it is to be hoped he will keep his good work going. "Free" tells
of a man of talent who married a woman with a passion to have
her family well thought of by the high muck-a-mucks — and with
a paucity of ideas of any other sort; of course the husband lived
a bored life. Other good stories are "Married" and "Will You
Walk Into My Parlor?" (Boni & Liver ight. $1.50.)
The End of the War. By Walter E. Weyl. A book "based
on the assumption that the Allies can hold their own and can
thus exert a decisive influence upon peace and upon the diplo-
macy that leads to peace." An appeal to America to assume leader-
ship in that diplomacy. Among the chapter titles are "Pacifists
and Patriots," "Sacred Egoism," "America as Arbiter," "The War
Beneath the War," "Obstacles to Internationalism" and "After
the Peace Conference." Mr. Weyl is also the author of "The New
Diplomacy" and "American World Policies." (Macmillan. $2.)
War Verse. Edited by Frank Foxcroft. Not the only book
of war verse, but the latest and one of the best, including per-
haps more of the work of British authors and soldier poets than
other collections. There is a great deal of new material, and
all of it is good. Only in slight degree are the poems included
those of "recognized poets." Of course, Seeger's "Rendezvous"
and Letts' "Spires of Oxford" and Rupert Brooke's "The Soldier"
are here, with many another favorite. It is an attractive volume,
and really adds to our wealth of war poetry. (Crowell. $1.25.)
The Beloved Captain. By Donald Hankey. This booklet
contains not only the beautiful essay on "The Beloved Cap-
tain," but also "The Honor of the Brigade" and "An English-
man Prays." The writings of this refined soldier-author are
entirely apart from such crudely written books as "Over the
Top" and its numerous successors in the field of war litera-
ture. Every minister and worker with men should have a
number of copies of this book to distribute to friends who
need its wholesome spiritual food. (Dutton. 50 cts.)
My Four Weeks in France. By Ring W. Lardner. Mr.
Lardner is the "funny man" of the Chicago Tribune, author of
"Gullible's Travels," etc., and can evoke many a laugh from his
experiences at the battle front, which is not a bad thing to do in
these stern war times. The book is a good remedy for the blues,
which disease has become much more prevalent since August,
1914. (Bobbs Merrill. $1.25.)
Any of the books reviewed in this department, or any other
books now in print, may be secured front
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS,
700 East 40th St., Chicago
* * •
. Liberty Loans, War Savings Stamps
and Excess Profits Taxes, all have to do
with the extra outlay due to the War, but
not for a moment is Uncle Sam failing to
pay his other bills, nor is any one of us
failing to turn in his part of the necessary
funds.
* * *
It must be so with the Church. The Emer-
gency Drive of the Men and Millions Movement
was meant to provide for the extraordinary-
outlay due to war-time conditions in every de-
partment of missions, benevolence and education.
The magnificent success of the Drive will be
turned into partial or complete failure if those
who gave forget the statement which they signed
on every pledge card, "This is ad-
ditional to my regular contributions."
* * •
The fiscal year of all the national boards and
many of the state societies ends September 30th.
The officers of every church should give earnest
attention to the collection and remittance of all
regular offerings, as well as all unpaid balances
on Emergency Drive pledges.
* * *
Regular contributions should be sent to the
Boards for which they are intended. Emergency
Drive funds, even if designated for some par-
ticular organisation, should be sent to
MEN and MILLIONS
MOVEMENT
222 West Fourth Street
Cincinnati, O.
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii:iiiiiiiiiiiii;iiiiiii[iiiiiiii;iiM
September 12, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
19
News of the Churches
Secretary Abe E. Cory
Arrives in France
R. H. Miller, of the Men and Millions
Movement, reports that a cablegram
has been received stating that A. E.
Cory, Secretary of the Movement, had
arrived safely overseas. Mr. Cory went
on a special mission under the Y. M. C.
A. and with the backing of the execu-
tive committee of the Men and Millions
organization. His purpose is to study
conditions among American troops and
investigate the need for workers, both
preachers and laymen, for Y. M. C. A.
service abroad. Secretary Cory expects
to return about October 1.
Keokuk, la., Pastor to
Become Missionary
Wallace R. Bacon, who has been min-
istering to First church, Keokuk, la.,
for three years, has announced his resig-
nation from that pastorate and his pur-
pose to undertake missionary service in
China. He hopes to leave Keokuk Sep-
tember 23 for Indianapolis, where he
will spend a year at the College of Mis-
sions, and then will take special work
in the University of Chicago and Colum-
bia University during the summer. Mr.
Bacon has planned to go first to Nank-
ing University, where he will perfect
himself in the Chinese language, but will
begin his actual missionary labors at
Nantung Chow, where he will be placed
in charge of the evangelistic work of
that district, with a population of more
than five millions. Mr. Bacon is a Drake
man. His wife is a daughter of Charles
Blanchard, editor of the Christian News
of Des Moines. One of the Keokuk
newspapers speaks in high terms of the
departing leader, and praises especially
his service in unifying the church and
putting the congregation to work on a
progressive program.
New England Christian Missionary
Society Holds Convention
_ Beginning September 12th and closing
tne 15th, the annual convention of the
Disciples of New England will be held
at Everett, Mass., where Loran F. San-
ford ministers. Among the features are
addresses by E. M. Bowman, of New
York; F. A. Higgins, of Danbury, Conn.;
Mrs. Elizabeth Ross, mother of Emory
Ross; Prof. W. S. Athearn, of Boston;
Harry Minnick, of Worcester, Mass.;
Mrs. Laura Garst, of Indianapolis; John
P. Sala, of Buffalo; Marion Lawrance,
of Chicago; and messages from a num-
ber of the secretaries, including Grant K
Lewis, F. M. Rains and others. Special
features will be a men's banquet, with
addresses by Professor Athearn, Mr
Minnick and John P. Sala; and a series
of talks on church music by Prof. H.
Augustine Smith, of Boston University.
Chicago Pastors Discuss
Problems of Labor
Labor Day Sunday was duly cele-
brated in many of the churches of Chi-
cago Among the Disciple ministers
preaching special sermons on labor
topics were Austin Hunter, of Jackson
Boulevard church and Orvis F. Jordan,
of Evanston. Mr. Hunter chose as his
theme ^"Making Democracy Safe for
Labor," and said among other things:
As we are fighting to make the world
sate for democracy, so must we seek to
make democracy safe for the world. The
nghts of organized labor must be recog-
nized by all. It is not square that cap-
italists should unite to conserve their
interests and deny the same privilege
to their workingmen." Mr. Jordan,
speaking on "Religion and the New
Problems of Labor," said: "The war
has wrought mighty changes in the labor
situation. There has come a new recog-
nition of the importance of labor in the
world. If here or there some labor
group has undertaken to deal unfairly
with the country by making extortion-
ate demands, the more general effect is
an increase of self-respect among toilers
and the democratization of labor for
all. A most significant feature of the
labor situation is the advent of' women
into almost every trade. In the United
States more than a million women have
been added to the ranks of labor. The
church cannot too early formulate a
demand for right working conditions for
these women."
Approval for Drake's
New Leader
The Christian News, of Des Moines,
printes a letter from Dean J. C. Cald-
well, of the Bible College, expressing
approval of Dr. Arthur Holmes, new
president at Drake. Dean Caldwell
says: "Personally, I am delighted at
the choice, for since President Holmes
is one of our own preachers, we may
be sure of his interest in the church. He
is an educator, speaker, and writer of
whom we may be justly proud. Even in
a state institution his interest in religion
was manifest by the fact that he was
professor of Character Building. I covet
from every one of our ministers a cordial
reception for President Holmes. If we
are as sympathetic in receiving him as
his reputation deserves and will con-
vince him that the church is back of
him in this great enterprise, I am con-
fident the sense of dependence on the
loyalty of the church will not only ma-
terially lighten his burdens, while he is
becoming established in the new envir-
onment, but will strengthen a corres-
ponding loyalty in him. Under the
leadership of President Holmes, we may
reasonably expect Drake to have a large
part in reconstructing the thought of
\he world along Christian lines."
Hiram College to Be
a Military Camp
The establishment of a camp of the
Students' Army Training Corps at Hiram
has brought about many changes, reports
Prof. Lee E. Cannon. In compliance with
the desire of the government the school
will open October 1. The school year will
be divided into quarters and will continue
throughout the calendar year. Extensive
changes in curriculum will be made in or-
der to provide for the courses desired by
the government, but this will not interfere
with the regular curriculum of the col-
lege, which will be continued as usual. Ar-
rangement is being made to provide bar-
racks so that the men may be quartered
in large groups; the corps will be under
the direction and immediate supervision
of a commissioned officer of the U. S.
Army. Professor Cannon writes further:
"The generous and wise policy of the gov-
ernment offers unusual advantages to the
young men over eighteen years of age who
are planning to attend college. When,
about October 1, the student, by voluntary
induction, becomes a soldier in the U. S.
Army, he will receive at government ex-
pense, tuition, board and room, equipment,
and a soldier's pay of $30 a month. He
will be called to service according to num-
ber, no sooner and no later than men out
of college. This plan affords exceptional
opportunity to individuals to prepare them-
selves for greater service to the govern-
ment and opens a way to advancement for
men who have the proper ability and char-
acter." It is reported that of the twenty-
two Hiram men enlisted in one military
unit at the beginning of the war, all have
won officers' ranks.
* * *
— Graham Frank, of Central church,
Dallas, Tex., recently visited with his
former congregation at Liberty, Mo. Mr.
Frank came north on a mission connec-
ted with the coming convention.
— C. L. Doty, of Oakwood, 111. church,
has accepted the work at Bridgeport,
and E. W. Akeman, of Monticello, 111.,
is now leading at Blue Mound.
■ — F. D. Ferrall, of Burlington, la., and
W. R. Bacon, of Keokuk, la., are plan-
ning exchange meetings for the autumn.
The church at Oelwein, la., is arrang-
ing a tabernacle meeting.
—The Y. M. C. A. of Eureka College
has planned to send out to weak
churches and to communities with no
churches a number of Gospel teams.
President Pritchard has approved the
plan. The workers can leave school
only for Saturday and Sunday meetings
during the school year. Any churches
or leaders in churchless communities
who are interested in having a team
visit them should write M. A. Robeson,
president Y. M. C. A., Eureka, 111.
— E. B. Barnes, of Paducah, Ky.,
writes that President R. H. Crossfield,
of Transylvania College, recently de-
livered one of his addresses on the war
at Paducah. It was pronounced "the
greatest of the many war addresses
which have been delivered in the city
since the beginning of the war."
— Lieut Roy Rutherford, of Camp
Taylor, Louisville, dedicated the service
flag at the Cropper, Ky., church the first
Sunday of the month. There are fifteen
stars on the flag. The school led the
state in point of attendance on the day
of dedication, there being 306 persons
present at the service. R. L. Riddell
leads at Cropper.
— Paul Rains, secretary of the North-
west Bible school district, with head-
quarters at Omaha, has recently closed
a two weeks meeting at the Miller Park
church of that city. During this season
the attendance at Sunday school broke
all records.
— Otho C. Moomaw, minister at First
church, Manhattan, Kan., writes that
fathers and mothers of students in attend-
ance at the Kansas State Agricultural
College at Manhattan, may perhaps have
serious apprehensions as to their wel-
fare, because of the fact that Camp
Funston is adjacent to the city. But
Mr. Moomaw reports that "Camp Funs-
ton is one of the best ordered camps
possible and the moral and religious
tone of the place is wholesome. The
college discipline and regulations, along
with the activities of the churches of
the city, the Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C.
A. organizations afford every safeguard
possible for the social welfare of the
students while in college, so let there
be no alarm."
— The Foreign Society has been fortu-
nate in securing Mr. and Mrs. M. C.
Vanneter to superintend the Wharton
Memorial Home at Hiram. Both are
20
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 12, 1918
former Hiram students of fine standing
and are well qualified for the position
to which they are called. They have
been for several years in missionary
educational work in Porto Rico. The
Home is open to the children of mis-
sionaries at the low cost of $3 per week
for room and board. Those old enough
for college have free tuition.
— Lee Tinsley, of North Salem, Ind.,
church, writes that he has closed a two
weeks' meeting for the church at Mont-
clair, Ind., there being eight confessions
of faith during the meetings, and a fine
spirit prevailing throughout. A C. W.
B. M. auxiliary was organized during
the weeks of evangelistic effort.
CENTRAL CHURCH
142 West 81st Street
Finis S. Idlemaa, Minister
— At the Winder, Ga., church there was
recently held a very impressive service in
connection with the dedication of an elec-
tric service flag, which the Loyal Guards
class of the Sunday school had made. The
flag contains twenty-six stars. The ad-
dress of the evening was delivered by
pastor Richard W. Wallace, who spoke on
"The Message of the Service Flag." As
the roll of the enlisted men was called, a
light was turned on for each man. The
flag is attached to the front wall of the
church.
— The church at Salina, Kan., minis-
tered to by Arthur Dillinger, has what
is known as a "Christian Church Bible
Seminary." The autumn term opens
next Wednesday evening. A combined
course will be offered, as follows: Ten
minutes for devotional study; fifteen
minutes for the study of the regular
teacher training course; forty-five min-
utes for the study of the life of Christ
and the history of the New Testament
church. Mr. Dillinger is the director of
the school. Last year there were sev-
enty persons enrolled. Several high
school pupils take the work and receive
credit in the high school for courses
completed. The attendance at the Sa-
lina Disciples' Church is reported the
best in the city. One Sunday evening
during last month, when the temperature
reached 116 degrees, there was a good
attendance at the church service.
— Here is the schedule of pastoral
activities and results at the Manhattan,
Kan., church during the three months
just closed: Letters written, 223; trips
to Camp Funston, 14; conferences with
men, 311; trips to auxiliary corps de-
tachments, 5; speeches at Y's, 4; enter-
tained at meals, 1,001; total expense,
$489.82: In co-operation with Y. M. C.
A., scores of decision cards were signed.
The A. C. M. S. and K. C. M. S. are
assisting the Manhattan church in camp
activities at Funston. O. C. Moornaw
is the Manhattan leader.
dresses by Miss Annette Newcomer, Mrs.
C. S. Williard, John D. Zimmerman, John
G. Alber, A. D. Harmon, R. C. Harding,
W. R. Warren, J. J. Langston, C. M.
Yocum, W. A. Baldwin, S. J. Epler,
W. C. Lessley, P. B. Cope, Ford A. Ellis,
J. S. Beem, Elizabeth Ware, B. A. Ab-
bott, Charles F. Stevens and J. K. Shell-
enberger. H. H. Harmon of First
church, Lincoln, may possibly have re-
turned from service in France by that
time, and if so will make one of the
leading addresses of the convention.
Paul B. Rains will have charge of Sun-
day school matters.
— South Side church, Kokomo, Ind.,
has called to its service J. H. Mavity,
of Hamilton county, Indiana.
— C. M. Chilton, of First church, St.
Joseph, Mo., led in the dedication of
the new First church building at Here-
ford, Tex., last month. John M. Asbell,
who was formerly pastor of one of the
St. Joseph churches, now leads at Here-
ford.
—The wife of E. F. Daugherty, new
minister at First church, Los Angeles,
Cal recently underwent a severe opera-
tion, and is reported rapidly recovering
her strength. The weekly sheet of hirst
church reports that the family of Presi-
MFMHRIAI CHURCH OF CHRIST
mClVI<L/I\mLi (Disciples and Baptists)
C 14 I C A C (\ Oahwood Blvd. West ef Callage Crore
V/nil/AUU Herbert L Witlelt, Minister
— A. W. Higby, formerly an Episco-
palian rector, but for some time pastor
of the Disciples church of Grand Rap-
ids, Mich., has accepted the leadership
of Broadway church, Los Angeles, Cal.
He succeeds Charles F. Hutslar.
— W. G. Conley, who - until recently
ministered at El Centro, Cal., is now
leading at Ontario, Cal.
— Some features of the Nebraska con-
vention, which will be held next week
at First church, Omaha, will be ad-
dent Emeritus Hill M. Bell has recently
taken membership with this congrega-
tion.
— C. E. Elmore is the new pastor at
Fairmount Avenue, Richmond, Va.
—Howard McConnell recently re-
signed the work at Dallas, Ore., to ac-
cept the pastorate at Selma, Cal.
—Union Avenue church, St. Louis, ob-
serves Disciple day in the autumn of
each year. This year, October 6, the
Sunday before the convention, has been
set as the date for the special service.
All the city's churches will have part
in the celebration.
The new leader at the Urbandale
Federated church, Des Moines, la., is
F. E. Hughes. William J. Lockhart led
this church for a long period.
_J. H. Rosecrans, beloved hymn writer
of the Disciples, is reported quite feeble.
Mr Rosecrans now lives at Breakabeen,
N. Y.
—Unusually successful evangelistic
meetings are reported in Texas, led by
W P. Jennings, at Hutchins; Ben M.
Edwards, at Ambia; J. T. McKissick, at
Melissa; F. W. Strong, at Dorchester,
and the Kellems brothers, at Dennison.
The Illinois Convention
The Illinois Disciples of Christ met in
convention this year in Eureka, September
2-5 inclusive. The sessions were held in
the new Pritchard Gymnasium and the
five hundred registered delegates in attend-
ance were glad of the opportunity to visit
our college. .
Eureka has had a rather phenomenal
development in the past five years. Two
splendid buildings have been erected on
her campus, the Pritchard Gymnasium and
the Vennum Science Hall ; the student body
has increased from one hundred to al-
most three hundred ; she shares with five
other small colleges the honor of belonging
to Class A as rated by the University of
Illinois and is one of the colleges in the
state to be ranked a S. A. T. C. (Student
Army Training Camp) the coming year.
One outstanding feature of the conven-
tion program was the celebration of the
Seventieth Anniversary of this Institution.
Prof B. J. Radford delivered a strong
address in honor of the occasion. His
remarkably clear characterization made us
see, as though they were in our very midst,
the founders and first teachers of the col-
lege We of this generation felt the in-
spiration of these strong pioneers in the
work of higher education among us.
Another significant thing in the conven-
tion was the reports of the District Evan-
gelists. The evidence that this redisricting
plan has so centralized the work of the
State Missionary Society as to make it
of neater value to the churches is indeed
satisfactory. This organization is going to
facilitate cooperative efforts among us and
the office of the district evangelist is not
only to add members to the churches, to
revive stricken congregations and to start
new ones, but in the words of Secretary
Peters, "to consider New Testament^evan-
gelism as setting the church in order. This
is an organization which makes it possi-
ble to quickly and effectively carry to the
churches any plan of action that is neces-
sary. A church organization that does not
head up anywhere is, to say the least,
ineffective when it comes to corporate
action. . .
Not only did our convention reveal
the fact that we have a much more
effective organization than formerly
but a much broader program. The State
Society aims to make this slogan a
unanimous one among our Illinois churches
"the whole task for the whole Church.
This means, in a word, that Mr. Peters
and his district evangelists consider it their
task to help every church to do its share
in our educational, benevolent and mis-
sionary enterprises. Nine ministers made
four minute speeches, each representing one
of our church agencies.
This was a war convention. Ten thou-
sand Disciple boys from Illinois are with
the colors. Their blood shed for others is
teaching us the real meaning of the word
brotherhood. And the united effort wf
three-fourths of the world to save our
highest treasures, human freedom and
democracy, has given us more than a plan
for the unity of christian people, it has
filled us with a passion for unity, which
will break down the walls of prejudice and
suspicion between us. The war has forced
upon us the problem of a trained leader-
ship to take the place of those who have
gone, and there is a vague groping after
some definite plan by which we may the
better prepare our churches for the return
of the boys and the reconstruction days
ahead. There is a feeling among us that
something must be done, but as yet nothing
definite has been suggested.
Perhaps the most pleasant feature of
the convention was the visit of our be-
loved brother, J. Fred Jones. He came
as an invited guest, giving in return, one
of his quiet, helpful messages. The Dis-
ciples of Illinois presented him with a love
purse" as a token of their appreciation for
the splendid service he rendered in this
state as its secretary and as an expres-
sion of their genuine love for him.
As the first Disciple congregation was
organized in Illinois in 1819, next year will
be our centennial. A committee of nine,
consisting of three laymen, three women
and three ministers was appointed to shape
plans for this gathering. It will be held in
Charleston and an effort will be made to
have at least five hundred laymen in at-
tendance at that convention.
E. E. Higdon,
September 12, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
21
— E. W. Sears now leads the church
at Athens, Tex.
ST. LOUIS
UWIOB AVENUE
CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Union and Von Versen Aves.
George A. Campbell, Minister
—Miss Gretchen Garst, who is in
America on furlough, recently under-
went a serious operation in New York
'City. She is improving rapidly and ex-
pects to return to Japan in December
jor January. Miss Garst was born in
Japan and has dedicated her life to mis-
sionary work.
A. W. Kokendoffer and wife, of Se-
Idalia, Mo., First church, report that they
have had "a truly great vacation in the
Angel city." Mr. Kokendoffer has been
[supplying the pulpit at Wilshire Boule-
vard, Los Angeles, during July and
August. Mr. Kokendoffer speaks in high
terms of the leadership of such men as
S. J. Chapman, Holt and Crabtree. The
Sedalia church has been under the lead-
ership of laymen during Mr. Kokendof-
fer's absence.
— The church at Lawrenceburg, Ky.,
:is in a meeting led by its pastor, Carl
Agee. Miss Fred Fillmore, of Cincin-
nati, has charge of the singing. Miss
jFrcd will also conduct the musical fea-
tures in the coming meeting at Madison,
jlnd., where John W. Moody ministers.
— LeRoy M. Anderson, now serving
is Texas state pastor-evangelist, is lo-
cated at Sweetwater, Tex., for a while.
The drouth there has put the work there
iin condition such that it had to be given
[help from the outside, although there
}is a good plant there and an excellent
igroup of people leading the work of the
phurch.
i — A. F. Hensey of the mission station
at Bolenge, Africa, reports that there
was a large gathering at Bolenge re-
cently. Many Christians came in from
the outstations for fellowship and in-
jstruction. Nearly 150 persons were
baptized. About one hundred evan-
gelists have been sent out to eighty-five
points.
— H. E. Stafford, of Parkersburg, Va.,
pccupied the pulpit at Warren, O., re-
cently, speaking on "Mobilizing the
[World's Resources for the World's
Conquest."
| —Allen T. Gordon, of Paris, 111.,
purch, is spending a vacation of sev-
eral weeks in Canada, where he is study-
ing war conditions, and will visit several
iraining camps in this country before re-
luming home. He also plans a visit at
l-hautauqua, N. Y.
I — The Foreign Society reports that
he gain in the contributions from the
>unday schools is already more than
>20,000, and it is believed that there will
e a very considerable gain during the
lonth of September. It will be remem-
ered that the books close September
0.
:amp CUSTER
Minister T. S. Cleaver,
55 Kingman Ave.,
Battle Creek, Mich.
VRITE US ABOUT THAT BOY
—Miss Lavinia Oldham has com-
peted a term of service in Tokyo, Japan,
I tv;enty-nve years. The church which
tie has helped to build up presented
er with tokens of affection and confid-
ence. Her life in Japan, both in the
>reign and in the Japanese community
as made her name a synonym for big-
eartedness and hospitality, reports one
of the Foreign Society secretaries. She
has done a marvelous work among the
young men of Japan.
— Frank Garrett, missionary to China,
reports some strong evangelistic work
led by Sherwood Eddy in that country.
There were large crowds and a number
of conversions. At one service a num-
ber of the members of the Parliament
decided to become Christians. In Foo-
chow six of the teachers of the Chinese
classics became Christians.
— The Vigan Bible College (Philip-
pine Islands) is now under the direc-
tion of E. K. Higdon. The Nurses*
Training School has been carried on
throughout the year. Mrs. Higdon has
assisted in the teaching. Five of the
eight nurses who were not members
of the church when they entered school
are now Christians.
— The California Bible College is now
located in its own beautiful home at
Geary and Gough streets, in the heart
of San Francisco. Courses have been
outlined in religious education, of which
the First church pastor, W. P. Bentley,
is director. Three of these courses,
eight in number, will be given this year.
— For the fourth consecutive year C.
H. Hood, minister at Coshocton, Ohio,
has been elected president of the Cosh-
octon County Sunday School Associa-
tion.
A LETTER FROM SECRETARY
HOPKINS
Two things are essential to secure an
adequate supply of trained teachers — a
proper training course and people will-
ing to take that course. This is com-
mon to all churches.
The general dissatisfaction with
former training courses has led to the
construction of the new Standard Teach-
er-Training Course. It is interdenomi-
national in its writing and use, and I
am confident is the best training course
ever offered to our Bible-schools.
The leaders of all communions are
uniting in a simultaneous Teacher-Train-
THE LIFE OF PAUL
By Benjamin W. Robinson
Professor of New Testament Inter-
pretation and Theology, Chicago
Theological Seminary
A popular biography of Paul in
close relation with the life of his
time. In Paul is seen the same spirit
which today impels men to start out
for other lands to give their all that
the nations may have liberty and
light.
$1.25, postage extra (weight 1 lb. 1 02.)
ing drive during September-October of
this year to secure the formation of
training classes in every church and
Bible-school in North America.
We are sending at great expense a
personal letter to every preacher in our
brotherhood. May we ask four things
of you?
1. Read the leaflets enclosed and en-
Education
Contributions
Should reach the office of
the Board of Education on
or before
September 30, 1918
in order that churches
may receive
Credit in the Year Book
BOARD OF EDUCATION
OF THE
DICIPLES OF CHRIST
CARL VAN WINKLE, Treasurer
Irvington Station
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
M CHURCH SCHOOL
OF CITIZENSHIP
By Allan Hoben
Associate Professor of Homiletics
and Pastoral Duties, The Uni-
versity of Chicago
Furnishes valuable suggestions to
parents and all others interested in
developing good citizens. May be
used as a text in teacher-training
classes, Sunday schools and group
meetings.
$1.00, postage extra (weight 12 oz.)
OUTLINE BIBLE-STUDY COURSES
THE BOOK OF REVELATION
THE REALITIES
OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
By Gerald B. Smith and
Theodore G. Soares
50 cents {postpaid 52 cents)
By Shirley J. Case
50 cents (postpaid 53 cents)
Order from your denominational dealer or from
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
5808 Ellis Avenue
Chicago, Illinois
J
22
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 12, 1918
list your school in the Teacher-Train-
ing drive which all America is making
this fall.
2. Preach a Teacher-Training ser-
mon on the Drive Sunday in your church
and community, probably September 22
or 29.
3. See that your Bible school super-
intendent uses well the literature which
our office sent him about two weeks ago.
There were a poster and special leaflets
and instructions.
4. Fill out carefully and mail
promptly the self-addressed Enlistment
Card. It will enroll your school with
the proper office.
Rob't. M. Hopkins,
Bible School Secretary.
Carew Bldg., Cincinnati, O.
AN EXTRAORDINARY SITUATION
This year, for the Board of Ministerial
Relief, ends September 30th. September
is the last, the great month of the year.
There are four times more reasons for
making it so this year than there ever
were before. Most of those who gave
last year have recognized this fact and
increased their offerings this year. Many
that did not give in 1917 have fallen into
line this year. So the totals show a fine
increase, though still far short of the
necessities.
Strange to say, 430 churches that had
given last year before September 1st,
had not sent in an offering before that
date this year. We trust this is merely
a delay in the remittance. We hope it
will be much larger than ever before.
Here are the figures. Is your part
done-
Comparative Statement of Receipts,
11 Months to September 1st.
Source 1917 1918 Gain
Churches $16,382 $20,265 $ 3,883
Bible Schools . . 3,851 3,865 14
Individuals and
Men and
Millions Move-,
ment 3,658 20,120 15,462
Annuity 15,600 1,300 14,300*
Bequests 4,835 2,450 2,385*
Interest 3,391 4,476 1,085
Miscellaneous . 1,077 1,663 586
Total $48,794 $54,139 $ 5,345
*Loss
Board of Ministerial Relief,
W. R. Warren, President.
106 E. Market St.,
Indianapolis, Indiana.
CHURCH EXTENSION NOTES
At our monthly Board Meeting held
on September 3d, the following churches
were granted loans with which to com-
plete their buildings: Hickman, Ky.,
First church, $5,000; Buffalo, N. Y.,
Englewood church, $10,000 and Strat-
ford, Tex., $2,500.
During the month of August, the fol-
lowing loans were closed: Savannah,
Ga., Second church, $4,000 (Annuity
Fund); Deming, New Mex., $3,500, (An-
nuity Fund), Richland, Ore., $1,500,
(Geo. F. Rand Fund); Hoxie, Ark., $300
(Paul Austin Memorial Fund) and
Fountaintown, Ind., $2,500 (Annuity
Fund.)
The spirit of loyalty to the Board and
interest in the work of Church Exten-
sion is continually increasing among our
brethren, as shown by the" following
comparison of receipts, one year with
another: The individual receipts from
October 1, 1917 to August 1 of this year,
are $53,466.28, which, compared with
the amount of $34,573.10, received dur-
ing the same period of time last year,
shows a gain of $9,893.18. The receipts
from churches from October 1, 1917, to
August 1 of this year, are $17,240.21, as
against $12,763.18 for the same period of
time last year, showing a gain of $4,477.03.
However, we wish to put a large sum of
money into our work in New York, be-
ginning this year with the building of our
new Community House, and we earnestly
hope that our churches will give us an
offering of at least $50,000 during the
month of September.
Remit to G. W. Muckley, 603 New
England Bldg., Kansas City, Mo.
Ask for Catalogue tat Special Donation Man No. 27
(Established 185S)
THE C S. BELL CO- HIU.8BORO. OHIO
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exclusively of where you can secure new busi-
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Through
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 E. Fortieth Street t-i CHICAGO
"The Most Beautiful Hymnal Ever Produced in the American Church"
It Sings Patriotism !
"I have heard nothing but the
highest praise for the hymnal
and a number are asking for
them for use in their homes.
In these days of crisis and
challenge it is a joy to be able
to build the mood essential for
such hours of worship as we
must have. The new day calls
for a new mood and Hymns of
the United Church is wonder-
fully prophetic in its emphasis
upon the older individualism in
religion coupled with the newer
social consciousness. The call
of the higher patriotism and
community service becomes
deeply religious, and preaching
on such themes is empowered
through the use of this hymnal.
LIN D. CARTWRIGHT,
Pastor Christian Church,
Fort Collins, Colo.
Send Today for information as to prices, returnable copy, etc.
Published by
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 EAST 40TH STREET, CHICAGO
;eptember 12, 1918
1
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiihiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiii
23
Three Forthcoming
Books
The Daily Altar
By HERBERT L. WILLETTand CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON
A GUIDE and inspiration to private devotion and family worship. Presenting
for each day in the year a theme, a meditation, a Scripture verse, a poem and a
prayer. A remarkable and unique contribution to the life of the spirit. In these
hurried and high-tension days it makes possible the habit of daily devotion in every
home, at every bedside, and in every heart. The book is a work of art — printed on
exquisitely fine paper, bound in full leather, with gilt edges, round corners and silk
marker. It is a delight to the hand and eye, and will invite itself to a permanent
place on the library table or the book-shelf of one's bed-chamber. It will prove to
be the most popular Christmas gift of the season. Orders received now.
NOW IN PRESS. READY SEPTEMBER 25.
Price, $2.00. In Lots of Six, $10.00.
The Protestant
By BURRIS A. JENKINS
THE author calls this "a scrap book for
insurgents" and dedicates it "to the
bravest men I know, the heretics." He frankly
confesses himself a destructive critic. Look-
ing abroad over the Church today, Dr. Jen-
kins sees its follies, its waste, its ineptness, its
bondage to tradition, and he yearns for the
coming of a great Protestant, another Luther,
who will not only shatter the present order of
things but lead the Church into a new day.
While he disavows any constructive purpose
in the book, it is in reality a master-work of
constructive and helpful criticism. Without
apparently trying to do so the author marks
out positive paths along which progress must
be made. It is safe to predict that this book
will have a wide reading. It is bound to pro-
voke discussion. Dr. Jenkins writes with a
facile, even a racy, pen. Orders received now.
NOW IN PRESS. READY OCTOBER 1
Price, $1.35 net
Love Off to the War
By THOMAS CURTIS CLARK
READERS of religious and secular jour-
nals the country over have become famil-
iar with the verse of Mr. Clark. He has
grown steadily into favor with those minds
that still have taste for the normal and sound
simplicities of poetry. This exquisitely made
volume — a poem in itself — now gives the
cream of Mr. Clark's work to the book-read-
ing public. Poems of war and love and
"Friendly Town" and idyllic peace are here,
as well as poems of mystical Christian expe-
rience. Everywhere that Christian journalism
has carried Thomas Curtis Clark's verses there
will be a keen desire to possess this book. It
is a book to keep and to love, and a beautiful
book to give to a friend. Orders received now.
NOW IN PRESS. READY OCTOBER 1
Price, $1.25 net
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
iD
The Bethany
Graded
Lessons
A NOTABLY SUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT
TO PRESENT RELIGIOUS TRUTH IN
A REASONABLE, ATTRACTIVE AND
EFFECTIVE WAY TO YOUNG AND
OLD. IT RESULTS IN AN ACCURATE
KNOWLEDGE OF BIBLICAL FACTS,
AND IN A VITAL APPRECIATION
OF SPIRITUAL TRUTH.
Spiritual: The great purpose of religious education — the training of
mind and heart and will to "see God" and feel God in the world of nature, history,
and especially in the revelation of His will in the life of the Savior of men — is not
made subservient to the presentation of mere historical facts. The study of the
Bethany Graded Lessons grows Christian character ; it does not simply produce
scholars.
Thorough : Not a hop-skip-and-jump compromise scheme of study,
made as easy as possible. Thoroughness is not sacrificed to the minor end of
easiness. Each year of the life of child and youth is provided with a Bible course
perfectly adapted to that year. The Bethany Graded Lessons are psychologically
correct.
Practical : An interesting fact relative to the Bethany Graded Lessons
is that they are fully as popular with small schools as with large. The system
is thoroughly adaptable to all conditions. The fact that a school is small does not
mean that it is easy-going and careless in its choice of a system of study. We
can truthfully say that many of the finest schools using the Bethany Lessons do
not number more than 75 members. No matter what the conditions of your
school, the Bethany Graded Lessons will fill your need.
If your school is ambitious, if it is thorough' going,
if it is willing to take religious education
seriously, you must have the
BETHANY GRADED LESSONS
Thoroughly approved and more popular than ever after
nine years of useful service.
Send for returnable samples today and prepare for a year
of genuine study of religion.
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 East 40th Street, CHICAGO, ILL.
FOR THE MEN AT THE FRONT
When you bar* finished reading this copy of
The Christian Century place a one-cent stamp
on this comer and band the magazine to any
postal employe. The Post Office will send it
to some soldier or sailor In our forces at the
front. No wrapping — no address.
8. BURLESON, Postmaster-general.
Vol. XXXV
September 19, 1918
Number 36
Spiritual Slackers
By John Haynes Holmes
Kipling on the War
CHIC AG
C
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 19, 1918
A CHORUS OF PRAISE
FOR THE NEW
20th CENTURY
QUARTERLY
Prepared by W. D. Ryan, H. L. Willett, Jr., John R. Ewers
and W. C. Morro
Edited by Thomas Curtis Clark
"Splendid/' says Thos. M. Iden, Ann Arbor, Mich., teacher of a class of 400 men.
"Charming," says Rev. Peter Ainslie, Baltimore, Md.
"Bound to find wide usage," says Rev. Chas. M. Watson, Norfolk, Va.
"Practical and helpful," Rev. Austin Hunter, Chicago.
"Best I have ever seen," Rev. L. J. Marshall, Kansas City, Mo.
"Vigorous," Rev. F. E. Smith, Muncie, Ind.
"First-class," Dr. J. H. Garrison, of the Christian-Evangelist.
"Genuinely interesting," Dr. E. L. Powell, Louisville, Ky.
"Best adult quarterly published," Rev. J. E. Davis, Kansas City, Mo.
"Beautifully conceived," Rev. A. B. Houze, Bowling Green, Ky., teacher of a
class of 200 men.
"Practical," Rev. W. J. Gratton, Des Moines, Iowa.
"Takes up lessons from every angle," Rev. J. H. Goldner, Cleveland, Ohio.
"Compact yet comprehensive," S. W. Hutton, Texas Bible School leader.
"Alive," Rev. Frank G. Tyrrell, Pasadena, Cal.
"Up-to-the-minute," Rev. E. F. Daugherty, Los Angeles, Cal.
"Fresh, reverential, vigorous," Rev. Graham Frank, Dallas, Tex.
"Delightfully inspirational," J. H. Fillmore, Cincinnati, Ohio.
"Ideal," Rev. J. M. Philputt, Charlottesville, Va.
"Will prove a zvinner," Myron C. Settle, Bible school expert, Kansas City, Mo.
"Has punch and pep," Rev. Allen T. Shaw, Pekin, 111.
"Will win in men's classes," Rev. W. H. McLain, formerly Ohio Bible School
Superintendent.
"Illuminating and vital," Rev. Madison A. Hart, Columbia, Mo.
"A big advance step," Rev. H. W. Hunter, Des Moines, Iowa.
"Inspires voith its faith," Rev. I. S. Chenoweth, Philadelphia, Pa.
"Admirable," President A. McLean, of the Foreign Society, Cincinnati, Ohio.
"Excellent," National Bible School Secretary Robert M. Hopkins, Cincinnati.
"Ideal," Rev. A. B. Philputt, Indianapolis, Ind.
"Fine," David H. Owen, Kansas State Bible School Superintendent.
The number of orders coming in for the new Quarterly indicates that it will prove
one of the biggest winners in the Sunday school field. Send in your order today.
If you have not received free sample, send for one at once.
The Christian Century Press ?»*<&%
son
Volume XXXV
SEPTEMBER 19, 1918
Number Z6
EDITORIAL STAFF: CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON. EDITOR; HERBERT L. WILLETT. CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
ORVIS FAIRLEE JORDAN. ALVA W. TAYLOR. JOHN RAY EWERS :: THOMAS CURTIS CLARK. OFFICE MANAGER
Entered as second-class matter, February 28, 1902, at the Post-office at Chicago, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, i$79-
Published Weekly By the Disciples Publication Society 700 East 40th Street, Chicago
Subscription — $2.50 a year (to ministers, $2.00), strictly in advance. Canadian postage, 52 cents extra; foreign, $1.04 extra.
Change of date on wrapper is a receipt for remittance on subscription and shows month and year to which subscription is paid.
The Christian Century is a free interpreter of the essential ideals of Christianity as held historically by the Disciples of Christ.
It conceives the Disciples' religious movement as ideally an unsectarian and unecclesiastical fraternity, whose original impulse and
common tie are fundamentally the desire to practice Christian unity in the fellowship of all Christians. Published by Disciples, The
Christian Century, is not published for Disciples alone, but for the Christian world. It strives to interpret the wider fellowship
in religious faith and service. It desires definitely to occupy a catholic point of view and it seeks readers in all communions.
EDITORIAL
Rending the Seamless Garments of
Christ
THE spirit of combat, of quarrels and division, is the
root of Adamic sin in us all. In the most culti-
vated man or woman is the beast that we would
leave behind, but who still at times usurps the place of
reason. The task of religion is to fight this evil beast to
a victory. In social terms, we are trying to build up
what Professor Keller calls a "Peace-group" which shall
not be coincident with some small faction in a corner
of the world but which shall be as wide as humanity.
Religious unity is but a section of the problem of
world peace, since not all men are religious — speaking in-
stitutionally. If those men who are the most sensitive
in conscience, and the most aware of the conditions of
peaceful co-operation, do not succeed in achieving unity,
then the world itself can hardly be expected to become
a "peace-group."
Religion stands or falls today before God by its
ability to realize the will of God for this time. When
organized religious groups today breathe forth the evil
spirit of suspicion, of division and hate, God must write
his condemnation across their walls.
In Ft. Recovery, Ohio, in a town of less than two
thousand people, are three little buildings with this sign
upon them, "The Church of Christ." The first of these
came with the preaching of the gospel. But certain
brethren felt that the full gospel had not been preached
until the organ was cast out and the second building
was erected without an organ. Now even the church
without an organ has again divided and a third church,
still more orthodox, and more narrow, has occupied
the field. The ungodly point to the three buildings as
the standing joke of the town. But what has hap-
pened to this town has happened in some measure in
others, and the spirit of this legalism is openly preached
among us. While the world prays for peace and brother-
hood, some in the name of "purity of doctrine" spread
among us a doctrine of suspicion and hate.
The church has been cursed with a rationalism
worse than any "German rationalism." It is the rational-
ism which exalts doctrine above brotherhood and ordi-
nances above human life.
Conservation of Pulpit Energy
WE hear of many communities where the summer
union service is being carried over into the
autumn and winter. The reason for this is
found in the principle of cooperation. We are warned
that fuel will be short this winter. Not all the buildings
need be heated in communities where part of the popu-
lation is off at war. Then ministers have become very
scarce — that is, the educated ones that people want to
hear — for many of them also are now in service at the
front. It is the conservation of pulpit energy that
ought to be considered most, for in many communities
this year there is an impending famine of the word
of God.
The ministers who are not free from their usual
Sunday evening tasks should now be engaged in the
work of caring for congregations which havewnot been
able to secure ministers. Congregations in the country
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 19, 1918
or in small towns can thus be kept alive until the war
is over, even though they have no morning service.
Then every minister should today be getting up
some great sermons. Into these should go his pro-
foundest thinking on religion and in them should be the
passion and conviction of inner principle. These min-
isters, with these master efforts, should be used out-
side their home city for union services where large audi-
ences of people gather together.
What Military Training Has Revealed
THERE has never been a social survey so thorough-
going as that which is now being carried on in the
military camps by the United States government.
We are learning the strength and the weakness of Amer-
ica, and as soon as the war is over we must start an-
other war within our own borders against sin and ig-
norance.
A librarian, recently returned from a camp in Ar-
kansas, states that the book most in demand in that camp
was a first reader, owing to the large number of illit-
erates. There were men there from Louisiana who spoke
do written language but had a kind of patois of French
and Spanish, found nowhere except in rural districts of
that state. Americans of the fourth generation could
not speak our language and did not know what the
flag was when it was shown to them.
In that camp, and in most camps, nowadays, there
is provided a stockade with a high fence where hundreds
of men with venereal diseases are confined for treat-
ment, some to be put into the army later cured, others
to be sent home as useless citizens and a menace to all
around them. The moral conditions of America are thus
being reduced to statistics which after the war may be
given to the public. Thus war is affording an opportu-
nity of correcting some of the evils of our peace times.
Both church and school will come into new esteem
by reason of the facts being revealed. There are men
who spend a whole afternoon learning to "about face"
without falling down. They are mere animals from the
remoter sections of the country. These must have
schools and no false plea of democracy should prevent
the federal government from interfering where states
are so backward as to permit racial degeneracy and ig-
norance.
But we are getting also a new sense of the awful-
ness of sin. Our comfortable tolerance of nearly every
kind of wrong-doing must give way to a new clarity of
conscience and fresh denunciation of the evil within our
borders. America must repent of her sins before God
can use her in the largest way for the promotion of the
best things in the progress of the race.
"Carry on"
THE title of a new journal is "Carry On." It tells
the story of the work of rehabilitating and re-edu-
cating crippled soldiers who are already finding
their way back from the front.
At the close of every other great war, there has been
a crop of dependents. Once they begged by the public
highways, but soldiers' homes corrected that. Now the
new idea is to save these men for the larger work of the
community.
The Red Cross Institute in New York is already
teaching several trades to men who have a part of their
anatomy missing. Some are operating typesetting ma-
chines, and some are working at lathes. Men with legs
missing are being taught to become competent office
assistants. Connected with this educational work is
a bureau for finding employment for these men. They
are not sent out until they are able to compete in the
labor market with their more fortunate brothers and
sisters.
Of all the conservation ideas that are now current,
this is really one of the biggest. It suggests that the vic-
tims of the battles of peace should be given the same
opportunity of re-education. For this we shall need
the organization of a new department of government
service, but the saving to the nations would justify the
expense many times.
Meanwhile the minister may safely carry to the
families of the victims of terrible accidents a new kind
of consolation. Just as some men in the past by their
unaided efforts have gained the victory over handicaps,
the cripple of the army is to be given the best scientific
guidance in finding his place anew in the world.
At a telegraph dispatcher's desk down in Illinois
there has been sitting for years an operator who was
blind and had one arm missing. It is said that few men
on the line are so expert as he. In Minnesota there is a
man who became speaker of the House, though blind and
a cripple. Physical defectives must be given the gospel
of hope and not the chill of despair, for in the days to
come we shall need all our men in creative industry and
as a force in rebuilding a ruined world.
A Policy of Desperation
ACCUSTOMED as we Disciples of Christ are to an
annual disturbance at the season just preceding
the General Convention, few among us have
taken seriously the threatenings and slaughter being
breathed out in recent months by the "Christian Stand-
ard" of Cincinnati. Similar tactics have been adopted
at this season of the year for the past dozen years — the
air was filled with threats of division and the delegates
gathered at their annual convention with apprehension
in their hearts lest this great communion of ours was
to be divided.
Keen observers, and especially those who have
fairly good memories, have ceased to be alarmed,
though they share the inexpressible chagrin and humili-
ation which all sensitive souls among us feel because
a force so sinister and coarse should be given any tol-
erance and credibility at all. But those who recall the
threats that filled the air as the hosts approached Nor-
folk, Omaha, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Topeka, Louis-
ville, Toronto, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Des Moines and
even Kansas City, and who also recall with what won-
derful unity and unanimity the work of the conventions
meeting in these several cities was carried out, have be-
September 19, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
come somewhat sophisticated, not to say callous, with
respect to the threats that are being made this year.
We hesitate to bother our readers with any consid-
eration at all of the current agitation, but The Christian
Century is a newspaper dealing with facts and realities,
so we present herewith a letter signed by Russell Errett,
owner of the "Christian Standard," and George P. Rut-
ledge, editor of the same paper, and sent, as its contents
disclose, to about 500 persons presumed to be friendly
to the proposals contained in it. This letter represents
the 1918 variation on the same dark theme with which
the "Christian Standard" has occupied itself each sea-
son for more than a decade. The letter follows :
Cincinnati, O., August 20, 1918. — Dear Brother: That there
is in the brotherhood of Disciples of Christ a well intrenched
propaganda to Germanize the teaching in our colleges and to
force upon our congregations the open membership plan, no
one who has kept up with events can doubt. Moreover, our
work in colleges, churches and missionary societies is being
retarded by the direct influence of this propaganda, and the
future is anything but bright. The growth of our churches is
arrested, and our Bible-School work hindered. Thousands of
our brethren in every part of the country are dissatisfied with
the present situation, but they know not how to proceed
against the long-laid plans of the propagandists.
The International Convention of Disciples of Christ is in
the hands of men who incline it to propagandist schemes, and
this convention is, therefore, a menace rather than a hope to
our brotherhood work.
The society officials, who do not resist, but by their acts
encourage, the propagandists, have decided to merge all oti
missionary and benevolent interests in one organization
which will be largely in the hands of the Men and Millions
Movement, and this decision upon the part of the officials is
staged to be ratified by the Convention in St. Louis, October
10-13.
Advantage is undoubtedly taken of a war situation. Ow-
ing to a strategic change from a convention hall in Fort
Worth to the Union Avenue Church in St. Louis, and the
high cost of travel which will reduce the attendance to prac-
tically officials of societies and delegates from St. Louis, the
convention will be plastic in the hands of propagandists who
wish their kind elected to offices and the society officials who
wish the merger ratified.
If the Convention remains in the control of the propa-
gandists another year, it will be not only useless to our
brotherhood interests, but a tool with which these interests
will be further assaulted. And if the merger is ratified, an
ecclesiasticism will have obtained which will strangle for years
the present co-operative work of the Disciples of Christ.
A sufficient number of brethren who prize the message
and mission of the Restoration movement should go to St.
Louis, even if the trip entails great sacrifice, to save these
important interests from such disaster. We aim to rally five
hundred true men. Will you go? And will you put forth an
effort to induce twenty or more brethren in your section to
go? We shall appreciate an early reply to these questions —
the time is short and the situation serious. Use enclosed cir-
cular in reply.
Please send the names of those who will agree to go from
your section to St. Louis, and who may be depended upon to
fight the battle to a finish, to P. H. Welshimer, Canton, O.
Also suggest the names of others who might go if solicited.
Our program at St. Louis will have on it no place for
"compromise" or "diplomacy." Every man entering into this
compact with us will be expected to protest by his vote, and
his voice if necessary, the injustice being perpetrated upon
our brotherhood.
We shall plan to meet in St. Louis at a common rendez-
vous the day before the convention begins to plan the cam-
paign, and should the cause for which we stand be defeated
on the convention floor, we shall call a meeting and confer
respecting a future policy.
The time has come for every true Disciple of Christ in
America to line up!
Yours to save a righteous cause,
Russell Errett.
George P. Rutledge.
We have received several nervous inquiries from
our readers recently regarding the above communica-
tion and asking us to make it an occasion for urging an
extraordinary attendance on the part of the representa-
tive leadership of the brotherhood at the St. Louis con-
vention. While we hold that everyone who can go to
St. Louis should by all means go, we have no fear that
the ark of the Lord is in any more serious danger this
year than in previous years.
The proposal contained in the above letter discloses
only a slight advance in the policy of desperation which
has characterized the "Christian Standard's" course for
a long time. It will end in the same futility that has
marked all previous stages of this unfraternal and un-
christian policy.
To believe in God as Jesus believed in him ; to follow
Jesus as he bade his disciples do; to use the Bible as a
vivid and precious record of the greatest religious ex-
perience of the ages, and the disclosures of the life of
Christ ; to work in the church as the best of the means by
which men have been associated for the attainment of
the life of love and sacrifice ; to practice the life of prayer,
of trust and of holiness in companionship with Jesus ; to
rejoice in the privilege of sacrificial effort in behalf of the
world which Jesus loved and helped to save ; and in this
spirit to begin here and now to live eternally — these are
elements worthy to be called fundaments of the Christian
faith.
Herbert L. Willett.
Righteous Wrath
By Henry van Dyke
THERE are many kinds of hate, as many kinds of
fire;
And some are fierce and fatal with murderous
desire ;
And some are mean and craven, revengeful, selfish, low,
They hurt the man that holds them more than they hurt
his foe.
And yet there is a hatred that purifies the heart.
The anger of the better against the baser part,
Against the false and wicked, against the tyrant's sword,
Against the enemies of Love, and all that hate the Lord.
O cleansing indignation, O flame of righteous wrath,
Give me a soul to see thee and follow in thy path !
Save me from selfish virtue, arm me for fearless fight,
And give me strength to carry on, a soldier of the Right !
Spiritual Slackers
By John Haynes Holmes
SOME weeks ago I attended a certain social service
meeting in the home of one of the wealthiest men
of New York City, on upper Fifth avenue. The
great hall, or assembly room, in which we met was
filled with women, most of whom were busily engaged
in knitting or crocheting. The first speaker, one of the
most conspicuous social service reformers of our day,
took occasion in his address to refer to the busy fingers
which were weaving garments for the soldier boys, the
Belgian children or the French women who are in need
across the seas. "Nothing could be finer," he said, in
effect, "than the way in which the women of this coun-
try are answering by their personal labor the call of
the world for clothing. Nothing could be finer than
the efforts that we are all of us making to conserve
food upon our tables, that others may have more to eat
through our having less. But I must confess to you,
in all kindness," he continued, "that I wonder now and
then why we had to wait for the coming of the Great
War before we entered upon service of this kind. Long
before there were Belgian children needing our aid there
were children here in New York, on our very threshold,
sweat-shop laborers by the thousands, who called to our
heedless ears for sympathy and help. Long before there
were soldiers freezing in the trenches of Northern France
there were the poor and the homeless freezing in the
streets of our American cities. Always there have been
the millions who are starving, but only now, when these
millions are the victims of war, are we thoroughly aroused.
This thing," he said, pointing to the knitting needles,
"ye ought to do, and God bless you for it. But these
other things ye ought also to have done !"
HUMAN SERVICE ALWAYS NEEDED
Here is a very simple illustration of what I mean
by my suggestion that through most of our lives, you
and I have to all too great an extent been spiritual
slackers in our relations with our fellows. This war
did not create the need of human service; it simply
dramatized it, extended it, deepened it. It did not even
create what are described as the aims of the war — those
great ideals of associated life for the sake of which mil-
lions of men have been made to die, and other millions
are now being prepared to "carry on." These aims have
always been with us ; they have always called for heroes
to make them true ; and it is perhaps because these heroes
have appeared only by the dozens and scores in time
of peace that they must now be made to appear by the
thousands and the millions in time of war.
What we are doing on so vast and so terrible a
scale, in other words, we should have been doing all
the time in less momentous and tragic ways of human
effort. We should have had imagination enough to
realize, even without the dramatization of the Great War,
that the best ideals of life were beset with enemies, and
therefore insecure ; and we should have had consecration
enough to give ourselves "without stint or limit" to what-
ever good cause at any moment was most in need of
help. As it was, in all these piping times of peace, we
were most of us well content to let the world go wagging
on its way, so long as we were left alone to make our
money or find our pleasure, and thus were nothing better
than spiritual slackers in the unending battle for the
Kingdom. Let me point out more particularly what I
mean.
DEMOCRACY IN PERIL BEFORE THE WAR
One of the aims for which we are told this war is
being fought is "to make the world safe for democracy."
With this high purpose of our people I am entirely in
sympathy. I believe that democracy was never in such
dire peril as she is at this present moment, and I hope
for nothing more ardently at the close of this war than
a reinforcement of the democratic principle throughout
the length and breadth of the civilized world. Anybody
who does not hear the call of democracy today, and
answer it in some high spiritual way, is a spiritual
slacker of the lowest order. But this is not the first
time in our lives that democracy has been imperiled. The
battle for her safety did not begin in the early days of
August, 1914. I recall, for example, that more than a
quarter of a century ago the late Dr. Washington Gladden
of Columbus, Ohio, published a famous book, in which
he reiterated the saying of Abraham Lincoln that "no
nation can endure half slave and half free," and then
pointed out that our national household was divided
against itself by a system of political democracy on the
one hand, confronted by a system of industrial autocracy
on the other, and that unless this spiritual dualism was
ended, American ideals of democracy must sooner or
later disappear.
I recall that it was only some six years ago that
Theodore Roosevelt, then the leader of the Progressive
Party, conducted a notable campaign for the presidency
of the United States on a platform denouncing "the
invisible government" of big business, as he called it, which
was superseding the visible government at Washington,
and calling upon all good Americans to assist him in
rescuing our democracy from the hands of those who
would selfishly destroy it. During all of these years the
struggle for the perpetuation of real democracy in this
country has been constant. The presence in American
life of certain autocratic and corruptive influences has
been perfectly well known. Every great leader of our
time, from Progressive Republican on the one hand to
radical Socialist on the other, has seen the danger and
has striven to arouse the people to battle against the
powers that would enslave them. But not until autocracy
became personified in the form of a German Kaiser were
we able to recognize it; and not until our liberties were
threatened from without as well as from within were
we persuaded to spend ourselves in their defense.
In our guardianship of our infinitely precious heritage
of democracy we American people have been slackers
September 19, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
during the last fifty or more years. We have been per-
fectly willing to let invisible government supersede vis-
ible, the life of the many be exploited by the few, indus-
trial monarchs set up their thrones and prosecute their
imperial conquests, if only we would be let alone, and
excused from making sacrifices for other men. In spite
of my unchanging non-resistant attitude toward war, and
my regret therefore that the battle for liberty today should
be fought with such weapons and on such a field of blood,
I should be the last man in the world, I trust, to depre-
ciate what America is striving to do today for the cause
of democracy. I only suggest that as Americans we
should always have been breathing the exalted atmos-
phere of loyalty to this good cause, and have long since
rallied as determinedly against the enemies of human
liberty at home as we are now doing against the greater
enemies abroad.
A second aim of this war, we have been told, is to
establish in Europe and America, indeed throughout all
the world, what President Wilson has called "a durable
peace." Americans are striving by force of arms so to
end this war that it shall be known in history as the
war that ended war. Now, whatever may be our opin-
ions as to the way in which peace can be established
among men, we are all of us agreed in rejoicing that
this, and no lower aim of conquest or martial glory, is
our avowed purpose in this struggle. But why, may I
ask, if this crusade is right today, did we not under-
take it before, and in those days when happier methods
of conquest were at our disposal? This is not the first
time in our lives that peace has been discussed, and men
and nations exhorted to achieve such reforms in inter-
national relationships as would guarantee the preserva-
tion of law and order.
PRE-WAR INDIFFERENCE TO PEACE PLEAS
For nineteen hundred years a great religion has laid
down the principle that love is the way of life, and has
urged men to forfeit their individual prides and ambi-
tions to the cause of love. For a hundred years or more
great leaders of ethics and politics have pointed out that
war is incompatible with civilization, and must be done
away with. For twenty-five years statesmen and scholars
of all countries have declared that the nations must be
federated in some kind of international state, and their
joint interests consigned to the keeping of a Hague Con-
vention. And constantly the great movement of Inter-
national Socialism has labored for peace through the
recognition of the common interests of the common people.
But who of us were interested in these undertakings?
How many of us were willing to give our lives to such
a cause? What nation ever consented to spend in a
single year for peace what is now being spent in a single
month for war?
Why, I remember distinctly, to cite an illuminating
psychological instance, that in the years before the war
I used to make it my business, on the second Sunday
of each December, to preach what I called "a peace ser-
mon," and that it was a kind of joke in my household
that this was a sacrifice to the cause, inasmuch as the
sermon always brought me one of the smallest congrega-
tions of the year. We simply were not interested in
this which is now the one supreme problem of our time.
If statesmen or political parties brought it to our atten-
tion, we called them bores. If a President, like Grover
Cleveland, urged the country to sacrifice some of its
national prerogatives for the sake of an arbitration agree-
ment with England, we straightway repudiated the
treaty.
LIVING IN A FOOL'S PARADISE
Only once in the history of this peace-loving coun-
try has a serious and organized endeavor been made to
think through the problem of international peace, and
present a program for its realization. I refer, of course,
to the League to Enforce Peace, and it is an illuminating
commentary on all that I am saying that this league was
started after, and not before, the outbreak of the Great
War! The fact of the matter is we have been slackers
in this problem of peace. Living in a fool's paradise,
we have asked only to be let alone. And now, behold,
we are paying the price of our neglect of spiritual reality.
Again, may I point out that there is a final and,
perhaps, all-inclusive aim of this war against Germany,
as it is interpreted to us by our leaders? I refer to the
statement of President Wilson that we are fighting to
make this a decent world in which to live ! Nothing
could be better than this as an object of war, if we
must have war. The obligation to make this a decent
world is surely laid upon us as much in time of war
as in time of peace. But why not also, may I ask, as
much in time of peace as in time of war?
It was a sad age before the war — sad not because
of enemies to be fought and battles to be won, but sad
because of the popular inertia and indifference which
hung like a dead weight on the shoulders of every re-
former. In every undertaking for social betterment the
chief task was to get people awake; and then, when
they were awake, to stir them to some measure of sac-
rifice for the cause. How heavy was this burden, only
those who have borne it can know. Again and again,
as I have looked upon the pathetic face of Miss Jane
Addams, I have thought to see there not merely her
agony at the woes of the poor, but her weariness as
well at the ignorance or indifference of those who ought
to care as much as she. Exhausted not in giving, but
exhausted in getting in order to give !
A NEW DAY HAS DAWNED
Think of how men are awake today, and of how
gladly they are offering sacrifices to make this world
a decent habitation for humankind ! I would draw no
comparison between the crisis of this moment and that
of yesterday — it would be absurd ! And yet, in its own
and very terrible way for millions of men, the world
yesterday was in dire need ; and for others, if not for
ourselves, there were places only less hideous than Bel-
gium and Armenia.
It is considerations such as these that persuade me
to the conviction that, whatever the measure of our
devotion at the present moment, we have all of us, to
some extent or other, been spiritual slackers in the past.
We have followed the all too easy road of our own per-
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 19, 1918
sonal and selfish pursuits. We have listened with all too
heedless ears to the call of humanity for enlightenment
and liberation. Democracy, peace, a decent world, have
all clamored for our service, but only at this moment of
supreme peril have we given the supreme answer of our
souls. The very lives that we are living in these days
of tumult and confusion are the perfect and unanswer-
able indictment of the lives that we were living before
the war. Today we are feeling, both militarist and pacifist
alike, the thrill of great loyalty to some great cause.
Every instant we are touching deeps of joy and sorrow,
of despair and exultation, which we never knew before
were in existence. In spite of dire experience and the
uncertainty of what the future holds in store, we feel our-
selves possessed by a great peace of mind and heart —
that peace which can come only from what Professor
Royce calls "loyalty to loyalty."
We live as though we were transfigured beings.
There is a change of wonder and great beauty all about.
But it is a change not in the world, but in ourselves! The
opportunity for glorious living, for heroic endeavor and
heroic sacrifice has always been with us. But it is only
now, when that opportunity has been magnified and
darkened by the grim terror of war, that we have risen
to its challenge. Yesterday, for all our virtue, we were
slackers. Today we are what we should always have
been — whole-hearted servants of what is to us the highest
good. Who knows but what, if we had thus lived from
the beginning, this war might have been avoided ! So,
at least, thinks a great writer of our time, Bertrand
Russell. "We have sinned," he says, looking back upon
these "slacker" years. "We have sent (our) young men
to the battlefield . . . for our failure to live gener-
ously out of the warmth of the heart and out of the living
vision of the spirit."
WHAT OF THE FUTURE?
All this should teach us great humility, and also great
expectation. Some day the war is going to end. Some
day the trials and sacrifices of this bitter hour will be
no more. Then what are we going to do? Put away
our knitting needles? Close our work-shops? Sink back
into the old self-centered grooves of the old self-centered
life? If so we have sacrificed in vain, laid down our
lives to no permanent good. For the soul's ideals are
never achieved, but only in process of achievement. One
task, completed, however great in itself, is only a prep-
aration for the work still remaining to be done. Democ-
racy may be made never so secure, peace never so "dur-
able," the world never so decent to live in!
But it will be only for the moment if we straight-
way forget and return to our ancient "slacker" ways.
This war, after all, can only do one thing that may be
permanently good, and that is by the sheer terror of its
menace, violence of its destruction and pain of its sac-
rifice, lift us to a higher plane of living and thinking
and dreaming and serving, so that henceforth and for-
evermore we shall be ready to "sanctify (ourselves) for
others' sakes."
Fifty-three years ago Abraham Lincoln was assassi-
nated in Washington. Do you remember how he spoke
at Gettysburg to those who survived that struggle? What-
ever our views of war, must we not take, his words for
ours today, as we think of what is behind and what ahead :
"It is for us to be dedicated to the task remaining before
us — that from these dead we take increased devotion to
the cause for which they gave the last full measure of
devotion ; that we highly resolve that these dead shall
not have died in vain ; that this nation, under God, shall
have a new birth of freedom, and that government of
the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish
from the earth."
Kipling on the War
FROM time to time the representatives of the Allies
meet together and lay down what the war-aims of
the Allies are. From time to time our statesmen
repeat them. They all agree that we are fighting for
freedom and liberty, for the right of small states to
exist, and for nations to decide for themselves how they
are to be governed. All this we understand and per-
fectly believe. That is the large view of the situation.
What is the personal aspect of the case for you and
me? We are fighting for our lives, the lives of every
man, woman and child here and everywhere else. We
are fighting that we may not be herded into actual
slavery such as the Germans have established by force
of their arms in large parts of Europe. We are fighting
against eighteen hours a day forced labor under the
lash or at the point of the bayonet, with a dog's death
and a dog's burial at the end of it. We are fighting that
men, women and children may not be tortured, burned
and mutilated in the public streets, as has happened
in Belgium and in other countries. And we will go on
fighting till the people who have done these things are in
no position to continue to repeat their offense.
WHAT DEFEAT WOULD BRING
If for any reason whatever we fall short of victory
— and there is no half way house between victory and
defeat — what happens to us? This. Every relation,
every understanding, every decency upon which civili-
zation has been so anxiously built will go — will be
washed out, because it will have proved unable to en-
dure. The whole idea of democracy — which at bottom
is what the Hun fights against — will be dismissed from
men's minds, because it will have been shown incapable
of maintaining itself against the Hun. It will die; and
it will die discredited, together with every belief and
practice that is based on it. The Hun ideal, the Hun's
root-notions of life — will take its place throughout the
world. Under that dispensation men will become once
more the natural prey, body and goods, of his better-
armed neighbor. Woman will be the mere instrument
for continuing the breed, the vessel of man's lust and
man's cruelty, and labor will become a thing to be
knocked on the head if it dares to give trouble, and
worked to death if it does not.
And from this order of life there will be no appeal
no possibility of any escape. This is what the Hun
September 19, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
means when he says he intends to impose German "Kul-
tur" — which is the German religion — upon the world.
This is precisely what the world has banded itself to-
gether to resist. It will take every ounce in us; it will
try us out to the naked soul. Our trial will not be made
less by the earnest advice and suggestions that we
should accept a sort of compromise, which means defeat,
put forward by Hun agents and confederates among us.
They are busy in that direction already. But be sure
of this : Nothing — nothing we may have to endure now
will weigh one featherweight compared with what we
shall most certainly have to suffer if for any cause we
fail of victory.
The more we have suffered in this war, the more
clearly do we see this necessity. Our hearts, our rea-
son, every instinct in us that lifts us above the mere
brute, shows us that the war must go on. Otherwise
earth becomes a hell without hope. The men, the ships,
the munitions must go forward to war, and behind them
must come the money, without which nothing can move.
Our security for our loan is not only the whole of the Brit-
ish Empire, but also the whole of civilization, which has
pooled its resources in men, money, and material to
carry on this war to victory. Nothing else under Hea-
ven matters today except that war shall go on to that
end.
Unity and the Convention
By Geo. A. Campbell
Pastor at Union Avenue Church, St. Louis, Where the
Convention Will Be Held
THE most urgent need among us is that of unity.
We have been especially called to plead the cause
of Christion union. If we bear our testimony con-
vincingly we must ourselves be possessed with the spirit
of unity.
In this terrible day of war Christians should draw
closer together; and those of all communities are doing
so Surely it is the duty of those of the same close fel-
lowship and especially of those pleading for Christian
unity to dwell together in harmony.
Every Disciple ought to feel obligated to contribute
his word, his influence, his entire strength for that good
feeling, fairmindedness and brotherly consideration that
are necessary to get on together and to do the task com-
mitted to us.
The International Convention is about to be held.
It should send forth a united challenge to all Christen-
dom. It should speak through unity for union. It
should hearten every man in his Christian life. In this
world of disharmony it should voice a message of har-
mony.
NO TIME FOR PARTISANSHIP
The convention is held in an epochal time and
should itself be epochal. This is no time for partisan-
ship, no time for bickerings, no time for small talk,
rather it is a day for vision, for church statesmanship,
for men and women who see and feel the whole, for big,
gripping things.
In order to have unity we must have the spirit of
democracy. The convention should give opportunity
for full and free expression. The convention belongs to
every member of the church. The brotherhood ex-
presses itself at the convention. That is the place for
the consideration of all important questions of our com-
mon life. Hereafter no important matter pertaining to
our co-operative work ought to be decided by any group
or society outside the convention. Any person or so-
ciety should have the right and privilege of recommend-
ing, but only the convention, all of us in deliberative
session, has the right to reach a decision. And when
the decision is reached all ought to have the grace and
wisdom to accept it as the will of the majority.
The Executive Committee, all of the Societies,
the Men and Millions Movement and all other agencies
are but servants of the convention. All these ought to
consult the convention and rely upon its judgment.
Those who have leadership in our various organiz-
ations will help to maintain the spirit of unity if they do
not countenance secrecy or aloofness. Christianity is
of the open. It is democratic to the core. Secrecy may
do very well for fraternity organizations, but the glory
of the church is that there are no closed sessions. Aris-
tocracy and secrecy have no place in religious gather-
ings. We all want to know and to be taken into account
with regard to all the common enterprises of the Broth-
erhood.
MUST BE NO SUSPICION
Again we should allay suspicion. We should have
confidence in our brethren. Most everyone is working
for what seems to them the good of the cause. If we
differ from their policy let us say so at the convention,
firmly if need be, but brotherly.
We should not use terms of reproach which only
tend to inflame those opposed to us. For instance the
use of the terms of opprobrium growing out of the world
war will not work for harmony or for the cause of
righteousness. No American will be unstirred when ac-
cused of furthering German propaganda. The term im-
plies far too much to be in any way soothing. It sug-
gests the spy, the traitor, the atrocity worker.
Such terms should have no place in our discussions.
They accuse the motives of our brethren. We will make
progress by accepting the honesty of those who may
differ from us. And is not that the Christian way?
Let us not be too nervous. None of us are too sure
of the way God is leading in these stressful days. Let
us keep open minds and possess our souls in patience.
Time is on God's side. Truth will not be overthrown.
Arrogancy, group denomination or a rule or ruin policy
are undemocratic. The Allies are fighting that the
spirit of Germany may not wickedly dominate the earth.
All peoples will have a right to be heard after this war.
So it should be in the church. No party or group
or person should seek to dominate the convention. All
of us are going up to St. Louis to talk things over, and
to plan and pray together and through Christian coun-
sel to reach decisions.
Effect of War on Religion in College
By Charles Franklin Thwing
President of Western Reserve University
I BEGIN the writing of this paper not far from the
closing of an hour of a talk with a father whose son
and only child, once a student, died as a soldier.
While we talked with each other, we each heard the
bugle sound calling men now in college to their daily
drill on the campus. I begin the writing, therefore, in a
spirit of religion, of patriotism, and of personal sorrow
for those whose only sons rest in soldiers' graves.
GREATER SIMPLICITY IN RELIGION COMING
The first effect which I name as a result of the war,
on religion in college, relates to the increase of the sim-
plicity and the reality of religion. Religion has — and by
religion I mean the Christian faith — for its central truth
and fact, a belief in God. The idea of God is the chief
constructive truth in the intellectual interpretation of
faith. The idea of God is the chief idea found in the
Hebrew system, whether it is expressed in the Ten
Commandments or in the requirements of Micah's sen-
tentious imperative of doing justice, loving mercy, and
walking humbly. It is also the constructive motive in
the Beatitudes of Christ, and the first and controlling
forces in his commandment of loving God supremely.
The Christian faith is a simple faith in its elements, as
it is a real faith in its power over human character.
The war has abolished the accidents and incidents of
the thinking of the college student about the divine and
the eternal, and has brought him face to face with the
central constructive substantial facts. Face to face
with tfte special exposure to death, he thinks of the
eternal. Alone, separated from ordinary associates and
associations, he is touched by the presence of the great
Companion.
How unlike such a conception of religion is that
which is found in certain of the older systems of theol-
ogy Which are designed to interpret religion! I turn,
for instance, to Dwight's Theology, bound up in five
volumes, and I at once read of the doctrines regarding
God — the existence of God, the unity of God, the attri-
butes of God, the decrees of God, the sovereignty of
God, the works of God as seen in his creation and in his
providence, and the providence as seen in the depravity
of man, its universality, its degree, its prevention ; and
all this set forth in some thirty-four sermons, and the
thirty-four sermons being less than one-quarter of the
ane hundred and seventy-three sermons which represent
the whole system. These sermons were first preached
to college students. The war has done away with such
elaborate expositions and interpretations of religion.
BEWILDERMENT, YET ASSURANCE
This emphasis upon simplicity seems to have a cer-
tain application to what may be called a belief in the
eternal and beneficent purpose of God in human affairs.
The undergraduate mind, like every other mind, is now
bewildered. What does it behold? In a universe of
orderliness, of law, it sees disorder and lawlessness. In
a universe designed apparently for love and for benefi-
cence, it beholds hatred and evil working. In a universe
planned for material growth and development, it be-
holds premature loss and destruction. In a universe
ordered to create happiness and satisfaction, it finds
misery, pain, suffering, woe. In a universe in which
righteous omnipotence is supposed to rule, it sees abom-
inable evil rampant, and often triumphant. In such a
state the mind of the student is bewildered, as his heart
is stirred, and his will partially atrophied. And yet, as
he thinks and reflects on these contradictions, I believe
he comes somewhat to perceive and to believe in the
purpose of God, righteous and eternal, hidden in these
things. If there be a God at all — and the student can-
not give up this assurance — there must be something
good to come out of this evil. He hears Tennyson's
"Two Voices," and Whittier's "My Soul and I," and he
must believe that, if the universe be not devilish in
origin and demoniac in agency and hellish in destiny,
beneath these present evils there must be the soul of
righteousness and of goodness.
In his reflection, also, the student is brought to a
mightier sense of reverence, both as a cause and a result.
Such an effect, as a consequence of the war, is normal.
Such an effect, moreover, is one greatly to be desired in
American society and life. For reverence is a virtue
which we Americans lack. The lack has many causes.
One is found in our historical freshness and newness.
One cause is also found in our constant mood of hurry.
Cecil Rhodes said, dying, "There is so much to do and
the time is so short." We Americans feel that we must
construct and reconstruct our world in a single genera-
tion.
REVERENCE DEVELOPED BY WAR
In our sense of hurry, we are liable to lack the
sense of relationship. We are prone to see one thing,
and one thing only. We live in the present and think
not of either yesterday or of tomorrow. Our sphere is
a hemisphere, and we forget the spherical part. But
the college student, in these times, knows that there is
another hemi to the hemisphere, and the two halves are
necessary to make the whole. We are getting a sense of
relationship, even though the sky be fiery and the
ground crimson between which they move. We are
getting a sense of forces and of forcefulness, of im-
mensities, of proportions, that abolish the petty, the
mean, the trivial, the transient. All that the world is
now doing and being and suffering and planning tends
to develop reverence in the soul of youth.
The war is, moreover, emphasizing a truth of re-
ligion to the intent that things are rather valueless and
September 19, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
11
that only life is precious. In my war collection is a little
book called "Letters and Diary of Alan Seeger." Alan
Seeger writes from France in July of the year 1915, say-
ing: "Had I the choice I would be nowhere else in the
world than where I am. Even had I the chance to be
liberated, I would not take it. Do not be sorrowful
then," he writes to his mother. "It is the shirkers and
slackers alone in this war who are to be lamented. The
tears for those who take part in it and do not return
should be sweetened by the sense that their death was
the death which beyond all else they would have chosen
for themselves, that they went to it smiling and without
regret, feeling that whatever value their continued pres-
ence in the world might be to humanity, it could not be
greater than the example and the inspiration they were
to it in so departing. We, to whom the idea of death
is familiar, walking always among the little mounds and
crosses of the men tnort an Champ d'honneur, know
what this means." And just before the end came to him
he wrote to a friend, saying: "I am glad to be going in
the first wave. If you are in this thing at all, it is best
to be in to the limit. And this is the supreme experi-
ence." And this zvas the supreme experience.
The soldier rests. Now round him undismayed
The cannon thunders, and at night he lies
At peace beneath the eternal fussilade,
That other generations might possess,
From shame and menace free, in years to come,
A richer heritage of happiness.
He marched to that heroic martyrdom.
Alan Seeger was a Harvard graduate, a man of
long hair and dreamy mood and aspect, unlike the ordi-
nary academic type. But the mood which he thus
expresses in these great lines is the mood that is coming
to possess the undergraduate soul. It is the mood that
life, the eternal, the universal, is the only worth.
HUMAN BROTHERHOOD BEING STRESSED
In somewhat of a contrast with such a mood, an
effect of the war on religion is manifest in the greater
stress laid upon practical service and human brother-
hood. Less attention is paid to the arbitrary divisions
of academic classes. Lessened heed is given to the
arbitrary rules and prescriptions and proscriptions of
the campus or the yard. It is not so serious an offence
tor a freshman not to go bareheaded or to turn up his
trousers or not to wear a green stripe over his khaki
miform. He even can be allowed to sit down in the
presence of upper classmen. Even a freshman may
>e a man. The vision for doing something worth while
ias become clearer and the hope of making life count,
ind work weigh more, and the endeavor for the num-
>ering of the days unto wisdom has become more con-
tant and regular. The atmosphere is seriousness,
lumaneness is a more controlling principle. Brother-
hood has become a joy, as well as a duty. Rights have
ecome less insistent, prerogatives less imperious, and
tie thought of duty more controlling.
What is to be done under these conditions? How
can the effect of the war on religion be made more
beneficent?
In answer, let me say, first : in the college religion
and philosophy belong together. Philosophy is the sub-
stance, or the substratum beneath religion. Philosophy
presents the grounds of the truth of religion. Its allied
psychology forms evidence of the need of religion in
the human spirit. Its social applications prove the
value of the beliefs and practice of religion. Philosophy
should render the truths of religion more reasonable
and make them more personal. It should quicken piety
and never suffer the altar fires of devotion and of wor-
ship to burn a flickering flame. Religion is to be reason-
able. It is to meet the tests of reason. The college
teacher accepts the belief that the human understanding
is no less divine in its origin than the human heart, no
less imperative in its conclusions than the human con-
science, no less decisive in its judgments than the
human will. It is recognized that the human reason
does not and cannot fathom the ocean of infinite
knowledge. But it is believed that so far as its plumb
line does go down, it goes straight and goes toward the
limit of the divine mystery. This reason is not en-
tirely agnostic. It is sceptical in the sense of looking
about. It examines, not with the purpose of constant
doubtfulness, but with the purpose of assurance. The
college student is not a disciple of Pyrrho, but rather
of Him who said "Ye shall know the truth and the truth
shall make you free."
REASONABLENESS IN WORSHIP
Second, the college chapel service should take on
an air of reality and of reasonableness and of personal
sympathy, free from formalism and touched by variety
The service should not simply have more spirituality'
but should also have more spirit.
Third, the place given to the social sciences should
be made higher. Give to politics a sense of humane-
ness, to economics, something quite remote from its
dismalness, and to sociology, an inspiration and inspira-
tions.
Fourth, let every teacher be a religious man. I, of
course, do not mean in the sense of being a Calvinist
or Armenian, a Trinitarian or a Unitarian, a Protestant
or a Roman Catholic; but in a sense embodied in
Christ's three commandments and Beatitudes, and in-
carnate in Christ himself.
Fifth, there also should be recognized the steady-
ing power of religion in a democratic movement, aca-
demic or communal. Religion has an aim, the making
of character divine, which as an aim is fixed. Religion
has a content, the truth that God would rule man.
Both the aim and the content give calm to the per-
turbed human spirit. Such a content and such an aim,
moving in space through time, touch the soul!
Democracy is a new force in the world; fickle, yet
determined, liable to be unreflective, intoxicated with
its great, though brief, triumphs, haughty, not simply
modern, but modernistic. The college, as standing for
religion, should seek to bring the large constructive
elements of religion to bear upon this unguided, vigor-
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
12
ous, conquering force called democracy. This force is
most virile— it seems well nigh virulent— in the college.
Herein religion finds at once its field, its force, and its
fruitfulness. -Public writing, public speaking, private
teaching, personal influence, represent the tools.
LEARNING TO FORGIVE
Sixth, let there also be sought the doctrine of for-
giveness ' By forgiveness I do not mean forgetfulness.
I do not mean wiping out the past. I do mean helping
our foes to attain the best that they can attain, and
being the best that they can be. I mean the abolition
of intolerance. I mean what Sorley expressed, not long
before he met his death, in some great lines addressed
to Germany.
You are blind like us. Your hurt no man designed,
And no man claimed the conquest of your land.
But gropers both through fields .f thought confined
We stumble and we do not understand.
You only saw your future bigly planned,
And we, the tapering paths of our own mind,
And in each other's dearest ways we stand
And hiss and hate. And the blind fight the blind.
When it is peace, then we may view again
With new-won eyes each other's truer form
And wonder. Grown more loving-kind and warm
We'll grasp firm hands and laugh at the old pain,
When it is peace. But until peace, the storm
The darkness and the thunder and the rain.
September 19, 1918
Why the Church Exists?
By Charles Stelzle
JOHN FISKE, who was neither a churchman nor a
theologian, but one of the foremost scientific investi-
gators of America, said of religion: "None can deny
that it is the largest and most ubiquitous fact connected
with the existence of mankind upon the earth."
Man is incurably religious and his religion expresses
itself in many ways. This, in a measure, accounts for the
variety of religious denominations. But religion is life.
It is not manufactured by priests and ministers; it is born
in the hearts of men. Life produces organisms. There is
no life anywhere without organization.
Some men say: "I believe in religion, but I don t be-
lieve in the Church." You cannot have real religion with-
out organization; not necessarily the form of organization
which we find in the Church today, but some kind of
organization must result from religion.
' It should never be forgotten, in a discussion with re-
gard to the Church, that man's greatest need is spiritual
and that the Church is the organization which has been
created to satisfy this need. ;
But the success of the Church is not indicated by its
wealth, its enormous membership, Its splendid form of
worship; for, after all, religion cannot be an end in itself.
The Church, in order to make good, must direct religion so
that it will be of social value. It is the business of the
Church to save not itself, but the world.
miiiimummiimii
uimimiwHtiHiiMtHiiimuiimi*
it.iiuiHimmumiinmiiuiuniuiiinnini
utiiinttummttHtHUHUHHumiii
ii,mimnmmtiiiiiititmnn
Until Victory Comes
By Francis L. Patton, D.D.
rpiLL the great accent is *%•***£ ^^#££3
/ Let the pulpit refrain from the soft evas tons mat we r
* learn from the Old Testament Sc^"s*h'/ZserJle to a noble cause
eons indignation. Let the press take care **«*> „ in the field. Let the plat-
by reckless criticism of men in high ^J^/iCeal audSoV-general of the
form orator retire from fas se f*PP°>ff &"•% ^tury of wrong-doing
World's moral transactions, since he will not fine Una ^j*"?^ •„ \e last
by the Allied nations any substantial 0ff-fJ0Jf*"°™d partnership of Turk
four years have been charged to the account of the "^T/urAest frontier of her
Ld Teuton. And let there come 'n Britain mdj the fumest pr' ^
wide domain, and in America throughout the ^expam ,e oj ^
territory, an ever new and ever deepening ™™rationj f heart ^
energy to this sacred enterprise until the work """have her window on the
the coming of the wished-for da y when fjbia'haU" ,aven
sea; when Italia irredenta shall find her s^Z'JbVher own fierce action of re-
rid of the Hun's polluting presence; when France ty™*™" ■£ . md France
Plevin shall snatch from the hands of thejnemyher ^f0™^ friendship
and England and America shall live tog eth er «*^g* ^ fwho fought to-
which will need no other seal than the blood of their tier o f death
gether side by side, and from the same cup took the solemn sacram
iniinifltiiMiiiiiimi.i'Mmimiitni
iiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiHimiiiiciiiiiiiniiHiniiiiiliiuiiuilHliiiilllilHluiniiiiiiuililiiiHiiiii
;miiillUiiniiliiiiiUii!lUiHUMIlli
MllltflSUMM
uiuuuuinummimmimiwi'iiimu
„„„„ m„ ...«.»»» mmmmmmmmm
„„|Umnm«nm«nimramra.iumK1ii.m
The Soldier and the Cigarette
SMOKING is an almost universal army habit. It may be
said to be rapidly coming to be an adult masculine habit
in business and industrial circles. Ten years ago we
were spending a little over six dollars per capita for tobacco;
today we are spending quite double that amount or twelve
dollars per capita. This means an average of six dollars
per family, or the interest of $1,000 permanently invested at
a rate above the average loaned money will bring. The total
is a sum greater than we pay for bread. It is three times as
much as we give for education and four times what we invest
in religion. We are devoting a million and a half acres to
its cultivation in these war times when every acre is needed
to feed the world, and moreover tobacco is one of the greatest
of soil robbers.
* % *
Why Does the
Soldier Smoke?
The soldier who does not smoke when he arrives at the
camp is pretty sure to adopt the universal habit of his
pals very quickly. In the first place, he adopts with all the
avidity of youth the characteristic good fellow's modern gos-
pel of "everybody's doing it"; in other words, the law of
imitation is powerful with youth. There is the isola-
tion that one feels in a strange crowd, the loneliness of
the multitude and the strain of adjustment to a life that is
new and different in every particular. Then there is the army
tradition and the timeless habit of soldiers regarding all man-
ner of dissipation, and, above all, the tension upon the nerves
brought by the war business. The lad may not be aware of
this tension, but it is there. One cannot practice with the
bayonet without visualizing the actual combat for which he
is preparing, and it is a horrible business — one that a man
with iron nerves cannot contemplate without stringing them
up to the tautest. At the front the ordeal is raised to the
n'th degree. The wounded lad asks for a cigarette before
water, they tell us. He finds great satisfaction in his "fags"
when at the lonely and dangerous observation post, and night
service makes extra special draft upon the tobacco pouch.
Now the reason for all this is that tobacco is a sedative;
it soothes the nerves and takes the tautness out. The reac-
tion is pleasant and a great satisfaction for the moment, so
he prolongs the moment into a regular habit. It helps him
to forget the wet and mud and loneliness and danger and
takes the edge off the grouch. After the seasickness of the
first ordeal there is no such after effect as in the case of
alcohol and the most habitual user is never made to feel like
he wants to shoot up the town or act the bully, or prey upon
the helpless, or in any way act insane or play the criminal.
Smoking is therefore removed from the category in which
alcoholic indulgence is placed and one indulges without any
qualms of conscience unless he has been made sensitive to
certain conventional objections to the use of tobacco, such
as apply to ministers and women and school teachers in the
northern states, and almost nowhere else. Moreover, the real
objections to the use of tobacco have not been taught in the
schools and pulpit and press as have those of liquor drinking.
So we take liquor away from the soldier and make it a grace
to send him cigarettes.
* * *
The Army Cigarette and the
Anti-Cigarette Crusade
The anti-cigarette crusade was gathering good headway
when the war broke out. The society had a half-million mem-
bers, the schools were teaching its evils and several states
had enacted prohibitory or regulative legislation. There is
no doubt that as soon as booze could be outlawed the "deadly
coffin nail" was in for a fray that would cost its life in course
of time. Now the popular adulation of the brave lads who
fight our battles leads us to approve his use of the cigarette
and we put them in his ration, dispense them through the
army Y. M. C. A. in France, garner funds for them at polite
socials, and in general put them first among symbols of
gratitude to the soldier. The preacher at the front or in the
camp looks apologetically upon the habit or openly condones
it, and the enforcement of the regulative ordinances and laws
goes by the board everywhere except in Kansas. Meanwhile,
the lad who would never have used them at home adopts
them in the army and the one who stays at home follows
in his steps. The result is that the habit will be fixed upon
the nation at the end of the war in a manner it could never
have been without war. Yet if it was a "coffin nail" before
war it is none the less one in and after war; if the crusade
was right and justified by the injury done youth then it will
be doubly justified after it is fixed upon the millions by war.
But there is a difference between such a crusade after
the war and one during war. War brings a crisis and the nor-
mative course of many things must halt or be accelerated ac-
cording to the cause involved. The reform that is well estab-
lished in good judgment and the public conscience, and is
vital to efficiency in war making, will be accelerated. Such
is the case with liquor prohibition and with the abolition of
evils in the labor world. But tobacco was not so under the
ban and there was no general conscience upon the matter
nor any wide awakening or agreement of moral judgment in
regard to it. The result is that a halt is called until the crisis
is past. Never before in the history of war was it possible
to put over liquor reform, and it is not possible now, appar-
ently, in any other land than our own. The reason is that
never before was any nation prepared for the reform as ours
is now prepared by the generation of education, regulation
and crusading.
♦ * *
The Issue Must
Be Kept Clear
The tactics of reform are quite as valuable as the con-
science for it. Let us keep the issue clear. Tobacco is not a
stimulant like alcohol and is not chargeable with the crimes
of liquor. It is a sedative and the worst that can be said
of it is that it lowers vitality and thus gives disease easier
inroads and dulls mental action. All its influences are to
engross through its opiate influences. It is not deadly like
opiate drugs simply because it is better diluted. Nicotine is
a deadly poison when isolated in quantities. There are a
number of strong alkaloids in the weed that are deleterious
and some aldehydes that are deadly, but they exist in a mild
form in the tobacco we use. They put nature to a trying
in resisting them, and where they overcome their influence
is all against efficiency and good health. No claim made for
tobacco as a preservative of teeth, etc., is justified by science.
If men do not suffer from its use it is because they resist it
just as we do the tubercular and typhoid germs that we gen-
erally carry around with us. Its every effect is against us
when it effects anything; its only defense is in the mildness
of its drugging. Six Canadian insurance companies found
that its users lived an average of eight years less than non-
users. There is a long and authoritative list of like counts
against it in the medical world. Yet it is not deadly like
opium and cocaine, and to put it in the same category is to
block intelligent and discriminating warnings against it.
% * #
Ordinary Smoking and the
"Deadly Coffin Nail"
There is a difference between tobacco used in the pipe
or cigar and the cigarette. The former may be tolerated and
condoned when the latter should be prohibited. Here again
the issue should be kept clear. Prose poems on "My Lady
14
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 19, 1918
Nicotine" may be part and parcel with ancient odes to Bac-
chus, but they are at least much more tolerable from the
viewpoint of science, health, morals and social welfare. The
average smoker loses the finer sense of social courtesy and
blows his smoke into the faces of ladies and non-users as if
his right were impervious, and the average smoking com-
partment is more like a hog car than a human habitation, but
homes are not ravaged or asylums filled, or poverty increased,
or families disgraced by it as with opium and liquor. So
long as we use coffee and tea will we use tobacco probably.
It is a stronger drug than either our breakfast or tea cup,
but it is more nearly in their categories than that of opium
and alcohol. But the cigarette is tobacco drugging lifted to
its highest and most dangerous degree; it may be said it is
tobacco smoking raised to the point of an actual harmfulness
that puts it nearly if not quite in the same class as the use
of opium. This is not because the cigarette is drugged; Dr.
Wiley and other authorities testify that their researches have
not justified that charge against it, but they also say that it is
deadly just the same. The reason is that the tobacco is
loose in the paper, whether a manufactured one or a "roll
your own" variety, and that the user breathes it into lungs
and bronchial tubes, and thence comes its deadliness. The
result is affections of nerves, the heart and lungs and the
brain. That is why employers are putting it under the ban
just as they do liquor. The habitual user loses out; he is
drugged and poisoned by multiplying nicotine's application
until it can no longer be tolerated as harmless because mild.
When the war is over the church, the Y. M. C. A. and all
reform organizations have a big task on hand. The "deadly
coffin nail" is none the less deadly because of war. Every
excuse for it that war's emergency makes is gone when the
war is over. Booze will be in the discard and lovers of youth
and the generation they are to make must deliver them from
the cigarette.
Alva W. Taylor.
The Larger Christian World
A Department of Interdenominational Acquaintance
Distinguished
Pacifist Dies
The recent death of Rev. Jenkin Lloyd Jones removes
from Chicago one of its best known ministers. He was in his
seventies at the time of his death and died as the result of a
surgical operation. He was a Welshman with the warm emo-
tional life of his country. With this was combined a mind that
thought clearly on the great problems of religion. Many years
ago he came to be at variance with the arid intellectualism
that characterized Unitarians and introduced a social element
into his ministry. As a result of these social ideals Lincoln
Center, a great institutional church, was built, with an educa-
tional program for the community. He founded a religious
newspaper, Unity, which not only circulated in those de-
nominations that claim to be "liberal" but also among many
evangelicals. Mr. Jones was a veteran of the civil war, and
for that reason his espousal of the pacifist doctrine is the more
surprising. He went on Henry Ford's peace ship and recently
resigned from the Chicago Peace Society because of its pro-
gram of inactivity during the war. Though not preaching to
large congregations in his church in recent years, he has been
a familiar figure in the larger municipal enterprises and has
had a ministry much larger than that of his church. It will
not be possible to find any man that can come in and fulfill
the many functions he has exercised in recent years.
Tiplady Writes
From the Front
Rev. Thomas Tiplady has come to be one of the best
known chaplains of the war through his literary activities. He
has written to his friend, Rev. T. Brabner Smith, of Chicago,
recently concerning conditions at the front. He says: "We
are getting badly bombed at nights here and one has the feel-
ing that any night may be our last. * * * We don't love
the moon at all now-a-days. We have fallen in love with
winds, clouds, rain and mist or other ugly things of that kind
instead. We have crowds of your soldiers all around us, and
it gladdens our hearts to see them."
Has to Find a
New Job
The Chicago Christian Industrial League, a Presbyterian
organization, has been operating for a number of years, em-
ploying down-and-out men in making discarded materials over
into salable articles. The unfortunate men were given food,
lodging, and some wages. The war has «o far absorbed this
class that part of the equipment must now be devoted to other
uses. The mission services in connection with the work show
an attendance of 239,162 in recent years, of whom 5,080 men
and women professed conversion.
Japanese Bishop
in America
The Methodist church in Japan has a native bishop, and
he is now in this country touring the states and speaking
in behalf of the Methodist Centenary Mission fund of $80,000,-
000. He has a great story of the triumphs of the gospel beyond
the sea.
Wants Salaries
Raised
The Literary Digest very seldom uses much space in set-
ting forth its own opinions, and the more remarkable, there-
fore, is their action in giving a whole page to the subject of
ministerial salaries in war times. It calls attention to the im-
portance of the minister in times of war in the service of the
people and calls on its readers to support a movement for an
increase of 50 per cent in ministerial salaries.
Episcopalian Quota of
Chaplains Full
Under the new law each denomination is allowed to ap-
point chaplains in accordance with its numerical strength in
the population. The Episcopalian quota is now full, both for
the army and the Red Cross service. The War Commission
of the denomination provides each chaplain with a portable
altar, a Corona typewriter, service books and other things he
may need for the moral and spiritual welfare of the men.
Since the beginning of the war the commission has supplied
117,000 service books, 81 portable altar sets and 52 typewrit-
ers.
Union £n
Mission Field
The missionary area of northeastern Africa, with a mis-
sionary center in Kikuyu, has recently reached a most im-
portant agreement to unite the Christian work in that field
being done by the Church Missionary Society, the Church of
Scotland (Presbyterian), the United Methodist Church and
the Africa Inland Mission. The Bishop of Zanzibar, who
has been in the limelight on account of his aggressive de-
nominationalism, opposed the plan, but it carried and will be
September 19, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
15
put into operation at once. There will thus be a united Chris-
tian front in a section of the world where Mohammedanism
is strong.
A Protestant Movement
In Belgian Army
There is a Protestant movement of some dimensions in the
ranks of the Belgian army. Mr. and Mrs. Ralph C. Norton of
London, who have been distributing testaments while in the
service of the "League of the Holy Scriptures," have not only
distributed the scriptures but have organized prayer meetings
among the soldiers. Recently a whole Belgian regiment voted
for a Protestant chaplain.
Endowment for
Ministerial Pensions
The Presbyterian Church in the United States, operating in
the South, has recently increased its endowment for ministerial
pensions to $560,000 and is asking for a million dollars. They
are now paying out pensions of $60,000 per year, part of which
comes from offerings from the churches.
Stationery for
; the Soldiers
The red triangle has come to be a familiar sign in every
home from which a soldier has gone, since most of the letters
from the army are written on Y. M. C. A. stationery. The
Y. M. C. A. has just ordered 300,000,000 sheets, two-thirds for
the cantonments in this country. The soldiers in the home
camps are using the letterheads at the rate of 12,000,000 a week.
These are furnished to the soldiers free, as well as the en-
velopes. A million sheets of paper are being sent to the Italian
soldiers and 10,000,000 to French soldiers.
Want Pastors for
Union Churches
Under the present missionary comity seaport cities in
many sections of the world have union churches for the Anglo-
American population which are ministered to by men chosen
bj a committee representing all the boards. Dr. Robert E.
Speer is chairman of this committee. Several positions are
now open. Young or middle-aged men that are married but
have no children are the type that are mostly sought. These
must be men of unusual culture, force and adaptability.
Advertising Church
Benevolences
The Methodist Board of Conference Claimants has set the
pace in this country for an advertising policy for their re-
ligious work. They have been checking up on results recently
and have found that some of their large gifts were suggested
by the reading of ads in church newspapers.
Episcopalians Pay
Large Pensions
The Church Pension Fund of the Protestant Episcopal
church now has in force 216 pensions, and these pay out an
annual amount of $260,591.37. There was recently granted a
widow's pension to an Alaskan Indian woman who was the
wife of the first native Alaskan missionary ordained by Bishop
Rowe. The amount given was not large, but the expenses of
living in the Indian population of that country are quite mod-
erate.
Bishop Henson Preaches in
Non-Conformist Chapel
The long-standing policy of aloofness on the part of the
established church in its relations to non-conformists in Eng-
I land is being broken down under war conditions. The newly
appointed modernist, Bishop Henson, whose selection has been
protested by the reactionary elements in the church, has an-
nounced that in his diocese church of England clergymen may
exchange pulpits with ministers, and he has set the example
by preaching recently in Carr's Lane chapel in Birmingham.
Ministers as
Munition Makers
When this war is over it will hardly be possible for any-
one to charge the ministers with being "slackers." After the
chaplaincies have been filled and the ranks of the Y. M. C. A.
recruited 500 ministers have gone into munition making, this
on the authority of the Boston Transcript. For the most part
these are to be found along the Atlantic coast. Rabbi Stephen
S. Wise has gone into munition making and is giving his salary
to war charities.
Russellites
Leaving Brooklyn
The leaders of the Russellite denomination, which oper-
ates under various names in order to camouflage itself in dif-
ferent communities, have been imprisoned at Atlanta, Ga., for
treasonable activities. The sect will now move its headquar-
ters to Atlanta, and the Brooklyn Tabernacle has been sold
to the Cameron Machine Company and the Bethel home is al-
most completely dismantled. This is the sect which was selling
"miracle wheat" a few years ago, which was to aid in the ush-
ering in of the millennium.
Claims to
Be Loyal
The Atlantic district of the Missouri Synod Lutherans
recently held their annual meeting, at which they disclaimed
any tendency to disloyalty in their ranks. This pronounce-
ment will help to clear up the attitude of a denomination, some
of whose ministers have made most regrettable mistakes in
the early days of the war.
Orvis F. Jordan.
A Strong Sunday School
Means a Great Church
Wise is that pastor who gives much attention
to the proper development of his Sunday school.
There is many a leader today who is wondering
why his church does not thrive. He might answer
his question by a look at his school — which per-
haps lives simply by what tail-end attention it
can get. If you wish to see your church prosper,
begin to plan NOW for the autumn quarter in
your Sunday school. It is not a week too early.
Of chief importance in the school is the study
literature used. You do your young people a
wrong if you do not see that they have the best
"spiritual pabulum" available. Do not make
choice of your literature until yon have secured
returnable samples of the Bethany Graded Lessons.
The
Christian Century Press
700 East 40th Street
CHICAGO
16
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 19, 1918
A COMMUNICATION
FOR the Disciples of Christ — congregational in church gov-
ernment and democratic in every note and accent and
whisper in the free, unrestrained exercise of the individ-
ual mind upon any subject-matter anywhere in the realms of
science, philosophy, religion, literature — in the Bible or out
of the Bible — for the Disciples of Christ, I say, who accept
no authority other than the self-imposed authority logically
and lovingly involved in the submission of the soul — the indi-
vidual soul — to the mind and will of Jesus the Christ, is there
any half-way house between Rome and Reason?
The Church of Rome claims and exercises ecclesiastical
authority over her clergy, her administrational agencies, her
faith and order. It is as perfect a piece of mechanical effi-
ciency as the "Potsdam gang" is of German efficiency. The
Roman church in the realm of faith and conscience is the
counterpart of Prussian militarism in statecraft. Her inquisi-
tion is historic proof of her efficiency when the conditions
exist and the opportunity offers for the brutal infliction of
her penalties. Prussian ecclesiasticism — ecclesiastical au-
thority, in a word, ripe, mature and ready for operation — is
not one whit different in spirit and results from Prussian
Junkerdom. The "Christian Standard" is upholding and
countenancing in its ugly fight on the College of the Bible
pro-Germanism in the realm of religion. German "kultur"
would impose by force of arms its methods and spirit on
education, government and religion. The "Christian Standard"
in a very much narrower sphere of influence would by ap-
peal to a narrow and bigoted public sentiment dominate col-
lege and church among the Disciples and would make a free
brotherhood obedient to its "kultur" on penalty of withdrawal
of money appropriations for the colleges, on penalty of losing
the support of congregations who under its propaganda are
to be persuaded that Lexington is the hot-bed of heresy and
that Lexington Discipledom and trusteedom must surrender
to its "kultur" — in a word, its interpretation of science and
Scripture, its conclusions as to qualifications of professors and
what they shall teach, or surrender to the half-baked and
wholly inarticulate "resolutions" of church boards who would
not know higher criticism if they should meet it in the middle
of the road, even though it should be wearing the insignia
of destructive scholarship and self-conceited intellectualism.
If this is not what the "Standard" means by its propa-
ganda— what is it trying to do? Lexington at present repre-
sents for the Disciples the Allied forces, solidly and unitedly
pledged to liberty and democracy in the realm of faith and
conscience in behalf of professor, preacher, pew and pure
and unadulterated Protestant Christianity. The "Christian
Standard" (pity it is beyond words) represents Germanism —
the Central Powers — in supporting impertinent absolutism
over a religious people, the breath of whose life is liberty.
Those of us who love religious liberty no less than civil
liberty (the one in part involving the other) — who would fight
for the former more readily even than the latter — can only
deplore the folly and futility of the "Standard's" course. A
great religious journal now to be thought of reminiscently as
"the glory that was Greece, and the grandeur that was Rome."
Shades of Isaac Errett !
Transylvania college and the college of the Bible, the
president and most of the faculty, the curators and supporters
of both institutions, collectively and severally, have for many
months past obsessed the "Christian Standard." What is the
trouble?
The "Standard's" program seems to be, to "the man up
the tree," to have the great brotherhood regard the "Standard"
as the champion of orthodoxy — the keeper from Philistine
touch of the Ark of the covenant — the defender of the faith;
and incidentally, of course, to enlarge its borders and to
strengthen its stakes as respects the counting room. To
secure this much desired end, this high vantage of super-
orthodoxy, it would Belgiumize the Lexington Colleges on
the ground that certain of the professors are undermining the
faith of tender ministerial students; that the accused pro-
fessors are guilty of perverting the funds of its donors in
that they are teaching something different, something more
or something other than that taught by those noble men of
God, McGarvey, Loos, Grubbs, Graham; that, in short, they
are promulgating higher criticism, evolution, German phi-
losophy, rationalism and letting loose those imps of the pit —
liberty, democracy and devil-may-care indifference to religious
Junkerdom (the "Christian Standard" the most sweet-scented
and Christian example); that the professors and curators are
favorable to open membership, the reception of unimmersed
Christians into our churches, and that, to be brief, the "Chris-
tian Standard" hath spoken and, therefore, let the Men and
Millions committee understand that they must withdraw ap-
propriations to all suspect colleges and that all the churches
of this great brotherhood shall put themselves on record as
not willing to give so much as a red copper to such suspect
and dangerous institutions, and that "we here highly resolve"
that our money shall go to Grigsby's Station, over whose
white portals is inscribed the legend for all incoming and
HOW THE
20th Century Quarterly
May be used:
1. All classes above Senior 4th year should use
it. Up to and including that year, all pupils of
the school are supplied with our regular Bethany
Graded Lessons. The "20th Century" is just as
well suited to classes of 80-year-olds as to classes
of High School pupils.
2. Home Departments should use it. The
Quarterly contains all the material that is essen-
tial for a thorough and vital study of the Bible
lessons ; the "padding" of the conventional Home
Department Quarterly is eliminated, thus saving
the time and patience of the student.
3. AH teachers of classes in the Uniform
lessons should use it.
4. All superintendents should use it.
handy as well as complete.
It is
5. All Pastors should have it as a handy guide
on the lessons.
6. All persons who are not in the regular Sun-
day school, or in the Home Department, should
have this booklet for personal study of the Bible.
It makes a fine home study reading course.
This Quarterly is the one you have been wishing
for for many years. It will keep
your classes awake.
Send for free sample copy.
The Christian Century Press
700 East 40th Street
CHICAGO, ILL.
September 19, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
17
outgoing students to read, "As it was in the beginning; is
now, and evermore shall be. Amen."
In harmony with the spirit of the "Standard" as evidenced
in its continuous attack on the Lexington institutions is its
opposition to the selection of Mr. Arthur Holmes as the
president of Drake University. "The Standard" tells us that
Mr. Holmes is a member of "the Campbell Institute" and any
member of the Campbell Institute is persona-non-grata and really
hurts its orthodox feelings. Is Mr. Holmes a scholar, a
Christian and a capable executive? What matters? It is
enough that the "Standard" shall frown. Let preachers,
churches, colleges, Men and Millions, missionary boards, con-
ventions beware! How dare any of us stand in a Disciple pul-
pit dedicated to liberty, loyalty and Christian union, subject
only to the authority of Jesus Christ as supreme Lord of
mind and heart and conscience and remain for a single mo-
ment a member of the Campbell Institute! What do you
mean, you trustees of Drake University, by attending to your
own business in selecting your own professor, without wait-
ing for the "Standard" to pass on his orthodoxy?
1. Does the "Standard" believe that essential Christian
faith or the cause of Christian education is harmed in the
selection of Mr. Arthur Holmes as president of Drake?
2. Is anything more to be required or even desired of the
president of a Christian institution among the Disciples of
Christ, over and beyond the fact of Christian character, other
than qualifications which fit him for such an executive and
administrative position?
3. Is there some other creed than the "Good Confession"
to be held by college presidents and professors, subscription
to which is a condition for educational leadership among the
Disciples?
It would be a matter of "sho-'nuff" interest if the "Stand-
ard" would draw up and print its creed and frankly say, "We
are representing the great brotherhood of the Disciples (with
a big "d" or a little "d"), and we hereby give notice that from
henceforth it is to be understood that preachers and professors
shall subscribe to this creed." Perhaps the first article as
illustrative of what the "Standard" wishes to be accepted and
the method to be employed might read, We believe the Bible
has anticipated all of knowledge in all realms of nature and
science and philosophy, and therefore since the word "evolu-
tion" is not mentioned in the Bible, let no professor or any
college of the Bible teach "evolution" or mention "evolution."
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
Teach that. It is enough. Does God create immanently or
externally? Is creation a process or a feat? Was the whole
universe swung into space by one mighty hurl of the omnific
arm or the fiat of the spoken word?
Even ministerial students, if they be not bone-heads, ex-
pect their professors to say something, to give them an inter-
pretation of a text. Does the "Standard" wish this sort of
a silent sphinx to hold the professorships of our colleges?
"What is your understanding, professor, of the text 'In the
beginning God created,' " asks the student. And the professor
replies, "I have no understanding. I am barred by the
Christian Standard's creed, clearly drawn up and specifically
stated, from saying anything on the subject. The Book says
just what it says. Now, let us repeat it altogether. 'In the
beginning.' Fine!" I congratulate you on your intellectual
and spiritual progress. My beloved student, isn't this a
"g-r-r-and and glo-ry-ous feelin'?"
Louisville, Ky. E. L. Powell.
"For their sakes" — that is the principle of service; "I sanctify
myself" — that is the education of the individual ; and in the giving
of a consecrated individual for the sake of an unconsecrated world
the desire of Jesus Christ, even for himself, is fulfilled. — Susan E.
Blow.
He was so suspicious of other men that other men were sus-
picious of him.— Fiske.
The Worst
We Can Do
To stop Dr. Shelton in his march to-
ward Lhassa, the last capital of the world
remaining closed to Christianity ;
To call back our vanguard from Par-
aguay, the keystone republic of South
America that has been left wholly in
our hands ;
To prevent the return of the mis-
sionaries to Mexico, where none but
American Protestant Missionaries can
effect a reconciliation ;
To keep closed hospitals that were
gates of life and light in India and
Africa ;
To abandon schools in Japan that
were agencies of international friend-
ship, as well as strongholds of Chris-
tian conquest ;
To surrender in China the great
Nantungchow district with its accumu-
lated obligations and infinite possibili-
ties ;
To desert the Russians and Bohe-
mians in American cities who depend
on us for light ;
To give over to a worse slavery the
Negroes of the South ;
To leave churchless and hopeless our
own brethren in new cities and fron-
tiers ;
To deny education to our youth and
a trained ministry to our churches ;
To starve our aged ministers and
discourage their successors ;
To disfellowship our preachers who
have received commissions as Chap-
lains in the Army ;
To turn over to Romanism the
orphans of our churches and to poor-
houses our aged and infirm ;
To prove recreant to the trust of
President Wilson and General Persh-
ing.
To become faithless to France, Bel-
gium, Italy and Great Britain ;
Is just to FAIL TO PAY OUR EMERGENCY
DRIVE PLEDGES, thus halting the forward
march of the Disciples of Christ.
The year ends Sept. 30th. Its record, reported
in the St. Louis Convention, will be the basis of
next year's advance or retreat. WHICH SHALL
IT BE?
MEN AND MILLIONS MOVEMENT
222 W. Fourth St.
Cincinnati, Ohio
Disciples Missionary Organization
The Story of the Rise of Plural Societies and Their Evolution Into a Single, United
Missionary Agency
THE first missionary society among the Disciples of
Christ took the world as its field. The name proposed
by the Committee on Constitution was the "Christian
Home and Foreign Missionary Society." The name adopted
was the "American Christian Missionary Society." Though
the name was changed, the purpose remained the same. The
object of the society was to promote the preaching of the
gospel in destitute places in this and other lands.
Under the auspices of the American Society the gospel
was preached in Jerusalem, Liberia, Jamaica; and in Phila-
delphia, Buffalo, Chicago and many other destitute places in
the United States and Canada. The work abroad was inter-
rupted by the financial disturbances growing out of the Civil
War and by other causes; the work at home was continued
without interruption. At the Silver Jubilee of the society the
historian of the occasion said that in "the wide foreign fields
destitute of the gospel, we do not have a single herald of the
cross." Jerusalem and Jamaica were abandoned; Liberia was
forgotten.
The explanation of the discontinuance of the work abroad
was stated over and over again — "an empty treasury." The
officers of the society were in fullest sympathy with foreign
missions. Year after year resolutions calling for a renewal
of that work were adopted. The board was instructed to
begin one or more foreign missions. With an empty treasury
the board was helpless.
In the convention of 1872, it was stated that the Jamaica
mission had been almost abandoned for two years for want
of means to maintain it. The Annual Report suggested that
the mission be committed to a new and untried agency — "the
sisters of some of our states." The following resolution was
adopted: "That the Jamaica mission be revived, and that we
recommend the board to commit the financial interests of the
mission to our sisterhood in Indiana, under the direction of
the state board, in co-operation with the general board." The
suggestion of the Annual Report was the germ out of which
the Christian's Woman's Board of Missions grew.
The Foreign Society was organized because the American
Society. was not prepared to engage in any work in the re-
gions beyond. The convention of 1872 said that we owe it as
a duty to God and to our race to renew the work of foreign
missions as soon as practicable, and to the extent practicable.
The leading spirits in the American Society were entirely
willing and even anxious that a new society should be organ-
ized and afforded the friends of that cause every facility and
encouragement in their power. In 1875 a committee was
appointed to see what could be done in the way of forming
a foreign missionary society that would in no sense be in the
way of the general convention, but rather supplement its
work. The general convention promised part of its time to
the Foreign Society to present its work and to make its
appeal. It was agreed that both should meet at the same
place, that their reports should be published together, and in
all other cases they should co-operate in the most friendly
manner.
The convention of 1876, at Richmond, Va., unanimously
adopted two resolutions, which are as follows:
(1) "That we welcome as co-workers in the cause of
missions the 'Foreign Christian Missionary Society' and the
'Christian Woman's Board of Missions,' both of which pro-
pose to occupy the foreign field, and bid them Godspeed, re-
joicing with them in the work already accomplished, and be-
lieving that under God there is a brighter future before them.
(2) "That we most cordially invite these organizations
to a close alliance with the General Christian Missionary Con-
vention (American Society) in every practicable way; and
still we look forward hopefully to the time when such general
co-operation of the churches shall be secured as may enable
us to resolve all these organizations into one, efficient for
domestic and foreign mission work."
These resolutions were drawn up by A. I. Hobbs, J. C.
Goodrich and James Challen.
For more than thirty years the three societies conducted
their work in peace and harmony. To be sure, in places and
at times, some friction developed. The friends of one in-
terest thought the other interests were getting more than
their share. Complaints of competition and too many appeals
were heard. There was a growing conviction that if the
societies could be unified the work could be prosecuted more
effectively. Because of these complaints, in 1906, a commit-
tee known as the Calendar Committee, was appointed. The
duty of that committee was to consider all our organized
interests and to report a new and better scheme of offerings.
That committee, not being able to reach any satisfactory deci-
sion, was superseded by a Committee on Unification. This
committee was to take into serious consideration the recon-
struction of our organized missionary and philanthropic work,
with a view to the possibility and advisability of unifying all
the work under one or two boards with central headquar-
ters.
The Committee on Unification worked at the problem for
five years. The general convention of the Churches of Christ
was devised as a method for effecting what the committee had
in mind. In the preamble to the Constitution that was
adopted at Louisville, it is said that there is a widespread
feeling among the Disciples of Christ that they need a closer
unification of their various missionary, educational and
benevolent organizations. In the second article it is said that
one object of this convention shall be to promote unity,
economy and efficiency among all the philanthropic agencies
of the Churches of Christ. The Constitution adopted at Kan-
sas City speaks to the same effect. One of the objects of
the convention was declared to be to promote co-operation,
economy and efficiency among the various general agencies
of the brotherhood. The resolutions adopted under this Con-
stitution refer to the fact that the Christian Woman's Board
of Missions, Foreign Christian Missionary Society and the
American Christian Missionary Society have been success- j
fully co-operating in carrying on their work in some fields,
and have been considering the closer unification of all their j
work, not only in the field, but in the administration at home, j
r.nd especially commend them in their plan to have equal
representation of both men and women in the management j
of missionary matters, thus becoming the pioneers in the
full and complete unification of men's and women's work. |
They further say: "Believing that this plan will not only
hearten our missionaries upon the field, but will thrill our
churches in the homeland with greater zeal for the cause i
of our Lord, therefore we recommend that it be continued
until as soon as practicable there shall be complete unifica-
tion of our missionary interests, to the intent that we may
secure the largest results possible for the Kingdom of God,
and that we may exemplify before the world that unity which
we plead and for which our Master prayed."
The Christian Woman's Board of Missions and the Amer-
ican Christian Missionary Society have long been assisting
the work in more than thirty states. In India, the Christian
Woman's Board of Missions and the Foreign Christian Mis-
sionary Society have been in close co-operation from the be-
ginning. In recent years there has been one Advisory Com-
mittee on the field, one treasurer, and one annual convention.
Both organizations are working together in China and on the
September 19, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
19
Congo. Both assist in the selection of the missionaries and
in their support.
It should be stated that the pressure from the fields for
a united society was even stronger than the demand at home.
The missionaries believed that the best interests of the work
required one mission in each field, and the one mission sup-
ported by the united prayers and gifts of the churches at
home.
At the Kansas City convention, the largest gathering of
Disciples of Christ ever found under one roof in all our his-
tory, the proposal to unite the three larger missionary socie-
ties into one was presented for approval. The proposal was
presented six different times. Each vote was unanimous and
enthusiastic. The written report was supplemented by oral
statements showing that the union contemplated was a com-
plete union, and that the united staff would work together
under the same roof. The authors of the report said: "We
propose that the joint committee, following the leadings of
the Spirit, and the lessons of experience, submit plans to
their respective boards and their constituencies in annual con-
vention, which shall look toward the complete unification of
our home and foreign missionary work. In harmony with
the present-day trend of thought and action, and in view of
the success that has attended the labors of our women, both
in missionary administration and in service, we would suggest
that whatever unified organization may in the future result,
it include equal representation of men and women."
The report of the committee states that such unification
of our home and foreign missionary work, if accomplished,
will thrill our churches, bring new life to our missionaries,
reduce the number of our problems at home and abroad, in-
crease our receipts, and add to our efficiency.
One society carrying on all our missionary work was the
ideal from the beginning. The proposed United Society is
simply the realization of the ideal of the fathers and their
successors, and is not a new thing under the sun.
Since the Kansas City convention the question of merg-
ing the National Benevolent Association and the Board of
Ministerial Relief in the proposed United Society has been
under consideration and will be submitted to the St. Louis
convention for action.
The men and women who worked out the proposed Con-
stitution and By-laws are these: F. W. Burnham, G. K.
Lewis, G. W. Muckley, R. M. Hopkins, R. H. Miller; Mrs.
Anna R. Atwater, Mrs. Effie L. Cunningham, Mrs. Josephine
M. Stearns, Miss Daisy June Trout, Mrs. Ellie K. Payne; A.
McLean, S. J. Corey, Bert Wilson, A. E. Cory, R. A. Doan;
J. H. Mohorter, Lee H. Grant, I. R. Kelso, W. R. Warren.
* * *
United Missionary Society of Disciples of
Christ
PROPOSED CONSTITUTION
Article I
NAME
The name of this organization shall be the United Missionary
Society of Disciples of Christ.
Article II
origin
This Society is the resultant of the union of the following
organizations : American Christian Missionary Society, Christian
Woman's Board of Missions, Foreign Christian Missionary So-
ciety, Board of Church Extension, National Benevolent Associa-
tion, Board of Ministerial Relief, and continues their work and
assumes all their obligations.
Article III
object
The object of this Society shall be to preach the Gospel at home
ind abroad ; to maintain missionaries, preachers, and teachers in
America and other lands ; to establish and conduct schools, or-
phanages, hospitals and homes ; to pension and support aged and
iisabled ministers and missionaries and their dependent families;
o assist in the erection of churches and other buildings for re-
Thoroughly Approved
After nine years of useful service —
— THE —
ETHANY
Graded Lessons
This unsurpassed system of study literature for
the Sunday School ha3 now been thoroughly revised in
the light of nine years' experience, and as now sub-
mitted to our schools is even more thorough and
more attractive than ever.
Send for samples of the New Revised Bethany
Graded Lessons and plan to adopt the system in
your school in the Autumn — which means that your
examination of the literature should be made — NOW I
Courses Provided in the
Bethany Lessons
FOR CHILDREN
The Little Child and the Heavenly Father
( A two years' course for children under 6 years of age)
Bible Stories for the Sunday School and Home
( A three years' course for children of 6, 7 and 8 years of age )
FOR BOYS AND GIRLS
Stories from the Olden Time
(For pupils about 9 years of age)
Hero Stories
(For pupils about 10 years of age)
Kingdom Stories
(For pupils about 11 years of age)
Gospel Stories
(For pupils about 12 years of age)
FOR TEEN AGE PUPILS
Leaders of Israel
Christian Leaders
The Life of Christ
Christian Living
(For pupils about 13 years of age)
(For pupils about 14 years of age)
(For pupils about 15 years of age)
(For pupils about 16 years of age)
FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
The World a Field for Christian Service
(For pupils about 17 years of age)
History and Literature of the Hebrew People
(For pupils about 18 years of age)
History of New Testament Times
(For pupils about 19 years of age)
The Bible and Social Living
(For pupils about 20 years of age )
Send for returnable samples today
The Christian Century Press
700 East 40th Street, Chicago
20
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 19, 1918
ligious purposes ; to disseminate missionary information and to
encourage missionary and benevolent spirit and effort in the
churches ; and to engage in any form of Christian service that will
help to bring in the Kingdom of God, in which His will shall be
done, as in Heaven, so on earth.
Article IV
MEMBERSHIP
The membership of this Society shall be composed of all
members for the time being of the International Convention of
Disciples of Christ and all other Christian people who are com-
mitted to the purposes of the Society and who support its work.
The Life Directors and Life Members of the Societies forming
the union shall be Life Directors and Life Members of this So-
ciety. Any follower of Christ may become a Life Patron by the
payment of $1,000, which may be paid in five annual instalments ;
a Life Director by the payment of $500, which may be paid in
five annual instalments; a Life Member by the payment of $100,
which may be paid in five annual instalments; an Annual Member
by the payment of $25.
Article V
MANAGEMENT
The work of this Society shall be directed by a Board of
Managers and an Executive Committee. The Board of Managers
shall consist of two persons from each state or province of the
United States and Canada, two from each group of states or parts
of states or provinces organized into one Missionary Society,
two from each additional co-operating country, and two from each
mission field abroad. The Executive Committee shall consist of
sixteen members who shall live within easy reach of Headquarters.
Article VI
election
The members of the Board of Managers shall be nominated
at their respective state, regional, provincial and mission field
conventions, a man and a woman being nominated in each in-
stance, and elected by the Society in Convention assembled. The
Executive Committee shall be nominated by the Board of Mana-
gers at its annual meeting and elected by the Society in Conven-
tion assembled, and shall hold office for one year or until their
successors are elected. No salaried officer of this Society or of
any state, provincial or regional Missionary Society shall be a
member of the Executive Committee or of the Board of Mana-
gers.
Article VII
officers
The officers of the Society shall be a president, first and sec-
ond vice-presidents, secretaries, treasurer and recorder. The
officers shall be nominated by the Board of Managers and elected
by the Society in Convention assembled, and shall hold office for
one year or until their successors are elected.
Article VIII
representation
There shall be an equal number of men and women on the
Board of Managers and on the Executive Committee. Men and
women are eligible to any office of the Society and all offices, so
far as possible, shall be equally distributed between men and
women.
Article IX
MEETINGS
The Society shall meet annually at the same time and place
designated for the annual meeting of the International Conven-
tion of Disciples of Christ, and in case of need at the call of the
Executive Committee.
Article X
AMENDMENT
This constitution may be amended at any regular meeting of
the Society by a vote of two-thirds of the members present; pro-
vided such amendment shall have first been recommended by the
Board of Managers or shall have been presented in writing at a
preceding annual meeting.
BY-LAWS
I. Board of Managers
The Board of Managers shall have power to appoint its own
meetings ; elect its own chairman and clerk ; fill vacancies in its
own membership ; enact its own by-laws and rules of order ; pro-
vided, always, that they are not inconsistent with the Constitution
and By-Laws of this Society. The Board of Managers shall meet
annually at the Headquarters of the Society, or at such other place
as may be decided on at a previous meeting. It shall be the duty
of the Board of Managers to nominate the Executive Committee
and the officers of the Society; to consider all questions of policy
and methods and all plans of future work; to review the work of
the year and to present to the Society and to the International
Convention of Disciples of Christ a report of the same. The ac-
tion of the Board of Managers is subject to revision by the Society
in Convention assembled.
II. Executive Committee
The Executive Committee shall meet once a month at least
and oftener if necessary and shall consider and act upon all mat-
ters presented to it by the officers of the Society. It shall establish
such agencies as the interest of the work may require; appoint
agents, fix their compensation, and direct their labors ; it shall
make all appropriations out of the treasury, and shall determine
the salaries of the officers. However, any measure which would
change radically the business method or policy of the Society shall
be presented to the Board of Managers for action. It shall have
power to fill all vacancies in its own number and all vacancies in
the staff officers. A majority shall be competent to transact busi-
ness. The action of the Executive Committee is subject to revis-
ion by the Board of Managers.
III. Duties of Officers.
President — The president shall preside at the Annual Con-
vention and at all meetings of the Executive Committee, sign the
minutes of each Executive Committee meeting, and perform such
other duties as usually pertain to the office of president. In the
absence of the president one of the vice-presidents shall act. In
the absence of both vice-presidents, a member elected by the Com-
mittee shall preside. The president shall give full time to the
Society and shall be, ex-officio, a member of all committees.
Vice-Presidents — Either vice-president, acting in the absence
or disability of the president, shall have full power to exercise all
functions pertaining to the office of president.
Secretaries — The secretaries shall, under the direction of the
Executive Committee, carry on all the work of the Society not
otherwise provided for, and perform such other duties as may be
assigned to them by the Board of Managers and the Executive
Committee.
Treasurer — The treasurer shall receive all moneys belonging
to the Society and shall receipt for the same. The treasurer shall
keep an accurate account of receipts and disbursements and all
other financial transactions connected with the treasury of the
Society. The accounts of the treasurer shall be examined by
auditors selected by the Executive Committee. The treasurer shall
report the state of the funds, and whenever called upon shall
exhibit the books, vouchers and securities to the members of the
Finance Committee and auditors, and shall report regularly to
the Executive Committee the state of the treasury. The treasurer
shall honor all orders of the Executive Committee upon the treas-
ury. The treasurer shall pay outgoing and returning expenses
of missionaries, and all bills for office and miscellaneous expenses,
within the appropriations. The treasurer shall keep all unin-
vested moneys of the Society in deposit in such bank or banks
as shall be approved by the Committee on Finance, and in the
name of the United Missionary Society of Disciples of Christ,
and subject to the order of the treasurer. The treasurer shall have
the custody of all securities and property belonging to the Society;
shall have authority to sell stocks, bonds and other securities
belonging to the Society, and shall make such investments as
may be approved by the Committee on Finance, or a majority
thereof. The treasurer shall conduct all such correspondence as
properly belongs to the treasurer's department.
All annuity moneys shall be invested in interest-bearing secur-
ities until the death of the annuitant or annuitants.
The treasurer shall give bond in a responsible Fidelity Com-
pany in such amount as the Executive Committee may deem
necessary. The premium on said bond is to be paid by the So-
ciety.
Recorder — The recorder shall keep complete and accurate
minutes of the meetings of the Executive Committee, shall enter
the same in a book provided for that purpose, and when possible
shall present the minutes for the approval of the Executive Com-
mittee before adjournment of each meeting. The recorder shall
inform the treasurer of all appropriations authorized.
IV. Departments and Committees
The work of the Society shall be conducted under three di'
visions with departments as follows :
1. Division of Home Base
a. Department of the Treasury.
b. Department of Promotion.
c. Department of Missionary Education.
d. Department of Woman's Work.
e. Department of Candidates ; College of Missions.
f. Department of Literature and Publication.
2. Division of Administration for Home Missions
a. Department of Evangelization (church maintenance, im
migrant, social service, rural church, Negro work.)
b. Department of Mission Schools.
c. Department of Church Erection.
September 19, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
21
d. Department of Sunday Schools and Christian Endeavor.
e. Department of Benevolences.
f. Department of Ministerial Pensions and Relief.
3. Division of Administration for Foreign Missions.
a. Department of Latin America and Jamaica.
b. Department of Europe and Africa.
c. Department of Orient (India, Japan, China, Tibet, Philip-
pines).
These divisions and departments shall be intimately connected
with each other and the work of each department or sub-depart-
ment shall be directed by a committee appointed by the Executive
Committee, composed of members from the home base division,
the home missions and foreign missions divisions, with co-opted
members in addition to those from the officers of the Society
when deemed necessary. In addition to the Departmental Com-
mittees there shall be the following standing committees :
Committee on Estimates — This committee shall be composed
of two members from the Division of Home Base ; two members
from each Division of Administration of Home Missions and
Foreign Missions, and two co-opted members.
Committee on Finance — The members of this committee shall
be chosen by the Executive Committee.
Committee on Time and Place — This committee shall be
chosen by the Executive Committee and shall act in conjunction
with a similar committee of the International Convention of Dis-
ciples of Christ.
Department and Committees may be added or changed by the
Executive Committee as the interests of the work may require.
V. Officers' Council
The officers of the Society shall form a Council for the di-
rection of the work between Executive Committee meetings. This
Council shall appoint its own officers and shall meet weekly or
oftener as the work may necessitate.
VI. Woman's Work
1. The state, provincial, regional, county and district or-
ganizations of women shall continue to function as they did under
the Christian Woman's Board of Missions, but by virtue of their
being constituent parts of the International Christian Woman's
Board of Missions, they become part of this Society and shall
exist for the purpose of enlarging all the interests of the same,
upon adoption of the Constitution prepared for such constituent
organizations by the United Missionary Society of Disciples of
Christ, their Constitutions being so amended or remade as to be
in harmony with that of the United Missionary Society of Dis-
ciples of Christ. These organizations may at any time unite with
the other state, provincial, regional, county or district organiza-
tions of their respective state, province, region, county or district,
provided such are affiliated with this Society and desire to organize
with an equal representation of men and women in official repre-
sentative and executive capacity.
2. The local Woman's Missionary Societies, Young Woman's
Missionary Circles, and missionary organizations of boys and
girls shall be auxiliary to this Society. The organizations repre-
senting the co-ordinated work of women in local congregations
shall also be auxiliary to this Society by adopting the Constitu-
tion provided for such organizations by the United Missionary
Society of Disciples of Christ. Every Society auxiliary to this
Society shall act under the direction of the Executive Committee
of this Society and said Executive Committee shall provide that
such societies be developed and multiplied. For stimulating such
organizations aims shall be encouraged in membership, gifts,
mission study, etc.
VII. Admission of Other Societies.
If any state, provincial, regional, district or other missionary
or benevolent society shall wish to merge into the United Mis-
sionary Society of Disciples of Christ the Executive Committee
shall have authority to make the necessary arrangements, pro-
vided the merger is found advisable.
VIII. Amendment
An amendment to these By-Laws may be made at any regular
meeting of the Society, provided the amendment has been con-
sidered previously by the Executive Committee and the Board of
Managers.
News of the Churches
] Pittsburgh Ministers Organize
for the New Year
W. B. Mathews, secretary of the
j Christian Ministers' Association in the
: Pittsburg district, reports that on Sep-
' tember 9 the first meeting of the new
; year was held, with a large attendance
j and much enthusiasm. The chief part
I of the program was the installation of
! the new officers, who are as follows:
.; President, Wallace Tharp; vice-presi-
j dent, John R. Ewers; secretary-treas-
jurer, W. B. Mathews. In his inaugural
, address Mr. Tharp emphasized the spir-
jit with which the minister must enter
;into the war-time program of the
I church. The ministers present were:
!Fred Bright, Bellevue; H. R. Bellese,
1 Ellwood City; D. Park Chapman, Ob-
|servatory Hill; W. S. Cook, Wilkins-
burg; Rev. Mr. Daniels, Sheridan; J. R.
Ewers, East End; Fred Fink, Calvary;
Harry Ice, Beaver Falls; Rev. Mr. John-
son, Braddock; V. I. King, New Kin-
sington; W. B. Mathews, Squirrel Hill;
D. R. Piper, McKees Rocks; Wallace
Tharp, First; Geo. W. Wise, Knoxville
and O. G. Blackwell. The custom has
(been for the ministers to lunch together
'after the adjournment of the meeting.
IE. B. Bagby, of Washington, D. C,
Leads Church in Special Efforts
[ The second year of the pastorate of
'Edward B. Bagby at Columbia Heights
church, Washington, D. C, has been a
fruitful one. From September 1, 1917,
to September 1, 1918 there have been
104 accessions to the membership, giv-
ing the congregation a total member-
ship of 313. In meetings held else-
where the pastor has added 99 mem-
bers to churches. Nearly $10,000 has
been raised during the year on the lot
and building fund, in addition to money
raised for current expenses. During
September the following special days
are being observed: Anniversary day,
Sept. 15, with sermon by pastor on
"The Adventure of Faith." Church
membership day, Sept. 22; every Dis-
ciple in the neighborhood not identified
with some congregation is invited to
membership, permanent or temporary.
Fellowship day, Sept. 27, with social
and entertainment in evening and
"Sketches of Life in Old Virginia," by
the pastor. Bible School Rally day,
Sept. 29, with every old scholar and
many new ones present; attendance goal
of 300.
Forward Steps Reported by Association
for Promotion of Christian Unity
Henry C. Armstrong of Baltimore,
secretary of the Association for the
Promotion of Christian Unity, writes
that the association is just closing one
of the most useful years of its history.
During the year several important con-
ferences have been held, resulting in
real progress towards better under-
standing and unity. Also the sphere
and influence of the "Christian Union
Quarterly" has steadily increased. A
review of the history and work of the
Association from its beginning in 1910
to the present will be published soon
in a book entitled "Towards Christian
Unity." It will be prepared by Peter
Ainslie, president of the Association. As
the accounts of the Association close on
September 30 all the churches and Sun-
day schools are urged to send their
offerings for 1918 at once. Address,
Association for the Promotion of
Christian Unity, Henry C. Armstrong,
Secretary, Seminarv House, Baltimore,
Md.
War Brings Some
Changes at Hiram
It is expected that the number of
men enrolled at Hiram College this
fall will be the greatest in the history
of the institution. The old "Tabernacle,"
in which commencement exercises have
been held for the past forty years, will
be made over into barracks for the
new Students' Army Training Corps.
Preparations will be completed by the
opening of school October 1. Men not
accommodated by the tabernacle will
be placed in large houses adjacent. Ad-
ditional teachers of English and mod-
ern languages will be secured. The
laboratories of chemistry and physics
are being enlarged, and added equip-
ment is being installed.
Disciples Represented by Hundred
Chaplains in Army and Navy
Edward B. Bagby. of Washington,
D. C, writes that the Disciples have
been fortunate in securing men of fine
caliber to fill their quotas for chap-
lains in the army and navy. There are
now about 100 men who have been ap-
pointed chaplains in the army, or who
are in the chaplains' school, or are ap-
proved candidates awaiting the call to
the school. There is slight chance for
appointment of any more men before
the first of next year. Those who wish
to apply should write to the Federal
Council of Churches, Woodward Build-
22
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 19, 1918
ing, Washington, D. C, for application
blank. The Disciple chaplains in the
navy are as follows: Carroll C. Wright,
Naval Training Station, San Francisco,
Cal. ; William E. Anderson, U. S. S.
Prairie; Frank H. Lash, U. S. S. Mis-
sissippi; Hugh R. Davidson, U. S. S.
Huntington; William P. Reagor, U. S.
S. Maui; Joseph B. Earnest, navy yard,
Philadelphia; Paul Gordon Preston,
Marine Barracks, Paris Island, South
Carolina.
Carey E. Morgan Arrives
in France
Carey E. Morgan, of Vine Street
church, Nashville, Tenn, was recently
given a leave of absence for four months
by his congregation that he might un-
dertake service for the Y. M. C. A. in
France, devoting most of his time to
Tennessee soldiers. Mr. Morgan has
been a zealous patriot since the out-
break of the present war. A telegram
has just been received by Mrs. Morgan,
telling of his safe arrival in France.
Mr. Morgan, prior to sailing for France,
had been in training several weeks in
New York City, and except for the fact
that his stay in France has been short-
ened one month, he would have com-
pleted the entire course of training
which was for six weeks. In a message
from him which was sent just before he
sailed, he spoke of being in the best of
health and stated that the intense train-
ing received during the few weeks of
his stay in New York, had fitted him
splendidly for the work that confronts
him between now and October 15, at
which time he is expected to return to
Nashville.
* * *
— The good news comes that Mrs. J.
H. Gilliland, widow of the late leader
at Bloomington, 111., who now resides
with her daughter, Mary Gilliland Bram-
mer at Des Moines, is rapidly recover-
ing from injuries sustained by her a
few weeks ago in an automobile acci-
dent. She was in the hospital for three
weeks, suffering intensely from injuries
to the ribs of her left side. Excellent
care of physician and nurses accounts
for her recovery, writes Mrs. Brammer.
— The Disciples of Vinton county, O.,
held a large assembly meeting at Eagle
Chapel, September 8. I. J. Cahill, state
secretary, and William Cassidy, were
the speakers.
— Places and dates of the southeastern
conventions this year are as follows:
North Carolina, Nov. 5-8, Robersonville;
South Carolina, Nov. 7-9, Brunson;
Florida, Nov. 11-13, Tampa; Alabama,
Nov. 12-14, Gadsen; Georgia, Nov. 13-15,
Atlanta; Mississippi, Nov. 20-22, Jack-
son; Louisiana, Nov. 22-25, Jennings.
MFMORIAI CHURCH OF CHRIST
lWiUVIUKiAL (Disciples and Baptists)
CI-I I C A C n Oakwood Blvd. West of Callage Grow
1 II l^ a li U Herhi>r! L Wi[l*M Minister
— William John Gratton, Building
Secretary at Y. M. No. 91, Camp Dodge,
Iowa, who was formerly pastor at
Highland Park church. Des Moines, has
been called into the Training College of
the Y. M. C. A. in this city for a series
of lectures upon war work methods.
The college has an attendance of about
a hundred men who are preparing for
home and overseas service.
— T. A. Young reports that Children's
Day was observed in the Fukushima,
Japan, church on June 3. In spite of
many things that threatened to make the
attendance small, fully two hundred
children were present, besides many
friends and the parents of the children.
The church was beautifully decorated
with many kinds of flowers. Later these
were distributed among the children and
in the city hospitals.
- — R. D. McCoy, of Tokio, Japan, re-
ports the graduating class of the Boys'
Middle School as numbering 28. The
total number of students is 218. On
April 7 a meeting of the graduates liv-
ing in Tokyo and vicinity was called.
Twenty-three persons responded.
— George B. Stuart, of Dayton, O.,
who has been occupying the pulpit at
Central Church, North Tonawanda, N.
Y., since the going of George H. Brown
from the leadership there for overseas
"Y" work, has been given a call by that
congregation . A favorable decision by
Mr. Stuart was expected by the leaders
there.
— A. Wilson, for twelve years min-
ister at Genoa, O., has accepted a call
to the Jamestown, O., work.
— George Swann, recently of the
Earlington, Ky., church, has assumed
the pastorate at Edenside church,
Louisville, Ky., and is now at work
there.
— W. C. Ferguson, state secretary of
Mississippi, reports that the past two
months have seen unusual activity in
evangelism in the churches of that
state. The secretary will be in meet-
ings until late in October.
— Thomas A. Hendricks, the new
president of Hamilton College, Lexing-
ton, Ky., reports that "all available
space is taken, and there is a long wait-
ing list. Best year in the history of the
school."
CENTRAL CHURCH
142 West 81st Street
Finis S. Idleman, Minister
— The churches at Versailles, Murray
and Cadiz, Ky., are without pastors.
■ — The death is reported of Henry Le-
Moine, for many years an active and
generous member of Lyon Street church,
Grand Rapids, Mich.
— M. W. Bottome recently assisted
James Falconer, pastor at Newby, Ky.,
in an evangelistic meeting, with forty-
five accessions during an eleven-day ef-
fort.
— Word has come to friends that
Chaplain Lloyd Ellis, recently of Iowa,
has arrived safely overseas.
— Rex Cole, a Drake man, who later
took work in the University of Chicago,
and then entered "Y" service as secre-
tary in Japan, has returned to America
after two years spent in that field. He
is now a private at Camp Dodge, Des
Moines, and expects to get into an offi-
cers' training camp.
— State Superintendent J. B. Holmes,
of Texas Discipledom, reported that he
had seen about 110 of the 120 ministers
of Texas, and that they had to a man
consented to support the program of
the Texas State Missions Board. It is
planned to have the entire canvass of
the churches completed this month.
— There have been accessions to the
membership of the Paris (Texas) church
nearly every Sunday since June 1, un-
der the ministry of Ben M. Edwards.
— Cephas Shelburne, now of Lancas-
ter (Texas) church, will go to Sherman
in October to succeed there George W.
Cuthrell, who goes into army "Y" work.
Mr. Shelburne hopes to dedicate the
new building at Lancaster before leav-
ing.
— Thomas M. Iden, teacher of the
largest permanent University Bible
class in the world — that which has its
center at Ann Arbor, Mich. — reports a local
membership last year of about four hun-
dred men. This organization has sev-
eral thousand permanent members. The
class is called the Upper Room Bible
Class.
*»_ . *...* UWIOH AVENUE
\T I lit I IX CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Oil LUUIO Union and Von Versen Aves.
George A. Campbell, Minister
— J. E. Wolfe, of the Independence
(Mo.) church, is preaching a series of
sermons during September and October
on war and peace topics. The following
are the subjects: "The Origin and Na-
ture of War," "Can There Be a Right-
eous War?" "The Way of the Gentiles,"
"The American Way," "The Men in
Arms," "The Civilian in War Times,"
"The Unconquered Hope for Peace,"
"A Peace Just and Generous," "Politi-
cal Problems of Peace," "Economic
Problems of Peace," "Labor's Program
for Peace" and "One Keeping the
Peace."
— Guy Sarvis, of the University of Nan-
kin, China, is in Chicago. Mr. Sarvis has
recently undergone a rather serious opera-
tion in a Des Moines hospital. He is soon
to attend an educational conference in New
York City.
A : k far Catalogue and Special Donation Plan No. 27
(Established 1858)
THE C. S. BELL CO., H1LLSBORO, OHIO
Education
Contributions
Should reach the office of
the Board of Education on
or before
September 30, 1918
in order that churches
may receive
Credit in the Year Book
BOARD OF EDUCATION
OF THE
DICIPLES OF CHRIST
CARL VAN WINKLE, Treasurer
Irvington Station
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
September 19, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
23
— W. Paul Marsh, of the church at
Decatur, Ind., recently delivered the
chief address at a Liberty day celebra-
tion at Ft. Wayne, Ind., there being
about 15,000 people present at the as-
sembly. His topic was "America and
the War." Mr. Marsh has been styled
"The fighting parson of Adams county."
He has spoken all over the state since
I the beginning of the war in behalf of
i Liberty loans, Red Cross, Y. M. C. A.,
I etc. He is a member of the Speakers'
i Bureau of the State Council of Defense.
— Graham Frank, of Central church,
\ Dallas, Tex., has been elected president
| of the Dallas Christian Pastors' Associa-
j; tion.
— J. O. Crawford has resigned from
1 the work at Flint, Mich., where he re-
: cently led in the dedication of a fine
i new building.
— Mr. and Mrs. George H. Ramsey,
!' of the Ballard church at Seattle, Wash.,
i were recently given a reception upon
! Mr. Ramsey's return from the Louisville
Chaplains' training camp, where he re-
' ceived a commission as First Lieutenant,
i being assigned to service at Camp Gor-
i don, Atlanta, Ga. Lieut. Ramsey was
; presented by the members of the con-
j gregation with a silver wrist watch, a
i purse being presented also to Mrs.
i Ramsey.
—The Board of Ministerial Relief, 106
> E. Market street, Indianapolis, Indiana,
: has added 35 names to its roll in eleven
; months, making the total 180. The
smallest payment is $5 per month, the
j largest, with one exception, $30, and the
average $19. These amounts ought to be
increased, many new names added and
(the pension dues paid by active minis-
ters covered with four times their
'amount. The year ends Sept. 30. Those
|who approve any item of what has been
;done or what is proposed should not fail
;to be represented by an offering.
—Dr. H. L. Willett on last Sunday de-
(livered the memorial address at the annual
'convention of the International Lyceum As-
sociation, which has its sessions at the
'Hotel LaSalle in this city all this week.
(The subject of Dr. Willett's address was
"Immortality and the World War."
; — North Park church, Indianapolis,
Ind., suffered the loss of one of its most
idevoted workers in the death of Mrs.
IV. D. Starr, the wife of William D. Starr,
or many years pastor of Indiana
::hurches — at Warsaw, Muncie, Nobles-
nlle and Greensburg. Mr. Starr was
:ompelled to give up continuous pas-
oral work because of his health, but he
ind Mrs. Starr have continued as active
vorkers for the church in every possible
vay. J. D. Garrison, minister at North
Dark church, writes of Mrs. Starr: "It
vould be difficult to find a woman who
o-operated so perfectly and sympathet-
cally with her husband in his ministry
nd who bore excruciating pain with as
ireat fortitude." A. B. Philputt and E. L.
)ay_ assisted Mr. Garrison at the funeral
ervices.
— B. N. Melton, with Twenty-fifth
>treet congregation, Baltimore, Md.,
elebrated his second anniversary with
pat church on Sept. 15.
—A. Marshall Wingfield, pastor at Hope-
ell, Va., reports six accessions to the
tembership there. Meetings are now be-
fg held in the Y. M. C. A. auditorium.
• new building was begun last week,
opewell has the largest munition plant in
ie country. From a cornfield to a city
f 40,000 people in three years, is a brief
story of the city.
OF SPECIAL INTEREST TO
CHICAGOANS
Details of Inter-Church War Work Con-
gress to Be Held in Chicago Sept. 24-27
Men of national and international rep-
utation are on the program of the com-
ing Inter-Church War Work Congress,
which is to be held in this city Sept.
24-27.
The meeting has been planned by the
Chicago Inter-Church War Work Com-
mittee in conjunction with the national
Committee on the Churches and the
Moral Aims of the War and the National
Commission on Inter-Church Federa-
tions. The theme of the congress will
be "International Christian Fellowship in
the War." Four days will be covered by
the meetings, the first two days being
given over to a secretarial conference at-
tended by visiting church federation sec-
retaries from over the country. The
open meetings of the congress will be
held on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 26
and 27.
The public mass meeting to be held in
the Auditorium Friday evening, Sept. 27,
is of unusual importance. Churches en-
rolling fifty or more persons who will
promise to attend this meeting will be
assigned a box holding six persons, given
in recognition of their effort. Lists of
names, with addresses, should be sent
to the committee headquarters, 405 As-
sociation Building, at once. Tickets may
be secured for this meeting from the
Chicago War Work Committee, 19 South
LaSalle street. The presence of Bishop
Gore and Dr. Guttery of England, and
probably also of Secretary Josephus
Daniels, will make this session of very
great interest.
The sectional mass meetings an-
nounced for Thursday evening, Sept. 26,
in Evanston, Oak Park and Englewood
are to be addressed by the leading con-
gress speakers. They are planned largely
to serve the community in which they
will be held, but everyone attending will
be welcome.
The fellowship banquet, to be held at
the Auditorium Hotel Friday evening,
Sept. 26, at 6 o'clock, will be a happy
occasion. It will present an opportunity
to meet the congress speakers, federa-
tion secretaries and other out-of-town
guests. You can reserve the number of
plates wanted for your church now and
pay for them on the night of the ban-
quet.
The open conferences of the con-
gress on Thursday afternoon, Sept. 26, at
2:30 o'clock, and on Friday morning and
afternoon at 9:30 and 2:30 o'clock, are
planned for ministers and laity. Some
of the subjects to be discussed are as
follows: "An Effective Church Federa-
tion," "A League of Nations the Hope
of the World," "How to Apply the Presi-
dent's Messages in Our Own Commu-
nity."
Walter R. Mee
Executive Secretary.
Herbert L. Willett,
Chairman Congress Program Commit-
tee. ^
NOTES FROM MISSION FIELDS
D. O. Cunningham reports that there
are twenty people awaiting baptism in
the villages near Bilaspur, C.P., India.
These converts will be baptized as soon
as the floods recede sufficiently for Mr.
Cunningham to travel.
A missionary and his wife from one
of our mission fields have written the
Society asking for the privilege of giv-
ing $300.00 to the General Fund between
the present time and next April. These
good people are not only consecrating
their time and their talents to the work
of the Lord, but are giving liberally of
what means they have also.
As a result of a pre-Easter period of
instruction conducted for one week by
our women missionaries among thirty
women at Ruling, China, three women
and one school girl were baptized.
Dr. C. C. Drummond reports for the
month of May, the hottest month in the
year in India, when the thermometer
ranged from 100 degrees to 110 degrees
in the shade, that he gave 1,796 treat-
ments and had 847 new patients. Fie
performed six major and ten minor op-
erations. Let some American doctor
then get green with envy.
Ray E. Rice would like some one to
supply a special fund of $100.00 a year
for the play life of the orphans at Da-
moh. Who will do this? Twenty-four
of the boys of the Orphanage were bap-
tized in March.
The last call is being made to delin-
quent and delaying churches. Please
get your offering in before September
30, that you might have proper credit in
the Annual Report and the Year Book.
Mrs. Tabitha A. Hobgood reports
about 300 attending school daily at Lo-
tumbe, Congo Free State. She wrote
in April and said that they had received
no mail since January and at the time
of her writing was looking anxiously
for news from America.
Dr. C. C. Drummond, Harda, India,
reports 979 cases treated during the
month of April. The total attendance
at the dispensary was 1,995.
Miss Anna Louise Fillmore has her
hands full with the work at Southgate.
She will rejoice greatly when Miss
Mary Kelly, who is now on the ocean,
reaches Nanking.
Dr. C. C. Drummond says "Heathen-
ism is not dead yet. As I went to visit
a home to see a patient the other day,
I saw a man making an idol out of
stone. Yesterday morninq- as I went
to the hospital I saw a procession. Some
people were taking a god on a proces-
sion through the street. A platform
gorgeously decorated was placed on a
cart and the god placed on the platform,
hauled by oxen."
S. J. Corey, Secretary.
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 Journeyir.gs 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 Exnense.
DISCIPLES PUBLICATION SOCIETY
709 E. 40th St„ Chicago, 111.
For-
Your Men's Class
Your Women's Class
Your Young People's Class
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Lessons, etc., etc.
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Quarterly
Which is published first for the
Autumn Quarter, 1918
SEND FOR FREE SAMPLE COPY NOW
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"THE RIGHT LITERATURE
99
Last autumn our Bethany Graded Les-
son business was increased about 40%.
The new schools added to our list are en-
thusiastic in their praise of the literature.
An Ohio leader — formerly a state Sunday
school superintendent' — writes: ''We are
delighted with the Bethany Lessons." The
pastor of a great Eastern school reports:
"We feel that we have at last found the
right literature/' The religious education
director of another large school writes:
"Our people are entirely satisfied with the
Bethany Graded Lessons." Have you and
your leaders given consideration to this
question, "Are we using the literature best
adapted to the spiritual development of our
children and young people?" If you have
been careless in this respect, you should at
once begin examination of all study litera-
ture available. Do not forget to include
the Bethany Graded Lessons in your in-
vestigation. Send for returnable samples
today.
The Christian Century Press
700 East Fortieth Street Chicago
NOTE: The "20th Century quarterly" is an
entirely new publication. T1 first issue is
now published for the autumn quarter.
HOW THE
20th
Century
Quarterly
DIFFERS FROM OTHERS: *
It eliminates all the "padding"
that is usually found in quarterlies.
These usually contain lesson notes
that have come down through the
years. This moss-grown comment
is not to be found in the 20th Cen-
tury Quarterly. Nor are the tire-
some quotations from books
written fifty years ago allowed to
burden the pages of this new pub-
lication. W. D. Ryan's "Getting
Into the Lesson" is vivid, and really
takes the student straight into the
lesson. H. L. Willett, Jr.'s "Clear-
ing Up Difficult Points" does just
the thing implied in that title. It
does not "expostulate" on verses
whose meaning is obvious. John
R. Ewers' "The Lesson Brought
Down to Date" is vital and snappy
and yet reverential; and it fairly
throbs with the life of today. Dr.
W. C. Monro's "Lesson Forum"
presents just the kind of questions
your modern class needs for its
discussions. This Quarterly is
alive!
Send for free sample copy today
The Christian Century Press
700 E. 40th Street, CHICAGO
FOR THE MEN AT THE FRONT
When you hare finished reading this copy of
The Christian Century place a one-cent atamp
on this corner and hand the magazine to any
poatal employe. The Post Office will send It
to aome soldier or sailor in our forces at the
front. No wrapping — no address
A. B. BUBLESON, Postmaster-general.
Vol. XXXV
September 26, 1918
Number 37
Realizing God
By Jenkin Lloyd Jones
Uncle Sam as a Social Worker
ICAG
C
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY September 26, 1918
A CHORUS OF PRAISE
FOR THE NEW
20th CENTURY
QUARTERLY
Prepared by W. D. Ryan, H. L. Willett, Jr., John R. Ewers
and W. C. Morro
Edited by Thomas Curtis Clark
"Splendid," says Thos. M. Iden, Ann Arbor, Mich., teacher of a class of 400 men.
"Charming," says Rev. Peter Ainslie, Baltimore, Md.
"Bound to find wide usage," says Rev. Chas. M. Watson, Norfolk, Va.
"Practical and helpful," Rev. Austin Hunter, Chicago.
"Best I have ever seen," Rev. L. J. Marshall, Kansas City, Mo.
"Vigorous," Rev. F. E. Smith, Muncie, Ind.
"First-class," Dr. J. H. Garrison, of the Christian-Evangelist.
"Genuinely interesting," Dr. E. L. Powell, Louisville, Ky.
"Best adult quarterly published," Rev. J. E. Davis, Kansas City, Mo.
"Beautifully conceived," Rev. A. B. Houze, Bowling Green, Ky., teacher of a
class of 200 men.
"Practical," Rev. W. J. Gratton, Des Moines, Iowa.
"Takes up lessons from every angle," Rev. J. H. Goldner, Cleveland, Ohio.
"Compact yet comprehensive," S. W. Hutton, Texas Bible School leader.
"Alive," Rev. Frank G. Tyrrell, Pasadena, Cal.
"Up-to-the-minute," Rev. E. F. Daugherty, Los Angeles, Cal.
"Fresh, reverential, vigorous," Rev. Graham Frank, Dallas, Tex.
"Delightfully inspirational," J. H. Fillmore, Cincinnati, Ohio.
"Ideal" Rev. J. M. Philputt, Charlottesville, Va.
"Will prove a winner," Myron C. Settle, Bible school expert, Kansas City, Mo.
"Has punch and pep," Rev. Allen T. Shaw, Pekin, 111.
"Will win in men's classes," Rev. W. H. McLain, formerly Ohio Bible School
Superintendent.
"Illuminating and vital," Rev. Madison A. Hart, Columbia, Mo.
"A big advance step" Rev. H. W. Hunter, Des Moines, Iowa.
"Inspires with its faith," Rev. I. S. Chenoweth, Philadelphia, Pa.
"Admirable," President A. McLean, of the Foreign Society, Cincinnati, Ohio.
"Excellent," National Bible School Secretary Robert M. Hopkins, Cincinnati.
"Ideal," Rev. A. B. Philputt, Indianapolis, Ind.
"Fine," David H. Owen, Kansas State Bible School Superintendent.
The number of orders coming in for the new Quarterly indicates that it will prove
one of the biggest winners in the Sunday school field. Send in your order today.
If you have not received free sample, send for one at once.
The Christian Century Press &*<!&%
Ait Undenominational Journal of Religion
Volume XXXV
SEPTEMBER 26, 1918
Number 37
EDITORIAL STAFF: CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON. EDITOR; HERBERT L. WILLETT. CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
ORVIS FAIRLEE JORDAN, ALVA W. TAYLOR, JOHN RAY EWERS :: THOMAS CURTIS CLARK, OFFICE MANAGER
Entered as second-class matter, February 28, 1902, at the Post-office at Chicago, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Published Weekly By the Disciples Publication Society 700 East 40th Street, Chicago
Subscription — $2.50 a year (to ministers, $2.00), strictly in advance. Canadian postage, 52 cents extra; foreign, $1.04 extra.
Change of date on wrapper is a receipt for remittance on subscription and shows month and year to which subscription is paid.
The Christian Century is a free interpreter of the essential ideals of Christianity as held historically by the Disciples of Christ.
It conceives the Disciples' religious movement as ideally an unsectarian and unecclesiastical fraternity, whose original impulse and
common tie are fundamentally the desire to practice Christian unity in the fellowship of all Christians. Published by Disciples, The
Christian Century, is not published for Disciples alone, but for the Christian world. It strives to interpret the wider fellowship
in religious faith and service. It desires definitely to occupy a catholic point of view and it seeks readers in all communions.
EDITORIAL
Our Need of Christ
THE world has not been saved by education, or cul-
ture, or wealth. We have larger schools, more
clubs and uplift societies, and more money, than
ever before. These things have not saved us. We
have not been saved either by socialism or philan-
thropy. Nor has the churchianity of the old denomina-
tionalism with its narrow reaches of sympathy brought
peace to the world.
We need Christ as our teacher. The fundamentals
of a correct thinking about life and society are to be
found in his teaching. The world has had many teach-
ers, but one towers above all the others and interprets
them. The teaching of Christ, if followed, would abol-
ish frightfulness and force from the world and furnish a
constructive principle in our religious thinking — the
consciousness of the infinite value of human life.
Christ is also our moral example. If we are tempted
to grow cynical about goodness, if the sneer of Satan
in the book of Job comes to our lips, the answer is
Christ. The path of purity is beset with great diffi-
culties, but the gospels show us that it is not an im-
possible path, and we are all encouraged to walk in it.
Is not Christ also the revealer? All souls seek God,
but he that has seen Christ has also seen the Father.
To believe that the heart of the universe is as good as
Christ is to revolutionize our thinking about the world
we live in. It is to give us a new hope and confidence
which could arise in no other way.
Those who look for Utopia also turn to the Master.
Utopias have been sneered at, but we never cease con-
structing them. The Master also had dreams of a coming
order in which should dwell righteousness. It may not
be ushered in in the way the early disciples expected, but
it is not the manner of its advent but its essential qual-
ity that is important. In the days of his glorious king-
dom, he shall wipe away all tears from all eyes.
Not in fear but in great confidence we should preach
the gospel of this masterful Christ who alone has an ad-
equate message for our times. The war has shown us
what the creed of hell can do. But now the Son of God
comes to the world with healing in his wings.
The Fourth Liberty Loan
THE campaign for the Fourth Liberty Loan will test
the morale of America as no previous loan has done.
It is a larger loan, and with the increase of
army and navy, there are fewer of us to participate in it.
Only a vigorous and dauntless patriotism will put it
across. The American people have the money, but
ordy a sense of responsibility that extends to the last
man and woman in the republic will accomplish the
task.
The biggest danger of the present hour is from
an optimism and over-confidence that is so character-
istic of American life. We have had a few military vic-
tories abroad, none of them of any decisive character,
though gratifying to us. General Pershing does not
over-estimate the significance of these events, but the
easy-going American begins to talk of the war being
over by Christmas. It will be almost a miracle of
heaven if the war is over in less than two years. Mean-
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 26, 1918
while we must be equipping, training and shipping
troops in a manner to eclipse every other military
achievement in the world's history. The funds for this
stupendous task must come from the savings of the
American people.
Once well into the campaign, we shall doubtless
hear the voice of the pessimist also. The lurking, skulk-
ing propaganda that this is not our war anyway, will
rind a voice here and there. The difficulties of crossing
the German frontier will be magnified into impossibili-
ties. To these we can only declare our confidence that
Germany is even now defeated, though it may take sev-
eral years to convince her of this fact. From henceforth
she must decrease and we increase.
The churches have an opportunity of patriotic
service in connection with the campaign, that will never
be forgotten. In every building dedicated to religion
there should be meetings to interpret the patriotic
idea. The workers of the church have the experience
and point of view for community service above all
others. This experience should be consecrated to the
nation to the fullest extent. Rome once resounded with
the slogan "Carthago delenda est." America has but
one will as she cries, "Autocracy must be destroyed."
Revival of the Spoken Word
DURING the past quarter of a century there has
been a temporary eclipse of the public speaker.
Books, papers and magazines multiplied to such
an extent that it seemed as though the day of the forum
was over. Political campaigns gave up their torch-light
processions and their fervid oratory, and in place of
these came swarms of ward workers and tons of printed
matter passing through the mail. The church suffered
a decline in attendance at the services.
Since the war began, orators have sprung up all
over the land. Patriotic meetings multiply and crowds
wait upon orators whose reputations have been made
in a few weeks. A look at the Chautauqua programs
indicates that the flowery lecturer on soap bubbles has
made way for a new speaker, whose elocution may
be crude and gestures awkward, but who brings audi-
ences to their feet in a fervor of patriotic devotion. We
have learned that the day of the orator is not over.
It is well for democracy that this is true. Many of
the great newspapers are supported by their advertisers
and controlled by capitalists who are ignorant of the
newspaper business and concerned chiefly with propa-
ganda that will favor the interests of some business
enterprise. Many of the muck-raking monthly maga-
zines whose circulation ran well up to the million mark
have been tamed and made to eat out of the hand of cap-
ital. Even the pulpit has felt the whip of ecclesiastical
authority, and the fear of a partisan newspaper, or of a
bishop or some other threatening influence has muzzled
the would-be prophet.
The revival of the platform art today with the spon-
taneity and sincerity that belongs to real oratory is a
democratic phenomenon of the greatest significance. It
was in the times of national danger that the prophets of
old flourished. We have a new order of patriotic de-
votees. If they are not yet as religious as they should
be it is a matter that will correct itself in time. With
the freedom of the human spirit will come a conscious-
ness of God such as never arises under the repression
that goes with priest or king. To the new platform in
church and school-house and village hall we look for a
revival of altruism in America.
The Preaching for the Times
SOME ministers regard preaching as timeless. Hold-
ing to an abstraction in religion, they talk of "eternal
elements" in religion. Even granting that religion has
"eternal elements," it is something of an impertinence to
suggest that one's preaching has grasped the fullness of
these "eternal elements." So there are pulpits which go
on in the good old way, repeating the time-worn sermons
of the past. Whether the man preaches over again the
sermons of John Knox or of our own Ben Franklin makes
little difference in results.
The other extreme is the minister who is bound to be
up-to-date at any cost. He usurps the functions of the
lecturer, the newspaper man or the professor. He does in
an indifferent way things that can be better done by spe-
cialists. Most people prefer to read the news rather than
to hear it preached. Mr. William Herbert in the "Nation"
has severely arraigned Dr. Jowett for lack of contempo-
raneousness in his preaching. Why then should the King
and the Prime Minister welcome this great preacher back
to Great Britain? He interprets life rather than retails
news.
True preaching is interpretation from the standpoint
of the religious interest. Isaiah has a certain timeless
element in his preaching, for we are still fond of his words,
but to understand him we must understand the history of
his times. Every sermon was related to the great prob-
lems of his age. He is the model of the preacher of today
who must never forget that we now live in a new world.
A preacher today must think himself through to the days
of reconstruction beyond the war.
One of the great functions of preaching today, in
addition to its forward look at international problems, is
the strengthening of the individual in the midst of unusual
conditions of the present time. It is this individual min-
istry which has made Dr. Jowett so much appreciated since
the war began. He is not a political preacher, but he does
preach to individual needs as they have changed under
war conditions. It is the task of the man of God today
to produce souls like those described by Browning:
Never turned his back, but marched breast forward;
Never doubted clouds would break; never dreamed though right
were worsted, wrong would triumph ;
Held, we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better, sleep to wake.
Community Singing
OST communities are experiencing a revival of
community singing. The day of the paid quar-
tette is suffering an eclipse as the people do their
own singing instead of hiring it done. Walt Whitman's
word has been quoted as prophetic of this time, "I see
M
September 26, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
America go singing to her destiny." Another slogan is
heard in most communities. "The spirit with which you
sing is the spirit with which you fight. A singing Amer-
ica will be a victorious America." The churches are
using many of the popular patriotic songs.
This movement for community singing will grow
in power as the quality of thesongs improve. There are
but few of the new war songs that have any permanent
value. Perhaps such songs as "Keep the Home Fires
Burning," or "The Long, Long Trail" might become
candidates for places among our national songs after
the war. Few others will.
Over on the other side the community singing of
the soldiers takes on an evermore religious quality. It
is asserted by a Y. M. C. A. worker that the most popu-
lar song among British soldiers on the other side is "In
the Cross of Christ I Glory." Confronted by the su-
preme sacrifice of life, the soldier has turned instinct-
ively to this great hymn to express his emotions. Our
better hymn books have many of the great old hymns
which should be revived for a time like this. The fact
that Martin Luther wrote, "A Mighty Fortress is our
God," should not prevent our singing the hymn in great
congregations this winter.
The Germans marvel continually that the Ameri-
cans go over the top singing and cheering. The morale
of an army that can laugh and sing in the face of ma-
chine guns has produced a powerful impression. The
church is better prepared than any other organization to
become the center this winter for the community sing-
ing movement. The spirit of Cromwell's soldiers and
the music of early Methodism should fill our land these
days, and give our hearts courage and power for the
great task of the coming months.
Editor of The Christian Century to Go
Abroad
CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON, editor of
The Christian Century, is planning to sail early
in October for England and France. He is going
at the invitation of the British Government, as a repre-
sentative of the religious press of the United States, to
make a study of Great Britain's part in the war and of
religious and civil conditions in England, and to derive
first-hand knowledge of the situation at the fighting
front. Mr. Morrison will spend two months in this
work, speaking throughout the United Kingdom in
interpretation of America's part in the war. He will
return before the first of the year.
T
The Parable of the Recoil
A Parable of Safed the Sage
HERE came to me a man who is my neighbor,
and he said,
Browning is a genius.
And I said, He wrote some great poetry.
And my friend said, I spake not of the Poet. Neither
did I speak of Peter Browning, though he was wont to
play great ball. The Browning I refer to is John.
And I said, What hath he written?
And he answered, He hath written the Doom of
Autocracy by means of the Machine Gun.
And I said, There have been Machine Guns this long
time.
And he said, Yea, but this is a New Principle. Didst
thou ever shoot ?
And I answered, In my youth I could Shoot rather
better than Moderately Well.
And he said, Dost thou know about the Kick of a
Gun?
And I answered, In the days of the Civil War the
Government of Belgium sold to this nation certain old
muskets till the armories in this land could make Spring-
field and Enfield rifles. In my boyhood I once owned
a Belgian musket, and if I had been consulted then, I
should have said that Belgium deserved all that the
Kaiser hath done to it.
And he said, John Browning hath measured the
Kick of a gun, and utilized it in providing power for the
load. Therefore have we the best and most rapid firing
machine guns.
And I spake to my friend, and I said. When this
Cruel War is over, then shall I move that John Brown-
ing be made chairman of a committee to utilize the
energy of all Kickers. For there is a whole lot of Kick-
ing that serveth no present good, and if it cannot be
stopped it should be utilized.
And my friend said, If Browning can do that, he will
do better than write a Poem that few people under-
stand, and almost as well as he shall do if he licketh
the Kaiser.
The City and the Christ
By Frank Mason North, D. D.
IN haunts of wretchedness and need,
On shadowed thresholds dark with fears,
From paths where hide the lures of greed,
We catch the vision of thy tears.
From tender childhood's helplessness,
From woman's grief, man's burdened toil.
From famished souls, from sorrow's stress,
Thy heart has never known recoil.
The cup of water given for thee
Still holds the freshness of thy grace;
Yet long these multitudes to see
The sweet compassion of thy face.
■M-
O Master, from the mountainside
Make haste to heal these hearts of pain,
Among these restless throngs abide,
Oh, tread the city's streets again —
Till sons of men shall learn thy love
And follow where thy feet have trod;
Till glorious from thy heaven above
Shall come the city of our God.
"This Generation"
In the course of the series of articles which Professor Willett has presented concerning the Second Com-
ing of Christ a considerable number of comments and questions have been received either by him or at this
office. It seems proper that some of these, bearing as they do on the general theme or on specific phases
of the subject, should be given attention. This will be done in the present and one or two following issues.
Those who are interested in presenting criticisms or questions are invited to send their communications to
Professor Willett, either at the University of Chicago or in care of The Christian Century.
It it be true that Jesus said that he would return during
that generation, meaning a period of thirty-three and a third
years, or, to use Professor Willett's own words, during "Paul's
own lifetime, or, at furthest, in that of his contemporaries," then
Professor Willett has done what no astute politician or plotting
Pharisee of Jesus' ministry was able to do ; viz., entrap him in
his talk, Jesus also said, on the same occasion and in the same
breath that he did not know the time of his return. To quote :
"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass
away till all these things be accomplished. Heaven and earth
shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that
day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven,
neither the Son, but the Father only" (Matt. 24:34-36; Mark
13:30-32). According to Professor Willett, Jesus said he would
return in the lifetime of those then living, and at the very
same time he tells the apostles that neither he himself nor the
angels, but only the Father knew the time of his return. Was
Jesus so loose in his talk as that?
If Professor Willett is right in saying that Jesus promised
his disciples that he would return within the limits of a half-
century after his ascension, then he either deliberately falsified
or was honestly mistaken. If the first be true, he was not the
Son of God, but a rank imposter. If the second be true, then he
was a mere guesser ; and in that event is not to be trusted either
about the future of the soul or the world. To be able to guess
no better about his second advent would be to sadly fail in his
claims about any pre-knowledge whatsoever. He does not hold
the keys of death and Hades. There is no eternal life accord-
ing to his promise. The dearest hopes of the human heart which
he kindled are null and void.
The word "generation" — genea — means, in addition to the
people of any given time, or thirty-three and a third years,
a race, a nation, a family stock. Art thou a teacher in our
Israel and knowest not this? Hence, our Lord simply says
that the Jewish people, though they were to be scattered among
the nations, would not pass away until all the things which he
had predicted to take place before his return would be fulfilled.
The Jewish race was never to be lost until he returned. The
Jew has kept his racial identity, just as our Lord said he
would. He will still be in the world when Jesus returns. And
this prophecy, fulfilled before the eyes of mankind for so many
centuries, should assure us that all things which Jesus said
about the future will be fulfilled.
READERS of the New Testament will not need
to be reminded that the impression made by that
collection of documents is that Jesus is reported
to have asserted that he was soon to return to
earth. He was even more specific, and made
it clear that the men then living would be the wit-
nesses of the event. If one is in doubt on this point
the easiest method of resolving his uncertainty is to
read the Gospels themselves, preferably in the order of
their production, although this is by no means essen-
tial. If to this be added the examination of the other
books of the list, it is a modest statement to affirm that
the impression will be deepened beyond escape that the
writers of these books were convinced that Jesus had
so assured his friends, and that it was the well-nigh uni-
versal hope and confidence of the church in the first
century that his promise was about to be realized.
The proofs of these two statements have been as-
sembled adequately in the early sections of the studies
made in these columns on the Second Coming of Christ,
and need not be repeated here. But better than any
textual organization of the material is an attentive read-
ing of the apostolic sources in the order of their devel-
opment, and with the enforcements of the contexts. To
make the matter quite clear again, the New Testament
shows that Jesus' interpreters and reporters believed
that he said he would come back within a few years;
oiid the writers whose works supplement the Gospels
were of the same opinion.
In accordance with this entirely plain and specific
impression made by these Christian sources, the church
through the centuries has been convinced that Jesus
and the apostles so affirmed. The history of the com-
munity of believers during all the generations since the
apostolic age makes clear the fact that such was the
interpretation given to the classic words of the New
Testament. Furthermore it is hardly disputed among
careful students of the Word of God today that such is
the purport of these early writings.
THE CONTRAST
On the other hand it is a manifest fact that Jesus
did not come in the visible manner in which he was ex-
pected, and that disquiet was caused among the Chris-
tians of the later years of that primitive period because
he did not come. These facts have also been presented
in full in the studies that have appeared, but they are in-
dependent of any formal exposition, and available to any
reader of the later books of the New Testament. It is
hardly an adequate answer to this fact to assert that its
admission discredits our Lord. It would seem to be a
weak cause that depends upon such a dilemma as the ac-
ceptance of a particular theory or the discrediting of
Jesus. That must imply that every other explanation has
been explained and found unsatisfactory. This in the
present instance is certainly far from true, yet on the
face of the New Testament records there seems to be
an unexplained paradox.
So vivid is the contrast between these two facts,
the recorded promise of Jesus and the expectation of the
first believers on the one hand, and the apparent fail-
ure of its realization upon the other, that commentators
have been at pains to explain the difficulty by more or
less ingenious devices. One of these the questioner
has presented. It is that when Jesus said that the gen-
eration which he addressed would not pass away until
he should return, he did not mean to use the language
September 26, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
in its generally understood sense, which would have
been entirely unambiguous, but rather employed it in a
manner so different from its habitual significance that
no one of his own time understood him, and only a few
persons in later years, under stress of the exigency of
extricating him from a dilemma, have thought of so
defining the word. In other terms, the expression "gen-
eration" is made to apply to the Jewish race, and not
as one would expect to the living body of people in the
world at that time.
One is genuinely eager to examine every reason-
able explanation of so manifest a difficulty as confronts
the Bible student in this and other similar passages.
But it would seem that of the seven or eight interpre-
tations which Millennialists and others have offered on
this point the questioner has selected the one which is
least convincing. Among those which have proved pop-
ular and satisfying in certain circles one might men-
tion the following, almost at random : The promise of
Jesus was fulfilled in the transfiguration; it was fulfilled
in the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost; it was fulfilled
at the destruction of Jerusalem ; the generation of true
believers never shall die, and therefore will be alive at
the coming of the Lord ; Paul saw Jesus at his conver-
sion, which was to him and to the Gentile world the
coming of the Lord ; John saw him in the visions of the
Apocalypse, in which the coming was realized. The
list might be lengthened, but to little purpose. For
all these are but efforts to evade a difficulty which is not
met with entire candor.
WHY AN OBSCURE STATEMENT
The reason why the explanation offered by the
questioner seems even less satisfactory than these others
is that it imposes upon our Lord the responsibility for
a use of the word "generation" which has no parallel in
the speech of Jesus' day; while if he had wished to say
that the Jewish people would still be a distinct race at
the time of his return, there were a hundred ways in
which it could have been said without ambiguity. The
facts that Jesus nowhere else hinted at such an idea,
that none of the apostles understood him to have meant
so to affirm, that the centuries of biblical study have
found no such meaning in his words, and that so strained
an employment of his words is resorted to only as a
Milfenarian expedient, make it impossible to regard it
as in the least meeting the test of facts.
One has no wish to imply that the problem is an
easy one to solve or that at all points it is possible to
understand its various factors with entire certainty.
But it is believed that of the different explanations that
of the Millennialist is the one least convincing, and that
in the light of advancing knowledge and experience that
explanation will be seen to be both unnecessary and im-
possible. But in the studies that have been presented a
solution is offered which has satisfied a large and grow-
ing company of Bible students, and is believed to answer
a larger proportion of the questions suggested by this
theme than any other.
Herbert L. Willett.
jiiimiiimiiiMiutiiMiiimmiiNtimi
mimmmtMMtimimiimmumiiriij.
Religion and the Present Hour
WE were told that out of the war there was coming a great revival of religion ; men
would think more seriously of death ; they would set their minds to prepare for
another world. In a word, we were to look for a marvelous wave of a revivalist's
type of religion. It has not come. It is not to be found in the armies; it is not reflected at
home. That kind of revival cannot come because the war is a grim reality ; it sweeps away
all things unreal.
But at the front and, equally, at home we are in the midst of the greatest revival of
religion the world has ever seen. It has come in our passionate demand for world justice,
for righteousness in human relations. We hate the deeds of our foes, not because they hurt
us, but because they are the deeds of wickedness, of injustice and oppression, of cruelty and
inhumanity. We give ourselves, with abandon, to secure to humanity peace and righteous-
ness, that world of which the Hebrew prophets sang.
Are we wise enough now to interpret this passion which we call democracy in religious
terms? Can we school ourselves and train our children to live for those religious ends which
the war is revealing? This is the hour when, if we will, we may make religion the most real,
natural, inspiring concept for all men. It is the hour of supreme opportunity in religious
education. Shall the church, the school and the college, the agencies of education, now lead
the world to a religious interpretation of democracy?
Henry F. Cope.
hi Religious Education.
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iUrilllflHIIHUlll
llirlHIIHIIIlllllJMIIL'
MiijuiiiuuiiimmmiLmiHiHiuiimiiniit
iiimiDliimiiimi*
• iHinimtiiriiiHimmui'iiiiMiiujiiniiiumii minimum
Realizing God
By the Late Jenkin Lloyd Jones
HOWEVER we may define God we must confess
that every definition is inadequate. Whatever
God is or whatever he is not, he is not to be found
in human phrases. He is not to be discovered by the re-
sources of the dictionary. Whatever God is he is be-
yond our philosophies and evades our analyses. In a
very true and real sense the devils may believe and
tremble, the hardened of heart may formulate pious
phrases, the selfish may write hymns of love and the un-
devout repeat most devout ritual. I am not now arguing
for God. I would but enumerate, if I may, a few of the
pathways that lead the soul into a sense of the divine.
For religion is an experience and not a creed, a life and
not a theology.
"All roads lead to thee," says the Arabic proverb.
Let us take the simplest road to God, the sunshine road.
The sunset glory, the unspeakable message of the daisy,
the revelation of the violet, the emphasis of the rose,
all lead to the divine presence. Think of all the mar-
velous beauty that breaks into glory on desert wastes,
that spreads the delicate veil of beauty on the rugged
mountain sides and when sunshine fails frost takes up
the divine anthem and the snow mimics the star-rayed
daisy. All the glory of the outward world is a high-
way that leads to God.
THE TESTIMONY OF THE STARS
If unfortunately we are blind to the beauty of the
clover leaf, the grace of the drooping birch, the lady
of the forest — if we are blind to all this, then let the
clouds introduce us to the sweeping majesty of the
skies ; let the stars bring their revelations to the heart
of man. And if in our ignorance we fail to fathom the
measureless spaces above let us hie ourselves to an
observatory, or take at second hand the testimony of
the astronomer, who will spell out for us the a-b-c
of the stars. Let us note the mighty certainty of the
swinging planets, trace the wanderings of the comets,
never aimless, never lawless, but prompt to the en-
gagement made "when first the morning stars sang
together for joy." They arrive at the appointed second
in the field to which the astronomer has adjusted his
telescope. Read in man-made schedules the appoint-
ments of all the stars that men have been able to cata-
logue. You may count on their arrival and departure
in your field of the sky figured out ten years ago by the
astronomer. This almanac is an adequate introduction
to you any night in any observatory to which you can
find access. It will tell you how to find Mars and Venus
and accompany them a little way, oh, such a little way !
and then you can visit Jupiter on his tireless journey !
WHAT THE MICROSCOPE REVEALS
If this immensity fails to touch you with awe, if
distance paralyzes the mind, then try the revealing
power of the laboratory. Seek the commentary on
God's holy scripture made by the microscope. It will
introduce you into the realm of littleness which chal-
lenges your awe, admiration and love as surely as the
telescope. There in realms below human vision, as yon-
der in the vast realm beyond the reach of the human eye,
abides order, unfailing method, unerring, a promise be-
yond statement.
But if this outer realm that reaches from the clover
leaf to the star, that takes cognizance of mountain
ranges and the happy people that live in a drop of
water fails you, then come nearer home, observe this
sacred temple in which we live, furnished with at least
five windows out of which the soul looks and takes
note of this world.
THE MAJESTY OF THE HUMAN FORxM
Oh ! this body of mine so deftly planned, this
mechanism of fore arm, wrist and fingers, the most
ingenious and adjustable thing in the way of mechan-
ism, in art or nature. And this face divine now shin-
ing with Madonna radiance, and again shaded with
grandmother tenderness. Think again of the manly,
fatherly features touched with anxieties that challenge
the highest skill of the artist. The majesty of the
human form and feature baffle the masters with brush
and chisel in their efforts to reproduce. All artists
bow in glad humility before this radiance, for they
know that they must fall far short of the beauty that
is found in the humblest hut, of the glory that is re-
vealed in the darkest alley, the love that reaches down,
down below the human into subhuman realms, that
reaches the gospel of the bird's nest and touches with
human-like religious devotion the instinct of the
mother dog as she lavishes upon her pups a maternal
skill and devotion that deserves the word religious.
How can we realize God in this marvelous outward
world?
A fire-mist and a planet, —
A crystal and a cell, —
A jellyfish and a saurian,
And caves where the cave-men dwell :
Than a sense of law and beauty,
And a face turned from the clod, —
Some call it Evolution,
And others call it God.
A haze on the far horizon,
The infinite, tender sky.
The ripe, rich tint of the cornfields,
And the wild geese sailing high — ,
And all over upland and lowland
The charm of the goldenrod, —
Some of us call it Autumn,
And others call it God.
Alas! for him that is dull and deaf to the call of
this outer world. Pitiable is the infidelity, crippling
is the atheism that dismisses this wonderful cosmos of
things, including the capstone of creative beauty and
power and fitness, the human body.
September 26, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
But should this outer world, this temple not made
with hands, emphasized in what we call matter, fail
to awaken within us a realizing sense of the divine,
do we dare dismiss this outer world with a diminish-
ing accent? I pity the soul that can talk of "matter"
and "material" and "materiality" in contemptuous
terms or deny their existence altogether. That is an
atheism most deplorable. Heaven grant us a vision
of the heavenly quality of material things, the celestial
beauty of earthly facts.
"THE CELESTIAL BEAUTY OF EARTHLY FACTS'"
But if we fail on these lines, for we are in search
for human pathways to God, let us try the road of his-
tory, the great highway of human experience. Percy
MacKay says:
Two song-birds build their nests within my brain,
And hatch strange broods, each to his own refrain;
Ever one sings : "Tomorrow,
Sweet Joy !" The other : "Yesterday, sweet sorrow !"
Let us listen to the latter voice first, the voice that
sings ever of the "yesterdays." O, it is a sad story
when read in fragments. It is a story of cruelties,
of stupidity, of carnage, a story of selfishness and
tyranny, a story of murder and war which may well
challenge our superficial piety and confuse our man-
made theology, our creeds born out of our ignorance
and narrowness. By such a study we seem to be justi-
fied in joining with the cynic in the Psalms, "Where is
thy God?" Where is your religion? Or in the phrase
of modern skepticism, What about your Christ? Your
saints and their inefficiencies? Sure enough, what
about them? Sometimes is it not borne in upon us
when we use a sufficiently long measuring line, that
But the sunshine aye shall light the sky,
As round and round we run ;
And the Truth shall ever come uppermost,
And Justice shall be done.
Sometimes does it not come to us with the accents
of prayer, that poor, stumbling man out of his igno-
rance has been slowly but surely spelling out the
beatitudes of life, making real in heart, home and in
nation the "blesseds" of the Sermon on the Mount?
Are we not compelled at times to believe that the "race
is not for the swift and victory is not for the strong,"
but that on the Calvarys of history have the world-
makers triumphed?
THE COMFORT OF THE CRUCIFIED
As we read deeply into the history of man we hasten
to find shelter and comfort and a homesick feeling with
the beaten. What is it gives us a yearning for a place
with the defeated and hopeless minority? Was
Frederick Douglas, the runaway slave with a black
skin, justified in his great dictum, "One with God is a
majority!"? Who, what, where does this majority of
the beaten come from?
Has not Edwin Markham written for us our own
confession of faith? He says:
Give thanks, O heart, for the high souls
That point us to the deathless goals —
For all the courage of their cry
That echoes down from sky to sky;
Thanksgiving for the armed seers,
And heroes called to mortal years —
Souls that have built our faith in man,
And lit the ages as they ran.
I appeal to history to justify the "Poet of the
Dream." When the multitude feeds our skepticism,
when the blight of ecclesiasticism and the conceit of
rulers discourage, we hasten to take shelter with the
crucified ones and our faith is restored. Our belief in
God comes back to us with new and irresistible power
and an ever renewing accent when we find that the law
of justice, the demands of equity, the dictates of love
are certain, accurate, inevitable, and when we make
the calculation in the economy of spirit as reliable as
the formulas of the laboratory, the laws of chem-
istry or the theorems of Euclid. Realizing this we dare
to say we will still believe in God, but do not ask us to
interpret him, for that we cannot do, for finiteness can-
not comprehend infinity any more than can I dip the
ocean in my pint cup.
FINDING GOD IN DEFEAT
I dip into history and find something at work in
this universe, this globe of man, which is steadily
denying injustice and enthroning justice, disarming self-
ishness and crowning love with marvelous potency. This
sometimes in the past has dethroned nations as it has
been busy dehorning the animals, supplanting claws and
fangs with brains and lamb-like qualities.
Do we not find God in the disappointments and
defeats of the world? Searching the realm of soul
we find ourselves unwittingly in communication with
those whom the ages have called blessed.
Speak, History! who are Life's Victors? Unroll thy long an-
nals, and say,
Are they those whom the world called the victors — who won the
success of a day?
The martyrs, or Nero? The Spartans, who fell at Thermopylae's
tryst,
Or the Persians and Xerxes? His judges or Socrates? Pilate
or Christ?
Surely there is power not of human creation that
manages the stars. This power is computable by
human reckoning when we get the secret of astron-
omy. Is there not also a something that breaks into
star rays on the spirit deserts inhospitable to man, on
mountain heights unattainable to the human? If there
is a mechanism of the soul which we did not and
cannot construct and, Heaven be thanked ! which we
cannot successfully interfere with, even with our ig-
norance and stupidity — does it not give a glimpse of
the Divine? How much more should this slow tri-
umph of law, this conquering sanity of love, supplant-
ing hate with patience and justice, give us a very real
and new sense of God?
THE DREAM OF TOMORROW
I am not going in search of him, I am trying to find
10
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 26, 1918
out how he finds us out. How the Divine besets us,
inspires us, claims us and leads us to himself even
through our rebellion and our defiance.
A picket frozen on duty, —
A mother starved for her brood, —
Socrates drinking the hemlock,
And Jesus on the rood ;
And millions who, humble and nameless,
The straight, hard pathway plod, —
Some call it Consecration,
And others call it God.
Now let us take Percy MacKay's second voice for
a moment, the "song bird" that "builds his nest within
his brain" that he talks about. It hatches strange
broods, song birds that "Ever sing of tomorrow !"
Yes, tomorrow ! tomorrow ! In the spring, the robins on
their way here continually chant "Tomorrow ! tomorrow !"
The wild geese are flying northward from the Florida
glades to the nesting place in Canada, and they are honk-
ing "Tomorrow! tomorrow!" The schoolboy goes out
joyfully with his books, turns his back on skates and
marbles because there is something inside of him that sings
"Tomorrow! tomorrow!" The young man and woman
pledge themselves in thought and devotion, to untried
mysteries and unmeasured burdens, because there is a
voice heard by the inner ear singing "Tomorrow! tomor-
row !" Our forefathers dared the wilds of an uncon-
quered country, braved the dangers of unknown seas,
because there was something with Puritan accents, Cal-
vinistic rigidness, that demanded if they could not sing
it they must groan in solemn tones "Tomorrow! tomor-
row!" and so they came.
a "prophecy of the heart"
Whence comes this chant of the tomorrow? Is it
not something in the human mind allied to that which
Newton discovered which he called gravity, the un-
measured and unsuspected attraction, a pull of the
spirit, a prophecy of the heart, which makes us feel
that somehow "we are allied to that which does pro-
vide"?
The inner road to God is a brave road to many, an
available road to all. About a hundred years ago, two
talented boys were born into a gifted home in London.
The father was a prosperous banker with a clean life
and high ambition for his boys. The mother had been
tried as by fire in the Huguenot discipline. Her fore-
elders had sought shelter in the protecting England.
These two boys were John Henry and Francis William
Newman. John Henry died in 1890, at eighty-nine
years of age. Francis William died seven years later, in
1897, at ninety-two years of age. They both were fore-
ordained, by their parents and by their nature, for
the ministry. The ministry of the established Church
of England was the assumed destiny of both of them.
All that universities could do for them was at their
service. Both of them were worthy their high oppor-
tunities. One took the road of "yesterday." He
looked back. With wonderful fidelity, ability and un-
questioned consecration he landed in the Catholic
Church of Rome ; that was John Henry.
Francis William, his room-mate and class-mate in
college, took the "tomorrow" road and looked forward.
He soon found that he could not meet the conditions
even of the Anglican Church and to the disappointment
of father, mother and brother, and doubtless to the
agony of his own soul, he refused the orders that were
offered him. He could not accept the creeds, forms and
ceremonies, but fared forth on his own quest. He
sought truth and to serve the right and beauty in his
own way. But he also spelled his life in terms of re-
ligion. It is a long and beautiful story, but at the
end of long lives, one of the boys landed in the Church
of Rome, and the other as a seer and leader of a church
without formula, ritual or bishop, but based only on loy-
alty to the inner light.
TWO INTERPRETERS OF GOD
Francis William communed with Martineau and
Emerson and with them interpreted God in terms of
human experience, listened to the prompting of their
souls and recognized in these the voice of God. John
Henry wrote "The Grammar of Faith," which I sup-
pose is the most learned and logical effort to justify the
Church of Rome by philosophy to be found in English
print. Francis William wrote a great classic of free
religion, entitled "The Soul," which is the book of
Job and Psalms rolled into one and brought down to
date by this English writer.
Now the interesting point I wish to make is that
those two brothers arrived in the same place. They
climbed the same mountain of vision from opposite
sides and they met on the summit. Both brothers
spelled ytheir experiences in terms of God. "Lead
Kindly Light!" the song of one, was the practice and
joy of both. So if outward paths disappoint us let us-
trust the road within that leads to the sanctities.
If I Should Die
IF I should die in Flanders field,
If I should die in France,
Oh, take me out and bury me,
Beneath some friendly poplar tree
(Those poplar trees of France!)
Oh, keep me near, where I can hear
Those roaring guns of France.
If I should lie in Flanders field
Beneath the sod of France,
There let me stay till victory
Is come, and all the world is free
(God grant this boon to France 1)
Oh, let me stay to see the day
That freedom comes to France.
Then take me far from Flanders field
When freedom comes to France;
Return me to the very land
I love the best, my Maryland
(It's sweeter far than France!)
Oh, bring me home to Maryland
And say: He died for France.
—Robert Garland In %AU
September 26, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
11
Let me not flinch in this quest. Peace is the re-
ward, shall we say, of God? What about the unrest?
The joys of "tomorrow" are easily put into the hymn,
but what about the sorrows of yesterday? The road
of shame is a road to God. The remorse that will not
let us sleep, the worm in the brain that gnaws away
at our mistakes, our crimes, our neglects, how are we
to interpret them? I suspect we would admit in our
rebellious moods that we would wish to escape the blush
and deny the shame. We say, "We will be happy and
curse." "We will be joyous and hate." You cannot
do it, much as you would like to, for there is something,
not of your own or human organization, that will harry
you into the thought of God. I have recently been read-
ing and interpreting to my classes "The Hound of
Heaven," by Francis Thompson, a wonderful poem.
Not the "Hound of Hell," mind you. You can stand the
clutches of the devil and survive, but you must and will
give up to the divine avenger. The besetting God is
too much for you.
"keep the account open"
Where do we find resting places for the trust-
ing heart, altar places for the devout soul? Any-
where, everywhere, only so you do not close the books
or force a balance on your ledge. Keep the account
open.
Alexander Smith in a book too much forgotten,
"Dream Thorpe," a beautiful book that appealed
mightily to the best minds of the last generation, has
a wonderful sketch of an execution in Scotland where
certain criminals on a bright Spring morning were
hung in an open field in the presence of a vast multi-
tude. Just at the moment of intense suspense and aw-
ful anxiety when the entire multitude were awed into
silence except when broken with sobs, there arose
out of the grass at the foot of the gallows, a skylark,
and it wheeled its way upward and as it rose it sang
and the song fell like sparkling drops of rain out of
the sky. The bird had risen out of sight. Then the
dread drop came and these criminals, according to the
human code, were launched into eternity. It was no
mere fancy of a skilful writer that connected the sky-
lark and her song with the gallows and its defeats. I
believe that I am not straining human experience or
befogging history when I say that there is a skylark
in the soul that wings itself upward and sings the
song of faith and hope in the presence of the direst
calamity. The human soul is a skylark making out of
our very mistakes a heavenly song. Our sins must
eventually become stepping stones to heaven. The
Bethel stones of our humiliation become altar places
at which we see angels descending and ascending be-
tween earth and heaven.
G©D AND THE WAR
Where is the Almighty in this war? He is wherever
there is a sincere, humble peasant who has left home
and loved ones to offer his life a willing sacrifice to
his ideal, his thought of right, his cause of God. On
which side is God in this battle? He is on the side of
the loving wherever there is a woman's heart break-
ing, wherever there is a hungry child crying, wherever
there is a man in the trenches who gladly accepts danger
and hunger and cold and fever in the interest of wife
and children beyond the mountains and across the river.
He has surveyed no national boundaries. His lexicon
is not confined to your language or mine. He is not
ignorant of Russ, Hun, Saxon or French. Neither is he
partial to any one vocabulary. He is the God of All
Souls and those who climb the mountain of difficulties in
bis service find him at the top. Nay, like the hero of the
Maha Bharata pilgrimage, God has been with his chil-
dren all the way up the mountain. Wherever the sin-
cere pilgrim is, he is there. God is on their side. So
the prayers of all these leaders are justified except when
they put a limit to the divine benignancy. Let President
and King and Kaiser commend to the unseen and the
unmeasured their swords, but let them beware lest they
practice infidelity and exercise atheism in the face of
the Eternal by supposing that he is measured by their
limitations and that his benignancy will shed a radi-
ance only on their side of the trench. His sunshine,
aye, his shadows, do fall on both sides of the barbed
wire defenses.
I rest in the faith that the time will come when out
of this travail of ours the lesson will be plain which
now is so obscure, and that is that God is not on the
side of the heaviest battalions but he is on the side of
the loving and loyal, wherever found, and they are
to be found under all the flags. He is on the side of the
faithful and the sacrificing. He is with those who travel
on their poor, blind little side pathways of duty quite
innocent of the truth that those they deem false are
going the same way and that connections will be made
somewhere on the great highway of love, the great God
turnpike that leads towards heaven.
CEMENTING THE HIGHWAY OF GOD
That road is a Macadam way. It is not made of
big blocks as were the ancient highways of Rome, but
out of little stones, limited to a size that will pass
through a ring of one and a half inches diameter, ac-
cording to Mr. Macadam's formula of a hundred years
ago. These humble lives, these little fragments of the
great blocks of humanity, have laid down their bodies
and cemented the highway of God with their blood
that others coming after them may find the way still
travel worthy.
"Where is the house of God that I may go and pray?
Is it where lifted sod is blessed on festal day?
Is it where hand of man has wrought an edifice divine,
When builder's skill and artist's thought, in raising it, combine?"
"Is it where robed priest leads multitudes in prayer,
Where all may come and feast on sermons rich and rare?
Is it where organ loudly peals and choir divinely sings,
Where richest altar cloth conceals God's so-called holy things?
"No, no ! God's house may be in any spot on earth,
Where eye of man can see the vision of Love's birth.
When from the glorious heavens, comes down for human feet,
The ladder of God's perfect love-
There is God's house complete."
12
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 26, 1918
Why Should We Pray?
By Mary H. Blair
FOR the last twenty-five years or more, prayer has
been gradually going out of style. There was a
time when almost every church had its mid-week
prayer meeting, which was a prayer meeting in fact,
where both men and women lifted up their hearts to God
in fervent prayer. There was a time, too, when almost
every devout Christian daily held family worship in his
own home. At this time mothers taught their children
to pray, usually just before retiring, or immediately after
rising, sometimes both.
LITTLE PURLIC PRAYER
The "Now I Lay Me," or "Our Father," is a precious
childhood memory to many of us, as is also the thought
of mother's prayers beside our cots, which, though
silent, brooded like a benediction through the terrors
of the night. There was also a time when at the regu-
lar worship hours at the church, different members
would be called upon to lead in prayer. No one ever
considered it necessary to go to the brother or sister,
and arrange the matter before the meeting began as we
do today. Such a thing did not occur to any one, any
more than it occurred to one to arrange with people to
join in the singing when the hymns were announced.
In fact, every Christian was expected to be on such in-
timate speaking terms with God that he need not be
embarrassed if called upon unexpectedly to lead in
prayer. But things have changed. People speak of
the customs as of the past. They are old-fashioned, like
cast-off garments.
Public prayer has become almost a lost art, except
among ministers, or those closely identified with the
leadership of religious movements. The prayer meet-
ings many of us know are talk-fests or lectures, with
often not more than two prayers, one at the beginning,
and the benediction. Once or twice a year many of our
churches observe a so-called "Week of Prayer," with
topics arranged by national committees, but usually one
would have trouble in finding any difference between
these and ordinary preaching services ; at least, they are
not prayer meetings. In fact, I wonder if it would be
easy to hold a genuine prayer meeting an hour in length
in many of our churches without seriously over-work-
ing the few who will offer public prayer.
FORM AND SPIRIT OF1 PRAYER
Is it possible, then, that we have forgotten how to
pray? Some time ago I attended a convention where a
prominent minister gave a series of devotionals. His
Pible studies were beautiful in their interpretation of
that most precious of all prayers, beginning, "Our
Father who art in heaven." He concluded each study
with a prayer. Hushed, as if in the presence of God
Himself, we reverently bowed. Before he had uttered
many sentences, however, the sense of something wrong
— of some vital part lacking weighed upon me, and I
peeped ! No, I was not the only one who peeped. The
prayer was being read ! After that, try as I might, that
harmless sheet of paper stood up, an impenetrable
wall, between my soul and my God. Instead of being
longer able to feel the Presence, I saw only a vision of
a man in his study, polishing and furbishing words —
only words — that they might be pleasing to the ear.
What was given to us was only a corpse, beautiful in
form and dress — but dead, after all.
Is it not true that we have grown to think more of
the form of expression and the rhetorical arrangement
in our prayers, than we do of the great Father who
yearns to hold communion with His children? Do we
thing our God is a Being who considers only prayers
which are beautifully constructed gems of literature?
Which is more precious to Him, one such as this, or the
sincere, halting, stumbling petition of some contrite
soul, even though it be couched in uncouth language?
SPIRITUAL CONTACT NECESSARY
Those of us who have ever endured the annoy-
ances of a party line telephone have sometimes called up
some one dear to us with a message fairly trembling on
our lips. But after getting our connection we would
become aware of the "click, click, click" of other re-
ceivers on the line, and know that others were listening
in. Instantly that sense of personal contact is broken,
and because we are conscious that others are hearing
also, we cannot give our message as we desired. So it
is with public prayer. That which we wish to say
must be said to God alone, forgetful of all who may be
listening, or the spiritual contact is broken.
Jesus tried to show the disciples what prayer should
te, and in doing so he gave them a specimen, beautiful
in diction, comprehensive in thought, perfect in rever-
ence and humility. But has not our much using of this,
which should be too sacred to be desecrated by insin-
cere lips, robbed it if much of its sanctity? We have
parroted it on occasions proper and improper, until our
tongues give utterance to its Christ-inspired words as
glibly as if it were a Mother Goose rhyme. The Lord's
Prayer is no more a prayer when uttered thoughtlessly
than is the Declaration of Independence.
FLIPPANCY REGARDING PRAYER
May not this note of falsity or of insincerity in so
much of our prayer be partly responsible for the tend-
ency of many people to regard with indifference all de-
votional life? Those of deep spirituality are pained at
the flippancy of many of our young Christians regard-
ing these matters. All too frequently we hear them
remark that they do not believe in prayer, or that it does
no good to pray. Yet in almost every church there are
prominent members, frequently even its officers, who
hold the prayer meeting up to ridicule, and make no
secret of the fact that they consider prayer somewhat
obsolete. What wonder that the boys and girls have
scant reverence ! What a pity, also, that men who are
not deeply spiritual should ever find a place of leader-
ship in the church, which is nothing if not spiritual.
September 26, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
13
Perhaps we have not always clearly understood the
purpose of prayer. Many of us have been so anxious
to claim the promise, "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my
name, believing, ye shall receive," that we have asked
for everything of which we could think : gold, fame,
clothes, friends, anything for our own pleasure, even
to choice arrangements of weather. Blessed is the one
whose love for the Heavenly Father is so real and vital
that all these little intimate things of life may be con-
sidered with Him. But is it not true that the real pur-
pose of prayer is not to get something, but to commune
with the One who can bring peace out of whatever
chaos may exist within us, show us a greater joy even
than what could come from the boon which we craved,
and place our lives so in harmony with the Divine plan
that our desires will be purged of selfishness? Then
prayer becomes something more than mere bartering
with God, or an arrangement to get something for noth-
ing, or a spiritual get-rich-quick scheme.
THE WAR AND PRAYER
The discouraging conditions we have pictured were
the pre-war conditions. Before the great war began,
our spiritual indifference was appalling. We lived for
ourselves. Materialistic demands made upon our
strength and our time crowded spiritual things out.
We no longer held family worship. There seemed to be
no time for it. Besides, the family was seldom to-
gether except at meals. We no longer observed a regu-
lar time for personal devotions. Again, there seemed to
be no time for them. We had almost entirely lost the
habit of teaching our children to pray. We resorted to
prayer only in the direst extremity. In fact, we sel-
dom mentioned prayer. We were sometimes a little
ashamed for people to know that we ever prayed. Of
course, there was a place for public prayer, but we said
nothing about that blessed intimate communion which
can only be found in private prayer. In fact, prayer was
a word tabooed in polite society.
Then came the war. Our great generals began cry-
ing, "Pray!" Our President urged, "Pray!" Our sol-
dier boys wrote home, "Pray!" Today, steadily grow-
ing stronger and louder, comes the cry from thinking
men, "This war will not end until God has brought the
nations to their knees !" And we are coming to our
knees. Burdened, we turn to that Other One who also
was bowed down with sorrows and acquainted with
grief. Here we all can find the help we crave. But it
comes through prayer.
Are there those of us who do not believe in prayer?
Jesus did. Do we not have time to pray? Jesus did.
Do we not want to pray? Jesus did. Do we feel that
we do not need to pray? Jesus needed to. Do we not
gr.in strength from prayer? Jesus did. What are we,
that we should do less than Jesus did.
The Parsonage, Eureka, 111.
IiiiliiiiiiiiiliilillliiiiiiliiiililiiillililliliM
£3
Victories
of Faith
When we let new friends into our lives we become g
permanently enlarged and marvel that we could ever have jj
lived in a smaller world. — David Grayson.
The increasing victories of the
Allied Armies are all victories of
faith, because they have back of
them innumerable triumphs of
the Gospel of Christ.
Only the prevalence of Chris-
tianity in Great Britain and her
dominions made them so prompt,
powerful and steadfast in their
stand against German outlawry.
The United States, without
Christianity, would have made al-
liance with Germany, just as Tur-
key did.
To the missionaries, chiefly,
China and Japan owe their under-
standing of the peoples and the
principles involved in the conflict.
The Latin American republics
are with the Allies, neutral, or
worse, in direct proportion to the
amount of missionary attention
they have had.
The Church of Christ, in its lo-
cal congregations and in its mis-
sionary, benevolent and educa-
tional activities, at home and
abroad, must make and keep the
peace of the world.
The Communion Table is the
only Peace Table that can perma-
nently stand.
If in the past we had put twice
as much of both men and money
into Missions, we should not now
have to put a thousand times as
much into War.
Unless we put the Church and
all its essential enterprises on a
war basis, we shall have to en-
dure war forever.
WHEREFORE, we must do our ut-
most in remittances to the Men and
Millions Movement and all National
Boards before the year ends, Septem-
ber 30th.
Men and Millions Movement
222 W. Fourth Street Cincinnati, Ohio
.iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiii
Uncle Sam as a Social Worker
Revising
Thomas Jefferson
THOMAS JEFFERSON believed the least law was the
best law. He thought the functions of government
should be confined largely to restraining the selfish
individual. Jefferson was one of humanity's liberators from
a regime of tyranny and unjust law made by the overlord and
privileged classes. His program was necessarily one for the
securing of the individual's freedom and right to self develop-
ment. But that battle is won. We thresh old straw when
we contend for the individual's rights in law. As against
society he has much the better of the equation.
Jefferson also had to deliver men from the incubus of
appointed favorites in office and an administration that re-
flected all too much the will of the master class. So his
program called for the election of all officials by popular vote
and for short terms. He was determined that public officers
should be the servants and not the masters of the people and
he made them subject to frequent recall. But that battle is
also won and we now need better administration of the people's
will. This calls for fewer elective offices and longer tenure
in order to develop expertness, with law making always in
the people's hands. Jefferson believed that society should do
as little as possible in its organized capacity and the individual
be given the largest possible latitude for initiative. That was
good in a day when individuality was denied and mastery
asserted through both law and constitution. Today's need is
for a constructive social program by which the over-assertive
individual can be restrained in his exploitation of the com-
munity and his fellow men and by which all can work together
for the common good. Jefferson wrought for humanity's
welfare. His program fitted the needs of his time. His prin-
ciples are still valid but his program does not fit our times.
We honor his imperishable name best by preserving his
principles through a revision of his program.
# * *
Taking Up the Army's
Slack Time
The proverbial independence of the American has found
an adjustment to the social demands for efficiency in the army
camps that is fairly starting. Instead of interpreting inde-
pendence as the ability and abundant opportunity to do as
one pleases when off strictly military duty, Uncle Sam now
adjusts independence to organized efficiency. He gives the
soldier plenty of time off duty and fills that time so full of
things that appeal while helping that he feels no curtailment
of initiative or checking of independence. At the same time
he is saved from the temptation to let initiative and independ-
ence seek dissipation or any false stimulus. Commercialized
amusement and vice always hover near an army camp to prey
upon the love of a good time that characterizes all able-bodied
youth. The abnormal social life of an army camp leaves a
deficit in social arrangements that the home supplies and the
lure of vice and dissipation is strong. The exacting drill and
well cogged and belted life of the army organization reduces
initiative to a minimum and the impulse of youth rebounds
with a vengeance when the hour off duty and out of the
regimen comes. The sameness of every day and every place
makes a change look good and the near-by city gives strong
invitation to change. The strict authority of army discipline
brings a reaction in favor of the loosening of all restraints
when from under it even partially and "going the limit" for
a hilarious good time. Abroad, the natural inclination to ex-
plore every phase of life and especially to see things hitherto
forbidden claims free reign. Thus it becomes easy during the
slack time and the hours of leisure to walk the great white way
and turn down the narrow black alley.
But Uncle Sam has found that this slack time can destroy
much that he has built up in the drill hour. He has learned
that there is a way to answer the call of youth's nature for
fun through wholesome recreation. He has also thought of
the citizenship out of which the future is to be builded and
knows that the leaders of it are now in the army camps. So
he turns from his proverbial policy of non-interference and
interferes through offering the lads something which is just
as good fun as the old license of an over-interpreted independ-
ence. Now in Germany, if the Kaiser thinks a thing is good,
he marshals the youth, whether in school or army, to do that
thing. Not so our dear Uncle; he lures them to it with no
orders except those that every society has a right to give in
self-protection against the vice of the individual. He offers
amusement with the trap door left out. The only chap he
interferes with is the one who commercializes humanity's
thoughtlessness and love of fun and natural animal instincts
by offering it the skeleton of vice dressed up in the garments
of Circe. He is not paternal in it; he is careful to make it
fraternal and that is the difference between all of Germany's
social schemes and those of democracies.
Musician, Play Leader
and Showman
We have pictured Uncle Sam as a clown and always made
him up as if he were ready on the instant to fight or play a
farce. Now we see him at both. All the day he leads his
battalions with a grim tread as he prepares them for the
terrible work of caging civilization's chief criminal. Then in
the evening he plays them the farce, umpires a boxing match
or a ball game, spreads a circus tent or runs the dizzy film
for the entertainment of his beloved millions of tired but
unwearied boys. He has put the better part of a cool million
into Liberty Theaters and millions into Y. M. C. A. audi-
F<
or-
Your Men's Class
Your Women's Class
Your Young People's Class
Your Home Department
Superintendents
Teachers of Uniform
Lessons, etc., etc.
The 20th Century
Quarterly
Which is published first for the
Autumn Quarter, 1918
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700 E. Fortieth Street
Chicago
September 26, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
15
toriums and he reserves wide spaces for the evening game
and the outdoor entertainment. To the Liberty Theaters he
sends the best talent obtainable and the "Y's" are always filled
for a good movie show. He erects platforms for boxing and
wrestling and provides play organizers and referees and in-
structors by the hundreds, then puts his hearty O. K. upon the
whole vast social and athletic organization of the Army "Y"
and sees to it that everything works together like cogs in
wheels to make both effective in a co-operative manner.
During the evening or off-day in town is the time when
there is most temptation to take a fling or to beguile the
lonesome, away-from-home feeling with a taste of that which
home always forbade. So Uncle Sam has pre-empted the field
through the activities of the Fosdick Commission and pro-
hibited the scarlet woman and the booze dealer and every sort
of dive and substituted good shows, club houses, places to
meet friends and relatives and other decent people. He has
furnished hotel accommodations, hostess houses, physicians
and nurses and organized the people of the community to make
the place more inviting He has gone further and turned
motherly hands to the care of foolish girls who have more
foolish mothers and who take that acute malady known as
khaki girlitis. If a fatal mistake is made he has provided
detention homes for the victims. He has read many a com-
munity a severe lesson in good manners and good morals by
refusing to send his errant boys or their victims to the average
unspeakable jail and insists that the "black plague" shall not
walk about clad in silks but submit to scientific care and legal
restraint. It is not independence but anarchy that is served
by the municipality that tolerates it. Thus many a city has
been led to a revival of civic life through a thorough moral
reform and civic clean-up, and commercialized amusement has
learned that it cannot run riot where our Uncle is making
soldiers.
Best of all the things he does is to teach the lads to sing.
As the typewriter clicks this off, platoons are passing making
metronomes out of the click of their heels on the gravel as
their voices ring out through the trees, singing as they march
and marching as they sing. Pershing cabled for more singing
regiments and he is getting them. A friend who was in Paris
when the little scrap at Chateau Thierry was pulled off by
our boys says the Frenchmen described to him how our lads
swung up to the front, singing as they marched through the
brave French legions who were being pushed backward with
their heels in the ground. The admiration of the French for
their sangfroid was unmeasured and, tired as they were with
the days of pounding, they caught the lilt and took new cour-
age; singing and shouting, our Yanks went into the hail of
steel and from that day the bulging German line began to
bend the other way and is still bending. How they do sing
in the Y's at night! One is convinced that a people who sing
together will work together, fight together and cease in good
time to prey upon one another. The community of song
attunes hearts and souls and the motives of men must catch
step with the lilt of the music and learn to walk life in
harmony. There is no room for the cynic, the grouch and
the pessimist in a sing-song, whether in church or army or
community. The army bands are being increased from twenty-
eight to forty-nine pieces.
* * =i=
Our Uncle as
Army School-Master
Every soldier is in school and every cantonment is a sort
of democratic university. The drill in arms is no longer all
the soldier is taught. Here are some of the subjects offered:
Mathematics, English, French, stenography, typewriting, report
writing, telegraphy, wireless, telephony, engineering, naviga-
tion, psychology, character building and— tell it not to the
school boards— in some cases German. Here is a story that
illustrates why: A doughboy was out on observation duty
at a listening post. When he came in his commander asked
it he could hear anything. O yes, he could hear talking very
plainly. "What were they saying?" "Well, the fools were
talking German and 1 don't know." The Y. M. C. A. has
charge of most of this work outside the officers' training
camps. The educational directorship is assuming first place
in the "Y" staff. A democracy depends upon intelligence and
the armies of democracy will fight the better through its
development. Besides, it is a rare opportunity to prepare for
the democratic leadership which will be the portion of the
men who were brave enough to fight.
Alva W. Taylor.
The Sunday School
Brass Tacks
Review Lesson for the Quarter, for September 29
IA.M1 not sure that I know precisely what I am talking
about when I start off under the title of "Brass-Tacks,"
but I have an idea that it means getting right down to
business, touching life at the vital points. That is what we
are going to do. For a whole quarter we have been dis-
cussing actual Christian living. First we tried to catch the
spirit of Christ and then we tried to apply that spirit to
daily living in a series of very practical lessons, which we
trust have done us all much good. Today as we close this
work, preparatory to going back to the Old Testament for
a time, let us bring the whole matter to a focus upon the
three living issues in a man's daily life.
A recent writer tells us that the average man has three
and only three vital interests: (1) How to get a living.
(2) How to meet his family problems. (3) How to have a
good time. We will tackle these in turn. And I am ready
to say right here that if our Christian religion does not help
a fellow when he faces these actual needs it will have to be
abandoned. I am willing to admit that the reason why so
Not a Sleepy
In It!
Lesson
That's the Fact Concerning —
The 20th Century Quarterly
Most lesson quarterlies are made up largely o
reprint matter from commentaries and quarterlies
of twenty-five years ago. Much of this material
is unimportant and uninteresting, and is therefore
an imposition on the busy Bible student of these
hurried days. The 20th Century Quarterly
is not only informational ; it is also attractive and
intensely interesting. It will keep your class of
men, women or young people awake.
The first issue — for the Autumn
quarter — is now ready. Send
for sample copy.
The Christian Century Press
700 E. 40th Street, Chicago
16
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 26, 1918
many people have quit going to Sunday School is because
that school has never touched these vital affairs of his life.
I am willing to go farther and admit that the reason why
thousands have never been won to the church is because the
church has never shown how religion hooked up with these
every day needs. This is worth thinking about very care-
fully. This is a review that will open our eyes. We shall
see things.
First of all, this problem of getting a living is pressing.
It cannot be dodged except by becoming a tramp or by
going to jail. I simply must get that bread and butter, and
what is more I must pay that rent. In a complex society
like ours that is not so easy. A dollar buys just one-half
as much as it did three years ago. I must keep my health
and I must keep my morals or suffer. Two-thirds of the
men are right now so much engrossed in the primitive pur-
suit of food, shelter, heat, and clothes that they have al-
most no time even to consider the church. They never give
the orchestra concerts a thought and for the same reason
they never bother about the church. Church may be very
nice for those who have the time and money, but they
simply cannot attend. How often hard-working people have
said to me, "I would love to attend church, but I cannot
meet any additional expense and you know I am too proud
to join the church and then not pay my share." Within a
few months I learned of a good family of Disciples who did
not join our particular church because they felt that they
could not hold their own, financially, in it.
Our job then, is to show how the church develops morals,
steadiness, health, ability and promotes the power to earn a
living and how to use energy. I believe I can show that.
I know I must show that or my case breaks down. I can
show how a genuine Christian can make and use money
more advantageously than a worldly man, how his health
will be better, how his morals will promote prosperity in
the large. Religion does help a man in getting a living and
living is more worth while.
Now about the family and its problems — has religion a
word of life here? Most assuredly. The integrity of the
family depends upon the love of husband and wife and their
loyal devotion to each other. Religion promotes that. The
integrity of the family depends upon the regard of parents
and children mutually. Religion teaches that. One of the
ten commandments relates to that. Associations are helped
by religion. Habits are controlled by religion. Education
is promoted by religion. Proper marriage is helped by relig-
ion. Control is taught by religion. Loving service is taught
by religion. Nothing in all the world will so help a man
in bringing up his family in a complicated society filled with
pitfalls and dangers on every side, as religion at home and
in the church and in business.
And fun, it is mighty hard for the average man to have
a good time and not smash the decalog! He finds that about
every time he goes out to have some relaxation and to break
the dull monotony he is in danger of running amuck. "Thou
shalt not" seems to stare at him from every side. Dancing
is dangerous. The theatre is questionable. Cards have an
ancient ban upon them. Drinking is bad. Women are full
of guile. Games of chance are wrong. Swearing is the
wrong way to express excessive emotion. The church is
locked up except for prayer-meeting and Sundays. The board-
ing houses are cheerless at the best and places of tempta-
tion at the worst. One tour of the streets is enough. What
has the church to say to the fellow who has worked hard all
week or all day and wants a little relaxation? Usually, in
ninty-nine times out of a hundred, "Thou shalt not." Don't
go to the theatre, don't dance, don't play cards, the ancient
trinity — don't drink, don't swear, don't meet questionable
women, don't, don't, don't.
Isn't it about time the church had a program of construc-
tion? Can we learn anything from the Army Y. M. C. A.?
Can we have open churches with music, light, companion-
ship, service, light refreshments, clean amusements, sweet
women, fine fellowship all around? Can we? Ought we?
And adequate discussion of this theme will show the im-
mense field open to the Christian home in this regard. I be-
lieve religion has a modern message to the man in quest
of relaxation. Religion alone can guide and guard these
hours of genuine fun into channels sweet, pure and en-
during. Is not the opening of homes to soldier boys a move
in the right direction? Have we not been extremely selfish
in our home life — we so-called Christians?
John R. Ewers.
Holiness does not need to be talked about; it talks. I quite
agree with you that the nearer a man lives to his Lord, the less
he announces his nearness in actual words ; but the more evident
it is in tone and temper, and these are the things of holiness.—
G. Campbell Morgan, D. D.
Nevertheless whoever seeks citizenship at last in that all-holy
city must now day by day watch, pray, labor, agonize, it may be,
to sanctify his allotted dwelling in his present "mean city." — Chris-
tina Rossetti.
HOW THE
20th Century Quarterly
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it. Up to and including that year, all pupils of
the school are supplied with our regular Bethany-
Graded Lessons. The "20th Century" is just as
well suited to classes of 80-year-olds as to classes
of High School pupils.
2. Home Departments should use it. The
Quarterly contains all the material that is essen-
tial for a thorough and vital study of the Bible
lessons ; the "padding" of the conventional Home
Department Quarterly is eliminated, thus saving
the time and patience of the student.
3. All teachers of classes in the Uniform
lessons should use it.
4. All superintendents should use it. It is
handy as well as complete.
5. AH Pastors should have it as a handy guide
on the lessons.
6. All persons who are not in the regular Sun-
day school, or in the Home Department, should
have this booklet for personal study of the Bible.
It makes a fine home study reading course.
This Quarterly is the one you have been wishing
for for many years. It will keep
your classes awake.
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700 East 40th Street CHICAGO, ILL.
The Larger Christian World
A Department of Interdenominational Acquaintance
War-Time Commission of Churches
Meets in Washington City
The general War-Time Commission of the churches held
its second annual meeting in Washington on September 24.
The sessions were held both forenoon, afternoon and evening
in the New York Avenue Presbyterian church. There were a
number of reports and addresses, covering fully the various
phases of church-work in war-time, the new problems con-
fronting the church as a result of the war, and the religious
outlook for the future. President Wilson and the secretaries
of the army and navy were invited to speak at the meeting.
President Wilson Is Embarrassed
President Wilson in a message to Rabbi Wise recently
commended the proposed Zionist reconstruction of Palestine.
As soon as this was made public the Rabbis' National Com-
mittee made a vigorous protest, for they are not in sympathy
with the Zionists. It is thought that the President's message
to the Zionists was an indirect way of serving notice on
Turkey of the war program of the United States.
Ministers of Great Britain Make
Rejoinder on Millennialism
Last spring the millennialists of Great Britain, of whom
we may count G. Campbell Morgan and F. B. Meyer as the
most prominent, sent out a manifesto to the Christian world
declaring that they believed that "the revelation of our Lord
may be expected at any moment." This manifesto has been
answered by a protest from a notable company of prominent
ministers of Great Britain. They say: "Without entering
upon any discussion of the question which is the subject of
the manifesto, we feel it to be a distinct misfortune that at a
time when the very existence of our faith is being challenged
this attempt should be made to divert the thoughts of serious
people in a direction which is, to say the least, highly con-
troversial, and upon which men of equal learning and devotion
entertain widely different views. We believe that Jesus Christ
distinctly warned His disciples against this kind of specula-
tion."
Federal Council Leader Receives
Greeting From General Pershing
During his recent visit in France, Rev. Charles S. Mac-
farland, Commissioner to France of the Federal Council of
the Churches of Christ, bore the greetings of the American
churches to General Pershing. The latter responded most
cordially and, among other things, said: "The powerful re-
sources of the nation which have been placed ungrudgingly
at the disposition of the army are indispensable for the accom-
plishment of our duty. But we know that mere wealth of
material resources and even of technical skill will not suffice.
The invisible and unconquerable force let loose by the prayers
and hopes and ideals of Christian America, of which you are
representative, is incalculable. It furnishes the soul and the
motive for the military body and its operations. It steadies
us to resist manfully those temptations which assail us in the
extraordinary conditions of life in which we find ourselves."
Directions for Observance
of Noon-time Prayers
The official heads of the various religious denominations
of America have united in a request to the members of these
communions that each day at noon the Christian people should
bow their heads in prayer for the nation. The following are
the things for which we are requested to pray:
For those who fight and die for us;
For an appreciation of the issues involved in the war;
For strength to finish the task of winning a just peace;
For those who loyally serve and sturdily sacrifice at the
home base;
For individual and . world cleansing from the sin which
leads to war;
For the coming of the Kingdom of brotherhood and good
will and God;
For the revival of the faith that^ shall ultimately be the
end of war and the dawning of the reign of peace.
Those signing the request were Bishop Eugene R. Hendrix,
Rev. J. B. Gambrell, Rev. Edgar DeWitt Jones, Bishop Wm.
O. Shepard, Rev. James I. Vance, Rev. George W. Coleman,
Rev. Hubert C. Herring, Rev. Wm. M. Anderson, Bishop
Alexander C. Garrett, Rev. J. Frank Smith.
Methodists Elect Teacher
of the Rural Life
The Pittsburgh Christian Advocate reports: "The Rev.
Ora Miner of Cooperstown, Pa., has been elected professor of
Rural Church Life in the Iliff School of Theology, Denver,
Colo. Mr. Miner comes to this chair after six years of remark-
able work in the field of the rural church at Cooperstown,
which has made him a conspicuous leader and won for him
the approval of such men as Warren H. Wilson, of the Pres-
byterian Church, and Professor Earp, Doctor Vogt and Doctor
Forsyth, of the Methodist denomination. He begins his new
work with the opening of the new school year, September 24."
Seminary Attendance Falls Off
The effect of the war on the theological seminaries is
perhaps symbolized by the facts at the opening of the McCor-
mick Theological Seminary in Chicago this autumn. The
attendance was 100 as compared with 190 the previous year.
An address was made by Professor Samuel Dickey outlining
some phases of life today. Two new elective courses were
announced, one on young people's work by Mr. E. P. Gates
of the Christian Endeavor movement, and one on church pub-
licity by Mr. Herbert H. Smith of the staff of the Continent,
a Presbyterian newspaper.
Chaplain Proves Disloyal
An unusual case is that of Capt. F. J. Fainler, Roman
Catholic chaplain in the second infantry, U. S. A., who has been
found guilty of disloyalty in the service along with another
officer with a Teutonic name. The charges upon which he
was convicted include contemptuous and disrespectful lan-
guage against the President; upholding the sinking of the Lusi-
tania, asserting the American troops in France were a drunken
mob and declaring Liberty Bonds should not be purchased.
The case has been put up to President Wilson for review.
Orvis F. Tordan.
It is the unrest of a divided purpose, the ache of an unsatisfied
conscience, the uneasiness of a self-regarding spirit, that are so
hard to bear; not the troubles that he sends, not the discipline by
which he trains us. Yes ! we can escape from ourselves into God :
otherwise there is no refuge for us. — Charles Beard.
What can this "religion of the future" be but that devotion to
the racial adventure under the captaincy of God which we have
already found, like gold in the bottom of the vessel, when we have
washed away the confusions and impurities of dogmatic religion? —
H. G. Wells, in "God the Invisible King."
18
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 26, 1918
News of the Churches
Garry L. Cook, of Indiana,
Lecturing in Chicago
A number of Sunday school confer-
ences are being held this week in Chi-
cago, Garry L. Cook, of Indianapolis,
state Sunday school superintendent, be-
ing the chief lecturer. On Monday eve-
ning, at the Central Y. M. C. A. cafeteria,
a pastors and superintendents luncheon
was held, with Mr. Cook speaking on
"Administering the Church School." On
Tuesday evening Mr. Cook spoke to of-
ficers and teachers of north side churches
at Irving Park church; on Thursday
evening he will speak at Jackson Boule-
vard for west side leaders, and on Friday
evening will address south side officers
and teachers at the Morgan Park church.
Each of the conferences begins at 7:30.
Mr. Cook speaks on Teacher Training
and conducts helpful conferences on
modern methods in Sunday school work.
Sunday school workers of all the
churches are invited to attend the meet-
ings. No conference is planned for
Wednesday evening.
A Patriotic Pastor of a
Patriotic Church
There are few congregations more
patriotic than First church, Amarillo,
Tex. When the United States entered
the world war the official boards jointly
voted that the pastor, Ernest C. Mobley,
might feel free to fill any war call on
week nights and Sundays when neces-
sary. The congregation unanimously
endorsed the vote. The pastor found
constant calls both week nights and Sun-
days. At home, from elders to juniors,
they "kept the church fires burning."
The membership is leading in all com-
munity interests and public enterprises.
At a recent joint war work banquet of
men and women of the city, the chair-
man and every speaker and singer were
members of the Christian church, with
one exception. The speakers represented
Red Cross, Y. M. C. A., Y. W. C. A. and
Food Conservation. After being urged
for a year to enter Y. M. C. A. work
overseas, Mr. Mobley finally decided to
go. Everything was arranged with the
Personnel Board as to overseas ex-
penses and an allowance for the family.
When the letter from the Personnel
Board was read to a joint official board
they immediately voted an indefinite
leave of absence from the pulpit with the
privilege of paying the full salary for six
months' service. The Y. M. C. A. readily
accepted Mr. Mobley's offer of six
months' service.
Of Interest to Disciple
Ministers of Chicago
At the Chicago Ministers' Meeting to
be held Monday, September 30, in the
Central Y. M. C. A. Building, 19 S. La
Salle street, the speaker will be Rev.
Sidney L. Gulick D. D. His subject will
be "The Place of the Church in Amer-
ica's World Opportunity." Dr. Gulick
is regarded as the greatest living au-
thority on the Eastern Question and his
message will be one of great interest and
importance.
A Community Church
at Muncie, Ind.
Asa McDaniel, for several years leader
at Rensellaer, Ind., church, has since
April been minister of the Congerville
work at Muncie, Ind. He writes that he
has been busy getting an organization to
take care of th« n»eds of that part of
the city. He says: "We have a com-
munity service and it is the purpose of
our leaders to keep the church in full
control. We have a church membership
of 200 with a service flag of 40 stars.
The congregation is rich in young
people. We have more under middle life
at our services than we have above that
a?re. The church is open most all the
time and we hope in the near future that
we can have an 'open church.' Its mem-
bership is made up of all sorts of faiths
united in service for the 'other fellow.' "
Disciple Missionary of Porto Rico
Leads in Moral Uplift in Bayamon
M. B. Wood, superintendent of mis-
sions in Bayamon, Porto Rico, writes
interestingly of efforts he has recently
made in behalf of moral progress in the
island. This is his message: "Recently
the writer called a meeting of the Com-
mittee on Social Reforms, composed of
representatives of all denominations in
the Evangelical Union of the island, to
consider ways and means of seizing the
present opportunity for moral progress
made possible by the present mobiliza-
tion here. Among the measures ap-
proved were the designation of Septem-
ber 29th as Personal Purity Sunday, with
suggested program and free literature;
permanent committees of evangelical
workers to receive and distribute articles
from churches for the immoral women
now in the jail-hospitals with a view to
change of life. Bishop Colmore, of the
Episcopal church, is preparing the im-
mediate program of the churches on
morality matters while timely recom-
mendations were made as the support
of the action of the Attorney General,
publicity of the available laws on moral-
ity, gambling, and intemperance and
special efforts to serve and help soldiers
and their families."
* * *
— The Kansas Ministerial Institute
meets with the Manhattan church this
year. The date of the state convention
is September 30, the place being Dodge
City.
— Carl Agee came to the work at
Lawrenceburg, Ky., July 1, and has just
closed a meeting there in which thirty-
three members have been added to the
congregation. The chairman of the board
of officers writes that he "has already
secured the confidence and esteem of all
with whom he has come in contact; his
sermons are thoughtful, forceful, help-
ful." Miss Fred Fillmore, of Cincinnati,
daughter of J. H. Fillmore, led the sing-
ing in the recent meeting, and the report
comes that "she sang herself into the
hearts of the people; she is quiet, un-
assuming and dignified, but very much
m earnest."
— The address of President Charles
Franklin Thwing, of Western Reserve
University, which was printed in last
week's issue of The Christian Century,
was originally published in Religious
Education, and credit should be given
that publication for the article.
— More than a score of young people
united with the church at Manhattan,
Kan., on a recent Sunday. Otho C.
Moomaw leads at Manhattan.
— W. H. Waggoner, national evange-
list, is now back in Illinois for a while
holding missionary and church efficiency
institutes. From September 9-16 he was
at Columbus, September 16-22 at Gerlaw,
and he has other engagements planned
for Chambersburg, Lynnville, Lake Park
and other points.
— R. H. Heicke, recently of Kansas
City, Kan., began his new service at
West Side, Springfield, 111., on Septem-
ber 15.
— G. L. Messenger is the new leader
at North Tonawanda, N. Y. He was
formerly minister to churches in Penn-
sylvania.
— M. L. Buckley goes from Ft. Wayne,
Ind., to succeed C. A. Pearce in the
pastorate at Marion, O.
— George L. Snively led in the dedica-
tion of the new $40,000 building of the
South Dallas, Tex., church on Septem-
ber 15. W. W. Phares has led at South
Dallas for four years, during which
period over 400 members have been add-
ed to the congregation.
— In First church, Walla Walla, Wash.,
Sunday school, to which A. R. Liverett
ministers, there are seven organized de-
partments and 40 classes.
— D. G. Dungan, recently of Gosport,
Ind., is the new pastor at Estherville,
Iowa.
— Harry Green, pastor at Boone, la.,
recently received into church member-
ship a minister of the United Brethren
church, John M. Beck.
— Centralia, 111., congregation, led by
A. K. Adcock, has perfected plans to
liquidate an old debt on the church
building, also to take care of a loan.
— At the closing service of W. W.
Johnson's ministry at Orrville, O., the
sermon of the departing leader had as
its theme "The New World." There
was a crowded house at this service. A
local paper states that "W. W. Johnson
leaves the congregation with every one
a personal friend." New Philadelphia,
O., is Mr. Johnson's new field. He began
his work there last Sunday.
— -J. S. Clements has resigned from
the pastorate at Cairo, 111.
— J. P. Givens is in the third year of
his pastorate at Hoopeston, 111., and
during his ministry two hundred people
have been added to the membership of
the church. Last year the missionary
budget was $1,000 and Mr. Givens says
they will make it $1,500 this year. The
membership of the church is over five
hundred and it has a larger percentage
of activity on the part of the member-
ship than churches of that size usually
have. Andrew Scott was the immediate
predecessor of Mr. Givens.
iinimiiiiitiiiimiiiii
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FOR THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
Paramount Class Books
a
For 24 names; for entire year, 5 ct .
each ; 50 cts. per dozen. For other Clas;
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Merchandise.
Disciples Publication Society
700 E. Fortieth Street :: Chicago
Send for Our Booklet
"Tools for Sunday School Work"
A Catalog of Helpful Books on All
Phases of Sunday School Work.
DISCIPLES PUBLICATION SOCIETY
700 E. Fortieth Street j-i CHICACO
September 26, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
19
Federation in City and County Seat
DISCIPLES AND CONGREGATION-
ALISTS IN CHICAGO
The California Avenue Congregational
Church, and the Monroe Street Church
of Christ of Chicago, which have been
holding union services during the sum-
mer, have decided to federate for two
years or during the remaining period of
the war if it continues more than two
years longer. The two churches are
located one block apart in a community
where Protestantism once thrived and
where, in a section three blocks square,
there are now seven Protestant churches,
most of which are finding it difficult to
maintain themselves. Many of the well-
to-do-people who once lived in the com-
munity have moved away and others
quite unattached to any church have
moved in. Among the new comers are
many foreigners and a large number of
Catholics who give loyal support to a
very large Catholic church near by. The
problem of maintaining Protestant
churches therefore has become very
acute.
The Monroe Street Church was organ-
ized in 1891 and was the outgrowth of
a Mission Sunday School established
some years previous by the Western
Avenue Church. It has property valued
at about $28,000.00, the larger portion of
which was acquired during the ministry
of Rev. C. C. Morrison, now the editor
of the Christian Century. The member-
ship reached approximately 200 at one
time but has been decimated in recent
years, largely by removals, until at pres-
ent it has only 125 names on the roll.
The church has been without a settled
pastor since last November.
The California Avenue Church was
organized in 1883 and was once a very
flourishing church. It has a property
valued at about $50,000 and under the
popular ministry of Dr. D. F. Fox its
spacious auditorium was regularly
crowded to its capacity, especially on
Sunday evenings. In recent years it,
too, has suffered heavy losses by the
removal of its members to the suburbs.
Its last pastor, Dr. J. W. Vallentyne, re-
signed and left the field early in June
with the earnestly expressed wish that
the two churches might find it possible
to unite or federate.
Negotiations were taken up at once
under the general leadership of Rev.
Perry J. Rice, Executive Secretary of the
Chicago Christian Missionary Society,
who was temporarily supplying the pul-
pit of the Monroe Street Church, and
with the counsel of Dr. Reuben L. Breed,
Superintendent of the Chicago Mission-
ary Society. Committees were appointed
and after due deliberation articles of fed-
eration were mutually agreed upon and
submitted to the two congregations for
final action, both of which have since
voted unanimously to adopt them.
The federation is for the period of
two years at least and should the war
continue longer than that, for the re-
maining period of the war. The two
congregations will, during this period,
unite for worship and service under the
leadership of a pastor and such other
paid workers as may be jointly chosen
to serve the federated church, which will
be known as the Monroe Street Fed-
erated Church (Congregationalists and
Disciples). Each church will continue
to maintain its identity as a church, con-
tinuing its present organization with
such slight changes as may seem advis-
able and permissible without in any way
affecting its integrity as a corporate
church,
The Sunday services will be held in the
California Avenue church and all mid-
week serices will be held in the Monroe
Street church which will also be used as
a place for social gatherings and enter-
tainments of all kinds. The governing
bodies will meet jointly and organize
themselves into one Board which will
have charge of the worship and service
of the Federated Church.
A unique feature of the agreement is
the article which reads: "Some form of
community service in addition to the
regular lines of church activity shall be
inaugurated as soon as possible after
the federation is affected and shall be
maintained as a part of the federated
church program." The members of the
two churches have, in adopting the
articles of agreement, placed themselves
under peculiar obligations to continue as
such during the period of the federation
and to support the Federated Church in
every way possible. A pastor will be
called at once and the promise of a suc-
cessful season's work is very bright. It
is the hope of many interested that the
federation thus effected may become
permanent and that a great service may
be rendered the community in which the
church is located.
The two churches met separately on
last Sunday, the 22nd, and made final
arrangements for the merger on next
Sunday.
DISCIPLES AND BAPTISTS IN
CHICAGO
Last Sunday the members of the First
Baptist Church of this city came in a
body to the Memorial Church of Christ
where they will worship as a united con-
gregation from this time forth. For the
present the integrity of the two con-
gregations will not be impaired, but all
activities will be carried on as a united
church. The First Baptist Church is the
oldest church organization in Chicago.
For many years it has worshiped in the
fine edifice at Thirty-first street and
South Park boulevard. It has had among
its pastors such leaders of the Baptist
body as George C. Lorimer, P. S. Hen-
son and R. H. DuBlois. The present
membership is about 550. Dr. W. H.
Main, the present pastor, will continue
with the church, and, with Dr. Willett,
will minister to the united congregation.
The building recently occupied by the
First Baptist Church has been sold to
the Olivet Baptist Church (colored),
which is said to be the largest Baptist
church in existence.
* * *
DISCIPLES AND CONGREGATION-
ALISTS AT PITTSFIELD, ILL.
The town of Pittsfield, 111., was orig-
inally founded by a company of people
from Pittsfield, Mass. They brought
New England ideals and the energy and
enthusiasm of the young people who,
in the last fifty years, have made the
West. One of the first things they did
was to set out trees, which are today
the pride of the town. They next gave
their enthusiasm to the school and the
church. Following the usual custom of
the county-seat town, different denomi-
nations, one by one came in. The first
church was the Congregational. The
Disciples of Christ came in later, and
they now have their fine building just
across the street from the commodious
Congregational building. Each church
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MANHATTAN BUILDING, CHICAGO
CHURCH
BE IS
SCHOOL
Asfc for Catalogue ut Special gsuewUon Floss No. 37
(Established 18S»)
THE C. S. BELL CSX, HILLSBORO, OHIO
Education
Contributions
Should reach the office of
the Board of Education on
or before
September 30, 1918
in order that churches
may receive
Credit in the Year Book
BOARD OF EDUCATION
OF THE
DICIPLES OF CHRIST
CARL VAN WINKLE, Treasurer
Irvington Station
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
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fOO E. Fortieth Street :-i CHICAGO
20
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 26, 1918
MEMORIAL ciffi3ffi.Sg!2S,r
IMIlAuU BwkMt L MM, HUM
wm
went on its own way for a number of
years, following its own trend, the Dis-
ciples church growing more rapidly than
the Congregational. Each church in its
own way believed in Christian unity.
Neither one, however, did anything
toward getting together, until one day
the lightning struck the church of the
Disciples, and the Congregational peo-
ple invited the Disciples to share their
building while the Disciples' house was
being rebuilt.
Two other things, however, had been
happening. The young people in the
schools were, on week days, simply
Pittsfield young people, but on Sunday
they were Congregationalists and Disci-
ples, Methodists and Baptists, etc. While
each church did its part towards build-
ing up its own life, there was no one
who could prevent the young men of
the Christian church going with the
young women of the Congregational
church, and every now and then a home
was founded in which the husband was
a Disciple and the wife a Congregation-
alism until it came about that there were
a goodly number of such homes in the
community. i I
Another thing happened; each church
had a good minister and the two came
to be fast friends. Unconsciously the
two churches were being brought to-
gether. Then, the great war came and
there was occasion to conserve fuel, and
there was the shortage of ministers. Just
about this time both pastors resigned.
Quite naturally there came an effort to
federate, which effort terminated last
July by the organization of The Fed-
erated Church of Pittsfield.
The federation has naturally called for
minor concessions on both sides, but
there was no demand for either one to
yield anything vital. The government
of the Federated Church is in the hands
of a Board of Control of ten, five elected
from each church. Every matter of in-
terest is first passed upon by the Board
of Control, and by them recommended
to the united churches. In the future
there will be three church clerks, one
for the Disciples, one for the Congrega-
tionalists and one for the Federated
Church. Each church is to retain its
identity; when new members come in
they are to choose the method of bap-
tism and the church in which they are
to be enrolled. Each new member will
become a bona fide member of either
the Disciples or the Congregational
church. No influence is to be brought
in any way to determine which church
any one is to join. Every possible in-
fluence is to be brought to lead each
man and woman into a higher Christian
life. The question of which church is
purely a personal matter for each indi-
vidual to decide.
In associational gatherings the Fed-
erated Church will be represented offi-
cially in both the Congregational and
the Disciples Associations. Early in
October the Quincy Association of Con-
gregational churches will meet at Men-
don, and it is hoped there will be a
large representation from the Congrega-
tional church. The same week the Gen-
eral convention of the Disciples will
meet in St. Louis, and it is hoped there
will be a large representation.
In the matter of benevolences, each
member is to choose where his benevo-
lence offerings are to go. The represen-
tatives of each church will be heard from
time to time.
In August, by invitation of the Fed-
erated Church, the Rev. W. H. Hopkins,
a congregational pastor of Atlanta, Ga.,
was asked to spend a Sunday in Pitts-
field. His heart convictions, as well as
experience had fitted him for the work.
For ten years he was pastor of a Denver
church; when he left the church it was
represented by workers in Persia, Korea,
South America and China. Not one of
these workers belonged to the church
of which he is a member. He has al-
ways had the larger vision. To him
the Kingdom is far more important than
any denomination. He believes that in
the new day which is coming the Fed-
erated Church is to have a large place.
The church has given him a unani-
mous call to be its pastor. The outlook
seems bright for a good work in the
local community, and a work which will
inevitably have its influence in a larger
fellowship of the churches.
xmion AVENUB
CT I fllllC CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Uli LUUlu Union and Von Ventn kf*.
w i ■ t.w w • w Q-ort- A CamfMlt Minlrtw
BRITISH LEADERS IN CHICAGO
Chicago people will keep in mind the
important meetings this week under the
direction of the Inter-Church War Work
Committee. On Thursday evening great
gatherings are to be held in the Engle-
wood Baptist Church, the First Congre-
gational Church of Oak Park, and the
First Methodist Church of Evanston.
On Friday evening a great mass meet-
ing is to be held in the Auditorium Thea-
ter, at which Bishop Gore of Oxford and
Dr. A. T. Guttery of Liverpool will be
the speakers. The general theme of all
the conferences will be "International
Christian Fellowship in the War." Tick-
ets of admission may be secured by pas-
tors for any of their people, or from the
office of the Inter-Church War Work
Committee, 405 Association Building.
ILLINOIS NEWS LETTER
On Sunday, September 15th, I had the
privilege of meeting with the Hoopeston
church, one of the best churches in
Illinois. For a good many years the
Hoopeston church struggled with a
heavy debt. About three years ago this
was liquidated and the church has been
growing in every way much more rap-
idly since that great victory.
On Sunday afternoon I addressed the
brethren at Rossville, where Chas. J.
Adams ministers. This was a former
pastorate of the State Secretary and, of
course, the visit was enjoyable. Mr.
Adams is doing a fine piece of work with
this good church.
The Men and Millions Emergency
Campaign in Illinois deepened our con-
"The Most Beautiful Hymnal Ever Produced in the American Church"
It Sings Patriotism!
„.... uAntf CENTRAL CHURCH
IFW YORK 142 West 81*t Street
frlLfl »««'* jfcis a. iflemaa, Minister
"I have heard nothing but the
highest praise for the hymnal
and a number are asking for
them for use in their homes.
In these days of crisis and
challenge it is a joy to be able
to build the mood essential for
such hours of worship as we
must have. The new day calls
for a new mood and Hymns of
the United Church is wonder-
fully prophetic in its emphasis
upon the older individualism in
religion coupled with the newer
social consciousness. The call
of the higher patriotism and
community service becomes
deeply religious, and preaching
on such themes is empowered
through the use of this hymnal.
LIN D. CARTWRIGHT,
Pastor Christian Church,
Fort Collins, Colo.
Send Today for information as to prices, returnable copy, etc.
Published by
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 EAST 40TH STREET, CHICAGO
•mum
September 26, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
21
viction as to the value of county organ-
ization. We are planning to organize
every county in the State just as rapidly
as possible so that we will not have to
appoint committees every time there is
a big task to do. The State Secretary
was able to organize Vermilion and
Champaign counties while in Eastern
Illinois on the occasion of the visit to
Hoopeston. Both counties hope to be-
come unanimous in the missionary pro-
gram of the church this year.
We are able to report that Illinois has
reached $200,000 for the Emergency Fund
and wish to take this opportunity to say
that the brethren in Cincinnati are very
anxious to complete collections soon that
this work may not be an interference
with our plans for raising the missionary
budget this autumn.
Three of our District Evangelists are
engaged in good meetings and the others
are making preparation for evangelistic
campaigns. We are encouraging the
churches of Illinois to hold meetings and
would like to be able to report at the
State Convention next year that seven
hundred churches have held revivals.
After eight years of half-time service
on Lord's Days at Hindsboro, Douglas
Co., and three years at Pleasant Hill,
Edgar Co., A. P. Cobb solicits corre-
spondence with churches with a view of
engagements for 1919.
H. H. Peters, State Secretary.
THANKS TO YOU!
Here is a letter — one of hundreds — ad-
dressed to the Board of Ministerial Re-
lief. It belongs rather to all who are
helping in this "wonderful work."
September 14, 1918.
Dear Brother Warren:
I can't begin to express my gratitude
for your most kind and liberal assistance.
Poor father is nearly at the river's
crossing. We thought all of last week
he would go, but our physician says now
he may linger for some time yet, perhaps
months. He has wonderful vitality al-
though he has about lost his voice.
When your check came I placed it in
his hands. He clasped them together
and said, "Thank the good Lord and
dear brethren. You write them at once."
You can't imagine how much good
your money, and more especially your
brotherly love, has done for him. He
said last evening, "I know they will be
faithful to me to the last."
I tell you this to let you know the
wonderful work you are doing for the
Veterans. Again thanking you I am
His sorrowing daughter,
Six more of these cheer-bringing
checks are going out today, making the
Roll 186. Scores of churches are rush-
ing their final offerings to headquarters
before the year ends September 30.
Owing to the early date of the conven-
tion this year it will not be possible to
keep bur books open longer than
October 2. Any remittances that can-
not be mailed to reach us by that date
should be sent by wire.
Board of Ministerial Relief,
W. R. Warren, President
Indianapolis, Indiana.
MESSAGES FROM THE MISSION-
ARIES
Word has just been received that Mr.
and Mrs. Herbert Smith and E. A.
Johnston, of our Congo Mission, have
reached Cape Town on their way home
for their furlough. There are no ships
crossing the Atlantic direct to America,
hence they will be compelled to come via
the Pacific.
The high cost of living increases in the
Congo. Flour is selling at $50 a barrel,
butter $1.70 a pound, sugar 60 cents a
pound.
C. E. Benlehr of Damoh, India, reports
the work on the Damoh farm as pro-
gressing. He says: "Our farm never
was in such good condition for the crops
we are sowing and planting. We are
going to raise some castor beans this
year to help supply oil for the machinery
of the Allies."
W. H. Scott of Harda, India, reports
that the Primary schools have opened
again with an attendance a little below
normal, due to the plague. The teachers
were all on duty from the first day. The
evangelistic work has been carried on in
the villages round about Harda.
W. R. Hunt of Nanking, China, re-
ports a splendid work in the Hsia Kwan
church, in connection with the Naval
College at Nanking. Twenty-six of the
Naval College students are in his Sunday
school class; thirteen have definitely
decided for Christ.
Dr. Osgood has re-opened the hospital
^t Chuchow and reports a fine reception
from the people of the city.
A new individual Living-link has been
enrolled — a father who will support his
own son in India. This is the first time
that this has happened in the history of
the Foreign Society.
The Foreign Society now has enrolled
a total of 214 Living-links, 183 churches,
8 Sunday schools and 23 individuals.
The receipts for the first eleven
months of the present missionary year
are $423,790.21. This is a gain of
$17,029.91 over the first eleven months
of last year.
The missionary year closes September
30. All money from churches, Sunday
schools, Endeavor societies and individ-
uals should be forwarded immediately in
order that proper credit may be given in
our Annual Report and in the new Year-
book. Checks should be made payable
to Foreign Christian Missionary Society,
Box 884, Cincinnati, Ohio.
H. C. Hobgood reports 72 baptisms
on the Congo.
W. H. Erskine of Osaka, Japan, re-
ports: "Two boys from the night school
baptized. The boys' school is crowded
and the girls' school has a big increase
in students. The kindergarten is over
the limit allowed by the city, but every
day some rest so we try to keep it near
the limit."
G. B. Baird, Luchowfu, China, says
that the Sunday-school there last quar-
ter averaged 180. The Sundav-school
offerings more than paid for all of the
supplies. Thev have let the contract
for the new girls' school.
Mr. and Mrs. McCall, who have been
in America on furlough, are now on their
way to Japan. Mr. McCall is taking a
Ford car back with him. This will en-
able him to visit many outstations that
he could not otherwise reach and will
greatly increase his efficiency.
Dr. W. N. Lemmon of Manila writes
that 17 nurses are being graduated from
the three hospitals. They all have had
three years of Bible study. Five out of
the six inspectors of the Manila schools
are from our own mission hospitals.
S. J. Corey,
Bert Wilson,
Secretaries.
The How
OF THE
International
Graded Lessons
ii imuittimiiiimmiimtUi
Three Books
| that will help you
iitiiiniaiiiiiMiiiimiiinniiti
The General
Manual
Tells how to intro-
duce the Graded
Lessons in all de-
partments. For
S'u p e r i n t e ndents,
Pastors, Teachers,
etc. 50 cents, post-
paid.
iiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiniiiuiiiiiiiuiiimniiiiHiHiiiiiiiiiniin
The Primary
Manual
Tells "how?" for
the Primary De-
partment. For
Primary Superin-
tendents and Teach-
ers. 50 cents post-
paid.
The Junior
Manual
Tells the way to
success in graded
teaching in the
Junior Department.
50 cents postpaid.
^iiUHiitimiiiiiMitjiiimim , .; n inuuimniiimumiiitiiimHi
Disciples Publication Society
700 E. 40th St., Chicago, 111.
22
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
September 26, 1918
The 2
Century
Quarterly
«
For Adult and Young People's Bible Classes
Edited by Thomas Curtis Clark
Makers of the Quarterly:
John Ray Ewers
William Dunn Ryan
Herbert L. Willett, Jr.
Prof. W. C. Morro
The governing purposes in the preparation of this new Lesson Quarterly are two:
(1) To afford all necessary aids for a thorough and vital consideration of the Interna-
tional Uniform Sunday School Lessons; (2) To edit out all features of conventional
lesson quarterlies which are not actually used by and useful to the average class. This
quarterly is based upon many years' experience of the makers with the modern organ-
ized class.
Features of the Quarterly
Getting Into the Lesson. This department is
prepared by William Dunn Ryan, of Central
Church, Youngstown, O., who has one of the
most remarkable schools of adults in the coun-
try. Mr. Ryan presents the backgrounds of the
lesson.
Clearing Up Difficult Points. Herbert L. Willett,
Jr., whose extended experience and study in the
Orient have made him an able interpreter of
Scripture facts for modern students, has charge
of this department. His is a verse-by-verse
study.
The Lesson Brought Down to Date. The unique
work of John R. Ewers in straight-from-the-
shoulder adaptations of the Sunday school lessons
to today's life is too well known to call for ex-
planation. There is no other writer in the
Sunday school world today who approaches Mr.
Ewers in the art of making the Bible talk to
modern men.
The Lesson Forum. No man is better sufted to
furnish lesson questions with both scholarly and
practical bearings than Dr. W. C. Morro, of But-
ler College. His questions really count in the
consideration of lesson themes.
The lesson text (American revised versi on) and daily Scripture readings are printed
for each lesson. The Quarterly is a booklet of handy pocket size.
The Autumn issue of the Quarterly is now ready.
Send for free sample copy, and let us have your
order at once.
The Christian Century Press
700 East Fortieth St.
Chicago
September 26, 1918 THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY 23
The B
Graded
Lessons
A NOTABLY SUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT
TO PRESENT RELIGIOUS TRUTH IN
A REASONABLE, ATTRACTIVE AND
EFFECTIVE WAY TO YOUNG AND
OLD. IT RESULTS IN AN ACCURATE
KNOWLEDGE OF BIBLICAL FACTS,
AND IN A VITAL APPRECIATION
OF SPIRITUAL TRUTH.
Spiritual: The great purpose of religious education — the training of
mind and heart and will to "see God" and feel God in the world of nature, history,
and especially in the revelation of His will in the life of the Savior of men — is not
made subservient to the presentation of mere historical facts. The study of the
Bethany Graded Lessons grows Christian character; it does not simply produce
scholars.
Thorough : Not a hop-skip-and-jump compromise scheme of study,
made as easy as possible. Thoroughness is not sacrificed to the minor end of
easiness. Each year of th ■ life of child and youth is provided with a Bible course
perfectly adapted to that year. The Bethany Graded Lessons are psychologically
correct.
Practical : An interesting fact relative to the Bethany Graded Lessons
is that they are fully as popular with small schools as with large. The system
is thoroughly adaptable to all conditions. The fact that a school is small does not
mean that it is easy-going and careless in its choice of a system of study. We
can truthfully say that many of the finest schools using the Bethany Lessons do
not number more than 75 members. No matter what the conditions of your
school, the Bethany Graded Lessons will fill your need.
If your school is ambitious, if it is thorough- going,
if it is willing to take religious education
seriously, you must have the
BETHANY GRADED LESSONS
Thoroughly approved and more popular than ever after
nine years of useful service.
Smd for returnable samples today and prepare for a year
of genuine study of religion.
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 East 40th Street, CHICAGO, ILL.
a
Three Forthcoming
Books
The Daily Altar
By HERBERT L. WILLETT and CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON
A GUIDE and inspiration to private devotion and family worship. Presenting
for each day in the year a theme, a meditation, a Scripture verse, a poem and a
prayer. A remarkable and unique contribution to the life of the spirit. In these
hurried and high-tension days it makes possible the habit of daily devotion in every
home, at every bedside, and in every heart. The book is a work of art — printed on
exquisitely fine paper, bound in full leather, with gilt edges, round corners and silk
marker. It is a delight to the hand and eye, and will invite itself to a permanent
place on the library table or the book-shelf of one's bed-chamber. It will prove to
be the most popular Christmas gift of the season. Orders received now.
NOW IN PRESS. READY SEPTEMBER 25.
Price, $2.00. In Lots of Six, $10.00.
The Protestant
By BURRIS A. JENKINS
THE author calls this "a scrap book for
insurgents" and dedicates it "to the
bravest men I know, the heretics." He frankly
confesses himself a destructive critic. Look-
ing abroad over the Church today, Dr. Jen-
kins sees its follies, its waste, its ineptness, its
bondage to tradition, and he yearns for the
coming of a great Protestant, another Luther,
who will not only shatter the present order of
things but lead the Church into a new day.
While he disavows any constructive purpose
in the book, it is in reality a master-work of
constructive and helpful criticism. Without
apparently trying to do so the author marks
out positive paths along which progress must
be made. It is safe to predict that this book
will have a wide reading. It is bound to pro-
voke discussion. Dr. Jenkins writes with a
facile, even a racy, pen. Orders received now.
NOW IN PRESS. READY OCTOBER 1
Price, $1.35 net
Love Off to the War
By THOMAS CURTIS CLARK
READERS of religious and secular jour-
nals the country over have become famil-
iar with the verse of Mr. Clark. He has
grown steadily into favor with those minds
that still have taste for the normal and sound
simplicities of poetry. This exquisitely made
volume — a poem in itself — now gives the
cream of Mr. Clark's work to the book-read-
ing public. Poems of war and love and
"Friendly Town" and idyllic peace are here,
as well as poems of mystical Christian expe-
rience. Everywhere that Christian journalism
has carried Thomas Curtis Clark's verses there
will be a keen desire to possess this book. It
is a book to keep and to love, and a beautiful
book to give to a friend. Orders received now.
NOW IN PRESS. READY OCTOBER 1
Price, $1.25 net
D
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
iHllllllRIUUIIIIIIIIIIIIM^
FOR THE MEN AT THE FRONT
When you have finished reading this copy of
The Christian Century place a one-cent stamp
on this comer and hand the magazine to any
postal employe. The Post Office will send It
to some soldier or sailor in our forces at the
front. No wrapping — no address.
BURLESON, Postmaster-general.
The War for
Righteousness
By William T. Manning
America's Answer
By F. W. Gunsaulus
A LIBERTY LOAN NUMBER
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 3, 1918
The 20th Century
Quarterly
For Adult and Young People's Bible Classes
Edited by Thomas Curtis Clark
Makers of the Quarterly:
John Ray Ewers
William Dunn Ryan
Herbert L. Willett, Jr.
Prof. W. C. Morro
The governing purposes in the preparation of this new Lesson Quarterly are two:
(1) To afford all necessary aids for a thorough and vital consideration of the Interna-
tional Uniform Sunday School Lessons; (2) To edit out all features of conventional
lesson quarterlies which are not actually used by and useful to the average class. This
quarterly is based upon many years' experience of the makers with the modern organ-
ized class.
Features of the Quarterly
Getting Into the Lesson. This department is
prepared by William Dunn Ryan, of Central
Church, Youngstown, O., who has one of the
most remarkable schools of adults in the coun-
try. Mr. Ryan presents the backgrounds of the
lesson.
Clearing Up Difficult Points. Herbert L. Willett,
Jr., whose extended experience and study in the
Orient have made him an able interpreter of
Scripture facts for modern students, has charge
of this department. His is a verse-by-verse
study.
The Lesson Brought Down to Date. The unique
work of John R. Ewers in straight-from-the-
shoulder adaptations of the Sunday school lessons
to today's life is too well known to call for ex-
planation. There is no other writer in the
Sunday school world today who approaches Mr.
Ewers in the art of making the Bible talk to
modern men.
The Lesson Forum. No man is better suited to
furnish lesson questions with both scholarly and
practical bearings than Dr. W. C. Morro, of Bug-
ler College. His questions really count in the
consideration of lesson themes.
The lesson text (American revised versi on) and daily Scripture readings are printed
for each lesson. The Quarterly is a booklet of handy pocket size.
The Autumn issue of the Quarterly is now ready.
Send for free sample copy, and let us have your
order at once.
The Christian Century Press
700 East Fortieth St.
Chicago
Ait Undenominational Journal of Religion
Volume XXXV
OCTOBER 3, 1918
Number 38
EDITORIAL STAFF: CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON, EDITOR; HERBERT L. WILLETT. CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
ORVIS FAIRLEE JORDAN, ALVA W. TAYLOR. JOHN RAY EWERS :: THOMAS CURTIS CLARK, OFFICE MANAGER
[Entered as second-class matter, February 28, 1902, at the Post-office at Chicago, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
[Published Weekly By the Disciples Publication Society 700 East 40th Street, Chicago
1 __ . — _
^Subscription — $2.50 a year (to ministers, $2.00), strictly in advance. Canadian postage, 52 cents extra; foreign, $1.04 extra.
(Change of date on wrapper is a receipt for remittance on subscription and shows month and year to which subscription is paid.
(The Christian Century is a free interpreter of the essential ideals of Christianity as held historically by the Disciples of Christ.
It conceives the Disciples' religious movement as ideally an unsectarian and unecclesiastical fraternity, whose original impulse and
icommon tie are fundamentally the desire to practice Christian unity in the fellowship of all Christians. Published by Disciples, The
^Christian Century, is not published for Disciples alone, but for the Christian world. It strives to interpret the wider fellowship
1 in religious faith and service. It desires definitely to occupy a catholic point of view and it seeks readers in all communions.
ED ITORI AL
The Church That Quality Built
IN Chicago is a store which has come to be the largest
and best known in the entire world, setting standards
for all other similar enterprises. It does not buy-
much advertising and it often charges more for its goods
than other stores. It has been called "The store that
quality built." Honest merchandising, courteous clerks,
jbut above all the quality of goods sold, account for this
(success.
It is rather strange that so few churches realize
'the lesson of such a commercial achievement. Obsessed
jwith the passion for numbers, the churches do not pay
(enough attention to the kind of members they receive,
nor to the benefits which will be conferred upon these
members by the church life.
Of course churches talk a good deal about quality
but they often mean to use the word in a narrow social
sense. A church of quality is a church of silks and
I satins. In such a sense the quality of the church is only
1 such as would be assigned to it by tailors and haber-
j dashers. What the great Head of the church would say
jof the quality of such a church might be quite another
matter.
A church has a soul as truly as an individual does.
Listen to what the Spirit says to the churches in the
early chapters of Revelation. One church is luke-warm
and another has been true even in Satan's seat. The
praise and blame accorded these churches help some-
what to set forth what the church of quality is.
In our modern experience with churches, we de-
mand a church that has a truly educational program as
the early church had. This passion must be in the pul-
pit, in the Sunday school, in the missionary society and
throughout the activities of the parish. It is the spirit
that makes a modern library necessary in the church
and which creates a market for the very best of religious
literature.
The church of quality is also one that is full of
human feeling. It is not a cold and exclusive place, nor
is it loud and boisterous. The every-day ministries are
practiced unostentatiously, but in Christ-like spirit.
Above all, the ideal church must have religion. The
sense of the Unseen presence must be not only in the
sanctuary but in the lives of the people. A church which
abounds in these splendid things will not need to worry
about numbers, money or prestige, for all of these things
will be added unto it.
Can a State Do Wrong?
ARE the Ten Commandments binding only on indi-
viduals? Is the state above right and wrong?
One would not suppose that such a question could
be seriously discussed, but even before the war it was
the position of many of Germany's leading theologians
that the state could do no wrong. It was the modern
version of the doctrine that the king can do no wrong.
Opposed to this diabolical doctrine even before the
war was the teaching of America's progressive theolo-
gians that the nation has the same ethical ideal that a
Christian man has. The state has an obligation of un-
selfishness, of service, of regard for the sanctity of hu-
man life which is the glory of the follower of Jesus
Christ. The state which falls short of such a standard
is an imperfect or a sinful state, or even a pagan state.
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 3, 1918
Some of the things that have happened in our world
are to be understood in the light of this fundamental
teaching. Neither England nor America were prepared
for war. They had taken a terrible risk — how great
only the history of the war will reveal — and had taken
this risk because the soul of each nation desired peace
and not war. More and more the spirit of the Golden
Rule was making itself felt in the councils of these na-
tions. While the Golden Rule kept England and Amer-
ica unprepared, a doctrine that the supreme duty of the
state is strength had led to a military preparation in
Germany the greatest in the world's history. The crimes
and barbarisms committed by Germany in this war
arise from the denial of any ethical responsibility on the
part of the state.
It took a long time for courts to supersede private
revenge in personal affairs. It may take some time to
organize the world to restrain national criminals and
try them in a court of law, but the day is sure to come.
The free nations of the world hold their governments
responsible and change them when they prove recreant
to their trust. The nation is not greater than God, as
the Germans seem to believe. God is greater than all
nations and His will must be done.
The Spirit of Our Soldiers
HERE is a story that comes from Paris. It is told
by "Billy" Levere, that most popular mid-western
American secretary in France. "Association Men"
reports it. Secretary Levere wrote :
"Two American soldiers were seated at a cafe on a
street in Paris. As they glanced up they saw passing a bony
horse drawing a rough two-wheeled cart on which lay the
casket with the body of a French soldier boy draped
with the colors. Behind the cart marched alone the bowed
and aged widowed mother. Quickly the American sol-
diers rose to their feet, left their refreshments and re-
spectfully fell in behind the little woman in her lonesome
march to the burial of her son. A few moments later she
was joined by two French soldiers. Together in silence
they followed her to the cemetery. At the side of the
grave of her boy the little woman turned and for the
first time discovered them. She seized the hands of the
American boys and raised them to her lips, affectionately
kissed them, adding a mother's blessing."
And Levere, in telling the story, said : "Could any-
thing better show the spirit of our boys in France?"
Refuse to Talk Peace
IT has been the strategy of Germany all through the
war to keep her enemies talking peace while she was
building up the war program in Germany. German
socialists fanned the flame of a pacifist socialism in Rus-
sia, it is asserted. France was full of defeatist propa-
ganda until the brave Clemenceau traced the evil to its
source and a few executions rid France of her traitors.
In America the peace talk has been going the
rounds in certain circles. Be sure that the ever watch-
ful agents of the Kaiser, some of whom still go at large
in our country, will take every chance of encouraging
such talk.
A look at the war map tells us, if we will but heed,
why we are not ready to discuss peace. Germany has
over-run a section of Russia nearly as large as the ter-
ritory she had within her own borders before the war.
She is willing that the allies should have their way about
most matters on the western front, if she is allowed to
steal an empire unmolested. This would bring peace
now, but with such a present peace our children would
fight in the streets of our own cities a generation hence
in defence of our homes and our liberties.
There has been no willingness on Germany's part
to make restitution to Belgium for the cruel wrong she
did her. It will be discouraging to all future genera-
tions if the powerful nations do not push Belgium's
claim for justice to a triumphant conclusion. So long
as that brave little country lies under the heel of the
conqueror, and so long as that conqueror is not willing
to pay for the damage he has done, the war must go on.
The war is not over yet, for America has hardly be-
gun to fight. Probably not a third of our prepared and
preparing troops are in Europe. America will increase
end Germany decrease until at last the pressure is un-
bearable and the black eagles will go down before the
golden eagle of American liberty. Until then we shall
buy liberty bonds and with grim determination do what
lies at hand to do in behalf of victory.
The Evolution of Cooperative Religious
Effort
REPORTS made by the district superintendents at
the state convention of Illinois (these officers are
still erroneously called district evangelists) tells
the story of a new type of religious leadership and a new
form of cooperation among the churches.
The bishop in the church of the second century was
at first a kind of spiritual father to the weak church inj
outlying villages. He was an efficiency expert for people
who were yet unacquainted with proper methods in re-
ligious work. Then there came a time when the church
was organized on the model of the Roman empire, and
the fatherly bishop was succeeded by the spiritual
prince. Ever since then the free spirits in religion have
feared anything that looked like a building up of eccle-
siastical authority.
The district worker in Illinois reports a wide variety
of religious activity. In one district the superintendent
has helped as camp pastor to the "jackies." In other dis
tricts, the churches that were weak and struggling have
been encouraged, taught in proper financial methods and
inspired with new visions of their task. Once the only
test applied to such a worker would have been the num
ber of "additions" that he would have been able to re
port. While these men do add new members to the
churches, there is no adequate method of reducing the
story of their activities throughout the year to statistics
The evolution of church work is in the direction o
standardizing methods for the different types of com
munities. After awhile we shall have a literature 01
October 3, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
5
church methods which has been worked out for these
various kinds of communities, written by the men who
have had opportunity of making a thorough research in
in these things.
Thus there is coming among the Disciples of Christ
a unity which does not rest upon authority at all, but
upon service. A church may reject the kindly offices of
the district superintendent, but in the long run this
course will prove to be an unfortunate one. The district
superintendent will have the kind of authority which
arises out of efficient service and success.
The Hours That Tell
AFTER writing a vivid description of a long and try-
ing day in the "Y" hut, where the men had to start
from their pile of blankets on top of bed rolls at
the six o'clock bugle call and were kept hard at it all day
supplying the wants of the clamorous soldiers, Rev. Elmer
T. Clark, an Association worker, puts this closing touch:
"It was after ten o'clock. In the deserted hut, the
gloom pierced here and there by the tiny gleam of a half
burned candle, the secretaries stood and surveyed the
wreckage piled high around them. The place looked worse
than in the early morning, but they could not clean it now.
They could scarcely drag their heavy feet, but there was
work still ahead of them, for the business of the day must
be checked up and the beds laid. In the midst of this
work the door opened cautiously and a few men slipped
in quietly. They were billetted in the barn near by and
had sneaked out and into the hut because their hearts
were hungry and they wanted to talk, to unburden their
souls to someone who would care, to seek advice, to tell
their troubles, to ask that a letter be sent to mother or
sweetheart in the United States. One wondered how the
secretaries would stand the strain, but they listened with
sympathy, and the lads were smiling again when they
were sent away."
The Rubber Dam
A Parable of Safed the Sage
NOW, in the city where I dwell is a Dentist, and I
entered his Shop, and sat me down in a Chair,
and I said to the Dentist, I have a Tooth.
And he looked in my Mouth, and he said, It is a
Bad One, but I will Endeavor to Fill it.
So he closed my Mouth with a Rubber Dam.
And as he did so, he Made Jokes about the Dam;
but I cared not for them, for they were not Very Good
Jokes, and I knew that he Made Them to all his cus-
tomers. Moreover, I had other things to think of. And
he fastened the Rubber Dam around my neck with a
Stay, which had a Clamp at either end, and the two
Clamps held to the two ends of the Rubber Dam.
And one of the Clamps laid hold of One Hair of my
Beard.
Now what the Dentist did to my Tooth was a
Plenty, and it caused me Sore Pain ; but I bore it with-
out murmur, and I could not Talk. But all the Time
I felt the Pain of the One Hair that the Clamp was
pulling.
And after he had Worked at my Tooth for the space
of Two Hours, he let me go.
And he removed the Rubber Dam, and he noticed
that he had been pulling One Hair of my Beard.
And he said, I discovered that I have been Pulling
One Hair, but I Think Thou canst not have noticed it
in the Greater Pain of the Tooth. For I did bore to the
Depth of the Fourth Part of the Length of thy Back-
bone.
And I answered, Thou hast Another Think Com-
ing. I noticed it Every Second, and it Hurt.
And he Laughed, and he Mocked me, and he said,
Next Time I will try to Hurt thee enough with my Drill
so thou shalt not notice so Small a Thing.
And I said to him, That is where thou dost get left.
For next time I go to another Dentist. Moreover, thou
art Dead Wrong about the Philosophy of the Whole
Business. For consciousness of the Greater Pain doth
in No Wise Obliterate the lesser, and ofttimes it doth
Aggravate it.
And he said, That is a New One on me.
And I said, I bore the Greater Pain without Com-
plaint because I had Faith to Believe that it was Doing
Good ; but I Complained about the Lesser Pain because
I knew that it was needless.
And I meditated much about this ; for Often I have
seen Men, yea and ofttimes Women, bear with Great
Fortitude the Pain that must be, even the Pain which
their Faith teaches them is for the Best, but they Resent
it when they Suffer the Small Annoyances that are
Needless and Valueless. Yea, though the sorrows of
Life Bore to the Depth of their heart, they bear it
Bravely behind Life's Rubber Dam; but they Kick
against the Pricks of Life's Needless Pains.
And I said in my heart that I would seek so far as
in me lay to avoid the Pulling of the single Hair that
adds to the Life of my Brother Man a Needless Pain.
B
Love's Lantern
By Joyce Kilmer
(Killed in action in France, August, 1918)
ECAUSE the road was steep and long
And through a dark and lonely land,
God set upon my lips a song
And put a lantern in my hand.
Through miles on weary miles of night
That stretch relentless on my way
My lantern burns serene and white,
An unexhausted cup of day.
O golden lights and lights like wine,
How dim your boasted splendors are.
Behold this little lamp of mine:
It is more starlike than a star!
The Second Coming: Further Questions
In the course of the series of articles which Professor Willett has presented concerning the Second Com-
ing of Christ a considerable number of comments and questions have been received either by him or at his
office. It seems proper that some of these, bearing as they do on the general theme or on specific phases
of the subject, should be given attention. This has been done in two or three previous issues. A final
group is considered belozv.
Please give what you conceive to be the full New Testament
import of the term parousia as used in Matt. 24 :3, 37, 39 ; 1 Cor.
15:23; Jas. 5:7; and 2 Pet. 1:16. Also the difference between it
and the term erchomai as used in Matt. 11:3; 16:27; John 21:22,
and Rev. 1 :4 ?
The word parousia is the participial form of the
verb to be, and in all the cases mentioned is properly-
translated the being present. In the contexts cited it
refers to the coming of the Lord in glory as expected
soon by his disciples. In meaning it differs in no way
from the other expressions quoted, in which the verb
to come is employed. These passages all refer to the
same great expectation, save the one in Matt. 11:3,
which goes back in its reference to the promise of
Deuteronomy 18:15 and the latter anticipations of a
coming prophet, king or servant of God. Parousia is
rendered "presence", "appearance", "appearing", "com-
ing", and "manifestation" in the various passages and
by different versions. In all the instances referred to it
appears to have the significance of a visible presence.
2.
What is to be said of Acts 1:9-11?
The passage is the familiar one describing the as-
cension of Jesus, and the words of the angels to the
disciples, "This same Jesus, which was received
up from you into heaven, shall so come in like
manner as ye behold him going into heaven."
I* sets forth in the most vivid manner the writer's
report as to what happened at the last interview
of the Lord with the disciples. There is but one
point that calls for discussion. The expression hon
tropon. translated in this passage "in like manner"
has been rendered by some of the commentators "with
equal certainty," following analogies in other portions
of the New Testament. The purpose of this rendering
is to escape the idea that the angels referred to the
manner of Jesus' return, and were affirming only the
certainty of the event. This does not seem a satisfactory
treatment of the text. The writer seems to have wished
to be explicit as to the departure and return of Jesus.
3.
It is a perversion of the facts to make Jesus' words on his
his second coming imply that he would return within a few
years. The period of his absence as related to the disciples in
Matt. 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, suggests a long period of time.
Jerusalem was to be destroyed, desolated, and trodden under
foot of the Gentiles during the times of the Gentiles. Could
this have been a fifty year period? Furthermore, in the parable
of the pounds, which he gave to correct the false impression that
"the kingdom of God was to immediately appear," he positively
affirms that not until after his return would the kingdom appear,
and in the parable of the talents he says that he will not return
until "after a long time." Jesus also told the disciples that
they would desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man,
and should not see it, which is further proof that he did not
say he would return in their lifetime.
In the cases mentioned above the Evangelists must
be given the right to interpret what they meant. In
each of the three chapters cited the limitation of time
is entirely explicit. One must concede that when they
all three affirmed that all the things spoken of by
Jesus were to be accomplished before that generation
passed away they had no thought of being understood
in any other than the usual meaning of the words. The
destruction of Jerusalem and the devastations wrought
by the heathen were a part of the expected tragedy of
the near future, and the "times of the Gentiles" as under-
stood by the disciples were the days in which the brutal
forces of Rome would have their way with the holy city
snd its people. The "long time" of the parable is a
part of the story rather than a statement as to the
length of time before Jesus would return. But even
taking it on this literal ground, would it be fairer to
interpret the absence of a landlord as covering two or
three, or even a dozen years, or nineteen centuries?
The questioner appears to be in error in saying that
Jesus said he would not return until after "a long time."
No such statement is made by our Lord regarding his
own return. But it is quite true that he attempted to
correct the feverish eagerness of those to whom he was
speaking, for they put much of their hope upon an im-
mediate political readjustment, that would end the
regime of Roman oppression. It was natural that Jesus
should seek to modify this impression, and insist that
years might intervene before the expected consumma-
tion. In precisely the same manner Paul attempted
in the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians to amend
the opinion that had taken possession of those brethren
that the coming of the Lord was to occur at once. And
yet as all the facts show, the apostle expected the event
during his life. The reference to the desire of the
disciples to see one of the days of the Son of Man seems
to have no bearing upon the matter in hand. The
Master merely says that in the days of persecution
which they will surely encounter soon they will long for
his presence and comfort, as in the days of his flesh;
or it may mean that in the stress of their troubles they
will desire that his expected coming should be hastened.
Neither of these interpretations obtrude any difficulty
upon the expectation that within that generation the
Lord was expected to come.
4
I am wondering if it has occurred to you that your inter-
pretation of the teachings of the Gospels in relation to this
subject is rather ingenious. It may be that the great scholars
agree with you, but what about the plain people of intelligence?
Does it appear to you that they would see in the Gospels what
you see? Is not any interpretation that is over-ingenious self-
discredited? Your presentation of the subject is brilliant; but
I cannot help asking myself if it is what Evangelists had
in mind when they wrote the Gospels.
It is well to recall the exact facts in reference to
this matter of the Second Coming of Christ, in order
October 3, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
that any explanation offered may be judged in the light
of the details so reviewed. The facts appear to be these :
1. Jesus is reported to have promised that he
would return in visible form within a short period, — a
period so short indeed that men then living would sur-
vive to the time, so short that those whom he sent forth
to preach his message should not have finished their
itinerary of the cities of Israel until the Son of Man
should come. This was the distinct understanding of
Jesus' friends, as the facts are reported in the New
Testament, and the delay of his coming was a matter
of some perplexity to certain of those included among
the writers of these first Christian documents.
2. Jesus did not return in the visible and dramatic
form so anticipated, nor has he so returned in the course
of the centuries since.
To be sure both these statements are questioned,
the first on the ground that the language of the New
Testament does not imply an immediate return, and the
second that Jesus has actually returned in one or another
of the climaxes of religious history. The decision on
these points must be made by each biblical and his-
torical student for himself, in the light of the rather clear
evidence presented by the Scriptures and Christian his-
tory. This ground has all been covered in the articles
that have appeared in the foregoing series.
Is there a reasonable and convincing explanation
of the paradox presented by the two facts just set down?
The following are the ones between which the choice of
those who wish to face the facts with concern only to
find the truth will naturally fall :
1. Jesus was not omniscient. He himself distinctly
disclaimed full knowledge of the future. He shared the
apocalyptic views of his age regarding the manner in
which the consummation of the kingdom of God would be
realized. These details were subsidiary to the great
ethical and spiritual purposes of his life. His supremacy
and authority is in no degree impaired by these facts.
His teachings regarding the essential themes of re-
ligion are self-vindicating and impregnable. The limi-
tations of his knowledge were merely a part of that
divine act of self-abnegation in virtue of which he was
made like unto his brethren. These limitations no more
invalidate the divinity and authority of our Lord than
do his acceptance and employment of familiar but
erroneous ideas regarding certain of the documents of
the Old Testament, or the facts of the natural world.
No one has ever been disturbed by his references to
the rising of the sun or the ends of the earth.
2. A different explanation is given as follows :
Jesus was not necessarily limited in knowledge, but he
accommodated himself to the ideas and expectations of
the age in which he lived. To have attempted to cor-
rect popular errors on subordinate and inconsequential
subjects would have raised unnecessary difficulties in
the minds of the people whom he addressed, and di-
verted their attention from the great themes to which
he devoted his life. In the long run it makes very little
difference what the people of any age think regarding
the phenomena of literature and nature, or what are
their speculations regarding apocalyptic hopes. Study
and experience correct whatever errors an age may
cherish. It was no part of Jesus' purpose to undertake
these subordinate tasks. He used popular language
and ideas as they were best capable of enforcing the
ethical and spiritual verities with which he was con-
cerned. He spoke in a manner adjusted to the com-
prehension and the needs of the people, and the dis-
ciples reported faithfully what he said.
3. A third view may be summarized in this way :
The first interpreters of Jesus shared in various degrees
the opinions of their times. Jesus wrote nothing him-
self, and we are wholly dependent upon these disciples
for our knowledge of what the Master actually taught.
Their testimony varies on this question as to what he
said regarding his return to the world. If the researches
of scholarship regarding his teachings are to be trusted,
the ealiest body of these sayings of the Lord, the collec-
tion that forms one of the basic documents of our
Synoptic Gospels, makes practically no reference to a
visible and early coming, but refers only to the need of
readiness on the part of his followers. The Gospel of
Mark, the earliest of our memoirs of the life of Jesus,
is much more specific and expectant. In the Gospel of
Matthew in its present form the apocalyptic program
reaches its fullest form. In the Gospel of Luke there is
a marked decline of interest in the theme, although it
is still held as a part of the accepted belief. In the
Gospel of John, the latest of the four, the apocalyptic
expectation has ceased to claim the interest of the circle
in which the document takes form. It seems from these
facts that there were various views in the early Christian
community on this general topic, and that these varia-
tions of interest, perhaps this rise and fall of concern,
have left their record on the pages of the New Testa-
ment.
Either one of these three explanations is entirely
consistent with both of the two facts set down above,
which seem by themselves to form a paradox. In
reality there is no necessity that they should. It is
natural that many questions should arise in connec-
tion with either one of the three suggestions offered.
They are none of them without certain difficulties,
when viewed in the light of our familiar attitude toward
the Christian documents. The important inquiry is,
however, Do they come nearer to an interpretation of
the obvious facts than do the rather nebulous explana-
tions which are frequently offered, and which seem on
ciose inspection to lack just the essential element of a
candid and thoroughgoing facing of the actual realities
of the situation?
In the series of studies which have preceded these
questions an attempt has been made to show why the
third of these suggestions seems to the writer more
satisfactory than the others. He must let the material
speak for itself. If other explanations seem to any
readers more satisfactory it is a manifest duty to let
them have the right of way. There is nothing in the
discussion that requires any elaborate apparatus of
scholarship. It is after all the average intelligent survey
of the facts that reaches a satisfying and permanent
conclusion. Herbert L. Willett.
The War for Righteousness
By William T. Manning
Rector of Trinity Church, New York
WE are fighting for our lives and for our freedom,
against the most monstrous and brutal power this
world has ever seen — a power so diabolical in its
principles, so black and bestial in its deeds, that we have
found it hard to believe that such iniquity could actually
be. We are pouring out our blood in defence of all that
is holy and sacred in the earth, and that makes human
life worth living. Never before has there been such a day
of destiny, such an hour of moral crisis in this world, as
that which we now face.
This war against Germany is a holy crusade. The
call to us to enter this struggle came from God himself.
We are fighting not alone for others, but also for our own
lives, and our own homes. Now that we have taken our
place, we shall not stay nor rest until the task is done. We
shall give the whole strength of our life, our energy, our
resources, all that we are and have, to crush and destroy
this power from out of hell which has assailed the earth.
THE CHURCH MUST SPEAK CLEARLY
What is the duty of the Church in this great hour?
The Church which represents and speaks for Jesus
Christ must speak openly, clearly, unqualifiedly, for the
right. Never was there a case in which the issue between
right and wrong was more clear than in this war. The
Christian Church could not without disloyalty to its Head,
and deep injury to its very life and soul, be passive or
neutral in this conflict.
From the moment that Belgium was violated, nowhere
on earth had the Christian Church any right to be neutral
or silent. Everywhere its voice should have been heard
in sternest denunciation of the inhuman deeds then com-
mitted and in fearless, unmistakable support of justice and
right. Any church which directly or indirectly, by posi-
tive or negative action, has influenced or allowed men any-
where to be neutral, in this conflict, has a terrible stain
upon its record. It has failed in loyalty to Jesus Christ,
the Lord of Righteousness, it has done grievous harm to
the cause of religion on this earth, and it has lost the
greatest opportunity in history for moral and spiritual
witness.
MUST FIGHT FALSE PACIFISM
The Church must speak out boldly against that false
pacifism which, while wearing often a Christian garb,
undermines the foundations of both morality and religion.
This spirit of false pacifism manifests itself in many ways.
It refuses to take sides between right and wrong. It de-
clines to form a moral judgment between the wronged
and the wrongdoer, and will neither condemn the evil nor
uphold the good. Because war is evil it condemns equally
and without distinction all who engage in war, without
regard to the merits of their cause, and defames the sol-
diers of freedom by describing all war alike, whether of-
fensive or defensive, as "useless slaughter." It fills the
air with thoughts and suggestions of a false peace which
would give the murderous aggressor power greater than
ever, and leave him with victory in his hands.
Just because we want peace, we will listen to no word
or suggestion of peace with an undefeated and unrepentant
Prussia. Until the Prussian military power is crushed and
broken, there can be no peace. Until that is accomplished,
no treaty or agreement will have the smallest value. So
long as the Prussian armies hold the field, the word peace
is suspect from whatever source it may come.
BOLSHEVISM IN AMERICA
In the United States some of our pacifists are now
telling us that we must not dwell on the wrongs which
Germany has done, that we must feel no hatred against
these deeds, or at any rate, no anger against those who
are guilty of them. We are told that we must carry on
the war without moral passion, that we must forgive the
red-handed murderer who is still exulting in his crimes,
that we must refrain from any harsh judgment of these
crimes because we ourselves are sinners. This teaching
has a somewhat Christian sound, and is accepted as such
by some of the unthinking. In reality it is as far off from
Christianity as light is from darkness. It is essentially
un-christian, and thoroughly immoral. Such teaching
would bring the world to moral ruin like that in Russia.
It is religious Bolshevism. It holds up before us a God
whose character is easy tolerance of wrongdoing and
feeble amiability.
The God in whom Christians believe is one who loves
righteousness, and who hates and punishes sin. God does
not forgive the sinner while he continues in his sin, and
the Bible makes this abundantly clear to us. The man
who does not hate evil is no true lover of the good : "O
ye that love the Lord, see that ye hate the thing that is
evil." This is the message that the Bible gives us and that
we need to preach today. We are all called now, not to
tolerance, but to stern dealing with almost unbelievable
iniquity. As true men and women, and as true Christians,
we have no right to be tolerant of these things that Ger-
many has done. We must keep the flame of our moral
indignation hot and burning. We must allow nothing to
dull or dampen it until these deeds have been atoned for,
so far as may be, and their perpetrators are made incapa-
ble of continuing or repeating them. We owe this to God,
to ourselves, and to all those who have suffered so deeply
for the right. We owe it even to Germany herself. It is
the stern condemnation of her deeds by the moral judg-
ment of the world, as well as our combined force of arms,
which will bring that criminal nation at last to realiza-
tion and repentance.
Christ's full gospel needed
In this great day of trial the Church must preach the
full Gospel of Jesus Christ as she has never preached it
before. We must make men believe and know that Jesus
October 3, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
lives, and that he alone can save. This war has not yet
•brought us to our knees before him as it must bring us
there, but Jesus Christ is today more real, more living,
more powerfully present to the world, than he has eve*
been. Again and again I have been both surprised and
touched by the half-hidden, underlying faith in Christ
among our soldiers, both officers and men, revealing often
in those who seemed least likely to show it. Over the
homes where sorrow has come which will never be re-
moved, over the wreck and ruin of the battle areas, over
the far-reaching ranks of our combined armies, tnere la
one Figure to which men are looking for the hope and help
which this world cannot give; there is one Figure which
stands out before men mightier and holier than ever. It
is the figure of a man with arms outstretched from the
Cross. It is the Figure of Jesus, who lives and who alone
can save.
Jesus lives, and can save, and he is at God's right
hand. We must make men believe and know that he is
our Judge. He is not a pacifist. He is not neutral be-
tween good and evil. He makes no peace with men until
they repent and return to righteousness. Before this war
we had allowed the fact of Christs's Judgment to fall into
the background, and he had therefore become less real to
us. We had allowed German rationalism to weaken and
devitalize our faith in him. We see now where this was
leading the world, and where it has led Germany. We
know now that German atheism prepared the way for
German frightfulness. If the Prussian rulers had believed
that Jesus lives, and will judge, they would not have plan-
ned and brought on this war. If the Prussian soldiers
had believed in Christ's judgment, they would not have
committed those deeds which have shamed humanity in
the past four years ; no power on earth could have forced
them to be guilty of these things. Men need, we all need,
to keep in view this great fact of the Judgment. Without
this, God's presence and his law become unreal to us.
We must proclaim the Gospel of Christ with new power.
We must make men know that Jesus reigns and will judge.
THE VICTORY TO BE CHRIST' S
Jesus lives and reigns, and he will have the victory.
We must make men know that the issue is in his hands.
He is on the throne. All power is given unto him. How-
ever men may oppose and defy him, he will rule. He
takes the very schemes and crimes of the wicked and over-
rules them to his own great ends. Even now, in the midst
of the trial and suffering of the war, we can see that he
is doing that. Fearful as the war is, unspeakable as is the
crime of those who forced it on the world, it is bringing
the nations into a new brotherhood. Out of it is coming
not only a new chapter, but a new epoch in the world's
history. A war planned in the interests of military tyranny
has brought us in sight of the Federation of the World.
More than ever before, as a result of this struggle, the
kingdoms of this world are going to be the Kingdom of
our God and of his Christ.
It is this which makes this war different from any that
has preceded it. It is this which gives us courage to go
on at whatever cost, with confidence as to the outcome
which nothing can shake. We are fighting that Jesus
Christ may be the actual ruler and Lord of this earth.
The young men of our armies have some real, if partial,
vision of this. They know they are offering their lives on
the altar of right and justice. They know they are dying
that the world may live. It is this which uplifts and trans-
figures them so that in the roughest of them we see a new
dignity, a new nobility of soul and spirit. They know
they are on a high and holy mission. Whether they fully
realize this or not, they are fighting to uphold the things
for which Jesus Christ stands, and which he came down
to this world to establish. Whatever may befall them we
have this unspeakable comfort, that they are giving them-
selves for the things for which he died. They are in literal
fact and truth the soldiers of the Cross.
"the battle of the son of god"
The war may yet be long. We may have to make
sacrifices of which we have not yet dreamed, to meet
terrors such as we have not yet imagined. We shall not
falter. We shall make no compromise with that foul and
monstrous Thing which bears the name of Prussianism,
which has risen to curse and desecrate the earth. We have
neither doubt nor fear as to the final result.
For this is a struggle between all the forces which
make for the coming of Christ to rule this world, and all
the forces which defy and oppose him.
The sword which we have drawn is consecrated on
the altar of human freedom, and on the altar of the faith
and truth of Jesus Christ.
The battle which we are fighting is the battle of the
Son of God.
A Song of Love to Germany
A Reply to the Hymn of Hate
THOU hast sung to me thy hymn of hate, my Brother ;
now shall I chant to thee my song of love.
And my song of love shall prevail over thy
hymn of hate, and the worlds of men and gods shall pro-
claim me to be the master-singer, inasmuch as in my song
is a truer human note than in thine.
By the power of my song I shall subdue thee unto the
dominion of my King of Righteousness, and thou shalt be-
come the most willing and most obedient subject of my
Prince of Peace ; and thou shalt yet serve him far more
faithfully than I have served him.
By love I shall heal thy soul of its frenzy. By love
I shall deliver thy mind from thy self-created madness.
For it is not really my Brother who sings this hymn
of hate, but an evil thing who obsesses thy fair soul.
Therefore thy hymn of hate hurts me not. Nay, but
I rejoice in it, for to me it is a sure sign that thy madness
is passing from thee.
For a hate such as this only comes to the soul or con-
scious state of man or society that is about to pass away.
It is the shriek of its death agony; it is the sore crying of
its last struggle.
* * *
My Brother, my own Brother, son of my own Father,
son of my own Mother, I wish for thee now the beat that
10
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 3, 1918
can be given thee of Heaven. And thou knowest, sure
as I chant to thee my love, so sure would I serve thee in
the best way I can.
And no better way can I see to serve thee well and
for thy good, even now in this hour of thy dire need, than
to seek to save thee from thyself.
For thou hast generated a false self ; thou hast created
a hideous thing, a monster of death, a phantom of hell, an
image who is verily a masquerade of thy true Self, fiction
of thy lower nature, a creation of all thy unworthiness.
Unreal, yea, a lie in the very existence of this eidolon,
yet hath it the power to destroy thee.
Strong hath the monster grown and already it is
strangling thee, yes, thee, my Brother.
Yet is thy virtue, yet is thy virility, yet is thy strength,
and thy strength alone, in its clutch.
For thou hast long time nourished it well and right
willingly on the finest elements of thy human soul and
bqdy.
* * *
O Brother, know that this self-engendered, self-nour-
ished monstrosity obsesses thy fair manhood, deludes with
foolish imaginings thy true being, thy native mentality,
puff's up with vanity thy soul, possesses with an insane
pride thy whole nature.
Know that its will is, and can only be, to destroy thee.
Its desire is, and can only be, to lure thee unto its hell, to
win thee for its devouring.
* * *
0 Brother, my own Brother, child of the one Mother,
son of the one Father, during these woeful months I have
sent thee love — ay, the best love that one human soul can
send to another.
1 know that this love shall find thee ; I know that it
shall save thee; I know that it shall slay thy destroyer; I
know that it shall set thee free.
Hear my chant, my Brother, for if thou wilt only
listen to it for a little time thou wilt perceive in its har-
mony the chord of the Christ melody.
Hear my song, my Brother. It is the song of thy love.
e : '
"There Will Come Soft Rains"
By Sara Teasdale
THERE will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
And swallows calling with their shimmering sound;
And frogs in the pools singing at night,
And wild-plum trees in tremulous white;
Robins will wear their feathery fire
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;
And not one will know of the war, not one \
Will care at last when it is done.
Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,
If mankind perished utterly;
And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn,
Would scarcely know that we were gone.
*—Harp*rfs Monthly.
Surely, surely, thou canst now feel how great and
true is my love of thee.
J. L. Macbeth, in the
Christian Commonwealth.
Missions at King Solomon's
Mines
By F. L. Hadfield
Missionary of the Disciple Churches of England
and Australia to South Africa
WE, a company of missionaries, are being jolted
along in a springless wagon behind a team of
trotting oxen. After passing through an ex-
tensive valley we see in front of us a high granite ridge.
We mount this and are descending the other side, when
suddenly there bursts upon our view a sight that for sheer
romantic interest cannot be surpassed in all the world.
Buried amidst rocky hills, with tall, green trees overhang-
ing its roofless walls is the great grey granite temple of
Zimbabwe.
In what remote age was it built? Who were its
builders? What was the form of worship conducted
there? These and kindred questions are constantly being
asked but never convincingly answered. Yet one thing
is sure, that before the disappearance of water, possibly
many centuries ago, left the place an unhabitable waste,
it was a centre of great activity in the getting of gold. The
basin-like hollows worn in the solid rock, the rounded
stones used for pounding the quartz that are still found
lying among the grass are evidently the primitive stamp
batteries, while the endless maze of walls surrounding
the temple and the fort speak of a considerable population.
Thus it comes that some authorities linking ancient
history with ancient buildings say that Great Zimbabwe
was once the site of King Solomon's Mines.
LEARNING A LESSON
But it is not the elliptical temple with its narrow en-
trances, each one blocked by a solid circular tower of
granite, so that no view of the interior can be gained from
the outside, nor the fort with its perpendicular walls ris-
ing from the steep face of the rocky hill near by that claims
our chief attention. We are there at the invitation of the
Dutch Reformed Missionaries of Morgenster (Morning-
star), a mission station about three miles distant, and are
holding our Rhodesian Missionary Conference. There
I learned a lesson.
Murrays and Louws were around you on every side,
relations by blood or by marriage of the saintly Andrew
Murray whose devotional writings have attained a world-
wide reputation. It is not perhaps too much to say that
his influence was, by the grace of God, responsible for
planting in the wilderness the Morningstar Mission and
many other missions of the Dutch Reformed Church of
South Africa.
The earlier attitude of the Dutch here towards the
native in spiritual things is well remembered. It is al-
most needless to recall the story of Robert MofTatt, who
asked to be allowed to preach to the native servants of a
October 3, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
11
Dutch farmer. The man sprang up exclaiming that he
would as soon call in the baboons from the hills to hear
the Gospel. Yet today the Dutch Reformed Church is
one of the foremost missionary bodies in the country, its
money and its workers coming almost entirely from South
Africa.
Chatting about this wonderful transformation with a
Presbyterian missionary, I find that others are learning
! a lesson from it ; that the Presbyterian Church at home
systematically reduces its contributions to this country by
£250 ($1,250) per year, and that the Presbyterian Church
in South Africa automatically takes it up.
The lesson is a striking one. The church that, de-
siring to evangelize the native races of South Africa, de-
votes its direct efforts only to those natives and to raising
money overseas, is making a strategic blunder. It should
be doing in the spiritual war what we hear so much about
in the European War, striking in two directions at once.
It should have one division of its soldiers of the cross
striking at the white population, while another is attack-
i ing the black. The Dutch Reformed Church has clearly
! demonstrated that it is possible to have a church composed
; of South African whites so imbued with the missionary
spirit that they themselves will do great things for the
evangelization of the natives.
FRUIT FROM WHITE CONGREGATION
Is not our little cause on the Rand a striking case in
point? Our European membership there is a mere hand-
ful, but George Khosa's report shows that he has started
eight schools altogether and two or three small classes in
Portuguese East Africa, and that he has won for Christ
about 170 souls, but that he never could have done it with-
out the help of those few whites.
Is not the conclusion obvious? In urging our great
plea for the union of all God's people in a church formed
upon the beautiful and simple New Testament plan, and
in seeking the conversion of the South African native,
we must never ignore the European population. The one
is the natural stand-by of the other, and though it is as a
rule necessary to have separate congregations, yet they
should move forward hand in hand so far as progress is
concerned.
That funds for the native work would eventually be
forthcoming from the white congregations is not the
greatest advantage. Each of these congregations would,
if from the first those who gathered them inculcated a
true Gospel spirit, become a centre of activity among the
natives in its vicinity, and in time we should be drawing
our missionaries themselves from these same congrega-
tions. Thus instead of having to get men from overseas
to come to a country whose race problems are most diffi-
cult to understand, we should gradually have a body of
men in the mission field who from their earliest days were
acquainted with those problems.
Our white population is not, as it is in India, chiefly
an administrative class. In our large towns it as dense as
in Australia or the middle-sized towns of America.
A great change is coming over the white folk here.
The influence of missionary and non-missionary writers is
making itself felt. Men are conceding that the native
has the right to expect of us uplifting and upbuilding of
mind and heart. There is still a large and unreasoning
section who think that the native is here only for our
benefit, but with a considerable and a growing class it is
otherwise. Typical of this better attitude I may quote the
words of the Director of Education for Rhodesia, who,
when he heard that I was leaving for the Rand, wrote to
me on the subject of native education : "I have been glad
to be associated with many missionary friends in work
which I believe to be an essential part of the duty of the
white race towards the native and colored populations in
the midst of which our homes are placed."
God is opening a great door in South Africa. Who
will help to enter in? We need men of consecrated com-
mon sense, full of zeal tempered with discretion, above all
filled with the Holy Spirit, to help in either the European
or native work. In the former they must be men who
will inspire with a true missionary spirit the congregations
that God will help them to gather, for thus they will be
greatly serving the native cause also.
Bulawayo, Rhodesia, S. A.
The Pity and the Power of Jesus
By W. R. Nicoll
In the British Weekly
THE words of Jesus have been often classified as
either restful or stirring. But the division is not
juite accurate, for some of his sayings which seem to
calm and soothe really inspire energy and movement. This
is particularly true of the great promise, "Come unto me,
all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest." The rest offered by Jesus is freedom to take his
way of life. He offers to liberate men from the mass of
restrictions and artificial regulations in which religion had
been almost smothered. He pities them in the needless
friction and confusion to which they were being exposed.
His pity moved always in two directions, not only towards
the sorrows and pains of human life, but towards its
blundering ignorance.
COMPASSION THROUGH INSTRUCTION
Instruction or revelation was one avenue of his com-
passion. When he saw the multitudes, "he had compassion
on them, because they were as sheep, not having a shep-
herd : and he began to teach them many things." He was
sorry to see people misled or troubled by a wearisome
burden of secondary things, till they missed the open air
12
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 3, 1918
and the sunlight of the simple trust in God which he could
reveal. He pitied them, and he said, "Come unto me";
learn from me the easy, unencumbered method of life
upon the simple terms of God. His pity was intended to
put them right for the way and the work of life.
He promises, "I will give you rest," and the promise
throbs with impetus and cheer for the forward movement
of the human soul in obedience to God; it is the rest of
clear insight into the essentials of religion, as these are
revealed in the following of himself.
PITY PLUS POWER
But the promise reveals his own resources as well
as those within reach of men. For pity by itself is not a
power. In fact, as sensitiveness to the needs of human
life increases, it may almost overpower a man with the
consciousness of his own impotence. The pressure of
misery and ignorance becomes a positive torture to the
mind, if it is impossible to do much or anything by way
of relief. Over and again, in the correspondence of Dr.
Arnold, when things went wrong at Rugby, or when the
religious state of England seemed more than usually hope-
less, the old Greek saying comes up: "This is the bitterest
of all griefs, to see clearly and yet to be unable to do any-
thing."
All unselfish, keeneyed souls know what this means.
To see things going wrong, to see life being spoiled by
misjudgment, to witness unchecked suffering and confu-
sion and waste, is an experience which, even upon a small
scale, is so bitter that those who feel unable to cope with
the mischief sometimes relapse into tolerance in sheer
self-defense. For pity, without any allies, is unequal to the
struggle.
Now, Jesus saw the infinite pathos of human life with
an infinite pity, but his pity had behind it infinite resources.
He had just thanked God for his supreme revelation. Then
lie mused for a moment upon his own position : "All thing*
are delivered unto me of my Father ; neither knoweth any
man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the
Son will reveal him." Then and only then he turned to
the world of men with, "Come unto me." The call should
never be dissociated from the previous words. It is only
in the light of his consciousness that his call and promise
are intelligible.
HOW JESUS FREES MEN
Jesus calls men back to a relation of the soul to God
which is infinitely simple, but the gospel is not a mere
simplification of Judaism, and the promise of Jesus is more
than the secret of humanity and simple faith. Jesus offers
to the burdened and tired soul of man more than com-
panionship or a common method of trust. He does not
propose some method of religion which we can take away
and practice by ourselves, independently of him. He is
the medium of this divinely strong and simple faith, which
frees the soul from all its hampering oppressive restric-
tions. What he says is not, "Go to the Father directly, as
I have gone"; it is "Come unto Me." This simple faith
in God is in one sense an eternal instinct, but it is a germ
which cannot ripen to its full blossom and fruit unless the
warm springtide of his revelation passes over the soil.
And Christ's confidence on this point, his absolute assur-
ance that he held the open secret of religion, is the sense of
his compassion.
CHRIST'S UNIQUE SONSHIP
Without his own assurance of a unique sonship, he
could not have faced, as he did, the daily ruch of pity
which streamed from his heart upon the woes and wants
of men. He pitied them. But his pity was not a helpless
wringing of the hands over the plight of men. It was pity
with redeeming power as well as insight, pity equipped
to deal with the situation at its worst. His divine com-
mission lifted his compassion above all the weakness and
wavering by which ours is so often limited. "In his love
and in his pity he redeemed them," because he was him-
self in possession of God's full revelation. The eyes that
looked out with pity on the world had been first lifted to the
Father's will and vocation.
This is what explains, as nothing else can, the so-
liloquy : "No man knoweth the Father, save the Son, and
he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." Outsiders
sometimes feel a touch of exclusiveness in these words
They argue them away, as if they were not worthy of
Jesus; but the process is not criticism, and the result is
not Christianity. The Christian recognizes that Jesus is
really opening God's heart and hope, as none other could.
For it was only this intuitive knowledge of the Father,
which was his as it was not the possession of any saint, that
enabled him to confront the dulness and ignorance and
perversity of the world, even, aye especially, of the re-
ligious world, with the calm, deep assurance that he had
the answer to all their doubt, the panacea for all their ills.
SHAKESPEARE AND JESUS
Mark Rutherford wrote, as the last entry in his
diary : "In reading Shakespeare lately I have been softly
overcome with a peculiar peace and repose. Controversy
ceases, artificial difficulties lose their importance, anxiety
disappears. I am as a child in the strong arms of a man
who knows, but who smiles at my terrors." If the read-
ing of Shakespeare can produce this effect, how much
more the words of Jesus? If a human genius can so
soothe and strengthen, how much more shall we be freed
from our terrors and blundering by letting the promise of
Jesus lift us to our true position towards God, the position
of children?
And the strong Son of God faces us with the assur-
ance that he can do this for us. We feel his pity, and in
his pity a lifting power that robs anxieties of their un-
easiness.
lis
The New America
By Samuel Untermeyer
THE aristocracy of the future will be an aristocracy
based on service. That will be the sole test, and
men will prosper or fail in the proportion in which
they meet that test.
The America that will come out of the war will not
be the America that entered. In the crucible of fire
October 3, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
13
through which we are passing America, once steeped in
materialism and commercialism, will be purified and spirit-
ualized.
The whole world believed that we were a nation of
mere money makers with whom the mad race for money
was becoming every day fiercer. The country was drunk
and mad with the fervor of money making; extravagance
and self-indulgence ran riot as never before and we were
well on the road to our spiritual undoing.
Then suddenly, as if by magic, with the declaration
of war, the whole face of the world changed for us. In
making that momentous decision we builded far better
than we knew.
In one short year, our people have learned that money
does not make the man, or add one jot to his title to the
respect of his fellow man. Never again will it be possi-
ble for any person to amass fabulous and unusable amounts,
and it will be less possible to transmit money to create or
perpetuate an indefinite aristocracy of wealth.
The old order has gone never to return. The social
revolution brought by the necessities of war will go on
and on. The nation's great natural resources will revert
to the people; child labor will be contraband throughout
the nation; there will be insurance against illness and usfc
employment and old age pensions ; and monopolies will
be punished and suppressed and ruinous competition pro-
hibited.
To America nothing will be impossible. Never
again will this country take counsel of its doubts and
fears once it is satisfied its cause is just.
The Wit of Dr. Gladden
An unfamiliar side of the big human that was
Washington Gladden is revealed in a story contributed
to the Congregationalist by a friend of the famous
preacher. Dr. Gladden was on his way across the At-
lantic. It was a stormy passage and many were sea-
sick. One evening a literary entertainment was planned
and Dr. Gladden was invited to make the opening fe-
marks. He protested somewhat, saying: "Among so
many contributors to the Atlantic, there ought to be
some of rare literary ability."
There are two things you never want to pay any at-
tention to — abuse and flattery. The first can't harm you,
and the second can't help you. — G. Horace Lorimer.
America's Answer
By Frank W. Gunsaulus
WHOSE is this voice I hear at hint of day-
Flushing my warriors' sabers piercing east?
The whine of Hun ungorged at terror's feast,
Or wounded minions dying on the way
Back from hell's dream in shameless night begot
When Hohenzollern fouled his Hapsburg sot?
"Tis Austria's lips I see, but German tones
Clatter and bludgeon in her whisper: "Peace."
Child am I now? My children's fleshless bones,
Stirring with dawn upon them, cry out "Cease,
Old and gray wolfl Red Riding Hood no more
Believes you, Monster Teuton, as before."
You told of peace through fifty years of lies,
Distilling liquid fires and building hells;
Bepraising virtue where my virgin dies;
Your guns black-pointed toward cathedral bells.
I spurn your demon's word —
Give me your sword.
You murmured peace in sensual nights abroad, •
Wenching young nations with your power and gold;
You left them peaceful after wicked bawd —
Master of wanton states with madness bold.
I cannot trust your word —
Give me your sword.
Yourself, with Holy Light behind your back,
Upon God's altar one vast shadow flung
And called it God — "the German God." Alack,
Beneath that shape infernal hosts outsprung.
"God?" Curse your God and word —
Give me your sword.
You blessed your "good old German sword and God,"
And swore their triumph only for our world.
In first pale dawn I bent your cruel rod,
And answer "I shall keep my flag unfurled.
I now despise your word —
Give me your sword."
That sword of yours lies not — that I believed —
Your blade our treaties rent when homicide
Raped Belgium, and when homeless millions grieved,
Floated my children landward on death's tide.
Not yours! I take its word —
Give me your sword.
If by that sword, so long your boast and pledge,
To end all strife, you come so near, too near
To whimper peace, I look along its edge
Blood dripping yet, nor dropping any tear —
I cannot trust your word —
Give me that sword.
You shouted peace to quench all stealthy sound
Of iron heels and swarming legions dim;
The sleepless earth o'erheard the madman round
While wives and children dreamed of murderers grim.
I now abhor your word —
Give me your sword.
Your sword is "German faith"; it bled France white,
To show our world its fate. 'Tis "Victory's wand"?
You wail "All, all is crimson, weary quite!"
Nay, peace must find your sword in mine own hand.
Oh, breaker of your word —
Give me your sword.
— In the Chicago Daily News.
The Larger Christian World
A Department of Interdenominational Acquaintance
Bishop Henson of England Still
Under Criticism
When Dean Henson was made the Bishop of Hereford in
England, the conservative element in the church protested his
consecration. The Bishop of Oxford, a man of great influence,
was among those making the protest. At this juncture the
dean declared that he believed the creed ex animo. This has
aroused criticism from the liberal wing of the church, who de-
clare that it cannot be believed that way but only as the
credal standard of another age. A recent issue of the Hibbert
Journal takes the Bishop of Hereford to task for his seeming
relapse to conservatism.
American Friends Doing Good War Work
in Russia and France
The American Friends are conscientious objectors for the
most part and they have organized a humanitarian service
abroad which is in lieu of military service. During the past
year they have spent over half a million dollars on this kind
of work in Russia and in France. They have the only Amer-
ican or European staff which has been able to survive in Rus-
sia. The Russian staff has thirty members, of whom about
half are English Friends. They have been at work mostly in
the region north of the Caspian sea, in which there are 100,-
000 people, many of them Americans. The losses by death
among these peoples has been about 55 per cent the past
year. In France the Friends' representatives have been cut-
ting timber and rebuilding houses and making rude furni-
ture with which to settle the people in homes again. They
are teaching modern sanitation and American methods of
agriculture. The people are being encouraged to settle on
their farms instead of living in villages in the older French
way. The American Friends come mostly from the Orthodox
meetings, though some financial aid has been given by the
Hicksites.
Chicago Presbytery Administers
Rebuke to Billy Sunday
Billy Sunday is attached to the Presbyterian denomi-
nation through the Chicago presbytery. This body, after hav-
ing watched his work last spring, passed a vote of censure on
their confrere and after some debate authorized its publica-
tion. They said in the report:
"There were 5,223 cards given to pastors of our various
Presbyterian churches, the signers of which gave the Presby-
terian church as a preference. Thirty-two churches reported
having received 109 members. If the same proportion pre-
vailed in the other churches not reporting, the total number
of accessions was 325. The largest number reported by any
one church was twenty-five. After getting the views of all
the pastors there is no disguising the fact the results were dis-
appointing, although this does not necessarily mean the cam-
paign was a failure. • We would have been glad if all profanity
and all vulgar expressions which really shock the moral sense
could have been omitted. We believe, too, that better results
would have been obtained if the invitation to trail hitters had
not been so indiscriminate, and if greater care had been given
to give those who came forward definite spiritual help."
Presbyterian Ministers Engage in
Practical War Work
The Presbyterian preachers seem determined that we
shall win this war. Rev. W. C. Gunn preaches on Sunday and
works at ship-building through the week. A number of the
pastors of North Dakota worked in the harvest fields this
summer. Dr. John T. Bergen of Minneapolis spent his vaca-
tion as chaplain in the country, where the men are cutting
spruce for airplane construction. Rev. H. F. Shier has gone
to France and left his wife to supply his church at Concord,
Mich. Rev. L. V. Shermerhorn of Trenton, Mich., works in
Detroit through the week helping make Liberty motors.
No More Camp Pastors
The denominational camp pastor is to be discontinued.
The government will give these men three months in which
to finish up their work, after which no more will be given
access to the camps. Should these men try to continue their
service it would be in connection with near-by churches and
with no special privileges. Probably few men wish to continue
the work under such a handicap.
A University for Brazil
Among other things accomplished by the Panama Con-
gress of mission workers was the gaining of a new under-
standing of the educational needs of Latin America. One
result of the congress plans is a great university which is soon
to be founded in Brazil. The United States has five times as
many schools as Brazil, with ten times as many pupils in at-
tendance upon them.
Moral Aims of the War
The National Committee on the Churches and the Moral
Aims of the War will put some strong speakers in the field
this winter. Among these will be Chaplain Daniel Couve, a
French Protestant pastor, who is expected to arrive in America
some time this month. The movement will endeavor to keep
to the front the Christian attitude toward world problems.
One Day's Income for Missions
The Episcopalians are supplementing their missionary
giving by getting people to pledge one day's income to mis-
sions. The plan has already brought in a hundred thousand
dollars this year, which is said to be very much better for the
number of weeks involved than last year's record.
War Work Council Holds Great
Meetings in Chicago
Church Federation secretaries from all parts of the coun-
try have been in convention in Chicago the past week discuss-
ing the moral aims of the war and the question of church
co-operation in the war. The two great speakers at the mass
meetings of the Chicago Inter-Church War Work Council,
which works in connection with the Chicago Federation, were
Rev. Arthur T. Guttery and the Bishop of Oxford. The Rev.
Mr. Guttery makes a plea for a permanent understanding of
America, Great Britain and France after the war. His ad-
dress punctures very adroitly the American prejudices against
British ways, and lays the foundations for friendship and un-
derstanding. The Bishop said he assented heartily to all his
associates had said: "We feel," he added, "that world poli-
tics has been left in the past to a few statesmen and to secret
diplomacy, and I suppose one of the great necessities for
democracy is to learn that it has got to extend its interests
until the relations between nations shall have become a mat-
ter of interest to the common man. We desire to bring it
about that the people should join in feeling that military ambi-
tions and separatist ambitions have been a curse and that a
mutual understanding between nations is the only securt
basis upon which a permanent peace can be built." The
Bishop said there is throughout the British Empire, and espe-
cially among church folk, a grim determination to fight on
until a peace of right has been established, and a solemn de-
termination not to leave any part of that task to their chtl-
dren- Orvis F. Jordan.
October 3, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
15
Rev. John E. Elvers
The Sunday School
Leaving Home*
HUMAN nature changes. The fact that it is capable of
change makes the gospel available. But there are many
elemental experiences that are essentially the same in
every age, every clime, every environment. One of these is the
experience of leaving home. I shall
never forget the morning I left home
for college. The farewell to my mother
after the early breakfast, the hand-
grasp of my father at the station. The
last look out of the car window at the
old, familiar places. I went out into
a new world and never, really, came
back to the abode of my childhood.
We begin our Old Testament lessons
today with the departure of Abram
from his old home. It was a radical
change. He left the old associates; the
old religion; the old schools; the old
ideas and fared forth, westward, following a new God and ready
to lay the foundations for a new race.
To him who loves adventure here is a great tale. I do not
know how the new religion reached this great soul in far away
Ur. I do not know how Joan of Arc was impressed. I do
know that certain sensitized souls are capable of taking im-
pressions which the common soul cannot. It may be that, were
the process studied, we all might become sensitized souls, just
as a certain treatment produces the film for the kodak. But
this I know: a celluloid collar will not receive a picture even if
placed in a Brownie! Religious education would do well to
develop the process of converting the soul of the average child
into a film capable of receiving heavenly pictures.
In some way or other the true God impressed himself upon
this great heart and led him toward the promised land in the
distant west. No doubt, disgust with the current idolatry and
its degrading practices had much to do with the process in
Abcam's mind. No doubt, his imagination and meditation had
much more to do. Perhaps some brave sweeping aside of
the clouds revealed in his own soul the true God. I wonder
how many of us dare to cast aside all our prejudices and
traditional thinking and fare forth on a great quest of absolute
truth, and I wonder what would happen to a lot of our con-
ventional expressions of religious life as a result. The average
churchman is bandaged, worse than Lazarus, with grave-
clothes. He needs to have some divine Lord call him forth
from his traditional wrappings. Life would be great after that!
The world war is ripping off the grave-clothes from the
churches. Union services have been the order of the past
summer. We have been getting acquainted with our religious
neighbors — and we have found them religious. I have been
taken for a Presbyterian, a Baptist, an Episcopalian, this
summer — evidently we all look alike, we all act alike — so long
as we all follow Christ we are alike. As we get down to essen-
tials we shall find that nothing counts except our vital accepta-
tion of the Lordship of Jesus, not only as an intellectual dogma,
but much more, as the Ruler and Friend who determines our
way of brotherly kindness in living every day.
Let us see: Abram followed the gleam. He went out into
the vast west. He built, everywhere, his altar. He sinned. He
repented. He became mellow and magnanimous. He pros-
pered. He became the father of a great race. He lived a big life.
Had he stayed at home, all his life would have been bound in
shallows and in miseries. He would have dwelt in a little,
conventional, buttoned-up world and have died unknown. His
great life became a blessing until in three religions he stands
out like a tower of strength — a massive, heroic type.
"Lesson for October 6. Gen. 12:1-9.
Abram is a challenge to me. He bids me dare to break
with the conventional present. He bids me throw away the
past's blood-rusted key. He bids me fare forth into the new
day, trying to be led only by the true God who will manifest
himself to me if I study how to allow Him to impress me.
How startling a thing it would be if some of us should begin
to live the Christian life in 1918! Our bravery is challenged;
our devotion.
* * *
The Man in the Hill*
TWO men claim our attention in this lesson — Lot of the Low-
lands, Abram of the Highlands. I heard a sermon in Massa-
chusetts about twenty years ago, in which the preacher said
something like this : "Lot may be down in the rich plains, but
God will always have his man back in the hills to whom he will
communicate His will." I shall always cherish the impression of
that big sermon. The preacher traced the fall of the world-loving
Lot and the rise of the God-loving Abram. God will always have
his man in the hills. The man in the hills may not have as fat
pastures. The man in the hills may not be the hail-fellow, well
met — he may have fewer so-called friends, he may not have as
many amusements. But the man in the hills will see God. God
will talk to the man in the hills. God will use the man in the hills
to work His will in the earth. When Lot gets into trouble he will
come to the Highlander for help and he will find it.
The contrast is vital. Today we have the same thing over
and over again. These two men belong to our churches. Lot was
a good-enough sort of chap as men go. All he wanted at first
was a lot of money. All he wanted was an easy way to make it.
All he wanted was to know a bit about the big, interesting world
in which he lived. He wanted to see life. He wanted his children
to have all the advantages ! He succeeded in giving them all the
disadvantages ! He made it as hard for them to be good as
^Lesson for October 13. Gen. 13:5-11; 14:14-16.
John R. Ewers as
an Interpreter
of the Bible
i
N a letter written to the editor of the
"20th Century Quarterly" — which is
now first published for the autumn quar-
ter— one of the most prominent Disciple
leaders, the pastor of a great church of
2500 members, said: "Turn John R.
Ewers loose on the lessons. He's the big-
gest man among us in the field of Scripture
interpretation for Bible classes."
But — Mr. Ewers" lesson talks form but one
feature of the new Quarterly. Herbert
L. Willett. Jr., Prof. W. C. Morro and
W. D. Ryan are fully as good in their
respective fields as Mr. Ewers is in his.
See the ad on page 2 of this issue for
a statement of their part in the making
of the "20th Century Quarterly."
SEND FOR FREE SAMPLE COPY
The Christian Century Press
700 E. 40th Street, i : J
CHICAGO
16
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 3, 1918
possible, which is precisely what we see a lot of rich people
doing every day. That's the reason why some of the Mountain
Whitej from our southern schools will be remembered when these
pampered children shall have been forever forgotten. Tell me,
what was wrong with Lot? Tell me, what was wrong with the
Rich Fool? Were they not both excellent business men? Were
they not both worldly-wise? In a society of climbers what have
you to say? The lesson is pat. Abram had sinned. He was not
perfect. He was no putty saint. Egypt had been too much for
him. A beautiful woman and a King had been his undoing. He
had lied. He had suffered. He had learned his lesson. He was
now God's man. He lived in the hills. God's will was first from
now on. He prayed. He thought. He planned. He gained
strength, not from the hills, but from God. With single purpose
he lived his chastened life. He was humble now. He was de-
voted with singleness of heart now. God spoke directly to him
now. He lived for God.
Where do you dwell — in the plain or on the hill? Sodom, with
all its allurements is in the rich plain. God is in the hill. It would
be well to search our hearts to find out whether our motives most
resemble those of Lot or those of Abram. If we find that our
motives head up in worldly ambitions, wealth, social prestige,
amusement, ease, pleasure, personal honors, the sweet plaudits of
the fickle crowd, then we are like Lot. If we love the church, its
missions, if we love to save men for their sakes, not ours ; if we
love to teach the truth for its sake, not our own ; if we live close
to God and seek to build up His kingdom as our chief concern,
finding our highest joy in seeing His will done in the world, then
are we the followers of the Great Highlander, who talked with
God in the hills.
The story of Lot is not new. I knew a man who seemed to
live happily with the wife of his youth. Suddenly something hap-
pened. The joy went out of his home. He gave his wife plenty
of money — he gave her everything but his love — that he gave to
another who had crossed his path. Again and again have I seen
people leaving their first pure love for Christ because some worldly
thing had crossed the path. Church life first became perfunctory,
then dead. Down into the lowlands they went; down to Sodom.
They got rich too quickly; they could not stand honor; pleasures
overcame them; companions got the better of them — they followed
Lot into the miasmas of the plains. But God will always have his
man in the hills — will you be that man? John R. Ewers.
Books
High Altars. By John Oxenham. This author, a chap-
lain with English armies, has won the title, "The Poet Laur-
eate of the Great War," by his excellent verses, and in this
little volume he adds to his laurels by his interpretations in
prose of the human side of the conflict, especially from the
religious viewpoint. A number of good verses are included.
(Doran. 60 cts.)
The Shorter Bible. This does not pretend to be a new
version of the Scriptures, but is simply a gathering together
of portions of the Bible considered most vital to the times
and an arrangement of them in such manner as to present a
running narrative of scriptural facts. The editor of the work
is Professor Charles Foster Kent. The "Testament" of this
new publication is just from the press and is listed at $1.
(Scribner's.)
Poems and Lyrics of Ibsen. Ibsen has become most wide-
ly known by his social dramas. But his work was not con-
fined to these. This volume brings together most of his
earlier poetic work, and also one of the best translations also
of his "Brand." Students of the great Norwegian will find this
work of much value. (Dutton. $1.25.)
Winged Warfare. By Major W. A. Bishop, of Canada,
and the British Flying Corps. Major Bishop has won all four
honors within the gift of the British government— Military
Cross, Distinguished Service Order and the Victoria Cross.
The roma.nce of the war from the aeronautic side has been
captured and put into this volume, which is attractively writ-
ten, in addition to being full of "thrills which leave the reader
breathless after the swerve and dip of battle." A number
of full page illustrations make the narrative still more vivid.
(Doran. $1.50.)
From Baseball to Boches. By H. C. Witwer. "A little
nonsense now and then" is not out of place in war-time. Ed
Harmon, a famous baseball player, tells in a number of letters
written to his "pal back home" what he sees "over there,"
what he thinks about things, and he mixes in a good deal of
philosophy and satire. Lively and restful and a most excellent
gift for the boy who has gone across or who is going. (Small
Maynard & Co. $1.35.)
The Zeppelin's Passengers. By E. Phillips Oppenheim.
A German spy story that makes one take long steps to keep
up. An observation car attached to a Zeppelin containing one
passenger, a man in civilian clothes, is dropped into a quiet
English sea-coast town, and only a derby hat is found by the
startled visitors. That is the way the story begins and is
sufficient to promise a thrilling tale. (Little, Brown & Co.
$1.50.)
Our Admirable Betty. By Jeffery Farnol. Those who
have read "The Broad Llighway" and who are weary of war
terrors and topics may through this latest Farnol book retire
to the quiet of English country life of the early eighteenth
century and breathe for a few hours the spirit of romance
which this author can so successfully conjure up for his read-
ers. It has all the charm of the earlier story which brought
Mr. Farnol to fame. (Little, Brown & Co. $1.60.)
Attractive Juvenile Books. Those who are looking for-
ward to making holiday gifts of books to young people of
intermediate age would do well to consider the publications
of the Wilde Company, who each autumn bring out a very at-
tractive list of stories for both boys and girls. All these
stories are chock full of modern interests. The list for this
year includes the following: "Boy Scouts in Glacier Park,"
by Walter Pritchard Eaton; "A Girl Scout of Red Rose
Troop," by Amy E. Blanchard; "The Secret Wireless," by
Lewis E. Theiss, and "The Spy on the Submarine," by Com-
mander Thomas D. Parker, of the U. S. Navy. (W. A. Wilde
Co. $1.25 each.)
A NEW FOSDICK BOOK
The Meaning of Faith
By HARRY EMERSON FOSDICK
Author of "The Meaning of Prayer," "The Manhood
of the Master," ete.
This is the book that Professor Fosdick has been
working on for years, and turned aside long enough to
write "The Challenge of the Present Crisis."
The author's purpose in these twelve studies is to
clear away the misapprehensions involved in the com-
monly accepted theories of faith, to indicate the rela-
tionship of faith to other aspects of life, to face frankly
the serious question of suffering as an obstacle of faith,
and to expound the vital significance of faith in Jesus
Christ.
Printed on thin paper. Round corners. Pocket size.
PRICE, NET, $1.00 POSTPAID
For Sale By
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 EAST 40th STREET, CHICAGO
October 3, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
17
A Prayer at Church
ALMIGHTY GOD, Lord of nations, Leader of peoples, Father
of humanity, we would open our window toward Thy Holy
City, lifting up hands in adoration and supplication. Grant us
the pure heart, the enlightened mind, the reverent spirit, that
in this moment of rest and retrospect we may commune with
Thee, spirit with Spirit, and renew our sense of the things that
endure in the midst of endless change. With hearts full of
nameless needs and sacred memories, we would praise Thee
for Thy loving kindness, or Thy Divine guidance in human
affairs, for Thy leadership of those who put their trust in Thee
and seek to do Thy will.
Humbly, we beseech Thee today for a great nation, founded
in liberty and dedicated to the practise of brotherhood; a land
where many peoples are gathered under one sky, brought to-
gether by Thy will that together they may work out Thy vast
purpose upon earth. Reverently we thank Thee for what was
pure and strong in the faith of those who shaped that nation
from rude beginnings, for the visions of great souls and the
yearnings of obscure lives by which it has been led, not without
trial, into these larger days. In times of adversity be Thou our
strength; in the more awful testings of prosperity, save us from
the careless mind, from foolish pride which forgets the stern-
ness of Thy law of right.
For the reunion of two mighty peoples, one in arms, one
in arts and aims and ideals, drawn together by a common peril
and a common obligation, we praise Thee and give thanks. God
of our fathers, may Thy spirit preside over their new friend-
ship, making it frank, free, and faithful, and, if it may be, fruit-
ful for the security and happiness of all mankind. Lead us by
Thy grace to the clearer air of Thy truth, that together we may
seek, and, seeking, find that clarified judgment, and in the calm
of great decisions choose, out of many ways, the one straight
path of Thy will. Make us lovers of justice between man and
man, between nation and nation, and may we have full assur-
ance that Thy justice faileth not, and that above our broken
purposes Thy purpose will triumph.
Lead Thou our leaders; grant them insight, fidelity, and pa-
tience, that they may be divinely obedient, in their great tasks,
finding in Thee their refuge in perplexity and their light in
darkness. For the King and his Ministers, for the President
and his Cabinet, for our leaders on land and sea, we pray Thy
blessing and guidance. For our brothers in battle, our sailors
on the grey wastes of the sea, for all who dwell in the house
of pain, for those who wait and work at home, we pour out
our hearts in prayer. Behold we lift up our desires and hopes
to Thee, and pray to make us worthy to receive from Thyself
that purity which shall touch our lives to finer issues of serv-
ice. In the name of Jesus, Amen. Joseph Fort Newton.
iiiiitiiiiiuiiiiiMiiiiiiiHin
1it|MlllMlHlMIM
timiiniiriiiii:iimiLimi!
iMiimujiiiiMiimiiiHiiimimmMiMminimiiiiiiin
The Vision
By Thomas S. Jones
A CROSS the fields of long ago
f-\ He sometimes comes to me,
A little lad with face aglow —
The lad I used to be.
And yet he smiles so wistfully,
Once he has crept within —
I think that he still hopes to see
The man I might have been !
— Reprinted from "The Bulletin,'
California State Prison.
published at the
luiiuiiiujitwiuiumiiimuniujuuiiuiuiiuuiuiuiiu
itiiiiuiiiiuiNUiujnu.il
§^:
■-r\
INTERNATIONAL L'
SYSTEM \J;
S REVISEDD
y AN IMPROVED
''"••?//i ■"■■) 'biS*
Thorougtily Approved
After nine years of useful service —
— THE
essoiis
This unsurpassed system of study literature for
the Sunday School has now been thoroughly revised in
the light of nine years' experience, and as now sub-
mitted to our schools is even more thorough and
more attractive than ever.
Send for samples of the New Revised Bethany
Graded Lessons and plan to adopt the system in
your school in the Autumn — which means that your
examination of the literature should be made — NOW I
Courses Provided in the
Bethany Lessons
FOR CHILDREN
The Little Child and the Heavenly Father
(A two years" course for children under 6 yearn of age)
Bible Stories for the Sunday School and Home
(A three years' course for children of 6, 7 and 8 years of age)
FOR BOYS AND GIRLS
Stories from the Olden Time
(For pupils about 9 years of age)
Hero Stories
(For pupils about 10 years of age)
Kingdom Stories
(For pupils about 1 1 years of age)
Gospel Stories
(For pupils about 12 years of age)
FOR TEEN AGE PUPILS
Leaders of Israel
Christian Leaders
The Life of Christ
Christian Living
(For pupils about 13 years of age)
(For pupils about 14 years of age)
(For pupils about 1 5 years of age)
1 For pupils about 16 years of age)
FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
The World a Field for Christian Service
tFor pupils about 17 years of age)
History and Literature of the Hebrew People
(Fir pupils about 18 years of age)
History of New Testament Times
(For pupils about 19 years of age)
The Bible and Social Living
(For pupils about 20 years of age)
Send for returnable samples today
The Christian Century Press
700 East 40th Street, Chicago
I
18
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 3, 1918
News of the Churches
Death of Dr. Vachel Thomas
Lindsay, at Springfield, 111.
Dr. Vachel Thomas Lindsay, one of
the oldest of Illinois Disciples, passed
away in his home city, Springfield, Sep-
tember 20th, after a brief illness. Though
a very busy man in his profession, he
was a regular attendant at First church,
of which he was a member for forty
years and in which he was an active
elder for thirty-eight consecutive years.
In 1913 he and Mrs. Lindsay — who has
rendered valuable service in the work of
the Christian Woman's Board of Mis-
sions— visited their daughter, Mrs. Dr.
Paul Wakefield in China, that they
might also make a first-hand study of
the work in the Orient. Upon their re-
turn, the doctor wrote a series of valu-
able articles for the local papers which
aroused much interest. Thus, while
giving of himself without stint to the
service of his community, he was not
only a vital part of the local church but
a student of its larger problems. To his
children, Mrs. Joy Blair of Cleveland,
Mrs. Paul Wakefield of China and
Nicholas Vachel Lindsay of Springfield
he leaves an enviable heritage and to his
good wife a blessed memory.
Secretary Abe Cory Will be
at St. Louis Convention
R. H. Miller, of the Men and Millions
movement, reports that a cable has been
received from A. E. Cory, announcing
that he will arrive in America a week
before the national convention. Mr.
Cory has had some remarkable experi-
ences on his trip to Europe and the bat-
tle fronts, and he is hurrying home in
order to attend the convention at St.
Louis and following that to undertake
the leadership of the campaign this fall
for the United Budget and the nation-
wide Every Member Canvass in the
churches. Mr. Cory will speak on Sun-
day evening at the convention, relating
his adventures and observations on the
battle fields. Notwithstanding the fact
that the Young Men's Christian Associa-
tion is asking Mr. Cory to give all of his
time to its work, he has decided that the
more important service for him is in the
carrying forward of the new brother-
hood plans, as well as the completing of
the larger program of the Men and Mil-
lions Movement.
Date of St. Louis Convention
Is Fixed
E. S. Hallett, chairman of one of the
St. Louis convention committees, sends
by wire the following message: "Con-
vention date positively fixed October
9-13. Those expecting to attend should
write me with regard to entertainment."
Mr. Hallett may be addressed at 5156
Cabanne avenue.
F. E. Smith, of Indiana, Becomes
Ministerial Relief Secretary
W. R. Warren, president of the Board
of Ministerial Relief, writes that F. E.
Smith, of the church at Muncie, Ind.,
has been elected secretary of the board.
Mr. Warren was formerly secretary, but
upon the death of A. L. Orcutt, for over
thirteen years president of the board,
he was elected to succeed him. Since
that time Mr. Warren has carried most
of the responsibilities of leadership in
ministerial relief, but now that he has
been elected editor of the new united
missionary magazine of the Disciples,
Mr. Smith has been urged to undertake
the secretaryship. He has accepted the
call and his congregation has reluctantly
but graciously released him for the
larger service as soon as his successor
can be found. In the meantime he is
allowed to spend one or two days of
each week in the office in Indianapolis.
Mr. Smith was born in Illinois, reared
in Kansas, California and Iowa, and was
educated at Eureka College, with a year
of post graduate work at Drake. He has
had two very successful pastorates of six
years each, and Mr. Warren believes him
"ideally qualified for the great work that
we have insisted upon his undertaking."
He further writes:
"Stalwart in physique, in personality,
in faith and in consecration this man is
eminently qualified for the largest Chris-
tian service. His deep and well-proved
interest in the cause of Ministerial pen-
sions makes him especially fitted for la-
bor at this task. He combines in an
extraordinary way the qualities and
achievements of preacher and adminis-
trator. He is a beloved pastor, a cher-
ished friend, an American patriot, with
the whole world upon his heart. Our
ministers will find in him a wise and safe
counselor, and the churches a devoted
servant of the whole body of Christ, true
as steel and constant as the polar star."
Mr. Smith will deliver the annual ad-
dress for the board at the St. Louis con-
vention,. Saturday afternoon, October 12,
and will, of course, be present at and
participate in the conference of the Pen-
sion plan in the Union Avenue Church,
St. Louis, Tuesday evening, October 8.
Kirby Page to Enter
Columbia University
Kirby Page, who for two and a half
years traveled with Dr. Sherwood Eddy
in various parts of the war zone and in
the Orient, and who for the past sum-
mer has been serving as private secre-
tary to Dr. John R. Mott, general secre-
tary of the Y. M. C. A., will begin this
year a full graduate course in the depart-
ment of Sociology. In connection with
this work, he has accepted the call of the
Ridgewood Heights Church of Christ,
Brooklyn, N. Y. His address will be 611
Fairview avenue, Brooklyn.
Dr. Ames' New Book on "The
New Orthodoxy" Now Out
Dr. Edward Scribner Ames, of the
Philosophy department of the Univers-
ity of Chicago, and pastor of the Hyde
Park church, and the author of "The
Psychology of Religious Experience,"
"The Higher Individualism," and "The
Divinity of Christ," has a new book
from the University of Chicago Press
entitled "The New Orthodoxy." The
book deals with "the problems of the
religious sentiments, of personality, of
sacred literature, of religious ideals and
of the ceremonials of worship." the chap-
ter titles being: "The New Orthodoxy:
Its Attitudes"; Its Dramatis Personae" ;
"Its Growing Bible;" "Its Changing
Goal," and "Its New Drama." The
book may be secured from The Chris-
tian Century Press.
Garry L. Cook in a Larger
Field of Service
Garry L. Cook, for nine years state
Sunday school superintendent in In-
diana, now has charge, under the Amer-
ican Society, of the Central Regional
District, which includes the states of
Inidana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michi-
gan. Mrs. Lida B. Pearce, a Hoosier
by birth, and for many years a teacher
in both public schools and Sunday
school, is the elementary superintendent.
She has been associated with the C. W.
B. M. for the past ten years. Mrs.
Leola D. Underwood, wife of the late
Charles E. Underwood, is the office sec-
retary. Mr. Cook had a successful series
of institutes in the Chicago churches
last week, and was in Bloomington, 111.,
last Sunday, with Edgar D. Jones. He
will conduct a school of methods at
First church, Charleston, 111., October
14-18, being assisted by Mrs. Pearce,
Miss Cynthia Maus, J. C. Mullins, of
Mattoon, and John R. Golden, minister
at Decatur.
Illinois Has New
Woman Minister
Peoria, 111., has its first woman pas-
tor in the person of Miss Amelia Gerke,
a graduate of Bethany College. She was
recently installed as pastor at Central
church, Peoria, F. Lewis Starbuck and
President H. O. Pritchard officiating.
Mr. Starbuck delivered the charge to the
new leader, and President Pritchard
preached the sermon of the evening.
M. L. Pontius
as a Patriotism Promoter
M. L. Pontius, pastor of Central
church, Jacksonville, 111., has served
three months as Camp Pastor in Camp
Logan and Camp Grant during 1918.
Last spring he was a speaker on the
Liberty Loan train and has been active
in all of the war interest campaigns. His
church has gladly released him for this
service. That this has not interfered
with the church work in any material
way is indicated by the fact that the con-
gregation is meeting all of its missionary
apportionments which, including Anti-
Saloon League receipts, amounts to
$3,257.18 for the missionary year. On
September 15, the church received a
communiction from the Federal govern-
ment requesting the release of the pastor
during the Liberty Loan campaign that
he might serve as manager of one of the
trains touring Southern Illinois, South-
ern Indiana, Western Kentucky, West-
ern Tennessee and Northern Mississippi.
The church unanimously voted to release
Mr. Pontius for this service and he left
for St. Louis on Friday, September 27.
The audiences and offerings at Central
Church have been much larger during
September, 1918, than any correspond-
ing month during Mr. Pontius' more
than four years ministry in Jacksonville.
There have been nine additions, two bap-
tisms, this month. A very definite pro-
gram is planned for the winter.
Autumn Campaign at
Richmond Avenue, Buffalo
Richmond Avenue church, Christ, Buf-
falo, N. Y., where Ernest Hunter Wray
ministers, has launched a great campaign
for the fall months. The pastor is lead-
ing his people in a revival along the lines
of Bible study, prayer, missions and
stewardship. During September he gave
a series of lectures on Wednesday even-
ings on "The History of The Disciples
of Christ." The interest in these lectures
was unparalleled. During October and
November the Wednesday evenings win
be utilized in lectures by the pastor on
tithing and all phases of giving. These
midweek lectures are supplementary to
a series of sermons that will be given on
Sundays during October and November.
At the morning service there will be a
October 3, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
19
series of sermons on "Significant As-
pects of Modern Missions, General
World Conditions and the Church." At
evening service during October there
will be a series of four sermons on "The
Four Great Religions of the world." In
November there will be a series of even-
ing sermons on "The Four Great Sins of
this Age." All these lectures and ser-
mons are in preparation for the every
member canvass which will be made the
second Sunday in December. In addi-
tion to this, the pastor has secured the
voluntary services of forty couples from
the church who will visit every home in
the congregation for eight successive
weeks leading up to the big drive in
December. The first week in December
will be known as "Old Home Week."
On Tuesday night a play will be given,
"The Every Member Canvass"; Wednes-
day night, business meeting and roll call
of membership; Thursday night, "Fel-
lowship night," ending with a great con-
secration service. During this campaign
the question of money will be kept in the
background. It is a campaign for a re-
vival of the life of God in the church.
— E. B. Barnes spoke recently in the
Jewish Temple in Paducah, Ky., in be-
half of the Fourth Liberty Loan;
$100,000 was subscribed at the close of
the service.
— S. E. Fisher, of Petersburg, 111., has
been called to Central church, Rock-
ford, 111., where he succeeds W. B.
Clemmer, who is now engaged in war
work.
— W. A. Fite, of Ashland, Ky., is one
of the new recruits of chaplaincy serv-
ice.
Features of the General Convention
At Union Avenue Church, St. Louis, October 9-13
GENERAL SESSION
Wednesday Evening, October 9,
7:30 o'Clock
Address of welcome.
President's address, "The Church, the
War, and the New World," Edgar De-
Witt Jones.
Introduction of presiding officers.
JOINT SESSION OF C. W. B. M.
AND THE FOREIGN SOCIETY
Thursday Morning, October 10 — Mrs.
Anna R. Atwater Presiding
Annual reports of Christian Woman's
Board of Missions and Foreign Society.
Business Period, C. W. B. M.
Address: "Women in War Work,"
Mrs. Ida Withers Harrison.
Thursday Afternoon, October 10— A.
McLean Presiding
Business Period, Foreign Society.
Introduction of missionaries present:
W. C. MacDougall, Miss Minnie John-
son, Miss Olive Griffith, W. L. Menzies,
W. E. Gordon, Dr. Ada McNeill Gordon,
; Dr. Minnie H. Rioch, India; Miss Wini-
fred Brown, Japan; E. T. Cornelius,
I Mexico; Miss Nora Siler, Porto Rico;
; Dr. W. A. Frymire, Africa; Dr. W. E.
i Macklin, G. W. Sarvis, Miss Minnie Vau-
i trin, China.
Thursday Night, October 10
Address, "The Life Call," R. H. Miller.
JOINT SESSION OF C. W. B. M.
SOCIETY AND BOARD OF
CHURCH EXTENSION
Friday Morning, October 11— F. W.
Burnham Presiding
Salient feature of reports (ten min-
! utes each).
j (1) Christian Woman's Board of Mis-
I sions, Mrs. J. M. Stearns.
(2) Church Extension, G. W. Muckley.
(3) Bible School Department, R. M.
Hopkins.
(4) American Christian Missionary So-
ciety, Grant K. Lewis.
Survey of Immigrant Work (ten min-
utes each).
(1) Among Orientals and Spanish, C.
T. Cornelius, Texas.
(2) Among European Immigrants, A.
U. Chaney, New York.
(3) Building Community Houses, (to
i be supplied).
j Education Phases of Home Missions
I (twenty minutes each).
(1) Educational program of the Wom-
an's Board, Mrs. T. W. Grafton.
(2) Religious Education in Bible
Schools, P. H. Welshimer.
Business period, American Society.
Address: "The Importance of the
Home Base, John H. MacNeill.
Friday Afternoon, October 11 — Mrs.
Anna R. Atwater Presiding
Report of Committee on Recommen-
dations, International Convention.
Original survey of American Mis-
sions (ten minutes each).
(1) Rural fields — -Commission on Rural
Churches, by H. H. Peters.
(2) Rocky Mountain Region, C. W.
Dean.
(3) The Northwest, W. F. Turner.
(4) Canada, Amos Tovell.
(5) Co-operation in Regional Work,
Mrs. Terry King.
(6) Alaska, F. W. Burnham.
War Emergency Work (five minutes
each).
(1) Round Table conducted by E. M.
Bowman, chairman War Emergency
Committee.
(2) Brief Messages from Camps and
Cantonments by Camp Pastors and
Chaplains.
Business period, C. W. B. M. Elec-
tion of officers.
Friday Evening, October 11 — F. W.
Burnham Presiding
Introduction of home missionaries and
workers of all boards.
Address: "The American Church After
the War," Joseph E. McAfee.
AMERICAN TEMPERANCE BOARD
AND NATIONAL BENEVO-
LENT ASSOCIATION
Saturday Morning, October 12
Review of report for year closing
September 30, 1918, Milo J. Smith, acting
secretary.
Address, Hon. Charles M. Hay, "The
Outlook for Prohibition and the Dis-
ciples' Duty in the Premises."
National Benevolent Association:
Chorus by Children of the Christian Or-
phans' Home.
Remarks by the president of the asso-
ciation, W. Palmer Clarkson.
Report of Executive Board, Jas. H.
Mohorter.
Treasurer's Report, Lee W. Grant.
Election of officers and other business.
The introduction of the association's
family from the various homes:
(a) The Aged from Jacksonville, Illi-
nois, Mr. A. C. Rice.
(b) Mothers and Their Children, Mrs.
H. H. Hodgdon.
(c) Nursery Tots, and Other Children,
with Singing and Exercise, Mrs. B. R.
Brown.
(d) The Motherless Babe, Mrs. F. M.
Wright.
(e) Children Placed in Family Homes,
Mrs. S. H. Thomson.
Chorus by the children of the Chris-
tian Orphans' Home.
Note: Visit during the afternoon in-
termission to the Christian Orphans'
Home.
BOARD OF MINISTERIAL RELIEF
AND BOARD OF EDUCATION
Saturday Afternoon, October 12
Report of Board of Ministerial Re-
lief, W. R. Warren, president.
Address, "A Permanent Ministry," F.
E. Smith, secretary of the board.
Board of Education, R. H. Crossfield,
president, presiding.
Annual report, acting general secre-
tary, President R. H. Crossfield.
Address, "The Colleges and the War,"
President H. O. Pritchard.
Introduction of new members of the
board, President John H. Wood of
Southeastern Christian College; Presi-
dent Arthur Holmes of Drake Univer-
sity.
CHRISTIAN UNITY SESSION
Saturday Night, October 12
Report of the association for the pro-
motion of Christian unity. Reception of
representatives from Presbyterian, Con-
gregational and other religious bodies.
"Christian Unity and the World
Crisis," by H. C. Armstrong.
REGULAR SERVICES IN ALL ST.
LOUIS CHURCHES
Sunday Morning, October 13
Sunday school in all churches.
At Union Avenue Christian Church,
under the auspices of the Joint Commit-
tee on Missionary Education, Robert M.
Hopkins, presiding. Devotions led by
Mrs. Ellie K. Payne.
Preaching services in all the churches.
Life Addresses and Communion Serv-
ices.
MEN AND MILLIONS MOVEMENT
SESSION
Sunday Afternoon, October 13
War messages.
Abram E. Cory, senior secretary of
the movement, will be in charge of this
session, as also the one on Sunday even-
ing at 8:00.
CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR SESSION
Sunday Evening, October 13
"The Work of the Year," a brief re-
port and address.
A panorama of Christian Endeavor.
Address: "Christian Endeavor's Chal-
lenge Emphasized."
MEN AND MILLIONS MOVEMENT
SESSION
Sunday Evening, October 13
Service of Thanksgiving and Conse-
cration led by R. A. Long.
Report of Men and Millions Move-
ment, R. H. Miller.
Address, A. E. Cory.
20
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 3, 1918
— Charles A. Finch has resigned from
the pastorate at Fayetteville, Ark.
— D. H. Bradbury succeeds W. H.
Knotts, of Tarkio, Mo., church.
CENTRAL CHURCH
U2 West 81st Street
Fiais S. Idleman., Minister
—Abbott Book, son of W. H. Book,
Columbus, Ind., is reported to have left
the David C. Cook Company, Elgin, 111.,
to accept a position with the Standard
Publishing Company, Cincinnati. Mr.
Book is a Sunday school organization
expert.
— W. D. Ryan, leader of Central
church, Youngstown, O., has a hew as-
sistant paster, J. C. Richards.
— The executive committee of the St.
Louis Convention are W. Palmer Clark-
son, chairman; George A. Campbell,
vice-chairman; L. W. McCreary, secre-
tary.
— Samuel S. McWilliams, who has
served the church at Goldfield, la., for a
year and a half, has entered the College
of Missions at Indianapolis, where he
will prepare himself for work in Latin
America, preferably in Paraguay. Both
Mr and Mrs. McWilliams are from
Drake, which school has also five other
representatives at the College of Mis-
sions this year.
— Pastor Coleman, of Cortland, O.,
until recently, is the new leader at Ni-
agara Falls, N. Y. Charles S. Dickens,
of West Mansfield, O., will soon be in
his new field of labor at Columbia Ave-
nue church, Rochester, N. Y.
— Professor Walter S. Athearn, of
Boston University, has been requested
by the Government to prepare a com-
pact edition of his new book, "Religious
Education and Democracy," to be sent
out to all the nations of the earth for
use during the coming reconstruction
period after the war.
— Finis Idleman, of Central church,
New York, who underwent a serious
surgical operation last summer, is re-
ported back at his work "in the pink of
health."
ST. LOUIS
UNION AVENUE
CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Union and Voa Versen Aves.
George A. Campbell, Minister
— G. W. Morgan, for several years
leader of the Gloversville, N. Y., church,
has resigned there and will probably ac-
cept a call to a church in Ohio.
— The program committee of the Gen-
eral Convention at St. Louis has cabled
H. H. Harmon of Lincoln, Neb., First
church, but for several months in war
work in France, asking him to address
the convention.
— W. C. Ferguson, state secretary of
Mississippi, reports that the total of all
missionary and benevolent offerings
from the churches of the state will
amount to over $9,300, this being con-,
tributed by fifty-nine churches and
schools. This is double any former to-
tals.
. — W. Garnet Alcorn is leading his con-
gregation at Lathrop, Mo., in a meeting
of over a month's services, with J. A.
Kay, of Chicago, singing. To date
thirty-two accessions to the member-
ship are reported.
— Among the good things that have
come to the Butler, Pa., church during
the three years' ministry of Frank, M.
Field are the addition of 355 members to
the congregation, the erection of a fine
educational building and a widening
sphere of influence in the community life.
An eight weeks attendance program is
now under way. A community night,
with pathescope motion pictures and a
song festival, will be a big feature in
week night and educational plans.
Special feature days emphasizing every
phase of church and school activities are
getting the attention of the community.
Miss Mabel McCurdy, pastor's assist-
ant at Butler, has accepted a similar
position with Evanston church, Cincin-
nati, for the coming year.
— First church, Nevada, Mo., is more
than holding up during the present crisis,
especially due to the efforts of the pastor,
Arthur Stout. His ability is recognized
by the entire community. He is a lead-
ing figure in community advancement
and in patriotic activities; he is chairman
of the county Liberty Loan speakers
bureau and is a Four-Minute man. The
Nevada church will hold a revival the
first three or four weeks in November.
W. H. Pinkerton and daughter will real
in the meetings.
Hie "Peerless Series of Sunday Sotoo1
. 6 Maps on Steel Folding Stand foronly '
I)
MEMORIAL c^Sff °aFB^ST
C3-I I r A C f\ Oakwood Blvd. Wed of C»:lage Grove
nllAVJU Herbert L WSTIeU. Minister
— E. J. Willis, formerly pastor at Meri-
dian, Miss., but for three years past
leader at Cleburne, Tex., has returned
to the pastorate at Meridian.
— J. G. Smith has resigned from the
work at Harrisburg, Pa., and returns to
Indiana. E. B. Munson has closed his
ministry at Lancaster, Pa.
— C. Manly Morton, who has been-
serving the C. W. B. M. at Buenos
Aires, Argentina, has been asked to go
this month to Ascuncion, Paraguay,
where he will begin laying the founda-
tions for the opening of the work in this
newest mission field of the national
board. Mr. Morton writes that Para-
guay is about the size of the New Eng-
land states plus South Carolina, and has
a million population, from the stand-
point of natural resources being one of
the richest of the South American re-
publics. He believes that in considera-
tion of the remarkable material develop-
ments which the region is now under-
going it offers one of the most fruitful
opportunities to mission effort possible.
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 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 Exoense.
| discipi.es publication society
709 E. 40th St, Chloaffo, XU.
The special feature of this excellent set
j 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 discoveriea
This grand set of six Maps consists of
the following:
New Testament Palestine — Old Test*
anient Palestine — Roman Empire
showing Pauls Travels — Bible Lands
of tl»e Old Testament — The Exodus,
Egypt to Canaan — Ancient Jerusalem.
Printed on Hnen finish cloth in 6 colors
Blze 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 Eiters Sunday School Maps on a very strong
Revolving Adjustable Steel Stand about
6J4 feet high, 36x48 to 36x57 on linen
finished ioth. These Five thoroughly up
to date Maps Consist of the following.
New TestamentPalestine, — Old Testament
Palestine, — Roman empire and 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 St. 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 36.50 will be sent
prepaid to any Express office for 60 cents
additional.
DISCIPLES PUBLICATION SOCIETY
700 E. 40th St, : Chicago, 111.
For tlie Sunday School
Paramount Secretary's Record
For 15 classes, 50c postpaid
For 25 classes, 60c postpaid
For 50 classes, 80c postpaid
Bound in Cloth. The Best
Disciples Publication Society
700 E. 40th St., Chicago
—FOR THE SUNDAY SCHOOL—
Eiler's Treasurer's Record
COMPLETE, 75c POSTPAID
DISCIPLES PUBLICATION SOCD3TY
700 E. Fortieth Street :-: Chicago
October 3, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
at
— L. H. West, of Pearl, 111., church,
reports the close of a two weeks' meet-
ing there, led by District Evangelist O.
C. Bolman. There were a number of ac-
cessions to the church membership and
the Sunday school was raised from a 30
per cent standard to almost a 100 per
cent standard.
— George H. Combs, of Kansas City,
has already sailed for France to take
up war service.
— R. W. Lilley, for several years
leader at Kirksville, Mo., has been ten-
dered a call to the pastorate at Charles-
ton, W. Va. He will visit Charleston
before coming to any decision.
— VV. D. Hawk has resigned from the
pastorate at Havana, 111.
— John L. Imhof is now preaching for
First church, South Bend, Ind., from
which field John M. Alexander has re-
cently gone to a new pastorate in Mis-
souri.
— M. G. Long, of the Windfall, Ind.,
church, writes that the congregation re-
mains in the list of "unanimous
churches," having reached its appor-
tionment in all the societies but one, and
an offering was sent for the work of
that society. Mr. Long reports that
"since we have been stressing missions
during the past two years, money for
local expenses come easier."
— The church at Sandusky, O., recently
recognized the fact of higher cost of liv-
ing in war-time by voting its pastor, E.
S. Farmer, a substantial increase in sal-
ary.
— Edwin Marx, an honor man of Tran-
sylvania College, and for some time pas-
tor at Dry Ridge, Ky., has resigned from
this work and will sail from San Fran-
cisco October 12 for China. He will be
located at the University of Nankin.
— Floyd B. Waggoner leaves Chambers-
burg, 111., church, and R. A. Karraker
leaves Rushville, in the same state, early
this month.
— President Arthur Holmes, of Drake
University, recently spoke at University
Place Church, Des Moines, and by re-
quest gave his address on German phi-
losophy and the causes leading up to the
war. The editor of the Christian News
says of Dr. Holmes: "Ye have formed
a very high opinion of the mental and
spiritual sanity of the new head of Drake
University. There is a simplicity in him
that marks the sincerity and spiritual
depth of the man and his message."
Baptismal Suits
We can make prompt shipments.
Order Now. Finest quality and most
fatisfactory In every way. Order by
size of boot.
Disciples Publication Society
709 E. 40th St. Chicago, 111.
Get the Habit
OF PURCHASING ALL YOUR
Through
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 E. Fortieth Street 1-1 CHICAGO
COMMITTEE ON RECOMMENDA-
TIONS
By Graham Frank
The most important committee of the
St. Louis convention is the Committee
on Recommendations, provided for in
the Constitution which was adopted at
Kansas City. It is provided that this
committee shall receive such reports of
the General Agencies as may be submit-
ted to it, shall carefully study such re-
ports and make such recommendations
to the boards and convention as seem
wise; that to this committee all resolu-
tions and other business shall be re-
ferred without debate and that it shall
report at each daily business session of
the convention.
The members of the executive com-
mittee of the convention, twenty-two in
number, are members ex officio of the
Committee on Recommendations.
Thinking that it will be a matter of
brotherhood interest to know who will
constitute the committee this year, I am
giving the names of those who have
been selected by the various state con-
ventions and who have thus far accepted
their appointment and will serve on the
committee this year. While we could
wish that many other states had pro-
vided their representatives, it is a matter
of encouragement that in this first year
under the new Constitution we are able
to get together such a splendid body as at
present constitute the committee. It is
probable that other names will be added
to the committee before it begins its im-
portant work in connection with the St.
Louis convention. Every state and all
of the Canadian provinces have been
urged to select their representatives.
The names of those who have definitely
accepted their appointment to date are
as follows:
Arkansas
R. C. Rose, Osceola.
B. F. Cat©, Little Rock.
California
H. O. Breeden, Fresno.
Georgia
John H. Wood, Winder.
Iowa
Mrs. A. M. Haggard, Des Moines.
Illinois
John R. Golden, Decatur.
0. F. Jordan, Evanston.
M. S. Archer, Paris.
Mrs. Lura V. Porter, Carthage.
1. E. Hieronymus, Urbana.
Clarence L. DePew, Jacksonville.
Indiana
Henry K. Brown, Valparaiso.
A. B. Philputt, Indianapolis.
J. Boyd Jones, Terre Haute.
David H. Shields, Kokomo.
O. C. Riggins, Lebanon.
F. E. Smith, Muncie.
A. J. Loughery, Edinburg.
C. C. Garrigues.
Missouri
B. L. Smith, Moberly.
Geo. L. Bush, Carrollton.
E. F. Leake, Springfield.
B. A. Abbott, St. Louis.
H. P. Atkins, Mexico.
Montana
Walter M. Jordan, Butte.
• Nebraska
L. C. Oberlies.
W. A. Baldwin.
New York
John P. Sala, Buffalo.
Maryland
H. C. Armstrong, Baltimore.
Michigan
M. H. Gerrard, Lansing.
Ohio
J. J. Tisdall, Columbus.
C. M. Rodefer, Bellaire.
A. R. Teachout, Cleveland.
Pennsylvania
J. Albert Hall.
South Dakota
Geo. O. Marsh, Aberdeen.
Texas
E. M. Waits, T. C. U., Ft. Worth.
L. D. Anderson, Ft. Worth.
Jesse F. Holt, Sherman.
"Songs for Little People* '
For Beginners end Primary
Departments and the Home.
75 Cents, Postpaid
DISCIPLES PUBLICATION SOCIETY
700 East 40th Street 1-1 CHICAGo i
We specialize in
STUDIES FOR ADULT
AND YOUNG PEOPLE'S
CLASSES
Write us, requesting us to send return-
able samples of our texts for
such classes
DISCIPLES PUBLICATION SOCIETY
700 East Fortieth Street :-: CHICAGO
Kent and Madsen Maps
A New Series of Historical
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For Sunday Schools, Bible Classes end Individ-
ual Students
g. i » em
55 B5S5535B
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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 coloring',
are superb, Size, about 17x25 inches. Not
sold separately. Complete set mounted on
•wooden roller, to fit on muslo stand tripod.
The low price of $5.00 includes maps, tripod,
boxlnsr and delivery chargres in continental
United States.
DISCIPLES PUBLICATION SOCEITY
700 East Fortieth Street,
CHICAGO
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 3, 1918
A
FOR THE NEW
20th CENTURY
QUARTERLY
Prepared by W. D. Ryan, H. L. Willett, Jr., John R. Ewers
and W. C. Morro
Edited by Thomas Curtis Clark
"Splendid," says Thos. M. Iden, Ann Arbor, Mich., teacher of a class of 400 men.
"Charming" says Rev. Peter Ainslie, Baltimore, Md.
"Bound to find wide usage," says Rev. Chas. M. Watson, Norfolk, Va.
"Practical and helpful," Rev. Austin Hunter, Chicago.
"Best I have ever seen," Rev. L. J. Marshall, Kansas City, Mo.
"Vigorous," Rev. F. E. Smith, Muncie, Ind.
"First-class," Dr. J. H. Garrison, of the Christian-Evangelist.
"Genuinely interesting," Dr. E. L. Powell, Louisville, Ky.
"Best adult quarterly published," Rev. J. E. Davis, Kansas City, Mo.
"Beautifully conceived," Rev. A. B. Houze, Bowling Green, Ky., teacher of a
class of 200 men.
"Practical," Rev. W. J. Gratton, Des Moines, Iowa.
"Takes up lessons from every angle," Rev. J. H. Goldner, Cleveland, Ohio.
"Compact yet comprehensive," S. W. Hutton, Texas Bible School leader.
"Alive," Rev. Frank G. Tyrrell, Pasadena, Cal.
"U p-to-the-minute," Rev. E. F. Daugherty, Los Angeles, Cal.
"Fresh, reverential, vigorous," Rev. Graham Frank, Dallas, Tex.
"Delightfully inspirational," J. H. Fillmore, Cincinnati, Ohio.
"Ideal," Rev. J. M. Philputt, Charlottesville, Va.
"Will prove a zvinner," Myron C. Settle, Bible school expert, Kansas City, Mo.
"Has punch and pep," Rev. Allen T. Shaw, Pekin, 111.
"Will win in men's classes," Rev. W. H. McLain, formerly Ohio Bible School
Superintendent.
"Illuminating and vital," Rev. Madison A. Hart, Columbia, Mo.
"A big advance step," Rev. H. W. Hunter, Des Moines, Iowa.
"Inspires with its faith," Rev. I. S. Chenoweth, Philadelphia, Pa.
"Admirable," President A. McLean, of the Foreign Society, Cincinnati, Ohio.
"Excellent," National Bible School Secretary Robert M. Hopkins, Cincinnati.
"Ideal," Rev. A. B. Philputt, Indianapolis, Ind.
"Fine," David H. Owen, Kansas State Bible School Superintendent.
The number of orders coming in for the new Quarterly indicates that it will prove
one of the biggest winners in the Sunday school field. Send in your order today.
If you have not received free sample, send for one at once.
The Christian Century Press &W8&
October 3, 1918 THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY 23
Gr
Les
no©
sorts
A NOTABLY SUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT
TO PRESENT RELIGIOUS TRUTH IN
A REASONABLE, ATTRACTIVE AND
EFFECTIVE WAY TO YOUNG AND
OLD. IT RESULTS IN AN ACCURATE
KNOWLEDGE OF BIBLICAL FACTS,
AND IN A VITAL APPRECIATION
OF SPIRITUAL TRUTH.
Spiritual: The great purpose of religious education — the training of
mind and heart and will to "see God" and feel God in the world of nature, history,
and especially in the revelation of His will in the life of the Savior of men — is not
made subservient to the presentation of mere historical facts. The study of the
Bethany Graded Lessons grows Christian character] it does not simply produce
scholars.
Thorough : Not a hop-skip-and-jump compromise scheme of study,
made as easy as possible. Thoroughness is not sacrificed to the minor end of
easiness. Each year of th j life of child and youth is provided with a Bible course
perfectly adapted to that year. The Bethany Graded Lessons are psychologically
correct.
Practical : An interesting fact relative to the Bethany Graded Lessons
is that they are fully as popular with small schools as with large. The system
is thoroughly adaptable to all conditions. The fact that a school is small does not
mean that it is easy-going and careless in its choice of a system of study. We
can truthfully say that many of the finest schools using the Bethany Lessons do
not number more than 75 members. No matter what the conditions of your
school, the Bethany Graded Lessons will fill your need.
If your school is ambitious, if it is thorough' going,
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seriously, you must have the
BETHANY GRADED LESSONS
Thoroughly approved and more popular than ever after
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Send for returnable samples today and prepare for a year
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THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 East 40th Street, CHICAGO, ILL.
itfsssasBtefc&W'tLWMfc 38&M&
"P. S. — Please tell mother that I am reading a little
every day from the Bible she gave me. Its a whole
lot easier than I thought ifdbe when I promised her
I would. Somehow, religion is a different sort of
thing over here. Or, maybe, the difference is with me"
THAT is how this war has gripped the hearts and
souls of our boys in battle. This is more than a
war for democracy. It is a war for righteousness— a
war of right against wrong, of good against bad. A
war waged by an army of clean-hearted, thoughtful
men. No wonder they are willing to sacrifice as they
do! Buy your bonds the way they fight. Lend
thoughtfully. Consult your conscience and buy to
the point of actual sacrifice.
RTYlJ
U, S* Government Bonds
THIS SPACE CONTRIBUTED FOR THE WINNING OF THE WAR BY THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 10, 1918
Illllllllillllllllllii
Author of "The Wisdom of God9 s Fools," "The Inner
Circle" "The Tender Pilgrims " "Fairhope" etc.
RNAME
Orthodoxy
Studies in Christian Constancy
BY
Edgar DeWitt Jones
I THE author of this volume of sermons is the President
- of the General Convention of the Disciples of Christ,
1918, and Minister of First Christian Church, Blooming-
ton, 111. He was one of the "Three American Preachers"
who were the subject of an article by Prof. Arthur S. Hoyt
in the "Homiletic Review" for February, 1917. Here are
sermons of wide range in topic, style and arrangement; yet
withal they are full of feeling and fervor. They are good
examples of a high level of preaching, attained by a minis-
ter who, for twelve years, has made his pulpit a vital and
persuasive power in his own community and beyond it —
a minister who feels that "every sermon is an adventure in
the realm of spiritual romance, crowded with possibilities
for service to God and man."
Price $1.25 plus 6 to 12 cents postage
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 East 40th Street CHICAGO
Ait Undenominational Journal of Religion
&
Volume XXXV
OCTOBER 10, 1918
Number 39
EDITORIAL STAFF: CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON. EDITOR; HERBERT L. WILLETT, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
ORVIS PAIRLEE JORDAN. ALVA W. TAYLOR, JOHN RAY EWERS :: THOMAS CURTIS CLARK. OFFICE MANAGER
i. Entered as second-class matter, February 28, 1902, at the Post-office at Chicago, Illinois, under the Act of March j, 18/9.
I Published Weekly By the Disciples Publication Society 700 East 40th Street, Chicago
1 . _____ , — _ , _______ — ,
j Subscription — $2.50 a year (to ministers, $2.00), strictly in advance. Canadian postage, 52 cents extra; foreign, $1.04 extra,
i Change of date on wrapper is a receipt for remittance on subscription and shows month and year to which subscription is paid.
! The Christian Century is a free interpreter of the essential ideals of Christianity as held historically by the Disciples of Christ.
It conceives the Disciples' religious movement as ideally an unsectarian and unecclesiastical fraternity, whose original impulse and
, common tie are fundamentally the desire to practice Christian unity in the fellowship of all Christians. Published by Disciples, The
I Christian Century, is not published for Disciples alone, but for the Christian world. It strives to interpret the wider fellowship
in religious faith and service. It desires definitely to occupy a catholic point of view and it seeks readers in all communions.
EDITORIAL
What Is Christianity?
THIS searching question needs to be asked by
every minister and religious worker at frequent
intervals. Every man tends to answer it from
the angle of his own point of view and experience. It
is arrant nonsense for any man to say that he can inter-
pret the Christianity of any age, and especially of the
age of the New Testament, without carrying into the
interpretation something of his own viewpoint.
The German theologian, Harnack, in a widely cir-
culated volume which is now nearly two decades old,
undertook to answer the question. During the past
year the University of Chicago Press has published a
volume by George Cross which gives quite a different
answer. The latter sees but little in the Christianity
of Jesus and Paul but Apocalypticism. In this he is in
line with the present popular trend among scientific
theologians. More informing are subsequent chapters
which relate to the rise of Catholicism, Mysticism, Ra-
tionalism, and Evangelicalism. Each of these various
tendencies has held itself to be the true Christianity,
though each has been quite distinct from the other.
Study and reflection show us that there is a Chris-
tianity for every age. The Holy Spirit is to lead us
into all truth, for there were truths which Jesus' dis-
ciples were not able to bear. The change in the preach-
ing in American pulpits during the past three years indi-
cates how religious testimony adjusts itself continually
to changing needs and conditions.
It is interesting and worth while to know what the
Christianity of Jesus and Paul was. We hold the con-
viction that the heart of this Christianity must be the
religion of all men at last. But we need not exalt the
holy kiss into an ordinance of eternal validity, nor make
Paul's attitude toward slavery one that shall perma-
nently be taught in the church.
We need for our day a revitalized Christianity, one
that is true to the best in two thousand years of Chris-
tian history, which is above all true to Christ and his
apostles, but which shall sense the heart hunger of this
hour and be able to supply it with food.
International Christian Fellowship
ONCE we studied the peculiarities of religious de-
nominations only in order to criticise. We
hunted for weakness rather than strength, for
error rather than truth. Through the alliance of great
nations in the world war, with the consequent fellow-
ship of chaplains of various faiths upon the field of
battle, there is coming a new sense of fellowship and
mutual appreciation. It is quite possible for the Catho-
lic priest and the Methodist pastor to live in a village
together for five years with never a nod of friendly rec-
ognition, but when they are chaplains together "over
there" and face daily the terrible scenes of the battle
front, such aloofness in the name of doctrine seems not
only unreal but positively wicked.
Already powerful intellectual leaders in the
churches are seizing upon this new opportunity for a
new sense of understanding. Is this not a time to learn
sympathetically what the great Christian groups be-
lieve, how they act, what their history is and in what
direction they are headed? In our public libraries is a
great "Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics." It has
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 10, 1918
much of value for us in making us at home in the temple
of mankind's soul. But better even than this are the
living documents of the great faiths. We can afford to
spend time learning how Episcopalians feel about
things, or just what witness of conscience a Scotch
Presbyterian has.
The new sense of international and interdenomina-
tional fellowship may not change the externals of re-
ligion for awhile. We may have the same old creeds,
liturgies, organizations and activities. But if the caus-
tic criticism, the narrow suspicion and the blind hate
that have sometimes existed between religious groups
can be abated, religion will take on new power and
self-respect and will have an unwonted influence among
intelligent people.
"The World Call"
THE launching of a comprehensive missionary
magazine for the Disciples of Christ is an achieve-
ment which has required some years to consum-
mate. In "The World Call," which will be issued for
the first time in January, the periodical publications of
our various missionary and philanthropic interests will
be combined. The women had the journal of widest
circulation among the Disciples of Christ, "The Mis-
sionary Tidings." It has been an act of generosity for
them to be willing to merge their magazine in the larger
one. The Missionery Intelligencer, published by the
Foreign Christian Missionary Society, has in recent
years grown continually more readable and has broad-
ened its outlook upon the field of missionary endeavor
quite perceptibly.
Excellent though these and other journals were,
few laymen were taking them all and reading them.
Our people were devoloping unsymmetrically in their
missionary interest. The new journal at the popular
price of a dollar a year will doubtless be widely circu-
lated and will keep every subscriber informed, not only
about all the organized interests of the Disciples of
Christ, but also, we trust, concerning some phases of
interdenominational effort.
It will require insight and missionary statesman-
ship to make the new magazine what it should be.
Many of our journals have had their pages loaded with
labored appeals. In the new journals facts should be
the main appeal. The petty and incidental features of
religious work have in the past often found their way
into our monthly periodicals. In our new journal there
should be an appreciation of the relative value of things
religiously ; this will keep its pages keyed up with the
dignity and significance of the Disciples as a world
movement. "The World Call" should be a magazine
which we might without shame put on the tables of a
public library as setting forth the activities of our
people.
The field of the new journal is quite different from
that of the weekly religious newspaper. We must have
a medium through which we may discuss our funda-
mental religious ideas, in which the activities and meth-
ods of the local church will be interpreted and where
we may learn of the doings of our brethren as these
relate in some larger way to the welfare of religion, as
the weekly press affords. We give the right hand of fel-
lowship to "The World Call" in the sisterhood of Dis-
ciple journalism.
Will the Butcher Turk Escape?
WITH the downfall of Bulgaria as a military
force, there have come persistent rumors that
Turkey, too, would like to find a way to end
hostilities. Any day may bring the expected announce1-
ment. Peace with Turkey would give the allies their
coveted opportunity to attack the central powers from
the southeast. Military necessity may give the Turk
one more chance to escape the judgment which man-
kind long ago pronounced upon that fiendishly cruel
nation.
It is no counsel of revenge to suggest that Turkey
should be given the hardest of peace terms. She should
not be allowed to rule over a single soul that is non-
Turkish, for she has long since demonstrated her unfit-
ness for the task of ruling anyone. For the allies to
allow her to continue dominion over the Armenians
would be to lose out of the allied cause the high human-
itarian motives which have so far been uppermost.
Palestine must never be given back to the Turk, but
should be the land of the Jew.
A quick and easy peace with Turkey would hasten
the end of the war greatly, but we have no need to be
in a hurry to end the war. We did not choose war,
but since it has been thrust upon us. the sacrifices of
the men who have died and who have been crippled
demand that we shall exact the maximum return for
what they have given. There will be no adequate re-
turn so long as we leave a single spot in Europe or in
western Asia under a tyrant's heel. If the war becomes
indeed a war of liberation for all peoples, then we may
feel that it is in some measure worth its terrible cost.
Turkey has played a ridiculous role in this war, but
she might have been the factor to give victory to
tyranny. The call to the jehad or holy war, which was
issued to the Mohammedans, was not as near a failure
as some would have us think. It was only defeated by
the activities of the British intelligence system. And
the threat at the Suez canal might have cut the British
empire in two. Turkey has dared great things in behalf
of tyranny. She is a menace to the peace of the near
east. Let her cease to be an empire and become only a
kingdom, with Turks ruling only over Turks.
The Camouflage of Patriotism
WITH the wonderful revival of patriotism that
has come to America through the war, it is
not surprising that it is the occasion of un-
worthy enterprises hitching their little sleds to the
national car. In one town the moving picture shows
are asking for the privilege of giving Sunday shows on
the ground that the soldiers need these shows and that
the moving film is sometimes the medium of patriotic
propaganda. The liquor men argued for awhile — until
it was absurd in every one's eyes — that we need to con-
October 10, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
tinue the saloons for the sake of the federal tax they
pay.
At the beginning of the war sporadic and ill-
advised organizations sprang into being to promote war
charity. Many of these had no other motive than to
give employment to a secretary and they have been
closed up. We now have all the agencies we need to
do our war charity, if indeed we do not still have too
many.
There are individuals, too, who have discovered the
use of patriotic camouflage. They shout the loudest at
the war meetings and are on their feet first when "The
Star Spangled Banner" is played. But they do not hesi-
tate to get rich in war-time and their contributions to
the war charities are not at all in proportion to the
gains they have made in profiteering enterprises.
We all hate hypocrites. Whether in the church, in
the home or in public life, the man or woman who poses
and simulates a virtue he or she does not possess is
disgusting in the eyes of right-thinking people.
The revival of true patriotism is one of the blessed
by-products of the war. Hundreds of men have gone
forward to the service of their country not feeling the
draft a compulsion but a welcome invitation. We
heard the other day of an advertising man with a large
business who was giving up his work to volunteer in
the overseas service of the Y. M. C. A. There is a real
patriotism, or it would not be worth any one's while to
simulate it.
The judgments of God in our age will winnow the
"Be Still and Know"
BE still and know that I am God,
Ye who with fret and fear are worn ;
Who hear no voice, when tempests beat ;
Who faint, by sorrow overborne ;
Who dwell in shadows of defeat.
Be still and know that I am God ;
The world is Mine — the shine, the storm ;
Your life is Mine — your hopes, your fears ;
The sun is Mine, to keep you warm;
I guard your days, your distant years.
Be still and know that I am God ;
Let not the fires of war appall ;
Fear not the demons of the seas ;
The kings who build on blood shall fall :
I rule the nations' destinies.
Be still and know that I am God ;
Mine only is the conquering sword:
What can avail the tyrant's boasts,
If I oppose, who am the Lord?
Fear only Me, the Lord of hosts !
wheat from the chaff. Even in our own day we are
discovering what is the golden grain and what the tares.
True devotion to the nation's welfare is a beautiful and
worthful thing, but its imitation is only clownish and
ridiculous, deceiving no one for long.
-Thomas Curtis Clark,
In the Living Church.
The Doughnut
A Parable of Safed the Sage
N" OW I entered the Kitchen, and would have passed
through. But Keturah was there ; so I waited : and
" she cast Divers Things into a Great Bowl, and did
stir them with a Great Spoon.
And I asked her, saying, What hast thou in the Bowl?
And she said, Sugar and Spice, and all that's nice.
And I said, That is what God used when He made
thee.
And she took the Dough out of the Bowl, when she
had stirred it, and she rolled it with a Rolling-Pin ; and
she cut it into round cakes. And in the midst of every
several cake was there an Hole. And a great Caldron
hung above the Fire, and there was Fat therein and it
boiled furiously.
And Keturah took the round Cakes and Dough and cast
them into the Caldron ; and she poked them with a Fork,
and she turned them, and when they came forth, behold
I knew then what they were. And the smell of them was
inviting, and the appearance of them was exceeding good.
And Keturah gave me one of the Doughnuts, and Believe
Me, they were Some Doughnuts.
And I said, To what purpose is the Hole? If the
Doughnut be so good with a part Punched Out, how much
better had it been if the Hole also had been Doughnut !
And Keturah answered and said, Thou speakest as a
Foolish Man, who is never content with the goodness
that is, but always complaineth against God for the lack
of the Goodness which he thinketh is not. If there were
no Hole in the Doughnut, then were it like unto Ephraim,
a cake not turned. For, though the Cake were Fried till
the Edges thereof were burnt and hard as thy Philoso-
pher's Stone, yet would there be uncooked Dough in the
middle. Yea, thou shouldest then break thy teeth on the
outer rim of every Several Doughnut, and the middle part
thereof would be Raw Dough.
And I meditated much on what Keturah had told me.
And I considered the Empty Spaces in Human life ; and
the Desolation of its Vacancies ; and how men's hearts
break over its Blank Interstices. And I pondered in my
soul whether God doth not know that save for these our
lives would be like unto Ephraim.
And I spake of these things to Keturah, and she said,
My lord, I know not the secret of these mysteries. Yea,
mine own heart acheth over some of the Empty Places.
But say to the sons of men that he who useth not the good
things which he hath but complaineth against his God
for those he lacketh, is like unto a man who rejecteth a
Doughnut because he Knoweth not the Mystery of the
Hole.
My Master
By Joseph Fort Newton
Prayer
ETERNAL GOD, humbly we beseech Thee to purify our spirits
that we may worship Thee in clearer perceptions of Thy truth,
in new vows of love and duty, in a more vivid and holy sense of
Thy love for us. Make us to know that Thou art very near us
by the warmth and astonishment of our hearts, by a keener sense
of sin, by the welling up within us of a more faithful love one to
another. Help us to commune with Thee, the frail and finite with
the Eternal and Infinite, in the spirit of Jesus, and in the fellow-
ship of the noble and heroic who have served Thy will.
Holy Father, if we have believed in Thee, we would believe
more fully; we would know Thy will, we would revere Thy truth;
yea, we would feel the throb of Thy life in us— finding in Thine
appointed way our path of duty and peace of heart. Hush the
clamour of our thoughts that the words of Jesus in mercy to the
sinful, in compassion to the weary, in comfort to the wounded, in
wisdom to the perplexed, may speak to our hearts, not as from a
book, but from Himself. Give us to know that what Thou wast
in Christ to the early disciples, that Thou art to us now and for-
evermore.
Forgive us, O our Father, that we have followed the Master
afar off, and have made ourselves wanderers thereby. Bring us
back this day, despite our pride of intellect and the stains of the
years to a simple, childlike trust which gives us entrance into the
Kingdom of Heaven. Oh, that our sins may die through His
death, and our souls rise through His rising to walk in a new
purity of love and a new grace of life ! Let it be so, we beseech
Thee, that our weariness may find rest and our hands be made
clean and strong and tender for the doing of good.
Hear, O Thou Eternal Mercy, the nameless and unutterable
prayers that ascend from hearts bowed low by grief unspeakable,
and which no words can utter. Move among us by Thy awful
yet gentle Presence, that the impalpable barriers that divide soul
from soul may be removed that we may be made one in Thee,
and Thou in us revealed ; one in love and loyalty, one in courage
and hope. May the Eternal Christ be to each of us a Real Pres-
ence, the companion of our spirits, the healer and redeemer of
our souls. In His name, Amen.
*
Sermon
"One is your Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren." —
Matt. 23:8.
IT is said of George Herbert, the poet-preacher, that he
used in his ordinary speech, when he made mention of
the name of Jesus, to add "My Master." It was a
simple habit of the heart, yet the tone of his voice when
he uttered it, as he often did, softly and shyly, as if half
to himself, betrayed the gentle secret of his life. Men
loved to hear him say it, knowing from the light in his eyes
that his whole life was bound up in love of Jesus and loy-
alty to him. So it was that his life, rich in the ministry
of simple goodness, had about it a nameless and haunting
beauty. As the years went on his spirit seemed to bear
even richer and juicier fruits of faith, patience, gentleness
and humility, grown by sunnier walls of experience.
Withal, there was about him a quiet serenity, as of one who
had learned of Jesus and found rest of soul. Towards the
end he sought to distil his fellowship with Christ into a
few lines, leaving his secret a legacy to all who love that
holy name :
How sweetly doth "My Master" sound !
My Master!
As Ambergris leaves a rich scent unto the taster:
So do these words a sweet content,
As Oriental fragrance — My Master !
"My Master," shall I speak? O that unto Thee
"My Servant" were a little so !
Here is the note unique, magnetic, and winning in the
Christian life as it has been deeply and truly lived in every
age. Back of it lies a profound reason and necessity.
MYSTICISM VERSUS DOGMATISM
There is an instinct in the human heart — call it mysti-
cism, or by some other name — which protests, silently or
audibly, against the idea that truth must be tied up in little
packets and labelled ere it is worth having. All men admit
that it belongs to the nature of poetic truth to run forward
and melt into the Infinite ; but the same is true, if we had
eyes to see, of all knowledge, even of the smallest things
— like a "flower in a crannied wall." Rules of logic have
their uses, but they are, in the end, uncouth and inadequate
symbols of the ways in which an indefinable mental tact,
whose delicacy varies with the mind that uses it, perceives
divergences and affinities and weaves its web of knowledge
in ways past finding out. Real persuasion rises from subtle
sympathy of soul with soul, the touch of spirit upon spirit,
which is as indefinable as the personalities which exhale it.
After all, the best part of life cannot be uttered, but
only embodied. If we ask and seek for that which touches
men most deeply, most creatively, prompting to moral
action and spiritual excellence, it must be found in per-
sonality, and not in any exactly conceived or definitely
framed rule which can be set forth in words. So all the
great masters of morals have confessed, both in teaching
and practice. Plato had the ideal Socrates behind all his
ethical maxims ; Aristotle had his Wise Man, who alone
could reveal the golden mean ; Dante had Beatrice — a lovely
embodiment of that light and loveliness which lies at the
heart of life, but which no words can utter. If modern
teachers have not so clearly seen this need, and have
fancied that their definitions could give all that was re-
quired, it is because the image of Christ, whether ac-
cepted or rejected, has stood near to support all the higher
ideals. Thus, all the beauty and ineffable power which
cannot be put into words, may be realized in a Person.
LIFE, NOT SPECULATION
What is thus the deep necessity of life is the central
fact of our Christianity. Christ is his own religion. His
spirit is its essence, his cross its symbol, his life is at once
its revelation and its explanation. Christianity, in a de-
gree that is true of no other faith, is the Gospel of a Per-
son. Its history is a biography. If it is a heavenly phil-
osophy— the noblest ever propounded among men — it is a
life before it is a philosophy ; and its philosophy grows out
of its life. Jesus not only lived what he preached, but,
what is equally important, he preached what he lived; a
October 10, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
lesson for all his teachers — and they dare not go an inch
beyond it. Christianity is not a speculation, but an expe-
rience. Its faith is a friendship, its salvation a fellowship.
Its centre is Christ ; its philosophy connects all things with
Christ. They fail utterly who seek the secret of its power
apart from him. We are told that Jesus taught no new
truth ; that all his ideas had been taught by others ; by
Greek, Hebrew and Roman sages — not all of them by any
one teacher, nor do they have the same power when uttered
by others as when they fall from his lips. But that only
serves to emphasize the truth that the secret of Jesus lies
not in what he taught, nor yet in what he did, but in what
he was and is. Also, we must add "that unfinished life"
which touches us this day to finer issues, and by a sweet
persistence urges us to the highest life.
So — and naturally so — what is the chief fact about
Christ has been the central glory of the devout life of the
Christian years. Surely no one will deny that it was a
sense of the Living Christ which gave birth to Christianity,
and a fellowship with him that has kept it alive through
the centuries. If the records of Christian experience prove
anything, they show, from the days of St. Paul to Horace
Bushnell, that men in every age, by following Christ, by
gazing upon his moral image, by living over in their hearts
the scenes of his life, have come to know him as vividly,
as authentically, as did the early disciples who never read
about him in a book.
"the following of christ"
Not only the great saints, but multitudes of humble
folk like ourselves, have found the realities of life ex-
plicable, and the reality of death endurable, simply because
they were able to realize a personal fellowship with Christ.
Listen to these words from a Kempis, in his little book of
the Following of Christ, which both George Eliot and
Anatole France agree is one of the noblest manuals of our
pilgrim way :
Christ will come to thee and show thee His own consolation ;
if thou prepare for Him a worthy abode within. All His beauty
and glory are from within, and there He delights Himself. Fre-
quent are His visits to the inner man. Make, therefore, room
for Christ; and deny entrance to all others. When thou hast
Christ thou art rich and hast enough ; neither shalt thou ever have
rest unless thou be inwardly united to Christ. A lover of Jesus
who truly lives the inner life and is free from inordinate affections,
can freely turn himself to God, and lift himself above himself in
spirit, and rest in fruition.
Alas, this is the note which one does not often hear
amid the confused voices of our age, which may explain
our penury of faith and the effort to make up in organiza-
tion what is lacking in inspiration. Hence, also, the exal-
tation of sociology into a religion. Without abating one
jot or tittle our endeavor in behalf of a better social order
— for wiser, juster, more merciful laws — let us also seek
that fellowship with Christ, who can cleanse the heart
of sin and give it a new birth into a purer life. What
though the leper be cleansed, the eyes of the blind opened,
and the dead raised, if the soul be untouched and left
to follow a new sin or to feel the old weariness?
SECRET OF PHILLIPS BROOKS
From Augustine to Phillips Brooks the power of the
pulpit has been its sense of a Living Christ, and it will
be so in times to come. Nothing has happened to make
that fellowship impossible or unreal. The same sky that
bent over Galilee bends over us, and the same stars look
down. Sin stains us, sorrow beshadows us, and the heart
of man is not much changed since he first looked up and
wondered. Despite all the culture of the age, our hearts
are restless, and all our wit has found no other way to
rest than the way of Jesus. Men now see, as never before,
that his words are not mere figures of speech, but laws of
life pointing the path to personal holiness and social sanc-
tity.
Yes, one is our Master, even Christ ; and all we are
brethren. Jesus, in the days of his flesh, bound men to
their kind by binding them to himself; and such is his
method today. Through their love of him the first dis-
ciples came to love one another, the stiff, unyielding walls
of temperament giving way to the gentle pressure of a
common fellowship and loyalty. Walking with him, they
were drawn into a great intimacy ; they became a body in
which each was a member, and in that sacred circle each
became dear to all. "Hereby know we love, because he
laid down his life for us ; and we ought to lay down our
lives for the brethren." Tom Purdie, the old servant of
Sir Walter Scott, said that his master spoke to "every man
as if he were a born brother;" and what was a happy
bonhomie in the life of Scott was a grace in the lives of
the early followers of Jesus, having its spring in a holy
faith. Those early lovers of Jesus, differing as much as
we do, discovered that fellowship with Christ united them
by ties which time could not break ; and that union must
be reckoned the first and greatest of miracles.
SECRET OF CHRISTIAN UNION
Here, no less, is the secret of Christian union today.
Church union, now so much in vogue, may be good or
bad, depending upon how it comes about and what use is
made of it. But Christian union is already a fact. It has
always been a fact, unbroken through all the ages. The
prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Sorrow that his disciples
might be one does not await some far-off answer; it has
never been unanswered. The true Church of Christ, the
fellowship of those who live in his spirit, has never been
divided in any age or in any land. Wesley knew that
fact. Woolman rejoiced in it. William Penn proclaimed
it in words that find echo in every heart where the living
Christ is known and loved and followed. What though
the lovers of Jesus use differing dialects, they are speaking
the same language, and their variety of insight and em-
phasis only adds to the richness of their testimony. The
Communion of the Saints, assembled at the foot of the
Cross, has never adjourned ; it has never given itself to
debate. Christian union? This is it! By as much as we
realize the union that already exists, by so much that
Eternal Communion will become our centre of power and
our sanctuary of joy !
One is our Master, even Christ ; and he walks beside
us in these bitter days, albeit, like the men on the way to
Emmaus, our eyes are holden. Today, as of old, by his
tender ministration, he takes away the hurt from troubled
hearts, bringing comfort to those bruised with striving,
and comradeship for what has never been at home in this
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 10, 1918
rough world. He can take a wasted life, if it be sur-
rendered into his hands, and, though it be no better than
a wreck, fashion it into a new beauty and grace — as
Michael Angelo took from the rubbish heap of Florence
a block of marble ruined by a blundering artist and wrought
it into the heroic figure of David. He knows no alien
races, no outcast men, no fallen women, gathering rich
and poor, the toil-worn and disinherited, into the embrace
of his heart. The journey is not lonely with him in com-
pany. His fellowship is more intimate than any friend,
more sympathetic than any brother, for in the hour of
direst need they are often far away. His love is more
sure than the sun in the sky, all-forgiving, willing to wait,
sorrowful and full of remembrance, through long years,
the while it sends it rays into the immense loneliness of
the soul.
A CONFESSION OF FAITH
Let me confess Christ as my Master. Some may
think it only muddle-headed thought, or a wisp of old
sentiment. No matter; it is a fact that to me Jesus is
such a revelation of God — aye, such a realization of God
— as I find nowhere else, and one that satisfies my intellect
and wins my heart utterly. Differ, as I sometimes must,
from the dogmas of the church, when I come to Christ
with great questions, suddenly a silence falls over me and
I know that he is questioning me ; and the questions he
asks me are so much deeper and keener than those I ask
him, that I am hushed. When I sit down to study Shakes-
Madonna of the Curb
ON the curb of a city pavement
By the ash and garbage cans,
In the stench and rolling thunder
Of motor trucks and vans,
There sits my little lady,
With brave but troubled eyes,
And in her arms a baby
That cries and cries and cries.
She cannot be more than seven,
But years go fast in the slums;
And hard on the pains of winter
The pitiless summer comes.
The wail of sickly children
She knows; she understands
The pangs of puny bodies,
The clutch of small, hot hands.
In the deadly blaze of August
That turns men faint and mad
She quiets the peevish urchins
By telling a dream she had —
A heaven with marble counters,
And ice, and singing fans,
And dressed in white, a God whose face
Was like the drug store man's.
Honor her ragged garment
More than the robe of a queen !
Poor little lass, she never has known
The blessing of being clean.
And when you are giving millions
To Belgian, Pole and Serb,
Remember my pitiful lady —
Madonna of the Curb.
Christopher Morley.
peare, the poet knows nothing about me. I am a solitary
student engaged in a solitary quest. The man I study is
not with me, save in the record of his thought. But with
Jesus it is different. I have always the feeling that he is
with me, looking over my shoulder at the page on which
his words shine, and I read as if listening to his voice.
Study becomes communion, and a reverent following of
the historic Christ passes into fellowship Avith the living
Christ.
THE GREAT COMPANION
There is nothing for it, friends, but to make friends
with the Great Companion. Life is as lonely as death.
Between us and those we love best there flows, at times,
an "unplumbed, salt, estranging sea," leaving us utterly
alone. Anyone who has passed through a deep sorrow
knows what it is to walk aloof, ringed round by a vast
solitude which no human love can penetrate. But there is
One who, without intrusion, can enter when the doors
are shut, whose sympathy can touch the heart of grief,
and whose pierced hand can heal the hurt of sin. Some
of us know what these lines mean :
I asked for Peace —
My sins arose,
And bound me close,
I could not find release.
I asked for Truth —
My doubts came in,
And with their din
They wearied all my youth.
I asked for Love —
My lovers failed,
And griefs assailed
Around, beneath, above.
I asked for Thee —
And Thou didst come
To take me home
Within Thy heart to be.
M
"The House of Help"
By L. O. Bricker
ARK opens his record of the ministry of Jesus
with an account of Jesus going into the synagogue
in Capernaum on the Sabbath day, how he spoke,
what happened as he was speaking, and of what followed
when he came out of the synagogue and entered into the
house of Simon and Andrew. The opening sentence of his
record is this : "In the beginning of the gospel of Jesus
Christ, the Son of God." What makes such a record as
this gospel? Wherein, to us, lies the good tidings of this
two-thousand year old story of how Jesus entered into a
place of worship, spoke his message, wrought a miracle of
healing there, and then came out and entered into a house
and exercised his healing mercy again? What makes such
a story as this a gospel to us, what makes it good tidings
to us today ? Why this, and this alone, that the same thing
may now be repeated any time, any where ; that it may
all happen over again for us here today.
The reason why the story of the life and ministry
October 10, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
of Jesus is gospel, is that it is the story of what Jesus
began to do and to teach, continued to this day and hour.
Otherwise, it would be only a bit of dead history, and not
a living gospel. The living gospel is that the same Jesus,
who came to earth nineteen hundred years ago, is with
us still — "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of
the world." "Where two or three are gathered together
in my name, there I am in the midst of them;" and that
the same Jesus who is in the midst of us will do for us
today all that he did for others in the days of his flesh.
This is the gospel, the glad tidings, the good news !
WHY "THE LIVING GOSPEL?"
So, then, let us turn to the study of this gospel story,
as a living thing, a present reality. We read that Jesus
had just called four disciples, Peter and Andrew, James
and John; and when the Sabbath day came he took them
and entered into the synagogue. W7hy did Jesus go into the
synagogue ? Well, it was a good place to be, a good place
to go and take one's friends. The best people of Caper-
naum would be there, the serious, the thoughtful, the con-
structive minded. The very existence of organized re-
ligion depended upon such gatherings as this. The word
"religion" means literally, " bond," and thus people must
come together before they can be bound together. It was
good to be there as fellow members of the same human
family. The springs of humanity were fed ; they were
knit closer together ; a sense of fellowship crept into them
and made them feel friendly, neighborly, human. There
is always a vast difference between people who go to church
and people who do not. Just as simple human beings,
sharing the common human lot, it is good to go to church.
But that day in Capernaum the people heard a sermon
the like of which they had never before heard in all their
lives ; but a sermon that was the beginning of a gospel
which was to be preached throughout the world, every-
where until the end of time. They marvelled as they
listened. They were astonished at his doctrine, for he
taught as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
They were accustomed to the teaching of the scribes. The
scribes taught history. From Sabbath to Sabbath they
told of the God of Abraham, of Isaac and Jacob ; they read
about the God of the patriarch and prophets ; they re-
counted the marvelous things God had done in the past,
the great deliverances he had wrought in the long distant
past; they taught from the prophets the great things God
would do in the future, when the Messiah came. But there
was no touch with any living God now. The present was a
time of law, of punctilious observance of ceremony and
ritualism.
"a living, present reality"
But that day the Preacher gripped their souls. He
told them that God was not the God of the dead, but the
God of the living; and listening to him they believed what
he said. They could not help it, for they saw and felt that
he was speaking with authority, that is to say, he knew
what he was talking about. He was speaking out of his
own personal experience ; and this is the only voice of
authority that men recognize. Whoever speaks out of
his own personal experience, tells of the things his own
eyes have seen, his ears have heard, and his heart
felt, speaks authority, and we recognize the tone
as soon as we hear it. He told them of the Kingdom
of Heaven that was at hand ; of the God who was near —
a living, present reality ; and that they could bring all their
burdens and cares to him; that they might speak to him
here and now and call him "Father."
"Is it possible?" they said in their hearts — "the God
of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God of Moses and
the prophets, can it be that he is here, and that we may
speak to him?"
The first man in the synagogue that day who fully
believed all that Jesus had said, and who first recognized
the presence of God, was a man who needed God most — a
poor disease-wracked, demon-tortured man, who broke the
tense quiet of the service with a piercing cry for mercy and
help. And he who incarnated the Spirit and Presence of
God, stopped in the midst of his sermon to answer this cry
of faith and to extend the mercy and help asked for.
This is the story that stands at the beginning of the
gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is still a gospel
story because something like this may happen and ought
to happen now whenever the Lord's people are gathered
together in his name, and he is in the midst of them, and
the gospel of his love and presence and power is preached.
"the house of help"
The very name — synagogue — means literally, "The
House of Help." It was filled with its everlasting living
meaning that day in Capernaum. This is my living faith :
I believe that the house of God is meant to be in every
place a house of help ; is meant to be a place to which
people may come for whatever help they need and want ;
that we may make of the living Christ who is present in
the midst of us today, the same pleas for help and mercy
that they made of him in the days of his flesh, and be
answered as they were answered. I believe that we may
come to him today with our pressing personal problems,
our load of care and trouble, our burden of grief for the
pains and sufferings of others and find him to be the same
gracious Lord and tender Savior that the Syro-phoenecian
woman, the anxious father, and the Roman centurion found
him to be. I believe that he is as ready today to hear and
respond to the human cry — "Lord help me — my son — my
daughter." "Lord, if Thou wilt Thou canst make me
whole."
The Laborer Is Worthy of His
Hire
From the Literary Digest
IN every crisis of national life the clergymen of America
have stood in the forefront of patriotic endeavor; in
every human crisis they have brought support, and
guidance, and comfort to souls in desperate need. Now is
the time to measure the work and the needs of the preacher
and pastor as men in other departments of work today are
being measured, that their value may be rightly appraised
and their needs fairly met.
The cost of living has greatly increased. Clothing,
food, fuel, and all the daily incidentals that go to make up
10
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 10, 1918
American life have gone up from thirty to a hundred per
cent. And the loans and taxes for Freedom's war are ever
making deeper drives into the purse. Wage earners in
every department of the nation's work have been demand-
ing more income, and their demands have been recognized
as just and necessary. Railroad men and miners, lumber-
jacks, and ship-builders, munition-workers, telegraph op-
erators, automobile-workers, and all the multitudes of
skilled and unskilled laborers have been counted "worthy
of their hire" and of higher hire. The United States Gov-
ernment, very recently, has raised the wages of two mil-
lion railroad workers alone, giving the poorest paid an in-
crease of 43 per cent. Corporations and individual em-
ployers without number throughout the United States have
taken similar action. Trade unions are standing back of
their men and using pressure when necessary to gain for
them the means to live their lives and do their work as
Americans should.
Who stands back of the clergymen of America in
these days of pressure ? What great organization or com-
pelling authority, -what generous heart or spirit of fair
play is winning for your minister, or pastor, or priest, or
rabbi the salary increase that will give him strength, cour-
age, efficiency, and success in his vital and exalted work for
the welfare of the nation, and the Kingdom of God ?
IS A SKILLED LABORER
Your pastor is not a cheap man nor an unskilled
laborer. He has brought long, careful training to his task.
He was chosen with scrutinizing care as to his qualifica-
tions, and he is being measured today by high and exacting
requirements in the performance of his work. Carry that
measurement to its just conclusion. What salary would
you expect to pay to the trained man in business of whom
such important work and expert ability were required?
Set down on paper some of the qualities and duties you
demand of your pastor and then judge their value. He
must be a man among men, a man of force, tact, and
agreeable personality, a good mixer, a man of knowledge,
wisdom and authority, whose presence commands respect
and whose word carries conviction. He must be able to
influence men and women, win their confidence, kindle their
enthusiasm, direct their energies, and organize their work-
ing powers.
Your pastor, also, must be the center of your organ-
ized church activities, business, social, and spiritual. On
occasion, or as a regular part of his task, he must be an
expert money-raiser. You engage him as your chief and
leader, the general manager of your church, if not its
actual creator, or savior from its difficulties. You put upon
him a burden and a responsibility you would never dream
of entrusting to any cheap man in business.
Nor are those his greatest tasks. He must read, and
study, and meditate, and commune with the Infinite. He
must understand men, and know their work, their trials,
their problems, their temptations, their deep inner feel-
ings and aspirations, and the avenues of helpful approach
to their sympathies and convictions. He must know some-
thing of history, science, literature. He must be familiar
with all social needs, and institutions, and methods. He
must be able to interpret the Word of God with true
spiritual insight, and practical human application. He
must stand before you in the pulpit on Sabbath and deliver
messages that search the soul, feed the mind, bring courage
to the heart, make plain the path of daily life, and lift you
nearer to heaven, or bring heaven nearer to earth.
A LOYAL PATRIOT
In these days, also, your preacher must proclaim the
ideals and principles of America. He must stir the
patriotism of his young men and send them with strong
hearts and noble vision into the service of their country.
He must pastor them in the camps and follow them with
his letters and prayers as they go across the sea to fight.
The Government values him so highly that it has already
called thousands of American clergymen into active serv-
ice to shepherd the fighting men and help them win the
war. At home the Government calls him to be its mouth-
piece in its appeals to its citizens for every form of pa-
triotic service or economy prescribed as needful for victory.
You expect your pastor to be equal to such demands and
to do your church credit when called upon for public
addresses or community action.
When you have listed all the qualities and services
you ask of your pastor, make out the bill for the amount
your church ought to pay for such a man, and then move
things to see that the church pays that bill. Never mind
what has been done in the past, nor what long habit has
accustomed the church to believe can be done. The stand-
ing record of clergymen's salaries throughout this great
rich nation is a pitiful shame, and belies the real heart and
fairness of the American people. The average salary of
clergymen in ten of the largest denominations is only $793
a year. What trade or business would tolerate such a
condition ?
The minister of your church is a human being like
the rest of us, and he is feeling the pressure of increased
cost of living just as we do. But no Government decree
has raised his salary. No corporation or trade union stands
back of him. He does not go on strike. He simply trusts
his people, and works faithfully for them seven days a
week, and many nights, and struggles to look respectable,
and pay his bills, and perform miracles expected of him,
often for less than the salary of the young girl stenog-
rapher who teaches a class in his Sunday school or the
wages of the man who lays the sidewalk in front of his
church.
A WORTHY SOLDIER
Back up the soldiers of America who follow the flag
to France ! Billions for them ! Nothing is too much nor
too good for our soldiers of liberty. But now remember
that your minister is one of the bravest, worthiest soldiers
of all. He is fighting for America, for the righteousness
that "exalteth a nation." He is fighting for America, as he
puts his clean, valiant, patriotic spirit into the youth and
into the men and women of his congregation and sends
them out into the tasks of the week better fitted to answer
America's call. He is fighting for the Kingdom of Heaven,
to help win its victories over the arch-enemy of the human
race, the destroyer of bodies and souls. He is the soldier
of mercy to those in distress, the ever-ready soldier of
service to those who need help.
October 10, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
11
A Soldier's View of War
WAR'S a queer game — not all what one's civilian
mind imagined ; it's far more horrible and less
exciting. The horrors which the civilian mind
dreads most are mutilation and death. Out here we rarely
think about them ; the thing which wears on one most and
calls out his gravest courage is the endless sequence of phy-
sical discomfort. Not to be able to wash, not to be able
to sleep, to have to be wet and cold for long periods at a
stretch, to find mud on your person, in your food, to have
to stand in mud, see mud, sleep in mud and to continue to
smile — that's what tests courage. Our chaps are splendid.
They're not the hare-brained idiots that some war-cor-
respondents depict from day to day. They are perfectly
sane people who know to a fraction what they're up against,
but who carry on with a grim good-nature and a determina-
tion to win with a smile.
I never before appreciated as I do today the latent
capacity for big-hearted endurance that is in the heart of
every man. Here are apparently quite ordinary chaps — -
chaps who worked, liked theatres, loved kiddies and sweet-
hearts, had zest in life — they're bankrupt of all pleasures
•xcept the supreme pleasure of knowing that they're doing
the ordinary and finest thing of which they are capable.
There are millions to whom the mere consciousness of do-
ing their duty has brought an heretofore unexperienced
peace of mind. For myself, I was never happier than I
am at the present; there's a novel zip added to life by the
daily risks and the knowledge that at last you're doing
something into which no trace of selfishness enters. One
can only die once ; the chief concern that matters is how
and not when you die.
I don't pity the weary men who have attained eternal
leisure in the corruption of our shell-furrowed battles ;
they "went west" in their supreme moment. The men I
pity are those who could not hear the call of duty and whose
conscience will grow more flabby every day. With the
brutal roar of the first Prussian gun the cry came to the
civilized world, "Follow thou me," just as truly as it did in
Palestine. Men went to their Calvary singing Tipperary,
rubbish, rhymed doggerel, but their spirit was equal to that
of any Christian martyr in a Roman amphitheatre. "Greater
love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for
his friend." Our chaps are doing that continuously, will-
ingly, almost without bitterness towards their enemies ; for
the rest it doesn't matter whether they sing hymns or rag-
time. They've followed their ideal — freedom — and died
for it. A former age expressed itself in Gregorian chants ;
ours, no less sincerely, disguises its feeling in ragtime.
Since September I have been less than a month out of
action. The game doesn't pall as time goes on — it fasci-
nates. We've got to win so that men may never again be
tortured by the ingenious inquisition of modern warfare.
The winning of the war becomes a personal affair to chaps
who are fighting. The world which sits behind the lines,
buys extra specials of the daily papers and eats three square
meals a day will never know what this other world has en-
dured for its safety, for no man of this other world will
have the vocabulary in which to tell. But don't for a mo-
ment mistake me — we're grimly happy.
What a serial I'll write for you if I emerge from this
turmoil ! Thank God, my outlook is all altered. I don't
want to live any longer — only to live well.
Good-by and good luck.
An extract from one of Coningsby Dawson's letters
in "Carry On."
For These Times of War
By Edward Scribner Ames
OGOD, Thou struggling, conquering God of our deepest needs and highest hopes, give
us courage and strength to go with Thee all the way. Bless our sons as they rise
in the fresh vigor of youth to fight for Thee. Help them to know and feel that when
they battle for liberty and justice and peace they wage war for our country, for humanity
and for Thee.
Bless the President of the United States and all who are in authority. Grant that all
mothers of soldiers, all physicians and nurses of wounded, all drivers of ambulances, all labor-
ers and workers at home, may share this toil and sorrow and victory with Thee.
O God of many battles, rise before us beautiful and strong in majesty and might, healed
of the scars we have made in Thy hands and side. May the vision of Thy glory unite the
hearts of our nation in one holy purpose and fuse them with kindred hearts across the sea.
May it be a war in which the wisest and purest, if need be, may gladly suffer and gloriously
die.
Keep us from every unavailing luxury while our warriors die in bloody trenches and on
the sea and in the air. Keep us from all taint of selfish greed and soft indulgence. Make us
worthy followers of our heroic Christ and may Thy Peace, the Peace of Justice, Love and
Truth, fill our hearts and reign over all the world from this time hence, forevermore. Amen.
iiimiUtin.hlfiMI
liiMininmiiMUiiittimtt.
Fighting to Save America
IT is a war to save America to preserve self respect, to justify our right to live as we have
lived, not as some one else wishes us to live. In the name of freedom we challenge with
ships and men, money and an undaunted spirit, that word "verboten" which Germany has
written upon the sea and upon the land. For America is not the name of so much territory.
It is a Hiring 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 by the world and hopes to retain that respect by
living on with the light of Lincoln's love of man as it's old and new testament. It is more
precious that America should live than that zve Americans should live.
Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior.
iiiminiiimnuii
The "Y" at Work
By Dr. George Shaw
1DO not think I need convince the people of the United
States of the need of religious men among the troops.
We all know the pull downward of the Army life, and
it will never be known what a great work the religious
secretary can do for the boys.
On the transport just before we left the dock, I saw
a young man leaning over the gunwale. He was desperately
lonesome. He said he had never been on a train before
he went to camp, and the great ship and the prospects of
the ocean voyage with the submarine danger had unnerved
him. I put my arm around his neck and spoke cheerful
words to him and he soon brightened. The Y. M. C. A.
Secretary was the only man on board that could get near
that young man's heart at that time.
I held two meetings each day on the boat, and forty
men gave me their names written on paper asking for
special prayers. One young soldier wrote, "Pray for me
that I may return to my dear mamma and papa some
sweet day." The pathos of such a request touched my
heart. There wasn't another man on the boat of whom
he would have cared, nor even dared, to have made such
a request.
Last Sunday evening when returning from a preach-
ing service, too late for the little religious meeting I usually
hold, I met one of our officers who had just received news
of the death of a friend on the French front. He is of
the Catholic faith. He was downhearted. He said, "Is there
going to be a sermon tonight ?" The next morning a "non
com" said, "I stayed up last night to hear the sermon."
There are no chaplains for the flying men of England, and
the Y. M. C. A. religious secretary is the only religious
contact these men have. Take them away and anybody,
religious or non-religious, knows what will happen.
A soldier of the Jewish faith asked me to get him a
Bible the other day. He wants to compare the Old with
the New Testament.
The other day a boy came and asked me to try to
locate his brother in France. He was anxious about him
because he had not heard from him. The boys feel that
they can come to us with their troubles and burdens, and
we left home and followed the lads to France and England
because we knew that there would be times when the boys
would need the man of God to help them. When they
write home the one thing they usually tell their mothers
is, "We have a Y. M. C. A. man and have a religious serv-
ice every Sunday evening." And let it be known to the
mothers of America that if it were not for the Y. M. C. A.
these boys would be deprived of their religious service
which keeps them in touch with God and home and helps
to keep their ideals pure.
An American mother said to the writer just before leav-
ing, "I would sooner my boy die on the French front than
come home demoralized." Well, the Y. M. C. A. is doing
all it can to send your boys home clean, and the religious
secretary plays a huge part in the work.
Putting Religion Across in the
Army
By Arthur E. Hungerford
IN a great rest camp in the south of England religion
has been "put across" by a group of Y. M. C. A. men
and the men like it. It is a manly, everyday, practical
religion and that is why that camp is described as the most
religious in England, though the army men stationed there
are shifted every few days. And the same set of men
are seldom there two Sundays in succession.
"Don't rub religion in. Just serve it in every day life,"
said the leader of the "Y" group. A man must use com-
mon sense. For instance a great preacher from America
was asked by a naval captain to speak to the men in 'the
brig.' That is where men are confined for punishment.
Bless my soul, if he did not start his sermon by saying
'I am glad to see so many of you here.' He was not
popular.
"Another man in addressing three thousand sailors
in France with Admiral Wilson present, said: 'I hope
October 10, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
13
you boys will make good soldiers when you get to the
front.' Admiral Wilson nearly had a fit : 'Make good
soldiers out of my best sailors,' he exploded. 'These men
are always at the front.' That is the way not to do it."
This is how one man brings religion home to the men.
A new shift reached the camp just as the torpedoing of
a transport was announced. After the show, which many
of them had attended, he said :
"Men, you have escaped the submarine and landed
safely. Don't you want to think of God?"
"Sure," came the cry from all sides and not a single
man left the hut.
One night this man was "jumped on" by two men.
In his goodnight prayer through some slip he forgot to
mention "wives," though he had spoken of "mother,"
"father," "sister" and "children." He has never made
the same mistake again.
Moving pictures of the battle of Arras were shown
one night. There were some English soldiers present.
"How many of you men took part in it?" he inquired.
Eighteen stood up.
"How many of you are 'Contemptibles?' " he asked.
"Contemptibles" are the men who served in the first year
of the war and made up what the Kaiser called "England's
Contemptible Little Army." Two had the honor of having
served throughout the war.
"Say, men," he said, "let us thank God for the cour-
age of these men and pray that we may measure up when
the time comes." Then followed a most impressive
service.
Of course the men who had served as an example
remained to pray. They were the heroes so to speak. The
others remained to pray, for nearly every man before going
under fire wonders just a little whether he will measure
up and is glad to offer up a petition for bravery and
courage.
Religion and services of this type are being "put
over" in many camps. Where the "Brother are you
saved?" type is attempted, it fails. The men demand a
sincere, practical, working, everyday religion. Sham and
Lights Out!
By A. Drahms
DAY with its garments fringed with light
Hath trailed through evening's Golden Gate;
The sombre mantle of the night
Studded with stars in royal state
Attends the sun's last ray;
Hark! Sweet, and far away
The bugle's note upon the air is borne ;
Lights Out! Lights Out! There comes another morn.
Sad heart ! perturbed and weary soul !
Though far thy wand'ring steps may roam
All footsore ere they reach their goal :
Though thou art faint, and far from home,—
Brief is the day, — the night too brief;
Arise, and list, shake off thy grief ;
Hope stands a-tiptoe, Peace comes after storm :
Lights Out ! Lights Out ! There comes another morn.
pretence has been thrown aside; they are down to the
basic conditions and the religion which won't work every
day — and night — as well as Sunday, is not for men. They
demand the real thing — and they are generally getting it
from the American Y. M. C. A.
Do the men like these services? Well, rather, as the
following incident illustrates. The Rev. Dr. John H.
Clifford of Tucson, Ariz., was conducting a service at the
front when the gas alarm was sounded and the men put
on their gas masks, but not until they had shouted "Go
on, Doc," and one man had volunteered:
"Go on, Doc, I will stand at the door and let you
know when it gets bad." Orders are orders, however, and
Dr. Clifford put on his gas mask with the rest.
The Home Service of the
Red Cross
HE service of the Red Cross on the other side
of the sea is a matter of general information, but
the service on this side is not so well known.
It has been the genius of the American branch of the
Red Cross to take on a number of functions in addition
to the original one of conducting hospitals for wounded
soldiers in time of war.
The task of re-educating crippled and blinded col-
diers for industry is a very significant one. Were this
work not properly performed, our communities would
be filled with mendicants and dependents following this
war in even greater numbers than after other wars,
owing to the new destructive practices that Hun inge-
unity has brought into the world.
The Red Cross Institute which has been founded
in New York is already busy teaching trades to sol-
diers who have some part of their anatomy missing or
who cannot see. The men are taught typewriting,
oxy-acetylene welding, typesetting and many other
manual trades and a labor bureau assures them of
employment after they become efficient.
Another service that arouses our gratitude is the
care of the families of the soldiers. Though the draft
has taken men with the fewest number of dependents,
and though the government provides an allotment for
these dependents, there are exceptional conditions
which now and then throw a family into trouble. One
soldier had to leave home as his wife was being taken
to the hospital for an operation. Another soldier left
a young wife to face the birth of her first child alone.
In such cases, the Red Cross workers are there with
kindly service.
The Red Cross is asking for church volunteers who
will give part of their time to this home service. These
will become home visitors, giving advice and counsel
according to the latest methods of social relief, and in
some cases emergency money relief. The church should
have no question as to its duty to co-operate in this
significant work. To relieve our soldiers of any possi-
ble worry is to arm them twice and to make them ap-
preciate the religion of the churches when they return.
The Larger Christian World
A Department of Interdenominational Acquaintance
World Sunday School Pilgrims
Hold a Meeting
During the recent International Sunday School Conven-
tion held at Buffalo, N. Y., the people who have attended
World Sunday School conventions in foreign countries met
at the Statler Hotel for a dinner. An organization was effected
for these pilgrims, 231 persons being in attendance. The pil-
grims not present at this meeting are being recruited for mem-
bership in the new organization, and they will receive through
the mail the particulars of the convention to be held at Tokio.
It is said that over 3,000 inquiries have been received at the
offices of the World's Sunday School Association with refer-
ence to the Tokio convention.
Sunday School Man
Loaned to Red Cross
Beginning October 1, Rev. Stephen Trowbridge, Sunday
School secretary of Moslem lands, who represents the World's
Sunday School Association, will give himself to the Palestine
relief work of the Red Cross. He has been used previously in
relief work at Adana, Turkey, and at Port Said, and his effi-
ciency in the previous enterprises has made him a most de-
sirable man for the new task. In previous enterprises he was
disbursing money which had been contributed by the Sunday
Schools of America. It is said that thousands of refugees have
been saved from starvation with these Sunday School funds.
Many have been provided with employment in Jerusalem.
Red Cross Asks
Help of Churches
Surgeon General Gorgas has asked the Red Cross to make
a complete survey of the available nursing force in the United
States. Women will be listed who have had the hospital train-
ing. In order that the tabulation may be complete, the Red
Cross has asked the General War-Time Commission of the
Churches to help in bringing this matter to the attention of
the country. Local churches and pastors are urged during this
month to lend their assistance in this matter by making re-
ports for their parishes with reference not only to people now
active in the nursing profession but also those who have in
previous years engaged in this service.
An Inspiring Message
From Bishop Brent
Bishop Brent is now the senior G. D. Q. chaplain on the
staff of General Pershing. He recently gave a message to Rev.
Charles S. Macfarland to be delivered to the American
churches, which was first made public at the meeting of the
General War-Time Commission of Churches in Washington
September 24. Among other things the Bishop said : 'We, upon
whom has fallen the responsibility of organizing and directing the
religious leaders of the A. E. F., are wholly dependent on the
churches of America for the character and the number of those
who come to us. We beg of you to think only of one thing — the
choicest manhood of our nation is in France or headed toward
France under the domination of the spirit of self-sacrifice. The
strongest and best men in the ministry are not too good to serve
them. It would be a crime to send weaklings or incompetents to
so sublime and so difficult a task. Give us your best, and give
them promptly."
General War-Time Commission
Of the Churches Meets
The second annual meeting of the General War-Times
Commission of the Churches was held in Washington, D. C,
Sept. 24 in the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, where
President Lincoln once held a pew. Dr. Robert E. Speer pre-
sided over the meeting, and his services to the organization
the past year were recognized by the passing of a resolution
of appreciation. Dr. William Adams Brown, the secretary,
reported on the new consciousness of religious unity which
prevailed, and noted in his address that the first protest against
removing the cross from chaplains' collars was filed by a Jew.
Bishop McDowell, head of the General Committee on Army
and Navy Chaplains, made a report on the government co-
operations in the outfitting of these men. Much more is fur-
nished for their work than formerly, and the churches are now
providing only the communion sets which are used by these
men. The matter of discontinuing the denominational camp
pastors was discussed. Dr. Worth M. Tippy spoke on the
new industrial communities brought into being by the war and
the problems of these communities, which, in many cases, the
churches had been unable to meet. Twenty-four government
reservations need pastors at once. Dr. A. T. Guttery, repre-
sentative of the English Free Churches, brought the audience
tc its feet with his remarkable oratory as he pleaded for a
closer union of Great Britain and America in the winning of
the war and in maintaining the peace of the world. He reached
a climax in the remarkable declaration, "We seek to break
Berlin, and then to enthrone Bethlehem."
The Coming United
War Work Campaign
The various organizations that work for soldiers and
sailors in the camps and at the front will make a united appeal
for funds November 11-18. The Y. M. C. A., Y. W. C. A.,
Knights of Columbus, Jewish War Relief Board, the Salvation
Army, the Fosdick Commission, and one other, will have their
needs presented to the public in a joint budget of $170,500,000.
The Y. M. C. A. has by far the largest budget, but the largest
proportionate increase is that given by the Knights of Colum-
bus, among the larger organizations. The donors may desig-
nate their funds and be sure they go to the organization desig-
nated, but undesignated funds will be used to bring up the
average of the organizations not so successful in securing
designations. With the privilege of designation and the as-
surance that no organization will lose its autonomy in the work
that it is doing, the conscience of everyone may be free in his
giving. Those who specially appreciate the work of the two
associations will doubtless see that they are adequately cared
for.
Program for
War Communities
The Joint Committee on War Production Comjnunities of
the Home Missions Council met in New York on Sept. 11. The
Joint Committee reported on fifty-five centers of war produc-
tion in which surveys had been made. The Committee recom-
mended the immediate assignment of thirty-one whole-time
community organizers, eleven of whom were women; six whole-
time pastors and three women assistants. Twenty-two com-
munity organizers are to be used in assisting churches in es-
tablished communities in working out the problems involved
in the caring for thousands of workingmen and their families,
including not only their religious welfare, but their health,
recreatjon, protection against vice, and other needs.
Congregationalists Will Have Rector
The Congregationalists of Walton, N. Y., are releasing
their pastor as a Red Cross chaplain for a year, and while he
is gone they will look to the rector of the Episcopal church
for spiritual ministrations. Services will be held alternately
in the two churches. The Congregational pastor is Rev. C. S.
Wyckoff and the Episcopal rector, Rev. S. R. MacEwan.
Orvis F. Jordan.
October 10, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
15
The Sunday School
Your Child for God*
ABRAHAM wai, willing for God to have his boy. It was a
terrific struggle, but faith and devotion won. I do not
care to run over this narrative -in fact I have my own
ideas about it— but the upshot of it all is that Abraham met the
test and was willing to give God his boy. One of the most inter-
esting stories told by our Men and Millions team was that of a
boy who volunteered in one of our Eastern cities as a missionary.
After the service, in which this dedication of life was made, the
secretary was entertained in this boy's home for dinner. Before
the dinner the secretary took the father aside and told hin. of the
pledge his boy had made, fearing lest the father's approval might
not be hearty. What was the surprise when the father "answered,
his e> s filling with tears, "His mother and I have never ceased to
pray that this lad might be honored of God by being a foreign
missionary." Here is a modern parallel.
Many of us have definitely promised our children to God ; we
feel that they belong to Him. We feel that we would be honored
to have God use our children as missionaries or preachers or busi-
ness men who make money solely for the church; or doctors or
teachers who devote their lives definitely to God's cause. It is
the only far look. I remember walking slowly through West-
minster Abbey. I was thinking of the great men there entombed.
Why were they remembered? What kind of lives had they lived?
What had been their motives? All at once it dawned on me that
God causes men to be speedily forgotten except as they do unsel-
fish things for the good of society. 1 know that Pilate is remem-
bered—but only as a contrast to Jesus. It may be that the Kaiser
will be remembered — but only as the terrible opposite of all that
a man ought to be. Napoleon sleeps in his blood-red sarco-
phagus— a warning to all men of selfish proclivities. But in West-
minster one thinks of Ruskin, who gave his money and his life to
the poor; of Livingstone, who counted it not a sacrifice to die
in Africa; of Wesley, upon whose cenotaph is engraved, "God
buries his workers, but carries on his work"; of Longfellow, whose
great heart kept close to the common man ; of Gladstone, that
great Christian upon the walls of whose bed chamber, where his
eye could first see them every morning, hung these words, "Thou
wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is fixed on Thee." The
world's monuments are built to the world's servants and lovers.
Give your child to some great service ; train him for that service,
guide him into it and you will be doing the brainiest thing men
know.
And with what a will boys have been given to their country!
It is splendid. The spirit of our Mothers is wonderful. The de-
votion of our Fathers is beyond words. After all we have said
about money, we do love something more. Idealism is the great-
est factor in our American life — idealism born directly of the
Christian religion. A few years ago a great leader of American
thought, disgusted at the money-grubbing of our people, cried
out: "Rip your stars off our flag and put dollar-marks in their
places." But he was wrong. Deeper than our love of gold, deeper
than our love of honors, deeper than our love of life itself, is our
I devotion to the great virtues.
Thus, you see, Abraham has many modern counterparts. The
| church calls for devotion of life. The hour has come when hun-
dreds of parents must set aside their choicest children for the work
of the church. Our best boys must be dedicated to the ministry.
Our finest and bravest must be consecrated to missionary effort.
From infancy they must be set aside for the definite work of the
Lord. Maybe the war will have an influence in this instance, so
that from this hour we shall not be so selfish with our children,
and shall not plan for them careers of worldly success only, but
shall choose for them the high, difficult but rewarding field of the
church. Why should not parents seek to make their children truly
great? John R. Ewers.
Lesson for October 20. Scripture, Gen. 22:1-14.
NOTE: The "20th Century Quarterly" is an
entirely new publication. The first issue is
now published for the autumn quarter.
HOW THE
20th
Century
Quarterly
DIFFERS Fmm OTHERS:
It eliminates all the "padding"
that is usually found in quarterlies.
These usually contain lesson notes
that have come down through the
years. This moss-grown comment
is not to be found in the 20th Cen-
tury Quarterly. Nor are the tire-
some quotations from books
written fifty years ago allowed to
burden the pages of this new pub-
lication. W. D. Ryan's "Getting
Into the Lesson" is vivid, and really
takes the student straight into the
lesson. H. L. Willett, Jr.'s "Clear-
ing Up Difficult Points" does just
the thing implied in that title. It
does not "expostulate" on verses
whose meaning is obvious. John
R. Ewers' "The Lesson Brought
Down to Date" is vital and snappy
and yet reverential; and it fairly
throbs with the life of today. Dr.
W. C. Morro's "Lesson Forum"
presents just the kind of questions
your J modern class needs for its
discussions. This Quarterly is
alive!
Send for free sample copy today
The Christian Century Press
700 E. 40th Street, CHICAGO
!
16
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 10, 1918
Books
How To Know the Bible. By George Hodges. This author
is well known as the Dean of the Episcopal Theological School,
Cambridge, Mass., and as the author of "Everyman's Religion,"
and "Saints and Heroes." This latest work of his "contains in
small compass the things the best scholars of today are agreed
upon regarding the Bible." The quotations selected are such as
to give thorough knowledge and yet are in themselves fascinating
reading. Some of the chapter titles are the following: "The
Making of the Bible," "The Old Testament and the New Spirit,"
"What, Then, Is Inspiration?" "The Poets," "The Library of the
Grace of God." (Bobbs Merrill. $1.50.)
Home Fires in France. By Dorothy Canfield. Mrs. Canfield,
whose husband has been at the front in France, has herself been
in France for two years giving her service to the blind survivors
of battle. In this volume she has given to her wide audience
some appealing stories of life in the camps and among the heroic
and suffering French. Her work is sure to bring a better under-
standing between two great democratic peoples who are warring
side by side in this it-is-to-be-hoped last struggle. Dorothy Can-
field is the author of "The Bent Twig," "Hillsboro People," etc.
(Holt. $1.35.)
An American Family. By Henry Kitchell Webster. When
Mr. Webster came out about two years ago with his novel, "The
Real Adventure," he was at once talked of as a possible writer
of the longed for "Great American novel." The present work
which appeared serially in Everybody's Magazine under the title
"The White Arc," has in the judgment of the critics, raised the
value of his stock. The scene of the story is Chicago, the time,
1911 to 1916. The backgrounds of the story are big business and
its big problems, I. W. W. agitations, Lake Shore Drive society;
interesting characters are Gregory Corbett, Sr., founder of the
J±T>
"The Life Indeed" —
ONE of John R. Ewers' lesson talks in the new
20th Century Quarterly. It is an elo-
quent tribute to the beauty and power of
the Christ, and it is a tribute that will go straight
to the hearts of strong men. Two letters have
just come in, filled with words of praise^ for the
new Quarterly. One is from Ben H. Smith, who
is in "Y" work at Ft. Riley, Kan. He says:
"This Quarterly is the thing for these soldiers —
and for anyone." The other letter is from H. W.
Hunter, of Des Moines, former Christian Endea-
vor Superintendent of Missouri. He says: "I am
delighted with the Quarterly. It is just what I
have been looking for."
The 20th Century Quarterly is for
modern men. It is for alert young people.
Every adult class, every young people's
class in your school should have it.
Send for Free Sample Copy.
The Christian Century Press
700 East 40th Street Chicago, 111.
^^^^^^^IBiW
family fortune, and the members of his family; a fiery young
woman socialist; and an attractive American girl of character
and good traditions. (Bobbs Merrill. $1.50.)
When Chenal Sings the Marseillaise. By Wythe Wil-
liams. Including also 'With the Honors of War" and "Sister
Julie." All these sketches will develop patriotism in America, as
they have undoubtedly done in France. Mr. Williams is the
Paris correspondent of the New York Times. (Dutton. 50 cents.)
The Yale Shakespeare. In commemoration of the tercen-
tenary of Shakespeare's death the Yale University Press is
putting out a set of the works of the great dramatist in forty
volumes, the English department of the university having the
task in charge. A number of volumes are already published,
the latest being "Macbeth." The form of this new edition is
very attractive. (Text edition, 50 cts.; library edition, $1.)
Any of the books reviewed in this department, or any other
books now in print, may be secured from
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS,
700 East 40th St., Chicago
Great Books on
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
Religious Education and Democracy
By Benjamin S. Winchester
$1.50
Religious Education and American Democracy
By Walter S. At hear n
$1.50
Religious Education in the Church
By Henry F. Cope
$1.25
Religious Education in the Family
By Henry F. Cope
$1.25
Education in Religion and Morals
By George A. Coe
$1.35
A Social Theory of Religious Education
By George A. Coe
$1.50
Training of Children in Religion
By Dean Geo- gs Hodges
$1.50
Christian Century Press
700 E. 40th Street,
CHICAGO
October 10, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
17
News of the Churches
More Disciples Leaders
Enter War Work
James M. Philputt, for two years or
more minister at Charlottesville, Va., is
reported having resigned from the pas-
torate there to accept a chaplaincy under
the war work council of the Y. M. C. A.
Howard T. Cree, for many years pastor
at First church, Augusta, Ga., has resigned
that work and is serving at Camp Gordon.
Charles Reign Scoville and wife, evan-
gelists, are now giving their time to "Y"
work. Mr. Scoville is a religious secre-
tary at Camp Custer, and would like the
names and addresses of any sons of Dis-
ciples located there. Mrs. Scoville sang ten
times for the soldiers of different parts of
the camp on last Sunday.
A Big Year for the
Foreign Society
A telegram from Secretary Stephen J.
Corey brings the good news that the year
just closed is the best financial year in the
history of the Foreign Society. Offerings
totaling more than $625,000 dollars, are re-
ported, a gain of over $75,000. The So-
ciety is now out of debt.
A Pastor's Reception in
Minneapolis
G. S. Bennett became pastor of Port-
land Avenue church, Minneapolis, Minn.,
which is the oldest and mother church
of four congregations, the beginning of
July. He is a native of Australia, and
has been in this country for twelve years,
the greater part of which were spent in
the pursuit of higher education. After
graduating at Hiram, he did post-gradu-
ate work to prepare himself for teaching
as a life work. Completing his special
studies and graduating at Columbia Uni-
versity and Union Theological Semin-
ary, he was called to the Department of
Old Testament Literature and Lan-
! guages of Hiram. Mr. Bennett was very
I successful and popular as a professor,
i but the changes that the great war
i brought about made it possible for the
I Minneapolis church to induce him to
i become its pastor. The Minneapolis
: leaders write that Mr. Bennett is proving
a very genial and efficient minister. "We
'feel that we are very fortunate to secure
a pastor combining such high attain-
|ments, excellent character and fine social
! qualities. He has taken hold of the work
(in a quiet and unassuming way, but his
jable ministry has already awakened an
encouraging improvement in the Sunday
iaudiences and prayer-meeting attend-
jance." It has been customary with the
(Minneapolis church to give a reception
Ito its new ministers; to place them in
friendly touch with their environment,
(and to introduce them into the city with
;its activities and opportunities. But the
Reception which was given Friday even-
ing, Sept, 27, surpassed all previous felici-
tations. Some of the most prominent
pitizens participated in the program.
Judge Jelley, Judge Torrance and the
editor of the Minneapolis Journal were
present and five of the best known neigh-
)oring churches were represented.
Remarkable Success at the
Old First," Kansas City, Mo.
The new building of First church, Kan-
as City, is rapidly nearing completion.
Vith no serious disappointments, the
ongregation will dedicate about Christ-
mas or New Year's. The Kellems
brothers, evangelists, will follow the dedi-
cation with a meeting. The union of
Forest Avenue church and First church
has been perfect, pastor J. E. Davis re-
ports. "The church boards, the Bible
schools, the women's work, the C. E.
societies, the pastors, all have united
without a jar. There has not been a
single misunderstanding nor a cross word
spoken." About 70 of the best givers
and workers of the church have gone to
war, yet the missionary offerings have
remained about the same and the growth
has been remarkable in many ways. The
month of September just closed brought
forty-six additions at the regular serv-
ices, twenty-seven being added the last
Sunday of the month, twenty-four at the
morning service. It was the greatest
single month of Mr. Davis's ministry,
and the last Sunday morning's service
was the greatest in the history of the
church, the oldest members say. Never
before, either in regular services or in
revivals, did so many enter the church
at a single service. This church's part
in the Men and Millions Campaign has
been remarkable. From the first to the
last of the campaign the church gave
$14,726. The congregation was thor-
oughly canvassed in the early part of
the campaign during the pastorate of
W. F. Richardson and pledged $14,000.
During the Emergency Drive, without
preparation, $726 additional was raised.
Walter M. White Writes
From War Front
Walter M. White, of Linden Avenue
church, Memphis, Tenn., who is now in
service in France, writes to his congre-
gation of some of his experiences. We
quote from his letter: "I am in the midst
of the greatest field for service in all the
world. I have been greatly blessed in
the assignment given me; I am in a posi-
tion which will enable me to see prac-
tically every American boy coming to
France from this time forward. We had
a fine trip through England. The Eng-
lish people are in excellent spirit and
are devoting themselves to the one su-
preme issue of the world with all their
hearts. They have suffered beyond any
possible thought that our people of
America have ever had, but they bravely
fight on confident of a better day. I was
out among them a great deal — both
among the civil and military — and every-
where received the finest reception. They
are deeply appreciative of our presence
over here. At one church I visited every
male under fifty years of age had been
called to the colors, sixty per cent of
whom have already paid the supreme
sacrificial price and will never come back,
for 'They sleep in Flanders field, where
the poppies blow, among the crosses,
row on row.' I never had such a re-
ception anywhere in all my life; it ac-
tually surpassed my first Sunday at dear
Old Linden, I am confident. We were
nearly one hour in getting away from
the church after service. This was not
for my sake, for I was a total stranger,
but I was from America, and I had in
my poor way tried to tell them why
America had sent us 3,000 miles across
the great deep."
Kentucky Gets New Bible
School Secretary
Lin D. Cartwright of Fort Collins,
Colo., has accepted the position of Bible
School secretary of Kentucky and enters
upon his new work soon. He has made
a fine record as pastor at Fort Collins,
where he has been for the past four
years. Both he and his wife have spe-
cialized in religious education. Both are
graduates of Drake.
Peoria Newspaper "Remarks" Concern-
ing the City's New Woman Preacher
We quote the following editorial from
the Peoria (111.) Transcript: "Announce-
ment is made that Miss Amelia Gerke is
to accept the pastorate of the Central
Christian Church of Peoria as the suc-
cessor of Rev. Homer E. Sala, who has
gone to France as a Y. M. C. A. worker.
Although the experience of a woman
preacher will be something new for
Peoria, women have been preaching in
various parts of the country many years,
and many of them have achieved mod-
erate success. It was Doctor Johnson
who said, 'Sir, a woman preaching is
like a dog's walking on his hind legs. It
is not done well; but you are surprised
to find it done at all.' Even under the
Pauline dispensation, women were dis-
couraged from entering the pulpit.
Speaking to the Corinthians, Paul said:
'Let your women keep silence in the
churches; for it is not permitted unto
them to speak; but they are commanded
to be under obedience, as also saith the
law. And if they will learn anything, let
them ask their husbands at home; for
it is a shame for women to speak in the
church.' Saint Paul and the crusty Doc-
tor Johnson are equally behind the times
insofar as their attitude towards women
is concerned, while the husband has long
since abandoned hope of exacting obed-
ience from his wife. The old order
changeth. Women not only have en-
tered all the professions, but they have
taken their places in the industries and
have invaded every occupation known
to man, not excepting even service in
the trench and on the battlefield."
C. R. Stauffer Leads in "Heroes Day"
Celebration at Cincinnati
Sunday, September 29, was observed
by thirteen different sections of Cincin-
nati as Heroes' Day. People of all re-
ligions— Protestants, Jews and Catho-
lics— participated, and more than 100,000
persons were present at all the services.
In the Norwood section of the city, the
service was held at the Municipal build-
ing, and C. R. Stauffer, of the Norwood
Christian church, served as chairman of
the committee in charge. These pro-
grams were arranged under the auspices
of clergymen of Cincinnati representing
all creeds and denominations. Mr. Stauf-
fer was also a member of this general
committee.
Graham Frank Tells Dallas Club
His Views on Peace
Graham Frank, of Central church, Dal-
las, Tex., recently addressed the Ke-
wanis Club, of Dallas, at its weekly
luncheon. He stated that the nation
must understand that it is at war; that
only men can win the war; that incipi-
ent victory is the worst possible danger,
and that no peace talk should be toler-
ated in America until our soldiers in
Europe start it. "The real acid test of
a man's religion is the practical appli-
cation of it in real life," Dr. Frank de-
clared. "Likewise the acid test of the
people of America is now embodied in
our attitude toward the government." He
closed his talk by reading "The Burial
of Kaiserism," which he composed and
which was immediately adopted by the
club as its official slogan. It follows:
18
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 10, 1918
"President Wilson's reply to the recent
Austrian note and the registration of
thirteen and one-half million more men
on Sept. 12 are the hammers that will
drive the last nail in the coffin-lid of
Kaiserism. Our boys 'over there' are
digging its grave. And when it is dead
— forever dead — they will embalm it in
poison gas and bury it, not in ravished
Belgium, nor in devastated France, but
beyond the Rhine, and to the funeral
dirge of cannon and rifle and tank and
airplane and battleship, they and our
allies and all freedom-loving people of
the earth — among whom may we hope
to find the freed people of the central
powers and those of reconstructed Rus-
sia?— shall join in freedom's song, and
war, grim, terrible and ghastly, will be
banished forever from this fair earth.
And over that grave we will erect a
monument made from the stones of the
then tenantless palace at Potsdam, and
in deep letters blood-red will the epitaph
be written, 'Thus Ever With Tyrants.'
And the nations of the earth will turn
away from that dishonored and dis-
graced and damned sepulchre and be-
take themselves to the task of building
on the ruins of the Old World a new
and better world, in which international
honor shall be the cornerstone and in
the building of which only free and
peace-loving and treaty-keeping nations
shall have word or part."
4 »& ®
— Thomas A. Boyer of First Church,
Richmond, Cal., is in charge of the Four-
Minute speakers for the Fourth Liberty
Bond campaign.
—Charles L. Dean is the new president
of the Colorado State Board, succeeding
C. H. Morris, of Central church, Denver.
—George L. Snively had charge of the
dedication service of the new $40,000 build-
ing of the church at South Dallas, Tex.
But $15,000 was needed to take care of
obligations, and over $17,000 was raised.
W. W. Phares leads at South Dallas, Tex.
Mr. Snively is the dedicator of the new
Kingshighway church, St. Louis.
— H. G. Connelly, pastor at Central
church, New Albany, Ind., has been
speaking for some time at Camp Zachary
Taylor, Louisville, Ky. He has been ac-
tively engaged for many months in war
work, being a member of the Council of
Defense, deputy food commissioner, a
four minute man, and has served as
chairman of several speakers' commit-
tees. Mr. Connelly has led the New Al-
bany church for nearly five years.
—President R. L. Thorp, of Missouri
Christian College, Camden, Mo., writes
that the enrollment at the college this
semester is the largest in years. There
is an excellent faculty now at Missouri
Christian, with an average of six years'
college training.
—Secretary H. H. Peters, of Illinois,
reports that the state has reached its
goal of $200,000 for the Men and Mil-
lions Movement. All the money and sub-
scriptions were on hand a month ago
with the exception of about $4,000.
— William Baier, of First church, Spen-
cer, la., for four years, now leads at
Cherokee, la.
—J. Ralph Roberts, of Robinson, Ill-
church, has accepted a call to the work
at Mt. Carmel, 111.
— J. H. Versey has resigned from the
pastorate at Rutland, 111.
—George F. Cuthrell of Central
church, Sherman, Tex., has left for
France, where he will serve the Y. M.
C. A. Cephas Shelburne, of Dallas,
will occupy Mr. Cuthrell's pulpit during
his absence.
— C. H. Hood, who has resigned from
the work at Coshocton, O., has been
chosen by the Coshocton Dry Federa-
tion to manage this year's campaign.
During Mr. Hood's ministry he has
cleared the church of a debt of $4,500 and
has developed a large Bible school. Mr.
Hood is president of the county Bible
school association, having been elected
for the fourth year at the annual con-
vention held last month.
—George E. Purdy, recently of Bloom-
field, la., assumed his new task at Os-
kaloosa, la., on last Sunday.
— C. D. Titus, of Lake City, la., who
was in attendance at Drake last year, will
be one of the assistants to the com-
mandant of the student soldiers at Val-
paraiso University this year. He is a
second lieutenant.
—A. N. Lindsay, pastor at Clinton, I
Mo., has just closed a fruitful meeting
for the church at Macon, Mo., to which
W. H. Funderburk ministers.
Convocation at Drake
This year Drake University opens
under happier auspices than at any other
time for many years. The new presi-
dent, Dr. Arthur Holmes, made an ex-
cellent impression in his convocation
address. One or two things in it struck
me as pregnant of meaning for the place
and the hour. His general understand-
ing of the university, he founded upon
this word in the preliminary announce-
ment of the university, issued in 1881:
"This university has been designed upon
a broad, liberal, and modern basis. The
articles of incorporation provide that
all its departments shall be open to all
without distinction of sex, religion or
race. In its management and influence
it will aim at being Christian, without
being sectarian." Further, it was to be
a democratic school, and he emphasized
his conviction that a college today is,
more than it was twenty years ago, a
place for ladies and gentlemen.
I paused a little upon that statement
that it is Drake's mission to be demo-
cratic, and I found it a pleasant thing
that democratic, in the mind of the new
president, does not mean common or
plebian or vulgar, but gentlemanly and
fine. In front of him sat a body of
young men, who have now been en-
rolled as members of the Students'
Army Training Corps. They are getting
ready to go across the water and fight
for the larger democracy that in no
small measure has been nourished by
our Protestant churches. Nothing could
have been more appropriate than that
at that moment education and democ-
racy should be so linked together. More-
over, in it all, I can not escape a thrill
of promise that Drake shall be to the
newer democracy of the church of the
Disciples, born in America, what Har-
vard and Yale have been to the older
democracy of Congregationalism, born
in England. The two bodies are the
representative democratic churches of
the western world. From the very first,
Congregationalism knew that, if it was
to be democratic, if the man in the pew
was to be spiritually alive, was to have
visions of his own and thoughts of his
own was to do his full part in shaping
a better life for men, he must have a
trained mind, an awakened conscience.
«=o it was that the earlier religious de-
mocracy established, not only Harvard
and Yale, but also Amherst and Dart-
mouth and Williams and Beloit and
Oberlin a group of educational insti-
tutions not so far to be matched by any
other group fostered by a single organi-
zation anywhere in the world.
That example of what a democratic
church must do for its people has a
long background of history, but it was
only a few weeks before the date of
President Holmes' Convocation address
when the government of the greatest
of democracies sent out her decree that
the young men whom she was training
in her defense should, as far as possible,
continue their work in the studies that
constitute a higher education. It is a
magnificent tribute to an unforgettable
bit of gospel, this decision of the gov-
ernment, a tribute to this saying from
the lips of Jesus, "The truth shall make
you free." In the presence of the young
men preparing themselves to go to the
front, it faced the members of the fac-
ulty and it faced President Holmes as
a tremendous promise of larger things.
Those of us who sat through that
hour are sure that the future has wider
doors for Drake University than ever
before. As we begin the new year, with
a new president and new hopes, th«
state says, in terms that can not be
mistaken, Education is the business o:
a democracy. Never before has a dem
ocratic church been given such a cal
for the devotion of its best service t(
its own characteristic business of blot
ting out evil by blotting out ignorano
among men. Never before has it beei
so fearfully brought home to us as dur
ing these last days of our entrance int.
the war that ignorance is the parent o
the great body of our social deformi
ties. That a genuinely Christian churc
such a church as the Disciples of Chris
should not respond to this fresher real
zation of what education means in dti
day, should not determine anew to mak
its schools better and larger and moi
capable of wide and efficient service,
inconceivable.
President Holmes has come to Drat
at an auspicious moment. Freedom
the word of the hour, the larger fre-
dom under law of intelligent men.
is not now the Master alone who sa;
"The truth shall make you free." It
also the Government of the Unit<
States that takes that imperishable go
pel as its message to its people. W
church can do no less. The universi
can do no less. The loyal Americ;
can do no less. It is the word of t
future, and Drake University, under
more inspired guidance than before,
going forward with the word to greal
things.
Lewis Worthington Smith,
Professor of Englishl
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THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 E. Fortieth Street i-t CHICAIA
October 10, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
19
— F. W. Mutchler recently tendered
I his resignation at Grant Park church,
Des Moines, but was urged by his peo-
: pie to reconsider, and he has now de-
I cided to stay at this task. This con-
■ gregation is at work endeavoring to
build, which is a difficult undertaking
; during war times.
ST. LOUIS
UNION AVENUE
CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Union and Von Versen Aves.
George A. Campbell, Minister
— Mary Carpenter Craig, widow of the
late Bayard Craig, is again in the re-
sponsible position of Dean of Women
at Drake, which position she filled for
ji many years before going west to Denver
! and California.
i — H. F. Philippi, of Central church,
jStreator, 111., has resigned the pastorate
I there to take up war service.
— E. C. Lunger, of First church, Wil-
li liamsport, Pa., leaves this field to give
t his entire time to the secretaryship of
■ the Eastern Pennsylvania Missionary So-
I ciety.
— M. G. Long, for two years leader at
;■ Windfall. Ind., has now taken up the
jwork at Portland, Ind. During his min-
istry at Windfall, 120 accessions were
made to the membership of the congre-
gation, the Bible school has recorded
a fine increase and the Women's organi-
sation has doubled in membership. A
[missionary offering was made of $1,200
jfor the present year — an average of $4
per member.
— H. H. Peters reports the following
{steps taken at the recent annual session
of the Fulton county, 111., meeting of
iChristian churches: First: The program
jof the State Missionary Society, looking
to the holding of an evangelistic meet-
ling with each church in the state, was
endorsed and the eleven churches in the
county will be in line. Second: Five of
[the smaller churches are without preach-
jing. Arrangements were made for a
;dozen laymen of the county to supply
•.these pulpits every Sunday for a period
[of three months, with the hope that a
jregular ministry may be employed and
puch churches brought together in co-
operation. Third: Fulton county reached
ts apportionment of $4,000 in the Men
md Millions Emergency Drive. The
:ounty meeting endorsed the budget sys-
em for missions and will encourage the
,naking of the every member canvass in
|:very church for both current expenses
pd missionary support.
I --Capitol Hill church, Des Moines, la.,
ield its annual Home-coming last Sun-
jlay, led by pastor W. C. Cole. The every
nember canvass will be made in the near
uture.
— C. C. Wisher, recently of Camp
Doint, 111., church, has been chosen to
:ad the Paxton, 111., congregation.
MEMORIAI CHURCH OF CHRIST
V/niV,A*jV Herbert L WiFleti, Minister
— At the evangelistic meetings this
ear at Centennial church, Blooming-
>n, 111., pastor Fred E. Hagin will
reach, and J. W. Senifr will have charge
f the music.
— R- F. Thrapp of First church, Seattle,
i/ash., has been preaching some war
^rmons, some of the subjects being as
mows: "Why America Fights," "Why
ictory Is- Inevitable," "The Capture of
:ncho," "Some War Emergencies," "The
east," "War Compensations," "The
Peril of Peace." Mr. Thrapp was to speak
at the Washington state convention of
the Congregational Church to be held at
Tacoma on October 2, his topic being
"Signs of the Times for Christian Unity."
During Mr. Thrapp's first year at Central
Church there have been 126 accessions
to the membership.
— F. E. Davison, for three years leader
of the Spencer, Ind., church, and a com-
munity leader as well, is leaving this
field for other service.
— Joseph Keevil has resigned from
the pastorate at Richmond street, Cin-
cinnati, to become leader at Noblesville,
Ind., succeeding there L. C. Howe, who
has been chosen to minister to the work
at Vincennes, Ind.
— Oliver W. Stewart, Chicago Disciple
and Prohibitionist, recently addressed a
patriotic mass meeting at Seattle, Wash.,
on "Prohibition and the War."
— L. L. Higgins, who has been preach-
ing at the Lerado, O., church while mak-
ing his home at Lynchburg, O., is now
in Chicago, where he is taking a course
in the Y. M. C. A. College preparing for
war service.
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date should be set forward. This is
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The How
OF THE
International
Graded Lessons
Three Books- -,
} that will help you
MIIIHUIIMIIIIIHIIlllIlllllllllllllliHIIIiniHtliniltlinillllfMllfllll
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Tells how to intro-
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Disciples Publication Society
700 E. 40th St., Chicago, III.
20
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 10, 1918
— The congregation at Sweetwater,
Texas, is sending its leader, LeRoy M.
Anderson, to the St. Louis convention.
— E. A. Powell, recently of the Indi-
anapolis, Iowa, church, has accepted a
call to Cartersville, 111.
— Neil H. Baxter is the new leader at
Sterling, Colo.
— J. A. Barnett, leader at First church,
Lincoln, 111., has left for Camp Taylor,
at Louisville. On his last Sunday at
Paxton Mr. Barnett was the guest of
honor at an all day session held at the
church, closing with a union meeting of
the Protestant churches of the city held
in honor of his leaving.
— R. S. Tandy, for some time minis-
ter at Mineola, Tex., is now teaching in
Midland College, at Midland, Tex., hav-
ing charge of the department of science.
— Serle Bates, son of President Miner
Lee Bates of Hiram College, has re-
cently returned from Mesopotamia,
where he spent two years in army "Y"
work.
THE TEACHER TRAINING DRIVE
Report for September
The first weeks of the great Teacher
Training Drive are finished, and we are
indeed thankful for the results reported
to this office.
We feel sure that but a small portion
of the enlistment cards signed by the
various Bible schools have reached us,
since many workers did not begin the
drive until late in September, and sev-
eral will not take up the work until Oc-
tober.
When one considers the great num-
ber of students touched by these classes,
the heart thrills at the thought of the
great Student Army of the coming
Church School.
Surely the spirit of Christ, the "Mas-
ter Teacher," is moving among us, di-
recting and guiding in all our struggles
for greater usefulness.
The words of encouragement and
cheer from the pastors and superin-
tendents of the schools suggest that
widest co-operation, and give assurance
of great results in the coming days.
Mrs. John D. Ellis,
Acting Superintendent Teacher-Train-
ing Department, American Christian
Missionary Society.
* * *
Classes Reported During September
Alabama 2
Arkansas 6
Canada 5
Colorado 9
South Dakota 1
Delaware 1
Georgia 1
Indiana 33
Illinois 1
Iowa 9
Idaho 1
Kentucky 9
Louisiana 3
Missouri 16
Mississippi 1
Montana 2
Nebraska 5
New York 4
Ohio 10
Oregon 6
Pennsylvania 13
Tennessee 2
Texas 11
Virginia 22
West Virginia 2
Total 155
'The Most Beautiful Hymnal Ever Produced in the American Church'
It Sings Patriotism!
"I have heard nothing but the
highest praise for the hymnal
and a number are asking for
them for use in their homes.
In these days of crisis and
challenge it is a joy to be able
to build the mood essential for
such hours of worship as we
must have. The new day calls
for a new mood and Hymns of
the United Church is wonder-
fully prophetic in its emphasis
upon the older individualism in
religion coupled with the newer
social consciousness. The call
of the higher patriotism and
community service becomes
deeply religious, and preaching
on such themes is empowered
through the use of this hymnal.
LIN D. CARTWRIGHT,
Pastor Christian Church,
Fort Collins, Colo.
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October 10, 1918 THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
21
"The Training of Church Members"
By ORVIS F. JORDAN and CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON
IS THE TEXT
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. Trv 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 year a brief study from
this important little book?
Send for a sample copy of "The Training of Church Members," and see how perfectly it
fits into your needs.
Price, 15c per single copy; 12J^c in quantities
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TWO GREAT BIBLE COURSES
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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-
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the New Testament.
"The Moral Leaders of Israel"
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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 ^newed
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 YEAR! MAKE IT COUNT FOR GENUINE STUDYI Send $1.00 for a copy of
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THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 10, 1918
OUR BIBLE
n
By Herbert L. Willett
One of the most popular volumes ever
published by The Christian Century Press.
This recent book by Dr. Willett has been
received with real enthusiasm by the re-
ligious and educational press of the coun-
try. The following are a few of the
estimates passed upon the volume:
"Just the book that has been needed for a long time
for thoughtful adults and senior students, a plain
statement of the sources and making of the books of
the Bible, of their history, of methods of criticism and
interpretation and of the place of the Bible in the life
of today." — Religious Education.
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task of becoming intelligently religious." — Biblical
World.
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which is now rapidly discrediting the aristocratic
theology of the past." — The Public.
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truth's sake but for humanity's sake — can help us to
a better understanding of the origin, history and value
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men. This we believe is what Dr. Willett has done
in this volume." — Dr. J. H. Garrison in The Christian-
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way what everybody ought to know about our Bible"
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tional as well as the historical appreciation of the"
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usable as this book." — Dr. Edgar DeWitt Jones.
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CHICAGO
October 10, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
23
■ESSVBSn
The 20th
uart
For Adult and Young People's Bible
Edited by Thomas Curtis Clark
asses
Makers of the Quarterly:
John Ray Ewers
William Dunn Ryan
Herbert L. Willett, Jr.
Prof. W. C. Morro
The governing purposes in the preparation of this new Lesson Quarterly are two:
(1) To afford all necessary aids for a thorough and vital consideration of the Interna-
tional Uniform Sunday School Lessons; (2) To edit out all features of conventional
lesson quarterlies which are not actually used by and useful to the average class. This
quarterly is based upon many years' experience of the makers with the modern organ-
ized class.
Features of the Quarterly
Getting Into the Lesson. This department is
prepared by William Dunn Ryan, of Central
Church, Youngstown, O., who has one of the
most remarkable schools of adults in the coun-
try. Mr. Ryan presents the backgrounds of the
lesson.
Clearing Up Difficult Points. Herbert L. Willett,
Jr., whose extended experience and study in the
Orient have made him an able interpreter of
Scripture facts for modern students, has charge
of this department. His is a verse-by-verse
study.
The Lesson Brought Down to Date. The unique
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planation. There is no other writer in the
Sunday school world today who approaches Mr.
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modern men.
The Lesson Forum. No man is better suited to
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ler College. His questions really count in the
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There is a jest in the trenches, old as the trenches them-
selves. There are men now four years dead who knew it
well. It is still bandied about by cheerful British veterans
lying in freezing mud; and by undaunted French gray-
beards holding gas-swept shell-holes; and by exultant
American shock-troops after a decimating charge. Only
such men know well the difference between the danger
and death of their tasks and the safety and ease of ours.
... So they jest about us and say: "We'll Get Through
This Yet— IFTHE CIVILIANS HOLD OUT.59 And
they laugh. . . . To us who scrape and save to do what
we may, the small esteem in which they hold our part
may seem unkind, unjust even. It seems to belittle
unfairly the giving and lending which in our deedless
days seem at times so great. . . . But it does not belittle
— it merely etches truly the very minor merit of what we,
electing or selected to die in our own beds, can do. . . .
When you think of what you have already done, think
also of undaunted France raising her eighth war- loan
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S. BURLESON, Postmaster-general.
Can We Make a
Christian Peace?
By Alva W. Taylor
The Way Out
By William Adams Brown
CH
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THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY October 17, 1918
A TRUMPET BLAST!
THE
PROTESTANT
By BURRIS A. JENKINS
Author of "The Man in the Street and Religion,"
"Facing the Hindenburg Line," etc.
' I 'HE author calls this" a scrap book for insurgents" and
A dedicates it "to the bravest men I know, the heretics."
He frankly confesses himself a destructive critic. Look-
ing abroad over the Church today, Dr. Jenkins sees its
follies, its waste, its ineptness, its bondage to tradition,
and he yearns for the coming of the great Protestant,
another Luther, who will not only shatter the present
order of things but lead the Church into a new day.
While he disavows any constructive purpose in the
book, it is in reality a master-work of constructive and
helpful criticism. Without apparently trying to do so
the author marks out positive paths along which progress
must be made. Dr. Jenkins writes with a facile, even a
racy, pen. He has filled these pages with a heavy
charge of dynamite.
Some of the Chapter titles: "Sects and Insects," "Threadbare H
Creeds," "What's the Matter with the Churches?" "Bolshevism
or Reconstruction," "The Three Sexes," "The Irreligious Press,"
"Certain Rich Men," "What is Democracy?"
Price, $1.35, plus 5 to 10 cents postage
The Christian Century Press
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H
I
[hhibiujihi CHARGED WITH DYNAMITE! [niuniemMJuiii
An Undenominational Journal of Religion
Volume XXXV
OCTOBER 17, 1918
Number 40
EDITORIAL STAFF: CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON. EDITOR; HERBERT L. WILLETT. CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
ORVIS FAIRLEB JORDAN. ALVA W. TAYLOR. JOHN RAY EWERS :: THOMAS CURTIS CLARK, OFFICE MANAGER
Entered as second-class matter, February 28, 1902, at the Post-office at Chicago, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Published Weekly By the Disciples Publication Society 700 East 40th Street, Chicago
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The Christian Century is a free interpreter of the essential ideals of Christianity as held historically by the Disciples of Christ.
It conceives the Disciples' religious movement as ideally an unsectarian and unecclesiastical fraternity, whose original impulse and
common tie are fundamentally the desire to practice Christian unity in the fellowship of all Christians. Published by Disciples, The
j Christian Century, is not published for Disciples alone, but for the Christian world. It strives to interpret the wider fellowship
in religious faith and service. It desires definitely to occupy a catholic point of view and it seeks readers in all communions.
EDITORIAL
Creeds and Creed Makers
EVERY creed in Christendom was born in a time
of theological stress and has all the bias that be-
longed to that age. The so-called Apostles' Creed
I came into being to emphasize the genuinely human life
! of Jesus as over against the Gnostic conception that he
1 was only an idea and that he had no real place in human
j history. The six great statements about Jesus are mostly
! for the purpose of establishing a genuine humanity in our
i Lord.
The Nicene creed had quite a different motive. The
Arians were setting forth a doctrine of Jesus Christ which
made him an intermediary creature neither human nor
truly divine. Reacting against a conception of Jesus
Christ which was too low, the church went to the length
of calling him very God of very God.
To the creed was soon attached the anathema. Let
the man who dissents be damned, is the modern trans-
lation of the ancient formula. The dissenter was to be
excommunicated, denied food and shelter, looked upon
as an outcast on the face of the earth.
As compared with the philosophic calm of the heathen,
this fury of the orthodox kept alive the spirit of dissent
through the ages. Men are willing to listen to reason
but they refuse to be whipped into a position even if it
be a true one.
The processes of creed-making have followed every
religious movement, even those most tolerant in spirit.
Even a great free people like the Disciples now hear sug-
gestions of a creed that is involved in the Divine creed,
which must be believed at the peril of one's religious fel-
lowship and even of one's eternal salvation. The old
spirit of anathema is still in the hearts of the creed-
makers.
But while the creed-maker is still in the land, the
sons of spiritual freedom are more mighty. Even the
communions now bound by massive creeds are seeking
their freedom and one day we shall have throughout
Christendom a clear distinction between faith and opinion.
Christ came to set us free and we shall no longer be in
bondage to any oppressive tyrant over the souls of men.
The Soul of Belgium
IT is not the great nations with their imposing arma-
ments and their tremendous resources which per-
form the greatest service for the world. Greece was
a tiny nation compared with Egypt but she gave us
beauty and philosophy which took on quality from the
very character of that mountainous country. The great-
ness of Greece was her soul. Palestine was insignificant
by the side of Assyria, but who cares for the transla-
tions of the literary remains of Assyria, a considerable
literature recovered from the ruins of dead cities? Pales-
tine has been the teacher of the world in the things of
the spirit. Out of her poverty and obscurity she arose
to be a world leader. Hers was the victory of a nation
with a soul.
The most outstanding example in the world today
of what the soul of a nation may be is Belgium. She
has no capital and no land save an inundated fragment
on the southwest. In a French city, Havre, her exiled
government, separated from the people and shorn of
its power, maintains its existence. It would seem that
if a nation was ever conquered, Belgium, stripped,
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 17, 1918
wounded and bleeding, is that nation. Yet the soul of
Belgium is still alive.
A newspaper, printed no one knows where, defies
the German government and bears encouragement to
the people. Cardinal Mercier and many a brave priest
in that unhappy land use their public ministrations and
more still their private influence to keep the soul of Bel-
gium alive. All over that land are patriots, men, women
and children who nurse the dream of liberty and who
will resist to the death any measure to Germanize their
country.
Belgium has not counted for so much in a military
way, but she delayed the tyrant so he did not reach
Paris. The greatest service of Belgium is in the realm
of the spirit. Her unconquerable attitude helps to keep
up morale in all the Allied nations.
Let not America trust in horses and chariots. First
of all must be the spiritual mobilization of our nation.
Our ignorance, our selfishness and our disloyalty must
give way before a clear vision of the task to be done and
the part that America must play.
Chinese Students in the United States
CHICAGO, on September 11, had a great excite-
ment among Christian workers occasioned by the
arrival of 123 students who are to attend various
American universities supported by the American Boxer
Indemnity Fund. Among these students were sixteen
women. The Chicago Association of Commerce and the
Y. M. C. A. joined in entertaining the visitors in the
Hotel La Salle. The men and women in different groups
had entertainment at the hands of the Y. M. C. A., the
Eleanor club, and in the native Chinese quarters of the
city.
It will be remembered that when the various nations
of the world collected their indemnity from China, the
United States refused to receive her money but stipulated
that it should be held in trust and the interest used in the
education of the youth of China in American institutions.
This group of students is coming to America to study, sup-
ported by this fund.
This is an admirable lesson in a Christian solution of
international problems. If these foreign students are re-
ceived kindly and are given Christian treatment at the uni-
versities they attend, there will be no question as to the
future friendly relations of America and China, for these
students will some day be leaders in their native land.
Retaliation is not the only method of uniting the world
in peace, if indeed it is even one of the methods.
An Unusual Religious Cooperation
THE approaching campaign in behalf of the agencies
that work for the welfare of soldiers and sailors
in the camps and overseas is a most impressive ex-
ample of the breaking down of religious prejudices in
war-time. The Knights of Columbus, the Y. M. C. A.
and the Y. W. C. A., the Salvation Army and the Jewish
Relief Board, as well as some other organizations will
appeal to the country for aid in a great joint budget of
$170,000,000.
Each subscriber will have the privilege of electing
the cause to which he will give. That will mean that
Catholics will commonly give their money to the Knights
of Columbus and that evangelicals will tend to assist the
Associations, but for all that, here is a real co-operaion
in the campaign and the money that is not designated I
will be divided among the different causes and will tend
to remove any inequality in the giving resulting from
the greater favor in which some organizations may be
held.
There is no reason why we should wait to agree
upon transubstantiation or predestination before we do
something to help humans. It is an outgrown rationalism !
which would commit us to any such program. Intelligent
people of all faiths are learning the lesson of the Good
Samaritan who let theological questions wait for awhile!
on human needs.
It is not necessary to suppose that sometime Jews and
Catholics and Protestants shall be in one great religious '
organization, but it is easy to believe that the spirit of
internationalism and of human values will overrule manyj
prejudices of the past and that the stigma of religious j
divisions will be taken away even though men still wor-j
ship in different churches.
Even the Jew is nearer the kingdom than some of us
have supposed. A recent book on "Jewish Theology," by
Kohler advances religious doctrines which are altogether
acceptable to Christians. Add to his book on theology
Christ and his atonement and it becomes a thoroughly
Christian work. While the Jews lack some things the
Catholics have a few things too many. They hold most
of our protestant theological connections but add institu-
tionalism and saint worship. With both groups we may
co-operate in the service of our soldiers and sailors.
Mr. Clark's Poetry
THE editors and friends of The Christian Century
feel a very pardonable sense of pride in the in-
creasing recognition which the poetical work of Mr.
Thomas Curtis Clark of our office staff is receiving from
journals of discriminating judgment, and from literary
authorities both in this country and abroad. Within re-
cent weeks Mr. Clark has contributed to the columns of
the Living Church, the British Weekly, the Congregation-
alism the Continent, Unity, the Boston Transcript, the New
York Herald, the Chicago "Post" and "News," and other)
periodicals of importance. His work in the "Century" is
an increasing satisfaction to our readers. His latest vol-
ume, "Love Off to the War," is just from the press. There
is in his poetry not only the evidence of fine literary gifts,
but also a note of sincerity and moral earnestness which
is lacking in much of the poetry of the newer school.
It is this combination of excellencies in Mr. Clark's
writings which is winning for him a place of distinction
in his chosen field.
Several times of late Dr. Joseph Fort Newton, pastor
of the City Temple, London, has quoted from Mr. Clark's
writings with appreciative reference to him. And a recenl
note which we have been permitted to see is of even more
significance for the reason that Dr. Newton is also vice-
president of the London Poetry Society. He writes :
October 17, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
"I greatly appreciate your poems. Surely you have an au-
thentic mission as an interpreter of the deep things that matter
most, and your mastery of your medium grows every day more
assured. A song can go where a sermon can never enter, and
open doors for which it alone has the key. I wish you every
blessing in your ministry to the higher life ; that the vision
may grow, and glow, and abide, and find its way into songs
haunting and healing."
Those who watch our poetical selections from week
to week will observe that our readers are afforded an
opportunity to enjoy some of the best of Mr. Clark's
work, and also a competent amount of poetry selected
by him from current offerings in the same field.
h. l. w.
The Next War Against Drugs
THE culmination of the war on the saloon leads up
naturally to a war on drug addiction in the United
States, which may now increase unless it is met
with a determined attitude and with the moral force of
the Christian church. The special treasury investigation
on the habitual use of drugs has revealed the fact that
there are in our country one and a half million of these
unhappy people. Morphine, cocaine and heroin are the
most commonly used drugs. It has been found that some
army officers are drug addicts and that they had prepared
to take their supply to France with them. We should have
homes where addicts could be taken for treatment and we
should have also a sharp prohibition of the further sale of
the drugs on physicians' orders except to those who are
ill and must have this form of relief.
The Curves and the Tangents
A Parable of Safed the Sage
I RODE in the Cab of a Locomotive, and I spake with
the man who drove the Engine, and we went at High
Speed. And High Speed is one thing from the rear
end of the Observation Car, and Quite Another Thing
from the Cab of a Locomotive ; and it giveth a man the Im-
pression that he is not running a Sewing Machine.
And I looked out upon the Track.
And I spake to the Engineer, and I said, Behold, how
many are the Curves ; whereas, the Map which this Com-
pany doth print with its Time Table doth shew the Road
to be a Straight Line Joining every Great City in America
to every other Great City.
And he said, That is how it looketh on the map ; but
to the engineer every railroad is a Double System of
Curves, the Curves on the Surface and the Curves Up
and Down. A railroad curves to get better approach
to a bridge, or to enter a town, or to avoid a swamp or
an hill, or to go around the land of some Farmer who
tried to sell his land at four prices, so there is a Curve
to the right and a Tangent, and then a Curve to the left ;
and sometimes there is a Reverse Curve with no Tangent
between, in which case the Passenger doth think Un-
kind Thoughts of the Engineer without knowing why he
is jerked Galley-West. Believe me, the business of run-
ning an air ship like this is something more than open-
Curves to pull around and see around, and thou dost
never know what doth lie in wait around the rim of the
Curve, nor how strongly the Train will be tempted to
disregard the Curve and survey a new Tangent of its
own.
And I said, What is the other system of Curves?
And he said, No roadbed is level. Even in a Prairie
Country, the roadbed descendeth to a little stream, and
ascendeth to a little hill, and then descendeth to a larger
stream, and ascendeth to a larger hill; and it must all be
considered in terms of Coal Consumption, and Steam
Pressure, and the Weight of the Train, and the Condition
of the Track whether it be Dry or Wet or Frosty.
And I said, Thou hast many things to trouble thee
that I wot not of.
And he said, Passengers mostly think that all an Engi-
neer hath to do is to keep the train between the Fences
of the Right of Way, and get in on Time. Behold, they
consider not the Curves of either class. For a Railway
is not all Tangents.
And I considered and said, Thy business is like unto
mine. For there be Railroad men who think that I have
only to stand in the Pulpit one day in seven, and open
my mouth and the Lord will fill it. Behold, there are
Curves as well as Tangents on my Right of Way, yea,
Reverse Curves, and some Heavy Grades.
And he said, I reckon it is so with every man's busi-
ness. Though to another man it looketh like a Straight
Line surveyed across the map, yet to him that is on the
inside, every business hath not only its tangents, but its
Curves.
And we took each other by the Right Hand, and we
bowed low and said our Salaams, and I bade him Fare-
well and Departed. And each of us knew that the other
man's job was like unto his own.
The World-Flag
THE jewels of America a constellation are,
Each star a free-born commonwealth and every state a star.
As, in the sky, the stars on high swing orderly and free,
So every state, both small and great, has law and liberty.
Sons of the stars, break through the bars, let no man lag,
Win every nation a constellation on a world-flag.
The children of America are born in every land :
Whoever longs for liberty and has the strength to stand,
Briton or Hun, he is her son and hears his brothers call ;
Imperial America is mother of us all.
Sons of the stars, break through the bars, let no man lag,
Win every nation a constellation on a world-flag.
The Riches of America are Liberty and Peace.
They greater grow when shared by all and, scattered, still increase.
The father of America for Freedom lived and died.
To help all men be brethren her Lord was crucified.
Sons of the stars, break through the bars, let no man lag,
Win every nation a constellation on a world-flag.
The dream of free America's a brotherhood of day,
Where swords are changed to plowshares and where war is done
away;
Her sisters free democracies and a new flag unfurled,
The Union of all nations, the Republic of the world.
Sons of the stars, break through the bars, let no man lag,
Win every nation a constellation on a world-flag.
Louis Tucker, in the Living Church.
The Way Out
By William Adams Brown
Secretary of the General War-Time Commission of the Churches
SINCE the war broke out, the church, like the nation,
has been concentrating her attention upon the tasks
which lie nearest at hand. Conscious of the justice
of our cause we have felt it our primary duty to supply
and to sustain the forces that will insure victory. Both
as individual communions and through our interdenomi-
national agencies we have been ministering to our soldiers
and sailors, strengthening the religious and moral forces
about the camps and training stations, co-operating in
plans for the betterment of industrial conditions, giving
ourselves to the relief of the wounded and destitute, sup-
porting the Government in its campaign for economy in
food and fuel, awakening in men's hearts the faith and
passion of duty, and seeking to deepen the spiritual life
and moral energy of the nation through united prayer.
In the pursuit of these patriotic ends we have been
drawn closer together and have realized anew both the
greatness and the unity of our task. Inevitably our
thoughts have moved forward to the days which lie ahead,
and we have asked ourselves what contribution we can
make as Christians to the new world which is coming after
the war.
PREPARATION FOR PEACE
It is right and fitting that we should do this. Eight-
een months after the war began the British government
appointed a committee to study the problems of recon-
struction. This action was due to no illusion as to the
nearness of peace or lack of resolution to carry the war
to a successful issue. Rather was it due to the convic-
tion that for a successful peace, no less than for a suc-
cessful war, thorough preparation was needed, and the
determination that peace, when it came, should not find
the nation unprepared.
Upon the church too rests a similar responsibility.
We are fighting for ideal ends, for justice, for freedom, for
good faith between nations ; and it is with the ideal that
the church is primarily concerned. It is high time that
we were asking ourselves what we can do to make these
ends prevail, not simply for the moment but permanently.
In the period of readjustment which must follow the
war, what can the church do to point the way? In the
complicated tasks which reconstruction will lay upon us,
what part must be recognized as belonging to her?
THE CHURCH'S MESSAGE
Clearly her contribution must lie in the region of
principle. The church exists to remind men of the things
that are always and everywhere true; but principle that
does not issue in action is barren. It is not enough to tell
men what they ought to do in general. We must point
out the sphere in which Christ's principles must be applied,
and within this sphere must determine and discharge our
own special responsibility for their application.
What then are the principles to which the church is
called to witness? First of all, righteousness. There is
an eternal difference between right and wrong which no
growth in knowledge or enlargement of experience can
obscure. In the twentieth century, as in the first, the
nation or the individual which makes its own aggrandize
ment the law of its living and tramples ruthlessly on the
rights of the weak is a sinner in God's sight and must
repent before it can be forgiven. As President Wilson
has said, "The hand of God is laid upon the nations. He
will show them favor only if they rise to the clear heights
of His own justice and mercy."
WE, TOO, NEED TO REPENT
Secondly : Repentance. There is no man and no
nation which has not broken God's law and does not need
to repent and be forgiven. We are fighting Germany and
will continue to fight her till she changes her ways, because
we see in the system to which her rulers have committed
her the most signal example of that self-will which is the
bane of all our living. But we too have been selfish and
wilful, and we too need to repent and be forgiven.
Thirdly : Service. The test of true repentance is
work for others. The reason why selfishness is so heinous
in the sight of God is because it defeats His plan of a
social order based on helpfulness. It substitutes strife
for co-operation, and envy for love. The remedy for this i
is a new spirit. He that would rule must serve. The
greater must be minister of all. We recognize this in the
case of the individual. We must make it true no less in
the case of society. We must bring all life to the judg-
ment seat of Christ, that of the nation as well as of the
individuals who compose it, and all the smaller groups
in which they are combined.
Finally: Faith. The ground for hope in such a
transformation of standards is God's redemptive pur-
pose, made manifest in Christ. Stronger than self-inter-
est, stronger than fear, stronger than hate, is the love that
bears all things and believes all things, and God is love.
With men it may seem impossible, but with God all things
are possible, for God through love is creative personality,
able now as through the ages to bring new things to pass,
and by His Spirit to make over the worst of men and of
nations after the likeness of Jesus Christ.
CHURCH MUST RE-MAKE MAN
These then are the principles to which the church is
committed : righteousness, repentance, service, faith. To
these she must witness in season and out of season, in war j
as in peace. Most of all in this war, since if they be not
true our enterprise will be futile and our sacrifice vain, j
President Wilson has told us that we are fighting not
simply to conquer German autocracy, but to end the system
for which her present rulers stand. But unless there be j
in man capacity to be other and better than he is, and in J
God the power and the will to make him so, our dreams
of a new and a better world order can never come true. |
It is just this faith in God's power to remake man, for
which the church stands.
October 17, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
But principle, as we have seen, needs to be applied.
Here we reach a second function of the Christian church.
It is not enough to affirm! righteousness and service in the
abstract. We must apply them to the actual conditions in
which we find ourselves. First of all, no doubt, to our
lives as individuals. But for that very reason to the rela-
tions in which our lives as individuals are lived : relations
economic, political, international, racial.
We must apply them in the economic sphere to the
relations between capital and labor. In all questions
which affect man's life as producer and spender, questions
of hours and of wages, of housing and of sanitation, of
employment and of management, of the ownership of the
tools of labor and the distribution of the products of labor,
we must apply Christ's principle of the sacredness of
personality. Not the amount of goods produced must be
our test of national prosperity, but the uses made of
them and, above all, the spirit of those who produce and
of those who use. In the words of the sub-committee
of the English Labor Party in their reconstruction pro-
gram, words borrowed from an ancient and more august
source, "We are members one of another. No man liveth
to himself alone. If any, even the humblest, is made to
suffer the whole community and every one of us, whether
we recognize it or not, is thereby injured."
WHAT WE ARE FIGHTING FOR
We must apply them in the political sphere to the
relations between government and people. We are fight-
ing a theory of the state which makes it absolute arbiter
over the destiny of the individual. We must see to it that
we do not replace this theory by one which makes the
state simply the umpire between struggling individuals.
A nation is more than a collection of independent units.
It is the outgrowth of centuries of common aspiration
and of common sacrifice, and government is to be judged
successful or the reverse in the measure that it expresses
and promotes the interests and aspirations which its cit-
izens share with one another in the present, and transmits
unimpaired to the citizens of the future the inheritance
which has been won for them by the initiative, the courage,
and the self-denial of the past.
We must apply them in the international sphere to
the relation between states. The justice and good faith
which we demand of Germany we must be ready to prac-
tice ourselves. No state can be allowed to make self-
interest the sole determinant of national policy. The war
has taught us that when great issues are at stake nations
as well as individuals must co-operate in the use of natural
resources. The lessons learned under the stress of war
must not be forgotten in time of peace, and tariffs and im-
migration acts must be rewritten from the point of view of
world welfare. To the sanction of the world parliament
to be created by international action must be added the
supreme sanction of the Kingdom of God.
We must apply them, finally, to the deeper and
more baffling problems of race, whether these problems
meet us in the relation of the more advanced to the back-
ward peoples, or of the different racial and social groups
within the same community or state. In the love that
gave itself on Calvary for the world's salvation God has
spoken to us in a language which men of every race
understand. We must learn to speak that language after
Him. The spirit which inspired the great commission
must guide us in our approach to every question which
affects the relation of man to his fellowmen.
And in each case we must begin at home. We must
apply Christ's principles first of all to our own economic
system, our own political institutions, our own treatment
of the questions of class and of race ; for only as we bring
to the larger problems of international relationship a spirit
disciplined by self-criticism and a will determined upon
self-reformation can we hope to convince others of our
sincerity, or, what is quite as important, be ready to be-
lieve in their own.
SELF-CRITICISM NECESSARY
It is clear that a program so many-sided requires for
its consummation the co-operation of men of every walk
of life. To enunciate a principle is one thing; to apply it
in detail is another. For guidance here we are dependent
upon the specialists (using that word in the large sense
to include masters in affairs as well as in thought). It
is for the church to hold up the ideal by which progress
is to be judged, to test existing institutions and programs
by their approach to the mind of Christ and to inspire all
those whom she can reach with resolution to do the things
that are necessary to make that mind prevail.
How can the church do this unless she practice what
she preaches? With what force can we appeal for a
united world when we ourselves are divided? A united
world requires a united church. There must be some
voice through which we can speak clearly and with author-
ity to the instant need. There must be some agency, duly
empowered, through which we can carry into effect with-
out waste or delay the resolutions to which we come.
Clearly, if we are to meet the issues of the new world
we must meet them together. Here is a responsibility
which we can delegate to no one else. The repentance
which we preach to others we must practice ourselves.
As we ask God for victory for the cause to which we
are committed, let us ask Him first of all that this cause
be triumphant within ourselves. Confessing with shame
the sins of our past, our narrow vision, our unhappy divi-
sions, let us pray Him to make us one in His Spirit, an
instrument He can use for the redemption of the world.
THE FUTURE TASK
And let us act in the spirit of our prayer. What we
ask of others let us show ourselves ready to do ourselves.
Let us hold in each country a gathering of church leaders
to consider our duty in the great matters we have passed
in review. Let us prepare for this gathering by appoint-
ing in each country a Christian commission to do for the
church in her planning for the new age what the British
committee on reconstruction has done for the nation. Let
us lay this task upon the wisest men in the church and
give them time for its performance.
When the war shall be over and the representatives
of the different countries, official and unofficial, meet in
their respective groups to discuss the tasks of peace, let us
see to it that the churches too come together to reaffirm
their faith in the God of nations, and to mobilize the
forces of religion for the constructive tasks of the new
age.
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 17, 1918
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The Meaning of America
By President George E. Vincent
AMERICA has had many meanings which merge into a larger and nobler significance.
Love of the land itself, consciousness of its wide extent, pride in our country's history,
its opportunity, a growing sense of comradeship, moral earnestness, spiritual faith blend
in a new vision of America in the making. And this meaning finds expression in a national
purpose which lives in our thoughts and is realized in our acts — a purpose to be strong that we
may protect the weak; to be just, that we may rebuke unrighteousness ; to be victorious, that all
men may be free, that team play may prevail over tyranny.
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Three Arrows for the
Christian's Quiver
By W. A. Shullenberger
NOT one whit less carefully than the ancient arrow-
maker of Longfellow's "Hiawatha" chipped and
ground his arrow-heads will the intelligent Chris-
tian select his spiritual shafts for the year just ahead.
Readiness in righteousness is three-fourths the battle.
There is no joyous success to be extracted from haphaz-
ardness. The Minute-man of 76 has been superseded by
the carefully trained, intelligent citizen-soldier of '18. A
few spiritual weapons, selected with care and thoroughly un-
derstood in time, are worth nine clutched in the face of the
imminent or immediate fray. In the times toward which
the American people are moving, the person whose quiver
of faith is empty is the person whose plight is most pitiable.
The Christian of the empty quiver will lose out as surely
as the man without the wedding garment was cast out.
He does not look good even on parade, much less can
he stand up in the combat. Choose your arrows! Look
to your quiver ! Trusted and tried let your weapons be !
Here are three.
Confidence in Christ. This arrow-head is made of
the same stone that David flung at Goliath. It is the talis-
man of the Christian soldier. It is the "hope of earth and
joy of heaven." Now is the time to meditate deeply on
the confidence of Jesus in himself, his mission, and his
kingdom. The nations are seeking out those great char-
acters who by reason of their fitness and ability impart
to the millions confidence. Foch, Lloyd George, and
Wilson are words synonymous with "confidence." With
them, and above them, ranks the great Nazarene. If he
be lifted up, he will draw all men unto him. Of his king-
dom's increase there will be no end. We shall see him
sitting at the right hand of power. Heaven and earth
shall pass away, but his word will stand steadfast. With
him the slough of despond and the valley of shadow are
nothing but approaches to the uplands of glory. Who-
soever trusteth in him shall never be put to shame.
Prayer for Vision and Guidance. One of the first
things a soldier must do is to train his eyes. Ask God to
help you see only the things you ought to see, and to be
blind to what is irrelevant to your pathway of life and
course of action. One of the great old pictures of Europe,
"Cloudland," seen at a distance, appears to be but a bank
of forbidding clouds, but upon nearer scrutiny is seen to
be a mass of angel faces. In these epochal hours none
of us can be all the way through "standpatters": perhaps
if we are to live up to our times God will have us change
front, oblique a little to right or left, or about-face from
our self-conceived program. Don't go blindly, for the
ditch is ahead if you do.
Personal Application. When the present earth's
tragedy is ended a Voice will speak: "He that is idle,
let him be idle forever." "Work or fight" comes close to
being Scripture, for how in such a time as this shall the
indifferent and aloof see the salvation of their souls?
The chiefest complainers and the loudest croakers against
government, Christianity, and the Church are those who
can be indicted as slackers towards all three. Be busy.
We can work — work together — work with God.
God, the War and the Church
By Frank G. Tyrrell
JESUS unhesitatingly exercised the right of moral
criticism on the Old Testament, and unfolded a far
higher view of God and his attributes. So doing,
he registered his denial that God's method of dealing with
man is autocratic, that he arbitrarily crushes and destroys
those who disobey him. A similar notion underlies the
millennialism of the day, and of all other days, that
Jesus is coming in physical as well as spiritual power,
to set up his kingdom among the battered ruins of the
earthly kingdoms which he will destroy. This is to make
Jesus a sort of celestial kaiser.
Christ teaches that his kingdom is like leaven, like
the seeds growing secretly, and that forevermore his ap-
peal is to the human will. His progress is developmental,
not catacylsmic. Love is the conquering force of the
universe.
DID GOD START THE WAR?
God did not start the war. It originated in the greed,
ambition and egotism of the German empire. Here was
October 17, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
a nation running amuck down the highways of the world,
plunging into a debauch of cruelty and terror; it was in-
evitable that swords should be unsheathed to stay the
marauder. As Treitschke himself confesses, "Those who
lusted to rule the world, in the inexorable justice of his-
tory, were cast under the feet of the stranger."
War is a consequence, a harvest of men's sowing.
If it were God's duty to stop the war, it would have been
his duty to prevent it in the first place, and to do that would
be to abandon his method of dealing with man and adopt
a policy of coercion reducing men to mere automatons.
It were just as reasonable to ask, "Why doesn't God stop
the fire, hush the storm, stay the pestilence, harness the
lightning and still the quaking earth ?" Or when, through
indolence and neglect, weeds spring up in your garden, ask,
"Why doesn't God uproot the weeds?"
What has war done to America? Our nation can no
longer choose a "fellowless firmament"; she must accept
her world mission. The nations must fraternize or fight.
And what about the Church, in this critical period?
There is no possible scheme of human brotherhood broad
and potential enough save Christianity. This is a rebuke
and an appeal to the divided church. What possibility is
there for international brotherhood when churches draw
apart, excommunicate and anathematize one another?
Ready to Die, Worthy to Live
By Theodore Roosevelt
ONLY those are fit to live who do not fear to die ;
and none are fit to die who have shrunk from
the joy of life and the duty of life. Both life
and death are parts of the same great adventure. Never
yet was worthy adventure worthily carried through by the
man who put his personal safety first.
Never yet was a country worth living in unless its
sons and daughters were of that stern stuff which bade
them die for it at need ; and never yet was a country
worth dying for unless its sons and daughters thought of
life not as something concerned only with the selfish
evanescence of the individual but as a link in the great
chain of creation and causation, so that each person is
seen in his true relation as an essential part of the whole,
whose life must be made to serve the larger and continuing
life of the whole.
Therefore it is that the man who is not willing to die
in a war for a great cause is not worthy to live. Therefore
it is that the man and woman who in peace time fear or
ignore the primary and vital duties and the high happiness
of family life, who dare not beget and bear and rear the
life that is to last when they are in their graves, have
broken the chain of creation, and have shown that they
are unfit for companionship with the souls ready for the
great adventure.
The wife of a fighting soldier at the front recently
wrote as follows to the mother of a gallant boy, who at
the front had fought in high air like an eagle, and, like an
eagle, fighting had died :
"I write these few lines — not of condolence, for who would
dare to pity you? — but of deepest sympathy to you and yours as
you stand in the shadow which is the earthly side of those clouds
of glory in which your son's life has just passed. Many will
envy you that when the call to sacrifice came you were not found
among the paupers to whom no gift of life worth offering had
been intrusted. They are the ones to be pitied, not we whose
dearest are jeopardizing their lives unto the death in the high
places of the field. I hope my two sons will live as worthily and
die as greatly as yours."
There spoke one dauntless soul to another. America
is safe while her daughters are of this kind, for their
lovers and their sons cannot fail as long as beside the
hearthstones stand such wives and mothers. And we have
many, many such women, and their men are like unto them.
— From the Metropolitan Magazine.
When Peace Comes
By Secretary Robert Lansing
An Address delivered last week at Auburn Theological Seminary
IF another world war is to be prevented, strict justice
and the common good must be the underlying mo-
tives of those who are charged with the responsibility
of drafting the peace treaty after Prussian militarism is
crushed. The principles upon which a general peace will
be made between the warring nations have been clearly
stated by President Wilson. These principles of justice
must guide those charged with the negotiation of the great
treaty of peace, and must find expression in that mo-
mentous document which will lay the foundation for a
world transformed.
THE WAY TO A LASTING PEACE
Thoughtful men must know that the peace which is
to come will not be a lasting peace if its terms are written
in anger or if revenge rather than the desire for strict
justice and the common good is the underlying motive of
those who are charged with the grave responsibility of
drafting the greatest treaty which this world has ever
known.
I think that it is sufficient in these days of toil and
struggle, while the beast controlling the peoples of the
central powers is still at large, to assert that the peace
which will come when the world is safe will be a peace
founded on justice and righteousness. Let us not forget
that, while stern justice without mercy is unchristian,
mercy which destroys justice is equally unchristian. When
the time comes to balance the account — and it seems to be
drawing near as the vassals of Germany seek refuge from
the day of wrath — the authors of the frightful wrongs
committed against mankind should not be forgotten.
The period of readjustment and restoration which
10
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 17, 1918
will follow the disorganization and destruction caused by
the war will tax human wisdom to the uttermost.
The American people ought not, after the war is won,
cherish a pitiless hate for all those who have served the
military dictators of central Europe. We should dis-
criminate between the ignorant and the intelligent.
NEW ERA TO BE CHRISTIAN
The new era born in blood and fire on the battlefields
of Europe must be a Christian era in reality and not alone
in name. The years to come must be years of fraternity
and common purpose. International injustice must cease.
All men must be free from the oppression of arbitrary
power. Unreasoning class hatreds and class tyrannies
must come to an end. Society must be organized on prin-
ciples of justice and liberty. The world must be ruled
by the dominant will to do what is right. The hour of
triumph is drawing near. The day of the war lords is
almost over.
Before Christ lived, worked and died, the man of
labor had comparatively small place in the world's appre-
ciation. Slaves, serfs and bondmen were they who toiled ;
but in simple dignity he declared, "I work," and by the
influence of his philosophy on life, the man of labor has
come into his emancipation of our modern days. He has
been lifted from the dust of humiliation to the heights
of glory ; and our government is strictly Christian in its
searching mandate that every able man must "work or
fight."
The principles of Christ's teachings are the panacea
for labor and capitalistic ills. The law of Christ for life,
is the law of love from man to man. In no case did he
ever advocate the hatred of class versus class. Even where
conditions are unjust, and that is in many places, even
where wrongs are palpable, and that is constantly, even
where men of wealth exact more than the lion's share —
even under such conditions now existing, Christ has for
the man of labor no message of retaliation.
Hatred and revenge do not pay in any sense of the
word. This does not mean that the workingman shall
not organize to free his condition of injustice, nor does
it mean that intelligent efforts to give all men their rights
shall be throttled. It simply means that Christ's message
for the laboring man is the same message. He has for
every man the message of his obligation to love and help,
rather than to hate and hurt. That is his law for the
economic as well as the social relations of human living.
The Winning Spirit
By J. H. Jowett
"W
E are more than conquerors in Him." This
word of the Apostle expresses the victorious
mood in which victory was achieved. The
early believers in the Lord Jesus won the victory in their
hearts before they won it on the field. In Christ Jesus
they anticipated triumph, and their anticipations made the
triumph possible. And this mood is one of the secrets of
victory in every kingdom.
Is there any record of an army winning a battle when
THE
NEW
ORTHODOXY
By Edward Scribner Ames
Associate Professor of Philosophy
The University of Chicago
The War marks the beginning of a new epoch
in Christianity. Religion is gaining in reality and
in sanity and also in vision and incentive. The
old orthodoxy sought correctness of opinion
through tradition and authority. The new ortho-
doxy rests upon deeper grounds. Its founda-
tions are in the nature of man; not in his super-
stition or his credulity, but in his heroism, his
kindliness and his imagination. The concerns of
religion in our day are bound up with science and
art and social idealism. This book is a popular,
constructive interpretation of man's religious life
in the light of the learning of the scholars and in
the presence of a new generation of spiritual heroes.
Ij8 pages — $i.oo, postage extra {weight 12 oz.)
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
the soldiers entered the conflict believing they would fail?
Such a gloomy lack of confidence would breed a dismal
progeny of wants, and the army would be sapped of its
vital resources before the battle began. Our biggest in-
spirations blow from the gates of the morning ! Let those
gates be closed, and the soul will be deprived of the mys-
tic oxygen which is absolutely essential to her life and
strength. There is to me a very real significance, and
therefore something of spiritual direction, in the words
of the prophet which tell me that the glory of the Lord
entered the temple by the gateway "which looked towards
the east." He entered by the door which looked towards
the new dawnings, the new revelations, the door of ex-
pectancy and hope ! "Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and
the King of Glory shall come in !" Our eager confidences
become highways of the Lord.
And so it is that, in a very real degree, we can ascer-
tain the nature of our coming victories or defeats by ex-
amining the character of our expectations. We may re-
gard all our unbeliefs as the ministers and precursors of
disaster. Whenever did unbelief go into battle singing a
song of praise? When did unbelief hammer the strong-
holds of iniquity with blows which shook its walls into
dust? When did unbelief stride out into the second mile
with the fine determination to make the second mile the
justification of the first?
It is only the assurance of victory which works mir-
acles of this kind, and it works them every day. In the
spiritual realm a healthy confidence not only sees a high-
way stretching through coming days, and brightening
October 17, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
11
ever more and more unto perfect day, but it makes that
highway the road on which there come the marvellous re-
inforcements of the spirit, which transform all antagonisms
into opportunities of glorious achievements.
And surely this victorious mood is needed today. Our
tasks are tremendous. To lose confidence is to lose every-
thing. The devil always wins when he breaks our assur-
ance. To be sure in Christ Jesus is the beginning of vic-
tory. Nay, it is victory ! "This is the victory which
overcometh the world, even our faith."
T
Preaching After the War
HOUGH some argue that the world will go back
again to its old ways and ideals, we must not believe
it, for unless we enter upon a different civilization, a
different social order, a different idea of the values of life,
the war will have been fought in vain, its agony and
bloody sweat prove a sheer waste. Others argue that
we can only drift until the guns cease, for who can tell
what conditions will be after the war? This is the great
folly of the church. When laymen, serious and level-
headed, are busy with schemes of reconstruction, financial,
political, industrial, educational and social, it would be
unpardonable neglect on the part of the church to refrain
from considering its future program until the new time
arrives.
More than ever before the preacher will have to know
the hearts of his hearers, their point of view, their experi-
ence, the limits and possibilities of their minds. This
is the great lesson of the battle front. No preacher can
face the men who are facing death and influence them
without knowing the men.
The war has shown us three divine things as unex-
pected features in the mentality of common men. First,
the divine compulsion of duty, duty to country, to the
call of honor, to freedom and justice, to wronged and
oppressed humanity. Secondly, the power and glory of
self-sacrifice in every heart. Men gave their life-blood
gladly because it was the only way to save country and
humanity. In the third place there is the clear realiza-
tion that spiritual values are higher than material. The
truth shines clear to all ages that not in things but in
souls is a nation's true life, that its destiny is controlled
not by wealth or armies or extent of territory, but by
the heroic temper of its people.
In the rediscovery of these three great things lies
the hope of the churches and of future religion. These
are religion. They should be the stuff and fiber of preach-
ing. Spiritual values, great ethical topics, practical issues
must take the place of intellectual controversy. The man
in the Y. M. C. A. hut doesn't care about the Trinity.
Discourses on the fall of man or the flames of hell sound
to him like the rattling of dried peas in a bladder. There
must be the accent of invitation, the warmth of concern,
the compelling persuasion men feel when the preacher
himself thrills to the sense of God and himself bears and
carries the sorrows of his people, sharing the burden
the Master bears in bringing many sons to glory.
The Hibbert Journal.
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THE
ISSUES
What We are Fighting For
\
Shall the military power of any Nation or group of Nations be suffered to determine the fortunes of peoples
over whom they have no right to rule except the right of force?
Shall strong Nations be free to wrong weak Nations and make them subject to their purpose and interest?
Shall peoples be ruled and dominated, even in their own internal affairs, by arbitrary and irresponsible force or by their
own will and choice?
Shall there be a common standard of right and privileges for all peoples and Nations or shall the strong do as they will
and the weak suffer without redress?
Shall the assertion of right be haphazard and by casual alliance or shall there be a common concert to oblige the ob-
servance of common rights?
THE
PRICE
OF PEACE
To achieve a secure and lasting peace, it will be necessary that all who sit down at the peace table shall
come ready and willing to pay the price.
That price is impartial justice in every item of the settlement, no matter where interest is crossed. The
indispensable instrumentality is a League of Nations formed under the covenants that will be efficacious.
THE
TERMS
First, the impartial justice meted out must be a justice that plays no favorites and knows no standard
but the equal rights of the several peoples concerned.
Second, no special or separate interest of any single Nation or any group of Nations can be made the basis
of any part of the settlement which is not consistent with the common interest of all;
Third, there can be no leagues or alliances or special covenants and understandings within the general and common
family of the League of Nations. \
Fourth, and more specifically, there can be no special selfish economic combinations within the League and no employ-
ment of any form of economic boycott or exclusion except as the power of economic penalty by exclusion from the
markets of the world may be vested in the League of Nations itself as a meaus of discipline and control.
Fifth, all international agreements and treaties of every kind must be made known in their entirety to the rest of the world.
New York, Sept. 27, 1918
-President Woodrow Wilson.
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Can We Make a Christian Peace?
Changing Our Peace Temper With
the Changing Front
The German rulers have changed their tempers always
to the changing of their front line. If it was a successful
offensive they talked loudly of annexations and Germany's
destiny, and the Pan-German party swaggered. If it was
retreat and the battle went against them the autocrats allowed
the liberals and socialists to talk and the temper was that of
the reconstructionist.
Are the allies to follow the same win or lose attitude in
regard to their temper for peace? Now that victory is as-
sured, we can talk definitely of what terms are to be imposed.
So long as that victory looked far off and meant perhaps a
million more lives, all responded to Woodrow Wilson's
pacific temper and simple demands for justice to all peoples.
Now that victory seems near and decisive there are those
who become hot belligerents here at home and demand re-
venge and a "dictated peace" and imitate the German bullies
in their language.
The simple question is as to whether we will keep the
same cool heads in the hour of victory that we have always
kept in the hours of defeat. Will we keep the same serene
determination to see justice done in the time when we could
dictate revenge as we kept in the days when that justice
promised to require much blood and treasure? We had the
physical courage to fight until justice could be demanded; will
we now have the moral courage to demand simply justice
only?
President Wilson has repeatedly pointed out that the
wrongs done France in the matter of Alsace-Lorraine must be
righted, for they had been the source of friction and a menace
to the peace of the world ever since their commission. Will
we now so treat the German people that they will be pano-
plied with a wrong until there is another war to avenge it?
* 5 *
Revenge or Justice?
The question is whether we will settle with the criminal
government responsible for this war in strict justice to both
it and the people whom they dragged into it, or will we
avenge ourselves upon them both? Justice must be enforced
or there can be no "decent world to live in," and it must not
be a sentimental justice; it must take full account of the awful-
ness of the crime and the terrible cost it has brought upon
humanity. The President's famous fourteen bases provide
for assessing it in full when they demand restoration of all
stolen territory and complete reparation for the damage done
it. Let us hope the German editor who cries out that it means
fifty billions marks to repair France, Belgium and Serbia and
the loss of Alsace-Lorraine is right, only let us add that bil-
lion dollars they collected from France in '71 with interest to
date!
The President persists to the end in differentiating be-
tween the German militarist government and the German peo-
ple. In this he is Lincolnesque in his moral quality. Lincoln
refused to take revenge on the South; had he lived, there
would have been no carpet-bag rule and reconstruction would
have been accomplished much more quickly. In his day there
were those who would "knock them down, then kick them in
the face" just as there are now. Lincoln knew that the masses
in the South did not make war, but were drawn into it by
the slave-holding few. Wilson knows that the German
masses did not make war but were drawn into it blindly by the
system under which they lived and for which the autocrats
were responsible. Lincoln thought of the future in his peace
conditions and Wilson is much more concerned about mak-
ing the future an era of peace than he is about revenge upon
the guilty Germans.
There is much talk about the German people and gov-
ernment being one. Governments and people are usually one
when war is declared, because patriotism has usually meant
"my country, right or wrong." But peoples live for millen-
iums and governments for decades at the best, because peo-
ples change governments. England changed when Cromwell
overthrew the autocratic Stuarts. France changed when she
overthrew the autocratic Bourbons. Russia changed when
she overthrew the autocratic Romanoffs. Germany will
change by overthrowing the autocratic Hohenzollerns. Eng-
land took two hundred years to fully accomplish democrati-
zation of her government and France took a full century.
Ex-Ambassador Girard is a very good authority on Ger-
many, and he assures us that she is in for a thorough-going
revolution, no difference how or when the war ends. The
German people are now in a position to become completely
undeluded. Wilson refuses to talk peace with the autocrats;
the autocrats have failed to deliver peace on Germanic terms;
already Germans are bold to say they have been "swindled"
and the new Chancellor declares that future governments must
be responsive to the Reichstag. Wilson has been right from
the first in differentiating between people and government,
and he is right today in determining to make a peace that will
count for the future. Justice will bring the right lessons;
revenge will bring another war.
* 5 *
Making Atonement for
the World
Germany alone is guilty of precipitating this war. But
every nation drawn into it by her has in the past been guilty
of like imperialistic designs, unless we except ourselves by
blinking our conquest of the Philippines and a certain settle-
ment made with Mexico back in the forties. The democrati-
zation of the allied nations had changed their imperial pro-
grams to those of benevolent assimilation through trade and
peaceful diplomacy and education. Germany remained auto-
cratic and held to the imperialistic designs of our ancient
autocrats. She is an anachronism in western governments and
her crime is not that no others ever designed such things
but that she refused to progress out of such designing. To
her unteachableness and medievalism in government she
added modern scientific efficiency in her army and made her
ancient codes of war more ancient and savage by her pre-
mediated policy of "frightfulness." For this she must now
repent and show the fruits by adopting a representative gov-
ernment and repairing the wrongs she has done civilization.
But her chastisement will bring penitence and the sentence
assessed must be such as to appeal to the people of tomorrow
as a just sentence in the light of her crimes.
Here again our President clings tenaciously to the Chris
tian principles of atonement. He told the German people long
ago that when they took over the reins of government a:
people penitent for the sins of autocracy we would all gladh
pay. We have paid dearly in bringing them to their sense:
and we must still pay in terms of suffering that can never b
requited, property that can never be restored and wrongs tha
can never be avenged. Justice demands that the German peo
pie atone for the wrong done by repairing all possible of tfr
destruction done and by displacing the guilty autocrats. Atone
ment means that all the world, once itself imperialistic, accep
its part in the suffering and loss that cannot be repaid, for th
sake of a safe future. America declared this principle whe:
she entered the war, saying she would never accept a penny
return or a foot of land; her part is a blood atonement fo
the sins of the world and an offering on the altar of perpetu.
peace. Now all the allied governments must join us in thi
lofty settlement. Some declared that some nation must cot
sent to be led to the cross non-resistant that war might enc
we have chosen to take up the cross for the world that delivei
ance from the welter of ancient feuds and the tangled, blood
skein of historic wars and conquests and "balance of powei
October 17, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
13
imperialisms might be ended through the atonement of blood
without which, it is written in the law of human progress, there
can be no redemption.
* * *
Bolshevik or
Chauvinist?
Russia turned Bolshevik and is in the chaos of no recog-
nizable nationality. She withdrew from the war and left the
world at the mercy of the Prussian militarists. Now that vic-
tory draws near, the other extremist, the Chauvinist, is abroad
in every land. He would destroy Germany and prepare to
fight again; he would deny the League of Nations and arm
every able-bodied man; he would decry internationalism and
make new alliances on a balance of power basis. Some of his
concrete demands are for the surrender of German colonies to
Great Britain, and of the entire German navy to the conquer-
ors, instead of universal disarmament. Then he would make
an Anglo-Saxon alliance against the world, hoping that France
and Italy would find it advisable to accept lieutenancies in it.
He stands as firmly on what he chooses to call "nationalism"
(but which is really Chauvinism) as the Prussian does on
autocracy and militarism, and his so-called nationalism is only
a revised and more democratic form of the older imperialism.
He blurs the issue by the false analogy of likening an interna-
tionalist to one who loves other families as well as his own.
The true analogy is that he would have us love no family but
our own and always keep ourselves armed against the neigh-
bors. There is no contradiction between lofty patriotism and
love of country and a "federation of the world, a parliament
of mankind." Indeed here again both President Wilson and
Lloyd George declare for an application of the Christian
brotherhood of man to international relations.
Here are some great sentences from Lloyd George's ad-
dress at Manchester on September 12th: "I am ready for any
rational means of bringing this madness to an end." "I am all for
a League of Nations — in fact the League of Nations has already
begun." "If after the war Germany repudiates and condemns
her perfidy, or rather the perfidy of her rulers, then a Germany
/reed from military domination will be welcomed into a League
of Nations." "To establish a new world we must take heed
lest we slip back into the welter of the old." "The German
people must know that if their rulers outrage the laws of
humanity Prussian military strength cannot protect them from
punishment." "We must not arm Germany with a real wrong;
we will neither accept nor impose a Brest-Litovsk treaty." To
many such brilliant statements he adds unequivocal adherence
to President Wilson's peace terms and those of the British
Labor party. The President closed his great address on Sep-
tember 27th with these glowing words:
" 'Peace drives' can be effectively neutralized and silenced
only by showing that every victory of the nations associated
against Germany brings the nations nearer the sort of peace
which will bring security and reassurance to all peoples and
make the recurrence of another such struggle of pitiless force
and bloodshed forever impossible, and that nothing else can.
Germany is constantly intimating the 'terms' she will accept;
and always finds that the world does not want terms. It
wishes the final triumph of justice and fair dealing."
We can be Christians in making peace if we follow two
such notable Christian statesmen as Woodrow Wilson and
Lloyd George.
Alva W. Taylor.
Becoming Christ -like
You cannot choose to be Christlike and attain your choice by
trying; but you can choose the Christ for your Friend, the
Kingdom for your Cause, the Bible for your Book, the Church
for your Brotherhood, and these consciously chosen influences
will unconsciously transform your life.
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FOR CHILDREN
The Little Child and the Heavenly Father
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FOR TEEN AGE PUPILS
Leaders of Israel
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Hero Stories
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Christian Leaders
The Life of Christ
Christian Living
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(For pupilt about 16 yeart of age)
FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
The World a Field for Christian Service
(For pupilt about 17 yeart of age)
History and Literature of the Hebrew People
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History of New Testament Times
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The Larger Christian World
A Department of Interdenominational Acquaintance
Who Eliminated the
Camp Pastor?
The elimination of the camp pastor has been the subject
of much discussion in various sections of the country. The
presbytery in Denver voted a resolution of protest against the
order. Some Episcopalian organizations also voted the same
way. Along with the discussion has come a war rumor that
John R. Mott, head of the International Y. M. C. A., was re-
sponsible for the order. Mr. Mott has authorized a public
statement in which he denies that his organization has had
anything to do with the order. On the contrary, the asso-
ciation secretaries have done all in their power to help the
work of these men. Mr. Mott in the same communication
denies that he favored the merger which resulted in the com-
bined war budget for all of the agencies helping soldiers within
the camps; on the contrary, he opposed this merger with all
his power until President Wilson said he favored it. Then
Mr. Mott at once acceded to the president's desire.
The Death of Archbishop
Ireland
The passing of Archbishop Ireland of the Roman Cath-
olic communion removes one of the most American of the
Roman clergy in this country. He has had a broader attitude
toward other forms of religion in America than has usually
characterized his confreres. He has been intimately related
to the development of the great northwest during the past
quarter of a century.
Y. M. C. A. Working
Among Shipbuilders
The Y. M. C. A. is rapidly extending its service among
the shipbuilders of the country, using methods which have
already been approved by experience in the military camps.
The work has already begun at Los Angeles. At Portland
there are secretaries in five plants and the Americanization
of the workmen is receiving special attention. The work will
be put in operation in San Francisco, Seattle and Tacoma.
When Dr. Jowett Had a
Small Salary
One of the largest salaried preachers in the Christian
world today is Dr. John H. Jowett. He has not always been
so fortunate, as is indicated by the accounts of a rural Meth-
odist church in England which records money paid to Dr.
Jowett in 1878, when on a certain Sunday he received for his
services 2 s. 6 d. Several years later the munificent sum of
5 s. was paid him. This was during the college days of Dr.
Jowett.
Will Protest Order on
Camp Pastors
The order barring camp pastors from military camps is
meeting strong opposition in different parts of the country.
There is being formed a committee representative of the dif-
ferent denominations which will go to Washington soon and
protest against the order, which was not really issued by the
secretary of war, but by one of his subordinates. The Episco-
palians will be represented by the eminent New York clergy-
man, the Rev. Dr. Wiliam T. Manning, himself a camp pastor.
Y. M. C. A. Looking After
Woman Workers
The Y. M. C. A. has a number of workers in training
school this autumn preparing to help the women who are
working in the munition plants and in other kinds of factory
labor. These secretaries when appointed will look after the
recreation of the girls during leisure hours, provide pleasant
places for them to read and write and afford classes for their
improvement. The Y. M. C. A. has been maintaining a hostess
house in Petrograd, Russia, which has been so successful the
past years that the organization has been compelled to secure
larger quarters.
Will Round Up Stray
Baptists
The Baptists of America will observe in November an
Enlistment week during which every Baptist in America will
be visited and asked to enlist in some form of Christian or
war service. Inquiry will be made of his spiritual conditions.
There will be no financial solicitation in connection with the
movement. No church has ever before carried on a campaign
of this sort on a national scale.
Rev. Chas. Stelzle Goes Over
to Red Cross
Rev. Charles Stelzle has been having some interesting
experiences in recent years. Formerly the secretary of labor
and immigration interests in the Presbyterian home mission
organization, he encountered some strong opposition in his
own denomination and went over into the service of the
Federal Council of Churches. Here he has been conducting
an effective publicity campaign throughout the country on the
prohibition issue and has been especially successful in inter-
preting the great reform to labor organizations. He has re-
cently been called to the publicity bureau of the Red Cross.
Here he will connect the Red Cross work with the labor and
the religious interests. After the war it is understood that
he will return to the service of the Federal Council of Churches.
Many Ministers Go
to War
The number of ministers who have gone into war service
is increasing every day, and this fact is now becoming a
serious factor in the work of every religious denomination in
America. The Canadian Methodist church has contributed
five hundred ministers to war service. There are now a hun-
dred Methodist chaplains in the American army. It is said
that forty per cent of the association's workers in France are
recruited from the ministry. In Pittsburgh, the Presbyterians
have been compelled to call back into active service all the
veteran ministers in order to keep the churches going.
Chicago Preacher Internes
His Car
Becoming convinced that pleasure cars should be abol-
ished for the period of the war, Rev. John Timothy Stone,
pastor of Fourth Presbyterian church of Chicago, the leading
church of the denomination in the city, has announced that he
has stored his car for the period of the war, as he wished to
save on gasoline and not to use labor uselessly in the hiring
of a chauffeur. Dr. Stone has been distinguished for his
patriotic service. He has served a period at Camp Grant,
securing a leave of absence from his great church.
Denominational Fences Now More
Easily Climbed
The going of preachers from one denomination to another
does not necessarily indicate denominational friendliness, but
when a man may go from an official position in one denomi-
nation to an official position in another, the denominational
fence is certainly easier to climb than in former years. Rev.
Alfred Ray Atwood, formerly educational director for Mich-
igan Synod of the Presbyterians, has recently resigned to
October 17, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
15
become a home missionary superintendent for Congregational
churches in Missouri with headquarters at St. Louis.
Secretary of State Speaks at Auburn
Theological Seminary
Auburn Theological Seminary is celebrating a hundred
years of history, and on October 10 Robert Lansing, Secretary
of State, made the leading address. A number of eminent
speakers participated in the exercises during the anniversary
week, among them Governor Charles S. Whitman, Dr. J. Ross
Stevenson, Dr. C. R. Brown, Dr. John G. Hibben and Dr.
William A. Brown. The seminary is one of the prominent
institutions of the Presbyterian church.
Dr. Zwemer Now Speaking
in America
Dr. Samuel Zwemer, the well-known authority in mission
work in Moslem lands, is speaking in America in connection
with the movement on the moral aims of the war. He pro-
nounces the defeat of the Turks by General Allenby as of the
greatest importance and says the alliance of English and
Arabs is the result of a long period of misrule on the part
of the Turks.
Chaplains Have no
Signs of Rank
An order has recently been issued that chaplains will no
longer wear the signs of their rank in the army other than
the cross which indicates that they are chaplains. It is thought
that the setting forth of their rank tends to separate them
from the men they serve. When the word was received of this
order at the chaplains' training school at Camp Taylor, more
than a hundred of the men in training there telegraphed a
protest to Washington.
Orvis F. Jordan.
The Sunday School
Romance*
THE tumult and the shouting dies — today we do not shout un-
til we are purple in the face, demanding some new duty to
be observed. Each week we have been proposing some diffi-
cult task, we have been calling our scholars to higher tasks, we
have been laying new and heavier burdens upon their shoulders;
today we pause to touch the romance of living.
I confess that I never admired Isaac overmuch. He lacked
pep. He was such a comfortable sort of a creature. He would not
fight; let the Philistines have the wells! He had no big ambitions,
no deep convictions. He went along smoothly, softly, easily. I
suppose we must admit that all men cannot fight; cannot, like
Atlas, shoulder the earth and march off with it; cannot risk and
plunge and strive and conquer. Isaac is a type. He also has many
kindred spirits in the church and out of it. So I am not disposed
to rail at poor old Isaac today ; howbeit, I do not admire him en-
thusiastically. Isaac was a good lover !
Take the Song of Solomon, or rather the Song of Songs, —
what place has such a book as that in the Bible? It has a big
place. It calls attention to pure and happy love. It tells the story
of a country maiden who resisted the blandishments of the King's
court, who thrust aside every worldly flattery in order to be true to
her peasant lover. In real life that book has a large place. In any
bible it has a large place. If the Bible teaches us how to live, it
must succeed in teaching us how to make our home-life pure,
happy, romantic. Why should the romance ever depart? Moons
will always shine; roses will always bloom; love will always cast
the spell of romance over the world. So today we wish only to
dwell upon the quiet, constant, commonplace, steady, easy-going
but romantic life of Isaac and Rebekah.
Long before the day of modern novels there lived a writer of
love stories ; whoever it was who penned this narrative in Genesis —
he was a red-blooded human being who knew what love and ro-
mance was. In the love literature of the world nothing more beau-
tiful survives.
Oh, there were some family jars ! Rebekah was a bit too sharp
for her easy-going husband and now and then slipped one over on
him, as in the case of Jacob and the birthright. I do not suppose
that their married life lacked spice. I imagine they scrapped,
kissed and made up — as countless thousands of good people have
done ever since — and before. No doubt Jacob deserved the best, —
Esau wasn't much ! Esau was a lazy lout who wanted to do
nothing but fish and hunt. He deserved nothing.
But the romance — how soon it dies in many modern families !
The reason is not far to seek — we are too ambitious. We want too
many things. The effort required to gain these things and take
care of them exhausts us. Isaac had sense enough to settle down
and enjoy what he had ! The spirit was not crushed out, smothered
out by stuff. He had a few simple, fundamental realities and knew
how to surround them with romance. He knew the flowers, the
birds, the cool wells, the evening breezes. He loved to meditate in
the twilight. His home was his castle. Business affairs did not
distract him. If his competitors wanted some of his customers he
let them have them and slept well and ate well and played with the
children just the same. Let the Philistines have the old wells, he had
enough anyway. He represents only one side of life. His son
Jacob would represent the other side very well. Wait until we see
that aggressive young man crossing swords with the hook-nosed
Laban ! But I must insist that Isaac has a lesson for all of us in
these busy times. No man has a right to blot out all the romance
from his home. His wife and his children deserve to dwell in this
glorious atmosphere of flowers and birds and music. Home must
be made and kept sweet. Isaac may have chosen the better part.
God pity the unromantic success !
John R. Ewers.
"♦Lesson for October 27. Scripture, Gen. 34 :57-67.
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16
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 17, 1918
News of the Churches
No Convention at St. Louis
An influenza order issued by the St.
Louis authorities peremptorily ended
preparations for the general convention,
which was due to begin its sessions at
the Union Avenue church on October 9.
An Executive Committee meeting prepa-
ratory to the gathering was being ad-
dressed by Judge Frederick A. Henry
when the word came to the church de-
claring the convention off, except for its
opening session. George A. Campbell, of
Union Avenue church, was called to the
telephone and returned with the gloomy
news.
"I am sorry you are here at a great
expense," said Dr. Campbell to the fifty
or more present, "but it seems we can-
not do otherwise. I move we close the
convention." "The question is not de-
batable," said the presiding officer, Geo.
B. Peak of Des Moines, president of the
Central Life Assurance Society of the
United States. Immediately the discus-
sions were dissolved; not even a benedic-
tion was pronounced. More than $1,000
for the expenses of the convention had
been paid in and paid out again. Among
the members of the Executive Commit-
tee present were Mrs. Florence Miller
Black of Louisville, Ky. ; Graham Frank,
convention secretary, Dallas, Tex.; W. A.
Shullenberger, Des Moines, la., and Mrs.
Louise Loos Campbell. The news of the
closing of the convention was not an-
nounced in time to prevent the arrival of
more than five hundred members of the
Christian Women's Board of Missions.
Several early arrivals were from Califor-
nia and Oklahoma. Some of the Chicago
delegates were already in St. Louis when
the news of the closing of the convention
was given out. No word has yet come
from the convention heads as to further
plans.
All Men and Millions
Dates Cancelled
Just as the "Century" goes to press, a
telephone message is received from Secre-
tary H. P. Shaw, of the Men and Millions
Movement asking that announcement be
made in this issue that all engagements for
Men and Millions meetings everywhere
are canceled because of the influenza epi-
demic. Further announcements will be
made later.
National Benevolent Association
Has Prosperous Year
Secretary Mohorter, in submitting the
report of the National Benevolent Asso-
ciation for the year, tells of the fears
that were entertained for the work when
the war came to our shores, but he adds,
"We believe now as never before that
'as our days, so shall our strength be.' "
The total amount received from all
sources and for all purposes was $264,-
997.16, a gain of $39,982,10 over last year.
The annuity and bequest funds show a
loss. The receipts of the year contain
no big outstanding gift as in some pre-
vious years. With the exception of the
amount received from the Men and Mil-
lions movement, the receipts this year
represent the regular offerings for main-
tenance from societies, Sunday schools
and churches. The record indicates that
2,369 churches, 2,466 Sunday schools and
156 societies participated. The response
this year from schools and churches was
especially generous. The offering sur-
passed all previous records, with a total
of $53,038.29, a gain of $22,574.86. The
goal had been set at $50,000. This is the
finest achievement in the history of the
Disciples benevolent work, Mr. Mohorter
reports. There has been generous giv-
ing to the homes in the way of food
supplies. In practically every line of the
Association's work, Mr. Mohorter re-
ports excellent results of the year's ef-
forts.
Sunday School* of the Brotherhood
Make Record Year in Missionary Giving
Secretary R. M. Hopkins reports that
the past missionary year has been the
greatest year of our schools in their
gifts to missions. In addition to gener-
eut responses made to the many war re-
lief asd emergency appeals of the year,
the schools increased their offerings to
the regular causes of home and foreign
missions and benevolences from $208,-
756.65 to $250,789.99, a gain of $42,033.34
or nearly 20 per cent. The offerings for
the Sunday school department were $53,-
650.73, a gain of $8,756.69 over the year
before. The greatest gains were made
in Kentucky, $1,718.75; Oklahoma,
$879.63; the Northwest district, $811.77;
the South Pacific district, 554.05; and
Indiana $551.27. The colored schools
more than doubled their offerings while
the Century givers increased from
88 to 122. In all, 2,747 schools
participated in the support of home
missions and Sunday school work
in addition to several contributions from
other sources, such as those of R. A.
Long for Alaska, the Mother McGill
fund for Alabama-Tennessee work, Mrs.
W. S. West for the Georgia work, the
Christian Board of Publication, the Hali-
fax Building Fund and the Armenian-
Syrian relief work. The total receipts
for the department were $63,862.96. The
call is made for not less than $100,000
this year.
Church Reaches
"More-For-Others"Class
Reports read at the annual meeting of
First church, Joplin, Mo., showed that
while $3,512.62 had been contributed for
all local expenses, $3,774 had been sent
to the various missionary, educational
and benevolent agencies of the brother-
hood. A total of $418.28 had been sent
to the Foreign Society, and $344.79 to
the C. W. B. M. This total of $763.06
makes the church a "Joint Living Link."
Work will be assigned in the Bolenge
district. The total amount raised by this
church for missions, education and
benevolences during the present pastor-
ate is as follows: 1915, $466.15; 1916,
$1,070.61; 1917, $2,203.25; 1918, $3,774.40.
C C. Garrigues begins the new church
year with much hope. His duties as
president of the county organization,
president of the Third District Mission-
ary society and president of the state
convention of Missouri Disciples, have
given him much work outside his local
field. During the past year Mr. Garri-
gues has traveled over 5,000 miles in
three states and has given 109 addresses.
Over »00 miles were traveled in the
county in connection with the work of
the county organization. The present
membership at First church is 124 non-
resident and 499 resident members. There
are 56 names of soldier and sailor boys
on the church honor roll. A meeting is
planned with the Kellems brothers of
Eugene, Oregon, to begin about October
20.
Beatrice, Neb., Minister
Goes to Bethany, Neb.
For many years Charles F. Stevens has
successfully led the congregation at
Beatrice, Neb. He has recently received
a call from the church at Bethany, Neb.,
and it is reported that he has accepted, to
begin his new task November 1.
Norfolk, Va., First Church Wants
to Aid Disciple Sojourners in Norfolk
C. M. Watson, pastor of First church,
Norfolk, Va., writes in the hope of reach-
ing homes which have boys represented
in the bases of the Fifth Naval District
in Hampton Roads, or on ships that
make Norfolk their home port. To meet
the increased needs, the Department of
Social Service of the church, R. E. Steed,
chairman, has arranged for Mrs. Fannie
Longmire, War Work Social Secretary,
and Mrs. J. A. Owen, War Work Office
Secretary, with the minister, to be a com-
mittee in charge of their war work pro-
gram. If mothers and wives plan to
visit boys in Norfolk, they would do well
to address Mrs. Fannie Longmire, care of
First Christian Church (Disciples), Co-
lonial avenue at 16th street. This applies
also to young women who in large num-
bers are coming from inland towns to
take places in offices, and work in con-
nection with Navy Yard and other Nor-
folk activities.
Two Illinois Churches
Celebrate Anniversaries
On October 6, First church, Spring-
field, 111., celebrated its 85th birthday.
Joseph Hewitt was the first pastor of the
church, and W. F. Rothenburger the
latest. Mr. Rothenburger preached the
anniversary sermon, his subject being
"The Heroic Challenge." In the even-
ing the church united with the other
churches of the city in an Illinois Cen-
tennial mass meeting. On September 22,
First church at Quincy celebrated the
67th anniversary of its organization. In
that period the congregation has grown
from a membership of 25 to a great and
successful organization of more than 500
members, with W. D. Endres as the pres-
ent leader. James R. Ross was the first
located pastor at Quincy.
Eastern District Awarded Loving
Cup for Sunday School Efficiency
Considerable interest is always mani-
fest in the award of the loving cup to
the state or district showing the highest
percentage of Sunday school efficiency
as based on the well-known ten point
standard. Two yearrs ago Oregon (Mrs.
Clara G. Esson, Supt.) won this, with a
percentage of forty-six. Last year Kan-
sas (David H. Owen, Supt.) was the vic-
tor with fifty-four per cent of efficiency.
This year the Eastern District (Miss
Katherine E. Staub, Supt.) captures the
cup with forty-nine per cent efficiency.
This lower per cent indicates rather
higher standards than lower efficiency.
Founder's Day and
S. A. T. C. Induction at Cotner
Forty Training College students took
the oath of induction at Cotner Uni-
October 17, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
17
vcrsity this year. The installation pro-
gram incident to the induction of the
S. A. T. C. students was combined with
a Founder's Day program. The oath of
allegience was administered by Lieu-
tenant Massholder and the message of
General March and that of Acting Secre-
tary of War Benedict Crowell were read
by Lieutenant Christians. Patriotic
music was rendered by the university
orchestra and the chorus furnished sev-
eral patriotic airs. Judge J. S. McCarty
was the speaker of the occasion.
Secretary Hopkins Reports Progress
of a Decade in Sunday School Work
No man is more competent to trace
the development of the Disciples Sunday
school activities than Secretary Robert
M. Hopkins. He includes in his report
for this year an interesting summary of
progress made during the last ten years.
He writes: "Our Sunday schools are tak-
ing an increasing pride in their depart-
ment, which in turn is becoming increas-
ingly efficient in the service it renders.
For ten years the schools of the brother-
hood have co-ordinated their efforts thus
in an organized way. We had notable
instances of success on the part of indi-
vidual schools before that time, but for
the past ten years the whole brotherhood
has been going forward. The number of
schools has grown from 6,818 to 7,752,
with the enrollment increasing over sixty
per cent in that time, from 643,782 to
1,038,654. The offerings for missions and
benevolence have increased 150 per cent,
from $99,200.04 to $250,789.99. Ten years
ago we had but eight Sunday school field
workers, all employed in strong states;
today we have thirty-one such special-
ists in the field covering practically every
state in the union, while the five general
workers serve both Canada and the
United States. Two Bible school
chairs have been endowed in leading col-
leges, and a third is now being endowed.
Our first missionary has been sent to
Alaska, our first missionary to the negro
Bible schools of the south, and many
other new fields have been entered and
plans of work popularized. The comple-
tion of the thoroughly graded courses
of lessons, the improvement of the uni-
form course, the adoption of a new
teacher training standard and the in-
auguration of special elective and adult
courses of lessons have been achieved
in part through the aid of our organized
effort."
Dr. Willett Aiding
British War Mission
Dr. H. L. Willett, who is at the head
of the Chicago Inter-Church War Work
Committee, has been called to Minne-
apolis and St. Paul, Minn., to take the
place of Dr. Guttery of the British War
Commission, who is scheduled to make a
tour of the south, Bishop Gore continu-
ing the meetings in the north. Both
Bishop Gore and Dr. Guttery were re-
cently in Chicago, and held here some
very inspiring meetings, at which they
gave interpretations of the war as seen
from the viewpoint of British leaders.
R. W. Lilly, Long-Time Missouri
Pastor, Goes to Charleston, W. Va.
R. W. Lillv, who has for four years
served the church at Kirksville, Mo.,
writes that he has accepted a call from
Charleston, W. Va., having already be-
gun his work there. During the ministry
of Mr. Lilly at Kirksville, 468 persons
have united with the church, and the con-
gregation has increased its missionary
offerings from $350 per year to $1,000.
Secretary McLean Reports Foreign Society
Progress
The receipts for the year amounted to
$625,522.75, an increase over last year
of $75,135. Although $65,784 was re-
ceived in the Men and Millions Emer-
gency drive, this hardly shows the strik-
ing features of the gain. The regular
receipts of the Society from churches,
Sunday schools and such sources as con-
tribute to the regular expense fund are
the items which are most significant in
any gain. This year these particular
gains are greater than in any previous
year. The gain from the churches was
$30,071, from the Sunday schools, $22,-
950; and from Endeavor societies, $5,207.
Here is an increase from these perman-
ent sources alone of $58,228.
These splendid gains show several
things. In the first place the great war
calls to which the people have so liber-
ally responded, have stimulated other
giving. In the second place, the Men
and Millions Emergency drive did not
detract from, but rather added to, the
giving spirit of the churches and in the
third place it is evident that the inter-
est of the churches in the missionary
work they have established is perman-
ent and abiding. Abnormal conditions
throughout the country and the world
have not diverted Christian people from
their missionary motives and generosity.
One of the most heartening results of
this year's giving is the freeing of the
Society from debt. It has been many
years since the books have been closed
with a balance on the right side. This
victory will give new courage to the
workers throughout the world and en-
able the Society to plan more carefully
and wisely in these war times.
The Emergency drive money has been
a great boon. The distressing war needs
were presented to the people frankly
and the response was immediate. These
needs have largely been met because
of the special funds in hand from the
movement. The salaries of the mission-
aries have been raised $100 a family, the
tens of thousands extra for Chinese war
exchange have been raised, the medicines
and supplies for the closed and suffer-
ing hospitals have been purchased, the
closed schools are to be opened and the
war debt of the Society has been paid.
This is a year for great rejoicing and
thanksgiving.
A. McLean, President.
Mr. Lilly says: "The call of my native
hills was too strong for me."
A New Church
in Michigan
A new church has been established at
Pontiac, Mich., a city of about 25,000
population, out 25 miles from Detroit.
W. G. Loucks of Detroit, has assisted in
the organization and has been preaching
for the new congregation before entering
his new field of labor. He reports a good
lot in a good community and a good re-
modeled burlding. Mr. Loucks is now
holding a meeting for the new church.
* * *
— Stuart street congregation, Spring-
field, 111., has called as its pastor W. D.
Hawk, of the Havana, 111., church. He
has accepted.
— Charles Darsie, who was granted a
year's leave of absence by his congrega-
tion at Belmar church, Pittsburgh, is re-
ported as having safely arrived overseas
and already entering upon his service
with the Y. M. C. A.
— On October 6th the eighth anniver-
sary of the dedication of the beautiful
church building at Centralia, 111., was ob-
served, with State Secretary H. H. Peters
preaching the sermon of the day. Adam
K. Adcock is the minister at Centralia.
— On October 23 the Men and Millions
movement were to hold an all day meeting
in First church, Philadelphia, Irving S.
Chenoweth, minister, to which there would
be delegates from East Pennsylvania,
New England, East New York, Maryland
and the District of Columbia. But the "flu"
has canceled this meeting.
church. The Congregationalist church
has already federated with the Reformed
church.
— Jasper county, Missouri, has become
almost famous for its unusual achieve-
ments. At the annual convention, held at
Carthage, September 24, 25, some new
standards were set up for the coming
year. A total missionary budget of
$8,000 will be attempted. Of this amount
$1,000 is to be applied to the support of
a county superintendent of missions if
the aim shall be reached. Officers were
elected for the ensuing year as follows:
President C. C. Garrigues ; vice-presi-
dent and superintendent of Bible schools,
J. H. Harbaugh; vice-president and su-
perintendent of Y. P. S. C. E., Hise
Green; vice-president and superintendent
of C. W. B. M., Mrs. F. B. Chapman;
recording secretary, Dr. John Clark; cor-
responding secretary, D. W. Moore;
treasurer, S. E. Byrd; chairman Ways
and Means Committee, W. E. Couch.
— A reception was recently held for the
new leader at Grandview church, Spring-
field, 111., R. H. Heicke, recently of
Kansas City, Kan.
ST. LOUIS
TmiOH AVENUE
CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Union and Von Versen Aves.
George A. Campbell, Minister
urtu unit ir C1HTRAL CHURCH
NEW YORK 142 We*f 81st Street
nun I vim FiftisS.I<fl«maa, Minister
— W. B. Littreal, M. D., of the Hia-
watha, Kan., congregation, writes that
the church there has been without a min-
ister since the leaving of A. D. Brokaw
last March. He reports that the Con-
gregationalists of the town have several
times proposed federation with the
— Olive Griffith, missionary of the For-
eign Society to India, is now on a fur-
lough in this country. She has been vis-
iting friends in the state of Washington,
having first landed in Seattle. She also
made a brief stop in Lincoln, Neb., but
is now in the University of Chicago,
where she is taking post-graduate work
for three months.
— Evangelist Samuel Hawkins re-
cently closed a meeting at Stanton, Ky.,
with twenty-one accessions to the mem-
bership. Mr. Hawkins has held 160
meetings throughout the United States.
18
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 17, 1918
—Allen T. Shaw, of Pckin, 111., church,
delivered an address in behalf of the
Fourth Liberty Loan at Groveland, 111.
Mr. Shaw is one of the Pekin four min-
ute men. He reports having recently
preached in the pulpit of E. E. Moorman,
at Englewood church, Indianapolis, and
states that "the church is prospering
under Mr. Moorman's leadership."
NORFOLK, VA.
FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH
(Disciples)
Colonial Are. at 16th St.
ReT. C. M. Watson, Minister
— H. H. Peters, Illinois state leader,
reports the Centralia church now "sees
for the first time in eight years a solu-
tion of its financial problem." The
church has been carrying a very heavy
indebtedness since the dedication of its
new building. Of the church and its
leaders, Mr. Peters writes "Adam K.
Adcock is in the first year of a very pros-
perous ministry. He is the worthy suc-
cessor of such men as R. H. Robertson,
A. LeRoy Huft and J. F. Rosborough.
The church is missionary to the core but
it has not been able to do as much for
our missionary interests because of its
own local financial problems; but the
Centralia church within a few years will
be one of the great missionary churches
of the brotherhood."
— Chaplain Byron Hester, of Pryor,
Okla., but now in war work, is located
at Camp Meade, Md. With the other
chaplains he is working night and day
in the hospitals endeavoring to keep up
the spirit of the men, many of whom are
ill with influenza. There were thirty-
three deaths reported for one day.
— Ludlow, 111., church will have a new
building to take the place of the one lost
by fire last spring.
— C. M. Burkhart reports the close of
a meeting at Springfield, O., church, with
home preaching and singing led by D.
Emmet Snyder. On the last day of
meeting there was an attendance at Sun-
day school of 615, with thirty accessions
to the membership at all services. Forty-
three persons enlisted with the church
during the two weeks.
E¥ 'I'liHaBaB ii ii ii iimi'M —
THE AMERICAN CHRISTIAN MIS-
SIONARY SOCIETY
Significant Facts of the Emergency Year
Total receipts from churches.. $ 74,708.18
Gain in receipts from churches 5,011. 9*
Total receipts from Bible
schools (largest ever) 53,650.73
Gain in receipts from
Bible schools 8,576.69
Gain in receipts from
' individuals " 3,786.02
Gain in interest from perman-
ent funds 5,348.93
Total gain in regular cur-
rent receipts 22,727.60
Gain in annuities 1,172.52
Gain from Men and Millions
movement 80,964.59
Fourteen annuity bonds issued 15,500.00
Total receipts from all sources 277,813.26
Total gain from all sources... 93,820.53
Permanent fund increased by 16,680.36
Number of contributing
churches 1,999
A loss of 181
Five new living-link churches.
Four mission churches brought to self-
support.
Appropriations increased to missions
in San Francisco, Vancouver, Windsor,
Duluth, Minneapolis, New York, Chi-
cago, Rockford, Anniston, Deming and
Hattiesburg.
New mission churches dedicated at
Flint, Mich.; Carpenter, Wyo.; Burns,
Wyo.; Deming, N. M., and East Las
Vegas, N. M., ready.
A new regional superintendency, in co-
operation with C. W. B. M. — Central
North— C. B. Osgood.
Finally,
Our debt wiped out.
Grant K Lewis, Secy.
BOOK OF PRAYERS
Complete Manual of several „ hundred terse,
-ointed, appropriate Prayers for use in Church,
'rayer meetings. Young People's Society.
Sunday Schools, Missionary. Grace and Sen-
tence Prayers. Question of How and What to
Pray In Public fully covered by model, suggestive
and devout Prayers. Vest Pocket size, 128 pages.
C oth 25c, Morocco 33c, postpaid, atampa taken. Agents
Wanted. CEO. W. NOBLE, Monsn Building, Chicago, 111.
Bible Readers and Christian
Workers Self-Help Hand Book
Short and plain articles by nearly 100 experienced
Christian writers. Just the Help over hard
laces you have been looking for. How to lead.
"Songs for Little People* '
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Graded Lessons
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October 17, 1918 THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY 19
THE HYMNAL
IN THE HOME
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.
Send $1.15 for full cloth edition of Hymns of the
United Church, or $ 1 .40 for half-leather edition.
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 East Fortieth Street
CHICAGO
20 THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY October 17, 1918
£j 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 n ■ i m 1 1 ■■■ 1 1 1 1 1 n 1 1 1 1 m 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 iiiiiiii i iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiKiiiiiiiiHimniniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiii
When the War Ends this Book will provide the Key-
note of Religious Reconstruction.
eology for the Social
Gospel
By WALTER RAUSCHENBUSCH
Author of "Christianity and the Social Crisis,"
"Christianizing the Social Order," etc.
THE social gospel has become orthodox. It is
* an established part of the modern religious
message. But our systematic theology has come
down from an individualistic age and gives no ade-
quate support to those who want to put the power
of religion behind the teachings of social righteous-
ness. Theology is, in fact, often a spiritual ob-
stacle. It needs readjustment and enlargement.
The social gospel means a wider and more
thorough-going salvation.
With this as his viewpoint, Dr. Rauschenbusch takes
up the old doctrines of the Christian faith, such as
Original Sin, The Atonement, Inspiration, The
Sacraments, and shows how they can be re-inter-
preted from the modern social point of view and
expanded in their scope so that they will make
room for the salvation of society as well as for the
salvation of individuals.
It Makes Christianity Seem Like a New Religion !
Price $1.50 (add 6c or 10c postage)
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October 17, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
21
A Treasure Book for laymen, teachers, ministers
and all Bible students
OUR
BLE
By HERBERT L. WILLETT
The Things the Aver-
age Person Wants to
Know.
How did we get our Bible?
Who wrote it?
How is it different from other
Bibles?
What authority has the Bible?
What do we mean by Inspira-
tion?
What is "Higher Criticism"?
Does "Higher Criticism" hurt or
help the Bible?
What is "Lower Criticism?"
How to use the Bible.
How the Bible may be misused —
even by those who believe
in it.
These and a score of other
practical questions are treated by
Professor Willett in the style
that has made him for twenty
years the most popular lecturer
on the Bible before the American
public.
This Book Will Answer YOUR Questions
The times demand a fair knowledge of the facts about the Bible by the average lay-
man. Without such he is a prey to all sorts of vagaries and even superstitions. Modern
scholarship, working for the past half century, has brought to light a great body of new
facts which, taken as a whole, make the Bible a new book. These new facts have often
been the subject of premature interpretation, of prejudiced misstatement, of ill-informed
advocacy. As a result, there is widespread confusion among the laity and even among
Bible teachers and ministers as to what the Bible really is.
Send today for a copy and you will find yourself recommending it a score of times to
your friends. Price, $1.35 (add from 6 to 12 cents for postage).
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS, 700 East 40th Street, Chicago
22
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 17, 1918
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. Thefull
morocco (originally sell-
ing at $6.00) will be
sent you for $4.00.
Disciples Publication
Society, 700 E. 40th St.,
Chicago, 111.
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This Book Takes
Its Place Among
the Historical
Treasures of the
Disciples
&
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aiiiiimiiiiiiniiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiM
October 17, 1918
illlllllUllllllllllll
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
lllllilllllllllliliiiilllllillilllllllllllliililllliillli
23
Ss
Author of "The Wisdom of God* s Fools," "The Inner
Circle" "The Tender Pilgrims" "Fairhope" etc.
RNAMENT
Orthodoxy
Studies in Christian Constancy
BY
Edgar De Witt Jones
HE author of this volume of sermons is the President
**■ of the General Convention of the Disciples of Christ,
1918, and Minister of First Christian Church, Blooming-
ton, 111. He was one of the "Three American Preachers"
who were the subject of an article by Prof. Arthur S. Hoyt
in the "Homiletic Review" for February, 1917. Here are
sermons of wide range in topic, style and arrangement; yet
withal they are full of feeling and fervor. They are <raod
examples of a high level of preaching, attained by a minis-
ter who, for twelve years, has made his pulpit a vital and
persuasive power in his own community and beyond it —
a minister who feels that "every sermon is an adventure in
the realm of spiritual romance, crowded with possibilities
for service to God and man."
Price $1.25 plus 6 to 12 cents postage
m
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 East 40th Street CHICAGO
ii
There is a jest in the trenches, old as the trenches them-
selves. There are men now four years dead who knew it
well. It is still bandied about by cheerful British veterans
lying in freezing mud; and by undaunted French gray-
beards holding gas-swept shell-holes; and by exultant
American shock-troops after a decimating charge. Only
such men know well the difference between the danger
and death of their tasks and the safety and ease of ours.
... So they jest about us and say: "We'll Get Through
This Yet— IF THE CIVILIANS HOLD OUT.55 And
they laugh. . . . To us who scrape and save to do what
we may, the small esteem in which they hold our part
may seem unkind, unjust even. It seems to belittle
unfairly the giving and lending which in our deedless
days seem at times so great. . . . But it does not belittle
— it merely etches truly the very minor merit of what we,
electing or selected to die in our own beds, can do. . . .
When you think of what you have already done, think
also of undaunted France raising her eighth war- loan
in a single day — without glorification, without boasting,
in silence, and without delay. . . . Buy your country's
bonds. Delay no longer. Be not content with doing
your bit — do better — do your best, and do it today.
Buy Fourth Liberty Loan U. S. Government Bonds
THIS SPACE CONTRIBUTED FOR THE WINNING OF THE WAR BY THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
i
FOR THE MEN AT THE FRONT
When you have finished reading this copy of
The Christian Century place a one-cent stamp
on this corner and hand the magazine to any
postal employe. The Post Office will send It
to some soldier or sailor in eur force* at the
front. No wrapping — n» address.
Postmaster-general.
Vol. XXXV
October 24, 1918
Number 41
National Churches
Coming
By William T. Ellis
A Letter to the Mother
of an American Soldier
By Edward Scribner Ames
en 1CAG
o
■
I
Disciples World Wide Every
Member Campaign
1918-1919
WHAT?
The Disciples' World-Wide Every-Member Campaign is the united effort of national,
state, provincial and international organizations and institutions, to secure the regular
offerings which they have hitherto sought separately. The purpose is to raise sufficient
money in the year ending September 30, 1919, to meet their imperative needs, at the!
same time to assist the local churches in a better financing of their work, and to attain
both ends in the most wholesome and economical way.
WHY?
Three things have led us into this united and
comprehensive effort. First, the general adop-
tion of the Budget Plan and the Every Member
Canvass by our Churches. Second, the increas-
ing unity and co-operation of our State, Provin-
cial, National and International Societies. Third,
the marked success of the Emergency Drive. At
one stroke it saved all the departments and in-
stitutions of the Brotherhood's organized life
from ruinous debts, deficits or limitations, and
revealed unsuspected resources of wealth, con-
secration and leadership in our local churches.
The amount of money raised, the low percentage
of expense and the joy of heroic effort and or-
ganized fellowship in a great cause, have com-
mitted us permanently to this better way of do-
ing the Lord's work. The office and equipment
of the Men and Millions Movement are being
utilized by the co-operating boards in the pro-
motion of the Campaign.
HOW?
In two important particulars this plan differs
from the Emergency Drive. First, there is no
pooling of contributions. Second, each church
sends its offerings direct to the causes or boards
it wishes to support, as has been the custom in
the past. No money from the regular united mis-
sionary budget should be sent to the Men and
Millions Movement. The Movement simply
helps to raise the budget, not to collect or dis-
tribute it.
To put it in another way, this Campaign is not
to raise an extra fund, but to so increase the regu-
lar offerings that extra appeals will be unnecessary,
even in these days of tremendous demands and vast
opportunities.
The United Budget and Apportionment of this
year differ from those of former years in that
they include the contributions of Sunday Schools,
Auxiliaries of the Christian Woman's Board of
Missions, Christian Endeavor Societies and Indi-
viduals as well as Churches. Only bequests and
annuities are left out, as too irregular to be classed
with sources of constant income.
The entire budget of each board was framed
to meet war-time conditions with the strictest econ-
omy. Representatives of all interests sat together
and closely scrutinized all the estimates presented.
Only necessities were allowed to stand. For in-
stance, most of our building enterprises were left
over until after the war. Only those that are
as necessary as barracks for the soldiers were
listed.
ABOVE ALL,
and at every step, we must hold fast to the twin
principles, that getting the man is more important
than getting the money and that money conse-
crated to God is something holy. Each giver must
be made to feel as nearly as possible just as the
missionary does in giving his life. As surely as
there are some things that nothing but life can do,
there are some other things that nothing but money
can do. Both the soliciting and the pledging of
such money are sacred acts. And so every step
of organization and preparation in the World-Wide
Every-Member Campaign should be given the same
solicitous and unhurried care that we devote to a
baptismal or communion service.
Promotional Agency, Men and Millions Movement
222 West Fourth Street, CINCINNATI, OHIO
Ait Unden©mlnai ional Journal ©f Religion
Volume XXXV
OCTOBER 24, 1918
Number 41
EDITORIAL STAFF: CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON. EDITOR; HERBERT L. WILLETT. CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
ORVIS FAIRLEE JORDAN. ALVA W. TAYLOR, JOHN RAY EWERS :: THOMAS CURTIS CLARK. OFFICE MANAGER
Entered as second-class matter, February 28, 1902, at the Post-office at Chicago, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Published Weekly By the Disciples Publication Society 700 East 40th Street, Chicago
Subscription — $2.50 a year (to ministers, $2.00), strictly in advance. Canadian postage, 52 cents extra; foreign, $1.04 extra.
Change of date on wrapper is a receipt for remittance on subscription and shows month and year to which subscription is paid.
The Christian Century is a free interpreter of the essential ideals of Christianity as held historically by the Disciples of Christ
It conceives the Disciples' religious movement as ideally an unsectarian and unecclesiastical fraternity, whose original impulse and
common tie are fundamentally the desire to practice Christian unity in the fellowship of all Christians. Published by Disciples, The
Christian Century, is not published for Disciples alone, but for the Christian world. It strives to interpret the wider fellowship
in religious faith and service. It desires definitely to occupy a catholic point of view and it seeks readers in all communions.
EDITORIAL
A Time for Prayer
THROUGH the long months of the war, not alone
since the moment at which our own nation entered
the struggle, but from the beginning of the German
advance upon Belgium, the prayers of Christian people
who trusted in God to vindicate the right have gone up
like incense night and day.
It was natural that in the afflicted lands, Belgium,
Poland, Armenia and Northern France the spirit of suppli-
cation should be more ardent and persistent. Hardly less,
however, were the distressed souls in the lands that took up
the gage of battle alert to claim the strength which prayer
supplies to the believing heart. During all these terrible
years the chief comfort of multitudes of anguished men
and women has been the assurance that the fervent, effec-
tual prayer of the righteous avails.
In our own land, and particularly during the past
year and a half, the ministry of intercession has been
unceasing. In all the thousands of churches, where service
flags tell the story of boys with the colors, no hour of
worship has passed without the lifting up of hands and
hearts in supplication that the divine grace may be poured
out upon the cause of world justice and humanity. In
tens of thousands of homes, from which the gallant man-
hood of the nation has gone forth to the great adventure,
prayers have arisen night and morning for the beloved
in the camps or at the front. And many who had well-
nigh forgotten the practice of the presence of God have
been awakened to a new need of prayer in the stress of
the hour.
The church needs to meet the demands of this crisis
by a fresh interpretation of the power and privilege of
intercession. The cause for which our soldiers of the
land, the sea and the air are hazarding their lives is the
holiest in which men of the modern world have had the
right and the duty of enlistment. Great things can be
wrought by prayer. It is not a substitute for action, but
it is the inspiration of action. An army that is backed
by a convinced, aroused and praying nation can do the
incredible. Even if it were true that a prayerless people
could win a victory, they would not be worthy to win it.
In the spirit of prayer alone can we truly conquer.
The Nation's Need of Humility
NEVER did a people need more the great refrain
of Kipling, "Lest we forget, lest we forget," than
does America today. We have suddenly become
a military power which, added to the other great military
forces of our allies, has turned a retreat into an advance.
As soon as the first story of success came back our news-
papers printed editorials which came near ignoring the
sacrifices of our allies for the four years past that have
made possible our easy and spectacular advance. The
American habit of excessive boasting might conceivably
cost us some day the friendship of the brave peoples with
whom we are now joined to gain the world's freedom.
Arrogancy toward our foes is also a source of na-
tional danger. It is the arrogance of the Prussian which
has helped to make him so universally despised among the
nations of the world. The American brand of this same
article will not be any better liked, we may be sure. Our
task with Germany is not only to defeat her and help to
cast out her evil spirit, but also to win her later to the
paths of rectitude and right living. We can best serve
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 24, 1918
this purpose if we have the Christian grace of humility
in all that we do. Our might today is not our own, but
the might of God. Were we not, by His providence, the
champions of a cause which can never bring us any profit
which will not accrue to all the nations of the world, then
we should not be winning victories.
Nor must we forget, meanwhile, our own national
sins. Every lynching, every venal election, every pluto-
cratic oppression of the poor reveals elements of national
weakness. We have lacked in respect for law, we have
been deficient in civic patriotism and we have been building
up in meaner form the very aristocracy which our fore-
fathers repudiated.
The prophet was sometimes suspected in his patri-
otism because he insisted that before God could use Israel
in the service of the world, Israel must be purged of her
sins. This same gospel is true today in America and in
every nation. We must do justly, love kindness and walk
humbly with our God if we would satisfy the divine
demands.
Cursing the Kaiser
IT cannot be too vigorously asserted that the Kaiser
will never be defeated by profanity. On the movie
boards a few weeks ago was the shocking slogan
"To Hell with the Kaiser." Now comes out the "Bill-
board," a theatrical magazine, with a slogan too profane
to quote. If the barrage fire of teamsters' oaths would
weaken autocracy, Berlin would have fallen long since.
Behind this vulgar movement is a blind and unrea-
soning emotion that makes no discriminations and that
is in danger of separating many loyal Germans from the
patriotic cause in this country. For the disloyal German
we have no sympathy and could wish every one of them
in an internment camp earning his board under Uncle
Sam's direction. But millions of former Germans in this
country are doing their best to support the country of
their adoption. To hear a form of speech which can never
say German without adding a profane or obscene epi-
thet helps nothing at all. America suffers more today
from her profane, loud-mouthed and unreasoning sup-
porters than she does from the German spies. Before
the war proceeds much farther, this fact will be clearly
recognized. Already government bulletins are warning
speakers to stick to facts and avoid unreasoning vituper-
ation. The word should be passed on by every citizen.
If America had a bad cause, there would be but one
way to support it, and that would be with artificial emo-
tion. We would declare for America right or wrong.
We would undertake to galvanize the country into a
ferocious hate. It is just such an effort which has been
the method of Germany. America's cause is too clean
and too holy to need such methods. We can sit down
in the libraries of great universities, or under the shelter
of the sanctuary itself and discuss America's purpose in
this war. To befoul our great cause with the coarse-
ness of ruffians is a profanation that is akin to sacrilege.
For the preacher who contributes to the campaign
of profanity and hate, there are no words left. He
bows our heads in silent shame as he crucifies the Son
of God afresh. The church is so thoroughly patriotic
that she may dare to rebuke false patriotism.
The World's Prime Minister
FEW things in the recent history of the nation have
given more general satisfaction than the utterances
of President Wilson in dealing with the crisis cre-
ated by the German request for a peace conference. In
all the months through which he has guided the nation,
and in no small degree the peoples of the entente alliance,
he has spoken with consummate statesmanship and careful
deliberation. But in these recent pronouncements his
clear-sightedness has been particularly conspicuous. His
responses were not of course suited to the temper of the
rabid and superficial, to whom nothing would have been
acceptable except a mordant and arrogant rejection of all
proposals. This would have been the cheap and easy
answer.
But Mr. Wilson was seeking to accomplish a much
more important purpose, as is now apparent from
the results. He was endeavoring to compel the German
people to reach a decision as to their own government.
To have returned a final and peremptory refusal to con-
sider any peace proposals short of unconditional surrender
would have been the first impulse of a smaller mind, and
would have had the value of instant popularity. It would
also have been the very sort of an answer desired by
the militarist group in Germany, as it would have enabled
them to go to their people with the proof that nothing
but complete union in the interest of war to the end was
left them. The disconcerting message sent by the Presi-
dent put squarely up to Germany the necessity for a
searching of her own soul in the effort to find the basis
for an adequate response. All but the most incorrigible
and implacable of Mr. Wilson's critics have been com-
pelled to acknowledge the wisdom and far-sightedness of
his course. The fears expressed that he would demand
less than the fruits of the victory which the allies are win-
ning were groundless, and have been dissipated by his
further declarations. Never had the American people
greater reason to be proud of the man who has proved
himself not only the leader-like President of the United
States, but as well the Prime Minister of the world.
Mr. Morrison Leaves on War Misson
CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON left Chicago
on Tuesday of last week for New York to sail
with a group of seven editors of religious journals
under the auspices of the British Committee of Publicity.
The purpose of this trip is to permit these American
editors to visit the important English cities, to study some-
what their conditions and spirit in the present critical
period of the war and to deliver such messages as will
interpret to the English public the sentiments of America
sympathetically alive in the conduct of the war and in
the attainment of a just, honorable and enduring peace.
Mr. Morrison was accompanied from Chicago by Dr. Gray
of The Baptist Standard and Dr. Gammon, Western editor
of The Congregationalist. They were to be joined in
October 24, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
New York by four others representing the leading re-
ligious journals in the east.
This is a very notable compliment to Mr. Morrison
and The Christian Century. The visit will require about
two months. Mr. Morrison hopes to command time for
some letters to the columns of the "Century," although
he cannot hope for much leisure in the very full program
which has been prepared for the trip.
h. l. w.
The Young Man's Chance
FOR a while it looked as though the war were going
to rob our country of its educated leader-
ship. Every profession was feeling the drain upon
its man power. A recent action of the federal govern-
ment is making the war the most significant opportun-
ity to secure an education that has ever come to any
people.
Any young man who has finished high school and
who can pass a physical examination and who is be-
tween the ages of eighteen and twenty-one may attend
college this present year at government expense, and
receive in addition a soldier's pay of thirty dollars a
month. Even without the thirty dollars, a young man
would be able to go on with his education. The young
men who do not elect the college course will be subject
to draft for the training camps this coming winter.
Only standard colleges approved by the government
may be chosen by the students. A number of our Dis-
ciple colleges are able to qualify.
It is from these college students that the young
men will be drawn for the officers' training camps. The
government is sending these men to college because of
a conviction that only men with a liberal education pos-
sess the qualities of leadership which make good officers.
Even the officers already appointed are 85 per cent col-
lege men.
This government recognition of the worth of the
colleges to the nation in this great emergency should
awaken new sentiments of loyalty toward the college in
the heart of every right-minded citizen.
And meanwhile, what of the men who are busy
tearing down college reputations and embarrassing col-
lege leaders? Are they not engaged in pro-German
propaganda? May not the government at least be com-
pelled to take cognizance of such evil work as being
detrimental to the national welfare?
The Baldheaded Barber
A Parable of Safed the Sage
NOW it fell on a day that I entered the Establishment
of a Tonsorial Artist, which is being interpreted a
Barber Shop. And I sat and waited till the Bar-
ber, with a loud Voice, said, Next, and I seated myself in
his Chair. And he wielded over me divers Deadly Weap-
ons, and therewith he cut my Hair, and trimmed my Beard.
And I sat and looked at myself in the Mirror, and I saw
myself in a great Bib and Tucker, with patches of Hair
falling down the front of the Same, and reflecting itself
in the Glass. And what he was doing to me I saw as in a
Glass darkly, and what he was saying to me was Many
things on Divers Topics, for he was a man of Fluent
Speech.
And after I had been shorn both as to head and my
beard, he passed his hand over my head, and said :
Thy scalp is not very clean. Thou hast need of a
Shampoo.
And I consented.
And he soaped my head, and washed it, and rubbed it,
and twisted it upon my neck until it was nigh unto break-
ing off.
Then again he passed his hand across my head, and
he said:
The hair upon thy head groweth thin. Let me rub
into thy scalp some of my famous Hair Restorer. It will
make hair grow upon the top of a Cowhide Trunk.
But I said unto him, I am not a Cowhide Trunk.
And he said, Thou wilt soon be as bald as one if thou
apply not my famous Hair Restorer.
And I asked, Speakest thou as the friend of Human-
ity or as a man who hath Hair Restorer for sale ?
And he answered, I speak as a friend of Humanity;
nevertheless, for the Hair Restorer and the Rubbing in
thereof thou shalt pay me the fourth part of a Dollar in
addition to what thou already owest me.
Now it came to pass as he spake these words, I looked
in the glass, and behold he stood behind me, with the
Bottle in his Right Hand, and with his Left Hand spread
ready to Rub It In, and I saw in the glass his eager face,
and above it his own head. And he leaned forward as he
spake, so that I saw in the Glass the top of his head, and
behold it was Bald.
Then spake I unto him, and said, O thou Friend of
Humanity, who selleth Hair Restorer and thy Soul for the
fourth part of a Dollar, keep thou thy Medicine, and use
it upon thine own head. For I have ten times as much
Hair on the outside of my head as thou hast, and much
more that is worth while within it.
And he was wroth, and he combed my hair with fury,
and dug the Bristles of the Brush into my Scalp, and
added a Dime to my Bill. Nevertheless my heart re-
joiced that I had spoken unto him as I did.
Then said I to my soul, I will take heed to my ways,
lest I become as he. For I go forth among men and ask
them to buy of me Wisdom and Virtue and Righteous-
ness. So will I pray night and day unto the God of heaven
that I may be able to recommend among men the Truth
which God hath revealed unto me, and that no man re-
proach me with the baldness of mine own soul.
So shall I learn wisdom from the folly of the Bald-
headed Barber.
Life and Death
By Carroll Carstairs
I
F death should come with his cold, hasty kiss
Along the trench or in the battle strife,
I'll ask of death no greater boon than this :
That it shall be as wonderful as life,
National Churches Coming
By William T. Ellis
BIG questions of a size and importance commensurate
with the present world struggle are suddenly
emerging within the realm of religion. One of
these, which is now being discussed in print and in con-
ference, is whether denominations shall be nationalized or
nations denominationalized. In other words, whether the
existing religious bodies shall be extended and perpetuated
in foreign lands, or whether each nation shall be encour-
aged to express its Christian faith in ways most congenial
to itself.
This problem, newly thrust into the consciousness of
Christendom, is really a vast one, with many aspects, and
the decision now reached will profoundly affect the
religious future of mankind. Yet it may most simply
be set forth in the case of America and China. Shall all
the various American denominations now conducting mis-
sions in China continue to propagate their own forms and
faith among the Chinese, so that the converts to Christi-
anity in China may soon have almost as many creeds as
the United States; or shall the Chinese Christians amal-
gamate into one national Chinese church, irrespective of
their original relationship to various denominational
missions?
Superimpose that same problem upon all the lands of
Asia and Africa, and upon Europe as well, especially
Russia, and its magnitude and seriousness become
apparent.
TESTING THE TIDES OF THE TIMES
Really, the issue becomes the now familiar one of
bolsheviki "internationalism," wherein class or organiza-
tion takes precedence of national lines and loyalties, versus
the American doctrine of national rights and national iden-
tities. Is it more important to have, say, a worldwide
Methodist Church and a worldwide Dunkard Church, and
worldwide Mennonite Church (for the smallest denomina-
tions must have the same rights of propaganda as the
largest), than to have a Chinese Christian Church, a Per-
sian Christian Church, a Japanese Christian Church, an
Indian Christian Church, etc.? Which way set the tides
of the times?
Both currents may be discerned. It is not difficult
to discover streams of denominationalism that are more
than babbling brooks. A recent issue of the Reformed
Church Messenger has this editorial note :
Even in these days when we supposed everybody was at least
making an effort to get a broader point of view, it seems remark-
able to read in the "Church Advocate" that at least one publisher
is again experimenting along the line of "denominationalizing
hymns." He proposes to make such a hymn as "I Love Thy King-
dom Lord" much more appealing, as well as definite, by changing
the line, "I love thy church, O God," to the line, "I Love the Luth-
eran Church." The "Advocate" thinks that this plan will work
smoothly enough in some places, but appears to be worried about
the proposition of inserting titles of churches with longer names
and wonders how it would sound if anyone should try to sing into
the verse, "I love the Old Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian
Baptist Church." But what concerns us far more is that even the
war does not seem to have brought any larger measure of com-
mon sense to some folks, even in the Christian Church.
CHINA STARTS BALL ROLLING
Over in China — backward, reactionary China — the
Christians have started a ball rolling which may as it
grows and goes on its way around the world demolish
many hoary traditions and precedents and organizations.
For Chinese Christians are getting together in a Chinese
church and the missionaries are abetting them in it.
Already something like ten separate Presbyterian denom-
inations from the United States, Canada and Great Britain
have organized themselves into one ecclesiastical body
without the word Presbyterian in its name, and both the
British and American Congregationalists are asking to be
taken in also. Property and pride and prestige are all
deemed insufficient to prevent this great merger, which is
avowedly only the forerunner of still greater consolida-
tions. Indian and Japanese Christians had already effected
notable unions.
As a matter of common sense the Chinese Christian
does not care a copper cash for the distinctive names and
forms of the American denominations. Why should he?
His sense of humor long ago pointed out the absurdity
of perpetuating in China Northern and Southern Presby-
terian denominations, Northern and Southern Methodist
denominations and Northern and Southern Baptist denom-
inations, the only difference being a war in America half
a century ago, between Northern and Southern states!
It would take a rare Chinese scholar indeed to find
an ideograph to express "Old-Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit
Baptist Church" — for there really is such a denomination
listed by the United States census, though, I believe, it
has no missions in China. The "Holy Rollers" have mis-
sions in China, as have others of the newest and most
eccentric type of American denominations. Shall we,
therefore, have Chinese Dowieites and "Holy Rollers"?
CONGREGATIONALIST VS. METHODIST
There are in China at the present time seventy-eight
denominational missionary societies at work, and, as Dr.
James L. Barton points out, "under their leadership sev-
enty-eight different kinds of Protestant churches have been
created and are being perpetuated. To many of the
Chinese this array represents seventy-eight different kinds
of Christians. Few, indeed, of the Chinese Christians
have any conception of the real reason why they bear a
name which to them has no significance, and which none
of them can accurately pronounce."
Formally and formidably, the question of national
versus international churches has been brought forward
by two distinguished mission leaders, Rev. James L. Bar-
ton, D. D., senior secretary of the American board, and
Bishop J. W. Bashford of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
stationed in China. In a recent issue of the "Missionary
Review of the World," Dr. Barton argues against the
October 24, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
extension and continuation of American denominations
abroad, and Bishop Bashford argues for the practical plan
which, he contends, makes "international churches." A
few paragraphs from each debater will show the trend
of their arguments. Says Dr. Barton :
Will anyone contend that the great command of our Lord
to go into all the world and preach his Gospel is rightly inter-
preted when we, in our denominational zeal, interpret it to read,
"Go into all the world and preach Presbyterianism to every crea-
ture," others, "preach Baptism by immersion to every creature,"
others "preach Methodism," others "Episcopalianism," others
"Lutheranism," others "Congregationalism," and so on to the end
of the catalogue.
The vital question is, are we justified in perpetuating a custom
that is manifestly divisive, often destructively competitive, and
for which there is no warrant in Scripture? I do not believe the
rank and file of our churches and the intelligent supporters of our
foreign missionary enterprises, if they understood the facts, would
favor our continuing to propagate divisions abroad in order that
they may have the satisfaction of knowing that their gifts are aid-
ing in making Christians who bear the same denominational label
as that borne by the contributor.
The conduct of the war in France, for the first three years
and more, when each one of the allies acted separately under its
own leaders, in co-operation, but as independent units, shows the
wastefulness and inefficiency of that line of action. This mistaken
method of conducting a great military campaign has now been cor-
rected by the most revolutionary military readjustment history
records. If governments can bring about this unprecedented and
even revolutionary change in order to overcome a common enemy,
can not the church do as much in order to create a single agency
for the spiritual conquest of the world?
The new comprehension of one church would convince all be-
lievers in all mission fields that they are a real part of the great
church universal, and not merely a part of one of its branches. It
would also give the native church every opportunity for adequate
self-expression. We would all be surprised to find how little be-
yond prejudice, tradition and accident there is which separates us,
and what vast areas of common faith and practice we already hold
together. To begin to think and plan and act, in terms of the
kingdom of God rather than in terms of denomination, would open
up mighty areas of spiritual possibilities of which few have ever
dreamed.
THE BISHOP'S PLEA
Bishop Bashford is more general in his observations:
Of the church in mission fields, two views are held:
1. That we should aim to build up strong, union, national
churches emphasizing Christian unity, but with freedom to de-
velop national characteristics.
2. That we should aim to build up international churches along
denominational lines, emphasizing the special beliefs and methods
of worship characteristic of different denominations.
The universality of Christianity is not best displayed by the
manifestations of national and race characteristics.
As a matter of fact, with the existing organization of the
churches in the home lands, the churches on mission fields will keep
in closer touch with, and will secure more aid from, the home
bases by maintaining ecclesiastical connections with their mother
church than by a separate independent organization on the mission
field.
With the strong trend toward nationalism which character-
ized the political history of the nineteenth century, and which was
one cause of the present war, the churches will contribute more to
world harmony if each denomination belts the globe with its work
and workers, rather than by the separate organization of the
Christian forces of each nation into a national church with the
emphasis upon race characteristics and the consequent loss of the
vision of the universal church.
No one will contend that forty or fifty national churches— one
for each nation, maintained over against each other for all time —
is the goal of Christian unity. The vital question is, therefore,
does the path to the higher, final unity lie through the organiza-
tion of national units maintaining race characteristics, supported
from the national treasury and devoted to all international con-
flicts to national ideals, or does it lie through a Presbyterianism
and a Methodism and a Congregationalism, each universalized and
belting the globe with its members, each accustomed to various
races and sympathizing with the aspirations of them all? The pros-
pects of the higher unity certainly lie along the latter rather than
the former path.
In the New Testament we find no trace of a national church
and no enunciation of principles which would lead to a national
church.
It is this note of universality which differentiates the church
from the nation and the family. Hence, the very phrase, "A Na-
tional Church," is a contradiction in terms.
Finally, for the Christian Church to accept any form of na-
tionalism as its goal when the whole world is moving toward in-
ternationalism seems to us a fatal blunder. It requires no prophet
to foretell that if nationalism was the key to the political history
of the nineteenth century, internationalism will be the key to tho
political history of the twentieth century. At the very time when
commerce and industry and politics are becoming international,
when the world is unconsciously accepting universal love mani-
fested by universal service as the only solution of human problem!
— for the Christian Church to revert at such a time to nationalism
as her goal, seems like a fatal case of atavism.
STRONG SENTIMENT GROWING
This serious issue, now made acute by the war, is,
naturally, not new in missionary circles. Episcopalians
have taken the ground that they will not proselytize in
Roman Catholic lands where they have missions, and
Congregationalists now seek only to inspire and vitalize
the old Armenian Church, instead of making converts
from it, and the Presbyterians follow the same policy with
the Nestorian Christians, or Assyrians. There is a vigor-
ous sentiment abroad that this same policy should be
followed in any religious enterprises undertaken among
the Christians of Russia.
That will leave for later development the larger
projects of a reunion of all the major divisions of Chris-
tendom— the Roman Catholic Church, the Greek Catholic
Church, the Protestant churches, the Gregorians, Nestori-
ans, Copts and Abyssinians.
The Only Hope
By George W. Coleman
UNLESS, as the result of this war, we can have
in our Christian civilization a better understanding
and a truer relation between the classes and the
masses, the rich and the poor, the favored and the unfa-
vored, the reactionary and the progressive, all our blood
and treasure may have been spent in vain, and when the
great war is over we may find ourselves in the midst of a
series of internal clashes and conflicts as hopeless and
intolerable as would be slavery under the Hun. Nothing
short of the application of the principles of Jesus Christ,
as taught in the Sermon on the Mount and as exhibited
in his life on earth, will suffice to bring the various war-
8
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 24, 1918
ring groups and classes and sects into clearer understand-
ing and livelier appreciation of their obligations toward
one another.
Just as France and England and America have fought
one another in times past and have come to see now that
they all are seeking the same goal of human freedom, so
likewise must the clashing forces of our modern social,
industrial and economic life come to appreciate that they,
too, are all necessary elements in the makeup of the ideal
state of society for which we all yearn. And just as the
Allied countries found it necessary to employ a unified
military command, so likewise it will be found necessary
to unify the varied spiritual forces resident in all our
powerful classes, parties and groups. Nothing short of
a compelling, complete conception of Jesus Christ is
capable of unifying these spiritual forces.
A Messenger of Religion at the Front
By Charles S. Macfarland
Commissioner to France of the Federal Council of the
Churches of Christ in America
NO experience of my life has been more deeply inter-
esting or illuminating than the privilege I have
had, as the guest of the French Government and
war office, of service on the front with the brave soldiers
who have been defending the liberties of France and of
the civilized world for four long years.
From Montdidier to Verdun and from Verdun to
Bel fort, in trenches front and rear, in rest camps, in field
and evacuation hospitals, in the Vosges Mountains, in
Alsace and in scores of assassinated cities and towns, it
was a vivid story of suffering, cruelty, bravery and devo-
tion. The marvel of it all has been to understand how
these men, many of them physically frail, have held the
line, against great odds, under constant and ever increas-
ing discouraging experiences.
They have been almost entirely without many of the
moral re-enforcements, of an institutional nature, which
have been the support of our American soldiers, but their
national ideals have been by no means without religious
sanction and power.
WITH THE FRENCH ARMY
The French Army has had hundreds of faithful Chap-
lains, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, commissioned
with the rank of Captain by the War Department. They
have secured the warm support of the commanding gen-
erals and the deep appreciation of the soldiers. They
have gone a long way in changing the official attitude of
France towards religion.
In addition to the regular army chaplains at the
front, there are many volunteer chaplains consisting of
soldiers who have been retired, now serving, without rank,
at one and the same time both as pastors of churches
and hospital chaplains.
Like our American forces, \he French and Allied
Armies have, in Marshal Foch, a leader of deeply religious
spirit and life. The evening I spent with him at supper
at his headquarters, just as he was in the heat of his
heaviest offensive, discussing the state of religion in
France and America, is one of the treasured memories
of my many striking experiences in France.
Marshal Foch expressed the earnest faith that the
allied nations were following the ideals left to the world
by Jesus, in unavoidable conflict with a perverted religious
spirit utterly opposed to Christian ideals. Simple, unaf-
fected, gentle and peaceful in spirit, quiet and gracious
in manner, Foch is the most absolute contrast to Hinden-
burg or Ludendorf that could be imagined, a contrast
which strikingly symbolizes the totality of difference be-
tween the spirit and method of the allied peoples and
Germany.
MARSHAL FOCH A CHRISTIAN
Marshal Joffre, in a very happy interview, comment-
ing on the messages of the Federal Council to the French
people and the French Army, expressed the judgment
that the moral and spiritual support from America was
as essential and significant and potent as her millions of
men and money.
I presented the Federal Council message to the
French Army to about ten French generals commanding
different armies and divisions, and to many commandants
at various headquarters and it was always received in a
devout spirit and with a response which revealed a deep
appreciation of its meaning. The message from our
churches was also received by M. Clemenceau, Marshal
Joffre and Marshal Foch with words of deep appreciation.
Chaplain Monod, who accompanied me, was received by
the commanding generals with a spirit which clearly ex-
pressed their recognition of his representation of spiritual
institutions and forces.
AN UNDERGROUND SERVICE AT VERDUN
Every service that we held was attended by the gen-
erals in the district and their staffs. The service, under-
ground, in the citadel of Verdun, was attended by two
generals with their staffs, who had come from forty miles
distant, a multitude of officers and soldiers and by many
Protestant Chaplains who had been brought together by
the general commanding the Second French Army. And
after the Protestant service, he took me to another hall
of the citadel where he had gathered a large group of
Roman Catholic and Hebrew chaplains to greet me. Re-
October 24, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
9
ligious services of a military nature were held at Chau-
mont, Verdun, Nancy, Wesserling, and Thann, the latter
town being in reconquered Alsace, and under bombard-
ment at the time.
All along the front, had it been a Secretary of War
he could not have received more formal or gracious
attention, than did a simple missioner of American Chris-
tians with a French Protestant Chaplain.
The French Army Y. M. C. A., the Foyer du Soldat,
has secured the confidence and support of the French
military authorities, both at the Department of War and
in the field, and has found warm appreciation with the
soldiers. Underground at Fort Douaumont, high up on
the Vosges Mountains at Hohneck, down in the little vil-
lages where the soldiers are billeted, and near the front
line trenches in the Vosges, we found these cheerful,
comfortable huts, with the French Protestants, and some-
times the American Y. M. C. A. workers, faithfully pour-
ing out hot chocolate for the men, with surroundings of
moral influence and though without formal religious cere-
monies, breathing a truly religious spirit.
RELIGION IN THE FRENCH ARMY
Is there a spirit of religion in the French Army?
Anyone present at the impressive service at Verdun would
have heard a reassuring answer as he looked over that
wonderful congregation while the prayers were uttered
with such power by the Protestant chaplain of desolated
Verdun. Services in the cities and towns under bombard-
ment were attended, with devout participation, by mayors
and councils and always by the military authorities.
I had wondered how much it meant when the French
War Office invited me, as a representative of Protestant
Churches, to visit the army as its guest, — how much it
meant as a recognition of religion. My experience at the
front convinced me that it was a genuine acknowledgment
of the place of religion in a war for ideals and that neither
the French army, nor the French people, nor indeed the
French Government were without the sense and spirit of
religion. As Marshal Foch said to me as I left him to
return to his maps and plans, within the sound of the
roar of the guns not far away, — "We cannot maintain
the ideals of liberty and justice, whether in war or in
peace, without faith in Christ, for He was the great giver
of freedom to men."
The manhood of France, which during these momen-
tous years has so patiently, bravely and devoutly awaited
the victory of great ideals, whose vision and faith are
now finding justification and fulfillment, has not endured
and suffered with hearts unsupported by religion. Soon
they will be returning to the new France which they have
saved and, if the church can only interpret and express
their faith, they will be brought into her life, to find, as
Marshal Foch put it, that faith in Christ which is the same
yesterday, today and forever, in peace as in war.
WITH THE BELGIAN ARMY
For four years Belgium's brave little army has hardly
moved out of those awful trenches of mire and clay. In
the historic days of 1914 they stood between the liberties
of Europe and the ruthless power that would have violated
every other human right as it did its solemn treaty with
the courageous little nation which blocked its way to the
satisfaction of its lust for power.
There they stand today almost in the same spot.
Their trenches are in the soft mud, they are surrounded
by inundated fields, only the little river Yser separates
them from the German guns.
At the headquarters where King Albert lives close
by his army, on the morning when I gave him the mes-
sage of Christians in America to his army, he said: "I
want you, as a messenger of the American churches, to go
to our trenches, to see with your own eyes what our men
have endured. Their families are all under the German
yoke, they have no homes that they can visit. They have
been right there where they are, in the mud, for four
long years, and they will stay right there, until justice and
freedom in the world are forever secured." Have these
men endured and suffered without religion?
CARDINAL MERCIER'S INFLUENCE
Still less even, than the French Army, have they had
the support of those great institutions for moral and
spiritual support which have followed our boys from their
first day in camp. But they have not been left alone.
Cardinal Mercier's spirit has been abroad in their midst.
For the first time, near the beginning of the war,
Protestant chaplains have found a place in the Belgian
Army. There are only a few thousand Protestant sol-
diers, but their chaplains know every one of them by
name and location. Doubtless the same faithful service
has obtained among the Roman Catholic chaplains, but
on my short visit I had no opportunity for conference or
observation, except through my contact with the Protestant
chaplains.
First of all, young King Albert is a man of religious
spirit and faith. After my little visit with him I called
upon his adjutant, his military adviser and right hand
man, who lives under the same roof. I found an open
Bible on his desk. He happens to be a Protestant and a
very earnest student of the Scriptures. He was as desirous
to learn about America's religious life as he was about her
army and resources.
Coming as the messenger of Protestant Christians,
accompanied by the Chaplain-in-Chief of the Protestant
chaplains, we were both formally and graciously welcomed
by the Belgian Minister of War at Headquarters and by
the Ministers of State and Justice and the Prime Minister
at the seat of the Government in Havre. We spent several
hours at lunch and in the home of the Minister of Foreign
Affairs who was deeply interested in learning about our
American religious life and institutions.
The Belgian Government proposes shortly to send the
Protestant Chaplain-in-Chief of the Belgian Army to
America, to tell the American churches about the Belgian
Army and its religious life.
The Y. M. C. A. has not yet found its way into the
Belgian army. But they have heard of it, they want it
and a beginning is just being made. The Belgian Gen-
erals and Commandants, all of whom were met at their
10
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 24, 1918
various headquarters, were deeply interested to learn about
our Y. M. C. A. and expressed their hope that the Foyers
du Soldat might become a part of their army.
I went through five or six miles of those trenches, I
looked across the Yser and saw the German dugouts in
the ruins of once beautiful Dixmude, I tramped over
the ruins of Niewport, where not a wall over six feet
high is standing, I saw the marks of the rapacity, desola-
tion and wantonness of the ruthless enemy, I saw those
patient men pumping the mud and water out of their
trenches and strengthening the banks that were between
their underground bedchambers and the overflowing Yser.
The shells were shrieking over our heads by day and the
German airplanes dropped their deadly bombs by night.
Gas masks must be ever at hand.
So it has been, when at its very best, for four years.
There they are, the same men. They have thus resisted
a gigantic enemy for a great ideal.
Old General Leman, aged, and weak from his long
imprisonment in Germany, from which he had just been
released, after he had told me of the defense of Liege,
and after reading the Christian message I had given the
King, talked for an hour about the religious subjects he
had studied while a prisoner in Germany. I went to dine
at the home of the military author who writes under the
nom de plume of "Willy Breton." He is a charming man,
of simplicity, of earnest Protestant faith, a deeply religious
man.
BELGIUM NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN
There is just a little danger that in the new rela-
tionships of friendship between the two greater nations,
France and America, little Belgium and the days of 1914
may be forgotten. But there is a religious faith and life
in Belgium to be interpreted and expressed and built upon.
As one of the Belgian National leaders expressed it
to me, "We want, in the days to come, to reveal and ex-
press, clearly to ourselves, those ideals which have main-
tained us in war and we must do it in the form of religion.
We hope that America may help us in this as in other
ways."
Those days in the Belgian trenches, sad as were the
sights around us, gave me a new vision and a new faith in
the people of this little nation. They too are ready for a
religion of freedom.
A Letter to the Mother of an
American Soldier
By Edward Scribner Ames
Dear Aunt Mary:
DID you notice that the first subscription in Chicago
to the Third Liberty Loan was made by a woman
whose son had just recently been killed in action?
She was of foreign birth, too. Isn't it strange how the
greater losses of others make our own somewhat easier
to bear? You have given up your son to the army, but
you come of a long line of American ancestors. You
have, of course, faced the possibility of losing him any
day, but so far he is well and has received signal honors.
The greater his risks in the interest of the great cause,
the keener your sense of his courage and manhood, and
the deeper your pride in him.
I am astonished at the calmness and understanding
loyalty with which you stood by him when he first decided
to volunteer. You did not speak of the other plans he
had formed and had begun to realize. It was like the day
he had to go to the hospital. The doctor could not say
whether he would come back from the operation, but you
knew he could never be a sound, whole man unless he
went. I have an idea you felt that things could never be
right for him if he did not follow his conviction and the
call of his country and go to the war. His soul would
be warped and twisted and it seemed better to have him
go into the fury and face death for a great cause and
save his self-respect. If he comes back it will be with
honor and if he does not he will have kept faith to the
end with the big things of life.
I wonder if there ever was a war in which mothers
have been able to give their sons with as much fine
patriotism and idealism. In the old days, soldiering was
an occupation much as any other vocation. It attracted
adventurous, reckless men, who frequently gave up all
social restraints and moral standards in the prosecution
of the one frightful business of war. The young fellow
ran away from home and joined himself to the troops
of the most daring leader. They fought for territory
or treasure or revenge or just for the love of the struggle
and the thrill of the fray.
It was not the sort of thing a mother could give her
son to with her whole heart, however she might delight
in his courage and craftiness. But now we are in a war
where women find their enthusiasm at its full tide. They
are not asking simply to be protected from barbarous hor-
rors. It is not merely loyalty to their "side." The world
is witnessing the dawn of a new society, in which women
are to experience their true emancipation. American
women have had the same school privileges with their
brothers. They are being admitted to the franchise and
to candidacy for public office. They are taking up the
learned professions and busying themselves with social
reforms. The religious enterprises in which so many are
occupied are concerned with the building of an inter-
national order in which the women of all lands may share
a larger and a freer life. This war is a war for peace
and for a peace on a new scale and order. It is a con-
structive war which is destined to bring in the wake of
all its woes the blessings of a better society and one more
fitted to the nature and the needs of woman's heart and
conscience.
October 24, 1£18
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
11
I am sure you get comfort, too, from the fact that
other women besides you mothers and sisters and sweet-
hearts of soldiers are working so faithfully in the great
Cause. At least they knit. In addition to the practical
value of knitting, there is its very great symbolic value.
There are no better advertisements of patriotism than the
omnipresent knitting women. On trains, in street-cars, at
the opera, at lectures, around the tea-table, and even at
church, one sees the deft, swift gestures of allegiance.
At times it is the only serious aspect of an otherwise
frivolous-appearing female, but it is sufficient to qualify
one's judgment of her and to identify her with the one
big present interest of the whole human world. It is
particularly reassuring when the knitter is making good,
plain, warm socks. These are the things really needed.
When I see a helmet being fashioned by dainty hands
I fear those hands may not be directed by an understanding
head and a genuine singleness of heart. Perhaps that
person is trying to be "different" from the knitters of
socks. Possibly there is a little vanity which seeks to
satisfy itself by something more elaborate, or more diffi-
cult. Or there is the haunting thought that the knitting
may be quite secondary to the beautiful bag in which it
is carried ! But when I see the stitches taking up, little
by little, the long thread of yarn and transforming it into
the good, old-fashioned homely sock, without frills or
fancy lines, there is a sense of genuineness and of a
realization of doing a really useful thing for some boy
"over there."
* * *
You are also sharing the burden of the war in other
ways. We are getting* a new realization of the extent
to which the world has shrunk to small dimensions through
the closer organization of modern times. Never before
has it been possible to feel one's self so directly involved
in such colossal movements. The housewife, by saving
wheat and meat on her table, has the thrill of aiding
definitely and vitally in the operations at the front.
Though our soldiers never fought in such great numbers
so far from home, yet we never were really so near to
them and so closely bound up with them. Not only do
we remember them in our prayers, but they are ever
present to us when we sit at table, when we go to market
and when we work in the fields. War is understood better
Ye That Have Faith
YE that have faith to look with fearless eyes
Beyond the tragedy of a world at strife,
And know that out of death and night shall rise
The dawn of ampler life,
Rejoice, whatever anguish rend the heart,
That God has given you a priceless dower,
To live in these great times and have your part
In Freedom's crowning hour.
That ye may tell your sons who see the light
High in the heavens — their heritage to take —
"I saw the powers of Darkness put to flight,
I saw the morning break."
than ever to be a matter of our economy and thrift and
morale.
Just as you have come to enjoy the privilege of voting
and of enforcing the laws for your neighborhood, so you
can now share the sense of participating in this worldwide
struggle. You are among the fighting forces yourself.
Your courage and ingenuity count. Your faith and cheer-
fulness are needed. The outcome is to be determined
by you women, more than has ever been true in any war
in history. When we read what women are doing in
England and in France, in the munitions-factories, in
industries, and on the farms, it becomes clear that they
are not merely ornaments or passive sufferers, but positive
contributors to the great decision one day to be attained.
The story is that a woman made our flag. A woman
wrote "The Battle-Hymn of the Republic." Women
mothered the men who are fighting these battles.
* * *
I was struck by the changes already going on in our
labor conditions when I found recently that the elevator-
boy in a business block where I frequently go had been
replaced by a young woman. She is a slight little slip,
and, in natty uniform with its braid and buttons, looks
like a play-figure from the stage. I asked her how she
got on with it, and she smilingly said, "Oh, I've been here
only two days and I think I will like it, but my shoulder
gets pretty tired pulling these doors back and forth all
day." Since then I have noticed her in the little iron cage,
and it seemed to me she had settled into a kind of mechan-
ical routine, though there was an air of conviction and
contentment about her, born, I think, of her determina-
tion to do her part in the grim war.
There was another thought in her mind, too. It was
of her soldier lover who is now in France. No doubt the
picture of her lives in his heart like a radiant light. In
camp, on the march, doing guard duty, or now in the
tense moments before he goes over the top, he sees her
face and feels that she is watching him. Her look of
mingled pride and apprehension, of confidence and of
unutterable yearning, nerves him. From it he draws
warmth and light and measureless comfort.
Your face is even more deeply set in Jamie's soul.
Yours was the first face he saw above his cradle as he
began to open his eyes in little glimpses of discovery in
this strange world. Every letter you write brightens
your image in his heart. Every gift you send renews it.
When the soldiers sing their songs of home, it is the vision
of you which stirs in him. Patriotism is not a sentiment
which is nourished so much by the thought of our country
as a whole. More often it is sustained and vitalized by
the little scenes and incidents from childhood and from
the depths of private personal experience which carry
great sentiment and loyalty. Whatever you can do, there-
fore, to make these vivid will strengthen all that his early
associations meant of courage and nobility of soul. It is
as if you were keeping your very self alive m him. If
your picture should fade from his mind it would be the
very death of you and much of what you have taught him.
I do not wonder that you find yourself living over
the past in your quiet hours and taking yourself to task
for not having done more for him of the things you
12
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 24, 1918
knew he would like when you had him with you. But
you nearly smothered him with kindness as it was. You
mothers never seem to be able to fill up the cup of happi-
ness for your children as much as you would like to do.
I know a good woman who never can forgive herself that
she did not get a hobby-horse for her only boy when he
was little. She can weep over it any day it is mentioned.
She knows it was not convenient at the time. The house
was too small and the purse was slim, and the boy didn't
take it to heart greatly anyway. But she will never be
able to forgive herself. She thinks there is a great unsat-
isfied void in him which nothing can fill.
I speak of this because it is difficult for you to
realize that Jamie has a world of new interests which
keep him from brooding much upon anything he may
have missed when he was a little fellow. He is in a new
country. There is excitement enough for every minute
of the day, and he is tired enough to sleep when he gets
a chance. He is crowding into these days what it might
have required years for him to learn in ordinary times,
and he is having some experiences which are only to be
had in just the kind of life and events of these days in
France.
* * *
We are beginning to understand some things about
human nature which were almost forgotten. One is that
hardship and danger bring out the great qualities in men.
Just as their muscles bulge and strengthen under the
training, so their souls take on new dimensions. I knew
one chap who went over in the early days of the war
to drive an ambulance. He had been accustomed to luxury
and a soft life. He was inclined to look down upon men
who did rough work. The other day when I saw him
he was a different person. He had been under fire many
times, had taken his car through the shell-holes and along
exposed stretches of road at full risk, and had helped
handle the wounded and the dead. His mother's eyes
flashed pride and joy as we sat together and heard his
tales of the front. The big notes were sounding. They
were the deep notes of the unaffected simplicity of a soul
which has had its baptism of fire and has looked death
in the face. Every word was genuine and full of the
L
Vision
ORD, open Thou mine eyes, that I may straightway see
The host of chariots and horsemen sent by Thee
To terrify my foes, and win the fight for me!
The mountains standing round about me, Lord, I know,
Are all aflame with sudden fire; I feel its glow —
Lord, open Thou mine eyes, that I may see it so!
For seeing is believing, as Saint Thomas said;
To him Thou didst uncover Feet, Side, Hands, and Head-
Forgive me, Lord! I, too, the Doubter's pathway tread!
I hear the noise of horses, chariots and men,
I smell the dust and smoke of battle down the glen —
Lord, open Thou mine eyes! Let me have faith again!
Clarence Urmy in the Living Church.
greatest admiration for the common soldier and for the
heroic mothers of France. Your Jamie always was a
good democrat, but he is a better one for what he has
been through.
Perhaps life should be measured less by our years
and more by the range and quality of experience. It may
be that the war will teach us to think when a life is ended,
not that it extended through so many years, but that it
was inwardly of great dimensions and of fine quality.
But we shall hope that for our loved ones it may be both
and that they may return from these crucibles tempered
and fashioned for long service for the land and cause they
have loved better than life itself.
Little Stories of "Y" Work
"C
AFARD" — that blue war-weariness which some-
times attacks even the cheeriest of people, re-
cently settled on a little French woman in one
of the Y. W. C. A. Foyers in France. She was usually
the gayest, the most spontaneously merry entertainer in
the Foyer, but this day was an anniversary — the sad
anniversary of her husband's death, from a wound received
four years ago during the first month of the war.
Madame tried to forget, but the cafard had its way
and she slipped off in a corner to shed the tears that
could not be driven back. There one of the Blue Triangle
girls found her, and tried as best she could to cheer the
little Madame, to tell her how great was the sympathy and
admiration of all America for the remarkable courage of
the French under their heavy burden. Madame smiled a
brave little smile, straightened up, and threw a moist hand-
kerchief into the corner.
"Voila, c'est tout," she said, and walked off. The
next time the Blue Triangle hostess saw Madame, she
was the center of a large group who had magically thrown
off their own gloom and were applauding vociferously.
Madame was the magic. She had started the victrola, and
was dancing for them with all the inimitable grace and
infectious gaiety characteristic of the French.
* * *
The fifty -two French women students who recently
arrived in New York were the first contingent of French
scholars who have been appointed for the two hundred
and thirty scholarships which universities and colleges of
America have offered to French girls, through the efforts
of Dr. Robert L. Kelly, of Chicago, executive secretary
of the American Association of Colleges working in co-
operation with the American Council of Education.
The girls were received at the National Training
School of the Y. W. C. A. where Dr. Kelly explained the
purpose of bringing these French students to America.
"This," he said, "is the first chapter of a large pro-
gram of educational reciprocity between the United States
and the Allies and involves the exchange of students, both
men and women, and also of faculty members with the
view of a close alignment of the various peoples of the
allied nations."
* * *
Miss Willie R. Young, a Y. W. C. A. secretary at one
October 24, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
13
of the base hospitals in France where she looks after the
welfare of our Red Cross nurses, writes:
A sixteen year old boy, with both feet shot off, was
wheeled in to hear Dr. Harry E. Fosdick the other night
and with shining eyes listened as I never saw anybody
listen. When Dr. Fosdick had finished his "Challenge of
the Present Crisis," the boy looked down at his stumps
and then at Dr. Fosdick and burst out:
"Gee, I'm glad it was that part of me and not the
top that got busted up!"
Dr. Fosdick looked down at the pale face with the
big eyes and said :
"You bet, for the man is all there!"
American nurses have been putting on dressings for
boys with legs and arms gone, and with gas burns which
threaten the eyesight, and have inspired just that kind of
spirit for weeks. Only those who live with those girls
can know the strain on heart and body.
A Call to Young Men
YOUR first duty in life is toward your afterself. So
live that your afterself — the man you ought to be —
may in his time be possible and actual.
Far away in the years he is waiting his turn. His
body, his brain, his soul, are in your boyish hands. He
cannot help himself.
What will you leave for him ?
Will it be a brain unspoiled by lust or dissipation; a
mind trained to think and act ; a nervous system true as a
dial in its response to the truth about you ? Will you, Boy,
let him come as a man among men in his time ?
Or will you throw away his inheritance before he has
had the chance to touch it? Will you turn over to him a
brain distorted, a mind diseased ; a will untrained to action ;
a spinal cord grown through and through with the devil
grass we call wild oats?
Will you let him come, taking your place, gaining
through your experience, happy in your friendships, hal-
lowed through your joys, building on them his own?
Or will you fling it all away, decreeing, wantonlike,
that the man you might have been shall never be?
This is your problem in life — the problem vastly more
important to you than any or all others. How will you
meet it, as a man or as a fool? It is your problem today
and every day, and the hour of your decision is the crisis
in your destiny!
David Starr Jordan.
The Enriching Years
THE poetry of all growing life consists in carrying an
oldness into a newness, a past into a future, always.
So only can our days possibly be bound "each to each
by natural piety." I would not for the world think that
twenty years hence I should have ceased to see the things
which I see now, and love them still. It would make life
wearisome beyond expression if I thought that twenty
years hence I should see them just as I see them now, and
love them with no deeper love because of other visions of
THE
NEW
ORTHODOXY
By Edward Scribner Ames
Associate Professor of Philosophy
The University of Chicago
The War marks the beginning of a new epoch
in Christianity. Religion is gaining in reality and
in sanity and also in vision and incentive. The
old orthodoxy sought correctness of opinion
through tradition and authority. The new ortho-
doxy rests upon deeper grounds. Its founda-
tions are in the nature of man; not in his super-
stition or his credulity, but in his heroism, his
kindliness and his imagination. The concerns of
religion in our day are bound up with science and
art and social idealism. This book is a popular,
constructive interpretation of man's religious life
in the light of the learning of the scholars and in
the presence of a new generation of spiritual heroes.
See Prof. George Burman Foster's Review
of this book on Page 17.
jj8 pages — $i.oo, postage extra (weight 12 oz.)
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
5808 ELLIS AVENUE CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
their lovableness. And so there comes this deep and simple
rule for any man as he crosses the line dividing one period
of his life from another, the same rule which he may use
also as he passes through any critical occurrence of his
life : Make it a time in which you shall realize your faith,
and also in which you shall expect of your faith new and
greater things. Take what you believe and are, and hold
it in your hand with new firmness as you go forward ; but
as you look on it with continual and confident expectation
to see it open into something greater and truer.
Phillips Brooks.
Secretary Lansing on the Church
SOCIETY today tends toward materialism, and even
the Church is drifting away from spirituality. The
tendency is to materialize the church, to make it a
place for social meeting, of intellectual profit, and even of
entertainment. Now the questions arise : Is not the Church
doing the very thing it ought to avoid? Is not morality
supplanting religion as the chief purpose of the Church?
The social meeting is taking the place of the prayer-meet-
ing, the popular lecture the place of the gospel sermon ; the
whole tendency of the Church seems to be away from the
spiritual and toward the material, which we are apt to
term the practical.
Robert Lansing,
';;■-' s '■■' ' Secretary of State.
The Pulpit and Peace
The Moral Hurt
of War
TO instruct and inspire is the first task of the church; at
least it is the task for which it is at present organized
to administer before all else. What will be its message
for the days of reconstruction?
The souls of men have been hurt as well as their bodies.
The world has suffered a tremendous moral debility as well
as great financial losses. Out of the welter of war forward-
looking men have seen new issues emerge — things they looked
for as prophets of a new order have actually been forced, by
the sacrifice of war, into the attention of mankind. But hate
has filled the souls of multitudes. War has gained an aura
through the heroism of millions who fought for a noble
cause. Europe has suffered an awful holacaust of misery and
crime through the unspeakable schrecklichkeit of the Hun, and
the spirit of vengeance is inevitable. The growing brother-
hood of mankind has been squarely broken in twain on one
hand, even though cemented as never before on the other.
Among the multitude reason has given way to emotion, and
with millions passion has driven hard. War is a barbarizer.
It is only by the herculean efforts of all the moral forces of
Christendom that we can expect to regain all we have lost
spiritually and morally; and to keep all we have gained by
the spirit of sacrifice we shall need to fortify ourselves might-
ily, for there are forces loosed in the unleashing of armies
and the chaos of reconstruction's first days that will try the
newly found soul of mankind.
Will our pulpits be able to preach that evil is not to be
repaid with evil but with good? Will they be able to pray for
moral capacity to love our enemies? Will they invoke civiliza-
tion to remember that vengeance belongs to God alone?
Will there be a note of pity for the children of Germany?
Will the demand for justice be hard and pitiless or flavored
with mercy? Will the atonement our brave boys have made
be the dominant note or will reverence for it be clouded with
adulation of war? Will our love for the lads lead us to
apologize for the personal sins war has led them into? Will
the pulpit voice the feeling of war-palsied times or will it
speak with the prophet's voice?
Moral Reconstruction
Justice must come first or there is no place for mercy;
mercy is lost if justice is not first done. But justice is dis-
criminating or it is not justice. Unless we discriminate be-
tween the guilty men who brought on the war and the sheep-
like multitudes who were thrust into it we shall blur justice.
The one deserves the punishment of criminals, the other the
discipline of misled but guilty ignorance. There are millions
who face vacant chairs at home who will find love for ene-
mies too exalted a virtue, and there are hundreds of millions
whose sympathy for them seems to make them even more
bitter. Yet there stands the sublime example of him who
prayed for his murderers because they knew not what they
did. They literally did know but they did not know in
the sense that they did not realize all that he knew. Just
so has it been with many a German peasant and humble
worker, and there, too, are millions of homes bereft. Will
the pulpit have the moral courage to speak these words of
the Master to a wounded and distracted civilization?
There are millions of Christians today who are crying,
"An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." It is not sur-
prising when w<s measure the crimes of the Hun over against
the average of human souls. This is not a failure in Christian-
ity, nor even in human nature, for the trial is desperate and
humanity has for countless ages repaid its wrongs in that
manner. But Christianity will be a failure if its messengers
do not proclaim its ideals and hold the sublime example of
a forgiving Savior up before a world maddened by the
atrocities of a barbarous autocracy; in other words, we are
not moral failures for failing to love our enemies but we are
moral failures if we refuse to attempt it. Humanity may be
forgiven if it cries out in its misery for vengeance, but the
Christian leaders will not be forgiven if they fail to hold up
the ideals of the Master.
Both President Wilson and David Lloyd George have
expressed the fear that we will not be prepared for peace.
Their fear has been that we would not hold to the lofty
idealism of our faith. The desire for an execution of German
atrocities upon German people at home, the demand for an
execution upon Germany of the designs she had upon us, the
tendency to adopt German methods while we battle to put
an end to them — all these things go deep into the complex
that creates public opinion and make it more difficult to en-
force a peace for future safety than to provision armies to
win peace or to direct them to its winning and dictate a peace
on the eternal old basis that breeds future wars, i. e., a peace
of conquest and vengeance. It is not the business of the
pulpit to tell the statesmen how to divide territory, but it is
its supreme business to demand of them that they negotiate
securely for an end of war and to so prepare mankind spirit-
ually that it will be possible for them to do it. Indeed, if
our pulpits will maintain the lofty Christian idealism of
Woodrow Wilson and Lloyd George they will enable them
to dictate a future peace for the world.
America as Moral Arbiter
Among Nations
America's role from the beginning has been that of a
moral arbiter among the warring nations. There was a his-
tory of national competition in colonial expansion, an arma-
nent and in the use of force to obtain advantage that pre-
dated this war for many centuries in Europe. Many a wrong
had been done nation by nation and history was a confused
jumble of strife and competition and bloody reprisal with
the light of a new day emerging with the democratizing of
those lands that finally allied themselves to put an end to the
old order as it persisted in the Central Powers. In the first
two years of the war there was confusion of issues between
the old and the new; there were two parties in every one of
the allied nations — the one for the old Tory order, the other
for the new Democratic order; the one fought for territorial
adjustments and the other for an end of war.
It was this confusion of aims that kept America out for
two and one-half years. She had not one life to give for any
nation's colonial aims or territorial adjustments; she had
millions to give for the war upon war. The bitter sacrifices
of battle purged our allies of the ancient folly with which
Toryism still burdened them and the war upon war became
the supreme and only end for which they fought; in other
words, the democratic forces arose to supremacy in the coun-j
cils of nations, and the allied cause became a great sacrificial!
cause on behalf of humanity. In years to come history will
write that America's attitude, as interpreted by Woodro
Wilson, did much to effect that clarification of aims through|
the lifting supremacy in the allied nations of the liberal and
democratic parties. It was President Wilson who coined
the principles upon which peace will now be made, i. e., those
of no reprisals, no conquests, no punitive indemnities and an
end of autocracy. With those aims clearly adopted, wel
joined the allies with the expressed determination to accepl
not one cent of repayment for aught we did, thus validating
by our example all we contended for in principle and, because
our forces plainly were necessary for a turning of the tide
of war, adding enthusiasm to the cause of democracy in the
allied nations.
.
October 24, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
15
We have not been permitted to make much of the sacri-
fice. We have no right to dictate terms of peace through
having paid its bitter price, and we claim no such right. But,
being aloof from the welter of European history and thus
saved by our good fortune from its confusion, we are able
to become the voice of European democracy. Here again
we stand to serve and not to command, for it is not to be
a peace of vengeance but of atonement. Peace is to be made,
not to avenge ancient wrongs but to secure future peace — a
peace of justice and statesmanship instead of one of terri-
torial grabbing and balance of power diplomacy. Justice will
demand territorial adjustments and vast reparation and the
undoing of old wrongs, but it will be justice and the peace of
the future that will dictate and not the principles of a Vienna
Congress or a Crimean campaign.
* * *
Reconciliation Should Be
Pulpifs Keynote
The most important thing before the world today is
reconciliation, and we must have a peace of reconciliation.
The most important theme for the pulpit today is reconcilia-
tion, and this war and the coming peace are the unescapable
problems. There are minds among us already saying that not
President Wilson but the generals who fought the battles
should dictate the terms of peace. What they desire is that
peace shall not be spoken from the clear mind that can see
all sides, but from those who are compelled to think in the
murk and blood of battle. Let us not forget that it is states-
manship and not military generalship that can alone make
a peace for the future. The generals have done their part
and should be entrusted with the military terms of an armis-
tice, but peace is to be a judicial, not a military decision; the
judge, not the sheriff,, is to sit in justice. America is not the
victor; she is the impartial judge that speaks for the victor,
and that voice needs as never before the clear moral note
of justice, reconciliation and peace sounded in the pulpits of
the land. ALVA W. TAYLOR.
The Sunday School
Indulgence*
j 4 A ND the boys grew" — "Jesus grew." How we watch our
/\ growing boys ! Two are growing in my own home — one
■*- *■ is twelve, one is nine. I simply cannot believe that they
are growing so rapidly. I hear them using large words. I notice
the new types of play. I perceive their expanding and changing
interests. I see the gang spirit coming to the fore and, fortu-
nately, we have a troop of Boy Scouts at the church. The other
day the older lad informed me in a business-like way that he pro-
posed to join the church when he was fourteen and that he didn't
want to be bothered about it until that time — it seems that his
teacher had spoken to him about it. I can see their habits crystal-
izing — and it gives me much concern. It is wonderful to note the
developing life of boys and girls. It is like watching a garden —
seeing the roses open with fragrance — seeing now and then a weed
growing quickly. "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in
favor with God and men."
It is always interesting to discover what traits in children come
from the father and which from the mother. No end of fun is
continually found in the average home in laying the blame upon one
of the parents and in giving the credit for all the excellencies to
the other. So you might say that Esau "took after" his father and
that Jacob "took after" his mother. Rebekah has come to be
known as the managing woman. That picture of the ideal Jewish
wife, given us in the last of Proverbs, resembled Rebekah re-
markably. Esau got his lack of application from Isaac, his fire and
adventure from Rebekah. He seems to have had no discipline. He
just grew and did as he pleased. He ate, drank, followed the
chase, married heathen wives, hobnobbed with the alien chiefs. He
*Lesson for November 3. Scripture, Gen. 25 :27-34.
laughed one moment and was the victim of uncontrolled anger the
next. He was tossed about on a sea of passion. He was the kind
of man one would not want for an enemy, although you might
catch him in a good mood and swing him around to suit you if
you knew how to manage him — as evidently Jacob did later, as we
shall see.
Anyway, he was riding for a fall. He was bound to lose out.
No man can follow this devil-may-care trail and not come to grief.
No man can give free rein to his passions and not fail miserably.
While some men are too serious, others are not serious enough.
Esau was of the latter type. He never worried. He never had
nervous prostration. If whiskey interfered with his business he
gave up the business ! What was a birthright compared to a steam-
ing dinner? What was family honor compared to an hour's indul-
gence? Every wish, every lust, every passion must have instant
satisfaction. He lived in that realm. I know many men who live
on that plane. They eat, drink, sleep, go to a show, put through a
deal in business — do whatever they feel like. They are utterly
devoid of ethical compulsions. Wish is law. A man told me not
long ago of the gross sins which he was committing and insisted
that they were not wrong at all. "Why," he said, "God made me
this way, let Him take the responsibility." He refused to assume
any responsibility whatever. He had no clear conceptions of what
was right and what was wrong. He did that which was right in
his own eyes — and his own eyes were blood-shot ! A fiery steed is
to be harnessed and controlled. Left to do as he pleased, he would
kill both himself and rider. We put a bit in horses' mouths and we
put ethical stamina into growing children — to guide them.
This soft and flabby indulgence cannot be tolerated. No big
piece of work can be done by indulgent men. Why do we cut out
booze in our armies? Because our armies have a big piece of
work to do and they need all their strength to put it over. Why
have the governments of the Allied nations legislated
against intoxicating liquors for their soldiers? For the same rea-
son. Says a college president, "Life is so strenuous that I dare not
waste myself at any point." Poor Esau is a sad sight.
John R. Ewers.
Not a Sleepy Lesson
In It!
That's the Fact Concerning —
The 20th Century Quarterly
Most lesson quarterlies are made up largely of
reprint matter from commentaries and quarterlies
of twenty-five years ago. Much of this material
is unimportant and uninteresting, and is therefore
an imposition on the busy Bible student of these
hurried days. The 20th Century Quarterly
is not only informational ; it is also attractive and
intensely interesting. It will keep your class of
men, women or young people awake.
The first issue — for the Autumn
quarter — is now ready. Send
for sample copy.
The Christian Century Press
700 E. 40th Street, Chicago
The Larger Christian World
A Department of Interdenominational Acquaintance
Dr. Goodell Elected Secretary of Evangelism
for Federal Council
THE Federal Council of Churches has just elected Rev.
Charles L. Goodell, D. D., as Secretary of the Commission
on Evangelism to have charge of its program in a coun-
try-wide movement. The purpose of the Commission on
Evangelism is to co-operate with similar commissions from
the various denominations looking toward a Federation of
Evangelistic work in all centers — such as has been so suc-
cessful in Indianapolis, Cleveland and other cities. By this
plan all churches hold simultaneous meetings and have a
general program of church upbuilding, covering six or more
months. This Commission will also co-operate with the Gen-
eral War-Time Commission of the Churches and Commission
on Inter-Church Federations. Associated with Dr. Goodell
in this work are such leaders as Rev. J. Wilbur Chapman,
Rev. Edgar W. Work, Dr. H. M. Saunders, Rev. Frank Mason
North, President of the Federal Council and Dr. Charles S.
Macfarland, General Secretary of the Council, Rev. J. W.
Langdale, Mr. Fred B. Smith, Mr. A. I. Finley, Editor of the
Iron Age, Dr. George G. Mahy and Dr. Charles E. Schaeffer of
Philadelphia and many others. Dr. Goodell has been specially
known throughout the country as an evangelistic pastor and
has built up some of the largest churches in Methodism.
Facing the Problems of Christianity
After the War
When Dr. John R. Mott was in Berlin in the autumn
of 1914, he met with a group of the outstanding leaders of
German Christianity. One of the leaders of that group said
to him: "It has been our custom since the war began, and
will continue to be our practice, to meet every Friday to
face up to the responsibilities of German Christianity after
the war." In his two subsequent visits to Germany Dr. Mott
found that the group had kept up its meetings. He comments:
"i have no reason to think it has since given up the custom.
I wish I could find a large number of similar groups of
discerning Christians, in our own and other nations, who are
seeking to penetrate the days that are to follow this great
struggle." Something is being done by the executives of the
Federal Council of Churches. But every Christian should give
it all serious thought.
Rev. Charles S. Macfarland
Will Lecture in Sweden.
Rev. Charles S. Macfarland, General Secretary of the Fed-
eral Council of the Churches of Christ in America, has received
an invitation from the faculty of the University of Upsala,
Sweden, to visit the university and deliver a course of lectures
in the near future on the Claus Petrie Foundation, taking as
his subject "American Christianity and Church Unity." This
is another indication that religious unity is becoming a topic
of world-wide interest.
The Chaplains' Oppor-
tunity in France
The American chaplains in France have a difference of
opinion with regard to the insignia of rank which in days gone
by have been worn by the chaplain. Some favor wearing the
cross only. Others wish the sign of rank. It is the unanimous
opinion of these men that they should have equal rank in the
army with the medical men. Probably never in the world be-
fore have chaplains had such an opportunity of service as they
have now. Chaplain Brent, who is the ranking head of this
department of the service, has authorized the following com-
munication through Rev. Charles S. Macfarland: "The oppor-
tunity of the chaplain in the American Expeditionary Forces is
unprecedented in military history. The best manhood of
America is his to guide, inspire and mould. It has been a com-
mon complaint in parochial life that men do not form a promi-
nent part in the average congregation. No such complaint
can be made in the army. Again, our soldiers are in a temper
of mind to welcome eagerly the truth of God from the hearts
of true men. They are at the most receptive moment of their
lives. They are quick to detect and spurn unreality and sham.
They are in search of and responsive to what is real."
Many Prelates Favor Jewish
Occupation of Palestine
The Zionists all over the world are preparing to celebrate
the first anniversary of the signing by the Right Hon. Arthur
J. Balfour, British Foreign Secretary, of a document which
favored the Jewish occupation of Palestine, and they have
secured expressions of sentiment from many of the most
earnest Christian leaders with regard to the attitude of these
toward the proposal. These expressions are uniformly favor-
able and in many cases are warmly enthusiastic.
Presbyterians Now Have
Publicity Bureau
The church publicity movement is much more developed
among the Presbyterians than among other protestant de-
nominations. Mr. James B. Wootan, for some years associate
editor of the "Omaha Bee," and now editor of the magazine
"Public Service, has been installed as the executive head of the
Publicity Bureau of the Presbyterian denomination. It will be
his task to collect Presbyterian news from various sections of
the country and work it up into shape so it will be acceptable
to the great news agencies.
Chicago Has Largest Negro
Church in the World
The tendency in a certain section of Chicago is symbolized
by the withdrawal of the First Baptist church from its old
building and the selling of the edifice to the Negro Baptists.
The Olivet Baptist church, which has made the purchase, is
the largest Negro church in the world, having seven thousand
members. Their work has been strengthened by the advent
of thousands of negroes from the southland, recently attracted
to Chicago by the favorable industrial situation. The work of
the Olivet church has many unique features. The Baptists
will hold in Chicago, this winter, a series of conferences on
the Negro situation, in an endeavor to devise new methods to
meet the new situation. This is the second building to be
transferred from whites to blacks among Chicago Baptists
during the past six months and it will be followed by some
similar action on the part of other denominations without
doubt.
Orvis F. Jordan.
* * *
Congress Considers Higher Rank for
Chaplains
Good news comes concerning a matter closely affecting
the work of the chaplains and the possibility for their promo-
tion to higher rank during the period of the war.
The chairman of the House Military Committee has in-
troduced a bill to give chaplains promotion up to and includ-
ing the rank of lieutenant-colonel, without the usual duration
of service which has formerly been necessary before the chap-
lains could receive a promotion.
This bill has the approval of the War Department and
October 24, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
17
was drawn indeed in the office of the Judge Advocate General.
It is much like the one the Federal Council of the Churches of
Christ in America has been endeavoring to promote since the
beginning of the war through its General Committee on Army
and Navy Chaplains. The General War-Time Commission,
at its meeting on October 16, wired the House Military Com-
mittee, then in session, asking that it report the bill favorably,
urging favorable action as a further step toward the highest
efficiency of the chaplains in the army.
The bill provides that one-fortieth or less of the chaplains
may be made lieutenant-colonels; one-tenth majors; four-
tenths captains and the remainder first lieutenants. Some of
the chaplains going into service, if this bill becomes law, may
be commissioned in grades higher than first lieutenant from
the beginning of their service. Promotion will be through
military channels on recommendation of commanding officers
because of successful service.
The chaplain is not seeking position for the sake of the
honor it brings, nor promotion for the increase in salary alone.
It is felt to be unfortunate that ministers of experience, as
pastors of large parishes, and enjoying in civil life the confi-
dence of the community, should, upon entering the chaplaincy,
be compelled to serve for seven years as first lieutenants, while
Bethany Graded Lesson Facts
1. — There is more to the Bethany Graded texts
— at least a third more — than is contained in
any other series.
2. — They are rich, vital and full of suggestion to
teacher and pupil.
3. — They are free from the sectarian spirit.
4. — They are soundly and fervently evangelical.
5. — They are truly artistic in all their illustra-
tions.
6. — They are printed on better paper with better
binding and in better taste than any other
series.
7. — Every lesson writer is an expert of interna-
tional reputation.
8. — They are a monument to the modern spirit
of unity — several leading denominations
have co-operated to produce them and are
now using them.
9. — The Disciples possess full editorial rights.
10. — Every Disciple school that uses them par-
ticipates in and promotes a great Christian
union enterprise.
SEND FOR RETURNABLE SAMPLES
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men of other professions may enter military service with a
highr rank and may be promoted without delay.
This general increase in rank for chaplains will be of
great service to them and to the boys in the trenches. First
of all, the chaplain is the boy's friend at court, and the chap-
lain who is a captain or a major will probably be given a more
responsive hearing than one who is a first lieutenant only.
Again, increased rank means increased pay — greater oppor-
tunity for service, both in the trenches and back at home. Yet
again, rank in the army is a symbol of honor, the approved
method of showing appreciation. This bill, "House Bill 13060,"
gives concrete expression to our respect for the ministry of
service and of sacrifice to which each chaplain must dedicate
his life.
If you would secure this recognition for the chaplain, send
your word of approval urging the passage of the bill to the
Hon. S. Hubert Dent, who is the chairman of the Military
Committee of the House, and to your representative on the
floor of the House. The passage of the bill would be a long
step in advance in recognition of the chaplains' important and
difficult work, and in securing him greater opportunities for
effective service.
Religious Publicity Service,
Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America.
Books
Professor George B. Foster on Dr. Ames' New
Book
I PICKED up Dr. Ames' little book, "The New Orthodoxy,"
the other morning, began to read it, and grew so inter-
ested that I read it through before I laid it aside. Its
make-up is attractive and convenient — one is always glad, I
think, to find this so of a book. Then its style is similarly
pellucid, powerful and appealing. In content it is a rare
combination — a new concordat of the Christian spirit and
modern thought. To discard the outgrown in belief and
ritual, in code and ceremony, without thereby squandering
values and virtues and verities, this is a delicate and diffi-
cult task which Dr. Ames has encompassed in such good
spirit and with such admirable skill that no bitterness can
ensue on the part of traditionalists and little disappointment
on the part of liberals.
NEW MEANINGS FOR "SPIRITUAL"
His extension of the word "spiritual" to include the un-
debatable simplicities of life is something to be grateful for.
His sentiment of tenderness for the homely fate of the aver-
age man is in line with the fuller democracy yet to dawn
upon the earth. The catholicity of religion in its count of
values, reverencing philosopher, scientist, missionary, the
kindly physician, the social reformer, the artist, the man and
woman who meet the tasks of everyday with courage and
charity — I was stirred by his impressive eloquence as he set
this forth on many a page.
The unlovely features of man's spiritual life — narrow sec-
tarianism, cruel bigotry, the obscurantism of supernaturalism
— had their rootage in the distrust of human nature and human
reason, in a certain slavishness of soul continuous with the
distant dark days of ignorance and fear which gave birth to
religion. These are passing. I, myself, think that we are
witnessing the passing of theistic supernaturalism. Mankind
is outgrowing theism in a gentle and steady way. Theism now
has no clear meaning.
Religion is coming to mean, not other worldliness, but
the valuing of human experiences and activities, the striving
for their realization, loyalty to their call. Man is an earth-
child, whose drama has meaning only on her bosom. What
would you think if we were to divide our interest between
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 24, 1918
irrigating and farming the earth on which we live and the
moon on which we do not? All our energy must go toward
mastering and enjoying the earth. So is it as regards the old
supernaturalism which drained off our energies to the culti-
vation of illusory interests.
I value Dr. Ames' book as another good-spirited effort
to remove a dead-weight of inhibitions which keep the human
spirit under bonds to past attitudes and methods, and to
create loyalty to the values of human life here and now.
These values are self-justifying and self-supporting. Worth
while on their own account, they need no alien sanction, as
they have no alien source and origin.
George Burman Foster
The University of Chicago.
Dr. Willett on "The Protestant"
TWO members of the Semitic race met in a hotel and were
assigned to the same room. When they reached their
quarters one of them said to the other, "This room is no
good. It faces north, the beds are iron and not brass, and
there are only three pictures on the wall. I'm going down to
the office to kick. Will you go along?" "Sure," said his ami-
able companion. "Sure I'll go. I always kick." Well that is
the feeling you have about the author of this disquieting book.
There is a kick on every page. Not the ill-natured, captious
kind of kicks, but the sort that compel you to shift your posi-
tion for fear you get another in the same place.
It is perfectly exhilarating to go through these chapters.
The author knows a lot of things are wrong in the church, the
social order and in human nature generally. But instead of at-
tempting the overwhelming task of setting them right he gives
them all a generous and well-administered booting, and then
calls for the superman who shall put things to rights. This
superman he calls the Protestant, not wholly in the religious
sense, but quite as much in that of one who finds things out
of joint and makes a big and not unsuccessful effort to get
them put into order.
One who has heard the dignified and scholarly pastor of
the leading church in Kansas City in his pulpit will get some
cold chills as he runs through these jostling, vociferous, slangy
and sometimes profane paragraphs. But he will do a lot of
thinking on the way through on such subjects as creeds, sects,
conservatism, liberalism, forms, parsons, the irreligious press,
bibliolatry, certain rich men, and democracy. Here is a genu-
ine disturber of the peace. But what are you going to do about
it when logic, humor, hard-hitting and common sense compel
you to go on through to the end, and then to ask yourself how
much of it fits you so completely that you have either got to
confess and repent, or get mad and swear? H. l. w.
Out of the Shadow. By Rose Cohen. From the darkness
that is Russia into the dark shadows of New York's East Side,
then by a deep human experience to a wide spiritual horizon
and to an appreciation of the meaning of America to her
adopted children— that is the story of "Marie Claire" as here
narrated by the unconsciously artistic pen of Rose Cohen. A
romance, yet true to life. Lovers of humanity will find a
new friend — yes, several of them — between the covers of this
book. The drawings by W. J. Duncan are surpassingly fine.
(Doran. $2.)
The Heart of Nami-San. By K. Tokutomi. Translated
by Isaac Goldberg. "A story of war, love and intrigue." This
novel, by one of the leading modern authors of Japan, has sold
through editions aggregating hundreds of thousands in the
land of the chrysanthemum, which fact testifies to its truth
to Japanese life and especially to the "heart" of the women
of Japan. If one wishes to see Japanese domestic life as it is,
this charming story will afford the opportunity. (Stratford.)
Woman's Voice. Josephine Conger-Kaneko, Editor. A
valuable anthology of the utterances, both in prose and poetry,
of the leaders of thought among American and English women
on social topics. A glance at the book will indicate the large
part which woman has in the present social betterment move-
ments, and the use of the book is sure to give even greater
impetus to the movement for reform than has yet come to
pass. (Stratford. $1.50.)
From the Front. A collection of Trench verse edited by
Clarence E. Andrews. The authors here included are the men
who have actually taken part in the fighting of the great war.
Among the well known names are Alan Seeger, Rupert
Brooke, Robert W. Service, Leslie Coulson, Patrick MacGill,
Robert Nichols and John McCrae, and there are many poems
by comparatively unknown writers which have real literary
merit as well as possessing much human interest. (Apple-
ton. $1.)
How to Fill the Pews. By E. E. Elliott. Mr. Elliott's
long experience in religious fields and especially in organiza-
tional activities, has made him an expert in successful methods
of getting results in church, Sunday school and brotherhood
work. Here are gathered together not a lot of theoretical
supposes as to how things might be successfully done, but
concrete, definite stories of how success was achieved in par-
ticular churches. The book forms an invaluable help to
leaders in all branches of church organizational work.
(Standard Publishing Company. $1.50.)
French in a Nutshell. By Jean Leeman. Thousands of
Americans, suddenly called to enlist in war work in France,
have to meet the problems of learning a new language. This
little book, prepared by a Frenchman who has long taught
the language in this country, fits the case, and is recommended
to such persons. (Dutton. $1.)
Lecturers are employed by Twenty-five
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They need more.
We will mail vou Three Great Platform Lectures Expertly
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Also the Names and Addresses of twenty-five Bureaus in
the U. S. that Employ Lecturers.
And "Hints and Suggestions" by an experienced platform
man, on "How to Make Connection With a LECTURE
BUREAU."
All These for One Dollar
Or we will mail your choice of the above lectures for 50 cents.
Public Speakers Supply
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Write and tell us what you need for that "Special Occasion" and
we will submit prices.
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i
Love Off to the War
By THOMAS CURTIS CLARK
Just from the press! A new collection of Mr. Clark's work, containing
more than 125 poems, one-fourth of them being poems of war and peace,
some of which have gone to the ends of the English-speaking world as
voicing truly the patriotic convictions and emotions of the American people
in this time of spirit-searching conflict. Every minister and other public
speaker should have this volume for use in the preparation of patriotic
addresses. Among the war poems included are "America Marching,"
pronounced by one critic the finest war poem written by an American since
we entered the struggle; "America's Men," which has met with unusual
favor in England; "God Rules the Seas," "The Dawn of Liberty," "The
Bugle Song of Peace," "For Me," "They Have Not Died in Vain," etc., etc.
But the book contains other than war poems. The collection is made up
of eight groups of verses, the group titles being "Love Off to the War,"
"In Friendly Town," "Songs of the Seasons," "Followers of the Gleam,"
"Christus," "The Mystic," "Studies in Souls," and "The New World."
A great many poems are here published that have not before been printed.
In Praise of Thomas Curtis Clark's Poems
"Charming." John Masefield, English poet.
"These poems breathe a spirit of content." Sara
Teasdale, who received last year a prise of $500
for the best volume of verse published during 1917.
"I find both thought and music in his verses."
Henry van Dyke.
"Lovely poems and of wide appeal." James Terry
White, of the Poetry Society of America.
"Full of inspiration." Charles G. Blanden, Editor
of the Chicago Anthology of Verse.
"Mr. Clark's verse is sure to attract the attention of
those who are seeking for illumination and nour-
ishment for the inner life." Dr. Herbert L. Willett.
"Thomas Curtis Clark is the sweet singer of our
Israel." Editor B. A. Abbott.
"I greatly appreciate your songs. Surely you have
an authentic mission as an interpreter of the deep
things that matter most." Joseph Fort Newton,
minister at City Temple, London, and vice-presi-
dent of the London Poetry Society.
"Thomas Curtis Clark is doing a fine service to the
Church universal in giving poetic interpretation
to the evangelical faith in a fashion that makes
his verse especially congenial to the mood of our
time." Editor Charles Clayton Morrison.
"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
respects." Dr. J. H. Garrison.
"Mr. Clark is a poet of the inner life, an interpreter
of the soul, a seer of the realm spiritual." Dr.
Edgar DeWitt Jones.
The new volume is bound in semi- flexible cloth, with gold top and side, and makes a
charming gift for a friend as well as a "thing of beauty" to be treasured in the home.
Price $1.25 plus 6 to 10 cents postage
The Christian Century Press
700 East Fortieth Street, Chicago
^■iiiiniia
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 24, 1918
News of the Churches
Total Receipts and Gains of National Boards
1917 1918 Gain
American Christian Missionary Society $178,992.73 $277,813.26 $98,820.53
Christian Woman's Board of Missions 518,446.34 606,725.37 88,279.03
Foreign Christian Missionary Society 550,386.85 625,522.73 75,135.88
National Benevolent Association 225,015.06 264,997.16 39,982.10
Board of Church Extension 146,904.86 158,576.81 11,671.95
Board of Ministerial Relief 61,330.56 78,858.77 17,528.21
American Temperance Board 6,962.21 12,343.85 5,381.64
Association for the Promotion of Christian
Unity 5,354.51 5,617.44 262.93
Total $1,693,393.12 $2,030,455.39 $337,062.27
A Statement
The International Convention of Dis-
ciples of Christ, which was to have
convened in St. Louis, October 9 to 13,
was cancelled by order of the St. Louis
Health Commissioner on account of an
epidemic of influenza. This action was
taken on Tuesday, October 8. It is be-
lieved that fully 800 or 1,000 delegates
had arrived before notice of the cancel-
lation was given to the public. Hun-
dreds of others who were on the eve of
departure for St. Louis were reached by
telegrams or through the notice given
out by the Associated Press.
No convention having been held, the
present officers and executive commit-
tee are obliged to serve for another year.
It will be their purpose to serve the
Brotherhood in such a manner as may
make for unity and progress.
Edgar DeWitt Jones,
President International Convention of
Disciples of Christ.
* * *
— L. D. Anderson is preaching a series
of sermons at First church, Fort Worth,
Tex., on the general theme, "Lessons
from the World War."
— Paul Merrill, one of the Texas min-
isters, is in "Y" work at Camp Travis,
and expects to go to France in Novem-
ber.
— T. F. Weaver, until recently leader
at Childress, Tex., is now located at
Timpson, Tex.
— John T. Brown, assisted by C. R.
Mitchell, singer, is beginning a meeting
at Braddock, Pa.
— John G. Slayter minister of East
Dallas, Tex., church, has had a promi-
nent part in the Dallas Fourth Liberty
Loan campaign. He not only had charge
of the banquets given to the workers
at the Adolphus hotel, where he main-
tained an office, but spoke from one to
four times each day for three weeks, and
made the chief address at a great meet-
ing held at the Coliseum on a recent
Sunday evening, attended by all the
churches of the city.
— Two Iowa recruits to war work from
the ministry are D. S. Thompson, of El-
dora, and R. W. Fillmore, of Galesburg.
Both are going into Y. M. C. A. service.
— Central church, Denver, Colo., led
by C. H. Morris, is planning a five-year
program. This congregation has lost
ninety men to the war.
— Drake University has over 175 sol-
diers in training, and expects to have
more than three hundred before long.
The old gymnasium is being overhauled
to be used as a barracks.
— H. O. Breeden, who leads at Fresno,
Cal., recently celebrated the fortieth an-
niversary of his entering upon min-
isterial service.
— E. T. Nesbit, who built a fine edifice
at Selma, Cal., is considering a call to
Visalia, Cal.
— A. L. Crim has closed his two years'
pastorate at Eugene, Ore., and is tem-
porarily in evangelistic work.
— S. Earl Childers, recently state
evangelist and secretary of the Inland
Empire organization, is now leading the
church at Albany, Ore.
— J. S. McCallum, for twelve years
minister at First church, Eugene, Ore.,
has been called to serve the Ballard
church at Seattle, Wash.
— R. Tibbs Maxey has left Pomeroy,
Wash., to take the work at Vernon.
— F. T. Porter, formerly of Salem,
Ore., but now in France, is reported very
ill in a hospital at the front.
— E. V. Stivers is being assisted at
Stockton, Cal., in a revival series by H.
A. Van Winkle, of Oakland, Cal., and
J. V. Baird, singer.
—Dean J. C. Todd, of the Indiana
School of Religion, at Bloomington,
Ind., has been in Bloomington for
ten years, having come to the pastorate
of First church in October, 1908. For
six years Dr. Todd has served as Dean
of the School of Religion, which he has
both conducted and financed. He has
traveled much over Indiana, having
spoken in more than 400 communities of
the state.
NORFOLK, VA.
FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH
(Disciples)
Colonial Are. at 16th St.
Rer. C. M. Watson, Minister
— Mondamin Avenue church, Des
Moines, la., held a community rally
October 1, at the beginning of its new
year of work. Dr. Arthur Holmes, presi-
dent of Drake, gave an address and
Charles S. Medbury brought greetings
from Universitv place. There have been
added during the year forty members,
there being now a membership of 118.
J. F. Rutledge Beal leads at Mondamin
Avenue.
—The letter of Dr. Ames, written "To
the Mother of an American Soldier,"
which is published in this issue of The
Christian Century, originally appeared in
the Real Americans Magazine, published
in Philadelphia-
— C. R. Piety, who has nerved the
church at Scottsburg, Ind., for three
yeart, will continue this service, but in
addition will act as superintendent of
the High School at Austin, Ind. He
will continue his residence at Scottsburg.
This church is reported in flourishing
condition.
— R. M. Talbert, the minister at Jeffer-
son City, Mo., has been granted a leave
of absence to engage indefinitely in "Y"
work overseas. Mr. Talbert will soon
sail for France.
— James M. Pickens, a leading layman
of Vermont Avenue church, Washing-
ton, D. C, writes: "After many delays
I am just about to leave to take up Y.
M. C. A. work in France with the French
army. I hope to be there for the finish-
ing touches and to see the thing finished
right."
— John W. Moody has entered upon
his fifth year of service at First church,
Madison, Ind. During his ministry the
work has been cleared of all indebted-
ness and is doing a constructive work
at the present time.
— Charles M. Fillmore, of Indianapo-
lis, has begun the publication of a new
paper in the interests of the East Side of
that city. The first issue is full of good
news of the churches, as well as much
general community information and pro-
motion. Mr. Fillmore is now preaching
at Eastern Heights church. He is be-
ginning a series of "Outline Studies of
the Bible" at his morning services. A
parent-teacher training class has been
organized at Eastern Heights.
— The protracted illness of E. E. Moor-
man, of Englewood church, Indianapolis,
is reported. Merle Sidener, teacher of
a great young men's class of Indian-
apolis, preached at Englewood on one
Sunday evening, his topic being "What?"
— A total of sixty baptisms was re-
ported from Manila, P. I., and the Taga-
log provinces during July. A new
church has been constituted at Tuy.
There was an average attendance of 918
in the Manila Sunday schools.
— One of the Disciples missionaries in
Japan writes that the Akita district is
ours by common consent of all missions
and that we are not possessing the land
as thoroly as we might. He states that
we can make Akita on the West Coast j
what the German Reform people have)
made Sendai on the east, but that the'
church in America will have to send a;
number of new missionaries soon if this |
is to be done. He states that the warj
and Japan's part in Siberia will make
her christianization a thousandfold more
imperative than before.
— Murvill C. Hutchinson, formerly of
Fulton, Mo., church, but now in war
service, writes from New York: "Am
now in New York City, at Y. M. C. A
headquarters office. Have been overseas
'Y' man, and I now select men for over
seas, from Pacific slope states." Mr
Hutchinson's new address is 261 Mc
Lean avenue, Yonkers, N. Y.
— A. W. Kokendoffer, of First church
Sedalia, Mo., writes that he has jus
closed a union meeting at Hughsville
in that county, with seven accessions
Four churches cooperated: Presbyte
rian, Baptist, Methodist and Disciples
Mr. Kokendoffer says of this event
"We had union communion both Sun
days during the meetings, and the Pres
byterian and Methodist ministers sup
plied at First Christian on those day;
So we had complete union, and the peo
pie of the cooperating churches M
October 24, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
21
pressed great pleasure in the fellowship
and results of the revival. H. B. Wim-
berly, of the Hughsville Christian church,
also attended and gave valuable service.
This was our third year in cooperative
evangelism and all are so well satisfied
that we will continue the custom."
ST. LOUIS
UWIOB AVBNITB
CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Union and Von Versen Aves.
George A. Campbell, Minister
— After three years of service at Pauld-
ing, O., C. L. Johnson is beginning a new
pastorate at Nelsonville, O. He preached
his first sermon there on last Sunday.
— Claude J. Miller, pastor at Windsor,
Colo., dedicated the new church at Gill,
Colo., on September 29, raising $200
more than was needed to cover the obli-
gations on the $6,000 building. The pas-
tor of the Gill church is a woman, Mrs.
Dangerfield Boast.
— The annual convention of the sec-
ond district of the Oklahoma, announced
for El Reno, has had to be postponed
because of the influenza epidemic. Otto
B. Irelan, president of the second dis-
trict, sends this word.
— J. O. Boyd, a leader at First church,
Keokuk, la., writes that that church has
called Huell Warren, of Gallatin, Mo.,
to preach during the ensuing year.
— Ralph V. Callaway, minister at Ster-
ling, 111., preaches at Dixon on Sunday
afternoons.
— Ward E. Hall, evangelist of the
Northwestern District of Illinois, sends
this report of some good work done:
"The District Evangelist of North-
western Illinois visited a number of
churches during September and con-
ducted a church life and evangelistic
campaign at Knoxville, 111. During this
campaign a long-standing indebtedness
on the preacher's salary and insurance
was wiped out and we raised money to
completely repair the parsonage and
I paint and repair the church. In addi-
i tion we closed with an every member
| canvass which resulted in over 300 per
' cent increase in pledges for current ex-
| penses; about three-fourths of the con-
; gregation are now to pay weekly through
; duplex envelopes to all the missionary
j causes. We are expecting to conduct
| campaigns at Kewanee, Fulton, Erie,
Tampico and Rock Island during the
coming weeks."
— Paul Preston, post chaplain located
at Marine Barracks, Paris Island, S. C,
writes that he would be glad to get in
touch with parents of Disciples churches
who have sons at Paris Island.
— W. E. M. Hackleman began a meet-
ing with W. G. Walker and the Mattoon,
111., church on last Sunday. He re-
cently closed a series of services with
the Lawrenceville, 111., congregation.
Mr. Hackleman was to have led the
singing at the St. Louis convention.
— Walter S. Goode, of Youngstown,
O., has been elected president of the
Youngstown Federation of Churches.
NEW YORK
CEJNTRAL CHURCH
142 West 81st Street
Finis S. Idleman, Minister
— J. J. Castleberry begins with this
month his tenth year as leader at May-
field, Ky., There have been 41 accessions
to the membership during the past year,
and over a hundred have been added to
other churches where Mr. Castleberry
has held meetings. The Mayfield church
believes in missions and benevolence,
having raised $2,710 for these purposes
during the year, $6,293 having been raised
for local expenses.
— The Abingdon, 111., church is having
a fine mid-week church night at which
time five different study classes are con-
ducted. A. M. Hale is the minister
there. Guy V. Ferguson and the church
at Monmouth, 111., have a similar mid-
week training work that is also a suc-
cess.
— A. N. Glover, who was given a year's
leave of absence by his congregation at
Van Alstyne, Tex., is now at Camp Lo-
gan, Houston, Tex.
— M. R. Ingle, of Indianapolis, is now
in a meeting with A. F. DeGafferelley
and First church, Danville, 111.
— Central church, Youngstown, O., W.
D. Ryan, leader, has an unusually fine
Redpath lecture course for this year.
— W. H. Book has begun his four-
teenth year with Tabernacle church, Co-
lumbus, Ind. He is now assisting W.
H. Sheffer at Huntington, W. Va., in a
revival series.
— During this year Clarence E. Lem-
mon, of Hastings, Neb., church, has
served for three months with the army
Y. M. C. A. at Camp Cody, N. M., but
there has been an average of one acces-
sion to the church membership each
week during 1918. The financial state-
ments show larger receipts for current
p-^nenses and missions than ever before.
Mr. Lemmon is now beginning his fifth
year at Hastings.
— The present minister at First church,
Auburn, N. Y., is S. A. Paddock, who
recently came to the Disciples from the
Methodist fellowship. Mr. Paddock has
been actively engaged in religious work
for the past five years, having been in
Y. M. C. A. service, as well as in the
ministry. Mrs. Paddock has a degree
from Syracuse University. A leader of
the Auburn church writes: "The Dis-
ciples are fortunate indeed in having
Mr. Paddock in the brotherhood, and
our little church is especially blessed in
having him as its minister."
MFMfllMAI CHURCH Or CUBIST
lYlEMUKlAL (Discing „,2 Banttet*)
rnimr.fl 6aiwoo<l B»d. Wal *f OtfBgc Grow
\s n 1 V, A VJ U Herbert L Wfl.lt, Minister
— E. A. Powell, of Des Moines, la., has
accepted the work at Carterville, 111.
— Christopher, 111., church is the first
of the Southern district to press the
convention recommendation for state-
wide evangelism. R. H. Fife and son
have been leading this church in a meet-
ing.
* * *
Pennsylvania Bible Class Sends
President Wilson Message
Unconditional surrender must pre-
cede any talk of peace with the central
powers, in the opinion of the Bellavben
Bible class of the Bellevue church, Pitts-
burgh, Pa. A resolution to this effect
was unanimously adopted at a recent
session. Copies of the resolution were
forwarded to President Wilson, Senator
Knox and Representative Porter. The
resolution follows:
"That in view of the reported move
for peace by Germany, Austria and Tur-
key, based on terms enunciated by Presi-
dent Wilson, it is the unanimous sense
of this organization, in meeting as-
sembled, with 28 men now in the serv-
ice and 100 enrolled in class, that in ad-
dition to the acceptance of the points
laid down by the chief executive thera
must be an unconditional surrender of
arms and the just punishment of those
who have been responsible for the great
suffering inflicted upon humanity."
Members of the class are residents of
Bellevue, Ben Avon, Avalon and Ems-
worth.
* * *
TRANSYLVANIA COLLEGE AND
COLLEGE OF THE BIBLE
At the Education Session of the
recent Kentucky convention, held
on the evening of September 30,
President Crossfield reported that
during the past year the faculty and
students had added to the churches
1,055 members, 556 being by primary
obedience. Those who held the most
conspicuous meetings during the sum-
mer were M. W. Bottom, 45 additions;
Carl Agee, 83; H. T. Wood and B. B.
Miller, 60 additions; Stephenson Bros.,
92, and R. M. Deskins, 68 additions. In
the thirteen meetings held in student
churches where ministers other than
students did the preaching, there were
119 additions.
During the past year 127 churches
contributed to Transylvania and the Col-
lege of the Bible $3,419.05, a gain of
$1,012 over the previous year.
Secretary J. L. Finnell, who was re-
cently appointed to an official position
in the college, is proving highly satis-
factory, and is visiting a large number
of the churches of Kentucky.
The Student Army Training Corps,
under the direction of Commandant
Hanson and his corps of lieutenants,
was inducted into the service of the
United States Army with appropriate
ceremonies on Oct. 1. A military band
furnished the music, and the corps was
reviewed by about one thousand stu-
dents and visitors. After the oath was
administered, addresses were made by
President R. H. Crossfield, Professor E.
E. Snoddy and Hon. George Hunt.
The attendance thus far is larger
than last year, when the college estab-
lished a new record. Every space in
the six dormitories is taken and many
students have been provided with homes
in the city.
At the Richmond Convention report
was made that the endowment of Tran-
sylvania and the College of the Bible
had increased from $607,061 to $674,000
during the past year, and that the total
resources of these institutions now
amounted to $1,169,804. The_ endow-
ment of Transylvania has increased
from $218,000 to $419,000 during the
present administration, and that of the
College of the Bible from $175,000 to
$255,000. The entire indebtedness of
Transylvania has been liquidated, and
the accumulated debt of the College of
the Bible greatly reduced.
Dr. W. E. Macklin, of Nankin, China,
was a welcome visitor at the college on
October 4th. He :.spoke at the chapel
period, and was the guest of the Stu-
dent Volunteer Band in the afternoon.
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22
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 24, 1918
ANOTHER NEW HIGH RECORD
Ministerial Relief Report, 1918
The total receipts for the year, exclu-
sive of $7,697.11 pension dues, are $78,-
858.77, a gain of $17,528.21, or 22 per cent,
the largest increase in the history of this
rapidly advancing work. The gain is all
the more gratifying when we consider
that the receipts from estates and Annu-
ity Bonds were extremely small.
The Churches gave $32,907.50, a gain of
$8,558.49, or 31 per cent over last year.
This increase is due to their prompt ac-
ceptance of the White Cross standard
adopted a year ago at the Kansas City
Convention, "at least 6 per cent on what
is paid for preaching." This gain is
extraordinary in view of the reduction in
the number of churches giving.
The number of contributing chourches
is 1,322, a loss of 56, due to confusion
over the Joint Apportionment, and to the
effort, now abandoned, to get the contri-
bution for this work from the Current
Expense Budget rather than the Mis-
sionary Budget where it was placed be-
fore and will be hereafter.
The largest increase naturally comes
from the Men and Millions Movement
through which we received $27,749.30,
against $3,383.33 last year.
Individual gifts amounted to $2,703.85,
from 216 persons. Last year 265 gave
$2,796.30.
The Sunday Schools were so carried
away, naturally but worthily, with Ar-
menian and Syrian relief, that all but
262, and a few more that combined their
offerings with those from the churches,
forgot the aged ministers. But these
262 gave $27.56 more than 303 did last
year. Another White Gifts for the King
service, with all necessary supplies, is
offered for the coming Christmas.
The Ministerial Relief Roll
The stress of war times has naturally
compelled an unusual number of our vet-
eran ministers and their widows to appeal
to the Board for assistance. Forty-six
new names have been added to the roll.
But death has been busy in our family
and has held the net increase down to
thirty-two. The splendid gain in receipts
has permitted increased payments to be
made to a majority of those on the list.
The maximum remains at $30 per month,
with one exception, and the minimum at
$5 per month. The ministers on the roll
now number 114, the widows 69, the
missionaries 7, total 190.
The Permanent Fund
Last year we reported $116,164.90 in
the Permanent Fund. Part of this year's
addition of $28,419.96 shown on our books
will be transferred to the Pension Fund
and part to the Current Relief Fund, but
the actual gain will still be large. The
value of this money at perpetual service
is shown by the interest and rent receipts
of $6,010.61.
The Pension Fund
Chief interest for the year has centered
in the new Pension Fund so auspiciously
placed on the ways at the Kansas City
Convention. It has met with all but
universal favor. One hundred seventy-
one ministers have fully enrolled and
paid their first dues. Nearly as many
more have pledged themselves to do so
and have been delayed by the war-time
predicament of doubled cost of living
and stationary income.
The Executive Committees of both the
Christian Woman's Board of Missions
and the Foreign Christian Missionary So-
ciety have voted to enroll all of their
missionaries who are on their second
term of service or further along, and pay
their dues for them, in addition to their
salaries.
The joint budget for 1919 calls for
$50,000 for the Pension Fund, in addition
to $52,000 for the Relief Fund and for
operation, so that the churches may begin
at once to cover every dollar of dues
with four of contributions: Dues as-
sured, $12,500, contributions sought, $50,-
000. Thus the ministers themselves will
pay one-fifth, and the Brotherhood four
fifths of the cost of the pension of $500
per year to begin at age of 65, with pro-
portionate benefits for earlier disability
and an allowance of three-fifths for wid-
ows and minor children.
W. R. Warren, Pres.
BOARD OF CHURCH EXTENSION
MAKES REPORT
This is the Thirteenth Annual Report
of the Board of Church Extension.
Though but $12,305.37 were given during
the first year and 12 churches were built,
a fund of $1,512,709.09 has been accumu-
lated and 2,000 church buildings have
been erected within this period of thirty
years. The brethren throughout our
whole communion have just reason to be
proud of their accomplishments through
the Church Extension Fund during
these years, and yet we all acknowledge
that except the Lord had built the
House they labored in vain that built it.
Our new receipts this year are $158,-
576.81, a gain over last year of $11,671.95.
Sources of Receipts
Churches $ 32,921.66
Individuals 575.62
Annuities 44,299.00
Bequests 2,164.42
Men and Millions Movement.. 20,017.52
Sunday Schools 365.95
Y. P. S. C. E 5.00
Interest 58,227.64
Total $158,576.81
Returns on Loans $167,522.70
Grand Total for year $326,099.51
Fund Statement to September 30, 1918
Amount in Fund $1,512,709.09
Amount ret. from beginning. 1,889,274.82
Int. received from beginning 633,850.41
Total ret. loans and int $2,523,125.23
Total amt. in op. for 30 yrs. .$4,035,834.32
Churches built in thirty years 2,000
Churches that have paid loans in full. 1,410
Loans outstanding 590
Amounts in different funds
General Fund $ 650,258.55
Annuity Fund 541,710.00
Name Funds 320,740.54
Total Permanent Fund $1,512,709.09
Church Offerings
The receipts from the churches are
$32,921.66, a gain of $6,766.37 over last
year. There were 1,510 contributing
churches, a gain of 16 over last year.
When we consider the financial drain
of nearly $19,000,000,000 for the war dur-
ing this year ending June 1, 1918, any
gain is a credit to religious organizations.
. It was the prophecy of your Board of
Church Extension at the beginning of
this year that there would be compara-
tively few church buildings erected be-
cause of war demands and war condi-
tions. Yet the Board has been called
upon to help complete an average of over
five churches per month, or a total of 64,
with an outlay of loans amounting to
$278,010. This number is 32 less than
were assisted last year, but the amount
loaned is $27,505 in excess of last year.
Larger loans than usual were required
because of increased prices of materials.
The wonderful courage and sacrifice of
our missions and of other congregations
needing buildings to take care of their
work, is encouraging beyond measure.
G. W. Muckley, Secy.
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Illlllllllllilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllilll!llllllllllllllllllllllll!illlllllllllh
Author of "The Wisdom of God9 s Fools*9 "The Inner
Circle99 "The Tender Pilgrims99 "Fairhope99 etc.
RNAMENTED
Orthodoxy
Studies in Christian Constancy
BY
Edgar De Witt Jones
pHE author of this volume of sermons is the President
**■ of the General Convention of the Disciples of Christ,
1918, and Minister of First Christian Church, Blooming-
ton, 111. He was one of the "Three American Preachers'*
who were the subject of an article by Prof. Arthur S. Hoyt
in the "Homiletic Review" for February, 1917. Here are
sermons of wide range in topic, style and arrangement; yet
withal they are full of feeling and fervor. They are good
examples of a high level of preaching, attained by a minis-
ter who, for twelve years, has made his pulpit a vital and
persuasive power in his own community and beyond it —
a minister who feels that "every sermon is an adventure in
the realm of spiritual romance, crowded with possibilities
for service to God and man."
Price $1.25 plus 6 to 12 cents postage
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THE
ANT
By BURRIS A. JENKINS
Author of "The Man in the Street and Religion,"
"Facing the Hindenburg Line," etc.
PHE author calls this" a scrap book for insurgents" and
*■ dedicates it "to the bravest men I know, the heretics."
He frankly confesses himself a destructive critic. Look-
ing abroad over the Church today, Dr. Jenkins sees its
follies, its waste, its ineptness, its bondage to tradition,
and he yearns for the coming of the great Protestant,
another Luther, who will not only shatter the present
order of things but lead the Church into a new day.
While he disavows any constructive purpose in the
book, it is in reality a master-work of constructive and
helpful criticism. Without apparently trying to do so
the author marks out positive paths along which progress
must be made. Dr. Jenkins writes with a facile, even a
racy, pen. He has filled these pages with a heavy
charge of dynamite.
Some of the Chapter titles: "Sects and Insects," "Threadbare
Creeds," "What's the Matter with the Churches?" "Bolshevism
or Reconstruction," "The Three Sexes," "The Irreligious Press,"
"Certain Rich Men," "What is Democracy?"
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Vol. XXXV
October 31, 1918
Number 42
A Changed World
By Herbert L. Willett
America in France
By H. H. Harmon
A Prayer
By Thomas Curtis Clark
CM
cko
a
The War and Missions, the Nation and the Church, the local con-
gregation and the world-wide activities which it supports, Tem-
perance and Benevolence, Ministerial Pensions and Church Exten-
sion, Christian Education and Christian Union, Home Missions and
Foreign Missions — all are fused and melted into one holy endeavor
in this tremendous hour.
The capture of St. Mihiel opened the drive on the entire Hinden-
burg line. The success of the Disciples' Emergency Drive cleared
the way for the Disciples' World-Wide Every-Member Campaign.
The Task Intensive
The War has uncovered as vast a task for the Church as for the
Army and Navy — work that is as indispensable to the free peoples
of the world as the Navy is to the Army.
It must keep up the morale of the men who fight and of the people
at home who support them.
Each congregation must transform the life of its entire community.
Its preacher is not a drum major, but a Major General.
The Task Extensive
The outreach of the Church in State and National Societies and Colleges, like the
outreach of the nation in military operations, must not merely touch, but profoundly
affect every part of the earth.
Missions have been looked upon as one of many good things in which Christian
people may engage. Suddenly we find them to be a fundamental necessity to the
life and peace of the world.
Preachers, Teachers, Doctors, Nurses, all the devoted agents of applied Christianity,
must be sent forth to bring mankind into neighborly fellowship. Commerce,
Diplomacy and non-Christian education have demonstrated their impotence to
restrain the primitive passions. Only Christ can still the troubled sea of humanity.
The only permanent Peace Table is the Communion Table.
The Task Immediate and Imperative
We cannot wait until after the war, but we must begin now to project missions on
a war-like scale.
America is now acting like a Christian. The role cannot be maintained unless every
department of Home Missions and Christian Education is raised to war-strength and
kept there.
Only Christ can make Japan, China, India, Africa and the Latin American republics
permanent allies of the United States and Great Britain. Christ can bring even
Mexico into such fellowship as now holds Canada and the United States together.
We must evangelize these peoples or fight them.
Today, War and Missions; tomorrow, Missions or War forever.
The task is one. In one Simultaneous, World-Wide Every-Member Campaign, cul-
minating Dec. 8-15, 1918, we must raise enough money in two balanced budgets for 1919
to put each local church on a war footing and to advance all the co-operative work
of the Kingdom of God, at home and abroad.
Disciples World Wide Every Member Campaign
Men and Millions Movement
Promotional Agency
222 W. Fourth St., Cincinnati, Ohio.
Volume XXXV
OCTOBER 31, 1918
Number 42
EDITORIAL STAFF: CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON. EDITOR; HERBERT L. WILLETT. CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
ORVIS FAIRLEE JORDAN. ALVA W. TAYLOR. JOHN RAY EWERS :: THOMAS CURTIS CLARK. OFFICE MANAGER
Entered as second-class matter, February 28, 1902, at the Post-office at Chicago, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized on July 3, 1918.
Published Weekly By the Disciples Publication Society 700 East 40th Street, Chicago
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The Christian Century is a free interpreter of the essential ideals of Christianity as held historically by the Disciples of Christ.
It conceives the Disciples' religious movement as ideally an unsectarian and unecclesiastical fraternity, whose original impulse and
common tie are fundamentally the desire to practice Christian unity in the fellowship of all Christians. Published by Disciples, The
Christian Century, is not published for Disciples alone, but for the Christian world. It strives to interpret the wider fellowship
in religious faith and service. It desires definitely to occupy a catholic point of view and it seeks readers in all communions.
EDITORIAL
Fiddling While the World Burns
DOWN in Unionville, Mo., there was recently held
a debate between a Progressive ( !) preacher and
a non-Progressive on the subject of the use of the
organ in connection with Christian song service. Two
theological gamecocks performed in the pit for awhile to
the interest of the ungodly as well as to the confusion of
the saints. The incident has little importance except as it
symbolizes the provincialism and absurdity of much that
passes as religious in our American life.
While the two theological champions contended for
the mighty truth of organ or no-organ, millions of men on
the battle front in Europe were contending for autocracy
or for democracy. In the council chambers of the world
capitals, men were discussing a possible basis for world
peace. Labor leaders in Great Britain have been drawing
up a platform for industrial justice after the war. In
education new plans and purposes are being formulated of
the greatest significance for the future of the race.
Of course, not all religious discussions are so fruit-
less as a contention for triune immersion or an insistence
that the blessing at the communion table should be spoken
before the loaf is broken instead of afterward, but much
that now seems important in religious circles must pass
away to make place for a Christianity which is at once
catholic and free.
The deepest aspiration of humanity today is for world
brotherhood. Our nationalism has been a rock of offense,
with its narrow conception of patriotism. Our sectarianism
in religion has been even more a menace to any genuine
union of the human race.
It cannot be said too forcibly that the church must
apprehend the big needs of the human race at this hour
and make a real contribution, or we shall make place for
some new religion which will do what we have failed to
do. It is essential that Christianity contribute the very
universalism the world needs at this hour. We should not
fiddle while the world burns. Our task is to rebuild.
The United Drive
NEVER before was an enterprise of such magnitude
set in motion for purposes of inter-group philan-
thropy as the approaching seven-fold drive in behalf
of the war agencies. Quite apart from the good that the
money will do is the moral significance of the united enter-
prise. If this combining of interests which have been
deemed unrelated or even hostile does not leave a per-
manently beneficent influence in the promotion of religious
fellowship, it will be because some people are incapable of
taking any other than a narrow and partisan view of even
the best of causes.
If Christian unity means anything more than a mild
sentiment, it means that soon or late Protestantism and
Romanism must resolve their differences in the presence
of a troubled and questioning world. And a Judaism that
feels itself in dire peril of the loss of its hold upon its own
people is constrained by all its best impulses to draw nearer
to the faith of the Prophet and Leader whom the centuries
have recognized as the greatest gift that nation ever made
to the world.
There are a hundred objections which any quibbling
and carping critic could make to this unexampled effort.
But every one of them has an adequate answer which any-
one who cares to inform himself regarding the inception
and history of the movement can ascertain.
But questions and objections have no place in the
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 31, 1918
mind of any loyal and patriotic American. The plan has
approved itself to the Department of War and to the
President. It is enlisting an almost unparalleled en-
thusiasm on the part of an army of workers and the public
generally. Its objectives ought to be far more than reached.
Its influence as a great unifying movement will be
enormous. Its permanent results in a lessening of the
breaches in the walls of American religious life ought to
be notable and beneficial.
The Kaiser Wants Peace
THE Kaiser and his military followers realize that
the jig is up. Four years of Apache warfare on the
part of the Central Empires has served to unify the
conscience of the world against them and this conscience
is now able to make itself effective through the employ-
ment of force. Germany is still strong enough to postpone
surrender for months, perhaps even for many years. But
always the price of peace, like the price of overcoats, would
be going up.
What we may well doubt is the sincerity of a professed
change of heart upon the part of Germany. If the object
of this world war has been to save Belgium and France
from the heel of a ruthless conqueror, that object will soon
be attained by force. But if our object has been to make
future wars impossible, we can not leave in the seat of
authority a ruthless monarch who has aspired to play the
Napoleonic role. For all Napoleons there is a certain lonely
spot in the world where there is both time and opportunity
for a thorough-going repentence. To be sentimental
toward such a criminal as the German Kaiser is to over-
turn every sense of moral values in the world. In all of
human history no brutal autocrat has been responsible for
the death of so many people. To imprison half-witted
felony in private life and let him go would be a mockery.
Meanwhile, the American people must not rock the
boat. A certain kind of abstract religious pacifism may
seek to influence our national policy now as it did so dis-
astrously four years ago. It should be clear to the president
of the United States, as he speaks for the western allies,
that America has passed quite beyond any danger of di-
vision and that she has a conscience which will never be
satisfied with a weak handling of our international
criminals.
The President's Partisan Appeal
THOSE who have felt a growing confidence in Mr.
Wilson's leadership, which has opened the way to
an honorable and permanent understanding
among the nations, and a satisfactory determination of
the great conflict, were shocked and distressed by the
letter written by him during the past week in the inter-
est of Democratic success in the coming elections.
There is one unfortunate feature about our system
of government. It compels the President to be also the
leader of his party. This is not true of any other of the
great republics, and will have to be changed in America
before we have release from the constantly recurring
menace of partisanship. Doubtless President Wilson de-
pends to a certain extent upon the cooperation of the
members of his own party in Congress for the success
of the measures he deems essential to the welfare of the
nation. But the war has been carried on thus far by the
willing assistance, not to say the patriotic enthusiasm, of
men of all parties.
Moreover, we have learned to expect from Mr. Wil-
son a certain idealism in the conduct of his high office
which has been at most periods above the sky line of
partisanship. The present appeal, therefore, brings to a
large portion of the nation, quite apart from the affilia-
tions of party, a sense of surprise and disillusionment
which is depressing. Even on the lower level of a party-
whip the unwisdom of such a step ought to be appar-
ent. The nation is willing to accept a mandate from
the President on almost any question save that of free
and untrammeled exercise of the rights of citizenship.
If that fundamental privilege is disregarded through any
form of executive pressure whatsoever, it carries with
it the tacit discredit of the entire principle of democracy,
which is nothing else than the freedom of the public will
to decide, and to register its decisions.
On any grounds of political expediency the mistake
of the President's course is apparent, for it invites at
once the rebuke of the very groups of fair-minded Amer-
icans who should constitute the chief support of the
administration.
The Call for State Missions
THE state missionary society has made for itself a
secure place in the life of our brotherhood. Perhaps
the name "missionary society" is a misnomer, for
the task of many of our state organizations is now much
more the care of the churches than the endless organization
of new churches, though the latter task will always be a
feature of the work.
District evangelists are efficiency experts going from
church to church, aiding them in setting in operation right
methods. More than one church languishes for the lack
of so simple a thing as a right financial method. New ideas
in financing a church cannot be imported into a community
through literature. It requires the living voice. This is but
a sample of the various ideas in church method that may
be disseminated in this manner.
The great missionary causes now have friendly sup-
port from these district agents. The day will come when
the district superintendent will represent in an authoritative
way every legitimate cause among us. The propagation of
the missionary spirit would save our churches in many of
the neglected communities which have no vision in religion
outside the parish.
The Illinois Christian Missionary Society is the most
recent of our societies to take the new view of its function.
Its secretary, H. H. Peters, has spent his life in Illinois
and through many years of service to our brotherhood
projects has established a leadership which is being unsel-
fishly devoted to the building up of our churches. In this
state a group of consecrated and efficient men are busy
pioneering at a new task and already concrete results have
been secured of the greatest significance.
Union of Baptist and Disciple Churches
IN MANY parts of the country there is a natural
drawing together of religious forces, both because
of the losses which individual congregations have
suffered as the result of the war, and because the grow-
ing spirit of union in all Christian bodies inspires suit-
able efforts toward economy and efficiency in religious
activity.
The growth of the "Community Church" move-
ment has been rapid within the past two years. In
many districts where two or three struggling congre-
gations competed for existence, a unification of forces
has brought about fresh enthusiasm and fruitfulness.
It has become increasingly evident that the interests of
the kingdom of God in any community are of greater
moment than the perpetuation of a weak and only half-
efficient denominational group.
Naturally, the Baptists and Disciples have been
sensitive to this movement, for in many places they
both suffer from the outstanding causes of church de-
cline, and have been led to study the problem of union
as the best means of promoting the interests of Chris-
tianity in the entire community. They are very close
to each other in the essentials of teaching and prac-
tice. The controversies once waged between them have
lost significance. They represent the entire immersion-
ist sentiment in the modern church. Quite apart from
the question as to whether the two bodies should unite,
there is the practical problem of conserving what each
has of effective power in a given locality. And where
both are weak, the problem is serious.
The fact that unions of this sort are taking place
in a number of towns and villages in various portions
of the land seems to indicate a growing practice in that
direction. This practice seems so admirable and hope-
ful that it ought to be encouraged. Therefore, any sug-
gestions which may be made in furtherance of the idea
are to be commended. Any objections urged should be
considered on their merits.
There is the fear on the part of some that the in-
dividuality of the church as either Disciple or Baptist
may be lost. This could only be the case in the event
that the united congregation decided to dissociate it-
self from both its former denominational affiliations
and live a wholly independent life, or to confine its re-
lationship to one alone of the religious bodies to which
its constituent parts belonged. Such action as that
first mentioned would be unlikely and unfortunate. A
church needs vital connection with a larger body of
believers. It can do its broader missionary and philan-
thropic work only in that manner. As a matter of fact,
most of the churches thus united have chosen to pre-
serve their relation with both the denominational
groups to which by sentiment and history they are at-
tached. Instead of losing, they gain. The knowledge
of what both bodies are undertaking becomes a com-
mon possession. Contributions to the missionary treas-
uries of both are made, either in equal amounts or in
proportion to denominational representation in the
united church.
If it be asked what is the identity of an individual
who unites with such a union church, the answer is
simple and explicit. The church is both Baptist and
Disciple in its affiliations. The new members will, there-
fore, belong to either of these groups as their pref-
erence may dictate. Potentially, they have the rights
and privileges of membership in both bodies. In many
instances that could be cited, Disciples who have gone
from such a united church have placed their member-
ship in Baptist churches when the circumstances in
their new homes seemed to make that a wise step to
take. The opposite is equally a matter of record. It
would be a curious instance of provincialism and prej-
udice which would cause any church, Baptist or Disci-
ple, to hesitate for a moment in the admission to mem-
bership of any one who came from such a union con-
gregation bearing the usual credentials of member-
ship.
* ^ %
The fact that both bodies are congregational in
organization and church government renders the proc-
ess of union extremely simple, provided there is on the
part of both groups a genuine desire to take such a
step. And this is, of course, the only ground on which
such an effort would be wise or fruitful. The minor
details of procedure to which each has been accus-
tomed are easily adjusted to the new relationship. The
fact that Baptist churches do not as a usual thing have
elders, while the Disciples do, is not a real point of
difference when it is recalled that the office of deacon
as construed in Baptist usage covers the functions of
elders as interpreted by Disciples. Baptism is adminis-
tered in the same manner in the two bodies. The ad-
mission of new members upon confession of faith and
baptism is only slightly different, the Disciples usually
giving the invitation at the preaching services and the
Baptists making it a point to hold conference between
the candidate and the proper committee of deacons be-
fore baptism. These practices both have value, and
there is no reason why they may not be combined to
advantage.
The Disciples usually practice weekly communion,
although this is not an exclusive method with them.
The total number of their churches which have bi-
monthly or monthly communion is considerable, and
is not confined to those who have worship only at such
interval. The Baptists usually observe the Lord's
Supper on the first Sunday in the month, although
nearly all the English Baptist churches spread the table
weekly in some room of the church, and some Amer-
ican Baptists have the same custom. In a church made
up of both Baptists and Disciples one of a number of
methods can be chosen, any one of which should be sat-
isfactory to all concerned. Where the Baptist members
desire it, the usual practice of the Disciples may be
followed, of a weekly service in connection with the
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 31, 1918
morning worship of the church. Or the table may be
spread every week in some adjacent room, where those
who desire may hold the service at an hour before or
following the regular worship. This is done in some
union churches. In this case, however, the communion
is usually observed on the first Sunday of the month
in connection with the morning worship. Or again, the
communion may be limited to the first Lord's Day in
the month, as is the usual Baptist custom.
To those who have ceased to regard the Holy
Supper as a ritual or a sacrament, and who give it the
value of a feast of remembrance, of the divine pres-
ence and the unfading hope, the time and frequency of
observance are less important than the spirit in which
it is observed, and the practice which meets the wishes
of the largest number in the united group should be
acceptable to all.
The fact that a goodly number of churches are now
enjoying the results of such a union, and are finding
their relations to their respective denominational bod-
ies no less intimate or effective, should encourage many
others, where local circumstances suggest the value of
such a unity of forces, to follow the good example.
Everything will depend, of course, upon the spirit of
harmony and good-will in the two churches contem-
plating union. If there are serious misgivings on the
part of any considerable number, no effort should be
made to force such a union. It is better to wait a
longer time than to attempt a premature combination.
But where the spirit of mutual adjustment and har-
mony prevails, all the sanctions of history and close re-
lationship approve such a merger of forces. Neither
side is a loser, but both gain in a measure that two to-
gether are far more effective than two separate.
h. l. w.
The Larks and the Wheat
A Parable of Safed the Sage
WE came, I and Keturah, to the place where we
spend the Summer, and I had written an Epistle
to a man that he should cut the grass in the
paths of my garden, and should pull out the weeds. And
he did neither of those things. Neither when I arrived
could I hire any man to do it. And my Garden was a
melancholy sight.
And I said to Keturah, There was once a wise man,
who spake a parable, concerning the Larks and the Wheat.
Every day did the Mother Lark charge her young ones
to listen to what the Owner of the Field did say. And
when he sought for other men to help him cut his wheat
either for Love or for Money, then said the Mother Lark,
We have no need to move. But when he said, Tomorrow
I will cut mine own Wheat, then did she say, Let us
hasten and get out of here. And they gat them out.
So I went to the Hardware man, and I said, Send me
a Scythe, and a Snath ; and see to it that the Scythe be
Properly Fastened upon the Snath, and that it be Sharp.
And he brought them while I was away. And the
Scythe and the Snath were separate, and the Wrench
with which the Scythe was to be Fastened to the Snath
was itself screwed in the place where the Scythe belonged,
and how did he think that I could unscrew the Wrench
without an Wrench wherewith to Unscrew it?
And when I had the Scythe fastened to the Snath, I
said to Keturah, If I break this Scythe the first time I
swing it, let no one speak, save myself only.
For I knew little about Scythes.
But it went Better than I expected.
And I spake to Keturah, and I said, Wilt thou play the
Maud Muller stunt?
And she said, I will not. For my Laundress hath
gone to make Munitions. And I have sent the Flat Work
to the Laundry. But if my Husband come from his labor,
and have not Clean and Dry Underwear, then will he
make Rome to Howl.
And at the end of one hour, I came, and said, Behold,
I have a Blister. And I would have thee organize thyself
into a Red Cross Nurse and give me First Aid.
And she said, It is a large Blister. Wilt thou not
cease from thy toil for today?
And I said, Not on thy sweet young life. I am having
a Lot of Fun.
And I continued till the Bell Rang for Lunch.
And I leaped into the Lake, and bathed myself ; and
clothed myself in fresh garments.
And just as I left the garden, Behold, I found a Nest.
And it was empty. But I saw a Lark close by, which
might have lived therein. And the Bird sang a song
wherein she said, I welcome thee to the comradeship of
those who have joy in their toil. But as for the cutting
of his Hay, thou mightest have come Three Weeks ago.
And I said to Keturah, When it cometh to the Swing-
ing of a Scythe, Old Father Time hath nothing on me.
And besides all this, I found that I could sharpen the
Scythe. For I had insisted that the Scythe be sharp. But
the Hardware man left word that he knew not whether
it were sharp or not; but he put in an Whetstone, which
cost a Quarter Extra, and I might make it as Sharp as I
pleased.
And this I learned, as I have learned it many times
before, that the way to Get Things Done is to Do Them.
Babylon
ALL vivid ages know where Babylon dwells :
Her laugh is like old wine poured in a glass
Of tinkling crystal, and, as strong men pass,
Her gaze enthralls them with its veiled spells.
Her name is like a chime of silver bells
In some cathedral tower at early mass,
That shake strange portents o'er the bending grass.
Familiar are her feet with nether hells !
And in her name, men live heroic hours;
To follow her, they grovel in the mire :
When she commands, they battle with all powers
Of death and night; but when she frowns, they tire,—
Drunk in the vapors of her ancient lies,
Wild with the glamors of her careless eyes !
Richard Warner Borst, in the Public.
A Changed World
IF one can think himself back into the experience of
the Hebrews who came out of Egypt through the
Red Sea it is not difficult to understand that such an
event must have marked the change from an old to a new
world. It is inconceivable that anyone who lived
through that tremendous period could have been just
the same sort of person afterward. It was so epoch-mak-
ing that it gave a new name to the national God. From
that moment onward that episode in the history organ-
ized itself into the title, "Jehovah of Hosts, who brought
us out of the Land of Egypt." To have been alive at
that time must have been counted an honor and an ini-
tiation by all the generations that followed.
The world war of the present years is of the same
order of events. Not that in importance the two dramas
are to be regarded as possessing the least resemblance.
The one was an almost unnoticed migration of a Semitic
group from a land that hardly missed them. Their names
are not even recorded on Egyptian monuments as ever
having lived in the land. The other is a change of front of
the universe. It is a cataclysm so stupifying in its range
and consequences that generations will pass before its
scars are healed. And yet in effects on the minds of those
who shared the excitement and stimulation of either, they
might be considered of singular significance.
It would be pathetic if anyone could live through these
momentous days and remain untouched by their meanings.
They are of the sort that apply an acid test to character.
To permit the wonder and mystery, the horror and splendor
of such times to pass over one's head and leave no trace
in the remaking of character would be a confession of
insensitiveness and incompetence which few would care to
face. To be a human being in any adequate sense in a
time like this implies the power and the necessity of such
modification of view-point and attitude as no other genera-
tion since the first Christian century has compelled.
THE GREAT SECRETS
This consideration applies not alone to the great ex-
periences of the war. There are certain things which may
be taken for granted. The heroic dead, in whatever service
they perished, have their own secrets of the high adventure,
into which we may not intrude. Wherever they kept their
rendezvous with death — in the dim mystery of dawn in
a charge into the unknown, after hours of agony in some
wasted and torn fragment of No Man's Land, after fever-
ish days in the hospital, in some terrifying drop from the
clouds, in the engulfing waves of unsatiated sea, or in that
most pathetic and seemingly futile of fates, death in the
training camps, before there has been a chance to prove
one's metal in the great conflict— there must have been
some supreme moments in which the meaning of life was
made clear, and character, no matter how noble or com-
monplace, gained its final touch of power.
Then there are the unforgettable hours in the lives of
the men and women who have walked along the edge of
the chasm, and have performed their silent, but eventful
service in behalf of the great cause. The war has permitted
a thousand forms of patriotic activity which otherwise
would never have been evoked. The lives of all our citizens
have been expanded and blessed by these necessary by-
products of the tragedy, and many a member of the com-
mon group of our fellowmen will look back with gratitude
upon the remaking of personality permitted or necessitated
by the astonishing events of these days.
This changed world of the inner life is one of the
problems of reconstruction suggested by the war. We are
facing many such problems. And our ordinary, casual
mood permits us to postpone the consideration of most
of them to some period after the war has been won. But
it is the amazing and disquieting fact that there are few
after-the-war problems which are not already pressing
for consideration. They were started by the very fact of
the war. They are not waiting a moment for solution.
They are actually proceeding to solve themselves before
our eyes. The world we live in, both that of humanity at
large and that of our own inner life, is undergoing a trans-
formation of tremendous import.
IMPORTANT PROBLEMS
We cannot wait till we have won the war. For in the
very process of winning the war we are shaping the world
that is to be. Moreover, the war is not to be quickly or
easily won. It is a superficial view of events which permits
one to put faith in the predictions of an early peace.
Germany is as yet unbeaten. Perhaps her leaders are in
position to perceive that she is powerless to secure the
sort of an issue she hoped for in the early days of a struggle
for which she had been preparing for thirty years. But her
spirit is not broken, and she has tremendous reserves of
men and material on which she will draw to the limit be-
fore she will accept the terms which the allies are sure to
impose. It is one thing for Germany to seek an early and
favorable cessation of hostilities, such as will permit her
to preserve her army organization measurably intact, and
keep her enemies off the soil of the fatherland. It is a
vastly different thing for her to surrender on terms which
will annihilate her dream for the future. She will exhaust
every device of diplomacy and every resource of her vast
power before she will accede to obliteration of her mili-
taristic regime.
The war will almost certainly go on for months to
come. It may continue for years. Meanwhile the world is
changing before our eyes. Many of the conditions which
prevailed prior to that eventful morning in August, 1914,
will never recur. Our homes will never be the same. The
service flags that hang in the windows tell the reason why.
On some of them the blue of the stars has already turned
to gold. Our communities have felt the breath of a new
emotion. The impressive war causes have thrilled the
citizenship of every city and village, and town has competed
with town in the generous rivalry of giving. The cries of
far-off peoples — Belgium, Poland, Serbia, Armenia — that
yesterday were but names on the map have become articu-
late and imperious in our ears. It will take generations to
efface the memory of these pleading voices.
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 31, 1918
We have caught a new and surprising glimpse of a
thing we have heard described as efficiency. It was
said that Germany possessed it in its most convincing form.
We have beheld something of the working of that system,
amazing in its perfection within limited areas, pathetic in its
failure when applied to the great ends and arts of life. We
had heard of the marvelous efficiency of the business
methods of our own land, and had come to think of the
typical business man as the embodiment of resourcefulness
and success. We have seen one after another of such mas-
ters of finance and captains of industry fail when called
upon by the nation to apply these magic arts of commercial
life to the needs of the entire people. The war has forever
shattered the amiable and naive confidence which average
folk in industrial and professional life had in the ability of
the business man as such. We have learned that when the
nation wants a great business enterprise successfully pro-
jected and carried to completion it may quite as confidently
turn to the physician, the school teacher, the minister, the
university professor or the literary man as to the so-called
business man.
THE FAILURE OF EFFICIENCY
We have seen politics taking on an entirely new aspect.
In the emergency created by the war we have no less need
than before of care in the selection of men and women who
shall be charged with public responsibility. Rather the
more. And yet the old devices of professional politicians
seem increasingly shallow and unconvincing. When a
world is in flames we have little emotion left for the inflam-
matory publicity and oratory of the traditional party man.
Is this only a passing mood? Are we but temporarily im-
patient with the clamor of the party boss and his henchmen,
or are we to have done with them hereafter in the effort to
reconstruct our world?
These are but samples of the questions that rise for
consideration. It becomes increasingly interesting to watch
our own minds as they take account of them one after an-
other. There is a certain fascination in this mood of self-
study. The man who has not stood off and watched him-
self with a measure of interest in seeing what he was going
to do has missed half the joy and excitement of life. And
in days like these what marvelous occasions come for self
inspection. We are thinking wholly different things from
what we permitted ourselves to think five years ago.
That is, if we are really alive, what effect is the great
drama having upon us ? In what direction are we moving
under the hastening pulsation of these days?
SELF-CRITICISM
For the foremost problems of reconstruction con-
cerns itself with the inner industries of our own souls.
There is the real world in which we live and with which we
have to do. If the war has made no difference there, no
revolutionary and transforming difference, it is as though
we lived on another planet. Tradition affirms that there
were people living among the mountains of our Appala-
chian region, that back yard of a half dozen of the southern
states, who never knew of the Civil War, and came down to
the towns of Kentucky or the Carolinas in later days to
learn with astonishment that the nation had passed through
a great convulsion. There are people living in our cities
today who are looking blandly upon all the soul-stirring
movements of these mighty days with no deeper or nobler
reaction than might result from their watching of the
parade of a traveling menagerie.
SELF-ADJUSTMENT
In that inner world in which each one of us lives, the
only world we can control and we can enjoy, there should be
great and constructive changes. Reconstruction ought to
mean a healthier body. One of the significant by-products of
the war has been the discovery of physical soundness as an
asset of the youth of the nation. But this will mean little
to any of us outside of the camps unless we make it the de-
termining principle in our own inner world. Exercise,
discipline, obedience, abstemiousness, regularity of habit,,
fresh air, sufficient sleep — all these are being taught, not
alone to the troops, but to the civilians as well. In your
world, the small, yet all-inclusive world of your own
life, is the swing and the nerve and the discipline of the
army being appropriated.
The same thing is true of every stimulating item its
the vast program of the changing order of the world. It
has to be set in its place and taken over into the microcosm
of our own inner life, or we shall miss the thrill and the
meaning of the great transaction. The new sympathies
which the nations are feeling for the oppressor and the
expatriated we have to make our own personally and sin-
cerely. The winding intellectual horizons which have
receded by whole diameters, and now include peoples and
problems unfamiliar yesterday, must expand our own inner
vision of the world. The new forms of social solicitude
which the war has awakened have to take their place beside
the accustomed duties of former days in our calendar. The
moral sensitiveness which makes certain commonplace sins
of the past despicable in our sight today, because we have
seen them incarnate in nations, mad in their selfishness and
furious in their outrages upon humanity, we have to en-
throne as never before in our own souls, or else for us the
tragic struggle is in vain. And above all, if the agony of a
gashed and bleeding humanity does not compel us to re-
examine our faith in God and the sanctions of religion, we
have missed something of the sublime and awful portent
of the hour.
It is a time for criticism and inventory. The social
order of the age is being probed and sounded to ascertain
whether or not it can stand the test. If the same process is
not taking place in our own souls the greatest epoch in
history is leaving us untouched and uninspired — men and
women who have looked upon great events, but had not
the wit or vision to see their meaning.
Herbert L. Willett.
Winning a Day
Though one but say, "Thy will be done,"
He hath not lost his day
At set of sun.
Christina Rossetti.
America in France
By H. H. Harmon
H. H. Harmon, minister for a decade at First Church, Lincoln, Neb., has just returned from a year's
service as chaplain on the French battle-front. The following message from him will be received with
eager interest by "Christian Century" readers, as affording fresh information of conditions in eastern
France, where the battle for civilisation is being most fiercely zuaged.
IjT IS not strange that President Wilson in a recent
address should speak of the increasing clarity that
' surrounds our country's purpose in marshaling so
vast an army on foreign soil. Strange, indeed, that two
million sons from our own firesides should be yonder
in France and Italy today and the homes that sent
them remain in continued ignorance of that which calls
for their heroism and sacrifice. Every letter that crowds
the homebound mail from the battle zone, every fresh
communique from our advancing battle line that tells
of sacred death and glorious victory, every call of the
draft for thousands to follow those who have gone,
every utterance from the lips of world statesmen, every
strain of martial music that stirs our patriotism and
our love of freedom — all throw into bold relief the is-
sues involved in this world conflict.
WHY WE FIGHT
A year spent on the soil of France, three-fourths of
that time in the battle zone and on the battle line, has
filled my mind with imperishable memories of shell-
wrecked, shrapnel-riddled cities and villages, ruined
homes, broken lives of weeping women and orphaned
children, visions of bowed and bent old men and women
toiling in the fields and vineyards, the sight of our men
wounded and dying from enemy shells, bullets and bay-
onets and the cemeteries and fields where sleep our
own dead soldier lads. These scenes have filled my soul
with undying hatred for power arrogantly wielded over
either willing or unwilling subjects and especially that
cursed, barbarous, tyrannical power with which the in-
iquitous war lords of the central empires would over-
ride the world.
No finer summing up of the purpose for which our
country and the allied nations fight could be found than
in the sentiment expressed on a floral offering pre-
sented by French military authorities and which rests
on graves in an open cemetery filled with our dead on
the edge of Belleau woods — "with honor and admira-
tion for the soldiers of the American army who died
for the liberation of the world." Standing a few weeks
since beside those graves, reading the names of officers
and men and the battalion or regiment to which each
belonged, I remembered well the night of early June
when our brave marines and engineers turned wearily
from long marches running through two days into
those woods and stopped the Huns' drive toward Paris
— at- a time when the German long-range guns were
on the capital city and his guns of shorter range being
brought nearer by daily advances. Yes, our men died
there as they died at Cantigny, Soissons, Chateau
Thierry, Rheims, Verdun, Mont Sec and Thiacourt —
they died for the freedom of the world.
THE HOLIEST OF TASKS
A few weeks' time on the soil of France amid the
ruthless devastation and death wrought by the most
barbarous foe the world has ever known will suffice to
fill the heart of the most pacifist Christian with martial
spirit, and the fervid spirit of the warrior will possess
his soul to plant the banner of Christian civilization
beyond the Rhine. The primary purpose of every pul-
pit and pew today should be to fire the imagination of
every son of the land and to inflame the conscience of
every fireside with the conviction that the holiest of
holy tasks is to bring to absolute surrender the infa-
mous nation which has committed the most colossal
crimes of all time. The air should be vibrant with the
stirring strains of the Battle Hymn of the Republic :
As He died to make men holy
Let us die to make men free,
Our God is marching on.
A peace incompatible with the demands of justice
and righteousness for the outraged, pillaged and wasted
land of Europe would be a crime of even greater horror
than that which has been perpetrated, for the first
crime was committed by the conscienceless, barbaric
sons of Attila against nations unable to resist with ade-
quate force and before other powerful nations could
come to the rescue; while the latter crime would be
committed in the name of Christian civilization flaunt-
ing banners of freedom and possessing powers of om-
nipotence to redress these outrages of hell and to pre-
vent forever their recurrence.
NO INCONCLUSIVE PEACE
An inconclusive and compromising peace would be
to scorn the innumerable sacrifices for hearth and home
and everything dear to mortal. It would mean that our
soldier dead have been sacrificed in vain, for their lives
were yielded up that their younger brothers and gen-
erations unborn might walk in freedom's way. Any-
thing short of peace dictated by the enlightened Chris-
tian conscience of the nations that fight for righteous-
ness— a just peace, a secure and lasting peace — would
be for these nations to give common consent to crucify
anew the son of God. Today the banners of Christian
civilization are lifted high. Ours is a righteous crusade.
In these last days of travel I have read with pro-
found interest and great profit Sir Edward Parrot's
story of the war ; how the tragic thing began ; how the
\
10
THE CHRISTIAN CEi JRY
October 31, 1918
early days were electric with the marshaling forces of
the central powers and of the entente ; how General von
Kluck's army was halted, engaged and defeated on the
Marne and on the Ourcq, which the French still call the
battle of Paris; how the poilus stood and held Verdun;
how the British avenged the crucifixion of Belgium at
Paschendale and Vimy ; how Italy fought, retreated and
■came back ; how America with miraculous transposi-
tion of forces assembled an army on the western front.
I read this story of the great world game, and have
read many sketches of battles where days were lost or
won ; but there is a story which no historian, writer of
fiction or master tongue of eloquence will ever tell —
a story that cannot be told — the sacrifice and sufferings
of Belgium, Serbia, Bohemia, Poland, France, England
and Italy, not to mention the sacrifices of others equal
in the cup of bitterness which they drank.
MILLIONS OF BROKEN HOMES
Where are the young men of France, of England
and Canada today? Why will the halls of Oxford and
Cambridge, the Universities of Paris, Lyons and Nancy
resound but feebly to footfalls on staircases and lec-
ture rooms for years to come? Their sons are dead
and the boys and girls who should take their places are
the bread winners in their broken homes and must give
themselves in toil for the rehabilitating of their wasted
lands and cities.
Four years have passed for these nations, long,
weary, waiting years, and though help came and vic-
tory nears and though France smiles with us and
though England joins her laughter with the hearty
laughter of our boys, yet those of us who have entered
home after home of the peasant folk of France know
that whole villages are in mourning because not a home
remains untouched. Somewhere in her sacred soil
sleeps husband, son, father or loved one. One wishes he
might forget the soldier graves of France, but back of
that line of death from Belfort, through Flanders field
to Dunkirk loving hands keep fresh the mounds of
earth, innumerable crosses bearing insignia of rank
mark every resting spot and the tri-color waves to the
breeze the testimony that they died in France.
Yes, they died for France ; but anyone who has
stood on the strategic fields of battle and has heard
from the lips of officers and men how hardly the day
was won and knows of the tremendous sacrifice of
thousands upon thousands of men to check the German
advance and hurl back the foe, knows full well that
these heroes died not for France only, but they died
for America and for the world. Though the price paid
by our army in this war is not inconsiderable, yet,
speaking from a comparative point of view, our sacri-
fice is but a tiny stream compared with the rivers of
blood which have flowed from France and England and
Italy.
THE GRATITUDE OF FRANCE
Surely the most tender emotion that any citizen of
our country can experience among the people of France
today is at noting their sense of gratitude and their sin-
cere warmth of soul as they welcome the incoming di-
visions of our army and all members of the American
expeditionary force. Their enthusiasm and their love
knows no bounds. Their welcome is as to long sepa-
rated sons and brothers.
Their homes, their friendships, such social hours
as they permit themselves to have are all shared with
their comrades from the United States. Any attempt at
expression of gratitude for what France has done in
fighting America's battles is hushed on the spot by fur-
ther outbursts of praise at the magnitude of America's
generosity in sending so magnificent an army to her
shores. Such self-abnegation and such lack of com-
plaint that the bitter dregs of the cup have been drunk
by her — the world cannot parallel. Who wonders that,
when France holds the cup and soulfully pledges undy-
ing friendship with her exultant "Vive L'Amerique !"
our sons should respond with their exultant "Vive La
France !"
If these unparalleled examples of sacrifice fail to
awaken our desire to give ourselves, our sons and our
dollars and gladly accept whatever humble place of toil
and inconvenience of living, then I ask you to look with
me at our own boys who have gone from our own homes
of ease and luxury to share the common lot of those
who fight for the world's democracy. Of course, they
grumble and complain at the mud and at the grub, at
the march and at the early bugle call — but such grum-
blings only remind us that they belong to us and are
still our lads. But what is better, no Nebraska farm of
perfect title or Kansas oil well could as a free gift
bring them home till the thing for which they are there
has been accomplished.
METZ THE PRESENT GOAL
The taking of Metz does seem to interest them.
They seem to think that a thing to be done following a
quick barrage some morning after breakfast — but they
set the pace for generals and talk of crossing the Rhine
before Christmas and making a hurried march to Pots-
dam and Berlin. Our men, God bless them ! if they
grumble at billet and mess, they grumble more with
impatience that they can't "go over the top" and take
the villages just ahead. When at last the hour comes
and the purpose of their country's call is to be fulfilled,
our men are informed perhaps the evening before the
morning of the battle that they are to "go over the
top." Of that hour they have read and dreamed and
heard others talk about as their own hearts fluttered
and yet had hoped and longed amid conflicting fears
and holy aspirations to realize for themselves.
It is 4:45 o'clock at the time of breaking dawn as
at Soissons ; the barrage is thrown, a barrage from
French seventy-fives, one hundred fifty-fives, and three
hundred twenties. The flare from the innumerable can-
non mouths brings the struggling dawn suddenly to
brightness of day and the horizon above and beyond
Villers-Cotterets forest to the eastward is a blaze of
light. The roadsides tremble beneath heavy army
trains, and villages for miles feel the jar from shaking
earth; stately trees fall like tenpins in a bowling alley;
October 31, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
11
suddenly all is quiet, there are a few moments of death
stillness and our boys with shouts and the familiar
songs of the camp "march out to die." Most of them
live, though many fall. "But what the cost?"— with
wave of the hand of those dying and those willing to
die — was not this a glorious hour and for those who
fell the sweetest time to die? for aided by soldiers of
the United States, General Foch wrests the offensive
from Ludendorff and there begins the hour of demoral-
ization in the ranks of the Hun that was quickened
by the American troops at Chateau Thierry, and that
shall know no end till the hour of victory.
FAITHFULNESS UNTO DEATH
Speaking of the death of our men — who has not
felt, who does not feel the sacred ministry of those
dying? While the battle rages and the stretcher bear-
ers, braving dangers of bursting shell, carry their
wounded comrades to dressing stations or to ambu-
lances to roll them back to field hospitals, then we see
our sons as they are, stripped down to naked glory
and beauty of soul. If the wound is slight our soldier
complains that his commanding officer ordered him to
the rear; if serious fracture sends him to the base
hospital, he weeps lest he be not able to join the ranks
again ; if there is necessity for amputation of arm or
leg, his concern is not for himself, but for loved ones
at home, and his desire that the officer shall protect
them in making as light of his condition as possible ;
and, if the wound received is mortal, I here bear wit-
ness that in the scores of instances in which I have
been with our marines and others of .our division while
their souls "went west," I have never seen in glance
of eye, tremor of hand, or breaking of voice, the slight-
est indication of fear at death or even of unwilling-
ness to go.
Ah ! the revelation of glorious American manhood
which the battle line affords, throwing into splendid
relief qualities of soul possessed not only by our sol-
diers at the front, but by the hundreds of thousands of
those behind the lines in France, England and Italy,
and thousands upon the seas, the bluejackets of our
navy and the hundreds of thousands in our cantonments
in the states, and the millions in our homes — all of
them God's Sons of Destiny, born to recreate the world
and herald the day of righteousness for all peoples.
THE ARMY OF STALWARTS
From whatever angle viewed, in genuine qualities
of moral character, in lofty idealism and purpose of
soul, in bravery to meet every danger known to man,
in effectiveness to gain military objectives, and in the
willing abandon with which life itself is surrendered
for the sake of the ideal — no army of the world can
excel that army of stalwarts where divisions upon divi-
sions fight in the Argonne forest and upon the borders
of Alsace-Lorraine today in facing Metz, and marching
toward the Rhine — the world's newest army ; the first
American army, commanded by General John J.
Pershing.
To speak of further sacrifices of our brave men
would be to enumerate instances which would be
paralleled in the experience of every man who has been
associated with our troops at the front. As associate
chaplain of the division with which I was identified I
am carrying back to loved ones personal messages and
details surrounding the supreme moment that may
help to assuage the shock of their country's informa-
tion. I hold in my pocket a letter which I took from
the person of a stalwart lad in the open field beyond
Limey in the St. Mihiel drive. The letter contains
words of affection from a sweetheart in Cleveland,
A Prayer
Dedicated to Edward Scribner Ames
GOD of the open, of dawning and starlight,
Of the sea's blue, the sun's gold, the clouds'
varied pageant ;
God of mountains and forests and rich, waving grasses ;
Of April's fresh beauty and autumn's deep crooning,
Of summer-time singing and winter's still whiteness,
Of the snow blast, the night wind,
The tempest, life-laden ;
God of light, God of grandeur,
We adore Thee.
God of the spirit of man, emerging,
Warring against the shackles of darkness ;
God of strength, of freedom, of hope everlasting,
Of history, of science, of music symphonic,
Fulfilling the past, transcending the present;
God of all Christ-souls of all ages and peoples,
Insurgent, exultant, with eyes to the eastward;
God of truth, God of progress,
We extol Thee.
God of our hearts, Father of mercy,
Pitying, loving, craving affection ;
God sacrificial, Calvary-proven,
Seeking the lost on the Marne and the Danube ;
Sun of all life, Star of all peoples,
Warming, enlightening, cheering and luring;
God of humanity, God of compassion,
Father of Christ, who died for our saving,
We love Thee.
■ — Thomas Curtis Clark.
12
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 31, 1918
closing with, "God bless the hands that open this letter"
and the complete words of those beautiful lines sung
in every camp and home :
There's a fong, long trail a-winding
Into the land of my dreams,
Where the nightingales are singing
And a white moon beams.
There's a long, long night of waiting
Till my dreams all come true,
Till the day when I'll be going
Down that long, long trail with you.
Not all of us can give our lives, the most beautiful
gift that can be placed on God's holy altar in this hour ;
but is there anything dear that we shall try to with-
hold if our country calls and the way is made plain by
which the sacrifice can be made? There must be an
unwithholding surrender of life and property on the
altar of sacrifice for the sake of victory.
Christian Union and Victory
By Charles F. Stevens
TWO things have contributed to the victories of the
allied armies on the western front in recent months :
first, the arrival of the Americans, and second,
the unity of effort. The arrival of the Americans put new
life and hope into the war-weary armies of England and
France and added materially to their resources.
But, also, with the entrance of the Americans, there
came the unifying of all the allied forces under one su-
preme command. Before this, England and France had a
common purpose, but unity of effort was lacking; and it
came near proving fatal.
If unity of effort leads to such victories in war, why
would not the same unity in the church lead to equally
great victories? The denominations of Christendom have
in large measure a common purpose, but unity of effort
is lacking. Foch is a strategist and wherever he finds a
weak point in the Hindenburg line, there he strikes and
strikes hard, for he can command sufficient forces to strike
hard. Our Commander, too, is a great strategist, but he
can not always strike the weak points of the devil's line,
because of rival commands, denominational jealousies, and
hesitant troops.
. Jesus was greatly concerned for the unity of his fol-
lowers, not only for their sakes, but also for the sake of
| the world. He fervently prayed that they all might be one,
as he and the Father were one, that the world might be-
lieve. Jesus knew that a divided church could never bring
the world to faith. It is high time, therefore, that men
and women who love the Kingdom should get together,
not only in purpose, but in unity of effort as well. The
Kaiser has made persistent efforts to drive a wedge be-
tween the allies, and he did succeed in splitting off Russia ;
and we realize now how serious that was. Do Christians
realize the forces of evil are hilarious at the divisions of
the church? If Jesus could command his forces the en-
emy's line would crumple as the Hindenburg line has been
doing.
While there are probably good and sufficient reasons
why the nations should maintain their individual existence,
there is no good reason, nor scriptural authority for de-
nominational existence ; for the simple reason that the
Kingdom of God is composed of all classes and races; in
fact, it exists to eliminate class and race. Every individual
interest, in harmony with Christ's will, may be taken care
of in the kingdom, provided there is a sufficient spirit of
charity and tolerance.
It may seem a paradox to say that the more planks in
any platform the fewer people can stand on it. But it is
true. The trouble with the church has been that it has put
too many planks in its platform. So, then, we make prog-
ress toward Christian union when we begin the elimination
of planks. But here we must proceed cautiously, else by
the process of elimination we eliminate the platform. For-
tunately we have the authority of Christ to guide us here.
He said, "Upon this rock" — the confession of Himself as
the Son of God, — "I will build my church." Men have
added to this platform plank after plank, and in the process
of elimination we can not stop till we come to this one. This
platform places Jesus Christ in supreme authority, gives
him divine authority in our lives, so that "Whatsoever He
saith unto us," we can obey, gladly, cheerfully, and en-
thusiastically.
A Prayer
By Edgar DeWitt Jones
Pronounced at the Unveiling of the Statue of Stephen A.
Douglas, Springtield, III., October $th
GOD of our fathers, we thank Thee that Thou art
the God of each succeeding race ; Thou art the
Inspirer and Guide of Thy children in every age;
Thou art continually calling us to paths that we do not
know, and regarding us with rare and rich discoveries.
Thus calling us from one deep experience to others deeper
still, Thou enrichest our lives and buildest the world anew.
Father of Mercies, today we praise Thee for the pio-
neer spirits who blazed paths where highways never ran,
who by their fortitude, their faith and perseverance made
the desert and solitary places to blossom like the rose. For
the heroic men and women whose toil, suffering and sacri-
fice purchased the comforts and conveniences which we
enjoy today, we praise Thee and hallow the memory of
their strong and sturdy characters.
Almighty God, we glorify Thee today for a hundred
years of history as a commonwealth, for the poetry, the
romance and the thrilling achievements of a century of
statehood. We thank Thee for the immortal names that
Illinois has given to history and to the world. We praise
Thee, likewise, for the millions unknown to fame who
wrought in obscurity, whose lives were full of faith and
service to God and men.
We thank Thee, Righteous Father, for the great son
of Illinois in whose memory we are met and to whose
renown this statue is erected by a grateful people. By the
token of his lofty patriotism in a period of peril inspire us,
his beneficiaries, to like fidelity, courage and sacrifice in a
day when the cause of liberty is on trial for its very life.
October 31, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
II
Mystic Spirit, move upon us mightily in the significant
celebration of the hour; fill us with solemn pride, stir us
deeply by the memory of the noble sons of this common-
wealth who have labored so fruitfully and into whose labors
we have entered. Make us to know Thou needest us to
carry on the work that these great souls laid down when
Thou didst call them higher.
Father of us all, cause Thy face to shine upon us in
this centenary of statehood. Anoint the lips of those who
shall speak to us today with prophetic eloquence so that
this place shall become a veritable sanctuary of patriotism
wherein we may all experience a rededication of heart and
hand to the holy cause of freedom, justice and righteous-
ness throughout the whole earth.
In the name of the world's Saviour we pray. Amen.
Are You So Burdened?
ABOVE all, we ourselves must be burdened with a
sense of the transcendent importance of increasing
the number of men who will seek to release the
power of God by prayer. The sufficient proof that we
are thus burdened is what we do in our own secret hour
of intercession. Mr. Moody used to say, "A man is what
he is in the dark." We may test the strength and the
purity of our desire and motive by what we do where
God alone sees us. If there be genuineness and reality
there, God will have His opportunity to break out through
us, and our experience as intercessors will become truly
contagious. Are men moved to pray as a result of con-
scious or unconscious touch with our lives? No more
searching question could be addressed to us. By the
answer we give in our inmost souls, and by the steps
which we take as a result of that answer will be measured
not only the quality but also the outreach of our lives.
If the hill back of Nazareth could give forth its secret,
if the lake of Galilee could tell what it witnessed, if the
desert places around Jerusalem could tell their story, if
the Mount of Olives could speak out and tell us what
transpired there, they would all tell us more than anything
else of the prayer life of our Lord. They would reveal
its intensity, its unselfishness, its constancy, its godly fear
that made it irresistible. John R Mott
Mastery
1 WOULD not have a god come in
To shield me suddenly from sin,
And set my house of life to rights ;
Nor angels with bright burning wings
Ordering my earthly thoughts and things;
Rather my own frail guttering lights
Wind blown and nearly beaten out;
Rather the terror of the nights
And long, sick groping after doubt ;
Rather be lost than let my soul
Slip vaguely from my own control —
Of my own spirit let me be
In sole though feeble mastery.
Sara Teasdale.
Two Important War Books
Europe Since 1815
By Charles Downer Hazen
T^OR a clear understanding of the
-■* Great War it is necessary to
master the facts of the history of
Europe since that epochal year 1815.
This author, who occupies the chair
of Professor of History in Smith
College, and who is a leading author-
ity in modern history, begins where
Napoleon left off, at the Congress of
Vienna, and traces developments
leading up to the present war. This
is not a dry book of history, but is
charmingly written. Fourteen ex-
cellent maps make the study all the
more interesting.
Price, $3.75 plus 10 to
18 cts. postage
The Diplomatic Background
of the War
By Charles Seymour
DR. SEYMOUR is a Yale Pro-
fessor, and here presents a re-
markable story of European politics
since 1874, with clear expositions of
the essential motifs of the several
nations of Europe in the continual
behind-the-scenes conflicts and
schemings that have characterized
this period. The book reads like a
novel.
Price, $2 plus 8 to
14 cts. postage
The CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
Chicago, III.
700 East 40th Street
The Larger Christian World
A Department of Interdenominational Acquaintance
The Coming Campaign for
Camp Activities
THE experience of the various organizations of America
doing work in the camps and getting together for a
national campaign for funds will be a most wholesome
one. The Jews and Catholics will profit by the excellent Y.
M. C. A. organization, but while they profit we also shall
have softened some of our religious asperities, and that will
be worth the money. The week of November 11-18 is to be
devoted to this purpose. The amount asked for would have
been staggering in the days of our national wealth and pros-
perity. In these days of heroic service and sacrifice it seems
small. But it will be necessary to reach nearly every citizen
in order to produce $170,000,000, on the heels of the Fourth
Liberty Loan campaign and with the prospect of the Red
Cross campaign looming up ahead. The conditions of this
campaign should be known to all. The Christian Associa-
tions are to get the amount of money they originally asked
for. The Knights of Columbus get an enormous increase over
the amount they raised alone, but much less than they asked.
Each giver may specify any of the several organizations to
which he wishes his money to go. The undesignated money
will be divided in such a way as to make up the quota of the
less favored organizations. There is no reason, therefore, why
any strict religionist should refuse to participate in the giv-
ing. He can reach his favored organization with his money
and be sure that it goes there. For that reason, and for many
another, every citizen of America should join in this great
campaign in behalf of the religious and social welfare of the
boys in the camps. There is no longer any doubt that money
so given is well spent. Letters come to us from the boys
"over there" on the stationery of the Y. M. C. A. The men
at the front write about the Salvation Army doughnuts and
of the privilege of seeing respectable American women near
the war zone engaged in war work. The world war might
have been the great moral calamity of the human race. If
it is not so, it is partly due to the splendid service of war
camp activities.
The Growing Work of
the Y. W. C. A.
The Young Women's Christian Association has been mak-
ing large progress in recent years, as may be seen from the
statistics of the organization. There are now 1,025 local or-
ganizations with a membership of 366,887. In the war work
there are sixty-one hostess houses operating in cantonments;
thirty-seven authorized under construction, eighteen more re-
quested. The Association also has many centers abroad, not
only in the war-stricken lands but also upon the foreign mis-
sion fields.
War Communities Need Many
New Churches
The Presbyterians of Chicago are very much alert in seiz-
ing upon new opportunities for city mission work. A recent
survey in the war munitions factory section indicated a popu-
lation of twenty thousand people with only two small Protest-
ant churches. The Presbyterians plan to move quickly in this
field and to develop new institutions to meet the religious needs
of these workmen. This territory is in the Calumet industrial
region.
Y. M. C. A. Helps Men
Send Money Home
The Y. M. C. A. is now organized to receive the money
of soldiers in France and deliver it to their families in this
country free of charge. Already over three million dollars has
been transferred in this way. The three millions has been
sent to fifty thousand persons in this country. Checks are
issued in the New York office of the association for the money
turned over in France.
New York Has Woman
Presbyterian Preacher
There is now a woman Presbyterian preacher, which fact
would indicate that Presbyterians are not so conservative as
some have thought them. Chemung Presbytery of New York
recently licensed Mrs. Lillian H. Chapman to preach the gos-
pel. She is the wife of a Presbyterian minister who is in war
work; she has often occupied a pulpit to the entire satisfac-
tion of her hearers.
Important Post Offered to
Dr. E. P. Hill
The General Education Board of the Presbyterian church
has been looking around for a long time for a secretary of
the General Education Board of the denomination. Recently
a decision was reached to offer the post to Dr. Edgar P. Hill,
D. D., of McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago. Dr.
Hill has not yet indicated his acceptance of the post but it
is stated that his decision will be known by November 1. On
that date the final formalities of merging the College and
Education Boards of the denomination will take place in New
York.
Will Hold Prophetic Conference
in Pittsburgh
The pre-millenarian interest of the country aroused by the
war finds expression in frequent prophetic conferences held
in various sections of the country. A hundred ministers and
interested laymen have issued a call for such a conference to
be held in Carnegie Hall, Pittsburgh, November 25 to 28. The
conference will consider the question, "Has the Bible any
light for these days of war and famine and pestilence through-
out the world?" The more noted speakers for the conference
will be Dr. Mark A. Matthews, Dr. John F. Carson, Dr. Ford
C. Ottman, Dr. C. I. Scofield, Dr. A. C. Gaebelin, Dr. A. C.
Dixon, Dr. James M. Gray, Dr. David J. Burrell and Dr. W.
L. Pettingill.
Not Many Ministers
Now Idle
It has often been asserted that there were not only great
numbers of churches without preachers but that many preach-
ers are without employment. The corresponding secretary of
the Committee on Vacancy and Supply of the Presbyterian
church is prepared to deny the latter part of this allegation
for his denomination. He has recently hunted the country
over for Presbyterian ministers to use in war work and has
been able to find only 110 men open for engagement. Of
these, thirty-six were in extremely doubtful state of health.^
Of the ones in health, six were below the age of forty, twenty-
two between forty and fifty, twenty-five from fifty to sixty,
seventeen from sixty to seventy and four over seventy. The
secretary says: "There has not in many years been a time
when there was more need for church officers, Sunday school
teachers and Presbyterian ministers to proclaim unhesitat-
ingly the call of the gospel ministry."
Mexicans More Open to
Gospel Preaching
The hostility in Mexico to American missionaries seems
to have abated very much. As the German propaganda is
seen more clearly in its true light, the nation may be de-
October 31, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
15
pended upon to take a more friendly attitude to the sister
republic to the north. Formerly gospels and tracts were torn
in half when handed out by the missionaries, but the people
are now ready to read them. Rev. John T. Molloy, Presby-
terian missionary of Yucatan, recently spent some time dis-
tributing Christian literature among Mexican soldiers and
found them quite ready to receive tracts and gospels.
Mormons Reported Denouncing
Plural Marriage
The semi-annual conference of the Mormon church at
Salt Lake City was held recently and at the time President
Joseph F. Smith made the statement that he had never "au-
thorized any man to perform a plural marriage, and never,
since my presidency of the church, has any plural marriage
been performed with my sanction or knowledge or with the
consent of the church. Such marriages as have been per-
formed unlawfully and contrary to the order of the church
are null and void and are not marriages at all." It is re-
ported that President Smith will not long survive. His prob-
able successor, Grant, is now a monogamist, his two other
wives having died. This clear statement on the part of Presi-
dent Smith should set at rest the persistent rumors that the
Mormons intended to use the war conditions as an occasion
to revive their propaganda in behalf of plural marriage.
Bishop Gore's Tour Stopped
by Influenza
The course of the Bishop of Oxford, traveling through
our country and speaking for the committee on the Moral
Aims of the War, has been stopped by the spread of the
influenza epidemic. He was in Alabama when the quarantine
first became effective. He moved rapidly to different cities
but always the closing order had come into effect. He finally
went to Nashotah in Wisconsin and spent some days in rest.
With the opening of public meetings again he is once more on
the public platform speaking in behalf of a rapproachement of
the Anglo-Saxon peoples.
All-Ohio Summer School
of Theology
The Methodist preachers of Ohio had a unique vacation
experience this past summer. One hundred and twenty-
five of them gathered at Delaware, Ohio, for an all-Ohio
Summer School of Theology. Seventy-five of these were
young men taking the conference course of study. There
were both class periods and lectures. The lecturers were
President Hoffmann and Professor Walker of Ohio Wesleyan,
Professor William Adams Brown of Union Seminary, and Dr.
Henry H. Meyer and Professor Hall of Garrett Biblical In-
stitute. The men voted that the coming summer the school
should continue for three weeks instead of nine days.
Methodist Pastor in Tv/enty-One
Year Pastorate
Those who think of Methodist pastorates as being short
compared with those of other denominations will do well to
look up the statistics on this matter, for the average pastorate
in this denomination is not greatly different from that in
denominations without episcopal control. The Rock River
Conference of the Methodist Episcopal church recently ap-
pointed Rev. A. S. Haskins as pastor of Irving Park Meth-
odist church of Chicago for the twenty-first year. Under this
long pastorate a strong church has been developed.
Woman Preacher Gives
Congregation Last Word
The most eminent woman preacher in the world is Miss
Maude Royden, assistant pastor of the City Temple, London.
On a recent evening a large congregation gathered to hear
her discuss the subject, "The Problem of Suffering." At the
close of the sermon, a half hour was given for questions
CHRISTIANITY IS ADVANCING!
Read About It In
THE
NEW
ORTHODOXY
By Edward Scribner Ames
Associate Professor of Philosophy
The University of Chicago
The War marks the beginning of a new epoch
in Christianity. Religion is gaining in reality and
in sanity and also in vision and incentive. The
old orthodoxy sought correctness of opinion
through tradition and authority. The new ortho-
doxy rests upon deeper grounds. Its founda-
tions are in the nature of man; not in his super-
stition or his credulity, but in his heroism, his
kindliness and his imagination. The concerns of
religion in our day are bound up with science and
art and social idealism. This book is a popular,
constructive interpretation of man's religious life
in the light of the learning of the scholars and in
the presence of a new generation of spiritual heroes
Ij8 pages — $i.oo, postage extra (weight 12 oz.)
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
5808 ELLIS AVENUE CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
offered by people in the congregation, though it was an-
nounced that controversial questions would be taboo. The
questions that followed the sermon revealed a situation which
might be found in any church, — that the people in the pew s
need to have cleared up some of the more difficult points in
the sermons.
Roman Bishop and Episcopalian
Chaplain Cooperate
In Lorraine, an Episcopalian chaplain had no suitable
place of worship. When the Roman Catholic bishop of the
section heard of this, he assigned an ancient edifice for the use
of the American chaplain. When the chaplain went to take
possession, he found everything prepared for the communion
service, even to the bread and wine. The incident indicates
something of the leveling effect of the war so that a Roman
and an Episcopalian might come into such close cooperation
in matters religious.
The Soldiers Promise
Not to Swear
The development of habits of profanity in army circles
has been noted and deplored by many religious workers. A
Methodist chaplain, Rev. Herbert G. Markley, has drawn up
the following pledge to which he invites the men under his
spiritual care to put their names:
"Knowing that my God, my country, and my home are
expecting me to be a true man and realizing that swearing is
not conducive to good morals and also, that it deadens the
finer sensibilities of the soul, I hereby place my name on the
roll of this organization, promising before God to do my best
to refrain from all manner of language that I would not use
before my wife, my mother, my sister, or my sweetheart."
Orvis F. Jordan.
16
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 31, 1918
Books
Dr. E. L. Powell on Dr. Jenkins' "Protestant"
IT WILL not be denied that there are extreme utterances in
this book. The things which need to be remedied in the
church are made as glaring as a conflagration. There is noth-
ing conventional in either style or subject-matter. There is
nothing imitative and nothing that submits itself to a cold intel-
lectual analysis. It seems to be the purpose of the author to say
as bluntly and boldly as possible, and in the strongest Anglo-Saxon
at his command, what thousands feel. It simply sets you think-
ing. You forget to criticize. Your blood tingles. You have the
feeling that in some statements there is wild exaggeration, that
the author has gone too far, and yet you cannot get away from
the conviction that he needed to say it in just that way. Some-
body must sound the fire alarm. Self-conceit and self-complacency
are brought perforce to a sudden Halt ! and Attention ! Some
such shaking up is bound to bring about better things and pre-
serve for us the things that cannot be shaken. The book is in
harmony with the world war business of smashing and shattering
the conventional, dogmatic, usual, pedestrian and commonplace
in religion.
The book is just as refreshing as a gale from the mountains
that comes blowing and blustering into your prim little apartment
and knocks down your pictures and your pretty statuary and all
your nice domestic arrangements and leads you to the sudden
discovery that a breath from the hills is the very breath of God
and is the only salvation from your stuffy, steam-heated and de-
oxygenated atmosphere. The reader who does not like it may
comfort himself with Riley's little verse, "There, little girl, don't
cry; They have broken your doll, I know," etc. The simple fact
is that the things which are smitten by the author, with perhaps
one or two exceptions, are not half so important and certainly
have not half so much dignity as the little girl's doll. On the
contrary, to smash them is perhaps the best way to free the
church from the tyranny of the trivial. The author is in the
happy position of not caring whether the book is liked or disliked.
THE BOOK HELPS THE WAR
I do not know that the book will create a sensation, but it
rather seems to me that it is going to prove itself an ally in the
present war in the accomplishment of the very things which the
war is working out, not only politically, but in the whole church
world. Ecclesiasticism is doomed. Provincialism, professional-
ism and conventionalism in hoth pew and pulpit are being un-
masked. Earnest souls are about through with it. Theologies of
the "believe-or-be-damned sort" are going to be thrown on the
scrap heap. When we have gotten through with our baptism of
blood we shall wonder how it was that we ever regarded as
important anything that even momentarily has kept us away from
the realities of God, Christ, and immortality. The artificial in
religion is hereafter to be the contemptible.
The message of the book is opportune. It is going to make
some people mad. It is going to raise the cry of heretic against
the author. But there is not a sentiment in the book that is so
stated as to give a chance for any heretic hunter to get hold of
the heretic. He is not get-atable. The book is as honest as sun-
shine. There is no affectation of style or phrase. It is all style
because it has no style. It is the style of the race-horse tearing
down the track like thunder even as "some steed in frantic fit
that flings the froth from curb and bit" and doesn't know that
he has attracted attention and created a thrill in the crowd. The
writer is boyishly unconscious of the range of his own voice in
raising a shout. It is far and away a more interesting book than
"Mr. Britling Sees It Through" or "The Invisible King." The
greater part of his readers will go plunging and pounding along
with him and get the thrill of a real religious joy ride.
I have the feeling that the book is more of a delightfully
fierce interrogation, as though the author were smilingly saying :
"We are going to the Devil, don't you think so? Permit me to
say that I am only standing on the side of the road and calling
attention to the fact, and you are invited, if you are so inclined,
to save yourselves from going over the precipice." Rather, per-
haps, he is one of the company seated in the ramshackle machine
bidding the others look on the craziness of the whole situation
and politely-profanely suggesting with sufficient nervousness and
vividness to startle us out of our false security, "Cry aloud for
the master machinist to hurry up and get us out of the middle
of a bad fix."
"smashes all precedents"
It is difficult for me to say just exactly what I want to say
about this book. It is sui generis. It is loose-jointed and yet has
a stride of power. It makes you think of a sail on the briny
deep with the salt spray smiting you and all the spirit of adven-
ture stirring within you. It smashes all precedents in religious
literature. I do not know that you can call it literature. It is
mighty interesting reading.
Do I endorse the book? Rather, I prefer to say I approve
the blows ! The author is not preaching. He is pommelling. I
can say in all good conscience as respects the hammering, "Lay
on, MacDuff, lay on!" It is such a "stunning" religious-literary
achievement that I find myself in the mood of an admiring wit-
ness of the surprising performance, crying, "Bravo! Bravo!"
Louisville, Ky. E. L. Powell.
The Sunday School
The Short, Ugly Word*
JACOB lied. His mother taught him to lie. Many mothers have
done that since, mothers that should have known better. Your
child came to you with a perfectly good question and you
deliberately lied to him, rather than take the pains of teaching him
the truth, plainly and clearly. It is no wonder some boys lie. A
combination like that found in Jacob's home was ideal for produc-
ing liars ! A sharp mother, none too ethical, and a careless father,
who allowed the mother to do all of the teaching and all of the
disciplining. I'll wager Isaac never tanned those youngsters in his
easy-going life. When he caught little Jacob in a lie he would
laugh and call him a pretty smart boy, who some day would grow
into a good business man. And when little Esau would smash up
the tent, in a frantic rage of temper, he would say, "Ma, you'd
better talk to Esau !" Rebekah had her hands full managing the
servants and herdsmen, while Isaac went off under a tree to medi-
tate, and she made short work of the discipline. Probably Esau
was bowled over with a swift cuff and explanations were few. The
boys soon learned that the lie was a clever short-cut. They were a
bit careful about working it on "Ma," but they could always put it
over on "Pa." The point I am making is that children learn to lie,
not at school, but at home. Their own dear parents teach them
to lie.
Jacob, apparently, had learned it well. For when he appears to
claim the birthright, one lie follows another in smooth, rapid suc-
cession. Blasphemously he uses God to help him out when Isaac,
with unusual sagacity, asks how he came to secure the deer so
quickly: "Oh," replies the glib young liar, "God brought it to me."
I must confess that my irrepressible sense of humor gets the best
of me when I read this story. Rebekah fixed him up as a "hairy"
man and the old blind father smelt and felt and let it go at that.
He was a little leery about the voice, but there was plenty of hair
on his hands and so he avoided the mental effort and, following
the line of least resistance, he bestowed the blessing. Exactly the
kind of thing you would expect a man to do who, years before,
had allowed the hired man to do the courting for him ! I told
you I was not too enthusiastic over Isaac, anyhow. He was the
son of an illustrious father and, thanks to Rebekah, the father of
an illustrious son — that's all. It is thus that we say, "Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob." Some men have greatness thrust upon them.
What about lying? Is it so bad? Can we excuse or overlook
*Lesson for Nov. 10. Scripture, Gen. 27:18-29.
October 31, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
17
it? Was the treatment administered to Ananias and Sapphira rather
harsh? No, lying is vital. No man lies unless the very ethical foun-
dations of his life are crumbling. One who lies is an ethical pervert.
Nothing should give parents greater concern than to note a trace
of the disposition to lie cropping out in their child. At all costs
it must be conquered. It is fundamental. The whole character is
undermined by lying. Nothing sound or enduring can exist in one
who lies. "Lie" is the short, ugly, hideous word. Every child should
be taught to see how cowardly, how wicked it is to depart from
strict truth. The lie in foodstuffs gives us adulterations that are
harmful. The lie in politics gives us corrupt lawmakers. The lie
in education gives us miserable scholars. The lie in religious edu-
cation gives us freaks. The lie in the care for the body gives us
frightful disease. The lie in architecture gives us crumbling houses,
even as Ruskin found. Lying tiles on the roof caused the destruc-
tion of Tintoretto's frescoes ; lying supports caused falling cathe-
drals. Did you ever see a house where the roof sagged and the
porch columns leaned and the siding warped— a builded lie? A lie
spells ruin. You cannot deal with a liar— you can only cease
to deal with him. A lie is deadly. It wrecks all reality; it perverts
all truth; it twists all beauty; it destroys all joy; it damns all that
it touches.
John R. Ewers.
CORRESPONDENCE
The Question of Camp Pastors
Editors The Christian Century:
IT HAS been a matter of special interest to me to note the
items in the "Century" with reference to the camp pastors. I
served three months last winter at Camp Cody, N. M., as a
religious director for the Army Y. M. C. A. I was well ac-
quainted with the camp pastors there and at the time thought they
were doing a good work. The Presbyterian and Baptist churches
had especially strong men and they were very agreeable fellows.
But after thinking it over I can't help but believe that the
War Department was wise in eliminating them. Their work was
good, but after all its denominational emphasis was a denial of
the spirit that is behind the Y. M. C. A. work in the camp. I
am of the opinion that the camp pastor was the creation of
competitive denominationalism rather than of a desire really to
serve the boys in the camps. Let the denominations keep out and
subordinate themselves in the more catholic work of the
Y. M. C. A.
It is my conviction that the Disciples will get farther at
this time by sending the right kind of men into the army as
chaplains and as Y. M. C. A. secretaries than by fostering the
denominational spirit aroused by the camp pastor idea.
I have been thinking for some time of writing to say how
much I enjoy the Larger Christian World page in the "Century."
It is always read with the greatest interest and profit. I know
of no other page in any religious paper of the type that carries
with it quite the flavor of yours. C. E. Lemmon.
Hastings, Neb.
* >K if
"Cursing the Kaiser"
Editors The Christian Century:
Permit me to thank you for your splendid editorials in
this week's issue on "The Nation's Need of Humility" and
"Cursing the Kaiser." It does seem to me that the time has
come for all Christian papers to assert themselves on this
question. The popular mind is going wild in its demand for
revenge. An editorial in one of our own local papers the
other day mentioned God's command to Saul concerning the
Amalekites as a precedent for the extermination of the Ger-
man people, and went on to say that we should be glad to
have a "Bible example" for such a procedure. Of course, I
answered that we should not forget the growth of our ideas
of the will of God, and the later revelations that have been
given us through the prophets of Israel and our Lord him-
self. I do think that the time has come for us all to speak
with no uncertain sound in behalf of these really great things
of our holy faith.
Findlay, O. W. D. Van Voorhis.
Postcripts
You are giving us the religious journal that is most needed
in this unprecedented time of war-trying days. Keep the good
work up. You have more friends than you think.
Monessen, Pa. J. B. Swain.
* * *
You are giving us a great paper in the "Century." It meets
a vital need in Discipledom. Carl B. Swift.
Uhrichsville, Ohio.
* * *
As a religious journal the "Century" is the joy of my soul.
It is full of inspiration and practical idealism.
Covina, Calif. Prof. W. Stairs.
* * *
I wish to tell you how much pleasure I get from the presence
of The Christian Century in my home. I like its constructive
progressiveness that does not seek to tear down, but to build up
and inspire the church to the big things in the Kingdom. Surely
those who follow Christ today must get away from the narrow,
petty, selfish opinions that have so long gripped His church.
Orrville, O. W. W. Johnson.
* * *
The Christian Century is the paper that occupies the "front
line trenches" in religious thought among the Disciples of Christ.
Muncie, Ind.
Rev. Asa McDaniel.
* *
The "Century" is a most excellent paper ; just the kind the
brotherhood needs.
Paxton, 111.
Rev. C. C. Wisher.
Not
Sleepy
In It!
Lesson
That's the Fact Concerning —
The 20th Century Quarterly
Most lesson quarterlies are made up largely of
reprint matter from commentaries and quarterlies
of twenty-five years ago. Much of this material
is unimportant and uninteresting, and is therefore
an imposition on the busy Bible student of these
hurried days. The 20th Century Quarterly
is not only informational ; it is also attractive and
intensely interesting. It will keep your class of
men, women or young people awake.
The first issue — for the Autumn
quarter — is now ready. Send
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700 E. 40th Street, Chicago
18
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 31, 1918
I do not feel that I could get along without The Christian
Century. Every issue gets better. John T. Bradbury.
Piano, Texas.
* * *
The Christian Century is uniformly good and I am anticipating
the coming numbers with keenness. Allen T. Shaw.
Pekin, 111.
* * *
I am lost without The Christian Century. Please send it to
address below, where I am temporarily stationed.
Camp Zachary Taylor. Roy H. Eiser, Chaplain U. S. A.
* * *
Have read with great interest Dr. Willett's articles on the
second coming. When I was in Chicago this summer I heard him
in his fine address on the war. Mrs. W. P. McCorkle.
Eminence, Ky.
* * *
I feel great satisfaction in reading your paper. There is
hardly a topic of universal interest that one cannot find consid-
ered in the "Century." The articles are scholarly and wide in
their vision ; by ignoring the denominational note they are aiding in
bringing about the purpose for which the Disciples exist — "that
we all may be one." A. P. Wilson.
Iola, Kan.
* * *
My copy of the "Century" failed to reach me this week. Send
me a duplicate, as I do not wish to miss a single number.
Camden Point, Mo. O. B. Sears.
=?= # *
I have taken great delight in Dr. Willett's series of articles in
the "Century" concerning the Millennium, comparing various no-
tions about it with real scriptural history. His scriptural, schol-
arly interpretation appeals to me very forcibly.
Manhattan, Kan. Otho C. Moomaw.
* * *
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"Creeds and Creed Makers." B. Clifford Hendricks.
Lincoln, Neb.
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the best gift that can be given to one interested in things religious.
Buffalo, N. Y. Frederick J. Gielow, Jr.
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The author's purpose in these twelve studies is to
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700 East 40th Street
Chicago
October 31, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
19
News of the Churches
Striking Progress in Chattanooga,
Tenn., Church
Since January 1, 1918, there have been
150 additions to the membership at First
church, Chattanooga, Tenn., where
Claude E. Hill ministers. There has
been no outside preaching. Many of the
persons added are among the city's
prominent business and professional
men. Missionary offerings have been
largely increased, and a contribution of
$3,700 was given toward the Men and
Millions campaigns. The church has
become a living link, supporting Edgar
Johnson in Africa. For several years
the church has carried a $20,000 indebt-
edness; of this $2,000 has been cleared
during the past year. The morning au-
diences at First are the largest in the
city. A recent every member canvass
by a hundred men and women, in pairs,
was very fruitful, and the autumn recep-
tion to the members of the church this
year was largely attended. Mr. Hill is
a busy man; in addition to his pastoral
duties, he teaches a large business
women's Bible class, and serves as pres-
ident of the Chattanooga pastors' asso-
ciation. For several months he has
served as one of a committee of three
organized for the purpose of recruiting
men for overseas service with the Y.
M. C. A. The church is thoroughly or-
ganized for, and is active in, war work
in connection with the great camp at
Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, for more than
a year having had charge of one "Y"
building. A ward is cared for in one
of the base hospitals, and Saturday
night entertainments are held in the
church for the soldiers. Mr. Hill
preaches regularly in the camps and
spends much time looking after the
boys. The pastor was scheduled to hold
a meeting with the church at Hopkins-
ville, Ky., where E. S. Smith ministers,
but the influenza forbade.
Peoria Minister Enters Upon
New Work in Industrial Service
H. Lewis Starbuck, for three years
and four months pastor of Howett Street
church, Peoria, 111., has tendered his res-
ignation to take effect Oct. 31. He
is leaving the ministry of an active
church to enter into a somewhat differ-
ent field of service. He has accepted a
position as manager of the Industrial
Service Bureau, a new department of the
larger development of the Holt Manu-
facturing company. The work in this
department is in line with Mr. Star-
buck's life calling. He will have com-
plete charge of the department of social
welfare among the employes, the em-
ployment of all male and female help
and all the problems in that connection,
employes' liabilities and benefits, surgi-
cal dressings, sports, amusement and
recreations. The object of the depart-
ment is to make the employes of the
Holt plant completely satisfied with sur-
roundings and conditions and to advance
them to the highest point of efficiency,
socially, intellectual and in skill in labor.
It is this sort of work that Mr. Starbuck
will supervise at the Holt plant. Before
taking up the work actively he will enter
one of the eastern universities where he
will take up a short course in social and
industrial welfare under government di-
rection. Visits to the largest eastern
industrial centers where the social in-
dustrial problems are being worked out
will form a large part of the preparatory
course. During his three years of faith-
ful ministry at Howett Street church, Mr.
Starbuck has worked unceasingly for its
betterment and leaves the church ready
for bigger things for itself and for the
community it serves. It has been under
his leadership that the beautiful, modern
church building was erected at a cost of
more than forty thousand dollars and
the congregation has grown in member-
ship from 175 to 400.
Harry Munro Accepts
Army Chaplaincy
Harry C. Munro and his wife and
family were to reach Seattle about Oc-
tober 1 from Petersburg, Alaska. It
has been decided best to postpone fur-
ther missionary activity in Alaska until
after the war and Mr. Munro will accept
a chaplaincy in the army.
A New President for Carr-Burdette
College, Sherman, Tex.
Cephas Shelburne has been elected to
the presidency of Carr-Burdette College,
Sherman, Tex., and has also been called
to the pastorate of Central church, Sher-
man, until the opening of the school next
session. Extensive repairs will be made
in the buildings and grounds before the
school's opening. It is Mr. Shelburne's
intention to carry out the ideals of Mr.
and Mrs. O. A. Carr when they erected
the splendid buildings — to make Carr-
Burdette College an ideal "Home school
for girls."
* * *
— Howard E. Jensen, minister at Park
and Prospect Place church, Milwaukee,
Wis., is not discouraged by the fact that
the "flu" has closed down his church
temporarily. He is keeping the church
going by writing and publishing letters
and sermonettes to take the place of per-
sonal contact while the epidemic is on.
— A. F. DeGafferelley writes from
First Church, Danville, 111., that the
series of evangelistic meetings begun
there October 0 by M. B. Ingle of In-
dianapolis, was brought to a sudden
close by the influenza epidemic. First
church has an Endeavor society of about
a hundred attendance. Third church,
Danville, is still without a minister, and
Second church is in a meeting with G.
J. Huff, the minister in charge. There
were three additions on a recent Sunday
at First church, the pastor reports.
— Miss Grace Phillips, who has been
assisting the pastor at Monroe Street
church, Chicago, is now giving assist-
ance at Irving Park.
— At Blandinsville, 111., in a recent-
rally week meeting held by Pastor C.
K. Gillum, eighteen persons were added
to the membership.
— Holly M. Hale, the new pastor at
Bailey Avenue church, Chattanooga,
Tenn., who came to Tennessee from La-
Porte, Ind., is proving a capable and
popular leader, writes Claude E. Hill of
First church, Chattanooga. Mr. Hill
has known Mr. Hale for many years,
having been his teacher in a rural school
in Missouri many years ago. Mr. Hale
was ordained to the ministry by the
First church pastor.
— Horace Kingsbury, until recently
the state Sunday school leader of the
Disciples in Kentucky, is now in "Y"
war work.
— The church at Salina, Kan., led by
Arthur Dillinger, is talking a new build-
ing. This church has a successful Boy
Scouts organization which has its own
headquarters in a local public building.
— Rex Cole, formerly assistant pastor
at Central church, Des Moines, Iowa,
but who has for several months been
serving the Y. M. C A. in Japan, is now
in this country, and recently paid a visit
to Des Moines.
ST. LOUIS
UWIOH AVENUE
CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Union and Von Veraen Aves.
Gserge A- Cajmjboll, Minister
— Lieut. Buell McCash, son of I. N.
McCash of Spokane University, has
gone to France with the 88th Division.
— Fred R. Davies, formerly evange-
list of the southeastern district of Indiana
Discipledom, has received a commission
as a first lieutenant in the national army
and will soon be in service in France.
— Among the Indiana churches with-
out pastors are those at Rensselaer,
Rochester and Star City.
—Gary, In,d., Central church has pur-
chased a fine home for the new minister
there, O. E. Tomes.
— D. L. Dunkleberger has left Shelby-
ville, Ind., church to take the work at
Poplar Bluff, Mo.
— R. A. Bennett has resigned at Bar-
gersville, Ind., and will lead the church
at Ashville, N. C.
— W. G. Loucks, who served West
Grand Boulevard church at Detroit,
Mich., for two years, will locate in
Richmond, Va., and will become Bible
school superintendent of the new dis-
trict composed of Virginia, West
Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and the
District of Columbia, working under the
direction of the American Society.
— Clifford Weaver of First church,
Longview, Texas, has resigned there to
take up work for Eureka College.
— F. S. Stamm is the new leader at
Flat River, Mo., having come to Mis-
souri from Urbana, 111.
— All the Disciples ministers of Ohio
met on October 25 at Columbus to con-
sider the new plan for a joint mission-
ary budget for the coming year.
— C. A. Finch is the new leader at
Texarkana, Ark.
— Mrs. Rowena Mason, for many
years president of the Christian Orphans
home at St. Louis, passed from this life
October 21.
MEMORIAL cJ^S^b7J£!3t
tnltAuU Herbert L Vflea. Minister
— Howard T. Cree of First church,
Augusta, Ga., is now serving as "Repre-
sentative of the War Department .Com-
missions on Training Camp Activities
in War Camp Community Service."
— Lowell C. McPherson, a leader
among Disciples in New York state, is
on his way to France, where he will
serve the Y. M. C. A.
— There has been no service at Evans-
ton, 111., for three Sundays because of
the influenza plague.
— W. T. Moore, Disciple pioneer of
Eustis, Fla., has three sons in govern-
ment work. Mr. Moore recently passed
his eighty-sixth milestone.
20
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
October 31, 1918
— Jackson Boulevard church, Chicago,
has 110 stars in its service flag.
— S. T. Willis, for several years leader
at First church, St. Paul, Minn., has
accepted a call to the work at Duluth.
NQRFOLK.VA.
FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH
(Disciples)
Colonial Ave. at 16th St.
ReT. C. M. Watson, Minister
— Nineteen ministers and other lead-
ers of the Disciples were graduated
from the fifth school for army chaplains
at Camp Taylor, Ky., on Sept. 26.
Among those who graduated were B.
H. Bruner, W. A. Fite, Fred R. Davies,
R. W. Gentry, "Richard Heilbron and
Bert E. Stover.
— J. B. Hunley of Ivanhoe Park
church, Kansas City, is a recent recruit
to "Y" war work.
■ — First church, Seattle, Wash., has a
live men's class which has recently be-
gun the publication of a weekly paper,
the Men's Mentor. The church has lost
many of its men by the war.
— Vernon Stauffer, Dean and Profes-
sor of New Testament and Church His-
tory at Hiram College, has a new book
out from the Columbia University Press
on the subject: "New England and the
Bavarian Illuminati." This treatise is
one of a series of "Studies in History,
Economics and Public Law," which is
edited by the faculty of political science
of Columbia Universit3r.
— Charles A. Lockhart, recently of
First church, Helena, Mont., is doing
his part in the war by taking charge of
his son's farm at Kalispell, Mont., while
the son is in the national army. He is
closing his work at Helena, the church
having federated with the Congregation-
alists for the war period.
— An educational week is planned by
W. Scott Cook and the church at Wil-
kinsburg, Pa., to be conducted by the
pastor's father, Dr. S. M. Cook of Cyg-
net, O. This special week is an annual
affair. Mr. Cook has ministered to the
Wilkinsburg work for seven years.
Some of the achievements for the past
year are: $1,200 out of $7,000 raised
given to missions; forty-eight members
added to the congregation; a reduction
of the church debt. This congregation
has forty-eight men in war service, most
of them across the water.
— F. E. Davison, who has recently re-
signed the work at Spencer, Ind., where
he served the church for three years,
now leads at Sheridan, Ind. During his
closing week at Spencer, Mr. Davison
was entertaied by the Spencer Ad Club,
a business men's organization, and a
reception was given him by the congre-
gation. Mr. Davison during his pastor-
ate at Spencer, was thoroughly sympa-
thetic with community development and
served as president of the Associated
Charities and of the Ministerial Associa-
tion; he was county chairman of the
thrift stamp campaign and led also in
county Sunday school work.
NEW YORK
CENTRAL CHURCH
148 West 81st Street
Finis S. Idleman, Minister
— Huell Warren, the new leader at
First church, Keokuk, la., recently made
an effort to enter war chaplaincy service,
but failed to secure a position because
of his inability to pass the physical
examination. Mr. Warren was chair-
man of the speakers' bureau for the
fourth Liberty Loan, while in his late
pastorate at Gallatin, Mo.
— I. N. Grisso of Indianapolis, Ind.,
will probably locate with a church else-
where. His present address is 207 But-
ler Avenue, Indianapolis.
— E. V. Stivers of the Stockton, Cal.,
church, spoke in the middle west states
in behalf of the fourth Liberty Loan.
— M. Howard Fagan is holding an
evangelistic meeting at First church,
Oakland, Cal., where H. A. VanWinkle
ministers. This church has six men in
"Y" war service. A men's club has been
organized in the church, in which the
more than thirty-five members have ob-
ligated themselves to write twice a
month to some young man represented
on the church service flag.
— Dr. Burris A. Jenkins, of Linwood
Boulevard church, Kansas City, Mo.,
passed through Chicago last week on his
way back to Kansas City, after several
months spent in France in "Y" work.
— J. H. Versey, recently of Rutland,
111., will succeed Ernest Reed at Pontiac,
111., church. Mr. Reed is now serving
as chaplain in France.
— Albert Buxton, of First church, Cen-
tralia, Wash., celebrates this autumn his
anniversary of twenty-five years in the
Christian ministry. Mr. Buxton has
served in various educational positions
as well as pastor in several good
churches.
— The Minges evangelistic company
is to hold meetings soon in Flint and
Saginaw, Mich.
— Flint, Mich., is reported looking
for a strong leader.
— H. H. Harmon, minister at First
church, Lincoln, Nebr., has recently re-
turned from a year spent overseas with
the Y. M. C. A. Lawrence Dry, asso-
ciate pastor, has led the Lincoln work
very efficiently and fruitfully during Mr.
Harmon's absence.
Tibet Opens Her Door
President A. McLean of the Foreign Society sends the following for publication
with this remark: "I am inclosing one of the most interesting articles we have ever
received from the mission field. The Christian Century agrees with Mr. McLean,
and is glad to give space for its publication in this issue.
IN Tibet, and at the present time,
there is offered to the Disciples of
Christ an opportunity, the like of
which has never been presented to them
in the past, and the like of which may
never be held forth to them again. Tibet
is now open for mission work; and the
Disciples are at her door. Most of the
hindrances heretofore existing have
been removed, and in their stead we
have, to a certain extent, assurances of
a hearty welcome, and even of assist-
ance. The truth of the above state-
ments, I wish to emphasize and illus-
trate by observations, which Dr. Shelton
has made during his recent visits to
Gartok and Chambdo.
Observations at Gartok
At Gartok, five days southwest of Ba-
tang, Dr. Shelton found several thou-
sands of troops from various districts of
Tibet, even from Leh and Ladak. These
troops were armed with Enfield rifles,
and well disciplined. The commander
was a very interesting man. Dr. Shel-
ton discussed religious questions with
him freely, and found him quite reason-
able. The question of the attitude of
the Tibetans toward foreigners was also
discussed. The commander agreed that
the former attitude of the Tibetans to-
ward foreigners had been hostile; "but,"
said he. "we have learned very much
about foreigners during the last few
years." He then related several inci-
dents from the "Younghusband Expedi-
tion"; incidents which taught the Tibe-
tans to regard the foreigners with favor.
In discussing the question of mission
work in Lhasa, the commander was very
favorably impressed, and forwarded a
letter to the Dalai Lama. In this letter,
Dr. Shelton requested permission to
open work in Lhasa. Once acquainted,
the doctor and the commander became
good friends. The latter _ showed the
former every possible kindness, and
promised him every possible aid.
Observations at Chambdo
On July 8th, Dr. Shelton returned
from Chambdo. He had rushed there at
the request of Mr. E. Teichman, the
British Consul from Tacheinlu, and the
Galon Lama, who resides at Chambdo.
The latter is a personage of great au-
thority. Only the two kings of Tibet
and the Dalai Lama have authority over
him. The doctor was given a great re-
ception. He found unspeakable condi-
tions among the wounded. These un-
fortunate people had been wounded for
two months and without medical aid.
Their wounds were stinking. One man
had all his lower jaw shot away. The
sight brought tears to the doctor's eyes.
He operated for four days. Each day he
worked as long as he could stand.
Acquaintance was soon made with the
Galon Lama. He ordered that all the
needs of the doctor should receive
prompt attention. The questions which
were discussed with the general at Gar-
tok were also discussed with the Galon
Lama. Speaking of foreigners, he said
that the Tibetans were forced to keep
out foreigners because of a treaty with
the Chinese; and now, that they have
broken relations with the Chinese, that
treaty is no longer in force. In one
of his many conversations with the
doctor, he said: "Doctor, you have a
great reputation in this country. I hope
you will come to Chambdo and build a
hospital. I'll do anything in my power
for you." In bidding farewell to Dr.
Shelton, he said: "We are good friends.
I hope we shall meet often. Let's be
friends for life." So saying, he pre-
sented the doctor with three hundred
rupees and two valuable vessels orna-
mented with beaten gold and silver. He
also gave each of the doctor's three as-
sistants fifty rupees. All this, coming
from one of such high authority cannot
be too strongly emphasized. This man
means what he says. He speaks with
authority.
Besides this change in the official cir-
cles, Dr. Shelton noticed many changes
amongst the masses of the people. Most
of them wore foreign hats. Many had
foreign shoes. One had a camera and
could use it well. The presence of for-
eign cloth, foreign sugar, foreign to-
bacco, foreign shoes, the craze for for-
eign goods, and the development of
manufacturing (the Tibetans manufac-
ture ammunition for Hotchkiss field
October 31, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
II
pieces), are the signs of Tibet's new
life.
Causes of These Conditions
The causes of these recent changes
are numerous. Three, however, are out-
standing— the weakening of Chinese in-
fluences, "The Younghusband Expedi-
tion," and the visits of Tibetans to for-
eign countries. A great deal might be
said on any one of these causes; but,
for the purpose, a summary will suffice.
Since 1720, China has dictated what
Tibet should do. The Tibetans were
compelled to follow China's former hos-
tile attitude toward foreigners. For-
eigners were to be kept out. Tibet was
to have intercourse with China alone.
There is no doubt that the Chinese offi-
cials filled the minds of the Tibetans
with an exaggerated account of the early
Chinese notion of missionary work.
There was an element in Chinese rule,
however, which proved disastrous to
itself. The Chinese were unjust, treach-
erous and cruel toward the Tibetans.
The Tibetans found this out. They
have thrown off the Chinese yoke, and
are now in arms in defense of their
rights. Tibet is now practically an in-
dependent nation.
"The Younghusband Expedition"
broke the spell of ignorance which the
Chinese had cast on the Tibetans. It
was a great revelation to them that a
foreign army could march into their
capital, do no looting, show acts of
kindness, and retire peaceably even to
the last man. The treatment of Tibe-
tan captives at the hands of the British
went to the Tibetan's hearts. They
never saw anything like it. They saw
the foreigner through their own eyes and
admired him.
This new light on the nature of the
foreigner led to a desire to know more
of him. At Chambdo, Dr. Shelton met
a Tibetan colonel, who had visited all
the important countries of Europe, Asia
and Africa. He was sorry that he could
not afford to visit America. One officer
spoke English. Another had a son in
London. The observations of these
travelers make tremendous impressions,
and are being readily adopted. Foreign
military tactics, dress, and treatment of
prisoners were evident at Chambdo.
The Tibetans want the culture of which
their travelers have reported to them.
The Appeal of the Situation
This situation must appeal with irre-
sistible force to every Disciple of
The Two Best
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On the Uniform Sunday-
School Lessons — 1919
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Christ. We have been waiting at the
closed door of Tibet for the past fifteen
years. Now the door is open. It is a
door of salvation to ourselves as well as
to the Tibetans. We must enter or
perish like the Israelites in the Wilder-
ness. The Christian life has a regular
function in God's economy. The Chris-
tian is a saviour. Saving others is the
function of the Christian life; it cannot
exist with any degree of comfort and
behave otherwise. No Disciple of
Christ, much less we who are at the
door, can have peace or rest until some
one, bearing tidings of salvation, has en-
tered the open door of Tibet. To re-
sist the appeal of this open door is to
quench the spirit of Christ, and to in-
vite spiritual death. Let us act and
live mightily.
The Imperative Aspect of the Situation
The appeal of the situation reaches
further than America; it reaches heaven.
There it becomes imperative. From that
seat of highest authority, a command is
issued: "Save the Tibetans." To every
Disciple of Christ, this command is ut-
tered in a voice which speaks in tones
more imperative than the thunders of
Sinai — in tones of love. This is not only
our opportunity but also God's oppor-
tunity, and he commands us to enter.
"Hark, and your soul shall live."
The Demands of the Situation
The situation demands immediate ac-
tion. Now the opportunity is ours. At
the same time, it is the Lord's. We
may let the opportunity pass, but he will
not. He will speed feet more willing
than ours through the open door. He
will accomplish His purpose in Tibet,
and we shall have our portion with the
disobedient. Only instant action on our
part can prevent such a result. An evan-
gelist and a doctor should open a station
at Chambdo at once. A day school,
Bible school, and dispensary should be
instituted immediately. This means that
an evangelist and a doctor should leave
for Batang without further delay. This
opportunity for which we have waited
so long, and which has come to us so
suddenly, forbids anything but imme-
diate action. Let us go up and possess
the land for Christ. ***
Baptismal Suits
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size of boot.
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700 B. 40th St. Chicago, III.
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The How
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that will help you
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A TRUMPET BLAST!
TANT
By BURRIS A. JENKINS
Author of "The Man in the Street and Religion,'
"Facing the Hindenburg Line," etc.
PHE author calls this" a scrap book for insurgents" and
*■ dedicates it "to the bravest men I know, the heretics."
He frankly confesses himself a destructive critic. Look-
ing abroad over the Church today, Dr. Jenkins sees its
follies, its waste, its ineptness, its bondage to tradition,
and he yearns for the coming of the great Protestant,
another Luther, who will not only shatter the present
order of things but lead the Church into a new day.
While he disavows any constructive purpose in the
book, it is in reality a master-work of constructive and
helpful criticism. Without apparently trying to do so
the author marks out positive paths along which progress
must be made. Dr. Jenkins writes with a facile, even a
racy, pen. He has filled these pages with a heavy
charge of dynamite.
Some of the Chapter titles: "Sects and Insects," "Threadbare
Creeds," "What's the Matter with the Churches?" "Bolshevism
or Reconstruction," "The Three Sexes," "The Irreligious Press,"
"Certain Rich Men," "What is Democracy?"
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Love
eWar
By THOMAS CURTIS CLARK
Just from the press! A new collection of Mr. Clark's work, containing
more than 125 poems, one-fourth of them being poems of war and peace,
some of which have gone to the ends of the English-speaking world as
voicing truly the patriotic convictions and emotions of the American people
in this time of spirit-searching conflict. Every minister and other public
speaker should have this volume for use in the preparation of patriotic
addresses. Among the war poems included are "America Marching,"
pronounced by one critic the finest war poem written by an American since
we entered the struggle; "America's Men," which has met with unusual
favor in England; "God Rules the Seas," "The Dawn of Liberty," "The
Bugle Song of Peace," "For Me," "They Have Not Died in Vain," etc., etc.
But the book contains other than war poems. The collection is made up
of eight groups of verses, the group titles being "Love Off to the War,"
"In Friendly Town," "Songs of the Seasons," "Followers of the Gleam,"
"Christus," "The Mystic," "Studies in Souls," and "The New World."
A great many poems are here published that have not before been printed.
In Praise of Thomas Curtis Clark's Poems
"Charming." John Masefield, English poet.
"These poems breathe a spirit of content." Sara
Teasdale, who received last year a prize of $500
for the best volume of verse published during 1917.
"I find both thought and music in his verses."
Henry van Dyke.
"Lovely poems and of wide appeal." James Terry
White, of the Poetry Society of America.
"Full of inspiration." Charles G. Blanden, Editor
of the Chicago Anthology of Verse.
"Mr. Clark's verse is sure to attract the attention of
those who are seeking for illumination and nour-
ishment for the inner life." Dr. Herbert L. Willett.
"Thomas Curtis Clark is the sweet singer of our
Israel." Editor B. A. Abbott.
"I greatly appreciate your songs. Surely you have
an authentic mission as an interpreter of the deep
things that matter most." Joseph Fort Newton,
minister at City Temple, London, and vice-presi-
dent of the London Poetry Society.
"Thomas Curtis Clark is doing a fine service to the
Church universal in giving poetic interpretation
to the evangelical faith in a fashion that makes
his verse especially congenial to the mood of our
time." Editor Charles Clayton Morrison.
"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
respects." Dr. J. H. Garrison.
"Mr. Clark is a poet of the inner life, an interpreter
of the soul, a seer of the realm spiritual." Dr.
Edgar DeWitt Jones.
The new volume is bound in semi-flexible cloth, with gold top and side, and makes a
charming gift for a friend as well as a u thing of beauty" to be treasured in the home.
Price $1.25 plus 6 to 10 cents postage
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liliiflllM
HYMNS OF THE
UNITED CHURCH
The Disciples Hymnal
THE HYMNAL FOR THE NEW DAY
WHAT SOME OF THE LEADERS WHO ARE USING THE
BOOK SAY OF IT:
H. D. C. Madachlan, Minister Seventh Street Christian Church, Richmond, Va.s "It
is a gem. I have seen nothing on the same street with it. It contains all the
classic hymns and all the worth-while new ones. Its hymns of human service
and brotherhood are a genuine contribution to American hymnology. Its arrange-
ment, topical indexing, letter-press and musical notation are beyond praise. The
Aids to Worship and Responsive Readings I am finding very useful."
Henry Pearce Atkins, Minister First Christian Church, Mexico, Mo.: "The choice of
title for this hymnal could not have been more felicitous. These are the hymns
of the Kingdom — the hymns of life and service — in which the Church has already
united. The message of this hymnal is the true message of the pulpit."
A. H. Cooke, Minister Park Avenue Christian Church, Des Moines, la.: "It is a
pleasure for me to say that the new hymnal, Hymns of the United Church, is the
best thing that has come into our church life during the past year. The compila-
tion embraces everything worth while; there is not a single thing in the volume
that does not elevate. Both form and content are beautiful. The book helps the
minister tremendously in the cultivation of the religion of the spirit; one is made
to realize the beauty of holiness most vividly. How cosmopolitan is this hymnal!
In singing from it one has already attained the unity of the spirit!"
Clifton S. Ehlers, Minister Calvary Christian Church, Baltimore, Md.
mirable book; I have not found its superior."
"It is an ad-
J. E. Wolfe, Minister First Christian Church, Independence, Mo.: "I want to tell you
of our great satisfaction with the Hymns of the United Church. It is thoroughly
gratifying to have such an abundance of hymns that enable a congregation to
express in song its deepest hopes, yearnings, aspirations in such days as these.
Such a hymnal we find the Hymns of the United Church to be."
Allan T. Gordon, First Christian Church, Paris, 111.: "I consider Hymns of the
United Church adapted to all the needs of church services. The book has been
in use in our church for nearly a year and we never have to offer an apology for
our hymnals."
These are but a few of the words of praise for
"Hymns of the United Church" which are con-
tinually coming to the publishers. Have you ex-
a.mined the; book with view to its use in your
church? Send for returnable copy and prices today.
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THE CHURCH'S HOUR
PODAY the Church must paraphrase the famous report of Marshal Foch.
A "My ministry is depleted. My young men are in the army. My meeting
houses have been closed. I am advancing on the entire front."
What a travesty it would prove if the Church, against which the gates of
hell shall not prevail, should be overcome by the locked doors of her own meet-
ing houses!
THE HANDICAP
Even before the war there were only half enough ministers for the
churches, largely because the churches had not provided half enough support
for those who were in their service. Now, with hundreds of our most effective
ministers taken to Europe as chaplains and Y. M. C. A. workers, the situation
is doubly serious.
But the supreme crisis of the world which only the Church can meet is
vast enough and imminent enough to call forth the divine energy which will turn
defeat into victory.
THE INEVITABLE REACTION
The triumph of the allied nations, whether it comes this week or next year,
will tend to bring in a universal reaction that may easily become general
demoralization. All the forces of evil will be saying to the soldier, and to
the man at home who has supported him, "Now the victory is won, let's all get
drunk." Only the Church has the power to sound the bugle blast that will lead
the nations on from the victory won to the greater victories that must
be achieved before peace can be permanent, liberty secure and justice assured.
Not the mere nebulous moral influence of the church but its organized effi-
ciency and world-embracing enterprise is needed for the hour.
THE WAY OF SUCCESS
Western civilization must be made to see that its whole population must be
made intelligently and vigorously Christian or the foundation of its peace and
liberty will crumble. At the same time we must realize that the millions of
Asia and Africa must be made Christian or sinister influences will marshal them
for other wars more terrible than that brought on by German lust of power.
Not since Pentecost has such a tremendous task confronted the Church and
scarcely since Pentecost have conditions been so unusual as to practically com-
pel a return to the apostolic method of "two by two." House to house and man
to man the extraordinary demands of the after-war can be so presented as to
command both personal service and financial support to the full.
Will the Church recognize her hour? Will she vindicate her divine origin
and power?
Disciples World Wide Every Member Campaign
MEN AND MILLIONS MOVEMENT
Promotional Agency 222 W. Fourth Street, Cincinnati, Ohio
Ait Undenominational Journal of Religion
Volume XXXV
NOVEMBER 7, 1918
Number 43
EDITORIAL STAFF: CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON. EDITOR; HERBERT L. WILLETT. CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
ORVIS FAIRLEE JORDAN. ALVA W. TAYLOR. JOHN RAY EWERS :: THOMAS CURTIS CLARK, OFFICE MANAGER
Entered as second-class matter, February 28, 1902, at the Post-office at Chicago, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized on July 3, 1918.
Published Weekly By the Disciples Publication Society 700 East 40th Street, Chicago
Subscription — $2.50 a year (to ministers, $2.00), strictly in advance. Canadian postage, 52 cents extra; foreign, $1.04 extra.
Change of date on wrapper is a receipt for remittance on subscription and shows month and year to which subscription is paid.
The Christian Century is a free interpreter of the essential ideals of Christianity as held historically by the Disciples of Christ.
It conceives the Disciples' religious movement as ideally an unsectarian and unecclesiastical fraternity, whose original impulse and
common tie are fundamentally the desire to practice Christian unity in the fellowship of all Christians. Published by Disciples, The
Christian Century, is not published for Disciples alone, but for the Christian world. It strives to interpret the wider fellowship
in religious faith and service. It desires definitely to occupy a catholic point of view and it seeks readers in all communions.
EDITORIAL
The Dignity of the House of God
IN reading our religious exchanges we seldom see criti-
cisms of other denominations any more. We can un-
derstand something of the indignation of the Episco-
palian writer who publishes the following note in the
"Living Church," even if we cannot be sure of his motive
in doing it:
In Cambridge, Ohio, the "Christian" Bible School has sport-
ing blood, evidently. The minister advertises that in its contest
with the Barnesville Bible School it leads by 59 points, "the
contest growing more intense as time goes on." Next Sunday
the sermon will be an illustrated one on the value of the church.
The pastor will kindle a fire, cook meat, and pop corn. It will
be of interest to all. How splendidly the study of the Bible
progresses! And how "ritualistic" our Campbellite brethren are
growing !
Among the fundamentals of religion is the principle
of reverence. Moses must be taught to take off his shoes
on holy ground, and the modern man must be made to see
that not all crowds in churches are religious. Some of these
crowds may be suffering from a process which insidiously
takes away from them the respect which they should have
for worship and for the higher life.
In the sermon, the spirit of reverence should prevail.
The slangy preacher sometimes seems to find a temporary
response in a community, but only solid religious sermons
will endure the test of time.
Our music, also, is sometimes a rock of offence. It
should be a ladder by which the soul may climb to heaven.
Sometimes, alas, it is a trap-door to perdition. No irreli-
gious choir leader can ever be really useful in a church.
A true interpretation of the religious emotions presupposes
a genuine Christian experience.
Not all prayers — certainly not all those read from a
book — have religious quality. Free prayer has the same
evil in it as set prayers, the temptation to be formal. When
Billy Sunday pretends to ring a telephone and then says
"Hello, God," we have in extreme form the evil of a certain
sort of prayer.
Dignity resting on aristocratic pretensions is not real
dignity. The true dignity of the house of God is a result
of a sincere quest for God and an honest purpose to put
the love of God into the hearts of men.
The Religion of the Red Cross Man
THE Red Cross is full of religion, but has no denom-
inational affiliations. It has made very real the words
of Jesus, "For I was hungered, and ye gave me
meat ; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink ; I was a
stranger, and ye took me in ; naked, and ye clothed me ;
I was sick, and ye visited me ; I was in prison, and ye came
unto me." The Red Cross has not engaged in the work
of preaching, but it has prepared the way for the religious
worker.
Never before in history have men endured such ter-
rible wounds and been restored to normal living. Fifty
years ago the present war would not have been possible,
but if it had been possible the loss of life would have been
very much greater than it has proved to be. The men and
women of the Red Cross hospitals have made possible
a salvage in human life that is quite as wonderful as are
the instruments of destruction with which the wounds were
made.
Down in the soul of the Red Cross man is a creed
which was also the creed of Jesus — the infinite value of a
single human life. In the spirit of the Good Samaritan, he
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 7, 1918
takes the man who is wounded and bleeding and near to
death and gives him again his chance of life and health.
Whether he is friend or enemy, matters not. The Good
Samaritan did not stop to look for a lodge pin or creden-
tials from the church.
Perhaps the Red Cross man has his soul severely
tried at times. He often finds the women and children in
the regions despoiled by war in pitiable condition, due to
the barbarism of the German military system. At times
his sense of the universal brotherhood of man may falter
as he is tempted to hate the brutes who have wrought such
havoc with womanhood and childhood. But after awhile
he remembers the road by which the whole human race
has come. It is a road that runs red with human blood.
The Prussian has the shortest period of civilization of all
Europeans. He is therefore more of the primitive man.
Thus, the Red Cross man learns to retain his holy creed
of the infinite value of human life and keeps alive the very
man whose bullet has sent the souls of our own boys to
eternity. Not vengeance, but love and reconciliation, is the
essence of the spirit of the Red Cross man.
A Good Year for Foreign Missions
WHILE the war has worked havoc with the budg-
ets of some churches, the year's report of the
Foreign Christian Missionary Society of the
largest income in its history indicates that the missionary
spirit has been kept alive among the Disciples of Christ.
This great organization has won a quiet but signifi-
cant victory by "carrying on" in the face of reactionary
criticisms. No amount of misunderstanding has kept it
from making growth year by year. When it becomes a
constituent part of the new United Missionary Society, we
shall hope that its noble tradition will be handed on and
that its faithful officers may be kept at the task for which
they have shown such peculiar fitness.
Our Treatment of Germany
IT IS not an easy problem which a Christian sets be-
fore his mind when he attempts to decide what ought
to be the attitude of the American people and their
allies regarding Germany. The horrors to which the Ger-
man army has subjected the regions that have been over-
run leave the mind staggered, and the first impulse is to
cherish a wrath that shall find its only satisfaction in a
boundless revenge.
But we are unable to remain in that mood. The
problem is far more serious than that. On certain levels
of life brute revenge would satisfy. It is not so with
nations that have risen in the scale of living. That is the
reason why we condemn lynch law. It accomplishes noth-
ing save the venting of a savage impulse to unchain the
worst passions of a mob. It does nothing to put the
criminal in the right relation to society and it gives the
vindictive lyncher the feeling of self-contempt in the crime
he has committed against ^decency and the moral order.
The purpose of all punishment that is human and not
brutal is redemption. When no such motive is recognized,
punishment becomes mere vengeance, dishonorable in the
authority that inflicts it, and dishonoring to the criminal.
But redemption is not an ignoring of the offense. The
redemption of a criminal is often a more lengthened and
painful process than vengeance. But it is the only method
which a self-respecting people can adopt.
Germany is a criminal. The acts which she has com-
mitted are such as have placed her outside the pale of
respectable citizenship in the social order of the world.
There are two methods of dealing with such a criminal.
One would be to visit such condign punishment as should
either destroy the criminal altogether, or reduce him to the
condition of abject, savage abasement and wrath. The
other is to deal with the Germans as a people made crim-
inal by a long process of vicious education, and now mer-
iting the discipline, painful and drastic as it is, of amend-
ment and better instruction.
Between these two methods of treatment the Christian
nations cannot take long to decide. It is too late in the
centuries to take vengeance upon Germany in the brutal
manner of the old heathenism. That might be our first
impulse, but it would get us nowhere. We have got to
live with Germany for the centuries to come. Are we to
live with a people crushed still further into brutishness by
the furious treatment we have added to the long years
of their evil education in the doctrine of force, or are we
to bring Germany to a better mind by the stern discipline
of restitution and education in decency and world order?
The answer would seem obvious.
We preach no doctrine of hate. The criminal, whether
an individual or a nation, fills us with disgust and resent-
ment, but not with hatred. We do not hate the cannibal,
cruel and vicious as he is. We feel for him the fierce so-
licitude which causes us to subject him to the discipline
of instruction and redemption. We have no reason to
apply to the misled people of Germany a regimen less
human than to the heathen of the south seas. At the very
best, the discipline through which Germany will have to
pass on the way back to the world's respect will be very
severe. But it ought to be inspired by the principles of
our holy faith, and not by the self-annihilating passions of
the cave man. And in the end, it ought to bring about a
relationship of internationalism in which Germany, chast-
ened and humbled by the lesson of history, shall have a
due and recognized place.
Unusual Honor for Dr. Willett
THE annual meeting of the Chicago Church Federa-
tion was held at the Hotel La Salle last week and at
this meeting Dr. H. L. Willett was elected president
for the third consecutive year. The secretary, Rev. W. B.
Millard', presented a report of more activities for the past
year than have been set forth in any annual report in the
history of the society.
Under Dr. Willett's leadership the organization has
been busy with some large constructive tasks, not content-
ing itself with simply passing resolutions. The expressions
of esteem which have been showered upon Dr. Willett dur-
ing the course of his administration indicate what Christian
people think of him in his home city.
o. f. j.
November 7, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
The War in the East
NEARLY a year ago we rejoiced in a British victory
in Palestine which resulted, on December 8, 1917,
in the capture of Jerusalem. A few additional
miles were freed from Turkish rule before the campaign
ended about the 20th of January.
During the summer when, because of the intense heat,
military operations are impossible, there were no reports
of activity by General Allenby's forces. But the troops
were not idle. Positions were being consolidated ; provi-
sions were being gathered ; the administration of the re-
conquered areas was being stabilized ; aviators were fight-
ing- and bombing themselves into mastery of the air; on
July 4th an American Red Cross contingent, sent out by
the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief
to organize relief and construction work, reached Jeru-
salem ; and in addition to all this, negotiations with the
Arab forces of King Hussein of the Kingdom of Hedjaz
were being conducted with a view to co-operation in this
year's campaign.
When the seeming inactivity of the summer was ended
by a sudden attack on the morning of September 19th, the
full effectiveness of the preparatory work at once became
apparent. A frontal attack distracted the enemy along
the line of entrenchments running north of Jerusalem from
the Jordan to the Sea, while allied cavalry broke through
the Turkish right wing and cut off the retreat in the region
of Nablus, and Arab forces were seizing the fords of the
Jordan. The immediate result was the stampede of all the
Turkish forces.
Nazareth was captured on the 20th, and Liman von
Sanders, the German commander-in-chief of the Turkish
forces, barely escaped by hasty flight. By the 22d prac-
tically all opposition was at an end. The main British
force moved steadily forward through Tiberias and east of
the Sea of Galilee to Damascus ; French cavalry and Indian
light mounted troops swept northward along the coast,
taking Haifa, Acre, Tyre, Sidon, Beirut and Tripoli, with
Creation's Lord, We Give
Thee Thanks
By William DeWitt Hyde
EYOND the present sin and shame,
Wrong's bitter, cruel, scorching blight,
We see the beckoning vision flame,
The blessed kingdom of the Right.
B
What though the kingdom long delay,
And still with haughty foes must cope?
It gives us that for which we pray —
A field for toil and faith and hope.
Since what we choose is what we are,
And what we love we yet shall be,
The goal may ever shine afar —
The will to win it makes us free.
hardly a blow ; and French frigates entered the harbor of
Beirut, the first ships of any kind which have been seen
there in three years.
From Damascus the advance continued along the
Hedjaz railway through Horns and Hamah to Aleppo, and
on October 27th that city fell, after standing for four years
as the pivot of Turkish power in all southern and eastern
Turkey.
No more splendid achievement has taken place during
the whole war than this victorious advance of 290 miles
in thirty-eight days, with the capture of 80,000 men and
all their stores, and the liberation of the whole of Pales-
tine and Syria.
It is the brilliant beginning of the very imminent
downfall of the brutal and detested Turkish empire.
h. l. w., JR.
The Coffee and the Doughnut
A Parable of Safed the Sage
KETURAH saved a Little Mess of Fat without
profaning any of the ordinances of Mr. Hoover,
and she made Doughnuts. And she gave them to
me at Breakfast, and she said, Make much of them, for
I know not when there will be more.
And I said, Unto him that hath for his Breakfast
Coffee and Sinkers, sufficient unto the day is the evil
thereof.
And as I was eating of the Doughnuts, Keturah
said, My lord, all my Married Life have I endeavored
to teach thee not to dip thy Doughnut in thy Coffee.
And thou doest it still, yea, and every one of thy sons
doeth it also, as he hath learned it from thee. And the
same is not permitted in Polite Society.
And I said, O thou fairest among women, and at
times the most Unreasonable, why wilt thou mar a
Sufficiently Satisfactory husband with overmuch of
Perfectness?
I neither Drink nor Swear nor Smoke nor Chew,
and Heaven is my home. I covet no other man's wife,
though I wish that thou hadst been born Twins that I
might marry thee both. Thou well mightest tremble
at thy husband's approach to Faultlessness.
And Keturah answered, I have noticed no approach
either to the Faultlessness or to the Trembling.
And I said, Then pay thou the more strict notice.
For it were not well for thee that thy husband should
be an overgrown Fauntleroy. I know a Machinist who
declareth that the Ideally Perfect Machine would not
run, but must have a Saving Element of Ramshackle-
ness ; therefore must the Great Drive Wheels of the
Locomotive be geared to an Eccentric. Behold now
this Doughnut, that it doth attain to perfection by hav-
ing in its center an Hole. Wherefore, be glad that thy
husband hath the saving merit of a few small faults.
And she said, My lord, I took thee for better and
for worse. If then, thou must dip thy Doughnut in
thy Coffee, I will make the best of it.
The Home and the Nation
One of the Problems of Reconstruction in the New Era
EVER since the entrance of the United States into
the world struggle, and the first troop ships slipped
away silently from their docks into the darkness and
danger of a foe-raided sea, our people have been sensi-
tive to the momentous changes that were sure to come over
the life of the nation when at last, after many days or few,
these transports should return, and the war be won. No
words have been more often on the lips of the citizenship
of the land during the past feverish months than these, —
"When the boys come home."
"when the boys come home"
It is natural that great issues should hang on that
event. Everyone has his own conception of what is to
happen when our youth, those who survive the stimulating
and world-moving events of these days, shall come back
to take their part in the drama of the nation's life. There
is the conviction that they will be the makers of a new era.
Probably it is inevitable that every dreamer of inspiring
dreams regarding a better social order should hope that
this heroic and disciplined young manhood of America will
bring to pass the things for which, in his opinion, the for-
ward looking years have waited. There is indeed a certain
wistful confidence in the heart of every idealist that the
good time of which he is expectant will arrive "when the
boys come home."
Of course, even at its highest evaluation, this hope
cannot be realized for many days to come. The war is not
yet ended. If it were possible to count with confidence on
the glowing signs of promise seen in the skies during the
past few days, there will be many months of waiting before
so immense a force as has been transported to Europe can
be brought back. Military and naval authorities are saying
that it will require two years to complete the task. More-
over, a very large body of troops will be needed as an
army of occupation for purposes of policing during months
of the most preliminary readjustment after peace is de-
clared. And American forces are far more available for
this duty than are the soldiers of Belgium, France or Eng-
land, every one of whom will be desperately required in
the work of rehabilitation, both in the devastated regions
and in the disturbed industrial and economic activities of
those war-rent lands.
those who do not come back
America must also reckon with the fact that very
many of her boys are not coming back. The long casualty
lists have told their story. The gold stars on the service
flags are eloquent of losses that can never be made good
in the homes of our land. The shadow of death, appre-
hended through months of alternating balancings of hope
and fear in the hearts of fathers and mothers, has sud-
denly become an appalling reality when a few fateful words
flashing along the cables and over the wires have quenched
the light of day. In such a moment, and through the long
years that follow, in which time is softening the touch of
sorrow, it is good to keep in mind sentiments well expressed
in a letter received by the parents of one of the boys whose
death was announced a day or two before the letter came :
"I want to say in closing, if anything should happen to me,
let's have no mourning in spirit or in dress. Like a Liberty Bond,
it is an investment, not a loss, when a man dies for his country.
It is an honor to a family, and is that the time for weeping?
I would rather leave my family rich in memories of my life than
numbed in sorrow at my death."
Then, too, it must not be forgotten that many thou-
sands of those who have seen service overseas will
elect to remain there. France and Belgium have become
very homelike and pleasant to them. The call for men to
fill the depleted ranks of industry and commercial life there
is going to be very imperious and alluring. Not a few have
already found congenial domestic attachments. Even many
who return to America in the first opportunities of release
from the tasks of war will, after a time, go back to take
up employments to which they have been attracted during
their military career overseas. The advantages of such
intermingling of American manhood with the life of the
world beyond the Atlantic is not to be doubted.
But the great majority of the boys who come back
will have other plans. It will be found that they are neither
the heroes nor the idealists they have been described. Hav-
ing served their country and the world's high purpose in
the practical and unquestioning manner which has made
the nation proud of them, they are coming home at last to
the very simple and commonplace enterprise of fitting
themselves as swiftly and efficiently as possible into the
fabric of the common life. There will be a few days of
romantic hero-worship. After that the boys are going
after the most accessible job they can find. They know
that there is to be keen rivalry for the desirable places in
industry, commerce and the professions, and they are not
minded to lose a moment in finding their new opportuni-
ties. •
THE VISION OF A HOME
Also they are going to marry and create homes for
themselves. Most of them have already formed attach-
ments in the pre-war days. During their experience over-
seas the hardships to which they have been accustomed,
have made the thought of a home very sweet. They will
want to realize that hope with reasonable promptness. Nor
are the young women of the nation likely to have very
different views. Whatever their experience has been dur-
ing the years of the world tragedy, whether they have gone
across in some of the many forms of war service, or have
found employment in the great new army of woman's in-
dustrial initiation, or have remained in comfortable homes,
it is not too much to believe that the impulse toward
domestic life has been unusually quickened in both young
men and women by the disturbed conditions of these stress-
ful years.
November 7, 1918
This will be a distinct blessing to America, not alone
in the multiplication of homes, but in its steadying and
elevating effect upon the moral life of our people. In spite
of the very high cost of living the adventure of domestic
life is likely to be tried in a much larger percentage of
cases than for two generations past. And if it demands
a higher degree of sacrifice, as it did in the days of the
pioneers, all the stronger will be the fibre of citizenship
that will result. The war must have brought a certain
seriousness of nature to all who are sensitive to the stu-
pendous events of the time. This spirit cannot fail to show
itself in the homes that are to be formed under the shadow
of this tragedy. It must not be thought that one ventures
to make this affirmation with any large gesture of confi-
dence. There is far too much of the frivolous and super-
| ficial in the youth of the age to make one over-confident.
And yet it should not imply undue optimism to believe that
the young men and women we know have had a broaden-
ing of vision and an experience of discipline that should
fit them for the noblest realization of domestic life our
land has yet seen.
THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
In the homes that are being set up today, and in those
that will be erected after peace has come to the troubled
earth, children will be born. For there cannot be homes
where there are no children. There may be hotels, or
boarding houses, or domiciles without children, but not
homes. It is the child that makes the home. The child is
the greatest of teachers. Culture of soul, enrichment of
j nature, deepening of sympathy, arousal of solicitude, all
1 come at the call of the child. To be sure there are poten-
tial homes to which the child is invited and cannot come.
And there are homes to which he comes only to tarry for a
; night. But there can be no home in the real meaning of
1 the word where his presence is undesired, and where the
! door is barred against him.
Therefore it is proper to say that in the home life
which constitutes one of the problems of the new era upon
which the nation is entering, the child will have the right
of way. He will have the right to be born. This does not
involve the desirability of large families. The period for
such has largely passed. In ages when infant mortality,
disease, accident, war as a constant menace, and the hun-
dred other experiences that threatened the life of the race
were customary elements in experience, there was need of
many children. A childless woman was a useless member
of the social group. She was likely to be thought of as an
object of divine displeasure. Today most of these spectres
have vanished, or are vanishing. As a result there are
fewer and better children. The child of loving and intelli-
gent parents enters a prepared and hospitable world.
The child has not only the right to be born, but to be
well born. He has the right to know when he reaches the
age of awareness that behind him there stand generations
of pure-blooded, high-souled, loyal-hearted men and women
who have paid the price of his happiness in clean living
and clear thinking. The old ignorance regarding the secrets
of life and death which permitted children to be born with
the taint of nameless sins and frightful disease in their
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
7
blood has passed. One of the valuable by-products of
even so hideous a thing as war has been the awakening of
the nation to the menace of the social evils that throve on
the stupid prudery of the age of unenlightenment. In
most cases the soldiers will return from the ranks without
the mark of the beast upon them, a mark which has made
former wars more terrible for their moral ravages than
for their losses in battle. The physician, the school
teacher, the minister, and the guardian of public health
have allied themselves in behalf of youth and the coming
home.
HOME IDEALS
And may we not hope that in the home that is to be,
the parents and children shall have the joy and privilege
of comradeship, which shall make discipline easy through
sympathy, and training in character natural by reason of
insight and love? The family life of earlier generations
lacked something of the good will and mutual understand-
ing between parents and children by reason of the rigorous
nature of family authority. The tendency of late has been
in the opposite direction, and the parents have too often
abdicated all rights of control, to the undoing of their chil-
dren. There are tokens of a better method in many homes
today. Children and parents ought to be comrades. Their
ages are not so disparate in the long stretch of the years.
And where there can be not only affection but friendship
as well, the problems of the family life, brought to a com-
mon judgment, are usually capable of a satisfying solu-
tion.
Not the least of the factors that ought to find a place
in the home which the nation needs for the training of its
youth, is religion. This must be suited to the atmosphere
of the home and to the age in which we live. It may differ
in many ways from the form of religion used in another
generation, but at least it ought to be a sincere conviction
and practice of parents themselves. One of the chaplains
of our army, in commenting on this problem in a recent
letter from overseas, has set down these wise words : "The
American Christian home must be re-established as a cen-
ter of religious instruction and social fellowship. Fewer
outside interests for the parents, and more time to devote
to the family and to the friends of the children are what
is needed. The men who have stood the test in the army,
or who have failed and had the courage to acknowledge
their wrong and start again, are from Christian homes. I
have come to feel that one need not despair of a lad who
comes from a Christian home. The home has delegated
far too much of its social and religious responsibility to
the church and school."
Every child has a right, an inalienable right, to the
great inheritances of the past, institutional, social, educa-
tional, artistic and religious. For the child to be conscious
that his family, whatever other virtues it may possess, is
lacking in that basic value which all the generations have
learned to prize and to make articulate in terms of their
own experience, is to feel his deprivation of one of the
essentials of the highest order of society. No outside in-
stitution can supply this need. The supreme meanings of
life on all of its sides must find their expression in the
home. To be sent forth to life with the sanctions and
8
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 7, 1918
safeguards of the great utterances of the Bible, the inspi-
rations of prayer, and the solicitudes of social redemption,
is to be prepared for the type of citizenship which the
nation needs in these perilous days of transition.
Herbert L. Willett.
With the Red Cross in Palestine
By John H. Finley
American Red Cross Commissioner to Palestine
1 REACHED Jerusalem in the late afternoon of a
summer's Saturday, on foot, over the barren hills,
for I could not bring myself to approach and enter
the Holy City in a car that had not been as yet hal-
lowed (as thousands of Fords and other cars have been,
by their Red Cross markings and ministrations), but
by the following Tuesday this, our first car, had been
consecrated to such service, and I rode out to Bethany,
accompanying one of our doctors in his visits to refu-
gees from the Jordan Valley, the first specific work ot
the American Red Cross in Palestine.
"nigh unto bethany"
We found on our arrival, however, that these par-
ticular refugees had been sent a little way out from
Bethany, and while the Doctor was getting his direc-
tions I found time to enter a little field a few steps
beyond the wall at the roadside and see this winnowing
scene as doubtless might have been witnessed two
thousand years ago in that very field "nigh unto Beth-
any."" Up on the cliff and back in the fields, toward
Jerusalem, some distance from the Jericho Road, where
the army lorries and ambulances were flying back and
forth, attended by the gray clouds of dust, the refugees
had been sent. And so it was that I climbed up through
the narrow streets to that now forsaken part of the
village to which the Master came at the end of some of
his harassed days in Jerusalem, near the place, perhaps,
where Martha met him after the death of her brother,
Lazarus, for He "had not yet come into the village."
Not far away were the broken walls of the one time
house of Lazarus, and a few steps from the house the
tomb itself, deep in the earth, where, according to tra-
dition, Lazarus was laid and whence he came forth as
we, lighted by candles, from the deep grotto.
After stopping for a moment at the ruins of the
reputed house of Simon the leper to look out over
Bethany to the Dead Sea, a narrow stretch of which
could be seen, I passed through a field with olive trees,
under whose shadows boys were herding goats, and
soon caught sight of a large modern building, from
which I could hear the mingled voices of men, women
and children.
America's opportunity
As I approached I saw out on the bare hill in the
sun a group seated in a circle, one of their number
playing upon an improvised instrument of one string —
the poet who sang of the deeds of his incomparable
chieftain. The medley of noise and misery from the
house near by seemed not to disturb his quiet rhapso-
dies. Here in the abandoned monastery, from which
the Turks had driven out the former occupants, were
gathered a hundred or more refugees from Salt and
the country about, great, stalwart men In picturesque
garb, usually marked with color, women of stately
bearing, who had faces of fine profile, but marred, ac-
cording to our standards of beauty, by the blue tattoo
on the cheek or chin, and children who would all have
been beautiful if they had not, most of them, had half
or wholly blinded eyes. All of these had to leave their
ancestral dwelling places and rich fields off towards the
Mountains of Moab, which could be indistinctly seen
upon the horizon — had to leave them at almost a mo-
ment's notice with only what they could catch up and.
carry on their backs.
They were miserable in their idleness and sickness
and, as I imagine, nostalgia, housed promiscuously as
in a great, cheerless tenement house, which had been
left by the enemy without a fragment of furniture or
with ornament. The English military authorities have
given food and have improvised shelter for these refu-
gees and so kept them from absolute starvation and
exposure. It is the opportunity of America, through
the Red Cross, to supplement these barest necessities
by helping to minister to the sick and especially needy
of those who were living peacefully in war's track and
who fled to the English for protection. It was with
such motive that the Red Cross doctor, representing
America, was there, going from room to room in that
great caravanserai, examining men, women and children
"sick of divers diseases" and telling the muktar (the
head of the little community) what to do in eacTi case,
sometimes putting the capsule or powder into the rough
hands of the muktar for his administering.
A TURKISH PRISON
Returning by the way of the white road around the
Mount of Olives, we found our way to another such
temporary encampment in the squalid and ill smelling
rooms and balconies of what had been a Turkish prison.
Here conditions were pitiful, and indications of typhus
were said by the doctor to be present. The muktar
complained of the water and showed a Turkish horse
bridle that had been drawn out from the well with the
half serious intimation that the horse had gone in
with it.
Everything possible is being done to give sanitary
November 7, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
and comfortable refuge to these wanderers, but inevi-
tably it is difficult to make the provision at this great
distance, especially when the enemy has carried away
everything serviceable and often polluted what has
been left. Too much praise cannot be given to the
English medical officers and doctors, who have vigor-
ously taken hold of these problems. But so serious is
the condition in which they found things that it seems a
Herculean task to cleanse the land which the British
forces have again recovered for civilization.
But the most appealing of these groups of refugees
was that encamped out on the other side of Jerusalem,
a part of them on the hills in tents and the rest down
in the valley, where tradition has it the wood was found
for Christ's cross from two trees that grew there.
Altars stand over these traditional sites in the midst of
the great Monastery of the Holy Cross, with a large
interior court and many balconies and stairs. Here the
exiles sit or wander listlessly about, as did the ancient
children of Israel by the streams of Babylon. Among
them was their priest, with whom the leading men of
the community, the American Red Cross doctor and 1
were invited to take coffee. There were only two tiny
cups, but the coffee was prepared and served with as
much ceremony as if it were offered in the golden cups
of Solomon.
RECONSTRUCTING A BROKEN WORLD
These men of dignified manner, of fine, strong face
and gaunt frames, belonged to the out-of-doors. They
doubtless lived in huddled houses when at home among
the hills overlooking the Jordan Valley, but, while they
would have been at home in palaces, they seemed to be
as lions in cages, longing for the free if not altogether
secure air in their hills, and so it was that they seemed
to be nearest home in the tents with the ever-blowing
j winds swirling about their loose garments. It was the
children, however, who made the strongest appeal, and
I it was touching to see the kind concern which these
great, rough men had for them.
A Challenge
H
OW learnedly ye fathom Godhead's deep,
The deep Eternity, Infinitude,
Him that ye call the Galilean rude,
As in the vitriol the quill ye steep.
Christ was not God, ye scoff, and then ye heap
High words to prove Him but a rabbi shrewd,
With spell of Eastern prodigies imbued,
To bring on lowly souls His deadly sleep.
Christ but a man ! God only to the blind ;
The falsifier of a trusting age,
The victim of a nation's fitting rage,
Deceiver of Himself and humankind.
Ah fools, ye wise, who cannot see the worth
Of your own souls that brought a God to earth !
— Hugh Francis Blunt.
The American Red Cross has compelling work here
in doing what it can for these little war exiles, for their
health, their happiness, their comfort, their education,
for these children, as well as ours, are to have a part in
the reconstruction of the broken world. And is there
anything- more important, aside from "winning the war"
and healing the sick, than preparing these little ones
of the earth for their mighty tasks?
The Disciples of Christ and the
Emergency Hour
By W. A. Shullenberger
THE current number of the Christian Union Quar-
terly has printed upon its cover this pointed para-
graph most seasonably put : "If the armies on the
European battlefield were as divided as the churches
are, they would long ago have been defeated. Have we
not observed that the church is already defeated? Her
only hope of rehabilitation lies in the unity of her
forces. Look about us and see what mean, secondary
and non-essenital things divide us and then ask: 'Can
the church be Christianized?'"
That, I say, is seasonably put. The church has
some grand lessons to learn from the field of carnage.
The smoke from the allied guns wreathes mystical yel-
low reminders against the firmament of religion — as
prophetic for the church as the characters on that
ancient banquet wall were prophetic for Babylon. Very
wisely did President Wilson decree that our gallant
army should not be thrown into the insatiable maw of
war as long as the command of the entente forces was
divided, but as soon as all was combined under the
hand of Marshal Foch, General Pershing offered every
atom of brawn, brain and resource to the generalissimo.
Jesus left us the same inference in his prayer for
the unity of his followers. "That they may all be one,
that the world may believe that Thou didst send me."
The Lord is not likely to give into the hands of a
divided Christendom the sum-total of his benefits or
present it with a sweeping victory. The church is still
compromised in the eyes of mankind. She cannot speak
without revealing serious impediments in her speech.
She cannot go into action without causing the be-
holders to think of "the lame and the halt." She can
scarcely evangelize without confusing the doctrine that
is of God with the "doctrine that is of men." Among
the one hundred and eighty religious denominations in
America one hundred have less than twenty thousand
adherents each. Our divisions are over forms and cere-
monies ; exceedingly few are our differences over doc-
trines that amount to anything. We need thousands of
sermons and not a few prayers about that illuminating
observation the Apostle Peter makes : "Of a truth I
perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in
every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh right-
eousness, is acceptable unto Him." There can be a
10
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 7, 1918
myriad arguments heaped up with which to bombard
doctrinal utterances but who has any answer to right
living and righteous doing?
The Disciples of Christ ought to see in such an
hour the answer to their century of prayer taking form.
There is no doubt but that Christian unity is well on its
way. There is little doubt but that it Is nearer to us
than we think. When it comes we may not recognize it
as the same conception that we have brought down the
decades : that part of the transformation is God's pre-
rogative. It is undoubtedly the duty of every Christian
to pray that unity will come, but it is not the province
of any one to dictate to the Almighty just when, how,
or with "what manner of body" it will come. Suffice
to say, it is unity or demise for the church. The
Disciples of Christ have done much in bringing about
the crystalizing of this sentiment. Now, we must keep
our faces steadfastly set that way. The note that has
come to this generation from the days of our pioneers
is one that evinces wisdom and a passion for unity:
"In essentials unity; in non-essentials liberty; in all
things charity." May the war not close, and the old
past be put aside until the church is willing and ready
for actual, fruitful, Christian Unity !
When a World's at War
By J. J. Castleberry
IN this tragic hour of the world's Gethsemane the
soul cries out as never before for the realities.
Nothing vain and petty can comfort a spirit or
inspire a life — not when the world is on fire and none
can tell what a day will bring forth ! The minister of
Christ is confronted by a responsibility staggering in
its bigness, and he dare not approach his high task save
in faith and upon his knees. This is a time for re-
emphasis upon things vital and fundamental. If our
message would grip and help it must relate to the
eternal values ; everything else seems paltry and ill-
fitting. Only the great mountain truths, in such a time
as this, challenge the heroic in us and set the heart to
singing with new hope and courage. Thus in the grim
perspective of war there emerge certain high peaks
upon which we need to set our vision, as the mariner,
tempest-tossed and driven, turns to the lighthouse upon
the shore.
GOD
A new and fresh sense of God is settling upon the
world, born of these stressful and destiny-making times.
Men feel a need for the Divine — a heart-hunger for His
presence, His Spirit, His guidance — such as no past
generation has experienced. It takes pain and misfor-
tune to bring us to ourselves and to a realization of our
dependence upon the Eternal, as it takes the night to
bring out the stars. After the battle of Bull Run, when
bitter defeat swept the North with consternation,
President Lincoln proclaimed a day of prayer to God.
Among others, a little society of atheists went to a
nearby chapel and engaged in the solemn service of
supplication. So impressed was Mr. Lincoln by this
unusual occurrence that he made inquiry as to the
motive that prompted it. "Atheism is all right in times
of peace," was the apt reply, "but now that Bull Run
has happened something has to be done."
And, be it said, the only conception of God that
will satisfy our poor hearts, burdened with sin and torn
by anguish, is that He shall be a Christ-like God.
Science may conceive of Him as "Force," and philos-
ophy as the "Absolute," but the ordinary man thinks
of God only in terms of personality, one who can think
and love and comfort. Such a God we see in the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Father, too. In
Him we have an adequate realization and disclosure of
God — His character, His attitude, and His great re-
demptive purpose in behalf of erring humanity. "He
that hath seen me hath seen the Father," were the
Master's revealing words to Philip. Here, indeed, we
discover the secret underlying the moral collapse of
Germany. The German God is not the Christian God.
He is rather a pagan god — that is, some great Jupiter
hurling thunderbolts, some mighty Ajax panting for
battle and thirsting for blood.
We need to reassert our faith in God — the God of
Jesus and Calvary — during these crucifixion days!
Nothing else will heal the soul, no other light can guide
our feet to safety and peace. Let us, therefore, in the
midst of the world's wreck and despair, pray with
Newman:
"Lead, Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me on."
MAN
Our first reaction from the war is to despise man.
Who can look upon bleeding France and outraged Bel-
gium, or contemplate the murder of Edith Cavell, and
not feel deep loathing for his race? Not the most pessi-
mistic had believed human nature capable of the
fiendish depths to which it has plunged during the
past four years. And when we consider that this world
cataclysm was deliberately plotted by an esoteric group
of Prussian war lords, and is upheld and defended by
German scholars, and priests of the lowly Nazarine—
if it were not a tragic fact none could believe it possible. |
Think, too, of the cheapness of human life today; mil-
lions already cut down and still the horrible slaughter
goes on !
But despite this revolting picture we believe in
man, his inherent greatness, and capacity for moral
November 7, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
11
heroism and achievement. Dr. Dale, of Birmingham,
once said: "I refuse to surrender my dignity in the
presence of the material universe ; I am greater than
the sun, greater than the stars, greater than the sea,
greater than them all ; they are subject but I am sov-
ereign, they are bound but I am free." Indeed, is not
man the climax and glory of creation? And does he
not bear in his incomparable spirit the image and like-
ness of the Almighty? The Psalmist, thinking of his
superb endowments, and his high yearnings and ideals
when at his best, exclaims :
"Thou hast made him but a little lower than God,
And crownest him with glory and honor."
Truly, man on the high levels of his character jus-
tifies this appraisement. Witness, for example, Lincoln
emancipating a race; Livingstone opening up a conti-
nent and then dying for it; America's knightly hosts
crossing the sea and proclaiming to the invading Hun,
"Thus far and no farther"; and the myriads in every
land, unknown and unsung, who have laid their all
upon freedom's altar, and religion's and humanity's.
No higher duty, we are persuaded, confronts us
today than to inculcate confidence toward humanity.
One who loses faith in his fellows betrays a weakness
in his own moral fibre and ceases thereby to function in
the world's progress. The Apostle's Creed is incom-
plete without this further declaration, "I believe in
man." Only on this basis can the world be rebuilded,
society generated, and the Kingdom of God go forward
— "fair as the moon, bright as the sun and terrible as
an army with banners."
IMMORTALITY
Sir George Adam Smith tells us that the war has
revived interest in immortality. It is quite true that
we had become materialistic and the immortal hope
burned low in the heart. "If I believed in immortal-
ity," said the gifted Harriet Martineau, "I would never
again worry about anything in this world" — a remark
representing a skepticism all too prevalent. But when
the war came with its toll of death, what remained for
grief-stricken hearts but to turn wistfully to another
world? Prophetic of this new appreciation concern-
ing the future is Sir Oliver Lodge, trying to lift the
veil and commune with his son Raymond, who had lost
his life in France.
Moreover, the immortality in which men are inter-
ested in these times is purely personal. To tell us that
our race or our qualities or our influence shall live on
is not satisfying; we want to feel that our very selves
shall survive and that we shall meet our friends again.
Sweet music, indeed, but little comfort, in George
Eliot's classic chant —
" Oh, may I join the Choir Invisible
Of those immortal dead who live again
In minds made better by their presence;
Live in pulses stirred to generosity,
In deeds of daring, rectitude, in scorn
For miserable aims that end in self;
In thoughts that pierce the night like stars,
And with their mild persistence
Urge man's search
To vaster issues!"
And why believe in personal immortality? First,
because we want to believe in it. If, as Sabatier says,
"Man is incurably religious," he is likewise born with
the sense of Eternity in his soul.
" 'Tis life whereof our nerves are scant,
More life and fuller that we want;
No soul in which is healthful breath
Hath ever truly longed for death."
Besides, nothing else will satisfy the great heart of
God. God is love and love will not let die. Charles
Kingsley dreams of his dead son: "Last night," sobbed
the poet-preacher, "I saw him twice; he was strong and
well ; I kissed him ; I wept over him ; and then I awoke
to the everlasting No!" Is that the answer to our
heart-breaking human cry of Him who holds the Eter-
nities in his hands and whom we call our Heavenly
Father?
" So long thy power has blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent till
The night is gone.
And with the morn those angel faces smile
Which I have loved and lost awhile."
Jesus believed in and lived the life eternal, and
this same life lived and experienced today becomes the
basis of the Christian's faith in a future existence.
Christ never argued the question of immortality — as
did Socrates; he assumed it, he lived it, he demon-
strated it. "Because I live," was his assuring promise,
"ye shall live also." In resurrection power he came
forth conqueror of death and the grave and he shall
reign over the hearts of men forever as King and Lord.
This, then, is the faith for a world at war. Our
hope is in God and it shall not falter; we believe in man
and trust him as our brother; and as true pilgrims of
the King's Highway, we will lay hold upon the life
everlasting.
First Church, Mayfield, Ky.
The Loneliest Man
(From the Chicago Post)
HE sits in his palace, gaunt and gray, specter of
his former self. His sunken eyes are haunted
with fear. At the softest of footfalls he starts,
shivering at thought of assassin's cold steel.
For him the clock of doom has whirred — the fatal
stroke impends. The remnant of his proud army is fly-
ing before the allied host like leaves before November's
blasts. From the street comes the murmur of a sullen
populace.
He dozes anon and his dream of world empire —
a dream belated by two thousand years, gorgeous but
molded in a madman's brain — clutches him again. He
12
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 7, 1918
sees a domain stretching from the icy waters of the
Baltic to the pomegranate groves of India's ocean.
"Mine — all mine !" he mutters. He sees a world bear-
ing him tribute on bent backs. He sees former freemen
of every clime and race blanching at his frown, pros-
trating themselves at his feet and humbly murmuring,
"Sire!"
He wakes, maunders, draws his cloak closer.
Earth hates him. Earth curses him. Earth, with its
multudinous lips, calls down upon his head the ven-
geance of a just God. He beholds a world reeling under
the shock of great guns, lurid from the flames of burn-
ing homes* and churches, deluged with blood.
Before him floats a ghastly panorama of babies'
bones mouthed by eels on the bottom of the sea ; hor-
rid crustaceans fastened upon the white, dead breasts
of women ; innocence defiled ; millions of husbands, sons
and fathers turned to carrion ; prisoners of war starved,
tortured and crucified ; and, as in a glass, he sees him-
self, the world's byword for perfidy, cruelty and lust.
All his handiwork ! All the price of his compact
with hell !
But yesterday the word of Caesar might have stood against the
world ;
Now lies he there and none so poor to do him reverence.
A Letter From France
By Robert Willett
Chere Famille:
OME of your recent letters have evidently been
delayed. Probably they went to England and down,
because without the American Post Office number
they don't know at New York where the various units
are. We ought to get mail in about eighteen days. The
poor mailman has been hounded to death about mail
ever since the last regular bunch, and threatened with
everything but the loss of life. But yesterday the new
mail came, and he was restored to the good graces of
the boys, and all is calm and quiet on the Potomac !
Things have been picking up around here the last
few days. Our supplies and equipment are beginning to
come in, and the wards have been fixed up and fitted with
beds. Last week the other hospital unit here got 400
patients, not new ones, but convalescents from one of the
hospitals near Bordeaux, and yesterday we took over 100
of them. There are so many wounded coming back from
the front these days that the hospitals which are able to
handle new cases have had to send out their most ad-
vanced ones. So we are really on the job now. The
wounded men we get so far need little or no treatment,
and most of them will be able to leave very shortly.
The office work, reports, etc., are just as necessary
for a sore finger as for a broken "frame," and we are
getting that training now, and can study the processes and
development at the same time. I have been assigned to
the office of the chief of the Medical Service. I can tell
you later what the duties are. I am helping wherever I
can, and learning a good deal at the same time. The list
of monthly reports looks like a U. of C. quarterly sched-
ule. One of the sergeants made out a report yesterday
of all the admissions and discharges, some 125 or 130
names, with the life history of each one. This morning
he found that he had left something out — which means
four of five hours of work to be done over again !
We were very much honored last Tuesday. General
Pershing made a visit to Bordeaux and outlying camps,
and during the course of his tour he passed our camp.
I was out in front of the barracks when he went by and
recognized him and Brigadier General Scott, the com-
manding officer of the Base Section Number Two. But
I guess he didn't see me, because he went right on by!
He had quite a retinue of officers, all in light brown-
colored Cadillacs.
Pve talked to several of the wounded men, and gained
a good deal of information. They have many solutions
to the problem of winning the war. Most of them are
victims of gun-shot wounds in arms and legs, and some
body wounds. They tell many stories, probably some of
them exaggerated, but very interesting. They say the
Germans are using machine guns rather than rifles, every
third man having one, and usually they are tied together
so that if one gun crew is wiped out, the next crew can
pull the gun over and use it. Also they tell of cases
where the men are chained to the guns, so that they have
to fight. The territory now being fought over is mostly
woods and rocks, and the retreating Germans have covered
the latter with poison, causing many cases of infection.
The men slip on the rocks and tear their flesh, and voila!
I'll save some of the stories for later letters.
They and others, including French and English, say
that the American artillery is unbeatable, the infantry ex-
cellent, and when the air forces are up to these two
branches, then will come the end. That seems to be the
prevailing opinion here, and while one man's idea doesn't
count for much, when they all say it there must be some-
thing to it. We are all watching the Soissons-Rheims
scrap with keen interest. I'm waiting for them to close in
from both sides and bottle up the whole [deleted] army.
By the time you get this I will either be right or wrong.
I'm thinking of you all the time, and praying that I
can live up to your ideals and standards. But it's hard,
awfully hard. I don't mind the temptations that you nat-
urally think of in connection with the army, and war,
yes, and France. They aren't temptations to me. But it's
the mixing and living with others not so particular about
morals, speech, etc. I'm getting "hard boiled" enough
without that. But when you are constantly thrown in with
those with foul mouths, loose moral conduct, etc., and
stand almost alone, — yes, you have to admit it, — there is
where the pull comes.
Beau Desert, July 27.
Tonjours et a jamais,
Robert.
A PRAYER
O Lord, give us grace, we beseech thee, to hear and obey thy
voice zvhich saith to every one of us, "This is the way, walk ye
in it." Nevertheless, let us not hear it behind us, saying, This is
the way; but rather before us saying, Follow me. When thou put-
test us forth, go before us; when the way is too great for us, carry
us; in the darkness of death, comfort us; in the day of resurrec-
tion, satisfy us. Amen,
The Present the Greatest Crisis of
the War
The Present the Gravest
Crisis for Democracy
MR. FRANK SIMONDS, the brilliant war correspond-
ent whose analysis of campaigns and war strategy
has been masterly, calls the present a time of grave
crisis. His fear is that President Wilson will become the
champion of Germany. Such an expression of opinion sounds
ludicrous to a partisan of world democracy, but it is a real
fear on the part of those who do not believe in world democ-
racy. Mr. Simonds is right about the crisis, but it is not
created by fear that Mr. Wilson will become the champion of
the German government or cause but by the possibility that
men like Mr. Simonds, whose thinking is cast in the military
mould, and who think the plan for a League of Nations and
a judicial settlement of future international troubles an
iridescent dream, will divide American councils and give hope
and strength to the Tory and imperialistic parties among our
Allies.
World democracy faces a graver crisis right now than it
has at any time since America entered the war and definitely
put the balance of military power on the side of the Allies.
So long as German arms were in the ascendant, the Pan-
Germanic imperialists dictated opinion in Germany and sup-
pressed democracy. So long as the cause hung in the bal-
ance, democracy's voice was in the ascendancy in Allied capitals
and there was no objection voiced to Woodrow Wilson's
declaration of the principles to be adopted in the making of
peace. Now German arms suffer irretrievable defeat and the
voice of the social democracy is rapidly coming into ascend-
ancy in Germany. The President's political offensive is prov-
ing to have been as masterly a piece of strategy in the
diplomatic field as was Foch's stroke in the military field.
But the voice of the imperialist, the Tory, the narrow-nation-
alist and "bitter-ender" becomes clamorous in the United
States and among the Allies. They belittle the League of
Nations idea as glittering evanescence, deny the right of
Wilson to state preliminary terms, talk with grandiose dis-
play of humility of our small part in the war, appeal to the
military temper and pride of the hour for military terms only,
play upon the world-wide admiration for General Foch with
a demand that he alone shall dictate peace, misconstrue the
President's fourteen principles, mysteriously asking what they
mean anyhow, and make their phrases swagger before the
masses, surcharged with war-emotion, with "bitter-ender"
demands.
Woodrow Wilson stands today where Lincoln stood in
1864. Both demanded a surrender that would be complete
and a peace that would heal old wounds rather than keep
them open for the future. Lincoln became the best friend of
justice and thus of the South of the future. Wilson becomes,
not the friend of Germany who brought on this war but
of the new Germany of tomorrow. As Lloyd George put it,
justice must be wrought out completely, but the Germany
of tomorrow must not be armed with an unforgettable wrong.
It is justice and not vengeance that will make the world safe
for democracy and perfect the work of victory in a war to put
an end to war. The detractors of Woodrow Wilson bid fair
to hold the same inglorious place in history as do those of
Abraham Lincoln.
* * *
The Premier of
World Democracy
President Wilson has made himself the premier of the
new world democracy. The democracy of all nations recog-
nizes his as the voice of their spokesman and defender. The
definite acceptance of his principles by the Inter-Allied Labor
Conference and by the Liberal parties and statesmen of all
the Allied nations marked him out as the spokesman of Allied
democracy. The acceptance now of his principles by the
Poles, Czecho-Slovaks and Jugo-Slavs are put in such terms
as to make it possible to say they hail him as their liberator.
And now the long-suppressed voice of the social democracy
in Germany and Austria-Hungary accepts his statement of
principles and appeals to him as arbiter of their destinies in
the peace conferences that are on.
The evolution of Allied war aims will form one of the
most interesting of all future historical studies of the great
war. Indeed, the future study of history will be less that
of the military campaigns than of the political and social
evolution that has been going on behind the lines. Long
before the war began there were two parties in every nation
engaged. In the Allied nations democracy was successfully
asserting its power over the old imperialism and militarism.
In France, Briand, a Social Democrat, was premier. In
England, Lloyd George's radical program for democracy was
determining the policies of the democratic Asquith cabinet.
In Italy, the Social Democracy was in the ascendent. In
Belgium, Vandervelde was a power. In the United States,
Wilson was elected on a platform of democracy. In Ger-
many, the social democracy was growing so greatly as to
make war a necessity sooner than contemplated by the war
lords lest their sinister schemes be defeated at home.
No nation can conduct war on a basis of military democ-
racy. In fact, there is no such thing as democracy in an
army. One army may be more democratic than another, but
Russia illustrated the folly of attempting to democratize
military organization. The best a democracy can do is to
keep its political democracy in war times and subordinate its
military organization to it. In Germany, the political organ-
ization was subordinated to the military. Among the Allies,
the political democracy has safely kept its authority, but now
as German democracy gathers strength enough to make the
military subordinate to the civil arm as the first step in the
evolution of a new constitution, we hear the cry from the
imperialists in Allied nations demanding that in making peace
the' military shall dictate. It is only a cry, but it is a cry that
creates a crisis for democracy by threatening to compromise
its councils and force it to surrender those declarations of
principle by which it has fought.
* * *
Woodrow Wilson's
Diplomatic Strategy
President Wilson asked for a declaration of war as soon
as it was possible in a democratic nation so far removed from
the scene of conflict and so little concerned in its historical
causes. He asked for it only when he was himself convinced
that democracy was in the ascendent over old-time secret
diplomacy and imperial aims in the councils of the Allies.
Democracy asserts itself in times of peace, but imperialism
and the statescraft of power asserts itself in times of war.
Thus it was possible for the imperialists to arise in power
after war was on, as well illustrated by the secret arrange-
ments made between the Western Allies with Italy and Russia
over the division of territory in the event of victory, as well
as by the later economic war-after-the-war resolution of the
Paris Conference and the platform of the present British
coalition party (with Tories in the majority) for a preferential
tariff to replace free trade in England, with its "three-decker"
imperial preferences of colonies first, Allies next and neutrals
last.
Mr. Wilson began his diplomatic strategy by differentiat-
ing between people and government in Germany. Imperial-
ists accepted it placidly or derided it gently so long as the
issues of the war were doubtful; they were willing for it to
14
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 7, 1918
effect anything it might, but had no faith in it. If there
should be a victory by Germany, the principles involved would
look good; now that we are assured victory, they do not like
them. It was to these gentlemen President Wilson addressed
himself on September 27th, when he said: "The councils of
plain men have become on all hands more simple and straight-
forward and more unified than the councils of sophisticated
men of affairs, who still retain the impression that they are
playing a game of power and playing for high stakes." It
was straight to this old-time type of cabinet officer and
diplomat and imperialist publicist that he spoke when he
added, "Statesmen must follow the clarified common thought
or be broken." He addressed himself diplomatically in that
address to the statesmen of our Allies. He challenged them
"to speak, as they have occasion, as plainly as I have spoken,"
and asked that "they feel free to say whether they think that
I am in any degree mistaken in my interpretation of the issues
involved or in my purpose in regard to the means by which
a satisfactory settlement of those issues may be obtained."
He declared that "unity of purpose and of council are as
imperatively necessary in this war as was unity of command
on the battle-field." In other words, he now declares for the
people as against imperial acts of government among the
Allies.
It was America's backing that made it possible for Lloyd
George to obtain the unity of military command that he had
long demanded and thus begin the final campaign for victory.
It will be Lloyd George's backing that will give success to
Woodrow Wilson's demand for unity of political purpose in
peace councils and save us from losing much of the democracy
our military victory has won. Andrew Bonar-Law, the leader
of the British Tory party, stated the imperial attitude in his
very apparent answer to Mr. Wilson's address of September
27th, when he said in Parliament a few days later that "it
would be unwise for any of the Allied governments to make
any statement on the terms likely to be imposed upon Ger-
many before an armistice was granted." This statement is
innocent enough within itself, but it is full of meaning when
one considers the inner attitude of the Tory mind. It was to
the imperialists and partisans of secret diplomacy that the
President spoke when he formulated his five extra fundament-
als in the address of September 27th. In them he demanded
(1) that an unbiased sense be maintained toward friend and
enemy alike; (2) that no nation's special interest be served
but the interests of all nations; (3) that there be no leagues or
covenants that did not apply alike to all nations; (4) that
there could be no special economic leagues except such power
of boycott as might be lodged in a League of Nations and
that as a means of discipline or control; and (5) that every
international agreement must be published to all the world.
In these five points Mr. Wilson expressed the basis upon
'"pHE DEMAND for the autumn issue
"■■ of the 20tJj Centura ©ttarterlp was so
unexpectedly large that the supply was
exhausted three weeks ago. One school,
reordering, sent this telegram: "Send 40
more copies; everybody wants it."
Has your order been sent in for the
winter quarter? Order now, and order a
sufficient number to carry your school
through the entire quarter.
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 East 40th Street, Chicago.
which the Allies should act in formulating peace terms. In
his famous fourteen points he formulated the principles upon
which they would state the concrete terms of peace. In the
two there is a charter for a new ideal of world democracy
and a Christian method of peace making. In these is his
promise to war-ridden humanity of what he called "broad
visioned justice and mercy and peace and the satisfaction of
those deep-seated longings of oppressed and distracted men
and enslaved peoples that seem the only things worth fighting
for in a war that engulfs the world."
Alva W. Taylor.
The Sunday School
The Fugitive*
JACOB left home — but not as his grandfather had done. He ran
away because he feared the terrible temper of the brother
whom he had deceived and outraged. In his father's house
were many servants — but he traveled light! Over the desert trails
he hurried as he had never done before. The hunter with the
eagle's eye might be hard upon him. Well he knew what would
happen to him if that brother overtook him. Some day the movies
will give us this story very vividly. He had things to think about
as he went. He had broken up his home. He had fooled his blind,
old father, who had always been so tender with him. He was
forced to flee from his mother, whose favorite he had plainly
been. All the dear associations of the old home were suddenly
broken. His sin was always with him.
Long, long after a man wrote : "Be sure your sin will find you
out." Does it ever fail? Did you ever yield to any temptation that
afterward you would not have given the world to have escaped it?
When the red, tempting apple, that hung so low over the wall, has
been snatched and eaten, only the tang of ashes remains in the
mouth. There are moments when reason is throttled and when
conscience is gagged, as Salome dances before your blood-shot eyes.
But, as sure as death, there are moments following when reason
slowly and sternly climbs to the judgment seat and when con-
science, her voice released, cries in thunderous tones the story of
your guilt. All the oceans and all the perfumes of Arabia will not
cleanse away the stains. It is strange we cannot remember this in
the moment of temptation and thus save ourselves from the scor-
pion torments that await us when we fall. As the twilight fell over
the desert, this runaway thief felt fate closing in upon him as
though he were being grasped and choked in some giant hand.
His sin had found him out.
You cannot run away from God. The mountain caves will not
hide you, for the still small voice is within. The winds of the sea
wail your guilt, as Jonah found to be true. The uttermost parts
of the earth are as near heaven as where you committed your foul
deed. "Thou God seest me." His eye is always upon me. He
knows the innermost recesses of my mind, even my motives and
my reserved thoughts that I dare not breathe even to myself in
the watches of the silent night. "Where shall I flee from His
presence?"
A man whose mother had died told me that the greatest re-
straining factor in his life was the fact that he felt that since his
mother's entrance into the realm of spirit, she saw and knew every-
thing that he did.
"Because of your strong faith I kept the track
Whose sharp set stones my strength had almost spent,
I could not meet your eye if I fell back —
So on I went."
Here was a man who was held back from evil, who was in-
spired to noble deeds by the abiding presence of his absent mother.
And what shall we say of him who said, "Lo, I am with you always,
even unto the end of the days"? What a mighty deterrent! What
* Lesson for Nov. 17. Scripture, Gen. 28:10-22.
November 7, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
15
a powerful stimulus! Christ with us. God with us. "He watching
over Israel slumbers not, nor sleeps."
But God is not watching to catch us. He is not an unsympa-
thetic Observer. He is not taking delight in discovering our weak-
nesses. Far from it. He is pained when we fail. He is sorrowful
when we lie and steal and play the fool, even as Jacob. Therefore,
the fine part of this our story. In the night God draws near our
fugitive. Golden ladders reach to the skies. Messengers of heaven
come down and touch the brow of the sleeping son of earth. The
sympathies of the Great Father are aroused.
Morning comes breaking over those ancient hills ; morning and
hope. And Jacob makes his vow to God — he is converted. He is
God's man.
John R. Ewers.
CORRESPONDENCE
Democracy in an Army Camp
Editors The Christian Century :
1HAVE at last found a name for this great new army. It is
"the gate beautiful." For many of us on entering have had
the crowning experience of our lives.
The school for Chaplains at Camp Taylor is a remarkable
institution. About a hundred Catholics, fifty Methodists, twenty
Disciples and many other bodies are gathered here, all in the
same uniform, so you cannot tell them apart.
Every man will remember his experience here as long as he
lives. One group of thirty-two men occupies a single floor, sleep-
ing together on straw ticks and little iron beds, making their
beds up and sweeping out from underneath. At meals each one
washes his own utensils.
All distinctions, caste and artificialities are swept away. One
stands out bare for what he really is.
Another inspiring feature is the way in which the denomina-
tional fences are completely broken down. This will be a differ-
ent group of men after the war. They will demand of the church
that it be a different kind of institution. The war will be almost
worth while if partly through them the church of Christ is led
out into the light. We learn real religion here, service, renun-
ciation if need be, to walk up Calvary, and after the war we
shall have no ear for factional differences and quarrels.
The faculty of the army chaplains is remarkably efficient,
scholarly, full of energy and human and religious as well. Not
the least among them is Chaplain Crain, teacher of Military Law,
who was formerly pastor of a Wichita Christian church.
We are all very appreciative of the decision of the Home
Board to present to each commissioned candidate a Corona type-
writer and a handsome communion set.
Camp Taylor, Ky. Richard W. Gentry.
An Objection
I HAVE been a great admirer of the Editors of The Christian
Century, but I must here confess that my admiration has
received a hard jolt several times, because of certain articles
(of different writers) that have appeared at different times in
the "Century," especially the one by A. W. Taylor on "Reconcil-
iation as the Pulpit's Keynote," in your last issue. How in the
world you can permit, especially at this time, such rank pacifist
doctrines as this to appear in the "Century" is beyond me. If
there was ever a time to hold up the whole German nation to
scorn and ignominy before the whole world, it is now. The
pulpit should advocate and preach just retribution and punishment
for the awful deeds of which the Germans and their militarists
have been guilty. The Kaiser and his eldest son should be shot,
or killed in cold blood and the whole nation given to understand
that they must repent in sackcloth and ashes and show it clearly
in all their future intercourse with the other nations.
A peace of reconciliation is not only unthinkable, but the
Europe Since 1815
By Charles Downer Hazen
"C^OR a clear understanding of the
■*■ Great War it is necessary to
master the facts of the history of
Europe since that epochal year 1815.
This author, who occupies the chair
of Professor of History in Smith
College, and who is a leading author-
ity in modern history, begins where
Napoleon left off, at the Congress of
Vienna, and traces developments
leading up to the present war. This
is not a dry book of history, but is
charmingly written. Fourteen ex-
cellent maps make the study all the
more interesting.
Price, $3.75 plus 10 to
18 cts. postage
The Diplomatic Background
of the War
By Charles Seymour
T^R. SEYMOUR is a Yale Pro-
*^* fessor, and here presents a re-
markable story of European politics
since 1874, with clear expositions of
the essential motifs of the several
nations of Europe in the continual
behind-the-scenes conflicts and
schemings that have characterized
this period. The book reads like a
novel.
Price, $2 plus 8 to
14 cts. postage
The CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 East 40th Street Chicago, III.
16
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 7, 1918
very suggestion is out of all tune and harmony with the public
mind and the best thought of America.
James H. Garnsey.
Kansas City.
See editorial note on "Our Treatment of Germany." — The
Editors.
Postcripts
The Christian Century constantly increases in strength. It
is prophetic with the spirit of the future.
Detroit, Mich. F. W. Norton.
* * *
The "Century" is constantly increasing in helpfulness and is
a joy and satisfaction in our home. Our most sincere thanks to
its editors and all connected with its production.
New York, N. Y. E. M. Bowman.
* * *
I do thoroughly enjoy both the form and spirit of the ma-
terial in the "Century." It is the most helpful religious paper
which comes to me. I am not unaware of the Christian service
and sacrifice which has made it possible, and I wish to assure you
that the effort has my hearty support. C. W. Longman.
Albion, 111.
* * *
Success to the "Century." I feel as though it is indispensable
to me, or to any young minister with a vision to serve. I enjoyed
it while in college at Transylvania and feel as if I shall enjoy it
more here away from the college influences.
Fairhope, Ala. H. R. Allegood.
* * *
You are putting out a great journal. W. L. Bender.
Massillon, O.
* * *
I have read the "Century" the past year with very great
pleasure and profit. George R. Squthgate.
Metropolis, 111.
* * %
Each issue of the "Century" grows richer and fuller.
Flat River, Mo. F. S. Stamm.
* * *
You are publishing a splendid paper, full of interest and cul-
tural,— and well printed, too. I make papers myself.
Petersburg, 111. L. F. Watson.
^ :fc ^s
The "Century" first for me. I'd give a good deal to know
who writes The Parables of Safed the Sage. They are great.
Lexington, Ky. Joseph Myers, Jr.
* * *
The most helpful paper that comes to my desk is The Chris-
tian Century. F. E. Davison.
Sheridan, Ind.
The "Century" contains many valuable articles. The writings
of Professor A. W. Taylor are especially good.
Nora Springs, la. W. E. Gaylord.
Books
The Dark Days. By Ernest Poole. One learns to expect
careful observation and matured conclusions from this practiced
journalist, who has traveled in many lands and has made some-
thing of a careful study of Russia. The present volume is a
series of personal sketches and interviews, which record in an
enlightening way the impressions of a competent observer in the
land that is at present the most in question among the peoples
involved in the world struggle. What a masterful people they
are,, those Russians ! And yet how child-like in their eagerness
for knowledge and friendship. Through the chaos of the present
distracted period they are groping for light and freedom. It must
come. They may be trusted. But shall they not also be guided
with a sympathetic hand? (Macmillan. $1.50.)
Blue Stars and Gold. By William E. Barton. Dr. Barton,
formerly of "The Advance," Chicago, and the pastor of the
largest Congregational church in Chicago, is well-equipped to
write a book of this kind — a book of comfort for those who
have seen their loved ones go forth under the Stars and
Stripes. He has three sons fighting, and the fourth and only
other son enlisted with the Y. M. C. A. The book is made
up of brief articles on such themes as "The Flag in Our Win-
dow," "Our Glorious Sons," "Mothers of Men," "Why Must
My Boy Go?" "Can We Fight Without Hatred?" "Can God
Share Our Sorrows?" etc. A valuable feature is the collection
of prayers and prayer poems at the close of the book. (Reilly
& Britton. $1.)
Joan and Peter. By H. G. Wells. A certain reviewer of
this book laments the fact that H. G. Wells still keeps on
preaching, and urges him to get back to story-telling, at
which he early proved himself an artist. But so long as
preaching is with Mr. Wells so effective a method of influenc-
ing the world's thought as it appears to have been the past
three or four years, he would probably do well to keep it up.
In this latest novel the author gives his ideas of education by
telling the story of two interesting young people in the
process of being educated. What "The New Machiavelli" did
for politics and "Britling" and other books did for religion,
Wells in this book does for education. The new novel ap-
peared in The New Republic, and elicited a great deal of com-
ment. (Macmillan. $1.75.)
Rupert Brooke : A Memoir. By Edward Marsh. The author
of this book was one of the closest friends of that attractive
personality and poet, Rupert Brooke, whose tragic death early in
the war threw over his life and work a glamour not often the lot
of young poets. Here are narrated the stories of his experiences
as a school boy in England, and his development as a literary
light. Quotations from his letters reveal the man as he was. A
few poems not included in his Collected Poems are here pub-
lished. (John Lane. $1.25.)
The Coming Dawn. A War Anthology in Prose and Verse.
Compiled by Theodora Thompson. Within the covers of this
book are gathered together the views of leading men and women
of today on the subject of the war, and especially their hopeful
views as to the outcome of the war and the "Coming Dawn." The
little work will aid in banishing from the minds of many the
clouds of pessimism. There is an introduction by Sir Oliver
Lodge. (John Lane. $1.50.)
Tales of War. By Lord Dunsany. "Wonderful, sharply cut
vignettes" — about thirty-five of them — by a dreamer and artist,
who happens to be also Captain of the 5th Royal Inniskilling
Fusiliers on active service, first in Gallipoli, now in France. Here
is realism plus fine art. (Little, Brown. $1.25.)
Complete Poetical Works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
With an introduction by Lilian Whiting. Mrs. Browning is
the outstanding name of the Victorian age representing wom-
an's genius in poetry. The fact that she was the wife of
Robert Browning lent splendor to her name, but she has a
firm foundation of achievement on her own part to commend
her work to the literary world. Besides her poems the present
collection contains some of her prose essays. From the book-
maker's viewpoint the New Century Library, of which the
Browning volumes form a part, is the very acme of perfec-
tion. India paper is used, and the books are bound in flexible
red leather, with gold stamp. (Nelson.)
Any of the books reviewed in this department, or any other
books now in print, may be secured from
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS,
yoo East 40th St., Chicago
The Larger Christian World
A Department of Interdenominational Acquaintance
Dr. John R. Mott Absolved
From Unjust Charge
Mr. Howard B. Grose has taken time to investigate the
charge that Dr. John R. Mott, of the Y. M. C. A., has been
responsible for the order barring camp pastors from the
military camps. He finds that there has been a misunder-
standing with regard to the situation. He says: 'Appeal to
the record is always wise. It would have saved a lot of un-
profitable rhetoric and some harmful charges without basis in
truth. Such an appeal would have shown the editors who
desire to connect Dr. Mott with plottings against denomina-
tions that he had long stood for interdenominationalism, and
has kept himself free from any efforts at abolishing denomina-
tions. As for camp pastors, the record is clear that the Young
Men's Christian Association, under his leadership, has assumed
a helpful and interested attitude, opened the doors of its
buildings to the camp pastors, and had no other policy than
that of cordial co-operation. This article has been written,
not as a defense of him, but wholly in the interest of accuracy
and justice."
Assistants for the Chaplains
Provided for Camps
There has been much discussion of the war department's
order discontinuing the service of camp pastors throughout
the country. After receiving a large number of letters, the
war department met a committee from the General War-Time
Commission of the churches at the office of F. P. Keppel,
third assistant secretary of the War Department. A modified
plan for meeting the religious needs of the camps was agreed
upon. The War Department desired the various religious
bodies to furnish their strongest men for chaplains. Men who
could not accept this responsibility were to be appointed as
voluntary chaplains to work in the camps under the direction
of the regular chaplain. The War Department made known
to the committee the fact that it favored special efforts being
made by churches near the camps for the religious welfare
of the soldiers and the chaplains will be directed henceforth
to make announcement of churches that have special plans
for these men. It is thought that the plan of voluntary visit-
ing chaplains with short terms of service will be a good thing
for the circulation among the "folks back home" of infor-
mation with regard to conditions at the camp.
Chicago Churches Refuse to Be
Classified With the Saloons
During the late influenza epidemic, many places of amuse-
ment were closed in Chicago, but churches and saloons re-
mained open by the Health Commissioner's order. It was
thought by the Chicago Church Federation officials that the
saloons were hiding behind the fact of the open churches,
and the Federation addressed a letter to the health commis-
sioner, Dr. John Dill Robertson, offering to close the churches
if he thought best. The doctor advised the churches to remain
open and stated that the greatest factor in fighting the influ-
enza is the morale of the people and that nothing is so likely
to fill them with courage and confidence as participation in
public worship.
Religious Editors Hold Conference
in New York City
The editors of many of the religious newspapers of Amer-
ica met in New York recently and one of the features of the
meeting was a two-hour address by Dr. John R. Mott on the
United War Work Campaign for $170,500,000, which is to
begin on November 11. Dr. Mott warned against the thought
that the climax of need had passed. He did not believe in an
early end to the war. Even when the war is over, there will
still be large need for help for the soldiers, for they will meet
temptations at the close of the war which did not come to them
while they were in the trenches. With regard to the union
with the other six organizations, Dr. Mott made clear that he
had never favored any sort of merger between the Y. M. C. A.
and any other organization, but a request from the President
had brought all of the organizations into line. The list of
editors included men from various sections of the country and
from widely diverse denominations. The editors asked many
searching questions with regard to the United War Work
campaign, but at the close passed a resolution in which they
heartily approved of the plans of the campaign.
Federation Secretaries Hold
Conference in Chicago
The first conference of church federation secretaries was
held in Chicago recently. In many cities of the country there
is now a church federation executive who gives all of his
time to the planning of union religious effort. The opening
address of the conference was given by Mr. Wilbur L. Messer,
General Secretary of the Chicago Y. M. C. A., who spoke on
the need of standardizing the duties of these officials, just as
the Y. M. C. A. leaders have been able to standardize different
types of activity. The departments of activity which were
recognized in the meeting were Comity, Evangelism, Religious
Education, Recreation, Industrial Relations and Public Morals.
There was a committee on findings which has made an ex-
tended report which may be secured from the national secre-
tary of this kind of work, Rev. Roy B. Guild of New York.
Local Church Institutes
Aid Missions
The task of imparting missionary information to the
average congregation is an urgent one. The interests are too
vast to be covered in a sermon. The prayer-meeting attend-
ance is too small to reach the people in this way. The Con-
gregationalists are now holding local church institutes at
which various missionary interests are represented in a series
of afternoon and evening meetings. This precedes what is
called the Every Member Drive.
Christian Endeavor Active
in Foreign Lands
The Christian Endeavor idea has been carried to many
of the mission fields. During the past year fifty-seven new
societies in Japan have been organized. The Methodists lead
with 107 societies, the Congregationalists have 53, and the
Presbyterians 30. The zeal of some of these members in
foreign lands may be seen by the story of a Christian En-
deavorer in the Yuhan district in China, who visited 7,000
homes in the district and left at each home a gospel or a tract.
Moody Bible Institute
Holds Annual Meeting
The annual meeting of the Moody Bible Institute, Chi-
cago, was held October 16. Mr. Henry P. Crowell, president
of the Quaker Oats Company, and chairman of the Commit-
tee of Fifteen, was re-elected president; Mr. E. K. Warren,
president of the Warren Featherbone Company, was made
vice-president; Mr. Bryan Y. Craig of the Fourth Presby-
terian church, Chicago, was made secretary. Dean James M.
Gray reported 5,661 students in all departments, including
day and evening classes and correspondence department. Mr.
A. F. Gaylord, business manager, reported the present worth
of the Institute to be $1,598,645.66, a gain during the year
of $148,465.84. The gross operating income of the year was
$454,329.59. The institution is engaged in short-course religious
instruction, part of the time being given to secular subjects.
The institution is undenominational, but has a definite relation
1!
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 7, 1918
to the pre-millenarian propaganda which reaches many sec-
tions of the country.
Returns to the Congregational
Denomination
There are a considerable number of ministers in the
United States who have changed their denominational affilia-
tions. Here is the story of one who has gone back to the
people of his first love. Rev. E. Sinclair was educated a Con-
gregationalist at Oberlin college. In recent years he has been
pastor of a Presbyterian church at Coalinga, Cal., but he has
just accepted a call to Colegrove Congregational church in
Los Angeles.
Bishop Stuntz
Touring in China
Bishop and Mrs. Stuntz, of the Methodist fellowship, are
touring the Orient in the interest of missionary work. They
were due to reach Shanghai October 19. The bishop will
hold the Hinghwa Conference November 6; the Yenping No-
vember 20 and the Foochow Conference November 27. From
China the bishop will go to the Philippines and from there to
India.
Presbyterians in Chicago Sell to
Jews and Negroes.
The problem of the city church is well illustrated by re-
cent events in Chicago among the Presbyterians. The rapid
encroachments of the Jews on the south side led to the sale
of the South Park church to the Jews and the dissolution of
this church by presbytery. Eleventh Presbyterian church has
also been dissolved and its building sold to the Jews. Ar-
rangements are being discussed whereby the Sixth Presby-
terian church would join with the nearby South Congrega-
tional church, the union congregation to hold fellowship with
the Presbyterians. The Sixth Church building is to be sold
for work among the negroes.
W. C. Pearce Will Help
in Armenian Work
Some of the special war organizations are finding the
question of personnel so difficult that they are drafting men
from the older religious organizations for temporary service.
W. C. Pearce has recently been taken from the service of
the International Sunday School Association and for the
coming three months will serve the American Committee for
Armenian and Syrian Relief.
General Foch Praises
the Bible
Some of the greatest allied commanders of the war are
protestants, as Generals Joffre and Haig. General Foch is
a Roman Catholic, but of a most liberal temper. In a recent
letter to the New York Bible Society, he says: "The Bible is
certainly the best preparation that you can give to an Amer-
ican soldier about to go into battle to sustain his magnificent
ideal of faith." The New York society has given a quarter
of a million copies of scriptures to soldiers and sailors in the
course of the war. qrvis p j0RDAN
* * *
Annual Meeting of the Chicago Church
Federation Council
THE Annual Meeting of the Chicago Church Federation
Council was held October 29th at the LaSalle Hotel. Re-
ports of the year's activities and achievements were pre-
sented by Dr. W. B. Millard, Executive Secretary, and by those
associated with him in the conduct of the various departments of
the work. The reports showed that the past year has been by
far the most successful year in the history of the Council and
they were received with marked evidences of approval and appre-
ciation.
The Council represents nine denominations and approximately
six hundred churches. For the past two years, Dr. Herbert L.
Willett has served as President, and notwithstanding the fact
that it has been customary to pass the office around among the
denominations represented in the Council there has been for
some time a steadily growing conviction that this precedent should
be laid aside and Dr. Willett continued in office. At first he
refused to consider the suggestion but finally yielded to pressure
from every side and allowed his name to be submitted to the
Council by the nominating committee.
Before the vote was taken Dr. Willett presented the con-
ditions upon which he would accept re-election. In a very suc-
cinct and convincing address he proposed a program for the
coming year far more ambitious than any ever undertaken by
the Council, involving the closer correlation of various inter-
denominational agencies now at work in the city, and the more
complete consecration of the members of the Council to the work
to be undertaken. The address came as a sort of challenge to
those present and it was met by a hearty and unanimous vote for
the adoption of the report of the nominating committee which
carried with it the re-election of Dr. Willett as President.
All of the other officers were also re-elected including Dr.
W. B. Millard, as Executive Secretary. The Council begins its
new year, therefore, with the promise of greatly increased use-
fulness, under the leadership of men of vision and experience,
and under the compelling urgency of the new era into which we
are being rapidly ushered.
The Disciples of Chicago feel a pardonable pride, being one
of the least of the Protestant bodies represented in the Council,
in having one of their number thus signally honored. The honor,
however, is peculiarly one bestowed upon Dr. Willett himself, and
is eloquent testimony of the esteem and confidence in which he
is held by the religious leaders of the city where he has lived
and labored as teacher, preacher, and lecturer for about a quarter
of a century. It appears that this is one instance where the
saying: 'A Prophet is not without honor, save in his own coun-
try," finds an exception. Perry T RlCE
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November 7, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
19
News of the Churches
Dr. Willett Goes to Columbia University
as University Preacher
On last Tuesday Dr. Willett left for
New York City, where he will serve as
University preacher and give also a
series of lectures in New York City
and Brooklyn under the auspices of the
University. He also gives a lecture this
week at Germantown, Philadelphia.
New Prayer Meeting Topics
Will Stress Missions
The committee on uniform prayer-
meeting topics for 1919, of which W. F.
Richardson, of Los Angeles, Cal., is
chairman, reports that an innovation in
the topics this year is the inclusion in
the list of twelve missionary topics, to be
used on the third Wednesday of each
month, under the general heading "The
World Outlook." The program for the
year includes also, as usual, suggested
material for meetings during the week
preceding and including Easter, which
week is being increasingly used for evan-
gelistic services.
Progress of Federated Church
at Pittsfield, 111.
W. H. Hopkins, of the Federated
church at Pittsfield, 111., reports that the
new plan has gripped the community and
that many letters of inquiry concerning
the church are coming from other parts
of the country. The Federated church is
doing its part toward winning the war,
having two service flags containing fifty
stars, and a "Y" flag with three triangles;
there are four representatives in Red
Cross service. The united missionary
societies will study both Disciple and
Congregational missions, and the pastor
reports an increased interest in this
feature of the work.
Mississippi Disciples Hold State
Convention at Jackson, Nov. 20-22
W. C. Ferguson, state secretary of
Mississippi Discipledom, reports that
the date set for the state meeting this
year is Nov. 20-22 — a much shorter ses-
sion than usual because of war-time con-
ditions. The place is Jackson. E. Lyn-
wood Crystal, of Aberdeen, is president
of the organization. Among the national
workers to be present are R. M. Hop-
kins, F. W. Burnham and Mrs. Elbe K.
Payne. There will be no separate wom-
en's session nor Bible school session.
Among the subjects to be considered is
"The Outlook for Religion After the
War."
Transylvania and College of the
Bible War-Time Dinner
One of the most interesting features
of the Kentucky State Convention re-
cently held at Richmond, was the Tran-
sylvania and College of the Bible war-
time dinner, served by the ladies of the
Red Cross. The large Red Cross dining
hall was crowded with friends and sup-
porters of the college. A group of about
twenty-five students, who had driven to
Richmond for the occasion, furnished
music and merriment, interspersing the
courses and speeches with college yells
and songs. President R. H. Crossfield
president; E. W. Elliott, of Glasgow,
Homer W. Carpenter, of Richmond, and
F. M. Rains, of Cincinnati, responded
to appropriate toasts. Homer W. Car-
penter, the host of the convention, and
until recently field man of the college,
spoke of the moral and spiritual life of
the college; E. W. Elliott interpreted
the educational ideals of the college, and
F. M. Rains, in a speech that was con-
stantly and heartily applauded, spoke of
the work of the faculty. Mr. Rains said
that President Crossfield, Professors
DeWeese, Fortune, Bower, Snoddy,
Brown, etc., were not only unusually
capable teachers, but men of the great-
est faith and the truest devotion.
Chicago Christian Missionary
Society at Dinner
The annual meeting of the Chicago
Christian Missionary Society will be
held at Jackson Boulevard church,
Thursday evening, Nov. 7, at 50 cents
per plate. Following the dinner there
will be the presentation of reports and
the transaction of business. President
O. F. Jordan will preside. The Russian
chorus will sing. Secretary P. J. Rice
will speak briefly on the state of the
work, and outline the program for the
ensuing year. New workers who have
entered the field within the past few
months will be introduced. H. H.
Peters will present greetings from the
Illinois Society. President Burnham
and Secretary Lewis of the American
Society have been invited to be present,
as have also Mrs. Atwater of the C. W.
B. M. and Secretary Mucklev of the
Board of Church Extension. The meet-
ing promises to be one of unusual in-
terest and enthusiasm and it is hoped
that every church in the city and Cook
county may be represented.
Death of Guv L. Zerby, Minister
at Urbana, 111.
District Evangelist C. M. Wright of
the Northeastern District of Illinois
writes that the pulpit of the Webber
street church, Urbana, 111., was made
vacant by the death of G. L. Zerby,
who passed to his final reward Wednes-
day evening, Oct. 23, a victim of influ-
enza-pneumonia. He was conscious to
the last, and a few minutes before ex-
piring remarked, "I am going home."
His little daughter Thelma, eight years
of age, also a pneumonia victim, pre-
ceded him "home" Sunday evening, Oc-
tober 20. Mrs._ Zerbv and little son are
slowlv recovering from severe attacks
of influenza. They were both seriously
ill when Mr. Zerby passed away. The
Urbana Courier has the following appre-
ciative comment on Mr. Zerby's person-
ality and work: "The death of Rev. G.
L. Zerby, pastor of the Webber street
Christian church, recalls the fact that he
made his church the 'friendly church,'
because he was a friendly man. He was
not offensively friendly, nor condescend-
ingly friendly. He was just simply
friendly, without guile and without other
purpose than being helpful in whatever
way he could. It was natural with him,
and while always one of his prominent
characteristics, it was never obtrusive,
and never assertive. A kindly man of
noble impulse, modest of bearing, cheer-
ful, energetic, he lived close to the ideals
that his Master taught, and which he, to
the extent of his ability, exemplified in
his daily relations not only with the
members of his own flock, but with all
others with whom he came in contact.
His was indeed a friendly church, for he
was a friendly man."
W. D. Endres Becomes Extension Secre-
tary for Culver-Stockton College
Culver-Stockton College, Canton, Mo.,
has extended a call to W. D. Endres of
the church at Quincy, 111., to become ex-
tension secretary for the college. The
call is unanimous from the executive
committee and they hone Mr. Endres
will accept this responsible and import-
ant work as soon as adjustments can be
made, writes President John H. Wood.
Culver-Stockton College is planning en-
largement and to this end has called
Mr. Endres. There is a splendid plant
at Canton and it is desired that it shall
be properly advertised, that new stu-
dents be attracted and that the permanent
endowment be much enlarged. In co-
operation with the authorities of the in-
stitution, Mr. Endres will direct the ad-
vertising and extension policy. Plans
are in the making for adding steadily to
the endowment and Mr. Endres will
direct this campaign also.
— The facultv of Culver-Stockton Col-
lege. Canton. Mo., is reported to be made
tin largely of young men. as is seen in
the fact that all the members but two
had to register tinder the last call. The
college has opened this 'vear with an
enlarged enrollment, although manv of
the bovs are across the water as chap-
lains. "Y" workers. Red Cross workers,
officers and private soldiers.
— C. G. Brelos, formerlv minister of
the church at West Pullman, Chicago,
has gone to Pittsburgh, Pa.
— The Red Cross rooms for Highland
Park. Des Moines, are located at the
Christian church of Highland Park, to
which H. W. Hunter ministers.
— Central church. Des Moines, reports
a third gold star for its service flag.
— Mary Honkins-Smith. livinsr-link of
Central church. Des Moines, in South
Africa, was to leave Durban, Natal. S. A.,
in Auetist, and expected to reach Amer-
ica some time in October. Dr. Ada
McNeil Gordon, one of Central's repre-
sentatives on the foreign field, is itist
returning to her work in India, with
her husband, W. E. Gordon.
After
THANKSGIVING, CHRISTMAS * * *
Home Missions. Pensions for our aged Home Missionaries, four splendid Christmas services of the
White Gifts for the King series, a fifth of surpassing beauty, "Messages of Victorious Peace" — Free to
Sunday schools that send their cash offerings at Christmas to
BOARD OF MINISTERIAL RELIEF, 627 Lemcke Building, Indianapolis, Ind.
20
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 7, 1918
— Walter M. Jordan, until recently
leader of the church at Butte, Mont., has
been chosen to succeed J. E. Parker as
superintendent of missions among the
Disciples of Montana, and is now in his
new work.
BUFFALO
RICHMOND AVENUE
CHURCH OF CHRIST
Cor. Richmond and Bryant Streets
ERNEST HUNTER WRAY", Minister
— A few weeks ago Samuel E. Fisher
of Petersburg, 111., received a call to
the work at Central church, Rockford,
111., to which W. B. Clemmer ministered
for eight years. Mr. Fisher was re-
ported to have accepted the Rockford
work in a recent issue of the "Century."
But he writes: "After much counsel
here and at the unanimous request of
the church, I have decided to remain in
Petersburg. Will begin fifth year Janu-
ary 1. Work is united and prosperous."
— The will of Mrs. Rowena Mason,
for many years president of the Christian
Orphans' Home, St. Louis, provides for
gifts 6i $100,000 to the National Benevo-
lent Association and about the same
amount for other of the church organi-
zations. This money wil not come into
the treasuries of these organizations for
some time. Mrs. Mason left $10,000 to
Union avenue church, St. Louis, of
which she was an active member. From
funds left by her, there will be erected
in St. Louis, in the course of time, the
"Adeline Dozier Memorial," a hospital
for crippled children.
— Central church, Des Moines, cele-
brated its 58th anniversary on October
6th as a Home-Coming Sunday. Dr. Ada
McNeil Gordon, who has been Central's
living link in India for twenty years,
was present and spoke.
— Dr. Arthur Holmes, Drake's new
president, recently addressed the Ad
Club of Des Moines.
— H. M. Baker, until recently leader
at Fourth church, St. Louis, Mo., is now
in charge of the Red Cross activities at
Camps Bowie, Barren, Taliaferro and
Carruthers.
will reside at Hiram, O., during the year
of his absence. His oldest daughter is
soon to graduate from that school.
«»p»«Aniii UNITED SERVICE
MEMORIAL Memorial (Baptists and Disciples)
First Baptist
CI4 I C A C f\ Oakwood Blvd. West of Collage Grove
O 1 V, A \i KJ Herbert L Willetl »»■.,„.
W. H. Main Mln,s,ers
— F. L. Davis has closed his work at
First church, Springfield, Mo. He will
enter the evangelistic field for a time.
—A farewell for Charles Darsie, who
has left for service in France, was given
by the churches of the Homewood dis-
trict, Pittsburgh. Mr. Darsie's family
Disciple Ministers on the War
J. J. Tisdall, of Wilson Avenue,
Columbus, O., Sees Bible
Conquering the Enemy
"The principles of the Bible are work-
ing out the success of the allies and the
destruction of the enemy. Whatsoever
a man soweth that shall he also reap.
Our men are lion-hearted, fearless and
determined. They carry with them the
Book. It cheers them in their depressing
moments and it comforts them in their
dangers. The Bible will be used in the
final adjusting at the peace table. The
last word will be spoken by the Divine
Man with the Book of Law. God's word
is at the front of all things."
I. J. Spencer, of Central Church,
Lexington, Declares There
Are No Infidels at the Front
There are no infidels at the front, but
the Cross is there and the spirit of the
Christ is in the hearts of the soldiers to
make them sacrificial and unafraid. They
saw little Belgium dying for other na-
tions for the cause of international honor
and themselves learned to die that others
might live. The war may shatter many
traditions and externals of the church
and human creeds, but it will only make
the Christ in men the more glorious and
powerful."
D. H. Shields, of Kokomo, Ind.,
Advocates Universal Military
Training and Preparedness
"America ought to adopt a system of
universal military training and never be
caught again in this manner. Hundreds
of our boys have died because they were
crowded into tents and not provided
with the right sort of clothing. After
we had been in war a whole year, I saw
artillery squads back of our 'Y' hut prac-
ticing on cannons made of sections of
telephone poles mounted on wheels, and
the only modern 'howitzer' was a hot
water heater that had been in someone's
bath room! Doubtless thousands of our
men will be sacrificed by our criminal
negligence, for we were too self-satis-
fied and too cowardly to face the facts
that were staring us in the face for more
than three years."
H. E. Jensen, Milwaukee, Wis., Believes
Missions Will Have Task in Bringing
Real Peace
"The bonds of nationality which make
national unity and internal peace possi-
ble are not race and language, but pur-
poses and ideals. When in the present
war America was able to give voice to
her ideals and state her purposes she
for the first time became a true nation,
through the creation of a spiritual unity.
The growing conviction as to the ideals
and purposes dominating our national
life is welding our population of diverse
languages and antagonistic races into a
national unity with a rapidity that is
unparalleled in history. It is the task of
Christian missions to prepare the way
for world peace by creating an interna-
tional and inter-racial Christian public
opinion, which shall uphold and enforce
international law."
Henry W. Hunter, Des Moines, la.,
Points Warning for Church in
Present War-Time
"I want to sound a note of warning.
In these days of patriotic activities,
when we are called upon from every
side to do our best to help win the war,
the church must labor as never before
to keep the boundaries 'tween right and
wrong where they ought to be. The
enemy sows his tares without any letting-
up and if he can get you to believe that
'there is no harm,' he feels amply paid
for his trouble. As in days gone by,
yea, even today, he has clothed himself
in the livery of heaven, today he hides
behind the national colors and leads
many into wrong-doing in the spirit of
being patriotic. Many 'schemes' are
launched in the interests of the flag that
are more worthy of the black flag of sin.
Beware of the enticements of the present
day sinner."
ST. LOUIS
union AVBNVB
CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Union sad Voa Vereea Atm.
Georee A. Campbell, Minister
— C. C. Chapman and others are filling
the public at Fullerton, Cal., the minister
there, Clark Marsh, being in France for
Y. M. C. A. service.
— Salt Lake City, Utah, has lost its
pastor, C. A. Snyder, to war work in San
Diego, Cal.
— Dr. H. T. Morrison of Springfield,
111., is soon to leave for medical service
in France.
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Make It a Patriotic Christmas
AMERICA, LEAD ON! A great Christmas
Pageant that will bring good tidings to war-weary
hearts. It is a comforting and heart-strengthening
vision of God's leadership in world affairs. Fur-
nishes the patriotic and religious stimulus needed
In these war-stressing times. Beautiful music and
great dramatic dialog with tableaux. For use of
Churches, Young People's Societies, Sunday Schools
and Red Cross Organizations. Text by Jessie
Brown Pounds, music by J. H. Fillmore. Price
6 cents.
FEELING THE HURT. A Christmas Drama for
Churches, Young People's Societies and Sunday
Schools. Written by Mrs. F. D. Butchart. Cast:
Mrs. Langmore, mother ; Fred, son ; Elizabeth,
daughter; Martha, maid; Dr. Spencer, a returned
missionary; Rev. Wells, pastor. A heart-throbbing
story of a mother whose son wished to fight for
his country and whose daughter wished to be a
missionary. The scenes are dramatic and im-
pressive. The influence of the play is needed in
every community. The music consists of familiar
songs. Price 6 cents.
CHRISTMAS RECITATIONS AND DIALOGS
No. 21. A collection of original recitations and
dialogs and songs. Many of them refer to the war.
The needs of small children are particularly pro-
vided for. Handy for providing extra program
selections. Price 15 cents.
UNCLE SAM TO THE RESCUE, or, "Saving
Santa's Job." A patriotic play for boys and girls.
New, timely and appealing. Will stir the hearts
of old and young with a real patriotic spirit.
Price 10 cants.
THE HEAVENLY CHILD. A cantata for wom-
en's voices, charming. Price 25 cents.
CHRISTMAS OCTAVOS for mixed voices, or
men's voices, or women's voices. Ask for lists.
THE CHOIR, our monthly anthem journal. The
Christmas number filled with choice, new music
for mixed voices and women's voices. Now ready.
Ask for sample copy.
Will the Minister reading this please call the
attention of his music leader to these announce-
ments? Thank you.
FILLMORE MUSIC HOUSE
Cincinnati, 0.
November 7, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
21
— The church at Beaumont, Tex., un-
der the leadership of H. R. Ford, raised
over $5,800 for missions last year, $5,798
being raised for current expenses. Mr.
Ford is beginning his fifth year with
this congregation.
ur-iif unnu CENTRAL CHURCH
NhW YUKK 142 West 31st Street
Finis S. Idleman, Minister
— First church, Lincoln, Neb., sent a
Christmas box to missionary Ray Rice,
who is located in India. The box went
in charge of Miss Minta Thorpe, who
sailed for India last month. Miss
Thorpe is a Cotner graduate and spent
a year in the College of Missions.
— The men's Bible class of First church,
Long Beach, Cal., took out a $1,000 Lib-
erty bond on the fourth issue.
— M. L. Buckley is the new leader at
Marion, O. Mr. Buckley served West
Creighton church, Ft. Wayne, Ind., for
seven years.
— Among the numerous victims of the
influenza is A. B. Philputt of Central
church, Indianapolis, who is just recov-
ering from a severe attack.
— Arthur Long of the CofFeyville,
Kan., church, has been granted a leave
of absence by his congregation that he
may enter war service with the Y. M.
C. A.
— Neil H. Baxter, who recently as-
sumed the pastorate at Sterling, Colo.,
is recovering his health. Mr. Baxter
suffered a very severe attack of pneu-
monia last winter.
— The November preachers at the Uni-
versity of Chicago are as follows: No-
xember 10, Prof. Francis G. Peabody of
the Harvard Divinity School; Novem-
ber 17 and 24, Bishop Charles D. Wil-
liams of Michigan.
— Although four of the hospitals of the
Foreign Society have been closed a
part of the year, there have been 200,000
treatments in the various fields. It is
reported that within a short time all the
hospitals will again be in operation.
All building operations of the Society
have been closed because of war prices
-in the mission fields. Considerable new
equipment is provided for, as soon as
normal conditions prevail.
NORFOLK.VA.
FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH
(Disciples)
Colonial Are. at 16th St.
Rot. C. M. Watson, Minister
— Graham, Frank, of Central church,
Dallas, recently spoke before the sol-
diers at Camp Dick, giving also some
readings from the dialect poets and au-
thors.
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^iiii!iiiiiii!i!;iiiiiiii:;iiii;iiii!ii!iiiiiiiiiiiii!ii;iiii!iM
By EDWARD SCRIBNER AMES
Associate Profe sor of Philosophy in the University of Chicago |j
A popular, constructive interpretation of man's religious |
life in the light of the learning of scholars and in the |
presence of a new generation of spiritual heroes.
THIS book seeks to present in simple terms a view of If
religion consistent with the mental habits of those
trained in the sciences, in the professions, and in the
expert direction of practical affairs. It suggests a dynamic, =j
dramatic conception designed to offer a means of getting |j
behind specific forms and doctrines. It aims to afford a v
standpoint from which one may realize the process in which M
ceremonials and beliefs arise and through which they are W
modified. When thus seen religion discloses a deeper, more m
intimate, and more appealing character. As here conceived
it is essentially the dramatic movement of the idealizing. g
outreaching life of man in the midst of his practical, social
tasks. The problems of the religious sentiments, of per- m
sonality, of sacred literature, of religious ideals, and of the =
ceremonials of worship are other terms which might have
been employed as the titles of the successive chapters. M
Price $1.00, plus 6 to 1 2 cents postage
OTHER BOOKS BY
DR. AMES
tKfje i&pcljologp of &eltgiou£ experience
($2.75 plus 10 to 20 cents postage)
"Should be read by every thoughtful minister." — The Outlook.
"It is impossible not to admire and commend the wealth of learning and allusion
which Dr. Ames spreads out before us." — The Literary Digest.
"No intelligent student or teacher of religion can afford to neglect it." — The
Independent.
"Scholarly in tone, clear in expression, liberal and unprejudiced in attitude." —
The Nation.
®f)e l^gfjet Snbibtbualtem
($1.25 plus 8 to 15 cents postage)
"Dr. Ames' themes are on subjects of vital interest to the present generation." —
The Christian Work.
"Good philosophy and excellent religion." — The Congregationalism
"The underlying and unifying thought of the book is the value of social serv-
ice."— Springfield Republican.
m
tEhe ®totmtp of Cfjrfet
(75 cents plus 6 to 12 cents postage)
A book which has as its purpose "the deepening of religious faith in the presence
of the fullest knowledge." One of the most popular of Dr. Ames' books.
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
| 700 EAST 40TH STREET CHICAGO, ILLINOIS j
IlllllllllllllllllllH
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 7, 1918
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
CHICAGO
At the last Convocation of the Uni-
versity of Chicago the following Dis-
ciples took higher degrees in the line of
divinity studies: William Otis Lappin
(Eureka College), Master of Arts, "with
a thesis on "Religion as a Factor in Eng-
lish Social Reform in the Nineteenth
Century;" Charles James Ritchey (Drake
and Yale), Doctor of Philosophy, with
a thesis on "Quests for Salvation in New
Testament Times;" and William Charles
MacDougall (Hiram and Chicago), Doc-
tor of Philosophy, with a thesis on "The
'Way of Salvation' in the Ramayana of
Tulsi Dasa."
The special course of lectures for the
current year in the Disciples Divinity
House will be given by President Charles
T. Paul of the College of Missions.
They will deal with certain aspects of
the philosophy and methodology of mis-
sions. These lectures were to have been
delivered last spring, but President Paul
was compelled to defer the course until
the present academic year.
During the Winter Quarter of the Uni-
versity, Professor Guy W. Sarvis of the
University of Nankin will give a course
in the Disciples Divinity House in co-
operation with the Department of Mis-
sions of the Divinity School. The sub-
ject will be, "Modern China as a Mission
Field."
Professor Charles M. Sharpe, who
was given leave of absence from his work
in the Divinity House for a year to
accept a position with the Y. M. C. A. in
France, reports a varied and deeply in-
teresting experience during the past few
months. He will return for the Spring
Quarter, and resume his teaching in the
Divinity House.
Among the Disciples who have re-
turned to their mission fields during the
past few months after periods of study
at the University of Chicago, or have
begun the work of missionaries, are the
following: W. B. Alexander, W. C. Mac-
Dougall, and W. E. Gordon, of India,
and Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Swanson, who
have just started upon their service in
the Philippines.
During the past year twenty-seven
missionaries on furlough from their
fields have been enrolled at the Uni-
versity of Chicago, most of them in the
Divinity School.
WITH BOTH FEET
Henceforth the progress of the Board
of Ministerial Relief must be twofold,
providing Relief for the Veterans of the
Cross and their widows and orphans and
insuring Pensions at retirement or disa-
bility or death for ministers and mis-
sionaries who are yet active in the
service and for their dependents.
Enough have enrolled in the new
Pension System to permit the issuance
of Pension Certificates, according to the
plan adopted at Kansas City. But there
seems to be sufficient demand for a slight
change in the plan to justify waiting
until the Actuary's figures on the pro-
posed change can be submitted to the
Charter Roll. Meanwhile several hun-
dred more minisers should claim a place
with the first three hundred. It might
better be four hundred or six hundred.
Two striking testimonials to the at-
tractiveness of the Pension System, to
those who have studied it most closely.
are individual payments of $625 and $903
respectively, one to make up back dues,
the other to pay all future dues in a lump
sum. These, and all other dues paid, are
immediately covered by as much more
from the contributions of churches and
individuals, insuring two dollars of value
in the Pension Fund for every dollar in-
vested by a certificate-holder.
Neal Overman, Executor, has just paid
the $300 bequest of the late C. R. Noe,
of Leon, Kas.
An unusual number of church offerings
promises that the brotherhood will keep
up with the growing Relief Roll and the
necessity for larger payments while
building the Pension Fund.
Board of Ministerial Relief,
W. R. Warren, Prest., F. E. Smith,
Secy.
627 Lemcke Bldg., Indianapolis, Ind.
Baptismal Suits
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Order Now. Finest quality and most
catisfactory in every way. Order by
size of boot.
Disciples Publication Society
700 E. 40th St. Chicago, 111.
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DISCIPLES PUBLICATION SOCIETY
700 E. Fortieth Street :-: CHICAGO
"The war will be won by 25% of military and
75% of other forces of which those repre-
sented by the churches are the greatest."
" shtsHlls
—FIELD MARSHAL HAIG.
The work of the Bible School is funda-
mental in the work of the church.
Every Bible School is asked to make the offering for the support of the continent wide Bible
School work of the American Christian Missionary Society on Thanksgiving Sunday.
The influenza epidemic necessitates a short, intensive campaign this month.
Make "An offering that represents sacrifice."
ROBERT M. HOPKINS, Bible School Secretary, bX Cincinnati, Ohio
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiM
s
Author of "The Wisdom of God's Fools," "The Inner
Circle" "The Tender Pilgrims" "Fairhope" etc.
rthodoxy
Studies in Christian Constancy
BY
Edgar De Witt Jones
HE author of this volume of sermons is the President
*• of the General Convention of the Disciples of Christ,
1918, and Minister of First Christian Church, Blooming-
ton, 111. He was one of the "Three American Preachers"
who were the subject of an article by Prof. Arthur S. Hoyt
in the "Homiletic Review" for February, 1917. Here are
sermons of wide range in topic, style and arrangement; yet
withal they are full of feeling and fervor. They are good
examples of a high level of preaching, attained by a minis-
ter who, for twelve years, has made his pulpit a vital and
persuasive power in his own community and beyond it —
a minister who feels that "every sermon is an adventure in
the realm of spiritual romance, crowded with possibilities
for service to God and man."
Price $1.25 plus 6 to 12 cents postage
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 East 40th Street CHICAGO
in
ll!llll!ii:i!ll!!llllll!lli;ilili!l!li!llllll!i;ilil!;illl!lll[IIIIIM
HY
UNIT
THE
CH
The Disciples Hymnal
THE HYMNAL FOR THE NEW DAY
WHAT SOME OF THE LEADERS WHO ARE USING THE
BOOK SAY OF IT:
H. D. C. Maclachlan, Minister Seventh Street Christian Church, Richmond, Va.: "It
is a gem. I have seen nothing on the same street with it. It contains all the
classic hymns and all the worth-while new ones. Its hymns of human service
and brotherhood are a genuine contribution to American hymnology. Its arrange-
ment, topical indexing, letter-press and musical notation are beyond praise. The
Aids to Worship and Responsive Readings I am finding very useful."
Henry Pearce Atkins, Minister First Christian Church, Mexico, Mo.: "The choice of
title for this hymnal could not have been more felicitous. These are the hymns
of the Kingdom — the hymns of life and service — in which the Church has already
united. The message of this hymnal is the true message of the pulpit."
A. H. Cooke, Minister Park Avenue Christian Church, Des Moines, la.: "It is a
pleasure for me to say that the new hymnal, Hymns of the United Church, is the
best thing that has come into our church life during the past year. The compila-
tion embraces everything worth while; there is not a single thing in the volume
that does not elevate. Both form and content are beautiful. The book helps the
minister tremendously in the cultivation of the religion of the spirit; one is made
to realize the beauty of holiness most vividly. How cosmopolitan is this hymnal!
In singing from it one has already attained the unity of the spirit!"
Clifton S. Ehlers, Minister Calvary Christian Church, Baltimore, Md.
mirable book; I have not found its superior."
"It is an ad-
J. E. Wolfe, Minister First Christian Church, Independence, Mo.: "I want to tell you
of our great satisfaction with the Hymns of the United Church. It is thoroughly
gratifying to have such an abundance of hymns that enable a congregation to
express in song its deepest hopes, yearnings, aspirations in such days as these.
Such a hymnal we find the Hymns of the United Church to be."
Allan T. Gordon, First Christian Church, Paris, 111.: "I consider Hymns of the
United Church adapted to all the needs of church services. The book has been
in use in our church for nearly a year and we never have to offer an apology for
our hymnals."
These are but a few of the words of praise for
"Hymns of the United Church" which are con-
tinually coming to the publishers. Have you ex-
amined the book with view to its use in your
church? Send for returnable copy and prices today.
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 East Fortieth Street
CHICAGO
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When you h*v» finished reading this copy *f
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•a this corner and Hand the maiazlne t» any
postal employ*. The Pott Office will fend It
te gome soldier or sailor in eur force* at the
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A. S. BUBLESON, Postmaster-general.
Vol. XXXV
November 14, 1918
Number 44
The Nation's New
Responsibility
By Herbert L. Willett
Some Landmarks
of Life
By A. W. Fortune
%m%%
CHIC AG
O
•Jf******************************^
Copyright, Underwood & Underwood
My Country 'tis of Thee
As the feet of each of the two million and more men of the American Expeditionary Force touched
the shore in France, their thoughts not only ranged forward to the supreme task of war, but back-
ward to the homeland in whose name and for whose sake they had come to fight.
Their supreme devotion lays many obligations on us who safely abide at home.
All these find their highest expression in what we must do as the Church of Christ. First, to
keep the soldier fit ; second, to make the country fit for his return.
One hundred of our finest young preachers have been called and trained as chaplains. The gov-
ernment looks to the church to provide each of them with special personal equipment for his sacred
duties. This at the very least calls for $300 each and must be provided through part of the United
Budget assigned to the American Christian Missionary Society.
All Protestant bodies have been required by the government to unite their efforts at the munition
cities in Liberty Churches. The people who have pled for liberty and union must not lag behind, but
stand among the foremost in this revolutionary enterprise. The very first outlay in this direction calls
for $20,000 as our quota through the United Budget.
In making it an actual United Budget this year, Sunday Schools and other departmental offer-
ings are credited to the Church's budget. The last year the Sunday Schools made a great increase
in their offerings in all directions, giving $53,650.73 for Home Missions and Bible School work. The
closing of the churches throughout the country has interfered with the preparation for the service
and offering on Thanksgiving Sunday, so an extra rally is necessary in the few days that remain to
put this first International offering of the Missionary Year beyond all previous records.
Think of the soldier "Over There" and give as he gives, for him and with him, and for the country
which is ours and his.
Disciples World Wide Every-Member Campaign
MEN AND MILLIONS MOVEMENT PROMOTIONAL AGENCY
222 West Fourth Street - CINCINNATI, OHIO
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Ail Undenominat loaal Journal ©f Religion
Volume XXXV
NOVEMBER 14, 1918
Number 44
EDITORIAL STAFF: CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON. EDITOR; HERBERT L. WILLETT, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
ORVIS FAIRLEE JORDAN, ALVA W. TAYLOR. JOHN RAY EWERS :: THOMAS CURTIS CLARK, OFFICE MANAGER
Entered as second-class matter, February 28, 1902, at the Post-office at Chicago, Illinois, under the Act of March j, 1879.
Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized on July 3, 1918.
Published Weekly By the Disciples Publication Society 700 East 40th Street, Chicago
Subscription — $2.50 a year (to ministers, $2.00), strictly in advance. Canadian postage, 52 cents extra; foreign, $1.04 extra.
Change of date on wrapper is a receipt for remittance on subscription and shows month and year to which subscription is paid.
The Christian Century is a free interpreter of the essential ideals of Christianity as held historically by the Disciples of Christ
It conceives the Disciples' religious movement as ideally an unsectarian and unecclesiastical fraternity, whose original impulse and
common tie are fundamentally the desire to practice Christian unity in the fellowship of all Christians. Published by Disciples, Thi
Christian Century, is not published for Disciples alone, but for the Christian world. It strives to interpret the wider fellowship
in religious faith and service. It desires definitely to occupy a catholic point of view and it seeks readers in all communions.
EDITORIAL
The Things That Go With
Peace
THE war is over ! When this announcement came
over the wires great cities stopped working and
used the steam which had been driving shell-mak-
ing machines to blow whistles. The children poured out
of the public schools. Telephone exchanges could not
make the connections that were demanded, for every one
wanted to tell the good news. What the announcement
meant to European countries we can scarcely imagine
here in America, for we have not suffered as have they.
Neither in loss of men nor in privations of every-day life
does the sacrifice of America match that of France and
Great Britain.
But the second thought of approaching peace must
bring some deeper considerations. Germany came so near
winning that we still feel the thrill of the conflict. Not
once or twice, but many times, she was nearer to victory
than she herself knew. Military experts will explain her
defeat by a careful analysis of material forces. As time
goes on, we shall see the deeper causes of Germany's de-
feat. Victor Hugo said of the battle of Waterloo:
"Napoleon was not defeated by a rain and he was not
defeated by Wellington; he was defeated by God." Some
day a German Victor Hugo may write thus of the greatest
— and, please God, the last — war of human history.
These are no days for foolish boastings. America
tipped the balance, but there is no real sense in which she
won the war. Belgium might with more reason say the
victory is hers. France bore the brunt of the early at-
tack. She won the war. England bore the heat and the
burden of long years of struggle. She also won the war.
We have done our part, tardily, but at last effectually, and
the war is over. It is not for us to boast. It was God
who united the conscience of the world against a proud
and brutal power which had no regard for human welfare,
but sought only the glory of an empire.
Let us learn a lesson from the Civil War of the states.
The South was ready to forgive the terrible war experi-
ences, for after all war is war. But for a long time the
southern people could not forgive the sins of the recon-
struction period. When the assassin's hand removed the
truest friend the South ever had, the reconstruction prob-
lems fell into the hands of petty politicians. Graft, in-
justice and a sectional spirit of revenge planted seeds of
animosity that bore their terrible fruitage for a generation.
As we approach the time for the reconstruction of Ger-
many, there must be no question that she is decisively de-
feated, but that question once settled, we must begin to
make ready for the reconciliation of our war-cursed
world.
We have the power to demand whatever peace terms
we see fit to impose. Were we to follow Germany's ex-
ample in 1871, these terms would be hard. They would
give occasion for a quest of vengeance for the next gen-
eration. We shall also hear the soft counsel of pro-Ger-
man agents who, apart from considerations of world cit-
izenship, will make an appeal for easy terms for the
vanquished. What we want is neither the vengeance of
one kind of sentimentalist, nor the mercy of another kind
of sentimentalist, but a justice which shall look toward
a possible world brotherhood. The evil spirit must be cast
out of Germany; but her redemption must not be des-
paired of.
We must turn our eyes to burning local problems that
come with peace. The iron molder who has been getting
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 14, 1918
thirty dollars a day will not be happy when he is reduced
again to six; the war millionaire who finds his stocks
rapidly depreciating in value will not welcome the added
loss of taxes on such inflated fortunes. We shall have
social discontent. More than usual study must be given
to a just peace in our economic order at home as well as
among the nations of Europe.
In the church, we have new needs and new oppor-
tunities. There is a widespread impression that the church
is not as effective as it should be. Some are so pessimistic
as to predict its disappearance. We need to heed a saying
of one of our public teachers, "There will be no human
welfare without the kingdom of God and there will be
no kingdom without the church." This is not only sound
from the standpoint of the new testament; it is sound
sociologically as well. Unharnessed ideals do not pull the
human load.
The Presbyterian church has its new era movement
calling for seventy-five million dollars ; the Methodists
have a Centenary movement calling for eighty millions.
With this program of unprecedented giving is a program
of social idealism in the expenditure of the money.
The world waits for Christians of other names to
say what they will do for the religious reconstruction of
the race. Spiritual forces have won the war. A further
development of the spiritual nature of man must guarantee
an abiding peace.
"What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world
and lose his own soul?" Of what profit is a world victory
at arms, without a victory for the spiritual realities that
have armed us for our tasks? o. f. j.
An Enemy Worse Than Germans
THERE are worse enemies than the German. Just
now we are not inclined to regard the latter enemy
at all respectfully, for his punch is all gone. But
what German bullets could never do to our boys may
be done by a subtler enemy.
He will skulk in the dark, treacherous as an Indian
in ambush. He will lay his hands upon some of the
strongest and most promising of our men if our sen-
tinels are not on the lookout. It will be a pity for
America to go wild over peace rumors, or over the
real thing, and not recognize the dangers that follow
peace. We must defeat the moral enemy as well.
It will require a year or more to bring back our
men from France. Meanwhile, some of them are in con-
struction units and will help in the rebuilding of the
ruined land. But others are not skilled mechanics.
They will spend their time loafing. Satan still finds
some mischief for idle hands to do. With no great re-
sponsibility ahead to stiffen their morale, some men will
fall before the insidious enemy of the camp of troops
waiting for discharge.
In France, as in every land, there are the peculiar
temptations of the idle soldier. There is the ever pres-
ent drink and the woman camp follower, the latter even
a more dangerous foe than the former. There is the
danger that the months of loafing with perfunctory drill
will make professional loafers of some. It has been so
with every great army in the past.
There is but one effective remedy, and that is pro-
vided for by the great drive for camp activities. The
loafing time may be turned into a great opportunity for
educational and spiritual development for the men, if
funds and men are provided ; indeed, there can be a
kind of university organization in the great camps.
With abundant books, the men can improve their time
to the very greatest advantage. Along with games and
classes, if there is a plain and vigorous preaching of
wholesome religious truth, the waiting time in France
may prove a period of wonderful up-building for the
American soldiers. Peace should not slow up the big
drive, but only bring out in clearer light its deepest
meaning.
The Elections
THE elements that combined to bring about a
striking Republican victory in the Congressional
elections last week were an unusual activity on
the part of Republican leaders in face of a seemingly
entrenched Democracy in national affairs ; the usual re-
action felt in the first general election after a great
party success, such as the Democrats won in the last
Presidential canvass, and an unmistakable disapproval
of the President's appeal to the voters to support his
party.
The rebuke is made the more definite by the fact
that the two men most conspicuously chosen as targets
for public protest were the administration leaders,
Speaker Champ Clark of Missouri and Senator J. Ham
Lewis of Illinois. The usual majority of the former dis-
appeared, and at this writing it is still uncertain whether
he has won by a few votes or been defeated. Senator
Lewis suffered from the facts that he was regarded as
the particular beneficiary of the President's appeal, and
that he was the author of a measure introduced in the
Senate conferring blanket approval on whatever course
President Wilson might choose to pursue in the present
issue with the Central Powers. It is a satisfaction to
believe that no executive is likely to be betrayed again
into the mistake the President made. To be sure, there
were excellent precedents for it in the conduct of Re-
publican executives like McKinley and Roosevelt. But
times have changed somewhat, and we have learned to
expect only a high order of statesmanship from Mr.
Wilson.
In gaining a majority in the new Congress, the
Republican party has achieved a notable success and
incurred a heavy responsibility. It will have much to
do in shaping the national policy in the coming months
of reconstruction. If it uses this power with discretion
it can lay the foundation for a long period of leader-
ship. But if it regards the result of the election as a
mandate to hamper and obstruct the President's plans,
which to so notable a degree have won the approval of
the nation and the world, it may expect an adverse ver-
dict on its record two years hence, when success will
mean vastly more to both parties.
.j
November 14, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
Fighting Quarantine
THE recent closing of the churches on account of
quarantine has helped to make known the religious
positions of some of the organizations affected. In
Evanston, 111., the priest of St. Mary's Roman Catholic
church refused to close his church and the health officer
walked in at the morning mass and dismissed the congre-
gation. He made an appeal to the Protestant ministers
to support him in keeping open his church on the theory
that the church could not be made subject to the state.
In a section of Pennsylvania the Episcopalian churches
closed but made vigorous protest against the closing order.
The theory they advanced was that people needed wor-
ship more than ever in time of great public calamity.
In Boston the churches were requested to close. The
Christian Science churches remained open. Denying the
reality of disease, this discourtesy to the health author-
ities was looked upon as a kind of demonstration of their
theories.
In interesting contrast with these attitudes is that of
the evangelical churches. With their belief that religion
should not put the formal, the theoretical, the ritualistic
interests before the life interests of the people, they have
willingly rendered obedience to health authorities over the
country. This was not due to any slackness with regard
to religion but arose out of the nature of their religious
position. In Oak Park, Illinois, and in many other com-
munities, the newspapers published a request from the
ministers to every man to be priest in his own household.
There was a suggested order of scripture reading and
prayer and a short sermon to be read.
When religion is inevitably tied up with a "meeting
house," the closing of public worship means a separation
from God. When one has religious theories denying the
reality of sickness, a health department order is an im-
pertinence to be demonstrated against. But when religion
concerns itself chiefly with human welfare interpreted
from the divine standpoint, we are unwilling that one
single person should die of an epidemic for the sake of
an ordinance or a theory.
Growth in City Missions
THE city missionary society must serve a real
need or it would not hold the place it does in
modern religious activities. On an inclement
night of Chicago's murkiest weather the Chicago Chris-
tian Missionary Society held the largest and most en-
thusiastic annual meeting of its history. Representa-
tives were present from all of the leading churches of
the city to hear the first annual report of Rev. Perry J.
Rice, the secretary. The report itself, full of significant
features, indicates three different types of activity which
have been evolved through the organization of city
churches.
The oldest type is clearly that of evangelization. It
is a far cry from the modern educational and publicity
methods back to the street evangelism of the earlier
days or to the tent meetings that were held on vacant
corners. Yet the same work will always need to be
done. The man who believes in the church — and surely
every true Christian must — will feel that it is of the
highest importance to organize the effort for reaching
a city with the gospel.
City missionary societies early in their history de-
veloped fellowship between rather isolated congrega-
tional units and this function is now one of the im-
portant ones. The independent congregation careless
of the good-will and fellowship of neighboring churches
can never be called a success, however many members
it may gather within its fold. The local church needs
a voice in both denominational and interdenominational
councils. This voice is provided by the city missionary
society.
Even more important than the organization of new
churches is the care of the churches already organized.
The majority of city churches, perhaps ninety per cent
of them, are gasping for breath. The few successful
institutions should furnish suggestions for the rest.
The city missionary society has for its function the
study of proper church methods and the education of
lay leaders in the churches in the right ways of doing
the Lord's work.
These three functions are of the highest importance
to the welfare of religion in the city. It is a strange
man who does not become enthusiastic over them.
The career of Mr. Rice in Chicago in doing this
work will be full of significance for the kingdom of
God.
The Plain Clothes Man
A Parable of Safed the Sage
THERE was a wedding in the city in which I live:
and I was bidden to come and bless the Bride and
Groom, and Keturah she also went with me. And
we went early and Avoided the Rush.
And the father of the bride Spake unto me saying,
The Presents are Many and Valuable and as for the
Guests, they are Many, and the two families have in-
vited different crowds. So that there be many Persons
here whom I Know not. Therefore have I sent over to
Police Headquarters that they send over some Plain
Clothes Men to mingle with the Guests, lest peradven-
ture there come in Thieves and carry off some of the
Loot.
And I said unto the father of the Bride, There be
guests here whom I know not, but the Plain Clothes
Men I can tell a block away. For when a policeman
putteth off his uniform and attempteth to look like an-
other man, he looketh like no other man save a Policeman
dressed up. For this is the meaning of the term, a Plain
Clothes man, that his Clothes make it Plain that he is a
Policeman in Disguise.
And I thought much of this, and I said to myself
that many men in life make this mistake and that it is
better for a man to be himself, and live the life of the
man God made him to be, rather than that he should
try to appear to be that which he is not.
The Nation's New Responsibility
America's Recently Achieved International Leadership and Its Moral Significance
TO one who has studied the changing aspects of the
world war, conscious not alone of the movements
of armies from day to day, and the advancing and
receding tides of battle, but as well of the deeper mean-
ings of the conflict and its all but completed record, it
becomes increasingly manifest that the United States
has at last, and forever, passed from the category of
an insular, separated, cloistered nation to that of a
world power, respected and honored, and from this time
forth destined to be taken into serious account in all
the future of international activities.
More than this, by moving out from the protection
of her two great defenses, the Atlantic and the Pacific,
and accepting the gauge of battle on the side of the
western allies, our country assumed responsibility for
the final determination of the great issue. It implies no
reflection upon the courage and devotion of Great
Britain, France, Italy and the other nations opposed to
the Central Powers, to say that for many months they
have been war-weary and perilously weakened by the
long struggle of the past four years. One does not like
to contemplate what another year or two of the struggle
might have witnessed, considering their almost total
lack of preparation for any such contest, and the con-
summate efficiency and ruthless perseverence with
which Prussianized Germany, in spite of all pretense,
has for the past three decades made ready for "the
Day." One can hardly persuade himself, in the face of
the magnificent showing the allies have made, that they
would have been driven to defeat. But the menace of
an inconclusive, and therefore dangerous, peace was
measurably averted when the United States, after a
maturity of deliberation which had exhausted every
device of diplomacy in the effort to avoid war, reso-
lutely and with deep conviction took up arms.
SOME POSSIBILITIES
The Archbishop of York, our distinguished guest
of last year, helped us to understand what a tremendous
moment that was for the weary allies on the Western
front. They had been forced to meet the issue at
scarcely more than a moment's notice. For Belgium
and France it was a question of life and death admitting
no debate. For Great Britain it was a question of honor
and the fulfillment of sacred obligations. Facing a
peril too manifold even to be comprehended by any but
the most practiced of her statesmen, with Ireland angry
at her back and India restless and threatening in the
East, with her great dominions far overseas, and so
democratic in spirit that she was by no means able to
rely on their aid, and with an army so inconsiderable
that her whole defense appeared to lie in the floating
bulwarks of her fleet, she had but a day to deliberate.
But for her that was time enough. Against the dictates
of a present and selfish caution, she took her place in
the ranks of the world's democracy, and placed her thin,
red line of defense along the flank of the advancing foe.
America's entry into the war
With the United States it was different. We took
ample time to deliberate. We discussed the problem
from every angle. We employed every device to safe-
guard our ancient and honorable traditions of peace and
isolation. When at last we were driven to go into the
conflict, by emerging facts which daily disclosed with
unmistakable clearness the ruthless and ferocious de-
signs of German imperialism, the nations that had
waited long and patiently for our decision breathed a
sigh of inexpressible relief. For we were coming at
length to their aid in the fight for freedom. But more
than this, — far more, — by deliberate and discriminating
judgment, we had vindicated the righteousness of the
cause for which they had drawn the sword. And since
we have been engaged in the great controversy it has
become increasingly evident that upon us lay the heavy
responsibility of bringing it to a successful issue. Dur-
ing wonderful months our troops, after the briefest of
periods for preparation, have taken their places in the
allied lines, and wron victories worthy of seasoned
veterans.
We have proved to the world that a people, dedi-
cated to education, industry and the arts of peace, with
no military traditions, and a wholly negligible fighting
force, may in an emergency which makes a sufficiently
stimulating moral appeal, come with amazing rapidity
to an efficiency that asks no handicap of the greatest
military machine in history. The experiences of the
United States in raising and equipping a hitherto unpre-
cedented force for the field, in spite of all mistakes and
criticisms, go but a little way toward the encourage-
ment of the advocates of a vast system of military
training and a huge standing army. If mistakes have
been made in the equipment of our troops and the pro-
duction of war material, we may well find comfort in
the evidence that errors of judgment, lack of experi-
ence, and the ever-present peril of the profiteering spirit
have been as potent a menace in the experience of our
allies, and even of our foes, as in our own. Now that we
have helped to win the war and dispose of the danger
of a swaggering imperialism, we shall disband our
armed forces, and return to the quiet industries of civili-
zation in spite of the warnings of fire-eating jingoes and
the clamors of ambitious militarists.
setting justice in the earth
Of our great allies we are unspeakably proud.
Their gallant and unfailing heroism has kept bright the
imperishable records of earlier history, and new and
illustrious chapters have been added to their long and
brilliant annals. They will not fail or be discouraged
November 14, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
till they have set justice in the earth. Nevertheless, it
is we, the latest comers into the conflict, the unwearied
warriors of the western world, to whom the world has
looked for victory. We must make it a victory not only
in the fields of war, but also at the council table, now that
the allies are victorious at the battle fronts.
But there is a more momentous aspect of the world
crisis even than this. It is one to which fitting adjust-
ment can be made only after careful searching of heart.
It is the question, "Are we worthy to win the war?"
Great causes demand great champions. A battalion of
policemen may quiet a riot, or a regiment of rough
riders disperse an army of Mexican irregulars. A battle
may be won by superior numbers or heavier artillery.
But can a war in which great moral issues are involved
be really won by brigades and divisions? And above all,
can a war as holy as this be brought. to a victorious
result save by a people that has set itself the high task
of moral preparation?
REPENT !
In the great days to which all the Christian cen-
turies look back there was heard in the deep valley of
the Jordan a strange and commanding voice, crying,
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." In
some manner whose disclosure is yet inscrutable to our
half-opened eyes, and in a sense far beyond the ability
of any crude apocalyptical speculations to define, the
kingdom of heaven is at hand. He who believes that
the tragic events of the time have no revelation of the
divine purpose latent in their portentous volume, is in-
sensitive indeed to the signs of the times. We have no
need to draw diagrams of what is now to take place in the
world of religion — "after the war." Much more to the
purpose is the recognition of what is transpiring under
our eyes. Facts are being recorded, and forces released
day by day, that are nothing less than revolutionary.
If social customs and economic habits that were sup-
posed to be a part of the established order of the world
have crumbled at the advent of the new time, of gov-
ernmental decisions that would have shocked an earlier
generation are now accepted as commonplaces, if the
effort to galvanize political parties into a semblance of
their old animosity seems trivial and futile, not less are
the religious factors of our common life reshaping them-
selves with a rapidity and certainty which is the despair
of the apologists for denominationalism and the de-
fenders of tradition. Over the forlornly defended, or
wholly forsaken redoubts of mediaevalism, ignorance
and reaction, the forces of progress are sweeping like
the lines of the allies crossed the German trenches.
Objectives that at best could be hoped for only
after many years, are taken and passed almost in a day.
"One man with a dream, at pleasure,
Shall go forth- and conquer a crown ;
And three with a new song's measure
Can trample a kingdom down."
If these facts do not signify the coming of the kingdom
in a new and unprecedented way, it would be difficult
to give them adequate interpretation. And if this be so,
then, as of old, there is urgent need of the thrilling cry,
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Herbert L. Willett.
iiiiiimmmiimiimiimmMimiiiiinimmmimimmmmmmmM
(iiHitmmjiinmtM
A Chaplain at Work
Lieutenant Chaplain Paul M. Trout, graduated from
Transylvania College in 1916, and in the third year of his
B. D. course in the College of the Bible when called into
service, has written back an interesting letter to a college
friend, from which the follozving excerpt is taken. Lieu-
tenant Trout zvas in the thickest of the fighting. The letter
zvas of course mailed before the coming of peace.
I WISH I could tell you my whereabouts; but 1
can tell you that I have been in the thick of this
battle and that I was in reserve at Chateau Thierry.
Today I was in a woods at a front burying men
when gas shells (blue cross and yellow cross) landed
within one hundred yards; and then one struck fifty
yards behind me and killed one of my grave-diggers.
I carried out services in short order with gas mask
on, and as soon as possible changed clothing. I car-
ried the personal belongings of the buried man into
the cave with me and was looking at them, checking
over the articles such as watch, fountain pen, Testa-
ment, and so forth, when I got dizzy and nearly fainted.
They found out that a little gas was still in these arti-
cles, so I had to take the gas treatment.
We had some curious German propaganda dropped
from an airplane the other day and again today. It
was an appeal to the Americans of German descent.
It began : "Your own flesh and blood cry to you. Why
have you come four thousand miles to fight against
your own people? Why? Because that man wilson
(spelled with small letters) drove you. You have heard
about tyranny in Germany ; you are the most oppressed
of all the large nations, wilson's slaves ! Lay down
your arms and refuse to murder your kinfolk," and
so forth. The worst lot of stuff! Our men burned
them.
The next night all hell broke loose on us, and we
sent liquid fire back at them so strong that they let
us take Montsec, on which the French lost thirty thou-
sand men to hold only eighteen minutes. We have
straightened out our line and are going on. Our ar-
tillery has been commended for excellent work; it out-
shone all the other units. We are proud. But the game
is just at its worst for us.
Today I buried several men eighteen miles dis-
tant, in different cemeteries. I have been kept busy
burying men since the recent drive. We had some hor-
rible cases — artillery high explosive and gas. I rode
my horse part way, walked, caught trucks, and finally
rode a ration wagon the rest of the way. I had tele-
phone calls coming from all directions that I could not
fill; it took me four and a half hours to get from one
place to the other.
8
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 14, 1918
This is a sad war. Tonight in my room is the body
of one of my best beloved men, killed at his post at the
guns. He was a fine specimen of manhood, six feet
and two inches tall. He leaves a beautiful wife and
six-year-old baby at home. He took communion last
Sunday and helped make a pulpit under the trees for
me. He is but one. What has he died for? Principle,
right, justice. To me, this war is the most religious of
all wars, especially from the American viewpoint. We
are not fighting for land, for gain, but for a religious
principle. Our men have begun to live, for they have
found a principle, an ideal, for which they, yes, we are
willing to lay down, if need be, our lives, that it may
prevail.
Paul Morton Trout,
October, 1918. Chaplain, National Army.
A Call to the Church
By H. H. Harmon
Recently returned to First church, Lincoln, Neb., after
a year at the French battle-front in Y. M. C. A. service
THE same evil force of darkness and death that
brought forth Calvary operated in the crucifixion
of Belgium and Serbia and in the death stroke
aimed at the heart of France and England, but the same
forces of light and life that reacted in the overthrow of
death and that produced the resurrection and the birth
of the church of God are reacting today in the eternal
overthrow of the world's highest achievement of organ-
ized force to establish the rule of might, and these same
forces of light and life are ordained of God to produce
in the wide world of our common humanity the new or-
der of righteousness and peace.
To deny the surety of this new order of things, this
new day of our world, is the faithless battling of reac-
tionary puppets in church and state. Yonder at the bat-
tle front first has been let loose the dynamic of spiritual
force that is to dominate the world. It will but have had
its beginning when death has been dealt to political autoc-
racy and military despotism. Spiritual energies of un-
dreamed of consequences have burst from sloth and slum-
ber, seeking channels of expression which guns, bayonets,
air bombs and barrage of heavy artillery cannot satisfy.
These instruments of destruction and death are the re-
grettable but necessary weapons by which barbarism,
feigning culture and civilization shall be smitten from
among the nations ; but this expression of righteous wrath
has only broken the crust that frees the highest idealism,
lets loose the deepest convictions of conscience, and sets
in motion passions of purified purpose that shall shake
the earth.
It is not more certain that the things which petted
prophets said could not be realized in international rela-
tionship for a century to come is now all but fulfilled after
a little more than four years of war, than that the day now
at hand is to witness social, economic, industrial, commer-
cial and educational readjustments both national and inter-
national which will stagger our faith and belie our hope.
THE CHURCH'S TASK
Earth's young manhood has been marshaled, its brains
and brawn have been set to accomplish the impossible,
thrones are crumbling, and we hardly dare ask what the
herald of tomorrow will announce. The world's freemen
have drunk the draught of power; they have felt the dy-
namic of a great cause ; in their sacrifice and suffering they
have tasted the sweet recompense of duty well done. The
immortal spirit of their fallen comrades calls them to new
tasks worthy of their unexpected energies — the only
apology for their exemption from the supreme gift.
What shall be the channel through which these spir-
itual forces resident in the young life of the world shall find
expression? You answer, through social and civic rela-
tionships, through statecraft and political agencies, through
international council and world governments — and you
answer well. These are the common thoroughfare which
nineteen centuries have beaten through the wilderness that
the feet of earth's millions might travel onward to the goal
of democracy.
WHERE THE CHURCH HAS FAILED
But why have you not included in this list of agencies
for world building — the church of God ? Is it because the
church has failed hitherto to function toward the end of
human good? Nay, rather has her ministry, though con-
fessedly remiss, been the inspiration for the sons of democ-
racy to build these highways of civilization. The problem
lies here : while all these other agencies afford room for the
fellowship and companionship of kindred spirits whose
hearts beat with passionate zeal, yet when these turn to the
church, the mother of their fortunes, they find her, though
claiming heaven's favoritism, and though the most loved of
all, the one institution where the spiritually led sons of the
world's new order cannot fellowship with perfect abandon
The common fields of service in which noble Chris-
tian souls have blended have reacted in the widening
vision of the worship and fellowship in the church and a
new day in comity and co-operation has been experienced.
Now at the hour when multiplied millions of Christ's fol-
lowers unite hands and hearts in the overthrow of the
world's highest expression of organized wrong, the ques-
tions which have divided the House of God are seen in a
new perspective.
Ecclesiastical polity and differentiation between
statements of faith and symbols of confession and service
November 14, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
9
seem problems pigmy in size compared with tasks that
challenge the intelligence, purpose and passion of every
soul who has seen the face of Christ and felt the throb of
his heart of love. While the life blood of the world's
young manhood was being poured out in sacrificial suffer-
ing and death, the homes of the world have been drinking
from the wells of sorrow. After fellowship together in
suffering for the world's redemption, never again will our
sons and brothers overseas find satisfaction in divided
fellowship in Christian worship and service ; and the
broken-hearted of our homes who have walked in the same
Gethsemane and found consolation in our one and only
Lord, will find no joy in worship and service that will
not be the sweeter because shared wholly in those who
know him.
A symbol of the whole problem is visualized in the
ministry of the church to our men in France. Four
thousand Y. M. C. A. secretaries, ministers, business and
professional men and women, educators, clerks and enter-
tainers, truck men and mechanics, without question of
creed or communion, gave themselves in abandoned serv-
ice to our men in uniform. In hut and dugout and under
camouflage of forest trees, our boys meet to sing and
pray; from the hands of the "Y" man they receive the
sheets of paper and the envelope for letters home; from
the canteen they purchase candies, tobacco and confec-
tions made, possibly, by your generous gifts ; in hospital,
trench and "over the top" they find a companion, helper,
friend and brother in him who like themselves discounts
dangers and asks only to serve. When men are wounded
or when they die the "Y" man is often there to strengthen
and to receive words for dear ones at home. The service
of the Y. M. C. A., together with that of the Red Cross,
the Y. W. C. A., the Knights of Columbus, the Salvation
Army, the Jewish Welfare, and the task of the Army
Chaplain presents the world's splendid picture of the
church losing its life and finding it again in the joy of
self-forgetful ministry.
THE Y. M. C. A.'S ACHIEVEMENTS
The birth, organization and growth of the Y. M. C.
A. in the past decades with its wonderful statesmanlike
leadership and perfected machinery, needs no other apol-
ogy than that she has functioned in this hour of the world's
greatest urgency in bringing to the defenders of liberty
the ministry of Christian service and love, which a di-
vided church could not offer. Had Christian comity and
fellowship produced no common agency for this unpar-
alleled opportunity to serve humanity at its center, the
church for a generation to come would have been sitting
with bowed head midst her own shame and humiliation.
With no Christian seer arid servant like John R. Mott
to have heralded the call and in the name of the Young
Men's Christian Association to have offered the tools and
program of service to the Allied armies, what would have
been the move of the divided House of God?
What the church could not do in that it was weak
through division, the Young Men's Christian Association
has wrought in the name of the Christ, whose burdened
soul cried out in prayer to the Father for the unity of his
children. His service has come to the men in uniform
overseas and in the home camps. They have received the
cup in the name of no single body of Christians but as
representing the beautiful love of those in the homeland
whose sacrificial gifts are distributed by men and women
of all communions — who know and serve but one Lord.
WHAT IS COMING?
Having seen the beauty and felt the thrill of united,
common and loving fellowship of service, what interest
can our men returning to their homes possibly have in the
mumming of shibboleths and the rattle of worn-out de-
nominational machinery? I speak for scores of Christian
leaders who have not only sensed this situation in this
service overseas, but who know from innumerable expres-
sions from officers and men that they hold sentiments
revolutionary in character as relating to narrow ecclesias-
ticism and the littleness of souls who pet and fondle the
idols of creeds and forms for which their chief apology
is that they are in the inheritance from ancestry.
What is more — while I hold no brief of united opin-
ions— I know that scores of Christian leaders, who have
known the bigness and joy of fellowship in their glorious
service, have a new and an undying passion to strike hands
together for a like ministry through future time and to
help the church, weak through dissipated effort, to strength
and power. One instance : two days and two nights four
ministers representing pulpits of influence in our cities —
a Baptist, a Methodist, a Congregationalist, and a Disciple
— worked together with hardly any rest and with but little
food as they bore stretchers and ministered to the wounded
and dying. Weeks afterward these men at a casual meet-
ing found for the first time that they were of different
communions; but shall it be thought that those men who
drank together from the same cup of joyful ministry shall
find satisfaction in their home fields dwelling behind bars
of petty prejudice?
UNITY OF COMMAND NEEDED
In the world's great conflict yonder in Europe our
armies passed from separate direction to the command
of one great general. General Foch became the com-
mander-in-chief. The day of entrenched warfare passed
to the open conflict. Victory for righteousness is here.
The time has come for the churches of America and
of the world to lift their eyes. The scepter of righteous-
ness is held by our great Commander-in-Chief. Our en-
trenched littleness must forever pass. The open for-
ward movement for the world's redemption is the new
order from our Commander.
The call of the battle front to the churches of Amer-
ica is a call for a united church to conserve and direct for
kingdom purposes the awakened spiritual energies of the
world. O church of God, awake !
Out where the Spirit calls !
Out where the trumpet blows !
Out where the desert waits!
Out where the night moans!
The spirit calls for peace,
The trumpet blows for love,
The desert waits for flowers,
The night moans for God.
■ :
The Redemption of Palestine
By Charles Sumner Lobingier
Of the United States Court in China
LESS than a year ago we were celebrating the deliv-
erance of Jerusalem. A few days ago, at West-
minster Abbey and other noted fanes of Christen-
dom, as well as in local churches and synagogues, there
were services of thanksgiving for the redemption of the
Holy Land. It is worth while to pause for a retrospective
glance at events in that historic theatre during those past
crowded months.
General Allenby may fairly claim the title of "the
modern Joshua," if not that of the modern David, for he
literally smote the Philistines hip and thigh. In that
land of many battles he has fought and won perhaps the
most remarkable of all and one which opens the way to
the permanent removal of that disgraceful anachronism —
the Turkish Empire — and the emancipation not only of
Palestine and the rest of Syria, but also of Mesopotamia
and perhaps even of prostrate Armenia.
Not the least interesting feature of the accounts
which have filtered in from the scene of that great vicory
is the mention, in the dispatches of September 24, of the
Jewish legion. One regiment of this was recruited in
London and another in New York, whence it sailed only
last February, and it is gratifying to find this new force
so soon giving a good account of its presence. Coupled
with General Pershing's recent cable calling for twenty-
five more Jewish chaplains it becomes evident that the new
Zionist state need not lack the nucleus of an army.
INDUSTRIAL VICTORIES
The Jewish colonies, which flourished in Palestine
before the war, were among the chief sufferers from
Turkish ferocity and one of the principal tasks of the
deliverers has been to repatriate the colonists and help
them to restore their too often devastated homes. The
extension of this work so well begun has occupied the at-
tention of various agencies.
The British army has helped the colonists with the
loan of draft animals. Other animals and supplies have
been brought in by the railway from Egypt, which, though
built originally as a military line, is proving of permanent
and increasing value to the country. The Palestine Fund
Restoration Commission of America has been most effect-
ive and is giving special attention to water-supply and
the modernization of Jerusalem. Aaronsohn, the Jewish
agricultural expert, refused a tempting offer from Amer-
ica in order to devote his whole time to the development
of Palestinian agriculture.
Early in the summer announcement was made from
Petrograd of Zionist industrial activity among Russian
Jews — the expansion of the Haboneh (Builder) Com-
pany, the organization of a Zionist emigration society at
Moscow with a capital of 10,000,000 rubles; the forma-
tion of a steamship company for service between Odessa
and Palestine with a capital of 5,000,000 rubles; a Pales-
tine Oil Company, and a modern hotel company for Pales-
tine, each with a capital of 3,000,000 rubles; and a Pales-
tinian agricultural bank at Petrograd with a capital of 25,-
000,000 rubles. These are some of the forces which are
again to make the weary land, whose once productive soil
has lain fallow for two milleniums, rejoice and blossom
as the rose.
EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS
The Zionist program includes the revival of ancient
Hebrew culture, including the language. And this is
being adapted to modern needs. A great Hebrew scholar
has been at work for some time on a new Hebrew diction-
ary which is to contain not only the classical vocabulary
but also the additional terms needed in modern life.
But perhaps the crowning event of these months is
the beginning of the great Hebrew University. A com-
manding site for it, on the Mount of Olives, overlooking
Jerusalem on the west and the Jordan valley on the east,
was chosen months ago. There, on April 11, amid the ap-
plause of an audience of four thousand, Dr. Weitzman
declared that a new moral force would go forth from that
site for the uplift of the whole Jewish people. The foun-
dation stone was laid on July 24, curiously enough the
tenth anniversary of the Turkish revolution.
The British Palestine Committee, which has had
charge of the plans for the new university, has issued
a statement setting forth its ideal in these memorable
words :
The symbol of the new Jewish Palestine is a noble house of
learning, a sanctuary of the Jewish mission for spiritual values,
for intellectual truths, a center from which once again the Law
shall go out from Sinai and the Word of God from Jerusalem.
There can be no more illuminating way of teaching the world
that a Jewish Palestine will be no seat of chauvinism and no
house of mammon, but a hearth of that civilization which spells
peace and humanity.
It has a fitting sequel to this announcement that Henri
Bergson, the greatest of French, and perhaps of all living
philosophers, should have accepted a place in the faculty
of the new institution.
SOME POLITICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Mr. Balfour's declaration of November 2, 1917, in fa-
vor of "a national home for the Jewish people in Pales-
tine" was endorsed by the King of Greece on February 17,
by the French government on February 12, by the Italian
government on February 25, and more recently by the
governments of Holland, Serbia and Siam.
Shortly after its declaration the British government
authorized the dispatch to Palestine of a Jewish Adminis-
trative Commission, and this, headed by perhaps the lead-
ing Zionist, Dr. Chaim Weitzman, arrived in Jerusalem
on April 10 and was welcomed by representatives not only
of all three of the great monotheistic religions but of
several branches of each. Since then this commission has
been at work in laying the foundations of the new gov-
ernment. And, as recited in one of their publications r
November 14, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
11
The Zionists are resolved that the constitution of the state
they are buildirg shall contain not only all that is best in the
fundamental law of the most enlightened countries of the world,
but something even beyond that. The aspiration of the Zionists
is to establish a model state in which the conflict of the classes,
the eternal warfare between capital and labor, will have no place.
There must be no room in Jewish Palestine, they are determined,
for exploitation for private gain, and the amassing of plutocratic
millions will be impossible. Their high aim is a state that
will exemplify the highest ideals of democracy.
It is a mark of the practical sagacity of those who
are undertaking this interesting task that they have turned
their attention first to the administration of justice. The
old, corrupt, and dilatory inefficient Turkish courts have,
of course, been superseded. But the administrators have
not made the mistake of uprooting suddenly the Moham-
medan law which has now prevailed in Palestine for so
many centuries. This has been retained for the present
and an English Jew, recently stationed in Cairo in the
judicial service of the British government, and therefore
familiar with Arabic and Muslim law, has been transferred
to Jerusalem and placed at the head of the new judicial
system. In time we may perhaps realize a parallel to the
Philippine situation, with native law administered by for-
eign judges and with a gradual introduction of reforms in
the subject matter.
Such, then, are the first steps in the redemption of
Palestine. As for the future and as regards the larger
aspects of the question I only wish that all might read a
stimulating book which has just appeared under the title
of "The World Significance of a Jewish State." For its
main thesis is one which is bound to challenge our pro-
found attention, viz., "the possibilities for political good in
an independent Jewish Palestine mediating between an
insistent east and a war-tired Europe."
Poems of the War's End
By Thomas Curtis Clark
The Bugle Song of Peace
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 soul of man is free.
Blow, bugle, blow !
The rivers run with blood,
But greed and strife, and lust for life
Are passing with the flood.
The world's great heart with grief is bowed,
The gory beast of war is cowed.
Blow, bugle, blow !
The day has dawned at last.
Woodrow Wilson, Leader
WHEN war first cast its flame across the skies
Beyond the sea, when by a pistol shot
Old Europe flared into a furnace hot,
And the dazed world was rent by human cries,
They who, of lighter mind, could not restrain
The tinder in themselves, cried loud for war,
And bade us join the strife, however far
Our shores might be. Quick anger and disdain
Had they for him who held the reins of state ;
But he, wise leader, used what strength was ours
From our aloofness, till with all our powers
Matured, our arms could strike the blow of fate !
The Dead Speak
Dedicated to the More Than Four Million
Men Who Died in Defense of
World Democracy
FRIEND, we are here; we have not fled;
Our hearts were true, though we are dead.
We met the foe's resistless wrath ;
Through fires of hell we cut a path,
Nor faltered once. The faith we kept,
As hostile flames about us swept.
Our wills delayed their brutish force,
By death we stayed their battle course ;
And lo ! they halted ; in our blood
They slipped and fell, as in a flood;
We drove them back, though stilled by death ;
They fled before our gasping breath.
Friend, be at rest, and fear no more
The battled hosts, the war gun's roar,
For you are saved : see, yonder sky
Is clear, for we in victory lie;
The bloody price we chose to pay
That you might dwell in peace today.
November 11, 1918.
Life's Unfailing Landmarks
By A. W. Fortune
Of Transylvania College of the Bible
WHEN we are traveling along strange highways
we want the assurance of known landmarks.
We may have seen these landmarks ourselves ;
others may have told us about them; or they may be
indicated by the guide book we are following. We may
be doubtful and hesitant about the way, but when we
reach these landmarks, we become confident and press
eagerly forward.
The eleventh chapter of Hebrews tells of some of
the great souls who went forth into uncertain surround-
ings, guided by landmarks which were unfailing. Not
least among these was Moses. He led his people out of
Egypt through the uncertainties of the wilderness to
the land of Canaan. He had to brave the Pharaoh and
his army. He had to pass through the desert with its
pestilence. He had to face the walled cities where dwelt
the giants.
The hearts of the Israelites fainted on numerous
occasions, and they wanted to turn back, but Moses had
the confidence which was inspired by his unfailing land-
mark, and he led them forward. "By faith he forsook
Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he en-
dured as seeing him who is invisible."
THE OLD ORDER BEING SHAKEN
We are living in a time when the old order is being
shaken to its very foundation. Within a single genera-
tion our manner of life has been revolutionized. Insti-
tutions have been transformed. Nations have risen and
fallen. Thought itself has changed.
There is scarcely a scientific conception of today
that has come down unmodified from the past. The
philosophies of the past have been found to be inade-
quate. Even the traditional theology does not satisfy
the yearning heart of today. Some of the creeds for
which men have died have lost their significance. Is it
possible that there is nothing that is permanent, and
that we are travelers in a strange country with no land-
marks to guide us? If such is the case, then life is in-
deed an enigma, and we can have no assurance as we
face the future. But the experience of the past teaches
us that there are unfailing landmarks and that we can
feel perfectly secure as long as we have the guidance of
these.
Moses was brave in a hazardous undertaking be-
cause he endured as seeing him who is invisible. As we
face the uncertain future, we need to keep our eyes
fixed on the God of the ages.
A big man and a little boy were out in a great for-
est, when they lost their way. It was in the afternoon
and the sun was in the west. The big man said: "Little
boy, our camp is in the direction of the sun, and if we
keep our faces toward the sun we will find our way
back." Following his suggestion they pressed on. They
were tired, but the sun was in their faces and their
hearts beat with hope, and presently they found the
trail beneath their feet. Then the big man said : "Little
boy, life is like the journey of this afternoon. People
frequently lose the path, but there is always a fixed
point toward which they can go and feel safe. Do you
know what that fixed point is?" The little boy said, "I
think it is God."
Out interpretation of God may change ; in fact it
must change if He is to be vital to us ; but that simply
means that we see him from a different angle and get
a larger vision of him. God himself is eternal. He is
the God of the generations ; the God of Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob ; the God of Moses, David and Isaiah ; the
God of Peter, John, and Paul ; the God of Origen,
Chrysostom, and Augustine; the God of Luther, Calvin,
and Knox ; the God of the leaders of our day and of the
days that are yet to be. The Psalmist gave striking ex-
pression to this faith in the eternal God when he said:
"Thy years are throughout all generations. Of old hast
thou laid the foundation of the earth ; and the heavens
are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou
shalt endure : yea, all of them shall wax old like a gar-
ment; as a vesture shalt thou change them and they
shall be changed. But thou art the same and thy years
shall have no end."
THE SURE FOUNDATION
In these days when the souls of men are being
tested, when the very foundations of civilization are be-
ing shaken, we need to remember that God is our un-
failing help. The Psalmist was standing on a foundation
which could not be shaken when he wrote those words
which have put confidence into the hearts of multi-
tudes : "God is our refuge and strength, a very present
help in trouble. Therefore, will we not fear though the
earth do change, and though the mountains be shaken
into the heart of the seas."
When John Henry Newman was passing through
great religious difficulties, he went to Rome. While
there he was prostrated with malarial fever. When he
had recovered sufficiently he was returning to Eng-
land, when the vessel was overtaken with a severe
storm. The passengers became panic stricken, and
Newman himself was awed by the threatening situa-
tion. The storm had been raging for some time, when
suddenly on the night of Jan. 16, 1833, there appeared
a slight rift in the dense clouds, and out of it a solitary
star beamed forth hope and encouragement. Dr. New-
man was so impressed with this omen that he bared his
head and uttered the prayer: "Lead kindly light, amid
the encircling gloom, lead thou me on." Under the in-
spiration of that experience he wrote those words which
have been the stay of multitudes :
November 14, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
13
Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,
Lead thou me on ;
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
Lead thou me on ;
Keep thou my feet ; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.
Ill these days above all days we need to be able
to see the star shining through the rift in the clouds.
We need to be able to say with the Psalmist :
The Lord reigneth ; let the earth rejoice;
Let the multitude of isles be glad.
Clouds and darkness are round about Him ;
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
Among these landmarks on the journey of life we
not only have God as our unfailing helper, but we also
have Christ as our unfailing guide, and in this age of
unrest in which we are living we need him to lead us
in the ways that are right. The ideals of men have
changed with the centuries. Bonfires have been kindled
on a thousand hills, but with the passing of the years
even the most brilliant of these have died out. There
was a philosophical ideal in the days of the early Stoics
and Epicureans, but it was corrupted into cruelty and
self-indulgence during the early Christian centuries.
There was a chivalrous ideal in the Middle Ages,
but it hardened into military glory and tyranny. There
was an aesthetic ideal in the Renaissance, but it soon
decayed into trivialities. There was a social ideal in the
French Revolution, but it degenerated into anarchism.
The ideals of men have been utterly inadequate. They
have led the world into strife and bloodshed, and have
left humanity barren of the things that are worth while.
The world's great need is to follow the leading of the
Master. Jesus presented himself to men as their ideal,
and invited them to follow him. He declared that he
was the way, the truth, and the life, and he said that
anyone who would follow him would not walk in dark-
ness, but would have the light of life.
THE UNSURPASSED CHRIST
After almost nineteen centuries have passed Jesus
is more and more being recognized as the world's un-
failing guide. His rule is being accepted as the basis of
ideal relationship between man and man, and his prin-
ciple as the law controlling nations. Our interpretation
of Jesus may change ; it has changed ; and it must con-
tinue to change ; but this only means that we are get-
ting closer to him and that we are understanding him
better. There is still much room for progress, for Jesus
stands out above the world's leaders like a mountain
peak. Ernest Renan expressed this confidence in
Christ's leadership of the ages when he said: "What-
ever may be the discoveries of the future, Jesus will
never be surpassed."
Man must have an ideal, and that ideal should be
so far ahead of him that when he falls at last, no mat-
ter how far up the mountain he may have climbed,
there will still be untrodden heights above him. Where
can we find such an ideal? Let the author of the Book
of Hebrews make answer: "Looking unto Jesus, the
author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy that
was set before him endured the cross, despising shame,
and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of
God."
If a man cannot find assurance in Christ, to whom
can he go, for he alone has the words of eternal life.
In these days of change and uncertainty we need to
cling close to this Rock of Ages that stands unmoved in
the storms and the tides. In these days of strife and
bloodshed we need to listen to him who speaks of serv-
ice and love. In these days of sickness and sorrow we
need to keep close to him who speaks peace to the trou-
bled soul. In these days of uncertainty and doubt we
need to hear the voice of him who speaks his own mes-
sage to the questioning heart.
THE BIBLE OUR UNFAILING INSPIRATION
Among the landmarks to direct us in the journey
of life we not only have God as our unfailing helper,
and Christ as our unfailing guide, but we also have the
Bible as our unfailing inspiration.
We will have difficult problems to solve and heavy
burdens to bear. We will have to face discouragement,
and some of us may have our hearts broken. In order
that we may be strong at these times, we need the in-
spiration which comes from the Bible. This book is the
spiritual guide of the race. Our souls reach out after
God, and this book helps us to find Him. It has been
the influence of the Bible which has inspired the philan-
thropies of the world. The men who have built hos-
pitals, and founded institutions of learning, and sent out
missionaries have received their inspiration here. The
men who have gone down into the slums of our cities
have taken with them the Book of books. The men who
have crossed the seas as the heralds of a new civiliza-
tion have gone with the Bible. The inspiration which
has come from the Bible is forcibly pictured in Kaul-
bach's cartoon of the era of the Reformation. He has
brought together the chief men of the fifteenth and six-
teenth centuries, two of the most important centuries
of history. They constitute a wonderful group — theo-
logians, philosophers, poets, inventors and discoverers.
In the center of this group stands Martin Luther, the
monk of Wittenberg, holding above his head the open
Bible, and from these pages light is streaming forth to
illuminate the illustrious assembly.
Our interpretation of the Bible may change ; in fact
it has changed repeatedly during the past, and it must
continue to change in the future as new light is thrown
upon it. No two people have quite the same interpreta-
tion now, and the interpretation of each individual
changes as he develops. The Bible, however, does not
change ; it remains as it was given by the holy men of
the past, no matter what our understanding of it may
be. As we have a better understanding of the Bible it
becomes a more vital inspiration in our thinking and
in our living. After all these centuries have passed the
Bible holds a larger place in the world's life than it ever
did before. Other books are popular for a time, and
then are placed on the back shelf; but the Bible has
gained in popularity with the passing of the centuries,
14
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 14, 1918
It was the first book to be printed on the types of
Gutenberg, and it is the one book which the types of
the nations are printing in ever increasing numbers.
The Bible is the first book we are taught to love, and
it is the book from which we get inspiration to
strengthen us when the shadows of life are lengthen-
ing. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto
my path."
In these days when we are called upon to under-
take such tremendous tasks, we need the inspiration
which comes from the Bible. In these days we need
the hope which comes from having his word hid in our
hearts. In these days we need the inspiration of the
great Book to send us courageously on our way. This
is no time to read the Bible to bolster up our inherited
beliefs, or to find material for argument; but it is a
time when we need to reverently search the Scriptures
to find out the will of God in order that we may more
successfully do our part of the world's work.
OUR UNFAILING INCENTIVE
That was a great undertaking when Moses went
forth to lead his people into the wilderness. He had
many discouragements to face and many difficulties to
overcome, but he never lost sight of his landmark, "for
he endured as seeing him who is invisible."
The incentive for this difficult task was the longing
for freedom in Canaan. That longing never failed him,
but it urged him forward even when the people wanted
to turn back again to Egypt. As we go forth into our
future, we have many advantages which Moses did not
have. Our journey may be as uncertain as was his, but
our landmarks are more definite. We not only have God
as our unfailing help, but we also have Christ as our
unfailing inspiration. We also have an incentive which
urges us on and enables us to surmount obstacles and
forget discouragements. This incentive, which is the
soul's longing, is unfailing. We may neglect it and try
to crush it out, but it makes its protest, and if we are
true to its demands, it will lead us in the way in which
we should go.
Man is naturally religious. His soul, it may per-
haps be almost unconscious to himself, reaches out after
God. The Psalmist struck the universal chord when he
said: "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so
panteth my soul after thee, O God." We may appear to
be absorbed in business, and politics, and pleasure, but
the deepest longing of the heart is for God. Not only
has man a longing for God, but he also has a longing
for the right. He may not always do the right, but there
is a voice within which urges him to do it. Von Hum-
boldt said that every man, however good, has a yet bet-
ter man within him. When the outer man is unfaithful
to his deeper convictions, the hidden man whispers a
protest. This whisper is the soul's longing for the right.
When W. E. Channing was a child he was tempted
to do a cruel deed. At that moment an inner voice
whispered in his soul so that he seemed to hear it dis-
, tinctly : "It is wrong." He was terrified, and he hastened
to his mother and threw himself in her arms. "What
was the voice?" he asked, His mother replied: "Men
call the voice conscience; but I prefer to call it the
voice of God. And always your happiness will depend
upon obedience to that little voice." This whisper,
which is the soul's longing for the right, is universal,
and it is planted there by God himself.
Whatever creed be taught, or land be trod,
Man's conscience is the oracle of God.
This longing of the soul may not always be for the
thing which is highest and best ; it may change — in fact
it will change according to one's education and environ-
ment; but it is always looking in the right direction,
and it furnishes the incentive for progress. The man
who follows the promptings of this voice in the soul
will go forward, for it is unfailing in its incentive, and
he will not be far wrong in the end. It will lead him to
look to God as his helper and to seek to live as His
child. It will compel him to look to Christ as his guide
and to endeavor to follow his leading. It will urge him
to go frequently to the Bible for inspiration and to seek
to carry out in his life the principles which it inculcates.
We are going forth into an unknown future. It
will have its problems, and its perils, but it will also
have its achievements, and its victories, and its joys.
We are apparently entering upon a very important
stage of the journey, one which will be worth all the
sufferings which it has cost. With a soul longing for
God and the right, as our incentive, and as our unfailing
landmarks, God as our helper, Christ as our guide, and
the Bible as our inspiration, we need have no fears, but
we can be confident that the journey will be glorious.
This Christmas Will Be
a Book-Giving Christmas
That is the prediction of one of the
largest stores in Chicago. The prophecy-
will, no doubt, be fulfilled. The Chris-
tian Century Press has two new books
which are exceptionally adapted as gifts.
(1) The Daily Altar, which has been de-
layed somewhat in publication, but which
will soon be ready; (2) Love Off to
the War, which is an almost perfect
souvenir of the coming of peace, contain-
ing many poems of the New Age and
many others of the peaceful life. Make
up your Christmas list now and write us
how many of each of these books you
will wish for your friends.
The Daily Altar sells at $2.00, plus postage.
Love Off to the War, $1.25, plus postage.
The Christian Century Press
700 East 40th Street, CHICAGO
November 14, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
15
The Sunday School
Books
Re-converted*
WE closed our last lesson with a word about Jacob's con-
version. We said that in that night after he fled from his
home he dreamed of heaven, and that in the morning he
made his pledge to his tribal god. It was a very low pledge. Practi-
cally it was this: "Now, God, you bless me and bless everything
I undertake and I'll stand for and by you." It was not a very ex-
alted conception, but it was a beginning, and that is precisely
the point I wish to make. It is one thing to start the Christian
life. It is another thing to stick to it, and it is still quite another
to successfully finish what you have begun.
When a child comes forward to confess Jesus as Lord the
future is full of promise, but you always wonder whether he will
be faithful to the end. You wonder how he will grow, what he
will do, whether his temptations will get the best of him, whether
he will fall by the way, or whether he will develop into a veritable
saint and be one of the strong men of the church. In the last
lesson we saw the beginning of Jacob's definite, clear-cut allegiance
to the God of his fathers ; in this lesson we see him re-converted.
Much water had flowed past the mill since as a willful, hot-
headed boy he had sinned and suddenly left his father's tent. He
had had some experience. He had been pitting his wits against one
of the shrewdest old Jewish business men in all the earth. Uncle
Laban knew the tricks of the cattle business — but Jacob now knew
more! He had married the girl of his choice and also her sister —
not of his choice. He had married a few others. He had wives,
concubines, stuff, furniture, tents, cattle, sheep and more stuff.
Life to him consisted in stuff and he had a lot. His wife also
liked stuff, and she had swiped a few family gods when she left
home — but they brought ill luck. Jacob's motto and philosophy
coincided exactly with that of most modern men, "Life consists in
the abundance of things which a man possesses" — contrary to the
Bible idea. And now with wives, babies, cattle, sheep and stuff he
was almost back to the old stamping ground — and brother Esau
was on the warpath ! Dear brother Esau — had he ever forgotten
him? Had he ever added a thousand cattle to his herd and not
thought of Esau? Had he ever been presented with a new boy and
not remembered his brother Esau — that frightful, hot-tempered man
who was such a good shot? Tomorrow he is to meet Esau and his
brain is in storm. Much as it hurts him to part with his stuff, he
sends servant after servant with present after present, seeking to
placate that hairy, eagle-eyed, wrathful, unforgiving brother. It
was night again. Jacob wrestled with the angel. Whether he ever
truly prayed in his life before, he prayed that night. Up against it,
he prayed. Conscious of his own weakness, he prayed. Feeling
the impotency of stuff, he prayed. Human nature failing, he leaned
upon the divine. His extremity was God's opportunity. That night
he poured out his soul to God. Such praying changes a man. He
is never the same afterward. He has a new hold upon God; he
has new conceptions of living; he has an entirely new set of
values. "I will not let Thee go except Thou bless me." Hear John
Knox praying, "O God, give me Scotland or I die." Presbyterian
Scotland is the answer, and, if you lived in Pittsburgh, you would
feel that these Scotch Presbyterians not only got Scotland, but the
whole earth! How far removed is such praying from the stale,
commonplace, selfish, monotonous prayers we repeat "at bedtime
because it is a habit.
Have you ever been re-converted ? I knew a very good doctor
—one of the most exact and honorable men in the world. "Duty"
was his big word. One day at the communion table he began to
weep. Suddenly he was overwhelmed by the significance of what
he was administering. From that hour he was a changed man:
tender, humble, consecrated, sweet-spirited, generous to a degree.
Mummond had that experience. Dawson experienced it
John R. Ewers.
E. B. Barnes on "The Protestant"
HE PROTESTANT" is great! When we need a super-
lative these days we use that positive. It expresses all we
mean and so much more that no one attempts to place a
limit.
Many of us need it.
*Lesson for November 24, "Jacob Wins Esau." Gen. 33:1-11.
I have been studying our own type of Protestantism,
which just now is wrecking more living souls than idols, ac-
cording to my way of thinking, running amuck against every
man who has a thought without the seal of a few archaic in-
stitutions upon it. Conformity and acquiesence are the words
of the age for us Disciples. We are being forced to drink the
thin, gruel-gospel of a few mental starvelings, or die, or join
the "sects."
I begin to feel sometimes as if the Atlantic had lost its
salt, that we were all being corrupted by the desire to speak
with our hand upon our mouth, and to cudgel hypocrisy with
a snow-flake or two. However, we must live in hope. It may
be that the downward tendency among our people about which
I know a little may become so violent that a change will be
imperative — a new track or something of the sort. The re-
forming genius among us is lost in the shrieks of the self-ap-
pointed trustees of the faith; we spend so much energy in
warning each man against his fellows that the Reformation
has to stop while the whistle blows! E. B. Barnes.
Paducah Ky.
* % ^
General Foch at the Marne. Perhaps the most interest-
ing personality of the war in its last days was General Foch,
who was responsible for the tactics which finally overwhelmed
the foe at all points. The Marne has gone into history as one
of the key battles of the world. According to this enlightening
book, Ferdinand Foch, "whose life has been devoted to trans-
lating philosophy into the terms of the casualty list," was the
genius of that campaign. The military theory of this warrior,
together with estimates of his deeply spiritual nature, are pre-
sented here along with the details of the great battle. (Dut-
ton. $1.75)
Guynemer, Knight of the Air. By Henry Bordeaux.
Translated by Louis Morgan Sill. In this volume is presented
the life and career of the youth who was hailed by the French
warriors of the air as their leader. He had a most charming
personality, as well as great skill in air-fighting — he brought
down fifty German airplanes; and his tragic death completes
an unusually interesting life story. (Yale University Press.
$1.60.)
Hawthorne : How to Know Him. By George E. Wood-
berry. Professor Woodberry presents Hawthorne the man,
but gives more attention to his writings, quoting liberally
from his books as the best method of accomplishing his pur-
pose in the book, which is one of the well-known "How to
Know Him" series of volumes on great authors. He treats
Hawthorne as a New Englander; as an artist; and as a moral-
ist. (Bobbs-Merrill. $1.50.)
The Crack of the Bell. By Peter Clark Macfarlane. A
story of love and politics in a great American city, dealing
impartially with the socially elect and the submerged tenth.
It is primarily a story, full of action, but it also has its value
as throwing light on the problem of providing efficient, eco-
nomical administration for American cities. The book reveals
a wide and true knowledge of conditions in our municipal life.
(Doubleday, Page. $1.40.)
An Autumn Sowing. By E. F. Benson. A love story in
which the starting point is the falling in love of Sir Thomas
Keeling, hard man of affairs, with his secretary, Norah
16
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 14, 1918
Prophet. Fine character delineation, delicate analysis of mo-
tives, humor and charm characterize the book, which is one of
the most popular novels of the author of "The Tortoise,"
"David Blaize," "Dodo," etc. (Doran. $1.35.)
The Soul of Susan Yellam. By Horace Annesley Vachell.
Another "Fishpingle" story, which is all that need be said for
those who have read that story. Mrs. Susan Yellam, of Apple-
white, in Wiltshire, is thoroughly human and interestin'. The
fact that the war touches the story does not make it out of
date since peace has been declared. (Doran. $1.50.)
Lincoln the Politician. By T. Aaron Levy. Lincoln, the
president, can be understood only as the story of his early
training as a politician is mastered. Here is the book which
presents the facts of that story. This phase of Lincoln's life
has been sadly neglected. (Badger. $2.00.)
Oral Reading and Public Speaking. By John R. Pelsma.
An excellent text for anyone who desires to master the art of
public speaking; the book contains also many selections for
reading. (Badger. $2.00.)
Principles of Expressive Reading. By O. M. Norlie. An-
other book of value, with the underlying principle that "there
must be impression before there can be expression." (Badger.
$1.50.)
The Modern Chesterfield. Edited by Robert McCurdy.
A new edition of the classical guidebook of good manners by
the famous Lord Chesterfield. (Badger. $1.50.)
The Golden Bough. By George Gibbs. Not a war book,
but a detective story of the German Secret Service in war-time,
the scenes being laid in Switzerland and Germany. A young
American soldier, with his honor and loyalty, matches his wits
against the cunning of the German agents. A book full of mys-
tery, and thrill and surprises ; not a bad story for minds overfed
with serious thoughts. (Appleton. $1.50.)
Skyrider. By B. M. Bower. A twentieth century story of
ranch life, with an aeroplane thrown in to make it thoroughly
up to date. There is also an abundance of humor, which, with
its atmosphere of outdoors, makes it a good book for young
people and for older ones who are still alive. (Little, Brown.
$1.40.)
Any of the books reviewed in this department, or any other
books now in print, may be secured from
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS,
700 East 40th St., Chicago
CORRESPONDENCE
The "Century" as a Guide to the
Best Books
Editors The Christian Century:
I APPRECIATE every department of the Century for its
high tone and fine spirit. But I am finding a new value in
it of late, that is, in the books it advertises. I have bought
a good many on your recommendation, and every one has
made no small contribution to my equipment.
I wish I knew how some preachers get along on so few
books. I met a brother minister recently who had not bought
a worth-while book in a year, claiming he could not afford it.
There is a very real sense in which I cannot afford it either,
but there is a more compelling reason why I must buy now —
not trash, not cheap books, but the very best and without re-
gard to price. My small library of yesterday will not suffice for
today; there is too much going on today of which my books of
yesterday were ignorant. We country preachers are not privi-
leged to meet many of the great spirits of our day in person, so
we must bring a few of their books into our study where we
can commune with them at leisure. B. H. Sealock.
Illiopolis, 111.
Some Postscripts
The Christian Century has become a veritable delight to
my soul. It is thought-stimulating in its healthy idealism and
most satisfying in the spiritual interpretation of present mo-
mentous movements of history. I will certainly miss its
weekly messages while in Europe. Charles H. Swift.
Carthage, Mo.
+ * *
You are giving us a great paper. J. H. Fillmore.
Cincinnati, O.
* * *
I am pleased with the excellent contributions you get for
your paper from great leaders. John L. Imhoff.
South Bend, Ind.
* * *
I read the Century with much enjoyment out here and
pass it around among my missionary friends. I congratulate
you on the selection of the material and the kind of news you
use. Anna Louise Fillmore.
Nankin, China.
* * *
I am still enjoying the Century.
times, and especially so just now.
Lebanon, Ind.
It is stimulating at all
Roy E. Deadman.
When I go to the postoffice on the day that the Century
is due, and find that it has not arrived, I am as much disap-
pointed as when I am expecting a letter from a dear friend and
it has been delayed. The Century is a journal I am truly
proud of; it gives us a real representation among the progres-
sive journals of the country. This fact is a source of joy to
all of us who are anxious to see our brotherhood in the front
ranks for the better things in the world of religion.
Keokuk, la. Huell Warren.
Blessed indeed are those ears that listen, not after the
voice that is sounding without, but for the truth teaching
inwardly. Blessed are they that enter into things internal,
and endeavor to prepare themselves more and more by daily
faithfulness for the receiving of heavenly secrets.
Thomas A. Kempis.
THE DEMAND for the autumn issue
of the 20tf) Century <©uarterlp was so
unexpectedly large that the supply was
exhausted three weeks ago. One school,
reordering, sent this telegram: "Send 40
more copies; everybody wants it."
Has your order been sent in for the
winter quarter? Order now, and order a
sufficient number to carry your school
through the entire quarter.
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 East 40th Street, Chicago.
The Larger Christian World
A Department of Interdenominational Acquaintance
Presbyterians Promote
New Era Movement
THE Presbyterians of America have laid out for them-
selves the most ambitious project of their history in their
New Era Movement. The fact that they propose to raise
seventy-five million dollars is by no means the biggest fact
of the campaign, though that arrests public attention. This
money is to be raised in five years and almost one-sixth of it
during the first year. It is planned to devote a million dollars
to the rehabilitation of the wounded soldiers and a million
and a half to the rebuilding of the ruined churches of the
war-stricken lands. It will also undertake the Americaniza-
tion of the foreigner. John T. Mason is chairman of the cam-
paign committee. Arrangements have been made for five
hundred public meetings, beginning this month, at which
the aims of the New Era Movement will be presented to the
churches. In January the Victory Fund Drive will be put on
to provide funds for the reconstruction of the churches in the
war areas.
What Is Happening to
the Seminaries?
The war has cut down the attendance at the theological
seminaries very noticeably. McCormick Seminary, of Chi-
cago, (Presbyterian) opened this year with about a hundred
students. Yale school of Religion has fifty-five men on its list;
of these twelve are Congregationalists. Union Seminary has
about twenty-five students this year. These statistics indi-
cate how greatly the future supply of the ministry is being
limited by war conditions.
Christmas Program for
Armenian Relief
The Sunday-school department of the American Commit-
tee of Armenian and Syrian Relief has prepared a special
exercise for use at the Christmas season in connection with
the special Sunday-school offering for this important work.
The title of the program is "The Magi of Today." The pro-
gram is prepared by Anita B. Ferris. In the program there
are ten speaking parts and provision is made for from five
to fifteen other parts, according to the ability of the school.
The committee hope to raise two million dollars in the
schools of America this year. It is stated that at least 500,-
000 starving children of the stricken lands must look to the
Christmas offering of our children this year.
Special Service of Thanksgiving
I in Holy Sepulchre
A special cable from Cairo, Egypt, has been received in
this country telling of an interesting service in the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem on October 18. A solemn
function was held at the church in thanksgiving for the libera-
tion of the Holy Land from the Turks. Consular representa-
tives of all the allied nations attended.
C, C. Converse, Noted
Hymn Writer, Dies
Among the well-known evangelical hymns is "What a
Friend I Have in Jesus." The author of this old-time favorite
was C. C. Converse, who recently died at his home in New Jersey.
A Week of Prayer !
for Young Men
The Young Men's Christian Association has issued the
call for its annual week of prayer for young men. This week
of prayer will be held November 11-18. The churches of
the country have been asked to devote their mid-week prayer-
meeting service of that week to this cause. The objects of
intercession for the week are prayers for the men of the army
and navy; for those who suffer in hospitals and in army
prison camps; for the work of the Association and for the
United War Work campaign. It is stated in the literature
sent out in behalf of this prayer week that eleven million
young men lie in graves made by the world war. November
17 is to be observed as a day for special sermons in the
churches.
Methodists Establish Chair
of Rural Leadership
There has been much talk about the rural church in re-
cent years, but the Methodists are the first to establish a
chair on the rural church in a theological seminary. Rev.
Ira Miner has been established at the Iliff School of
Theology in Denver in such a work. He not only teaches
the theory of rural church activities but also directs the work
of the students who minister to the country churches on Stin-
gy- Orvis F. Jordan.
* :|: *
Chicago Congregationalists Promote
Church Union
THE Congregationalists of Chicago, backed by action of
the Illinois state association, have issued an appeal for
a meeting of representatives of the various religious de-
nominations for the purpose of devising plans for closer union,
reports the Chicago Tribune.
The appeal calls for the meeting to be held at the City
club on Nov. 25 for the following purposes:
To discuss a definite method and policy of Christian
comity, considering first the one now in operation in the
co-operative council of city missions, and secondly the one
in operation in many foreign mission fields. In both cases
churches or denominations are given fields for which they
are exclusively responsible.
To discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the inde-
pendent community church.
To discuss methods of securing or apportioning zones
of influence and responsibility for the different denominations
in Chicago and environs.
To discuss the equipment and availability of some present
organization, as compared with the availability and equipment
of a new organization, to encourage and direct the largest
possible development of Christian comity, fellowship, and co-
operation in this territory during the reconstruction period.
It is proposed the conference shall be composed of five
representatives, selected by the governing boards of each
Protestant denomination active in Chicago, five persons offi-
cially representing the co-operative council of city missions,
and five representing officially the Chicago Church Federa-
tion council.
The appeal has been sent to the executive committee of
the National Council of Congregational Churches, with the
request that the national council act in seeking the co-operation
of other denominations in a general movement for comity,
but the Chicago association decided it could not wait for
natinal action and hence made the appeal at once for action
by Chicago churches.
The appeal, it was said, was accentuated by several in-
stances of merging and co-operation among local churches.
A committee on union, which was authorized by a recent
Methodist ministers' meeting, following an address on "The
Church of the Future" by Dr. Johnston Myers of the Chi-
cago Baptists, in which he urged the breaking down of de-
nominational barriers, may be asked to join in this general
movement for union.
18
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 14, 1918
News of the Churches
Charities Bldg., 105 East 22nd street,
New York. The date of the week of
prayer is Jan. 5-11, 1919.
Dr. W. E. Macklin Guest of
Honor at Camp Funston
Otho C. Moomaw, of the church at
Manhattan, Kan., writes that the influ-
enza quarantine has impeded the work
among the soldiers at Camp Funston.
By the use, however, of office corre-
spondence and other methods the church
has endeavored to keep in touch with
the boys. An unusual event was a re-
cent conference held with the army
chaplains and "Y" workers of the Disci-
ples who are in camp, at which Dr. W.
E. Macklin, of China, was the honored
guest. A dinner was given at the Y. W.
C. A. Hostess House, the date being
Oct. 31. The conference of the occa-
sion on world service, the war, and the
outlook for the church, was very profit-
able. Those present were: Lieuts.
Floyd I. McMurrey, Edward L. Bran-
ham, Benjamin H. Smith and W. A.
Fite; Chaplains Carl Burkhart, and D. F.
Cross; Y. M. C. A. Secretaries B. E.
Parker, pastor at Junction City, and O.
C. Moomaw, pastor at Manhattan, who
arranged the meeting.
Eureka College Rejoices in
New Leaders
Eureka College is rejoicing in the ac-
quisition of Mr. and Mrs. Clifford S.
Weaver, who are to become a part of
the organized force and academic life of
the institution. They arrived at Eu-
reka on Oct. 1, and Mr. Weaver began
immediately his work as promotional
secretary for the college. He is to have
charge of all matters which relate the
college to its constituency. Mr. Weaver
is not to be a financial agent in the ordi-
nary acceptance of that term, but is to
be rather a promoter of such interests of
the college as respect students, publicity,
alumni activities, and financial enter-
prises. Both Mr. and Mrs. Weaver are
natives of Illinois and alumni of Eureka.
After graduation from that school they
went to Japan as missionaries under the
Foreign Society, and served there for
seven years. The failing of Mrs.
Weaver's health prevented their con-
tinuing their service in Japan. Mr.
Weaver was a member of the team which
raised the first million dollars for for-
eign missions, and also served on the
Men and Millions team several times.
For four years Mr. and Mrs. Weaver
led the church at Texarkana, Tex., and
from there removed to Dallas, Tex.,
where Mr. Weaver served most success-
fully as chancellor of Texas Christian
University. This position he resigned
in June, 1918, and comes to Eureka to
do a similar piece of work for his Alma
Mater. Mrs. Weaver has attained dis-
tinction as an authoress and teller of
children's stories. She organized the
Story-Telling League in Texarkana and
Fort Worth and was employed by the
authorities of Fort Worth as municipal
story teller. She had the general super-
vision of story-telling in fifteen parks
of the city and more than five thousand
children were entertained during the
summer by Mrs. Weaver and her assist-
ants.
— The Birmingham (Ala.) Age-Herald
has this to say of R. N. Simpson, who
has been serving the First Church,
Birmingham, for about a year: "Mr.
Simpson, by his masterly intellect, noble
Christian character, and splendid poise
has created an atmosphere about him-
self and his church which has redounded
to his credit and to the credit of the
community."
— President Crossfield, of Transyl-
vania College, is a thirty-minute man for
the current campaign of the seven war-
work organizations.
— Lieutenant John Collis, son of Mark
Collis, of Broadway church, Lexington,
Ky., has arrived overseas, it is re-
ported.
. .«. . ,r> « . . ■ UNITED SERVICE
MEMORIAL Memorial (Baptistsand Disciples)
First Baptist
C» t i /-. 4 g-\- r\ Oakwood Blvd. West of Cottage Grove
H I L A U U Herbert L WiHett \ Mi,
— W. H. Main
Ministers
— Evangelistic meetings are scheduled
for North Park church, Indianapolis,
with J. D. Garrison, pastor, preaching;
and at Visalia, Cal., with R. W. Abberly
in charge.
— Abbott Book, formerly of Cedar
Rapids, (la.) church, and for the past
few months with D. C. Cook Company,
Elgin, 111., is the new educational di-
rector and superintendent at Walnut
Hills church, Cincinnati.
— R. A. Schell, recently of Boulder,
(Col.) church, now leads at First, To-
peka.
— W. I. Palmer is the new leader at
Rocky Ford, Col.
— O. G. White, West Virginia Sunday
school promoter, is now serving as a
chaplain.
— C. O. Cossaboom, formerly of Mil-
lersburg, Ky., is serving the church at
Belle Center, O., where H. L. Miller
resigned a few months ago.
— Crayton S. Brooks, evangelist, is
reported recovering from a serious
operation at a St. Louis hospital.
— Walter Scott Priest, of Central
church, Wichita, Kan., who has been
critically ill with pneumonia, is reported
on the way to recovery.
— T. E. Winter, leader at Third church,
Philadelphia, is planning to stress the
prayer-meeting services the coming
year, for which an intensive program is
being planned. I. S. Chenoweth, of
First church, has recently returned to
his work from a visit in St. Louis and
Illinois.
— W. T. Walker and the church at
Mattoon, 111., are now in a meeting, with
the minister preaching and W. E. M.
Hackleman leading the singing.
— The week of prayer topics, refer-
ences and suggestions for the churches
may be secured from the Federal Coun-
cil of Churches of Christ, at 612 United
urur unni/ CENTRAL CHURCH
H F W Y 0 H K 142 West 31st Street
" Finis S. Idleman, Minister
— The death is reported of L. L- Hig-
gins, of Lynchburg, O., who gave up
his business and preaching work to pre-
pare for "Y" work. Influenza was the
cause of his death.
— The church at Millersburg, Ky., has
a new service flag with eleven blue stars
on it.
—David H. Shields, of Main Street
church, Kokomo, Ind., was called to
Chanute Field, Kan., on Oct. 27th to give
three addresses before the soldiers there
encamped. Mr. Shields has been with
the Kokomo church four and one-half
years. His good work has been appre-
ciated as is evidenced by the fact that
his living needs have recently been pro-
vided for by a salary increase.
— The death is reported of Elinor San-
derson, seventeen-year-old daughter of
President E. C. Sanderson, of Eugene
Bible University, at Eugene, Ore. Her
death came as a result of an attack of
influenza-pneumonia.
— Flour is selling at $50 per barrel on
the Congo, reports Mr. Moon, Congo
Disciple missionary.
— Goldie R. Wells, a graduate and in-
structor in Eugene Bible University un-
til recently, is now attending the Col-
lege of Missions at Indianapolis prepar-
ing for service on the foreign field.
— Patriotic night was observed at
Highland Park church, Des Moines, on
last Sunday evening. The Fort Des
Moines Glee Club was present, furnish-
ing the music. The Highland Park
church is flourishing in spite of the in-
fluenza ban, under the leadership of H.
W. Hunter. .
— M. B. Madden, for twenty years a
missionary in Japan, but for some time
past a resident on the Pacific coast, will,
return to his mission service in the
spring.
—Frederick Grimes, of the Eureka!
Cal., church, reports that he has been
called to "Y" work overseas. If he
goes, his wife will have charge of the
Eureka work.
BUFFALO
RICHMOND AVENUE
CHURCH OF CHRIST
Cor. Richmond and Bryant Streets
ERNEST HUNTER WRAY, Minister
—In the recent meeting at Firs
church, Oakland, Cal., held by pasto
H. A. Van Winkle and J. V. Baird, ther
were forty-three accessions to the mem
bership.
— W. A. Gressman, formerly at Pom
eroy, Wash., has been recalled to tha
work.
—It is not often that a congregatio
is prompted to show its appreciation/
a new minister after one year's servic
by granting an increase of $700 in salar.
But that good fate has happened to J
W. Wallace of Winder, Ga. The coi
f\ AT J V drawback to Ministerial Pension System will be removed if ministers are willing
KJl yl^I to add about 3^% to their annual dues and be assured full benefits for disability
or death, without regard to number of years in the service. Charter Roll will be open a few days yet.
BOARD OF MINISTERIAL RELIEF, 627 Lemcke Bldg., Indianapolis, Indiana
I
November 14, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
19
gregation also celebrated his first anni-
versary by clearing off the last cent of
the church's indebtedness. Soon after
taking these steps, the congregation
granted Mr. Wallace a leave of absence
of six months that he might engage in
"Y" work in the war.
NGRFOLK.VA.
FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH
(Disciple j )
Colonial A»e. at 16th St.
Rot. C. M. Watson, Minister
— O. C. Bolman, west central district
evangelist of Illinois, has been spending
some of his time at home during the
influenza epidemic studying "the preacher
situation" in that district. He reports
that the district has 59 preachers who
have served more than one year in pres-
ent pastorates; 45 men have begun with
the churches they now serve within the
past year. Ten churches are closed or
abandoned; 59 churches, including those
at four county seats, have no minister at
present. There is a good list of men
willing to locate, but the churches do not
pay sufficient salary to secure them The
Bible school institutes which had been
I planned for this district have been post-
poned until near the holidays, because of
; the ravages of influenza. Garry L. Cook
; of Indianapolis will be the chief lecturer
i at these institutes.
. t,i"~W,: D-,Hawk- recently of the Havana,
i 111., church, now leads at West Side,
: Springfield R A. Karraker has resigned
: at Rushville, 111. Alva T. Browning
recently of Greenview, is now at Stan-
ford.
j —A. N. Lindsey, minister at Clinton,
Mo., writes that dispatches in certain
; metropolitan papers reported him dead
As was the case with the "passing" of
! Mark Twain, this report was "greatly
; exaggerated." Mr. Lindsey was very
in, but is now recovered and again at
—A call has recently come to W E M
Hackleman from the Y. M. C a' to
1 «Z»Z £rance as a music director. The
,1a h-vf.s. in music as a moral stimulus
I and is calling for music leaders. Dr
jMott says "The period of demobiliza-
tion ^ will be the period of demoraliza-
tion unless proper provisions are made
' tor the men.
\v ~~S C Garr'gues of First church, Top-
in Mo. reports that "for the first time
I m, h,er. mstory, Joplin has voted dry "
; Inat city has long been one of the wet-
: test spots in the state and a sort of
| headquarters for bootleggers. The Citi-
zens Dry Alliance, of which Mr. Garri-
giies is chairman, used some very striking
| Mi-Page advertisements in the city pa-
pers, leading up to the recent election
!fn7rirhe F.or?»Kn Society reports that all
toreign mission boards are now turning
h worVent t£ t0 thC ?°St War need* 3
so rS \Jhe war cha"ges have been
so rapid, the new problems so varied,
ore Jnl im!rgenCieS S,° immediate and
pressing that, as yet, there has been lit-
tle opportunity for the planning of a
evlr £rTam" ■ *?erVs no doubt- h°w"
that ♦£ mmds of world students,
tnat the greatest test and the greatest
0PPortun,ty in the history of foreign mis-
sions:is now to be faced.
\W$t jSeto ©rtfjoaoxp
By EDWARD SCRIBNER AMES
j Associate Profe:sor of Philosophy in the University of Chicago
| A popular, constructive interpretation of man's religious
| life in the light of the learning of scholars and in the
| presence of a new generation of spiritual heroes.
THIS book seeks to present in simple terms a view of
religion consistent with the mental habits of those
trained in the sciences, in the professions, and in the
expert direction of practical affairs. It suggests a dynamic,
m urt"1a,tlC co"cePtion designed to offer a means of getting
S" sPe^,fic for™ ™d doctrines. It aims to afford I
= standpoint from which one may realize the process in which
■ ™^°!}lawund lehefs arise and through which they are
■ £!' W,hen thus see" relisJ°» discloses a deeper, more
■ ; £ al C' ai?d,m0ri aPPealing character. As here conceived
m it is essentially the dramatic movement of the idealizing,
■ taskseaCThf Mf ma" n uthe 1T?!dst of his Practical, socif
m onaKtv Jf prob'en?s of the religious sentiments, of per-
m sonahty, of sacred literature, of religious ideals, and of the
M ceremonia s of worship are other terms which m ght have
been employed as the titles of the successive diapters
| PncejnjQ^p]^^ postage
I OTHER BOOKS BY
| DR. AMES
| ®fje ^spcljoloap of i&eltgtoutf experience
H ($2.75 plus 10 to 20 cents postage)
I "Should be read by every thoughtful minister."— The Outlook.
"It is impossible not to admire and commend the wealth of learning and allusion
which Dr. Ames spreads out before us."-77t<> Literary Digest
| ''N°MpSZtTdent °r tCaCher °f reIigi°n Can aff0rd t0 ne^lect '«"-The
| "^TteNrtioT*' ClCar ^ expression' liberal and unprejudiced in attitude."-
| GTfje ^igfjer Snbibtbualtem
g ($1.25 plus 8 to 15 cents postage)
| "D\A^CHrtSwtrt SUbieC,S °' Vi'al in'ereSt "> 'he "Ks™< «"**ta.'_
| "Good philosophy and excellent religion."-77,<. Congregational*)
| ftfie mbinitp of Cfjrfet
(75 cents plus 6 to 12 cents postage)
A book which has as its purpose "the deepening of religious faith in the presence
of the fullest knowledge." One of the most popular of Dr. Ames' books
"Songs for Little People* '
For Beginners and Primary
Departments and the Home.
75 Cents, Postpaid
J?LSCIPLES PUBLICATION SOCIETY
700 East 40th Street ,.« CHICAG
| THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS I
| 700 EAST 40TH STREET CHICAGO, ILLINOIS I
20
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 14, 1918
Facts Concerning What the President
and Members of Faculty of the Col-
lege of the Bible Under Attack
Believe and Teach
For more than a year, a false and per-
sistent propaganda has been carried on
by a sectarian party among our people
against the College of the Bible to dis-
credit the administrations and the faculty,
and to destroy the institution.
The purpose of this propaganda has
been to create the conviction that the
President and members of the faculty
do not believe the Bible, but are un-
dermining faith in it as the Word of
God; that they do not believe in the
divinity of Christ; that they reject the
resurrection of Christ and the immortal-
ity of believers; that they deny the effi-
cacy of prayer; that they hold to a view
of evolution that eliminates God, that
they advocate the reception of the unim-
mersed; and that they are propagating
German Kultur and Rationalism.
The truth is, as those acquainted with
the facts know, that the President and
every member of the faculty believe in
the divinity of Christ in the most une-
quivocal sense; that they believe and
teach that the Bible is the Word of God,
written by holy men of God who spake
as they were moved by the Holy Spirit,
and it is a sufficient rule of faith and
practice; that they believe unqualifiedly
in the sinless life, the redemptive death,
the burial and resurrection of Christ as
historic facts, and that Christ's resur-
rection is the guarantee of the personal
immortality of believers; that they be-
lieve that God hears and answers prayer;
that not one of them has ever advocated
or practiced the reception of the unim-
mersed into the fellowship of the Chris-
tian church, or has ever so taught; that
they have absolutely no sympathy with
German Kultur and Rationalism, but
that in class room, in writings, and on
the platform every one of them has un-
sparingly condemned it.
Any statement or implication by the
enemies of the college to the contrary
is without foundation in fact, is con-
trary to the truth, and is a deliberate at-
tempt of an organized and sinister prop-
aganda to divide the Brotherhood.
R. H. Crossfield, President.
A. W. Fortune, Professor.
W. C. Bower, Professor.
E. E. Snoddy, Professor
Lexington, Ky.
SEND FOR OUR CATALOG OF
SUNDAY SCHOOL
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DISCIPLES PUBLICATION SOCIETT
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OHIO CONQUERING AND TO
CONQUER
Ohio offers a significant contribution
to the better world that shall be — five
millions of people free from the domi-
nance of John Barleycorn. Tt was a
glorious victory, won only after four
vigorous campaigns.
It has not been an easy victory. Ohio
has two metropolitan cities; nine cities
of 75,000 or more. Mills and mines are
here in great numbers. The state is
one of the great centers of foreign popu-
lation. One-third of all our population
is foreign. Every one of these condi-
tions tends to make a temperance vic-
tory difficult. This adds to the signifi-
cance of the victory. It means not only
laurels for the victorious dry leaders
but what is far more it means heighten-
ing of the morale of temperance workers
everywhere. Not more than three other
states have a problem equal to Ohio's.
This victory for the temperance cause,
thus far the greatest won in America,
spells success for national prohibition.
The world wide campaign appeals to
Ohio Disciples as being in step with the
time. It puts our missionary work on
a basis befitting present day world needs
and the aspirations of devout souls. The
state conference at the Indianola Pres-
byterian church, Columbus, Tuesday,
Nov. 19th, will be a great help to the
churches in preparation for a worthy
part in the greatest day the church has
seen.
This is the season for Ohio Missions.
The churches were closed all through
the usual season of preparation for Ohio
Day. We count on the faithful pastors
and other leaders to see that a normal
gift is made to state work. We are
doing all the usual forms of work —
mission churches and evangelism, and
in addition the largest single enterprise
ever undertaken by the society in the
work of Chillicothe and Camp Sherman.
Push the offering earnestly. Send it
promptly.
I. J. Cahill, Cor. Sec'y.
988 The Arcade, Cleveland, O.
Make It a Patriotic Christmas
AMERICA. LEAD ON! A great Christmas
Pageant that will bring good tidings to war-weary
hearts. It is a comforting and heart-strengthening
vision of God's leadership In world affairs. Fur-
nishes the patriotic and religious stimulus needed
In these war-stressing times. Beautiful music and
great dramatic dialog with tableaux. For use of
Churches, Young People's Societies, Sunday Schools
and Red Cross Organizations. Text by Jessie
Brown Pounds, music by J. H. Fillmore. Price
6 cents.
FEELING THE HURT. A Christmas Drama for
Churches. Young People's Societies and Sunday
Schools. Written by Mrs. F. D. Butehart. Cast:
Mrs. Langmore, mother; Fred, son; Elizabeth,
daughter; Martha, maid; Dr. Spencer, a returned
missionary; Rev. Wells, pastor. A heart-throbbing
story of a mother whose son wished to fight for
his country and whose daughter wished to be a
missionary. The scenes are dramatic and im-
pressive. The influence of the play is needed in
every community. The music consists of familiar
songs. Price 6 cents.
CHRISTMAS RECITATIONS AND DIALOGS
No. 21. A collection of original recitations and
dialogs and songs. Many of them refer to the war.
The needs of small children are particularly pro-
vided for. Handy for providing extra program
selections. Price 15 cents.
UNCLE SAM TO THE RESCUE, or, "Saving
Santa's Job." A patriotic play for boys and girls.
New, timely and appealing. Will stir the hearts
of old and young with a real patriotic spirit.
Price 10 cants.
THE HEAVENLY CHILD. A cantata for wom-
en's voices, charming. Price 25 cents.
CHRISTMAS OCTAVOS for mixed voices, or
men's voices, or women's voices. Ask for lists.
THE CHOIR, our monthly anthem journal. The
Christmas number filled with choice, new music
for mixed voices and women's voices. Now ready.
Ask for sample copy.
Will the Minister reading this please call the
attention of his muslo leader to these announce-
ments? Thank you.
FILLMORE MUSIC HOUSE
Cincinnati, 0.
A UNIQUE AND BLESSED
CHRISTMAS SERVICE
With the near approach of Christmas, pastors and
superintendents must tbegin to plan for the annual
Christmas Service.
What will suit them best of all this year is the one
which is most in harmony with the spirit and the needs
of the times, and this is to call attention to one which
has never been equaled in ability to charm the schools
which use it, and surprise and bless it in results.
It is entitled
WHITE GIFTS FOR THE KING
who is the King of all Kings, and the "Lord of all Lords"
the risen Christ.
It honors Him as no other service ever did. See it-
read it— think it— till you want it, which won't take long,
Send 50c for complete package of samples «f all
necessary helps. The cost is as nothing to its value. If
your school promises help for the Armenians and
Syrians, this is the service that will flay on the heart
strings and work •» the purse strings, and get mare
mtney than any other form ever used, to say nothing of
spiritual awakening. Address
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 E. «TH 8T. CHICAGO. ILL
Be A Lecturer—
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Lecturers are in demand by Twenty-
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following (expertly prepared) GREAT
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Write and tell us what you need
for that "special occasion" and we will
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mons for regular work.
J
IIMllllli
Love Off to the War
By THOMAS CURTIS CLARK
Just from the press! A new collection of Mr. Clark's work, containing more than 125 poems, one-
fourth of them being poems of war and peace, some of which have gone to the ends of the English-
speaking world as voicing truly the patriotic convictions and emotions of the American people
which caused them to enter the conflict which has just ended. This is a most fitting souvenir of
the close of the World War and the dawn of the new age. But the book contains other than war
poems. The collection is made up of eight groups of verses, the group titles being "Love Off to
the War," "In Friendly Town," "Songs of the Seasons," "Followers of the Gleam," "Christus,"
"The Mystic," "Studies in Souls," and "The New Wor;ld." A great many poems are here pub-
lished that have not before been printed.
SOME OF THE POEMS INCLUDED IN THIS COLLECTION
OF WAR AND PEACE
The Dawn of Liberty
God Rules the Seas !
They Have Not Died in Vain
Woodrow Wilson, Leader
America in France
The Day Breaks
OF THE SIMPLE LIFE
Take Time to Live
On Contentment Street
King of an Acre
A June Millionaire
Wealth
A Song of Quietness
To Thoreau
OF THE SEASONS
Revelation
Spring Song
Messengers
Wayside Roses
OF THE NEW AGE
The Bugle Song of Peace
The New Eden
The Golden Age
The Touch of Human Hands
God's Dreams
Battle Song of Truth
OF RELIGION
The Faith of Christ's Free-
men
The Christ Militant
The Search
The Stay
Be Still and Know that I Am
God
God Is Not Far
Light at Evening Time
The Pursuit
The Voice of the Deep
"STUDIES IN SOULS"
Three Poems of Lincoln
Sons of Promise
The Remorse of David
Sympathy
Success
The World Builders
In Praise of Thomas Curtis Clark's Poems
"Charming." John Masefield, English poet.
"These poems breathe a spirit of content." Sara
Teasdale, who received last year a prize of $500
for the best volume of verse published during 1917.
"I find both thought and music in his verses."
Henry van Dyke.
"Lovely poems and of wide appeal." James Terry
White, of the Poetry Society of America.
"Full of inspiration." Charles G. Blanden, Editor
of the Chicago Anthology of Verse.
"Mr. Clark's verse is sure to attract the attention of
those who are seeking for illumination and nour-
ishment for the inner life." Dr. Herbert L. Willett.
"Thomas Curtis Clark is the sweet singer of our
Israel." Editor B. A. Abbott.
"I greatly appreciate your songs. Surely you have
an authentic mission as an interpreter of the deep
things that matter most." Joseph Fort Newton,
minister at City Temple, London, and vice-presi-
dent of the London Poetry Society.
"Thomas Curtis Clark is doing a fine service to the
Church universal in giving poetic interpretation
to the evangelical faith in a fashion that makes
his verse especially congenial to the mood of our
time." Editor Charles Clayton Morrison.
"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
respects." Dr. J. H. Garrison.
"Mr. Clark is a poet of the inner life, an interpreter
of the soul, a seer of the realm spiritual." Dr.
Edgar DeWitt Jones.
The new volume is bound in semi-flexible cloth, with gold top and side, and makes a
charming gift for a friend as well as a "thing of beauty" to be treasured in the home.
Price $1.25 plus 6 to 10 cents postage
The Christian Century Press
700 East Fortieth Street, Chicago
A TRUMPET BLAST!
a i
I
i
HE
OTESTANT
I
fl
m
ej
pj
By BURRIS A. JENKINS I
Author of "The Man in the Street and Religion," i ||
"Facing the Hindenburg Line," etc.
IpHE author calls this" a scrap book for insurgents" and
* dedicates it "to the bravest men I know, the heretics."
He frankly confesses himself a destructive critic. Look-
Si] ing abroad over the Church today, Dr. Jenkins sees its
H follies, its waste, its ineptness, its bondage to tradition,
H and he yearns for the coming of the great Protestant,
0 another Luther, who will not only shatter the present
Pj order of things but lead the Church into a new day.
H While he disavows any constructive purpose in the
p] book, it is in reality a master- work of constructive and
PJ helpful criticism. Without apparently trying to do so
II the author marks out positive paths along which progress
pj must be made. Dr. Jenkins writes with a facile, even a
Pi racy, pen. He has filled these pages with a heavy
M charge of dynamite.
Pj Some of the Chapter titles: "Sects and Insects," "Threadbare
Creeds," "What's the Matter with the Churches?" "Bolshevism
or Reconstruction," "The Three Sexes," "The Irreligious Press,"
"Certain Rich Men," "What is Democracy?"
H Price, $1 35, plus 5 to 10 cents postage
The Christian Century Press
700 East Fortieth Street : : : : : Chicago
sushi CHARGED WITH DYNAMITE! inmi^aiim
mmm
For Adult and Young Peopled Bible Classes
Edited by Thomas Curtis Clark
Makers of the Quarterly:
John Ray Ewers
William Dunn Ryan
Herbert L. Willett, Jr.
Prof. W. C. Morro
The governing purposes in the preparation of this new Lesson Quarterly are two:
(1) To afford all necessary aids for a thorough and vital consideration of the Interna-
tional Uniform Sunday School Lessons; (2) To edit out all features of conventional
lesson quarterlies which are not actually used by and useful to the average class. This
quarterly is based upon many years' experience of the makers with the modern organ-
ized class.
Features of the Quarterly
Getting Into the Lesson. This department is
prepared by William Dunn Ryan, of Central
Church, Youngstown, O., who has one of the
most remarkable schools of adults in the coun-
try. Mr. Ryan presents the backgrounds of the
lesson.
Gearing Up Difficult Points. Herbert L. Willett,
Jr., whose extended experience and study in the
Orient have made him an able interpreter of
Scripture facts for modern students, has charge
of this department. His is a verse-by-verse
study.
The Lesson Brought Down to Date. The unique
work of John R. Ewers in straight-from-the-
shoulder adaptations of the Sunday school lessons
to today's life is too well known to call for ex-
planation. There is no other writer in the
Sunday school world today who approaches Mr.
Ewers in the art of making the Bible talk to
modern men.
The Lesaon Formm. No man is better suited to
furnish lesson questions witli both scholarly and
practical bearings than Dr. W. C. MorrO, of But-
ler College. His questions really count in the
consideration of lesson themes.
The lesson text (American revised version) and daily Scripture readings are printed
for each lesson. The Quarterly is a booklet of handy pocket size.
The Winter issue of the Quarterly will soon be
ready. Send for free sample copy, and let us
have your order at once.
The Christian Century Press
700 East Fortieth St.
Chicago
"The war will be won by 25% of military and
75% of other forces of which those repre-
sented by the churches are the greatest."
FIELD MARSHAL HAIG.
The work of the Bible School is funda-
mental in the work of the church.
Every Bible School is asked to make the offering for the support of the continent wide Bible
School work of the American Christian Missionary Society on Thanksgiving Sunday.
The influenza epidemic necessitates a short, intensive campaign this month.
Make "An offering that represents sacrifice."
ROBERT M. HOPKINS, Bible School Secretary, &S. Cincinnati, Ohio
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 YEAR! MAKE IT COUNT FOR GENUINE STUDYl Send $1.00 for a copy of
Dr. Willett's book, 50c for Dr. Scott's, or $1.35 for the two. Then decide which you will choose for your class.
ADDRESS
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 EAST FORTIETH STREET CHICAGO
FOR THE MEN AT THE FRONT
When you have finished reading this copy »f
The Christian Century place a ene-cent stamp
•n this corner and hand the magazine to any
postal employe. The Post Office will send It
to some soldier or sailor in our force* at the
front. No wrapping — no address.
A. 8. BURLESON. Postmaster-general.
Vol. XXXV
November 21, 1918
Number ,45
The War and the Soul
By Joseph Fort Newton
The Heart of the
Nation
By Herbert L. Willett
The Morning Cometh!
By E. L. Powell
CHUtAG
€'
i
Neighboring
eighbors
The war has written across the earth in letters five miles high
a new imperative for the Church of Christ
WE MUST
EVANGELIZE!
As Americans no less than
as Christians we must evan-
gelize Latin America. The
whole world is a neighbor-
hood and the Latin American
republics are next door. Un-
less they are made genuinely-
Christian we shall catch
worse than Yellow Fever
from them.
WE MUST!
There is no such thing as
"cold business." Unless we
get together in thought and
feeling, in life and character
we cannot trade.
WE MUST!
We have a compact with
the Methodists for the sav-
ing of the two million souls
of Buenos Aires. We must
keep faith with our partners.
WE MUST!
Two of the richest prov-
inces (states) and a terri-
tory of Argentina are left
entirely to our care.
WE MUST!
The entire Republic of
Paraguay, heart of the con-
tinent in fertility and in
historic interest, as well as
in location, depends wholly
on us for the gospel.
1 \W-v N
BRAZJ
TERRITORY
IN Dl
WE MUST!
The President of Paraguay
promises his own children as
students in the school which
we are to establish and all
the land we need for agri-
cultural and other industrial
education, with full liberty
of preaching Christ.
WE MUST!
Our exclusive territory has
a population of 3,000,000, and
is the Mesopotamia of the
continent.
WE MUST!
Our women, with quick
vision and obedient faith,
have staked out the land and
authorized purchase of $150,-
000 worth of property in
Asuncion, the capital of
Paraguay.
WE MUST!
Our neighbor continent is
torn between the gross
superstition of the old reli-
gion and the grosser mate-
rialism of the new atheism.
Only Christ can save Latin
America, and we Disciples of
Christ are His agents, ex-
clusively for these 3,000,000
and jointly for all the rest
of the 70,000,000.
WE MUST!
The United Budget must
be oversubscribed 33]/^ per
cent to meet the imperatives
of peace, in Latin America
and everywhere.
Field of Disciples of Christ
One Republic and Three Provinces of Another
DISCIPLES' WORLD WIDE EVERY-MEMBER CAMPAIGN
JlimMt:ll:<IMMIMIIIIMjl1ltHlllinillll
Men and Millions Movement, Promotional Agency
222 WEST FOURTH STREET, CINCINNATI, OHIO
-%-..:-
Volume XXXV
NOVEMBER 21, 1918
Number 45
EDITORIAL STAFF: CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON. EDITOR; HERBERT L. WILLETT. CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
ORVIS FAIRLEE JORDAN. ALVA W. TAYLOR. JOHN RAY EWERS :: THOMAS CURTIS CLARK. OFFICE MANAGER
Entered as second-class matter, February 28, 1902, at the Post-office at Chicago, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized on July 3, 1918.
Published Weekly By the Disciples Publication Society 700 East 40th Street, Chicago
Subscription — $2.50 a year (to ministers, $2.00), strictly in advance. Canadian postage, 52 cents extra; foreign, $1.04 extra.
Change of date on wrapper is a receipt for remittance on subscription and shows month and year to which subscription is paid.
The Christian Century is a free interpreter of the essential ideals of Christianity as held historically by the Disciples of Christ.
It conceives the Disciples' religious movement as ideally an unsectarian and unecclesiastical fraternity, whose original impulse and
common tie are fundamentally the desire to practice Christian unity in the fellowship of all Christians. Published by Disciples, Thi
Christian Century, is not published for Disciples alone, but for the Christian world. It strives to interpret the wider fellowship
in religious faith and service. It desires definitely to occupy a catholic point of view and it seeks readers in all communions.
EDITORIAL
The Rebuilding of Our Zion
A WAR saved Israel's soul. From the days of Isaiah
to the days of Jeremiah there was a constant
decline in the spiritual idealism of her religion.
Her kings looked upon religion as a means of social con-
trol or as a bond of alliance with neighboring nations.
They lacked the vision of the great prophets. A war
broke down the walls of Zion and brought Israel into a
strange land in captivity. When, fifty years later, the new
temple arose on the ruins of Solomon's wonderful edifice,
the people wept at its shabbiness. But Israel had set-
tled once for all her thought of God. She could afford
to worship in a poor building, for she had found her spir-
itual mission in the world.
Our church of the pre-bellum days had grown rich,
but she was in fact very poor. Splendid edifices had been
built in most towns of the country, often more of them
than would ever be needed. Many of them were monu-
ments to the pride and sectarianism of the community.
Many ministers had lost their keen perceptions of
spiritual truth. The local potentates in the churches as-
sured the ministers that only a traditional orthodoxy would
work. A certain short-sighted practicality obscured the
vision. Empty libraries told the story of empty minds
that sought to minister to the people in the most difficult
of all our human enterprises.
Large numbers of people were seeking their religion
in queer places. Some fell into the ancient superstitions
of ghosts and supernatural communications. These even
organized themselves into religious societies. Others
gathered together for speculations about the end of the
world. Still others looked upon religion for fleshly benefit
and sought the cure of their ills through reading and
prayer. Most of these had left the church of their fathers
to walk in these devious ways.
The war has not automatically solved these prob-
lems. But it has broken up the crust of custom in our
social life and ancient mores may be abandoned. The Zion
of our faith is now to be rebuilt.
* * *
The first need of the church is men leaders. The
student of successful churches is impressed with the qual-
ity of ministry these churches have enjoyed. We can
never hope for a rejuvenation of the evangelical churches
without fresh blood in the pulpit.
There is the most amazing opportunity following the
war to recruit for the gospel ministry men who have
proved themselves successful workers with men and
whose rich experiences will make them always more in-
teresting than other men. These are the Y. M. C. A.
secretaries. There will not be place for all of them in
Association service after their war service is finished. We
have been supporting Association work and look upon
the Association as the right arm of the church. Why
should we not ask the Association to encourage these men
to enter the gospel ministry just as has been done by
student secretaries in the colleges? Where is the leader-
ship that should speak for us all in this matter? Is not
our board of education the natural source from which
such an appeal should come? Should it not also have a
hearty second from the leaders of our General Conven-
tion— who would do well to concern themselves with such
a big constructive program as this?
Once we have a program for finding men, big men,
who will go to the best schools for adequate training,
we need to direct our thought to a commanding program
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 21, 1918
which will capture the imagination of these men and fire
our own souls with a new zeal.
The Presbyterians in their New Era movement pro-
pose to raise seventy-five million dollars. The significant
feature of this enterprise is not the sum of money being
asked for, great as that is, but the use to which the lead-
ers propose to put it. The money will go largely for a
social program. The church intends to work seriously
at the Americanization of the immigrant. A worthy sum
of money will go to the rebuilding of ruined churches in
the war zone. The families of soldiers who need relief
will be given intelligently directed aid. The best trained
minds of the country are at work elaborating the most
comprehensive program of social service ever put forth
by a religious organization in the history of the world.
Every Presbyterian member will soon be galvanized into
new life by the splendid vision of the New Era movement.
The Methodists are asking for eighty million dollars.
They will put their money into mission work. If they
succeed, they will be far and away the greatest missionary
force in the world. Methodists everywhere will find a
new pride and joy in belonging to an organization that
has a program for the whole planet.
Must not all other religious organizations plan bigger
things if they would hope to live? Can the Disciples expect
to command the respect of young men contemplating our
ministry unless we do something besides conduct wordy
battles over open membership, higher criticism or the
Campbell Institute?
* * *
The very nature of Christianity itself is to have a
thorough study. The World Conference on Faith and
Order called by the Episcopalians starts out with a reac-
tionary tendency. There are many who would hope to
lead us back to medieval Christianity, with its reverence
for authority and its care for religious formalism. But
the great souls of Christendom cannot come together with-
out there being another result more consonant with the
progress of the world. A conference on faith must not
only ask what men of other ages believed but also what
we can believe now and what we ought to believe. A con-
For the New Day
LET there be many windows in your soul,
That all the glory of the universe
May beautify it. Not the narrow pane
Of one poor creed can catch the radiant rays
That shine from countless sources. Tear away
The blinds of superstition. Let the light
Pour through fair windows, broad as truth itself,
And high as heaven. . . . Tune your ear
To all the wordless music of the stars,
And to the voice of Nature ; and your heart
Shall turn to truth and goodness as the plant
Turns to the sun. A thousand unseen hands
Reach down to help you to their peace-crowned heights ;
And all the forces of the firmament
Shall fortify your strength. Be not afraid
To thrust aside half-truths and grasp the whole.
— Author Unknown.
ference on order must discuss how our forms may be rein
terpreted to symbolize modern religion and how the gov-
ernment of the church may be organized with reference
to twentieth century tasks rather than with reference to
the duties either of the first century or the twelfth century.
So the Christian world will again build the walls of
Zion, now that the war is over. Some denominations will
live and some will die, prior to the reunion of the church.
Shall we deserve to live ? We may if we will.
o. f. j.
The Counsel of Patience
THE announcement of peace let loose a spontaneous
enthusiasm that surprised all except the older peo-
ple who had witnessed the close of the civil war.
We have lived for a long time under a nervous tension.
Now that the shouting is over, we have fallen into a wear-
iness. A business man remarked the other day that he
would not be going to his office so early for awhile. He
is tired after the extra work and worry of the past eighteen
months.
But following this lassitude may come a time of im-
patience. We are in a hurry to see our boys again. There
is no immediate prospect of their return. They must oc-
cupy a section of German territory while peace negotia-
tions proceed. They may have to go to Russia in large
numbers for police duty. We shall wait long for their
return.
We are in a hurry for economic conditions to better
themselves. High prices and a scanty supply of the
necessary articles are not conducive to comfortable liv-
ing. In the social discontent which may follow the war
will be the element of impatience at the slowness of the
readjustments of the peace time.
Meanwhile, the churches may well serve the gov-
ernment by tempering the popular demands. Hasty and
ill-considered criticism will not aid us in bringing in bet-
ter conditions. We must work out slowly from under
the great burdens that have been imposed by war. Pa-
tience and industry are the only solvents of a situation
which has in it many elements of discomfort.
The Community Church
THE community church movement is receiving
great impetus from the war. Not only in the
country, but in the poorer sections of great cities
where it is economically difficult to maintain churches,
mergers are taking place which reduce the number of
organizations and increase the efficiency of the service.
Just how many churches a community should have
depends upon the population that can be interested and
upon their economic strength. The heresy is abroad
that a little church is worse than no church at all.
There is nothing to be said against the small church
provided its members are not over-burdened econom-
ically and it is doing its work. Some of the finer spirit-
ual things arise from small and intimate organizations
which develop individuality and power.
But in many communities the small churches have
no such character. Instead of being centers of unique
devotion and loyalty, they drag out a weary existence
November 21, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
and become a source of ridicule for the ungodly. Often
they lead faithful members to make sacrifices that never
should be made. In such a case, the community church
is the one and only solution.
There are several ways in which the war has influ-
enced this movement. The increased economic pres-
sure has brought home to a great many people the
wastefulness of much of the church competition and has
led people to waive their prejudices while they seek a
solution. Then people are reading more now than ever
before, owing to war conditions. A reading public is
a more intelligent public. The world war is bringing
a certain cosmic bigness to the thoughts of the people.
Narrow and particularistic testimonies on the part of
religious bodies is no longer as respectable as formerly.
Our approach to the community church movement
should be that of open-minded investigators. In some
communities the federated church has gone back again
to the original status. In other communities, denomi-
nationalism is dead. What we are supremely concerned
about is the welfare of the people religiously. We could
even endure a continuance of the old denominational or-
der if it were better for souls. But we believe that it
is not.
Getting Back the Costs of War
THE estimates of the cost of the war are appalling.
Financiers have added up the billions of dollars
the conflict has already used up, but this kind of
loss is nothing beside the fourteen million casualties
that have been reported for the past four years. Britain
has more men buried in France than the United States
had effective on the front when the war closed.
Are the sacrifices of these men in vain? Have they
bartered their lives away for some bauble of national
honor? Or is the world really going to take a step for-
ward? Will great reforms and new spiritual attitudes
arise in these days of reconstruction, to recompense the
world for its tremendous sacrifice?
Already certain domestic changes in our American
life indicate that the war is the beginning of a new
epoch. The taxes are tending to level down the colossal
fortunes that were built up before the war.
The new status of woman through the war is also
a subject of comment. Women have taken the places of
men in many industries, never to give them up again.
In all the manual operations demanding speed, they will
drive men from the field when they compete. This effi-
ciency of women has resulted in their securing the bal-
lot in England and it will so result in America.
Is not the war destined to be the destroyer of the
saloon? In the name of national efficiency we are clos-
ing down our breweries as we had already closed the
distilleries that America might be stripped for the fight.
After war prohibition, we will never again deliberately
vote the curse back upon the nation.
These are but a few of the indications showing that
in a domestic sense the war is bringing some advantages.
The great thing, however, which we wish to come out
of the war is a new spiritual attitude in the world. Will
we get it? Will there develop a new respect for human
rights and a new regard for spiritual reality? Only
this development can fully compensate us for war losses,
and it is for this result that the churches should be
working with redoubled vigor.
Organized Sunday School Work
THE time of the annual offering for the national
organization of Sunday schools among the Dis-
ciples draws near. A new system of regional super-
intendents has brought supervision to hundreds of schools
that formerly could not receive much from the ministry
of a single man.
Many of these new superintendents are in touch with
the best things of religious education and are doing what
they can to lead our schools into higher conceptions of
their function and into more effective methods of accom-
plishing their tasks.
It is quite unthinkable that we should have no
organization concerned with the welfare of religious edu-
cation among us. Rather we might hope to feature this
interest as of primary importance to the churches. Just
because of this the Disciples who are aware will support
a program which is designed to improve the quality of our
educational work.
Washday and the Sunshine
A Parable of Safed the Sage
THE Sabbath was fair, but the night thereof was
dark and cloudy, and the next morning the rain fell
heavily. And Keturah looked out, and beheld, and
she said :
This is my Washday.
And I answered and said unto her, Then will the sun
shine ere the time come to hang out thy Clothes.
And she said, Say not the Scriptures that the rain
falleth on the Just and the Unjust alike?
And I answered, Yea; but thou art an Exception to
all rules.
And she said, Why should I be an Exception?
And I answered her, Thou art one of the Spoiled
Children of God. What things soever thou dost cry for,
them doth He give unto thee. And there are few things
which thou criest for more piteously than a fair day on
which to dry thy Wash. For thee Sunday and Monday
were forever ordained to come next to each other in order
that Cleanliness might be next to Godliness.
And Keturah answered, Little thou knowest about it.
For I dry my clothes in the Basement as often as any
other women. Only I seek to make less Fuss about it than
some of them. So doth my lord come home for his Lunch-
eon, and forget that it doth rain or that it is the day of
the Wash.
And I said unto her, Keturah, thou art thyself a ray
of Sunshine. And wherever thou art, the weather and
the condition thereof doth Cut no Ice.
And even as we spake, behold the sun shone forth.
And I thought that when God saw a disposition to
create Sunshine inside, He verily did undertake to
match it.
The Heart of America
The Spirit in Which the Nation Ought to Contemplate Its New Task
THE tremendous events which have brought Prus-
sianized Germany to her knees, and have given
the world its first breathing space in four long
years, must compel a very serious examination of their
history and traditions by the peoples of the Central Em-
pires. Where are today those ostentatious boastings of
power which have made Germany for a generation the
increasing menace and astonishment of all the nations?
The surprise of the dramatic end of the conflict has
been its swiftness and completeness. No one who has
been an onlooker at the events of the past decade could
have persuaded himself that the pomp and circum-
stance of Prussian militarism could melt away in such
a tragic dissolution. It was unbelievable that the swag-
gering autocracy which had rattled its sword and
clicked its spurs along the highways of Europe for so
many years would collapse in a day, and cravenly beg
for the most humiliating terms of peace.
The emperor Tiberius passed through a moment
which was in some degree comparable to the present
terrible disillusionment of the German people. He com-
mitted to his consul Varus, the governor of Germany,
the finest army that Rome had sent forth for a century.
In his palace on the Tiber he waited for the news of the
victory which was to be won over the turbulent tribes
of the Rhine. But when the messenger came it was to
bring the tidings of an overwhelming defeat, and the
annihilation of the Roman troops. For many a night
after that fatal hour the servants of the royal house
heard the anguished monarch pacing back and forth
within his chamber, and crying out from time to time,
"Oh Varus, give me back my legions." It is that sad
and indignant cry that is rising from the lips and heart
of misled and prostrate Germany to her furious and dis-
credited chiefs, once her masters, but now skulking
refugees, seeking safety in terrified flight. For a fate
worse than that of the Roman legions in the Teutoburg
forest has befallen the nation.
VANISHED DREAMS
The triumph is so complete as to be almost incred-
ible. It is hard to make clear to one's mind the fact that
so far as the autocratic forces of militarism are con-
cerned the war is over. The Allies may have other foes
to meet in the uprising of anarchy that is the natural
successor of tyranny. There may be long months of
policing before order is evolved from the chaos of the
hour. But the proud armies of Germany have vanished
like a mist, and the dreams of world empire, cherished
by Frederick the Great, Bismarck and the Kaiser have
proved only the undoing of a patient and credulous peo-
ple. The crimes at which the world has stood in shocked
amazement must be expiated through bitter days of
restitution and education in the school of penitence and
amendment. Only at the end of that discipline can Ger-
many once more take her place in the family of self-
respecting peoples.
And yet, in all the satisfaction of these wonderful
hours of victory there ought to be no disposition on the
part of the Allied nations to boast over the fallen foe.
If it were a small and easy success that had been gained,
or if the issue were less significant, few would care in
what spirit the achievement was recorded. But the tre-
mendous meanings of the world war permit of no such
superficial exultation. To every sensitive mind in all the
lands that have cooperated in this supreme adventure
there ought to come the sobering question, "Are we
worthy to win this conflict?" Such was the spirit of
Richard of the Lion Heart, who won his way to the
gates of the Holy City in the great crusade, and then
fell upon his knees in anguish of heart over his sins,
and refused to set foot within its walls.
VOICES FROM BRITAIN
The nations that have stood together as the allied
champions of civilization and decency in this conflict
with the brute forces of lust and ruthlessness have a
record that will bear inspection ; they need not be
ashamed of their past as a preparation for the present
hour. None of the black crimes that have made the
name of Germany a hissing for generations to come can
be charged against them. Among them the principles
of democracy, liberty and loyalty to the higher things
of national life have found their expression. Perhaps
in ordinary days they would all of them survey their
past with a measure of complacency that left little ex-
cuse for regret. But these are not ordinary days. We
have won a crusade comparable to none in history. We
have fought a holy war. Are we worthy of the victory
that has been achieved? Can its stupendous results be
safely intrusted to us? Do we really believe that in the
verdict which has been reached the Kingdom of God
has come in some new and significant manner? Are the
hands of the peoples who have been signally honored
with this vast bestowment clean enough to handle the
delicate fabric of the new ideals?
Two of our British visitors during the months in
which the conflict was on made us understand some-
thing of the searching of heart through which the most
devoted and sensitive of the people of Great Britain
have been passing. The Archbishop of York and Sir
George Adam Smith gave us assurance that not for
generations has the soul of Britain audited its moral
accounts with such unflinching honesty. In former
years, alike in victory and defeat, the people of that race
have maintained a certain stolid complacency which
was an exasperation to others. In this war it has not
been so. The white heat of the world tragedy, not with
its peril alone, but with its vast moral sanctities, has
burned into the soul of the best portion of that nation
a humbling sense of self-blame for the sins of yester-
day. The ghosts of the opium traffic in China, the long
years of scant justice to Ireland, the arrogance of much
November 21, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
of the provincial rule in India, the sordid and sodden
sins of a drink-brutalized stratum throughout the
Islands, — all these are rising to haunt the consciences
of those who are thinking most deeply over the moral
sins such as have made foul the record of Germany, but
they forbid any arrogance in the hour of victory. They
compel the best of the English race to ask, "Are we
worthy to be the standard bearers in this holy crusade
for world freedom and righteousness?"
The other nations of the allied group could find
similar stains on their shields. It is no task of ours to
search for them in this high moment when suffering
and sacrifice have wiped away all remembrances save
those of glad appreciation and grateful acknowledg-
ment. Had not our honored guests from beyond the
sea insisted on reminding us of their heart-searching
mood it would be ungracious in us to advert to it. But
such words are worthy of consideration by Americans.
We are glad that we can say with confidence that we,
too, have been guiltless of the sins that have marred so
terribly the fame of Germany. But we dare not utter
this boast in anything of the spirit of the pharisee. For
the nation that is worthy to have an honorable place in
the readjustment of the world after this sad drama
must come to its task as nearly stainless as possible.
Only a people that like Cromwell's Ironsides, rises from
its knees to undertake the control of the new order of
humanity, can be trusted with so exalted a mission.
Does America really believe that in some significant
sense the Kingdom of God is at hand, and is she ready
to listen to the voice of the prophet of God crying,
"Repent!"?
America's record
Our nation has some dark memories and some
present faults in the light of which no repentance can
be too thoroughgoing. For the crime of slavery we paid
a heavy price, both in economic losses and in self-re-
proach. Our treatment of the Indians has not always
been what the heart of the nation could have desired.
Too often these earliest Americans, the people of the
forest and desert, have been made the victims of rob-
bery and spoliation, of promises unkept and rights in-
vaded. For the most part our treatment of our neigh-
boring nationalities on this continent and in South
America has been just and generous. But we have no
reason to be proud of our dealings with Mexico, in
which we have come nearer the Potsdam method than
in any other series of transactions. And we shall yet
acknowledge that the chapter of our relations with that
state is not wholly to our credit.
We have as a Christian community thus far failed
to understand the plea of labor in the economic debate,
and have for the most part contented ourselves with
denunciations of the arrogance and exorbitant demands
of unscrupulous labor leaders. This is the easy but in-
effective plan. Much more difficult, but certainly neces-
sary at no distant day, is the task of working out in a
constructive and sympathetic spirit some such solution
of the question as finds outline in the masterful para-
graphs of the British Labor Party's platform.
To the army of foreign-born people, quite aside
from those of German blood who may be left out of the
account here, the people who have come with high
hopes of success and happiness to the land at whose
portal stands "Liberty" with her uplifted torch of wel-
come and good-will, we have to an astonishing degree
shown but the coldness of scant regard, or the brutality
of exploitation. Few indeed of the cultured and re-
sourceful of our clubs and churches have given more
than a half-contemptuous, half-indignant, consideration
to the multitudes of unassimilated aliens living in segre-
gated groups in the great cities of the land.
And what shall one say more? For time would
fail to tell of the public sin of joint-partnership with
the traffic in intoxicants, whose heavy chains are only
just now being broken by an aroused sense of national
peril made vivid by the conditions of war ; of the social-,
evil, long tolerated with prudish unconcern, while the
terrible price was paid in disease, idiocy, blindness and
death ; of a materialistic spirit that went far to justify
Europe in the pre-war opinion that America cared only
for money ; and of the sectarian tempest that has broken
up the forces of religion into scattered and only half-
effective units in the big fight for the things of the
spirit. These and many other delinquencies limit the
nation's power, and make us conscious that it must be
in no mood of proud self-sufficiency that we take up the
tremendous labors of the new age that has come upon
us.
THE HARDER VICTORY
Ought not some such vision of our responsibilities
and limitations rise before our eyes at this Thanksgiv-
ing time, when with inexpressible gratitude we contem-
plate the cessation of the sad conflict of the past four
years? It is no time for premature and smug satisfac-
tion. We may find it more difficult to establish peace
with justice and good-will than it has been to win the
war. It may be that we shall have to deal with a foe
more widespread and subtle even than autocracy, — the
unleashed furies of anarchy and bolshevism. But we
have come a long way since that fateful August, 1914.
And if we have the spirit of self-scrutiny and self-criti-
cism, which Germany so much needed and lacked, we
may be permitted a true and honorable place in the
reconstruction of the world.
Nor must it be forgotten that only a part — perhaps
a small part — of the nation will find itself in the mood
for any such self-examination and amendment. The
moral sacrifices of history have always been made by
minorities. Many of the people, perhaps the most, will
be quite indifferent to the austere summons to right-
eousness and the higher moralities which destiny and
Providence are voicing today. All the more imperious
then is the obligation for those who are sensitive and
heroic enough to take up vicariously the sacrificial task.
Perhaps there is no more effective way to interpret and
reproduce the spirit of Jesus in this unhappy world.
Perhaps this is the hour of discernment and coopera-
tion for which He has waited.
Herbert L. Willett.
The War and the Soul
By Joseph Fort Newton
FOR four years the one absorbing subject of our
thought, of our concern, has been the world tragedy
in which we have been living. It was impossible to
escape from it. Thinkers have tried to show that it was
nothing but the working out in action of ideas that had
fascinated and dazzled and misled men's minds in recent
years. Statesmen have been anxiously looking into the
future, trying to read it in the light of the present, seeking
to discern the influence of this tragedy upon future world
policy and present world organization. Men of science
have studied it from their point of view. But the pulpit,
if it is to be the priest of humanity and the prophet of
God, must study the war as it has influenced that lonely
inner life of motive, of feeling, of faith, and of hope.
A CLEARER VISION THROUGH SUFFERING
At Mount Horeb, when the prophet stood in the cleft
of the rock, and the storm swept by with its thunder and
its fire, following it there came an awful quiet, in which
a still, small voice was heard: whereupon he fell upon his
face, and covered his head with his mantle. Just so today,
in the midst of this '"long-lived storm of great events," if
we know where to find it, there is a place of hearing
where the voice of gentle stillness speaks. And if we
have ears to hear, and hearts to understand that voice, it
will tell us the deeper meaning of the war.
Now, the Bible is a record of the reaction of a people
under the terrible pounding of world events. They were
people of a tiny land like Belgium, whose country was
tossed to and fro between great empires, now pillaged by
one, now plundered by the other, and the battlefield of
both. What we have in this Book of books, distilled
slowly out of the agony of that wonderful people, is the
reaction upon that inner life of its poets, prophets, and
seers, of one tragedy after another, the influence upon
them of the terrible deeds of God done in time; for
it is thus that revelations come. The Assyrian and
Egyptian armies have long since fallen into dust.
Their capital cities are hard to locate in the drifting
sand. The very existence of those vast armies whose
march made the earth tremble, is known only as we see it
reflected in the faith and hope and prayer and aspiration
of a tiny nation in Palestine. The Assyrian army attacked
Jerusalem; what did it do? That is a matter of long ago.
The thing that remains, as a great and permanent gain
for humanity, is that it lifted Isaiah into a clearer vision
of God and the sovereign authority of the moral order.
THE WAR'S RESULT IN THE WORLD'S HEART
The city was later destroyed. What does that mean
to us? It means what we may read in the visions of
Jeremiah and Ezekiel, interpreting that event for us that
we may be the better able to interpret the events of our
time. Once again the city was destroyed by Titus, but in
its destruction there was released into the human spirit a
vision of another and a better city, and with the fall of
Jerusalem came the morning march of the Christian
Church, with its grand missionary enterprise.
Nor will it be otherwise today. The human heart
is the same ; the tragedy of history is the same in quality
though it may be different in quantity — that is all. And
if we confront it as the heroic seers of ancient time con-
fronted their tragedy we shall be lifted up by the very
blows that have stricken us down, exalted by the things
that have humiliated us, and purified by the suffering
through which we have passed. My concern, then, is with
the result of the war in that innermost life of humanity,
down below our outward activities, down on "the great
grey level plains where the shell-burred cables creep."
After so profound an upheaval, how does it stand with
the soul of the people?
A great Frenchman has said that in this war the
spiritual forces have dominated all; and he is right. The
longest echo of the great guns of the war will not be on
the battlefield, but in the lonely places of the human soul.
Who can number the inner casualties, the blighted faiths,
the blasted hopes, the broken hearts? Our enemies we
may leave to Him who said, "Vengeance is mine, I will
repay." We need not speak of them except to say that
tragedy awaits them ; not simply defeat, but a spiritual
tragedy so terrible that no words can describe it, when
once there is an awakening and they realize whither they
have gone and how far down. Bombarded cathedrals
may or may not be restored ; but the soul of Germany will
go down to the future prostituted, black with crime, laden
with shame. If there be one race on earth, and not two
as some think, the human race and the German race; if
there be really one humanity, then Dante never dreamed
of a hell more awful than that which awaits the spiritual
experience of that people.
HOW IS IT WITH OURSELVES?
What has the war wrought in the inner life of our
people? Has it made us indifferent to divine things?
Have we lost faith, let go of hope, has it hardened us?
Have we been tempted half to believe that the dogma of
force was perhaps right after all ? Have we let grow dim
those visions not only of peace, but of a righteous peace,
and of a world organized in behalf of justice and liberty?
Some have been lifted to clearer insight by their sorrows;
others have been made blind by them. Some have been
turned to cynicism, others to prayer. My experience in
talking with men at the Front, many of them, hundreds of
them — and they talk very freely when they do not know
I am a clergyman; if they know that then it is very dif-
ferent!— my experience is that, with many exceptions
both ways, the men who went into the front line trenches
and through the mad hell of it all, religious, pious, have
come out without any religion. Mere traditional faith is
quickly blown to bits. Men who went in careless of these
things, not having thought of them very deeply, have come
November 21, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
9
out profoundly religious men. That seems to be the rule,
if I may judge by my experience.
Talking with many of the chaplains has confirmed
this impression. It shows how deeply men have been
stirred, and how profound is the upheaval and overturn-
ing in the inner life by the war; and all this will tell in
times to come. This religion of the trenches is a New
Mysticism — a mysticism of action, not of contemplation.
If we know how to interpret it aright, it will mean much
for the church. Not only in personal experience, but in
our collective life. There is a mighty word being spoken
to us today if we have minds that are alert, minds that are
awake, like the poets and prophets of the Bible.
THE SOUL OF MAN REVEALED
First of all, then, to me at least, the war has been a
revelation of the soul of man, its wonder, its power, its
incredible strength, its unbelievable daring. Men walking
near to us, men and women whom we regarded as ordi-
nary average people — we regard most people except our-
selves as ordinary and average — have displayed such re-
sources of heroism, such capacities for sacrifice as we had
never dreamed of before as being possible save in the su-
preme sacrificial figures of humanity. Veiled spirits, living
in our homes and walking to and fro with us in our affairs,
what a revelation of the soul ; for nothing but the soul,
that which is divine and eternal within us, could have sus-
tained us during these years. As Herbert Trench has said :
"It is the soul of France
That stems the great advance
Of all their canoniers."
I have returned subdued, awed, by such a vision of the
soul of America as has never been granted me before.
People who were light, thriftless, luxury-loving, rolling in
wealth, threw off materialism like a robe, and you see
now in America, what has been revealed to you here, the
soul of the people. Donald Hankey has these words:
I have seen with the eyes of God. I have seen the naked
souls of men, stripped of circumstance. Rank and reputation,
wealth and poverty, knowledge and ignorance, manners and un-
couthness, these I saw not. I saw the naked souls of men. I
saw who were slaves and who were free ; who were beasts and
who were men ; who were contemptible and who honorable. I
have seen the vanity of the temporal and the glory of the
eternal. I have despised comfort and honored pain. I have
understood the victory of the Cross ! — "O death, where is thy
sting?"
WHAT IS GOD LIKE?
Always a revelation of the soul of man is a new dis-
closure of what God is. Long ago Newman said the two
overwhelming, luminous, self-evident realities in this world
are God and the soul, and this solemn unveiling of the
human soul in its time of trial and stress has brought a
new sense, a new revelation of God. And this revelation
has come, as all Divine disclosures come, in response to
the eager, sorrowful seeking of man. Of course it is still
inarticulate and unformulated — hardly more than a spir-
itual mantheism, only more personal — but it will make,
itself felt in the near future.
Hear these words from a conversation of a chaplain
with an officer badly wounded and slowly recovering in a
British military hospital:
What I want to know, Padre, is, What is God like. I
never thought much about it before this war. I took the world
for granted. I was not religious, though I was confirmed and
went to Communion sometimes with my wife. Now it all seems
different. I realize that I am a member of the human race, and
have a duty towards it, and that makes me want to know what
God is like. When I am transferred to a new batallion I want to
know what the colonel is like. He bosses the show, and it makes
a lot of difference to me what sort he is. Now I realize that I
am in the battalion of humanity, and I want to know what the
Colonel of this world is like. That is your business. Padre ;
you ought to know.
Across the room-, where the officer could see it, there
hung a crucifix. The Padre was much puzzled by the
question, but after some meditation he pointed to that
suffering figure, and told the officer, "God is like that."
Such a reply puzzled the officer as much as his query had
puzzled the Padre, and he said finally: "Like that? Oh,
no, Padre, God is the Ruler of the Universe, the Judge
of all the earth, the supreme Monarch; He cannot be like
that. That poor, bruised, bleeding figure, defeated in
everything except spirit. Oh, he is splendid! He is like
my friends at the front ! But can God be like that, Padre ?"
The Padre was wise in insisting that God is in truth like
that figure in its lonely suffering on the cross outside
the city gate. He is not only far oft" up in the sky ; he is
also here, down in the mud and blood and slime of the
war, struggling through us and with us, not in our mis-
takes but in our visions ; not in our betrayals but in the
ideal that we betray too often ; in our sense of right, our
sense of justice; in our willingness to give everything,
even to "the last full measure of devotion" for an ideal,
for the future. This is God and He is immanent in the
world of 1914 and 1918 — God, the Eternal Creative Good-
will, striving to create goodwill upon the earth in the only
way in which He can create it, through men and women
of goodwill.
THE GOD OF TODAY
As an American soldier said to me in our way of talk-
ing, "God is more popular today than He has been for a
long time." That was his picturesque way of telling
the very real truth. And there has come, with this revela-
tion of God, a revelation of righteousness. The world
has been cut in two by the sword. We can see it whole.
We can see running all through it, like the rock ribs that
hold the world together, great fundamental, basic, moral
principles. Once we half feared that a great people could
flaunt and defy those principles, and be successful; but
we do not see it so now. We have come to realize in a
solemnizing way what it behooves us to remember in times
to come, that a nation is just as responsible to those awful
moral laws as an individual ; that there is something above
the state ; God is above the state, and His law will break
to pieces the state, however proud or arrogant it may be,
which defies His eternal law. It is a revelation of simple,
fundamental righteousness, and here we must find the
basis of our politics and of our statesmanship in the re-
building of the world.
Recently I have taken pains to read, as nearly com-
pletely as possible, what I describe as the testimony of the
10
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 21, 1918
trenches, by which I mean the letters, poems, essays, which
I have been able to find written by men at the front. Oh,
it is a wonderful revelation. It helps you to realize what
a great novelist has said, that "our sons have shown us
God." Those little books of letters have in them the very
heartache of men away from home, but they show us in
words that were never meant for our eyes, but only for the
eyes of those whom they love, the inner reaction of the
war in their minds as it really is. From that study I have
come to believe — oh, more than that, to realize — that the
eternal life, what we have heretofore called the future
life, is only the other side of this life, the beyond-life.
"the new death"
How real, how vivid, how all-transfigured it is in
those letters. They do not argue about it; argument is
painful to those men. They have seen their comrades die ;
they have seen the absolute triumph of spirit over matter ;
they have seen the soul rise above all that ghastliness of
modern war, supreme. They know that the soul of man is
indestructible. They have discovered what someone has
called "The new Death." Death does not seem so lonely
or so horrible as it used to seem, and the victory over it is
complete. More homelike now seems that beyond-life ;
it is not so far off, but very near. It is not another life,
it is just this life further along, higher up, with clearer
vision, with freedom, and gladness.
Some dogmas have been killed down to the roots,
and they ought never to be heard of again in religious
thought. One of them is the dogma of the finality of
death, the absurd, hideous idea that a physical experience
fixes, petrifies, the moral life of man. It is impossible.
Consider what it implies. According to some old stand-
ards of theology many of the lads who have given their
lives were not regenerated, not converted — and, therefore,
are lost. That is to say, they have given not only their
lives but their souls for all eternity, for us ! It is incred-
ible! It is horrible, impossible! That dogma has been
killed. No man can speak of it in the presence of the
innumerable company of the dead.
the soul deathless
No man of us but has a deeper and more vivid sense of
the immortal life. Today we think of that life as a life of
revelation, an unfolding of the true, the beautiful, and
the good, the fulfilment of those dreams we hardly dared
to dream, thinking them too fair and lovely ever to come
true. Somehow the seeming triumph of death has be-
gotten not only a yearning, but a deepening conviction — a
" Oh China, Towering"
O CHINA, towering from earth to heaven,
Spreading beyond the eight horizons,
Thou Flowery Land born of the peaks,
With mighty rivers and endless ranges.
I see thee free at last, and a new era
Dawn on thy peoples for a thousand years.
— Chinese National Anthem.
popular intuition, if you choose to call it such — that the
soul is indeed akin to God and deathless, as God the Father
is deathless ; that we shall
Hear, know and say
What this tumultuous body now denies ;
And feel, when we have laid our groping hands away,
And see, unblinded by our eyes.
Shall the Plea of the Disciples
Be De-Americanized?
By E. E. Snoddy
THE plea of the Disciples is distinctively American
in origin and ideals. It was born in the Mississippi
Valley, called by a recent writer the "Valley of De-
mocracy," because of the part played by its people in the
development of American democracy. By virture of the
place and circumstances of its origin our movement adopted
in its program the outstanding features of American de-
mocracy.
It repudiated the absolute authority of the creed and
the ecclesiastical organization. Our Fathers declared that
this authority was European and was out of place on
American soil. Our Fathers also declared that the Chris-
tian believer was superior to the institution and thus intro-
duced the fundamental principle of religious democracy
into American Christianity. This principle carries with
it Protestant right of private interpretation. Our Fathers
demanded, not the possession of the Bible by the indi-
vidual only, but the Bible possessed and understood by
an intelligently directed effort of the individual himself.
By their repudiation of the creed they not only secured
for the believer the right of private interpretation, but
they also secured for the Bible the opportunity of getting
itself interpreted in terms of its own content rather than
in terms of the creed, an. opportunity the Bible had never
enjoyed since creed making began.
Our Fathers, in true American fashion, not only freed
the individual, they also saved him from anarchy. They
combined freedom and order. They did this by shifting
the allegiance of the individual from the creed and the
institution to Christ. They made Christ Lord and the
only Lord of the believer. Believers were brothers and
no one was to lord it over the other. They sought to make
the church safe for democracy.
Just at this time as never before, this question presses
the Disciples of Christ for an answer : Shall we be true to
the noble ideals of our Fathers ; or, shall we de-American-
ize our plea and revert to the ideals of Europe ? Shall we
preserve and augment our heritage of American de-
mocracy? Or, shall we take upon ourselves the yoke of
European absolutism? Or, to put the question in terms
of religion, Shall we have the Christianity dictated to us
by some theological absolutist? Our hope of a future lies
only in "standing fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath
made us free and not becoming entangled again with the
yoke of bondage."
Transylvania College of the Bible.
The Morning Cometh!
By E. L. Powell
OUT of the evening comes the morning. Is it not
significant that the inspired chronicler in the Book
of Beginnings places the evening before the
morning? "The evening and the morning were the first
day." It is accurate spiritual chronology for individuals
and nations. Out of world agony comes world peace — out
of the darkness come the stars.
On November 11, 1918, the world darkness and chaos
of universal war heard the voice of God, as in the begin-
ning of days, saying "Let there be light, and there was
light." Marvelous beyond all miracles of Old and New
Testament is the moral achievement recorded on this
ordinary day in earth's calendar of time. Henceforth the
day shall be dedicated in memory and international cele-
bration as Humanity's Day, when God with his own finger
wrote the world's Declaration of Independence. The
dream of world democracy will become an accomplished
fact in form and actual operation within our own gener-
ation. God has said, "I am tired of kings." The last
throne of outstanding autocracy has crumbled before our
eyes in the passing of the Hohenzollerns : God's big guns
have battered down the physical symbols of tyranny, and
the spiritual thing called democracy is the divine dynamic
back of the guns. It is God's battle. It is God's victory.
We stand dazed in the presence of the dazzling splendor
of moral achievement. God was not more visibly manifest
to Moses in the cleft of the rock than in the fulfillment,
through the awful agonies of war, of the dream of the
oppressed of earth throughout the long, weary and wait-
ing centuries. We have seen the heavens opened and we
cannot mistake the significance of the shining presence.
God's train fills every part of the world's temple. The
vision of Isaiah — local and provincial — has become uni-
versalized— Morning breaks for the whole world. The
glory has come out of the travail of such agony as hu-
manity has never before known. The German toast,
"Here's to the day" — meaning world domination, is hence-
forth spiritualized ; we mean now — Here's to the day of
which Jesus 'Himself spoke when He was on earth, when
He said, "Abraham rejoiced to see my day and was glad."
We may find our jubilation in the eternally contem-
poraneous Hebrew Psalms, none of which is more ap-
propriate to the world situation, and certainly — as has
been said — none more appropriate to the "little and old
peoples of the Near East and Middle East" over the vic-
tories of the Allied troops than the 124th Psalm:
"If it had not been Jehovah who was on our side,
Let Israel now say,
If it had not been Jehovah who was on our side,
When men rose up against us :
Then the waters had overwhelmed us.
The stream had gone over our soul;
Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.
Blessed be Jehovah,
Who hath not given us a prey to their teeth.
Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of
the fowlers ;
The snare is broken and we are escaped.
Our Help is in the name of Jehovah,
Who made heaven and earth."
A Prayer for World Friendship
By Harry Emerson Fosdick
Father of all nations, endue us with vision, and cour-
age, and resource in thee, that the crisis of the world may
become the opportunity of the kingdom. Guide our coun-
try, empower our churches, inspire and restrain ourselves
and all men that righteousness may triumph. For wisdom,
to discern the means most profitable to abiding peace and
international concord; for leaders to point the way and
for multitudes to follow them, till all nations are one
fraternity, we pray to thee. Make real the brotherhood
of man, 0 God, and glorify our race in a fellowship of
friendly peoples. O Love, crucified afresh by the sin of
the world, after this Calvary, grant us, we beseech thee,
an Easter Day and a triumphant Christ. Amen.
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12
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 21, 1918
Distinguishing Between Interpre-
tation and the Bible
By A. W. Fortune
THERE has been much confusion and controversy
in religion because men have not distinguished be-
tween their interpretation of the Bible and the Bible
itself. Too frequently men have had a fixed interpretation
which they have inherited from the past, or which they
have studied out for themselves, and they have attempted
to bind this on others. Inasmuch as they have identified
this interpretation with the Bible itself they have felt free
to call any man an unbeliever who has not accepted it.
This method of procedure must inevitably produce strife
and division.
The Bible has remained virtually as we have it now
since the various books were gathered together into a
canon, but the interpretation has changed with the cen-
turies. We all have the same Bible today, but no two of
us have quite the same interpretation of it, and there is a
marked difference between the interpretation as it is given
by the uneducated man and that of the scholar. We all
have a changing interpretation, and if we grow in the
Christian life the interpretation of today will not satisfy
us tomorrow. The Bible will continue to remain as it is,
but our interpretation of it will change as new light is
thrown upon it. Alexander Campbell, in "Christianity Re-
stored," gave seven splendid rules for interpreting the
Scriptures. The application of those principles made him
a pioneer in sane Biblical interpretation. If Alexander
Campbell were living today he would undoubtedly welcome
all the light which modern scholarship throws on the in-
terpretation of the Bible, and he would grant to others
the same right which he claimed for himself.
The very genius of Protestantism is the right to pri-
vate interpretation, and the Disciples have contended for
that liberty during all their history. A disciple is a learner,
and if we are true disciples, we will seek all possible light
in our interpretation of the great Book, and we will be
tolerant of those who do not agree with us in our inter-
pretation.
The War In the East
By Herbert L. Willett, Jr.
TURKEY has surrendered ! The terms may not yet
be complete, but the meaning is clear. The bloody
Ottoman Empire has at last been subjected to the
humiliation that it so well deserves, and the Allied govern-
ments are pledged to measures which shall insure both the
emancipation of Armenia, Syria, Mesopotamia, Palestine,
and Arabia, and the limitation of Turkish power to a
small and comparatively unimportant territory in Asia
Minor.
The crisis came quickly. General Allenby captured
Aleppo and broke the line of communication between the
capital and the Turkish forces in Mesopotamia. Imme-
diately General Marshall unleashed his troops south of
Mosul, on the Tigris and the Euphrates, and dealt the
Turks a series of hard blows all along the line between
Persia and the Arabian desert. Within three days the
line broke; and when the news came from Constantinople
that the government of Izzet Pasha, successor to the in-
famous Enver-Talaat combination, had begged for an
armistice, the Ottoman forces in Mesopotamia laid down
their arms.
There is poetic justice in the fact that it was General
Townsend, the heroic defender of Kut-el-Amara, who
carried the armistice message to the British admiral at
Minos. This gallant officer, forced in the spring of 1915
to surrender after being entirely surrounded by Turkish
forces, suffered the worst indignities that his enemies
could devise. He was the greatest prize of the war, and
was therefore paraded in public, along with his staff, as
an exhibition of the victory of Turkish arms. He was
even exhibited behind bars in Beirut, and the enemy of-
ficers were much chagrined to see that the people, instead
of being impressed by this proof of Turkish victory,
showed every evidence of pity and respect for the hap-
less prisoners. Since then the General has been im-
prisoned on an island off Asia Minor, and the world
awaits eagerly the description of his prison life there.
No one need be deceived as to the persons lurking
behind the new Turkish government. Fresh reports of
massacres in regions not yet taken over by the Allies in-
dicate that the bloody hands of Enver and Talaat are still
at the wheel of Turkish affairs, whatever may be the
personnel of the new cabinet. But a great victory has
been won. Palestine and Syria are entirely freed from
the Turk and are open to full relief and rehabilitation:
the letter from Dr. John Finley in a recent "Century"
tells something of the extent of this work. Damascus is
under the protection of the Arab forces of the Kingdom
of the Hedjaz ; Aleppo is the military center from which
the terms of the armistice will be enforced ; Mesopotamia
is entirely in the hands of the British ; Allied troops have
landed in Constantinople; the Black Sea is open to Allied
ships ; and most Turkish officials who are still in power
will feel it wise to aid American relief work and help
in the rehabilitation of the people of the country. This
is the matter of chief importance: that the newly freed
people be supported until the Peace Conference estab-
lishes them as distinct nations under protectorates or
autonomous governments.
Many people take no care of their money till they
have come nearly to the end of it, and others do the same
with their time. — Goethe.
WRITE ^or our sPecial
' = introductory offer
on the Bethany Graded Lessons.
Justice First— Then Righteousness
With Malice Toward None,
With Charity for All
THE close of the Civil War brought a flood-tide of words
regarding the treatment that should be accorded the defeated
South and the reconstruction of the broken nation. Words of
hard vengeance and bitter reprobation were plentiful and the
bitter-minded demanded dire punishment for the defeated people.
From all that flood of words none are remembered except those
immortal phrases of Lincoln : "With malice toward none, with
charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see
the right, let us have faith that right makes might, and in that
faith let us do our duty as we understand it."
The closing days of the world war have also brought a flood-
tide of words regarding the treatment that should be accorded the
defeated. The immortal words of Lincoln have not been much
quoted and are not approved by the bitterminded. There are those
who lose every sense of the judicial in their wholesale lumping of
German people and German rulers into one indiscriminate con-
demnation. Had Lincoln lived, the South would doubtless have
been spared "Carpet-Bag" rule and the whole nation would not
be compelled to bear its stigma throughout history.
These are perilous days for Christian nations. We have won
a military victory ; we can have what we wish to take politically ;
can we so dictate the disposition of that which is in our hands
as to secure the future peace and amity of the nations? Can we
govern ourselves in such manner as to leave no stigma on our
history as the world will read and judge it a century or even a
half-century from now? In other words, will we follow the
immortal sentiments of Lincoln or the example of the "Carpet-
Baggers?"
President Wilson is giving heed to the German people's re-
quest for such softening of the terms of the armistice as will
remove any difficulties in their food problems and in preparing
to lay plans for the relief of the starving among our enemies.
Marshal Foch is planning to lend all possible military aid in
transportation. The Italians say they will send food to the
ruined Austrians as far as it is possible to so do. Premier Clem-
enceau says the suffering masses of Germany must be fed. Liter-
ally, we are preparing to feed our enemy when he hungers and so
fulfill the Christian law. Will the American people be big
enough of soul to go on indefinitely conserving and saving and
rationing while the suffering and underfed millions of Germany
and Austria, our enemies, are fed, and while the equally great
number of millions in the Russia that deserted us are saved from
the black death? Such an attitude will manifest our charity
toward all and mark a new epoch in the history of the humanities.
* * *
Justice First — —
Justice has won in the first round. The criminal military
party has been defeated and the terms of capitulation are such
as to insure against any further overt acts on its part. The
Kaisers have all been compelled to abdicate and people's gov-
ernments are in process of formation. Prince Max frankly
confesses that the greatest victory is the winning by the German
people of a conviction that they were in error and misled by the
theory that might made right. The Allied conferees magnani-
mously say that President Wilson's political offensive is as great a
victory as is General Foch's military offensive. The world and
posterity won a great boon in terms of fundamental justice when
the Versailles Conference of Allied nations adopted the famous
fourteen points as the basis for determining concrete peace terms.
Essential justice is done in making reparation for all acts done
in contravention of the rules of civilized warfare, a condition of
even stilling the big guns. And we are guaranteed a peace formu-
lated upon the democratic basis of a "consent of the governed"
principle instead of the historic Congress of Vienna and Napoleonic
type that has characterized all past great international settlements.
President Wilson long ago said the German people could
have peace any time they would overthrow their war-lords and
adopt a form of government that would make a world safe for
democracy. Lloyd George reiterated this suggestion recently in a
great address on peace and reconstruction. Both agreed that the
German people would not be treated as the guilty criminal, but as
the dupes of the autocrats who miseducated and misled them. Their
discipline has no doubt been complete and their lesson learned at a
terrible price. It remains to be seen that they bear the sentence of
justice by repaying for the barbarities done in such manner that no
people will ever again yield to such nefarious doctrines or consent
to be led into such savage practices. To temper justice too much
with mercy here would only give courage to the cynical Machiavel-
lians to simply make surer of success another time. Let justice
measure its full nemesis by compelling the guilty nation to repay all
it did in contravention of the adopted laws of war, for even if the
German people were not wholly responsible for it, certainly the rav-
aged peoples cannot be expected even vicariously to bear the burden
of it. Their vicarious burden is great enough in terms of that
which is more precious than property and which can never be
restored. Justice comes before mercy else mercy destroys the
right.
But there is one more item in the terms of exact and righteous
judgment, and that is that the men who conspired to plunge the
world into this horrible maelstrom of blood and destruction, the
men who deliberately broke the laws of war through their designed
schrecklichkeit, the army officers who on any spot and at any time
ordered barbarities executed shall be personally tried and punished
for their crimes. Here again we must discriminate with true
judicial temper between the individuals who conspired and gave the
orders and the men in arms who could do nothing else than execute
them. True, the philosophy they had been taught, the unquestioning
obedience in which they had been educated made it easier for
them to execute them than could have been true of an Allied sold-
ier, but civilians who suffered testify that many a German soldier
This Christmas Will Be
a Book-Giving Christmas
llll Ill ■ II ■■■ 1IIIMI II II ■■ II I ■■!! I llllll I llll ^MIM I ■!!«!■■■■ !■■ — !■— II I ■WIIIMI^^MII !■ IIB^IM
That is the prediction of one of the
largest stores in Chicago. The prophecy-
will, no doubt, be fulfilled. The Chris-
tian Century Press has two new books
which are exceptionally adapted as gifts.
(1) The Daily Altar, which has been de-
layed somewhat in publication, but which
will soon be ready; (2) Love Off to
the War, which is an almost perfect
souvenir of the coming of peace, contain-
ing many poems of the New Age and
many others of the peaceful life. Make
up your Christmas list now and write us
how many of each of these books you
will wish for your friends.
The Daily Altar sells at $2.00, plus postage.
Love Off to the War, $1.25, plus postage.
The Christian Century Press
700 East 40th Street, CHICAGO
14
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 21, 1918
obeyed orders with great reluctance and often with tears. It may-
be objected that such a discrimination as to the guilt of Germans
would be too great an undertaking. Is it any greater than that
of making assessment of property destroyed and discriminating
between that destroyed by legal act of war and by illegal act
of barbarity The citizens, in most cases, can no doubt tell
enough about the military unit and the officers in charge to
identify the criminal, and once the process is in course German
soldiers will do much to clear up the rest. Such justice may be
done as to bring crime home to its perpetrator and forewarn all
the future that the act of war will not cover the crime of any
savage in command, nor miss justice through charging it up to
innocent and guilty alike by assessing it in an undiscriminating
fashion against a whole people.
Then Righteousness
After justice comes righteousness. Righteousness is justice
projected into the state that ought to be. Justice applies to the
equities of a practical, concrete situation; righteousness is justice
plus the ideal qualities of mercy and forgiveness and amity through
them for future welfare of all alike concerned. The prophets
put great emphasis upon justice; they dealt with concrete political
and social situations and administrative problems in the state.
Jesus put all emphasis upon righteousness ; he dealt with the
ideal state, the Kingdom of God, and talked of what ought to be.
Without justice there can be no approach to righteousness. Here
was the fundamental error of our pacifists and "peace without
victory" parties. Justice in a spirit of vengeance and without
moral discrimination between degrees of guilt in war-lords and
people is the error of the bitterminded and of the "dictated
peace" party, the party that would have no peace conference with
a German at the table.
With punishment for the guilty leaders determined upon and
reparation assessed to the nation that wrought the destruction,
righteousness may proceed to perfect its work by projecting some
ideals for the building of a future world. There has never been
any logical reason for believing that the German people were
constitutionally different from other peoples; there has been
abundant reason for recognizing the fact that they were still under
a medieval political regime and partisans to a theory of right
that was ancient in its tradition though very modern in its phil-
osophy. There has been no reason for thinking them more un-
reformable than were the French of Napoleon's day or the Eng-
lish of the days of the Stuarts. True, their guilt was the greater
because they lived in a more enlightened age, but democracy's
faith in the convertability of any people from the error of its
way holds fair promise of justification in the rapid and salutary
manner in which the defeated and disciplined people have over-
turned their discredited masters and are hastening to form rep-
resentative and modern governments. Let justice deal with those
'TVHE DEMAND for the autumn issue
* of the 20tf) Century <©uarterlj> was so
unexpectedly large that the supply was
exhausted three weeks ago. One school,
reordering, sent this telegram: "Send 40
more copies; everybody wants it."
Has your order been sent in for the
winter quarter? Order now, and order a
sufficient number to carry your school
through the entire quarter.
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 East 40th Street, Chicago.
fundamentally guilty, but let a Christian civilization deal with
the peoples in the light of the future and for its sake.
America has marked an epoch in civilization by taking up
the cudgel for the right on fields far removed from her selfish
interests and by frankly declaring that she will have no spoils
of war or accept any repayment for her sacrifices; she fought
for the future wholly and now, pray God, may the voice of her
spokesmen together with the democratic minds from all our
Allies successfully determine a peace that will leave no nation
armed with an unforgettable wrong and establish an institution
of justice that will command the fealty of all nations and make
impossible forever an appeal to might in defiance of the right..
"The tumult and the shouting die,
The captains and the kings depart,
Still stands thine ancient Sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
"Far-called our navies melt away —
On dune and headland sinks the fire —
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
Is one with Nineveh and Tyre !
"For heathen heart that puts her trust
In reeking tube and iron shard —
All valiant dust that builds on dust,
And guarding calls not thee to guard —
For frantic boast and foolish word,
Thy mercy on thy people, Lord !"
Alva W. Taylor.
The Sunday School
The Dreamer*
A GREAT writer on Biblical themes says of Joseph : "Id
Joseph we meet a type of character rare in any race, a com
bination of grace and power and hereditary dignity, self-
control, and incorruptible purity. He inherited and combined
Abraham's dignity and capacity, Isaac's purity and power of self-
devotion, Jacob's cleverness, and his mother's beauty and manage-
ment." Few men are built like a Grecian temple, combining
strength and beauty, but in Joseph all the elements were happily
blended. He was a man in ten thousand, all but faultless. Even
his vices leaned to virtue's side. One loves to brood over such
characters; in them we see how far short we come from perfection;
they cause us to see how lop-sided our development has been. We
may have power, but we lack grace. We may have strong bodies
but mediocre minds. We may have made money but failed to
acquire knowledge. We may have worth but failed to win friends.
Joseph was balanced : body, mind and soul accorded well, making
one music.
If he had one fault it was egotism. Being superior, he seemed
not able to mix freely with lesser men. Imagine the family gath-
ered at the breakfast table and the subject of dreams is up. Reuben
has had a commonplace dream. The other boys (and there were
several) contribute to the discussion, and then young Joseph tells
how the sheaves all bowed down to him. After the uproar which
ensues he quietly continues to tell of another dream in which he
saw the sun and moon honoring him alone. This helped not at all
and the brothers hold a conference as to how to shut up this young
egotist. All of this might have been overlooked, in time, had not
Joseph strutted forth in his new suit, the special gift of his father.
Evidently Jacob's shrewdness for once broke down. This coat
was the last straw and in vengeance Joseph is sold into Egyptian
captivity.
But let us return to the dreams. We are made by our imagi-
nations. Lacking imagination, we fail. Education should include
liberal stimuli for this faculty. Men fail to amount to anything
because they are unable to picture themselves as successful. As I
Lesson for December 1. Scripture, Gen 37:18-28.
November 21, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
15
walked down to the study, this beautiful evening, I stopped to ad-
mire the old Thaw home, which is being remodeled by a rich
banker. Great stone terraces are being built far out into the lawn ;
wonderful windows are being placed ; a new wing is being added ;
shrubbery is being planted and a curving driveway is being con-
structed, while the gate is guarded by two massive stone posts
topped by lions holding shields. I envy the architect who could
imagine those changes. Joseph had the sense to see himself as a
great man. If we could only see ourselves big, brave, magnanimous,
generous, noble, why, we would approach our dreams in realities !
Dreams are the patterns, and every thought, every deed, is a swift
movement of the shuttle of life weaving after the patterns.
Constantine saw his cross in the heavens ; French soldiers
insist that they saw the angels at Mons. Fulton saw a steamboat
in the stream that rose from the humble kettle; Newton saw a
solar system in a falling apple. Tissot always closed his eyes and
then sketched rapidly the images his brain conceived ; Angelo had
St. Peter's in the dome of his massive head. Paul was not disobe-
dient to his heavenly vision and Jesus saw the world at his feet.
John R. Mott sees a church in every hamlet of the earth. America
sees democracy triumphant.
What do we dream? What do we long for? What are we
capable of seeing? No wonder the true prophet is called a seer —
one who sees. He who thinks of himself as a gentleman will always
act like one. Your name — what does it stand for — what may it
stand for?
The dream comes true! Can you aid someone else to see
correctly? Can you help your friend, your scholar, to see himself
at his best? If you can, you are a benefactor of the race. Your
dream, and his, will come to pass.
John R. Ewers.
CORRESPONDENCE
Likes "Century Press" Books
Editors The Christian Century :
I have recently read Dr. Jenkins' book, "The Protestant."
It is just the book for the times. I wish that every church mem-
ber, yes, every thinking person, would read it. The author
has spoken as Christ himself might speak to the churches of
today. Dr. Jenkins' articles in the "Century" are always in-
spiring. Give us more of them.
The "Century" is a great paper, a paper for thinking men, a
paper for our soldier boys as they return home.
I am looking anxiously for the new book of devotions, "The
Daily Altar,' 'and the new volume of Mr. Clark's poems. I have
read his verses as they have appeared in the papers with great
pleasure. He portrays the Realities of life in a most beautiful
way. Chaplain B. H. Smith
Camp Funston, Kan. 69th Infantry.
Some Postscripts
Let me take this opportunity to express my appreciation of
The Christian Century. The editorials and articles are very
helpful and thought-stimulating.
Tulsa, Okla. Meade E. Dutt.
* * *
I have been very much interested in your book advertisements
in recent copies of the paper. The book reviews are especially
attractive. C. L. Johnson.
Nelsonville, O.
* * *
My best wishes to the "Century" family and its splendid
staff. I cannot tell you the satisfaction I derive from reading
the clear and deeply spiritual messages you give us from week
to week. W. Garnet Alcorn.
Lathrop, Mo.
* * *
I could not do without the "Century."
Carlisle, Ky. Jane B. Tilton.
In a Day of
Social Rebuilding
By Henry Sloane Coffin, D. D.
Associate Professor, Union Theological Seminary
IN this volume Dr. Coffin faces frankly the
social situation of the hour in international
relations, in industry, and in the more inti-
mate life of men, and discusses the duty of the
Church through its various ministries of recon-
ciliation, evangelism, worship, teaching, organ-
ization, etc., and the particular tasks of its lead-
ers. It is a book not for ministers and theolog-
ical students only, but for all who are concerned
with the ethical and religious problems of today,
and especially for those who have the usefulness
of the Church at heart.
This book contains the latest series of ad-
dresses of the Lyman Beecher Lectureship on
Preaching in Yale University. It strikes the key-
note for the work of rebuilding that must follow
the war. The chapters on "The Day and the
Church" and "Ministers for the Day" are of more
value than a dozen books of the ordinary sort.
***************
The Homiletic Review Says of this Book: "It is a
tribute to the vitality of religion that, in Dr. Coffin's
hands, the old themes show no signs of wearing
threadbare. The reason of this is to be found in his
conviction that 'there is scarcely a word in the com-
mon religious and ethical vocabulary which does not
need, like a worn coin, to be called in, reminted, and
put into circulation with the clear image and super-
scription of Jesus Christ.' Dr. Coffin's criticism of
today is all the more trenchant because he rarely
descends to mere denunciation; and his hope for to-
morrow is the saner and more credible because of
his sympathy with the struggle and disappointed
hopes of yesterday."
The World Tomorrow remarks: "A book that
deserves wide reading, and that not only among
parsons. It is marked by breadth of vision, shrewd-
ness of observation, and a certain quality of wisdom.
The radical may find here some reason to modify
certain of his indiscriminate charges against the
church and its leadership, and the conservative within
the church will find much to challenge any complacent
satisfaction he may still feel.
Price $1.00
Plus 8 to 15 Cents Postage
The Christian Century Press
700 East 40th Street, - - - CHICAGO
The Larger Christian World
A Department of Interdenominational Acquaintance
The Y. M. C. A.
Army in France
The American Y. M. C. A. has 2,500 workers in France who
are serving in 1,200 centers. General Pershing has asked the
Y. M. C. A. to take over the management of the post exchanges
in France. It is said that the goods sold in these exchanges are
valued at $75,000,000. The American soldiers are great chocolate
eaters and it requires 920,000 pounds a month to keep them sup-
plied. They also eat 528,000 pounds of biscuits a month.
Well-Known Men in Service
of the Y. M. C. A.
The Y. M. C. A. has been able to command the services of
some very eminent religious leaders both in America and Great
Britain. The work of the Association has exercised a peculiar
appeal to these men. Among those aiding in the work in Europe
are J. M. Murdock of Johnstown, Pa. (banker and big business
man); Rev. Carey E. Morgan, of Nashville; Rev. George A.
Andrews, of Los Angeles ; Rev. Willsie Martin, of Boise, Idaho ;
Rev. Howard A. Bridgman (editor of the Congregationalist) ;
Homer Rodeheaver (music leader of the Billy Sunday cam-
paigns) ; Bishop W. A. Guerry, of South Carolina, and Bishop
T. F. Davies of Massachusetts.
Still More Federation
Experiments
The scarcity of ministers, fuel conservation and the general
spirit of religious amity that are in the air account for the numer-
ous federation experiments that are being carried out in various
parts of the country. The First Baptist and First Congregational
churches of Dowagiac, Mich., entered into a trial federation and
the experiment has been so successful that they now propose to
form a permanent federation with Rev. Joseph F. Fox, Baptist
minister, as pastor. The First Congregational and First Christian
churches of Mankato, Minn., have voted for a six months trial at
federation. The pastor of the Christian church accepted a chap-
laincy in the army and the pastor of the Congregational church,
Rev. A. B. Bell, will remain as the pastor of the federated
church. Both buildings will be used for a time for Sunday
school services and each congregation will continue its organ-
ization with a joint committee managing the business affairs.
Work Among the
Ship-Builders
Dr. Charles A. Eaton, pastor of the Madison Avenue Baptist
church, New York, is carrying on an important work among the
men who are engaged in the manufacture of ships in this country.
The United States Shipping Board has become interested in his
work and recently asked him to organize the National Service
Section of the United States Shipping Board. In one week 200,-
000 persons listened to addresses given by Dr. Eaton and his
assistants. Much patriotic propaganda is being carried on by
this means. Many of the speakers are laymen.
Shall Evangelism
Be Abandoned
The Interdenominational Association of Evangelists evidently
is not in a very enthusiastic mood about the future of its particu-
lar methods of religious work. Its leaders recently held a meeting
at Winona Lake, Ind., at which they considered the question,
"Shall We Abandon Evangelism?" It is said that nearly a hun-
dren evangelists have gone over seas into war work. After a
thorough discussion, the evangelists voted to continue their or-
ganization, hoping for better conditions after the war.
Unified Evangelical
Movement in Europe
There are several American Protestant denominations work-
ing in Belgium or France. These recently held a conference with
Rev. Charles S. Macfarland on the question of evangelical activ-
ities by the denominations. A committee on findings is composed
of the following members : Rev. John Y. Aitchison, American
Baptist Foreign Mission Society; Rev. Albert G. Lawson, Admini-
strative Committee of the Federal Council of Churches; Dr.
James R. Joy, Methodist Episcopal Board of Foreign Missions;
Rev. F. H. Knubel, National Lutheran Commission; Rev. H. G.
Mendenhall, Presbyterian Church, U. S. A. ; Rev. George W.
Richards, Reformed Church in U. S. ; Rev. Paul S. Leinbach,
Reformed Church in U. S. ; Rev. W. W. Pinson, War Work
Commission of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South; Rev.
William I. Chamberlain, Reformed Church in America. This
committee decided that each denomination should do its own
work, but the program of the different denominations should fit
into a scheme of comity.
Union Presbyterian
Church in China
The native perplexities over occidental ecclesiastical organ-
ization is one of the handicaps of mission work in China. Ten
different Presbyterian bodies were at work there, including
American, Canadian and British organizations. There has been
organized a "Provisional General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church in China." Already the London Mission and the Amer-
ican Board of the Congregational denomination have made over-
tures looking to some sort of affiliation. The sentiment in China
in favor of a great national church is a growing sentiment.
American Preachers
in Great Britain
The new spiritual friendships being organized between Amer-
ica and Great Britain as a result of the war will be one of the
permanent gains from the recent great struggle. The British
Commission for Ministerial Interchange has recently tele-
graphed Dr. John R. Mott for twelve selected preachers to
be detailed for work among the British churches. Among the
churches to be supplied are Worcester Cathedral, Queen-Street,
Wolverhampton and Mansfield College as well as other leading
churches of Scotland and England. This interchange of pulpits
will go far in bringing into consciousness the responsibility of a
united Angle-Saxon world to religious progress.
Congregationalists Will Meet
at Grand Rapids
The National Council of Congregational churches had decided
to hold the 1919 meeting in Los Angeles, but the difficulty and
expense of travel in war-time has resulted in a change of decision.
The executive committee of the National Council has decided to
hold the next meeting at Grand Rapids, Mich., in October, 1919.
A strong competitor for the meeting was Oak Park, a suburb of
Chicago, where a beautiful Congregational edifice has recently been
completed.
Discuss Terms of
Membership
The National organization of the Y. W. C. A. has a lively
discussion on now with regard to terms of membership in the
organization. At the present time terms of membership require
one to be a member of an Evangelical church, but it is proposed
to admit members henceforth on a simple declaration of faith
in Jesus Christ. This proposition is strongly opposed by many
church leaders on the ground that it tends to separate the As-
sociation from the church.
Annual Meeting of Chicago Church
Federation Council
The annual meeting of the Chicago Church Federation
Council was held recently and at this meeting the secretary,
Rev. W. B. Millard, made his report. It was shown that the
Council, by holding a meeting with Secretary of the Navy
November 21, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
17
Daniels, had secured his influence to bring to pass the repeal
of special bar permits in Chicago. By these special bar per-
mits, liquor was allowed to be sold at dances. The federation
maintains an office in the Association building and provides
information of all sorts to the public. A speakers' bureau is
also a feature. The religious organizations not connected
with religious denominations are investigated and if worthy
are approved. The Chicago Chamber of Commerce prints a
list of the organizations approved for the use of its members.
Religious Efficiency
in the Camps
The religious work done in the military camps during the
war indicates that the religious forces of America have made
a very quick and accurate adjustment to the new conditions.
The work at Camp Grant, near Rockford, 111., has been par-
ticularly effective. The report of camp religious activities
shows that "The Knights of Columbus conduct regular serv-
ices in their three buildings and co-operate heartily with the
Y. M. C. A. in efforts for the general welfare of the men.
The Jewish Welfare Board's headquarters have been in Y.
M. C. A. No. 1 for the past six months, and their new build-
ing is now nearly ready for dedication. The Y. W. C. A. has
confined its activities to service down town in Rockford, and
to providing wholesome entertainment for the Y. M. C. A.
buildings in camp, but will soon have two hostess houses in
camp, both of which are practically ready for occupancy."
Adjusting the Church to
Modern Conditions
The churches are feeling the need of readjustment to the
conditions under which they work. A very interesting type
of the experimental church is the Congregational church of
Long Beach, California. It has a Washington Gladden Club
of men which is responsible for the Sunday evening forum,
which is held once a month. The pastor has been preaching
on "The Vital Problems of Present Day Faith" and "The
Greater Issues of the War." He has presented some illus-
trated evening lectures on the general theme of "The Battle
Line of Democracy."
Christmas Gifts for
Belgian Soldiers
A remarkable work for soldiers in the Belgian army has
been done by Mr. and Mrs. Ralph C. Norton. Last year they
distributed 25,000 Christmas boxes to these soldiers, with the
co-operation of the Belgian government. They plan this year
to distribute 120,000. In the Christmas boxes will be the
articles most desired by these soldiers; chocolates, toilet soap
and candles. A Christmas greeting card will be enclosed
printed in Flemish on one side and in French on the other.
Wins Prize for
Stewardship Essay
The Every Member Committee of the Presbyterian
church offered a prize some months ago for the best steward-
ship essay. Rev. H. A. Drake of Elgin won the first prize
of two hundred dollars and Dr. S. S. Estey won the second
prize. These essays will be printed and used in stimulating
Christian giving throughout the Presbyterian church.
New Secretary of the
Missionary Education Movement
Dr. Ernest F. Hall has recently assumed the duties of sec-
retary of the Missionary Education Movement. Dr. Hall has
been very active in the field of missionary education in the
Presbyterian church. He has been pastor in New York and
Buffalo and served a term as missionary in Korea. He has in
recent years been in charge of Presbyterian missionary inter-
ests on the Pacific coast.
Orvis F. Jordan.
"THE RIGHT LITERATURE"
Last autumn our Bethany Graded Les-
son business was increased about 40%.
The new schools added to our list are en-
thusiastic in their praise of the literature.
An Ohio leader — formerly a state Sunday
school superintendent — writes: "We are
delighted with the Bethany Lessons." The
pastor of a great Eastern school reports:
"We feel that we have at last found the
right literature." The religious education
director of another large school writes:
"Our people are entirely satisfied with the
Bethany Graded Lessons." Have you and
your leaders given consideration to this
question, "Are we using the literature best
adapted to the spiritual development of our
children and young people?" If you have
been careless in this respect, you should at
once begin examination of all study litera-
ture available. Do not forget to include
the Bethany Graded Lessons in your in-
vestigation. Send for returnable samples
today.
The Christian Century Press
700 East Fortieth Street Chicago
For —
Your Men's Class
Your Women's Class
Your Young Peoples Class
Your Home Department
Superintendents
Teachers of Uniform
Lessons, etc., etc.
The 20th Century
Quarterly
SEND FOR FREE SAMPLE COPY NOW
The Christian Century) Press
700 E. Fortieth Street
Chicago
18
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 21, 1918
News of the Churches
Progress of Missions
in Africa
Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Smith and Edgar
A. Johnston have arrived home from
Africa. On account of the war, it was
necessary for them to come by way of
Cape Town and Japan and San Francisco.
Mr. Smith reports that there are nearly
fifty young men being trained for evangel-
ists in the school at Bolenge. He states
further that Dr. Barger has been made the
State doctor at the capital of the Equator
district. This gives him a standing with
the Belgian officers and with the people that
he did not have before. Mr. Smith states
that an agricultural missionary is greatly
needed to teach the people to grow more
and better things. The Mission Steamer
Oregon is now a floating station. Mr. and
Mrs. W. H. Edwards are in charge, living
on the boat. They go from place to place
preaching the gospel and superintending the
work of the African evangelists and teach-
ers. They carry medicine and relieve much
suffering on the part of the people.
Death of S. B. Moore,
Disciple Minister
S. B. Moore, minister of leading churches
of the Disciples during nearly a half
century, died at Danbury, Conn., early this
month. The funeral service was conducted
by Pastor F. A. Higgins, of the Danbury
church. Mr. Moore served the churches at
Jacksonville, 111., Indianapolis, Ind., St.
Louis, Mo., and Denver, Colo., and was
associated with many prominent men of
the Disciples, among them J. H. Garrison,
W. W. Dowling, F. D. Power, B. B. Tyler
and Z. T. Sweeney.
Convention of Central China
Mission Workers
Features of the annual convention of the
Central China Christian Mission, which was
held at Nanking, June 3-6, were addresses
by President J. E. Brown, who offered some
criticisms on present-day missionary
methods; by Frank Garrett, on "Our Per-
sonal Lives and Relationships"; by Dr. C.
H. Hamilton, on "Evangelistic Methods in
Our Schools"; by Dr. E. I. Osgood on
"Evangelistic Work in Hospitals"; and by
Mr. Gish on "Evangelistic Work in the
Churches." Other interesting features were
a communion service at the Drum Tower
church, at which a sermon was preached
by Mr. Alexander Li on "The Relationship
Between Foreign and Chinese Workers,"
and a very pleasant party at the home of
Dr. and Mrs. C. H. Hamilton.
Death of W. S. Dickinson,
Disciple Pioneer
W. S. Dickinson, a leading business man
of the Disciples and for many years a di-
rector of the Foreign Society and prom-
inently associated with other Disciples en-
terprises for a half century, passed from
this life at Columbus, O., on November 7.
The funeral was held November 11 at Cin-
cinnati, O. Mr. Dickinson had reached the
ripe age of 87 years.
Community Service at
Beaver, Pa.
The Protestant forces of Beaver, Pa.,
are well organized for community serv-
ice, writes Pastor Charles H. Bloom.
They have an active Federation under
the name, "The United Church of
Beaver." Frequent union services are
held. Once a month is held a great
union prayer-meeting, followed by a
business session of twenty-four men rep-
resenting the four churches and in fact
all the civic and social organizations of
this high-class residence community of
the Pittsburgh district. During the epi-
demic of influenza the "United church"
purchased an entire page in the Satur-
day edition of the "Daily Times." The
" -nr pastors prepared a full "Order of
Service," printing prayers, hymns, an-
thems, scriptures, and a sermon. In many
homes this service was conducted by
the head of the family. No item of the
customary service was omitted; even the
"benediction" being given, and also in-
structions for the taking of the "offer-
ing" and its disposition. In the issue
of the local daily for October 26th ap-
peared a sermon by Mr. Bloom, his sub-
ject being "A Drink From the Old
Spring." His congregation followed this
up by house-to-house distribution of the
Sunday-school weekly papers, etc. Mr.
Bloom has been kept unusually busy in
active Red Cross ministrations, visiting
the sick and burying the dead.
* * *
— L. D. Warner, who leads the church
at Battle Creek, Mich., writes that the
women of that church serve supper every
Sunday evening to soldiers from Camp
Custer who visit the church. He states
also that Kyle Brooks, "Y" secretary at the
camp, recently delivered a stirring evangel-
istic sermon at the church, and at the close
of the service, with his wife, took member-
ship with the congregation. On last Sun-
day pledges were taken by the Battle Creek
church looking to the lifting of a mortgage
on the work. "Family services" were held
in the evening.
—The St. Louis churches, which have
been closed since early in October, were ex-
pected to reopen on last Sunday.
— M. H. Garrard, of Lansing, Mich.,
church; C. H. Swift, of Carthage, Mo.,
First, and B. H. Linville, of Compton
Disciple Ministers on War and Peace
L. C. Cupp, of Hyde Park, Kansas City
Mo., Sees New Interest in Religion as
War Result
"A new interest in religion will result
from the world war. The consciousness
of God in the world is going to be more
distinctly felt than ever before. Our
boys will not come back from the front
infidels. Many of them have learned the
value of religion in the trenches through
the army chaplains. New streams of
philanthropy will be opened by the gen-
erous gifts which Christian people are
growing accustomed to give to war agen-
cies. It is hoped that the co-operation
of the nations will extend to the
churches, bringing them into closer
union after the war."
O. F. Jordan, of Evanston, 111., Says
Religion Is the Way to the Brotherhood
of Man
"We want a religion today which is
in intimate contact with human life.
Such a religion would drive the evil
spirit out of homes. It would cleanse
the Augean stables of modern political
life. It would give philanthropy more
sympathy and churches more will to
serve. Were this religion universal it
would guarantee justice among nations
and a practical realization of the brother-
hood of man. There can never be an
abiding world peace without a world re-
ligion as the bond. The religion of
ecclesiastics has often concerned itself
with arid doctrines and empty forms, but
the religion of the first century still
reaches across the ages and calls us
back to brotherhood and to spiritual liv-
ing.' '
J. H. O. Smith, of Metropolitan Church,
Chicago, Says Allies Must Redress
Wrongs of Foe
"The Mittel Europa scheme of Ger-
many seems to have been lightly consid-
ered in the early days of the war. Ser-
bia, Roumania and Russia were aban-
doned to German propaganda. It
meant the enslavement of millions of
people. The smaller nations have been
plundered, outraged, deported and en-
slaved. With German consent and co-
operation the Armenians were slaugh-
tered. Morally, the allies are under the
gravest obligations to redress the
wrongs inflicted upon these outraged
peoples, and no material or political ad-
vantage to any member of the entente
should be allowed to interfere with the
humanitarian purposes so often ex-
pressed by allied statesmen."
J. W. Leonard, of Petoskey, Mich.,
Declares Church's Chief Work Is Not
for Red Cross and Y. M. C. A.
"The church has been used as one of
the chief publicity agencies in the Lib-
erty Loan campaigns, war garden work,
Red Cross memberships and Y. M. C. A.
funds campaigns, conservation and food
saving efforts; in fact, one of the na-
tional officials said recently that in influ-
encing people for unselfish and sacrific-
ing service there was no agency as
effective as the church. In all these
works the church has taken an active
and efficient part; these are religion in
terms of the Good Samaritan; but it is
not the primary work of the church. The
field of the church is in dealing in mat-
ters of morals and religion; it has to do
with the soul of man. Here it stands
alone without a rival or competitor."
ESTATE of $10,000 handed to the minister:
iiiiiiimmmi
iiimiimiiim
(1) when he reaches 65, after preaching 30 years or more;
(2) when disabled, whatever the length of his service, would not be as good s the $500 per year
for life which the new Pension System, as now revised, will provide.
BOARD OF MINISTERIAL RELIEF, 627 Lemcke Building, Indianapolis, Ind.
November 21, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
19
Heights, St. Louis, Mo., were among the
influenza victims. All have recovered.
—Flint, Mich., church, is still without a
pastor.
— H. O. Wilson, of St. Joseph, 111., has
been called to the pastorate of Third
church, Danville, 111. B. H. Bruner, for-
merly leader at Third, is now serving as a
chaplain in the National Army.
...... »,„m# CENTRAL CHURCH
NEW YtlRK 142 West 31st Street
il k if I w 1 1 1% Finis s> Idleman) Minister
—Mr. and Mrs. M. C. Vanneter, who
served for several years under the C. W. B.
M., being located in Porto Rico, are now in
charge of the Wharton Memorial Home at
Hiram, O.
— It is hoped to dedicate the new First
church building at Kansas City about
Christmas or New Year, reports Pastor J.
E. Davis. The Kellems brothers will fol-
low the dedication with an evangelistic
meeting.
— The Englewood church, Chicago, four
years ago gave a total of offerings for
missions and benevolences of $587 ; in
1916 of $1,017; in 1917 of $1,677; the total
for this year is $2,000.
— A. N. Julian is the new minister at
Lancaster, Tex. ; Horace Kingsbury at
Owensboro, Ky. ; L. G. Knowles at East
Grand Boulevard church, Detroit, Mich. ;
and J. T. Wheeler at Coldwater, Kan.
— Among the new "Y" workers are C. B.
Titus, Charles H. Funk, of Wichita, Kan.,
Fairview church, and W. O. Dallas, of the
Abilene, Tex., church. Mr. Dallas is now
taking special training. W. C. Pearce, Chi-
cago Disciple and International Sunday
school leader, will spend a year in Ar-
menian relief work.
— H. A. Kaufman succeeds T. S. Tinsley
at Zionville, Ind., church.
— The death is reported of Mrs. L. F.
Jaggard, who with her husband had long
served the Foreign Society in Africa. Her
death occurred at Leon, la., and the burial
service was held at Indianola, la.
— M. M. Amunson, of Brooklyn, N. Y.,
Discipledom, will return from "Y" service
overseas next month. Jesse M. Bader, for-
merly minister at Atchison, Kan., is now in
the service of the Association in France.
— R. D. Brown is the new leader at
Farmer City, 111., C. H. Hoggatt at Monti-
cello, 111., and Paul Million at DeLand, 111.
— West Street church, Tipton, Ind., re-
ports its seventh annual service for railway
men of the steam and traction lines, held at
the church on the evening of November
17? This is real community service. The
pastor at Tipton is Aubrey H. Moore.
— J. C. Mullins, evangelist of the East
Central district, Illinois, is holding a meet-
ing with W. A. Askew and the church at
Kansas, 111.
«.n..«v«w.. UNITED SERVICE
MEMORIAL Memorial (Baptistsand Disciples)
_ First Baptist
Cm « /"" 1 l~* f\ Oakwood Blvd. West of Cottage Grofe
"HAG 2 W.rH.M^WiBe" | Minis,«'
—The School of Methods of the East
Central Illinois district, which was to have
been held last month, but was postponed
on account of the influenza plague, will be
conducted at Charleston, January 6-10.
— The North Carolina Disciples were to
have met in annual convention November
5-8, but the date has been changed to No-
vember 25-27 — at Robersonville, C. C.
Ware is the state leader.
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
By EDWARD SCRIBNER AMES
M Associate Professor of Philosophy in (he University of Chicago
1 A popular, constructive interpretation of man's religious
life in the light of the learning of scholars and in the
1 presence of a new generation of spiritual heroes.
H np'HIS book seeks to present in simple terms a view of
= religion consistent with the mental habits of those
trained in the sciences, in the professions, and in the
expert direction of practical affairs. It suggests a dynamic,
f§ dramatic conception designed to offer a means of getting
g behind specific forms and doctrines. It aims to afford a
H standpoint from which one may realize the process in which
ceremonials and beliefs arise and through which they are
H modified. When thus seen religion discloses a deeper, more
intimate, and more appealing character. As here conceived
it is essentially the dramatic movement of the idealizing.
H outreaching life of man in the midst of his practical, social
tasks. The problems of the religious sentiments, of per-
fj sonality, of sacred literature, of religious ideals, and of the
ceremonials of worship are other terms which might have
g§ been employed as the titles of the successive chapters.
Price $1.00, plus 6 to 12 cents postage
OTHER BOOKS BY
DR. AMES
Itye -papcljologp of Religious experience
($2.75 plus 10 to 20 cents postage)
"Should be read by every thoughtful minister." — The Outlook.
"It is impossible not to admire and commend the wealth of learning and allusion
which Dr. Ames spreads out before us." — The Literary Digest.
"No intelligent student or teacher of religion can afford to neglect it." — The
Independent.
"Scholarly in tone, clear in expression, liberal and unprejudiced in attitude." —
The Nation.
®b* ?Ngf)er Snbttribualtem
Sermons delivered at Harvard University
($1.25 plus S to 15 cents postage)
"Dr. Ames' themes are on subjects of vital interest to the present generation." —
The Christian Work.
"Good philosophy and excellent religion." — The Congregationalist.
"The underlying and unifying thought of the book is the value of social serv-
ice."— Springfield Republican.
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A book which has as its purpose "the deepening of religious faith in the presence
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| THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS |
| 700 EAST 40TH STREET CHICAGO, ILLINOIS |
p;;Mi:;i'i::;':.i:l|:.:::,:i,^.,::'/.,:;; '.-i1/,'1 ■ ;i .I'ii'.i1:;:^ -ir: r.i::; sl ut:!'!: !!;r!i;:Miv:; .h::^!^^.!1;! :v i:- .! .:;i':i'i t i!;:; im :i :i:!> ii^ h j:T:!:::::!;:i:!!;i!'i;:!;i!::i;^ ;i:fl
20
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 21, 1918
— During the last reported month at the
hospital in Vigan, P. I., there were 1,435
persons given treatment.
— John Hewitson, until recently minister
at Kidder, Mo., has accepted a call to the
work at Goldfield, la., and began this new
work November 10.
BUFFALO
RICHMOND AVENUE
CHURCH OF CHRIST
Cor. Richmond and Bryant Streets
ERNEST HUNTER WRAY, Minister
— The church at New Orleans, organized
as a mission point by W. H. Allen four
years ago, has developed into a self-sup-
porting congregation with a good location
and excellent standing in that city of
400,000.
— First church, Youngstown, Ohio, min-
istered to by L. G. Batman, is planning a
Sunday evening club.
— The Alabama convention is being held
this week at Gadsden — November 18-20.
— G. L. Snively will dedicate the new
building at Whiting, Ind., on November 24.
— First Church, Richmond, Ind., has
made its pastor, L. E. Murray, a Life Di-
rector in the Foreign Christian Mission-
ary Society. The missionary interest in
this congregation has developed remark-
ably during the last five years, reports
Mr. Murray. Another living-link will
probablv be the next step forward of
the local C. W. B. M.
— The new leader at Noblesville, Ind.,
Joseph Keevil, writes in high praise of
the work that has been done in this field
during the past seven and one-half years
by the late pastor, L. C. Howe, who
has begun his new service at First
Church, Vincennes, Ind. "To follow such
a man," he states, "is a most delightful
task." Mr. Keevil writes that the con-
gregation is responding heartily to plans
for further advances.
NORFOLK.VA.
FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH
(Disciples)
Colonial Are. at 16th St.
ReT. C. M. Watson, Minister
— Harry G. Kellogg, who has been mis-
sionary-pastor of the Newark, Ohio,
West Side church, has recently received
a call to accept a position with the
American Sunday-School Union as one
of its missionary-evangelists. Mr. Kel-
logg has accepted the position and has
been assigned four counties in the
"Thumb" of Michigan in which to do
pioneer Sunday-school work. He will
begin his duties there January 1.
The Two Best
Commentaries
On the Uniform Sunday-
School Lessons — 1919
TarbelPs Teacher's Guide
and
Peloubet's Notes
Each $1.15 + 10c postage
Order now
The Christian Century Press
700 East 40th St., Chicago
THE BUDGET FOR BIBLE
SCHOOL WORK
There are no local apportionments to the
Bible schools this year. Instead, all Bible
school offerings are included in the United
Budget and Apportionment presented
through the Men and Millions Movement.
All the missionary and benevolent work of
our people is dependent upon the hearty as-
sistance of every church and Bible school
leader in the attainment of the entire
United Budget in each church. Whatever
the Bible schools raise for the American
Society will be counted as part of the total
missionary Budget.
The total amount asked for all purposes
will run between two and three millions of
dollars. Of this grand total, $100,000 is
the amount assigned to the Bible schools to
be raised for the American Society. This
sum will go to make possible among other
Be A Lecturer—
In your community — in your
States — in your Nation
Lecturers are in demand by Twenty-
five Lyceum and Chautauqua
Bureaus in America
The Employment is
Pleasant and Profitable
1 . We will mail you the names and ad "
dresses of Twenty- five Lecture Bureaus-
2. Our "Hints and Suggestions" on
how to make connection with one or
more Lecture bureaus, and
3. Your Choice of any three of the
following (expertlv prepared) GREAT
PLATFORM LECTURES:
"Birds of A Feather"
(Humorous and Practical)
"Man And His
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"America, The
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(Patriotic and Popular)
"The Man of Galilee"
(Religious and Attractive)
"Humanity's Headlight"
(Biblical and Entertaining)
All (prepaid) For One Dollar
(Or any one lecture fifty cents)
Every lecture abounds with a series
of bright, happy and up-to-date illus-
trations. You cannot make a better
purchase anywhere.
Thousands of prominent men are
using our helps, revising them to meet
needs, if necessary.
N. B.— All transactions and corres-
pondence treated confidentially.
Public Speakers Supply
Ridgway, Pa.
Write and tell us what you need
for that "special occasion" and we will
submit prices. We also prepare ser-
mons for regular work.
things the following important and funda-
mental enterprises :
1. All the state and district Bible school
work of our people; this covers now every
state in the Union save one.
2. If the full amount is assured, an All-
Canada Bible School field worker will be
employed, our first such worker in the
Dominion.
3. The continuation and enlargement of
our work in Alaska; two men will be
needed after the war to care for the rapidly
growing towns in this great frontier.
4. The Bible school work among the
negro churches must be continued and
strengthened ; P. H. Moss is a hero and has
done a great work without helpers thus far.
5. Many cooperative Bible school enter-
prises of our people are supported by this
offering; among the outstanding ones may
be mentioned the Gary Religious Day
School, the Joint Committee on Missionary
Education, the Lesson Committee, the
World's Sunday School Association.
6. Much special home missionary work is
also made possible, such as mission
churches and Bible schools planted, work
among immigrants, churches brought to
self-support, etc.
7. The national Bible school workers of
our people are directly supported thus, in-
cluding a general secretary, elementary and
secondary superintendents, office teacher
training secretary and competent office help-
ers for this staff, and an adult superinten-
dent must be added if the offerings will
allow.
While no district apportionment is
being sent to the local school, definite as-
signments of this $100,000 are being made
to each state and province. It is hoped
that every state and province will take pride
in reaching or exceeding the amount sug-
gested.
SLOGAN OF THE YEAR
Our slogan this year is an Offering that
Represents Sacrifice. For the Bible
schools to raise $100,000 will mean an aver-
age of ten cents (10c) for each pupil.
Surely a call for any amount less than that
would have no sacrificial element in it.
While the sons of the nation have been
pouring out their lives in sacrifice to keep
the nation free, our Bible school pupils can
do no less than that suggested to make the
nation Christian.
Send all offerings promptly to
Robt. M. Hopkins,
Bible School Secretary, American Christian
Missionary Society, Carew Bldg., Cin-
cinnati, Ohio.
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 B. 40th St. Chicago. HI.
Get the Habit
OF PURCHASING ALL YOUR
BOOKS
Though
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
TOO B. Fortieth Street t-i CHICAGO
November 21, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
21
F. M. RAINS PRESENTS AN
ENCOURAGING CONTRAST
The first year I was with the Foreign
Society— Sept. 1, 1893, to Oct. 1, 1894—
the total receipts were $73,173. The
churches as churches gave that year $30,-
697, the Sunday-schools $23,486, the En-
deavor Societies $2,286.
Last year the total gifts were $625,522,
a gain over the previous year of $75,135.
In other words, the gain last year was
$1,962 more than the total receipts of
twenty-five years ago.
Again: Last year the churches as
churches gave $190,199. The gain was
$24,089, or almost as much as the total
receipts of a quarter of a century ago.
The receipts from the churches last year
were more than six times as much as
those of twenty-five years ago.
Another contrast: Twenty-five years
ago the Sunday-schools gave a total of
$23,486, or about the same as the gain
during the year just closed.
A word of cheer to our Endeavor soci-
eties: Last year the Endeavorers bounded
up to $19,318 in their gifts, a gain of
$5,207. This gain is about two and one-
half times as much as the total gifts of
the year to which reference is here made.
Note that we are talking about gains last
year.
No church in the brotherhood at that
time gave as much as $500. Frankfort,
Ky., led with a contribution of $421. It
was a marvel of liberality and leadership.
Then, we had no annuity gifts, and no
living-links. Were we not poor indeed?
What could we do now without our liv-
ing-links?
At that time we had no battle line in
the Africa sector, nor in the sector of the
Philippines or Tibet. We had no work
at all in these great and important fields,
which now cheer our hearts. We had
no school buildings anywhere. We had
only one small hospital. Indeed, our
property interest was almost zero on the
fields we were cultivating. It is not so
now.
We ought to make haste to cross the
million dollar line. Let us hope that the
war is now ended, and that during the year
to come we can send out a great host of
workers to the fields that are crying pite-
ously for help. F M RainSj
Cincinnati, O. Secretary.
SEND FOR OUR CATALOG OF
SUNDAY SCHOOL
MERCHANDISE
DISCIPLES PUBLICATION SOCIETY
700 E. Fortieth Street :-: CHICAGO
A UNIQUE AND BLESSED
CHRISTMAS SERVICE
With the near approach of Christmas, pastors and
superintendents must tbegin to plan for the annual
Christmas Service.
What willsuit them best of all this year is the one
which is most in harmony with the spirit and the needs
of the times, and this is to call attention to one which
has never been equaled in ability to charm the schools
which use it, and surprise and bless it in results.
It is entitled
WHITE GIFTS FOR THE KING
who is the King of all Kings, and the "Lord of all Lords"
the risen Christ.
It honors Him as no other service ever did. See it —
read it— think it — till you want it, which won't take long,
Send 50c for complete package of samples of all
necessary helps. The cost is as nothing to its value. If
your school promises help for the Armenians and
oyrians, this is the service that will filay on the heart
strings and work on the furse strings, and get more
miney than any other form ever used, to say nothing of
spiritual awakening. Address
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 E. WTH ST.
CHICAGO, ILL.
BOOK OF PRAYERS
Complete Manual of several^, hundred terse,
pointed, appropriate Prayers for use in Church,
Prayer Meetings, Young People's Society,
Sunday Schools, Missionary, Grace and Sen*
tence Prayers. Question of How and What to
Pray in Public fully covered by model, suggestive
and devout Prayers. Vest Pocket size, 128 pages.
Cloth 25c. Morocco 35c, postpaid, stamps taken. Agents
Wanted. GEO. W. NOBLE, Monon Building, Chicago, III.
POCKET S. S, COMMENTARY
For 1919, SELF-PRONOUNCING Edition
on Lessons and Text for the whole year. Right-
to-the point practical HELPS and Spiritual Ex-
planations. Small In Slze.fLarga In Suggestion
and Fact. 'Daily Bible Readings for 1919, alee
Topics of Young People's Saciety, Motto,
etc. Red Clo. 25c, Mor. 3Sc, Inter!, for Notes
I EOc, postpaid. Stamps Taken. Agents wanted,
8<3EO, VS. KOS1.E, ft!QNGM BUIIC-INS, GKI»SAS9s«A»
Bible Readers and Christian
Workers Self-Help Hand Book
Short and plain articles by nearly 100 experienced
Christian writers. Just the Help over hard
places you have been looking for. How to lead,
teach, testify, pray and grow. Young Christians
helper, experienced workers' guide. Pkt. size, 128
pgs.. Red Cloth, 25c, Mor. 35c, postpd. flats, wntd.
GEO. W. NOBLE, Monon BIdg.. Chicago, IB-
TT ClXCdU printed b the current country
and city press of America pertaining to he sub-
ject of particular interest to you.
N^wertanave contain many items daily
newspapers which W0(d/ Jnform ^
exclusively of where you can secure new busi-
ness, an order or a contract; where a new store
has been started, a new fern ncorporated or a
contract b to be let. A daily press clipping
service means more business.
For YOU Send Starr p for Booklet
The Consolidated Press dipping Company |
MANHATTAN BUILDING, CHICAGO
GET THE BEST
For Your Bible Class and Make it a Real
Study Class.
WE HAVE THEM. Write for Catalog.
DISCIPLES PUBLICATION SOCIETY
700 East Fortieth Street :-: CHICAGO
Make It a Patriotic Christmas
AMERICA, LEAD ON! A great Christmas
Pageant, that will bring good tidings to war-weary
hearts. It is a comforting and heart-strengthening
vision of God's leadership in world affairs. Fur-
nishes the patriotic and religious stimulus needed
In these war-stressing times. Beautiful music and
great dramatic dialog with tableaux. For use of
Churches. Young People's Societies, Sunday Schools
and Red Cross Organizations. Text by Jessie
Brown Pounds, music by J. H. Fillmore. Price
6 cents.
FEELING THE HURT. A Christmas Drama for
Churches, Young People's Societies and Sunday
Schools. Written by Mrs. F. D. Butchart. Cast:
Mrs. Langmore, mother ; Fred, son ; Elizabeth,
daughter; Martha, maid; Dr. Spencer, a returned
missionary; Rev. Wells, pastor. A heart-throbbing
stoiy of a mother whose son wished to fight for
his country and whose daughter wished to be a
missionary. The scenes are dramatic and Im-
pressive. The influence of the play is needed in
every community. Tho music consists of familiar
songs. Price 6 cents.
CHRISTMAS RECITATIONS AND DIALOGS
No. 21. A collection of original recitations and
dialogs and songs. Many of them refer to the war.
Tho needs of small children are particularly pro-
vided for. Handy for providing extra program
selections. Price 15 cents.
UNCLE SAM TO THE RESCUE, or, "Saving
Santa's Job." A patriotic play for boys and girls.
New, timely and appealing. Will stir the hearts
of old and young with a real patriotic spirit.
Price 10 cants.
THE HEAVENLY CHILD. A cantata for wom-
en's voices, charming. Price 25 cents.
CHRISTMAS OCTAVOS for mixed voices, or
men's voices, or women's voices. Ask for lists.
THE CHOIR, our monthly anthem journal. The
Christmas number filled with choice, new music
for mixed voices and women's voices. Now ready.
Ask for sample copy.
Will the Minister reading this please call the
attention of his music leader to these announce-
ments? Thank you.
FILLMORE MUSIC HOUSE
Cincinnati, 0.
The How
OF THE
International
Graded Lessons
Three Books
niiimmniiinmnmtmtmii
m
that will help you
nwiiiriuiHtiiimiirniiiiiiinita
The General
Manual
Tells how to intro-
duce the Graded
Lessons in all de-
partments. For
Superinte ndents,
Pastors, Teachers,
etc. 50 cents, post-
paid.
afiiinimiiiiHniimiuntiiiniiiimiiimniHntimiimiiiiiirimiii
The Primary
Manual
Tells "how?" for
the Primary De-
partment. For
Primary Superin-
tendents and Teach-
ers. 50 cents post-
paid.
uiijiiiiiiiiiiiiiHuiiiiiiiiiiMiuiiMwmmiJimiiimimiiiinumi*!
The Junior
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Tells the way to
success in graded
teaching in the
Junior Department.
50 cents postpaid.
nniifiliiiiiliiiiiriimniufiitiiii
Disciples Publication Society
700 E. 40th St., Chicago, 111.
Love Off to the War
By THOMAS CURTIS CLARK
Just from the press! A new collection of Mr. Clark's work, containing more than 125 poems, one-
fourth of them being poems of war and peace, some of which have gone to the ends of the English-
speaking world as voicing truly the patriotic convictions and emotions of the American people
which caused them to enter the conflict which has just ended. This is a most fitting souvenir of
the close of the World War and the dawn of the new age. But the book contains other than war
poems. The collection is made up of eight groups of verses, the group titles being "Love Off to
the War," "In Friendly Town," "Songs of the Seasons," "Followers of the Gleam," "Christus,"
"The Mystic," "Studies in Souls," and "The New World." A great many poems are here pub-
lished that have not before been printed.
SOME OF THE POEMS INCLUDED IN THIS COLLECTION
OF WAR AND PEACE
The Dawn of Liberty
God Rules the Seas !
They Have Not Died in Vain
Woodrow Wilson, Leader
America in France
The Day Breaks
OF THE SIMPLE LIFE
Take Time to Live
On Contentment Street
King of an Acre
A June Millionaire
Wealth
A Song of Quietness
To Thoreau
OF THE SEASONS
Revelation
Spring Song
Messengers
Wayside Roses
OF THE NEW AGE
The Bugle Song of Peace
The New Eden
The Golden Age
The Touch of Human Hands
God's Dreams
Battle Song of Truth
OF RELIGION
The Faith of Christ's Free-
men
The Christ Militant
The Search
The Stay
Be Still and Know that I Am
God
God Is Not Far
Light at Evening Time
The Pursuit
The Voice of the Deep
"STUDIES IN SOULS"
Three Poems of Lincoln
Sons of Promise
The Remorse of David
Sympathy
Success
The World Builders
In Praise of Thomas Curtis Clark's Poems
"Charming." John Masefield, English poet.
"These poems breathe a spirit of content." Sara
Teasdale, who received last year a prize of $500
for the best volume of verse published during 1917.
"I find both thought and music in his verses."
Henry van Dyke.
"Lovely poems and of wide appeal." James Terry
White, of the Poetry Society of America.
"Full of inspiration." Charles G. Blanden, Editor
of the Chicago Anthology of Verse.
"Mr. Clark's verse is sure to attract the attention of
those who are seeking for illumination and nour-
ishment for the inner life." Dr. Herbert L. Willett.
"Thomas Curtis Clark is the sweet singer of our
Israel." Editor B. A. Abbott.
"I greatly appreciate your songs. Surely you have
an authentic mission as an interpreter of the deep
things that matter most." Joseph Fort Newton,
minister at City Temple, London, and vice-presi-
dent of the London Poetry Society.
"Thomas Curtis Clark is doing a fine service to the
Church universal in giving poetic interpretation
to the evangelical faith in a fashion that makes
his verse especially congenial to the mood of our
time." Editor Charles Clayton Morrison.
"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
respects." Dr. J. H. Garrison.
"Mr. Clark is a poet of the inner life, an interpreter
of the soul, a seer of the realm spiritual." Dr.
Edgar DeWitt Jones.
The new volume is bound in semi-flexible cloth, with gold top and side, and makes a
charming gift for a friend as well as a u thing of beauty" to be treasured in the home.
Price $1.25 plus 6 to 10 cents postage
The Christian Century Press
700 East Fortieth Street, Chicago
iiu',i:i!!!i;;uii:;;:r !.;- ::.;;: :i ^■i-i.:;-1' !';'■:■■ ; , ; - , :: . i : :' : ^^imMiii^Hiiin-ii1!!;!
lilillllllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllM
Author of "The Wisdom of God's Fools," "The Inner
Circleftf "The Tender Pilgrims;9 "Fairhope," etc.
RNAMENTED
Orthodoxy
Studies in Christian Constancy
BY
Edgar De Witt Jones
PHE author of this volume of sermons is the President
■*■ of the General Convention of the Disciples of Christ,
1918, and Minister of First Christian Church, Blooming-
ton, 111. He was one of the "Three American Preachers"
who were the subject of an article by Prof. Arthur S. Hoyt
in the "Homiletic Review" for February, 1917. Here are
sermons of wide range in topic, style and arrangement; yet
withal they are full of feeling and fervor. They are good
examples of a high level of preaching, attained by a minis-
ter who, for twelve years, has made his pulpit a vital and
persuasive power in his own community and beyond it —
a minister who feels that "every sermon is an adventure in
the realm of spiritual romance, crowded with possibilities
for service to God and man."
Price $1.25 plus 6 to 12 cents postage
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 East 40th Street CHICAGO
iiwiiiiiiiiiiiiii
"No agency offers the opportunity to serve one's country that the Sunday
School offers. You can train a soldier to fight in a year, but it takes all his
preceding life to train him morally and spiritually to the sort of manhood
upon whom his superiors and his country can safely rely. It is manhood
that counts out here, and that comes only through the Christian home and
the Christian Church." — U. S. Chaplain Jesse R. Dancey, Somewhere in France
Every Bible School is asked to make on Thanksgiving Sunday
AN OFFERING THAT
REPRESENTS SACRIFICE
for the continent wide Bible School work of the American Christian Mission-
ary Society.
The closing of the Schools for a month necessitates a short intensive campaign. $100,000.00 must be
raised to care for this work this year. Keep your school at it until you have raised your part. Help
your state go over the top with its assignment.
Robt. M. Hopkins, Bible School Secretary American Christian Missionary Society, Carew Bldg., Cincinnati, Ohio
"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.
Why not make a feature of your evening preaching service this year a brief study from
this important little book?
Send for a sample copy of "The Training of Church Members," and see how perfectly it
fits into your needs.
Price, 15c per single copy; 12J^c in quantities
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 EAST 40th STREET CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
FOR THE MEN AT THE FrlONT
When you have finished reading this copy »f
The Christian Century place a one-cent stamp
en this comer and band the magazine to any
postal employe. The Post Office will send It
te gome soldier or sailor in our forces at the
front. No wrapping — n» address.
A. 8. BURLESON, Postmaster- general.
&%i&mimmffr
Vol. XXXV
November 28, 1918
Number 46
What Is Spirituality?
By Edgar DeWitt Jones
Growing Old
By Jenkin Lloyd Jones
SeS^SS
H
j.
e s s i n g s
ir— n«— »4»
524\ FEB. 3, 1918
yx.
$ Weekly Offering
FOR CURRENT EXPENSES
Cfrurcb of C&rfet
Upon the first day of the week
let each one of you lay by him
in store, as he may prosper.
I COR. 16:2
Name „
THIS SIDE FOR OURSELVES
FEB. 3,1918
Weekly Offering $
For MISSION
Foreign Missions
Home Missions
Benevolence
Church Extension
Ministerial Pensions
Education
Temperence
Christian Unity
State Missions
Name
THIS SIDE FOR OTHERS
The Church's Peace Chest
The free nations had to defeat the four central
powers ; the free churches have to convert the whole
world. The free nations had, and exercised, the
powers of conscription, taxation and borrowing;
both the man power and the money power of the
free churches must be absolutely voluntary.
How can the fewer people perform the larger
task with such handicaps?
Paul gave the secret :
(1) WORSHIP, "Upon the FIRST DAY of the
week" *
(2) ' REGULARITY, "UPON THE first day
of the week" ;
(3) LIBERTY, "LET each one of you";
(4) UNANIMITY, "Let EACH ONE of you";
(5) CARE, "LAY BY him in store";
(6) PROPORTION, "As he may prosper."
The Every-Member Canvass is the method. The
Duplex Envelope is the instrument — the church's
Peace Chest.
It emphasizes the unity of the church, both as a
local household of faith and as a world-wide
enterprise of God. It dignifies equally small and
large contributions. God does not count our money
by dollars and cents, but by faithfulness. "It is
reckoned according as a man hath." It gives the
small board a fair chance with the large board,
though it cannot employ as many secretaries, write
as many letters or circulate as much literature. It
magnifies every Lord's Day in the year, and not
merely two or three, or nine or ten, out of the
fifty-two. It gathers from each disciple according
to his ability and purpose, and distributes to every
cause according to its needs and oppojtunities as
the people themselves see them. It gives the sup-
port of the Kingdom of God a place of dignity in
each member's personal budget. Instead of being
left among the incidentals, it is ranked with the great
necessities, like food and clothing. Indeed, religion
is the first necessary of life or it is nothing; it
must have the chief place or none at all.
But the full Peace Chest will not just happen.
If, with all their authority, it was necessary for
government agencies to advertise, ((organize and
labor as they did, how much more must the church
give care to every detail of preparation and opera-
tion.
But lay the facts as to the needs and opportuni-
ties of both the local church and the world-wide
cause of Christ upon the hearts of the people and
everyone will give gladly, regularly and gener-
ously, until the fifty-two offerings of the year shall
make the angels rejoice as the Allies rejoiced at the
outpouring of America.
Disciples World-Wide Every-Member Campaign
MEN AND MILLIONS MOVEMENT
Promotional Agency, 222 W. Fourth St., Cincinnati, Ohio
•i M«
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Volume XXXV
NOVEMBER 28, 1918
Number 46
EDITORIAL STAFF: CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON, EDITOR; HERBERT L. WILLETT. CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
ORVIS FAIRLEE JORDAN. ALVA W. TAYLOR, JOHN RAY EWERS :: THOMAS CURTIS CLARK. OFFICE MANAGER
Entered as second-class matter, February 28, 1902, at the Post-office at Chicago, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized on July 3, 1918.
Published Weekly By the Disciples Publication Society 700 East 40th Street, Chicago
Subscription — $2.50 a year (to ministers, $2.00), strictly in advance. Canadian postage, 53 cents extra; foreign, $1.04 extra.
Change of date on wrapper is a receipt for remittance on subscription and shows month and year to which subscription is paid.
The Christian Century is a free interpreter of the essential ideals of Christianity as held historically by the Disciples of Christ.
It conceives the Disciples' religious movement as ideally an unsectarian and unecclesiastical fraternity, whose original impulse and
common tie are fundamentally the desire to practice Christian unity in the fellowship of all Christians. Published by Disciples, The
Christian Century, is not published for Disciples alone, but for the Christian world. It strives to interpret the wider fellowship
in religious faith and service. It desires definitely to occupy a catholic point of view and it seeks readers in all communions.
EDITORIAL
Our Blessings
THE spirit of thanksgiving rests fundamentally upon
the idea of God being a partner in human life. It
would be absurd for an infidel to participate in a
Thanksgiving day celebration. He denies the very ideas
that make the day possible. It is interesting that our rul-
ers should lead the way to church and synagogue on a day
devoted to thanksgiving and praise. America is still
religious at heart, even though we have separation of
church and state.
There have been high and low views of divine provi-
dence. The high Calvinists believed that God had fore-
ordained everything to his glory. The evil of the world,
if not foreordained, was permitted. Those opposed to
Calvinism made much of a personal devil in order to escape
the consequences of this Calvinism which seemed to them
to impeach the moral character of God. They held to the
notion of a personal devil of such power that he had often
been able to thwart the will of God.
In our own day this old controversy defines itself in
new terms, but it is in essence the same. Some hold to
an absolutist God. The Christian Scientist protects the
ethics of the Absolute by denying the reality of evil, mak-
ing it a mere appearance, a passing show. Those who
have fought evil are not inclined to treat it in so cavalier
a fashion.
Against this conception is that of the pragmatist with
his thought of a God who struggles at our side in the
battle of the ages. Not all things are according to his
will, for he is not an Absolute God, but one who is yet in
the midst of His creative processes. We may help Him
and He may help us. There is real comradeship between
such a deity and human life.
While these various ideas of God are widely sepa-
rated, they all admit of the idea of providence. We come
up to Thanksgiving day believing that some things have
happened which can only be explained by the idea of
divine aid and cooperation.
We thank God this year for victory. Some of us will
thank Him boastfully, in the spirit of the Pharisee who
thanked God that he was not as other men are. Some
Americans will thank God that we are not like Germans,
without recognizing that there are still some things in
American life to repent of. Victory has conferred upon
us very sacred responsibilities. There is a deeper stage
of reflection than the mood which came over us on the day
of the first celebration.
We are right in thanking God for victory. It was
God who aroused the conscience of the world against our
enemies. It was God who brought us into the conflict. It
was God who has helped preserve the most wonderful
morale in our soldiers and kept them fit for their duties.
* * *
But even more than victory, we thank God for peace.
Recent Christmas days have brought an appalling sense
of the inconsistency of the Christmas message with the
things that were going on at the battle line. We longed to
be through with our terrible duties. Now we have not
only a peace, but we have a peace with quality in it. It
is a peace not made by Germany according to the dictation
of her proud autocrats. It is a peace that looks wistfully
into the future and hopes to be an abiding peace. While
the abiding character of this peace is not yet altogether
assured, we may thank God that the idea of an abiding
peace is no longer simply the dream of sentimentalists,
but has finally become the subject of careful planning on
the part of some of the world's greatest statesmen.
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 28, 1918
America thanks God for a fresh revelation of her
mission in the world. Her attitude of coldness and aloof-
ness to the problems of the world has been broken down
by this war. We are to do better than to share "the white
man's burden." We are to take up the white man's mis-
sion. There is to be a kind of international missionary
society formed called the League of Free Nations. Every-
where there will go out the propaganda of brotherhood
and good-will. Even Germany will live to see the day
that she will bless America for that intervention which
struck the shackles from her limbs and took away the
bandages from her eyes.
* * *
Our greatest blessing is the open door into the world's
life. We are not a perfect people, but before God we can
assert that there is health in us. Our fathers dreamed a
great dream of human liberty. They sought the privilege
of worshiping God according to the dictates of their
consciences. They sought a government of the people,
by the people and for the people. They proposed to make
human life more valuable than property and to make per-
sonality of more importance than conformity. These
ideals of our fathers have been carried to a glorious ful-
fillment. Because we exult in our liberties, we want to go
through the open door of opportunity which has swung
widely upon its hinges this year, and possess the earth
for the American idea. We want no man's gold and no
man's authority. We seek only to lead men of all nations
gently into the same wonderful sort of community life
that has made America today the greatest nation in all
the world.
With our blessings go great responsibilities. God
will never treat the ten talent nation the same as he will
the one talent nation. God expects more of America than
he does of Costa Rica. We shall not always have the
smile of his favor unless our talents are put to the Master's
use.
Thanksgiving day this year should not be simply an
occasion to the flesh. It should not have expression
simply in games and amusements and feasting. It should
bring the citizenship of a great nation to its knees before
the throne of the living God that we may recognize all of
His benefits and seek the further guidance of His spirit
in the new tasks. o. f. j.
A
A Sad Confession
N editor and debater of the "anti" persuasion, at the
end of a long life of strenuous activity, makes the
following confession :
success of such a life. Suppose he had decided to save
souls and save society and had let the error take care of
itself. Might not he have combatted error more suc-
cessfully by such a course? Some who are not "antis"
ought to be interested in the answer.
I have been too much engaged in doctrinal controversy to
develop myself in the direction of winning souls to Christ. My
brethren have been beset on every hand with near or about every
shade and grade of error. As a result I have been under the
necessity of discussing doctrinal questions publicly and privately,
with tongue and pen, when I would have been glad to tell sinners
of the love of Christ, and tried to lead them to yield to his invita-
tion to obey the Gospel. What a waste and perversion of time and
energy the advocates of error have caused!
This man has doubtless lived up to his light, but one
wonders whether he ever has any doubts concerning the
Welcoming^Our Soldiers Home
M
ANY kinds of people will welcome the soldiers
home. Of course the near relatives — fathers,
mothers, wives and children — will give them a
royal welcome. Municipalities will in some cases give rec-
ognition to the services of these men in the defense of their
country. But there is another sort of welcome waiting also.
The saloons and pool rooms, whose business has not been
over-prosperous in war time, will look upon the return
of the soldiers as an opportunity and they will try to
build up again the well-nigh forgotten habits of alcoholism
among their old patrons, and among new ones if possible.
Meanwhile, what sort of a welcome will the churches
give? There will doubtless be enterprising churches
which will arrange public meetings and shoot off orator-
ical pyrotechnics in celebration of the return of the con-
quering heroes. In these meetings the most fulsome com-
pliments will be paid the soldiers. If, however, the
churches are afterwards cold and indifferent to these men,
if there is no more permanent program put on for their
benefit, the after-effect of the celebration will not be good.
There are men coming back from Europe who found
Jesus Christ in the trenches. Over there they made a
beginning of religious life which needs now to be deep-
ened and given a richer content than it could possibly have
in the unfavorable environment of the military employ-
ment. These young Christians need to find work to do
for the kingdom of God. Only the converts who find em-
ployment in the Master's vineyard will abide.
But there are men who did not find Christ on the
other side, but whose hearts have been purged of selfish-
ness and filled with fellow-feeling. They can be interested
in the church of the warm handshake and carried on over
to the deeper aspects of the religious life. These men,
too, must find a hearty welcome at the church. The
khaki-clad men of today will be holding the offices of
tomorrow and exercising community leadership. It is of
the highest importance that the church should have a wel-
come for them.
Are There Few That Be Saved?
THE conviction that the world is all wrong relig-
iously has been shared by a good many people in
times past. Elijah was sure that he was the only
one left that was true to the Lord. He was gently re-
buked with the suggestion that there were seven thou-
sand others. An old Scotch gentleman of high Calvinistic
tendencies was known to limit the number of the elect
more closely every year. Finally his wife in gentle pro-
test said, "Jock, I believe that you think nobody will
be saved but you and I." "Ah," he said, "I sometimes ha'e
mae doots o' you."
November 28, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
There are a few souls among the Disciples who are
much depressed by their belief in a great apostacy in
our ranks. The roll of our leadership is called and
{with scarcely an exception the men and women at the
front of our activities in churches, colleges and mission-
ary societies are found to be tainted with the heresy of
'modernism. This is interpreted as a conspiracy, but the
j plain people have an awful suspicion that big movements
I in religion have something true in them somewhere or
they would not succeed. They are asking, What is the
truth in this modernism which has laid hold upon the
convictions of our leaders tried and true?
In the long run, it will be too pessimistic a doctrine
to hold that all of the leaders of a great religious
communion are self-seeking and hypocritical. So far
as the deacon knows these celebrities, they ring true. It
will not do to say that they can deceive the very elect.
The deacon feels he is just as well qualified to judge sin-
I cerity as religious editors are.
If the forward-looking Disciples feel the shame of
i our present-day journalism, they should realize that it
is all making its contribution to progress, for God makes
i the wrath of men to praise him. By no other means
i than the pessimistic jeremiads of the reactionaries would
| many a young man know that we have thought issues in
the religion of today. Soon we shall all know that these
{ issues exist and we shall most of us prefer truth to in-
i herited prejudice, thinking to blind creed-signing.
Jenkin Lloyd Jones
A WEEK ago there was held at Lincoln Center,
in this city, a memorial service for the man who
for many years has been the guiding spirit and
the inspiration of that social and community clearing
house. It was a very notable gathering, which com-
pletely filled the large auditorium, and represented the
most efficient life of the city.
The exercises were elaborate and appropriate.
Words of warmth and appreciation were spoken by
men and women from many communities and of many
professions. It was a manifestation of sympathy such
as only the most valuable members of any city could
evoke. One felt in listening to the addresses that it
was a privilege to have lived in the atmosphere of such
a life.
Mr. Jones made it easier for one to believe in
humanity. He was an optimist, who with great sad-
ness perceived the anguish of the world, but did not
despair. All through his life he faced the future of our
imperfect social order with confidence. He had a pro-
found faith in human nature which made him a prophet
of democracy, a seer of better days ahead. From a
library rare in its wealth of material, and a real work-
shop of the ideal, he came forth to meet people of every
sort, without prejudice of race or color or social level,
and found them all greatly worth while. Throughout
his long life he was the champion of every progressive
cause, in politics, in reform, in religion. And he was
never baffled when events did not move as rapidly as
he wished. He knew that the world as yet is very
young and crude, and that all the sons of God must
work on the fabric of the city of righteousness that is
to be, each one opposite his own house. There were
crimes and tragedies that broke his heart, for he was a
lover of all men. But he was firm in the faith that in
the long run the soul of humanity is to be trusted, and
that slowly the program of a better world is being or-
ganized.
He made it easier for one to believe in the big city
of which he was in so. full a sense a part. He had lived
through the days when Chicago was a city chiefly
commercial in its spirit, and had seen it come out into
broader perspectives of civic responsibility and ethical
enthusiasm. He built his life into it with the eagerness
of a convinced prophet of its mighty future. Few pub-
lic movements for the improvement of this great town
have been undertaken in the past quarter of a century
in which he did not have a part. When he was the
minister of a small church, in a residence section of the
city which gave every promise of continued resource-
fulness, he foresaw the break-down that was sure to
come within a few years, and laid the foundations of a
piece of social service that has taken form in the fine
ministries of Lincoln Center. And yet he did not wait
for that ambitious plant to begin his community work.
He said one day, many years ago, that one did not have
to have a big plant in order to carry on the work of a
social settlement, nor did one need to live in a foreign-
population district. He added that he had for years
been connected with a very modest church in a resi-
dence district that was performing in its community
all the functions of a social settlement. His idea was
that a church should be able to render to its community
whatever service that community needs, intellectual,
social, artistic, ethical and religious. And that no lim-
itation of equipment was a real hindrance if the spirit
of service was there.
Mr. Jones made it easier for one to believe in the
life to come. There was a certain timelessness about
him. It seemed to some who knew him in the fine fel-
lowship of the churches of his part of the city that he
had always been a mature, white-haired man. They had
never known him otherwise. And yet he was not old.
There was in him the spring of youth, the vivacity of
perennial joy. All the more significant were his utter-
ances on the great truths of religion. He had traveled
a long way in his theological progress, and had left
behind most of the shibboleths of sect and party. He
had time only for the essential things that abide. In
the eternal spirit which was the secret of the greatest
Life that ever passed this way, he carried on his work.
One cannot think of such a man as dead. There would
be something terribly wasteful, unforgivably spend-
thrift, about the moral order of life if such a soul could
cease to be. Somewhere in the labor-house vast in which
God's servants find ever fresh adventures for their un-
jaded strength, he must be busy already in some worthy
task, carrying on to nobler issues the plans in some of
which his friends were permitted to share before he
left them. Once at the end of a prayer he put his whole
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 28, 1918
deep faith in the future into a sentence, as he said, "May
we so live that to die shall be gain." h. l. w.
Recognition of the Religious Press
JUST previous to the big drive for the United War
Work Campaign, the religious editors of the country
were called to New York by Dr. John R. Mott for
conference with regard to their cooperation. The Disciples
were represented by Dr. B. A. Abbott of the "Christian-
Evangelist." After hearing the plans of Dr. Mott and
asking numerous questions which cleared up much mis-
understanding, they voted to support the united drive.
No doubt much misinterpretation has been obviated
by this conference. There were some who were opposed
to any kind of cooperation with Roman Catholics. These
have been made to see the light. All of these editors were
better prepared to interpret the biggest single religious
campaign for funds in the world's history.
But the leaders of national enterprises have also
learned something to their profit. They have discovered
that the people who take religious weeklies are the most
earnest and influential elements in the churches and it is
worth while to reach these people.
There is no more direct route to the conscience-
builders of America than through the religious weekly.
Effective Interference
ONE of the old and exploded notions was that the
church should keep herself busy "saving souls"
and let the community take care of itself. That
we not longer believe that way is indicated by a letter from
State Secretary J. Fred Jones, of Oklahoma, written dur-
ing the influenza epidemic.
The Holy of Holies
ELDER father, though thine eyes
Shine with hoary mysteries,
Canst thou tell what in the heart
Of a cowslip blossom lies?
"Smaller than all lives that be,
Secret as the deepest sea,
Stands a little house of seeds,
Like an elfin's granary."
Speller of the stones and weeds,
Skilled in Nature's crafts and creeds,
Tell me what is in the heart
Of the smallest of the seeds.
"God Almighty, and with Him
Cherubim and Seraphim,
Filling all eternity —
Adonai Elohim."
Gilbert Keith Chesterton.
In a certain city in that state the health department
was headed by a political incumbent who was inactive and
incompetent. The epidemic had taken seven children in
one night. A Christian lawyer and forty earnest church
people gathered at the office of the incompetent health
officer and demanded his resignation. He reluctantly
yielded and another man was put in his place who brought
an effective quarantine and a staying of the epidemic.
This was making religion effective for community
welfare.
The Spliced String
A Parable of Safed the Sage
THERE came to me a man who had made no great
success of his own affairs, but who was eloquent as
to methods whereby other men might win Success.
And his great god whereby he swore was named Ef-
ficiency.
And he spake unto me, saying, The trouble with the
churches, and with the Whole Shooting Match of thy kind
of work, is that it knoweth nothing of Efficiency.
And I answered and said unto him:
The home of my boyhood had in it no Fireplace, but
we bought our String by the Ball. And the home of my
Grandsire had a Vast Fireplace, but they bought no String,
for they kept the twine that came wrapped around pack-
ages from the store. Wherefore in mine own home if I
desired a String, I went to the ball, and cut off how much
soever I would. But in the house of my Grandsire if I
asked for String, my Grandmother did give me a little
piece that had come to her with the Sugar or the Starch.
Now there was a day when I was in the home of my
Grandsire, and I desired a long String. And I besought
my Grandmother, and she gave me Many Short Strings.
And I began to tie them together, and to lay out the long
string that I was making on the Floor, that I might discern,
how long it was. And I began at the end of the room
that was next the Fireplace. And when I had laid down
my first string, and tied another to the end of it, I stopped
to untangle another string.
When did a Spark fly out from the Fireplace and
light the end of my string. And I knew it not. But I
went to the end of the room, and I passed through the
door into the next Room, and I tied on more string. And
behold, the fire followed me as fast as I tied, and when I
looked around, I had but one string, and that was shorter
than any one of those that I had tied together. Even so
is it with thine Efficiency. He is a god with feet of clay
that cannot bear up his own weight, and he burneth up
practical results faster than he tieth on his new methods.
And the man said, Thou dost not understand. Be
silent and I will explain to thee the workings of Efficiency.
And I said, The greater part of thine efficiency is like
unto a Steamboat with a Small Boiler and a Big Whistle.
Whenever it bloweth the Whistle the Engine stoppeth, and
it bloweth the Whistle continually.
And he saw that I was Hopeless, and he left me.
What Is Spirituality?
By Edgar DeWitt Jones
"But if any man hath not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his."
WHAT is spirituality? It is not an easy term
to define. It may be profitable to state what
spirituality is not.
Spirituality is not necessarily the same as emo-
tional piety. A great many people think it is. There
are persons naturally emotional whose religious life is
correspondingly tense, nervous, and highly wrought.
They are tremendously stirred by a great revival, a
dramatic sermon, a great chorus, or any special relig-
ious excitement. They are easily keyed up to concert
pitch. For the time being they can think and talk of
nothing else save religious topics. Such persons may
be spiritually-minded, but not necessarily so.
Spirituality is not always synonymous with church
membership. It ought to be. It is a thing of scandal
that it is not. Matriculation in a college ought to be
synonymous with the student life, but alas ! it is not.
There are many matriculates who never become stu-
dents. Mere church membership — and I dislike to use
the word "mere" for church membership even at its
poorest — is something more than a mere anything, but
it does not of itself connote spirituality. Men have even
occupied pulpits and spent a number of years in the
ministry who were not spiritual.
Nor is spirituality the same as "other worldliness."
Some people think that it is, but the fact that a man or
woman may find a very deep interest in the life beyond
the grave and love to talk about such things, does not
of itself signify that they are spiritually-minded. To be
sure, spiritual-minded people are interested in these sub-
jects. One likes to believe that everybody is interested
in them, for that matter; but there is a type of mind
that rather ignores the present and belittles it in order
to enlarge and speculate on the glories of the life that
is to be. Spirituality is not necessarily of that type of
religion known as "other worldliness."
SPIRITUAL VERSUS "NATURAL" MAN
Like worldliness, spirituality is a state of mind, an
attitude rather than the doing of any one particular
thing or strict conformity to any rule of religion. Just
as worldliness is a view of life in love with the things
of this world and depends most on what can be seen
and felt and tasted, so spirituality is a view of life that
leads men and women to rely upon a higher power, to
walk by faith rather than by sight ; a view of life which,
while it does not despise food and drink and wearing
apparel, does not make them the chief concern of life.
St. Paul has a great deal to say about the spiritual
life. There are three words he uses frequently to de-
scribe the nature of men ; namely, the "carnal," the
"natural," and the "spiritual." It needs to be noted that
Paul's natural man is not just the same as the physical
man. Literally "natural" means "psychic," or the intel-
lectual man. According to his views, every human
being has a physical nature, a psychical or soul nature,
and a spiritual nature. When, therefore, he contrasts
the natural man with the spiritual man he is contrast-
ing not merely the physical man with the spiritual man,
but the "psychical man" with the spiritual man. This
is an important distinction. A great many people are
of the opinion that they are spiritual if they conquer
their physical appetites. Such conquest is good, but it
is not enough. There are intellectual people who are
not spiritual : their intellect rather than their spiritual
nature is the predominating factor in their lives. The
man in whom bodily cravings predominate is carnal.
The man in whom psychic cravings predominate is
intellectual. The one in whom the spiritual cravings
predominate is spiritual. It is a man's spiritual nature
that hears the voice of God, not his psychic nor his
fleshly nature ; and it is the apostle's contention here
that the spiritual nature, being the highest, ought to
have sovereignty over the others.
SPIRITUALITY AND "MERE INTELLECTUALITY^
When a diver goes down to the bottom of the sea
he puts on an elaborate water-tight apparatus over his
ordinary dress. A tube arrangement leading from the
helmet to the upper air enables him to breathe in com-
fort in an element not his own. Should anything inter-
fere with that connection death would ensue, for he
cannot live without it — the efficiency of the rest of his
equipment depends upon it moment by moment and his
first care should be to keep it acting properly. We in
this world are much like the diver in the sea ; we be-
long to a higher realm, but the communication is not
well maintained. We are liable to reason that the
diver's dress, namely the physical body, is of greatest
importance. Others, with more reason, believe that the
man inside the dress is what matters : that is, the phys-
ical man — the man who thinks, knows, and feels con-
cerning the things of this world. But those are wisest
who recognize that all we are doing here down at the
bottom of the sea has importance only in relation to
the world above, and therefore take care to keep the
spiritual nature open to the access of the Spirit of God
and to make mind and body subservient thereto and
not otherwise.
St. Paul, in this most important chapter, further
states that the man who is not spiritual and is merely
intellectual can not understand God nor the spiritual
things because they can only be spiritually discerned.
There is a very common belief and utterly fallacious
that if a person has a well-disciplined mind he can scale
the heights and plumb the depths of everything, even
spiritual things. But it does not so follow. It is impos-
sible to converse satisfactorily with some brilliant per-
sons about the spiritual life. They cannot comprehend
you and it is as if you were speaking in an unknown
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 28, 1918
tongue. When St. Paul made his memorable defense
before King Herod Agrippa, he spoke with such passion
and deep feeling that Festus was moved to cry out,
"Paul, thou art mad !" Festus could not understand the
great missionary at all and attributed his condition to
a temporary fit of insanity caused by too much study.
Nor could Agrippa comprehend Paul, though for rea-
sons other than that of Festus. The latter was prob-
ably in bonds of the flesh, the former to his pride and
superior mind. Flis answer to the apostle borders on
the insolent : "With but little persuasion thou wouldst
fain make me a Christian."
THE "FRUIT" OF THE SPIRIT
To the worldly minded, a Christian who takes Jesus
seriously is sadly "addled," a "fanatic," or "weak-
minded," or a "dreamer." I once visited a man who is
something of a celebrity, and to the event I had long-
looked forward. He was the very soul of courtesy and
showed me much deference ; in every respect save one
I was greatly charmed with him. I discovered that my
distinguished host was what Paul calls a "natural" or
"psychical" man, but most unspiritual. Scientifically
his mind was superb ; in a literary way it was fascinat-
ing ; but his ideas of the spiritual content of the Scrip-
tures were crude and crass. He was a giant in every-
thing but the spiritual— there he was a pigmy. He saw
spiritual things as across a great gulf and dimly. He
impressed me as decidedly skeptical and not particu-
larly reverent. After my visit with him I understood
more fully the second chapter of First Corinthians.
Another great chapter in which St. Paul floods the
subject of spirituality with revealing light is the fifth
of Galatians. Here again we have a contrast, but the
contrast this time is between those who walk after the
flesh and those who walk by the Spirit. That is, the
physical versus the spiritual. The apostle describes the
"fruit of the spirit." Observe that the word is in the
singular: "fruit"— not fruits. I remember hearing
Campbell Morgan comment on this twenty-second verse
of the fifth of Galatians, most interestingly. He said he
believed the punctuation of this verse as we have it is
incorrect; that the "fruit of the spirit is love," and that
instead of the comma after the word "love," it should
read this way: "The fruit of the spirit is love— joy,
peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
meekness, self-control." That is to say, the love which
is the fruit of the spirit is composed of all these beau-
tiful and ministering graces. In the light of love as
defined in the thirteenth of First Corinthians, Campbell
Morgan's commentation on this verse appears to be
correct.
SPIRIT AND LAW
Against the spirit filled life there is no law, affirms
the great apostle. That is to say, a man or woman
whose life is so spiritual as to produce such fruit, need
not fear the law. All such are beyond and above the
law; they live within the law and they bear, so to
speak, a charmed life.
What is spirituality? The question can be an-
swered in a single sentence : Spirituality is Christ-
mindedness. "If any man hath not the Spirit of Christ,
he is none of his."
"I do not ask for any crown
But that which all may win,
Nor try to conquer any world
Except the one within.
"Be Thou my Guide until I find,
Led by a tender hand,
The happy kingdom in myself,
And dare to take command."
Jesus the Son of God
By George W. Brown
WHAT do we mean when we say that Jesus is
the Son of God? Was he not a man? Yes, a
man, and more than a man. Each person who
contemplates Jesus, the Wonderful, will speak of his
divine nature in terms which correspond to his own
psychology. To one his divinity was supremely manifested
in his miraculous birth. Another may deny the miraculous
in the birth of Jesus and still believe him to be the Son of
God. My own feeling? It is that the miraculous birth,
true though the account is and unique in history, is not the
greatest manifestation of his divine nature. The power
of miracles? Should I be called on to give up my belief
in the miracles of Christ, I should lose tremendously, and,
I believe, irreparably; still, I do not consider the miracles
to be the greatest revelation of his divinity. His resur-
rection, then? True, no other rose from the grave as he
did, and no power but a divine power could accomplish
such a resurrection. But even his resurrection is not to
me the greatest mark of his divinity. All these things are
part of my concept of Christ. But the greatest thing is his
character. By his daily walk, by his spirit-filled life, by
his so evident oneness with God the Father in his conver-
sations and teachings, he manifests himself to me as the
Divine Son. Another may not feel as I do in this matter.
I care not if for any of these causes he accepts with me
Jesus as the Son of God and the Savior of men, accepts
him so as to love, honor, and obey him, he is my brother
and a fellow Christian. To me, Christ the Word of God
is the great picture. A perfect character, manifested in
imperfect surroundings ; infinite love and power, com-
passed in a finite body; a man in form, revealing God in
himself because he was in the Father and the Father in
him — these are to me the conspicuous things which stamp
Jesus as Divine, as the Son of God.
Transylvania College of the Bible.
"From a clean life to a clean city,
From love of home to love of country,
From love of country to love of humanity,
From love of God, our Father, to love of man, our
brother."
Motto of Lincoln Center, Chicago.
IHMIII'MllllllllllMI
I
Growing Old
By the late Jenkin Lloyd Jones
SAYS Oliver Wendell Holmes : "Every one starts
when first he hears himself seriously spoken of as
'the old man.' " Growing old brings that decay of
the outward tenement, so graphically depicted by the writer
of Ecclesiastes, than which I know of no more terse or
more vigorous description of this condition in all the
realm of literature, for growing old suggests the time
which one may be tempted to speak of as the "evil days."
But this physical decrepitude is not the saddest
thought of old age. Growing old suggests a time when
the imagination droops, reason stumbles, and memory
flags — a time when the mind loses its relish for thought,
and the assimilative power of the soul depreciates. All
this brings still sadder reflections of a state of helplessness,
a condition of dependence, when the protection and nur-
ture of others are indispensable. This is the old age that
seems so undesirable, that prompts that prayer so often
repeated in the vigor and prime of life: "I would not out-
live my usefulness. I want to die in the harness." With
all this in mind we can scarcely wonder that the primitive
rudeness of savage life puts an end to the infirmities of
the aged by sudden execution.
OLD AGE MAY MEAN STRENGTH
Yet there is an old age that reaches upward into
strength, instead of toppling downward into imbecility.
There is a growing old that comes like a benediction.
There is an old age that suggests the serenity of the even-
ing hour. Artists have successfully painted the sower,
the harvester, but there is a subdued beauty, a mystic
charm that settles down around the Indian summer of this
thought-breeding climate of ours that is the despair of the
painter. Difficult as it is to represent action on canvas,
or in marble, it is not so difficult as to represent repose.
The crowning glory of Raphael's genius is discovered in
his later paintings, into which he has introduced — not
action, not strife ; but peace, quiet. The river frets and
rushes, it wrestles with obstructing islands, pushes itself
over intruding shoals, and tumbles down the cataract, but
as it approaches the great ocean it grows calm, quiet, and
at last loses all its haste, as it nestles in the bosom of the
mighty deep.
Thus it is with the River of Life. Time is the pilot,
who, if rightly served, will steer the human bark through
the giddy rapids, fretted with the thousand isles of youth-
ful temptation, over the shoals of passion, the boiling tor-
rents of dissipation, down the St. Lawrence of Life into
the broadening gulf, and thence to the boundless ocean.
Youth has its agitations, its passions that ebb and flow.
If it brings tumultuous joy, so, also, does it bring tem-
pestuous pain. Childhood has its severe trials, its many
woes, its bitter tears.
Every child born into the world is a restless spirit
confined. Like a caged bird it batters its little wings
against the wires. Childhood is helplessness without the
grace of resignation, while old age is childhood with a
memory — childhood with an experience. The sunset glow
is as radiant, as marvelous as that of the sunrise, with
something of the warmth of noonday still lingering in
the air. Sunset is sunrise with the chill taken off. That
is what old age may be ; aye, it is what old age ought to be,
and I am glad to affirm it is what old age is, in many in-
stances.
A GOOD OLD AGE
Daily we see gray hairs crowning our times with
strength, as well as prefiguring imbecility. I have sat
where wrinkled faces cast a halo of beauty across my path,
such as never fell from the grace of maidenhood. I have
seen old men leaning heavily upon their staffs, themselves
a pillar of strength to the weak — the mainstay of the com-
munity in which they lived. "A good old age" is the grand
Bible phrase, applied to this condition. Plato, Angelo,
Goethe and Van Humboldt each made noble contributions
to the world in the eighth decade of their lives. In that
old age we dread and deplore they were contributing treas-
ures of perennial beauty to the storehouse of mankind.
When are the "evil days" that the author of Ecclesiastes
speaks of — the days "when thou shalt say, T have no
pleasure in them,' " when we find a Newton in the eighty-
fifth year of his age gathering those pebbles of knowledge
on the beach of that infinite Sea of Truth ; when we find
a Lady Somerville and a Carolina Herschel in the latest
years of long lives grappling with the profoundest prob-
lems of mathematics and astronomy, rivaling at once the
manliest minds and the most womanly hearts of their
times ?
"Evil days?" Shall we speak thus when we think
of gentle Wordsworth, dying at eighty, still in the high
noon of his poetical power; of our own John Adams, who
delighted in company, kept up with the literature of his
day, and carried his long sentences through without drop-
ping a word (though compelled occasionally to rest for
breath) in the ninetieth year of his age? As we think
of these, let us use, rather, this other Bible phrase— "A
good old age."
YOUTHFUL OLD AGE
The benedictions of greatest helpfulness that have
come to us of this generation, have fallen — not from the
jubilant beauty of early womanhood, or the confident
strength of early manhood, but from our gray-haired seers
— Bryant, prophet-editor; Emerson, whose youthful spirit
ennobled gray hair, and with the failing strength of a
withering body he enunciated the texts upon which poets
and preachers for the next century will ring the changes.
When we think of Bryant, Emerson, Longfellow, Lucretia
Mott and Peter Cooper, we cease to dread old age. Not
these alone, but the countles's numbers who have no place
On the printed roll of human fame, whose growing years
have made them more beautiful, whose power grew with
the enfeebling of the hand, help emphasize that beautiful
expression of the text, "a good old age." The author of
Ecclesiastes missed a truth that Swedenborg struck when
he said that the "oldest angels are the youngest."
10
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 28, 1918!
Here, then, are the two pictures of old age. Here an
old age that is unhappy, querulous, vacant and imbecile.
There is an old age, clear, strong in spirit, helpful, blessed.
One sloping downward toward the grave, the other sloping
upward into the fulness of perennial youth. Both pictures
are from life. To reconcile them is to reconcile the funda-
mental paradox in philosophy. Is life the product of
matter, or is matter the instrument of life? Toward one
or the other of these two each one of us is inevitably tend-
ing. Which is it? One is growth, the other is decay.
One ripens, the other rots. One protests perpetually
against the materialistic philosophy, by rising superior to
all the environments of matter; the other leaves us ever
with a haunting doubt as to whether the mind of man is
anything more than the scintillations of phosphorous — a
fortunate combination of atoms.
The "good old age" that the deathless ones attain to
is a Bethlehem star that guides wise men to the transient
manger wherein is found the Immortal Child, Son of the
King Eternal. The "evil days" hint at lumpish clay,
shaped by outward forces. Which are we?
GROWING OLD NOBLY
If you would grow old nobly, court the enthusiasm
of the moral nature, that you may know, by experience,
the meaning of that word which no man can define for
you — inspiration. I believe that it is desirable to round
out the cycle of our earthly existence for not only our
three score and ten, but, perchance, the four score and
ten, and yet I would deliberately say that old age is not
worth the buying, if selfish prudence must elbow out all
the inspiration of disinterested love. Bemoan as we may
premature death, yet give me rather, thirty beautiful years
rilled with the contagious magnetism that tells for good
and beautiful things, than eighty years of calculating
meanness.
"Lord, let me not live to be useless," prayed John
Wesley, and a grand prayer it was. When we save life's
energies to increase our usefulness, it is divine, but when
we save them to prolong our days only, it is animalism.
I, for one, am glad that Channing burned the oil out of his
lamp at sixty-two rather than prolong the blaze by reduc-
ing the combustion, for what the time needed was a lamp
of exceeding brightness. I am glad that Starr King threw
himself with such abandon into that patriotic campaign in
1861, even though he had to lie down and die at the end of
A Prayer
FATHER, make us glad that we are here, glad in the
dear fellowships of the past, glad in the strong ties
that bind us to our tasks, glad of the tasks. O Thou
Burden Giver, lift us above the selfishness of the ease-
seeker.
Father, take our hands and touch them with useful-
ness. Take our feet that they may be shod with willing-
ness. Take our hearts that they may glow with kindness.
Take our minds and tutor them in the way of truth. Take
our voices and tune them to the universal harmonies that
in finite time we may sound some notes of thy never-ending
song. Amen. The late Jenkin Lloyd Jones.
six months from the effects of it, for thereby he saved)
California to the Union. I, for one, will not repine that
brave Theodore Parker was, as he said, willing "to keep 1
his candle burning in the draught." Jesus might have
lived longer had he evaded, apologized, or compromised
but it does not follow that he would have lived to better
purpose.
the way to joy
Only by devotion come the higher joy and the serenei
trust. Religion, after all, is not a thing to be proven. Its
truths are beyond intellectual demonstration. They are
things to be exemplified. God, immortality, heaven and
the soul impaled upon our intellectual spears at best are
little more than lifeless abstractions. But from the moun-
tain-tops of these loyalties they become living verities, and
Religion fleets and reflects the light of God, as the diamond
does the light of the sun. Its consolations become the
solid facts of experience.
How, then, shall we avoid the "evil days" and read;
the "good old age"? I answer: Respect the body, cul-
ture the mind, enkindle the heart, and, above all, live
grandly indifferent to old age itself. Live in such a wa)
that if old age be our lot, it must bear with it the benedic-
tion of peace; and if length of days be not ours, let oui
affairs be so ordered that, let the summons come when il
may, our estates will be administered.
Have we brains? Let the world profit by them now
Have we love? Give it generously today. Have we
money? Invest it in such a way that others coming aftei
us must needs work the better for our having lived. Let
our years be but the scaffolding on which we rear ttie im-
perishable tower of character, into which we build the
accumulated capital of life, on the top of which at last we
stand, independent of all the material scaffolding of days
months, and years. Then our life goes not down behinc
a darkened west, but like the morning star it melts awa>
in the glory of a new day.
The Faith of Foch
GENERAL FERDINAND FOCH was born Au
gust 4, 1851, at Tarbes, a little town in th<
Pyrenees. As a boy he attended the little churcl
in the town, and studied in the local school. When h<
finished at this school he went to a larger school, and fron
this second school to the Ecole Polytechnique, the in
stitute where French artillery officers are made. In 187'
he was a captain of artillery. By this time he had begin
to acquire a reputation as a teacher of military tactics
Before very many years had passed, he was the directo;
of the most important military school in France. Anc
when, on that fatal August day, 1914, Germany and Austri;
made the decision that plunged almost the entire civilizec
world into war Foch was a general in charge of the Nintl
Army of France.
Those were dark days. The German hordes swep
through Belgium. They came across France. Day by da;
their cannons pounded; day by day the French retreatec
in disorder. The fall of Paris seemed sure.
And then on September 6th, Joffre, the French com
November 28, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
11
mander-in-chief, decided that the retreat must stop.
Against General Foch's Ninth Army were Prussians, the
fiercest of Germany's fighting men. They bore Foch's
army back in spite of bitter resistance. On September
9th the situation was desperate. But Foch remained
serene and fearless in his Christian faith. About noon
on September 9th he sent this message to Joffre: "My
right wing has been driven back ; my left wing is crushed.
I shall attack with my center."
That attack saved the day for France. The Prussians
reeled, tried to reform, broke and fled. To Foch, when
the Battle of the Marne was over, came the Bishop of
Cahoos.
"Monseigneur," General Foch replied, "do not thank
me, but Him to whom victory alone belongs."
The Moral Perils of Victory
By Shailer Mathews in the Biblical World.
IT is morally easier to be an idealist in distress than in
triumph ; to prepare for victory than to use the fruits
of victory; to sacrifice what one expects to win than
what one has won; to make war than to lay the founda-
tions for a wise peace.
Thus we estimate the moral crisis upon which we as
a nation are entering. The world-war, if not finished, is
won. Germany, who sought to push back the tide of
social evolution, has been swept away. A reactionary
nation may defeat a progressive nation, but no nation
can defeat a world-spirit. Any nation which fails to
learn this lesson from the war is indeed stupid.
The moral forces of history play no favorites. More
than one nation has lost its soul while gaining its neigh-
bor's territory. A war to emancipate the world has in
the past led to an attempt to control the nations it has
freed. Today it may even more easily result in the adop-
tion, partly unconscious and partly planned, of the very
ideals for whose destruction it was fought.
If we make all allowance for the flattery with which
the United States has been showered ; if we allow for
the natural self-complacency with which as a nation we
have viewed our attempt to help other nations while pro-
tecting ourselves; the fact yet remains that the American
people have felt an unaccustomed idealistic passion.
Justice, righteousness, liberty, sacrifice, co-operation, dem-
ocracy, are no longer words we have to look up in the
dictionary. However defined, they have stood for motives
in our national life which have worthily supplemented our
pride in our strength, our patriotism, and, above all, our
boys "over there."
But will our policies respond as promptly to these
ideals when we are freed from the sense of a common
danger?
That is our new peril. Already we see political parties
making victory a part of partisan spoils. Too obviously
in our country as in others is Junkerism raising its head
and radicalism, undismayed by the horrors of Russia,
is again advertising Utopias. On every side we see vin-
dictiveness confused with justice and force heralded as a
cure for the distempers of men's souls. Only too apparent
is the temptation, now that we have conquered militarism,
to base security on military preparation.
It is more difficult to be just than to be loyal, wise
than punitive, helpful than hopeful. If our churches do
not seize the moment to re-emphasize the principles of
Jesus, we may suddenly find the morality of nations, of
which we have had glimpses, a Christian fleece on the
back of imperialistic wolves.
At the very moment when every teacher of religion
ought to be intelligently expounding the morality of our
Lord, we find them too frequently titillating the religious
sense with ingenious misinterpretations of the Scripture,
loudly proclaiming the futility of social advance, and
vehemently denouncing theological heresies.
If the United States, in the moment of a supreme
trial brought by victory, is deserted by those who should
be its spiritual and moral leaders, we may well view the
future with apprehension.
As we looked to our generals for victory in the war,
so must we look to our religious leaders for inspiration
that shall lift us above the victory of our arms into the
victory of justice between classes and nations.
In the long perspective justice alone is an unshak-
able foundation of national greatness. The war has shown
the divine nemesis waiting on injustice.
It will remain with the victors, after they have rid
the world of the fear of brutalized efficiency and have
demanded repentance and reparation from conscience-
less nationalism, to show themselves also victors in the
statesmanship that builds a world-order on justice.
Will the church lead?
O
Peace
By Earl V. Eastwood
UT of the wreck of nations,
Out of the char of things,
There shall rise a race of men reborn
From mad War's winnowings.
Now in the fields of crosses
Lie our heroic dead,
Then they shall come with quiet eyes
To honor merited.
Then shall the field of Flanders,
Bruised by the Prussian blow,
Wake with a healing robe of green
And yellow poppies blow.
Then shall the hearts that sorrow
Lay each sad burden down ;
Then shall the happy children play
Within each quiet town.
Out of the dust of nations
Where seeds of hate were sown,
There shall rise one land of liberty
With God upon the throne.
"That These Immortal Dead Shall Not
Have Died in Vain"
Will This War
End War?
THE foremost problem confronting the world today is that
of formulating a peace that will most effectively prevent
war in the future. Unless this is done, these immortal dead
will have died in vain so far as their highest mission is concerned.
Germany will have been defeated and perhaps a couple more
autocracies compelled to yield to a more popular rule, but the very
overthrow of these two "strong" governments will beget a condi-
tion in Mid-Europe that will menace the peace of the world for a
half century to come.
The future is wrapped up in the League of Nations ideal. It
is an ideal and "Realpolitikers," whether of the old Prussian type,
the more democratized imperialists of our European Allies, or the
modified narrow nationalistic type of America, damn it with
faint praise while raising "insuperable" questions and declaring
against any form of it proposed. Germany always talked favor-
ably to some sort of a League or Hague Tribunal, but always
killed it with "practical" objections. Mr. Roosevelt talks of the
idea favorably, but raises objections which, if adopted by each
of the several nations as measures of nationalistic insularism,
would make the discussion merely academic and forbid any effec-
tive organization. In all the governments there are personalities
of influence whom Walter Weyl, in his "Stakes of Diplomacy,"
calls "insiders," i. e., men who have been, or are, shuffling the cards
around the diplomatic table and who think only in terms of
their age-old game and honestly do not want the game destroyed.
They are essentially "Realpolitikers" of a modified type and hold
idealism in international politics in lofty scorn.
These gentlemen met with a severe defeat when the Ver-
sailles Conference adopted the famous fourteen principles, in-
cluding the League of Nations idea, as a necessary requisite to
enduring peace. Their propaganda has received another blow
by the emphatic pronouncement of Lloyd-George in stating the
platform of the English government for the coming election, and
by the hearty approval of Premier Clemenceau. The French
will soon have the report of an official commission appointed to
mature a proposal ; the Labor parties of both France and England
are making it the heart of their programs; Lord Grey, who
expressed only doubts and questionings when in office, has become
both a hearty advocate and a publicist favoring it; the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury has issued a stirring appeal on its behalf,
and the peoples of all our Allies feel about it as Professor Aullard,
who is called "the greatest living authority on the French Revo-
lution," said of the Poilu when he declared the idea had become
almost a religion with him.
The Election and
President Wilson's Program
President Wilson never made a graver error in judgment than
when he said the return of a majority in Congress for the oppo-
sition party would be taken in Europe as a repudiation of his
war and peace policies. Several explanations may be made for
the return of that majority. Some say it was because Wilson
kept us out of war too long and others that it was because thou-
sands who voted for him because he had kept us out up to two
years ago silently got even with him for getting us in. The fact
doubtless is that there are simply more Republicans than Demo-
crats in the country, and that, this being an off year, they "ran
true to form." Mr. Wilson should say good-naturedly, as Mr.
Bryan used to say after three defeats, that the chief objection he
had to Republicans is that there are too many of them. Europe
does not in the least seem to have thought it a repudiation of the
Wilson policies for peace, for they have since taken the most
gratifying steps toward adopting them and insisted that he
break all precedents by attending the peace conference, where
again his leadership in the "political offensive" against German
kaiserism and militarism will doubtless make him the towering
figure.
This nation voted blindly, so far as concrete issues were con-
cerned. There was no platform adopted. The Democrats tried to
make it Wilson or anti-Wilson, but Republicans knew they had
been just as heartily for war as their opponents. Mr. Roosevelt
was frantic, if not unfair, in his derogation of everything Wil-
sonian, while Mr. Taft headed up the League to Enforce Peace and
has during the whole war played a leading part as a promoter
of the League of Nations idea. The people did not vote for and
against the President on these international policies, nor did they
vote for or against him at all — they voted for local candidates,
voted along the usual party lines and voted differently than they
would have done had Republicans been running on a definite,
nationally adopted platform opposing the type of peace the
President defined so successfully to the nations who were striving
for a co-ordination of ideals and ideas for the democratization
of the world.
That the President made a tactical mistake in issuing his
partisan letter is believed by many of his warmest followers,
while even some independents say it was the only thing that
saved him from a larger Republican majority. In Britain the
Premier opens the campaign with an open and personal declara-
tion of his platform and appeals to the voters to elect to Parlia-
ment those men who frankly stand with him on the conduct of
the war and on his program for peace and reconstruction. In
both France and Italy the Premiers actually represent minority
parties, so far as old lines are concerned, but know they repre-
sent the majority opinion of all citizens in their approval of
President Wilson's statements of Allied peace principles. From
an independent viewpoint one would think Mr. Wilson would
prefer the progressives of both parties to the standpats of either
and would therefore prefer the progressive Republicans of the
West to the standpat Democrats of the South. In Missouri the new
Republican senator declares heartily for the League of Nations
and a democratic settlement, while the old Democratic senator
declares against them.
The League of Nations and a
Balkanized Mid-Europe
The overthrow of Germanic autocracy, with its so-called
"strong" government, i. e., centralized in authority and militarized,
and the freeing of the various oppressed nationalities means,
unless there is some sort of a world's court backed by police power,
simply an expanding of the Balkan problem over all Mid-Europe.
The Balkans were the smouldering embers that continually threat-
ened the peace of Europe, and their power for evil will only be
multiplied by three if Western Russia and Austria-Hungary are
Balkanized. Over against the "consent of the governed" prin-
ciple each Balkan nation put the contention that it should absorb
all its own nationalities. Thus, if there were a few hundred Bul-
gars or Rumanians or Serbs or Greeks in a certain territory, it
did not matter if there were many thousands of the other nation-
als, the government of each contended it must have that particular
bit of territory. Of course, this was a convenient democratic
subterfuge for imperial ambitions and in reality it was a game of
diplomacy for imperial conquest which used loaded dice with
impunity and resorted to blows when the stakes seemed to warrant.
In another article we propose to recount some of this inter-
esting though disquieting history and will only stop here to note
that there is little in the feeling of any of these peoples for the
others to warrant any other sequence than that of Balkan history,
unless there be a strong world court organized that will judicially
work out a constructive series of relationships between these
small nationalities and save them from cutting each other's throats
November 28, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
13
or again involving Europe in war. The League of Nations is an
ideal seeking organization into concrete acts of statesmanship.
It may not prevent all war in the future. Not even our Federal
union of states could do that while ideas of state sovereignty
existed. "Sovereignty" will die hard in nations with a history
built upon it, but it must yield to world organization or continu-
ously drag the world into war, for it is nothing more or less
than a modern adaptation by nations of the idea that the sover-
eign can do no wrong and therefore that any good war makes
, its cause holy, as Nietsche declared.
Shall the Prodigal
Be Welcomed?
The progress of German democracy up to date must be
rather disappointing to those who railed at the idea that there
could be any distinction between German government and German
people. They still declare a lack of faith and use the term
"soviet" and "Bolshevik" in speaking of the German government.
There is no such a thing as a soviet in Germany. The Soviet is
an historic Russian institution that simply has assumed local
authority and is acting as the only local government Russia now
has. From the tone of these critics this eminently democratic
hope of Russia should be damned as a Bolshevik affair. Another
striking commentary of these emotional gentlemen is that Lieb-
knecht is the great German hero and the Bolsheviks partners of the
Devil, while the fact is that Liebknecht is the leader of the Bol-
shevik element in German socialism, and the despised Schiedemann
is the Kerensky. Herr Ebert, a man of lesser repute and per-
haps less ability than either of them, is chosen Chancellor of the
new regime because he belongs to neither, but has personally
the confidence of both to such an extent as to make him the unifier
of all reform forces.
In Russia Bolshevism thrives because it is a great, disjointed
nation, the people are illiterate and there was no nationally organ-
ized democratic party with established loyalties. In Germany we
have an organized nation with a definite national consciousness, a
people with education and a Social Democratic party that for
years commanded the loyalty of one-third of the people, often-
times exerted great power in politics and held a large number of
seats in Parliament. Besides, the Russian people are mercurial
of temper, while the German folk are stolid. Russia will recount
something of the history of the French Revolution. Germany
will be remade more on English lines, no doubt.
A little recounting of the attitude of the Social Democrats
of Germany during the war will strengthen confidence in both
their ability to create a democratic government, and in the hope
President Wilson has had of them from the beginning and the
confidence he expressed in his address announcing the terms of
the armistice. When credits were asked in the Reichstag on
August 3, 1914, fourteen Social Democrats were against voting
them, Haas, the president of the party being one of thera. By
December this number had grown to seventeen, and by March
following to thirty, this number leaving the House when the
credits were voted (their custon.ary manner of demonstration).
By August six more had joined them and a few months later
their opposition had become frank enough to cause them to be
howled down in the House and to cause a split in the party.
Schiedemann led the conservatives and stood by the govern-
ment while leading the opposition to the Pan-Germanist Junkers
and annexationists. He was also the first to demand the abdica-
tion of the Kaiser. It was he who told the people that "we go
abroad to hear the Fatherland cursed from all sides," and saying
it he began a campaign for reforms that led to the overthrow of
Bethman-Holweg and again of Michealis and drove the wedge
of cleavage into internal Germany. He is an opportunist, while
Liebknecht is an extreme radical, Haas a moderate radical and
Ebert a practical man who has arisen from the harness maker's
bench to the position of practical statesmanship that hopes to
compose differences and form a competent representative gov-
ernment in peace. There has been a democracy in Germany since
"forty-eight," but it has made headway slowly under the handicap
of defeat then and oppression and an inimical educational system
since.
Now the German people, taught in terrible fashion the folly
of military leadership, turn to them for salvation. If only con-
structive statesmanship succeeds in keeping down radicalism and
we ourselves save them from hunger riots, they stand a good
chance to succeed and we can welcome the prodigal back into the
family of nations.
Alva W. Taylor.
"God Has Indeed Been Gracious"
G
OD has, in his good pleasure, given us peace. It has not come as a
mere cessation of arms, a mere relief from the strain and tragedy of
war. It has come as a great triumph of right. Complete victory has
brought us, not peace alone, but the confident promise of a new day as well,
in which justice shall replace force and jealous intrigue among the nations.
Our gallant armies have participated in a triumph which is not marred or
stained by any purpose of selfish aggression. In a righteous cause they have
won immortal glory and have nobly served their nation in serving mankind.
God has indeed been gracious. We have cause for such rejoicing as revives
and strengthens in us all the best traditions of our national history. A new
day shines about us, in which our hearts take new courage and look forward
with new hope to new and greater duties.
While we render thanks for these things, let us not forget to seek the
divine guidance in the performance of those duties, and divine mercy and
forgiveness for all errors of act or purpose, and pray that in all that we do,
we shall strengthen the ties of friendship and mutual respect upon which we
must assist to build the new structure of peace and good will among the
nations.
— From President Wilson's Thanksgiving Proclamation.
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14
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 28, 1918
Books
Ohio Minister Likes "The Protestant"
MR. JENKINS is an eclectic in style and writes with tremen-
dous vigor. The "punch" and "pep" of his new book
cannot be forgotten after it has been read. It causes one to think
— even if it is hard work. The purpose of the book is valiant;
its aim is courageous. It helps to reveal the power and person-
ality of the writer, who is a genuine iconoclast. His desire is
that all "protestants" should join the ranks and help overthrow
religious autocracy and initiate genuine religious democracy.
Here's hoping the book the best success, and may it be the
means of doing much good; above all, may it bring the protestant
out of his hiding place in order that he may lead the hosts on
to victory.
Massillon, O. A. S. Baillie.
The Christian Standard Begs to Differ
BURRIS A. JENKINS has, in this volume, performed the
unusual feat of doing away with everything and replacing
it all with a vacuum. To apply an old illustration, he
has in his theory — if it may be called a theory — taken away the
lame man's crutches and left the poor fellow standing in the
center of a congested street, with not even a toothpick to hobble
on.
He admits again and again that he is a destructive critic —
even a pronounced, uncompromising heretic; that he is opposed
to everything now existing under the sun — even the attempt of
the movement with which he is identified to restore the apostolic
church ; and that he has nothing tangible and adequate to offer
in place of the institutions, customs and preaching he would
destroy. He is waiting for the "Protestant" — some one from Pitts-
burgh, Chicago, Canton or Kalamazoo, who is now just being
born, is slumbering in an orthodox pew, or, it may be, is in a
university familiarizing himself with the "modern viewpoint" —
suddenly to burst in mighty terror upon the scene and, with an
authoritative flourish of his magic wand, to fill up all the gaps
and other vacancies made by this smashing, smithereen-producing,
annihilating book just issued by the Christian Century Press.
The book is self-contradictory. It, like another book by the
same author, maintains that neither Jesus nor His apostles estab-
lished a church. Yet it continuously refers to the church as it
is and as it should be, and as it will be when it swings into its
legitimate and abiding mission — and even to the church of Christ!
Moreover, it is in sharp contrast with the author's other way of
looking at things, as described by his article in the "Christian-
Evangelist," issue March 7, 1918. In that article he asserts that
he believes immortality exists, "because the greatest teacher the
world ever listened to taught it to us." It is presumed that, in
this confession, he refers to Jesus, Who declared that He
would build His church, and likewise taught other things "The
Protestant" repudiates.
The author admits that people should have faith, but nothing
must be defined. He will accept Jesus Christ as the creed all
may recognize, but Christ must not be defined— not even by the
New Testament, nor by the Lord Himself. The declaration that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, will be out of order
when "The Protestant" comes to teach us how to talk with respect
to our faith! — From Review in the "Standard."
The Tempest. Another volume of the attractive Yale Shake-
speare series, edited by the English department of Yale Univer-
sity. (Yale University Press. Textbook edition, 50 cents ; library
edition, $1.)
Haw to Read Poetry. By Ethel M. Colson. Here is the way
out for people of literary tastes who are trying to get their bear-
ings in this age of the "new poetry," so-called. To Miss Colson
poetry is not "old" or "new," but just poetry— if it is poetry.
She is very liberal, granting to each his own sort of poetry and
his own choice of poetry for his every mood — which is simply
common sense applied to poetry. The reasonableness of this critic
is seen in the fact that she has room both for Edmund Vance
Cook and Edgar Lee Masters. (McClurg. $1.25.)
Economical Cookery. The Government experts tell us that
we are not to cease conservation of food, even if the war is over.
Here is the guide-book for the housewife who would be a loyal
American in her pantry during the coming days. Nearly 700 in-
expensive tested recipes are included. It is the work of Marion H. j
Neil, formerly cookery editor for the Ladies Home Journal.
(Little, Brown & Co. $1.50.)
The Golden Road. By Lilian Whiting. A resume of varied
experiences, neither travel, biography, nor criticism, but rather a
blend of all these. Lilian Whiting is one of the best known
women of letters of America and has had a wide acquaintance
with the men and women, both of England and America, who
have helped to put literature forward in these countries. She tells |i
also of many seasons spent in Italy and France, depicting the
social and artistic life of these centers of culture. (Little, Brown
& Co. $3.)
The Beginnings of Science. By E. J. Menge. The author,
who is a professor of biology in Dallas University, here presents
in understandable language many subjects which are usually dis-
cussed only by specialists. Life, mind, evolution and other subjects
are interestingly treated. (Badger. $2.)
Cheero. By Annie M. MacLean. "Whimsical fragments from
the story of an illness," viz., rheumatism. A war story that is
different. A knock at the doctors and a cheerful recommendation
of the best doctor of all, Good Cheer. The ideal book for sick
and near-sick people. (The Woman's Press. $1.25.)
RECENT FICTION
In the Heart of a Fool. By William Allen White. The
sunny Kansas editor, author of "A Certain Rich Man," here tells
of Thomas Van Dorn, who said in his heart, "There is no God,"
and believed that he had sole proprietorship of his life and his
powers, but who learned from Professor Experience the foolish-
ness of that notion. Kansas is the scene of the novel, and it is
filled with interesting characters and dramatic incidents. (Mac-
millan. $1.60.)
The Red One. By Jack London. This volume contains four
of the last stories written by the marvelously human Jack London,
the stories being "The Red One," "The Hussy," "Like Argus of
the Ancient Times" and "The Princess." Admirers of this big- j
hearted man and of his wonderful imaginative power will wish to
possess this book which is something of a memorial volume, j
($1.40.)
Shavings. By Joseph C. Lincoln. "A good plot, two pretty |
romances and a bushel of hearty laughs" — which is precisely what j
we all need now that the war tension is somewhat relaxed. I
Cape Cod water is in the background and "Shavings," queer but j
lovable windmill-maker, is very much in the foreground. (Apple-
ton. $1.50.)
Esmeralda. By Nina W. Putnam and Norma Jacobsen. A
breezy, humorous story of a girl from a California horse-ranch
breaking into New York society. And she does break in. A war
story without any blood. (Lippincott. $1.)
Out of the Silences. By Mary E. Waller. Several years ago
Miss Waller made herself famous by giving to the world "The
Wood-Carver of 'Lympus'." Now she comes back with this new
story of Bob Collamore, an American lad whose struggles with
the world, from the age of nine years to manhood, are entirely
successful. The story is laid in Canada, just over the border.
The author reveals a deep insight into Indian character. (Little,
Brown & Co. $1.50.)
The Larger Christian World
A Department of Interdenominational Acquaintance
Moral Aims Committee
Well Satisfied With Results of Mission
THE recent departure from the United States of the Bishop
of Oxford and the Rev. Arthur T. Guttery ended, except
for a few scattered meetings, the fall campaign of the
National Committee on the Churches and the Moral Aims of
the War. The committee reports, however, that the close of
hostilities and the approach of the period of reconstruction will
quicken rather than diminish its activities. In particular, work
will be continued to create public opinion favorable to a
League of Nations. Plans are under consideration for the for-
mation of groups in church circles throughout the country to
study problems arising from a closer union of nations brought
about by the peace treaty. The committee held during the fall
127 meetings with a total attendance of 110,000. Of these
meetings, fifty-five were conferences attended by clergymen
and a few leading laymen. The attendance at the conferences
totalled 9,000. Twenty-seven speakers participated in this
campaign. The influenza epidemic forced the abandonment of
nearly 200 meetings already set up in different parts of the
country, with speakers assigned and local committees ap-
pointed.
Three Branches of Lutheran
Church Merge
At a convention of Lutherans held in New York City two
weeks ago, 1,000,000 Lutherans, formerly separated by synodical
differences and representing the three oldest bodies of the de-
nomination, were formally amalgamated into one church — the
United Lutheran Church of America, reports the Continent.
Beginning November 12, the three uniting bodies convened
separately in various churches of the city to conclude all in-
ternal business, and then on Friday came together to elect
officers. The final gathering of the week was a great praise
service Sunday in the Hippodrome. The three bodies form-
ing the merger are the General Synod, organized in 1820; the
General Council, organized in 1867, and the United Synod
South, which separated from the northern bodies at the time
of the civil war; and these three churches include in their con-
stituency practically all-Lutherans east of the Mississippi river.
The merger was formally consummated at a union business
session when Dr. E. H. Knubel, pastor of the Church of the
Atonement, New York, was elected to head the United Church.
Strong emphasis was laid on patriotism at all the meetings of
the week. William H. Stackel of Rochester declared in an
address that there was no room in America for a peculiar
church serving a peculiar people, and the new body would be
in a real sense American.
A Home for Foreign
Missionaries
Many of the missionaries returning home on furlough
pass through New York. The Methodist Board of Foreign
Missions has provided a home for missionaries at Yonkers, a
suburb of New York, where accommodations may be secured
at relatively low prices. The home is to be open to mission-
aries of all denominations. There are conference rooms in
the building where meetings may be held for the considera-
tion of missionary problems.
Indian Missionary Has
Remarkable Career
Few missionaries could record a longer term of service
than that of William Duncan, founder of the Metlaktla Indian
mission of Alaska. He died recently at the age of 88 years,
and he has to his credit a service of 64 years with this Indian
tribe, having accomplished one of the most significant pieces
of service ever rendered the Indians. He learned the language
of these people and has raised them from the levels of canni-
bals to a high type of Christian citizenship.
Missionary Promotion
by Pictures
The sending of colored religious pictures for use on the
mission fields has been a significant feature of the work of
the World's Sunday School Association, though the giving
of the pictures has fallen off in war time. Every missionary
testifies to the fact that a picture card means a child in Sun-
day school. One missionary gave away pictures to women in
China, who in turn offered to clean up the rubbish in front
of their homes. By this means a whole section of the city
was transformed in appearance. The World's Sunday School
Association gives a card of introduction to particular mis-
sionaries, and the material is sent direct by the donor.
American Board Makes
Progress in War Year
The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mis-
sions (Congregational) reports last year the best year of
their history, in spite of the war conditions. The receipts of
the society were $1,351,944.96. One of the large items of
increases for the year was the unfavorable rate of exchange
for China. The board had to pay out $77,000 for this item
alone. The annual meeting of the board was held at Hart-
ford, October 22-25.
Orvis F. Jordan.
* * *
A Message on Behalf of the Churches
of Christ
(To be read at the Thanksgiving Day service or on the Sun-
day following.)
IN THIS day of victory and of peace the Christian Church
recognizes and declares, in behalf of the nation, the deep
gratitude of our people to Almighty God. It was God's hand
which lead our fathers across the seas to found here a new nation.
It was His hand which enabled them to gain and to preserve our
unity and our freedom. And now it is His hand which has
wrought this great deliverance) which has overthrown falsehood
and wrong and which has opened the way of liberty to mankind.
Let us not boast of our great resources nor of our outpouring
of men and wealth in the war. In grateful acknowledgment of
the deeper sacrifices of others and of the clear vindication of the
righteous rule of God in the affairs of men, let us thank the
people who have suffered more than we and the Lord of Hosts for
victory and peace. Yet, let us thank God also that we were
accounted worthy to share in the great struggle and that in the
day of need we did not falter nor fail. To God be all the praise.
And now we turn to the more difficult tasks of peace. "The
morrow of victory," said Mazzinni, "is more perilous than its
eve." "Gentlemen," said Clemenceau to the Senators of France,
"we are now coming to a difficult time. It is harder to win peace
than to win war." The same God who brought us victory in
the war alone can help us to win victory in peace, to conquer evil
in our own hearts, to overthrow wrong and selfishness wherever
they are met in our national life and to achieve God's righteous will
in the redemption of human society.
It is the work of the Christian churches and of Christian men
now as it has been their work in each new era of our national
history to hold up the ideals of Christ for the individual and for
the nation and to provide in Christ Himself as the Lord and Life
of men the power needed for the present age.
In new and resolute purpose, with renewed faith in the sure
sovereignty of God in the world and His willingness and power
16
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 28, 1918
to work through men, let us take up the tasks of the new day in
the face of its demands and of its dangers. Let us as Christian
men heed the old appeal, "Be ye steadfast, unmovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord forasmuch as ye know that
your labor is not in vain in the Lord."
On behalf of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ
in America :
Frank Mason North,
President.
Charles S. Macfarlano,
General Secretary.
On behalf of the General War-Time Commission :
Robert E. Speer,
Chairman.
William Lawrence,
Vice-Chairman.
William Adams Brown,
Executive Secretary.
The Sunday School
Integrity*
THERE is a passage in the twenty-fifth Psalm (the 21st verse)
which long ago I underscored. It has entered into my very
being and become a part of my daily life: "Let integrity and
uprightness preserve me, for I wait for Thee." This lesson shows
the victory of true worth, the reward of solid values. Why do we
use the term "Sterling silver"? Because once there lived a Scotch-
man who made silver of surpassing honesty. Why has the Steinway
piano won its way? Why do we value Packard cars? Why has
Marshall Field's become world renowned? Integrity preserves us
all. Sitting in their cells in prisons today hundreds of men and
women are realizing how the lack of integrity has ruined them.
They are in dust and ashes, their prospects have all crumbled, they
have brought disgrace upon their families, they are a bill of ex-
pense to the government they ought to serve and help, their
own self-respect is murdered because their integrity has been vio-
lated. Every man who passes through the fires of temptation, who
walks like Parsifal through the gardens of subtle danger, who rises
step by step by honest toil and sacrifice to a place of solid and
abiding respect and value, knows that he has his integrity to thank.
I like that word, "Integrity." It speaks to me of wholeness, noth-
ing has been lost or thrown away; soundness, there is nothing
rotten in one's make-up; blamelessness, no great sin can be laid
up against one, either of commission or omission; honesty, rugged,
solid, plain, unvarnished, vigorous honesty, with its head up !
purity, unstained, nothing hidden in the recesses of the soul that
makes for weakness. Integrity, it means that one is unbroken,
entire, whole, sound, true, pure, well-rounded, well-related — all of
this Joseph was.
The Psalmist seems to make integrity and uprightness mean
the same thing.
"He looked the whole world in the face,
For he owed not any man."
It's a fine thing to be able to look all men level-eyed in the
face. Nothing to hide, all shiftiness unnecessary because one's
heart is pure.
"Thrice is he armed who has his quarrel just,
And he but naked, though locked up in steels,
Whose conscience with injustice is corrupted."
It is a joy to sing the praises of the just and the upright.
Herein is the parent's reward — integrity in the child. Herein is
the Sunday school teacher's reward — integrity in the scholar.
Herein is the preacher's reward — integrity in the communicant.
Herein is America's reward — integrity in millions of young men
turned soldiers. "Let integrity and uprightness preserve us, O God,
for we wait on Thee. Without Thee we cannot possess this price-
less virtue, but by Thy help it may be ours forever."
Ill luck did not cause Joseph to lose his faith or to give over
his good life. Many a man goes to pieces on the rock of adversity.
It was very cruel to be sold into bondage. It was very unjust, so it
seemed. He might have cursed God and committed soul-suicide.
But he kept his head, and his integrity preserved him for a great
future. Then came the entrance into Potiphar's house. A strange
country, new customs, limitless luxury, a soft existence, a beautiful
woman's advances and later insistence, the trusting favor of his
master, unrestricted opportunities — all of this was enough to turn
his youthful head — but integrity preserved him. Again the cruel
fate, again bondage, again suffering, but his faith wavered not;
never a doubt was entertained. Doubts came, but they were not
entertained. (What an expression that — "entertaining doubts" —
feasting our doubts — singing to our doubts — taking our doubts
for week-ends into the country — taking our doubts on vacations.)
And then, after the fierce fires of temptations, after the gold
was tested and pure the rise to power — the deserved reward. "Let
integrity and uprightness preserve me — for I wait on Thee."
John R. Ewers.
The "Century" is an exceeding helpful paper. It is a paper
with facts, and is up to date, too. I enjoy reading it.
Lexington, Ky. , Joseph Cedeyco.
WRITE *or our special
= introductory offer
on the Bethany Graded Lessons.
Lesson for December 8. Scripture, Gen. 41:33-44.
This Christmas Will Be
a Book-Giving Christmas
That is the prediction of one of the
largest stores in Chicago. The prophecy
will, no doubt, be fulfilled. The Chris-
tian Century Press has two new books
which are exceptionally adapted as gifts.
(1) The Daily Altar, which has been de-
layed somewhat in publication, but which
will soon be ready; (2) Love Off to
the War, which is an almost perfect
souvenir of the coming of peace, contain-
ing many poems of the New Age and
many others of the peaceful life. Make
up your Christmas list now and write us
how many of each of these books you
will wish for your friends.
The Daily Altar sells at $2.00, plus postage.
Love Off to the War, $1.25, plus postage.
The Christian Century Press
700 East 40th Street, CHICAGO
November 28, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
17
I News of the Churches
Death of Mrs. E. T. Powell
at Norfolk, Va.
Charles M. Watson, minister at First
church, Norfolk, Va., sends word of the
death of Mrs. E. T. Powell, widow of the
late E. T. Powell and mother of Dr. E. L.
Powell, for many years leader at First
church, Louisville, Ky. She was in her
eighty-fifth year at the time of her death,
which occurred at her home in Norfolk.
Mr. Watson writes of her : "The beauty of
the Lord's day, on which she was suddenly
called home, reflected the beauty of her
own Christian life. With her husband, our
beloved Brother Powell, for almost fifty
years she was vitally related to the cause
of our work in Norfolk." Dr. Powell of
Louisville was not able to attend the funeral
because of weakness from his recent ill-
ness. Dr. C. S. Blackwell, pastor of First
church, Norfolk, in its beginnings, assisted
the present minister in the funeral service.
Mr. Watson writes the interesting informa-
tion that First church was organized in the
parlor of the Powell home on Easter dav,
1871.
Death of Well Known
Congo Missionary
The death is reported of Mrs. Louis Jag-
gard, wife of Dr. Louis Jaggard, for many
years, with his wife, in sacrificing mission
work on the Congo. About two years ago
they returned to America broken in health.
Mrs. Jaggard passed away at Indianola, la.,
where they have been making their home.
Her death was due to after effects of the
influenza, from which disease also Dr. Jag-
gard suffered, but has recovered. It is
reported by the Christian News that Dr.
Jaggard wishes to return to his work in
Africa as soon as it is possible.
W. D„ Endres Leaves Quincy, 111.
Work Prosperous
W. D. Endres is closing his fourth year
at the Quincy, 111., church, and will soon
assume his new responsibilities in connec-
tion with Culver-Stockton College, Canton,
Mo. His last year had been a good one,
though the exodus on account of war work
has reduced the growth in membership
somewhat. Fifty-nine members were re-
ceived into the membership, bringing the
resident memberships to 547, there being
a non-resident membership of 84. The
total receipts during the year were
nearly $200 more than last year ; all
church obligations are pafd, and there is
reported a balance in the treasury of $300.
Benevolences for the present year were
surprisingly large, the congregation giving
through regular channels $1,269.35, a gain
over last year of $284.04. In addition to
this, over $1,200 was paid in on the Emer-
gency drive, bringing the total benevolences
up to $2,443.10. The old members state
that this has been the record year with the
church financially. Mr. Endres has been
very busy through the year with outside
patriotic addresses in addition to his reg-
ular duties in his pulpit.
Mrs. J. H. Mohorter Passes
From This Life
Just a few months ago the family of Sec-
retary J. H. Mohorter of the National
Benevolent Association was bereaved by
the sudden taking by death of the daughter
of the family circle. Now comes the re-
port that on November 17 Mrs. Delia Hunt
Mohorter, wife of Mr. Mohorter, passed
from earth. Mrs. Mohorter was a daugh-
ter of S. M. Hunt, a pioneer Disciple of
New England. The deceased had been a
sufferer for many months. The funeral
was held at St. Louis, the burial taking
place at Valhalla cemetery. The Christian
Century joins with the numerous friends of
the Mohorter family in expressing deep
sympathy with them in their time of sorrow.
* * *
— M. G. Long of Windfall, Ind., has ac-
cepted a call to Portland, Ind. C. C. Wil-
son of Clarksburg, Ind., is considering a
call to LaFontaine, Ind.
— Butler College reports an enrollment
of 655. For the first time in the history of
the school the men are in a majority, for
the number of women registered is but
294, as against 361 men. Of the men, 258
are in the Student Army Corps.
— Milo Nethercutt has resigned from the
work at Herrin, 111.
— W. F. Rothenburger of First church,
Springfield, 111., spoke before a recent meet-
ing of local pastors and laymen on the
subject, "What the Laymen's Missionary
Convention Did for Cleveland, O."
— At the state convention of Disciples of
Georgia R. W. Wallace of Winder was
elected president for the new year; O. E.
Fox, vice-president; Owen Still, recording
secretary, and Claude C. Jones, general sec-
retary. Mrs. Stanley Grubb of Athens was
chosen as president of the state woman's
board of missions. The convention was
held at First church, Atlanta.
— Harper McCune, minister at East Lynn
church, Anderson, Ind., has accepted a call
to the work at Alexandria, Ind., succeeding
George W. Winfrey.
«mn«^.n... UNITED SERVICE
MEM 0 RIAL Memorial ( Baptists and Disciples )
Firsl Baptist
CUirir rt Oakwood Blvd. West of Cottage Grove
H 1 L A (j U Herbert L Willed 1 „..,„„
W. H. Main
Ministers
— E. W. Yocum reports the close of a
meeting at Fairview union church, Moun-
tain Grove, Mo., with 31 accessions.
— Prof. Otto C. Kinnick, for the past
four years head of the English department
at Eureka College, has asked for release
in order that he may take up after-war re-
construction work in Europe.
— A. E. Underwood of the Granite City,
111., church will become leader at Elwood,
Ind., next month.
— Gerald Culberson of Bedford, Ind., is
reported considering a call to Longview,
Tex. J. J. Morgan succeeds J. M. Philputt
at Charlottesville, Va. L. F. Drash leaves
LeMoyne, Pa., to accept the work at Mur-
ray, Ky. M. A. Miller will soon close a pas-
torate at Kearney, Neb. J. W. Darby of
Washington, Ind., church has left for
France.
— Two rural churches of Saline county,
Mo., one a Disciple and other a Methodist
church, recently held a union meeting in
which the preaching was done by a Baptist
evangelistic company, with the result of
ninety additions to the churches and a great
spiritual uplift to the community. So re-
ports James Q. Moore, efficiency superin-
tendent of the county.
CENTRAL CHURCH
142 West 31st Street
Finis S. Idleman, Minister
— Jasper T. Moses, until recently of Col-
orado, is now director of publicity service
for the Federal Council of the Churches of
Christ, with headquarters at New York.
— J. D. Garrison, pastor at North Park
church, Indianapolis, Ind., reports that
Joseph A. Kay was called to assist him in
a meeting beginning November 17, but that
Christmas for the Veteran Preacher
This is to be a glorious Christmas. Will everyone else be remembered with its joys and
the aged minister left out in the cold? This would be heartless enough in any case, but worse still
when this is the only day he has a chance for his comfort and keep. Anyone else might have a poor Christ-
mas and still be happy the rest of the year, but a barren Christmas for him means a whole year of distress.
He gave all he had for the cause of Christ. We should take pride in honoring him with
"White Gifts for the King" in the Bible School and with an allowance in the Missionary Budget of the
church equal to at least 6 per cent on what is paid for preaching. The Church contributions are also the
chief dependence for the Pension Fund for our present active ministers.
BOARD OF MINISTERIAL RELIEF
627 Lemcke Building, Indianapolis, Ind.
W. R. WARREN, President
F. E. SMITH, Secretary
18
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
November 28, 1918
the local health board issued an order that
masks be worn in all public places, and so
the meetings were called off. Mr. Garri-
son is enthusiastic concerning the ability of
Mr. Kay as a song leader and soloist.
BUFFALO
RICHMOND AVENUE
CHURCH OF CHRIST
Cor. Richmond and Bryant Streets
ERNEST HUNTER WRAY, Minister
— H. H. Harmon of First church, Lincoln,
Neb., recently returned from service at the
French front, spoke thirteen times in six
days at widely different points in Nebraska
in behalf of the united war work drive.
. —Herbert Yeuell, evangelist, gave his en-
tire chautauqua season this year to govern-
ment lecturing in the middle west. Now
that the war is over, he is planning "recon-
struction campaigns of such a type as the
church has never had."
—The quarterly meeting of auxiliaries of
the Christian Woman's Board of Missions
of Chicago will be held next month at
Memorial church, the date being Thursday,
December 5.
—Graham Frank, as general secretary of
the International Convention, assisted in
the state every-member canvass confer-
ences in Topeka, Kan., Oklahoma City,
Okla., and Fort Worth, Tex.
— An informal reception was recently
given at University Place church, Des
Moines, for the Medbury family, upon the
occasion of a sort of family reunion at
which were present Mr. and Mrs. Medbury
the daughter, Mrs. James Blackburn, and
the son, Sheldon, who, with his brother
is in government war service.
— W. E. Moore, minister at Edinburg
Ind., is a physical director of the local high
school this year, having charge of the mil-
itary work. This gives him an excellent
opportunity to influence the youth of the
town for better things. The congregation at
fcdinburg has recently registered its appre-
ciation of its leader's work by a liberal in-
crease of salary.
— Burris A. Jenkins gives the Thanks-
giving address at Camp Funston this
week. Chaplain Smith writes, "We are
mighty glad to have him as the camp
speaker.
— N. W. Evans of Lancaster, O., has
been called to the pastorate at Gibson
City, 111., and W. T. Montgomery, of
Niantic, 111., is the new leader at Ran-
toul H. O. Wilson has begun his new
work at Third church, Danville, 111.
. — Lew C. Harris has closed his min-
l^try at Ames, la., to go to Boulder,
Lolo. The Christian News, Des Moines
says of Mr. Harris: "There has never
been a minister in Ames who has met
the full duties of his profession as has
Mr. Harris."
—It is reported that H. E. Van Horn,
formerly of Des Moines, la., but now
of First church, Oklahoma City, Okla.,
is suffering from a physical breakdown
as a result of poisoning from a diseased
tonsil. W. T. Fisher, of Mason Citv,
la., is also reported as a victim of ner-
vous breakdown.
NORFOLK.VA.
FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH
(Disciples)
Colonial Ave. at 16th St.
ReT. C. M. Watson, Minister
— W. J. Lockhart, formerly pastor of
the Urbandale Federated church, Des
Moines, but who later moved to a ranch
in South Dakota, is reported ill with
pneumonia.
The Church School
of Citizenship
By Allan Hoben
Associate Professor of Homiletics and
Pastoral Duties
The University of Chicago
This book may be used as a text
in teacher-training classes, Sun-
day-school classes and group meet-
ings. As private reading it will
furnish valuable suggestions to
parents and all others interested
in the rearing of children. Pub-
lished in the series Principles and
Methods of Religious Education.
The Life of Paul
By Benjamin W. Robinson
Professor of New Testament Literature
and Interpretation
Chicago Theological Seminary
This book embodies the most
important results of recent dis-
covery and research in a com-
pact, lucid biography, which will
furnish every help in finding one's
way to a full appreciation of the
achievement of the apostle. Pub-
lished in the series Handbook of
Ethics and Religion.
$1.00, postage extra (weight, 12 ozs.) $1.25, postage extra (weight 1 lb., 4 ozs.)
The University of Chicago Press
580S Ellis Avenue Chicago, Illinois
REVISED MINISTERIAL PENSION
PLAN
As was expected, the change in the*
pension plan of the Board of Ministerial
Relief is meeting with such general ap-
proval that all doubt as to its adoption
is removed.
The cases of permanent total disabil-
ity or death at an early age among our
ministers are only a few each year, but
they are certain and no one can tell
where they will occur. When they do
come they are fearful disasters, and an
assured income of $200, $300, $400 or
$500 per year, as provided by the revised
pension system, will be of inestimable
value. The dues paid by the minister
provide for the minimum pension of $100
per year at 65 or when disabled. Church
contributions have already doubled this
and promise to bring it up speedily to
the maximum of $500 per year.
Ministers who have not enrolled
should send in their application at once.
The revised schedule of rates is as fol-
lows:
Revised Dues for Ministerial Pension
Certificates
ALTERNATE
Semi-
Annual annual Quarterly
Age Dues Dues Dues
21 $22.50 $11.43 $ 5.88
22 22.25 11.46 5.90
23 22.32 11.49 5.91
24 22.57 11.62 5.98
25 22.95 11.82 6.08
26 23.42 12.06 6.21
27 23.98 12.35 6.35
28 24.61 12.67 6.52
29 25.33 13.04 6.71
30 26.12 13.45 6.92
31 27.00 13.91 7.16
32 27.97 14.40 7.41
33 29.04 14.96 7.70
34 30.20 15.55 8.00
35 31.46 16.20 8.34
36 32.82 16.90 8.70
37 34.31 17.67 9.09
38 35.93 18.50 9.52
39 37.69 19.41 9.99
40 39.60 20.39 10.49
41 ... 41.69 21.47 11.05
42 43.95
43 46.45
44 49.21
45 52.23
46 55.60
47 59.37
48 63.59
49 68.33
50 73.72
51 79.91
52 87.06
53 95.38
54 105.23
55 117.02
Board of
22.63
11.65
23.92
12.31
25.34
13.04
26.89
13.84
28.63
14.73
30.58
15.73
32.75
16.85
35.19
18.11
37.97
19.54
41.15
21.18
44.84 .
23.07
49.12
25.28
54.19
27.89
60.27
31.01
Ministerial Relief,
627 Lemcke Bldg.,
Indianapolis, Ind.
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Speakers in Meetings. Ever ready Stories
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Vest Pock** alza, 123 pgs. Cloth. 25c. Mor. 35c, postpeE.
Aets.war.tei!. QEO.W. NOBLE, Monon Bldg. Chicago. III.
750 BIBLES QOSPEL STUDIES
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and Short Spiritual Explanations. Ail Subjects
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WORD OF THE SPIRIT
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SUNDAY SCHOOL
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DISCIPLES PUBLICATION SOCIETY
700 E. Fortieth Street :-i , CHICAGO
November 28, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
19
AN APPEAL FOR THE CHILDREN
Because the Sunday schools of the
United States and Canada made gifts
amounting to a million dollars at the
Christmas season last year for the suffer-
ing ones in Bible lands, thousands of
little folk are alive today who otherwise
would have perished, and childish lips
have voiced a prayer of gratitude. Mothers
have been provided a means of support
through the establishment of industries,
and we are all infinitely richer because of
this fellowship.
But our obligation to these sufferers
has not ceased, in fact, it has increased.
The victories of our allied armies in
Mesopotamia have created new demands
and opened additional opportunities by
making accessible a larger number of
refugees. Words are inadequate to de-
scribe the terrible condition of these
people. Millions of dollars are required
to provide the merest necessities of life,
and those millions must be forthcoming.
No one of us can shirk his responsibility
in this time of great need.
The goal set for the Sunday schools
of North America is for $2,000,000 at this
Christmas season, and our Christian
Bible schools will have a worthy part.
Our boys and girls can not go on the
great crusade for liberty, but they can
engage in reclamation work through sac-
rificial giving. Bible schools will gladly
give up the unusual treat that every dol-
lar may be used to save life.
A brief educational campaign should
be carried on in our schedule before the
time for gathering the offering so that
our people may give intelligently and
abundantly. A strong appeal can be
made by using the literature that is
available. The Christmas program, "Magi
of Today," is inspirational as well as
educational; it is simple yet dignified,
and easily adapted to any size school.
The program is to be preceded by short
services, "Faith," "Hope" and "Love,"
during the opening of the school the
three Lord's Days before it is to be ren-
dered. This literature should be ordered
at once to insure its reaching you in
plenty of time. Address your request
to the American Committee for Armenian
and Syrian Relief, 1 Madison Ave., New
York City. David H. Owen,
Special Relief Representative.
—FOR THE SUNDAY SCHOOL—
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it is essentially the dramatic movement of the idealizing,
outreaching life of man in the midst of his practical, social
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PHE author calls this" a scrap book for insurgents" and
•*• dedicates it "to the bravest men I know, the heretics."
He frankly confesses himself a destructive critic. Look-
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While he disavows any constructive purpose in the
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Some of the Chapter titles: "Sects and Insects," "Threadbare
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"Charming/' says Rev. Peter Ainslie, Baltimore, Md.
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"Fresh, reverential, vigorous," Rev. Graham Frank, Dallas, Tex.
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"Ideal," Rev. J. M. Philputt, Charlottesville, Va.
"Will prove a winner," Myron C. Settle, Bible school expert, Kansas City, Mo.
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Europe Since 1815
By Charles Downer Hazen
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This author, who occupies the chair
of Professor of History in Smith
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ity in modern history, begins where
Napoleon left off, at the Congress of
Vienna, and traces developments
leading up to the present war. This
is not a dry book of history, but is
charmingly written. Fourteen ex-
cellent maps make the study all the
more interesting.
Price, $3.75 plus 10 to
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The Diplomatic Background
of the War
By Charles Seymour
T\R. SEYMOUR is a Yale Pro-
*^ fessor, and here presents a re-
markable story of European politics
since 1874, with clear, expositions of
the essential motifs of the several
nations of Europe in the continual
behind-the-scenes conflicts and
schemings that have characterized
this period. The book reads like a
novel.
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THIS book gives the unprofessional
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phy from Kant to Hegel. Technical
details are omitted, while the ideas that
are significant for the history of culture
are emphasized.
It shows how German thought took
shape in the struggle for German nation-
ality against the Napoleonic menace, and
how profoundly that crisis affected the
philosophy of morals, of the state, and of
history which has since that time pene-
trated into the common consciousness
of Germany.
Incidentally it makes clear how
superficial is the current accounting for
the contemporary attitude of intellectual
Germany by reference to Nietzsche, etc.,
since that attitude is shown to have its
basis in the older idealistic philosophy.
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AMENTED
rthodoxy
Studies in Christian Constancy
BY
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!HHE author of this volume of sermons is the President
**■ of the General Convention of the Disciples of Christ,
1918, and Minister of First Christian Church, Blooming-
ton, 111. He was one of the "Three American Preachers"
who were the subject of an article by Prof. Arthur S. Hoyt
in the "Homiletic Review" for February, 1917. Here are
sermons of wide range in topic, style and arrangement; yet
withal they are full of feeling and fervor. They are good
examples of a high level of preaching, attained by a minis-
ter who, for twelve years, has made his pulpit a vital and
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Love Off to the War
By THOMAS CURTIS CLARK
Just from the press! A new collection of Mr. Clark's work, containing more than 125 poems, one-
fourth of them being poems of war and peace, some of which have gone to the ends of the English-
speaking world as voicing truly the patriotic convictions and emotions of the American people
which caused them to enter the conflict which has just ended. This is a most fitting souvenir of
the close of the World War and the dawn of the new age. But the book contains other than war
poems. The collection is made up of eight groups of verses, the group titles being "Love Off to
the War," "In Friendly Town," "Songs of the Seasons," "Followers of the Gleam," "Christus,"
"The Mystic," "Studies in Souls," and "The New World." A great many poems are here pub-
lished that have not before been printed.
SOME OF THE POEMS INCLUDED IN THIS COLLECTION
OF WAR AND PEACE
The Dawn of Liberty
God Rules the Seas !
They Have Not Died in Vain
Woodrow Wilson, Leader
America in France
The Day Breaks
OF THE SIMPLE LIFE
Take Time to Live
On Contentment Street
King of an Acre
A June Millionaire
Wealth
A Song of Quietness
To Thoreau
OF THE SEASONS
Revelation
Spring Song
Messengers
Wayside Roses
OF THE NEW AGE
The Bugle Song of Peace
The New Eden
The Golden Age
The Touch of Human Hands
God's Dreams
Battle Song of Truth
OF RELIGION
The Faith of Christ's Free-
men
The Christ Militant
The Search
The Stay
Be Still and Know that I Am
God
God Is Not Far
Light at Evening Time
The Pursuit
The Voice of the Deep
"STUDIES IN SOULS"
Three Poems of Lincoln
Sons of Promise
The Remorse of David
Sympathy
Success
The World Builders
In Praise of Thomas Curtis Clark's Poems
"Charming." John Masefield, English poet.
"These poems breathe a spirit of content." Sara
Teasdale, who received last year a prize of $500
for the best volume of verse published during 1917.
"I find both thought and music in his verses."
Henry van Dyke.
"Lovely poems and of wide appeal." James Terry
White, of the Poetry Society of America.
"Full of inspiration." Charles G. Blanden, Editor
of the Chicago Anthology of Verse.
"Mr. Clark's verse is sure to attract the attention of
those who are seeking for illumination and nour-
ishment for the inner life." Dr. Herbert L. Willett.
"Thomas Curtis Clark is the sweet singer of our
Israel." Editor B. A. Abbott.
"I greatly appreciate your songs. Surely you have
an authentic mission as an interpreter of the deep
things that matter most." Joseph Fort Newton,
minister at City Temple, London, and vice-presi-
dent of the London Poetry Society.
"Thomas Curtis Clark is doing a fine service to the
Church universal in giving poetic interpretation
to the evangelical faith in a fashion that makes
his verse especially congenial to the mood of our
time." Editor Charles Clayton Morrison.
"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
respects." Dr. J. H. Garrison.
"Mr. Clark is a poet of the inner life, an interpreter
of the soul, a seer of the realm spiritual." Dr.
Edgar DeWitt Jones.
The new volume is bound in semi-flexible cloth, with gold top and side, and makes a
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Copyright by Newman Traveltalks and Brown & Dawson. N. Y.
JAPANESE SCHOOL BOYS IN MILITARY TRAINING
For What?
It is for the Christians of America to say whether Japan, trained and organized with a thoroughness
and efficiency never equalled elsewhere, shall be inspired by love or dominated by hate; whether Japan shall
be another England at its best or another Germany at its worst.
If this were a question for governments to decide, our statesmen would employ thousands of men
and spend millions of dollars to attain the right ends. They see not only Japan's alert and irrepressible
seventy million people, but just back of them China's awakening four hundred million — all of them neigh-
bors of ours right across the Pacific ocean.
But it is wholly a missionary task. We cannot Vote our money and our men to do it through the
government; we must give our men and our money to do it through the church. And we must make our
efforts match in magnitude the importance of the end and the vastness of the issue.
While the devotees of Japan's ancestral Shintoism are still loyal and zealous in their old religion,
they are openminded and even hospitable to Christianity. It is the hour of destiny for Japan, the hour of
opportunity for the Church of Christ.
The United Budget for 1919 was framed in wartime and provided only for the maintenance of our
work in Japan. With peace comes the imperative call for enlargement. There must be oversubscription to
send in, as soon as they can be found, six missionary families and as many single women.
DISCIPLES' WORLD WIDE EVERY MEMBER CAMPAIGN
222 WEST FOURTH ST., CINCINNATI, O.
An Undenominational Journal of Religion
Volume XXXV
DECEMBER 5, 1918
Number 47
EDITORIAL STAFF: CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON, EDITOR; HERBERT L. WILLETT, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
ORVIS FAIRLEE JORDAN, ALVA W. TAYLOR. JOHN RAY EWERS :: THOMAS CURTIS CLARK, OFFICE MANAGER
i Entered as second-class matter, February 28, 1902, at the Post-office at Chicago, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
[Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized on July 3, 1918.
\ Published Weekly By the Disciples Publication Society 700 East 40th Street, Chicago
Subscription — $2.50 a year (to ministers, $2.00), strictly in advance. Canadian postage, 52 cents extra; foreign, $1.04 extra.
Change of date on wrapper is a receipt for remittance on subscription and shows month and year to which subscription is paid.
The Christian Century is a free interpreter of the essential ideals of Christianity as held historically by the Disciples of Christ.
It conceives the Disciples' religious movement as ideally an unsectarian and unecclesiastical fraternity, whose original impulse and
common tie are fundamentally the desire to practice Christian unity in the fellowship of all Christians. Published by Disciples, The
Christian Century, is not published for Disciples alone, but for the Christian world. It strives to interpret the wider fellowship
in religious faith and service. It desires definitely to occupy a catholic point of view and it seeks readers in all communions.
What Shall the Church Do to be Saved?
OUR age is more revolutionary than that of the
French revolution. The reformation now immi-
nent in the church is of greater importance than
that inaugurated by Martin Luther. It is the law of
life that an organism must continually adapt itself to its
environment or die. The church faces at this hour that
most important question, What must I do to be saved?
Is Christianity an effete religion about to be cast over-
board for a new faith, just as the Roman religion per-
ished before the all-conquering advance of the Naza-
rene? Or is there the power in Christianity to absorb
the essence of the new world aspirations as it has done
before, notably in the renaissance?
There is a forest fire of criticism raging in the
world and in this fire are being consumed some of the
proudest trees of the human forest. In politics the
world is losing its reverence for kings. If autocracy
had proved successful, we should have spent some mil-
lenniums under it. But for the present, at least, democ-
racy has succeeded. And it is success which confers
authority. But even democracy is an ill-defined concept
which is now undergoing criticism and redefinition.
Before we are done defining we shall have several dif-
ferent kinds of democrats in the world contending with
each other for power.
In economics the wage system is threatened just
as slavery was once challenged, and later feudalism.
The program of the British labor party, the aspirations
of the Bolsheviki, the program of social democrats, all
have to do with a reform of the economic structure.
At a time when humanity could be more comfortable
than ever before in human history, we seek still greater
comfort and a wider diffusion of the blessings of co-
operative industry.
Educators are being given a drubbing. H. G. Wells
in his recent book "Joan and Peter" is only one of the
many voices now raised against the conservatism of the
schoolmaster. Probably schools have changed even less
than churches in a hundred years and are relatively
more conservative than the churches. There is demand
for a redefinition of education from the standpoint of
social utility.
* * *
We would not expect the church to be immune
from criticism unless we regarded the church of too
little importance to engage the attention of men in
these important days.
The charges against the church are numerous, some
of the criticisms being wise and some otherwise. It is
said that the church has either been rationalistic or
irrational. In either case it has failed to be human. The
irrationalist has gloried in miracle and has essayed dif-
ficult feats of faith like a spiritual tumbler. The ration-
alist has argued either for a conservative system or for
a liberal one, but always with the view that in religion
the important thing is opinion, or a system of opinions.
Neither the irrationalist nor the rationalist has suc-
ceeded in relating religion very definitely to the strug-
gle of the human race to survive upon this planet.
Then the church has been too much a bourgoisie
affair. This has been especially true of protestantism.
We have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars upon
meeting houses that looked like fire-stations. Retired
farmers and retired shop-keepers have been our patron
saints, furnishing the pensions and also the leadership.
The alienation of large sections of the proletariat has
been often enough noted. Perhaps in every age the
church has lacked the support of much of the prole-
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
December 5, 191£
tariat. But even more serious has been the alienation
of community leaders and national leaders. While some
of these, as our President, have remained ardent church-
men, others look down upon the church with benevo-
lent pity as we do at the weary and blind old grand-
father who is soon to fall into his grave.
The salvation the church has preached has been
individualistic. Its ethics have often been individual-
istic and narrow. Cards and theater-going were under
the ban, while child-labor, unjust profits and lock-outs
were outside the pale of pulpit testimony. This meant
that we were belated John Bunyans preaching to a
generation three centuries ago in the grave.
Many churches have been parish-minded and many
groups of churches have been denomination-minded.
Always these have cared for the church for its own
sake and not for its contribution to humanity in the life
struggle.
The church has often been the opposite of sympa-
thetic with the race. It has been thought that ministers
were "worldly" when they were concerned about good
houses and sanitary factories. The spiritual attitude
was to seek pearly gates and golden streets in a life
beyond this life. In this exaltation of the future over
the present, the alienation of the church from the race
became well-nigh complete.
Of course not all of these criticisms might be ap-
plied to all churches. But somewhere there is the church
or churches that one or all of them will fit.
* * *
What will save the church? She needs more intel-
ligent leadership. In the name of a false conception of
democracy we have inducted men into our pulpits in
many towns who are innocent of ideas. These are the
obedient sheep to follow the church demagogue and
when they do not follow they are easily rounded up by
the watchdog of a conservative press. Even men with
much training have often been wrongly trained. Full
of Greek and ignorant of psychology, skilled in the use
of commentaries but ignorant of community problems,
much of this training has justly fallen under suspicion.
We must have ministers who know what true religion
is, what the church lives for and what is the next step
in the evolution of the church.
The problem of the world today is to develop the
altruism necessary to accomplish the tasks of the co-
operative commonwealth. We have material machines
but we have not been able to build the social machinery
demanded by the conditions of modern life. There never
will be anything but class war, fruitless struggle and
bitterness of soul unless the church by the preaching of
a true religious doctrine teaches men to "love" each
other, not sentimentally, but with a strong desire for
the welfare of every human life. Should religion accom-
plish this, it would justify itself in the struggle of the
race to survive as our most important human interest.
Religion would end war, strikes, poverty and idleness,
our greatest foes.
The church can never teach her doctrine of good-
will abstractly, but will have to work it out in a human
laboratory. The Presbyterians propose to work at it ir
their New Era Movement. The missionary program o
the Methodists gives a striking and dramatic expressior
to this new aspiration. Why have the Disciples not me:
the new world situation with statesmanship? It is late
but not too late for them to find their place in the life
of tomorrow.
To set forth a complete program for the church o
tomorrow cannot be done by one man nor in one essay
It will require the combined wisdom of the whole
church of God. The coming World Conference on Faitr.
and Order should take its eyes off of Rome and faster
them upon the New Jerusalem to be let down upor
earth from heaven. God is about to give us a fresr.
revelation of his ancient truth. _ „ T
Orvis b. Jordan.
Let Us Thank God for the Fish
WHILE the higher critics and other unbelievers
have been declaring that the book of Jonah is
not fundamentally concerned with the great fish
there has grown a suspicion that they do not believe that
the story of Jonah being in a fish for three days and
nights is literal history. The "Apostolic Review" has
learned that a fish was taken in 1912 which was 45 feet
long and in this fish was another fish that weighed 1,500
pounds. Of course Jonah could have ridden in such a
fish and had room for Pullman accommodations.
There has been much sadness among the saints at the
idea of losing the great fish. It is now time to sing the
doxology. It is a great comfort to have a fish large
enough to swallow a man. Meanwhile, it doesn't matter
much what the book of Jonah was about !
Trench Religion
THERE has come into the souls of the men who
have borne the heat and burden of the day in
France a new religious experience. It is called
"trench religion." This sounds primitive. It is so in
many ways, but it is sure to affect vitally the life of the
American churches when the men return.
The tremendous exaltation of group feeling, the
close comradeship, the practice of heroic acts of mutual
helpfulness are at the center of this trench religion. It
has swept away every barrier of previous religious
opinion. Catholics, protestants and Jews fraternize in
the most amazing way and talk of a world federation oi
religion which will include these three forms of faith
and testimony. Under the impulse of this passion for
unity the old denominational distinctions seem like im-
pertinences. Religion in the trenches is passionate
brotherhood touched with cosmic emotion.
Selfishness and individualism have been for the
time swept away. These men who come back will never
again be the same. They are like men who have gazed
into the face of eternity. United by a common danger,
welded by a great outstanding experience which to the
end of time will tower above every other experience,
these men will come back to influence the church in
most important particulars.
December 5, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
We do not suggest that trench religion is a perfect
religion. It is certainly defective in its intellectual proc-
esses. It has no thought-through programs. It is just
an overmastering emotion. But for the purpose of
destroying the debris of the religious life of the past it
will be most useful. The khaki-clad men of today will
be the political leaders of tomorrow and many of them
will be the church statesmen as well.
We would as well prepare to sit up with these gen-
tlemen who return from Europe with their souls fired
with a new vision. No stand-patism will avail with
them. We should seek to understand their aspirations,
to co-operate as far as we may and to prove to them
that God has been doing a work of grace in our hearts
as well.
A Seat at the Peace Table
GOOD many interests have asked to sit in at
the peace table. The first to nominate himself
was the Pope. Indeed, he hoped to organize the
conference according to his will two years ago. He has
lost his leadership through his moral failure to protest
the spoliation of his own children in Belgium. Besides,
it was not apparent that a prelate representing a minor-
ity of the religious people of the countries involved
should arbitrate their destiny.
The labor leaders have nominated themselves for
a place at the peace table. It has been urged that the
proletarian interests as over against the brain workers
and the industrial organizers should be represented.
The welfare of the labor people must be protected at
the peace conference, but we can no more afford to
have the destinies of the world settled by class con-
scious industrials than by denominationally minded
ecclesiastics.
The suffragist element in some countries has de-
manded that womanhood be represented at the peace
conference. Women have interests quite as important
as those of men at this conference. It would be well if
some woman who can think without the partisanship
of labor, religion or sex might sit at the peace table,
but no woman should be there just to represent women.
At the peace conference we shall have enough selfish
testimony and divided counsel. We wish we might shut
The Everlasting- Mercy
By Rabbi A. H. Silver
FOR the sins of men God gave them repentence,
and for their wounds a healing balm.
For the errors of men God gave them truth, and
for their sorrows a great consolation.
For the hate of men God gave them love, and
for their greed the gift of sacrifice.
And for the wars of men, which bring sin and
sorrow, error, evil, and greed, God gave them re-
pentance and a healing balm, truth and a great
consolation, love and the gift of sacrifice.
And the symbol of these is the Red Cross.
out narrow-minded interpreters of nationalistic ambi-
tions. The need of the hour is not class-conscious men
or women, but representatives of a world statesman-
ship which will guard humanity's most sacred interests.
At this peace conference men must think no longer in
terms of nations or of interests, but in terms of general
welfare.
Meanwhile, the conference must be in some meas-
ure responsible to public sentiment. It is the duty of
the Church to stand against a program of revengeful
retaliation. We should support the plan for a League
of Free Nations to Enforce Peace as being the practical
idealism now adapted to the world's needs. Nor should
the Church forget in its prayers the men on whom this
weighty responsibility rests.
Plutocratic Creed Makers
ARE your opinions for sale ? The question may be
offensive, but it is no more so than the proposi-
tion put up to a certain state board of missions
in the mid-west, in a Disciple camp. A plutocratic layman
who has been much advertised for his generosity be-
came suspicious of the religious opinions of the mem-
bers of the state board. Judged by his standards, we
think they were guilty. He sent them a creed to sign
with the explanation that while a creed was not neces-
sary to join the church, it was necessary to get his
money! What did the state board do? We glory to
relate that its answer was quite the same as the historic
answer to the man who wished to purchase the Holy
Ghost, "Thy money perish with thee." The time has
not yet arrived for Disciples to sell their freedom. It
would be better to reduce the missionary society to a
shadow of its former opulence.
Were this an isolated instance, it might be regarded
as one of the freakish actions of an eccentric man. But
we have seen other symptoms of a similar attempt at
a plutocratic control of opinion in the church. The
speech of Mr. R. A. Long at the Kansas City conven-
tion will not soon be forgotten, though often reinter-
preted. The ill-starred Bible Institute at Canton, Ohio,
had a creed fastened upon it by plutocratic interests.
The Brite Bible College of Texas has another of those
interesting documents.
Of course, not all moneyed men are conservative.
Many of them believe in progress and would by no
means wish to purchase opinion. John D. Rockefeller
founded the University of Chicago and left it free both
as a teacher of economics and as a teacher of religion.
It is well known that in both these departments in-
structors teach ideas at variance with the personal
views of Mr. Rockefeller. There are wealthy laymen
among the Disciples with a similar breadth of view.
But, unfortunately, not all men have grown with their
fortunes.
When men sign a creed to get money they sell
themselves into a spiritual slavery, and will be despised
by men and condemned by God. Plutocratic tyranny
over the church must not be given quarter for a single
moment,
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
December 5, 1918
After the Influenza
THE wave of influenza has closed up church build-
ings in most sections of the country, interrupted
public meetings and in many ways disorganized
religious work at the time of year when most churches
are just beginning to get things going well for the
fall season.
There is no disguising the seriousness of the visit-
ation, for most churches have had or will have one or
several funerals as a result of the scourge and the spirit
of apprehension will live with us even after the plague
is lifted. For the first time in the life of many religious
organizations the regular schemes of things has been
interrupted and new conditions are to be faced when
the public health returns to normal.
There are some compensating advantages for all
the loss that religion has suffered by reason of the
influenza. The theaters and amusement places have
been closed up. Many a family has been compelled to
live for weeks by the family fireside. It is to be hoped
that new intimacies have been developed there that
will be most significant for the future. Many families
are only an aggregation of units that eat and sleep
through a cooperative arrangement. May a true family
spirit be born this year in many a home.
There will also be a new sense of the uncertainty
of life. When a scourge comes to a community, there
is a fresh consciousness of man's mortality and of the
need of every fleeting moment for the serious business
of life. It may be that some shallow minds chafe for
the old amusements and with the lifting of the quaran-
tine will hasten back to the old haunts, but it is pos-
sible that religious organizations will find in some lives
a new field for planting the seed of the kingdom.
The Mississippi Mate
A Parable of Safed the Sage
OW it came to pass as I journeyed that I came
to a Great River, called in the tongue of the Red
Man the Mississippi, which, being interpreted,
is The Great Father of Waters; and I found a Ship,
and I paid the Fare thereon, and I went into the Ship
and sailed far down the River. And it came to pass
that ofttimes the Whistle blew, and the Ship came to
a Landing, and it Stopped. And certain of the sons of
Ham that were on the Ship carried out of the Vessel
bags of Potatoes, and barrels of Flour, and sacks of
Corn, and many other articles of Food and Commerce,
and carried them up the Bank and laid them there. And
?t each of the places where the Ship tarried, the Mate
stood at the top of the bank, and loudly called to the
Ethiopians who carried up the Freight. And thus he
spake unto them, saying:
Why loiter ye? Hurry! Hurry! Suppose ye that
this boat meaneth to tarry here until the middle of next
week? Make haste, ye Ethiopian sluggards! Verily, ye
earn not the salt that goeth into your hoe-cake ! Hurry !
Hurry ! Get ye out with the freight !
And with many like Words did he Exhort them,
and some Words that were Unlike.
Then ni}^ heart waxed Hot within me, and I said to
my soul :
Behold, the men bear Burdens, and the bank is
Steep. Why should he, who Carrieth no Load, stand
at the top of the bank and Blaspheme against the men
who already are Burdened? Ought he not either to
carry on his own head a sack of Potatoes, or on his
own back a Barrel of Flour, or on his own shoulder a
Squalling Swine, or be silent while other men Struggle
under their Loads?
But I observed that now and then for a moment the
Mate was recalled to the Ship, and then the Work
Slacked. And the Ethiopians quickly saw when he was
gone, and they Lagged, and Laughed, and Loitered.
But when the Mate returned they Hastened.
Yea, he Hastened Them.
Then I said to my soul, Behold, I am even as that
Mate. For the Lord hath appointed me to stand on the
bank of the River of Time, and exhort His People to be
Diligent, for the stream Floweth Swiftly, and the Ves-
sel must move. And many of my people bear Burdens,
and I pity them under their loads. Yet do I stand on
the bank and call out to them :
Hasten, ye Sinners, for the time is short. Think
not to say within yourselves that ye have Done Well,
for when ye have done your best, ye are Unprofitable
Servants. Hasten, and work harder!
And for this they pay me my Salary. Yea, and by
so doing I Earn It.
Yet while I thus Admonish them, my heart goeth
cut to them, for in truth they bear Heavy Burdens, and
the bank is Steep.
But the Stream floweth on, and the Boat must sail.
Wherefore when I think of these things, my heart find-
eth Companionship with the Mate, for but for the grace
of God I should be as he.
Yea, my heart goeth out also to the sons of Ham,
for their Burdens are heavy and the bank is steep. Yet
I hear them Singing, and they tell me that they love
the Mate, and would fight for him. And this I hope is
true.
National Greatness
N
OT gold, but only man, can make
A people great and strong;
Men who, for truth and honor's sake,
Stand fast and suffer long.
Brave men who work while others sleep,
Who dare while others fly —
They build a nation's pillars deep
And lift them to the sky.
Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Some By-Products of the World War
PROBABLY no nation ever faced the necessity of war
with greater reluctance than did the United States
two years ago. All our traditions were of peace.
Our serious business in the world was education, industry,
commerce, philanthropy and religion. We had not be-
lieved, until the great war broke, that any of the leading
nations would again take up the sword. International
friendship was the theme of the hour. The cost, the
destructiveness, the suffering of war made it increasingly
unthinkable that it should again be resorted to with slow
and deliberate purpose. The increasing armaments of the
leaders in the competitive race for preparedness seemed
absurd and criminal. Criminal we now know them to have
been. Absurd they were not in the light of what we now
understand regarding the ambitions of some that are today
beginning to pay the awful price which failure of such
gigantic and immoral ambitions must involve.
Our own involvement in the struggle was slow, reluc-
tant and painful. For that fact Ave have no need to apolo-
gize. A man may be pardoned for refusing to believe
that a neighbor, on the same street, and with a neighborly
record running back over the years, is a bandit and a
ruffian. The company of those who take seriously the
teachings of the prophets and -of Jesus is a great host.
They have not been willing to believe that the nations
must live in armed camps any more than the individuals
of a ward or precinct. They are no more prepared to
believe it now than before the war. All the more in the
light of this world tragedy do they insist that peace and
not war is the curve that the nations wish to take. All
the more will they insist that war must be made increas-
ingly impossible.
Nevertheless, it is a satisfaction to discover that even
in the midst of the tragedy which has changed the front
of the universe, we have been permitted to secure some
fruitage from the crooked limbs of the tree of strife. It
would be a pathetic commentary on the moral order of the
world if it were not so. We might not be willing to pay
the price which these by-products have cost us. But hav-
ing paid that price, we are concerned to secure as much
in the way of compensation as we may.
THE NEW NATIONALISM
1. The most obvious good that issued from the rising
spirit of war when the call for troops came and enlistment
began, was a new reverence for the flag, and a new sensi-
tiveness to the meaning of the national anthem. It has been
an increasing satisfaction to observe the ardor with which
all ages and sorts of Americans have greeted the colors,
in contrast with the negligent attitude of most of our
people before the war. Today if a procession passes, and
the bystanders do not uncover in the presence of the
national banner, they are likely to be reminded of the
breach of courtesy. Today if the national anthem is sung
or played it brings any sort of a crowd to its feet and to
attention. And it is no longer impossible to find people
who can actually sing the "Star Spangled Banner" quite
through. For this generation, at least, we shall not lose
this outer expression of patriotism. We shall know a little
better than before what the flag and the anthem mean.
2. Through the entire nation, whether called to the
colors or not, there has run the fine enthusiasm for the
life in the ranks. Almost an entire generation has taken
up the enterprise of drilling for the military life and has
gotten something of the zest for drill, precision, alertness
ct o ' ST *
and the open spaces. Boys that had anything but a sol-
dierly bearing are today living a life of physical efficiency
that might never have been suggested to them otherwise.
We shall not be willing to lose this asset. No one knows
just how it is to be maintained. But we want the best
there is in it for the youth of the future. Some people
think that we can secure this by universal military training.
This is very doubtful. People, both old and young, will
do under the spur of necessity what they would be far
from doing for any other reason. It is quite an open
question whether in a year's time any but the militarists
will have any urgent interest in universal military training.
But by some means or other we ought to contrive to keep
up some plan of universal physical training, both for men
and women. All can unite on that platform, and the
nation needs it.
SCIENCE AND PATRIOTISM
3. Never before has there been such widespread dif-
fusion of knowledge among the youth of the nation regard-
ing the dangers which imperil the physical as well as the
moral life of the nation through sexual perversion. Every
training camp has been a school of physiology and hygiene.
By means of lectures, literature and pictures the perils of
illicit conduct have been pointed out. The result has been
that in the language of more than one of the army leaders,
we have "the cleanest army that was ever assembled."
Our army camps are today far safer than our cities. Is
this to teach no lesson of proper protection for these same
youth when the war service is really over, and the troops
come back? If cities and towns are to have no better con-
science than they had before the war, then outside of the
valuable knowledge of sex facts which the boys have
acquired in the service, they will be no safer than before
if they are to come back to communities where vice con-
spires with officialism to prey upon the susceptible.
4. The scientific progress that has come out of the
war is nothing less than marvelous. It is a commonplace
that the advance in the technique of war craft has been
astonishing. The new and more deadly implements that
science has produced would have amazed the militarists
of Napoleon's day. But it is not alone in the field of
destructive craftsmanship that this progress has been
gained. The mastery of the air and of the sea has come
much nearer to its consummation. The stimulation of
inventive genius in the domain of foods, fabrics and
materials of industry and commerce has not been less
surprising. Those resources which have been drawn upon
amid the dire needs of war are to be among the reserves
of the race in times of peace.
5. The unity of the nation has become a recognized
fact as not before. Looking along the lines in the camps
of the nation, it was easy to see, though only on somewhat
close inspection, that the ranks were made up of all the
8
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
December 5, 1918
races that have entered into our polyglot life. At a dis-
tance one could not tell them apart, and they looked as
nearly of one stock as would an English or a French regi-
ment. But at short range one saw the difference. They
were from all the earth. Side by side were the men of
Bohemian, Scandinavian, Danish, Polish, Italian, Spanish,
Greek, Scotch, Swiss, Irish, and a dozen other nationalities.
And yet they were all of one nation. When that blind
French soldier, through whose village the newly landed
troops were marching heard his little boy describe their
flag, with its stars of white on a field of blue, and its stripes
of red and white, he could only cry out in an agony of
joy, "The Americans have come !" For all these many
nationalities have united to form one nation, never so much
one as now in the sublime emergency of this war. Even
the half-hearted, the neutral and the indifferent have been
stimulated to a more intelligent appreciation of what the
flag and the record of the past signify in the light of these
great years.
GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP
6. One of the most interesting developments of this
period has been the socialization of the utilities and re-
sources of the nation. Nothing could have been more
astonishing than the rapidity with which the most inde-
pendent and democratic people in the world turned over
the operation of their interests and activities to government
control and the call of efficiency. We submitted to the
exchange of a volunteer system of enlistment for the
selective draft ; we forewent the pleasure of a long and
animated debate over the question of daylight saving and
set our clocks forward at a word from Washington ; we
accepted the principle of food conservation not only with-
out protest, but with joy when we discovered what could
be done in taking care of our allies and the unfed nations ;
we allowed another man of academic training to tell us
how much coal and gasoline we could use, and on what
days ; we handed over the railroad systems of the nation to
a single individual, and stood by cheerfully while he added
a half to the usual cost of transportation ; and we have
seen another department of the government take over the
wires and cables and have spoken no word of demur.
Nor is this all. Some of these utilities will not go back
into the hands of private possessors. No doubt there are
divided opinions on this theme, and admirable arguments
on both sides. But there has been a rising tide of senti-
ment for years in behalf of common operation of many
utilities. The experiment which the war has permitted
will not be allowed to go without permanent values for
the entire body of our citizenship. It is not to be doubted
that we shall look back upon the great war as the time
that set forward by wide diameters the principle and prac-
tice of government ownership.
7. Of still greater value is the experience of philan-
thropy which has come from the conflict. Almost at the
first the Red Cross made its appeal. Soon after the Y. M.
C. A. took in hand the vast moral and spiritual interests
of the camps and the trenches. Simultaneously with these
we began to hear the voices of the suffering nations.
Belgium, Poland, Serbia, Armenia and Syria made their
insistent appeal to the heart of the world. Never have the
resourceful peoples organized such a festival of giving. One
after another, with swift, insistent feet, these great and
searching importunities have come upon us. We could
not evade them. We learned not to wish to evade them.
And when at last they found their culmination in the huge
seven-fold drive, which added to all other motives that of
a religious fellowship such as we had never known before,
we just faced the staggering situation and went over the
top, as we had done at every former appeal. Surely our
small gifts for missions, education and charity will look
meager in the future unless they partake to some degree of
the amplitude which we have learned in the rich experi-
ences of this time of common sorrow and common service.
8. Closely allied with the generous giving has been
the creation of a new habit on the part of large portions
of our people, — that of saving. Of course, there was noth-
ing particularly commendable about generous subscriptions
to liberty bonds. That was a piece of self-indulgence.
And no one thinks himself a patriot merely because he
bought as many war and thrift stamps as he could afford.
That was only what any selfish person might have done.
It offered very excellent returns upon the finest security
in the world. But the creation of the habit of provision
for the future will make the difference between competence
and waste in thousands of American homes.
THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS
9. It would be of value to speak of other by-products
of the war, such as the deepening seriousness of purpose
which is sure to result from this experience, the broaden-
ing of horizons, the enrichment of culture, the larger
acquaintance with world boundaries and interests, the
deeper sympathy with racial and national hopes, and the
appreciation of the newer literary and artistic fruits that
are to be gathered within the next few years as the result
of the struggle. But that which must have deep meaning
for every true American is the new internationalism that
is destined to safeguard the results of this war for civiliza-
tion. Just as the selfishness of men would wish to slip
back as soon as possible into the old unsocial and com-
petitive courses of trade that were the rule before the
world conflict, so the old statecraft of the past will wish
to play its tricky and shifting part in the international
relations of the future. Unless the lesson of the present
can be learned, and a league of nations formed that shall
accept the principle of national as well as individual mor-
ality, the world has got to keep up the futile and perpetual
struggle of an armed neutrality, with the old effort to
maintain a balance of power which is in perpetual danger of
disturbance, with other wars ahead. There are certain
intense nationalists and militarists to whom nothing but
the old world of armaments and warfare is conceivable.
They have learned nothing from the last four years. But
the new generation that has helped to pay the cost of this
unpardonable affront to history and Christianity is of a
different mind. And now is the time to make that fact
clear. The President is going to Paris with such hopes
in his heart. The prayers of lovers of the future will go
with him. The forces of reaction are strong, and will be
well represented at the peace table. May he and the friends
of the new diplomacy and the permanent peace of the
world win through.
Herbert L. Willett.
Who Is Your God?
By Frederick E. Lumley
GERMANY has been found to be a world menace,
but not primarily because of her huge guns,
her sneaking submarines, her heartless military ma-
chine or her insane autocrats and her grovelling advisers.
These have proven terrible enough, as humanity now
knows, but they were not the worst of her. Nor was her
materialistic philosophy, her dogma of might, the worst of
her. When beheld attentively, these mighty war-making
tools become transparent and there is revealed, beneath
them all, the fundamental German peril. These obvious
instruments are but signs of a deep-seated disease, deadly
in the extreme. They are but froth eddying on the
surface of a current issuing from a source almost un-
recognized until the tidal wave of war was released.
THE "GOOD OLD GOD"
Germany was a world menace primarily and funda-
mentally because of her "good old God." There is the
fountain head of the stream of troubles in which the
world has bathed for these terrible years. And the imple-
ments of destruction, army, navy and military organiza-
tion, conceived and applied with such diabolical ingen-
uity and unspeakable consequences, could never have been
perfected, — or if that is too much, at least, used, — had
there not been this good old God to give secret approval
and to smother human misgivings. This seems certain
because there are no human beings anywhere in the world
possessed of such towering conceit that they act in perfect
disregard of some sort of divine presence. Men may affirm
that they do not believe in any supreme being, but their
actions, if closely investigated, always prove the contrary.
It can scarcely be accepted, then, that the Germans would
have dared to launch such a frightful avalanche against
their neighbors, without energy and guidance from some
deity. And if one sort of god can work such awful havoc
in human affairs, it is essential that the attributes of that
god be understood and then that he and all like gods be
banished from the earth.
Germany's good old god was a whimsical and cap-
ricious deity. We have a right to judge gods by the com-
pany they keep, and the warm intimacy of this god and
the extravagant, power-intoxicated autocrat of Potsdam
is known to all. No other kind could suit an autocrat,
for no other kind could be bullied or flattered, or hood-
winked or wheedled into sanctioning such madness as
aggressive war. Sinister suggestions were long germinat-
ing in the Kaiser's cranium, but they never could have
stood the light of a modern day without the sanction of a
familiar and unbalanced superior being. When we have
an adequate account of the Kaiser's systematic theology
written, the capricious character of this good old ally of
the house of Hohenzollern will be better understood.
It is clear, also, that this good old god was a purely
local deity. The Germans have denied this charge, but
it is proven "out of their own mouths." First of all, he
was the particular companion and counsellor of the "sum-
mus episcopus of the Prussian Church" and his Hohen-
zollern ancestors. The German people had access to him,
but only through the divine mediation of the great high
priest of Potsdam, and only on really great questions of
national supremacy, war and such matters. They might
get their own light about trivial things.
A LOCAL DEITY
But outside of Germany, no one knew this god at all.
We were all in darkness until this old Odin supported a
prompting to diffuse the light. Says one writer, "If God
is not now in our German Christianity, where is he to be
found in the world?" Not anywhere, thank heaven, and
that's what the war was about. "Are the godless French-
men, the profit-blinded (and therefore godless) English,
tbe insatiable (and therefore godless) Russians to be our
judges before God's face?" exclaims another. Of course
not, before Odin, the barbarian god of the Hohenzollerns.
The Germans were prejudiced in his eyes and that's why
they dared go to war. "The world is completely diseased,"
says another apologist. "It may be that the Lord God
will be pleased to use the German nation as a physician to
the suffering world." Whereat this same benighted world
shouts, "Physician, heal thyself" ! and refuses to be con-
verted. The good old god of the German ruling house
has not had enough experience outside of his native land
to serve for many others yet.
All this, of course, suggests that the German god
was very obscure. Few people ever heard of him outside
of Germany until the Kaiser began his "Me und Gott"
series. There were those who had known of him slightly
through Neitzsche and other German writers. The great
radical destructive critics of Germany knew of him and
this accounts for much of the criticism. But for many
decades this deity had been the moral support, the com-
forter, to the rulers of Prussia, and many dark councils
must have taken place between them. He reminds us of
the Wizard of Oz, who was content to control the destinies
of his subjects from an invisible bad eminence.
GOD AND WILLIAM
And naturally he was an absolute god. William may
have been able to reason with him and thus secure ap-
proval of his schemes. But no one else knew of this
side of his character. He delivered ultimatums — he and
William together — to an ignorant people. His word was
final. There was no need to investigate, to question, to
criticise. There was no possibility of thinking for one's
self (the college professors excepted and having this
privilege, but not daring to circulate any of their con-
clusions among the people to the weakening of the em-
peror's power). There was no way of escape; the reve-
lations were made as needed. The people's part was
obedience, — blind, implicit obedience. An absolute god
always stands just behind an absolute monarch.
And finally, this good old god was all for war. "Ye
have heard how in old time it was said, 'Blessed are the
meek, for they shall inherit the earth'; but I say unto
10
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
December 5, 1918
you, 'Blessed are the valiant, for they shall make the
earth their throne'. And ye have heard men say, 'Blessed
are the poor in spirit,' but I say unto you, 'Blessed are
the great in soul and the free in spirit, for they shall enter
into Valhalla.' And ye have heard men say, 'Blessed are
the peace-makers' ; but I say unto you, 'Blessed are the
war-makers, for they shall be called ; if not the children
of Jehovah, the children of Odin, who is greater than
Jehovah.' "
Quotations of this sort are legion. "The most fervent
and passionately German patriots have been animated
by the spirit of the Old Testament Psalms of vengeance."
■"The war is the German's divine worship." "The fiery
breath of war is the breath of God." One poet sang: "God
is seen in the gleaming iron, God is seen in the tempest."
"'God had thrust then (the good German sword) into our
hand. We had clasped thee like a bride." "I must
hate them (Germany's enemies) for the sake of that God
who has created German souls and will maintain them in
being." "Thanks be to Him that we Germans can still
harbor anger and hate." "A martyr sanctified of God!"
"'a chosen instrument in God's hands !"
SOME MODERN APPLICATIONS
But the world is now awake to the horrors of an
autocratic god careering through the world in a frenzy of
jealousy, greed and lust. Humanity has been aroused
to the hideous savagery that issues from a "sense of mis-
sion," when the inspiring and approving deity is of such a
character. Out of this immense sea of human misery
comes the searching cry to each of us : "Who is your
god and what is he like?" Is he a whimsical, private ab-
solutist, justifying any thought or action that evil propen-
sities may suggest? Does he support all of the dark im-
pulses that stir within you? For instance, is he a
theological crank impelling you to debate and quibble
and hair-split with your brethren? Does he move you to
sectarian separations and segregations in order to per-
petuate a "peculiar people" enslaved by an insignificant
whim? Can't you listen to his counsels without institut-
ing violence and aggression against those who have dif-
ferent creeds and points of view?
Is he an ethically-clouded deity so that you can find
spiritual support in working women and children to death
on the double-quick; growing rich out of jerry-building
and other forms of swindling; waxing fat from the pro-
ceeds of rent from houses of ill-fame; gaining lucrative
offices through political corruption and trifling with the
sovereignty of human privilege? Is he a remote, inac-
cessible, absolute being who plays with men as cats with
mice and is therefore credited with intelligence? Is he
like a great magician whom no one can or should investi-
gate, jealous of his obscurity, afraid of the light, but all
the same visiting epidemics of disease here, tornadoes
there and tidal waves elsewhere, and death everywhere?
Is it possible that because he is your god no one else
wants him?
WHAT IS YOUR GOD LIKE?
We have spent billions of money and shattered mil-
lions of lives just to help the Germans rid themselves
of this spiritual menace, this unprofitable deity. It has
been a hard lesson for them — and for us. But who will
help us, now, to examine minutely and patiently our own
individual god and discover his character? He may suit
us now as this good old god did the Kaiser, but he may
be leading us astray, just the same. Can we do with him
as we please and find peace? That is the outstanding
question just now. What will he— because of his nature
— justify us and our descendants in doing? Could it, by
the remotest possibility, be true that he supports us in
unethical behavior and is thereby causing us to store up
violence and damnation for the coming generations in
America or anywhere else?
Humanity has seen a great light. Gods are not to be
regarded lightly. Who is your god and what is he like?
The Clash of Ideals
By Charles H. Swift
IN the titanic world struggle about to close there has been
a clash of opposing ideals. Two opposing philosophies
of life have met upon the battlefield in a life and death
struggle. The great Superman of the Nietzschean phi-
losophy of force went out to slay the Christian superman
of love. The pagan ideal of physical prowess met in
gigantic combat the Christian ideal of spiritual power.
That might makes right attempted to prove itself by send-
ing forth the most efficient military machinery the human
mind could contrive to subdue all peoples of the earth.
That autocacy is the only legitimate form of government,
has been put to the test by an alarming attempt to shackle
in slavery all nations of the world. The frightfulness of
inhumanitarianism, terrorism and vandalism — all a part of
this Superman's ideal — stalked forth in ruthless destruc-
tion of life and property to vindicate its right of superior-
ity over all other systems of philosophy. What a clash it
has been ! Hell itself could not have been more destructive
if its venom, fire and gas had been let loose.
What has been the result of this clash? The in-
stigator of this struggle, the crazed Wilhelm II who be-
came intoxicated with excessive drinking of the cup of such
idealism, is now the marked Cain of the earth, a fugitive
from justice. The very people whom he misdirected fd
the past forty years have turned on him and his devotees.
His own countrymen are in the throes of a bloody revolu-
tion. His hands are wet with the blood of approximately
10,000,000 slain in battle. Countless thousands have died
of starvation. The ruin of womanhood and childhood
stands out as the ghost of Abel, crying for revenge. The
Superman has been slain. Imperialism has been sent to
the scrap heap of archaic rubbish. Militarism has proved
insufficient to win the world to an ideal. Disgraceful de-
feat has come to a seemingly impregnable fortress of
thought. Woden and Thor have fallen amid their own
worshipers, and right has vindicated her supremacy over
might.
Thus will it always be in the progress of civilization.
The world moves along the pathway of high ideals. There
will always be a clash, the higher ultimately overcoming
the lower. The one force which saved Belgium, England
and France, yea, Serbia and Roumania too, was the high
December 5, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
11
ideal of human liberty and justice. Though crushed, they
were not defeated, and out of the ruins of desolation they
arise once more in greater glory and power. The progress
of humanity must ever be made toward spiritual ideals.
Materialistic philosophy has received its death blow. The
world has been taught in a most spectacular and tragic
way the lesson of the supremacy of the spiritual life.
American entered the war with deliberate knowledge of
this truth and stood ready to sacrifice all she possessed
for the ultimate triumph of spiritual realities.
What a wonderful commentary on the Christian
religion as found in its purity embodied in the life and
teachings of Jesus ! What a wonderful opportunity has
the Church in this new world order to make more vital
these spiritual ideals in the life of the world? Such an
opportunity becomes a challenge. Yea, ft becomes the
responsibility of the Church to christianize the entire world
that the loftier ideals of life may dominate the whole
world life. It was for such ideals of human brotherhood
; that Jesus made the supreme sacrifice which has become
the dynamic of all thoughtful people. He was the first
i world citizen. The world life is prepared as never before
to accept his program. As Bernard Shaw was compelled
to say: "Why not give Christianity a trial?" Let the clash
of ideals come ; the spiritual will ultimately prevail.
Carthage, Mo.
Heart or Head?
By Charles S. Stevens
S religion doctrine or is it service ? Is Christianity
creed, or is it life? Shall we spend our time formu-
lating declarations of faith, or shall we devote our-
selves to the practical problems of method and expansion?
Imagine a doctor bending over a patient who is suffer-
ing with heart disease and saying to him :
I
"Never mind your heart. The all-important thing is
breathing. So long as you breathe you will live, for life
consists in inhaling and exhaling air." And then imagine
another doctor of an opposite school saying to his con-
sumptive patient: "Never mind your lungs. Simply take
good care of your heart, for life is a matter of heart-beats.
So long as you can keep the blood going through the valves,
out into the arteries and back through the veins, you will
live." Life, we answer, is not a thing that can be re-
duced to either heart or lungs — it must have both, or it
ceases to go on.
BOTH DOCTRINE AND LIFE NEEDED
Imagine a modern civil engineer saying : "It is all
waste of time to study pure mathematics and to spend
precious hours working over books on theory. What we
want is to do things. Let us get to work and build this
tunnel, this bridge, this strip of railroad. We shall come
out near enough right if we follow our common sense and
intelligence. Pure theory builds no roads ; they are built
with pick and shovel." Or, on the other hand, imagine an
engineer, of the opposite tunnel school saying: "The only
things which count in bridge building and tunnel con-
struction are correct mechanical theory and unswerving
mathematics. Each line of the plan must be absolutely
right, without variation or shadow of turning. The actual
digging is a matter of little importance — the correctness
of the theoretical plan is the supreme thing."
It is perfectly clear that in all these matters we can
not say "either — or" ; we must say "both." Life rests on
both lungs and heart. Railroads are the result both of
correct mathematical theory and the practical application
of theory. Precisely the same is true of religion. There
nevei was a great Christian who ignored either doctrine or
life, faith or practice, belief or service, for they can no
more be cut apart than the two sides of a door can be split
and the door left with only one side !
Beatrice, Neb.
Poems of the New A
By Thomas Curtis Clark
America, 1918
AMERICA, the shrine of pilgrim souls,
Beloved of all who value freedom's prize,
To you the whole world lifts its eager eyes,
And you today are goal of all earth's goals.
You did not spurn the cry of sister states
Who long had battled with the fiends of night;
You took from them the flickering, failing light
And held it forth, amid war's bloody fates.
Nor did it fall ; more brightly shone its beams
As on the breeze the spangled blue unfurled ;
Torch passed to torch, with still increasing gleams,
Till day blazed forth — and night was backward
hurled.
America, the hope of human dreams,
May you not fail the need of all the world !
The Dawn of Liberty
ROUND the world truth speaks in new-found
voices ;
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.
%m
Th
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Daily AH
Edited by HERBERT LOCKWOOD WIL.
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WHY THIS BOOK?
NE of the most vital needs of modern religion is the
daily practice of the presence of God. To miss
the joy and inspiration of regular and habitual
periods of devotion is a distinct limitation of re-
ligious interest and efficiency, if not utterly fatal
to the spiritual life.
Especially in this great moment of the world's history it
is of basic importance that the deep sources of religious insight
and power should be quickened and nourished. The tragedies
of war have sent the suffering and bereaved of all the nations
back to the springs of their comfort in God. The revolution
that is taking place in every department of the world's life, in
industry, in commerce, in education, in national and interna-
tional relations, and in ethics and religion makes it evident that
the foundations of our faith must be laid deeper than ever
before, and that our convictions regarding the immeasurably
significant things of the spirit must be more than ever assured
and confident. This result can be attained not by any imper-
sonal development of the institutions of religion, but by the
enrichment and growth of religion in the personal life of men
and women.
The acquirement by the individual Christian and the family
circle of the habit of methodical devotion is a means of serenity
and power. Yet one of the regrettable features of our modern
life is the neglect of private prayer and the family altar. Like
that altar which Elijah found at Carmel, it is broken down and
abandoned. In the homes of many Christians who were reared
in an atmosphere of domestic piety, little heed is taken to the
culture of mind and heart in the great essentials of Bible study
and prayer. Many such Christians are conscious of a very real
deficit in their own religious life, as a result of this neglect.
With the purpose of meeting in an entirely simple and
practical manner some of the needs of individuals and house-
holds in the attainment of the sense of spiritual reality, this
book has been prepared. It contains brief selections for each
day. It is adjusted to use in any year. In addition to the
regular selections, there will be found outstanding days in the
calendar, which may be used at the appropriate times. A few
simple forms of grace at table are added, and the necessary
indices are provided.
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THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
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A SAMPLE PAGE
Twentieth Week
THE DAILY ALTAR
Theme for the Day — The Blessedness of Daily Work.
Our daily work is part of God's plan for us — and a
large and basic part. We must avoid that fallacy so com-
mon among religious people that work is secular and wor-
ship is religious. Work is religious, if it is good work well
done. Indeed, good work, be it ever so commonplace, is a
form of worship. Out of it grows character. God reveals
Himself increasingly in our times in the work-a-day life of
men. He calls us to take up our tasks, with all their
drudgery and exactions, in a spirit of joy and patience and
courage.
+
Scripture — Man goeth forth unto his work, and to his
labor until the evening. — Psalm 104 : 22.
+
Forenoon, and afternoon, and night ; — Forenoon,
And afternoon, and night; Forenoon, and — what?
The empty song repeats itself. No more?
Yea, that is life ; make this forenoon sublime,
This afternoon a psalm, this night a prayer,
And time is conquered, and thy crown is won.
Edward Rowland Sill ("The Day").
+
Prayer — Good Father, Thou hast set before us a goodly
heritage, and the lines are fallen to us in pleasant places.
We have our daily work and our nightly rest, and blessings
enough to make us ever grateful. Save us, we pray Thee,
from discontent, from depression of spirit and from thank-
lessness. Make us strong and of good courage. Suffer us
not to grow weary in our task, nor to faint in our pilgrim-
age. So shall we be fitted for higher blessings and nobler
service in a world without end. — Amen.
[135]
700 East 40th Street, CHICAGO
A League of Nations or a Balkanized Europe?
Little Nations with
"The Will to Power"
AN American writer a number of years ago called the
Balkans "savage Europe." For the last half-century
they have been fire-brands in the international situation.
The tragedy at Sarajevo was only an incident in a history that
was a complex of strife and intrigue, a sort of straw-that-broke-
the-camel's-back affair. After centuries under the yoke of the
Turk the freed peoples set up governments medieval in char-
acter. They emerged from the serfdom of a half millennium
a primitive folk, a social eddy on the edge of civilized Europe.
Some have called them democratic, but they mistook their
primitiveness for democracy. They were virile with the virility
of an untutored, out-of-doors primitive type of life, hospitable,
generous in personal friendships and brave but quick to take
an insult or pick a quarrel and implacable in the pursuit of an
enemy. In war they reverted to the barbarous and were
ruthless. Culture emerged at the top and in an autocratic
fashion, national life gathered largely about monarchs, and
politics was a web of intrigue. In dress they were pictur-
esque, with barbaric colors, and in agriculture, the chief in-
dustry, primitive in method. They had been freed less for
their own sakes or that of human freedom than as a result of
the game of diplomacy between the great powers. The
conflict of Teuton and Slav made them pawns in their game,
with England and France playing their cards on one side or
the other as national advantage seemed to dictate.
Now these little nations ran true to form in European
politics. They every one were seized upon by the Great Power
Idea. Each dreamed of the day when it would dominate the
Balkans. Bulgaria dreamed of becoming a renewed Eastern
Empire, with Constantinople as its capital. Rumania dreamed
of its ancient Roman lineage and a modern empire that would
vie with Germanic-Magyar dominance in southeastern Europe.
Greece dreamed of ancient Grecian glories, looked over its
Grecian populations around the whole Mediterranean and
Adriatic basin and planned for a great empire which would
dominate the Mediterranean. Serbia looked over the Slavic
character of the Balkan states and south Austria and dreamed
of an Adriatic kingdom as a base for far-reaching conquests.
Historic models lured them on. Small, militant states had
risen to dominate others until they gathered empire under
their jegis. There were Prussia, Turkey, England, Austro-
Hungary and Russia. They themselves had been the victims
of the Great Idea and their turn might come.
Freedom did not mean a principle for all nations but a
working policy for "our own nationals" only. So they adopted
the program, full of patriotic appeal, of never resting until
all their nationals were under their flag. So Rumania claimed
all territory where there were Rumanians, even though there
were many more Bulgarians there; and Bulgaria acted upon
the same policy and all others raised the same standards.
Diplomacy became the historic game of a balance of power,
every "balance" merely a truce in the game until advantage
dictated a better move. Combinations were made with and
against each other, not for permanent safety and to guarantee
peace, but to prudentially promote advantage for the time
being. For instance, all joined against Turkey and all but
drove her out of Europe; then Bulgaria overreached in the
division of spoils and the others united to override Bulgaria,
leaving her almost as badly denuded as Turkey; then Greece
forsook Serbia to Austria and left her to perish, and all the
while there was an inter-play of force by the greater powers
that checked the game. From none of this did they learn the
ways of peace as ways of prudence or plan for federation as
a means of stability and peacefulness, but thought only of the
next move in the game.
Freedom for All vs.
Freedom for Self
This idea of freeing "our own nationals" never approached
the reciprocal idea of freedom for all. When Greece or Bul-
garia obtained control in Macedonia each straightway began
to persecute and extirpate the other nationals. The old
tribal laws that made one code for those of the tribe and
another for the "stranger" still held in principle. Racial an-
tipathies run deep in all these baby republics that are arising
in Mid-Europe and practically all of them are also socially
stratified with sharp class divisions. We read today of po-
groms against the Jews in Poland. Rumania has long been
as hard on them as Russia and, moreover, has been as feudal
as England was five hundred years ago. Freedom in Poland
does not necessarily mean freedom for the Jews, nor does it
in Rumania mean opportunity for the peasantry; it means
freedom from interference by foreign governments merely.
We read also of battles between Poles and Ruthenians or
Polish Ukrainians. Poland was utterly feudalistic — a Junker
nation — when she was divided and the internal political prob-
lem there today is as to whether the new government will be
a democracy, such as General Pilsudski represents, or be
builded upon an aristocracy, such as Paderewski represents
in America and Dmowski sought at Petrograd. Fortunately
Pilsudski, after years in a German prison, is on the ground
with a provisional government organized, but Paderewski
has obtained dipomatic recognition abroad and Dnowski
has the support of the old nobility at home. Now news comes
that Bohemia or the new Czech-Slovak state is preparing to
make war on Hungary over boundary lines and that Croatia
is protesting against a Jugo-Slavic state because many Croats
hate Serbians as much as they did Austrians, though both
are Slavs. It is worth while to note that when the Crown
Prince was killed at Sarajevo the Croats pillaged Serbian
shops and in general showed their antipathy to them and that
there was a strong pro-Austrian party in Croatia which Prince
Ferdinand was cultivating as a "buffer" against Serbian influ-
ences. So in Croatia there was a pro-Austrian and a pro-
Serbian party. In Rumania there were pro-Austrian and
pro-Russian parties, each arguing that national advantage lay
in understandings with the one or the other of those great
powers but both really casting fortunes on the hope of "bet-
ting on the winning horse" when hostilities broke out.
These brief references to conditions in the Balkans and
in the new Slavic states now put into a like political state
with the Balkans serve to indicate the difficulties confront-
ing a world that has battled to put an end to war. Peace
can never be founded on a mere remaking of the map. That
was what the Congress of Vienna did a century ago, after
Napoleon's abortive attempt to conquer all Europe. It will
result again after Wilhelm's abortive attempt to do the same
thing unless the peace conference adopts a more enlightened
policy. At Vienna the Russian Czar said with gusto that
democracy was dead in Europe. At Versailles Wilson and
Lloyd-George may say that autocracy is dead in Europe
politically, but unless they are able to found the new political
Mid-Europe upon something better than a mere rearrange-
ment of boundaries and recentering of authorities another
century will see the same debacle. Democracy is a thing of
the spirit and of ideals. It can never be founded upon Junker-
ism in Poland and Rumania any more than in German or
Russia. It is brought no nearer through Serbian dominance
than through Hungarian. Changing the pots will not stop
the boiling of the bloody broth. The principles upon which
nations do business with one another must be changed.
A League of Nations or
Nationalistic Anarchy
The League of Nations is an ideal but it is an ideal
seeking practical organization and willing to evolve through
practical experience. No advocate expects it to turn the earth
into a Paradise of Peace; it is simply the wish to turn from
"might makes right" to "right makes might" through the
federalizing of a certain minimum of international relations.
No federation ever was consummated without grave misgiv-
December 5, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
15
ings on the part of the states federalized. There was much
objection to our federal union. The English union was con-
summated only through long and bloody history and Ireland
is yet protesting. Prussia obtained a Germanic federation
only by precipitating a foreign war that overwhelmed rational
objections by a flood tide of war-feeling. The story of the
making of the French nation out of various dukedoms is a
story of centuries. States Rights lived for almost a century
in America and then was settled only by war. This historical
preface argues that it is not easy to obtain the consent of
independent states to give up their powers or to surrender
their right of making war to procure their desires.
We now live in a more enlightened age and the world is
more a unit than was England or France in the days when
their warring principalities were being coalesced. Distances
are not so great today in continents as they were then in
small kingdoms. Linguistic barriers may be urged, but a
critical examination will dissolve much of that objection.
Trade demands more of nations today than it did of dukedoms
then and travel around the earth is less formidable than it
was then across a single nation. Then we have experimented
in international conferences and succeeded. A modern in-
stance is the Algeciras Conference that settled the Moroccan
dispute and a situation that held all promise of the very war
we have just fought. There have been Berlin and London
and Aix-la-Chapelle conferences and Alaskan and Newfound-
land commissions and Pan-American agreements, etc. The
thin end of the wedge of experience has actually been driven
and the cleavage into the old stupid "blocs" of military
balances of power driven even deeper. All we need now is
faith in co-operation and international judicature and wisdom
to arrange a plan that will involve the least friction in old,
tenacious, nationalistic selfishness and traditionalism and most
adeptly insure success in the settlement of the next actual
dispute that arises. The S. O. S. call from all Allies for
President Wilson to attend the Peace Conference is not be-
This Christmas Will Be
a Book-Giving Christmas
That is the prediction of one of the
largest stores in Chicago. The prophecy
will, no doubt, be fulfilled. The Chris-
tian Century Press has two new books
which are exceptionally adapted as gifts.
(1) The Daily Altar, which has been de-
layed somewhat in publication, but which
is now off the press; (2) Love Off to
the War, which is an almost perfect
souvenir of the coming of peace, contain-
ing many poems of the New Age and
many others of the peaceful life. Make
up your Christmas list now and write us
how many of each of these books you
will wish for your friends.
The Daily Altar sells at $2.00, plus postage.
Love Off to the War, $1.25, plus postage.
The Christian Century Press
700 East 40th Street, CHICAGO
cause they credit him with super-wisdom or think of him as a
sort of super-man of democracy but because they feel the
critical need of a statesman of adequate abilities who has the
backing of a great power that is aloof from historic frictions,
traditional policies and imeprialistic ambitions. Our country
is the only nation that fought with no party in its desiring
territory or other advantage and without, in any instance,
resorting to any of the policies revealed in the secret treaties
made in the first years of the war.
But the most imperative need for the immediate institu-
tion of some sort of League with judicial and police powers
lies in the establishment of the baby republics of Mid-Europe.
Either the Peace Conference must exercise oversight and
settle disputes of boundary and other jurisdiction or turn
Mid-Europe over to Balkanism, and that means a permanent
end to peace. Such a state of strife would end either in new
hegemonies of the Austro-Hungarian type or a reversion later
to a purely European conference of the Berlin type to mark
out areas of influence and authority or even a new balance
of power arrangement whereby the small nations would be
ruled, for the sake of European peace, by the larger. Then all
we have fought for in terms of "rights of small nations," "con-
sent of the governed," and a "world safe for democracy" as
well as the "war to end war" would be lost.
Alva W. Taylor.
Books
President Wilson and the Moral Aims of the War. By
Frederick Lynch, D. D. The question which confronts Christian
leaders and students of American ideals is whether or not Presi-
dent Wilson is to be supported by public sentiment in America in
his efforts to bring a righteous and enduring peace, which shall
not be the embodiment of traditional national jealousies and
efforts at clever balancings of power, but a genuine league of
nations which shall embody the principles of justice and good
will for all mankind. This volume is an admirable statement on
this theme, and is amplified by additional sections by such writers
as John Clifford, Prof. Brown and President King. (Revell
50 cts.)
Jewish Ethical Idealism. By Frank H. Riggley. A sym-
pathetic study of the rise and development of Judaism from the
activities of priests and prophets of the Deuteronomic period.
(Badger. $1.00 net.)
War, Science and Civilization. By William Emerson Ritter.
An attempt to discuss with the sympathy of a sociologist the
problem as to whether war is an inevitable factcr in the devel-
opment of civilization. The author endeavors to point out the
only escape from the necessity of recurring conflict in a read-
justment of social and economic forces. (Badger. $1.25 net.)
The Right to Fight. By Sherwood Eddy. An admirable
statement of the reasons why a Christian whose attitude is one
of persistent protest against the menace and horror of war may
find it necessary in the realization of his ideals to fight. Any-
thing Mr. Eddy writes is of deep interest, coming as it does
from an unusually rich experience among the various groups that
make up our present world order. (Association Press. 50 cts.)
The New Death. By Winifred Kirkland. A book of con-
solation for those who have suffered loss in the world conflict.
It is inspired by many messages that have come back from those
who were facing death at the front and who later made the
supreme sacrifice. (Houghton, Mifflin & Co. $1.25 net.)
The New Church for the New Time. By William Allen
Harper. In this small volume the president of Elon College
discusses the principles and methods of the church which is to
prove effective in the period of reconstruction. The sections deal
with the physical equipment of the church, its message, its ideals,
16
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
December 5, 1918
its use of the Christian year, and its interpretation of the pres-
ence of God. (Revell. 75 cents net.)
Training and Rewards of the Physician. By Richard C.
Cabot, M„ D. In this stimulating book a physician of prominence
and success discusses the contribution which his profession makes
to public welfare and the privilege which it enjoys in rendering
some of the most important of services to humanity. It is a
splendid book for physicians as illustrating the ideals which ought
to prevail in the profession. It is also of equal value to the lay
reader in making clear the spirit in which the better type of physi-
cians perform their inestimably valuable services. (Lippincott.
$1.25 net.)
The Church School of Citizenship. By Allan Hoben. This
is one of the volumes issued by the University of Chicago Press
in the field of religious education. Professor Hoben is a well
known authority in the field of boyhood activities, and this book
comes out of his rich experience and warm sympathies. It deals
with the principles and methods of civic training of childhood,
and earlier and later adolescence, with the possibilities of the
rural church school, and with the training of adults in the church
school of citizenship which is destined to prove a vital factor in
the coming period of awakened civic responsibility. (University
of Chicago Press. $1.00.)
Morning Faces. By George McPherson Hunter. A series
of fifty brief talks to children by a minister who knows the art
of making a children's sermonette effective in the church service.
Doran. $1.25.)
Christian Ethics in the World War. By Douglas Mac-
kenzie. The president of Hartford Theological Seminary dis-
cusses in this convenient volume seven or eight of the most
pressing phases of present-day ethical and religious life, such
as the state and the citizen ; the state, the individual and war ;
the German militaristic doctrine of the state ; the Christian church ;
ethical values in the world war ; and ethical gains from the con-
flict. The author shows himself a warm believer in the splendid
idealism of our President and believes in the practicability of the
President's policies for the new world order. (Association Press.
$1.00.)
The War and the Future. By John Masefield. Early this
year John Masefield, the most widely known of the new English
poets, visited America and gave two lectures before some very
significant audiences : one on "St. George and the Dragon," the
other on "The War and the Future." Both lectures are reproduced
in this book. M'r. Masefield was in war service at the front and
gives some vivid pictures of some of his experiences, and, in
addition, he offers some fruitful thinking on the solution of future
problems. (Macmillan. $1.25.)
Thy Son Liveth. (Messages from a soldier to his mother.)
Issued anonymously by the mother of an American soldier killed
in France. She asks the publishers "to regard this book as truth,
unaccompanied by proofs of any sort, making its own explanation
and appeal." The soldier's strongest desire was to "get across"
the messages to the relatives of all who mourn because their
loved ones are really not dead but intensely alive. (Little, Brown
& Co. 75c net.)
Bird Woman. By James Willard Schultz. There is no more
romantic story connected with the history of the Continent than
that of Lewis and Clark, whose expedition to the Pacific coast
won for the United States the vast territories of the northwest.
The Indian woman who guided these adventurers on their way to
the Pacific and back again to the great plains told the story of
her experience with them, and it is recorded in this book. The
name by which she went among her own people was Bird Woman.
She called the two white chiefs Long Knife and Red Hair re-
spectively. Their exploits have been told by men of their own
race, but never before by one of the red people. The work is a
real contribution to the history of a vanishing race. (Houghton,
Mifflin Co. $1.50 net.)
Twenty-Three and a Half Hours' Leave. By Mary Roberts
Rinehart. Mrs. Roberts who has a boy in France, has done much
toward the maintenance of morale in this country through the
hard months of the war, by means of her pen. This latest con-
tribution tells of the adventures that befell Sergeant Gray of
Headquarters Troops. It is full of humor and humanity. (Doran.
60 cents.)
Uncle Remus Returns. By Joel Chandler Harris. He has
never really gone, so far as we know : that is, the adventures for
which he has become famous have never ceased being told, even
if the creator of this remarkable character, Mr. Harris, did pass
from this life several years ago. Some unpublished stories are
here presented, among them "Brother Terrapin Learns to Fly"
and "Tally-Po." The illustrations are by Frost, and are excel-
lent. (Houghton, Mifflin Co. $1.35.)
POETRY, MORE OR LESS
War Poems from the Yale Review. Including verses by
Noyes, Frost, Masefield, Untermeyer, Cammaerts, Katherine Lee
Bates, Winifred M. Letts, Grace Hazard Conkling and others. All
the poems here presented are distinctive. (Yale University Press.
$1.)
City Tides. By Archie Austin Coates. Word pictures of
people and crowds and streets and tall buildings, done with the
skill of an artist. That this author is not one of the free-verse
fiends who just write is plainly seen in every poem. There is
power, as well as tenderness, here. (Doran. $1.25.)
Can Grande's Castle. By Amy Lowell. One of the Chicago
dailies a few issues ago presented two reviews of this book, one in
praise of it and the other — not so. Over the two articles was
displayed the injunction, "Take Your Choice." What are we to
do when The Sphere, of London, pronounces Miss Lowell "one of
the most remarkable figures in recent American literature" and
many other just as authoritative journals and critics consider her
as the best joke of the season? This is polyphonic prose — what-
ever that may be— and it contains the following "polyphones" :
"Sea-Blue and Blood-Red," "Guns As Keys," "Hedge Island" and
"The Bronze Horses." The author knows how to fling her pig-
ments. It is a curious book, at any rate. (Macmillan. $1.25.)
The Path on the Rainbow. Edited by George W. Cronyn.
This is free verse written by real poets— the Indians. The trans-
lations are by Natalie C. Burlin, Alice Fletcher, Frank Cushing
and others. Indian verse, as is well known, is usually chanted,
either to melody or without. There are also included interpre-
tations of the Indian life and thought by Alice Corbin Henderson,
Frank Gordon and Pauline Johnson. One of the most valuable
features of the volume is the introduction by Mary Austin. Other
features are essays on 'The Indian as Poet," "The Religion of
the Ghost Dance," etc. In this volume of over three hundred
pages is included all the extant song-wealth of the Indian tribes
of America; when this fact is considered, the very great value
of the book may be appreciated. "Genuine American classics," is
the correct way to describe the contents. (Boni & Liveright.
$1.50.)
BOOKS FOR JUVENILES
Recommended for Christmas Buying.
More Thornton Burgess Animal Stories. Youngsters who
have been listening to the animal adventure stories of that wiz-5
ard, Thornton W. Burgess, the bed-time story hero, will be
saddened by the news that the last of the series is now published.
"The Adventures of Bobby Coon," and "The Adventures of
Jimmy Skunk" complete this famous little library for children.
They are but recently out, and are listed at 50 cents plus postage.
(Little, Brown.)
That Year at Lincoln High. By Joseph Goelomb. A story
of public school life in a large American city, with plenty of ball
games and secret society initiations to give the necessary local
color and reality. This is more than a story, as it pictures the
December 5, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
17
conflict of the democratic and aristocratic spirit in modern school
life, and, of course, shows democracy triumphant. Some real boys
are put to the fore in this stirring story. (Macmillan. $1.35.)
Under Orders. By Harold S. Latham. A story of real
American boys, of club life, of patriotism, camping trips and
minstrel shows, and everything else that goes with actual boys.
The Pettibone Boys Club is the background of the sprightly career
of Tim Scarboro. Not the least important feature of the book
is the tribute that is given the modern boys club as a builder of
true young manhood. One of the safest as well as one of the
liveliest books written for boys of the year 1918. (Macmillan.
$1.35.)
The Pirate of Jasper Peak. By Adair Aldon. Boys who
like adventure in the great Northwest, and with Indians "present,"
will like this book, which narrates the adventures of one Hugh
Arnold, who goes up into a small settlement in search of two
friends whose rescue depends upon him alone. The Pirate of
Jasper Peak is a half-breed Indian, who is one Reason why Hugh
encountered many difficulties in carrying out his purposes. (Mac-
millan. $1.35.)
The Loyalty of Elizabeth Bess. By E. C. Scott. Elizabeth
Bess is a small girl of the Sixties, the period immediately following
the Civil War. She is wide-awake and quaint and always inter-
esting. A valuable feature of the book is the picture it gives of
after-the-war (Civil) conditions in this country. Older people,
as well as those of the age of Elizabeth Bess will enjoy this story.
(Macmillan. $1.35.)
Isabel Carleton's Friends. By Margaret Ashmun. Herein
is continued the narrative of the interesting career of Isabel
Carleton, who is now ready for the university. The time is the
present, and the war comes in to make things more exciting.
Isabel is human and quite lovable and the story of her affairs at
Jefferson, and especially her friendships with two particular
persons make this an ideal book for the average American girl
who likes books. (Macmillan. $1.35.)
Attractive Juveniles. Each autumn brings from Lothrop,
Lee & Shepard, Boston, an assortment of books that are "war-
ranted" to make some happy hours for American boys and girls
who like to read. Here is the list for this year: "The Silver
Cache of the Pawnee," by D. Lange. ($1.25.) "America's
Daughter," by Rena I. Halsey. ($1.35.) "At the Butterfly House,"
by Edna A. Brown, ($1.35.) "Hale Merrill's Honey Quest," by
Annie Elizabeth Harris, ($1.35.) "Toggles," by Frederick F. Hall,
($1.25.) "The Wonders of War on Land," by Francis Rolt-
Wheeler," ($1.35.) "Hindu Fairy Tales Retold for Children,"
by Florence Griswold, ($1.25.) All these books are postage extra.
Happy Jack. By Thornton W. Burgess. Animal stories al-
ways make glad the hearts of small ones, especially if the stories
have behind them the spirit of Thornton W. Burgess, author of
j the bed-time story-books. "Happy Jack" is a squirrel who hap-
pens to be a friend of Mr. Burgess. (Little, Brown. $1.25.)
Gulliver's Travels. By Jonathan Swift. The ancient, but
jever new book of lively narrative of the strange adventures of
"Lemuel Gulliver, surgeon and Captain of divers English ships,"
ion the Island of Lilliput. A beautiful edition of this favorite
(with the human race. (Lippincott. $1.35.)
American Boys' Book of Signs, Signals and Symbols. By
'Dan Beard, National Scout Commissioner, Boy Scouts of America.
[[This is the complete book of woodcraft, with all its mysteries,
|for the millions of Scouts of the nation. There are 350 illustra-
tions, by the author. There is also included a chapter on the
j American flag, which is worth the price of the book. (Lippincott.
!$2.00.)
Any of the books reviewed in this department, or any other
books now in print, may be secured from
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS,
700 East 40th St., Chicago
In a Day of
Social Rebuilding
B\) Henry) Sloane Coffin, D. D.
Associate Professor, Union Theological Seminary
IN this volume Dr. Coffin faces frankly the
social situation of the hour in international
relations, in industry, and in the more inti-
mate life of men, and discusses the duty of the
Church through its various ministries of recon-
ciliation, evangelism, worship, teaching, organ-
ization, etc., and the particular tasks of its lead-
ers. It is a book not for ministers and theolog-
ical students only, but for all who are concerned
with the ethical and religious problems of today,
and especially for those who have the usefulness
of the Church at heart.
This book contains the latest series of ad-
dresses of the Lyman Beecher Lectureship on
Preaching in Yale University. It strikes the key-
note for the work of rebuilding that must follow
the war. The chapters on "The Day and the
Church" and "Ministers for the Day" are of more
value than a dozen books of the ordinary sort.
***************
The Homiletic Review Says of this Book: "It is a
tribute to the vitality of religion that, in Dr. Coffin's
hands, the old themes show no signs of wearing
threadbare. The reason of this is to be found in his
conviction that 'there is scarcely a word in the com-
mon religious and ethical vocabulary which does not
need, like a worn coin, to be called in, reminted, and
put into circulation with the clear image and super-
scription of Jesus Christ.' Dr. Coffin's criticism of
today is all the more trenchant because he rarely
descends to mere denunciation; and his hope for to-
morrow is the saner and more credible because of
his sympathy with the struggle and disappointed
hopes of yesterday."
The World Tomorrow remarks: "A book that
deserves wide reading, and that not only among
parsons. It is marked by breadth of vision, shrewd-
ness of observation, and a certain quality of wisdom.
The radical may find here some reason to modify
certain of his indiscriminate charges against the
church and its leadership, and the conservative within
the church will find much to challenge any complacent
satisfaction he may still feel.
Price $1.00
Plus 8 to 15 Cents Postage
The Christian Century Press
700 East 40th Street, - - - CHICAGO
The Larger Christian World
A Department of Interdenominational Acquaintance
Bishop of Carlisle for
"League cf Churches"
THE Bishop of Carlisle has contributed an article to the
"Nineteenth Century" on a "League of Churches" which
is regarded by competent critics as being of more than
passing importance. He insists that unity in church life shall
not mean uniformity, since uniformity is one of the marks of
the lower order of existence. He declares: "Nothing can be
necessary to church unity except such things as are declared
to be so by Christ and his apostles." The bishop proposes
that there shall be at once an interchange of pulpit ministra-
tions between the established church and the free churches
and that they shall "meet together at the table of their com-
mon Lord." He has been quick to see the point that the
triumph of democracy in the war means the triumph of de-
mocracy in religion.
Toledo, Ohio, Worships
During the Epidemic
The city of Toledo did not cease to worship during the
epidemic of influenza. An outline of worship was provided
for Protestants, Catholics and Jews and published in the daily
papers. There was a service of hymns, special prayer, scrip-
ture reading and brief sermons which contributed to the
religious life of the community. The Protestant program was
under the management of the Church Federation of that city.
New Plan of Pastorate
in the East
There is an interesting experiment in church co-operation
being worked out in the east, a kind of fellowship of minis-
ters. Three churches of White Plains and Scarsdale, N. Y.,
have three pastors, but the three churches have formed one
congregation and the ministers serve interchangeably. Once a
year the churches have a union communion service. They
are of different denominations but are all of the congrega-
tional polity in church government. The plan is devised to
help forward Christian unity and to give a variety in pulpit
ministration which would not be otherwise possible.
Woman's Rights in
Canadian Methodism
There is no doubt that sex discrimination will disappear
from the church following the war, as it has disappeared from
politics in many sections of the country. At a recent meeting
of the General Conference of Methodism in Canada the ques-
tion of giving women in the church every right that men have
failed to get the two-thirds vote that was required, but did
get more than a majority vote. A compromise action was
taken admitting women to every right except that of becom-
ing pastors. The western Canadians were in favor of the
changes and the easterners, as would be expected, were more
conservative.
Pilgrim Thanksgiving Sunday
Specially Observed
The Congregationalists are becoming more conscious of
the asset they possess in the tradition of being descended
from the Pilgrims. November 24 was observed by them this
\ear as the Pilgrim Thanksgiving Sunday. On this Sunday
the Congregational preachers were asked to contribute a ser-
mon on the theme, "Our Heritage."
"Christian Americanization"
a New Slogan
One of the slogans that will be insistently sounded by
Home Mission leaders henceforth is "Christian Americaniza-
tion." November 17-24, which is annually observed in the
various denominations as Home Mission week, was devoted
this year to the above named theme. The Bureau of Educa-
tion of the Department of the Interior of the federal govern-
ment supplemented the church literature by sending to more
than G0,0G() pastors in the co-operating denominations a spe-
cially prepared circular giving statistics about the aliens living
in the LTnited States.
Too Much Money Spent
for Funerals
There is a growing conviction among ministers that our
burial customs are too expensive as well as in questionable
taste. The Church of the Advent in Boston (Episcopalian)
has recently organized a burial guild. One may pay a fee of
fifty dollars and be assured of decent burial. Payments are
made monthly until the amount is laid aside. A writer in
the "Living Church" castigates undertakers for charging ex-
orbitant prices far beyond the reasonable compensation for
the service they render. Another church urges rich people to
have simple funerals as an example to the poorer people.
Resigns from the Church
Socialist League
Rev. Bernard L. Bell, well known clergyman of the Prot-
estant Episcopal church, whose writings have gone into some
of our best journals, has recently withdrawn from the Church
Socialist League which he was instrumental in starting. He
says with regard to this step: "I have resigned from the
Church Socialist League in America, in the organization of
which I was instrumental. This step has been taken, not
because of any disbelief in the fundamental principles of col-
lectivism as an expression of Christian ethics, but because I
am convinced that any organization using the name "socialist"
is now, and will be for some time to come, discredited and
rendered of little use, because of the way in which the Amer-
ican socialist party has throughout the war played into the
hands of our Teutonic enemies. An effort was made on the
part of some of us to change the name of the league to The
Church League for Social Justice. This, however, seems to
be impossible under the constitution of the league."
New Features in
Episcopal Service
The spirit of innovation in worship is making itself felt
even in the Protestant Episcopal church. A writer in the
"Living Church" tells of the services of a church in Massa-
chusetts: "The Rev. Simon Blinn Blunt, D. D., rector of
All Saints' Church, Ashmont, is making an interesting experi-
ment this month with two of his evening services. Such ex-
periments are well worth noting, for the average evening
service is failing to minister to people. Dr. Blunt writes as
follows: 'On the second and fourth Sundays of the month,
November 10th and 24th, we are planning a radical departure
from our normal services. On November 10th at half past
seven o'clock we are to hold our first strictly patriotic serv-
ice. The great parish choir will be augmented by a choir of
thirty young women, . . . bringing the chorus of trained
voices up to eighty or ninety. The service itself will be ar-
ranged and printed so that every worshipper can take an
intelligent part. Most of the musical numbers, including the
patriotic anthems of our own and the Allied nations, will be
selected with the view of encouraging congregational singing.
Perhaps the service may be best summed up by saying there
will be a great deal of hearty singing, a little responsive read-
ing, some timely and appropriate prayers, and a sermon. The
rector has indeed been fortunate in securing as the preacher
for our first service the Very Rev. Geo. Hodges.'"
Orvis F. Jordan.
December 5, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
19
The Sunday School
Forgiveness*
THE heart of the lesson today can he no other than for-
giveness— a very vital theme. If you could have one
prayer surely answered, I venture you would ask for the
forgiveness of your sins, you would ask that all evil influence
radiating from your past life might be obliterated. Some
way we feel that we cannot make that prayer and receive
that answer until we have done everything possible to make
amends and until we have forgiven every trespass against us.
Even then what will put out the fire you kindled years ago?
A train shrieking through the country sets the forest on
fire and speeds on forgetful of that fire which rages and
destroys long after the train has reached its destination
across the continent. Stories you told years ago retain their
influence for evil; acts you committed long since still have
their effects; seeds planted in the past now produce abundant
harvests; the stains and scars of other years are not effaced.
Angry words still stab and hurt; slanders still murder; cruel-
ties still wound; proud deeds still rankle; injustices still
smart. Joseph may forgive his brothers — but what shall
atone for their selling him into bondage? Surely not the fact
that in spite of their meanness he rose to power and success.
This is not a fairy-tale, nor must we lose sight of the vital
virtues that undergird it. Forgiven the brothers were, but
the soul-scars remained. After that contemptible deed those
brothers were always baser men. After that treacherous act
those brothers were always smaller and lower men. God
may make the crimson like wool and the scarlet like snow- —
but what of the soul-scars?
I am more and more impressed that the great thing which
Jesus desired was brotherliness — ana how the theologians have
missed that point, how the heresy-hunters have missed it!
How small this war is making decisive doctrines appear! If
you have gone to church, and while you are sitting in your
pew or even partaking of the communion you suddenly re-
member that your brother has something against you, what
are you to do? Usually we read it the other way. We say,
"Let him come to me and fall down and beg my pardon." But
no, if you remember that your brother has something against
you — go and make it right — there must be no unbrotherliness.
The thing which he thinks he has against you may be purely
imaginary — usually is almost groundless— therefore, it will be
all the easier to make and keep him your friend. Or, on the
other hand, he may have something valid against you. Then
you must make that thing absolutely right as nearly as you
possibly can. If my brother has anything against me, in the
interest of brotherliness I must do my utmost to make that
thing right. How quickly that would put an end to all envy,
jealousy, strife, and the smartings caused by silly pride.
This is the day when the Sunday school must teach broth-
erliness. After the Hun has been given a dose of his own
medicine and beaten into decency, after his false theory of
frightfulness shall have been exploded, after his selfish and
egotistic "Might-makes-right" idea shall have been knocked
out completely, after his bullying, swashbuckling, sword-rat-
tling, goose-stepping insolence shall have been crushed, after
the bad boy of the world shall have been trounced and put to
bed — then the big idea in the world that shall grow by leaps
and bounds will be brotherliness. Germany must suffer terri-
bly for her awful sins. There can be no justice without that.
Germany must prove to the world that she values honor and
justice and mercy — I do not see how we can live with her
or deal with her until that is done — but some day we look
for world brotherhood based upon world justice and mercy,
lhank God that America is a brotherly nation and each of
us individually possesses an unhindered opportunity to live
as brothers, magnanimously forgiving as Joseph did. But
remember that in a just world there must be a just basis for
forgiveness. It is something more than a soft sentiment.
O
INTERNATIONAL
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After nine years of useful service —
THE
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This unsurpassed system of study literature for
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more attractive than ever.
Send for samples of the New Revised Bethany
Graded Lessons and plan to adopt the system in
your school next quarter — which means that your
examination of the literature should be made — NOW!
Courses Provided in the
Bethany Lessons
FOR CHILDREN
The Little Child and the Heavenly Father
(A two years' course for children under 6 years of age
Bible Stories for the Sunday School and Home
(A three years' course for children of 6, 7 and 8 years of age
FOR BOYS AND GIRLS
Stories from the Olden Time
(For pupils about 9 years of age
Hero Stories
(For pupils about 10 years of age
Kingdom Stories
(For pupils about II years of age
Gospel Stories
(For pupils about 12 years of age
FOR TEEN AGE PUPILS
Leaders of Israel
Christian Leaders
The Life of Christ
Christian Living
(For pupils about 13 years of age
(For pupils about 14 years of age
(For pupils about 15 years of age
(For pupils about 16 years of age
FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
The World a Field for Christian Service
(For pupils about 17 years of age
History and Literature of the Hebrew People
(For pupils about 18 years of age
History of New Testament Times
(For pupils about 19 years of age
The Bible and Social Living
(For pupils about 20 years of age
Send for returnable samples today
The Christian Century Press
700 East 40th Street, Chicago
J3
*Lesson for December 15. Scripture, Gen. 45:1-5,
20
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
December 5, 1918
News of the Churches
Gala Event at First Church,
Springfield, 111.
On the evening of November 20, the
members of First church, Springfield, 111.,
came together in a "jollification banquet"
at the church to celebrate the victory of
the Allied and American arms and
also to rejoice over the liquidation of the
church debt, the realization of a dream
of several years, dating from the time
of the erection of the new church edifice.
A varied program was carried out, with
much music of rare quality. B. R. Hier-
onymous, a pioneer of the Christian
church in Springfield, gave the history of
the church from its founding. Congress-
man B. F. Caldwell spoke on "The Church
in the Capital City," and W. F. Rothen-
burger, present pastor of the church,
gave a brief "Forward Look." There
were other interesting features too many
to mention. The church building was
erected six years ago under the pastorate
of Frederick W. Burnham at a total cost
of $175,000 and is without doubt one of
the finest types of architecture among
the churches of the Disciples in the
United States. The building is modeled
after the Melrose Abbey in Scotland and
the main auditorium has a seating capac-
ity of 1,300. During the summer a set of
tubular chimes was installed in the church
through an appropriation set aside for
that purpose by Mrs. Mary Freeman,
a lifelong member of the congrega-
tion. At present the membership of
the church exceeds 700 and new members
are continually being added. Among the
pastors who have occupied the pulpit of
First church are: F. W. Allen, writer
and lecturer; F. W. Burnham, president
of the American Missionary society, un-
der whose pastorate the present edifice
was erected; C. C. Morrison, editor of
The Christian Century; Dr. H. T. Mor-
rison, practicing physician of Springfield;
J. E. Lynn, Colorado; A. P. Cobb, De-
catur; E. V. Zollars, late president of
Hiram college; E. T. Everest, later pro-
fessor in Drake university; E. T. Wil-
liams, who went from the pastorate to
China, and A. J. Kane, father of the late
Judge C. P. Kane. The present pastor,
William F. Rothenberger, came to
Springfield last Easter.
Death of John I. Roberts
in Lucknow, India
Dr. E. S. Ames, of Hyde Park church,
Chicago, reports the death on November
6 in Lucknow, India, of John I. Roberts,
son of George E. Roberts, pastor at Tren-
ton, Mo., and a Drake graduate and post-
graduate student of the University of
Chicago until several months ago, when
he heard the call of the Y. M. C. A. and
enlisted for overseas service. First he
spent six months in England, then about
the same time in Delhi; he had been in
Lucknow since last spring. He was en-
gaged to be married soon to Miss Freda
Opal Daniel, a member of his class at
Drake and now a student in the Univer-
sity of Chicago. Death came to Mr.
Roberts after an attack of influenza; he
was at the time of his decease in charge
of the "Y" work among the British troops
stationed at Lucknow. Plans had been
made for him to become secretary to
Mr. Sherwood Eddy in the far East.
Dr. Ames writes in tribute to the de-
ceased as follows: "Mr. Roberts was
one of the coming generation of young
men fired with the great vision of vast
possibilities of service for humanity. He
would have made a very notable contri-
bution to their fulfillment. He had the
mind and the will and the burning ideal-
ism to do it. He had already proved his
qualities of leadership at Drake, where
he graduated in 1916. Talk with any of
his fellow students of his qualifications
and you will hear words of unusual
praise. In the autumn of 1916 he came
with a number of graduates of Drake to
the University of Chicago, where his
qualities were at once recognized. He
was one of the first to respond to the
call of the Y. M. C. A. for service abroad.
We shall long remember in the Hyde
Park church the simple, earnest manner
in which he spoke one Sunday morning
of his future work with the armies of the
Allies. It is hard indeed to believe that
he will not return to us and go on with
the plans upon which so many were al-
ready building rare hopes. The sympathy
of all his friends will go out to his family
and to Miss Daniel." On November 24
the whole city of Trenton, Mo., met to-
gether in the Christian church to express
appreciation for the character and ability
of the deceased and to show the deep
sympathy of the community.
E. B. Barnes Goes to
Franklin Circle, Cleveland
Ellis B. Barnes, who has been serving
First church, Paducah, Ky., as pastor,
has accepted a call to Franklin church,
Cleveland, O., to which W. F. Rothen-
burger ministered before going to First,
Springfield, 111.
* * *
—Tames H. McCallum, son of J. S.
McCallum, for' many years minister at
Eugene, Ore., has received a commission
as chaplain in the National Army. D.
E. Norcross, for many years a Disciple
minister in Washington and Oregon, has
sailed for France to do army "Y" work.
— The Northwest Preachers' Parlia-
ment will hold its next annual session at
Yakima, Wash., the date being January
20-23. S. G. Buckner ministers at North
Yakima. B. A. Abbott, of St. Louis, will
be the chief speaker. Ministers' railroad
fares will be pooled. R. F. Thrapp, of
Seattle, is chairman of the program com-
mittee.
. „™ = ~ ~ . . . UNITED SERVICE
MEMORIAL Memorial (Baptists and Disciples)
First Baptist
Cllir1 1 r< A Oakwood Blvd. West of Cottage Grove
H 1 L A O U Herbert L Willett )
W. H. Main
Ministers
— F. T. Porter has recently returned
from Y. M. C. A. service overseas, and
has taken up his duties as president of
the Oregon missionary work, to which
position he has been re-elected.
— O. V. Wilkinson is the new leader
at Marysville, Cal.
■ — A church has been organized at
Gooding, Ida., by Evangelist C. L. Or-
gan, with about a hundred members to
date.
— A Men and Millions conference is
scheduled for this week — December 3 —
at Portland, Ore. It was expected that
most of the ministers of the state would
be present.
■ — George L. Snively, assisted George
A. Jones in the dedication of the new
$40,000 building at Whiting, Ind., on No-
vember 24. There was assembled in
cash and pledges about $33,500, without
pledges from any classes or societies.
Mr. Snively reports that the church will
be well equipped with modern appliances,
so as to make it a real center of com-
munity life. Much credit is given Mr.
Jones, as a leader of fine ability, for the
new house and the fine progress of the
work.
— The poem by Earl V. Eastwood,
entitled "Peace," which was printed in
the last issue of the "Century," is by a
Transylvania College student, who for
a time served the church at Bonner
Springs, Kan., as minister. Mr. East-
wood's work is receiving wide commen-
dation.
— Dr. Royal J. Dye recently talked to
the young men's class at First church
school, Lincoln, Neb., on his experiences
in Africa, and E. T. Cornelius told the
primary and junior departments of his
experiences in Mexico.
„_.., unni, CENTRAL CHURCH
N F W Y (1 R K 142 West 31st Street
ii k u Finis g> Idlemanj Minister
— The church at Ada, O., led by Mart
Gary Smith, raised more than $1,500 the
past summer for local expenses, be-
sides the regular budget — for the most
part for repairs and improvements.
Every department of the work is re-
ported by Mr. Smith as prospering, now
that the "flu" ban is lifted. The every
CHRISTMAS IS COMING
Will our aged Ministers and Missionaries know it? Will the widows and orphans
of those who have been freed from earthly anxieties find it joyous? There is still
time to get free supplies for the "Message of Victorious Peace", the new and
beautiful "White Gifts for the King" service. There is still time to tell the
stories of our heroic fathers and mothers in the faith and give young and old a chance to honor
them with their gifts.
Board of Ministerial Relief, 627 Lemcke Building, Indianapolis, Ind.
December 5, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
21
member canvass was put on with great
success this year, for the second time
during the present pastorate. The Du-
plex Envelope system is successfully
used. There is a live Endeavor society
in this church, with fifty boys of the
Student Army Training Corps as mem-
bers. The society recently gave a war
pageant.
BUFFALO
RICHMOND AVENUE
CHURCH OF CHRIST
Cor. Richmond and Bryant Streets
ERNEST HUNTER WRAY, Minister
— On November 19 the Men and Mil-
lions team again visited Nebraska, ad-
dressing a gathering of about two hun-
dred representatives of the state's
churches at First church, Lincoln. A.
E. Cory was the leader of the team, the
other members being Dr. Dye, Dr. and
Mrs. Macklin, Secretary Booth, Mrs.
Anna Atwater, Carl Van Winkle, Mr.
Cunningham, missionary in India, and
E. T. Cornelius, the new missionary to
Mexico. Pastor H. H. Harmon, of First
church, gave an address on "The Church
in the New World Order." His address
was an interpretation of his recent ex-
periences in war service overseas. The
state apportionment of $56,632.26 was
accepted by the churches' representa-
tives. Between December 8 and January
12 an every member canvass will be
made of the churches of the state, with
view to over-subscribing this amount.
— A conference in the interest of the
world-wide every member canvass is be-
ing held in Spokane, Wash., this week,
Dec. 5, 6. This conference includes rep-
resentatives from the churches in East-
ern Washington, Northern Idaho and
Montana. The national leaders are pres-
ent for the meetings.
— Last Sunday was set for the dedica-
tion of the fine new building of First
church, St. Joseph, Mo., to which work
C. M. Chilton has ministered for more
than twenty years. The two chief speak-
ers of the day were Burris A. Jenkins,
of Linwood Boulevard church, Kansas
City, Mo., and E. E. Violette, acting pas-
tor of Independence Boulevard church,
Kansas City. The new church building
lias been occupied in part by the congre-
gation, but the work of installing the
great pipe organ has just been com-
pleted. First church, St. Joseph, was
almost contemporaneous with the found-
ing of the city itself. The first meeting
held by the Disciples in the city was in
1845. in a school house. A small frame
building was erected for the little con-
gregation about six years later. Further
report of the dedication services will be
given to "Century" readers in a later
issue.
— M. M. Davis, pioneer Disciple of
Texas, preached the Thanksgiving ser-
mon before the union meeting of the
Disciple churches of Dallas, held at East
Dallas church.
— Maxwell Hall, of Broad Street
church, Columbus. O., and H. E. Starfsi-
fer, of the Flemingsburg, Kv., church,
recently paid visits to Transylvania Col-
lege, where they were both students in
earlier days.
— R. E. Henry, of First church, De-
catur, 111., has been appointed grand
chaplain of the grand lodge of the Odd
Fellows, of which organization he has
been a member for thirteen years.
— Secretaries S. J. Cory and H. O.
Pritchard held an all-day Men and Mil-
lions conference at Vine Street church,
Nashville, Tenn., on November 21. Ten-
nessee's apportionment for the world-
wide cavass is $20,000, and the confer-
ence promptly adopted it.
— On November 19 the main building
of Milligan College, at Milligan College,
Tenn., was destroyed by fire, the loss be-
ing only partially covered by insurance.
A GOOD BOOK IS THE IDEAL
CHRISTMAS GIFT
See Our Book Pages For Suggestions
The Two Best
Commentaries
On the Uniform Sunday-
School Lessons — 1919
TarbelPs Teacher's Guide
and
Peloubet's Notes
Each $1.15 + 10c postage
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The Christian Century Press
700 East 40th St., Chicago
E STARVING CHILDREN IN BIBLE LANDS
GIVE WHILE THEY LIVE
YOUR DELAY MEANS DEATH
TO E¥BANY THOUSANDS IN
PERSIA
TWO MILLION DOLLARS from the
SUNDAY SCHOOLS OF AMERICA
FIVE DOLLARS BUYS FOOD FOR A
MANY ADOPT AN ORPHAN AMD
CONTRIBUTE IVIONTHLY.
INVEST IN A LIFE TO-DAY.
PRAY FOR THEM. BUT YOU CAN'T
PRAY IN FAITH WITHOUT GIVING
WILL YOU KEEP A
BOND OR KEEP A
CHILD?
THE STAR OF HOPE FOR
MORE THAN 400,000 SUF-
FERING CHILDREN IS OVER
AMERICA TO-DAY
CHRISTIAN BIBLE SCHOOLS
WILL RECEIVE GREAT BLESSINGS BY MAKING
LARGE GIFTS AT THE
CHRISTMAS SEASON
COOPERATION IS ESSENTIAL
VISITATION DAY should be observed
BY EVERY SUNDAY SCHOOL IN THE LAND
FOR PROGRAM AND OTHER AVAILABLE LITERATURE
ADDRESS
OUR SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE
DAVID H. OWEN
AMERICAN COMMITTEE OF ARMENIAN AND SYRIAN RELIEF
1 MADISON AVE., NEW YORK CITY
22
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
December 5, 1918
President H. J. Derthick is already in-
augurating a campaign to raise funds for
a new building, it being his purpose to
gather together as much as $200,000 for
this purpose.
— L. E. Groseclose is the new leader
of the church at Poison, Mont.
— O. N. Roth has resigned at South
Lawrence church, Wichita, Kan., to ac-
cept work with the Y. M. C. A.
■ — The report has come that W. H.
McLain, of the Niles, O., church, is suf-
fering from a nervous breakdown.
■ — Professor Arthur Braden, of the
Bible work at the University of Kansas,
is supplying the pulpit at Bonner
Springs, Kan.
— Arthur Long, of the Coffeeville,
Kan., church, is to take up "Y" work
and his pulpit will be supplied by W. S.
Hamilton, who recently resigned at
Claremore, Okla.
— A new parsonage will be erected
for Pastor A. F. Ritchey, at York, Neb.
—Donald C. McCallum, for six years
a successful missionary and educator at
Vigan station, Philippine Islands, and
who has been for the past year in Y. M.
C. A. war work, met with an automobile
accident that almost proved fatal, in
Houston, Texas, October 21. He sus-
tained a fracture to the base of the skull
and other head injuries. For days he
was not expected to live. He is re-
ported recovering and will be able to
resume his work early in the new year
— A happy surprise came to Austin
Hunter, pastor at Jackson Boulevard
church, Chicago, at the close of the serv-
ice on last Sunday morning. The Farra-
gut G. A. R. Post presented him with an
honorary membership in the Grand Army
of the Republic. Three years ago the
Julius White Post gave him a like sur-
prise.
Many Missionaries Needed
Calls are coming from all of the fields
urging the Society to send, as soon as
possible, special workers for various
needs. In China, the Society needs at
the present time, urgently, two medical
families, two educational families, two
evangelistic families, and two single
women. In India a group of half a
dozen single women, together with two
evangelistic families, and one educational
family are greatly desired. In Africa,
there is a call for at least three evan-
gelistic families, three nurses, three sin-
gle women and two medical missionaries.
If these people are not found soon for
Africa it will be some time before the
new stations can be opened. Tibet needs
most desperately a medical family, in or-
der that Dr. Shelton may return on his
furlough when it is due. It will be impos-
sible to leave the Tibetan mission with-
out a doctor, as they are hundreds of
miles from any help. Japan needs two
evangelistic families and one educational
family very greatly. In the Philippine
Islands there is an emergency call for
two educational families and one evange-
listic family. These are needed just in
order that the present work can be main-
tained.
The foreign work never before has
faced such critical conditions with regard
to candidates for the fields. The situa-
tion was difficult even before the war.
Now practically every man who might be
considered for missionary service is un-
der the call of the government. This is
as it should be, but it is bringing about a
condition on the fields that should have
most serious attention and earnest prayer.
The colleges have been revolutionized
and are now practically government in-
stitutions so far as men students are con-
cerned. All who are nearing their gradu-
ation are now soldiers in the army if they
—
are able-bodied men. Not only does this
make it almost impossible to send out
college men now, but it will be some
years before additional workers can be
trained. Even after the war is over, it
will be necessary for considerable more
training to be taken by all possible can-
didates before they can get to the fields.
In the meantime, we must use every ef-
fort to find candidates for short terms of
service on the fields, and the Society will
possibly have to resort to sending out
older men to fill the gaps in the ranks
which result from deaths and failing
health.
Foreign Christian Missionary Society.
S S Si
CHRISTIAN CHURCHES IN CHI-
CAGO AND COOK COUNTY
Disciples of Christ (Christian)
Headquarters, 1007 Association Bldg.,
19 S. LaSalle St. Phone, Majestic 8992.
Rev. Perry J. Rice, Executive Secre-
tary.
Armour Avenue (col.) — 3621 Federal
St., Rev. G. C. Campbell.
^ Ashland— Laflin and 62nd, Rev. J. F.
Futcher.
Austin — Race and Pine, Rev. C. S.
Linkletter.
Chicago Heights — 16th & Vincennes,
Rev. A. I. Zellar.
Douglas Park — 19th & Spaulding.
Englewood — Stewart & 66th PL, Rev.
C. G. Kindred.
Evanston — Greenleaf & Maple, Rev.
Orvis F. Jordan.
Harvey — Turlington & 154th, Rev. C.
M. Smithson.
Hyde Park — 57th & University, Rev.
E. S. Ames.
Irving Park — Kildare & Cullom, Rev.
W. C. Gibbs.
Jackson Boulevard — Jackson Blvd. &
Western, Rev. Austin Hunter.
Marquette Park — 63rd, near Hamlin.
Maywood— 1313 S. Fifth St., Rev. John
A. Lee.
Memorial — Oakwood Blvd., near Cot-
tage Grove, Rev. Herbert L. Willett.
Metropolitan — Van Buren, near Levett,
Rev. J. "H. O. Smith.
Monroe Street — Monroe & Francisco,
Rev. C. W. Longman.
Morgan Park — Homewood & Prospect,
Rev. Ben C. Crow.
North Shore — Wilson & Clifton, Rev.
C. C. Morrison.
Russian Church— 652 West 14th St.,
Rev. C. Jaroshevich.
Sheffield Avenue — Sheffield & George,
Rev. Will F. Shaw.
South Chicago — 9138 Commercial Ave.
Thirty-fifth St. (col.)— 520 Thirty-fifth
St., Rev. W. H. Simmons.
West Pullman— Wallace & 119th, Rev.
R. S. Rains.
its k for Catalogue and'SpecSal Donation Plan No. 27
(Established 1858)
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Cloth 25c, Morocco 35c, postpaid, stamps taken. A?entg
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POCKET S. S. COMMENTARY
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on Lessons and Text for the whole year. Bight*
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Disciples Publication Society
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The 20th Century
Quarterly
For Adult and Young People's Bible Classes
Edited by Thomas Curtis Clark
Makers of the Quarterly:
John Ray Ewers
William Dunn Ryan
Herbert L. Willett, Jr.
Prof. W. C. Morro
The governing purposes in the preparation of this new Lesson Quarterly are two:
(1) To afford all necessary aids for a thorough and vital consideration of the Interna-
tional Uniform Sunday School Lessons; (2) To edit out all features of conventional
lesson quarterlies which are not actually used by and useful to the average class. This
quarterly is based upon many years' experience of the makers with the modern organ-
ized class.
Features of the Quarterly
Getting Into the Lesson. This department is
prepared by William Dunn Ryan, of Central
Church, Youngstown, O., who has one of the
most remarkable schools of adults in the coun-
try. Mr. Ryan presents the backgrounds of the
lesson.
Clearing Up Difficult Points. Herbert L. Willett,
Jr., whose extended experience and study in the
Orient have made him an able interpreter of
Scripture facts for modern students, has charge
of this department. His is a verse-by-verse
study.
The Lesson Brought Down to Date. The unique
work of John R. Ewers in straight-from-the-
shoulder adaptations of the Sunday school lessons
to today's life is too well known to call for ex-
planation. There is no other writer in the
Sunday school world today who approaches Mr.
Ewers in the art of making the Bible talk to
modern men.
The Lesson Forum. No man is better suited to
furnish lesson questions with both scholarly and
practical bearings than Dr. W. C. Morro, of But-
ler College. His questions really count in the
consideration of lesson themes.
The lesson text (American revised version) and daily Scripture readings are printed
for each lesson. The Quarterly is a booklet of handy pocket size.
The Winter issue of the Quarterly is now
ready. Send for free sample copy, and let us
have your order at once.
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r t r i ir
liilJlUi
Vol. XXXV
December 12, 1918
Number 48
The President's Mission
By Burris A. Jenkins
The War and the
Kingdom of God
By Herbert L. Willett
Editorial Correspondence
«::;]■■[
Mrs. Ira J. Chase, widow of India-
na's Minister -Governor. His death,
and the brotherhood's provision
for her comfort, moved A. M. Atkinson
to establish the Board of Ministerial
Relief.
Proud of the
Brotherhood's
Affection
and not
Ashamed
of Their
Record of Service
S. M. Conner, distinguished mem-
ber of a famous family of preachers.
The 55th anniversary of his ministry
was a notable event in the church
life of Portland, Oregon.
The German military machine is broken but German influence still permeates
the whole world and will take possession of a thousand million souls unless we win
them for Christ.
Vast as is the need, ample means to meet it are at hand. A mere fraction of
the men we sent to France as soldiers will be sufficient to cover the earth as mission-
aries and ministers. Even a smaller proportion of the money which each of us was
expending for war will support the Christian enterprise that will make future wars
impossible.
To meet the challenge of this new hour, the United Budget of cur international and state
agencies is presented to the churches. Fundamental to all the other items of this Budget and to the
successful up-building of the local church, is the allowance of $103,775 for Ministerial Relief and
Pensions: Relief for the men who have finished their labors, a Pension Fund for those who are still
active in the service.
We cannot command the service of the pick of our soldiers as ministers and missionaries, un-
less we give them a fair insurance against suffering and public charity for both themselves and their
families, just as the government did in its war risk insurance.
The Church cannot claim the respect of the new age into which we have come, if she fails to
honor and cherish the aged and disabled ministers and missionaries whose devotion and God-given
power saved North America to Christ and kept Asia, Africa and South America from going the way
of Turkey.
Christmas Sunday is the Day of the Veterans in church and Bible school. Make it glorious
with their memory. All the offerings and Missionary Budget allowances count on the United Budget
for congregation, state and brotherhood. Push the Canvass. Can any member withhold his fellow-'
ship from God's Veterans ?
Disciples' World-wide Every Member Campaign
Men and Millions Movement Promotional Agency
222 West Fourth St., Cincinnati, O.
An Undenominational Journal of Religion
Volume XXXV
DECEMBER 12, 1918
Number 48
EDITORIAL STAFF: CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON. EDITOR; HERBERT L. WILLETT. CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
ORVIS FAIRLEE JORDAN. ALVA W. TAYLOR. JOHN RAY EWERS :: THOMAS CURTIS CLARK. OFFICE MANAGER
Entered as second-class matter, February 28, 1902, at the Post-office at Chicago, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1S79.
Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized on July 3, 1918.
Published Weekly By the Disciples Publication Society 700 East 40th Street, Chicago
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Change of date on wrapper is a receipt for remittance on subscription and shows month and year to which subscription is paid.
The Christian Century is a free interpreter of the essential ideals of Christianity as held historically by the Disciples of Christ
It conceives the Disciples' religious movement as ideally an unsectarian and unecclesiastical fraternity, whose original impulse and
common tie are fundamentally the desire to practice Christian unity in the fellowship of all Christians. Published by Disciples, The
Christian Century, is not published for Disciples alone, but for the Christian world. It strives to interpret the wider fellowship
in religious faith and service. It desires definitely to occupy a catholic point of view and it seeks readers in all communions.
The Public Opinion of the
World
PUBLIC opinion has for a long time been recog-
nized as one of the most powerful forces in hu-
man life. It is from this source that our laws
derive their authority. Even public opinion not yet
crystallized into law is a powerful instrument of social
control.
Public opinion in the past has had a limited range.
It took Boston two weeks to learn of the death of
George Washington. The difficulty of travel and com-
munication divided the world up into little groups
mutually unacquainted. These conditions still obtain
in some measure in England, where the several shires
have their own dialects and modes of speech.
The invention of electrical modes of communica-
tion and the building of railroads and steamships has
made of the world one great public. The wireless
flashes out the news that the German navy has sur-
rendered to the allied fleet. The same message travels
westward to the United States and eastward to India.
It is relayed by wireless and cable and the citizens of
Shanghai, Cape Town, Petrograd and Chicago read
the news in their papers the same day.
With the growth of this world public there has come
a world conscience. Some things the entire world
would now regard wrong, and some things right. We
are not willing that a Hindu mother should throw her
baby in the sacred river Ganges nor that an African
chieftain should roast a human being for his dinner.
No theory of nationalism keeps us from interfering
when the Cubans are starving or the Armenians mas-
sacred. It is the birth of a world conscience which
has wrought the defeat of Germany.
The Christian church, more than any other organ-
ization, has the opportunity of moulding and shaping
this world opinion. There is undoubtedly to be a
world religion. It will be Christianity or something
else. We hope it may be Christianity.
Sacramentarianism or
Spirituality?
FOR the world opportunities that now confront the
Christian church we are but poorly prepared.
The Christian world is divided between two very
different theories of the nature of religion. The sacra-
mentarian theory is a pre-Christian one, left behind
by the early church but reappearing when the church
had to supersede the effete and formal religions of the
Roman empire. The prophets had to fight sacramen-
tarianism. Hosea even hinted that the priests of his
time had descended to highway robbery. Isaiah and
Micah insisted that there was no salvation save in
repentence and in living lives rich in justice and mercy
and humility. The contest then was between sacra-
mentarianism or spirituality. Sacramentarianism
seemed to win the field for awhile until the spiritual
attitude toward religion was again powerfully set forth
in the world by Jesus and Paul.
A sacramentarian writer in an Oxford tract asks,
"Have you received the Holy Spirit? Have you been
confirmed?" With him the two things are identical.
The Holy Spirit must wait upon the caprice of the
priest. If the holy father of the church has the influ-
enza, God himself must wait until he gets well to save
a man. Such a theory, when accepted, gives a priest
a powerful hold on human life but gives the people but
little conception of the nature of the Christian religion.
In the long run the sacramentarian conception, in-
volving as it does a belief in contemporaneous miracles,
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
December 12, 1918
will not find acceptance by educated people. These
same people will be predisposed by their studies and
experiences to the spiritual attitude in religion. We
shall not want to lose altogether the formal elements
of Christianity, but we shall want them to symbolize
things that are true and vital. There is need today of
a powerful apologetic for the evangelical attitude in
religion, which at its best is a truly spiritual attitude.
The Rivals of the Church
IN some communities there are church people who talk
jealously of certain organizations as being rivals of
the church. In this list they include lodges, social
clubs, neighborhood meetings in public schools and in gen-
eral the social and cultural organizations of the commu-
nity. The organizations named soon sense the spirit of
hostility and there are people who look upon the church
as a hindrance to fraternity and to the cultural life. In
such communities, religion, culture and fraternity all have
a hard time getting on. These interests are of such nature
that they should appeal to these same people, for they are
all products of the higher life of the soul.
The church got into the habit of being opposed to
lodges because the lodges teach a certain amount of religion
and teach it in a broader way than certain narrow and
dogmatic churches do. The opposition between free-
masons and Dowieites is constitutional and admits of no
compromise. In this case, a narrow dogma opposes a
broader one. On the other hand, men of secret orders often
oppose the church because it seems to them too religious.
Such men take their vows in their order lightly and have
but little sense of the importance of the higher life.
In the community where righteousness has the upper
hand, there is cooperation between all the cultural and
fraternal and religious interests. The haunts of evil are
made to fight against an alliance that is invincible. When
schools and churches and lodges and clubs go together,
there is little hope for the other thing. Recently, in a
suburb of Chicago, the moving picture theaters tried to
open on Sunday under a pretense of patriotic service. They
were confronted by a committee from the churches, the
university and the woman's club. Though the theaters did
not appreciate the strength of this alliance the city council
did, and the theaters have remained closed.
The Every Member Canvass
THE month of December has been designated as
the time for the Every Member Canvass for mis-
sions. A budget committee has prepared a plan of
rather cautious expansion for our people in their mission-
ary giving. The whole plan has the flavor of financial
conservatism. Yet if we could make such an advance every
year for ten years, we would soon bring our work up to
the present levels of giving of the other religious com-
munions of our size and strength.
Never was the world field so full of challenges as now.
There are open doors that will close again. Our nation
has the prestige of success and all eyes are turned toward
us. South America is open to the pure gospel as she has
never been before. The sooner we carry out the task
that has been outlined for us on the southern continent,
the better.
China has been our ally in the war. This fall she
sent five hundred new students to study in our colleges
and universities. The Republic of China is in sore trouble
by reason of internal troubles and of external aggression.
She will welcome the friendly aid of America in raising
the level of her citizenship through education, sanitation
and evangelization.
In India there is a new appreciation of the western
world. Indian soldiers have fought under the British
flag and have been ministered to by the Y. M. C. A.
workers. These men will go home with a different out-
look upon the problems of life and religion. If the mis-
sionary force in India is reinforced with new and aggres-
sive helpers, there can be no doubt of the harvest.
Meanwhile, Americans have been schooled somewhat
in giving. They have just contributed over two hundred
millions for the aid of the soldiers in camp activities,
though the war is over. They will make their proper gifts
to the Red Cross. The new sense of human solidarity
and brotherhood that has come into the world will not
allow the church to fail in this big human task.
The Red Cross Campaign
THE coming of peace will not disturb intelligent
people in their purpose to aid in the approaching
Red Cross campaign. They know that when there
is no war at all it has always been the duty of the Red
Cross to respond to calls whenever there was a public
calamity. The duty of the Red Cross organization has
been greatly broadened so that not only are soldiers nursed
when wounded but civilians are cared for when there is
hunger or accident or plague.
The Red Cross has before it several years of intense
activity in Europe. The terrible war has already cost the
world ten millions of lives in the civil walks of life. The
deaths in Armenia, the devastation in Poland are but a
fraction of the total tale of sorrow.
A campaign is being put on at this time to enlist every
member of the church as a member of the Red Cross.
Such an enlistment would not only be a wonderful aid to
those persons who are in poverty and need, but it would
also be a source of great uplift to Christian people in
their own lives.
If this big humanitarian appeal can help save our
churches from their selfishness, then under God the Red
Cross has an even bigger work than to feed Belgian chil-
dren. It is destined to save the soul of the church.
Editorial Correspondence
At Sea, October 29, 1918.
THE mystery of that impersonal being, the Censor,
has been solved, for as I write he is sitting beside
me wearing the uniform of a United States Army
Officer and reading a big handful of letters written by
passengers on this boat to their friends in America. This
particular incarnation of the Censor is a very human and
genial sort of person in his private and personal capacity,
December 12, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
but as I watch him daub out sentence after sentence in his
letters I realize how, in his official capacity, he must act
very sternly, and I see, therefore, how restricted I must
be in writing of this most extraordinary voyage. Many
of the interesting facts one is prompted to set down are
forbidden. So I shall have to steer a careful course amid
the mines of censorship, lest my letter arrive badly dam-
aged, if indeed it is allowed to get through at all.
We are approaching the end of our journey, a British
port, after being on the sea ten days. Last evening the
lounging saloon on the upper deck where our social life
has been carried on was completely darkened and all pas-
sengers spent the evening in their cabins or in the dining
saloon on the lower deck. Many passengers slept with their
clothes on. Some remained up all night. It is understood
that the boat's crew, both the shifts that slept and those
on duty, were under orders of a particularly precautionary
nature. Today our convoy was reinforced by several more
destroyers, and it is said a flotilla of them will be with us
tomorrow supplemented by aeroplanes.
The sense of being in the war zone is intensified by
these tokens, though the regulations of our journey from
the moment we entered the dock for embarkation to the
present hour have kept us in constant consciousness of
the extraordinary circumstances under which we were
traveling. We had not been two hours out when we were
told to get our life-preservers and keep them with us the
rest of the way. With utter literalness this regulation has
been followed by every passenger, military or civilian. At
meals, on deck, in the lounge, walking, sitting, sleeping —
whatever we are doing and wherever we are, that life-pre-
server is attached to us or in our hand or hung on our
chair. It will seem strange to be relieved of this bit of
impedimenta which we have willingly and gratefully car-
ried all the way across.
Our group consists of ten gentlemen representing re-
ligious journalism in the United States. They are: Mr.
Ernest Hamlin Abbott, of the "Outlook," New York ; Dr.
Robert W. Gammon of the "Congregationalist," Boston ;
Dr. Clifton D. Gray, of the "Standard," Chicago ; Dr. W.
Douglas Mackenzie, President Hartford Theological Sem-
inary, Hartford, Conn. ; Dr. Dan B. Brummitt, of the
The Call
COME workers! Poets, artists, dreamers, more and
more
Let us shake wide our wings and soar.
Let us not fear to answer the high call
That trumpets to us all.
Amid the doubt and chaos of today —
The hate, the lust, the rage,
Let us declare for nobler things —
The coming of that age
When man shall find his wings.
Above the shrouding darkness and the din
Let us not fear to sound the silver horn
That ushers the new morn —
Come, comrades — let us win!
Angela Morgan in "Utterance and Other Poems."
"Epworth Herald," Chicago; Mr. Guy Emery Shipler, of
the "Churchman," New York; Mr. Will R. Moody, of
the "Record of Christian Work," Northfield, Mass.; Mr.
Jackson Fleming, of "Asia" and "Harper's Magazine,"
New York; Mr. Philip E. Howard, of the "Sunday School
Times," Philadelphia, and the editor of The Christian
Century. Our journey is undertaken at the invitation of
the British Government whose guests we are to be through-
out the period of our absence. We are to be given excep-
tional opportunities to come into contact with social, indus-
trial, military and religious conditions in England, Scotland
and Ireland, and with prominent leaders of many depart-
ments of British life. Afterward a tour will be made of
the fighting front in France and Belgium. Our itinerary
calls for our return around Christmas time, or soon after.
What a fellowship we are having! Shop talk; high
converse on great themes ; common morning devotions in
one of the larger staterooms, an interminable flow of
stories ; an evening quiz of some specialist like Mr. Meyer
Bloomfield, who is a lucid interpreter of various aspects
of the labor problem in the United States and England, and
who is going across at this time to spend a year studying
conditions which he will report in the "Saturday Evening
Post," or of Dr. Mackenzie whose service to theological
thinking has made him an authority on both sides of the
sea, or of some other of the distinguished persons aboard
who are being sent by our Government to render service
to our common cause in Europe — these are the stimulating
ways in which these ten rich days have been spent.
The voyage has been comfortable on its physical side.
One is surprised at the normality of all appointments in
the first class section of the ship. Except for the few pre-
cautionary regulations already referred to, one is as well
cared for as in ordinary times. The menu is not so waste-
fully elaborate as formerly, but it is ample and adequate.
Besides the army officers with us, both British and Amer-
ican, the entire second and third cabin sections of our ship
are taken by American soldiers. Their presence, their be-
havior, and the comfort in which their voyage is arranged
are causes of grateful comment and pride to us all. We
sail day and night in a fleet which left an American port
accompanied by destroyers and cruisers and, for some dis-
tance, by aeroplanes. It was a thrilling departure. But
every day has been thrilling. To wake in the morning and
look out upon our bizarrely camouflaged sister ships that
have sailed by our side day after day has been a growingly
impressive experience.
We have had but little news since leaving home.
Enough has come to us, however, to let us know that events
are proceeding with undreamed of swiftness in the direc-
tion of the collapse of our enemies and the ending of the
war. We are all with one accord deeply grateful for the
encouraging outlook. The only fear among us seems to
be that the end may come prematurely, before a decisive
blow has been struck to German militarism. But this fear
does not bulk large in our minds, as there is unanimous
feeling that President Wilson and the Allied Governments
may be trusted to use the war to bring Germany to her
senses, and to put effective inhibition upon any nation
which may at any future time aspire to do what Germany
has so iniquitously undertaken. q c m
The War and the Kingdom of God
ONE of the incalculable gains that has come from
the experiences of the world war, with the
consequent shifting of definitions and em-
phases, is the passing of the conception of an autocratic
God, unlimited in his sovereignty over the world. This
was the familiar idea of the Old Testament, for in the
period from which that literature proceeded there were
no other social or political conceptions that would have
been deemed adequate to represent the functions of
deity as then conceived. In all portions of those writ-
ings the idea of unlimited power and supreme control
are affirmed of God. The psalmists spoke of him as the
king to whose authority all nations must submit. The
prophets proclaimed him as the ruler whose dominion
extended over all the lands of the earth. The law-
givers derived their statutes from his mandates, and
claimed his direct commands as the foundation of their
legislation.
Even the writers of the New Testament had no
other forms of speech in which to picture the Eternal
save those of sovereignty. There were two reasons for
this. One was that they were true children of the older
Scriptures. The other was that the political institutions
of their day were based wholly on the principle of
monarchy. The Roman Empire set the model for every
kind of administration. Jesus alone used not the
language of the courts and the political world, but of
the family. When others spoke of God as king he called
him Father. It is true that he talked of the kingdom
of heaven. But it seems difficult to imagine what other
term he could have employed to describe the new
social order of which he was evermore thinking. And
it is further true that he proceeded at once to divest
that figure of speech of all its political content, and
thereby to turn it to a wholly different meaning.
THE CREEDS
These autocratic conceptions of God derived from
Hebrew and Roman customs were easily perpetuated
in the creeds of Christendom. In fact it was in the at-
mosphere of Roman imperialism that the most of the
credal forms had their origin. The Latin conceptions
of sovereignty and authority were incorporated in the
writings of Augustine, Anselm, Duns Scotus and
Luther. It would probably have been impossible for
such teachers to have thought in other catagories than
those of a monarchical sort.
But through the centuries the passion for democ-
racy has been developing. It had its beginnings with
the Hebrew prophets ; it came to limited expression in
the dreams of Greek philosophers like Plato; it lifted
its protest against Roman autocracy in the efforts of
fiery hearted tribunes of the people ; it emerged to
sight now and then in the social struggles of the middle
ages. But modern generations have seen it come to
its fuller expression, and in the great war it has found
its vindication in the downfall of the one nation that
appeared to offer a pragmatic refutation of its claims
as the coming form of world organization.
The great nations today have achieved the sub-
stance if not the form of democracy. And the way the
political world goes, the fundamental ideas of theology
must follow. The conception of God as a monarch, all-
powerful, remote, transcendant, and autocratic is no
longer suited either to the needs or the comprehension
of the modern mind. It does not adjust itself to the
facts of experience or to the bare teachings of the
Bible. It puts upon God too heavy a responsibility for
the tragic chapters of humanity's career. It raises too
many questions in the minds of the thoughtful.
THE FATHER
The growth of the democratic impulse has made
necessary a different conception of God. There is too
broad an interval between the statements of the creeds
and our worlds of democratic fellowship. The concep-
tion of God, in so far as it meets the needs of the
present age, is changing into terms of democracy. That
means that we are taking rather Jesus' conception of
God than that of the creeds. We are thinking of him
as Father and not as sovereign. He is a sharer in the
vast labor which is constructing the new order of the
world. He must be thought of as Friend and Com-
panion, and not as a remote and unapproachable king.
These feelings and desires in reference to the Father
have long been taking form. But the war has tended to
make them essential parts of the thinking of the new
world into which we are moving. The older conception
of God as almighty has broken down. He cannot be al-
mighty and acquiescent in the tragedies that have marred
the face of these recent years. Nothing could more con-
duce to the creation of the sceptical mind than the thought
of an omnipotent God living unconcerned and inactive
through such horrors as we have learned of during the
war. There must be some better explanation of the facts.
And the term that Jesus used for the God he knew and
loved comes far nearer the satisfaction of the suffering
and perplexed soul of humanity today than any of the
terms theology has coined to express its conception of his
power and glory. Perhaps on the side of religious ex-
perience alone the war will not have been endured in vain
if it brings us this fresh and vital view of God's relation
to his world. We have talked of the divine immanence,
and perhaps this is something of what was in mind. But
there was need of some new and overwhelming experi-
ence to make it more intelligible. For it is now apparent
that the old world of autocracy and oligarchy, either in
politics or religion, has been made impossible by the world
struggle. The new democracy has come.
THE DIVINE STRUGGLE
For God must be thought of as a God of experience,
struggling with us for the realization of a better order.
Evil and good are both here. Thus far the universe is
hospitable to both. If God were in supreme control there ^
would be no place for the evil things that mar the results
of well-directed effort. Yet on the whole the good appears
to have the advantage, and, therefore, we know that God
December 12, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
must be achieving by slow stages and with what help we
give him the ends of righteousness and truth. If God is
fighting his battles and needs our help, life becomes for us
more worth ful and significant. And even the Hebrew
seers of the past thought of God as a struggling, agoniz-
ing God who labored for the accomplishment of his gra-
cious designs, although this conception seemed at variance
with their thought of his almightiness. Some of those
great souls could have understood something of what Mr.
Wells meant when he talked of God as the "Immortal
Adventurer" in whose high enterprises mankind is given
the chance to share. If there is a desperate conflict going
on between the evil and the good in the universe, as the
intuitions of conscience warrant us in believing, then no
being worthy to be named God could be an idle spectator
of the deadly contest which threatens at times to wreck
the fabric of the moral order.
In such an unceasing campaign we have to join forces
with God in order to bring things to the desired issue.
The universe is neither so bad, as the cynics affirm, that
nothing can be done for its amendment, nor so sure to
come out right, as the irrational optimists contend, as that
everything may safely be left to the evolutionary process.
Evolution does not work automatically. There is a divine
and human cooperation in bringing the fittest life to pass.
The world is plastic, growing, with possibilities of both
good and evil. It has all the opportunity for effort, skill,
risk and achievement, human and divine. And only in the
uniting of the two for the attainment of the far off, divine
event, is there promise of winning through.
Such a conception of a God who is with us in the
struggle, who has not yet attained his goal, who has the
needed elements of friendliness and democracy, and whose
purpose in the world may be competently described as the
Democracy of God, is the desire and necessity of the soul
of man. TT T ,,r
Herbert L. Willett.
The Seven Targets
A Parable of Safed the Sage
NOW in the City where I dwelt were divers Shoot-
ing Galleries, and some of them charge Five
Cents for Three Shots, and there were others
that Gave Five Shots for Five Cents. And I Noticed
when I passed their gates, and if the Sign Read Three
Shots for Five Cents, I entered Not ; but if it Read Five
Shots for Five Cents, then I entered.
And one of the Galleries where I went had Seven
Targets, all in One Row. And the Targets had each of
them a Bullseye. And the Targets were each of the
Same Size, about a Cubit in breadth ; but the Bullseyes
were Divers. For the one on the Right hand had a
Bullseye as small as the Fingernail of a man's Hand,
and the one on the left had a Bullseye as large as a Sil-
ver Dollar, and those that were between Grew as the
Targets were placed from the Right side to the left.
And there were on each Target Rings round the Bulls-
eye, from the Bullseye to the Outer Edge of the Target.
And he who Hit the Bullseye on any Target whatso-
ever caused a Bell to Ring.
Now, in my Youth I could Shoot Some, and in my
Riper Years I can Shoot a Little. So it was my custom
to Choose a Target near the Middle, and Sometimes
I made the Bell to Ring, perhaps twice or thrice out of
Five.
But it came to pass on a day that I entered a Gallery,
and laid down a silver Coin which was the Fourth Part of
a Dollar, and the Man gave me Four Nickles and a Gun.
And I took the Gun, and I Said, I have not practiced of
late ; I will take the Large Bullseye. So I shot, and I Hit
It. And I shot again, and I Hit it Again. And thus I did
Five Times.
And it Pleased me that I had Hit the Bullseye and
Rung the Bell Five times.
And I handed the Man another Nickel, and I Hit the
Bullseye Five Times More. And I was yet more pleased.
And I gave him Another Nickel, and Yet another
Five Times I Did the Same.
And I said within my heart, Behold, am not I a good
Shot?
And I gave him Another Nickel.
And the Man took the Nickel, and gave me Another
Gun, for I had shot out all that the First Gun contained ;
moreover, it needed Cleaning, by reason of the Shooting
I had done. Now the man who kept the Gallery Had been
regarding me, and I thought he had been Admiring my
Skill, but he had Not. For when he handed me the Second
Gun, and taken my Fourth Nickel he spake to me thus :
Now if all you want is to Hear Yourself Ring the Big
Bell, you can Probably Continue to Do That for a Con-
siderable Time to Come; but if you really want to Im-
prove Your Shooting, you will never shoot at anything but
the smallest Bullseye. You will put your shots into quite
as Small a Circle, and you will have the Advantage of
Knowing Just How Much you lack of Being a Really Good
Shot.
And the word went to my heart.
So I walked to the other end, and I shot five times at
the Small Bullseye, and I hit it Not Once. But all my
Shots were close in, and every one of them would have
Rung the Big Bell. So I gave him my Last Nickel, and I
Shot Five times more and out of the Five Shots I Rang
the Small Bell Twice.
And though it sounded not so loud as the Big Bell, yet
I knew in my heart it was Better Shooting, and that it had
Compelled me to do My Best.
Then I said in my heart, O my God, I have lived an
Upright Life among men, and often have they Told me
So ; but I fear lest I have been Shooting at the Big Bell.
Mine have not been the Cruel Temptations of Some of
my Fellow Men, yet I have Had Pride that I was better
than Some of them. O my God, I will seek henceforth to
Shoot at the Smallest Target. Then shall I know how
much I lack of being really a Good Shot.
And I told the Parable to some of my Fellowmen, and
I said, Behold how I went in to the House of Shooting,
and I heard a sermon that divided between the joints and
marrow of my soul. And they, too, were humbled when
they heard it.
President Wilson's Mission
By Burris A. Jenkins
IFOR one, am glad, heartily glad, that the chief ex-
ecutive of this nation is going to Europe personally
} to attend the peace conference. The peace, in my
judgment, is to be settled substantially upon the fourteen
principles enumerated by him. We criticize him on this
side ; that is our privilege in a bi-partisan government, but
I found no criticism of him in England, France or Italy;
they know nothing of our political differences over there.
One of the most important of the purposes which, I
believe, the president has in mind in going abroad, is the
promotion of a league of nations, a league to enforce
peace. Until that project is launched, at least tried, I be-
lieve it to be the duty of every American — all politics aside
— to support the president. Four-fifths of our army, at
a rough guess, is made up of farmer boys ; and the farmers
and the fathers of this country want to see a league of
nations inaugurated.
DOING THE IMPOSSIBLE
Is it a dream, academic, theoretical, impractical?
Let's try it once and find out. Everything remains
theoretical until it is once tried. They said it was theoret-
ical to declare emancipation for the slaves ; but it was done.
They said it was theoretical and impractical to attempt
the abolition of the liquor traffic ; but it looks as if it is
being done. America is accustomed to doing the impos-
sible ; suppose we try it, now, and do it.
Something more substantial will be needed than a peace
palace at the Hague, built by a philanthropist ; or a series
of treaties of arbitration negotiated by a pacifist secretary
of state. We shall need force behind the league, naval and
land force, police on shore and sea. Neither will anybody
be admitted to membership in such league without a stable,
ordered, and responsible government. It is idle to say
that war must always exist, just because it always has,
any more than tuberculosis, drunkenness, or opium de-
bauchery. We may not expect the millennium to be ush-
ered in at once. We may not expect this to be the last
great war, but, at all events, we can make the chances of
war much less, if only we determine so to do; and our
president, who is just now, by virtue of the fact that he is
our president, the most influential single personage that
treads the surface of this globe, is determined to try.
Strength to his elbow, and courage to his heart.
It is worse than idle to quote Washington's advice
about entangling alliances to a day that has outgrown
Washington's time by one hundred and fifty years. Then
it took thirty days to cross the ocean and to communicate
between Europe and America. Today it takes five or six
days to cross, and tomorrow it will take only one day ; and
no time at all to communicate. The day of our isolation
is over.
NO MORE WORLD WARS WITHOUT US
Our flag now floats over Luxemburg and keeps the
watch on the Rhine. In moral responsibility our flag will
never come back. It never has. And he is a moral coward
who shrinks from facing that responsibility. We are
already mixed up in a world affair east and west, and we
shall never get unmixed. We are in to stay; and there
will never be another great world war without us. It is
the part of wisdom then to take all possible measures to
prevent or at least postpone it.
This question of a league of nations is not a political
question. I know that there are some who are trying to
make a political question out of it, and I know that unless
we are very careful, it, like many another good thing, will
be dragged into politics. It would, indeed, be a great mis-
fortune, in my judgment, if so grave a question as this,
of such international character, of such moment to all
men and women and children, and even to generations yet
unborn should be thrown into the political arena for men
to dissect, to maul about, to tear to pieces, to befog and
to ruin.
It is a question that ought to be considered calmly
and dispassionately — a humanitarian question, a question
into which no selfish motive ought to enter, as we seek to
solve it. I know that it has been considered an academic
question, a sort of idealistic dream, and as Viscount Gray
has pointed out, in I think the ablest pamphlet on the
league of nations that I have seen, like all idealistic dreams
it at first meets with indifference and men feel that it is
not necessary to take any stand upon it ; that it will take
care of itself; but if by any chance such a question be-
comes acute and keen, then it meets at once with the
doubts, not to say the hostility of what we call the hard-
headed, sober-minded practical men of the day. Diffi-
culties that were not at first apparent begin to appear. In-
conveniences are found to be necessary if we would carry
it out — this dream. Then again, everything new naturally
meets with hostility of a great many people.
LEAGUE OF NATIONS OF AMERICAN ORIGIN
Now, first, I would point you to the fact that the pro-
posed league of nations is of American origin; it had its
rise as an idea here in the United States. Speaking of
recent days, the league of nations, if I remember rightly,
three or four years ago, was proposed by an association
of which William H. Taft was the president. I recollect
a representative of that association coming here to Kansas
City when the phrase "the League of Nations" or the
"League to Enforce Peace" was scarcely known at all.
Since that time the chief executive of this nation, belong-
ing to a different political party, has taken up the idea
and propagated it throughout Europe.
Now it is perfectly natural that such an idea as this
should arise in the United States. There are those in
Europe who say that republican forms of government, that
independence and democracy had its real rise in America.
It was not the French revolution ; it was not the so-called
constitutional monarchy of an insular people, but it was
the American republic that first brought democracy suc-
cessfully into the world.
December 12, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
9
However, be that as it may, the idea ofthe league of
nations, in this momentous time, had its rise in the United
States, and I think it grew out of the history of the people.
We know what federation is, we have been studying fed-
eration all our lives. The thirteen colonies were practically
thirteen different peoples, and they came here from dif-
ferent parts of the globe, and landed on different sections
of our coast. More than that, they were hostile one to
another. They ever fought each other over their boundary
lines and for the best places along the Connecticut river,
along the Hudson river, Lake Champlain and the St.
Lawrence. They sparred for a place in the sun. Then,
by and by, they began to realize that "in union there is
strength" and that they had savage foes to fight, and the
foes of the wilderness, pestilence and famine, the enemies
of pioneer peoples, and so they decided to federate instead
of fight. By and by, still greater enemies of freedom, the
despot and the autocrats of the old world ; and their union
was cemented only the tighter. It was, to be sure, a very
loose jointed union at first. It was held together by com-
mittees of correspondence and the like — a very tenuous
bond indeed. But, as the years went by and the revolu-
tion came, and the nation grew, these thirteen dissevered
and divided colonies were welded together into a whole
which could not be broken even in the bloodshed of '61.
So we know something about federation. We know some-
thing about its feasibility and it is perfectly natural that
out of the experience of this new world should arise this
idea for all the people of the earth.
Then I call your attention again to the rapid spread
of this idea among the older nations. You hear it talked
of on all sides, in Europe, on the great ocean liners that
go and come ; the men whose mission it is to travel to the
ends of the earth are discussing it. You have heard the
declaration of the statesmen of all the civilized world and
their opinion is favorable; and, when Viscount Gray and
Lloyd George and Clemenceau and men of that stamp place
their approval upon an idea, it is not likely to be found
impractical.
GREAT LEADERS OF EUROPE FOR THE LEAGUE
The progressive minds of England and France are
especially anxious for its realization. They are asking
questions as to how it is to be constituted, how it is to be
governed and how it is to be maintained, but if the best
brains of these two nations and our own are united to
grapple with the question, then if that question cannot be
solved, it is strange, indeed. Their hope and expectation
is born in travail and bloodshed. They are praying with
a heartfelt prayer and their boys who sleep under the lilies
of France and in the fields of Flanders shall not have died
in vain. They are looking to it as to a life preserver
against future storms. They are hoping that it may be
realized and they are giving the leadership to ourselves in
the consummation of that desire. We shall have a posi-
tion of no small influence at the peace conference, which
is to be the most important gathering to which men have
ever been summoned in the history of the world.
Let our president go, and may the spirit of the Lord
God go with him. May our prayers follow him. We who
have served in the army, or who have sons in the army,
let us go down on our knees, thanking God for our country,
for the great opportunities before our country, and humbly
beseech Him in His mercy to help us find a way out of
war.
Stranded?
By a Recently Appointed Chaplain
RINGING bells, shrieking whistles, blazing bonfires,
and dummy kaisers, hissed, riddled, and burned,
proclaim the signing of the armistice, and signal the
doom of military autocracy. I rejoice in the hilarious dem-
onstration. But something is lacking; my joy is bitter-
sweet. In the tumult, I am a lonely soul; I feel undone.
A great war has been fought and won, and I was not in
the front line. Almost hauntingly, the words of the sol-
dier-king are recalled, which, paraphrased for today, give
this heart-pierce : "Go hang thyself, we fought at Cantigny,
Chateau Thierry, and St. Mihiel, and you were not there."
Yes, you whose people served with valor in the Revolu-
tionary days, in 1812, and again in '61 and '65, and who
yourself served with the troops in the tense days of the
Mexican troubles, are still clothed in civilian garb. I feel
guilty of the unpardonable sin.
After many long months of such anxious but hopeful
waiting — the delay caused by misplaced papers somewhere
— my commission is at last announced but a few days be-
fore the signing of the armistice. It is as if a man were
about to pass through salvation gates, suddenly to find the
entrance barred. My mood is one of lamentation, and the
prayer "Not my will" is a hard one this day. Why didn't I
jump in long ago? There were sufficient reasons for a de-
liberate decision. But to ask this is to ask the nation the
same question. Violated neutrality, crushed weakness,
brutally assassinated liberties, in their calls for help did
not find in many of us the ready response of a Tom Paine,
whose reputed quickness to suffer with the justice-seeking
of whatever nation, placed him in this respect, at least,
"Not far from the kingdom of God." The country over,
the role of the priest and levite seemed the easier way.
THEY HAVE DONE WHAT THEY COULD
Some things might ease the jolt a little, if there is
such a thing as solace in the denials of others. To be
sure, hundreds of thousands of our soldiers never crossed
the water. Furthermore, a large number of those overseas
never experienced the struggle of battle. In fact, those
who so gallantly repulsed and charged the enemy were
10
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
December T2, 1918
delivered from the weary and uncertain months and years
of the allied troops with their inferior numbers and equip-
ment. But the glory of our men is just as brilliant; for
whether in the battle line, on the high seas, back of the
lines, or in American camps — they have done what they
could, and it shall be spoken of as a memorial to them
forever and forever.
I recall, too, that the outcome of the crisis was not
localized on the battlefields of France. Farmers, shop la-
borers, industrial leaders, educational directors, and many
others, have contributed their part in winning this war.
There will be two classes after this war, but not the soldier
and non-soldier as some seem to think, but slackers and
patriots — and patriots will include both soldier and civilian.
It is the world's greatest struggle for freedom, but the
struggle has been simultaneously world-wide.
There is some relief in the fact that I have been far
from a slacker. Preparedness has been a slogan for long
with me, and more intensely so since the experience of the
border limitations. My whole soul of energy has been
thrown into every enterprise that would promote a more
speedy and decisive victory. Publicly and privately the
basal cowardice and skulking ingratitude of ministerial
exemption has been denounced. With no thought of the
draft to spur me on, I with enthusiastic gladness offered
my services to my country. Like the village blacksmith, I
can look the whole world in the face, for I have tried to
be an honest patriot. But after rationalizing the matter in
this fashion, there is still the feeling that something is
wrong, and the restlessness, the feeling of one-thing-thou-
lackest, comes from the fact — / wanted to be there. Hon-
esty compels me to admit that some of this feeling may be
due to selfishness, lofty motives aside, for the line of least
resistance sometimes runs right into the thick of where
things are happening. There is an emotional appeal that
will not down, extending all the way from the adventurer's
love of the unusual to the martyr's joy in suffering for a
great cause.
"the thrills pass me by"
But I wanted to be there — not there to convert others,
for indeed it seemed the answer to my own cry, "What
must I do to be saved?" My own soul was jeopardized by
not going. All I asked was to share a comrade's sufferings
and joys. To live and labor with comrades, and not to
preach to sinners — that was my idea. One of the strange
things of this war is, that some people are learning for the
first time that the church has no monopoly on religion, and
the kind of religion known as Christianity at that. Where
have they been? Thank God, some chaplains and Y. M.
C. A. workers are experiencing conversion, ate coming to
Jesus, and are seeing that beneath unchurchly exteriors
and sometimes rough surfaces, beat the hearts of saints
and saviors ! A non-church brother in the flesh, who walks
close by the side of Christ, while I, a minister, follow afar
off, taught me this in days long gone. I wanted to be there
to help do the job. While not apologizing for some man-
ners of speech, and feeling that some ministers are pain-
fully amusing in their "profane" efforts to be good fellows,
yet when I read of that lost battalion, how I would like to
have yelled back to the Germans who demanded surrender,
just what the American officer did — "Go to hell !" I would
have enjoyed that religious rite.
But the thrills, the portion of only a few, pass me by
as I plod on with the majority. So far as the spiritual ex-
hilaration of great cause military battles are concerned, I
am stranded.
But need this stranding keep from other soul depths?
If so, then the war has been lost, lost to me and to others
of my kind.
But I must remember there is never one crisis only,
either in the life of an individual or a nation. It is clear
that everything has not been won by an allied victory.
There are yet many front line ternches. Militaristic insan-
ity has been killed, at least for the time being, but that is
only one of the enemies of democracy. There are still
tories in politics, autocrats in religion, and the Prussian in
industry. The feudal spirit in all lands continues alert in
conceiving and executing huge plans of exploitation. The
arsenals from which these outlaws continue to draw their
weapons — standpatism, orthodoxy, and absolutism — must
be reinvestigated and made to give an account of them-
selves. Democracy is yet segmentary and provincial. Fight-
ers for one segment of democracy will oppose those of
another segment; yes, and this will be true of those who
have marched under the stars and stripes. We are demo-
cratic-monarchical, progressive-conservative. We are hy-
brid. The trenches of the old and new face each other
everywhere, in politics, in religion, in industry, and in edu-
cation.
POST-WAR SLACKERS
There is a "No man's land" for patriots to cross here.
There were pre-war slackers as well as war-time ones,
and there will be post-war slackers, too. When the camou-
flage of battle clears away — and it should be cleared away
now — we should be able to see that some so-called patriots
and lovers of democracy command the efficient and cruel
weapons that can and will overrun many a harmless and
weak Belgium of our domestic peace. Industrial and re-
ligious democracy wait for us, to say nothing of a fuller
and more satisfying political democracy, but timid and
selfish forces stand in the way.
Here is a straw to point which way the wind blows.
The name Hun has become a hissing byword because of
orphans, deportations, separations, crushed weakness, in-
human treatment, and enforced treaties. But what of
orphans, deportations, separations, crushed weakness, and
inhumanities, in an "all's well" democracy where feudal
lords have not yet made an unconditional surrender ? Look
at this camouflaged patriotism. An employer of hundreds
of men in a shop, the fame of whose products is world-
wide, is chairman of several committees having to do with
the promotion of war activities. A young minister labors
in that same community. He is keen, energetic, well bal-
anced, affable, and a consistent, enthusiastic patriot.
Prompted by his broad sympathies, he introduced at one
time, in ministerial association, a resolution looking to the
increase in wages to a class of workmen wretchedly under-
paid, in the shop of the above mentioned patriot employer.
One wonders if there is a causal relation — for, though
other ministers in that town have been used time and again
December 12, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
11
by this chairman for war promotion, the minister whose
patriotism and brotherhood reached to the foreign remote-
ness of a neighboring shop, has been constantly and shame-
fully ignored, no doubt to the misunderstanding of people
in his city and church.
WHY NOT HAVE ACTION?
You say this was not the way to go at it? Perhaps
not, but, in the name of God and humanity, what is the
right way? There is no right way, no opportune time, no
"psychological moment" for those who like the old paths,
because for them they lead beside still waters. Why not
have action somewhere? And, by the way, why as min-
isters try to shoot I. W. W.'s with ineffective long range
guns when the real job is to turn the deadly short range
ones on the profiteer who is in our midst? And why can
we not stand together when one of our number is right in
his plea for justice? Right here is the place to emphasize
"Our Plea." Let us have the comradeship of the laboring
man and the soldier in supporting each other in heroic
strokes and patient suffering. Instead of excommunicating
churches irregular in doctrine, let our brave comradeship
dare together in purging the churches whose leaders, in
kaiser-like cooperation with their "deity," crucify the man
who believes in the gospel of Christ and preaches a far-
reaching justice.
There are hard tasks in the days ahead, and a mag-
nanimous comradeship will be more difficult by far than
it is in the experiences of military campaigns. Much is
made of the fact that chaplains — priest, rabbi, and min-
ister— in the army, have smoked the pipe of peace, have
prayed, served and suffered together in true comradeship.
There is heart rejoicing with all of us for this. May the
tomahawk era be gone forever! But are these fair ques-
tions ? Will the priest, rabbi, and protestant minister, after
the war, value his system according to its ministering abil-
ity? Will the cooperative heroism of the battlefield be
the ecclesiastical commonplace in the problems of peace?
Will spiritual leaders risk all for religious and industrial
justice? Will they be front line soldiers in these struggles,
or will they be content to relax into mere institutional
chaplaincies? There is the danger of forming part of an
autocratic army of occupation over a people gasping for
the abundant life. The enemy is resourceful, well in-
trenched, insidious, persistent, and cruel, and the soldier
in this battle must be a living sacrifice of the kind that is
worse than physical. Much of his service must be solitary,
practically all of it voluntary. But romanticism and the
heroic are there. But this is the trouble with us all ; we
haven't had imagination enough to see the heights and
depths of the conflict before our eyes. Souls have gone
down all around us ; the groans of the oppressed have been
everywhere ; suffering has been the commonplace, but hav-
ing eyes we saw not and having ears we heard not, hard-
hearted sons of Abraham that we were. The war has been
the John Baptist calling us to repentance and worthy fruits.
The heroism of Jesus would see a dramatic appeal in every
commonplace need. This is the kingdom to which we are
pointed.
THE WAR STILL ON
Stranded? If the millennium has come, if the justice
of a complete democracy covers the earth, and all this
because of those who went "over the top" — then, yes, for
I have lost out in the last great battle. But if the winning
of this war is only the inspiration of the better things to
be ; if the conflict has but cleared the fields for larger action,
then the lamentation of the stranded is a miserable dis-
cord. For if the issues and sacrifices of this war have
enabled me to help the lonely souls of the Emmaeus way
whose old hopes of God, the Bible, the church, and their
country are buried, but who await the word of larger as-
surances in these places ; if in an intelligent and effective
way I can do a share in sustaining and wisely directing
those great religious passions awakened in the war, of
comradeship, internationalism, and social service ; if I have
been inspired to volunteer for the life conflict — accompa-
nied as it is by crosses and sufferings, but a conflict mean-
ing at last the largest life for all this earth — then the Dirge
of the Stranded gives place to the Song of the Redeemed.
Bulgaria Conquered
By Bibles
By William G. Shepherd
War Correspondent of the Chicago Post.
IT was Bibles, not bullets, that whipped Bulgaria.
It is not a war correspondent's job to investigate
and praise or criticize missionaries and their work
abroad, but if I tell the truth, as I've seen it first hand
in the Balkans and the Levant, I am forced to say that
Bulgaria is an American-made nation, and that through
missionary influence in the Levant the Bulgarians are
lovers of America.
In Monastir, in 1915, when the allies were entering
before the Germans and Bulgars, one American flag
floated over that town that never came down. It was
the flag on the missionary school conducted by Dr.
James Clark. Into the school he took hundreds of ref-
ugees, and the Bulgars considered it as sanctuary. The
children in that school were taught English.
In Sofia, Dr. Clark's aged father, almost 90, who
had spent nearly seventy years in the American mission
schools in Bulgaria, was one of the most notable and
influential personages in the Bulgarian capital. It was
estimated that some 40,000 Bulgar youths had passed
through his schools and into the public and business life
of Bulgaria.
Americans like Charles R. Crane and others have
put tremendous sums into missionary work in this part
of the world.
Most of it has centered about the Robert's College
at Constantinople. With the Bible as a basis of their
work — because it was in this part of the world that St.
Paul did his most vigorous work — the American mis-
sionaries taught farming, shoemaking, mechanics, car-
pentering and many other practical things that might
serve to make life more comfortable for the Levantine
and Balkan folks.
For almost a hundred years that part of Europe has
(Continued on page 14)
Edited by HERBERT LOCKWOOD WILL
WHY THIS BOOK?
NE of the most vital needs of modern religion is the
daily practice of the presence of God. To miss
the joy and inspiration of regular and habitual
periods of devotion is a distinct limitation of re-
ligious interest and efficiency, if not utterly fatal
to the spiritual life.
Especially in this great moment of the world's history it
is of basic importance that the deep sources of religious insight
and power should be quickened and nourished. The tragedies
of war have sent the suffering and bereaved of all the nations
back to the springs of their comfort in God. The revolution
that is taking place in every department of the world's life, in
industry, in commerce, in education, in national and interna-
tional relations, and in ethics and religion makes it evident that
the foundations of our faith must be laid deeper than ever
before, and that our convictions regarding the immeasurably
significant things of the spirit must be more than ever assured
and confident. This result can be attained not by any imper-
sonal development of the institutions of religion, but by the
enrichment and growth of religion in the personal life of men
and women.
The acquirement by the individual Christian and the family
circle of the habit of methodical devotion is a means of serenity
and power. Yet one of the regrettable features of our modern
life is the neglect of private prayer and the family altar. Like
that altar which Elijah found at Carmel, it is broken down and
abandoned. In the homes of many Christians who were reared
in an atmosphere of domestic piety, little heed is taken to the
culture of mind and heart in the great essentials of Bible study
and prayer. Many such Christians are conscious of a very real
deficit in their own religious life, as a result of this neglect.
With the purpose of meeting in an entirely simple and
practical manner some of the needs of individuals and house-
holds in the attainment of the sense of spiritual reality, this
book has been prepared. It contains brief selections for each
day. It is adjusted to use in any year. In addition to the
regular selections, there will be found outstanding days in the
calendar, which may be used at the appropriate times. A few
simple forms of grace at table are added, and the necessary
indices are provided.
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A SAMPLE PAGE
Twentieth Week
THE DAILY ALTAR
Theme for the Day — The Blessedness of Daily Work.
Our daily work is part of God's plan for us — and a
large and basic part. We must avoid that fallacy so com-
mon among religious people that work is secular and wor-
ship is religious. Work is religious, if it is good work well
done. Indeed, good work, be it ever so commonplace, is a
form of worship. Out of it grows character. God reveals
Himself increasingly in our times in the work-a-day life of
men. He calls us to take up our tasks, with all their
drudgery and exactions, in a spirit of joy and patience and
courage.
+
Scripture — Man goeth forth unto his work, and to his
labor until the evening. — Psalm 104 : 22.
+
Forenoon, and afternoon, and night; — Forenoon,
And afternoon, and night; Forenoon, and — what?
The empty song repeats itself. No more?
Yea, that is life ; make this forenoon sublime,
This afternoon a psalm, this night a prayer,
And time is conquered, and thy crown is won.
Edward Rowland Sill ("The Day").
+
Prayer — Good Father, Thou hast set before us a goodly
heritage, and the lines are fallen to us in pleasant places.
We have our daily work and our nightly rest, and blessings
enough to make us ever grateful. Save us, we pray Thee,
from discontent, from depression of spirit and from thank-
lessness. Make us strong and of good courage. Suffer us
not to grow weary in our task, nor to faint in our pilgrim-
age. So shall we be fitted for higher blessings and nobler
service in a world without end. — Amen.
[135]
700 East 40th Street, CHICAGO
14
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
December 12, 1918
Bulgaria Conquered by Bibles
(Continued from page 11)
been dotted at intervals with school buildings from
which have floated the American flag. And in that flag
the Bulgarians have never seen any evil or unkindness ;
only a desire to help them and the rest of the world
along.
Into Bulgarian homes, for several decades, there
has flowed a constant stream of wealth from America;
money sent back to the home folks from youths who
had gone to the great United States to share in its fre*-
dom and prosperity. The greatness and the glory of the
United States have pulsed through millions of letters
that have reached Bulgarian firesides from sons in
America.
The Bulgarian people venerate the United States,
and as soon as the United States went into the war
against Germany the Bulgarian common folks realized
that they were on the wrong side. From that time on
the fate of King Ferdinand was sealed.
Ferdinand has put his son, Boris, on the throne. It's
a wabbly seat. Bulgaria may be a republic before the
world becomes settled again.
And the American missionary schools will have
played a tremendous part in Bulgaria's democratization
when it comes about.
President Wilson knew all these facts about Bul-
garia when he refused to declare war on her.
Morale and the Church
By Howard E. Jensen
WE have added a new word to our daily speech
— the word "morale." It refers to the courage
and confidence of peoples, to their willingness
to make all sacrifices and endure all hardships for the
triumph of the cause to which they are committed.
Morale is the sine qua non of victory. It is not num-
bers and equipment, but morale, that finally decides
campaigns. Arms, ammunition, troops, organization —
these furnish the body of an army, but morale is the
soul that makes it thrill with life.
More important, perhaps, than the morale of armies
is the morale of peoples. It is said that during the first
year of the war the British soldiers in the trenches would
regale one another with this jest, "We'll get through
this yet, if only the civilians hold out !" But four years
of cruel war turned the jest into a grim and dread reality.
War-weariness and war-nervousness replaced the humor
with a deep anxiety — "We'll get through this yet if only
the civilians hold out."
Great wars have been won only in part by great armies
of brave soldiers. They have after all had their final issues
determined by the spirit of the men, women and youths
behind the lines, in the home guard. And it has been so in
this war of wars.
The greatest ally of morale is religious faith. Man
is steeled to the endurance of hardship and is inspired
to make the supreme sacrifice willingly as he goes for-
ward in the firm conviction that
"behind the dim unknown
Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above his
own."
Religious faith breeds confidence. While the Ger-
man salient at Chateau-Thierry lay pOmted like a dag-
ger at the heart of France, ClemenceauT France's agnos.
tic premier, visited the front with trebled soul. But
Foch's contagious confidence sent him \ck to Paris
certain of victory. One who knows tha- ^he general-
issimo of the allied armies has all his life long been a
man of prayer need not ask whence this contagious con-
fidence comes. It is enough that the doubts of the ag-
nostic were stilled by the quiet assurance of the man of
faith.
The strength of our morale can be measured by the
depth of our Christian faith and the sincerity of our
Christian conduct. Our morale can be no stronger than
our confidence in the justice of our cause ; wherefore, as
a Christian nation we will keep our cause so just that
it is one with the moral purposes of God Himself.
The Church is the nation's most efficient Depart-
ment of Morale. Hers is the supreme power to inspire
the hearts of men with faith. Hers is the mission to call
forth that conduct on the part of men and nations which
meets the approval of Christ. She has proved her worth
in wooing men to such a love for the ideal and the spir-
itual that they will sacrifice ease and wealth and life it-
self to attain the desired end.
Milwaukee, Wis.
Requiem
By Thomas Curtis Clark
THE fires of war are quenched,
The iron guns are still —
And a million weary soldiers rest
By many a lonely hill.
Their sleep is deep and long,
Their eyes shall never see
The glory of a world reborn,
The joy of victory.
The earth again is calm,
The fearful dream has sped —
And the soldier laddies silent sleep
Amid the poppies red.
Sleep on till dawn, ye brave ;
Your fame shall live for aye:
Because you fell, the wrath of hell
From earth has passed away.
The fires of war are quenched,
The iron guns are still —
And a million weary soldiers rest
By many a lonely hill.
The White Man's Burden
The Imperial
Idea
AS the poet laureate of imperialism Kipling sang of the
child races, half man and half beast, and of the white
man's burden, the imperialistic idea has controlled the
relations of the strong and weak races throughout the entire
Christian era. It has always found its apologia in paternalism
and its stimulus in profit. From the days of Caesar to those
of Clive and Hastings and Cecil Rhodes, colonial empire has
been built upon a combination of paternalism and exploitation.
The intrusion of a superior civilization was defensible because
it was better than the old barbarism and savagery, but it was
intruded only where it would pay. It was initiated by profits
to those who projected the enterprise and backed by the
nation as a philanthropy that would do the natives good.
The customary procedure has been for an adventurous
trader to seek a gambler's profit by an enterprise of daring. He
loaded his sloop with bright colored calicoes, gaudy rods and
beads and vile rum and risked his life to offer them in trade to
savages, perhaps. The profits were immense if he succeeded
in escaping fevers, thieves, cannibals and other cut-throats
including those of his crew. The trade was established,
continuous relations set-up, a "factory" (trading post) built,
land purchased or pre-empted, and a steady business founded.
Then, because the traders were avaricious, holding the natives
in contempt and devoting themselves to the fine art of ex-
ploitation, and because the natives were unadorned barbarians
with primitive laws of blood revenge and brutal habits,
trouble would arise. The "companies" did business under the
flag of their country, and the paternal-imperialism of the
fatherland protected its subjects wherever they were. The re-
sult would be the establishment of a government by the strong
arm of a naval force and the landing of troops or through the
chartering of the company to enlist its own police and govern
its own territories. Then "spheres of influence" would be
marked out and, in time, colonies adopted with direct super-
vision from the imperial capital. Thus grew up colonial sys-
tems and whole continents were divided between the great
European powers.
This imperial idea has divided all Africa into colonies and
through the frictions arising threatened the peace of the world,
as, for instance, is illustrated by the Fashoda affair and the
Agadir incident. The stories of Egypt, Morocco, the Congo,
Abyssinia, Tripoli and the Transvaal are not mere stories of
colonial settlement, but of national friction as well, and of
bloodshed. Implicit in the whole notion of imperial expansion
lie the causes of the great war. It was the imperial idea of
national aggrandizement, control of markets, of the seas, of
the "child races" that made up the dream of a "place in the
sun," and it was in the diplomatic game connected with it
that the cards were manipulated, each move being made with
reference to more or less direct advantage, with the knowledge
that the end would doubtless be bloodshed.
The Backward Peoples
in a Civilized World
The hit and miss lack of plan by which each nation pro-
jected its interests and protected its nationals among the back-
ward peoples has brought a world of good as a by-product of
its more or less evil methods, and it has also outlived its day.
Only a few years ago France and England were at swords'
points over the Fashoda affair and later France and Italy were
growling ominously at one another over the North African
Coast line. The Agadir incident came within an ace of pre-
cipitating the present conflict prematurely. Germany's dream
of a colonial domain from the Balkans to the Persian Gulf
made up the ferment that finally led her to seek her "place in
the sun" by recourse to the barbarous methods of an age dis-
credited and undone. We have heard much of "spheres of in-
fluence" in China and there is a thin-crusted volcanic border-
land between America and Japan created by that fact and
our projection of interests into the Philippines. The world is
now divided and further projection of imperialistic demands
on a selfish nationalistic basis means constant friction on the
borderlands both territorially and commercially. German im-
perialists were made by the sight of a world already partitioned
before they got into the game, so they proposed to re-cut the
pie.
There are two ways to approach the problem, and the peace
conference faces the alternative. One is to adopt the method
of the Congress of Vienna a century ago after Napoleon's
dream of continental empire had been aborted and to agree
upon a division of territory and spheres of influence and thus
fix up a working arrangement for the time being, with a con-
sequent renewal of the imperialistic game and inevitable war
in the future. For the Congress of Vienna sought "world
peace" and talked poetically of a "League of Nations," but it
was a world peace for the time being through the trading of
mutual advantages by the great powers and so far as the rest
of the world was concerned, a league of imperial thieves whose
agreements lasted as long as the proverbial "honor among
thieves" usually lasts.
The other alternative is to turn away from the old selfish
imperialism with its exploitive methods and take up the "White
Man's Burden" in a Christian manner. This would necessitate
the governing of backward peoples for their benefit primarily.
It would mean that all colonies would be offered independence
upon attainment of ability to govern themselves. If anyone
sneers that such a plan is Utopian, let him be reminded that
our own government has done and is doing that identical
thing. It has done it in Cuba and it is doing it in the Philip-
pines. We practice no exploitation, receive no revenues, put
This Christmas Will Be
a Book-Giving Christmas
That is the prediction of one of the
largest stores in Chicago. The prophecy
will, no doubt, be fulfilled. The Chris-
tian Century Press has two new books
which are exceptionally adapted as gifts.
(1) The Daily Altar, which has been de-
layed somewhat in publication, but which
is now off the press; (2) Love Off to
the War, which is an almost perfect
souvenir of the coming of peace, contain-
ing many poems of the New Age and
many others of the peaceful life. Make
up your Christmas list now and write us
how many of each of these books you
will wish for your friends.
The Daily Altar sells at $2.00, plus postage.
Love Off to the War, $1.25, plus postage.
The Christian Century Press
700 East 40th Street, CHICAGO
16
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
December 12, 1918
our energies into education for the natives, allow progressive
participation in self-government, seek to create self-respect
and mutual confidence and to establish a democracy of self-
reliant, grateful native citizenry.
The world has grown too small, too close together, for
the civilized nations to allow the backward races longer to
follow their own ways. The world has become a community
and can no more allow barbarism in its back areas than can a
neighborhood allow low living and criminal ways on its rural
frontiers. Our civilization is so largely founded upon the use
of goods that we will not consent for backward peoples to
shut us out from the vast resources of desirable good in un-
developed hinterlands. The fundamental issue is the eminently
Christian issue of the responsibility of the strong for the weak.
Paternalism or
Fraternalism?
The best apology that can be made for the present domi-
nant European method of imperialism is that it is paternal.
There is no doubt that India and Egypt are both better off
under British rule than they would be under their own, and
French goverance in North Africa and Cochin-China is better
than the rude peoples could give themselves. It may also be
argued that the negro was better off under American or British
slavery than he was in the jungles of savage Africa. Both
arguments are good so far as they go. But they defeat them-
selves when they turn then to argue that the colonials can
never fit themselves for self-government or that the negro
should always be kept in slavery. That sort of argument is
a Bourbonistic defence of selfish desire to exploit the weaker
race. The Spanish and Portuguese coerced American Indians
and West Africans for the "good of the natives." Prince
Henry initiated slavery on the West Coast in order to put the
African savages into Catholic homes where they could be
made Christians whether they would or not. Many a pious
churchman bought slaves from Arab and other man-stealers
in the Nigeria for like reasons (?). And all these things were
accomplished. The slaves were made Christians, sure enough,
and savagery and cannibalism and tribal fighting were abol-
ished. The child peoples received profit in the comparative
degree while those who conferred it by force received it in the
superlative degree.
The issue that confronts us now is whether or not we
will surrender the profits and take up a real "White Man's
Burden" by vicariously becoming the tutors of the backward
peoples. The old method has not been vicarious; it has not
governed for the sake of the child peoples, but has made their
betterment a mere by-product of ulterior motives. Will we
turn from paternalism to fraternalism, from being the Master
to becoming the Big Brother? Germany used the old Spanish
way of brutal exploitation and a coerced civilization. Britain
and France use the more modern methods of mutual exchange
of goods with a strong over-lordship. America uses the vicari-
ous method of spending and being spent for the education of
the backward people in self-government. Our government has
educated a larger percentage of the Filipinos in two decades
than England has of the Hindus in two centuries. It has per-
haps spent more for the welfare of them than France has for
Cochin-China in six decades. There are democratic elements
in England that advocate that the German colonies be turned
over to America for development. There are also Tory ele-
ments that shout loudly for their addition to the British em-
pire under the conventional colonial system. To do this latter
is to belie all the fair assertions that the Allies were not fight-
ing for territory. To do the former is rather more than can
be expected of a world so full of mutual suspicions. The solu-
tion lies in a League of Nations with the adoption of the
"Free Nations" basis for a democratic order for the world.
* * *
What Hope Is There for
International Democracy?
While the war was on, we were of one voice — one front
to win the war. As soon as the war is over, we are of many
voices, each reflecting our pre-war mind in regard to the
world, with some biased toward the military mood the war
created and others led by revulsion from war's horrors to
advocate new and ideal methods. While war was on, we all
accepted the American interpretation of the new world. Now
that war is over, we revert to the historic "spoils of war"
notion by some in every nation and most of all a superficial
attempt to play upon passion and to appeal to the primitive
within us by the military minded.
In America we have a frantic attempt to discredit the
President and thus to put his leadership at Versailles at a
discount. Part of this is an unspeakable playing of politics
and much of it is the outgrowth of honest conviction that we
are headed toward Utopianism. In England the radical Lloyd
George came to the front because of his surpassing abilities
to mobilize both resources and public cooperation, but he sur-
rounded himself with a cabinet built for efficient administra-
tion and, therefore, made up predominantly of conservatives,
captains of industry and Tory minds. Now he is put to the
task of facing the peace conference with the handicap of Tory-
imperialism in his own cabinet. Lloyd George and Woodrow
Wilson have both done the seeming impossible in winning the
war. They now face the most critical period of their careers,
however, in guaranteeing to the world the things for which
they challenged it to fight. The first step in their undoing is
already taken in the determination to make the conference
secret — a reversion of democracy to diplomatic method instead
of "open covenants openly arrived at." The fate of world
democracy hangs in the balance at Versailles today as it never
did on the battle front. ALyA ^ Taylor>
It is the severity of God which demonstrates his goodness;
it is the goodness which creates his severity.
G. Campbell Morgan.
For-
Your Men's Class
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The 20th Century
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The Christian Century Press
700 E. Fortieth Street
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December 12, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
17
Books
"The Protestant" an Ocean Breeze
What a Transylvania Professor Says of It
I have just finished reading "The Protestant." It is re-
freshing, stimulating, bracing. I feel as though the ocean
breeze had blown through my brain or I had had a whiff of the
clean mountain air. The air has been a little stiffling hereabouts
of late, but the breathing is better now.
Hounds of the Lord? Do I not know their bellowing, and
have I not felt their hot breath? The irreligious press, the
insects, a certain rich man, and even the threadbare chair — do
I not have more than a passing acquaintance with them, and
do I not recognize their bold sketches in this book? Anyway,
we have not sold our souls, and they are not for sale, please
God!
Of course, I do not altogether agree with what I find in
this book, as touching, for example, the right kind of theolog-
ical seminaries and a few other details. But what does that
matter? I am a Protestant, and so is the author. Incidentally,
I have greatly enjoyed the characterizations, even that of my
own profession — perhaps most of all.
As one of the heretics to whom Dr. Jenkins has been good
enough to dedicate the book, I thank him and say, "Here's
to you, and may the tribe increase!"
Lexington, Ky. W. C. Bower.
* * *
Pan-American Poems. Edited by Agnes B. Poor. Since
South America has ceased to be the unknown continent and has
come more into the historical limelight, these folk songs of Brazil
and colorful lyrics of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Columbia and
the literary treasures of the countries farther north will be studied
with much interest. An invaluable collection. (Badger. $1.)
Zoroastrianism and. Judaism. By George William Carter.
A sympathetic study of the old Zend scriptures and the influence
of the great Persian teacher upon the world of his day and later
ages. Particularly interesting is the consideration of the con-
trasted influences of Zoroastrianism and Judaism upon their re-
spective communities in the light of the world war. (Badger.
$2.00.)
Prophecies Relating to the Time of the End. By William
A. Bosworth. Another contribution to the endless literature that
attempts to read into the book of Revelation a world scheme of
prophecy and history. (Badger. $1.00.)
General Crook and the Fighting Apaches. By Edwin L.
Sabin. The Indians will never be a vanished race if such writers
as E. L. Sabin can keep going. The best thing about this book
is that it presents real history in most attractive form. It is one
of the Trail Blazers Series. (Lippincott. $1.25.)
Clear the Decks. By "Commander." A tale of the American
navy today, in the Great War just closed. The book describes
vividly just how the work of the navy is carried on in war-time.
John Migg and his mates are real people. (Lippincott. $1.50.)
Keineth. By Jane D. Abbott. Twelve-year-old Keineth
Randolph kept a war secret for a whole year — and so received
a letter of appreciation from the President. The story of it all
is to be found in this book. (Lippincott. $1.25.)
The Adventures of a Brownie. By Miss Mulock. The
brownies had left the earth since the plague of war struck it, but
they are now back, thanks to the publishers, and they still have
all their charm for both young and old. This is an attractive
little book for the primary boys and girls. (Lippincott. 60 cents.)
Any of the books reviewed in this department, or any other
books now in print, may be secured from
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS,
700 East 40th St., Chicago
The Sunday School
"O
The Life Indeed*
H, for a forty-parson power !" Oh, for the ability to
awaken us to the appreciation of Jesus Christ, our Lord !
Against the background of the Old Testament
worthies we paint him today. We have been thinking of Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob and Joseph — great characters, no doubt, but far from
perfect. Abraham had dignity and the soul of high adventure,
going forward with God building everywhere his altar, but he
lied and was cowardly. Isaac had marked devotion and lived a
peaceful life, keeping alive the God idea, but he was a weak
father and compromised with evil. Jacob was aggressive and raised
a richly endowed family of sons, but he was tricky in a deal.
Joseph was an all but perfect character — but his egotism was a
grievous flaw and we feel that if we knew all the truth about him
many other shortcomings would be revealed. Christ rises above
all of these mere men as an Himalayan peak rises above the ant-
hills of the desert. He is the Life indeed.
Last summer I spent six weeks in Estes Park, Colorado, up
there on the continental divide, among the snows. I remember one
morning, looking out over a beautiful valley, that reminded me of
Switzerland, toward what we had been told was a lofty mountain.
It did not look very high from where I sat. We took horses and
rode for hours toward it. Higher and higher mounted that snow-
crowned peak and at evening we paused beside a little mountain
lake, and although we had been steadily climbing the great moun-
tain still it towered above us in its matchless splendor and we
were lost in its grandeur and colossal, granite strength. We were
as nothing at the foot of that heaven-touching pile of rock. We
were lost in its immensity. Is it not thus in the study of Jesus ?
At a first, superficial estimate he may seem to be only a man — it is
only because we are so far away. Years pass and all of the time
we are studying Him and experiencing Him and when we pause
to look up, how far He towers above us ! We journey on, always
toward Him, and in the sunset of life we look up and we are lost
in His matchless strength, His limitless glory. In prosperity we
learn something of Jesus, in adversity we learn more, in sickness,
in death, in years of steady toil, in misunderstandings we come to
understand Him. He grows upon us. He rises above us. He over-
whelms us with His majesty, His purity, His unselfishness, His
boundless love.
Talking to one of our ministers once, he told me that the
prayer which had most impressed him had been made by a Unita-
rian minister in Harvard Divinity School and was this : "O God,
may the spirit which was in Jesus be now in us." My friend said
that since to him Jesus was a living personality he changed the
prayer to read, "O God, may the spirit which is now in Jesus be
in us." I mention this because I believe it is the one vital thing.
We fail utterly in our Bible study unless we find and come to
possess the spirit which is in Jesus. As I estimate men the differ-
ence in them is due entirely to their spirit. It is not size, age,
wealth, environment, heredity, country, education, friends, oppor-
tunity, luck, pluck, nor anything else nor all together : the differ-
entiating factor is the spirit of the man and I defy you to tell how
he got it ! How do you account for Shakespeare, Keats, Napoleon,
Angelo, Florence Nightingale, General Booth, John R. Mott, Gen-
eral Byng, and the soldier with the distinguishing decoration?
For that matter, how do you account for Jesus?
But leaving aside the question of the mysterious gift, of genius
as beyond our ken ; there is a great, vital truth which gives us the
highest encouragement: we can, to a degree, receive the spirit
which is in Jesus. It is a rational process. How could I come to
possess the spirit of Lincoln? By studying his life, by coming to
love his manner of life, by seeking to reproduce certain of his
experiences in my own life. By living in communion with Jesus
I may come to possess His spirit.
John R. Ewers.
^Christmas Lesson. Suggested Scripture Reading, Luke 2 :8-20.
Disciple Leaders on Disciples' Issues
Dr. J. H. Garrison on ' Transylvania"
1HAVE recently received a copy of the Quarterly Bulletin
of the College of the Bible in which many prominent Ken-
tucky preachers express their faith in, and appreciation of,
the Bible College and Transylvania and their work. This was
gratifying to me, not that I have been in the slightest doubt
as to their fidelity to the great fundamentals of Christianity,
but because testimonials from such men will go far in re-
moving the doubts which have been planted in the minds of
many honest brethren by the recent promulgation of absurd
charges against these institutions.
As to the source and the motive of such false reports as
that Transylvania was teaching "German destructive criticism,"
I say nothing; but I feel quite sure that most of the brethren
who have been misled by them have not made any personal
investigation of them, and have little or no knowledge of the
debt we owe to modern biblical scholarship for the light it
has thrown upon the Sacred Volume by its laborious, painstak-
ing and reverent investigations of the historical and literary
questions involved. Let us hope that those responsible for the
circulation of these charges have not understood the gross
injustice they have committed, not only against the men and
the institution, but against Christianity itself and fair dealing.
I never felt so deeply, I think, as I do today, the need
that our colleges accentuate the vital and essential truths of
Christianity, and of the plea we are making for a united church,
based on the rock-foundation of Christ alone. If I did not
feel assured that Transylvania and all our institutions of learn-
ing were standing four-square for these vital things, I should
be greatly discouraged as to our future. They must, of course,
stand for sound learning in the most approved courses of
study, or cease to be colleges; but a Christian institution has
a mission and a message beyond mere academic training, in
fitting young men and women for their duties in the higher
ranges of life, which alone justifies their separate existence.
Therefore, from what I know of the men and their work in
Transylvania, I most heartily commend it and the Bible Col-
lege to the confidence and esteem of the brotherhood, and bid
them "Godspeed."
* * *
Disciples' Journalism
IF the Disciples of Christ have not reached the place in their
history where they can deal with their own problems with-
out having to leave them to be constantly bandied about
the editorial rooms of the church papers, it is high time they
were reaching that place. We believe they have already ar-
rived at that place and that they can and will deal fairly and
satisfactorily with these and all other problems, if they are
given the opportunity to do so. Too long we have tried to
settle our problems by hotel lobby conferences and overheated
editorials. Let us give our people a fair chance to express
their own judgment on the matters that are in controversy.
— From an Editorial in the Christian Courier, Dallas Tex.
"Standing Fast in the^ Liberty"
TO me it is a matter of entire indifference what notions
any man may hold regarding "evolution" or any other of
the manifold questions about which good men and great
minds differ, so we hold fast Christ as the great Head of the
Church, and the Truth as it is in Him as the Son of God, be-
lieving with a great joy that "if the Son shall make you free
you shall be free indeed."
I am fully aware of the truth of the statement that "all
the narrowness and bigotry and 'Hunism' are not with the
conservative thinkers, but there is a large share of intolerance
with the higher institutions." And with just as much frankness
I declare that I utterly detest the thing wherever it is found.
I make no claim in any sense as belonging to the "deep, all-
knowing philosophical minds," but by the grace of God I am
going to use what mind I've got, and I am going to "stand
fast in the liberty wherein Christ has made me free, that I be
not entangled in the yoke of bondage." And the "yoke of
bondage," as Paul understood it and as I am coming to under-
stand it, with a vision clarified by the sense of the world's
need and the freedom of faith in Christ Jesus my Master, is
bondage to old forms and formulas and creeds and ceremonies,
that fetter the free spirits of His followers. I am resolved
anew:
To hold each man my friend who seeks to know
The Truth by which men live, the way to go;
To count him brother, whosoe'er he be,
Who seek to know the Truth that makes him free;
To hold no word of mine or man, as creed to bind
The shackles on a single human mind;
To grant to every soul the right I claim as mine,
In Spirit and in Truth, to worship the Divine.
— Editorial in the Christian News, Des Moines.
* * *
The Final Test
MANY a movement begins in persecution and hardships
and through a long struggle it finally gains recognition,
but the test comes when it gains a place where it is
free for independent action. What will it do with it? Upon
this it must stand or fall. All its long suffering will count for
naught if a proper use is not made of its opportunities.
The current reformation started by the Campbells, Stont
and Scott was a protest against the narrow sectarianism of
their day. During the first seventy-five years of the movement
they suffered much persecution and mild religious ostracism
from other religious bodies. Most of their energy was ex-
pended in teaching first principles and fighting for recognition
of the simple scriptural principles of union. But at the end
of that time they had gained their end and they began in
earnest to take up the duties at hand. The test did not come
to them in those years of preparation, no matter how much
they endured; but now when the movement has gained an in-
dependent place, the test is coming. What use is it making
of it?
— /. B. Lehman, head of the Disciples work among the Negroes,
in "The Gospel Plea."
^pHE DEMAND for the autumn issue
"■- of the 20tf) Centurp (©uarterlp was so
unexpectedly large that the supply was
exhausted several weeks ago. One school,
reordering, sent this telegram: "Send 40
more copies; everybody wants it."
Has your order been sent in for the
winter quarter? Order now, and order a
sufficient number to carry your school
through the entire quarter.
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 East 40th Street, Chicago.
The Larger Christian World
A Department of Interdenominational Acquaintance
Church Federation Council
Will Hold Two-Day Conference
THE Chicago Church Federation Council plans to hold a
two-day conference on Monday and Tuesday, December
16 and 17, at the Hotel La Salle. The announced purpose
of the conference is "to afford an opportunity for the careful
study of religious and moral conditions in the city and nation
in the critical times on which we are entering, to estimate the
need, the possibility and the methods of closer co-operation
of Protestant forces and to determine the adjustments and
modifications needed by the Chicago Church Federation Coun-
cil in order to be of the greatest service to the churches of the
city and vicinity. The meetings will not interfere with the
usual Monday preachers' meetings, but will follow them.
There will be commission reports on such themes as Interdenom-
inational Comity, Evangelism, Religious Education, The Church
and Labor, Moral Reforms, Community Organization, Pub-
licity, Reconstruction, etc. A Committee on Findings and
Recommendations will prepare a careful digest of the de-
cisions reached, and will make such proposals as it may
deem necessary at the closing session." Rev. Roy B. Guild,
D. D., of New York, is the executive secretary of the Com-
mission on Church Federation of the Federal Council and he
will be present to conduct the conference.
Many Reconstruction
Rallies Held
The Chicago Inter-Church War-Work Committee almost
immediately on the announcement of peace initiated a series
of reconstruction rallies in various parts of Chicago. Nightly
meetings have been held in the period between November
17 and December 8. It is estimated that the total attendance
at the meetings reached a total of 80,000. A group of the
most eminent speakers of the city donated their services and
spoke at thirty different centers. It is thought that some of
the groups brought together may continue to hold union
meetings for the consideration of social uplift topics.
The War Budget
Goes Over
The United War Work campaign went over and it is
reported that two hundred million dollars has been pledged for
camp activities, a most creditable achievement in view of the
coming of peace. The largest oversubscription in any district
was in the southland. A splendid record was made by New
England in the movement. The rich corn belt country of
the central Mississippi went only ninety-nine per cent.
Red Cross Appeals
to Churches
In no previous drive has the Red Cross appealed so di-
rectly to the churches as in the campaign which will be put
on December 16 to 23. Every church in the land is asked
to feature a Red Cross sermon on the morning of the fifteenth,
with a union service for the same cause in the evening. The
Christmas Roll-Call means an effort to enroll millions in the
Red Cross by Christmas. The organization is sending out
a booklet to 150,000 ministers in America.
Congregationalists Head
Federated Church
Three churches of Rialto, Cal., have federated. They are
the Congregational, Christian and Baptist. The Congrega-
tionalist pastor, the Rev. William T. Bucher, has been re-
tained as the pastor of the united church. At first there was
only a federation but the federation soon led to a real union.
The pastor of the united church is so delighted with his
situation that he is urging the denominational press to start
a movement for a nation-wide union of the churches.
1
Episcopalians Train
Deaconesses
It is believed that the reconstruction days will increase the
call for deaconesses in parish work and in consequence an
effort is being made to recruit more women for this service
in the Protestant Episcopal church. The New York Training
School will start classes about February 1.
Kansas City Laymen
Make a Pilgrimage
One hundred and fifty men from Kansas City recently
made a pilgrimage to Liberty, Mo., which pilgrimage is their
annual custom. Their meeting is called the Liberty confer-
ence. The men go on Saturday evening and stay until Mon-
day morning engaging in prayer and conference at Liberty
College. Orvis F. Jordan.
* * *
Declaration
By the American Branch of the World Alliance for Pro-
moting International Friendship Through the Churches
N view of existing world conditions the American Branch
of the World Alliance makes the following declaration in
regard to the duty resting upon the church:
The Church of Christ in America should prove itself the
loyal and efficient servant of the nation in this time of testing.
The Church in all its branches should humbly and de-
voutly pray for recovery of the lost consciousness of its essen-
tial unity and universality in Christ, establishing in its mem-
bership the feeling of a fellowship that transcends the barriers
of nation and race. It should be the "light" and the "leaven"
of the world, a living bond holding the nations together in
righteousness and service.
The Church should build in all its branches throughout
Christendom a world-fellowship of goodwill and reconcilia-
tion. It should practice self-sacrificing service in the relief of
suffering, earnestly cultivate love of enemies, and stand ready
to share in the pressing tasks of reconstruction*
The Church should teach mankind that God's laws cover
the whole of human life, individual, national and international.
It should deepen the desire for national righteousness and
truth, unselfishness and brotherliness.
The Church should add its strength to the movement for
establishing right international relations on an enduring basis.
It should vigorously press for a League of Nations, having
such features as periodic conferences, a world court, commis-
sions of inquiry, boards of conciliation and arbitration, and
adequate administrative agencies, to the end that national sov-
ereignty shall be more properly related to international judg-
ment and opinion.
The Churches of America should support the policies
announced by President Wilson in his reply to the Pope:
"Punitive damages, dismemberment of empires, the establish-
ment of selfish and exclusive economic leagues we deem
inexpedient and in the end worse than futile, no proper basis
for a peace of any kind, least of all for an enduring peace.
That must be based upon justice and fairness and the com-
mon rights of mankind."
American Christians have in addition their own special
and personal tasks in the relations of America to the Far
East. They should strive to secure Federal legislation pro-
viding for the adequate protection of aliens, the loyal observ-
ance of treaties, the early removal of all causes of irritation,
and a fundamental solution of the whole Asiatic problem.
These are the principles and the program by which to
secure world justice, goodwill and enduring peace. All Amer-
ican churches and Christians should take part in establishing
these principles and in securing these ends.
20
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
December 12, 1918
News of the Churches
Progress in Illinois
Discipledom
H. H. Peters, of the Illinois state
society, reports that last year offerings
were received from 232 churches for
the state work, these amounting to
$6,460.86; and from seven Christian
Endeavor societies, amounting to $24.
This represents about thirty per cent of
the churches of the state. The permanent
fund of the society has reached $112,-
339.53. This is sufficient to cover the
overhead expenses of the work. Next
year marks the one hundredth anni-
versary of the organization of Illinois'
first Disciple church and a committee
has been appointed to provide a cen-
tennial program for the 1919 convention.
The committee is made up as follows:
John R. Golden, Decatur; Edgar DeWitt
Jones, Bloomington; S. E. Fisher,
Champaign; C. M. Thompson, Urbana;
Dr. Hugh T. Morrison, Springfield; R
J. Dickinson, Eureka; Miss Lucy Wil-
liams, Bloomington; Mrs. Geo. R.
Trenchard, DeLand and Mrs. Bertha
Muffley, Decatur. H. H. Peters is enter-
ing upon his third year of service as
State Secretary, and Leta C. Davis as
Assistant. The office is at 504 Peoples
Bank Buildingl, Bloomington. As at
present organized the State has six
Districts, including Chicago, with an un-
employed worker in each, as follows:
Chicago District — Perry J. Rice,
Chicago; North Eastern District — C.
M. Wright, Urbana; North Western
District— Ward E. Hall, Knoxville; East
Central District — J. C. Mullins, Mat-
toon; West Central District— O. C. Bol-
man, Jacksonville; Southern District —
R. H. Robertson, Benton. These men
are beginning their second year with
promise of splendid service.
Paducah, Ky., Realizes
Loss of Leader
That Ellis B. Barnes in his brief
pastorate at First church, Paducah, Ky.,
has become a recognized community
asset, is evidenced in the following
editorial clipped from the Paducah
Citizen of November 30th: "The Paducah
Citizen takes this occasion to express
its deep regret at the serious loss that
Paducah will sustain in the departure
of Rev. E. B. Barnes, acting pastor of
First Christian Church, who will be
heard for the last time in that capacity,
Sunday evening. Mr. Barnes leaves to
become the pastor of the Franklin
Circle Christian Church in Cleveland,
Ohio. Since coming to Paducah, Mr.
Barnes has proved a strong force for
everything tending to improve the social
conditions of the city, while his sermons
have always been of a highly educative
character. This paper would make
special mention of his Thanksgiving
sermon, in which was portrayed the
duty of Christian people in the days
that are to follow the war and in which
the true Christian spirit that should be
manifest toward the defeated nations
was so clearly presented, that it de-
serves to be printed in pamphlet form
and made a national document. If Mr.
Barnes had never said or done any-
thing worth while in Paducah he should
be remembered by this sermon. While
sharing the sincere regrets of the en-
tire city at his departure, we extend our
congratulations to him that he is going
where he will have so fine a field for
the exercise of his talents, and also to
the church and the community that are
to be enriched by his coming." Mr.
Barnes goes to Franklin Circle church,
Cleveland, O., which under the ministry
of W. F- Rothenburger, became one of
the great churches of the brotherhood.
New Plans for
Pittsburgh Churches
On Monday, November 25, at the Wil-
kinsburg, Pa., church, was held a joint
meeting of the C. W. B. M. and the Min-
isters' Association, followed by a meet-
ing of the Disciples Union of Alleghany
county. The Ministerial Association was
addressed by John R. Ewers, who out-
lined a program for the Disciples' Union.
Supper was served by the ladies of the
church. In the evening a meeting of
the representatives to the Union was
held at which the program as outlined
by Mr. Ewers was discussed, and par-
tially adopted. One part of the plan
was the consolidating of the church
boards of the greater Pittsburgh district.
The following officers were chosen for
the coming year: President, Wallace
Tharp; vice-president, John R. Ewers;
secretary and treasurer, VVm. B. Mathews.
The session at 8 was addressed by Dr.
Cook of Ohio, father of W. Scott Cook,
pastor of the Wilkinsburg church. The
Disciples Union of Alleghany county
was organized about a year ago. There
seems to be some very definite work
ahead.
— President Arthur Holmes, of Drake
University, is making an appeal for books
and bound periodicals containing the
history of the beginnings of the Disciples
•of Christ. Special space has been set
aside for such a library in the Carnegie
Library of the institution. Books should
be addressed to the Librarian.
— During the influenza epidemic at
Fresno, Cal., H. O. Breeden, pastor of
the church there, tendered the use of
the church building as a hospital, and
his offer was accepted. Over a hundred
cases were cared for.
— Guy W. Sarvis, of the University of
Nankin, recently visited Des Moines,
with his wife. They gave a number of
addresses concerning the work in China.
— Dr. Arthur Holmes, of Drake,
preached at Central church, Des Moines,
on November 24, on the subject, "What
German Destructive Thought Could Not
Do to the Bible."
urur vnni/ central church
NbW YUKK 142 West 31st Street
Finis S. Idleman, Minister
— In the great Northwest Bible
School district, over which Secretary
Paul Rains has charge, there are 655
church schools, as follows: Iowa, 392;
Minnesota, 56; Nebraska, 178; North
Dakota, 10; South Dakota, 19. Of this
number, Mr. Rains reports, 292 have
never contributed toward the support of
home missionary work. There are two
schools in the District — University Place,
Des Moines, and York, Neb. — that have
given as much as $100 for home mis-
sions; these are called "Century schools."
During the past year Mr. Rains has
visited 99 schools and delivered 175
addresses.
— R. P. Shepherd, who spent seven
months on the front in France, under
Y. M. C. A. auspices, recently visited
Dallas, Tex., with messages concerning
conditions in the war regions.
— Joseph Myers, Jr., of Transylvania
College, by virtue of successive ora-
torical victories in the last two years,
will participate in the national prohibi-
tion contest this year, representing
Transylvania, the state of Kentucky and
the entire South.
— The death is reported of H. E. Mon-
ser, formerly pastor of a number of Illi-
nois churches. Death came to Mr. Mon-
ser as a result of influenza-pneumonia.
He was in a series of meetings at Elk-
hart, 111., at the time he was stricken.
The burial service was held at Decatur,
111.
__________ UNITED SERVICE
MEMORIAL Memofial (Baptistsand Disciples)
Firs! Baptist
Cil i/i i /i r\ Oakwstcl Blvd. West of Cottage Grove
HICAG 0 utLw ) MinisteJ
— At the recent Alabama convention,
held at Gadsden, R. N. Simpson was re-
elected to serve another year as presi-
dent. The next meeting will be held at
West Point. O. P. Spiegel is the new
secretary.
The Influenza Ban Has Prevented Hundreds of Bible Schools From Taking the
Thanksgiving Offering for American Missions
Schools that are open are responding heroically. Many closed schools are collecting and forwarding more than ever before.
Every school that is open ought to make a thank offering because it is open. Schools that are closed are urged not to let this offering pass untaken.
Remember the boys at the Marne — "They shall not passl" Not the contribution that can be sent without any trouble, but the offering that it is
really hard to secure is our aim. "Neither counted they their lioes dear to them."
Victory means $100,000. Offerings first week total $1,852.82 from 28 states.
A good plan to raise this offering is to make each star of your service flag represent a proportionate amount of the offering your school is seeking to secure. (50 stars for a school
raising $100.00 would mean $2.00 stars.) Match the sacrificial spirit of the hoys with a sacrificial off erini from the school.
SEND AN OFFERING THAT REPRESENTS SACRIFICE TO
Robt. M. Hopkins, Bible School Secretary, American Christian Missionary Society, Carew Bldg,, Cincinnati, Ohio
■wF^fww
December 12, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
21
— A. L. Crim is the new leader at
Winfield, Kan.
— A. C. Smither has resigned the pas-
toral task at First church, St. Louis, his
resignation to take effect January 1. The
family will return to Los Angeles, Cal.
— W. J. Lockhart, formerly pastor of
the Urbandale Federated church, near
Des Moines, who has spent the past few
months in North Dakota, is returning to
Urbandale.
BUFFALO
RICHMOND AVENUE
CHURCH OF CHRIST
Cor. Richmond and Bryant Streets
ERNEST HUNTER WRAT, Minister
— For the past five years the Atlanta,
111., church has been a unanimous church
in its missionary contributions, but the
past year has been the most notable in
the growth of its missionary spirit. The
church has undertaken the support of a
joint living link unit in the Lotumbe
Station in Africa. The pastor, R. H.
Newton, made the canvass for the mis-
sionary budget and out of a membership
of 350 practically every member has
made some contribution to missions dur-
ing the year. The church and its auxili-
aries have given through the regular
channels for missions, education and
benevolence, $1,322 besides $988 for the
Men and Millions Emergency, or a total
of $2,310; an average of $6. GO per mem-
ber, which is actually more than the
amount raised for local work. The La-
dies Missionary Society added thirty-two
new members during the year and se-
cured fourteen new life memberships.
The church has 48 stars on its service
flag, two turned to gold; has provided
each soldier with a pocket testament and
kept in touch with each by correspond-
ence and is planning for the time when
the boys come home. Mr. Newton has
completed his eighth year of service
with this church.
— I. S. Bussing, of the Waycross, Ga.,
church, who had planned to return to
Iowa soon, has been prevailed upon by
the Georgia congregation to continue his
work there.
— L. M. Doreen is the new leader of the
church at Sioux City, la.
— W. T. Fisher, of Mason City, who
was recently reported suffering from a
breakdown, is now able to fill his pulpit.
• — C. V. Pence, recently of Webster
City, la., is now leading at Atlantic, la.
— The death of Mrs. F. M. Linden-
meyer, wife of the pastor of the Stan-
hope, la., church, is reported, influenza
being the cause. Mr. Lindenmeyer also
lost a sister from this disease.
— Charles H. Swift, of First church,
Carthage, Mo., will soon sail for France
to engage in Y M. C. A. work. His
church is planning a debt-raising cam-
paign to pay off indebtedness on the
building during its leader's absence.
— Through the generous gift of Harry
Rogers, an attorney of Tulsa, Okla., and
a native of the Ozark country, the Third
Missionary District of Missouri has
been enabled to employ a country-wide
pastor and evangelist for Hickory
county. J. C. Benentt has been selected
for this work. H. C. Clark, a graduate
of Drury Bible college, has been serving
as superintendent of missions and evan-
gelist of Laclede county, Mo. A. T. Ma-
haney, another Drnry graduate, is serv-
ing the churches of Webster county.
— The unified Budget and the Disciples
World Wide Every Member Campaign
was presented to Cook county, 111., Dis-
ciples at a dinner on last Monday eve-
ning in the Central Y. M. C. A. building.
Among the speakers were H. L. Willett,
E S Ames, C. S. Linkletter, O. A. Ros-
boro, Guy Sarvis, O. F. Jordan, P. J.
Rice, Mrs. S. J. Russell, Mrs. Austin
Hunter and others.
— Secretary H. H. Peters, of Illinois,
reports that Thanksgiving day was a
great day for First church, Normal, 111.
The congregation held on that occasion
its annual meeting with a dinner fur-
nished by the ladies of the church. All
of the reports were encouraging, show-
ing the church in a very substantial con-
r
The Two Best
Commentaries
On the Uniform Sunday-
School Lessons — 1919
TarbelFs Teacher's Guide
and
Peloubet's Notes
Each $1.15 + 10c postage
Order now
The Christian Century Press
700 East 40th St., Chicago
DOLLARS or DEATHS!
400,000 Children in Bible Lands will die unless immediate help comes
The Sunday-schools of America must give $2,000,000
of the $30,000,000 NOW needed for Armenian and
Syrian Relief Work.
Your Sunday-school should be planning to make a
liberal gift at the Christmas Season.
Ask your Superintendent if he has this special work
well in hand.
PRAY— PLAN — PAY
For suggestive programs address
DAVID H. OWEN
AMERICAN COMMITTEE OF ARMENIAN AND SYRIAN RELIEF
1 MADISON AVENUE NEW YORK CITY
^£P>
22
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
December 12, 1918
dition financially; but the chief item of
interest was the burning of a note of
$5,000, which completes the payment on
a church costing something like $50,000.
Ernest A. Gilliland has been pastor of
this church for seven years. He suc-
ceeded his brother, J. H. Gilliland, who
had just completed a twenty-five-year
ministry in Bloomington and as pastor
of the Normal church was preparing for
the cornerstone laying of the new house
of worship when he was called beyond.
The Normal church has been compelled
to make the raising of the indebtedness
its chief concern for the past few years.
Mr. Peters writes that the church is lo-
cated two blocks from the Normal Uni-
versity, the oldest and best equipped
normal school of Illinois. It has always
exercised a splendid influence upon the
student life. The church contemplates
a vigorous evangelistic campaign and
enlargement along several other lines.
The congregation was organized in 1872
and three of the charter members were
present at the Thanksgiving service.
The membership has grown to 400. Mr.
and Mrs. Gilliland, although in their
seventh year at Normal are stronger in
their leadership than ever before.
— Englewood church, Chicago, has in-
creased its offerings to missions from
$428 in 1914 to $1,677 in 1918.
— Homer W. Carpenter, of the Rich-
mond, Ky., church, is serving for the
seventh year as president of the Ken-
tucky C. E. Union.
— Central church, Denver, Colo., has
four gold stars on its service flag.
— Carey E. Morgan, who has been
overseas in "Y" work for several months,
is again at his work at Vine Street
church, Nashville, Tenn.
— Union City, Tenn., church, led by
J. Randall Farris, is now out of debt.
W. H. Sheffer led in the celebration of
the event on November 24.
— Estherville, la., congregation, led by
Pastor D. G. Dungan, was assisted by C.
J. Sharp, of Hammond, Ind., in dedicat-
ing its new $25,000 building.
— At the request of the State Commit-
tee, E. C. Lucas, of White Hall, 111.,
church, spent the week of November Il-
ls in Johnson county in the interest of
the united war work campaign. Mr.
Lucas preached the union Thanksgiving
sermon at White Hall this year.
— One thousand persons were present
at a memorial service held by Central
church, Auburn, N. Y., at a local thea-
ter, where once a month services are be-
ing held — rent free. For the fifth con-
secutive year this church has given to all
poor families of the city bountiful
Thanksgiving dinners. Distribution is
made by the local charities board. The
church has recently voted a substantial
increase in the salary of the pastor, E.
W. Allen.
— The reports at Central church, New
York, N. Y., for the past year are said
to be the best in the history of the
church. This report comes from a mem-
ber of the church who has been active
there for 67 years. P'inis Idleman now
leads at Central.
THE EVERY-MEMBER CAMPAIGN
Three teams of Missionaries, Secre-
taries, College Presidents and others, all
experts in their several departments, are
meeting the ministers and other leaders
at State and Regional centers in confer-
ences on the United Budget and the
Every-Member Canvass for 1919.
Reports have been received from In-
dianapolis, Detroit, Des Moines, Lincoln
and Atlanta. At every place there was
a full and representative attendance, tre-
mendous interest in the world situation
that now confronts the Church of Christ,
and great earnestness in perfecting the
plans for the work.
Those who have attended these meet-
ings have been deeply impressed not
only with the vast opportunity and re-
sponsibility of the church in this hour,
but also with the immense advantages in
unity, economy and effectiveness in this
method of promotion. It is better to
face the whole year's task at once than
to take it item by item at long intervals.
It is more satisfactory to meet face to
face and talk things over than to depend
upon correspondence for an understand-
ing. It is cheaper for one or two per-
sons to travel short distances to the state
centers than for nine secretaries in suc-
cession to make long trips from National
centers to each church.
Everything indicates that not only the
original war-time budget, but the over-
subscription made necessary for the re-
construction since peace has been won,
will be fully provided.
Men and Millions Movement,
Promotional Agency,
222 W. Fourth St., Cincinnati, O.
CHRISTMAS FOR THE VETERANS
OF THE CROSS
With Christmas less than a month
away, active preparations for its observ-
ance are beginning in Sunday schools
throughout the brotherhood.
The new "White Gifts for the King"
service, which is being offered free of
charge to the schools which send their
cash offerings to the Board of Min-
isterial Relief, is called "The Message of
Victorious Peace." It was prepared by
Mrs. J. L. Stacy, superintendent of the
Junior Department in the great Central
Sunday school of Indianapolis. As
printed, it is a revision of the service as
it was used, with great satisfaction, in
her own Sunday school last year.
In ordering supplies it is necessary
only to mention the average attendance
of the school and everything required
will be forwarded at once.
Board of Ministerial Relief,
W. R. Warren, President,
F. E. Smith, Secretary.
627 Lemcke Bldg., Indianapolis, Ind.
BELLS
The C S. Bell Company of Hillsboro,
Ohio, manufacturers of the widely known
Steel Alloy Church and School Bell, pa-
triotically discontinued the manufacture
of bells during the period of the war,
in order to increase their output of food
grinding and cane grinding machinery
which the Government classed as most
essential in the matter of food conserva-
tion. By enlarging their manufacturing
facilities this company is again in posi-
tion to furnish Steel Alloy Church and
School Bells. Churches and schools con-
templating the purchase of a bell, should
write for the artistic catalogue and spe-
cial prices, they will gladly send.
CHRISTIAN CHURCHES IN CHI-
CAGO AND COOK COUNTY
Disciples of Christ (Christian)
Headquarters, 1007 Association Bldg.,
19 S. LaSalle St. Phone, Majestic 8992.
Rev. Perry J. Rice, Executive Secre-
tary.
Armour Avenue (col.) — 3621 Federal
St., Rev. G. C. Campbell.
Ashland — Laflin and 62iid, Rev. J. F.
Futcher.
Austin — Race and Pine, Rev. C. S.
Linkletter.
Chicago Heights — 16th & Vincennes,
Rev. A. I. Zellar.
Douglas Park — 19th & Spaulding.
Englewood — Stewart & 66th PL, Rev.
C. G. Kindred.
Evanston — Greenleaf & Maple, Rev.
Orvis F. Jordan.
Harvey — Turlington & 154th, Rev. C.
M. Smithson.
Hyde Park — 57th & University, Rev.
E. S. Ames.
Irving Park — Kildare & Cullom, Rev.
W. C. Gibbs.
Jackson Boulevard — Jackson Blvd. &
Western, Rev. Austin Hunter.
Marquette Park — 63rd, near Hamlin.
Maywood— 1313 S. Fifth St., Rev. John
A. Lee.
Memorial — Oakwood Blvd., near Cot-
tage Grove, Rev. Herbert L. Willett.
Metropolitan — Van Buren, near Levett,
Rev. J. H. O. Smith.
Monroe Street — Monroe & Francisco
Rev. C. W. Longman.
Morgan Park — Homewood & Prospect
Rev. Ben C. Crow.
North Shore— Wilson & Clifton, Rev
C. C. Morrison.
Russian Church— 652 West 14th St.
Rev. C. Jaroshevich.
Sheffield Avenue— Sheffield & George
Rev. Will F. Shaw.
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The Dawn of Liberty
God Rules the Seas!
They Have Not Died in Vain
Woodrow Wilson, Leader
America in France
The Day Breaks
OF THE SIMPLE LIFE
Take Time to Live
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King of an Acre
A June Millionaire
Wealth
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To Thoreau
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Revelation
Spring Song
Messengers
Wayside Roses
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The Golden Age
The Touch of Human Hands
God's Dreams
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The Search
The Stay
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Light at Evening Time
The Pursuit
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"STUDIES IN SOULS"
Three Poems of Lincoln
Sons of Promise
The Remorse of David
Sympathy
Success
The World Builders
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Vol. XXXV
December 19, 1918
Number 49
The Face of Christ
By W. R. Nicoll
The Church and
Bolshevism
By William T. Ellis
The Moral Aftermath of War
By Alva W. Taylor
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Volume XXXV
DECEMBER 19, 1918
Number 49
^T?R^TLOTSotFTAD^AHtRLES CLAYT0N MORRISON. EDITOR; HERBERT L. WILLETT. CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
ORVIS PAIRLEE JORDAN, ALVA W. TAYLOR. JOHN RAY EWERS :: THOMAg CURTIS CLARK, OFF! C E M ANA G E R
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1
The First Christmas in a New Age
SINCE last Christmas we have emerged from the era
of iron and blood in which we have lived for cen-
turies. For a long time we have dreamed of an age
in which peace and good-will should be ruling motives in
the hearts of men, but our instincts have been too strong
for us and our selfishness has quite dominated our idealism.
It seems to many of .us that the new era of Christ's tri-
umphant reign in the hearts of men has begun.
How patient God has been with us! He has waited
for thousands of years, brooding over suffering humanity.
To human intelligence it has often seemed that His coming
to men in the person of the Christ was in vain. The In-
carnation seemed an adventure of God that was wasted
upon the poor creatures who had been dignified by being
called the sons of God. But God has not despaired of us
even when we despaired of ourselves. Even the great war,
which seemed to some the end of Christmas and the final
proof of the futility of Christ, has been the occasion of a
fresh and wonderful demonstration of His power. The
Christian conscience has brought the downfall of Kaiser-
ism and with it the downfall of every proud and auto-
cratic authority that sets itself up against God.
Former things have passed away. God is about to
make all things new. When empires can disintegrate in
a day, empires which seemed to be founded for millenniums,
let us not speak of any other mundane thing as being able
to stand out indefinitely against the spirit of the Christ.
The new age is one in which there is a new sense of
human values. We shall shortly abolish child labor, which
is one of the anachronisms which still remains a belated
reminder of the age we have just left. Christ loved the
little children and on the birthday of our Lord, when we
rejoice over the dawn of the new day, we must bind our-
selves by solemn vows to strike the shackles from these
little ones before another Christmas season shall come.
It is an anachronism in the new age that there is a
single open saloon. We believe there will be none next
year. Twelve months from now men will not congregate
in foul smelling holes and celebrate the birthday of our
Lord in sodden unconsciousness apart from their families.
Next year these men will be clothed and in their right
minds. Little children who have never known a father at
Christmas time will hereafter find a new joy in this, the
most wonderful day in all the year for them.
Nor will there be much quarter in America for the
preaching of doctrines inconsistent with the spirit of good-
will. Preachers of class consciousness, promoters of sec-
tional jealousies and bitter animosities must depart in the
face of a fair and kindly study of our problems. There
still survives in this new era the debris of the old age, but
for the new age we have a new desire to do justice to all
men. In patience and kindliness we set our hands this
year to the righting of ancient wrongs, in order that every
man and every woman may have a square deal and a fair
chance at the good things of life.
This Christmas is not only the beginning of a new era
for society; it is also the beginning of a new era for or-
ganized religion. The church has not failed, or we would
never have lived to see this day. But the church has fallen
short of its rightful glory and power. The church has
kept alive the spirit of peace and good-will for two thou-
sand years, but another spirit has lived as an interloper by
its side.
The day of denominational exclusiveness and bigotry
has died on the battlefield of France, along with Kaiserism.
The comrades of a great cause, when they come home,
will refuse to be separated in religion. If denominational-
ism survives, it is but a shadow, for there is no longer any
intelligent defense of it. In England there is now every
reason to anticipate the uniting of established and free
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
December 19, 1918
churches in a new and living union. What this will mean
for the religious life of the British isles is beyond our
power to anticipate. At this very hour the leading evan-
gelical denominations of America are in conference on the
subject of union. The united church of America may
take on a different form from the united church of Eng-
land, for the church is no dead thing to assume a lifeless
uniformity. Wax flowers do not vary, but living flowers
are never alike.
The provincialism of the church tends to disappear in
the face of the challenge of the new times. The recent
United War Work campaign, participated in by men of all
sects, was the greatest single religious campaign for funds*
in the world's history. Triumphing over every obstacle,
such as conservatism, disease, and distractions from peace
celebrations, it has marked a new epoch in the history of
Christian giving. In the new year we shall see Presby-
terians and Methodists going out for unprecedented bud-
gets. It is a time when no man who loves Christ calls
anything he has his own. The open doors in China and
Japan and India and the Mohammedan world challenge the
church to such a missionary campaign as will thrust every-
thing done in the past into obscurity.
The pledge and guarantee of the new age is the new
love for Christ that is coming into the heart of the church.
No pale and colorless Ethical Culture Society can ever
save the world. We have waited for more than a philos-
opher to lead the world toward the Utopia of humanity's
hopes. We must have a personal leader, an embodiment of
our ideals in a matchless personality.
At this Christmas season we will warm our hearts sing-
ing the praises of that Personality. We shall find the joy
of sharing another's joy. Our peace celebration was a
noisy and primitive thing. We are to be pardoned its ex-
cesses, for we rejoiced that our men were no more to die
in blood and filth on the battlefield. In celebrating the
birth of the new era, however, when Christ's ideals are to
come progressively into power in the world, we cannot voice
our emotions with a carnival. For Christmas day we need
the deep-throated organ, the solemn voice of the man of
God and the "Gloria" chanted by all the people. Let every
heart thrill with the wonderful message, "Glory to God
in the highest, peace on earth, good-will to men."
Orvis F. Jordan.
Spreading the Christmas Joys
THE coming of Christmas this year is in different
spirit from that of last year. We can sing the an-
gelic message with no such feelings of terrible con-
flict between ideal and reality. The peace the angels sang
has come to earth, and as we await the tidings from the
peace conference, it is with the hope that the angelic peace
is about to be embodied in the state documents of the
world and written into our fundamental law.
There should be such a celebration of Christmas this
year as we have never before had. The music in the
churches on Christmas Sunday should be of the best and the
choir should feel the same challenge the minister feels in
the new situation. The Sunday school should find some
way of extending its Christmas joy other than by the con-
ventional Christmas tree and exercise. If there is a char-
itable institution in the town, this should be remembered
with gifts. No child in the whole community should be
overlooked. The Christian Endeavor societies in many
of the cities this year will fill boxes for the Jackies or the
soldiers who are in the home camps and these will be dis-
tributed to the men on Christmas day by the Y. M. C. A.
It is a beautiful service.
Nor must the boys overseas be forgotten. Letters
will not reach them now, but if they hear from us a month
hence, and know that they were in our hearts during
Christmas week, it will be worth while. Some churches are
getting up "Round robin" letters to which the various
members make contribution.
Most ministers send out a Christmas greeting. These
are often conventional in tone. It will be worth while for
the minister to send real heart messages this year. There
is an opportunity for every minister to call attention to
the meaning of Jesus Christ in our world. Christ is con-
quering and the proud and mighty have been brought low
before him. Ministers should rally their people to a new
loyalty to Jesus Christ and lead them into a deeper under-
standing of his priceless value to the world.
A Sinister Force
THE recent investigations carried on by the fed-
eral government concerning the activities of the
brewers during the war implicate those gentlemen
in such a way that they may not hope to regain public
confidence within a generation, even if prohibition were
not on the road. The use of money for the purchase of
opinion and the conducting of propaganda which has been
disloyal to the best interests of the nation brings home to
the public the fact that there is a phase of the prohibition
issue quite apart from the question of the effect of using
liquors.
The pro-German propaganda in this country has been
able to use certain disloyal liquor interests and the social-
ist party, and in addition to these a number of individuals
have sold their honor for a share in the German gold.
There should be no let-up in the investigation, no matter
where it may lead. In any other country these traitors
would be led forward to a public and shameful execution.
The least we can consider in this country will be prison
terms, and no amount of liquor money can purchase im-
munity.
The purification of American politics will be more
advanced by the abolition of the liquor traffic than it
could be by a generation of public education. The crowds
of unintelligent men herded in saloons and indoctrinated
with the prejudices manufactured by the ward leaders who
act under orders from the "higher-ups" has been a balance
of power in America which has controlled most of the large
cities and which has been able to determine even our na-
tional elections when they are close.
This liquor control of politics is the opposite of
democracy. It is an oligarchy that defeats democracy and
puts our institutions into the hands of the worst men in-
stead of the best. There is only one remedy in the light
of the government investigations, and that is the ratifi-
cation of the amendment to the federal constitution abolish-
ing the liquor power from America forever. Such a step
December 19, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
by America would go a long way toward abolishing alcohol
from our world as a beverage.
A Noteworthy Gathering
THE Chicago Church Federation Council is holding
in Chicago this week one of the first religious con-
ferences held in the United States following the war.
It is discussing the obligations of the church in this new
time. Committees are at work studying different types
of problems and these will present their findings in a
series of reports. There will be inspirational addresses
dealing with the issues of religion in this new day.
This is the first of a series of steps which Dr. H. L.
Willett, the president of the organization, has inaugurated
to make the church federation movement in Chicago more
effective. It will doubtless be followed by similar action
in the other great cities of the land.
More Influenza Closing
SOME of the churches that were closed by the in-
fluenza in the autumn are now coming in for a sec-
ond period of closing. It will be a mistake to ac-
cept this as a vacation time for religion. One of our
churches which is now facing this second closing order, will
distribute all of its Sunday school papers to the pupils on
Sunday mornings by front door calls. The church mem-
bers will all receive a copy of the missionary booklet,
'Answering the Call," prepared by our missionary so-
cieties, together with a pastoral letter and directions for
home worship. Machinery has been set in motion for the
Invocation
{To be read at the Peace Conference.)
LET no man come unto this holy table
That seeketh his own!
For Might is o'erthrown,
And the spirit of God cries out from the throng
That died, that no longer the strong shall be strong
For spoil, but forever the weak shall be strong
With the strength of the strong freely given.
Apart
In peace shall the lamb and the lion lie down
// God keepeth — if God keepeth our heart!
O Thou, Light of the World, who the Kingdom of Heaven
Hath set as a leaven, slow rising in men,
Be with us ! Oh ! stand, our heart in Thy Hand,
To keep it forever, to mold to such shape
That never again
The thirst of the tiger, the lust of the ape
Will harry and rape !
We call Thee! Oh, stand
Among us ! The light from Thy white bleeding hand
Shall sear on the brow of each crucified land
The sign of Thy swift resurrection! Oh, then,
Thy kingdom on earth shall be with us !
Amen!
— The Chicago Tribune.
use of the telephone to carry church news concerning the
sick and the needy. Instead of going to sleep in the face
of an emergency, this church will simply adapt its pro-
gram to the new circumstances. Perhaps before it fin-
ishes the employment of its new devices, it will be ready to
subscribe to the optimistic creed that it is an ill wind that
blows nobody any good.
The End of the War
A Parable of Safed the Sage
1AND Keturah we go away in the Good Old Summer-
time, and we sojourn for Two Months beside a Little
Lake. And there is a tree that groweth close down by
the Lake whereon every year the Leaves turn Red at the
beginning of the last week in August. Then know we that
it is time to Pack our Baggage.
And on the first day of September in this present year
did we return to our home. And our Daughter greeted
us at the door. For she had come to set the house in
order, and she brought with her the small Grandson who
is named for me, and her little daughter also. And when
the little damsel knew that we were there, for she was
playing in the garden, then did she come running. And
I went to meet her with my arms outstretched, and she
also spread her arms so that all of her little pink fingers
spread out. And her eyes were sparkling, and her Golden
Hair was dancing as she came.
And these were the words wherewith she greeted me,
saying,
O, Grandpa! Is the War over?
The little maiden hath a Service Flag, and it con-
taineth Six Stars. For there be three brothers of her
father in the Army, and three brothers of her mother,
yea my sons and the sons of Keturah, in the Navy, in-
cluding them that ride above the ships in what the little
damsel doth call Pulloons. And her thought of absence
and of homecoming was all of the war. Therefore did
she inquire, saying O, Grandpa! Is the War over?
Now there came a day when the War was over. And
the bell rang in the Synagogue ; yea, with mine own hands
did I ring it, while it was yet night. And the people
thronged the streets so that all that day and far into the
night the streets were Impassible for the Multiude. And
I took the little maiden, and I carried her on my shoulder
where the crowd was great, that she might see and re-
member all her life the wild tumult of them that cheered
when Peace came again from Heaven upon Earth. And
I mingled with the throng, and I rejoiced with them.
And I saw the Mirth and the Rejoicing.
But when I think of the coming of Peace, there riseth
before my mind the vision, not of the Crowd, neither of
the sound of the Musick of the Bands, neither the Noise
of them that blow Horns and Pound upon Pans, but the
vision everywhere of Little Children who run, one by
one, to meet returning men, and crying in their Childish
Joy, Is the War over ?
And I thank God for the answer that shall be made
unto them.
The Word of God
By Herbert L. Willett
IN a familiar and very satisfying sense this title is
employed to describe the Bible. To no other book
could it be applied with anything like the same con-
fidence. In no other collection of utterances and expe-
riences can the same measure of urgency and finality be
found. Beyond all other bodies of literature are these
Hebrew and Christian Scriptures informed by a spirit that
entitles them to be called the Word of God.
Yet the title must be handled with discrimination
as it is used of this book. It must not be understood that
the Bible is the only expression of the divine mind. The
visible universe is the utterance of God's purpose. The
heavens declare not only the glory but the character of
the Eternal. The creative process as it unfolds its suc-
cessive phases is the record of divine activity. Human
life is the material through which God has been speaking
through the centuries, and never in any nation has he
left himself wholly without witness.
The holy books of all religions have had in them
something of the breath of God. It is no longer either
necessary or possible to deny this fact in the effort to
be loyal to the Christian religion. Indeed, the Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ is most of all honored when his
The Messenger
WHAT was his name? I do not know his name.
I only know he heard God's voice and came,
Brought all he loved across the sea,
To live and work for God and me;
Felled the ungracious oak;
Dragged from the soil with horrid toil
The thrice-gnarled roots and stubborn rock,
With plenty piled the haggard mountainside,
And at the end, without memorial died.
No blaring trumpet sounded out his fame.
He lived — he died — I do not know his name.
No form of bronze and no memorial stones
Show me the place where lie his moldering bones.
Only a cheerful city stands
Builded by his hardened hands.
Only ten thousand homes,
Where every day the cheerful play
Of love and hope and courage comes.
These are his monument, and these alone.
There is no form of bronze, and no memorial stone.
And I?
Is there some desert or some pathless sea
Where Thou, Good God of angels, wilt send me?
Some oak for me to rend, some sod,
Some rock for me to break;
Some handful of his corn to take
And scatter far afield,
Till it in turn shall yield
Its hundredfold of grains of gold,
To feed the waiting children of my God.
Show me the desert, Father, or the sea,
Is it Thine enterprise? Great God, send me,
And though this body lie where ocean rolls
Count me among all Faithful Souls.
Author Unknown.
thoughtful Father-care for all peoples is discerned and
his self-disclosure to all who seek after him is recognized.
The Bible is never so self -vindicating as the supreme mes-
sage of the Highest to mankind as when it is compared and
contrasted with the other sacred books of the world.
It should be understood as well that the Bible is not
the word of God in any mechanical or literal sense. Such
a definition would place upon it a responsibility it is in
no way prepared to assume. It would imply that these
marvelous documents, whose moral value and literary
charm are perceived by all readers, are the direct utter-
ances of Deity, and therefore inerrant and authoritative
in all their parts. No careful study of the Scriptures can
justify this view.
g * «
The Bible is a human volume with a divine message.
The men who composed its various portions lived in dif-
ferent epochs and under varying conditions during a
period of something like a thousand years. They were
participants in a history which was more significant for
ethics and religion than any other in all the ages. Some
of them were the greatest spiritual leaders the world has
ever known. Such men as the great prophets, the apostles,
and most of all our Lord, have proved themselves the
religious masters of the world.
These men were the living embodiment of the spirit
of God. The life of God was in them in a unique degree.
In them the Word was made flesh in the visible forms of
human life. In varying manner and degree they spoke
for God because they had spoken with God. Some of
their messages were written down, either by themselves
or their friends. Any such writings would inevitably
possess something of the forcefulness and urgency of the
men from whom they came. That unique quality it is
not difficult to discover in much of the literature included
in the Bible.
We have no quarrel with the Bible because it does
not disclose these qualities in all of its parts in like
degree. If it did it might be more permissible to regard
it, as some have done, as an unvarying record of the mind
of God. But it is not a level book. Its inequalities of
content and spirit are apparent to the least discerning.
Some books in the collection are far more convincing,
authoritative, and inspiring than others. It is the product
of the spirit of God working in certain impressive lives
to the extent and at the level that such lives permitted.
But the result is unmistakable. The value of the
Bible is to be discovered, not in the claims that are made
for it, whether extravagant or restrained, but in the ends
which it achieves. In a sense the Bible is the product of
the church of God. But it is more than this. It is also
the guide and inspiration of the church. It records the
efforts of prophets and moral leaders to create a new and
higher social order in early times. It furnishes the only
authentic account we possess of the supreme life of the
ages, Jesus Christ. And it affords as a narrative of the
activities and utterances of his first interpreters and of
December 19, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
the Christian society which derived its creative and di-
recting impulses from him.
In a unique and unapproachable sense it is entitled
to the rank of a sacred book. Among the holy volumes
of the world it possesses a place of unquestionable primacy.
It is the record of the most exalted religious experience
in history. It gives the clearest account of the character
of God and the means of enjoying his fellowship. It
interprets to the inquiring spirit the secret of the sacrificial
and holy life. In the most authoritative sense it has the
right to be called the Word of God.
The above has been placed in convenient form by
The American Institute of Sacred Literature, Hyde Park,
Chicago, III., as one of its Five-Minute Leaflets — 50 cts. a
hundred copies. It is copyrighted by the University of
Chicago.
The Hour Has Come!
By Ernest H. Wray
JESUS knew that the cross was inevitable. After
three years of faithful and loving service, he came
at last to the crisis of his life, realizing full well
what it meant to him and his disciples. The hour has
come ! The world will never know what that hour meant
for Jesus. Most assuredly it was an hour of triumph,
glory and honor for the Son of Man, but it was also an
hour that held for him the gloom and loneliness and heart-
break of Gethsemane and the cross. Then, too, Jesus knew
that the hour had come, when the faith and devotion of
those disciples of his were going to be tried and when
they must either treacherously deny him as did Judas
or pay the price of their love for him in suffering, per-
secution and death.
After four years of war, — years that have witnessed
the most heinous crimes and the deepest sorrows of all
ages, — years that have been like one long nightmare of sor-
row and despair, — the hour has come, the hour that marks
the death of autocracy and the triumph of world democ-
racy. But let us remember that we are a nation facing
the most critical hour of our life and the world is going
to measure our patriotism not so much by our conserva-
tion of food and our buying of Liberty bonds, as by our
interest in sustaining the moral and spiritual forces which
represent the real life of our nation.
The hour has come when the largest task has been
shifted from the shoulders of our fighting men to the
shoulders of the Church. That will be a great day when
our boys come home again. Some of them will come with
bodies mangled and scarred, but their very scars will bear
eloquent testimony to the bravery of our men, in giving
their last full measure of devotion. And their faces will
be all aglow with the consciousness of having fought the
good fight and having won the victory, though it cost them
untold suffering, for righteousness and democracy. The
Church must now take up this fight, and transferring the
elements of struggle and sacrifice to the moral and spir-
itual realm, march on with our Great Commander toward
the consummation of the ages.
Buffalo, N. Y.
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The Church and Bolshevism
By William T. Ellis
MINGLED with America's jubilant peace celebrations
has been the note of uncertainty and questioning
concerning the new peril of Bolshevism which has
arisen like a portentous storm-cloud on the eastern horizon.
What is it? Why is it? What does it portend? If, as
is reported, it has become the religion of myriads of Rus-
sians and other eastern Europeans, what has it to say to
American Christianity? And what has Christianity to say
to social radicalism?
Suddenly aware of the gravity of this issue which is
dividing entire nations, and overturning old systems and
dynasties, American churches perceive that its importance
outranks all questions of reorganization and money-raising
for the coming days. If the nation must grapple with the
stupendous social challenge that has arrested and engrossed
the attention of Europe, then the churches are interested
above all other agencies of organized life; for social ques-
tions are within their distinctive sphere. We may expect
a widespread discussion of Europe's revolutions, and of
the significance of the wave of radicalism, in the pulpits
of the country.
WHAT IS BOLSHEVISM?
Certainly the churches should be sympathetic with
every movement tending toward social progress, the
amelioration of the masses, the righting of wrongs, and
the emancipation of all men everywhere from bondage of
mind or spirit or state. Often the contrary attitude is
charged against the churches. A hackneyed story has it
that a group of workingmen hissed the mention of the
church and cheered the name of Jesus. Radicals consist-
ently claim that the church is the defender and proponent
of the privileged classes, the hireling of aristocracy and
"big business."
Whatever occasion or color there may have been for
this indictment, it simply is not true as respects the Church
as a whole, and in her spirit and doctrine and member-
ship. While the awakening of the Church to her social
mission has been recent, it has been rapid. Hundreds of
books upon the social conception of Christianity have been
issued within a decade. That whatever affects human life
concerns the Church has now become almost axiomatic in
religious circles. There are no more ardent or clear-eyed
exponents of the new era of brotherhood, democracy and
justice than ministers of the Gospel, who are heralds of
the kingdom of God on earth.
Nevertheless, the churches will be found opposed to
Bolshevism, because of the essential nature of the latter.
That word "Bolshevik," by the way, was first applied to
the majority and radical party in a socialist convention in
Switzerland that split into parties. "Maximalist" is a
better understood word that means the same thing. Bol-
shevism is I. W. W.-ism, with the brakes off. It is more
than a revolt against social inequalities and injustices; it
is avowedly a class propaganda of hatred. It repudiates
all law and authority, human and divine, and frankly seeks
the subjugation and extinction, when convenient, of all
persons who do not belong to the proletariat. It knows
no right except the right of the toiler to rule.
red Russia's ruin
In Russia, that right has been bloodily exercised.
There is no accurate toll of deaths by violence. Nobody
but the peasants and the workingmen have any rights of
any sort that the Bolsheviks are bound to respect; that
has been the practical outworking of the red program.
National loyalty has been repudiated ; the Church has been
disowned ; marriage has been flouted ; property obligations
have been nullified; free speech and a free press have
been suppressed; self-government of neighboring nations
has been interfered with, and all the evils of autocracy
have been exceeded. Class rule from the top has been
succeeded by class rule from the bottom : both have proved
to be full of injustice and unrighteousness.
One is warranted, on the evidence of what has taken
place in Russia, in declaring that class rule, whether from
above or below, is a failure and a vicious thing; and the
real enemy of democracy. There a complaisant church
lent itself to an autocratic government; and it has reaped
the whirlwind in consequence. Out of this disaster will
surely arise in Russia the purified spirit of Christianity,
proclaiming a clear and simple gospel of justice and love;
of righteousness and goodwill; of tolerance and real
brotherhood. The present reign of hate cannot continue:
it has in itself the elements of its own destruction. The
only permanent remedy in sight is the establishment of the
ideals of Christianity.
is the church vulnerable?
In Russia, the adhesion of the State Church to the
autocratic regime has brought disaster upon it. Now that
Bolshevism is challenging the western world, the churches
must give themselves to self-examination. For if the
sincere and brotherly teachings of Jesus and of the New
Testament have been practiced, there can be no need for the
inauguration of another social order. Has the Church
been true to her doctrine? Or has she, as James points
out in his Epistle, shown special consideration to the man
in goodly raiment and of high estate ?
No fair-minded observer can claim that the churches
of America are subordinated to what the socialist calls
"the interests," and "plutocracy." Equally, though, no
fair-minded observer can deny that many individual
churches, especially in cities, and most denominations,
show special consideration to the wealthy and socially
prominent. "Leading layman" is fairly a synonym for a
man of wealth. A man does not need to display piety,
brains or activity in order to be listed as a "leading lay-
man ;" a large bank account, which is reasonably accessible
to church causes, and an occasional attendance upon church
service, are enough to enroll a man in this category of
eminence. Did anybody ever hear of a poor man, though
December 19, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
a saint, a scholar and a devoted Christian worker, becom-
ing a "leading layman?"
This condition proves the vulnerability of the Church.
To this extent she is a class organization. And in so far
as she has neglected to champion the cause of the op-
pressed, the neglected, the weak and the suffering, she has
opened herself to the shafts of the radical's criticism; and
what is more important, to the condemnation of her Lord.
It is a grievous sin that the Church has been so slow to
find her voice in championship of the lowly. In this she
has been negligent in following Jesus. For centuries she
condoned the classism of aristocracy; now she is menaced
by the classism of mobocracy. All the darkened minds
that have been engloomed in city tenaments; all the child
slaves of an iniquitous industrial system ; all the underpaid
and overworked toilers in mine and mill and field, rise up
in condemnation of the prophets of God who did not lift
their voices, as did Jesus in His very first sermon, in be-
half of these victims of wrong.
If there is alert leadership in the churches, the dom-
nant theme for many months to come in all religious con-
ventions and conferences and in the church press will be
the social message of Christianity to the present time.
This is the hour for the Church to act as a mediator and
interpreter. She must steady the thinking of the agitated,
and clarify the vision of the class-conscious at both ends
of the social scale. The relation of individual regeneration
to social reformation is the new message for the pulpit of
today.
American Christianity's part
America does not need nor desire Bolshevism. Des-
pite many evils, our people really enjoy true self-govern-
ment and democracy. They have a sense of fair play
which will save them from the excesses of the long-
oppressed Europeans. Our native stock will stand as a
stabilizer against the alien agitator — and most radicals
seem to have foreign names, and to have forsaken the faith
of their fathers. Democracy will increase in power and
in social sensitiveness. Patriotism will be a bulwark
against a miscalled "internationalism." Special privileges
will be curtailed. And religion will become the champion
of the rights and welfare of all classes, high and low.
The Face of Jesus Christ
By W. R. Nicoll
In the British Weekly
WE miss our way in the Gospel when we begin to
speculate about God as infinite and absolute and
unconditional. The high a priori road was
never meant for beings such as we are, in a world like
this. Even the angels who sat apart and reasoned of ab-
stractions found no end in wandering mazes lost. "It is
the great glory of God's revelation," as Dr. John Duncan
said, "that it has turned our abstracts into concretes." It
gives us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ. The Incarnation does not
announce a law or expound a philosophy, or demonstrate
a Great First Cause ; it confronts us with the countenance
of the Son of Man.
The New Testament vouchsafes hardly a hint about
the actual likeness of Jesus Christ in the days of his
flesh. We hear, indeed, of the charm which sounded in
his gracious words: but the rest is silence. Something
sealed the lips of the Evangelists from describing the out-
ward semblance of their Redeemer. The Hebrew prophet
had foreshadowed One whose visage was marred, an
afflicted sufferer without form or comeliness. Perchance
this gives some clue to the strange tradition that the Mes-
siah when he came had no human loveliness, still less any
celestial splendor. Yet, if it be true that bodily beauty
is meant to be the sacrament of goodness, there must have
been "something starry" in the lineaments of our Lord.
Even in his appearance he must have seemed fairer than
the children of men — "if sorrow had not made sorrow
more beautiful than beauty's self."
Moreover, our own experience teaches us that it takes
more than the mere features of a man's face to produce
the express image of his person. Victor Hugo has said
somewhere that "there is one thing more like us than our
face, and that is our expression ; and there is one thing
more like us than our expression, and that is our smile."
Perhaps the most intimate personal allusion which lingers
on the Gospel page is concerned with what we may rever-
ently describe as the expression of Jesus Christ. Again
and again the Evangelists refer to the look in his eyes.
We read that he looked round about upon the people, and
upon his disciples, and again that he looked up to heaven.
It is written that on the night of the betrayal and the
denial the Lord turned and looked upon Peter. "None
record that look, and none guess" ; but it was the glory of
God shining through eyes of undying tenderness which
drove Peter out to weep so bitterly.
THE EYES OF JESUS
Concerning the young man who had great possessions,
it is written that Jesus looking upon him loved him ; there
must have been something unutterable in that gaze. The
disciple whom Jesus loved has left us one parting glimpse
of the Lord in the light of the world to come: "His eyes
were as a flame of fire, and his countenance was as the sun
shineth in his strength." Yet again, "there is one thing
more like us than our expression, and that is our smile."
We read of tears on the countenance of the Man of Sor-
rows. Yet we are certain that he must have smiled —
once, at least, when he took little children up in his arms
and blessed them and said, "Suffer them to come unto me."
Surely in that hour the glory of God was cloudless in the
face of Jesus Christ.
It has often been remarked that the secrets of char-
acter will shine out clearly in a man's countenance at some
10
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
December 19, 1918
supreme experience of agony or exultation. In the thrill
of inarticulate rapture or freezing pain the inner self leaps
through its disguises and the real man looks at you — naked
in the baseness or the beauty of his soul. At such a mo-
ment you behold the martyr's face, as it had been the
face of an angel.
Christ's self-revelation
Now on two special occasions the Gospels record such
special self-revelation by Jesus Christ. Once, when he
was transfigured at the crisis and turning point of his
ministry, his countenance did shine as the sun and his
raiment did wax white as the light. It was on the Holy
Mount, where Moses and Elias appeared with him in glory,
and they spake of his decease which he should accom-
plish at Jerusalem. Those words carry the key to the
mystery of the Transfiguration. It was a conference con-
cerning death. And as the vision of all he must suffer
opened up before the Son of Man, God's visible glory over-
shadowed him as never before.
Once again, on the evening of his farewell, we read
how, supper being ended, he said unto Iscariot: "What
thou doest, do quickly." Judas, therefore, having re-
ceived the sop, immediately went out — and the Evangelist
adds "it was night" — night in that traitor soul. But there
was no night in the upper room. Therefore, when he was
gone out, Jesus said : "Now is the Son of Man glorified."
Now, when the latch has clicked behind the betrayer's
footsteps, when the darkness of dying spreads over his
own spirit, now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is
glorified in him. The divine radiance broke out most
clearly at the approach of the Cross. The glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ shone brightest of all when
that face was marred with bruises and crowned with
thorns for us men and for our salvation.
The Gospel is summed up in a face — and it is not in-
scrutable. Forty years ago Westcott had been preaching
The Dead to the Living
By Laurence Binyon
OYOU that still have rain and sun,
Kisses of children and of life,
And the good earth to tread upon,
And the mere sweetness that is life,
Forget not us, who gave all these
For something dearer, and for you!
Think in what cause we crossed the seas!
Remember, he who fails the challenge
Fails us, too.
Now in the hour that shows the strong —
The soul no evil powers affray —
Drive straight against embattled Wrong:
Faith knows but one, the hardest, way.
Endure ; the end is worth the throe.
Give, give; and dare, and again dare!
On, to that Wrong's great overthrow!
We are with you, of you ; we the pain and
Victory share.
in the University pulpit at Cambridge, and as two friends
walked away after the sermon one said to the other:
"Christianity must be simpler than that." Yes, we can
come into the presence of God's revelation of himself, and
interpret its meaning as those who are perusing a face.
Some of us have learnt long ago by homely experience
how to peruse a face. We have gazed at a care-worn
countenance with filial love, we have read wrinkles and
found them furrows where wisdom's corn grew, we have
read disfigurements and found them to be the scars of
time's warfare and the trophies of spiritual victory. We
have proved how a face can be more eloquent than any
speech. When he stands before his dead mother's picture
a son will cry: "O that those lips had language!" but
while she was living with him he often learned from her
mere look what words were too weak to tell.
SIGNIFICANCE OF SCARS
There is a poem by Mrs. Browning which describes
how someone was pressed and baffled with hard question-
ings until she could find no answer except this: "Look
in my face and see." How does Christ answer our per-
plexed questions about ourselves and our brothers, about
the meaning of this world and the mystery of the world
to come? How does he make our doubts remove — those
gloomy doubts that rise up to haunt us and daunt us in
lonely, sorrowful hours, when we wonder whether any
duty is certain and whether any sacrifice is worth while?
Our Lord does not respond by giving us definitions or ex-
planations : he simply confronts us with himself. He says,
in effect: "Look in my face and see. He that hath seen
me, hath seen the Father." It had not entered into our
hearts to conceive the secret majesty of the Most High.
But here is the eternal grandeur and glory — to eat and
drink with publicans and sinners, to carry the lambs in his
arms, to welcome the prodigals while they are yet a great
way off, to wipe away all tears from their eyes. It is the
glory of God that he bears all things and endures all
things for the sake of his children, that he exists from
eternity to eternity by giving himself away.
THE ETERNAL GRANDEUR
The fashion of this Countenance does not alter.
People may dispute about books of the Bible, or rites of
the Church, or clauses in the Creed, but they find little
room to dispute about the character of Christ himself.
Simple people have a plain enough idea of what manner of
man he is. Nay, he has changed our ideas about goodness,
so that we call a man good in proportion as he reminds
us of Christ. We can never dream of anyone nobler, or
purer, or braver, or more tender, or more faithful. The
best thing we can say about God is that He is like Christ.
His glory is in the face of Christ. And the expression of
that countenance beams as bright and clear as it shone in
the beginning. It knows no variableness; it is the same
yesterday, and today, and forever. When I lift my eyes
above the dust and conflict of things present and gaze into
the mists of far-away time :
"That One face, far from vanish, rather grows,
Or decomposes but to recompose,
Become my universe, that feels and knows."
Cjjrtstma* draper
AS the Christmas season draws near, our thoughts
turn instinctively to God. The voice of the Christ,
ever His spokesman, but often unheeded, becomes
winsome and compelling, as it is brought to us through the
lips of the child in the manger.
Surely on this Christmas, of all days, our ears must
be open to His call. The tumult of the battle is hushed
at last and men can hear again with thankful hearts the
Christmas message — peace, good-will. From the past with
its sad story of sin and shame our thoughts turn to the
future with its new hope for men and for nations, and we
thank God and take courage.
It is fitting that we should do so together. At this
Christmas season when hearts are sensitive to influences
from the unseen shall there not rise to God from our
homes and from our churches a common thanksgiving and
a common intercession?
Let us thank Him for the coming of peace, that the
energies that have hitherto been concentrated upon slaugh-
ter and destruction are now released to nobler uses and we
can begin again to heal and to build.
Let us thank Him for the vindication of righteousness,
that the peace which has come is a righteous peace, justify-
ing our faith in the sovereignty of justice in the affairs of
nations and opening to all the peoples the possibility of
achieving liberty under law.
Let us thank Him for the new revelation of the spirit
of service in the heart of humanity, that the summons to
sacrifice has not gone unheeded, but in every nation men
and women at the call of country have freely given their
all, even life itself.
Above all, let us thank Him for the new demonstration
of the unity of mankind, that the word of Scripture, that
God has made of one all the nations to dwell together upon
the face of the earth has been burned into the consciousness
of the peoples, till it has become the most pressing con-
cern of statesmen, as it has ever been the prayer of prophet
and of saint.
But with thanksgiving there is need also of consecra-
tion and intercession. In the nation, in the church, in the
world, in our own lives, we face unfinished tasks for which
our own unaided strength is too weak. Momentous issues
confront us, for which we need guidance from above. While
we were at war we were swept along on the tide of a con-
tagious enthusiasm. Now that we are at peace we face
our tasks soberly and without illusion.
Let us pray for His presence in our own lives, that as
God was made man in Jesus Christ and dwelt among us —
the Word incarnate — so Christ may so possess our lives
that we may become interpreters of God to men, living
epistles read and known of all men.
Let us pray for His presence in our national life, that
we may be one in the spirit of faith and service, realizing
in all our relationships, social, individual, political, racial,
the principles of justice, liberty and brotherhood which we
have been fighting to make possible for others.
Let us pray for our soldiers and sailors, that as they
come back to the country for which they have given and
risked so much they may bring with them a spirit of loy-
alty and self-sacrifice that will reveal to us our better selves ;
and may we who have remained at home, serving behind the
line in factory, in office, on the farm and in the home, meet
them in the same spirit, and together reconsecrate our-
selves to new service in no less exacting, if less dramatic,
responsibilities than the old.
Let us pray for all who suffer in mind and body, and
all who minister to their suffering; for the sick and the
wounded, for the fatherless and the widows, for the home-
less and for the starving, for those who miss vanished
faces and those who mourn lost ideals, that God may be
with them to comfort and to heal. And that those who
minister to them in Christ's name — chaplains, doctors,
nurses, workers in Christian associations and Red Cross,
ministers of religion, men and women of good-will every-
where, may carry with their ministry of helpfulness and
healing the gift of a living faith in the living and loving
God.
Let us pray for the unity of nations, that those who
meet at the peace table may put away all thought of self
and pride of will, and that out of their deliberations may
come the foundations of a new international order, in
which free peoples shall learn to live together in mutual
helpfulness and self-respect.
Let us pray for the unity of the church of Christ, that
what we seek for the world may first be realized in the
church, that we may be one in faith in God, our Father, in
love for man, our brother, in loyalty to Christ, our Saviour,
in complete submission to the Spirit, our sanctifier, and that
this inner union of spirit may be manifest in common wor-
ship and in common service, that the world may believe
that God has sent Christ to be the Saviour of the world.
Above all, let us pray for God's blessing upon all who
are called to leadership in church and state, that they may
be single in mind and heart, and in the spirit of Christ, who
was willing to die that others might live, seek only to do
the will of God as God through Christ shall make it known
to them.
Finally, let us pray for the outpouring of the divine
Spirit in all the world, that the spirit of Christ may rule in
the hearts of men everywhere, the spirit of penitence and
humility, the spirit of consecration and service, the spirit
of faith and of courage, the spirit of love that bears all
things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures to
the end.
And let us ask in faith, counting nothing too hard for
God, but remembering the word of our Lord to his dis-
ciples, with man it is impossible, but with God all things
are possible.
With this prayer and in this spirit let us go forward
together into the new year and the new age.
John R. Mott, General Secretary,
Young Men's Christian Association.
Frank Mason North, President,
Federal Council of the Churches of Christ, in
America.
Robert E. Speer, Chairman,
General War-Time Commission of the Churches.
Mabel Cratty, General Secretary,
Young Women's Christian Association.
The
aily
Alt
i
Edited by HERBERT LOCKWOOD WILU
WHY THIS BOOK?
NE of the most vital needs of modern religion is the
daily practice of the presence of God. To miss
the joy and inspiration of regular and habitual
periods of devotion is a distinct limitation of re-
ligious interest and efficiency, if not utterly fatal
to the spiritual life.
Especially in this great moment of the world's history it
is of basic importance that the deep sources of religious insight
and power should be quickened and nourished. The tragedies
of war have sent the suffering and bereaved of all the nations
back to the springs of their comfort in God. The revolution
that is taking place in every department of the world's life, in
industry, in commerce, in education, in national and interna-
tional relations, and in ethics and religion makes it evident that
the foundations of our faith must be laid deeper than ever
before, and that our convictions regarding the immeasurably
significant things of the spirit must be more than ever assured
and confident. This result can be attained not by any imper-
sonal development of the institutions of religion, but by the
enrichment and growth of religion in the personal life of men
and women.
The acquirement by the individual Christian and the family
circle of the habit of methodical devotion is a means of serenity
and power. Yet one of the regrettable features of our modern
life is the neglect of private prayer and the family altar. Like
that altar which Elijah found at Carmel, it is broken down and
abandoned. In the homes of many Christians who were reared
in an atmosphere of domestic piety, little heed is taken to the
culture of mind and heart in the great essentials of Bible study
and prayer. Many such Christians are conscious of a very real
deficit in their own religious life, as a result of this neglect.
With the purpose of meeting in an entirely simple and
practical manner some of the needs of individuals and house-
holds in the attainment of the sense of spiritual reality, this
book has been prepared. It contains brief selections for each
day. It is adjusted to use in any year. In addition to the
regular selections, there will be found outstanding days in the
calendar, which may be used at the appropriate times. A few
simple forms of grace at table are added, and the necessary
indices are provided.
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A SAMPLE PAGE
Twentieth Week
THE DAILY ALTAR
spottDap
Theme for the Day — The Blessedness of Daily Work,
Our daily work is part of God's plan for us — and a
large and basic part. We must avoid that fallacy so com-
mon among religious people that work is secular and wor-
ship is religious. Work is religious, if it is good work well
done. Indeed, good work, be it ever so commonplace, is a
form of worship. Out of it grows character. God reveals
Himself increasingly in our times in the work-a-day life of
men. He calls us to take up our tasks, with all their
drudgery and exactions, in a spirit of joy and patience and
courage.
+
Scripture — Man goeth forth unto his work, and to his
labor until the evening. — Psalm 104 : 22.
+
Forenoon, and afternoon, and night; — Forenoon,
And afternoon, and night; Forenoon, and — what?
The empty song repeats itself. No more?
Yea, that is life; make this forenoon sublime,
This afternoon a psalm, this night a prayer,
And time is conquered, and thy crown is won.
Edward Rowland Sill ("The Day").
+
Prayer — Good Father, Thou hast set before us a goodly
heritage, and the lines are fallen to us in pleasant places.
We have our daily work and our nightly rest, and blessings
enough to make us ever grateful. Save us, we pray Thee,
from discontent, from depression of spirit and from thank-
lessness. Make us strong and of good courage. Suffer us
not to grow weary in our task, nor to faint in our pilgrim-
age. So shall we be fitted for higher blessings and nobler
service in a world without end. — Amen.
[135]
700 East 40th Street, CHICAGO
The Moral Aftermath of War— I.
War Emotions vs.
Patriotic Convictions
ALL our moral reactions to war are not deepened into
stable convictions. Many of them are emotional reac-
tions. The war emergency enlisted enthusiasms that
overcame steady habits of living and thinking and turned
many a selfish person into a generous giver for the time
being. It suppressed habits of dissipation and wastefulness
and inhibited desires for pleasure. Many a giddy young thing
became filled with a heroic desire to be a nurse behind the
battle lines and multitudes of men who were never noted for
civic principles became flaming apostles of patriotism, anxious
to face the dangers of battle. Women who took the Red
Cross training course refuse now by thousands to use it to
nurse influenza victims and people who led in war enterprises
are withdrawing in large numbers, though the need for their
work is as great as ever.
We read of German soldiers singing on their way home
and of Munich cafes being full of young women, both classes
acting more like they had won victory than as if submerged
in the gray despair of defeat. These are largely people whose
reactions to war were emotional and not matters of convic-
tion. The German soldier who puts a green sprig in his cap
and sings as he marches home in defeat followed the patriotic
appeal to die for the Fatherland with an enthusiasm that made
him brave death eagerly, but he did not enlist because he
believed in the cause or knew anything about it; he responded
to the deft play of the leaders upon his primitive emotion as
a patriot. It was never his to reason why but to fight for
the Fatherland. When defeat stared him in the face his
enthusiasm cooled. Why die for a losing issue? And for the
first time he inquired about the reality of the issue. Ration-
ally he was not following a Cause; he was following leaders.
His love of life had been suppressed by their appeal to his
patriotism — and that primitive, non-rationalized love of
Fatherland filled him with a holy enthusiasm. Defeat awak-
ens him. His normal love of life arises and he sings because
he can go heme and he turns a deep hate against the auto-
crats who misled him.
The gay cafe crowds illustrate another phase of this same
condition. They are not celebrating their country's defeat;
they are ignoring it. Natural exuberance plays over the long
suppressed social instincts and they are gay in spite of all
that is rational. Few of them are celebrating the overthrow
o-f the autocracy; their response to the revolution is of the
same emotional nature as was their response to the call of war.
It is simply a reaction of suppressed emotion and they are
gay for the same reason that a girl giggles after .serious
things have happened or people sometimes forget themselves
and talk laughingly at funerals. For this same reason the
customary inhibitions and conventions regarding sex and
domestic relations broke down in France and England in a
multitude of cases and perfectly respectable folk did things
of which they will never tell or wish told when normal events
restore them to the usual courses of habitual living.
Unleashing the
Prisoners of War
Multitudes made prisoners of their usual selves during
the war because they were caught up in the wave of patriot-
ism and exalted by it into servants of a great cause. Selfish-
ness, habits of easy spending, the coddling of luxuriousness,
profit mongering, class hate, loose and thoughtless living and
all the brood of self-loving, habitual and easy-going habits
were arrested and the better self put in stern command to
meet the emergency. This was not true of all. Some made
mart of war and sought to trade on the morals and blood of
their fellow-men.
Now war is over and the prisoners, the real permanent
selves, are released and they come back with pent-up energy.
The war emotion did not deepen into abiding conviction; it
never became a guiding will for life. Instead, the feeling now
is that the loss must be made good. The bent-under bough
returns with a swish and force that bodes no good to him who
stands in the way. He that was filthy remains filthy still and
the very experience of tense emotion to which the natural man
was subjected becomes a dynamic to drive harder; the unrea-
soning feeling that carried him on with the crowd to the
heights breaks over like the crest of a tide when the barrier
is removed. The emotional dynamic is there, but it is sud-
denly unleashed from its well directed course and left to
waste itself upon whatever may be in its way. Thus heroic
soldiers loot as they return from the battle-field, men able
to command their lives into the face of death turn with like
determination to do unlawful things, forces mobilized on class
lines for war gather their hosts for a class war upon those
with whom they have labored under war's truce for the time
being, evils prohibited as a war measure confidently count upon
returning with the "lid" off to feed the riot of appetite that
flows like an ebb tide back from the front.
In other words, the accentuated heroisms of war do not
necessarily promise a continuance of the same heroic virtues
in times of peace. Indeed they may bring only a reversion
from them. The French chauvinist who criticises the league
of nations idea by saying the dream is of a golden age but
that the American President has not yet done the eminently
necessary thing of creating a new humanity founds his crit-
icism upon a fact. When war is upon us we can be heroic
Allies; as soon as it is over we become clamorous nationalists.
We suppressed our narrow nationalism to meet the emer-
gency, but now it comes back with a whang. We adjourned
politics to win the war, but now it comes back with a clamor-
ous cheapness that pits shallow partisanship against the high
ideals for which we fought. We brought capital and labor
together in a worthy cooperation to feed the insatiable maw
of war and raised production to unheard of levels, but now
we hear the ominous growls of the class war arising. We
arose to high levels of promise for religious unity and now
the very committees appointed to arrange the fraternal con-
ferences throw the levers into the wheels and obstruct the
process. We prohibit the liquor traffic to save the waste of
both food and morale, and now the brewers are willing to
gamble millions upon a campaign to defeat permanent pro-
hibition because they believe the whole crusade will suffer
this type of a reaction. We arose above race prejudice and
fought together as brothers, and now we are in danger of
so undiscriminatingly hating the German that our aversion to
him will form the ground-work for a hate of any race that
crosses our pathway. We arose to high levels of self-abnega-
tion to win the war; will we return now to our old selves
determined to make up all we lost by the sacrifice?
What Will the
Harvest Be?
The ebb tides of war passion will destroy much for which
we had hoped under the exaltations of service and devotion
to a great cause. The prisoner selves will not all be con-
verted; many will come back made worse by the character of
their confinement. The barbarism of battle will have over-
thrown much that was high and holy in the war. Multitudes
of emotional natures will have been made more emotional
and superficial still; the exchange of vocation will simply be
from the unselfish to the selfish and the power strengthened
in a good cause will have become greater to promote one that
is evil. Rushing rivers that ran over power wheels may be
turned into floods that destroy. But some things will have
deepened into convictions and the sober rationalizing that is
bound to take place will build more and more of those things
December 19, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
15
good brought out by war's emergency into the enduring fabric
of our social life.
War requires great emphasis upon love of country and
results in a revival of nationalism. After four years of war
as united nations we face the peace conference with this
accentuated sense of national feeling and the old nationalistic
ideals shout loudly for preference. How much of the unity
attained will we be able to save for the new era through
international action? How deeply has the crime of breaking
the unity of the world cut into our old nationalistic chauvin-
isms? Certainly we will be able now to get a start toward
world federation and a chance to evolve in that direction. War
tends to drive hate deep and accentuate racial discriminations,
but in this war many races battled together. Will we be able
to hate the German and discriminate against him, yet soften
the old racial lines to any degree? Will Allies soon lose
mutual regard in petty scrambles for priority in settlement,
disagree over a division of Germany's colonies and ships and
set up diplomatic hostilities through the old game of advan-
tage in the future world of trade? Certainly a large degree
of mutual regard and racial respect must emerge from this
magnificent fellowship in arms for a common cause and re-
sult in entente cordials of lasting duration between the great
powers and a larger measure of rights to the weaker races
represented. Class lines were erased in order that the nations
might present a united front, but there are signs aplenty
that each class will endeavor to take advantage of the situa-
tion to push its class claims. Capital was enlisted in great
enterprises and offered alluring profits. Will it use its gains
to promote a continuance of profits and to establish priority
in trade? Labor was guaranteed immunity from many of its
old troubles and gained much for which it had long been
working. Will it proclaim a class war of selfish type by use
of its enlarged rights?
How much of the old will come back? How much of the
new will we be able to build into the world of tomorrow? It
all depends upon how largely we are Christians in facing these
issues. If there is a fundamental Christian conviction within
us that will serve as a mediating principle for the resolution
of all the emotions and lessons of the war we will make
progress toward the Kingdom of God. If we relegate our
religion to the circumscribed round of personal daily rela-
tions and still follow the devil in our class and race and
national relations we will gain no more than selfish policy
dictates. If we really believe in Jesus Christ and His King-
dom we will dare to do the right, even the ideal thing, in
faith that there is a ruler in the universe who will conserve
,he resul,s- Alva W. Taylor.
CORRESPONDENCE
Repression of Free Discussion
Editor of The Christian Century:
THERE appeared some time ago in the "Century" a very
striking article from William E. Barton in which he said,
"We have come to a time when discussion is viewed with
disfavor." He went at length to show how measures were
railroaded through and discussion shut off. This has caused
much reflection and I have read his words over again. It is
a serious reflection to think now what the Church might have
done to have prevented the ten million murders and all tears
and agony and blood of the war. Not only do I dare say that
if there had been a Christian Church in Germany attending to
its first business the war never could have begun there, but
I also say that the Christian Church of other nations and of
America, if it had done its duty, might have gone far toward
preventing it.
As I am not aware that the question was ever broached
or discussed in the great conventions, I lay the blame of the
war at the feet of all conventions of religion in the measure
of their ability to stop the murder game of kings and rich
It is not too late for you to send
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"The Daily Altar." This is the
most beautiful book ever pub-
lished by the Disciples of Christ,
and there is not in existence a
manual of devotion that can be
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The Christian Century Press
700 East 40th Street, Chicago
16
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
December 19, 1918
men in war. I do not think any convention of late years would
allow the question to be opened for discussion and this is my
opinion also of the religious press.
What seems to have happened to our one time free
discussion and seeking for the truth is this. The time came
when the call for money was hindered by the discussion
over societies and the organ and the like, and seeing we
had conquered a territory of some hundreds of thousands
of members we began to enter upon the spoils of our victory
and to "look back with pride" upon our conquests and to or-
ganize most efficiently for getting the largest possible amount
of money to make new converts no better than ourselves in
this respect.
Our people became obsessed of a body of teaching which
resulted in a painful narrowness compared with those advances
in Bible knowledge and the experience of ongoing time and
now the old free discussions are passing away, leaving us in
"a state of arrested development."
Chicago, 111. Jasper S. Hughes.
Corrects "Century" Statement
In your issue of November 14th you state that C. C. Converse,
who recently died at his home in Englewood, N. J., was the author
of the hymn, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." Permit me to
make this correction : Mr. Converse wrote the tune to which this
hymn is usually sung. The hymn was written by Joseph Scriven,
who was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1820. At twenty-five he was
graduated from Trinity College. The accidental death by drowning
of his fiance on the eve of their wedding day led him to write this
hymn and to consecrate his life to the service of Christ.
Indianapolis, Ind. W. E. M. Hackleman.
Some Postscripts
The Christian Century is an excellent religious journal. From
both a spiritual and literary viewpoint it is very satisfactory.
Blackwell, Okla. C. B. May.
The "Century" is getting better all the time.
Cleveland, O. Harris R. Cooley.
* * *
The Century is keeping up well. Congratulations are in
order ! Verle W. Blair.
Eureka, 111.
* * *
Allow me to say that I am delighted with The Christian Cen-
tury. Jackson Smith.
Beckley, W. Va.
* * *
Sometimes our Century gets mislaid; when this occurs, if
you could see the "search and seizure" party at work, you might
get some idea of our appreciation of John R. Ewers' Sunday
school lesson notes. Charles Traxler,
Cuyahoga Falls, O.
The Sunday School
Ebbing Tides*
THIS is Review Sunday, and why should we look back over
the past quarter only? This is the last Sunday in 1918 —
why should we not sweep our eyes over the entire year, and
why should we not carefully note what religious progress we have
made this year?
Our lesson is entitled "Faith's Victories" — a very broad theme,
for if there have been victories they must have sprung from our
faith; and, conversely, if there have been failures they must have
sprung from our lack of faith. Victory depends upon the vivid-
ness and vitality of our conception of Jesus. Believing Him, trust-
ing Him, relying upon Him, following Him means certain victory.
We may take stock of our faith today.
Of what avail are the victories of ancient Abraham unless
trusting in God I venture forth to do brave things for Him? Of
what avail the constant life of Isaac unless I can keep my faith
unshaken to the end? Of what value the wrestlings of Jacob
unless I, too, pray mightily to my God? Of what account the
study of Joseph unless I, too, maintain my integrity and upright-
ness in the presence of the living God? Have these ancient
worthies stimulated me to my victories in the past year?
The war has made all things new. Already we are dwelling
in a new environment. Everywhere the soldier, everywhere the
flag, everywhere the liberty loan and the savings stamp, everywhere
the blazing headline telling of the sacrificial deed, everywhere the
church moving swiftly toward organic union, everywhere doctrines
being shoved into second place before the supreme worth of actual
deed (creed giving place to need), everywhere the Red Cross and
the Red Triangle. The war is testing us as by fire! Hay, wood
and stubble are burning into ashes to be scattered by the winds;
gold, silver and precious stones are being refined and purified.
The tides of the old year are ebbing. Let them carry away
all of your sins, all of your shortcomings, all of your doubts and
all of your conceits. We are very humble at the end of this old
year. Let us examine certain virtues brought out by the war to
see how we have developed for this year.
Take generosity. The war has shattered all of our old stand-
ards of giving. We have been spending billions to win the war.
Taxes have jumped enormously and not a whimper has arisen;
gladly the people have responded. The Red Cross and the Y. M. C.
A. have been most generously received. Liberty bonds and savings
stamps have been purchased in unbelievable amounts. The Men
and Millions movement has swept through our churches asking for
an emergency fund. Our local charities have made unusual de-
*Lesson for Dec. 29. Scripture Reading, Heb. 11:8-22.
400,000 Children are
Starving in Bible Lands
TO-DAY
Sunday School Visitation Day
December First
Offering— THE CHRISTMAS SEASON
Immediate Need - $30,000,000
Sunday School Goal 2,000,000
For Literature and Programs address
David H. Owen
AMERICAN COMMITTEE OF
Armenian and Syrian Relief
1 Madison Ave., New York City
December 19, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
17
mands and our local church has had its needs. How have I meas-
ured up in generosity ? Have I approached one-tenth ? Have I sur-
passed it? Have I grown in generosity? Have I smashed my old
standards for all time? This is a great problem to face in this
hour. May the ebbing tide carry away all my stinginess.
Take bravery. I am just in receipt of a letter from one of my
lads in France. He talks about the American spirit; how the
Americans wanted to get into the fight and clean things up for
decency and democracy. Brave as tigers — the bravest men that
ever lived. Reared and trained as civilians, but when the need
arises, plunging into the world war as they never did into busi-
ness; finding in unselfish service a greater zest than ever they
did in any form of life before. Then one has to think of the sur-
passing bravery of the mothers of our soldiers and the patient
endurance of the fathers. Let all cowardice vanish on the ebbing
tides.
Take vital religion. Creeds are done for ; God has secured
recognition. Jesus has come to his own. Let all practical atheism
drift away on the outgoing tides of the year, all ready for 1919 —
a glorious year. JOHN R. EWERS.
Disciple Leaders on Disciples' Issues
Seven Propositions for the Critics of the
College of the Bible
By E. L. Powell,
Pastor First Christian Church, Louisville, Ky.
IN view of the charges of the self-constituted Bible College
League and the Christian Standard against the College of
the Bible, I submit the following propositions:
First — The Trustees, President and Faculty of the College
of the Bible, emphatically declare that they are loyal in
thought, in heart, in conscience, in teaching, in preaching and
practice to the genius and spirit and principles of the religious
body now generally known as the Disciples of Christ.
Second — The fundamental principle of Protestantism, ac-
cepted from the beginning by the Disciples of Christ, and that
which alone gives meaning to the existence of this religious
body, is the right of private interpretation. The Faculty of
Transylvania and the College of the Bible has claimed and
exercised this liberty, within the clearly recognized limitations
imposed by the authority of Jesus Christ, this unseen and
spiritual authority always guiding, directing, restraining and
saving institutions and students from any touch or taint of
destructive criticism.
Third — In the exercise of this Protestant liberty within
such bounds as conscious loyalty to Jesus Christ imposes, the
Faculty cannot be persuaded that the Lord of the conscience
either requires or is pleased with intellectual dishonesty on
the part of Christian institutions appointed to lead the minds
of youth in thinking God's thoughts after Him.
Fourth — The issue raised by the Bible College League
and the Christian Standard is academic liberty vs. Ecclesias-
tical authority. This attempted ecclesiastical authority over
the administration and instruction of a Christian institution is
a contradictory and impossible thing among the Disciples of
Christ, and nothing less than a betrayal of our cause, and an
insult to Him who said, "Ye shall know the truth and the
truth shall make you free."
Fifth — The President and Faculty of the College of the
Bible have a right to ask their critics what they would have
the professors teach, since they so loudly object to what is
tr.ught. How shall the professors discover any departure
from a given standard if no such standard is provided? Let
the critics furnish the creed and then let the professors be
measured as to their conformity. Without a prepositional
creed dealing with the subject matter to be taught as con-
tained in the Bible, Philosophy, Science, with what fairness
can it be charged that the professors are disloyal to the
accepted teaching of the Fathers? What is the accepted
teaching?
Sixth — The Faculty has a right to challenge the Christian
Standard and the self-constituted Bible College League to
prepare and publish a creed as interpretative of the teachings
and traditions of the Disciples of Christ, and to mark it, in a
single syllable, authoritative.
Seventh — In the meantime and until the professors shall
be shown a better way, they have a right to claim and exer-
cise their liberty in Christ, happy in their fellowship with the
religious body whose electric words are Liberty, Loyalty,
Democracy and Union, refusing to be turned aside from the
simple and delightful path of ever advancing knowledge and
ever increasing responsibility and opportunity. I appeal from
their critics to the Christ of conscience.
* * *
Heretics and Heresies
A HERETIC is one who destroys the faith of others in
Jesus, our Lord, and there is no place for that kind of
man in the church. But there is more than one kind of
heretic. The one who destroys faith by his preaching and
teaching is easily disposed of and the churches generally do
that by stopping his pay and allowing his time to go on. Really
the teacher of heresy is not the most dangerous. There are
other destroyers of faith that go far beyond him in power and
in evil results.
These last are not preachers, but laymen, and they do their
evil work in their relations with man and in their daily prac-
tices.
Here is one, for instance, who is personally clean and he
often stands at the Lord's table. The village had no facilities
for the social life of the young and the young women asked
him if they might have the church building for three evenings
a week to supply this necessity to young life. They offered
to ask two or three of the good ladies to chaperone these eve-
nings, and observe all the properties. But the great man who
controlled the church promptly, and with much righteous in-
dignation, squarely and bluntly refused them their reasonable
request, and he did it on the ground that the building was "the
most sacredest place in the world," and it must not be defiled!
In a word, he was still living in the middle ages and had not
learned that our Lord held that the most sacred thing in the
world is human life. He was willing for the young to go to
ruin, as they often do in villages, in order to save a building
made of brick and mortar. These young people will be de-
prived of the memory that when they needed it most the
friendship and protection of the church was given them.
Another example of the working of this kind of heresy
was found in the case of another prominent member, and
man of business, who had a retail store in which he employed
several lady clerks. While he stood at the Lord's table of
Sundays, during the week he worked these clerks overtime,
contrary to the law of his state, and oppressed them in other
ways, and yet he wondered and scolded because the young
people would not come to church. Of course, he attributed
their indifference to the inability of the preacher to "draw"
and he was active in securing the removal of the good man
at the end of the year. However, this man was also a stickler
for what he called soundness in the faith, and he carefully
quizzed every preacher, before admitting him to the pulpit,
that he might be sure he would not betray the faith!
— Secretary J. Fred Jones of Oklahoma, in the Christian Courier.
The Larger Christian World
A Department of Interdenominational Acquaintance
\1Mi
Agreement on
Church Unity
THE leaders of the Established Church and the Free
Church in England have been able to adopt a program
for the union of the Christians of Great Britain which
will be put before the leaders of both groups for adoption in
the near future. Only a war year would have prevented the
world from pausing to study this movement which is most
significant of the trend that is setting in in the direction of
unity. The following are the principles which will underlie
this union: "1. That continuity with the historic episcopate
should be effectively preserved. 2. That, in order that the
rights and responsibilities of the whole Christian community
in the government of the Church may be adequately recog-
nized, the episcopate should re-assume a constitutional form,
both as regards the method of the election of the bishop, as
by clergy and people, and the method of government after
election. It is perhaps necessary that we should call to mind
that such was the primitive ideal and practice of episcopacy,
and it so remains in many episcopal communions today.
3. That acceptance of the fact of episcopacy, and not any
theory as to its character, should be all that is asked for.
We think that this may be the more easily taken for granted
as the acceptance of any such theory is not now required of
ministers of the Church of England. It would no doubt be
necessary before any arrangement for corporate reunion could
be made to discuss the exact functions which it may be agreed
to recognize as belonging to the episcopate, but we think
this can be left to the future."
Philadelphia Conference
on Church Unity
The Philadelphia Conference on Church Unity called by
action of the Presbyterian Assembly of last spring held a
harmonious session December 4 to 6. Among the denomi-
nations represented were the Congregationalists, the Disciples,
the Evangelical Synod, the Methodist Episcopal Church, the
Moravians, the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A., the
Protestant Episcopal Church, the Reformed Church in the
U. S., the Society of Friends and the United Presbyterian
Church. At the close of the conference, a series of resolu-
tions was unanimously adopted as a tentative program, in-
cluding the following:
"That the members of this conference from each com-
munion be asked as soon as possible to appoint representa-
tives on an ad interim committee to carry forward the move-
ment toward organic union.
"The committee shall be composed of one member from
each communion, and one additional member for each 500,000
communicants or fraction thereof.
"The same privilege of membership on the committee
shall be extended to evangelical denominations not repre-
sented here.
"The members of the committee appointed by the Pres-
byterian Church in the United States are asked to act as the
nucleus and convener of the committee.
"This committee shall be charged with these duties:
"Develop and use at its discretion agencies and methods
for discovering the creating interest in the subject of organic
union throughout the churches of the country.
"Make provision for presenting, by personal delegations,
or otherwise, to the national bodies of all the evangelical
communions of the United States urgent invitations to par-
ticipate in an interdenominational council on organic union.
"Lay before the bodies thus approached the steps neces-
sary for the holding of such council, including the plan and
basis of representation and the date of the council, which
shall be as early as possible, and in any event not later than
1920.
"To prepare for presentation to such council when it
shall assemble a suggested plan or plans of organic union."
Need for More
Y. M. C. A. Workers
The Y. M. C. A. is building up a vast army of lay re-
ligious workers, far more significant than the religious orders
of the middle ages. The increase in funds has put a great
burden on the War Personnel Board in the selection of addi-
tional workers. Sunday, December 1, was designated as Red
Triangle Day and on this day the ministers were requested
to ask for the recruiting of aid for service across the seas.
The overseas workers will be used in a program of county
work when they return from France and the Y. M. C. A.
will be offering cooperation with practically all the village
and rural churches under this program to aid in interesting
men and boys in religious work.
Portrait of Bishop of
Oxford for America
The visit of the Bishop of Oxford to this country is con-
sidered a noteworthy event which should be commemorated
in fitting manner. A movement is now on foot to raise two.
thousand dollars with which to have a portrait of the bishop
made by Mrs. Rieber, the well-known artist, and presented to
the library of the General Theological Seminary of New York
(Episcopalian). The artist's fee will be turned over to the
fund for Armenian and Syrian relief. The bishop has recently
given her a sitting in the Red Cross room of the Yale Club.
Institute of
Applied Christianity
The government has been able to enlist the service of
dollar-a-year men during the war for the service of the coun-
try, but the Institute of Applied Christianity in New York
undertakes to enlist business men all the time for a service
to religion which may be rendered without interruption of
their business activities. A thousand men have been under
instruction by this institution the past year and many of these
have served a night a week in Red Cross booths. Religious
business men of New York support the Institute with con-
tributions of from $25 to $100 a year. Some well-known busi-
ness men are sponsors of the enterprise.
Chicago Y. M. C. A.
War Service
The list of accomplishments of the Y. M. C. A. in Chicago
in connection with the war during the past six months repre-
sents a most remarkable record. Fifty-eight workers were
sent out on seventy-six trains and helped serve nearly
thirty-five thousand men on their way to war camps. They
met men on 254 trains during a stop-over in Chicago, serving
nearly a hundred thousand soldiers and sailors. Sleeping
accommodations were provided for more than a hundred thou-
sand men and meals were served to 175,000. Lectures and
entertainments were provided for 31,485 men and religious
meetings for 9,242.
Laymen Head of Commission
on Evangelism
The Commission on Evangelism of the Federal Council has
selected as secretary Mr. James M. Speers, a prominent New
York business man, who has been identified with many of
the religious movements of the time. He has accepted his
appointment at the hands of President Frank Mason North
and will begin his work at once.
Orvis F. Jordan.
December 19, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
19
News of the Churches
Day of Prayer at Euclid
Avenue, Cleveland, O.
Wednesday, December 4th, was ob-
served as a Day of Prayer at Euclid
Avenue, Cleveland, O., to which work
J. H. Goldner has ministered for many
fruitful years. This was the schedule of
the day as arranged by Mr. Goldner:
From 6:30 a. m. to 7:30 a. m. — under the
auspices of the Men's class. From 10:30
a. m. to 11:30 a. m. — under the auspices
of the Women's Missionary society.
From 1:30 p. m. to 2:30 p. m.— under the
auspices of the Ladies league. From
4:00 p. m. to 5:00 p. m. — under the aus-
pices of the King's Daughters. From
7:30 p. m. to 8:30 p. m.— the entire
church assembling for prayer. Nineteen
"objects of intercession" were listed on
the program of the day. Euclid Avenue
will hold a three months' campaign or
evangelism beginning January 1. This
plan has proved a very fruitful one with
the Cleveland church.
The Next Congress of the
Disciples of Christ
Problems of readjustment, Christian
doctrine and other phases of the work
of the brotherhood will be considered in
the program for the next Congress of
the Disciples of Christ. The sessions
will be held at Lexington, Ky., Apr. 22-
24. The program committee consists
of: George A. Compbell, St. Louis, Pres.;
F. E. Lumley, Indianapolis, Vice Pres.;
E. B. Barnes, Cleveland, Sec; W. E. M.
Hackleman, Indianapolis, Treas.
Campbell Institute To Publish
"The Scroll"
The Campbell Institute begins the new
year with the publication of The Scroll,
which continues the Institute Bulletin.
IThe same writers will continue with The
Scroll with the addition of others. It
lis part of the function of The Scroll to
discover writing talent and to encourage
the production of articles from various
sources. O. F. Jordan, the editor-in-chief,
has served in this capacity for eight
years and will contribute live editorials
on the program of the successful church.
Dr. E. S. Ames, whose trenchant pen has
made him known to a large public, will
write each month, on topics related to
his concept of religion. Professor Robert
E. Park, of the University of Chicago,
department of sociology, will write upon
social topics. Prof. Lee E. Cannon is
alive to the new religious tendencies in
contemporaneous literature and will in-
terpret these. Eleven departments of
scholarly interest will be covered by
editors. The Scroll begins its career
with no subscription list and is at present
sixteen pages in size, to be increased as
the subscription list grows.
Indiana Church Loses
Leader to Texas
Gerald Culberson of the Bedford Ind
church, goes to Longview, Texas. Of
his going the local paper says: "Rev
Gerald Culberson, for the past three
years pastor of the First Christian
church, has resigned and will leave Bed-
ford shortly for Longview, Tex., where
he has accepted the pastorate of First
Christian church of that citv. The an-
nouncement which was made to the
congregation last Sunday morning was
received with the deepest regret by the
members of the church and the pastor's
many friends. During their three years'
residence here, Mr. Culberson and" fam-
ily have made a host of warm friends
both within and without the congrega-
tion. He has been active in all civic and
patriotic movements, and his removal
from our midst will be widely felt. They
will have the best wishes of all, and a
prosperous future is predicted for them
in their new home." Mr. Culberson
writes: "While economic conditions
have been singularly unfavorable to ex-
tensive growth during our stay here, the
church has gained intensively. Over
$30,000 has been expended in added
equipment, about half of which is paid
out; missionary zeal is quickened; and a
sense of stewardship is awakened as
never before. This is a great church,
and only the urgencv of a similar work
awaiting to be done in the Southwest
takes us away from this loyal people."
Orvis F. Jordan Mixes Up
With Sects!
O. F. Jordan, of the Evanston, Chi-
cago, church, was at Millikin Univer-
sity on Wednesday and Thursday two
weeks ago giving vocational talks. At
the close of the talks war roll cards
were distributed and 175 persons signed
for the Christian life, 50 of these per-
sons being non-church members; the
remainder pledged themselves to active
Christian leadership. Mr. Jordan was at
Northwestern College, Naperville, 111.,
on Saturday and on the following Mon-
day and Tuesday at Illinois Wesleyan,
Bloomington, 111.
Russell F. Thrapp in
Fruitful Leadership
The annual report of First church
Seattle, Wash., Russell F. Thrapp, min-
ister, shows an increase over that of any
previous year. Ninety-nine members
were added at regular services. The
total offerings in the Bible school were
$1,367.36, of which $820.21 was devoted
to missionary, benevolent and patriotic
causes. Other missionary offerings
amounted to $2,601.73. The missionary
and benevolent giving of the church thus
averaged nearly six dollars per member.
A grand total of $26,693.60 was given for
all purposes. Of this amount $15,700
was paid for a new church lot on which
will soon be erected a building adequate
to the work of the church in that great
and growing city. The church employs
Miss Clara B. Hunt, a graduate of the
Bible Teachers' Training School, New
York City, as director of Religious Edu-
cation and church secretary. She has
served in this capacity for two and a half
years.
* * *
— W. E. M. Hackleman will remain in
evangelistic work and not go overseas as
a music director. He has just closed a
meeting with W. T. Walker, at Mat-
toon, 111., and is with W. B. Oliver, at
Cameron, 111., this month.
— In a personal letter from Mr. Mor-
rison is contained the following mes-
sage: 'Am now en route from Dublin to
Cork. We are meeting representative
deputations to discuss the Irish question.
Had four leading Sinn Feiners this
morning and Lord Decies gave us a
dinner last evening with ten leading
Dublin men present to talk on the other
side. The whole trip is immense. So
much has happened that it is hard to
write of it." The "editorial correspond-
ence" published in last week's issue of
the "Century," had a difficult time reach-
ing Chicago. It was written and mailed
late in October, and arrived at this office
on Monday, December 9. We hope to
have another article very soon from Mr.
Morrison dealing with post-armistice
conditions. If nothing unforeseen hap-
pens, Mr. Morrison will arrive in New
York City about Christmas Day.
— W. T. Barbre, formerly of Rockville
and Sheridan, Ind., pastorates, but who
entered the chaplains' school in October,
and was graduated there to be sent over-
seas, writes that one hour after sailing
time his orders were cancelled. He will
be discharged very soon and will be
ready for a pastorate immediately. His
address will be Edinburg, Ind., after his
discharge.
. — C. M. Wright, evangelist of the
Northeast district of Illinois, reports
that in those counties of that district
which have taken up the matter, there
has been a fine response to the World
Wide Every Member Canvass campaign.
The Vermilion county conference was
held at Danville, Dec. 5, at which time
the county apportionment was accepted
and a permanent county organization
effected. Fifteen churches of the county
were represented. A constitution and
CHRISTMAS HAS COME!
Have you helped to bring its cheer to the hearts and homes of our Fathers in the Faith?
Remember, you have urged us to say, "We will not forget". We cannot continue to say
it without your help.
In closing your affairs for the year do not you forget our aged brethren of the ministry!
BOARD OF MINISTERIAL RELIEF
627 LEMCKE BUILDING INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
20
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
December 19, 1918
by-laws were adopted and officers were
elected for the coming year. State Sec-
retary H. H. Peters was the chief
speaker. McLean and Champaign coun-
ties already have permanent county or-
ganizations and are now raising their ap-
portionments for the United Budget
Program. Other counties are being or-
ganized. Mr. Wright assisted Rev. Mr.
McGee and the Onarga church in a fif-
teen day meeting, with Mrs. Nellie Mc-
Vay, of Richmond, Ind., as song leader.
The meeting closed Dec. 8, and resulted
in 21 accessions.
UNITED SERVICE
MEM 0 RIAL Memorial .< Baptists and Disciples )
Oakwood Blvd. Weil of Collage Grove
HIlAlxU Herbert L Widen )
W. H. Main
Ministers
— First church, Richmond, Ind., L. E.
Murray, minister becomes a living link
in the C. W. B. M. The church has
asked for a missionary to Latin America.
C. W. B. M. day was observed with the
pastor making the address. This church
supports Justin E. Brown at Luchufu,
China, under the Foreign Society.
—A. F. De Gafferelley, of First Church,
Danville, 111., has been elected president
of the organization of Christian churches
of the county.
—The Webber Street church, Urbana,
held an all-day fellowship meeting
Thanksgiving day. Dinner was served
in the basement. A. F. Hunsaker will
preach half-time until a pastor is secured.
There were ten accessions to the church
during the two weeks meeting conducted
by Evangelist F. A. Sword. The song
services were in charge of E. L. Mur-
duck. Influenza prevented the continu-
ance of the meeting.
RICHMOND AVENUE
Di I LT A I A church of christ
fill r r ALU Cor. Richmond and Bryant Streets
UUI * «*w ERNEST HUNTER WRAY, Minister
— Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Adamson of
Akron, Ohio, Discipledom, have left
home and are on their way to the Philip-
pines. They go to see their daughter,
Miss Vera Adamson, who is located at
Laoag, and who is doing a fine work.
Mr. Adamson is a prosperous business
man of Akron. He and Mrs. Adamson
support their daughter on the field.
— R. A. Doan has been in war service
almost since the United States entered
the war. He has been the general secre-
tary of the Y. M. C. A. at Camp Sher-
man for nearly a year. His son has been
at Fort Thomas. Now that the war is
over and the soldiers are being dis-
charged, Mr. Doan expects to be back
in the mission rooms of the Foreign Sec-
retary in a few weeks.
— Secretary Bert Wilson has been out
in the Every Member Canvass. He has
been as far east as Philadelphia, and as
far west as Portland. He returned
through the State of Washington and
Canada, the last conference being held
at Winnipeg. S. J. Corey and CM. Yo-
cum have assisted in this campaign.
..-■•• unnir CENTRAL CHURCH
NFW YflRIf 1*2 West 81st Street
II L II I u I m Finis s Idleman> Minister
— The Foreign Missionary Society
needs evangelists and physicians for
fields other than Tibet. Men are sorely
needed now for India and China.
— W. C. Ferguson, Mississippi state
secretary, writes that a series of unit
conferences in the interest of the Every
Member campaign have just been con-
cluded in the Northwestern District of
his state. Conferences were held at eight
different centers of the district by a
team of six workers. A portion of the
time the team was subdivided into two
teams. The conferences were well at-
tended, representatives of neighboring
churches being present. Secretary Fergu-
son reports that the churches touched
are unanimous in their expressions of
appreciation of the work of the team
and there is no question but that the
Every Member canvass will be put on
in a thorough fashion in the territory
reached.
MESSAGES FROM MISSIONARIES
From Roderick A. MacLeod, Batang,
Thibet: "This is the time of the wheat
harvest. Everybody is busy and happy.
The crop is the best for some years past.
I have never seen better wheat. It is all
cut with the sickle and carried to the roofs
of the houses, where it is thrashed by a
flail and winnowed in the wind. The
sickle and flail and basket are the only im-
plements used in the whole process." .
From W. W. Haskell, Wuhu, China : "On
reaching Wuhu, I found there was much
repairing about the school that had to be
done. New seats were put in and some
paint made a wonderful difference in the
school's appearance. We have ninety-five
boys, which is about the limit of our ca-
pacity. The tuition is $40 a term. The
remarkable thing is that they were all here
at the beginning, instead of straggling in
for some time as they had been doing be-
fore. The boys are manifesting much in-
terest in athletics and other activities, so
everything is going well. I am getting my
first experience in the necessity of going
slow when dealing with the Chinese. We
are trying to rent a place in which to live.
I think we are going to succeed. At least
I was so hopeful of it that I went to Nan-
king last week and loaded our things on a
house-boat for transportation to this place."
From Mrs. F. E. Harnar, Harda, India:
"I am enjoying my little school very much.
I am trying to get up courage to take one
of the classes regularly. Perhaps I will do
this before long. The children use a lan-
guage quite different from that which we
have been studying, and it takes quite a
while to grow to understand them."
From Miss Lillian F. Abbott, of China :
"The poverty of great masses of the people
is the thing that makes your heart ache
every time you go on the streets. I did
not dream that people could live on so little.
And then when I see them worshiping in
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the temple and know they are longing for
something better, I long for the day to
come when they will know about Christ,
and He will make life different for them."
Ray Rice, Damoh, India, on coming down
from the hills, resumed the work of look-
ing after the outside Sunday schools. He
found them in pretty good condition. Five
of them are now running. The largest
attendance in any one school has been 50.
Children of all sizes and ages and every
description come. He writes : "We have
146 boys in the boarding school. It looks
as if we would have 175 before the end of
the year. I have put in a few nights in
play with the boys. One night we had a
circus. The Christian Endeavor is going
along well. We are taking part in the
two months' Temperance campaign that the
Mission has planned. This year looks as
if it had a good many things in store. I
am looking forward to the very best
success in the work this year."
1ELLS
sffloa
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(Established 1858)
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"Takes up lessons from every angle," Rev. J. H. Goldner, Cleveland, Ohio.
"Compact yet comprehensive," S. W. Hutton, Texas Bible School leader.
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"Ideal," Rev. J. M. Philputt, Charlottesville, Va.
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A TRUMPET BLAST!
THE
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By BURRIS A. JENKINS
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PHE author calls this" a scrap book for insurgents" and
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He frankly confesses himself a destructive critic. Look-
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and he yearns for the coming of the great Protestant,
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order of things but lead the Church into a new day.
While he disavows any constructive purpose in the
book, it is in reality a master-work of constructive and
helpful criticism. Without apparently trying to do so
the author marks out positive paths along which progress
must be made. Dr. Jenkins writes with a facile, even a
racy, pen. He has filled these pages with a heavy
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Some of the Chapter titles: "Sects and Insects," "Threadbare
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or Reconstruction," "The Three Sexes," "The Irreligious Press,"
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uMMMiiEjiMMJu CHARGED WITH DYNAMITE! inniaiiniBiiiia
HYMNS OF THE
UNITED CHURCH
The Disciples Hymnal
THE HYMNAL FOR THE NEW DAY
WHAT SOME OF THE LEADERS WHO ARE USING THE
BOOK SAY OF IT:
H. D. C. Maclachlan, Minister Seventh Street Christian Church, Richmond, Va.: "It
is a gem. I have seen nothing on the same street with it. It contains all the
classic hymns and all the worth-while new ones. Its hymns of human service
and brotherhood are a genuine contribution to American hymnology. Its arrange-
ment, topical indexing, letter-press and musical notation are beyond praise. The
Aids to Worship and Responsive Readings I am finding very useful."
Henry Pearce Atkins, Minister First Christian Church, Mexico, Mo.: "The choice of
title for this hymnal could not have been more felicitous. These are the hymns
of the Kingdom — the hymns of life and service — in which the Church has already
united. The message of this hymnal is the true message of the pulpit."
A. H. Cooke, Minister Park Avenue Christian Church, Des Moines, la.: "It is a
pleasure for me to say that the new hymnal, Hymns of the United Church, is the
best thing that has come into our church life during the past year. The compila-
tion embraces everything worth while; there is not a single thing in the volume
that does not elevate. Both form and content are beautiful. The book helps the
minister tremendously in the cultivation of the religion of the spirit; one is made
to realize the beauty of holiness most vividly. How cosmopolitan is this hymnal I
In singing from it one has already attained the unity of the spirit!"
Clifton S. Ehlers, Minister Calvary Christian Church, Baltimore, McL: "It is an ad-
mirable book; I have not found its superior."
J. E. Wolfe, Minister First Christian Church, Independence, Mo.: "I want to tell you
of our great satisfaction with the Hymns of the United Church. It is thoroughly
gratifying to have such an abundance of hymns that enable a congregation to
express in song its deepest hopes, yearnings, aspirations in such days as these.
Such a hymnal we find the Hymns of the United Church to be."
Allan T. Gordon, First Christian Church, Paris, III.: "I consider Hymns of the
United Church adapted to all the needs of church services. The book has been
in use in our church for nearly a year and we never have to offer an apology for
our hymnals."
These are but a few of the words of praise for
"Hymns of the United Church" which are con-
tinually coming to the publishers. Have you ex-'
amined ithet book with view to its use in your
church? Send for returnable copy and prices today.
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 East Fortieth Street
CHICAGO
Love Off to the War
By THOMAS CURTIS CLARK
Just from the press! A new collection of Mr. Clark's work, containing more than 125 poems, one-
fourth of them being poems of war and peace, some of which have gone to the ends of the English-
speaking world as voicing truly the patriotic convictions and emotions of the American people
which caused them to enter the conflict which has just ended. This is a most fitting souvenir of
the close of the World War and the dawn of the new age. But the book contains other than war
poems. The collection is made up of eight groups of verses, the group titles being "Love Off to
the War," "In Friendly Town," "Songs of the Seasons," "Followers of the Gleam," "Christus,"
"The Mystic," "Studies in Souls," and "The New World." A great many poems are here pub-
lished that have not before been printed.
SOME OF THE POEMS INCLUDED IN THIS COLLECTION
OF WAR AND PEACE
The Dawn of Liberty
God Rules the Seas!
They Have Not Died in Vain
Woodrow Wilson, Leader
America in France
The Day Breaks
OF THE SIMPLE LIFE
Take Time to Live
On Contentment Street
King of an Acre
A June Millionaire
Wealth
A Song of Quietness
To Thoreau
OF THE SEASONS
Revelation
Spring Song
Messengers
Wayside Roses
OF THE NEW AGE
The Bugle Song of Peace
The New Eden
The Golden Age
The Touch of Human Hands
God's Dreams
Battle Song of Truth
OF RELIGION
The Faith of Christ's Free-
men
The Christ Militant
The Search
The Stay
Be Still and Know that I Am
God
God Is Not Far
Light at Evening Time
The Pursuit
The Voice of the Deep
"STUDIES IN SOULS"
Three Poems of Lincoln
Sons of Promise
The Remorse of David
Sympathy
Success
The World Builders
In Praise of Thomas Curtis Clark's Poems
"Charming." John Masefield, English poet.
'These poems breathe a spirit of content." Sara
Teasdale, who received last year a prize of $500
for the best volume of verse published during 1917.
"I find both thought and music in his verses."
Henry van Dyke.
"Lovely poems and of wide appeal." James Terry
White, of the Poetry Society of America.
"Full of inspiration." Charles G. Blanden, Editor
of the Chicago Anthology of Verse.
"Mr. Clark's verse is sure to attract the attention of
those who are seeking for illumination and nour-
ishment for the inner life." Dr. Herbert L. Willett.
"Thomas Curtis Clark is the sweet singer of our
Israel." Editor B. A. Abbott.
"I greatly appreciate your songs. Surely you have
an authentic mission as an interpreter of the deep
things that matter most." Joseph Fort Newton,
minister at City Temple, London, and vice-presi-
dent of the London Poetry Society.
"Thomas Curtis Clark is doing a fine service to the
Church universal in giving poetic interpretation
to the evangelical faith in a fashion that makes
his verse especially congenial to the mood of our
time." Editor Charles Clayton Morrison.
"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
respects." Dr. J. H. Garrison.
"Mr. Clark is a poet of the inner life, an interpreter
of the soul, a seer of the realm spiritual." Dr.
Edgar DeWitt Jones.
The new volume is bound in semi-flexible cloth, with gold top and side, and makes a
charming gift for a friend as well as a "thing of beauty" to be treasured in the home.
Price $1.25 plus 6 to 10 cents postage
The Christian Century Press
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Vol. XXXV
December 26, 1918
Number 50
"Who Giveth Us
the Victory"
By Joseph Fort Newton
The Message of
the Disciples
By Peter Ainsiie
"The Protestant" Variously Reviewed
c nio. ab
o
Here Comes 1919!
CENTRAL CHURCH OF CHRIST
Dayton, Ohio
We had our Every-Member Canvass yesterday. We asked for an increase of $500
for current expenses and $875 for missions. We received 308 pledges the first day —
by far the most we ever received the first day and have all the increase provided for if
those yet to be seen hold their own with last year. These 308 increased their own pledges,
over last year, $650 for current expenses and $880 for missions.
So we feel that we are safely "over the top." This is all the more wonderful when
you know that it is an increase in the budget of $2,300 for the last two years, and we had
only three weeks to prepare for this one. We used 60 men. in the Canvass. I think Central
will raise $3,000 of the county's $4,000 and that does not count $600 for Dayton Missions.
All the churches need is the facts. Tell them of the needs and why.
For your encouragement,
Hally C. Burkhart,
Minister.
FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Omaha, Neb.
The First Church put on the Every-Member Canvass Sunday, Dec. 8th, afternoon, in
fine shape and with great success.
The plans were laid well and wisely by the Missionary Committee. These plans were
carefully worked out by the official board. The Christian Churches of the county met at
the First Church on Friday, Dec. 6, evening. Had a banquet and program. All the im-
portant features of the canvass were discussed.
At the Sunday morning service in the First Church the forty-eight canvassers were
called to the front, forming a semicircle clear across the church. J. R. Cain, Jr., a banker
and tither, made one of his fine addresses to the men about the work they were about to
engage in. The pastor also made a short address and dedicated the men to the work in a
prayer of consecration.
About the middle of the afternoon the men began to return to the office with their
reports. Every report was good. Every one was filled with optimism, there were no
pessimists. The men enjoyed the work, found it a pleasure and were delighted with their
experiences in talking over the needs and plans of the church with the people. With the
follow-up system, the budget of ten thousand eight hundred dollars will be raised.
The official board agreed to raise the salary of the Living Link Missionary, Mrs. Rice,
sufficient to cover the exchange and the addition to the salary allowed by the F. C. M. S.
I should add that the ladies served dinner to the canvassers, Sunday, noon, at the church.
The canvassers went out from the church two by two. We expect to line up every church
in the county.
|Yours in the Master's Cause,
J. Walter Reynolds,
Active Pastor.
Disciples' World -Wide Every-Member Campaign
Men and Millions Movement Promotional Agency
222 West Fourth Street
CINCINNATI, OHIO
Volume XXXV
DECEMBER 26, 1918
Number 50
EDITORIAL STAFF: CHARLES CLAYTON MORRISON, EDITOR; HERBERT L. WILLETT. CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
ORVIS FAIRLEE JORDAN. ALVA W. TAYLOR, JOHN RAY EWERS :: THOMAS CURTIS CLARK, OFFICE MANAGER
Entered as second-class matter, February 28, 1902, at the Post-office at Chicago, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized on July 3, 1918.
Published Weekly By the Disciples Publication Society 700 East 40th Street, Chicago
Subscription — $2.50 a year (to ministers, $2.00), strictly in advance. Canadian postage, 52 cents extra; foreign, $1.04 extra.
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The Christian Century is a free interpreter of the essential ideals of Christianity as held historically by the Disciples of Christ.
It conceives the Disciples' religious movement as ideally an unsectarian and unecclesiastical fraternity, whose original impulse and
common tie are fundamentally the desire to practice Christian unity in the fellowship of all Christians. Published by Disciples, Thi
Christian Century, is not published for Disciples alone, but for the Christian world. It strives to interpret the wider fellowship
in religious faith and service. It desires definitely to occupy a catholic point of view and it seeks readers in all communions.
EDITORIAL
Do We Want an Educated Ministry?
OF course we want all of our other professional
people to be educated. But the ministry? That
is different. If a doctor came into our house and
perpetrated some antiquated practice such as cost George
Washington his life, we would be properly indignant. If
we had a school-teacher who presumed to teach without
knowing about the latest methods, there would be loud
complaints to the school board. But do we really want
educated ministers?
We are told in the conservative press that these men
are practically all heretics. Of course it is rather damag-
ing to the quality of our faith to believe that no educated
man could believe as we do, but if it is so, the worse for
education ! We want the latest anti-toxin, but we want
sermons that did duty fifty years ago. Ben Franklin's
"Gospel Preacher'' and the McGarvey expositions are the
end of all controversy. The man who is educated beyond
these is quite outside the kingdom.
So missionary secretaries keep certain men off of the
convention program because they are not safe. Of course
the secretaries explain privately that they too are pretty
liberal but it is not good for the cause to recognize men
who are regarded as unsound. We must not hurt the
collections !
And certain church boards, having properly warned
against the prevalence of unsound preachers, are quite on
their guard. There are a few immoral preachers around
and they have no press warnings against these. But they
must beware of heresy in the form of educated views of
religion. This would surely cut down the number of ac-
cessions, even if it did stop the losses and build up the
church.
The colleges, too, in some cases are properly quaran-
tined against education. A college that boasts much of its
educational standards privately forbids the Y. M. C. A. to
send in an alumnus because the gentleman once attended
the University of Chicago. It would never do to let such
a gentleman speak against social diseases and in favor of
a Christian vocation in that college !
But in spite of all precautions, the evil of education'
goes on. Every year more of the churches want these
dangerous men. With the general public they prove to be
enormously popular. Unless more stringent measures are
adopted the dangerous university men will be found every-
where.
What Was New Testament Religion?
EVERY reformatory movement has tried to find its
authority in antiquity and desires to speak of itself
as a restoration. Martin Luther went back of the
pope to the church councils and back of the councils to the
letter of the new testament scriptures. Later reformatory
movements made new discoveries in the scriptures, seizing
one or another element as the important and normative
thing. Some have found in conversion experiences the
typical material and others have read the profounder doc-
trinal teachings of Paul and have found these to possess the
supreme value.
It is evident that not all the precedents of new testa-
ment religious life may be used as modern models. Disease
was explained by demon-possession. We have another ex-
planation. Such great evils as slavery and the use of
liquor waited for another age to be rectified. The standards
in the churches were low (Corinth, for example), as they
needs must be when the converts are drawn from com-
munities which live upon a low plane.
While it is not possible to make a sharp separation of
new testament material, putting on one side the material
which was of transient significance and on the other those
things of abiding significance, it is necessary for us to make
in every generation a set of value judgments which will
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
December 26, 1918
lead us to the most significant elements of new testament
religion.
Fortunately, modern methods of interpreting the scrip-
tures have helped our generation greatly in elevating new
testament religion. We have recovered from the neglect of
the centuries the great doctrine of Jesus of the kingdom
of heaven. The Pauline doctrine of reconciliation with
God is seen in greater moral beauty. Salvation is revealed
as being not a magical but a moral process. With the great
doctrines are ethical implications of the greatest signifi-
cance. The new testament preacher today must preach
from all of the books of the New Testament and not just
from one.
Local Experiments in Union
NEVER did the church press reveal such an interest
in church union as is to be found now. Baptists
and pedo-baptists, those congregational in polity and
those episcopal, find ways of circumventing the eccle-
siastical laws that might prevent union.
Of course, many of these experiments are war meas-
ures and will not result in any change of church status.
But others of them arise out of a permanent need in a
community for a merger.
Has not the time come for a national commission to
study this whole question of church mergers and stand-
ardize them for different types of communities? We shall
soon have a lot of churches without fellowship with the
denominations and without fellowship with each other
who will be doing little or nothing for the -kingdom out-
side their parish. Cannot the mergers be put upon a basis
which does not destroy the sense of fellowship in the
local church?
The Curse of Unreality
THE task of the very greatest literary men of the
past century has been to unmask the hypocricies
of society. Ibsen, and all his children who have
followed his literary model, have torn off the mask of
pretension and unreality from our social life. G. Ber-
nard Shaw in his "Arms and the Man," discloses the
foolishness of the old-time militarism with its mock
heroics. The romanticism of courtship and marriage
has been laid bare. It was not to be expected that the
church would escape. Where would one go to find more
astonishing hypocrites than are pictured in some of Ib-
sen's plays?
Of course the village infidel is himself a hypocrite.
The critics of the church are quite as often hypocrites as
the professors. They acknowledge codes to which they
never live. Lodge men and women pronounce the most
solemn and awful vows which are straightway forgot-
ten. It is not to be thought that the church has any
monopoly upon the living lie. It is only that humanity
feels the profanation of a church hypocrite more than
the hypocricies of patriotism or fraternalism, for in-
stance.
To the minister there comes the subtle danger that
comes with a daily familiarity with holy things. He is
expected to meet the transient moods of religious en-
thusiasts of his flock with a greater zeal, even though
there be no fire in his heart. It is his besetting peril that
he will simulate a zeal which he does not feel, or that
he will profess an orthodoxy that he has left behind.
Church members, too, come to standardize certain
attitudes as religious which are impossible as daily atti-
tudes. The fury of the camp meeting cannot last into
the coming summer. The radicalism of the Christian
reformer is bound to break down somewhere. And these
lapses bring the sneer of the most hypocritical of all
hypocrites, the hypocrite-hunters.
The charm of Jesus and of all great religious souls
is the ring of reality in them. There is no counterfeit
coin in their spiritual wealth. It all rings out the clear
silver tone. The world today wants less of the alms to
he seen of men and more of closet prayer.
The Fellowship of the Church
IF it is true that religion comes to its highest and best
only in a social situation — some would say there is no
other religion— then it is clear that the church must
give the most careful attention to the question of fellow-
ship. Unless the members are one great family where
the word "brother" is not an irony, then religion is not
performing one of its big tasks.
Some churches find fellowship geographically difficult.
The city church spread over great stretches of territory
finds this very true. The village church, partly in town
and partly in the country, usually finds part of its con-
stituency out of touch with things.
Not only is the question of location of a parish a
difficulty, but we realize also that a church that' might have
a warm fellowship is quite lacking in this spirit. In some
churches the factional leader is able to marshal a group
of followers whose every attitude is critical toward the
leadership of the church. Nothing so inhibits growth of
membership as the spirit of division. No man or woman
in his or her senses would ever join a church in which
there was a spirit of division.
The early church emphasized fellowship to such an
extent that the people even had all things common for a
time. Paul sought to bind the Greek speaking churches
to the Palestinian group by offerings to the poor. He
even went to temple worship that there might be no oc-
casion of suspicion on the part of his brethren.
The growth of great secret orders emphasizing the
friendly spirit tells of the popular interest in good fel-
lowship. Men and women are lonely and hungry for
human sympathy. A kindly hand-grasp and an appre-
ciative word are a splendid preparation for the preach-
ing of the gospel.
Life as a Work of Art
WHEN we go to the funerals of our friends, we
are apt to think of their lives as a whole. We
review in our minds the story of the years, with
its failures and its successes. Sometimes the story is
a beautiful and unified one with a logical finish. Some-
times it is as amateurish and unsatisfactory as the
penny-dreadfuls on the news stands.
December 26, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
We are even now making material for future
biographers. Do we pause awhile every day to in-
quire the course and meaning of life? What are my
chief talents and what my chief weaknesses as revealed
by actual experiences? What must be chiseled off and
what chiseled in to make the whole more symmetrical
and beautiful? It should be our joy and pride to finish
the character God has put into our hands in the most
satisfying manner possible.
The work of art needs its great model. We have
that model in the person of the Christ. The portraits
of Christ differ greatly from each other, but there is
said to be a family likeness in them. The followers of
Christ differ greatly from each other, but there is the
family likeness which is described by the name Chris-
tian. It is not the function of Christ to destroy indi-
viduality in our souls. Endless variety is possible in
the painting of the same landscape.
Life must not only have its main lines drawn boldly
and truly, but it must have attention to detail. Some
of the great painters were masters of detail. The mag-
nifying glass scarcely suffices to reveal the hidden
wealth that the painter has put into his picture. Are
there not modern saints whose lives challenge a like
scrutiny and admiration?
Into the modeling of life go our habits, our ideals,
our struggles and our successes. Three score of years
and ten is but a little while. If we are to have the
approval of the Master Artist of the world, we must
not slight a single day's effort.
The Steamboat
A Parable of Safed the Sage
NOW I came to one of the Great Lakes, on which was
a Steamboat, and I paid one dollar to the Purser,
and rode from one city to another, yea, from the
third hour of the morning to the fifth hour of the evening.
And there were few passengers on the boat, and I
wandered whither I listed. And every man spake Kindly
to me, and everything upon the boat was as if it had been
mine own.
I climbed upon the Hurricane Deck, and the Pilot
spake to me, saying,
Thou mayest enter.
So I entered, and he showed me how to steer the ship,
and how to Ring the Bells that gave Signals to the Engi-
neer whether to go or to halt, and whether to Sail Fast
or Slow.
I
The Lamp
By Sara Teasdale
F I can bear your love like a lamp before me,
When I go down the long, steep road of darkness,
I shall not fear the everlasting shadows,
Nor cry in terror.
If I can find out God, then I shall find Him,
If none can find Him, then I shall sleep soundly,
Knowing how well on earth your love sufficed me,
A lamp in darkness.
Now while we talked there came one of the Passen-
gers, a man whom already I had seen, and he asked a Civil
Question of the Pilot, and the Pilot answered him roughly,
and the man asked another question and the Pilot answered
not, but pointed to a sign where it was written
HOLD NO CONVERSATION WITH THE MAN
AT THE WHEEL.
Then I went down into the Lower Parts of the Ship,
and I spake with the Engineer, who showed me his En-
gine, and how the Wheels went Round, and the Propeller
did Propel, and while we were yet speaking the same Pas-
senger came down, and he spake to the Engineer, and the
Engineer was Rude to him.
And into whatsoever part of the ship I went, there I
saw him, and in every place it was the same. Yea, the
men who were Kind to me were all Harsh to him. Yea,
when the time came for Dinner, the Cook did enter the
Dining Room and curse him in the presence of the Other
passengers.
And I spake unto the Captain of the Ship, and said,
Who is this poor man whom every man seemeth to
hate, whose hand like that of Ishmael is against every
man's hand, and who alone of all men upon board hath no
rights on this ship?
And the Captain made answer, He is the Man who
Owneth this Boat.
And the Captain told me that the Boat had cost Ten
Thousand Dollars and was Losing Money every Trip, and
the owner had Come on Board to Learn the Reason Why,
and how every man was Wroth with him, and Despised
him, he being only a Rich Man who knew nothing about
Ships, and could only Poke his Infernal Nose into busi-
ness that he could not Understand. Yea, the Captain said
it would be only Pleasing to him if the old Duffer should
fall overboard.
Now I meditated much concerning this matter. For
he had paid Ten Thousand Dollars and had nothing but
Sorrows. Yea, what he had once counted for Gains, those
now were Loss. And he had nothing on the Ship Save
only Anxiety and Abuse. ,
Now I had paid only One Dollar, and everything on
the Ship was Mine ; and when the Ship came to Shore I
had no further Care whether the Voyage had paid or Not,
nor whether tomorrow would be Fair and Prosperous, or
whether it would be Stormy and Dangerous.
And I considered how much Richer I was than the
Man who Thought he Owned the Boat. Yea, I considered
how he had Fooled Himself, for he had paid Ten Thousand
Dollars, and owned Nothing. But I, for One Day and for
One Dollar, had Owned the Boat. Yea, and if I go there
tomorrow, and have One Dollar more, I can Buy Her
Again.
Behold how Rich am I, and how Poor is the Man who
must add to his Ten Thousand Dollars the losses for Coal
and Wages and Insurance, and who owneth Nothing, not
even the Respect of the Men he Feedeth.
And the Spirit of the Lord Said to me, Take heed
and be not covetous, for the man who is Richer than thou,
he is Poorer.
And I knew this was True; and I considered these
things.
"Who Giveth Us the Victory
By Joseph Fort Newton
WORDS were not made for days such as these;
they stammer and falter and fail. Awed, sub-
dued, humbled, we have passed into an apocalyp-
tic day — a day of the right hand of God, when His judg-
ments are upon all the earth. Suddenly we stand as dazed
spectators of that which but lately we were trying to do,
almost as if events had been taken out of our hands by a
Power not our own. Everywhere men feel that it is not
a secular but a spiritual victory, won not by human but by
Divine might. Swiftly, terribly, God made bare His holy
arm, hurling throned iniquity to the ground, making the
vanity of man pitiful. As those who have been groping
in darkness, our eyes are dazzled by the light that falls
upon our way. There is no need to "assert eternal Provi-
dence and justify the ways of God to men" ; the facts
prove it. Beyond all question the Lord God omnipotent
reigneth ; let all the earth rejoice !
GOD "MATCHED US WITH HIS HOUR"
No words save those of the old Bible seers seem equal
to the events of this hour. Never did so many emotions
struggle for mastery within us, making our speech difficult.
Purged by pity and terror, our hearts overflow with won-
der and joy, albeit touched to wistfulness at thought of
what it has cost in sacrifice of our best. Our soldiers,
our sailors, our workers, our broken homes, under God it
is their victory, not ours. Nor do they grudge the price
paid for a world redeemed from ruthless might defying
God and man. Those ringing words of Rupert Brooke
still speak to us from behind the hills: "Now, God be
thanked Who matched us with His hour," when a "swift
joyful generation" went forth at the call of honor and of
duty. No doubt the high mood of those early hours faded
in the long weary years that followed, but it only gave
way to a patient courage and a grim and silent loyalty.
The words of Philip Gibbs, to whom we owe so much,
befit the final scene, alike for their dignity and simplicity:
I stopped on my way to Mons outside a brigade headquarters,
and an officer said, "Hostilities will cease at 11 o'clock." Then he
added, as all men add in their hearts, "Thank God for that !"
. . . The order had gone to all batteries to cease fire. No more
men were to be killed, no more to be mangled, no more to be
blinded. The lost boyhood of the world was reprieved. On the
way back from Mons I listened to this silence, which followed
the going down of the sun, and heard the rustling of the russet
leaves and the little sounds of night in peace, and it seemed as
though God gave a benediction to the wounded soul of the
world.
THE SUPREME QUESTION
God reigns, and those who defied Him are fallen!
Thus much is manifest, if we have eyes to see and the
inner clarity to divine the meaning of the hour. It is in
this assurance, and with this insight, that we must face the
crises of the future.
There are many pressing issues which the hour has
brought, but by far the most vital is "the inner contest"
which is to decide whether the ultimate outcome of all our
struggle shall be a victory for faith or for unbelief. The
real question is, have we won from the war a new experi-
ence of God, of His character, His purpose, His will, and
His way of dealing with men? Nothing else can compare
with this in importance ; for upon it will depend our atti-
tude in times to be, whether we hold force to be supreme
or not. Many have won through their sorrows a clearer
insight into the relation of God to them in their personal
life. Others have been bewildered, if not embittered, and
not a few have lost their way. Much remains hidden, but
some things are beginning to be seen, as in a glass dimly,
and these I would urge upon your attention with all ear-
nestness.
First of all, never in the long story of mankind has
there been so august, so awful a demonstration of the
moral purpose of God in history. It is simply overwhelm-
ing. Men of all faiths, and men of no faith — if such there
be — must have felt amidst the rush of events at the end
the peace that comes of knowing, as Carlyle would say,
that "the great Soul of the World is Just." If the mills
of God grind slowly, they grind exceeding fine, leaving
only dust and ashes where iniquity sat enthroned. How
pitiful, how blasphemous the words of Bernhardi seem
today : "Political morality differs from individual moral-
ity, because there is no power above the State." God is
above the State, and His laws in their sure out-working
send tyrannies tumbling to their ruin, subduing us to a
humility that transcends triumph and outsoars victory.
So much we might have foreknown if we had read the
wise old Bible aright, in which the mighty prophets trace
for us the hand of God in the storms and tragedies of their
day. Never do they speak with surer accent than when
they tell us that wrong may seem triumphant for a time,
but that its downfall is sure.
THE STATE AND THE MORAL LAW
Words cannot tell what this fact means for peace of
heart, for the strengthening of character, and for support
of the faith that makes men faithful. And it has a direct
bearing in practical affairs. Nietzsche indulged in misty
talk about a vague liberty "beyond good and evil," but it
was only the musings of an addled brain. No longer can
men hold, in face of the facts of today, that the moral law
applies to individuals only, and has no relation to states.
Too much of our dealing, especially in national affairs,
has been based upon that fiction, as if the old maxim were
true : "In the greatest affairs the law is not concerned."
No ; as the law of gravitation holds true equally for pebbles
on the shore and for stars in their orbits, so the moral law
holds empire over all the life of man. No nation can defy
it and long endure. There is a line in "Faust" which
reads like a revelation in this hour : "The history of the
world is the judgment of the world," and that judgment
is luminously clear. Therefore, if we would have an
enduring human society or a fruitful social order, we
must build upon the laws of justice. God is in His heaven,
on His earth, everywhere, and His law will not be mocked.
For this truth, revealed anew, let us give thanks.
December 26, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
By the same token, it is equally plain that the Divine
purpose in history is social. If we had doubted it before,
we cannot doubt it today. No isle of the sea, however
remote, but has felt the shock of this vast tragedy. No
man, no woman, no child on earth but has had added bur-
dens laid upon him, upon her, as a direct result of the war.
Vividly we have been made to realize that, for good or
for evil— for evil, certainly, if not for good — we are mem-
bers one of another, tied together by innumerable ties.
For better or for worse, in joy and in tragedy, it has been
shown us that humanity is one, and that we are brothers
to the last man of us, forever! If the solidarity of the
race has been held as a theory, it is now revealed as a fact.
The Divine purpose is not simply to develop individuals,
but to set up a kingdom in which men shall learn to do
justly, to love mercy, and to walk together in peace. Here-
after, if we would obey the voice of this hour, no nation,
no class, must ask for anything for itself that it does not
demand for all mankind.
THE MYSTERY OF VICARIOUS SUFFERING
Also, we have here a clue, if nothing more, to that
mystery which has troubled our minds and baffled our
hearts anew in these bitter years : the mystery of the fair,
the innocent, the lovely, suffering with the guilty. Here,
too, the great prophets are our teachers, as witness the
awed surprise of the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, in which
the writer is startled by his discovery of the Suffering
Servant of God, smitten and afflicted for others. Yes, the
righteous suffer with the wicked, for the wicked — suffer,
as Job felt, unjustly — because all are members one of
another, and the injury of one is the hurt of all. It is the
mystery of the Cross, so old, so new, so ineffably revealing
of the deeper will and love of God. Those words of the
unseen Christ on the road to Emmaus make the heart beat
strangely: "Ought not Christ to have suffered these
things?" It is not simply that he was willing to suffer
but that, being what he was, he could not but suffer for
the sin of man. When he became one with humanity
he was involved in all the fortunes of humanity, in nowise
exempt from the law which binds us together in one
destiny. What words are these : "Him who knew no
sin, God made to be sin on our behalf," and the other side
of the law is revealed in the rest of the text, "that we
might become the righteousness of God in him."
How vividly the law of vicarious suffering stands out
today, as if written in letters of fire! No one can deny
it, remembering our gay and gallant dead who gave all,
and now lie "dark to the triumph which they died to gain."
They suffered not for their own sins, but in obedience to
a red law which runs all through the life of Gocl and
man, revealed in all its splendor by the Divine Sufferer
on the Cross. As William Blake said, "If God dieth not
for man, and giveth not himself eternally for man, man
could not exist, for man is love, as God is love. Every
kindness to another is a little death in the divine image,
nor can man exist but by brotherhood." It is an insight
slowly won, and often dim, but it lets us see the face of
God. No father, no mother, no wife bereft and left
alone, but may enter, in some degree, into the experience
which lent to the Prophet of the Exile his figure of the
slowly coming Christ ; and if we interpret our sorrows
aright we shall learn to sing a song in the night, praising
and giving thanks.
GOD SUFFERS WITH HIS WORLD
For we do not suffer alone. Because the purpose of
God is not simply moral and social, but spiritual. He is
involved with us in the tragedy of our life. The great
solidarity embraces not only humanity, but God. "Let us
keep God out of the war," said an officer to me on a ship
far out at sea. It cannot be done. He is here, as my dear
dead teacher used to say, in the mud and litter of things,
toiling, struggling, conquering. He is no spectator, no
playwright, no looker-on at the human struggle. He is
here in it all, through it all, sharing our bitterest woe.
Those lines which gave title to a book of vivid war essays
strike a deep note :
The sorrows of God must be hard to bear
If He really has love in His heart.
And the hardest part in the world to play
Must surely be God's part.
Here, again, the prophets of old are true guides. When
Israel sins, they tell us that the burden falls not on man
only, but on God. He is like a man whose wife has been
untrue, a father whose son has fallen into shame. There
is no sorrow, as Dora Greenwell said, that does not come
at last to be borne by God. He suffers with us, and feels
more keenly than we can feel.
God is limited, but not finite, limited by all the attri-
butes which make Him worthy of our worship. Some
things He cannot do. Because He is true, He cannot lie.
Because He is just, He cannot be unjust. Every handicap
that goes to make up wisdom hedges Him about. But
He is not limited in His love, still less in the patient power
which wins its end at last. Love makes Him suffer, as
love always does. He knows, He feels, He cares. For-
ever He broods over us, while He dwells within us, seeking
by all the strategy of love to sanctify us to Himself.
Since His purpose is spiritual, His chief concern is the
making and training of character. Not ease, not happi-
ness, but discipline is His primary interest, and happiness
when it comes, is only the seal that discipline has had its
perfect work. Let us lay this truth to heart, and it will
add a new note to our praise, sending us hence, purified
and exalted, to the tasks that await us.
IMMEASURABLE GOOD COMING
What of the future? This, for one thing: man has
never been willing to make the past his measure of the
future. He lives by faith, prophetically. He exists to
surpass himself. Because war is old and grey does not
mean that it will always be. The impossible of yesterday
is the practical of today. Unknown springs of power await
our use ; unguessed reserves of divine reinforcement re-
main to be drawn upon. After all, the horror of the war
was new only in its magnitude, not in its quality.
There is no challenge to faith in what we have seen
and suffered that has not been met in the past, again and
again, and vanquished. Out of this immeasurable woe
will come immeasurable good, if we are true to what it
has taught us. The night is gone, and the morning comes.
The Lord God omnipotent reigneth !
The Message of the Disciples of Christ
By Peter Ainslie
A statement presented on behalf of the Disciples of Christ be-
fore the recent Conference on Organic Union in Philadelphia
THE people known in the modern world as the Dis-
ciples of Christ arose about a hundred years ago in
the Presbyterian household out of a desire for free-
dom ~in the practice of the catholicity of religion as a
definite step toward the unity of Christendom. The
cardinal note of their message is the unity of the church
in order to an effectual world-wide witness bearing for
Christ.
Agreeing with all evangelical Christians on the great
fundamentals of our common faith, the Disciples nav*»
sought a basis of union by eliminating those things as tests
of fellowship about which Christians differ and by uniting
on those things on which there is universal agreement.
Their message therefore has had nothing to do with the
formation of a new creed, nor did they intend originally
to form a new communion. The movement developed
into a separate communion contrary to the expectation and
against the wishes of those who stalled it. To avoid
creating another communion they allied themselves with
one of the larger communions and remained in its fellow-
ship for nearly twenty years, withdrawing from it only
when forced to do so by circumstances which they could
not control. Even now it is not too much to affirm that
they possess in their spirit that same willingness to be
allied with other communions if thereby the number of
communions may be lessened and they be allowed their
freedom to plead for Christian union by a return to the
beliefs and practices of the apostolic church.
A SIX-FOLD MESSAGE
They sought in the beginning and they seek now to
build upon the great catholic principles upon which all
Christendom is agreed. The catholicity of their message
may be summed up under six heads :
(1) A catholic name. They give the heartiest
recognition to all Christian bodies, and recognize Christians
in the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican and
Protestant communions. The names of these various com-
munions, however, they regard as divisive and as per-
petuating divisions, contrary to the prayer of Jesus and
the teachings of the New Testament. None of these names
is catholic. The Eastern Orthodox Church is not a
proper designation, because the term Orthodox is used in
this name to distinguish one particular body of Christians
as separate from others. Even the name Roman Catholic
is not catholic, for the term Roman destroys its catholicity
and makes it provincial. The only names truly catholic
are those furnished by the Scriptures and are, for the
individual believers, "disciples," "disciples of Christ,"
"Christians," "friends," "saints," etc., and for the whole
body, "The Church," "Churches of Christ," and "Church
of God," and by implication, "Christian Church." There-
fore to the Disciples there are no other names to wear but
the catholic names of the Scriptures, which all believers
and churches use, but in a secondary sense. The Disciples
have sought by wearing these names to the exclusion of
all others to make their use primary and have urged other
believers to do likewise.
(2) A catholic creed. When the Disciples arose all
communions had separate creeds, and by their creeds they
were separated. The creeds therefore were divisive and
not catholic. It was not a question of the truth or error
of the creeds ; they were venerable expressions of the faith
of the Church. But as statements of truth they are ex-
clusive and designed not to include and unite, but to ex-
clude and divide. One communion would not accept the
creed of another communion, but all communions accept
Jesus as Lord and Savior. The Disciples, therefore, seek-
ing for an all-inclusive creed which would unite all Chris-
tians, went back to the beginning of the church and found
their creed in the simple confession of the Messiahship
and Lordship of Jesus and the commitment of their lives
in obedience to him. To those expressing a desire to fol-
low Christ they ask not so' much what they believe as
whom they believe. Every person, therefore, deciding for
Christ, is asked to affirm publicly his belief in Jesus as
the Christ, the only begotten Son of God, and his Lord
and Savior. This is catholic ground and is proposed by
the Disciples as the simple and sufficient creed in which
all believers can unite in the expression of their faith in
Jesus Christ.
VIEWS OF THE BIBLE
(3) A catholic book. All Christians and com-
munions accept the Scriptures as containing the Word of
God. In a very distinct sense is this true of the Protest-
ants, but the various communions have their systems of
theology, based upon interpretations of the Word of God,
and which they adopt as standards for their respective
churches. From many of these systems of theology the
Disciples do not dissent. They would, however, make
them schools of thought, instead of standards of doctrine,
for to make those interpretations the standards of different
groups of Christians is divisive, and opposed to catholicity.
Since all agree that the Scriptures contain the Word of
God, why could not the Scriptures alone be sufficient?
They appear to have been so for the early church. Why
should they not be so for the church now ? The distinctive
message of Protestantism has always been justification by
faith, the sole authority of the Scriptures, and the right
of private interpretation. The Disciples, believing heartily
in these principles, adopt them to an ultimate conclusion,
and going beyond Protestant creeds and systems of the-
ology, take the Scriptures to be sufficient for the rule of
Christian life, acting upon the principle expressed in the
phrase of Chillingworth : "The Bible and the Bible alone
is the religion of Protestants." Here again they seek
December 26, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
catholic ground and taking the Scriptures as their only
book of authority they seek to persuade others to take
this catholic book as their sole book of authority.
(4) A catholic administration of the ordinances.
Having committed themselves to a catholic polity for the
union of the church, the Disciples were compelled by the
logic of their position to find a way for the practice of
catholicity in the administration of the ordinances of
baptism and the Lord's Supper. Concerning these matters,
Christians have long been dreadfully divided. On the
question of baptism, after a long and painful wrestling
with the facts as they came to view them, and through
long and diligent examination of the Scriptures, the Dis-
ciples, at great cost to their own hearts in giving up much
that had been precious, were constrained to adopt the
immersion of penitent believers as the one catholic bap-
tism, recognized by all communions, Greek, Catholic, Ro-
man Catholic, and Protestant, and therefore the one bap-
tism on which all Christians can agree and unite. For
infant baptism they prefer to substitute the dedication of
children, remembering that the little child is the one model
which Jesus held up before all who would be fit for the
Kingdom. The Lord's Supper they conceive to be the
supreme act of unity and catholicity, sustaining and ex-
pressing both the union of the believer with Christ and
the underlying oneness of the whole church of God. In
its observance, therefore, the utmost of catholicity must
prevail. Accordingly, both in theory and practice, the
Disciples hold the Lord's Supper open to persons of all
communions, simply expecting each Christian to examine
his own heart and to participate according to the dictates
of his own conscience, thus cherishing the fact of the sac-
rament and leaving its interpretation to the individual
believer. As to the reason of the Lord's Supper, the Dis-
ciples practice the weekly observance. On these vital
matters the Disciples have earnestly sought catholic
ground, desiring most heartily to find a position which
would be in strictest accord with the truth and on which
all Christians can unite.
"Who Dreams Shall Live"
WHO dreams shall live ! And if we do not dream
Then we shall build no Temple into Time.
Yon dust cloud, whirling slow against the sun,
Was yesterday's cathedral, stirred to gold
By heedless footsteps of a passing world.
The faiths of stone and steel have failed of proof,
The King who made religion of a Sword
Passes, and is forgotten in a day.
The crown he wore rots at a lily's root,
The rose unfurls her banners o'er his dust.
The dreamer dies, but never dies the dream,
Though Death shall call the whirlwind to his aid,
Enlist men's passions, trick their hearts with hate,
Still shall the Vision live! Say nevermore
That dreams are fragile things. What else endures
Of all this broken world save only dreams!
Dana Burnet in "Poems."
CHURCH GOVERNMENT
(5) A catholic policy of church government. In
matters of government the Disciples are a pure democracy.
Beginning as they do with the primary principle of cath-
olicity in all things, they recognize the universal equity,
spiritual suffrage and priesthood of all believers. In all
matters of practical organization and administration,
therefore, each congregation conducts its own affairs in
its own way, subject to the teachings of the Scriptures and
consistent with the honor of religion and the good name
and well-being of the whole church, directly accountable
in all things to him who is the Head of the church, Jesus
Christ. For those great systems of church government
and ecclesiastical polity which have been developed
through the centuries the Disciples have the greatest re-
spect. Nevertheless they cannot but regard these systems
as in many ways essentially uncatholic and undemocratic,
making as they do distinctions, orders and classes among
believers, among whom Christ declared there should be no
distinction, saying, "One is your Master, even Christ, and
all ye are brethren." These systems serve the purposes
not of unity, but of division, and in the last analysis violate
the catholicity of the church of God. In this important
connection the Disciples have endeavored zealously to
find a basis of organization and administration which
would be true to those constitutional principles given by
Christ for the government of his church and which would
be catholic ground on which all Christians can agree and
unite.
(6) A catholic brotherhood. Holding the universal
brotherhood of all Christians as a most precious fact, the
Disciples have sought for the widest possible fellowship.
They hold fast to the heritage guaranteed by the word of
the great Apostle, 'All are yours." Therefore they would
not be estranged from any, but would have fellowship
with all. Sometimes they have faltered in this, and they
have come far short of the mark, nevertheless the ideal
has ever been cherished in their hearts. "By this shall
all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one
to another." Two paths have reached out before the Dis-
ciples— one to proclaim the Gospel upon this basis to the
whole world, and upon this they have grown to their
present size ; the other to make overtures to other com-
munions for cooperation in a common service to God. In
the latter they have not been so successful, but they are
not discouraged, for they yet expect that around the con-
ference table they will be able with all others to present
that which they hold as their sacred trust, willing to say
now, as one of their earliest leaders said a hundred years
ago, that if there is "a better way to regain and preserve
that Christian unity and charity expressly enjoined upon
the church of God they will be thankful for its discovery
and will cheerfully embrace it," believing most confidently
that one way or another the whole church of God will,
in due time, "attain to the unity of the faith."
PASSION FOR UNION
The supreme passion of the Disciples of Christ is the
union of all Christians in order to the exaltation of Christ
and the salvation of a lost world. They believe that a
divided church means an infidel world. Their one aim
10
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
December 26, 1918
and hope has been, therefore, that their movement might
somehow be used of God as one step toward the clearing
of the atmosphere of all conflicting theories and toward
the healing of the unhappy divisions of his church. This
is their only apology for a separate existence. They be-
lieve that the union of the church of God is as much a part
of the Divine program as the death of Jesus on the cross
and his resurrection from the tomb.
General Foch Prays
A CALIFORNIA boy — Evans by name — with the
American Expeditionary Forces in France, has
recently written a letter to his parents in San Ber-
nardino, in which he tells of meeting General Foch at close
range in France. The Los Angeles Times reports the
meeting.
Evans had gone into an old church to have a look at
it, and as he stood there with bared head satisfying his
respectful curiosity, a gray man with the eagles of a gen-
eral on the collar of his shabby uniform also entered the
church.
Only one orderly accompanied the quiet, gray man.
No glittering staff of officers, no entourage of gold-laced
aids were with him ; nobody but the orderly.
Evans paid small attention, at first, to the man, but
was curious to see him kneel in the church, praying. The
minutes passed until full three-quarters of an hour had
gone by before the gray man arose from his knees.
Then Evans followed him down the street and was
surprised to see soldiers salute this man in great excite-
ment, and women and children stopping in their tracks
with awestruck faces as he passed.
It was Foch. And now Evans of San Bernardino
counts the experience as the greatest in his life.
During that three-quarters of an hour that the gen-
eralissimo of all the Allied armies was on his knees in
humble supplication in that quiet church, ten thousand
guns were roaring at his word on a hundred hills that
rocked with death.
Millions of armed men crouched in trenches or
rushed across blood-drenched earth at his command ; gen-
erals and field marshals, artillery, cavalry, engineers, tanks,
fought and wrought across the map of Europe absolutely
as he commanded them to do, and in no other manner, as
he went into that little church to pray.
Nor was it an unusual thing for General Foch to do.
There is no day that he does not do the same thing if
there be a church that he can reach. He never fails to
spend an hour on his knees every morning that he awakes
from sleep, and every night it is the same.
Moreover, it is not a new thing with him. He has
done it his whole life.
What is Orthodoxy?
ByA. W. Fortune
ORTHODOXY has an ever changing content, but
the purpose which it seeks to accomplish is ever
the same. It is the essence of sectarianism and
its aim is to prevent progress. Orthodoxy, fully developed,
identifies religion with a creed from which there is no de-
parture ; it carries with it the spirit of persecution. Orth-
odoxy nailed Jesus to a cross, burned John Huss at the
stake, excommunicated Martin Luther, closed the churches
against John Wesley, withdrew fellowship from Alexander
Campbell, and closed the doors of Salem Chapel against
the Disciples. Orthodoxy divided churches when the or-
gan was introduced ; it sought to destroy great missionary
organizations ; and it is today endeavoring to close our
colleges.
Orthodox is from two Greek words, orthos, which
means right, and doxa, which means opinion ; but the right
opinion of one age does not suffice for another. The
churchmen who excommunicated Martin Luther con-
demned the Pharisees for crucifying Jesus, and the con-
scientious Anglicans, who closed their church doors against
John Wesley, denounced the persecutors of Huss and
Luther. The men who refused to fellowship Alexander
Campbell had no sympathy with the treatment accorded to
Wesley, and the brethren who divided churches over the
introduction of the organ hurled their anathemas against
the Baptists because they withdrew from Campbell and
his associates, while the men of our own day who are seek-
ing to wreck missionary organizations and destroy colleges
lament the division caused in our ranks by those whom they
call antis.
Whenever men adopt a standard of orthodoxy, which
is their interpretation of right opinion and insist that others
shall conform to it, divisions will be inevitable. The mind
must develop and the right opinion of one group will not
long suffice. As Alexander Campbell put it in his "Par-
able of the Iron Bedstead," we must "dispense with this
piece of popish furniture in the church, and allow Christians
of every stature to meet at the same fireside and eat at
the same table."
You want to be true, and you are trying to be. Learn
these two things : Never to be discouraged because good
things get on slowly here, and never to fail daily to do
that good which lies next your hand. Do not be in a
hurry, but be diligent. Enter into that sublime patience of
the Lord. George MacDonald.
npHE DEMAND for the autumn issue
■* of the 20tf) Centura (©uarterlp was so
unexpectedly large that the supply was
exhausted several weeks ago. One school,
reordering, sent this telegram: "Send 40
more copies; everybody wants it."
Has your order been sent in for the
winter quarter? Order now, and order a
sufficient number to carry your school
through the entire quarter.
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 East 40th Street, Chicago.
The Moral Aftermath of War- 1 1.
A Hero in
Every Man
IT was a truism at the front that every man was brave. The
Paris Apache died with the same sang froid as the univer-
sity man, yet the one entered the war as an adventurer and
the other as a martyr. The difference was that the latter under-
stood what it was all about and rationally accepted his patriotic
part while the former did not in the least know what it was
about, but responded to the instinctive trait that underlies the
patriotic; and it is upon that instinctive thing that patriotism,
sacrifice for fellow men and the martyrdom of wise men is
founded. There was a hero in every man though many had
never acted very heroic as civic patriots.
In just the same manner men who had been selfish at home
where there was no emergency suddenly offered their lives on
the altar of humanity's freedom when the emergency arose.
Men who had lived exclusive, luxurious lives became comrades
of those whom they had cut out of their social circles, univer-
sity men comraded with the unlettered, heirs to fortunes
bunked and chummed with working men, and the rank and file
of the army became a great democracy despising all class and
caste lines. There was a democrat in every man though many
had weakly yielded to the demands of the ruling idea that one
man was superior to another because of some outward ac-
coutrement of money, birth, education or what-not.
There seems to be an inherent integrity and worthfulness
in every man at bottom. There is even the proverbial "honor
among thieves," and cut-throats have a code of fellowship that
will lead them to die in defense of the gang or suffer punish-
ment rather than accept immunity by implicating the others.
Criminals will risk their lives to save children and every prison
could tell heroic stories of fellow prisoner service that shines
with all the more luster just because of the character of those
who do it — let Warden Osborne testify as to that.
Of course, the man of understanding and of trained and
upright motive will sacrifice more and play the hero in many
more situations than will the others, but whether cultured and
made religious by training or not, all men have in them the
primary instinct that yearns for fellowship and causes them
to react to its demands without much question. It is upon this
that all ethics and all true religion is builded, or we had better
say that it is out of this that all ethics and true religion grows,
for the biological analogy is much more adequate than the
mechanical. War calls upon this primitive and most funda-
mental instinct. It is a call to defend the tribe, the fatherland,
mother country, our race or religious brethren, our culture or our
national principles. The pacifist was one who had over-ration-
alized himself into what he thought was a higher cultural view-
point, or who blindly stood by his sect-group in their radical
moral code. The slacker and profiteer were those who would
have betrayed their cause or their comrades in a position where
they could have saved self by such ignoble action.
What About the Religion
of the Trenches?
We have heard much about the religion of the trenches.
That religion of the "pure and undefiled" variety was there no
one can reasonably doubt. Men who did not go to church, talk
religion or pay the least attention to it at home in the humdrum
of life manifested an interest in it in the trenches. Their inter-
est was not of the kind that is looked for in a revival meeting,
nor was it manifested by a "request for prayer" attitude; in
fact, there was nothing conventional about it. It partook of
the character of the business the men were engaged in and
had a bluffness, a crisp unconventionality, in most cases a
meaningful silence about it that was nonplussing to the con-
ventionalist. Churches, stated services, the church disciplines,
mid-week prayer meetings, nor anything else of the prayer-
book, ritualistic, conforming type found much place to gear up
with it. It did not put much emphasis upon the creed, the
small conventions of morality in speech, the "cloth" or theology
as we read it. Nevertheless it was there in primitive, unsys-
tematic, spontaneous kind and it met the emergent human situation
in Christ-like manner even if not with Christ-like gentleness
and culture. It may have been rough in manner, rude in
speech, heterodox in doctrine — an uncouth type of religion —
but it fitted the army and it did the job.
The religion of the trenches was the fundamental in re-
ligion upon which all its superstructure has been and must be
builded. It manifested itself in terms of sacrifice and fellow-
service; it even bound up the wounds of the enemy, once he was
disarmed. It was the religion that is latent in every man as a
social being and was a manifestation of the social basis of all
true religion. It was not a complete religion at all, but neither
did it have upon it those useless accretions that we tolerate in
our conventional living. It left undone some of the things it
ought to have done, but they were not the weightier matters.
And that is where it must come back to do us good. We tithe
the mint and anise and cummin of doctrine, orders and small
moralities and leave undone the weightier matters of service
and sacrifice. The religion of the trenches devoted itself quite
entirely to service and sacrifice and forgot those other things
that "ye ought to have done" also. It demands of us a re-
valuation of things minor and major and compels us to face
the fact that we have refined the minors until we have obscured
the majors in our applications of religious principle through our
institutional Christianity.
There was a naive, unreflective demonstration of this
primitive and fundamental quality of the average soldier's
religion in the story, now often told, of the response to the
Y. M. C. A.'s questionnaire asking what were the major sins.
Cowardice, selfishness, etc., were named; their corresponding
virtues, of course, being courage, sacrifice and comrade service.
Then when asked about swearing, drinking and sex-vice the
men laughed (not the laugh of a sneer but that laugh we use
when we wish to face a situation fraught with some embar-
rassment good-naturedly) and they said those things were for
each man's personal conscience. But are they? They are
secondary to service, courage and sacrifice, but they cannot be
left out of religion. They emphatically belong. We have
allowed them to become the test of religion and morals when
the other things should be the test, but it would be fatal to
attempt to dispense with them in our revaluation and return
to the fundamentals.
* * *
Trench Religion in
Peace Times
Will the men bring a refreshing to religion when they come
home? Will their baptism of danger and revival of faith in
God and immortality remain imminent after danger is gone?
Will the spirit of sacrifice and fellow-service keep a keen con-
science in the humdrum of life where there is no emergency?
Will the courage of war patriotism and the front-line persist
in civic patriotism and give us a wave of civic virtue and re-
form? Or will this type of unconventional and rough but deep
revival of elemental religion revert to the deeps of life and be
covered up with the impedimenta of the customary and for-
gotten in the usual struggles of business, professional, indus-
trial and political life? In a later article we will discuss the
problem of the church's power to seize upon and keep it alive,
but here we raise the question of its inherent worth in out-
of-war times — its permanent as over against its emergency
value.
Is it not quite as probable that the very strain and tension
(Continued on page 14)
The
aily Alt
Edited by HERBERT LOCKWOOD WILL
WHY THIS BOOK?
k^s^sM^E °f the most vital needs of modern religion is the
/gfiP%jMi daily practice of the presence of God. To miss
[■IFS^jP the joy and inspiration of regular and habitual
^^J^^ periods of devotion is a distinct limitation of re-
SjjT? ligious interest and efficiency, if not utterly fatal
£5£3ji*^?iS to the spiritual life.
Especially in this great moment of the world's history it
is of basic importance that the deep sources of religious insight
and power should be quickened and nourished. The tragedies
of war have sent the suffering and bereaved of all the nations
back to the springs of their comfort in God. The revolution
that is taking place in every department of the world's life, in
industry, in commerce, in education, in national and interna-
tional relations, and in ethics and religion makes it evident that
the foundations of our faith must be laid deeper than ever
before, and that our convictions regarding the immeasurably
significant things of the spirit must be more than ever assured
and confident. This result can be attained not by any imper-
sonal development of the institutions of religion, but by the
enrichment and growth of religion in the personal life of men
and women.
The acquirement by the individual Christian and the family
circle of the habit of methodical devotion is a means of serenity
and power. Yet one of the regrettable features of our modern
life is the neglect of private prayer and the family altar. Like
that altar which Elijah found at Carmel, it is broken down and
abandoned. In the homes of many Christians who were reared
in an atmosphere of domestic piety, little heed is taken to the
culture of mind and heart in the great essentials of Bible study
and prayer. Many such Christians are conscious of a very real
deficit in their own religious life, as a result of this neglect.
With the purpose of meeting in an entirely simple and
practical manner some of the needs of individuals and house-
holds in the attainment of the sense of spiritual reality, this
book has been prepared. It contains brief selections for each
day. It is adjusted to use in any year. In addition to the
regular selections, there will be found outstanding days in the
calendar, which may be used at the appropriate times. A few
simple forms of grace at table are added, and the necessary
indices are provided.
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THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
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A SAMPLE PAGE
Twentieth Week
THE DAILY ALTAR
g§onDap
Theme for the Day — The Blessedness of Daily Work.
Our daily work is part of God's plan for us — and a
large and basic part. We must avoid that fallacy so com-
mon among religious people that work is secular and wor-
ship is religious. Work is religious, if it is good work weU
done. Indeed, good work, be it ever so commonplace, is a
form of worship. Out of it grows character. God reveals
Himself increasingly in our times in the work-a-day life of
men. He calls us to take up our tasks, with all their
drudgery and exactions, in a spirit of joy and patience and
courage.
+
Scripture — Man goeth forth unto his work, and to his
labor until the evening. — Psalm 104 : 22.
+
Forenoon, and afternoon, and night ; — Forenoon,
And afternoon, and night; Forenoon, and — what?
The empty song repeats itself. No more?
Yea, that is life; make this forenoon sublime,
This afternoon a psalm, this night a prayer,
And time is conquered, and thy crown is won.
Edward Rowland Sill ("The Day").
+
Prayer — Good Father, Thou hast set before us a goodly
heritage, and the lines are fallen to us in pleasant places.
We have our daily work and our nightly rest, and blessings
enough to make us ever grateful. Save us, we pray Thee,
from discontent, from depression of spirit and from thank-
lessness. Make us strong and of good courage. Suffer us
not to grow weary in our task, nor to faint in our pilgrim-
age. So shall we be fitted for higher blessings and nobler
service in a world without end. — Amen.
[135]
700 East 40th Street, CHICAGO
14
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
December 26, 1918
The Moral Aftermath of War
(Continued from page 11)
of war upon the individual, the stress that called up the deep
and hidden, the emergency that awakened the dormant spirit
of service and sacrifice may beget a reaction that will swing
now to the other extreme? There is a kind of law of reversion
in psychological reactions of this kind. Unless the religion of
the trench went far enough, was continued long enough and
made a matter of culture to such an extent as to transform it
from an emotional into a conviction phenomena in personal
experience, just that thing may happen. It will be like other
revival experiences under emotional stress so far as its
psychology is concerned. The fact that it is very different in
kind will not affect the type of reaction. Waves of materialism
are liable to follow heroic eras of war sacrifice. Soldiers are
liable to become Bolsheviki after the strict discipline of army
life is removed. There is certainly a very apparent reaction
toward exclusive nationalism with certain elements after four
years of most genuine war internationalism. It is the back-
wash of emotional high-tides. Not all are thus affected because
there are always many with whom the experience educates the
will and transforms life by deepening and making convictions
that are permanent, but there are also many with whom the
experience is more superficial though not less genuine and
the rebound is in some proportion to the drive of the emotion
experienced.
Alva W. Taylor.
Books
The Protestant — A Review
ONE is not a little surprised upon reading in the public
print a personal letter of his written in a facetious style
to an author thanking him for a bit of pleasure gotten
from a book, especially when it appears as a signed review
addressed to the publishers and appears to recommend the
book to the public. Such, however, was the experience of the
reviewer in reading a letter purporting to be addressed to the
publishers in the "Christian Century" of December 12th. If one
is to be taken seriously in public, one prefers to speak seriously
and directly. In justice to myself, I feel compelled by the former
publication to offer a critical estimate of Dr. Jenkins' book.
The Protestant, with its breezy, racy, bracing style and its
bold caricatures of institutions, types and tendencies among us,
gives a unique and extreme expression to the spirit of protest
that has characterized the Disciples throughout their history as
the Protestants of Protestants. It outprotestants the Protestants
and outdisciples the Disciples. In fact, its negative spirit of protest
would, if followed to its logical consequences, destroy the move-
ment of the Disciples itself.
In recent years there has been a growing reactionary tendency
among us that would crystallize the Disciples into a rigid sect,
even narrower and harsher than those from which the originators
of the movement were driven out and that would persuade us to
forsake our historic ideals of intellectual and spiritual freedom.
The most recent expression of this tendency has been an effort
of a sectarian party to fasten a creed upon our educational institu-
tions and to brand as a "heretic" anyone who refuses to be bound
by the opinions of any party. In so far as The Protestant is a
protest against this and any other perversions of the essential
ideals of the Disciples, it will be read with a keen appreciation by
those who have not apostatized from the ideals of Protestantism
and the movement of the Disciples of Christ. This is the merit
of the book, and those who enjoy George Ade will also enjoy
the piquancy of the style as well as the sketchy cartoons. They
will even find it stimulating.
Otherwise Dr. Jenkins' book is the expression of the position
of the ultra radicals as distinguished from the conservative pro-
gressives among the Disciples. Many, if not most, of its positions
The Year
1919
7(5 TO be a year of
spiritual upbuilding.
The war for world free-
dom is about over, and
the call has come for
the building of the King-
dom of God in the
hearts of men. "The
Daily Altar", the new
book of devotion and
worship described else-
where in this issue, is
perfectly adapted to
this sacred enterprise.
Begin Your New
Year Right!
Copies of "The Daily Altar"
may be had at $2 per copy
(plus postage.) Six copies
to one address, $10.
| The Christian Century Press j
I 700 East 40th St. Chicago |
aimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
December 26, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
15
will not be acceptable to the greater part of the Disciples — certainly
not to the reviewer. But I am not for burning the author on that
account. It is a fundamental principle of Protestantism that every
man should have the right to give free expression to his views.
The book is, as the author frankly states, purely negative, and, if
the author were to be taken too seriously, would be destructive.
The Disciples will not quickly depart from certain fundamental
ideals, the abuses of which are here made the marks for shafts
of raillery. Nor will they, without protest, consent to be lined
up with either radical or reactionary parties among us. They shy
at labels and shibboleths as not being conducive to freedom or
progress. In this respect The Protestant does not represent the
spirit either of Protestantism or of Disciples of Christ whose
serious thought and work are organized about great constructive
convictions and worthful undertakings, including Christian edu-
cation.
But it is better to be told our faults frankly by our facetious
friends than by aliens who might deride us. If looking into this
mirror will help to lead us to a healthful self-criticism, Dr. Jenkins'
book may serve a constructive purpose. Doubtless there is a place
for such a book in our literature. Not many discriminating readers
will take the author too seriously. He evidently does not mean
to be taken so. Meantime, the serious-minded, forward-looking
Disciples are eagerly waiting for the Protestant who is not merely
an iconoclast, who does not simply hold up our follies and weak-
nesses to ridicule, but who has the insight and the voice of the
prophet and can state anew for us at the close of a century of
history the fundamental ideals of Protestantism and of our own
historic movement. W. C. Bower.
Lexington, Ky., Dec. 18, 1918.
Other Reviews
The Baptist Standard, Dallas, Tex.
You will not agree with much the author has to say, but after
reading the first chapter, you will want to finish the book before
putting it down. He is not to be taken too seriously. He admits
that his book is "Bolshevistic, destructive." We find ourselves
resenting the light-hearted way in which he speaks of the Bible ;
but the book is quite suggestive and will set many a man to won-
dering whether or not he may be in a rut. Preachers especially
will find it a very interesting discussion. The author is a member
of the Disciples' congregation, but he is unsparing in his criticism
of his own people.
Christian Work, New York
While the author disavows any constructive purpose in the
book, it is in reality a master-work of constructive and helpful
criticism. Yv ithout apparently trying to do so, the author marks
out positive paths along which progress must be made.
The Churchman, New York.
Dedicated "to the bravest of men, the heretics," the author
calls his wail of destructive criticism against organized Christi-
anity, "a scrap book for insurgents." And indeed it is scrappy,
slangy, unconventional, egotistical, iconoclastic, flippant, provoking.
All of these qualities the author admits in his "No Apologies," thus
disarming adverse criticism. Dr. Jenkins writes as a dare-devil
Jehu drives. He scorns every rule of the road and drives fero-
ciously through the denominations and makes the dust fly, leaving
in his wake one humming, buzzing whistle that calls for a great
prophet, a great protester who will bring organized religion to a
serious understanding of her task, and the futility of trying to ful-
fill her mission by her present divided forces.
Reformed Church Messenger.
This book, dedicated to "the bravest men I know, the heretics,"
was written by the pastor of a church of 2,000 members and may
seem to some readers trivial, disgustingly facetious in its treatment
of sacred themes, and utterly iconoclastic in its attitude toward
time-worn creeds and conventions. But the author claims to be an
NOTE: The "20th Century Quarterly" is an
entirely new publication. The second issue is
now published for the winter quarter.
HOW THE
20th
Century
Quarterly
DIFFERS FROM OTHERS:
It eliminates all the "padding"
that is usually found in quarterlies.
These usually contain lesson notes
that have come down through the
years. This moss-grown comment
is not to be found in the 20th Cen-
tury Quarterly. Nor are the tire-
some quotations from books
written fifty years ago allowed to
burden the pages of this new pub-
lication. W. D. Ryan's "Getting
Into the Lesson" is vivid, and really
takes the student straight into the
lesson. H. L. Willett, Jr.'s "Clear-
ing Up Difficult Points" does just
the thing implied in that title. It
does not "expostulate" on verses
whose meaning is obvious. John
R. Ewers' "The Lesson Brought
Down to Date" is vital and snappy
and yet reverential; and it fairly
throbs with the life of today. Dr.
W. C. Morro's "Lesson Forum"
presents just the kind of questions
your modern class needs for its
discussions. This Quarterly is
alive!
Send for free sample copy today
The Christian Century Press
700 E. 40th Street, CHICAGO
16
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
December 26, 1918
optimist and a real friend of the church and his purpose is obvi-
ously to destroy the fetters that hem in men's souls and cause little
men to push to the front their own petty little punch-and-judy
shows, while a needy world starves and cries and dies. You may
not agree with an entire page in this book, but you will not find
it dull. It is the sort of a lusty kick that is needed once in a
while to arouse us from an intolerable ecclesiastical somnolence
and self-satisfaction. You who are not interested in helping to
erect the church that is to be in this new era will not want this
"charge of dynamite."
Professor Peckham on "The New Orthodoxy"
"The New Orthodoxy," a little volume by Professor E. S.
Ames, is a valuable contribution to the religious thought of the
day. It has a helpful message for all Christian workers who
desire to make Christ a living, vitalizing force in this new world
of ours, a world interested not so much in our creeds as in our
deeds. Emphasis is put upon living and service, making the book
an interpretation of the prophetic religion beginning in the Old
Testament and seen at its best in the teaching and life of Jesus.
Its systematic arrangement of material, its clear vigorous style,
and its gripping thought make attractive reading.
Hiram College, O. G. A. Peckham.
♦ j£ ♦
Books on Social Service
The Play Movement and Its Significance. By Henry S.
Curtis, Ph. D. The morale of a people may be determined by its
play. The American soldier is not only provided with play, but
he is definitely taught it as a part of his training and for the sake
of keeping him fit mentally and spiritually. The moral worth of
play is recognized by the Y. M. C. A. in all its work, and organ-
ized play is being increasingly promoted by the schools and also by
cities through their park and playground systems. The author of
this volume is one of the foremost promoters of the play idea in
America — and that means in the world — and one of its authoritative
interpreters. In this, his fourth volume, he narrates the rise of
the play movement in the United States, defines the relation of
play to the new psychology and social spirit and devotes successive
chapters to its use in school, on the municipal playground, in
public recreation, in benevolent institutions, in the country; de-
votes a chapter each to Boy Scouts and Camp Fire Girls, equipment
and the recreational survey and closes with a discussion of its
cost and the gain it brings to society. It is an invaluable book
to every moral leader and teacher of youth. When the church
awakens to the moral value of play it will so provide that the
average adolescent boy does not forsake it just at that critical
time when all life's great choices are being made. (Macmillan,
$1.50.)
Religion and the School. By Emil Carl Wilm. Dr. Wilm
is professor of philosophy in Boston University. In this little
monograph he argues for a religious evaluation of the ethical
values found in the teaching of the humanities in the common
school, in the discipline of the classroom, in the personality and
example of the teacher, in the teaching of science and in physical
and manual training. All too often have we heard the public
school denounced as Godless just because formal worship and
orthodox instruction in the Scriptures may be denied. But our
author also contends for the use of the literary masterpieces and
the history in the Bible with credit and for systematic ethical
instruction. (Abingdon Press, 35 cents.)
The Christian Man, the Church and the War. By Robert
E. Speer. Dr. Speer is one of the clearest thinkers of our time
upon religious questions. Whatever he says is worth taking the
time to read. He combines rare insight into the heart of the
Master's teaching with an outstanding statesmanship in adminis-
tering the affairs of the Kingdom. In this little volume he clearly
discriminates between war for war's sake or for any other motive
than that eminently Christian one of protecting others and sacri-
ficing for that end. On this basis he answers all pacifist contentions
while at the same time smiting militarism a mighty blow. There
are many good war sermons in a nutshell here. (Macmillan,
60 cents.) a. w. t.
* * *
Miscellaneous Books
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. By Vicente Blasco
Ibanez. Translated from the Spanish by Charlotte B. Jordan.
This novel has been almost universally praised as the outstanding
novel of the great war, the one novel which will assuredly be of
permanent interest and value. The book is in its 22d edition.
The high spirit of France in the hour of trial is the dominant
note in the story. The "Brooklyn Eagle" remarks that Spain's
greatest novelist "seems to see the war through eyes that are
world-wide in their sweep." This book will have its place on the
shelves of all book lovers who are making collections of the war's
outstanding literature. (Dutton, $1.90.)
Readings From Great Authors. Selected by John Haynes
Holmes. A sort of new Bible, with great and inspiring messages
not only from David and Paul and Jesus, but also from such later
prophets and singers as Emerson, Browning, Tolstoi, Whitman,
Edwin Markham, Wordsworth and Tennyson, with such ancients
as Seneca, Buddha and Marcus Aurelius. Lincoln, Mazzini and
Woodrow Wilson are also represented. Arranged for responsive
reading in public assemblies as well as for use in homes and
schools. (Dodd, Mead & Company, 50 cents.)
Lanterns in Gethsemane. By Willard Wattles. Mr. Wattles
is a professor in the State University of Kansas. His verse is
rather unusual for these times when poetry and religion are said
by many of the "new poets" and the new critics to be of different
spheres. Yet, Mr. Wattles has evidently found a reception for his
work, some of it having been published in the columns of the
"Outlook," the "Independent, "Harper's Weekly, the "Bookman,"
etc. One of the best poems included here is "There Was a
Man." (Dutton, $1.50.)
Something New in Books. Boni & Liveright, New York,
surprised the book loving public something over a year ago by
bringing out the very attractive "Modern Library" of leather-
bound books of standard worth at the amazing price of 70 cents
per volume. The latest surprise from this enterprising company
is the new Penguin Series — new books of a distinguished literary
value that have never before appeared in America. The format of
this new series is charming, being attractively bound in colored
boards, with white vellum backs; the paper is of superior quality
and the type is specially set and printed. The first four volumes
issued are: "Gabrielle de Bergerac," by Henry James; "Kama,"
by Lafcadio Hearn ; "Japanese Fairy Tales," by Hearn, and "Io-
lanthe's Wedding," by Sudermann. (Price of all volumes of the
series, $1.25 plus 10 cents postage.)
Joyce Kilmer. A memorial volume in honor of the most
illustrious poet-martyr of the American army in the Great
War — Alan Seeger, of course, died before America entered the
war, in the Foreign Legion of France. These two beautiful
volumes contain Mr. Kilmer's poems, letters and essays, also
a memoir by Mr. Kilmer's literary executor, Robert Cortes
Holliday. The personality of this poet-warrior was one of
unusual charm, as was also that of Seeger, and of the English
hero-poet, Rupert Brooke. Falling on the field of honor all
these youths have won immortality, and their works will be
found in the libraries of those who treasure the books of
great human interest connected with the world conflict.
(Doran. Two volumes, $5.)
Nocturne. By Frank Swinnerton. With an Introduction
by H. G. Wells. Readers who are looking for permanent
literature rather than for "timely" tract preachments and
pieces of journalism will be interested in this novel, which is
pronounced "perfect, authentic and alive," by Mr. Wells. The
events described occur in the space of a single night. Five
or six characters, men and women, move the story forward
with spirit. In a day when our world is flooded with journal-
ism, this book comes to us as a literary balm. (Doran. $1.40.)
Federal Council Meeting at Atlantic City
By Jasper T. Moses
Of the Religious Publicity Service
THE annual meeting of the Executive Committee of the
Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America
held at Atlantic City, Dec. 10-12, brought striking evi-
dence that our church leaders are keenly alive to the needs
and to the duties of the hour. Steps were taken that will more
than ever align the Church with all that is best and most pro-
gressive in the life of the nation and of each community.
All the influence of the Federal Council is to be used
to back President Wilson in the League of Nations. The
special commission who will bear to the Peace Conference
a petition signed by the leaders of American Protestanism
urging the adoption of the League of Nations include Dr.
Frank Mason North, President of the Federal Council, Rev.
James I. Vance, of Nashville, Tenn., Chairman of the Execu-
tive Committee, Dr. Henry Churchill King, Chairman of the
Commission on the Church and Social Service of the Federal
Council, Dr. Frederick Lynch, of the World Alliance, and
Hamilton Holt, Editor of the "Independent." Both of the latter
are active members of the commission on the Church and the
Moral Aims of the War.
So in earnest are the members of the Executive Commit-
tee of the Federal Council in their endeavor to bring about
the adoption of the League of Nations, that they have resolved
to call the people of America to set aside Sunday, January 12,
as a day of special prayer of thanksgiving for victory and that
God will guide the conference at Paris to draft an agreement
which will secure justice and fair dealing in the institutions and
practice of international life.
THE CHURCH TO HELP AMERICANIZE THE IMMIGRANT
A stirring appeal was brought to the council by Dr. P. P.
Claxton, Commissioner of Education, who sought the cooperation
of the churches in the Government's program for Americanizing
the 5,000,000 people of foreign birth in the United States who do
not speak our language. Dr. Claxton urged that Christian people
carry out the "big brother" idea with these needy foreigners, whose
ignorance constitutes a potential menace to our free institutions.
He paid high tribute to the churches as the only agency that could
reach the people who are capable of doing this service for the
Government, and urged it as the greatest contribution possible
toward making democracy safe in America.
In response to the appeal of the Commissioner of Education
and to other calls from the War Department and the Department
of Labor, the churches will, as never before, work in definite sup-
port of government tasks during the coming year. They are to
assist in the program of demobilization by helping to maintain
the morale of the troops and in finding suitable situations for them
as they are discharged gradually from the central camps. The
report of the Commission on Evangelism calls on the churches to
turn their Sunday evening meetings into community services, and
to make these union gatherings in the small towns. Personal
evangelism is stressed as the supreme need of the hour.
JUSTICE FOR THE ORIENTAL ON OUR SHORES
The Commision on International Justice and Good Will called
for a reconsideration of the whole question of our immigration
laws, doing away with the present discriminations against all those
of foreign race, who have so nobly proved their loyalty to the cause
of world freedom, and in this country have so liberally supported
the Red Cross and our Liberty Loans. Before the flood tide of
immigration again sets in from Europe, they argue, our legislation
on the whole subject needs intelligent revision from the standpoint
of the greatest good to all the nations concerned, and especially
that of our brave Allies. Attention was called to atrocities re-
ported against the natives of East Africa when under German
rule, and it was suggested that the Peace Conference be asked
not to return these colonies to Germany.
Through the General War-Time Commission, the churches
are to take an active part in the Government's demobilization pro-
gram, cooperating with the War Department, the Department of
Labor and the War Camp Community Service in the task of help-
ing the men return to civil life with the least possible waste and
friction.
THE CHURCH TO SHARE IN THE DEMOBILIZATION PROGRAM
The churches are to be notified of ways in which they may
assist in securing situations for the men. The chaplains and camp
pastors will be instructed to influence them strongly to return to
their old homes and to their old jobs, unless they are capable of
something better. The churches will cooperate with the repre-
sentatives of the Department of Labor in securing positions for
the discharged troops, and will take an especial interest in helping
the men who are to be sent out from the Army Rehabilitation
Hospitals and the training schools in the recuperation camps. The
Government plans to take back for further training those men who
are unable to make good after their original discharge.
Special workers will be needed at the twenty regional demobili-
zation camps from which the War Department plans gradually to
discharge the troops, keeping in touch through the Federal Employ-
ment Bureaus with the labor situation in each area, so that the
men will not be demobilized faster than they can be reabsorbed
into civil life. This whole program affords many opportunities for
service from the churches in maintaining the morale of the men
during this, to them, trying period and in preparing the com-
munities to receive them in the most constructively helpful manner.
WORK FOR WAR PRODUCTION COMMUNITIES
The Joint Committee on War Production Communities re-
ported through its secretary, Dr. Worth M. Tippy, that during
the five months of its existence it has been actively cooperating
with the Government in promoting the moral and religious inter-
ests of the employees on the numerous Government reservations
devoted to war production.
The workers sent out by the committee have made approxi-
mately one hundred surveys of communities, which have been
multigraphed and sent out to such bodies as the Hebrew Welfare
Board, the Y. M. C. A., the Catholic War Council and the War
Camp Community Service, as well as to the home mission boards
cf the churches. These surveys cover war production centers of
all types, from the logging camps of the northwest and of the far
south to the munitions factories of the Jersey meadows and the
many new shipyards of both coasts.
LIBERTY CHURCHES FOR GOVERNMENT WORKERS
The most distinctive type of work fostered by this committee
has been the establishment of seven Liberty churches in ordnance
reservations. Liberty pastors are also to be placed in the several
of the large housing projects of the Shipping Board. In each
case these Liberty churches were placed in situations where it
would have been impossible to establish denominational congrega-
tions and they represent in the fullest possible way all of the
Protestant bodies.
Among the many interests touched by the report of the
general secretary, Dr. Charles S. Macfarland, those dealing with
international relations have a special significance on account of
Dr. Macfarland's mission to France last summer. New and closer
relations with Belgium are being fostered through the visit in
America of Major Pierre Blommaert, Protestant chaplain-in-chief
of the Belgian army, now in America. Chaplain Blommaert
brought a message of hope and of courage from the stricken
Belgian churches, and of gratitude for the help and sympathy
of their American brethren.
The exchange of visits with the Protestant forces in France
during the year have served to bring mutual understanding and
18
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
December 26, 1918
confidence. Dr. Henri Anet has continued through the year as
the representative of the American Hugenot committee. The
plans of the Commission for Christian Relief in France and
Belgium, involving the early raising and expenditure of large
amounts for the restoration of the destroyed church buildings and
parsonages in the war zone, are only one evidence of the interest
of American Christians in their brethren across the Atlantic.
A special commission was appointed to investigate conditions
in Russia.
A committee was also appointed to plan for a broader organi-
zation of the council to meet the demands of the future.
The constituent bodies of the Federal Council have been
drawn closer together by the pressure of the great common tasks
made imperative by the war. This spirit of unity was manifest
throughout the whole gathering, and is one of the brightest signs
on the horizon of American Christianity.
The Committee on Moral Aims of the War has achieved
notable results through the bringing to America of such repre-
sentative Englishmen as Sir George Adam Smith, Rev. Arthur
T. Guttery and the Rt. Rev. Charles Gore. The messages brought
by these great churchmen thrilled thousands of American citizens
and have wrought closer the bonds of brotherhood between the
two great English-speaking races.
WORLD-WIDE PROHIBITION THE NEXT GOAL
Along with its report of the splendid progress toward national
prohibition, the Commission on Temperance presented plans look-
ing toward a world-wide campaign for prohibition. Attention was
called to the vast international scope of the missionary work of
the American churches, and it was urged that the 11,000 mission-
aries, 50,000 native helpers and 1,200,000 communicants in mission
churches would form the nucleus of a magnificent world-wide
propaganda for temperance. It was suggested that the International
Sunday School Association, the United Society of Christian En-
deavor and other world-wide organizations should co-operate in
this vast undertaking.
"The Strengthen America Campaign," of which Rev. Charles
Stelzle has been the moving spirit, has been the chief contribution
of the Federal Council to the bringing about of nation-wide prohi-
bition. Mr. Stelzle has worked tirelessly in promoting this cam-
paign through the press.
THE CHAPLAINCY SITUATION
The report of the Committee on Army and Navy Chaplains,
in connection with the work of the General War-Time Commis-
sion, reviewed the work done through the Washington office in
recruiting and recommending chaplains for the army and the navy.
Thousands of applications were considered and passed, thus sup-
plying the needs of both branches of the service. There were
on November 18th in the adjutant general's office, 1,229 applications
approved by the Washington office, upon which no action had
as yet been taken by the military authorities.
This branch of the service represents the church in the army,
and in so doing had many critical situations to face. One of the
achievements of the year was the securing of a chaplain for each
1,250 officers and enlisted men when the strength of the infantry
regiment was trebled. The War-Time Commission has been helpful
in innumerable ways in keeping the home churches in touch with
the needs of the chaplains in the fields and in serving the churches
in equipping the chaplains for their work.
While there were many brief messages given during the
meeting from men who are authorities in their special fields, the
chief address of the gathering was delivered on Wednesday evening
by Dr. Robert E. Speer, chairman of the General War-Time
Commission of the churches. Dr. Speer gave a most thoughtful
analysis of the lessons which the church must learn from the
war and from its other experiences of the recent past. His vision
of the possibilities that lie before a united Christendom in the
regeneration of our social and national life was so compelling
that he was unanimously requested to prepare the message for
general publication.
New York City.
Rev. John R. Ewers
The Sunday School
The Oppressor*
OVER in the museum in Cairo, I am told, one may look
upon the dried head of Rameses the Second, the ancient
oppressor, who knew not Joseph. There he is, that old
rascal, once self-centered and full of egotism, a mighty ruler
who abused his power. Rameses,
Napoleon, William Hohenzollern — rep-
resentatives of selfish power. After
all, there are only a few people who
know how to use power. The sig-
nificance of the temptations of Jesus
is found when you appreciate that he
was struggling with the possibilities
of his new-found power. Should he
use that power t-o gratify himself?
When he said, "Man shall not live by
bread alone," he passed beyond the
temptation that wrecked Rameses and
Napoleon and our infamous contempo-
rary. Should he use his new power in wild stunts intended to
secure instant recognition from the crowds? (Crowds are
always susceptible to such methods.) He quickly put that
temptation aside. Finally, should he win the world by bowing
to evil? His answer is classic, "Get thee behind me, Satan."
The editor of a great New York daily has depicted the Devil
coming to young William of Prussia and offering him all the
glories and kingdoms of the world if he would bow before
him — and William bowed!
We know and hate these great oppressors. History puts
them in their niches. We may pass by and see them. We
ought to learn their lesson. For in every man's heart there
is the possibility of this sin. Only today we were talking
about the good providence that kept a certain man poor,
for should fortune smile upon him and should he amass
wealth he would be intolerant. Many do not ride rough-shod
over their fellows simply because they cannot— their hearts
are not regenerate. There is a lot of the bully in most of us.
The oppressor is always a brute.
There are official boards composed of bullies. Such a
board is fortunate when it draws an upstanding minister who
cannot be browbeaten. There are teachers and superintend-
ents of Sunday-schools who are oppressors. There are
ministers who would be if they could. There are parents
who oppress their children— and what could be worse? How
many of us realize that every little life has its own sacred
rights? How many of us search for the precious individuality?
How many of us graciously encourage the first appearances
of talent? Much as we praise our modern educational sys-
tem, it is, nevertheless, in danger of turning out graduates
as much alike as pins from a machine. Who could train
forty colts, of every breed, by driving them all around the
same track under the smarting lashings of the same whip,
and who, with any common-sense, would approve of an edu-
cational machine that denies individual attention, individual
encouragement and cracks the poor, helpless, unappreciated
little ones through the same curriculum? If the schools
cannot be changed, let us hope that the parents can! Fortu-
nately, in Sunday-schools, the day of the cut-and-dried cate-
chism is gone in most twentieth-century places, but whatl
shall we say of those who cram the children with either
ultra-orthodoxy, on the one hand, or ultra-liberalism on thd
other. Beware of the teacher with a system. Look out
for the man who wears a label! Truth should not be baked
on a waffle-iron! Too often truth has been the victim of
the doctors in the Procrustean hospital and because the bed
was short truth has been footless or headless. You havj
heard of the ancient Greek who carried a brick as a sample
Le?son for Tannery 5, 1919. Scripture, Ex. 1:8-14.
December 26, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
19
of his house, and there are still plenty of people who seek
to get the ocean in their tin-cups and who enjoy a tempest
in a tea-pot. Some of these lovers of miniature storms go
to National Conventions.
No discussion of Oppressors, however brief, would be
of value that did not consider the commercial oppressor, the
white-slaver, the exploiter of child labor, the bully-boss, the
man anywhere or whatever his station who crushes folks
like grapes in order that he may become drunk on the wine
of their energies. In school, in shop, in store, in home
Rameses must be condemned — also in church.
John R. Ewers.
The Larger Christian World
A Department of Interdenominational Acquaintance
Reconstruction Conference
in Chicago
The Chicago Church Federation held a two-day conference
on December 16 and 17 to study the adjustments of the church
to its new environment following the war. The report on the
church and labor produced a particularly interesting discus-
sion. Through the church federation the churches of Chicago
will be represented on a committee which will deal with the
problems of labor that arise in the city during the coming
year. Addresses on this subject were presented by Profes-
sor Graham Taylor, of Chicago Commons, and Mr. Mullen-
bach, arbitrator in the Hart, Schaffner, Marx Company cloth-
ing house. The committee on comity also presented a report
of great significance to the future of religious cooperation in
Chicago. For many years the religious cooperation of the
city has been an anomolous double headed concern, the Co-
operative Council dealing with the city mission problems and
many other comity problems coming before the Church Fed-
eration. There has been no clear differentiation of function
between the two organizations. The report of the committee
on comity looks in the direction of a complete union of the
comity machinery of the churches in Chicago. The com-
mittee on public morals read a strong report committing the
federation to cooperate in the fight against vice the coming
year. During the days of readjustment, it is thought that there
will be special need of vigilance. Rev. Roy B. Guild was
present at the conference and was its organizing genius. The
conference directed that Dr. H. L. Willett should be the ad-
ministrative head of the federation. Rev. W. B. Millard is the
secretary. The recent meetings were held in the Hotel La
Salle.
Lincoln Center, Chicago,
Calls Rev. John Haynes Holmes
The memorial services held in memory of the late Rev.
Jenkin Lloyd Jones revealed the wide circle of fellowship
which the distinguished preacher had made for himself. Some
of Chicago's most distinguished citizens have not hesitated to
declare that Jenkin Lloyd Jones was Chicago's greatest man.
The question of a successor to Dr. Jones in the pastorate of
All Souls Church, in the headship of Lincoln Center and in
the editorial chair of "Unity" is now a most interesting one.
On the Sunday following the memorial meeting for Dr. Jones,
a call was extended to Rev. John Haynes Holmes, pastor of
the Church of the Messiah of New York. Mr. Holmes is the
author of a number of books and many leaders have called
him the most thoughtful preacher of New York. His decision
with regard to the call to Lincoln Center will be of interest to
the wide circle of friends of Dr. Jones.
Death of Professor George B.
Foster in Chicago
Professor George Burman Foster, since 1905 professor of
the Philosophy of Religion at the University of Chicago, died
last Saturday at St. Luke's Hospital of this city, after an illness
of several weeks. "Even his death," said Prof. Shailer
Mathews, "was marked by the same individuality which made
his career a peculiar one. Death was caused by abscess of
the spleen, a very rare disease." Professor Foster has been
the subject of much controversy because of his liberal inter-
pretations of the Bible, but the announcement of his death
brought heartfelt tributes from those who differed with him
as well as from those who shared his views. The deceased
was born in Alderson, W. Va., April 2, 1858. He was pastor
of the First Baptist church, Saratoga Springs, N. Y., and
professor in McMaster's University before coming to Chicago.
Methodists Furnish
Chicago Pulpit Star
The University of Chicago brings to the city various dis-
tinguished preachers of this and other countries. These men
are used for other than university functions and it is common
for the Sunday Evening Club to use the university preacher for
its service. Bishop McConnell of the Methodist Episcopal
church was the preacher the first week in December.
Chicago Presbyterian
Ministers Exchange Pulpits
The hundred Presbyterian churches of Chicago and vicin-
ity had a strange minister in the pulpit on December 9. The
occasion was a universal exchange of pulpits to present the
cause of city missions. The Social Union of the denomination
held a dinner on the evening of December 13 to discuss city
missions. The Presbyterian denomination has the distinction
of having the largest income of any city mission society in
the municipality.
Baptists Lead in
Church Growth
The various protestant bodies of this country, of the
group of evangelicals, are about neck and neck so far as
growth is concerned. Some figures have been given out in
advance of the publication of the federal census of 1918. It
shows that the Baptists had gained 28 per cent during the past
decade, the Disciples 25 per cent, Methodists and Episco-
palians 24 per cent each and Presbyterians 23. It will be a
surprise to some to learn that the Roman Catholic growth
for the decade was only 11 per cent, even including all ad-
herents as members.
Work for Spanish
Speaking People
War conditions have brought a good many Spanish speak-
ing people to this country, chiefly Mexicans. In Chicago the
Rock Island railroad has donated an old railway coach to be
used as a meeting place for religious services in the south
part of the city for those who speak the Spanish language.
The church extension board of the Presbyterian church is
responsible for the enterprise.
What Coin Do You
Contribute ?
The churches in theaters in large cities are largely sup-
ported by loose offerings. A theater church in Chicago has
been compelled to increase its offerings and for this purpose
has had the treasurer count the number of nickels, dimes,
quarters and other coins that were put in the plate so the
public might know how many five-cent contributors there
were. The experiment might be made to yield some startling
results in other congregations. ORVIS F. Jordan.
20
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
December 26, 1918
News of the Churches
Disciple Leaders at Committee Meeting
of Federal Council of Churches
Jasper T. Moses, now in charge of the
religious publicity service of the Federal
Council of Churches, with headquarters
at New York City, sends this very inter-
esting note concerning the recent meet-
ing of the Federal Council of Churches
held at Atlantic City, affording Christian
Century readers a glimpse at the circle
of Disciples present on that occasion:
"Dr. Peter Ainslie, Secretary F. H.
Burnham, President R. H. Crossfield,
Dr. Finis Idleman, Editor B. A. Abbott
and myself were there, and had a table
together in the dining room, to the
amusement of some of the other breth-
ren, especially Dr. Cornelius Wolfkin, of
the Fifth Avenue Baptist Church, New
York City, who accused us of being a
clannish lot. The real reason, of course,
was that we were all from such distances
that we see each other only semi-occa-
sionally, while most of the men of other
denominations were from in or near New
York and get to be an old story to each
other. In connection with the work for
restoring the ruined churches in France
and Belgium, Dr. Ainslie suggested that
as the Disciples have no special work
there, we adopt some particular congre-
gation or congregations and rebuild their
house of worship as a memorial to the
Disciple men who fell in battle. This sug-
gestion pleased all of us, and I presume
Mr. Ainslie will take it up with our War
Commission. I am not sure but that
other of our men were at the meeting,
for my work was rather confining. Secre-
tary Robert M. Hopkins was there, and
active in the work of the Religious Edu-
cation Commission. Dr. Ainslie and Dr.
Idleman are both committee chairmen."
Dr. Willett Cancels Intended
Trip to War Zone
Because of the greatly enlarged pro-
gram recently decided upon by the Chi-
cago Church Federation, of which Dr.
H. L. Willett is president, Dr. Willett has
decided to defer a trip to France which
had been arranged under the auspices of
the Y. M. C. A. Dr. Willett has during
the past year been unable to accept a
number of pressing invitations from va-
rious organizations to represent them in
France, because of the urgent character
of his duties in this country. Some of
the plans to be carried out by the Chi-
cago Federation are as follows: A church
advertising campaign through the me-
dium of the newspapers and by electric
signs, under the leadership of several big
business men; an evangelistic campaign
beginning Feb. 1 to continue to Easter,
to win 25,000 new church members by
Easter; to observe Jan. 6 as a union
meeting on evangelism and Feb. 13 as
the day of prayer for colleges and to
maintain two weeks' noon day meetings
in the loop before Easter and the hold-
ing of at least two weeks' nightly meet-
ings in all churches. Dr. Willett will have
his office with Dr. W. B. Millard, executive
secretary of the federation.
New Leader for Monroe Street
Church, Chicago
C. W. Longman, a Yale School of Re-
ligion graduate, on last Sunday began his
new service as minister of the federated
church composed of Monroe Street
Christian and California Avenue Congre-
gational churches of Chicago. For the
past year he has given excellent satisfac-
tion as leader of the church at Albion,
111. During the past three months, the
Monroe Street pulpit has been supplied
by Mr. Longman's brother, E. H. Long-
man, also a Yale man. Those who know
the new Federated pastor are enthusias-
tic over prospects of success under his
leadership.
W. Garnett Alcorn Goes
to Fulton, Mo., Church
A call has come to W. G. Alcorn, of
the Lathrop, Mo., church, to assume the
pastorate at First church, Fulton, Mo.,
made vacant some months ago by the
entrance into war service of Murvill C.
Hutchinson. Mr. Alcorn has accepted the
call and will begin at Fulton, January 1.
The Fulton people became acquainted
with the ability and character of Mr. Al-
corn through his service throughout the
county during recent campaigns for lib-
erty loans, Red Cross and Y. M. C. A.
He is also county chairman of the four-
minute men. The call came unsolicited.
Since Mr. Hutchinson left Fulton, Presi-
dent J. A. Serena, of William Woods
College, has supplied the pulpit.
A. O. Kuhn, Former Roswell, N. M.,
Leader, Enters Permanent "Y" Work
Alfred O. Kuhn has just returned from
seven months' overseas "Y" service. He
entered this service after having been
given leave of absence by his congrega-
tion at Roswell, N. M. Mr. Kuhn writes
that he is now under contract, beginning
January 1, 1919, to assume the duties of
Interstate Field Secretary for the Y. M.
C. A., with headquarters at El Paso, Tex.
This work is a part of the vigorous re-
construction program of the "Y," an ef-
fort to utilize for the advancement of the
Kingdom the returning soldiers.
New Organization Plans at
Parkersburg, W. Va., Church
The church at Parkersburg, W. Va.,
has just completed a very efficient organ-
ization, reports Pastor H. E. Stafford.
Feeling that the numerous organizations,
especially of the graded Bible school
with its organized classes, had a marked
tendency to isolate groups of workers
from the church proper, the church ap-
pointed a number of standing commit-
tees. These committees will have as their
first function the relating of these iso-
lated groups to the church proper. The
members are so chosen that they will
"connect up" the different interests. The
secretary of each committee is a mem-
ber of the official board and will be held
responsible for giving a report of the
committee's work during each month.
The following are the committees: Bible
School, Personal Work, Finance, Young
People's Work, Prayer Service, Mission-
ary, Social Service, Music. The ladies'
work has likewise been grouped, or cen-
tralized under one organization which
has been called the Woman's Council,
which has four big interests: Local aid,
C. W. B. M., Red Cross, and Home and
community welfare. Every woman of the
church is asked to join, giving one-half
day per week to the work. The move-
ment has greatly increased the interest
in and hearing of the C. W. B. M. pro-
grams, Mr. Stafford reports.
— O. C. Bolman will spend a few days
with the Havana, 111., church preparing
for the every-member canvass to be made
the first Sunday of the new year.
— W. J. Evans begins his new task as
pastor at Winchester, 111., on January 5.
— C. R. Sine, of the Hamilton, O.,
church, delivered the memorial address
at a service held in honor of the twenty-
seven Coke Otto boys in war service and
in memory of the two boys who gave up
their lives at the front. The service was
held at Coke Otto church.
BUFFALO
RICHMOND AVENUE
CHURCH OF CHRIST
Cer. Richmond and Bryant Streets
ERNEST HUNTER WRAY, Minister
— The new modern building of the
Estherville, la., church was dedicated un-
der the leadership of C. J. Sharp, of the
Hammond, Ind., church. The date of the
dedication was December 8.
— F. E. Lumley, of the College of Mis-
sions, Indianapolis, has been a sufferer
from the influenza plague.
— Hally C. Burkhardt reports twenty-
four accessions at, Dayton, O., since No-
vember 24th, six on one Sunday.
— Although this is the first year of
organized work at Carruthersville, Mo.,
church, Pastor J. Murray Taylor reports
fifty accessions to the membership during
the year, four persons having entered the
work on the morning of December 15.
The church is entirely free from debt,
and has fellowship in all the brother-
hood's organized work.
„ ,™ » ~ «. . . r UNITED SERVICE
MEM 0 RIAL Men,0"al ( Baptists and Disciples )
First Baptist
Cuiri »/> rt Qakwood Blvd. West ef Cottage Gre?e
HICAG 0 toiL.* j Minisle„
— The war work fund of William
Woods College, Fulton, Mo., amounted
to $2,035. This is indicative of the gen-
erosity of the students and faculty
throughout the war, writes President J.
A. Serena.
— Recent and current ministerial
changes in West Central district, Illinois,
are: W. H. Hampton, after two years at
Dallas City, will begin work at Carroll-
ton, 111., January 1; this gives Greene
county three ministers all new in the
county, J. D. Williams and E. C. Lucas
being the other two. Mason county will
soon be added to the list of preacherless
counties; the last minister, William
Evans, leaves Mason City to take the
work at Winchester. Milo Nethercutt
has accepted the work at Greenview. The
church at Manchester has been sold by
the congregation and the money turned
into the permanent fund of the state so-
ciety— " a sad fact to chronicle," O. C.
Bolman, district secretary, reports.
— Clifford S. Weaver, of Eureka Col-
lege, reports an enthusiastic meeting of
the every-member canvass committee in
Tazewell county, 111., when $3,000 was
adopted as the minimum budget for the
county. Tazewell county has an enthu-
siastic group of ministers.
CENTRAL CHURCH
142 West 81st Street
Finis S. Idleman, Minister
— The Jacksonville, 111., church, after a
ban period of ten weeks, is now open.
— The evangelistic meeting at Cameron,
111., that was to have been held this
month has been postponed until January
on account of the "flu." W. E. M. Hack-
leman will assist the pastor, W. B. Oli-
ver. This is one of the strong churches
of the "Illinois corn belt."
December 26, 1918
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY
21
—The church at Waukegan, 111., which
has for years been a student pastorate,
has now a chance to be a full pledged
church, as in the every-memher canvass
that has just been finished the weekly
pledges were increased from $13.55 to
$34 with more to come in. The duplex
system of finance has been put in, for the
first time, and over $100 pledged for mis-
sions; also every enrolled Sunday school
scholar is being urged to become a giver
for missions. Seth W. Slaughter leads at
Waukegan.
— Pres. E. Y. Mullins, of the Southern
Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville,
Ky., will deliver an address upon the sub-
ject "The World War and Religious
Freedom" on the opening night of the
Disciples Congress to be held at Lexing-
ton, Ky. This address will bear directly
upon the religious as well as the civic
progress of mankind and will show how
religious liberty is the mother of all
forms of liberty, and how the war has
brought about radical changes, first in
the field of religion and then elsewhere.
Note the date of the Congress, April
22-24.
— The Salina, Kan., church is closed,
but will perhaps open January 1. Arthur
Dillinger, the pastor, reports the finan-
cial condition of the work good and the
outlook "never better."
— A. W. Conner, "The Boys' Friend,"
is under contract to lecture several weeks
in and near Washington, D. C, begin-
ning about the middle of January next.
— The church at Ashtabula, O., has
been closed by the influenza ban for
seven weeks. The pastor, M. E. Chatley,
is keeping in touch with the members
by weekly letters. There were ten acces-
sions to the membership on home-com-
ing day, and two the following Sunday.
— The Chicago University preachers
for January are as follows: Jan. 5 and
12, Rev. Charles L. Goodell, of St. Paul's
M. E. Church, New York, N. Y.; Jan. 19,
Prof. Harry Emerson Fosdick, of Union
Theological Seminary, author of many
popular books on religious themes; Jan.
26, Dean W. W. Fenn, of the Harvard
Divinity School. Professor Hugh Black,
of Union Theological Seminary is listed
for Feb. 23, and the first Sunday of
March.
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He frankly confesses himself a destructive critic. Look-
ing abroad over the Church today, Dr. Jenkins sees its
follies, its waste, its ineptness, its bondage to tradition,
and he yearns for the coming of the great Protestant,
another Luther, who will not only shatter the present
order of things but lead the Church into a new day. ||
While he disavows any constructive purpose in the
book, it is in reality a master-work of constructive and
helpful criticism. Without apparently trying to do so
the author marks out positive paths along which progress
must be made. Dr. Jenkins writes with a facile, even a
racy, pen. He has filled these pages with a heavy
charge of dynamite.
Some of the Chapter titles: "Sects and Insects," "Threadbare
Creeds," "What's the Matter with the Churches?" "Bolshevism
or Reconstruction," "The Three Sexes," "The Irreligious Press," =j
"Certain Rich Men," "What is Democracy?" ral
■
Price, $1.35, plus 5 to 10 cents postage g
The Christian Century Press
§n 700 East Fortieth Street : : : : : Chicago
CHARGED WITH DYNAMITE!
HYMNS OF THE
UNITED
The Disciples Hymnal
THE HYMNAL FOR THE NEW DAY
WHAT SOME OF THE LEADERS WHO ARE USING THE
BOOK SAY OF IT:
H. D. C. Maclachlan, Minister Seventh Street Christian Church, Richmond, Va.: "It
is a gem. I have seen nothing on the same street with it. It contains all the
classic hymns and all the worth-while new ones. Its hymns of human service
and brotherhood are a genuine contribution to American hymnology. Its arrange-
ment, topical indexing, letter-press and musical notation are beyond praise. The
Aids to Worship and Responsive Readings I am finding very useful."
Henry Pearce Atkins, Minister First Christian Church, Mexico, Mo.: "The choice of
title for this hymnal could not have been more felicitous. These are the hymns
of the Kingdom — the hymns of life and service — in which the Church has already
united. The message of this hymnal is the true message of the pulpit."
A. H. Cooke, Minister Park Avenue Christian Church, Des Moines, la.: "It is a
pleasure for me to say that the new hymnal, Hymns of the United Church, is the
best thing that has come into our church life during the past year. The compila-
tion embraces everything worth while; there is not a single thing in the volume
that does not elevate. Both form and content are beautiful. The book helps the
minister tremendously in the cultivation of the religion of the spirit; one is made
to realize the beauty of holiness most vividly. How cosmopolitan is this hymnal 1
In singing from it one has already attained the unity of the spirit!"
Clifton S. Ehlers, Minister Calvary Christian Church, Baltimore, Md.
mirable book; I have not found its superior."
"It is an ad-
J. E. Wolfe, Minister First Christian Church, Independence, Mo.: "I want to tell you
of our great satisfaction with the Hymns of the United Church. It is thoroughly
gratifying to have such an abundance of hymns that enable a congregation to
express in song its deepest hopes, yearnings, aspirations in such days as these.
Such a hymnal we find the Hymns of the United Church to be."
Allan T. Gordon, First Christian Church, Paris, 111.: "I consider Hymns of the
United Church adapted to all the needs of church services. The book has been
in use in our church for nearly a year and we never have to offer an apology for
our hymnals."
These are but a few of the words of praise for
"Hymns of the United Church" which are con-
tinually coming to the publishers. Have you ex-
amined the book with view to its use in your
church? Send for returnable copy and prices today.
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Two Important War Books
Europe Since 1815
By Charles Downer Hazen
T^OR a clear understanding of the
■*■ Great War it is necessary to
master the facts of the history of
Europe since that epochal year 1815.
This author, ^who occupies the chair
of Professor of History in Smith
College, and who is a leading author-
ity in modern history, begins where
Napoleon left off, at the Congress of
Vienna, and traces developments
leading up to the present war. This
is not a dry book of history, but is
charmingly written. Fourteen ex-
cellent maps make the study all the
more interesting.
Price, $3.75 plus 10 to
18 cts. postage
The Diplomatic Background
of the War
By Charles Seymour
T\R. SEYMOUR is a Yale Pro-
■*-* fessor, and here presents a re-
markable story of European politics
since 1874, with clear expositions of
the essential motifs of the several
nations of Europe in the continual
behind-the-scenes conflicts and
schemings that have characterized
this period. The book reads like a
novel.
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The CHRISTIAN CENTURY PRESS
700 East 40th Street Chicago, III.
In a Day of
Social Rebui
By Henry Sloane Coffin, D. D.
Associate Professor, Union Theological Seminary
IN this volume Dr. Coffin faces frankly the
social situation of the hour in international
relations, in industry, and in the more inti-
mate life of men, and discusses the duty of the
Church through its various ministries of recon-
ciliation, evangelism, worship, teaching, organ-
ization, etc., and the particular tasks of its lead-
ers. It is a book not for ministers and theolog-
ical students only, but for all who are concerned
with the ethical and religious problems of today,
and especially for those who have the usefulness
of the Church at heart.
This book contains the latest series of ad-
dresses of the Lyman Beecher Lectureship on
Preaching in Yale University. It strikes the key-
note for the work of rebuilding that must follow
the war. The chapters on "The Day and the
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***************
The Homiletic Review Says of this Book: "It is a
tribute to the vitality of religion that, in Dr. Coffin's
hands, the old themes show no signs of wearing
threadbare. The reason of this is to be found in his
conviction that 'there is scarcely a word in the com-
mon religious and ethical vocabulary which does not
need, like a worn coin, to be called in, reminted, and
put into circulation with the clear image and super-
scription of Jesus Christ.' Dr. Coffin's criticism of
today is all the more trenchant because he rarely
descends to mere denunciation; and his hope for to-
morrow is the saner and more credible because of
his sympathy with the struggle and disappointed
hopes of yesterday."
The World Tomorrow remarks: "A book that
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parsons. It is marked by breadth of vision, shrewd-
ness of observation, and a certain quality of wisdom.
The radical may find here some reason to modify
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church and its leadership, and the conservative within
the church will find much to challenge any complacent
satisfaction he may still feel.
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