Earlier text: PrayerTrue Witnesses
By F. M. W.; W. A. S.
A TRUE witness testifies only to that which he knows to be true. He does not depend upon hearsay or rumor, but rather upon that which he has seen with his own eyes or heard with his own ears. In the same manner true witnesses for the gospel truth must testify. It is not enough for them to know of the power of the gospel in a historical way, it is not enough for them to know what it will do for others; they must be able to testify what the gospel has done for them as individuals. It is this individual experience which has given power to the gospel message in every age. The apostle John declares “that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life, . . . that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you.” What could withstand such a testimony as this? It was the testimony of actual experience, more powerful than any philosophical reasoning which could be made regarding the Messiahship of our Lord. This actual individual experience in God is the only anchor of the soul. It was the strength of the patriarch Job in his afflictions. Bereft of his children, robbed of his property, deserted by his friends, counseled by his wife to curse God and die, still he held firm. “I know that my Redeemer liveth,” was his declaration. This personal knowledge of God kept Job loyal in the hour of darkness. It was this personal experience which held Elijah firm and steady during the period of apostasy in which he lived. Believing that all Israel had forsaken God, not knowing that there were still seven thousand who had not bowed the knee to Baal nor kissed his image, Elijah purposed to stand, although, as he expressed it, “I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.” It was this personal experience in God which enabled the man who was born blind to maintain his faith in the Lord Jesus, even though he could not meet the arguments brought forward by the Jews against Christ, the Messiah. He declared in answer to their charge that Christ was a sinner: “Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.” The cold, philosophical reasoning of the Jews he could not meet in argument, but they could not turn him from his personal experience in Christ. He knew that God had spoken to his soul. He knew that his darkness had passed away, and that he was enabled to see. We need this personal experience in God to enable us to stand in the evil days before us. We cannot trust to any theory of the truth for anchorage. We cannot stay our souls upon theological discussions, upon speculation, upon mathematical calculations. Nor will the fact that we know that the Bible teaches that the seventh day is the Sabbath, nor the recognition of the signs that the coming of the Lord is near, keep us from falling in the days before us. It is right for us to rejoice in the truth which God has revealed to us through his Word. We must take that Word as the foundation of our faith. We must stay our souls upon its promises. But, O, let us realize this, that beyond any theory of the truth, that deeper than any argument regarding the truthfulness of our positions, we must bring Christ into our souls and enthrone him within! We must become acquainted with him as the dearest friend and companion in all the universe of God. We must know that our sins are forgiven, that our names are written in heaven, that the Spirit of God is ruling and directing our daily lives. This is the only experience which will save us, which will hold us, in the times of trial that are ahead. Let us pray that we may obtain this living experience in God. Some are without it, and those who are without it are in grave danger,—danger that they will drift away from their formal connection with this movement, and be swallowed up by the great flood of evil which is sweeping upon the world. The great need of the Seventh-day Adventist Church today is a greater knowledge of the Word of God, an appreciation of its promises, and the application in their own hearts of the blood of Christ in a living, daily experience in him. In proportion as this experience is gained will the power of God attend the testimony which is borne. SEVENTY of us were meeting in one of the round mud huts in the Kafir kraal by the Fish River, where we have an outschool. It is surprising how much space there is in those round huts, with the one narrow door and the two tiny windows. The meeting was to be closed, and Brother Jeffrey, superintendent of our Kafir mission, called on Picoli, headman of a neighboring kraal, to offer the closing prayer. Less than three years ago Picoli was a Red Kafir—one of the raw heathen in blankets smeared with the red clay. The truth has laid hold of this man sixty years old, and today he is a dignified and devoted Seventh-day Adventist. As we knelt there on the earth floor, Brother Picoli poured out his heart in earnest prayer. It was plain that he knew the Lord, and that prayer was a natural expression of his heart’s experience in this new life that had come to him. The only word I could understand was the word America, which occurred several times in his petition. “In what way was Picoli using the word America?” I asked the brethren afterwards. “He was praying for the brethren and sisters in America,” they said; “he was thanking God8 for what they had done to help send the gospel to the Kafirs, and his prayer was that God would bless them for it.” They are praying for you, brethren. It looks ordinary and commonplace to write the words; but down in these mud huts, with the raw heathen all about in the kraal, it touches the heart to hear these prayers for the far-away brethren, rising to God’s throne from lips that so recently learned to praise him for his loving grace. They are thanking God for the help you are giving, brethren, and they are praying for you in Kafirland. Our Unfailing Hope
By C. M. S.
The ship of this world seems to be driving on without a rudder toward the rocks of ruin. The fear that civilization cannot stand the strain of commercial competition and national aggrandizement has proved to be a well-founded fear. The consideration of what civilization stands for was thrown to the winds when the nations struck hands and went into the temple of Mars to worship at his shrine. If we depend upon the arm of man for safety, or put our trust in the implements of war, we trust in a broken reed, and our trust will become our disappointment. In God is our safety; in his Word our hope. The heart that trusts in him trusts in the sureties of eternity. We have only to let him take the helm, and he will steer our vessel out of every storm that rages around us. “Without me,” said he, “ye can do nothing.” But men today are saying in their hearts and by their acts, “I can do all things by my own power and through the guidance of my own foresight.” But when the storm comes down, the source of their power, the fountain of their dependence, is shaken and shattered; and with that gone, their all is gone. Like the ships upon the sea, their dependence is in themselves, and the storm is stronger than the ship. There is a better source of strength and protection than self,—a source which no storm can shake, no power of earth destroy,—and it is open to every voyager upon the sea of life. “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Isa. 41:10. There has been ample provision made for the safe voyage of every soul that has set out upon that sea. God cannot save the soul that flees from his power and protection, and binds its hope to the flimsy fabric of its own power and wisdom. Such a soul must go down; for the powers that wrestle for its ruin are greater than the powers to which it looks for succor. It is a sad sight to see a human soul wrecked upon the rocks of self-trust or of unbelief, because God and his great purpose were shut out of the mind and heart. God must be our pilot, our protector, our help and refuge in every stress of trial. He has promised to be our comforter in every sorrow, and the light of his Word will dispel every cloud of gloom and every fog of unbelief. Trusting in that source of strength and guidance, there will be no sad wreck of hope and life; but the light of God’s blessing will shine out through the windows of the soul, and his glorious purpose concerning man will be wrought out before the world in you.
C. M. S. Signs of the Approaching End
By W. A. S.
Part 3. The Great Earthquake of 1755
The first of the series of signs of the approaching end is thus described by the revelator:—
“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake.” Rev. 6:12. The verses immediately preceding this scripture plainly describe the days of persecution of the saints of God and the era of protest and reform that cut short the time of tribulation. Then this first sign appears. This is in harmony with Christ’s statement that the signs of his second coming would begin to appear following the tribulation of those days. Just about the close of the days of tribulation, there occurred the Lisbon earthquake, as it is called, though its effects reached far beyond Portugal. Prof. W. H. Hobbs, geologist, says of it:— Among the earth movements which in historic times have affected the kingdom of Portugal, that of Nov. 1, 1755, takes first rank, as it does also, in some respects, among all recorded earthquakes. . . . In six minutes sixty thousand persons perished.—Earthquakes, pages 142, 143. “Lo, there was a great earthquake,” the revelator said, looking in prophetic vision toward those very times. It was indeed “a great earthquake.” In all the world, men’s hearts were mightily stirred. James Parton, the English author, says of it:— The Lisbon earthquake of Nov. 1, 1755, appears to have put both the theologians and philosophers on the defensive. . . . At twenty minutes to ten that morning, Lisbon was firm and magnificent, on one of the most picturesque and commanding sites in the world,—a city of superb approach, placed precisely where every circumstance had concurred to say to the founders, Build here! In six minutes the city was in ruins. . . . Half the world felt the convulsion. . . . For many weeks, as we see in the letters and memoirs of that time, people in distant parts of Europe went to bed in alarm, relieved in the morning to find that they had escaped the fate of Lisbon one night more.—Life of Voltaire, Vol. II, page 208. It set men thinking of the great day of God. Voltaire, the French philosopher, was “profoundly moved” by it, we are told. “It was the last judgment for that region,” he wrote; “nothing was wanting to it except the trumpet.” While still the perturbations of the earth were continuing over a month afterwards, this skeptic wrote a poem upon the problem presented, voicing the sentiment,— “And you cry, ‘All is well!’
The universe gives you the lie. . . .
One day all will be well;
This is our hope.
‘All is well today,’—
This is illusion.” So, in an age of rationalism and unbelief, men’s thoughts were turned toward God, and human helplessness and earth’s instability were recognized. As to the extent of the earthquake, a writer of the period shows that it was felt in Sweden and in Africa and in the West Indies, adding:— The effects were distributed over very nearly four millions of square English miles of the earth’s surface, and greatly surpassed anything of this kind ever recorded in history.—History and Philosophy of Earthquakes, London, 1757, page 333. The commander of an English ship, lying off Lisbon at the time, described the scene in a letter to the ship’s owners. He wrote:— Almost all the palaces and large churches were rent down, or part fallen, and scarce one house of this vast city is left habitable. Everybody that was not crushed to death ran out into the large places, and those near the river ran down to save themselves by boats, or any other floating convenience, running, crying, and calling to the ships for assistance; but whilst the multitude were gathered near the riverside, the water rose to such a height that it overflowed the lower part of the city, which so terrified the miserable inhabitants, who ran to and fro with dreadful cries, which we heard plainly on board, that it made them believe the dissolution of the world was at hand; every one falling on his knees and entreating the Almighty for his assistance. . . . By two o’clock the ships’ boats began to ply, and took multitudes on board. . . . The fear, the sorrow, the cries, and lamentations of the poor inhabitants are unexpressible; every one begging pardon, and embracing each other, crying, Forgive me, friend, brother, sister! O, what will become of us! neither water nor land will protect us, and the third element, fire, seems now to threaten our total destruction! as in effect it happened. The conflagration lasted a whole week.—Hunter’s “Historical Account of Earthquakes,” Liverpool, 1756, pages 71-73. Looking down through the ages, the prophet of the Revelation saw the coming of the latter days, when signs of the approaching end were to begin to appear. Just there he beheld “a great earthquake.” The sad event was noted by inspiration as a sign. Earthquakes there had been before, and increasing earthquakes were to follow after,—“earthquakes in divers places,”—as Christ had foretold, speaking of the signs of his second coming. But as befitting this first of the series of signs of the approaching end, a conviction as from God seemed to come into the hearts of men in that generation, that this was indeed a token to remind the world of a coming day of doom.9 In the year of the disaster, an English poet, John Biddolf, published a book of verse, pointing some of the lessons of the hour, from which we quote a few descriptive lines:—
“Calm was the hour; the sun, serenely bright,
Shot o’er the sea long dazzling streams of light.
Through orange groves soft breathing breezes played
And gathered sweets like bees where’er they strayed.
In fair rilievo stood the lofty town,
Set off by radiant lights and shadows brown.
“‘Ill-fated city! there were revels kept;
Devoid of fear, they ate, they drank, they slept.
No friendly voice like that of ancient Rome
Was sent to give them warning of their doom:
No airy warriors to each other clung,
Such as ’tis said o’er destined Zion hung;
But, like a mighty thief, their dreadful fate
Unlooked for came and undermined their state.
“Lo, what a sudden change! On ruin’s brink
The proud turn humble, and the thoughtless think;
Dark, gloomy sadness overclouds the gay,
And hypocrites for once sincerely pray.
“But let it not be thought their horrid deeds
Had pulled this dreadful judgment on their heads,
Or that for crimes too horrible to tell,
Like guilty Sodom, thunderstruck they fell;
Or like presumptuous Dathan: other climes
Afford as frequent and as flagrant crimes.
“But when o’er all degeneracy prevails,
And on the minds grown callous precept fails,
Where only the least vicious are the best,
Some must be made examples to the rest.
The chance was theirs—but why to them ’twas given,
Remains among the mysteries of heaven,
Which hides its secrets from our erring sense;
For chance on earth, in heaven is providence.
“Who can with curious eye this globe survey,
And not behold it tottering with decay?
All things created, God’s designs fulfill,
And natural causes work his destined will.
And that eternal Word, which cannot lie,
To mortals hath revealed in prophecy
That in these latter days such signs should come,
Preludes and prologues to the general doom.
But not the Son of man can tell that day;
Then, lest it find you sleeping, watch, and pray.” Thus this first of the predicted latter-day signs bore its message to men. Its immediate scene was set in the Old World. The next sign foretold was to appear in the New. W. A. S. Some Pressing Needs in the Philippine Islands
By A. G. DANIELLS
OUR brethren in the Philippines have had a truly remarkable experience in the production and circulation of our denominational literature. With but little previous experience in such work, and with very inadequate facilities, they have printed twenty different publications, and have developed a good, successful company of canvassers and periodical workers. This literature consists of tracts on twelve or fifteen subjects, a monthly magazine having a sale of 3,000 copies of each edition, and books ranging from 200 to 500 pages printed in editions of from 3,000 to 5,000 copies in four different languages. The writing and the translating required in the preparation of copy have been a heavy burden on our small staff of workers in the Philippines; but the printing and the binding have been even more perplexing and wearing. The only building they have had for the printing office is twenty-one by twenty-four feet, previously used for a horse barn. The sides and roof are covered with corrugated iron, making it a veritable sweat box during the hot season. Their printing outfit consists of a job press, a paper cutter, a small stitcher, and a limited quantity of poor type. The folding and the binding are done under the mission home. As they are able to print but two pages at a time, and as they have so much to print, the little job press is kept running from 5:30 A. M. until 9 or 10 P. M. every day except Sabbath. During 1914 they printed and bound nearly 3,000,000 pages of literature. The training and directing of the canvassers and periodical workers fall upon Brother Lanier, who has the management of the printing, binding, and shipping of the literature. The responsibility of preparing all the matter for printing falls upon Brother Finster, the superintendent of the entire field. As we looked this work over, we marveled how these brethren could accomplish so much. We could hardly see how our young men and women who do the work in the printing office and bindery could, with such poor facilities, turn out so much good-appearing literature. Our hearts were made to rejoice because we had such patient, painstaking, hard-working people in the field. But we decided that this situation must not be allowed to continue. A suitable building and an adequate printing equipment should be provided for this work. Our brethren here have passed the experimental stage in this line of endeavor. They have a band of twenty successful workers who have demonstrated that the sale of our literature can be made self-supporting. They have shown that the people will buy our books and papers. The sales of our literature in these islands increased from $1,161.59 in 1913 to $3,200 in 1914. Some of the young men sell one hundred dollars’ worth of books a week. This work is built on a substantial foundation, and we believe it will stand. We have no competition in selling literature here. No other denomination in the Philippines is doing this kind of work. We have scores of active young people who will engage in canvassing as soon as we can provide the literature and give them the training. The canvassers we now have at work can dispose of all the literature that can be produced with the facilities we now have. After studying the whole question, the brethren united in requesting an appropriation of $10,000 for establishing a suitable printing plant in the Philippine Islands. This action brought great joy to the hearts of our brethren in that mission field. We shall all be happier still when we learn that the money has been provided. Pressing needs of this kind inevitably accompany the successful prosecution of our work in mission fields. We must expect them when we enter a new field, and gladly and promptly meet them when they come. Another insistent demand in the Philippines is for a school in which to give our young people the education and training they must have to become efficient workers in our cause. The Lord has blessed us with a large number of bright, active young people in this mission field who are anxious to work for him. One third of the two hundred members present at the Sabbath morning meeting in Manila were young people ranging from twelve to twenty-five years of age. Many of these are fired with the desire to have some part in this closing work, and they give promise of being as successful as those who are now working. A good school is as great a necessity in the Philippines as in any other country, and from indications it seems to us the benefits of such a school will be as great10 there as anywhere else. From all that we saw, we felt it our duty to urge that the money be secured for the establishment of a training school for the Philippines. In making these requests for means to establish a printing office and a school in the Philippines, we did so with the realization that this would call for larger donations from our people in the homeland. We gave this fact very careful consideration. We knew that the work being carried on throughout the field at the present time requires all that is provided in the fifteen-cent-a-week plan. This caused us to hesitate for some time, but we felt that it was a question as to whether we should ask for more means in order to go forward with the opening and advancing providences of God, or stand by and see the work of God thus hindered and delayed for fear of making a request for more. We believed that if our people could see and know all that we were facing, they would, with one united voice, declare that these institutions must be provided for the work in the Philippines, even if every dollar required to do so would have to be raised in addition to the regular fund provided for the mission fields. There are 8,000,000 people in these islands who, by recent changes in their country, are coming from great darkness into light. Years ago we sent missionaries to them to lead them to the light of the gospel as it shines upon us. They have prayed and worked with great earnestness for souls. God has answered their prayers. Now there are four hundred of them rejoicing in this light, and others are coming into it at the rate of two hundred or more a year. This message brings such joy to the hearts of these new believers that they want all their people in the islands to hear it. But, as in other parts of the world, the message can be given there only by the living messengers and the printed messengers. As everywhere else, the living messengers must be educated and trained in order rightly and efficiently to give the message. And, too, the printed messengers must be produced by the press. This requires the same kind of educational and printing equipments that are required in other countries. These must be provided for the Philippines now, or the work there will be seriously crippled and delayed. Viewed from the standpoint of faith and courage in the living God, it seems that the position of Seventh-day Adventists regarding foreign missions should be to bring their offerings up to the actual, pressing demands of the advancing work, instead of cutting the calls for help down to a specified amount provided for by previous arrangements of the Mission Board. It is a pitiful thing to missionaries who have been praying and toiling in a field for years to have their requests for additional funds to meet the new demands created by the success God has given them in their work cut out by the Mission Board. And it is just as painful to the members of the board to cut them out; but the board can appropriate only what it has: it cannot borrow money for foreign mission work. When the demands of the mission fields reach the full amount of funds provided for those fields by the board, there is but one of two things to do,—cut out all requests for new needs that spring up, or ask for more money. Believing and teaching what we do, there is but one consistent thing for us to do as the legitimate pressing demands come to us from a growing work in the mission fields, and that is to bring our gifts up to the demands. We cannot trim our requests for help down to a definite sum of money which it has been agreed to raise for mission fields, without delaying the work of God. This is the deep conviction of our workers in the mission fields upon whose hearts these needs press so hard. If they had the money these new needs call for, they would give it without hesitation; and our brethren in the homeland would do the same if they could see the situation as the missionaries see it. Here is an incident that shows how these new calls for help grip the missionary in his field. On our arrival at Manila, our Filipino brethren and sisters gave us a welcome in a tent in which they were conducting a series of meetings. The exercises consisted of singing hymns in their vernacular, and presenting to us appeals in behalf of their people. These appeals were made separately by five young men and one very old man. Emilio Manalaysay, one of our most earnest, faithful evangelists and translators, said:— I represent the Tagalog people living in the central and southern part of the island of Luzon. My people number about 1,500,000. Being in closest touch with Manila, the capital, they have been enlightened and influenced more than any of the other people of the Philippines by recent changes in the islands. Our work in the Philippines began among the Tagalog people. We now have three churches with a membership of three hundred, and four companies of about one hundred believers awaiting baptism. My earnest request is for a school in which to prepare the scores of our young people who have a great desire to give their lives to this work. I address you in behalf of the Ilocano people, who live in the northwestern part of the island of Luzon. They number about 850,000 souls. They are very industrious, and come behind none in intellectual attainments. We have opened up one mission among this tribe. Elder Roy Hay is in Vigan, and has been studying the language for one year. My people are in great darkness, and I long to have the third angel’s message made known to them. I desire to be released from work among the Tagalog people, and be sent to labor for my people, the Ilocanos. I am the only Sabbath keeper among the 160,000 Cagayan people. None of them know that Jesus is soon coming, and they are not prepared to meet him. My request is that I may be sent with some foreign worker to give this message to my people. The Visayan people, whom I represent, live in the southern islands of the group, and outnumber all the other tribes. They number 3,222,000 souls. We have started work in two of the largest islands of the Visayans, and the prospect is very bright for many souls being won for the Master. I am the only Sabbath keeper of the Bicol people. There are less than 570,000 of them, but they must hear this message. I am canvassing for our Tagalog literature. My request is that you will soon provide literature in the language of my people, that I may take the message to them. I represent the Pampangan people. They live just north of the Tagalog people; but thus far no one has been there to tell them of the soon coming of Jesus. I am now seventy-three years of age, yet I am very busy selling our Tagalog books. I request you to print books in the language of the Pampangan people, and I will take the message to them. Men and women possessing the earnestness, intelligence, and consecration manifested by these believers are a great asset to our cause in the Philippines. Given good training and leadership, they will be a great help in quickly proclaiming the message for this time to all the people in these islands. The advancement made in our work in this field during 1914 shows what we may look for in the future if we make the use we should of the help the Lord is bringing to us. Last year our church membership in the Philippines was doubled, growing from two to four hundred; the tithes increased from $657 to $1,453, the offerings from $75 to $189, and the book sales rose from $1,161 to $3,200. Everything gives promise of similar growth during the present year. It was with deep regret that I was obliged to leave the Philippines without visiting Brother and Sister Adams, Dr. and Mrs. Fattebert, and Brother and Sister Hay at their mission stations. I learned that Elder Adams had organized a church at Iloilo, where he has been laboring the past year. I had the privilege of meeting these fellow workers at the Shanghai general meeting. We have reason to be deeply grateful11 to our Heavenly Father for the work he is doing in the Philippines. Let us keep step with the onward march of the cause in that field. The Educational and Missionary Volunteer Council
By I. H. Evans
At the last fall session of the North American Division Council, it was voted that the Educational and Missionary Volunteer Departments should hold a joint council some time during 1915. Later it was decided to hold this meeting at Pacific Union College, June 4-14, 1915. Accordingly the council convened at the appointed time and place, with nearly a full delegation in attendance. Two union conferences were not represented as fully as we might have wished. From the opening service on Friday night, the council was full of deep interest. One could not afford to miss any of the program; for having heard the excellent papers read on the topics assigned, and the discussions that followed, he realized that to be absent from any meeting meant irreparable loss. The workers taking part on the program had made careful preparation, and given much thought and care to the subjects they were to discuss. Not a few of them were beyond criticism, and gave dignity and character to the council. The opening addresses, given by Professors Griggs and Kern, were strong and suggestive, outlining the work of the convention, as well as giving a résumé of the work of the departments up to the opening of the council. Unity prevailed from start to finish. Not one delegate during the entire council sounded a discordant note; not once was the discussion of any topic heated; nor did any school or delegate work simply for his own local interests. It would seem that no one could attend the meeting and not feel the uplifting influence of nearly every talk. College and school men studied with equal interest the many problems of the Missionary Volunteer Department; while secretaries of the latter department showed the same interest in our educational questions as did the school men. The keynote of the council was the salvation of our young people and the speedy training of workers to help finish the work. Our Educational and Missionary Volunteer Departments are far stronger and better equipped for efficient work than ever before. The courses of study in our various schools were unified, uniform standards for graduating students were adopted, and many resolutions elevating and extending the departmental work were passed. During a portion or all of the time, in addition to the regular delegates, the council was favored with the presence of Elders Andross, White, Farnsworth, McElhany, Stevens, Hibbard, Daniells, and Tait. Many others from Pacific Union College and near-by conferences were at the meeting. The attendance was all that could be asked. Many felt that this was the most helpful and inspiring council these departments have yet held. The outlook is good. Our school men are set to train workers for the cause of God, and with the cooperation of our Missionary Volunteer Department we expect to see many of our young people won to Christ in the coming years. Six conventions will now be held in the territory of our leading schools, giving all the workers in both departments opportunity to attend and get the help they need for better work. One Educational-Missionary Volunteer secretary expressed as his purpose what I hope all classes of workers will try to accomplish; namely, to secure the attendance of every teacher and secretary at one of these conventions. It will pay. To have teachers or secretaries who think they are too busy or cannot afford to attend the convention in their territory, will be a loss we cannot afford. The blessing of God was with us at the council. Brethren Griggs, Kern, Howell, Benson, or MacGuire will attend the conventions, and we have every reason to believe that great good will result from this work. Elder Daniells brought a strong plea for more workers for the Far East, and our hearts burned within us as he told of the imperative needs in these waiting lands. Our schools must train workers to meet these heavy demands. The denomination has the young people, and it is our duty to give them for the finishing of the work. Let us all pray for the success of these conventions. It is interesting to note that no less an authority in the religious world than Dean Shailer Mathews recognizes the drift of the churches away from gospel ideals. In Zion's Herald for February 10 he points out the danger in the following forcible words:— A danger to which Protestantism—particularly progressive Protestantism—in America is exposed is that its churches shall become mere agents of social service. There are many people who, in reaction from extreme orthodoxy, have come to feel that the sole business of the church is to push social reform. This danger is particularly strong in America just now because social workers have come to see that the church, instead of being hostile to their ideals, is the greatest force by which their ideals can be put into operation. Such a valuing of the church brings no small satisfaction to those of us who have endeavored to set forth the social significance of the spiritual life. But we cannot let social service take the place of God. People cannot be amused into conscientiousness. Picnics are not the equivalents of prayer meetings, and Sunday school baseball leagues have not yet developed into revivals. It was natural in a period of awakening and transition that men should jump to the conclusion that the church ought to stand for every good cause. It was easy to forget that society will organize institutions for each newly realized need. But even those of us who feel most deeply the social obligations of Christianity, see that a church as an institution does not have the same field of responsibility as Christian individuals. These last may be organized in a great variety of institutions, each of which performs some particular function set by the division of labor in our world. Church leaders can delegate to these institutions certain duties, but they cannot delegate the duties of spiritual parentage. A Protestant church cannot be an ethical asylum; it must be a home in which souls are born into newness of life. We want efficiency in organization and activity. We want the message from the pulpit to be heartily in sympathy with our modern thinking. But most of all does American Protestantism need a spiritual passion, a contagious faith in the supremacy of God's spiritual order, and an alarm at the misery that waits on sin. From many a community there is already rising a cry for elemental religion. With all their scientific business success, American laymen are asserting that they want to be assured of God and immortality and the worth of righteousness. They want companionship in spiritual loneliness, comfort in hours of pain, courage in moments of moral wavering. Their souls are athirst for the Unknown, and they will be satisfied with nothing save the water that comes from the river of God. If the awakening of Protestantism were to mean simply a renaissance of ethics, or a sort of bescriptured positivism, American society would be defrauded. When it asks for the bread of life, it will not be satisfied with treatises on eugenics. Sentimentalism in Philanthropy
By Editor
Among other bequests recently made in the will of a New York woman was $31,000 for homeless cats. We heartily sympathize with every effort which contributes to the lessening of suffering among the brute creation. It is to be regretted, however, that so much sympathy should be wasted upon dumb animals to the exclusion of thousands of destitute and homeless children to be found in every part of the world. It is a curious sort of philanthropy which will pet and fondle a pug-nosed dog and leave to suffer and die some destitute boy or girl which, with the proper education, might develop into a useful member of society and a power for good in the world. May the Lord save us from such sentimentalism.