Much is being made in Roman Catholic publications of some recent utterances by President W. H. Taft. Under the display heading, “President Taft Praises Friars,” The New World, of Chicago (Roman Catholic), publishes a report opening with these words:—
Wednesday [July 7] was a notable day at the Catholic Summer School, Cliff Haven, N. Y. Before thousands of people President Taft declared the country was becoming more tolerant, and that the narrow prejudices of the past were being abandoned. He praised Pope Leo XIII, and commended the Spaniards who converted the Philippines to Christianity.
In the same article there is a report of President Taft’s speech, of which it is said that he “devoted his address mainly to his dealings with the Catholic Church in the Philippines.” We quote a part of the address:—
I am not a Catholic, but I have had in the last ten years a great deal to do with the Catholic Church. My lot did not carry me into a part of the world that made me as familiar with the French explorers, the French leaders of civilization, like Champlain, as it did into the regions of those leaders that came from Spain—into the Philippines, where the same influence that carried Champlain here, and that same influence that controlled him, controlled men equally brave and in certain respects more successful. Legaspi, who came out to the Philippines with four or five Augustinian monks, converted to Christianity that entire archipelago, now having some seven or eight million souls, and then perhaps five hundred thousand—the only community of people in the entire Orient that to-day as a people are Christians.
I think we are reaching a point in this country where we are very much more tolerant of everything and everybody than in the past, and where we are giving justice where justice ought to be given. We are no longer cherishing these narrow prejudices that come from denominational bigotry, and we are able to recognize in these great heroes in religion and Christian faith, and appreciate, the virtues that they exhibited, and follow the examples they have set for us.
It is perfectly obvious that to the Roman Catholic mind the statement that the narrow prejudices of the past are being abandoned means that opposition to the teaching and the methods of the Roman Catholic Church is becoming much less pronounced, and this is evidently the fact. To the unprejudiced observer, it appears7plain that the Roman Catholic authorities are weaving a net around President Taft, with the hope of making good use of his official position for the advancement of the interests of their church. The representatives of Rome know how to employ every opportunity to glorify the Catholic Church, and under soft words and beautiful phrases to hide an ugly record. It is perfectly clear that they are now putting forth every effort to reinterpret all history in such a way as to make the Roman Catholic Church the conserver of true religion and civil liberty in all ages. Will leading Protestants aid them in this campaign?
W. W. P.
God's Perfection and Mercy
By F. M. W.
God is perfect in every attribute. All his ways are righteous. His character, as expressed in his law and as exemplified in his Son, is one of holiness and absolute perfection. Being perfect himself, he can accept none other than a perfect standard of righteousness in his children. He calls them to the same holy state which he occupies. He says: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” “Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.” The apostle John had in view this state of holy living when he wrote: “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not.”
God does not ask his children to reach the standard of holiness through their own efforts. This would be for them an impossibility. Man can not change his heart. By no system of philosophy or education can he make himself acceptable to his Maker. He can not do it by resolution or force of will. The sons of God are “born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” By what means does God work the transformation? To “as many as received him [Christ], to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”
How gracious are God's ways! He takes the poor, defiled sinner, awakens in his heart through the influence of the Spirit a desire for sonship, and then provides a way, by simple faith in Christ's sacrifice, for the attainment of that relationship.
But this new-born babe in Christ can not reach perfection of Christian character in a day. While he is made perfect as relates to his old life of sin, and has received “remission of sins that are past,” there is yet to be wrought out in his experience a righteousness of holy living, which can come only through the power of the indwelling Christ. “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”
This salvation by his life represents a work of daily conversion, a growing up into the perfection of Christ's character. It means a surrender of self, as self is revealed in the life experience; a yielding to the divine will; a subordination of all life's plans and purposes to the Spirit's leadings. It means in its ultimate fulness godlikeness, freedom from imputed sin, the perfection of the life of Jesus abiding in the soul as the life of the individual himself. This is the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, the exalted plane of holy living to which we are called by God's grace.
But while God calls his children to perfection, he takes into account their weaknesses. “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.” He knows how weak are our inherited natures, the force of sinful habit, the forbidding environment, the cunning and power of the adversary. And knowing this, his love provides a way of return for him who stumbles from the path and falls under the power of evil.
After saying, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not,” John adds: “And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” We can take with us words, and turn again to God, and say unto him, “Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously.” And his promise is that he will heal our backsliding, and love us freely. Hosea 14: 1-4.
But while Infinite Mercy may regard our weaknesses, and make provision for our need, we should not be encouraged thereby to repeat our failures, or to presume on divine forbearance. Rather should we seek to walk the more carefully. Paul refers to this: “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” To willingly do so would be to deny our holy relationship in God, and to make of none effect the grace bestowed upon us.
Poor tempted soul, look up. Have you tried and failed, return to God, acknowledge your sin, and he will receive you. Once more he will give you justification for the sins that are past, through the blood of Christ. By faith he will impart to you the life of Jesus, to abide with you, and to give you power to keep you from sinning. He will subdue your iniquities, and give you victory over all the power of evil. He stretches out his hands to save; his heart yearns over you in love; his Spirit pleads with you to return. To-day come back to the Father's house.
F. M. W.
Outdoor Meetings
Dr. Grenfell, whose books and lectures have made known the stirring story of missionary effort in Labrador, writes to the Outlook regarding the perils of poorly ventilated meeting places in the United States. His remarks regarding the spiritual side of open-air meetings will be read with interest at this camp-meeting season:—
In the legal cases we are called upon to settle, especially in the dispute question, where men's tempers are apt to run away with them, and men are tempted to be careless whether they speak the truth and nothing but the truth before God or man, we invariably have the trial in the open air when possible, preferably on the deck of the vessel. For we believe that there will be more likelihood of getting at a right result quickly than in the stuffy confines of the dismal, half-dark, and therefore germ-laden precincts of restricted buildings. We find it literally “keeps their heads cool,” and renders the soft answer easier to return. And as for our gatherings for the worship of God, we invariably select the open air whenever possible. The rocks or cliffs of our coast offer acoustic arrangements that can not be excelled. There is a sense of one's own unimportance in the open air which insensibly affects every man, and this perhaps may not unreasonably be regarded as at least one testimonial to the excellently active condition of one's brain cells on those occasions. We find also that the everlasting rocks beneath us suggest our brevity of life, and the resistless sea at our feet our physical impotence.
He adds the following:—
The sudden change from an open-air life at sea to a long, continuous series of lectures has keenly emphasized in my mind the great need for better ventilation. The physical exhaustion after only five months' lecturing, the most severe I have ever experienced, was, in my opinion, almost entirely due to the immersion, night after night, in a sea of foul air, laden with poison, organic and inorganic. Immersions in salt water and a life that compels even ordinary conversation to be carried on under circumstances exacting to both brain and larynx are negligible dangers compared with those of many modern lecture halls in their demands on nerve energy and nerve stability.
General Conference Reports in the Press
No previous session of the General Conference has been so fully reported in the public press as the one recently held. The Washington daily papers established headquarters at the grounds, and gave liberal reports of the daily proceedings. The Associated Press sent out despatches relating to more important matters before the Conference. The Woman’s National Daily, of St. Louis, Mo., in its issue of May 13, the opening day of the Conference, devoted two pages, fully illustrated, to a general statement of the history and work of the denomination. The Christian Herald of June 2, printed a report under the title “World’s Conference of Adventists,” written by Waldon Fawcett. With this report there appeared a picture of the officers of the General Conference.
Marah and Elim
By H. Bonar
To-day ’tis Elim with its palms and wells,
And happy shade for desert weariness;
’Twas Marah yesterday, all rock and sand,
Unshaded solitude and dreariness.
Yet the same desert holds them both, the same
Hot breezes wander o’er the lonely ground;
The same low stretch of valley shelters both,
And the same mountains compass them around.
So it is here with us on earth, and so
I do remember it has ever been;
The bitter and the sweet, the grief and joy,
Lie near together, but a day between.
Sometimes God turns our bitter into sweet,
Sometimes he gives us pleasant water-springs;
Sometimes he shades us with his pillar-cloud,
And sometimes to a blessed palm-shade brings.
What matters it? The time will not be long;
Marah and Elim will alike be passed;
Our desert wells and palms will soon be done,
We reach the “City of our God” at last.
O happy land! beyond these lonely hills,
Where gush in joy the everlasting springs;
O holy paradise! above these heavens,
Where we shall end our desert wanderings.
— H. Bonar.
Awake, Thou That Sleepest!
By Ellen G. White
MRS. E. G. WHITE
I AM instructed to arouse our churches in every place from their sleeping condition. Those who hear the word of life, but do not practise it, can not hope to escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. In the great work that is before us, we shall meet with constant temptation. Though many of us are sleeping at our post, Satan does not sleep; and he will put forth untiring efforts to bring in heresies that will turn us from a whole-hearted worship of God. Not as a fiend, not as a being that repels, but as an angel of light he will come, and those who are not watchful and grounded in the truth for this time will be overcome by his wiles.
In the wilderness of temptation Satan came to Christ as an angel from the courts of God. It was by his words, not by his appearance, that the Saviour recognized the enemy. The record states: “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.”
Though he appears as an angel of light, these first words betray his character: “If thou be the Son of God.” Here is the insinuation of distrust. Should Jesus do what Satan suggests, it would be an acceptance of the doubt. “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
“Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.”
In quoting this scripture, Satan left out the words, “in all thy ways,” meaning, in all the ways of God. So long as Christ stayed in the path of duty, to carry out the work that God had appointed him, Satan could gain no advantage over him. Again the Saviour resisted temptation by presenting the word of God: “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God,” he said. No rash, presumptuous act would the Saviour perform to give proof to Satan of his divinity.
This circumstance was to be a lesson to every child of God. It teaches us not to accept any challenge of the enemy. As Satan was the adversary of Christ, so he is of all who believe in Christ. But to every tempted soul the words are spoken, “Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you; ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.”
“Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.”
Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. I ask you to study his life, my brethren and sisters. He came to bring to men the gift of eternal life. In the sacrifice of his Son, the Father revealed how much he desires that sinners shall be saved. “Therefore doth my Father love me,” Christ declared, “because I lay down my life.” The Father loves us with a love that is but feebly comprehended.
It is because men and women lack the spirit of self-denial and self-sacrifice, that they can not comprehend the sacrifice made by heaven in giving Christ to the world. Their religious experience is mingled with selfishness and self-exaltation. How can such professors have anything but a meager hope of sharing the inheritance of Christ? “Verily I say unto you,” he said to his disciples, “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
There are many who, while professing godliness, measure themselves among themselves, and in consequence grow weak in spiritual life. Pride is not overcome. Not until these souls fall on the Rock and are broken, will they understand their need. O, that they might confess their wrongs before God, and plead for the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives! Truth and righteousness will flow into the hearts that are cleansed from selfishness and sin, and through the lives of those in whose souls truth occupies the first place.
Let our ministers set an example of humility of spirit. My brethren, let your hearts melt as you consider the price Christ has paid for your soul's salvation. Let your conduct be governed by the pure principles that governed in the life of Christ. The meek and lowly in heart will be sanctified by their belief of the truth. This is the sign of Christ's followers, the world over.
Christ encouraged men to study the Word, and to give its truths to others, imparting, at any sacrifice of self, the light and life of heaven. This was the antidote of the incoming evil. He assumed human nature that he might save to the uttermost all who would come unto God by him. And he prayed that the sanctifying grace of truth, received into the lives of its converts, might call the attention of the world to the wonderful plan of salvation. Those who truly love Christ will not be satisfied with a cheap experience. They will work out earnestly the characteristics of the divine pattern. Their hearts will seek for purity and true holiness. To such the Lord will reveal his grace, and will give power to win souls to heaven.
The wickedness of the world is not abating. Every year evil becomes more prevalent, and is more lightly regarded. Let our gatherings together be made seasons of heart searching and confession. It is the privilege of this people who have had such great blessings to be trees of righteousness, shedding forth comfort and blessing. They are to be living stones, emitting light. Those who have received pardon for their sins should with earnest purpose lead those who are in the ways of sin into paths of9righteousness. Partaking of Christ's self-denial and self-sacrifice, they will teach men and women to give up selfishness and sin, and accept in their place the lovely attributes of the divine nature.
There is great need for studying the Word of God. From one end of the world to the other the message of Christ's righteousness is to be sounded by human lips, to prepare the way of the Lord. The youth, the aged, and the middle-aged are to act a personal part in preparing their own souls for the great event that is soon to take place, even the second coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven, and in so doing they will reflect light upon many other souls.
“O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom.”
Like John the Baptist, we are to point men and women to Jesus, saying, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” In the message we bear, the character of God, as revealed in Christ, is to be manifested to the world. The call is to be sounded by human lips and exemplified in human lives. By word and by action we are to repeat the divine call, “The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
Impressions of the General Conference
By GEORGE I. BUTLER
GEORGE I. BUTLER
The World's General Conference of their Seventh-day Adventists, for 1909, will long remain a remarkable epoch in the history of the denomination. It was held at the American capital. The leading papers of the city gave extended notices of its most important transactions. Indeed, many leading papers in various portions of the country gave more or less space in their columns to this quadrennial gathering. These facts simply show that the growth of this denomination and the principles for which it stands are of considerable interest to the public as matters of news. The denomination is more and more attracting public attention. This is an encouraging omen.
The meeting continued nearly a month. Some attended a part of the time, and then went home to give others of the family a chance to attend. But the congregations remained quite uniform from the commencement to near the close. There was an attendance of not far from two thousand Sabbath-keepers. The buildings were fully occupied, and there was a large city of tents well filled. It was by far the most important meeting ever held by the denomination. Its leading characteristic was that of a great missionary meeting. The chief theme was the carrying of the last warning message to the world in the present generation. The leading plans and business questions studied, largely centered in this important question. The field considered was the whole world.
To a true believer in this, the most grand and momentous message the world ever heard, demonstrating the nearness of the appearing of the blessed Saviour, the last General Conference will ever be a glorious landmark, a bright spot in his memory. From almost all parts of the earth were gathered the representative men in the work of this last message,—the missionaries who have taken their lives in their hands to go to earth's teeming millions. From Korea, Japan, China, India, the Polynesian islands, Malay Peninsula, Australia, New Zealand, the dark continent of Africa, Central Asia, all of Europe, South America, West Indies, all of North America, representative men came to this great Conference. It was an inspiring assemblage. All had but one story to tell,—the swift progress of the all-important message. Their stirring reports were most inspiring. Many of them greatly touched our hearts.
It would seem that Europe was becoming acquainted with the message almost as fully as the United States. It, too, is sending out its missionaries to the regions beyond. Prosperous missions have been established in the darkest places in the Dark Continent. God is working wonderfully in Russia, and even in cold Siberia and many other countries. Hundreds of Catholics have been embracing the message of present truth. Station after station of missionaries is being established in Africa in various places. Delegations of prominent men from various tribes are beseeching that missionary stations may be established in their tribes. Students go long distances on foot to attend our schools and to learn the gospel of salvation. Indeed, some of the missions of other churches are wondering how it is that our work accomplishes so much more than theirs. The answer is easy enough to those who know and love the truth,—we have a message of great and precious light to give to the people, while they are not giving the message now due the world. Protestantism seems to be going into decadence, or, in other words, the popular churches are really leaving their former Protestant principles.
There were weighty problems to be solved at this Conference. With the multitude of openings springing up in every direction, how should persons and means be raised with which to meet these demands of the message? Great plans were laid, and these may be learned from the Bulletin and our other periodicals. They will be laid before our people at the camp-meetings. Every earnest Seventh-day Adventist will want to know what these plans are, and do all he can to help carry them into effect. No other people has ever had such an important work to do as have Seventh-day Adventists. The world is to be warned in this generation. Never was greater consecration required of any people. All who want to hear at last, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” will certainly rally round the cause at this important epoch in its history.
The perfect union of sentiment throughout the entire camp was most noticeable. Some came wishing to raise questions which would produce discord, and such had the discouraging experience of seeing their plans come to naught. The whole interest was in the cause of giving the last warning message. Nehemiah's sentiments seemed to be in the ascendant, We “are doing a great work” and “can not come down” to enter into any controversy. The writer never saw our people apparently more united. All seemed cheerful and happy and hopeful in God.
The servant of the Lord, Sister E. G. White, came all the way from the Pacific Coast to attend this meeting. Although eighty-two years of age, she was given strength to stand before the vast congregation and make her voice heard. Age and abundant labors have left their marks upon the physical system, but her mind, so often illuminated by the divine Spirit, seemed perfectly clear.
Her example of continued labor in faithfulness and earnestness, even with the physical weaknesses of old age upon her; her exhortations to earnestness and faithfulness, greater devotion to God's work and Word; her intense interest in the salvation of all; her pity for those in darkness and sin, were a stern rebuke to ease-loving ministers, and careless, selfish souls satisfied with their own indifference; also, a great encouragement to those who long for greater usefulness.
From the labors of the Conference, she has gone to New England, to the scenes of her earliest labors, to give her testimony there. What a life of earnestness, sacrifice, industry, spirituality, and of following after the blessed Master has her life presented to this people and to the world! May our dear Lord grant strength and grace for its continuance years yet to come.
Bowling Green, Fla.
The Sin of Ananias
By G. B. THOMPSON
G. B. THOMPSON
God’s hatred of sin is forcibly illustrated in the case of Ananias and Sapphira, recorded in Acts 5.
What was their sin?—They told a lie. They lied to Peter, and they lied to the Holy Spirit. Lying is common. Ever since Satan lied in Eden, men have been addicted to it. With a pretense of telling the truth, men add to, pervert, and deceive. And because they do not fall dead on the spot, many seem to think that the Most High does not care. But this record of the sin of Ananias and his wife contains a warning for us at this time against the sin of lying. Let us study it.
Pentecost was past, the gospel was being preached, and thousands were embracing10it. As a result, persecution was being waged, and the church was scattering from Jerusalem, going everywhere preaching the glad tidings. Funds were needed then, as now, to carry forward the work; and many who “were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the price of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.” Acts 4:34, 35. No doubt most of those who embraced the message were poor; but all were not, and some having possessions which they could do without, sold them to advance the work in various ways. They did not send it here and there according to their own notion, to aid some particular family or to support some particular worker, but brought it unto a common fund, from which it was disbursed. Among those who sold their possessions are mentioned Ananias, and Sapphira his wife, and Barnabas, who afterward became a strong preacher, and a companion of Paul in his labors.
Ananias and his wife had some land, and sold it with the promise that they would give it all to advance the work of the gospel. They were not compelled to sell their land, for, as Peter said, “Was it not thine own?” and if sold without a promise to God to use it in the work of publishing the gospel, they would not have been forced to give it. But a promise made to God is sacred, and having solemnly promised the Holy Spirit that a certain possession which they had, when sold, should be placed in the Lord’s treasury, they were under obligation to God to fulfil their vow. And vows, or pledges, made now are as sacred as then.
After they vowed, they sold the land. The church may all have known that the possession was sold, but the amount probably was not known. The sum, when received, looked large to Ananias and his wife, and the devil no doubt suggested to them that their vow was rash, and that they were not able to give so much. He further suggested, doubtless, that as the sum was not known, they could bring in only a part of the price received, and by lying a little and saying that the amount brought in was all they received, they could “keep back part of the price of the land.” Ananias and his wife considered this satanic suggestion, talked it over together, and decided that they would do so. They could save money by lying, and at the same time appear to the rest of the church to be upright and sincere. But the Spirit of God understood their deception, unmasked their hypocrisy, and the church was cleansed from their corrupting influence.
This, like other things in the Holy Scriptures, is “written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” Have we ever made a vow to God and failed to fulfil it when it was within our power to do so? If so, in God’s dealing with Ananias and his wife we have an illustration of how he regards such a thing. Note the following from the Spirit of the Lord:— “The hearts of men become hardened through selfishness, and like Ananias and Sapphira, they are tempted to withhold part of the price, while pretending to come up to the rules of tithing. Will a man rob God? Should means flow into the treasury exactly according to God’s plan,—a tenth of all the increase,—there would be abundance to carry forward his work.”—“Testimony for the Church,” No. 31, page 146.
Have we been “pretending” to pay tithe, and yet know that we do not really bring in a full tithe? Have we brought in what we called our tithe at the end of the week, month, or quarter, and laid it down before the treasurer, saying, “Here is my tithe,” and yet knew down in our heart that it was not an honest tithe, that in reality we were withholding “part of the price”? Have we, by thus lying to the Holy Ghost, had a name in the church as a tithe payer, when in reality this was not true? If so, the Spirit of God says we are “like Ananias and Sapphira.”
We should take these questions home to our hearts personally. If an honest tithe were paid, there would be “abundance” to carry forward the work of God. That the cause is hindered because of the lack of funds shows that some are robbing God, and not giving to him his own. Let us all be honest with our Creator.