A WELL-KNOWN minister delivered a series of discourses against atheism, in a town some of whose citizens were known to be atheists, or unbelievers in the supernatural origin of the doctrines taught in the Bible. A few days afterward he took passage in a steamer ascending the Mississippi River. On this boat were several of the citizens of the town in which he had delivered the discourse against atheism, among whom was a notorious infidel. So soon as this man saw the clergyman, he began to talk boisterously against the Christian religion, and perceiving the minister reading at one of the tables, he proposed to his companions to go with him to the opposite side of the table and listen to some stories that he had to tell about religion and professors of religion, which he said would "stir up" the old preacher. Several drew near to hear his vulgar stories and anecdotes, all of which were pointed against the Bible and its ministers. The preacher did not raise his eyes from his book nor appear to be the least troubled by the rabble.
At length the infidel walked up to him, and, rudely slapping him on the shoulder, said, "Old fellow, what do you think of these things?"
The clergyman calmly pointed toward the land, and said, "Do you see that beautiful landscape spread out in such quiet loveliness before you?"
"Yes."
"It has a variety of flowers, plants, and shrubs that are calculated to fill the beholder with delight."
"Yes."
"Well, if you were to send out a dove, it would pass over that scene, and see in it all that was beautiful and lovely, and delight itself in gazing at and admiring it; but if you were to send out a buzzard over precisely the same scene, it would see in it nothing to fix its attention unless it could find some rotten carcass, that would be loathsome to all other animals. It would alight and gloat upon that with exquisite pleasure."
"Do you mean to compare me to a buzzard, sir?" said the infidel, coloring deeply.
"I made no allusion to you, sir," said the clergyman, very quietly. The infidel walked off in confusion, and went by the name of "The Buzzard" during the remainder of the passage.—New York Christian Advocate.
Our Bible Reading
Man Tested and Lost
1. What is the first requisite that man may please God?
"Without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." Heb. 11:6.
2. What will ever be the demonstration of faith?
"Even so faith, if it hath not WORKS, is dead, being alone." James 2:17.
"The OBEDIENCE of faith." Rom. 16:26.
"For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision, availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but FAITH which WORKETH by love." Gal. 5:6.
3. What prohibition was imposed upon man in the beginning?
"Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it." Gen. 2:16, 17.
4. What is the proper term for such disobedience, and what is its result?
"All unrighteousness is sin." 1 John 5:17.
"Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." James 1:15.
5. Who made an attempt to thwart God's purpose for man?
"And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." Gen. 3:4, 5.
6. What was the result of Adam's transgression?
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Rom. 5:12.
"And unto Adam He [God] said, Because thou hast harkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: . . . in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." Gen. 3:17, 19.
7. In what way was man prevented from perpetuating his sinful existence?
"Lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the Tree of Life, and eat, and live forever: therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden. . . . And He placed at the east of the Garden of Eden cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the Tree of Life." Gen. 3:22-24.
NOTE.—It is not by any arbitrary thought of God that faith is required in man as the preeminent requisite to character building. A self-centered righteousness is a selfish righteousness; and if it were possible to develop a character in one's own strength, that very fact would lead to endless strife in the kingdom of God as to relative value and excellence of character. Therefore God placed as the acme of character His own, and demanded that men should have faith in Him. Looking ever to the perfections of God, man would see his own littleness and his own imperfection, and would be drawn out evermore toward the endless perfections and glories of the divine character. Consequently he would ever advance, would ever develop more and more of the noble and boundless perfections of the God whom he worshiped. Just as soon as he turned from that faith to himself, sin came in as the result of that unbelief. It, too, was God's plan that a character like His would be worthy of persisting forever. Such a character as that would demand everlasting existence, or immortality. But the devil led man to believe that he could learn much more in his own way than to follow God's way. And in his plea to man there is found the very thing that has led thousands astray in the world, and built up the false religious systems which have deceived thousands. In Satan's temptation there is suggested self-salvation and endless existence in and of man himself. But the very record shows that sin brings death. Sin continued, persisted in to the last, will bring eternal death. God so planned it that His universe would not be marred forever by the curse of disobedience to law.
In our next reading we will learn the hopeful side.
The Gospel Acrostic
God so loved the world, that He gave His
Only-begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not
Perish, but have
Everlasting
Life." John 3:16.
Some Methods of Modern Evangelism
By Francis M. Wilcox
SOME of the popular revival efforts of these days do not lose anything in the public mind by their methods. The more sensational they are, the more they cater to flamboyant passion, the more they draw the curious crowd, the more successful are the revivalists regarded. Sensational advertising, street parades, brass bands, waving banners, and other sensational methods are employed to attract people to the place of meeting.
We do not deny that some good may be accomplished by these services. It is quite possible that some honest souls attending them may be led to give themselves to Christ. It is greatly to be questioned, however, if the good accomplished outweighs the evil which results from lowering the standard and dignity of Christian ethics by some of the methods employed by these modern revivalists. We feel confident that it does not.
As a result of some of these efforts during the last few years, the cause of Christianity has been seriously injured. Many Christian people of good judgment and fine sensibilities have been shocked and pained at the cheap, vulgar methods employed. The enemies of the cross have found occasion to blaspheme. In some instances the language of the revivalist has been so coarse and crude, so dishonoring to God, whose servant he professes to be, as was better befitting the man of the street than the one who stands in the sacred desk.
Regarding this particular phase of modern evangelism, Washington Gladden, D.D., LL.D., contributes an article to the "Independent" of May 23, 1912. Dr. Gladden has been the pastor of the First Congregational Church of Columbus, Ohio, for thirty years, and was at one time moderator of the National Council of the Congregational Church. He quotes "portions of sermons which have been recently preached to large American audiences. They are the utterances of more than one preacher." The ministers from whom he quotes are all of "good and regular standing in one or the other of the leading evangelical denominations." Dr. Gladden further states that these sermons have been delivered in the presence of the evangelical Protestant ministers of the cities where the efforts have been held, and never called forth, to his knowledge, any dissent or disapproval from them. Below is given a portion of the extracts referred to.
Speaking of those who resist the gospel, one revivalist said:
"A young man or woman who fights against the Christian life can not measure character with a grizzly ape or a yellow dog. It takes a little weazen-headed, jug-headed man to doubt God — I've sure got down to the size of some of the muts of your town this morning."
Referring to the matter of playing cards, another revivalist declared:
"A preacher who says that the right or wrong of card playing is just a matter of conscience should be kicked out of the ministry. He couldn't slop hogs for me."
Referring to a minister of the city where he was preaching who did not accord with his views in the matter of popular amusements, another revivalist states:
"The statement has been made here in —— by some dirty little puppet of the pulpit that there is no harm in the dance, the theater, or cards. . . . A preacher of that sort is worse than a bull-necked bartender."
On another occasion, a preacher, finding that his efforts had not met that hearty response which he hoped to see, sought to work upon the fears of his audience. In his prayer he besought the Lord to visit "death if necessary upon the heads of those who were standing in the way of the progress of the meeting." He urged Providence further "to adorn the doors of all in the city with crape who were not fighting on the right side of the battle for souls." The next day this same evangelist was reported as saying: "If this hardness of heart continues until the end of this meeting, I say to you that God's wrath will fall upon this community. There will be more funerals following this revival than you have had in your town for ten years. Mark that prophecy."
Trans-Atlantic Co. photo.
These are not the most vulgar quotations made by Dr. Gladden in his article. There are some not only vulgar, but so clearly profane that we would not care to reproduce them in the columns of the "Signs." In concluding, the writer says:
"I should not venture to report these words if they had not received the approval of a great many good men. Surely it can not be improper to spread before the Christian public, for its information and inspiration, some of the most characteristic portions of an evangel which is being enthusiastically received in a good many of our best American cities."
These are a few of the many samples which might be given. If such language and such methods were met with only occasionally, in some peculiar erratic type of evangelist, it would not seem so bad; but it is such preaching as this that thousands of people throughout the world, and many professed Christian people as well, desire. As stated in the article in question:
"It must not be supposed that these things have been said in a corner. They have been listened to by audiences numbering many thousands; the evangelists who utter them carry with them, from city to city, the unqualified commendation of large numbers of Protestant ministers."
While Dr. Gladden himself expresses no decided personal views with reference to these methods, it is not difficult to understand his position in the matter. He truly says, "It is a phase of modern religious life which deserves the careful consideration of intelligent Christians." It shows the depraved sentimental taste which has been created. This sort of preaching and revival work, and the favor accorded it by professed Christians, are a sign of the growing spiritual decadence of the church of God. And yet there are those who believe they see in the excitement, the passion, the magnetism present as such meetings, the mighty power of God. Such mistake the character of the movings of the Spirit of God.
Contrast this sort of preaching, this character of appeal to sinners, with the words and ways of the Lord Jesus Christ; with the simple, earnest, dignified appeal of Peter on the Day of Pentecost; with the proclaiming of the gospel by Paul when arraigned before Felix; with the plain, simple presentation of gospel truth by D. L. Moody and even several present-day eminent and successful soul savers.
When the minister of Christ obtains a view of the dignity and purity and gentleness that are in the Lord Jesus Christ, and has experienced the converting, sanctifying, uplifting power of the gospel of Christ in his own life, the kind of language quoted above and the sensationalism seen in much of the so-called modern evangelism will be discarded as unbecoming the work of the representative of the Great Teacher of truth.
FRANCIS M. WILCOX.
A Memorial to the Arizona Legislature
(Presented at its recent session, at which a Sunday bill was rejected)
Whereas, God, in His infinite wisdom, created man a free moral agent, not subject to the dictation of his fellow men in matters of conscience, nor to undue restraint in his civil practises; and—
Whereas, The history of the world abounds in examples of coercion, whereby the moral scruples and the civil rights of worthy men have been ignored, their inalienable prerogatives trampled in the dust, and their lives and property sacrificed, in a futile attempt to control their religious convictions; and—
Whereas, These multiplied failures to dominate the minds and hearts of men, and to regulate their religious worship by force, do not deter mankind from renewed appeals to the civil power, for administrative orders and legislative enactments, that would curtail the liberties of their fellows and constrain their judgment in the realms of conscience; and—
Whereas, These encroachments upon the individual rights of citizens almost invariably have begun in the exaltation of the first day of the week as a day of compulsory rest, notwithstanding the conviction of many that the law of God is not subject to human amendment, and notwithstanding the undeniable right of the individual citizen, so far as the state is concerned, to choose for himself which day he will observe as a day of rest, or whether he will rest at all; now, therefore, be it—
Resolved, That we, the people of Arizona, in mass meeting11assembled, do hereby express our unalterable conviction that civil and religious liberty, the treasured heritage of our fathers, ought to be maintained throughout the republic. We deplore the effort to curtail the free exercise of religious conviction by civil process, and the attempt to force upon others the conclusions of any man, or any set of men, as to which day is the Sabbath, or to regulate by civil law any religious custom or ceremonial.
Resolved, That the state, in the proper exercise of the functions of government, has no right to discriminate in favor of or against any citizen or citizens, on account of his or their religious opinions or ceremonials. We therefore demand the freedom vouchsafed by the Creator, and safeguarded by the existing Constitution of the United States, and by the Constitution of the State of Arizona, to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience, without interference by self-constituted censors, or arbitrary dictation by the civil power. We distinctly ask that the state legislature refrain from the passage of any law whose adoption would make it unlawful to transact any business on Sunday not prohibited on other days of the week; we ask that no special privileges or exemptions be granted to any class of citizens not accorded to or required of all other citizens of the state; and we ask that the representatives of our commonwealth, now in session at Phœnix, whose motives we respect, and whose high moral regard for the welfare of the entire community has been faithfully exemplified, lay wide and firmly in every act the foundations of civil and religious liberty.
Resolved, That these resolutions be engrossed, and that copies of the same be presented to the state Senate and to the House of Representatives of the State of Arizona, as an enduring memorial of the sentiments of the community, without regard to creed, dogma, or superstition.
The Ten Commandments Not Popular
By Editor
BISHOP L. H. WELLS, of Spokane (Episcopalian), deprecates the tendency among some clergymen to fail to use the Ten Commandments. He says that one clergyman told him: ‘‘I do not use the Ten Commandments for my lovely congregation. Imagine me telling them, ‘Do not steal; do not kill!’ They do not do that, and they do not need the admonition.’’ But the bishop says that within three months one of the wardens of that church was arrested for stealing $90,000.
Another clergyman said: ‘‘We find our lovely girls coming from beautiful homes sometimes stealing each other’s jewelry, and breaking other commandments. I think it is well to have the commandments repeated for them. It is a mistake if you do not have them repeated once a week.’’
We wish that our brethren who are repeating the commandments in their churches would remember the fourth one as well. They would find that the recognition of God as the Creator would tell tremendously in helping to observe the other commandments. Not a few have been brought to the truth of the Sabbath by the repetition of that commandment in the Episcopal service, and the prayer that follows, ‘‘O Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law.’’
A False Peace Cry
THERE are many such expressions as the following, from the Rev. Robert Graves, Portland:
“War has become such a terrible thing on account of the modern inventions of warfare that it is becoming obsolete. The old soldiers of the Civil War are about gone, and it is unlikely that great nations again will go to war.”
These are strange words from a believer in the Book which predicts in numerous cases a fearful war which lies before. It has been demonstrated many times that the invention of death-dealing slaughter weapons does not deter men from going to war. Take, for instance, the Japanese-Russian war. Men threw themselves just as heartily into the battle as they ever did in the ancient past. All the training that men are getting to-day, and from their boyhood in schools, in societies, is certainly not taking the world away from war, but into it; and this is in harmony with the predictions of God’s Word. “When they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them.”
Theory and Fact.
By Editor
Dr. Edward Louis Bisch prophesies a roseate future for man. He declares that men and women of the future will not know disease. There will be no insanity, because “men will learn to control the factors which unbalance the nervous system.” The unfit will not be allowed to marry, and there will be an “all-round harmonious development.” “The future race will be beautiful physically, and giants intellectually.” Beautiful theory, but the facts are tremendously against it. The demonstrations that we have had politically the last few weeks are not such as to give us very much courage in believing that men will learn to balance themselves. Our big political conventions are mighty evidences to the contrary. Other noted physicians tell us that the race will in a short time become insane, that insanity is increasing; and where the question has been brought before legislators of endeavoring to control marriage, and prevent the unfit from marrying, there has been no indication that such a thing will ever be carried out.
The simple fact is, looked at from every standpoint, with few exceptions, that the race is degenerate, that intemperance and vice are sapping the virility of men and bringing untold diseases upon humanity. And yet there is one hope always held out before every man, and that hope centers in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is able to create, and He is able to re-create men, here and now, in character and physically, if—for there is an “if”—if men would but trust Him.
Preparation for Armageddon.
It is not a favorable omen—this strong military cry rising from all parts of the country. Men are advocating military training in public schools at government expense, under the specious pleas of the benefit of the physical drill—“erect carriage,” “well-developed chest,” “manly stride,” “square shoulders,” “habits of obedience,” etc. All are fallacious. There are as many manly men and as well-developed men outside of the military as in it. And the training to sometime kill, does not make for peace. The almost universal militarism of the world is a training for Armageddon.
The Omega Centauri of the southern heavens, not visible in this latitude. The constellation Centaurus is traversed by the Milky Way. It contains the bright star a Centauri. It and its mate are our nearest solar neighbors, four and one third light years away. Two stars in this constellation are called “the Pointers” because they guide the eye to “the Southern Cross.” The above cluster in the constellation of Centaurus is estimated to contain 6,000 stars. See article on next page.
Hard Times.
By Editor
It does not look like hard times in the United States, when we take into account that $200,000,000 is the value placed by the government upon the luxuries imported into the United States during the last fiscal year. This does not take into account all of those of home manufacture. These articles include diamonds, art work, laces and embroideries, champagne and other wines, tobacco in its various forms, ostrich feathers, artificial flowers, toys, perfumeries, cosmetics, jewelry, manufactured articles of gold and silver, etc., etc. In many of these the imports of the fiscal year of 1912 exceed in value those of any earlier year. But this is not a true index of conditions. There are classes who are prospering, but there are many, very many, who feel the pinch of poverty. Increased cost of living has exceeded the increase of wages. In fact, it argues for more dissatisfaction between classes, this constant increase of luxuries, together with the growing hard times on the part of those who receive minimum wages. The constantly growing contrast is increasing the discontent.
Counsel Amid Political Discord
By Editor
Our readers do not need to be told the news of the recent Republican Convention in Chicago, nor the split of the party which there took place. It is a logical ending of the exceptionally mud-slinging campaign which has been conducted for months. At the writing of this note the Democratic National Convention is in session in Baltimore, and more or less of the same mob spirit is manifest in that. It is really a pitiable thing that men—strong men, leading men—can not get together and decently listen to what men may have to say, without practically mobbing them, or at the very least, drowning them out with discordant cries of every sort, simply and solely because the speaker may be saying something with which the noise makers are not agreed. If there ever was a time when men needed to be cool, calm, and reasoning, that time is now. In religion, as well as in politics, men need to move wisely and carefully, and counsel, above all else, with the Arbiter of all destinies, the One whose audience-chamber is always open to His children.
An Early Liberty Bell
RHODE ISLAND has the honor of being the first state in the world which granted religious liberty to all. How they cherished that principle is indicated by the motto upon the large bell, weighing 2,515 pounds, in the Baptist church built at Providence in 1774, and dedicated May 28, 1775, a little over a year before that grand old “sister bell” at Philadelphia rang out national independence. The motto on the Rhode Island bell reads:
“For freedom of conscience the town was first planted;
Persuasion, not force, was used by the people.
This church is the oldest, and has not recanted,
Enjoying and granting bell, temple, and steeple.”
Not the greatest kind of poetry, by any means, but it stood for the greatest of principles.
The Glory of the Stars a Prophecy of Eternity
By Prof. F. E. Hinkley
By Prof. F. E. Hinkley, of Harvard University, Observer at Arequipa, Peru
"And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever." Dan. 12:3.
THE margin of our Bibles permits the use of "teachers" in place of "wise"—"And they that be teachers shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever."
This, of course, refers to those who teach the truth and lead others to accept it, just prior to the time when the events recorded are to be fulfilled.
Like many others, this marvelous promise, and a conception of its magnitude, can be more clearly understood through the study of the structure of the universe and of the stellar worlds themselves.
While the astronomer's understanding of the spheres is above that of the average reader, all human minds seem weak and limited, and the imagination fails, when they come to contemplate the great fact of creation. But let us see if we can not become a little better acquainted with these monarchs of the skies, in the likeness of which the teachers of righteousness are to shine forever and ever.
Stars Innumerable
The sun of our solar system is one of these stars. It is true that from the highest point of view the sun is only one of a multitude, a single star among millions, thousands of which, most likely, exceed it in brightness, magnitude, and power.
Bruce 24-inch telescope in the Harvard Observatory at Arequipa, by which are taken the portraits of the stars
Far away in the unfathomable depths of space, so far that they appear as mere points of light, blaze other suns of vaster size and greater glory. Alpha Centauri, our sun's nearest neighbor, located near the Southern Cross, is a star whose brilliant light must traverse space as light only travels,—186,000 miles a second,—for a period of more than four years to reach us; and yet this southern star is less than half the distance to the next nearest star, 61 Cygni.
Other systems and constellations more remote are flooding the celestial spaces with their never-ending light, which consumes hundreds of years in reaching this planet of ours. There are stars in the heavens so distant that the most powerful telescope ever constructed can not collect enough of their rays to impress their image upon the human eye. No man, without prophetic vision, has ever seen these stars, and probably not many of them will ever be seen from this planet. And yet those very stars are known to astronomers and the position of many of them is marked on the celestial map.
Southern station of the Harvard Observatory, Arequipa, Peru, El Mista in the background. The mountain is 19,200 feet high; the observatory, 8,050, the highest in the world. One station is maintained, we believe, at 13,400 feet, and another at 15,700 feet. See also cut on previous page.
How this can be, you do not need to ask, for you already know that the weak ray of light, which can not make itself felt upon the retina of the eye, can impress its image on the photographic plate if given time enough.
Thousands upon thousands of stars, utterly invisible to man, can be photographed as you are photographed, but the process is a much longer one.
The imagination becomes bewildered when contemplating the unnumbered millions of worlds, systems, clusters, and constellations that lie within the field of vision of the most powerful telescope, and beyond this we are reasonably certain that other worlds and systems of vaster proportions travel the boundless space.
The Southern Cross, really a part of the constellation Centaurus. The camera unduly magnifies two of the stars as they would appear to the naked eye.
Turning again to the Word of God, we are able, through the study of His works, to see new beauty and get a clearer understanding of that wonderful truth which declares that the host of heaven can not be numbered. And with this view comes a new conception of how vast will be the
multitude of the redeemed in heaven that shall walk in white.
One Star Differeth from Another
Another passage of Scripture will help us to see what modern astronomy was long in appreciating—that one star differs from another, as there will also be a difference in the glory of the redeemed: "There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory." 1 Cor. 15:41.
The stars visible to the naked eye are faint and pale compared with those disclosed by the telescope, but they differ obviously in brightness.
"The differences of brightness are due, first, to difference of distance; second, to difference of dimensions, or light-giving area; third, to difference of brilliance of the light-giving surface, depending upon difference of temperature and constitution." The fact is, stars are very unequal in their actual brightness; and in consequence, the apparent magnitude of a star gives us no13clue to its distance. Among the nearer stars there are some scarcely, if at all, visible to the naked eye; while among the brighter ones are several whose distances are immeasurably great.
There is another difference in the stars besides that of brightness. One star differs from another in color. Some systems are white, some blue, some green. Three or four among the brightest strike the eye by their ardent glow, others are tinged with yellow, and the white light of several has a bluish gleam like that of polished steel. Reddish tints are the most noticeable, and seem to have been the only ones noticed by the ancients.
Some of these shining orbs that rule the skies, are single like our own sun. Others are double. That is, what appears to us like one star is divided into two with the help of a more or less powerful telescope. Others are triple, and some quadruple.
The Stars Are to Shine Forever
Since sin obtained a foothold upon this fair earth of ours, age and decay have borne witness that change is a natural consequence of broken law. Science, however, looks upon it as something entirely different; and through a misconception of what the divine revelation is to man, it has voiced its theories, until it would have us believe that these shining orbs in the skies will some day become cold and lifeless—no longer fiery and radiant, giving heat and light to their families of planets. But God's Word declares that they will shine "forever and ever," "not one faileth;" and in the undimmed glory of these stars, which shine as brightly as in the beginning, is a prophecy of eternity, embracing those who turn many to righteousness, who are to shine as the stars "forever and ever."
