NEPHESH, the Hebrew word for soul, is derived from the verb nephesh, which means to breathe. Nephesh in the English version is translated breath, also life, creature, or animal life. It is rendered breath in Job 4:21; Eccl. 3:19; creature, in Gen. 1:2; 2:19. "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul [nephesh]." Gen. 2:7. We read (Eccl. 3:19) that they have all (animals as well as man) one breath. Man was made alive by being made to breathe. Animals were made alive by the breath of life; have they therefore immortal souls? When nephesh is rendered creature, as it is in many texts, it may with the same propriety be rendered soul. Thus the text we have quoted may rightly read: "Man became a living creature," or being. The idea of life, or existence, is all that the original implies. There is nothing from which we may even draw the inference that, because God made man a living soul, creature, or being, he must therefore have a never-ending existence, or an immortal soul.
We will now quote some of the texts in which nephesh is rendered life (fearing that some readers will not turn to them). "At the hand of every man's brother will I require the life [nephesh] of man." Gen. 9:5. "Shall give life [nephesh] for life." Ex. 21:23. "All that a man hath will he give for his life." Job 2:4. "In whose hand is the soul [nephesh, margin, life] of every living thing." Job 12:10. In this text every living thing is said to have a soul; is the word therefore to be taken in a "never-dying" sense? "A righteous man regardeth the life [nephesh] of his beast." Prov. 12:10. "Let us not perish for this man's life [nephesh]." Jonah 1:14.
It is not in the province of this article to define spirit, but as its meaning is quite similar to that of soul in certain texts, we will notice it briefly and prove that according to its meaning in the Hebrew there is no more immortality in it than in the word "soul."
Spirit in the Old Testament is from the two Hebrew words n'shah-mah and ruahh. Both of these words are primarily defined as breath, or breath of life. N'shah-mah is defined as the mind, the intellect, and ruahh as the rational soul, mind, spirit, etc.
Buck, in his theological dictionary, defines soul as follows: "That vital, immaterial, active substance, or principle, in man, whereby he perceives, remembers, reasons, and wills." He also defines spirit as "an incorporeal being or intelligence." Incorporeal is defined by Webster as "not consisting of matter, not material," and it is on account of its immateriality that most theologians attempt to prove its immortality. Buck says: "The immortality of the soul may be argued from its vast capacities." He does not attempt to prove it (nor can any other theologian) from its meaning in Hebrew and the Greek.
But to prove more fully that we should determine the meaning of the word "soul" by the context and the sense (to which we have alluded) we can not better close this article than to quote from "Man's Nature and Destiny," pages 63, 64, as follows: "Thus, when we read in Gen. 2:7, that Adam became a living soul, the sense demands, and the meaning of the word 'soul' will warrant, that we then apply it to the whole person; Adam, as a complete being, was a living soul. But when we read in Gen. 35:18, 'And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, for she died,' we give the word according to another of its definitions, a more limited signification, and apply it, with Parkhurst, to the breath of life.
"But some have met us here in this manner: 'Materialists tells us that "soul" means the whole man;' then let us see how it will read in Gen. 35:18: 'And it came to pass, as the whole man was in departing; for she died.' Or they will say, 'Materialists tell us that "soul" means the breath;' then let us try it in Gen. 2:7: 'And Adam became a living breath.'
"Such a course, while it is no credit to their mental acumen, is utterly disastrous to all their claims to candor and honesty in their treatment of this important subject. While we are not at liberty to go beyond the latitude of meaning which is attached to the words 'soul' and 'spirit,' we are at liberty to use whatever definition the circumstances of the case require, varying, of course, in different passages. But in the whole list of definitions, and in the entire use of words, we find nothing answering to that immaterial, independent, immortal part, capable of a conscious, intelligent, active existence out of the body as well as in, of which the popular religious teachers of the day endeavor to make these words the vehicle. It will be noticed, also, that some of the definitions are determined by the theological views extant upon this subject; as, for instance, when psuche is defined to mean the 'immaterial soul,' and Matt. 10:28 is quoted to prove it. We shall find, when we come to an examination of that passage, that no such 'immaterial' thing can be there referred to. But let it be marked that in all the definitions of the word 'soul' and 'spirit,' and in all the instances of their use in the Scriptures, they are never once described or referred to as existing, or capable of existing, without a body."
WM. PENNIMAN.
"SACREDNESS OF THE SABBATH."
By T. E. Bowen
SUCH is the heading to a report from the Presbyterian General Assembly of Minneapolis. A sub-heading runs, "Presbyterians Insist upon Obedience to the Fourth Commandment." Why say fourth commandment? There certainly can be no connection between the talk of the Assembly in their discussion of Sunday rest and the rest enjoined by Jehovah in the fourth commandment. The "literal" rest commanded by the Creator there is as foreign to the rest this body of men is seeking to enforce as sun-worship is foreign to the worship of the true God who made the worlds. The commandment reads:—
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it."
But in their discussion—
the Sunday street-car, the Sunday train and railroad excursion, the Sunday newspaper, the Sunday-working Presbyterian, and every form of activity which is not in harmony with the literal meaning of the fourth commandment, was condemned.
But every school-boy knows that Sunday is the first not the seventh day of the week. If they desire to discuss the Sunday rest, they are at liberty to do so; but when they say that the "literal" meaning of the fourth commandment enjoins the observance of the first day of the week, it is time to protest; for the commandment says literally the seventh day is the Sabbath, not the first.
The report continues:—
In the debate on the Sabbath resolutions almost every speaker gave evidence of being imbued with the feeling expressed in the words of the committee: "The American Christian Sabbath is in imminent peril; in fact, in many of our large cities and in other parts of our land, it is already nearly lost. This means that American liberty and American institutions are in peril, for of these the American Sabbath has been both the foundation and the protection."
"The American Christian Sabbath." Here is a sabbath made by the American Government for American Christians. God did not make it, and this American sabbath is in peril. It really seems too bad that that which has been the foundation and stood for the protection of our government should not have inherent power enough to protect and save itself. It will be remembered, tho, that those things which stood for the foundation and protection of Israel in the time of Elijah, when put to the test on the day fire descended from heaven upon Elijah's sacrifice, failed in proving to the people that they were worthy of the confidence reposed in them.
It may be interesting to observe some of the winding difficulties experienced by these Sunday-law makers. The Bible says plainly, however, that there is but "one Lawgiver":—
Dr. Hathaway, secretary of the American Sabbath Union, led in the discussion, and Alexander Dixon, of Scranton, Pa.; Elder John Gilchrist, of Boston; Dr. E. B. Wright, of Austin, Texas; and many others, spoke in favor of literal observance of the fourth commandment. D. W. Glass deplored sabbath violation by Presbyterians, and remarked that President Cowan, of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which discriminates in favor of Sunday travel, is a Presbyterian. On the other hand, it was pointed out that the many down-town churches would have to be closed if church members never rode to church.
An attempt to get the phrase "Christian Sabbath" substituted for the phrase "American Sabbath," in the resolution, was defeated. As adopted, the amendments deprecate the secularizing of the sabbath; urge members and young people of the church to realize the importance of sabbath observance; legislatures and Congress are urged to protect the American sabbath; the American Sabbath Union and the Women's National Sabbath Alliance are commended; every pastor is recommended to preach on Sabbath observance on some sabbath of next October, and take a collection for the Sabbath Union; the board of publications is requested to prepare, and sabbath-school superintendents to use, a specific observance leaflet. Sympathy is expressed with 3,000,000 Americans, who, because of sabbath desecration, are compelled to do secular work on the sabbath. President McKinley's attention is respectfully called to the fact that employees of the post-office and many other departments of the government are compelled to work on Sunday.
T. E. BOWEN.
Christ’s Mercy and the Pharisees
By Ellen G. White
If Christ had called attention to the Pharisees, and had extolled their learning and piety, they would have hailed Him with joy. But when He spoke of the kingdom of heaven as a dispensation of mercy for all mankind, He was presenting a phase of religion they would not tolerate. Their own example and teaching had never been such as to make the service of God seem desirable. When they saw Jesus giving attention to the very ones they hated and repulsed, it stirred up the worst passions of their proud hearts. Notwithstanding their boast that under the "Lion of the tribe of Judah" Israel should be exalted to pre-eminence over all nations, they could have borne the disappointment of their ambitious hopes better than they could bear Christ's reproof of their sins, and the reproach they felt even from the presence of His purity. —Desire of Ages.
SOME THINGS IN THE LAST BULL OF THE POPE.
POPE Leo XIII. has issued a bull decreeing that the year beginning with Dec. 25, 1899, and ending a year from that date, shall be a jubilee year, holy to the faithful. There are some things in this document worthy of note regarding fact and doctrine, a few of which we briefly notice. The pope tells us in the beginning (we quote from the Catholic Mirror, of June 3, with its capitalization):—
We have gladly determined in accordance with the custom of Our predecessors, to pass a decree which may be a source of salvation to Christian people.
How this decree may be a "source" of salvation to "Christian people" we know not. A Christian is a disciple of Christ, saved in Christ. He needs no other source or end of salvation. He possesses all in Christ Jesus, "the Beginner and the Finisher of our faith." In the above utterance is the virtual claim, the blasphemous assumption, to the vicegerency of Christ. He says again:—
We Ourselves were witness in Our youth how helpful to salvation was the last Jubilee decreed in solemn form during the Pontificate of Leo XII. at a time when Rome was the greatest and safest theater for a public act of religion.
During this time (Leo XII., we believe, took the papal throne 1822) the Papacy ruled Rome. "Rome was [then] the greatest and safest theater for a public act of [the Roman Catholic] religion;" but heresy, which may have been the truest religion, had no rights which Rome was bound to respect. The pope contrasts that time with the present:—
There is now, in the changed state of Rome, either no opportunity of organizing, or the permission depends on a will other than Our own.
But there are the same liberties for Roman Catholics as for other sects or denominations. Why should she ask more?
In speaking of the great darkness in the world and the lack of faith, the pope remarks:—
It can scarcely be estimated what ruin has already issued from this dark source and invaded the principles upon which states are founded. For the spirit of revolt so widely spread, the stormy outbursts of popular discontent, the perils that no one can foresee, and the crimes of tragic horror are discerned, by those who look into their causes, to be nothing else than a sort of lawless and unbridled endeavor to gain and enjoy the things of this world.
The italics are ours. All these things exist. There are causes. The greatest is the innate selfishness of the natural heart of man. The antidote for this is the obedient faith of Jesus Christ manifest in His church. But the greater part, numerically, of the professed church—the Roman Catholic—which has made of living faith a "body of doctrine," has presumed to put man in the place of God, and by authority claimed from God, has assumed to set aside the very precepts of God. This is notably true as regards the Sabbath law. God says: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." Rome says, "Sanctify the Sunday." She thus sets aside the authority of God simply and solely on her own authority, while claiming to be the church of God. She thus becomes "the mystery of iniquity," or lawlessness, and justifies thereby every other act of lawlessness that may be committed.
If God means not what He says in the Sabbath precept, who can say that He does in the precepts prohibiting theft, adultery, and murder? The church stands as the chief law-breaker. "When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers." Of what use is it for a man to preach the sacredness of law and the necessity of submitting to proper authority, when he himself is a notorious transgressor? Here is matter for Protestants also to meditate upon.
Following are two more vital errors inherent in the Papacy:—
During its [the "Holy Year's"] months our Holy Mother, the Church, mindful alone of mercy and forgiveness, strives with all her zeal and strength to turn the minds of men to better things, and that penitence, the great source of amendment of life, may wash out the faults which each one has committed. With this object in view, multiplying her prayers and increasing her devotion, she endeavors to appease the outraged divinity of God, and to call down from heaven an abundance of divine blessings.
"Penitence" does not wash away sin. The blood of Jesus Christ alone can do this. It is well to be penitent for sin; nay, it is necessary. But man's sorrow or penitence or repentance or penance can not wash out the stain. God's mercy and grace alone can do this. "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin." And it does this without any intermediary.
The second point: "She [the church] endeavors to appease the outraged divinity of God, and to call down from heaven an abundance of the divine blessings"! Think of it! Where does the church obtain her mercy? Who is the source of it? Think of the picture: God, the infinitely loving and merciful, who is Himself love, needing to be appeased by poor selfish, sinning mortals! and that because they endeavor, and try, and do penance, and pile up prayers and devotions! This is not the God of the Bible. "He delighteth in mercy;" He is "pleased" with "them that hope in His mercy;" He is the merciful God. While He pities those deceived, His curse is upon the system which thus deceives.
Of Rome Leo writes:—
Wherefore, beloved children, however many and wherever you may be, if you are able to visit her, Rome invites you most lovingly to her arms. . . . Alone from amongst all others, Jesus Christ, the Saviour of mankind, chose the city of Rome for a most high destiny above all human thought, and hallowed it to Himself. Here, not without much long and mysterious preparation, He placed the seat of His Empire; here He commanded that the throne of His Vicar should stand for all time; here He has willed that the light of heavenly doctrine should be piously and inviolably kept, and hence, as from a most sacred center, should be shed abroad over every land; so that the man who shall separate himself from the faith of Rome, shall separate from Christ Himself. The city's sanctity is increased by its ancient religious monuments, the singular majesty of its churches, the shrines of the princes of the Apostles and the tombs of the bravest martyrs.
How poorly Rome has met her "most high destiny"! What a perverted idea has she given us of Christ's "hallowed" things! What a (?) strange "preparation" the Lord used to fit her for "His seat of empire" during the centuries of her heathendom and bloodshed—which have never ceased! How "inviolably" and "piously" the light of heavenly doctrine has been kept there by this dominating power! O what a travesty on fact and truth is this concerning Rome, yet the pope doubtless believes it. We impugn not his motives; but we would undeceive the misled, and warn the unwary. Rome was wicked in her heathendom; she has multiplied her crimes and sins under the false, more deceptive, system of the Papacy. Truly the Lord said to that church which was being led away in the apostasy of Rome, "I know where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat [throne] is." God gives us a better city, even the New Jerusalem, where He dwells. There is no city of earth specially hallowed by His presence. It is not in Jerusalem or Samaria or London or Rome that great blessings wait the children of God. They ever come, anywhere, to those who seek Him "in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship Him."7
"God's love and blessing then and there
Are now and here and everywhere;"
And this comes in the close of this decree:— No one, therefore, may change the terms of this Our declaration, promulgation, concession and will, or rashly oppose it. But if any one shall have presumed to attempt it, let him be aware that he will thus incur the anger of God and of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul.
What a blessed thing it is to know that "the curse causeless" will not come. We bear only the kindliest thoughts toward all men; but the Lord has said: "Cry aloud and spare not." We would point out the error. We would point to Jesus, the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world. Would that all knew Him.
THE BASIS OF ALL TRUE WORK FOR GOD.
IT is God's desire that all should see Him. "Look unto Me, . . . all the ends of the earth." Only by seeing God can man truly realize his own sinfulness, unworthiness, and utter nothingness.
When Isaiah "saw the Lord, sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up," he cried, "Woe is me! for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then [when the prophet saw himself, felt his need, and confessed his sin, "then"] flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar; and he touched my mouth with it, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged." And then when the Lord asked for a messenger, the prophet was ready. "Here am I; send me. And He said, Go."
God desires humility; for He can cleanse and use the humblest. Isaiah "saw the Lord, sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up," before whom seraphim shouted, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts," and he humbled himself. To the man of humility and through Him God gives us this precious assurance: "Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." He makes the heart of the humble and contrite a holy place by His own presence. He that humbleth himself shall be exalted of God; and only by humility are we fitted for His service.
THE RAGING ELEMENTS.
By Editor
THIS is said to be the "cyclone season." But it is coming to the point where the cyclone season extends quite well through the whole year.
These terrific storms fill many minds with untold terrors. They do not understand what they mean. The meaning of them, however, is very definite and clear. For a quarter of a century the SIGNS OF THE TIMES has been telling that the last days of this earth's history would be filled with the most desolating storms of every description. We have stated again and again that earthquake and tidal wave, storm and flood, would be in ceaseless activity as the very last of the last days are reached. And while we have been, and are still, having some fearful storms, yet they are as nothing compared with what lies just before us.
We make these statements, not as a speculative theory, but announce them as literal facts. And the reason why we announce them so positively as facts is because we read such clear and unequivocal statements in the Word of God, as the following:—
"Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled; for the Lord hath spoken this word. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merry-hearted do sigh. The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth. They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it. The city of confusion is broken down; every house is shut up, that no man may come in. There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened; the mirth of the land is gone. In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction." Isa. 24: 1-12.
When the earth is being made "empty" and "waste" and turned "upside down"; when "the land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled," storm and tempest and every form of upheaval and disturbance will be doing their terrible work. It is impossible for pen to describe or brush to paint the fearful things that are even now beginning to come upon the earth. And we may search, and search in vain, throughout every realm of human investigation, and we will find no solution of the meaning of these calamities that are overspreading the world as the darkness of death and despair. It is only in the light that is shining from the inspired Book that we may know the portent of these things.
Sin has nearly completed its course of misery, injustice, and crime. The seeds of ruin and death that are being sown by transgression are producing their indescribable harvest.
"The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant." Verse 5. Then it is clearly because of transgression that the "curse devoured the earth." "The curse causeless shall not come." Prov. 26: 2.
Now, when we consider the vast amount of manifest wickedness that there is in this time, is it to be wondered at that there should be such commotions of the elements? The very "earth is defiled under the inhabitants thereof." And this defiling of the earth by sin is the tap-root of every great storm. "The prince of the power of the air," by means of plunging the world into sin, would have destroyed every thing long ago were it not for the restraining power of God. But as the whole world gives itself over to sin, the Lord can not consistently keep back the destruction, and so the "prince of the power of the air" works direful ruin all over the land.
And do not be quieted with the thought that the conditions will get better. There is no more peace nor good times for this world until the coming of the Prince of Peace in the clouds of heaven.
"Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth. And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare; for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake. The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison [in the grave until the resurrection of the wicked at the end of the thousand years], and after many days shall they be visited. Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously." Isa. 24: 17-23.
This old earth is in her expiring agonies. Fearful will be the convulsions through which she will pass. But there is a glorious, bright beyond. The destruction of this world of sin means the beginning of that day "when the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously."
T.
"A GREAT COMPANY OF THE PRIESTS."
By T.
IN speaking of the early triumphs of the Gospel, the Record says: "And the Word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith." Acts 6:7.
This "great company of priests" who became "obedient to the faith" had heard the teachings and seen the works of Christ. But they had hesitated to take their stand.
The work of Christ was that of seed sowing. He was planting principles in the minds and hearts of men. And when His work on earth was brought to a seeming close by His crucifixion, there were very few, if any, who were truly "obedient to the faith." At the time of His betrayal even "all the disciples forsook Him and fled." Matt. 26:56. But when time was given for reflection, and after Christ was raised from the dead and the fulfilments of His teachings were clearly seen, then there were thousands who joined themselves to the Master's cause in a single day. And they did not connect with Christ then in a sort of half-hearted way, as many had done during His earthly ministry; but they took hold of the Gospel truth with firmness, and were ready to suffer and even to die for the cause of Christianity. And among them that made up this early church, so full of devotion and consecrated zeal, there was "a great company of the priests."
The Master had labored faithfully all through His ministry upon earth, and when He was crucified it seemed, to all human appearances, that His cause was hopelessly crushed. But He had sown good seed, and it was only necessary to wait for it to germinate and begin to grow, and then it could be clearly seen that the harvest would be abundant.
The Christian should follow the example of the Lord in seed sowing. We should not be overanxious about results. God will see to it that the results appear in due time if we only give careful heed to the seed sowing. We are apt to think that every one should accept our teachings at once. But we must give men time to reflect, while we go right ahead with our work of seed sowing.
If we become too anxious in regard to results we are apt to fall into the snare of seeking to compel men to come into line with us. But such a course as this would be religious persecution.
The only perfectly safe thing to do is to carefully study each act and point in connection with Christ's life, and then earnestly seek to follow in His footsteps closely. And as we do this it develops faith, courage, patience and every other Christian virtue. T.
BEAUTIFUL IN SENTIMENT.
By T.
THERE are many beautiful and sympathetic things being said. They are elegantly written out in prose, poetry, and song. But it is one thing to tell these beautiful things in words merely, and quite a different thing to tell them in actual deeds.
Mere talk is of but very little account. But when good talk is translated into the corresponding good deeds, it amounts to something. We may sit in a cosy room, with every comfort surrounding us, and write beautiful sentiments; we may tell of "the good we all should do while the days are going by;" we may even become so enraptured that we break forth into song about it; but what good is there in all of it unless we do something to actually relieve want and distress.
"If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." James 2:15-17.
The faith which grows sentimental yet does nothing to relieve the misery and suffering that fills this world is a "dead" faith. And a dead faith is simply no faith at all. For what can anything do when it is dead?
These are times for earnest action. Men and women and pitiable little children fill our great cities and towns and even some of the smaller villages with their cries for bread. Our sympathies at such a time as this should be coined into heroic deeds of sacrifice and service. And then, and only then, can our words have in them the true balm of sympathy.
T.
THE PEACE CONFERENCE.
By T.
THE Peace Conference at The Hague is still carrying on its work behind closed doors. And while there are many who have high hopes in regard to the outcome of it, there are many more who feel very sure that it will not amount to much.
The czar is not credited with sincerity in calling the conference. It is thought by some that he is simply seeking to gain time in order that he may more fully perfect his plans to seize additional territory from China, and otherwise to strengthen his army and navy.
The pope is not at all satisfied with the way in which the conference has been conducted, and so he stands ready to use all his influence against its success. His powers in the line of intrigue will enable him to do much to accomplish the failure of the conference.
There are other like reasons offered as showing why the conference will not amount to much, and they are not without foundation. But leaving such reasons to one side, what is the general outlook for the Peace Conference at The Hague, or for any other peace conference that the men of this world might call?
There is a vast amount of capital invested in plants, a chief item of their work being to build all kinds of warships. There are numerous other plants that have immense sums invested in the manufacturing of cannon and every form of gun, together with ammunition for the same. It takes immense quantities of iron and other materials to build these instruments of death, and hence many other industries, such as iron smelters, coal miners, etc., etc., are interested to have each of the several governments investing heavily in the munitions of war.
Now these men who have so much money invested are among the most influential in the capital class, and it matters little what may be done or said at The Hague, these men of wealth will continue to do as they have been doing. That is, they will bring their mighty influence to bear to have still more and more battle-ships and guns built. It is their business to make these things, and they are not the class of men who will retire from their lucrative traffic just as soon as the Peace Conference speaks.
These wealthy men have large commercial interests in every part of the globe, and they expect to have their business protected by shot and shell. So long as men continue to bend all their energies to the amassing of millions of money, their minds will be filled with selfishness. And the only protection for a selfish, grasping policy is the army and navy.
It takes more than a mere profession of Christianity to take this selfishness from the heart. Hence only those who have really and truly accepted the Prince of Peace as their guide and keeper, will be saved from the destruction of this terrible war spirit that holds the world in these last days.
It has been true of every age that there were plenty of men who would rather see the whole world plunged into war than to have their vested interests destroyed. There has always been those who were so sordid that money seemed of more value than men. And with these there have been combined the men who were possessed with selfish and ungovernable ambition. And so the history of the world has been largely an account of its wars and conquests. There is every ground for believing that the time in which we live will prove to be no exception to the rule.
While the conference is wire-pulling at The Hague, the great battle of Armageddon is drawing on with haste. And Satan would like to keep every one of us from seeing it by amusing us with beholding the many-colored baubles that his cunning can invent.
Be not deceived. There is but one true conference of peace, and that is between the Father and the Son in the courts on high. The Prince of Peace is soon coming to announce the completed results.
T.
THEY WANTED WORK (?)
By W. N. G.
WHILE it is a sad, lamentable fact that many poor men and their families are suffering for want of employment; while it is a fact that many are thrown out of employment, or forced to work at starvation wages, by the cruelty of capital combination and concentration; it is another sad fact that too many men, with and without families, do not want to work, and the saloons get their money when they do work.
An instance, illustrating this feature of the much-discussed labor question, is told by the Tribune of this city. It is the experience of the terminal freight agent of the Southern Pacific Company, who has charge of the Long Wharf and the Peralta Yards. He wanted hands to unload coal, and went in quest of them, offering twenty-five cents an hour.
In a water-front saloon he found a lot of men; they wanted work, of course; that was what they were doing in the saloon—hunting work! But unloading coal—that was a kind of work they did not want. Continuing his search, the freight agent went to an up-town saloon, where he found another lot of men, who wanted work at any price. But none of them cared to unload coal at twenty-five cents an hour.
From here the searcher for laborers went to the Builders' Exchange, where he found more men in search of work. Another crowd was found lounging in the City Hall Park, looking for employment. Out of these two companies two "gangs" of men were engaged to go to work at one o'clock P.M.
One o'clock came, but not one of the men appeared. The freight agent then recalled a remark of one old man who wanted work, but was not physically able to unload coal: "These fellows want work, but they all want to be bank clerks." It is such instances as this that cause a loss to laboring men of much of the sympathy they might otherwise have. W. N. G.
THE GOLDEN RULE THE SOLUTION.
MR. EDWIN MARKHAM, the author of the much-discussed poem, "The Man with the Hoe," at the Howard M. E. Church, San Francisco, June 4, said:—
"I have been asked to say a few words about 'The Man with the Hoe,' and my solution of that problem. I have no new solution. The problem is as old as humanity. The men who built the pyramids struggled with that problem. The men who are building London are struggling with it to-day. I have but one solution—that is the application of the Golden Rule. We have committed the Golden Rule to heart; now let us commit it to life. [Applause.] That is the only solution.
"As to what steps should be taken, I can not say. Various solutions are offered. The Republicans offer one solution, the Democrats another, the Socialists another, and the single-tax people have their solution. In my judgment it is wise for us all to consider all these questions, and try to find some way of enlarging the sphere of justice for all men.
"I believe that the industrial question is a religious question. [Applause.] I believe that everything that has to do with the welfare of men, in politics, in industry, is religious at the bottom; that everything shows our relation to one another and our relation to the Father of life.
"I believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Father, the Saviour of the human race. In His principles of justice, in His principles of brotherhood, we find the solution of these questions. Fraternity to me is the dearest of all words, and in that word is the hope of the human race."
But all these principles must be applied in Christ's way. The Golden Rule must be applied in the individual life before it can be applied in the collective life. It must be inwrought in the heart before it can be reduced to deeds. The Golden Rule is the solution, but its power must be the Spirit of God received by faith. Politics or human science is powerless.
SUICIDES.
By T.
SUICIDES in the United States, as well as in all parts of the world, constitute one of the distressing features of our times. The individual who takes his own life has become so very common that he excites no more than a mere passing notice. But there is something seriously out of joint when such multitudes consider that life is not worth living and hence put an end to their existence. The "murder problem" is certainly a great one, but the problem of self-murdering is surely as great. And both of these problems conspire to show that misery and distress, as well as cruel, murderous violence, are filling our world. Just look at the facts as they appear before you in the world to-day, and then ask yourself, Is the world getting better, as so many would try to have you believe, or is it not getting "worse and worse," as the Scriptures have foretold that it would? The procession of hearses given herewith, represents a train one hundred miles long. It would take just such a vast procession of funeral cars as this to carry the suicides of a single year to their graves. Just think of what it means.