Earlier text: The Heart of the WoodsA Gloomy Doctrine? — In the REVIEW of March 14, 1865, Elder J. N. Andrews suggested some thoughts to those who regarded the Bible doctrine of the sleep of the dead, between death and the resurrection, as a gloomy doctrine. He wrote:— You say the doctrine is full of gloom; and that the departed saints have experienced a bitter disappointment in being consigned to the cold grave for long ages, instead of being received into glory. You think the idea full of gloom to the living, and dreadful to the dead. But you forget that if the doctrine be true, there is no chill, no gloom, no darkness, no disappointment, no lapse of time, no waiting through long ages, to the dead. The interval between their decease and their resurrection will to them be no time at all. The twinkling of an eye, in which the righteous will be changed to immortality, will be to them as long as the whole period will be to righteous Abel that he has slept in death. And to him, so far as his own knowledge of the case is concerned, it will be precisely as if he entered heaven the very moment he was slain. You say that this helps the matter a little; but that, for all this, the sleep of the dead will no more compare in consolation with the soul's immortality and the reward at death, than the desert of Sahara will compare in beauty with the garden of Eden. Do not be too hasty, friends. You may discover facts that will change this opinion. You find great consolation in the thought that the soul is immortal, and that men are rewarded as soon as they die. Answer me a few questions: How large a part of mankind lead lives of holiness, and die with good evidence of their acceptance with God? Truth compels you to answer that a minority are all that can be said to do this. What becomes, then, of this great majority of men who have died out of Christ and entered their reward?—O, they have gone into the furnace of fire, where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth. What is the condition, then, at this very moment of the greater part of the dead, according to this cheering doctrine of yours? You have to answer, They are in unspeakable torment. You admit that this dreadful fact somewhat abates the consolation you have hitherto found in this doctrine. But I want you to answer one question more: If the soul is immortal, as you affirm, how long are these impenitent men thus to suffer? You answer again, and this time surely with a shudder, They must suffer to all eternity. Before we part, will you not own that yours is the gloomy doctrine? Is it not a relief to your mind to think that men are to be judged before they are rewarded or punished? and that till the day of Judgment, men wait for their reward? And is not that doctrine best which teaches that immortality is the gift of God, and that it is given only to the righteous? Assuming Divine Prerogatives
By F. M. W.
It is the nature of sin to seek its own exaltation. This was the object of its author in his rebellion against God. He declared, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.” Cast down from high heaven, Satan sought to instil into the human family the same unholy purpose which possessed his own heart. He promised the race, on condition of rebellion, “Ye shall be as gods.” This evil principle he made the pivotal idea of the great counterfeit systems of religion by which he has sought to turn men from righteousness. Out of this principle have grown the deification of the dead, the veneration of relics, Mariolatry, and all the evils and abuses incident to the creation of this false ideal of worship. But while paganism worshiped as gods its dead heroes, ascribing to them the possession of divine attributes, it was reserved for the development of that system named by the Holy Scriptures the “mystery of iniquity,” under the fulness of the light of the gospel dispensation, to evolve a system of false worship even more Heaven-defying than the most presumptuous paganism. The apostle Paul says that this mystery of all evil was working in his day, and would later develop into the “man of sin,” opposing himself to God, and exalting himself “above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” The prophet Daniel, looking down through the long vista of the ages, beholds this same power speaking great words against the Most High, wearing out the saints, and by its own teachings and mandates opposing the laws and ordinances of high Heaven. It requires no special gift of discernment to see that these prophetic utterances meet their fulfilment in the great papal system of religion. This is the great antichristian power against which the church is so clearly and so emphatically warned. Taking to itself the name Christian, the better to accomplish its purposes, and borrowing for its uses the rites and ordinances of paganism, which, with skilful modification and adaptation, it has sought to employ most subtly for its own ends, the papal hierarchy has built, upon the ruins of obsolete and crumbling pagan beliefs, a system more destructive of the divine plan of salvation and more arrogant in its daring assumptions, than the systems of error it supplanted. Paganism contented itself for the most part with deifying its dead heroes. Romanism canonizes its dead heroes, and deifies its living ones. Thus it is enabled the more effectively to exert unbounded power over its credulous followers. The great head of the system it invests with the attribute of infallibility. He is named the Vicar of Christ, Lord God the Pope. In his hand are the resources of divine grace, to be dispensed or withheld at will. He can remit sin, or refuse absolution at pleasure. And not only does the head of the system clothe himself with these divine attributes, but every priest and prelate claims to possess them in greater or less degree. These assumptions of Rome are strikingly expressed in the words of “Father” Bleckmann, in a sermon delivered recently in St. Mary’s church, Michigan City, Ind., on the occasion of the celebration of his first mass by “Father” Heslion, a newly consecrated priest. We are indebted to the Evening Dispatch of Michigan City, of June 20, 1910, for the quotations which follow. Mr. Bleckmann speaks first of the dignity of the priesthood:— If we consider the dignity to which God has raised the priest, we can not find one greater in the whole universe. If we consider the duty he will henceforth have to perform, we must honor him not only above men, but even above the angels; and if we look at the person whom he represents, we must acknowledge there is none greater either on earth or in heaven. . . . Gifted with the power of God as is the priest, he is greater even than the patriarchs, greater and more exalted than the prophets of old. . . . The priest of the Catholic Church is greater than the prophets of old, who beheld the Redeemer only from afar, and in the dim future. The priest beholds him present before his eyes; yea, he touches with his very hands the long-wished-for Redeemer, and offers him to our Heavenly Father. He carries him through the streets to the sick and the dying. He receives him into his heart, and nourishes the souls of the faithful with the precious blood of the Holy One. Not only does the priest declare himself greater than the prophets of old, but he claims to occupy a more exalted station than the heavenly potentates:— It is the priest alone who has the power to declare the sinner either a true child of God, in the state of his grace and friendship; or to pronounce him the slave of the devil, groaning under the yoke of sin. For to the priest alone did Christ address these words, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whose sins you shall forgive,” etc. It is in this wonderful power given to priests that the mighty princes of heaven, angels and archangels, must yield to poor mortals. The saints in heaven, Mr. Bleckmann asserts, may obtain for us many graces, and especially the Virgin Mary, who is the queen of saints and angels, whose “prayers are all-powerful with God,” and whose “very name is the terror of hell;” “but not even she can forgive a single sin.” But of the priest he says:— Go where you will throughout heaven or earth, and you will find but one created being who can forgive the sinner, who can free him from the chains of sin and hell, and that extraordinary being is the priest of God. This, it might seem, were enough to assume for poor, fallen man; but not so: even the Omnipotent is subject to the priestly word:— But the priest has still a greater power. He exercises authority over the souls of men; and at the same time he has power over the Almighty God himself in the sacrifice of the mass. At the sound of his voice in the holy sacrifice, “Hoc Est enim Corpus Meum,” he changes bread into the true and living body of the Lord, and wine into his true blood. With a word he calls the God of heaven and earth from his abode in the kingdom of heaven down upon the altar to take up his dwelling in the humble stable of the tabernacle. So great, indeed, is this power given to the priest, according to this speaker, that he could possess no more. God exhausted his resources, subordinating not only men and saints and angels to the priestly function, but literally placing himself in the priest’s hands, to be handled, carried about, and dispensed, according to priestly pleasure:— Verily, indeed, does God seem to have exhausted all the treasures of his power and mercy in establishing the priesthood. Ah, indeed, when we see the priests of the Catholic Church, weak, sinful men, as they are, gifted with a power which angels could not and did not dare to claim, when we see them possessing power over God himself, possessing power to bear him, to give him to whom they will, to hold him in their hands, we can not help exclaiming, in amazement, O wondrous miracle! O unheard-of power! These are not the words of an isolated priest, nor of one living a thousand years ago, in the so-called era of darkness and superstition; but the claims of a great system of religion in this our own day, as might be shown by quotations from authoritative Catholic Church publications. By this teaching the Lord Jesus Christ is brought down from his position as the one true Mediator between God and man, and the priest of Rome is exalted as his superior. These words of “Father” Bleckmann are but an echo of the purpose which possessed the heart of Lucifer in the beginning of his sinful reign. They are a striking fulfilment of the divine prediction of the work of this antichristian power. It is for us to labor to give Christ his rightful place in the hearts and worship of men. It is for us to seek to enlighten those who are deluded by the sophistry of this false teaching. It is not against the adherents of the system that we are to war, but against the evil principles involved. There are many noble men and women in the Catholic Church today, who are following the best light they know. Doubtless there are priests of Rome who believe, as did Paul of old, that by their ministrations they are verily doing God service. But God has sent the light of his gospel into the12 world to clear away the fog, the mysticism, and the delusions of error, and reveal to those who are seeking to know the better way, a knowledge of the truth, and the beauty of righteousness as it is in Christ Jesus the Lord. With love for God and our fellows, let us seek to let the light of truth shine, in order that Christ may be revealed in his true and rightful position as the head of the church and the Saviour of the race; and that man may be brought to salvation through the merits of his grace, and not be left to seek to climb up to heaven through man-made devisings. The Child’s Reading
By C. M. S.
IN these times when the tendencies of education are so strong toward mythology and “light literature,” it is well to give heed to the admonitions of the Lord in reference to the proper food for the spiritual needs of the child. Even periodicals that pose as Christian are often found advising the reading of fiction by the young. The Lord’s instruction to parents is this: “But teach them [that is, teach God’s law and the story of his dealings with his people] thy sons, and sons’ sons.” Deut. 4:9, 10. “And ye shall teach them [that is, God’s words] your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” Is this narrowness? If so, it is the narrowness of infinite wisdom. There are some things that are better narrow than broad; as, for instance, a leak in a dike. It is the very essence of wisdom to be narrow toward evil; it is the sum of foolishness to be narrow toward God. But he who fills his mind with the folly of this time or of ancient times is broadening toward the evil, and narrowing toward the good. God makes no provision, he sets apart for us no time, for the study of the foolish and frivolous things of the age in which we live. One prominent religious journal recommends for the children a list of books of fiction which it plainly states is composed of books whose contents would be a senseless jumble to the adult mind. Whatever they appear to such a mind, that is what they are; and the one who places before his child a senseless jumble, instead of that which the Lord has directed, is guilty before God. He is not only starving the intellect of the child, but he is turning the intellect of that child away from the love of God and the love of the truth to the love of the unreal, the unsatisfying, the foolish. Upon every parent rests a weighty responsibility in this matter. It is not the responsibility of seeing that these channels of folly are led into the home to flood the soul, and drown its longings for God and the good,—it is the responsibility of seeing to it that there is a strong barrier set up against any such invasion. The wise parent will give to his child that which is “meat in due season;” for “what is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord.” C. M. S. Delivered From Cannibals
By W. A. S.
THE early days of the China Inland Mission represented a work built up and carried forward without a recognized constituency; and many a victory of simple faith in asking and receiving is recorded in their early mission story. The founder was the late J. Hudson Taylor. On his first voyage out to China, as a youth, Hudson Taylor had an experience in the power of prayer for specific deliverance. It was in 1853, when the China seas were infested by pirates, and the islands of the Malay Archipelago inhabited by cannibal savages. The story is told in “These Forty Years,” by F. Howard Taylor, as follows:— By the way, the ship was becalmed on one occasion in the tropics, and an unfavorable current began to carry it rapidly toward an unfriendly shore. There was not enough wind to move the listless sails, and as the long, hot afternoon wore away, they drew nearer and nearer to what they found by the chart to be a cannibal island. The natives, seeing the straits the ship was in, lighted their fires, and began to dance around on the beach in eager prospect of the feast they expected so soon. On that boat there were but four Christians—the captain, the carpenter, the colored steward, and Mr. Taylor. Mr. Taylor suggested that each of them should go to his cabin, and wait on God for a wind to carry them away from the impending and horrible fate. After a short time of prayer, Mr. Taylor felt that the petition was granted, and coming up on deck, said to the first officer, who was then in charge: “Won’t you let loose your mainsail? A breeze is coming.” With an oath the man replied: “I would rather see a breeze than merely hear of one.” “And don’t you see, away up in the topsail, a breeze is coming?” “O, it’s nothing but a cat’spaw,” the mate replied, as his eye followed Mr. Taylor’s upward. “Cat’spaw or not, we might as well take advantage of what there is.” And as the breeze continued to freshen, the officer very gladly let out his clewed-up sails, and in a short time they were sailing away from the disappointed cannibals at a good many knots an hour. This was another modern illustration of the fact that God “delivereth and rescueeth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.” W. A. S. Overcoming to the End
By C. M. S.
ONE of our most influential exchanges declares its belief that the kingdom of God can not triumph in the earth so long as the business that ruins the bodies and souls of men continues. It refers to the saloon business. Now, while the saloon business is one of the most nefarious businesses in the world, it is not a fact that the triumph of God’s kingdom in this world is dependent upon its suppression. We would gladly see it suppressed, and would do all in our power to help suppress it; but the triumph of God’s children—and therefore the triumph of God’s kingdom—are assured, whether men succeed in suppressing the liquor traffic or not. If the writer referred to is looking for the establishment of a temporal kingdom in this present world, with Christ as its ruler, the observation would not be out of place; but no such thing is promised anywhere in the Word, and it could not be, without an entire remodeling of the teachings of the Scriptures. We notice the matter here, simply because so much credence has been given the idea that Christians must work politically to bring about moral and religious changes in the nations. It is the belief of that writer, and many others, that the important work for the church just now is to influence the state to take steps to make all soul-destroying vices illegal, and then, afterward, resume its work of soul-saving. But if the kingdom of God can not triumph until the business of wickedness in this world is stopped by legal enactment, then it must be indeed the work of the church to make politics its one work until that object has been accomplished. We can not admit for one moment that such is the case. We would be the last to plead for the licensing of any kind of vice; but God will purify a people out of the midst of the darkest period of this world’s history, and they will be the subjects of his kingdom of righteousness. The kingdom of God will triumph over sin. The eternal reign of righteousness will be ushered in at a time when wickedness has reached its climax. There will be something for Christians to overcome up to the very time that they are declared to be overcomers. Here are the promises of God:— “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” Rev. 2:7. “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment.” Rev. 3:5. “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out.” Verse 12. “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne.” Verse 21. “He that overcometh shall inherit all things.” Rev. 21:7. Christ’s followers are to overcome, to conquer; and the earth, sin-soaked as it is, is the place where their battles are to be fought and won. The battle is not one-sided: both parties are on the field up to the time of the victory. Those who win, who overcome, do so in spite of the wickedness that is all about them; because the gospel, whose ministers they are, “is the power of God unto salvation.” Rom. 1:16. The ministers of God are not to look for a reign of legal righteousness to usher in the consummation of their work. Those who do so will be found unprepared for that consummation when it comes; for the plain testimony of the Lord is against the existence of such a condition of things in the earth while his work is drawing to a close. He declares, through Paul, that “evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” 2 Tim. 3:13. A reading of the chapter will show that Paul is telling conditions that would prevail in the last days; but, notwithstanding the discouraging conditions, “he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” Matt. 10:22. Although Paul saw that wickedness would continue to the end, he never for a moment lost hope that the kingdom of God would triumph; for he says:— “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” 2 Tim. 4:7, 8. Through the smoke of the long battle Paul saw the glittering crown of the victors, and he who has the faith of Paul will look through the few remaining days of the conflict, and see what he saw. There is no provision for waiting till the state shall come to our aid, and make all wickedness illegal. The success of the kingdom of God does not hang on the tangled thread of political success; and if we have learned the teachings of Emmanuel, we shall not look for it, nor slacken our labors in anticipation of it. God’s call now to all who profess his name is, “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.” 1 Cor. 16:13. We know that wickedness will augment its forces and its work; we know that no moral regeneration can be produced in the hearts of the people by law; but we also know that out of a world of wickedness the church of God will come forth “a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing;” that out of the whirlpool of destruction that is raging in the earth the people of the Most High will come forth “more than conquerors through him that loved us.” Rom. 8:37. He who is looking for the conversion of the world, and considers such conversion the triumph of God’s kingdom, is forced to conclude that, as long as there is wickedness in the world, the kingdom of God can not triumph; for wickedness is the work of unconverted men. But God does not authorize the hope that the world will be converted. More than that, he teaches that it will not be. “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand.” Dan. 12:10. “Then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” 2 Thess. 2:8. This certainly shows that there will be wickedness in the earth at the time of Christ’s coming; that the great multitude, instead of turning to God, and giving him glory, will utterly reject him, and be smitten with his glory when he comes. Listen, also to this testimony of Inspiration:— “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” 2 Thess. 1:7-9. Peace will one day reign upon the earth, and all who dwell in it will be righteous; but it will not be through the enactment of human laws. It will not be until God has cleansed the earth by the destruction of those who persist in working wickedness; until he “shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire.” Matt. 13:41, 42. Then will peace reign, in the person of the Prince of Peace, and the history of sin will be finished. “Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh [conquereth]14 the world, even our faith.” 1 John 5:4. Have we been born of God? Then let us have faith—faith in God and the triumph of his kingdom, no matter how terrible the wickedness we may see in the earth to-day, or how great the numbers of them that know not God. In these days when pulpit politicians are saying so much about the duty of the state to regulate morals, and promote the religious interests of the people, it is refreshing to read such a plain, forcible, and sensible statement as that which comes from Mayor Whitlock, of Toledo, Ohio. It seems that he was elected on a “reform” platform, and, as the reforms did not progress as rapidly as a class of clergymen believed they ought to, these clergymen called recently on Mayor Whitlock to urge upon him his responsibility for the enforcement of certain laws. The mayor promised to consider their protest and admonition, and later gave out publicly the following statement as to his attitude toward their demands. He said:— Men are not made good by legal declaration or by official action; they are not good because of the fear of policemen or of the pains and penalties of the law. They are good when they follow the best and highest impulses of their souls; goodness is developed from within, and there is no other way by which any one can become good. The mayor has set forth statements of fact which ought to be patent even to the political clergymen. The passage of laws may hold the immoral in restraint, but can not put morality into an immoral heart. The preacher who occupies his time in seeking to obtain the enactment of certain laws, or the election of certain men to places of political preferment, is wasting just so much of his time. The business of the preacher is with the souls and the hearts of men, and these can never be reached by any sort of legislation. Time spent by a preacher of the gospel in securing the election of a man to public office might have been spent in a much greater work—the work of saving a human soul from perdition. The mayor’s declaration that men are good when they follow the best and highest impulses of their souls, is a terse declaration of a great truth, but against that truth every advocate of religious legislation necessarily sets his face as a flint. Wherever religious legislation is in vogue, the people are not permitted to follow the best and highest impulses of their souls, but must follow the impulses and commands of some one else, even in religious things, and this makes of them hypocrites, and ruins character. Our Work for the Cities—No. 1
By A. G. Daniells
IN response to the counsel that has come to us through the spirit of prophecy in behalf of the masses in the cities, a new movement is being set on foot in our evangelical work. To enable the weak conferences in which so many of our large Eastern cities are situated to enter upon a stronger campaign, the General Conference Committee, in December, 1909, made the following appropriations in addition to what was already being given to these conferences:— Portland, Maine ........................$ 500.00
New York City, N. Y. ................. 5,000.00
Philadelphia, Pa. .................... 1,500.00
Baltimore, Md. ....................... 1,500.00
Richmond, Va. ........................ 1,500.00
Washington, D. C. ................... 500.00
New Jersey Conference ................ 1,500.00
Total ...............................$12,000.00 In order to develop the work in the cities more rapidly and efficiently, the following action has recently been taken by the General Conference Committee:— In view of the earnest messages given by the spirit of prophecy to the effect that special efforts should now be made to warn the masses in the cities; therefore,— Voted, That a committee on city work be appointed, as follows: A. G. Daniells, chairman; W. C. White, G. A. Irwin, S. N. Haskell, W. B. White, G. B. Starr, O. O. Bernstein, R. D. Quinn, C. F. McVagh, W. H. Saxby, W. W. Prescott, B. G. Wilkinson, W. A. Hennig, A. T. Robinson, O. A. Olsen, L. H. Christian, David Paulson, and J. S. Washburn. We recommend, That this committee be organized in sections, as follows:— - Eastern: W. B. White, chairman; A. G. Daniells, G. B. Starr, O. O. Bernstein, R. D. Quinn, W. W. Prescott, B. G. Wilkinson, and W. A. Hennig.
- Central: O. A. Olsen, chairman; A. T. Robinson, L. H. Christian, and David Paulson.
- Western: W. C. White, chairman; G. A. Irwin, and S. N. Haskell.
- Southern: C. F. McVagh, chairman; J. S. Washburn, and W. H. Saxby.
Voted, That A. G. Daniells be released from camp-meeting work and from the Australasian Union Conference to be held in October, in order to give the time and attention to the city work which the messages from the spirit of prophecy indicate should be given. Voted, That all union and local conferences be requested to give special attention to the cities within their borders, in harmony with the counsel being given through the spirit of prophecy. Whereas, The carrying forward of this strong effort in the large cities in the Eastern part of the United States will require a large amount of money and many workers; therefore,— We urge our conferences in the West, which have had so much efficient labor during the last half-century, and which have large resources in membership and means, with but a small population, to share their means and laborers with the weak conferences in the East, in which so many of the large cities are located. In order to do our utmost to quickly give our message to the inhabitants in these cities, we appeal to our people living in them to take an active part in all kinds of missionary work, such as the circulation of our literature, Bible work, and house-to-house visitation. It will be seen that a committee of seventeen members has been appointed to give special attention to city work. This committee will study the conditions and needs of our cities, and take such steps as are deemed necessary to carry on our work in the cities, according to their varied conditions. This committee will also study methods of developing our evangelical work, which is undoubtedly the most important department of the great movement we are carrying forward throughout the world. It is mainly the evangelical work that has led people everywhere, from the beginning of our efforts, to accept the message we are proclaiming; and it is to this that we must continue to look for the conversion of sinners in all parts of the world. We are very hopeful that the work of the committee in charge of this Evangelical Department will result in improving our methods, in strengthening our endeavors, and in speedily finishing the work given us by the Master. Next week we shall give a report of the excellent convention just held in New York City for the development of our evangelical and city work. Baptists and Civil Liberty
SPEAKING of the reasons Baptists have for a separate existence, J. W. Thomas, in the Baptist Standard of June 2, says this of the principles held by Baptists with respect to civil and religious liberty:— Baptists have ever been the vanguards of civil and religious liberty. This, too, grows out of the voluntary principle in religion. Bancroft, the great American historian, says: “Freedom of conscience, unlimited freedom of mind, was from the first the trophy of the Baptists.” Dr. B. H. Carroll declares: “There was never a government in the world that allowed full liberty of conscience to all men until a Baptist established the colony of Rhode Island. For liberty of conscience, both for themselves and others, Baptists have sought in the ages that are passed; for this they have lived, and for this they have died.” In the same number of this journal, the editor cites the refusal of Mayor Gaynor of New York City to permit a Methodist minister to preach on the streets in the Jewish quarter. The editor truly observes:— There might be good reasons for not allowing street preaching, but the mayor’s conduct in this case was an unwarranted meddling with the rights of free speech in religion. It was not for him to say whether the Jews needed converting or not. It is altogether probable that he is a very poor judge of religious matters in general, and of doctrine in particular. But the point is, public officials are not elevated in America to pass on such subjects. Free preaching is a corollary of free religion. . . . But let it be said again, that it was none of Mayor Gaynor’s business about the proselyting. His only business was with two points,—the right of every man to preach his religion, and the public peace. All the rest was pure meddling in things beyond his sphere, and too high for him, as his letter shows. Will the Baptists be true to these principles which they have so nobly espoused in the past? The times in which we are living will afford abundant opportunity to test this. It is to be feared that already evil influences are at work in this strong denomination to divert them from some of their old-time principles. Subtle elements are seeking to commit the great religious bodies to a course of procedure which, in principle as well as in fact, will utterly repudiate the doctrines of liberty which some of these denominations have upheld in bygone days. Will the Baptists remember the past, refusing federation with some of these present-day movements? or will they repudiate the principles of religious liberty for which some of their fathers have suffered persecution for the cross of Christ? Fishing on Sunday
By C. E. H.
It is when Sunday laws are put into operation, and men begin to feel the hand of oppression, that the evil character of religious legislation is more fully disclosed. Pennsylvania has a law against fishing on Sunday. At a recent meeting of the United Sportsmen of that State, Commissioner of Fisheries William E. Meehan spoke strongly in favor of repealing this anti-Sunday fishing law. As reported in the Washington Star of June 6, he said:— The Sabbath, according to the Scriptures, is made for man and not man for the Sabbath. It is not a question of whether or not Sunday fishing is prohibited by the Bible, but a case of being practical, and providing recreation and legitimate rest on the day set aside for that purpose. We can not afford to restrict these men, who toil six days a week, from this good which might be theirs on the sabbath. Fish were not given to our streams alone for the well-to-do anglers, who can afford to journey whenever they wish, but they were given to the poor man also. We are throwing aside the best means of bettering our citizenship, and then some of us complain because the laboring men of our cities are not abler and better men. I sincerely trust that at the next meeting of the legislature this anti-Sunday fishing law will be crossed off the code, and I trust that our United Sportsmen of Pennsylvania will do all in their power to bring this about. These statements of Commissioner Meehan are a good illustration of the difficulties produced by mixing religious and civil affairs. Sunday fishing is not prohibited by the Bible; and if it were, there would be no reason for placing the prohibition upon the law-books of the nation. We agree with Commissioner Meehan that this law ought to be “crossed off the code.” To make either work or play a crime on one day of the week only, is manifestly wrong, and can only be done from a religious view-point.
C. E. H. _Belief in a Personal Devil_
With the growing tendency to depart from the simplicity of Bible faith has come a marked tendency on the part of many to spiritualize away plain Scriptural teaching. The personality of God is denied, and Deity is regarded as a sort of essence filling all space, without any definite existence in fact. The same reasoning denies all personality to satanic agencies, making of them evil impulses only. Prof. James Orr, D. D., discusses in the Sunday School Times of June 4 the belief of Christ in a personal Satan. In affirming that Jesus believed in a personal devil, he sums up a very able argument as follows:— We come, therefore, by exclusion of the others, to the third of our alternatives: that Jesus did believe in an evil spiritual world, and in its action among men; in a personal Satan and his kingdom; and that his belief is true. Christ was not in error in what he affirmed. Popular or figurative language he may have used, but the seriousness of the belief at the heart of it is unmistakable. He did not share in the error of his contemporaries: traces of these are absent from his teachings. He did not confound all diseases with demonic possession; he clearly distinguished them. He saw to the heart of disease in man; for he cured it. There is no improbability—rather analogy suggests the highest probability—of realms of spiritual existence outside our sensible ken. That evil should enter this spiritual world, that human life should be deeply implicated with that evil, that its forces should have a presiding mind and will organizing and directing them,—these are not beliefs to be dismissed with scorn. Jesus held them; facts verified them; history is not without abundant corroboration of them. We do well to be not high-minded, but to fear, in our own relations to them.
As Professor Orr states, we do well to fear in our relations to these evil powers. Keeping pace with the growth of the no-devil theory has been the rise of modern Spiritualism, claiming as its mission the demonstration of the immortality of the soul, and the establishment of communion between the living and the spirits of the dead. These purported spirits of the dead are nothing more than personal demons, as clearly taught in the Scriptures of truth; and their work of deception is made all the more effective from the belief taking possession of men that Satan does not exist in fact. Cunningly and adroitly is he leading men from the simplicity of their faith, and preparing them for the last great deception, which will engulf their souls in impenetrable darkness.