Earlier text: THE WORK AND THE WORKERSA Testimony to the Living God
By W. A. S.
An obscure pastor, in the west of England, was distressed by the general lack of faith in God. “I longed,” he said, “to have something to point to as a visible proof that our God and Father is the same faithful God as ever he was, as willing as ever to prove himself to be the living God.” Praying for guidance in the matter, he was led to establish the work which grew into the great Bristol Orphanages. The enterprise truly was, as George Mueller desired it to be, a testimony to the living God, who hears prayer and does things on earth. That this might be evident to all, Mueller considered it fundamental in the purpose that neither he nor his fellow workers should ask help of any man, but only of the Lord, in prayer. His thought was,— Now if I, a poor man, simply by prayer and faith, obtained, without asking any individual, the means for establishing and carrying on an orphan house, there would be something which, with the Lord’s blessing, might be instrumental in strengthening the faith of the children of God, besides being a testimony to the consciences of the unconverted of the reality of the things of God.
The work began in 1835. As it grew from year to year, George Mueller’s journal traced the record of daily dependence on God. Again and again, with no supplies for the next meal, the need was urged before God in prayer, and the help came. The entry in the journal for Dec. 1, 1842, reports ninety-six orphans in the homes, and a shortage of supplies and money. “We were unable to take in the usual quantity of bread,” says the record. “It may be asked,” wrote Mueller here, “Why do you not take the bread on credit?” And then he tells why he considered it essential that there should be no borrowing in that particular enterprise, no taking of goods on credit. He says:— The chief and primary object of the work was not the temporal welfare of the children, nor even their spiritual welfare, blessed and glorious as it is, and much as, through grace, we seek after it and pray for it; but the first and primary object of the work was to show before the whole world and the whole church of Christ that even in these last evil days the living God is ready to prove himself as the living God by being ever willing to help, succor, comfort, and answer the prayers of those who trust in him. . . . From the beginning, when God put this service into my heart, I had anticipated trials and straits; but knowing as I did, the heart of God, through the experience of several years previously, I also knew that he would listen to the prayers of his child who trusts in him, and that he would not leave him in the hour of need, but listen to his prayers, and deliver him out of the difficulty, and that then, this being made known in print for the benefit of both believers and unbelievers, others would be led to trust in the Lord. We discern, therefore, more and more clearly that it is for the church’s benefit that we are put into these straits; and if therefore in the hour of need we were to take goods on credit, the first and primary object of the work would be completely frustrated, and no heart would be further strengthened to trust in God; nor would there be any longer that manifestation of the special and particular providence of God which has hitherto been so abundantly shown through this work, even in the eyes of unbelievers, whereby they have been led to see that there is, after all, reality in the things of God.—Life of Trust, page 237.
Mueller never laid down his own method as the rule for others. He felt only that, with the special call that he had to let the work bear witness to God’s daily oversight and faithful providence, he must never assume the burden himself, but must wait on God, going only so far as the Lord made a way. And day by day the Lord vindicated his faith in a wonderful manner. At last the time came for enlargement, and a building fund for new orphanages, on their own ground, began to come in. Of his experience in securing the land where the great institution was finally placed, on Ashleydown, near Bristol, Mr. Mueller says in his journal for the year 1846:— February 4. This evening I called on the owner of the land on Ashleydown, about which I had heard on the second, but he was not at home. As I, however, had been informed that I should find him at his house of business, I went there, but did not find him there either, as he had just before left. I might have called again at his residence at a later hour, having been informed by one of his servants that he would be sure to be at home about eight o’clock; but I did not do so, judging that there was the hand of God in my not finding him at either place; and I judged it best, therefore, not to force the matter, but to “let patience have her perfect work.”
February 5. Saw this morning the owner of the land. He told me that he awoke at three o’clock this morning and could not sleep again till five. While he was thus lying awake, his mind was all the time occupied about the piece of land respecting which inquiry had been made of him for the building of an orphan house, at my request; and he determined with himself that, if I should apply for it, he would not only let me have it, but for one hundred and twenty pounds per acre instead of two hundred pounds, the price which he had previously asked for it. How good is the Lord! . . . Observe the hand of God in my not finding the owner at home last evening. The Lord meant to speak to his servant first about this matter, during a sleepless night, and to lead him fully to decide before I had seen him.—Id., page 300.
The great institution grew only as the funds came in, for it was one of the fixed principles “that there should be no enlargement of the work by going into debt.” And it is abundantly evident that this policy did not restrict nor retard the work. As the orphanages filled up, till more than two thousand children were being cared for at a time, still it was a work of daily waiting on the Lord for supplies. Day after day closed with no balance in hand, but with each day’s absolute necessities being met. While the Lord supplied their needs so wondrously, Mueller was an economist, saving the littles conscientiously. He felt that only so could he expect God to hear and answer. Mr. Mueller was drawn to pray also for help for foreign missionaries in that time of missionary expansion in far lands; and many gifts were sent him for this work, and for Bible distribution. He says of the help sent missionaries:— It has frequently, yea almost always, so happened that the assistance which God has allowed me to send to such brethren has come to them at a time of great need. Sometimes they had no money at all left. Sometimes even their last provisions were almost consumed when I have sent them supplies.
In a summary of this man’s life, by the late Dr. A. T. Pierson, it appears that Mueller, a poor man, had in sixty years been enabled,— 1. To build five of the largest orphanages in the world, in which over ten thousand children had been cared for. 2. To give to school work over half a million dollars. 3. To circulate nearly two million Bibles and portions, and three million books and tracts.8 4. To give over a million and a quarter dollars in aid of missionary work in various lands. 5. Altogether, in the sixty years, this man, without personal resources, who had less than three hundred dollars in money when he died, had had put into his hands to distribute about seven million five hundred thousand dollars. Truly the Lord helped George Mueller to leave faithful witness, according to his desire, that God is the living God. “Brave Men Needed”
By C. M. S.
GOVERNOR GLYNN of New York was present at the meeting of the alumni of Georgetown (Catholic) University, Washington, D. C., on the evening of June 15, and made an address before that body. It was the occasion of the one hundred and twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of that university. No report of his speech was published, but the following reference to the address appeared in the Washington Herald of June 16:— A hint from Governor Glynn of New York that the Catholic Church would be subjected to persecution until its adherents “band together and show, instead of the teeth of the lamb, the fangs of the lion,” was the only serious expression last night at the smoker of alumni of Georgetown University. The recent activity of such organizations as the Knights of Columbus and the American Federation of Catholic Societies gives no small hint of what is meant by Governor Glynn. The Catholic laity are being made to feel that the church is being persecuted, and the hierarchy, through the priesthood and such official laymen as the governor of New York, is urging upon the people the necessity of banding together for defense against persecution. If there is any church in the world that cannot legitimately raise the cry of persecution, it is the Catholic Church,—a church which claims a membership of 16,000,000 in the United States, and is asking for and getting for its membership public office and public patronage on every hand; a church which asks for and gets the presence of Presidents, governors, judges of the Supreme Court, and other high functionaries at its public services; a church that is given every facility for carrying on its worship unmolested and conducting its public processions with the most adequate police protection; a church that has every possible liberty to teach, to preach, and to print all phases of its belief in the most open and free manner; a church that, through threat of the boycott, controls in a large degree the utterances of the press. If there is any church today that is entitled to raise the cry of persecution, it is not the Roman Catholic. And still the cry of persecution is continually heard from that source, and the laity are urged to band themselves together to resist persecution. One is compelled to doubt both the sincerity of the cry and the expressed purpose of the banding together. In the April 25 issue of the Jesuit journal America appears an editorial entitled “A Call to Men.” The article is so written that one might at first glance think the writer was appealing for recruits for missionary work, for men who would give themselves to the work of rescuing souls from sin; but a different purpose underlies the article, as a close reading will show. We quote:— Brave men are needed in every age. They were needed two thousand years ago; they were needed one hundred years ago; they were needed fifty years ago; they are needed today. The reason of this need lies in the necessity for a solution of problems which threaten society. These problems change with the ages. Sometimes they are thrust upon a country from without; sometimes they grow from within, taking substance and form from the uncontrolled passions of men. Their sources therefore are many, but the origin of their solution is one—brave men. Brave men are men who have the courage of their convictions; men who hold fast to principles in the face of the enemy, in the teeth of adversity; men who will not sacrifice right for power or wealth or fame or popularity or any other trumpery. . . . Any vagabond can be impure, grasping, irreligious. Only a real man can be pure, generous, religious. All these demand a battle. Victory belongs to the brave alone. . . . Where will we look for brave men? Are they in our ranks? If so, why are their tongues silent? Why are their pens idle? Why do they sit idly by without protest, while the fabric of our society is smitten hard on every side? Why do they watch listlessly godless sociologists busy patching the superstructure of the state, while its very foundation is shaken by social evils? Do they smoke their cigars and sip their wine seven nights a week while their brothers in the faith, the children of the poor, are falling into the traps of wolves? If there are brave men in our ranks, why does the Ozanam Society call upon them in vain for help? Why is the church the object of insidious, organized injustice? Brave men, where are you? Do you exist? That this call is a call to physical action on the part of laity and clergy is shown by the way in which it was interpreted by members of that church. In the issue of America dated May 9, appeared an article entitled “More Brave Men Needed.” It was occasioned by the article previously quoted, and is over the signature of James A. McFaul, Bishop of Trenton, who was the originator of the American Federation of Catholic Societies. The article begins with the following letter:— To the Editor of America. Brave men are not wanting, but bravery without direction is almost useless. Leaders, when such arise, will find a ready army of brave men. If each of us should assert himself, chaos such as Protestantism presents would be the result. Tell us what we shall do? “The most archaic map is more helpful than a general direction to turn to the left.” JOHN P. DOHERTY,
Scranton, Pa. It will be noted that the author of the above writes from Scranton, Pa., the place from which went out the inspiration for that “brave” act of demolishing a Baptist church building at Carbondale, Pa., because the Baptist pastor permitted a Scranton lecturer to speak from his pulpit against Romanism. The writer indicates that the hierarchy has but to command and he is ready to do its bidding. Bishop McFaul, commenting on the letter and on the article which drew it out, says:— The article of last week, “A Call to Men,” is very opportune. It is true that there are many brave Catholics in this country, but we should have more of them; more men of strong convictions, men willing to make sacrifices for principle. See the zeal of the bigots, and how they are uniting against us. The leadership is not wanting. Every pastor of a parish is to some extent a leader of his people. The bishop then speaks at length of the American Federation of Catholic Societies and the work it is doing “for the promotion and maintenance of Catholic interests, civil, social, and religious,” and then says:— Leadership is not absent. Some of the most eminent laymen of America, under the guidance of the hierarchy, are engaged in the movement. It has been advancing slowly, certainly, and intelligently in the accomplishment of its purposes. Why is it that so many Catholics stand idly by watching it? Why are they so indifferent? Evidently there is a dearth of just that element of bravery to which “A Call to Men” points. . . . What we need, above all things, today is an enlightened laity, possessing correct ideas on modern problems; men so well informed that they are ever ready to defend by word and deed the doctrines of the church. . . . Yes, we need brave men, and we need these brave men to be united. . . . The federation offers them a magnificent opportunity to battle for the right prudently and safely. No doubt it is expected that emphasis will be placed upon the word “safely,” for “brave men” are so accustomed to making safely a condition of their service in great undertakings. Yet it is a fact that where Catholic mobs have attacked and beaten lecturers recently and have attacked and destroyed Protestant churches, they have done so “safely.” The perpetrators of these brave deeds have not been brought to judgment for their acts. That there is organization behind these acts is shown by the fact that they are taking place in different parts of the country, that the perpetrators are shielded from the penalty9which others would suffer for such deeds, and that the daily press, through fear of the boycott, dares not publish the facts in reference thereto or give any of the details. These facts and conditions indicate plainly enough what such calls for “brave men” mean; and wherever such acts are committed as the attack on Mr. Spurgeon in Colorado and the wrecking of the Baptist church at Carbondale, we may justly surmise that the “leadership” has been furnished, and the “brave men” have responded to the call. Mr. Doherty declares that “leaders, when such arise, will find a ready army of brave men.” There is no doubt whatever that he means a real army equipped as such. The farmer and gardener exercise with the implements of husbandry, the spade, fork, rake, and scythe. The blacksmith busies himself with the bellows, the sledge, and the anvil; and so of other industries. The work a man proposes to do is indicated by the implements he drills with. The Knights of Columbus, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the League of the Cross Cadets, and other Catholic military organizations drill with sword, rifle, and bayonet. The work which they propose to do may also be indicated by the implements with which they exercise. These calls for “brave men,” these violent demonstrations of religious zeal, the federation of Catholic military societies into a great organization numbering between two and three million members, and the warlike aspect and maneuverings of these bodies, indicate to the thoughtful mind that Rome, in her set purpose to “make America Catholic,” does not intend to rely upon the preaching of the word to bring it about. The times are truly ominous. With Protestantism so nearly asleep as to be willing to drop the very name Protestant, and with Romanism claiming the world and preparing to take possession of it, we may know by the light of God’s Word that we are in the time of this world’s harvest. The work given us to do must be done with zeal and earnestness and without delay. Avenues of operation once freely open are now closing, and there is no prospect of a better time than the present for giving this message. Let us work while it is day, for soon the night cometh. Marrying Unbelievers
By F. M. W.
A SISTER inquires if it is right for Seventh-day Adventists to marry unbelievers, and if Seventh-day Adventist ministers should give their support to such unions by officiating at the weddings.
This is a question which has concerned the church in every age, and one which demands candid consideration. To Israel of old the Lord gave specific instructions as to the relationship which his people should sustain to the nations around them. It was said of them: “The people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.” Those relationships which had an influence to turn them away from God and his worship were prohibited. Regarding intermarriage with unbelievers the Lord gave them the following instructions:— “Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.” Deut. 7: 1-4. Nor was this instruction modified in later years. Of the nations which remained in Palestine after the division of the land among the twelve tribes, the Lord declared through Joshua:— “Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your God. Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you: know for a certainty that the Lord your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you.” Joshua 23: 11-13. Whenever in later years this plain, definite instruction relating to marriage with unbelievers was violated, there followed the dire results of which Israel was warned. The example of Solomon affords a notable instance. Contrary to the Lord’s instructions, he took wives from the surrounding nations, and these wives turned his heart away from God. 1 Kings 11: 1-10. In the days of Ezra leaders in the church passed through a similar experience, and brought upon themselves and the church of God the displeasure of Heaven. Ezra 9: 1, 2. The apostle Paul in his instruction to the Christian believers in Corinth clearly showed the inconsistency and incompatibility of such unions between the children of God and the children of the world. He says:— “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God: as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” 2 Cor. 6: 14-18. This instruction and these principles apply with equal force to the men and women engaged in this movement. For the most part we are not surrounded by heathen. Among our neighbors may be found many noble men and women, Christian people who are serving God according to their best knowledge. But while admitting this, we must recognize that their religious faith, their aims and purposes in the world, are widely separated from those possessed by this people. We believe in the soon coming of Christ, and that a special preparation is necessary in view of that event; they do not believe this. We observe the seventh day as the Sabbath of the Lord; they observe another day. The great vital issues affecting humanity, the outlook for the future of the world, the significance of present-day events, all appear to them from a different focus than they appear to us. To them God has sent us with his great saving message,—a message designed to bring out from the world, from the great churches of Christendom, a people prepared for his coming. We cannot give this warning by joining affinity with our neighbors, by entering upon their plane of thought and living, by entering into alliances and unions with them, and lowering the standard to meet their ideals. Like Israel of old, we must dwell alone, and not be reckoned among the nations. Regarding our relationship to the world around us in the matter of intermarriage, the servant of the Lord has spoken plainly to this people, and in exact harmony with the directions of Holy Writ. In “Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. IV, pages 504-506, we read:— I have been shown the cases of some who profess to believe the truth, who have made a great mistake by marrying unbelievers. The hope was cherished by them that the unbelieving party would embrace the truth; but after his object is gained, he is farther from the truth than before. And then begin the subtle workings, the continued efforts, of the enemy to draw away the believing one from the faith. . . . It is a dangerous thing to form a worldly alliance. Satan well knows that the hour that witnesses the marriage of many young men and women closes the history of their religious experience and usefulness. They are lost to Christ. They may for a time make an effort to live a Christian life; but all their strivings are made against a steady influence in the opposite direction. Once it was a privilege and joy to them to speak of their faith and hope; but they become unwilling to mention the subject, knowing that the one with whom they have linked their destiny takes no interest in it. As the result, faith in the precious truth dies out of the heart, and Satan insidiously weaves about them a web of skepticism. . . .10 The believing one reasons that in his new relation he must concede somewhat to the companion of his choice. Social, worldly amusements are patronized. At first there is great reluctance of feeling in doing this, but the interest in the truth becomes less and less, and faith is exchanged for doubt and unbelief. No one would have suspected that the once firm, conscientious believer and devoted follower of Christ could ever become the doubting, vacillating person that he now is. O, the change wrought by that unwise marriage! What ought every Christian to do when brought into the trying position which tests the soundness of religious principle? With a firmness worthy of imitation, he should say frankly, “I am a conscientious Christian. I believe the seventh day of the week to be the Sabbath of the Bible. Our faith and principles are such that they lead in opposite directions. We cannot be happy together, for if I follow on to gain a more perfect knowledge of the will of God, I shall become more and more unlike the world, and assimilated to the likeness of Christ. If you continue to see no loveliness in Christ, no attractions in the truth, you will love the world, which I cannot love, while I shall love the things of God, which you cannot love. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned. Without spiritual discernment you will be unable to see the claims of God upon me, or to realize my obligations to the Master whom I serve; therefore you will feel that I neglect you for religious duties. You will not be happy; you will be jealous on account of the affections which I give to God; and I shall be alone in my religious belief. When your views shall change, when your heart shall respond to the claims of God, and you shall learn to love my Saviour, then our relationship may be renewed.” In referring to this plain instruction we would not add to any burden of regret or sorrow which may oppress the heart of those who have entered into unwise marriages and now see their mistake. Let these seek God for grace and wisdom to enable them to prove a savor of life to their unconverted companions. Do not seek for release from the union. By so doing, you will only complicate the situation. Take hold of God by faith, and believe that even as he helped Israel of old in their desert wanderings, so he will help you. God never leads us into mistakes, but he will lead us in the mistakes. He will lead us while we are experiencing the bitter fruit of choosing our own way, and is able to make even the bitter abound unto our highest good. By Christian deportment toward your companion, by meekness and gentleness, illustrate in your life the power of the gospel of Christ. But let no influence, either of love or of fear, lead you to depart from God or to compromise the holy principles of his Word. With this consecration it is your privilege to ask God in faith to work for the salvation of your household. It should not be difficult for a minister of the gospel to determine his duty with respect to giving his influence to marriages against which such plain witness has been borne in the Bible and in the Testimonies. Shall the ministers of Christ be parties to the consummation of unions which the Word of the Lord condemns? This is a question for each minister to determine for himself, but let him determine it in view of the definite instruction which has been given regarding this question. “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder;” and what God has directed should not be joined together, let not man seek to unite. The Denominational Voice
By D. W. Reavis
As the work enlarges and interests multiply, there is a subtle danger confronting the rank and file of our people, not recognized by all. Some become absorbed in local interests, and fail to keep themselves enlarged through an intimate knowledge of the progress of the world-wide message. Shorn of this knowledge, personal responsibility gradually loses its compelling power, and our members unconsciously begin to weaken and to drift. In time they may recognize the change in their relation to the message, but do not seem to know the cause of this change in feeling, in faith, and in the love of the truth. With the message, God gave an inspiring, educational, and unifying medium through which his followers could be strengthened, encouraged, and knit close together through the Holy Spirit’s witnessing to human efforts in the salvation of men, a voice penetrating the earth with notes of progress, success, and overcoming victory,—a voice, though human, guided by the overshadowing spirit of the message, and Heaven blessed. This voice came with the advent message in the form of the REVIEW, which has continued and developed with it, and will remain until the work is finished, ministering to the spiritual needs of the believers, in bringing good cheer, building up faith, keeping alive the spiritual fire of the soul, imparting an impelling spiritual force and vitality, and creating a working devotion in the proportion and support of the message. The REVIEW is, therefore, far more than a mere newspaper, which may be read with small gain or neglected without great loss. Believers cannot deprive themselves of the REVIEW for the sake of monetary economy, or to enable them to have a general paper for missionary purposes, for it is an essential in their own spiritual life,—a weekly review, a constant inspiration, brought into existence and maintained solely for their spiritual health. The great danger confronting each member in this time of many interests is in failing to recognize the individual responsibility as it affects the progress of the world-wide message, in dwarfing the spiritual growth of the individual by the neglect of the means God has provided for his development. In addition to the spiritual value of the REVIEW, it is needed as an educational factor by every member, irrespective of his place or position in the denomination. We know that preaching is an ordained means of presenting the gospel to believers and to the heathen; but if our ministers are to take up all the commendable interests belonging to the church, and give each line of work sufficient time thoroughly to instruct our people, where are they going to find the time to give the message to the world? Our ministers cannot, therefore, instruct us in all things needful. We might learn something by travel, but life is too short, the world too large, and our means too limited to do much or to gain much in the way of travel. We might learn much by books on church and mission work, from the great moral movements of nations and individual development, but possibly not one third of our members have ever read a book on missions, or will ever know from published volumes of the unevangelized races of the world and what is being done for them. Books have their place and their influence, but they are not sufficient to meet our needs. We might learn much from personal visits from our missionaries, but they cannot leave their fields. All these agencies are good, and should be made use of as much as possible, but they are only as pearls on the great unifying denominational cord, the REVIEW. Break the cord, and the pearls fall. The REVIEW holds the shining pearls together. It uses every one of them. It gathers up what is good everywhere—by travel, by books, by addresses of missionaries and sermons of ministers, by letters and circulars, through conferences and conventions, periodicals and magazines; collates, condenses, and carries all right into our homes to instruct, to edify, and to inspire. It uses the letter, the telegraph, and the telephone, the photograph and the phonograph, etchings, cablegrams, the wireless, and all the agencies known to modern printing, to bring to the home of every believer all the needs, and all the news, and all the varied activities of our world-wide work, not even neglecting the local interests and the individual homes of every conference. In this age of intense activity, with every wind of doctrine and phase of skepticism forcing itself upon us, and while our message is rapidly swelling into the loud cry, the safety of our members centers more and more in the great denominational voice, the strong unifying11cord, the REVIEW. Movements may rise and fade away, enthusiasms may sweep over the earth, the great deceiver may even impersonate Christ, but against an educated, Spirit-filled, vitalized, unified church there can be no successful assault. Romanizing the American Press
Is the American press becoming Romanized? Are our great news agencies so under the dominance of the Roman power that they fear to report news derogatory to the Catholic hierarchy? This is the conviction which is entering many minds at the present time. Regarding this the Western Recorder (Baptist) of June 4, 1914, says:— We feel assured that few of our people realize the degree of subserviency of a large number of our daily papers to papal opinion. It is a fact, and the rank and file may as well know it first as last, that the columns of many of our secular papers are no longer open to anti-Catholic views. During the last few months a number of Protestant speakers have been beaten and wounded by Catholic mobs, yet but little or no notice has appeared in the press dispatches of these outrages. Surely it should be a matter of news and comment when, in this land of supposedly free speech, a speaker is knocked down while delivering a patriotic address, or left naked and wounded to die by the roadside. It is also true that the doings of Catholic dignitaries are heralded far and near by the Associated Press, while Protestant performances receive comparatively scant attention. Why should this be? Is it because Catholics constitute a majority of our population, or control the wealth and industries of our people? As a matter of fact, there are approximately five Protestants to every Roman Catholic in our country. We shall not have to seek far for an explanation of this condition of affairs. Catholics have been cradled in the idea of unquestioning obedience, and hence can be counted on to act in concert when commanded by the priest. Therefore a threatened boycott upon the part of Catholics is taken quite seriously by the secular press. Protestants, and especially Baptists, are more independent in both their thinking and acting, and hence no one has the right to speak for them on questions of policy or expediency. In our judgment, the time is at hand for the subscribers of many of our papers to ascertain why there has not appeared in their columns some account of recent outrages perpetrated on Protestant speakers. If the Associated Press is responsible for the suppression of this character of news, let us know it. The editor of the Northwestern Christian Advocate, in the issue of that paper for June 17, 1914, expresses the same conviction. He says:— We make the assertion without fear of successful contradiction that the press of America is in large measure controlled by Rome. There is not a newspaper in any great center that would dare print the news facts about Rome. The scandals of Protestantism are seized with avidity, while the shortcomings of Rome never see the light. And the Advocate goes further and charges that Rome controls not only the American press, but that in nearly every American city she holds the balance of political power:— There is hardly a city in the country where the Roman Catholics do not hold the balance of political power. Seventy-five per cent of the school-teachers of Chicago are Roman Catholics; these Catholic school-teachers are thoroughly organized to guard and forward their interests; the administration is honey-combed with Roman Catholics, and so fearful is the school board of their wrath that in more than one case of the locating of a public school, the local priest's orders have been obeyed in the face of overwhelming protest. And what is true of Chicago is more or less true of every community. The editor of the Advocate looks for an uprising against Rome which will soon assume large proportions, and feels that the Roman Church has given just ground for this popular demonstration:— We can account for an occasional distrust of some institutions, but when everywhere and at all times society looks askance at the Roman Catholic Church, one is forced to conclude that there is ground for this fear. So long as that church teaches that there is salvation through the channel of that stream only; so long as they declare allegiance to the Pope above any earthly power; so long as the “princes” of the church are given precedence over governors; so long as they make certain demands that, to the body of our citizenship, infringe upon the prerogatives of the state, such as demanding a division of the public school fund, or placing such restrictions about the entrance into the marriage state that a civil contract is not binding unless it pleases Romanism; and above all, so long as that church persists in maintaining an aggressive political policy, reaching out into every department of public life with an unalterable determination to grip the situation for that church,—we say, so long as Romanism persists in the aforementioned program, may she expect to see the tide of opposition rise higher and higher. It is needless for her to attempt to disclaim this attitude. All who know aught of her claims or have studied her methods, will admit that we have not overstated the case. Evidence is not lacking to show just such activities. That the controversy is deepening between the forces of truth and error, and that the prophecy of Revelation 13 is rapidly meeting its fulfillment before our very eyes, must be evident to every Seventh-day Adventist. God's Word provides a remedy against these evil influences which are so rapidly reaching flood tide. That remedy is found in the third angel's message and the warning against the beast and his image and the mark of his name. To this people that message has been committed. Recreant shall we be to our duty if we do not send forth the warning cry. Others may recognize from a human standpoint the dangers threatening American liberties from the machinations of Rome. To us God has given to see it in the light of his inspired Word. The only true basis of opposition to Romanism today is in the giving of the message of that Word. Let us give it fearlessly but meekly, plainly but kindly, with no spirit to unnecessarily wound any individual, whether Protestant or Catholic, realizing that there are honest hearts in both classes whom God would have recognize his truth today. The great multitude will go on to destruction, but among earth's millions we may find many sincere and honest-hearted men and women who will rejoice in the liberty to be found in the truths of the gospel.