p. 7 | Review and Herald, Vol. 85, No. 40. (10/1/1908)

How to Gain Spiritual Strength

By Ellen G. White

MRS. E. G. WHITE

Many are spiritually weak because they look at themselves instead of at Christ. Looking at themselves, and seeing only discouragement and unworthiness, they forget that God is waiting to make them agencies for the blessing of the world, and that angels are waiting to be colaborers with them.

Christ is the great storehouse from which on every occasion we may draw strength and happiness. Why, then, do we withdraw our eyes from his sufficiency to look on and bemoan our weakness? Why do we forget that he is ready to help us in every time of need? We dishonor him by talking of our inefficiency. Instead of looking at ourselves, let us constantly behold Jesus, daily becoming more and more like him, more and more able to talk of him, better prepared to avail ourselves of his kindness and helpfulness, and to receive the blessings offered us. As we thus live in communion with him, we grow strong in his strength, a help and a blessing to those around us.

Christ has made every provision for us to be strong. He has given us his Holy Spirit, whose office is to bring to our remembrance all the promises that Christ has made, that we may have peace and a sweet sense of forgiveness. If we will but keep our eyes fixed on the Saviour, and trust in his power, we shall be filled with a sense of security; for the righteousness of Christ will become our righteousness.

If we would only do as the Lord desires us to, our hearts would become as sacred harps, every chord of which would sound forth praise and gratitude to the Redeemer sent by God to take away the sin of the world. With joy we would be able to say, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom also we have access by faith into the grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope; and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us.”

When temptations “assail you, as they surely will, when care and perplexity surround you, when, distressed and discouraged, you are almost ready to yield to despair, look, O look, to where with the eye of faith you last saw the light; and the darkness that encompasseth you will be dispelled by the bright shining of his glory. When sin struggles for the mastery in your soul, and burdens the conscience, when unbelief clouds the mind, go to the Saviour. His grace is sufficient to subdue sin. He will pardon us, making us joyful in God.

Looking at self, we see only weakness, and we forget God’s purpose for us. We forget that he placed on us so high a value that he gave Christ to die for us. O, after all that has been done for us, how can we disappoint Christ by failing to live the life that he has made it possible for us to live? Let us no longer talk of our inefficiency and lack of power. Forgetting the things that are behind, let us press forward in the heavenward way. Let us neglect no opportunity that, if improved, will make us more useful in God’s service. Then like threads of gold, holiness will run through our lives, and the angels, beholding our consecration, will repeat the promise, “I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.” All heaven rejoices when weak, faulty human beings give themselves to Jesus, to live his life.

What Is It to Be a Seventh-day Adventist?

By George I. Butler

GEORGE I. BUTLER

WE are living in an age when things religious are getting sadly mixed, and spiritual issues are very poorly defined. Within a lifetime, great changes have occurred. Persons of a mature age can recall the time when to be accepted as a member of the Presbyterian Church it would be necessary personally to subscribe to all the doctrines of the creed. One must believe the Calvinistic theology as a whole. To be a Baptist, close-communion was insisted upon, and immersion was especially important. So of other churches.

But we have reached an age when doctrines are practically relegated to the rear. If a man is prominent, and is received in the highly respected social circle, what he believes or does not believe is not considered of great importance. The custom is common for members of one church, if moving to another place, to become members of a different denomination with a very different creed, and not much is said about particular beliefs if the candidate is a respectable citizen. Free and open communion is now generally adhered to. Little is made of doctrine. The denominational standard is lowered, and if one's life is above reproach, and if he is liberal in helping with his means, he is regarded as a very desirable candidate.

What does this change signify?—It means that doctrine is considered of small importance. Is it really immaterial what we believe? Is it a matter of no importance whether we believe what the Bible teaches or not, if we are only good citizens, and lead respectable lives in the community? The practice which leads to such conclusions virtually means that the Bible is no standard of authority after all.

The true believer takes the Bible as his book of authority, to be his guide in all matters pertaining to his eternal welfare. While the tendency of fellowshipping anything if only one is a kind, civil man, largely regardless of his belief, is proving to be very popular, a denomination is making strong headway, and rapidly advancing in strength and numbers, which makes doctrine very important. Seventh-day Adventists, whose advancement has been an increase of one hundred per cent every ten years, since the beginning of their work, doubling up each decade for some fifty or sixty years, attaches great importance to what one believes. Why?—Because what the Bible teaches is important.

The Bible is God's message to mankind. It teaches what God regards as essential to salvation. Seventh-day Adventists recognize this fact. While they wish to be kind, generous, and helpful to all, whether believers or unbelievers, they can not associate in fellowship with those who transgress or disbelieve the great truths which God has taught in his Word. They expect to be judged by that Word in the last day.

Actions speak louder than words. To associate in Christian fellowship and communion with those who disbelieve and disobey the important truths of the Word of God would justly be considered as saying by our actions that we consider those truths as matters of no importance. More than this, it would say that the very truths which have made us a peculiar people were immaterial. Why, then, should we go forth and proclaim them at so much cost of labor and sacrifice? When we get ready to imitate the course taken by other denominations, our message is gone, and our reason for existing as a denomination is virtually set aside as of no importance.

Could we accept those who had no faith in the nearness of Christ's second advent?—Not unless we said in substance that there was no good reason why we preached that doctrine, and that it was not essential. Could we accept as members those who habitually break the

Sabbath of the fourth commandment, and thus trample on the law of God?—Not unless we practically ignore our allegiance to that law. Could we receive into our membership those who believe in the immortality of the soul and the whole brood of false doctrines growing out of that great root of error?—Certainly not. Could we affiliate in full fellowship with those who neglect, oppose, and treat with hatred and contempt those agencies which have been most potent, under God, in leading, guiding, and bringing this great movement up to its present standing of success?—To do so would be to undermine, confuse, disintegrate, and wreck this work of some sixty years' standing, which we firmly believe is the final message of mercy to a perishing world.

We might present similar results concerning the rejection of various other truths embraced in what we call the system of present truth, now going to the world under the labors of Seventh-day Adventists. God has given us a glorious message to proclaim in the last days of time. In its acceptance or rejection is involved the salvation or the ruin of the souls of men. If this is not a God-given message, we are the most deluded people on earth. If it is, this is the grandest and most important movement on earth to-day. Genuine Seventh-day Adventists have no doubts of the truthfulness of this latter statement. In the proclamation of this truth our souls are enlisted, our lives, our property, our all; we are willing to risk everything on this issue. Because of this, many think us bigoted, narrow, sectarian. In the same sense, Noah, Moses, John the Baptist, and Christ himself were narrow.

“Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life,” and “wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction.” To be a genuine Seventh-day Adventist is to believe the doctrines held and practised by this people.

Life’s Changes and Trials

By MILO D. WARFLE

MILO D. WARFLE

SOMETIMES we do not understand The many changes from God’s hand; But we may all be confident That they for our best good are sent.

Then let us suffer and endure: Our God intends to make us pure. Trials will burn away the dross Ere we sustain eternal loss.

There still are lessons we should learn, And these should be our chief concern. Upon our learning life depends: Christ, to our aid, the Spirit sends.

Then look away from earthly woes, And see the grace our God bestows To cleanse our hearts, and help us rise To fill our place in Paradise.

To one and all our God is good: O, let us serve him as we should, And then we’ll nevermore complain When we but suffer for our gain.

Boulder, Colo.

God’s Time to Speak

By R. M. KILGORE

R. M. KILGORE

“THERE is . . . a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.” Eccl. 3:7.

God has waited long, and has patiently borne with the reign of evil, and the development of sin. For six thousand years he has witnessed the sad havoc made by Satan and his subjects. The long-continued rebellion carried on by these against God and his government, he has patiently endured.

Anarchy, high-handed lawlessness, and insubordination, challenging all authority and power, have borne sway. To satisfy proud ambition many millions have been slain in war; the earth has been deluged with the blood of millions more, who have been sacrificed upon the altar of their faith to satisfy the envy and hatred of misdirected zeal, and the religion of false gods; violence has covered the earth, and streams of blood have run down our streets at the behest of anger, hatred, and revenge; and the dependents of those who have raving and uncontrolled appetites for the intoxicating bowl, the gambling den, and the wretched brothel, have cried bitterly unto God, while he, filled with compassion, has witnessed the poverty, the shame, the suffering, and the distress heaped upon them; he has marked the tears and heard the groans of the poor and the downtrodden, the victims of famine, pestilence, and disease.

All this, and many, many times more, the pitying eye of Him who never slumbers nor sleeps has patiently and silently looked upon, quietly waiting till the time should come for him to speak. Yet we hear from the lips of the atheist, the deist, and the scoffer the charge that God is responsible for it all. “They see the work of evil, with its terrible results of woe and desolation, and they question how all this can exist under the sovereignty of One who is infinite in wisdom, in power, and in love.” They say that God must be in sympathy with all this evil, or he would not have tolerated it so long, if he is God. “Why has he suffered all this, and kept so quiet while such high-handed oppression and wickedness are permitted to continue? If God is God, why does he not stop this reign of sin and crime?”

They forget that God has more than once given the inhabitants of the earth object-lessons and examples of his purpose and power, once by washing the corruption and filth from the surface of the earth, and again by committing some of its cities to the devouring flames.

Is it not time for God to speak? Hear him: “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” Ps. 46:10. “I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once.” Isa. 42:14. “But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldst take my covenant in thy mouth? Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee. When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers. Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother’s son. These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself; but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.” Ps. 50:16-22. “Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.” Verse 3. “The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.” Isa. 42:13. “The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.” Jer. 25:30-33. “O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord.” Jer. 22:29. “To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they can not harken: behold, the word of the Lord is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it. Therefore I am full of the fury of the Lord; I am weary with holding in.” Jer. 6:10, 11.

St. Bethlehem, Tenn.

Thanksgiving Week

By W. J. STONE

W. J. STONE

The words “Thanksgiving week” ought to become an every-day topic in the homes of all our people from now until that week closes, Nov. 28, 1908. The last day of that week, ought to be a great day of thanksgiving; and it may be so, if we all engage in this work during Thanksgiving week as we should.

A great blessing may come to our people individually, and to the cause in distant lands, if we will sacredly devote this week to the distribution of the Mission REVIEW and the soliciting of funds from those outside of our denomination. Other denominations, who have much more of this world's goods than we, do this, and receive large sums of money. Why should not we? All the money in this world is the Lord's; and we can have much more than we now have to advance our work, by merely asking for it, and showing the people the great work we are doing to evangelize the world.

The plan briefly outlined by the General Conference Committee is this: A special issue of the REVIEW is to be printed, giving a brief and concise statement of our work in all the world. This number of the REVIEW is to be furnished free to our people, through the State tract societies, and they are to present it to their neighbors, calling their attention to our work in heathen and other lands, asking them if they will not favor us with a donation to assist in this work.

When this subject was presented at our camp-meetings, much interest was manifested in the plan, and the following preambles and resolution were presented, and adopted by nearly every one.

“Whereas, Our foreign mission work has, through the providence of God, assumed large proportions, and has become the leading work of the denomination; and,—

“Whereas, New fields are being rapidly opened for extended work, and necessary means beyond the power of our members to donate for this advance work are immediately required to meet the demands; and,—

“Whereas, This denomination has fully borne the expenses of its foreign work for the past fifty years, without giving the general public an opportunity to assist; and,—

“Whereas, Other denominations have been generously assisted in their foreign work by an appreciative public; therefore,—

“Resolved, That we approve of, and pledge our hearty co-operation in, the plan recommended by the General Conference for an ingathering for foreign mission work, Nov. 22-28 (Thanksgiving week), 1908.”

If our people will enter heartily into this work, it will be the means of bringing into our foreign mission treasury many thousands of dollars, and prove to be the greatest blessing that has ever come to the denomination.

Believing that our brethren and sisters in Indiana will take hold of this work with a will, I have placed a liberal order for the REVIEW, but we hope that we may need twice as many as we have ordered. I am writing to all our churches and asking them to take this matter up at their earliest convenience, and decide, as churches, the number of copies they will distribute.

What a grand opportunity is here offered us of letting our neighbors and friends know what we are doing in the world! Such a missionary opportunity was never before open to our people, and we should hail it with gladness, and put such enthusiasm into this work as has never before been manifested.

We are assured that the paper will not only be excellent in its contents, but that it will be commendable in its mechanical construction, and in every way a credit to our denominational work. All should begin now to plan for this work. It should be our main work during Thanksgiving week. If we take advantage of this grand opportunity, we may make it the supreme missionary effort in the history of our work. Shall we do it?

Indianapolis, Ind.

The Pillar of Cloud

By Albert Carey

ALBERT CAREY

MANY will readily recall the soul-stirring message that came to this people a few years ago in the words, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” They will remember, also, the beautiful song that was sung in connection with that message, entitled, “The Pillar of Cloud Is Rising.” And as we sang the chorus, “Behold what a glorious sight!” how mightily our hearts were stirred.

Some may have wondered what all this meant; but if our eyes are anointed, we can see this cloudy pillar leading out into “the most needy fields,” hurrying on the people of God to gather out the remnant that shall be saved of every nation. The Holy Spirit is directing this vast world-missions movement, and those who are not following in this movement will soon be left so far behind that they can never again catch up. To be led by the Holy Ghost to-day, means to be led into active service for God. Right where you are, begin at once; then give and go, and go and give, till every soul on earth has had his chance to accept, and every honest one is garnered in.

To “follow” the Holy Spirit means to advance to the work; to stand still means to reject the Spirit’s leading. Our great Captain is passing on before the hosts of God, and those who are “on the march” see his mighty workings all along the line. Let us awake, trim our lamps, and see that oil is found in our vessels.

Hickory, N. C.

Concerning Elam

At the very dawn of history we find Elam mentioned as a powerful nation under Chedorlaomer. From the countries about the Euphrates he led a confederacy of four kingdoms all the way to Sodom and Gomorrah, subjugating those cities and their allies. Fourteen years later, on the revolt of the five cities of the plain, Chedorlaomer repeated his march of conquest, this time, moreover, adding many other countries on both sides of the Jordan to the list of his possessions. The expedition, however, did not return unscathed. Abram, whose nephew had been taken captive, fell upon the invading host by night, and rescued Lot and the other captives.

In the succeeding centuries we find continual reference in history to the people of Elam. They were a warlike race, famed for their skill in the use of bow and arrow. Elamite dynasties are found again and again ruling over the ancient kingdom of Babylon, but the country was gradually forced to yield to the rising power of Assyria. During the reign of Assur-bani-pal that monarch devastated the land of Elam. He records the exploit in one of his inscriptions:—

“For a journey of a month and twenty-five days the districts of Elam I laid waste; destruction, servitude, and drought I poured over them. The daughters of kings, consorts of kings, and families former and latter of the kings of Elam, the governors and citizens of those cities, all I had captured; the commanders of archers, prefects, directors, three-horse charioteers, chariot-drivers, archers, officers, camp followers, and the whole of the army, all there was; people, male and female, small and great, horses, mules, asses, oxen and sheep, besides much spoil; I carried off to Assyria.

“The dust of Shushan, Madaktu, Haltemas, and the rest of their cities, entirely I brought to Assyria. For a month and a day Elam to its utmost extent I swept. The passage of men, the treading of oxen and sheep, and the springing up of good trees I burnt off his fields. Wild asses, serpents, beasts of the desert, safely I caused to lay down in them.”

This was the Assyrian idea of conquest. By such measures its kings sought to prevent future trouble arising out of nationalistic aspirations. The Elamites are included in the list of the nations whom “the great and noble Asnapper [Assur-bani-pal] brought over, and set in the cities of Samaria.” Ezra 4:9, 10.

As the power of Assyria waned, it seems evident that Elam must have recovered some degree of her former independence. In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, the prophet Jeremiah was instructed to speak these words to Elam:—

“Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might. And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.” Jer. 49:35, 36.

In these words the Lord teaches that the destinies of nations are not altogether decided by the wisdom of their statesmen. Elam depended upon her bow, but that bow was broken by the Lord of hosts. In her hour of weakness, her enemies came on all sides, and Elam was scattered like the chaff. God can send a spirit of fear into the

hearts of a people that will bring to naught all their valor and all their war-like preparations. “I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life. . . . And I will set my throne in Elam.”

When the kings of the earth set themselves against God, his arm is not shortened. Earthly powers are unable to thwart the will of God. In the very hour when the confederated kingdoms of the earth will be gathered together to make war against him, the words will be spoken in heaven: “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ.” Rev. 11:15. There is no power in earthly might to thwart the purpose of God. Why then do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing? Why, too, should his people be afraid because of the fury of the oppressor? The history of all the kingdoms of the earth shows how futile is the hope that they can prevail against the word of God. Proud empires may glory in their military strength and scorn the thought of humbling themselves before the word of the Lord, but he can smite the chief of their might and cause them to fear before their enemies. He can set his own throne upon the ruins of the thrones that have set themselves against him.

When the time came for Babylon to be punished because of its sins, Elam was entrusted with a share in this work: “Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media: all the sighing thereof have I made to cease.” Isa. 21:2, 9. The province of Elam constituted a part of the Babylonian empire, but Cyrus was of Elamite origin, and when he came against Babylon, Elam rose up in his behalf. The Persian kings made their residence at Shushan, the chief city of the province, and the stirring events recorded in the book of Esther centered there. Thus Elam had many opportunities of learning about the true God, and it may well have been that in many hearts the word that God would set his throne in Elam was happily fulfilled. On the day of Pentecost among the devout men who were at Jerusalem to worship there were Elamites present to hear in their own tongue the wonderful works of God. These would be able to carry back to their own homes the glad tidings of the Saviour whose love and compassion had not forgotten the dwellers in the land of Elam.—Present Truth.

At Rephidim

By Mrs. Edith B. Goodrich

MRS. EDITH B. GOODRICH

At Rephidim the people raged, And sorely censured Moses there; Discouraged, thirsty, fearful, faint, Weakly gave way to wild despair.

They had forgot Jehovah’s power Displayed at Marah just before, Nor Elim’s cool, refreshing wells, Nor shady palms remembered more.

“Our throats are parched, our cattle thirst, Our little ones for water cry! This, Moses, this is all thy work; Here in this wilderness we die!

“If only graves await us here, Those we could find in Egypt’s land! Behold, thou Moses, all the wrongs This day we suffer at thy hand!”

Was ever baser libel breathed? And yet the God of heaven forgives! He stoops once more to prove his care; He speaks, and erring Israel lives!

The high command is swiftly given: “Moses! the rock in Horeb, smite! Water shall gush their thirst to quench; ’Tis thus their murmuring I requite!”

O fearful, fainting, fretful souls Throughout the whole wide world to-day, When you shall reach your Rephidim, O murmur not; but trust and pray!

All things are God’s, and we are his, And he, for us, his Son hath given; He marks our tears; he knows our needs: Shall we not trust the King of heaven?

Meadow Glade, Wash.

The Immutability of God's Word

By JAMES TAPHOUSE

JAMES TAPHOUSE

“Thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.” Ps. 138: 2. If it were possible for the word of God to fail, the entire universe would be reduced to chaos. It is no wonder that Jesus said, “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.” Luke 16: 17. The stability of God’s throne, and the honor of his name, rest upon the immutability of his word. We read in Heb. 1: 3 that he (Jesus) upholds “all things by the word of his power; and the fact that we still live, move, and that the earth produces its treasures of fruit and grain, for man's needs, and beautiful flowers for his enjoyment, is an emphatic denial of the pernicious falsehood that God's law is abolished, and the Sabbath changed from the seventh to the first day of the week. There could not be a greater impeachment of God's wisdom and veracity. When men in ministerial office, messengers of the Lord from whose lips the people should seek the law (Mal. 2: 7), advocate the abrogation of this precious document of love (John 5: 3), they step down from the highway of holiness, of which God's law is the perfect standard (James 2: 12), become blind leaders of the blind (Matt. 15: 14), unfaithful shepherds (Ezekiel 34), and God will require his flock at their hand. Verse 10. I am thankful that God has raised up many faithful watchmen, who to-day are exalting the true standard. In the blessed threefold message of Rev. 14: 6-12 we have the gospel in all its fulness and power, the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. This message received into the heart will make us “an impregnable fortress to all the assaults of the enemy.” “The word of God endureth forever.”

Turlock, Cal.

The Trend of Christianity in Japan

In a series of articles which appeared recently in the Tokyo Mainichi, the author treats of “The Phases of Christianity During the Meiji Era.” He divides its history into four decades, from 1867 to 1907. With the first period are associated the foundation of three Christian schools, at Yokohama, Kumamoto, and Sapporo, from which have issued most of the prominent Japanese Protestants.

The period 1877-1887 was marked by movements opposed to independence; everywhere there were attempts at fusion with American and English churches. The author of these articles says that at that time he and his fellow students felt such confidence in their foreign teachers that they scrupulously observed the restrictions imposed by them as to smoking, sake drinking, amusements, and Sunday observance, to the degree that they considered the least infraction of these rules as a sin.

During the period 1887-97 the traditional theology and the Puritan morality began to be shaken. Until then, thanks to the prevailing infatuation for Western things, the evangelists enjoyed unquestioned authority. But at this time the Darwinian doctrines began to spread in Japan, and Christianity began to be denounced as unscientific. It was a period of lectures and ardent discussions between missionaries and students, and, notwithstanding the best efforts, the reading of Darwin, Spencer, and Mill shook the old beliefs of many. Other relaxing influences contributed to this result. Unitarian missionaries arrived from America; German theology took root in Japan; many young pastors, returning from their studies in Europe and America, spread the disquieting news that the old doctrines were felt to be outworn, and that most professing Christians were by no means so strict as to smoking, drinking, and Sabbath observance as they were expected to be in Japan. It was generally felt that a revision of doctrine was necessary, in order to try to settle what and how much should be desirable or possible to believe.

At the same time, dissensions among the already numerous Christian sects represented in Japan were on the increase. All these motives worked together to strengthen the desire for independence on the part of the Japanese. Some schools such as the Doshisha in Kyoto, achieved this end; the Congregationalist churches all passed into the hands of Japanese pastors; and other churches, especially the Presbyterian, united to form the Nihon Kirisuto Kyokwai. The general struggles and ferment of this third period brought about the present condition of things by the practically complete surrender by the foreigners of the claims to direct the Japanese churches. The timid Puritanism of the earlier period, which had proscribed all secular music and other harmless amusements, now disappeared. Darwin, Spencer, and Mill were no longer spoken of as deadly enemies, and rival sectarian systems came to be looked upon merely as matters of personal inclination.

But even if the outward aspect is more peaceful, questions of the first importance still remain unsettled. The very question, “What is Christianity?” is harder to answer than ever. Is it the religion of Pius X., or of Dr. Parker, or of W. E. Channing, of “General” Booth, or of Count Tolstoi? Even the disciples of Joseph Smith claim to be the genuine church of Christ, and have their missionaries in Japan. Over forty sects are represented in this small archipelago. It is an embarrassment of riches. In this conflict of opinions, it is only natural for the Japanese to think that they are capable of evolving a new form of Christianity, perhaps as good as any other, and certainly better suited to their mental and social conditions than any importation could be.

The bishop of South Tokyo, in an article contributed last year to the Guardian, took the same position. Before long, he declared, the foreign missionaries will be obliged to remit all their powers into the hands of the independent Japanese pastors, and to retire from the country. There will then remain only a few as professors of theology. As long as the present state of things continues, there are not likely to be great changes in the doctrines, constitutions, or ceremonies of the church. But once the foreign influence is finally eliminated, we may expect a series of profound changes, and an elaboration of doctrines tending to fuse the ideas of the Orient and the Occident.—The Kobe (Japan) Chronicle.

A Thread of Gold

SPIN cheerfully, Not tearfully, Though wearily you plod; Spin carefully, Spin prayerfully, But leave the thread to God. The shuttles of his purpose move To carry out his own design; Seek not too soon to disapprove His work, nor yet assign Dark motives when with silent dread You view each somber fold; For, lo, within each darker thread There gleams a thread of gold.

Spin cheerfully, Not tearfully, He knows the way you plod; Spin carefully, Spin prayerfully, But leave the thread to God.

— Pittsburg Christian Advocate.

Temperance in the Home

By Augusta C. Bainbridge

AUGUSTA C. BAINBRIDGE

“Who were those two gaily dressed girls you spoke to on the car, Nathan?” said Mrs. Neal, after they arrived at home. “I did not see them on the beach where we were.”

“No, they were at the fair-grounds, farther up. They go to our school, and are working at the fair this vacation. They are ‘gum girls.’ There are twenty-five of them, and they dress in various costumes. The girls we saw wore Swiss costumes. They get one dollar a day, and a commission on all sales. They work five hours after lunch, and three hours after dinner, in the evening. Minnie Cramer, the taller one, told me she made three dollars and seventy-five cents to-day.”

“Who would think twenty-five girls would find employment selling gum?” said Pearl.

“And who would want to sell it?” said Mrs. Neal.

“Why not, Hannah?” asked Mr. Neal, with a knowing look at Nathan. “It’s good to chew.”

“No doubt ‘it’s good to chew,’” repeated Mrs. Neal, “but how about the chewer?”

“Here is some; you may try it,” said Nathan, smilingly producing a dainty package.

The look on Mrs. Neal’s face was a study, and boded no good for Nathan. His father came quickly to the rescue.

“Now, Hannah, don’t look like that. Tell us why you have such an aversion to gum,” said Mr. Neal.

“It is such a reversal of things,” she said.

“How is that?” asked Nathan, who was now interested.

“The chewing produces saliva when it is not needed in the mouth, for gum is not food; and it pours the saliva into the stomach, where it is not wanted at all. Then it weakens the glands, so that they can not produce the best quality of saliva when it is needed. It causes a nervous disease that keeps the jaws in motion. This is a very serious disorder, is hard to cure, and even if it does not reach that stage, it too often leads to chewing tobacco.”

“A pretty hard character for such an innocent little package,” said Nathan, looking very serious. “Here, mother, you may have it. If it is so bad as that, I do not want it.” And he tossed it on the table.

“I wonder how this would lead to tobacco-using,” said Pearl.

“Just the chewing of it. When one has chewed gum, it is not such a long step to take up chewing tobacco, filthy as it is,” said Mr. Neal.

“Is chewing worse than smoking, father?”

“Yes; it wastes the saliva in the first place; for tobacco-chewers should spit out all the saliva that the chewing brings into the mouth. If they swallow it, the delicate surface of the stomach would be greatly irritated by the poisonous liquid. Some of it is unavoidably swallowed, and from the stomach the poison reaches every organ of the body.”

“I notice the great outcry against it, is its use by young people,” said Pearl.

“Yes, the finer the tissues, as in youth, the more serious is the injury,” added Mr. Neal.

“Now, John,” said Mrs. Neal, “before you take up your paper, tell us what are considered its most harmful effects.”

“A customer at the drug-store offered Mr. Bond’s cat, the large Maltese, a taste of a plug from which he had just gnawed a bite. Kitty ran away in haste, sneezing and coughing, after which she gave her whiskers, in fact, her whole face and paws, an extra washing,” said Mr. Neal. “This led to quite a talk on the subject. Mr. Bond said that tobacco stunts the growth of the young, in that it loads the blood with narcotic poisons. It often shatters the nerves of young people, and dulls the action of the brain. This latter fact has been noticed by educators. The school work of a tobacco-user is of such low grade that it reduces the class average, thus lowering the scholarship of the school. For that reason many of our educational institutions refuse to admit tobacco-users, particularly cigarette-smokers.”

“They are talking about that in Melton, father. I would not wonder if they came to it by the time the new high school is built,” said Nathan. “Professor Simpson says boys have no right to accept their education from the state, and then spit or blow it away.”

“But all who use tobacco do not suffer like that, do they, father?” asked Pearl.

“No; many escape these evils, only to hand them down to their children and grandchildren,” replied Mr. Neal.

“Did you know that the legislature of Germany has strictly forbidden the use of tobacco to youths under sixteen years of age?” asked Mrs. Neal. “It is declared that its use lessens their capacity of service to the state, particularly in military service.”

“That means much to Germany,” said Mr. Neal.

“In this last prison report that I received from the leader of our Young People’s Society I find that of the six hundred prisoners confined for crimes committed while under the influence of drink, five hundred of them testified that they began their intemperance by the use of tobacco,” said Pearl. “And though I would like to earn some money this vacation, I’ll not be a ‘gum girl,’”—and the little package that started the discussion was thrown into the grate.

San Francisco, Cal.

Continue reading: Her Boy, Ruined by Drink