For Him the blood of battle never flowed; No little children wept their fathers' fate; No conquering army, devastating, rode With mighty crime to make his memory great.
So great and good the purpose that he toiled, So warm his heart of love, so broad and true, His page no blot of malice ever soiled, Though marked by many a trace that sorrow drew.
The broad and blessed river of his life Flowed through a dreary desert of despair; And ever flows where sands of sin and strife Crave heaven's dew to cool their dreadful glare.
Chill fear of poverty (and come it may On those in mansion grand or humble shed), No other can so softly soothe away As he who had not where to lay his head.
With grief and tears all hushed below the sod, The past is but a history of sorrow; The future holds one hope, the Shepherd good, Who promises a glorious to-morrow.
Boengoeran, Soerabaya, Java.
The Holy Name Society
By JOHN N. QUINN
JOHN N. QUINN
The Holy Name Society is of recent origin in the Roman Catholic Church, and on the surface would indicate that Rome is honestly seeking to diminish blasphemy. But the society has a purpose in this which does not appear on the surface, as the following from the bureau of the Holy Name Society, written by Father McKenna, proves:—
“Were I to write a book, I could not say enough about the zeal, desire, and determination that I have personally witnessed on the part of both our bishops and priests to leave nothing undone in making the men of America loyal Catholics. They have chosen the Holy Name Society as the practical method for accomplishing this end.”—The Religious Weekly, Philadelphia, Pa., May 27, 1911.
Rome never loses sight of the end of all her work, that of making loyal Catholics.
Takoma Park, D. C.
In the Long Ago
By Eugene Field
I ONCE knew all the birds that came
And nested in our orchard trees;
For every flower I had a name,
My friends were woodchucks, toads,
and bees.
I knew where thrived, in yonder glen,
What plants would soothe a stone-bruised toe—
O, I was very learned then,
But that was very long ago!
I knew the spot upon the hill
Where checkerberries could be found;
I knew the rushes near the mill
Where pickerel lay that weighed a pound!
I knew the wood—the very tree—
Where lived the poaching, saucy crow;
And all the woods and crows knew me—
But that was very long ago!
And pining for the joys of youth,
I tread the old, familiar spot,
Only to learn this solemn truth:
I have forgotten, am forgot.
Yet here's this youngster at my knee
Knows all the things I used to know;
To think I once was wise as he—
But that was very long ago!
I know it's folly to complain
Of whatsoever the fates decree;
Yet, were not wishes all in vain,
I tell you what my wish would be:
I'd wish to be a boy again,
Back with the friends I used to know;
For I was, O! so happy then—
But that was very long ago!
—Eugene Field.
The Importance of Cooperation Between Parents and Teachers
By Florence G. White
FLORENCE G. WHITE
COOPERATION means “working together, jointly, or in union.”
“Union is strength; division is weakness.” This truth is self-evident, and has always been recognized. Adherence to this principle has caused armies to be victorious, and has built up and established governments. History is full of such examples. Every society, every organization, has met with success only in proportion to the unity of its members.
Among the many Bible illustrations of cooperation we might cite, first, the building of the tabernacle, which was accomplished because every Israelite was united in the effort. We read: “Every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, . . . brought the Lord’s offering to the work of the tabernacle.” Again, the walls of Jericho fell because all the people united in obeying God’s command. The Holy Spirit filled the room where the disciples were on the day of Pentecost, because “they were all of one accord.” In the midst of poverty, difficulty, and danger, the great task of rebuilding Jerusalem was accomplished; “for the people had a mind to work.”
If unity insured success in their work, why may not we, as parents and teachers, claim success through cooperation, or unity, in our work of educating the children, which is “the nicest work ever entrusted to man”?
Paul urges the Ephesians to preserve unity and love: “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called; . . . forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
The burden of Christ’s prayer, just prior to his crucifixion, was for unity. He prayed: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us.”
Mrs. E. G. White writes: “It is the purpose of God that his children shall blend in unity.” We are his children; shall we not try to carry out his purpose? “Our characters must be molded in harmony with his character; our wills must be surrendered to his will. Then we shall work together without a thought of collision.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VIII, page 243.
“When those who believe present truth are united, they exert a telling influence. Satan well understands this. Never was he more determined than now to make of none effect the truth of God.”—Id., Vol. V, page 236.
“Those who refuse to work in harmony greatly dishonor God. The enemy of souls greatly delights to see them working at cross-purposes with one another. . . . The world is looking with gratification at the disunion among Christians.”—Id., Vol. VIII, page 240.
“Union with Christ and with one another is our only safety in these last days.”—Ib. In heaven there is perfect order, perfect peace and harmony. Do we not all expect to live together in the same heaven?
“The work of cooperation should begin with the father and mother themselves, in the home life. . . . Let them teach their children to be true to God, true to principle, and thus true to themselves and to all with whom they are connected. With such training, children when sent to school will not be a cause of disturbance or anxiety. . . . Parents who give this training are not the ones likely to be found criticizing the teacher.”—“Education,” page 283.
“If parents would place themselves in the position of the teacher, and see how difficult it must necessarily be to manage and discipline a school of many students in every grade, and every class of minds, they might, upon reflection, see things differently.”
“When children are required to observe rules and regulations at school, and fret under the necessary restraint, too often the parents, who profess to love and fear God, join with their children instead of reproving them and correcting their faults. This often proves the turning-point in their characters.” This shows plainly the importance of cooperation. Unless parent and teacher work together, the very purpose of Christian education, for which both are sacrificing, will be thwarted.
Education comprises more than a knowledge of books. For this reason “the teacher’s work should supplement that of the parents.” The teacher should realize that her work is supplementary to that of the parents, and endeavor to make it such in every lesson recited. But how can her work be “additional” unless she acquaints herself with the child’s home training,—unless she knows the integral part to which it is her duty to add? She must seek the acquaintance of the parents, and learn the strong and the weak points in the children’s characters. Also by close observation and personal contact she may learn to know her pupils. Thus only can she deal successfully with their different dispositions and temperaments.
It is not the correct answer obtained to some difficult problem that is a material factor in the child’s proper education; it is the ability acquired in working the problem that is going to help him solve the problems of life. If the teacher continually keeps in mind the future man or woman,—the gospel worker, teacher, or nurse,—when teaching the boy or the girl, she will be supplementing the work of the parent. In order to accomplish this, the teacher must visit the parent, and learn what the child’s ambitions are, and what he most needs in order to develop the characteristics essential to make a strong man or woman, who will become a successful gospel worker, teacher, or nurse.
“He [the teacher] will find others [parents] to whom the sense of their responsibility is a heavy burden, so anxious are they that their children shall become good and useful men and women. Often the teacher can assist these parents in bearing their burden, and, by counseling together, both teacher and parents will be encouraged and strengthened.” O, there is much for the teacher to do! Few of us realize what our part is, and still fewer do as well as we know.
We know that the primary responsibility and the weight of the labor and burden and care are yours, parents, and8that you are looking to the school to supplement your efforts. Can you not help us, can we not help each other, in this important work? “The parents’ intimate knowledge both of the character of their children and of their physical peculiarities or infirmities should be imparted to the teacher.” Parents should visit the school often, and endeavor to observe carefully the regulations, methods, and discipline. They should cooperate with the teachers in that which they consider good for the children, and point out and help to correct that of which they do not approve.
Parents and teachers, our work with the children at this time is especially important. In Volume VI of the Testimonies we are plainly told that the children who are receiving a Christian education to-day are to proclaim this truth. Are we preparing them to do this work? Are we making them strong to bear the burdens, and meet bravely and successfully the trials and temptations, that are before them?
Satan is working to entrap the little ones; he is using every means and device possible to accomplish their destruction. Let us not, by lack of cooperation or in any other way, aid him in his work. “Parents and teachers should most earnestly seek for that wisdom which Jesus is ever ready to give.”
“Teachers must love the children because they are the younger members of the Lord’s family. The Lord will inquire of them, as of the parents, ‘Where is the flock, that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?’ O, that we may be able to answer, ‘Behold I and the children which God hath given me’!”
Sabbath-Keeping in the Home
By Mrs. Susie D. Pard
MRS. SUSIE D. PARD
In the home where there are children the Sabbath can be made a very bright and cheerful day, though it may not be one of unbroken quiet. One way to make the Sabbath both pleasant and profitable for all the members of the family is to make it a decidedly “different” day. To do this, one needs only to obey what God commands. We should have all our work done, and all things pertaining to work put away. In six days God did all his work; it was completed at the end of the sixth day; there was nothing left undone; and as the sun began to sink in the west, his rest began.
When mothers say, “This is the Sabbath,” let the words be spoken in a spirit that will delight the children as much as when they say, “To-day is the day of our family picnic.” Teach them to look forward to the Sabbath with pleasure. It is possible to do this, and to keep it with pleasure rather than from a sense of duty.
To make it a different day does not mean simply to make it a day on which we do not labor. We are to be refreshed with cleanliness of both clothing and person. In most homes the inmates are provided with extra suits for the Sabbath. When this is so, it is well to make a change before the Sabbath, and let the children feel that this day is not a common day.
The very little ones may have some special toys for the Sabbath, and as they advance in years there are many good books for boys and girls to read. Or all the children may be taken for a walk through the woods. On such occasions they may be taught lessons from nature which will cause them to remember the Creator of all things, even the Sabbath.
The proper beginning and ending of the Sabbath are very important. Let the family come together just as the sun is sinking, and take part in singing hymns, reading scripture, and offering prayer. Let the hymns be such as the children can take part in, and teach them to sing as soon as they are able, remembering that they will cling to what they are taught when they are small. The Saviour said, “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.”
Work for an ideal Sabbath in your home; for in so doing, you are working in harmony with God. One who strives to be in the right spirit, and to help those who are about him to come into that spirit, may look forward with confidence to good and lasting results.
Schenectady, N. Y.
Dress of Schoolchildren
By Mrs. L. Hanley
MRS. L. HANLEY
We should be an example to the world in our dress. “Simplicity of dress will make a sensible woman appear to the best advantage. We judge of a person’s character by the style of dress worn. Gaudy apparel betrays vanity and weakness. A modest, godly woman will dress modestly. A refined taste, a cultivated mind, will be revealed in the choice of simple and appropriate attire.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. IV, page 643.
“God would be pleased to see our sisters clad in neat, simple apparel.”—Id., page 630. “Our words, our actions, and our dress are daily, living preachers, gathering with Christ, or scattering abroad. This is no trivial matter, to be passed off with a jest.”—Id., page 641.
“Our faith, if carried out, will lead us to be so plain in dress, and zealous of good works, that we shall be marked as peculiar. But when we lose taste for order and neatness in dress, we virtually leave the truth; for the truth never degrades, but elevates.”—Id., Vol. I, pages 275, 276.
“Simple, plain, unpretending dress will be a recommendation to my youthful sisters. In no better way can you let your light shine to others than in your simplicity of dress and deportment.”—Id., Vol. III, page 376.
I refrain from quoting more from the pages of these grand books, but I trust those who read this have them, and will read for themselves the words of advice. As a public-school teacher I am in a position to observe many things in the matter of dress, particularly with children. Many children attend school in expensive clothing, trimmed and ruffled, but so soiled and untidy as to make them far from presentable.
It is not difficult to buy common-sense shoes for growing children, yet young girls often wear high-heeled shoes, run over in a slovenly manner. I recall one young girl who had over three dollars’ worth of wide black ribbon on her hair. How much neater she would have appeared with well-combed hair, plain, attractive gingham dress, good shoes, and stockings properly supported,—all of which could have been secured for the cost of her head adornment. And what a saving for the mother, if she must launder the school dresses, to have them plainly made!
“We should seek not to disgust unbelievers by carelessness and slackness in our apparel, but should dress modestly, with reference to health and neatness, that our dress may commend itself to the judgment of candid minds.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. II, page 66.
Thomas, Okla.
“She Rules the House”
By P. G. C.
P. G. C.
THESE words were spoken to a friend by a thoughtless and indulgent mother in reference to her five-year-old daughter, who stood near.
But, mother, if she rules the house now, she will rule the house when she is older. If she is not ruled by you now, she will never be ruled by God. This will be a sad reality to you when it is too late. When a few years have been added to her age, she will meet temptations to which she will never say “No,” because she has never submitted to you, and has, therefore, never learned submission to God.
“Man’s righteousness is as but filthy rags,” and his wisdom is the same; therefore seek God with the desperation of a drowning man, for the wisdom from above, to guide you in the rearing of your daughter if you care to spare her from the agonies of the last days, which may be but a few short years ahead. “Work out your own salvation [and that of your daughter] with fear and trembling.” If a young child “rules the house,” the one whom God designed should rule it has deserted his or her post. The ruling of the house is a delicate matter; for the eternal salvation of the children is involved in it. While this also is a work that will be undertaken in fear and trembling, yet there is a fountain of wisdom and help and guidance open to all who have such work to do. And one of the requisites of doing this work aright is that it be done in prayer. This shows how the purpose of God is thwarted when a child is permitted to “rule the house.”
O, What a Tangled Web We Weave
O, WHAT a tangled web we weave
When first we practise to deceive!
— Sir Walter Scott.
Editorial
By Editor
THE cause of this threefold message of Revelation 14 can never be popular. It represents the gospel of the power of God, and necessarily, therefore, there is in it the cross of Christ, which has no attractions for the world. But what progress the message has made, against all the tide of this world, within a few years, within the active lifetime of men and women who saw its rise!
THE first minister ordained among Seventh-day Adventists, we believe, was Elder J. N. Loughborough, still among us, by the blessing of the Lord. In the REVIEW of Oct. 28, 1852, we find the first communication from his pen, which still writes for our profit. In that first word, he told of his conversion, under the 1844 movement, and of his labor for souls in the years subsequent to the disappointment, though with the feeling that there was something lacking in the message that he bore. Then the light of the third angel's message came.
LIKE most others, to whom the message comes with its call for an entire change in the life, Elder Loughborough had his battle over the question, and then surrendered unconditionally as the sword of truth smote down every barrier. He wrote in this first contribution:—
Last summer I was invited to examine the subject of the Sabbath, but I was mind full of prejudice, so that the truth did not reach me. During the time of the last conference of Sabbath-keepers, held in this city, I was invited to attend and hear on the subject of the third angel's message, the Sabbath, etc. I declined, plainly stating that I would not attend the meeting. But afterward my heart condemned me, and on First-day I went to hear. . . . My mind was arrested by the Spirit of God. I could not keep away from the meeting, nor resist the power of arguments presented.
I had always supposed that there was but one law, and that that was done away in Christ. Still this position looked as though God changed, and it confused me. But, thank God, when I saw the two laws, all was plain. . . .
I had supposed there was no Sabbath, and, therefore, observed none. But when the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened to my mind, the first thing I saw was the commandments, under the mercy-seat, and now the Sabbath to me is a delight, and I love to keep God's holy law. . . .
May God help to sound the note of warning. I see my duty. My heart is full. And God helping, I will do my duty.
How a Watchful Providence Sent Relief
By W. A. S.
At a camp-meeting in Switzerland, some of the workers were speaking of special providences by which a loving Father has shown his watchful care for his children. The subject led Dr. P. A. De Forest, superintendent of our Lake Geneva Sanitarium, at Gland, to tell of an experience in which the intervening providence of God brought help to him in his student days. Asked to set the account down in writing, he consents, saying that he relates the experience “to the glory of God, and to encourage young missionaries.” His account follows:—
I was a medical student, in 1893, in Cincinnati, Ohio. I started in with no other financial resources than what one can earn at nursing; but as I had promised the Lord that if he would help me to get through, I would dedicate my life to his service as a medical missionary, I had a right to expect that he would at least give me work. In this I was not disappointed.
Once, however, my faith was put severely to the test. I had a wife and two small children, and in spite of my best endeavors I could not make quite enough to support them and pay all my bills at the university. A time came when our clothing began to give out; and we were brought keenly to realize our situation when my companion was obliged to stay at home from church on a Sabbath, having no shoes fit to wear in public.
We naturally felt sad at this state of our finances; but had we not had proof after proof of God’s tender, guiding hand in our affairs? With a prayer to him who hears in secret, we lay down and slept the Friday night following these events, feeling assured that in some way the Lord would provide. That night I dreamed that some one came to me, and said, “If you go to the house of Sister —, in Winton Place, you will find the help you need.” After relating this extraordinary experience to my wife, I decided to go the next Sunday, and visit this sister in obedience to the dream. Yet I could not quite believe that the dream was different from other dreams. My faith, however, was amply rewarded. I arrived at the sister’s home, and found her enjoying a visit from her brother. I related to the friends my purpose in life, and told them how well I was getting along, and how I had been working at my studies and at my profession, but purposely avoided any intimation of my needs; so that I might know of a certainty if the Lord sent the dream. The gentleman mentioned left the room before I did, but without bidding me good-by. I rose also, and left the house to return home, saying to myself that, after all, my dream was like all others. I got outside the gate, when the servant came running after me, asking me to come back, telling me that the brother of Sister — wished to see me.
I went back, wondering what would happen. The gentleman led me into a room, and showed me a heap of clothing that he had selected for me, just what I needed to replenish my depleted wardrobe. I stammered out my thanks, but still I kept thinking of those needed shoes. Then, after satisfying himself that the clothing would fit well, my helper took out his purse, and laid a five-dollar bill on the pile, saying: “I was impressed to help you because you said you wanted to be a missionary, and it has been my practise for several years to help young men of that stamp.” And he added, as he gave me the money, “This will not come amiss.”
The reader can judge of my feelings. I hurried home with my heart filled with praises to God, and especially thankful that he had not withheld his mercies at my lack of faith, and wondering at the good measure that he gave. Then and there I took courage, and in a day or two had a new case to nurse, and so finished my course. To God be all the praise!
We know full well that it is the Lord who “daily loadeth us with benefits;” that it is he who “maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” We thank him for his continual care. But there is blessedness in recounting the ways in which the Lord has intervened in delivering and helping in an extraordinary manner, showing that he is “not a God afar off,” but near and watching over even the common trials and perplexities of his children. We are too prone to feel that the common daily cares we must bear alone.
“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” 1 Peter 5:7.
W. A. S.
The Confessions of an Evolutionist
We admire frankness—mental honesty—in any man; and it is especially refreshing to read after a writer who openly acknowledges his own difficulties with the theory which he holds. We feel at once that he is not blindly following authority, and our respect for him increases, even though we do not view his theory with any greater favor.
A good example of this plain speaking is found in an article by the eminent naturalist, John Burroughs, in the Outlook of Feb. 25, 1911. The title is “Scientific Faith,” but it seems to us that it would be more appropriate to call it “The Confession of an Evolutionist.” Mr. Burroughs does not repudiate the idea of evolution, but he confesses his mental struggles with it in a way which ought to shake his own confidence in the10credibility of the doctrine. From the first part of this article we take this extract:—
I find myself accepting certain things on the authority of science which so far transcend my experience, and the experience of the race, and all the knowledge of the world; in fact, which come so near being unthinkable, that I call my acceptance of them an act of scientific faith. One’s reason may be convinced and yet the heart refuse to believe. It is not so much a question of evidence as a question of capacity to receive evidence of an unusual kind.
One of the conclusions of science which I feel forced to accept, and yet which I find very hard work in believing, is that of the animal origin of man. I suppose my logical faculties are convinced; but what is that in me that is baffled, and that hesitates and demurs? . . .
I confess that I receive evolution only at arm’s length, as it were. I can not get on intimate terms with it, familiarize my mind with it, and make it thinkable. The gulf that separates man from the orders below him is so impassable, his intelligence is so radically different from theirs, and his progress so enormous, while they have stood still, that believing it is like believing a miracle.
That the apparently blind groping and experimentation which mark the course of evolution as revealed by paleontology—the waste, the delay, the vicissitudes, the hit-and-miss method—should have finally resulted in this supreme animal, man, is certainly a hard proposition.
We recoil from the horrible vista which evolution opens up in the past; that long line of low, groveling, almost brainless forms, leading down and down from one bestial creature to another still lower, from mammal to reptile, from reptile to amphibian, from amphibian to fish, from fish to worm or mollusk, and the like, makes one shudder. We smell the slime and carnage. How the halo with which we have surrounded our origin vanishes!
Man has from the earliest period believed himself of divine origin, and by the divine he has meant something far removed from this earth and all its laws and processes, something quite transcending the mundane forces. He has invented or dreamed myths and legends to throw the halo of the exceptional, the far removed, the mystical, or the divine around his origin. He has spurned the clod with his foot; he has denied all kinship with bird and beast around him, and looked to the heavens above for the sources of his life. And then unpitying science comes along, and tells him that he is under the same law as the life he treads underfoot, and that that law is adequate to transform the worm into the man; that he, too, had groveled in the dust, or wallowed in the slime, or fought and reveled, a reptile among reptiles; that the heavens above him, to which he turns with such awe and reverence, or such dread and foreboding, are the source of his life and hope in no other sense than they are the source of the life and hope of all other creatures.
Revelation exalts man by making God his father, in whose image he was created; evolution degrades man by linking him to the lowest forms of life, and robbing him of a personal God. Revelation furnishes the only reliable information concerning the origin of man; evolution leaves him in doubt and supreme uncertainty, asking him to accept things which are not merely almost but altogether “unthinkable.”
How much better is the sure Word of God than the uncertainties of merely human science!
Let God Be Judge
By F. M. W.
How fortunate it is that God has not committed the destiny of mankind to the decision of their fellows! How partial would be our judgment, how superficial our reasoning, how personal our standard! We would judge our fellows by our own course of conduct. We could not consistently do otherwise. We would save our friends, and destroy our enemies. Personal prejudice and sentiment would largely bear sway.
True, there will come a time when the saints will have a part in the work of judgment, but that will be after their vision has been clarified from sin, their characters purified by God's grace, and their judgment quickened and enlightened by his Holy Spirit. Then they will be able to sit down, with the Lord Jesus Christ and the holy angels as guides, to take part in this solemn work. Until that hour, judgment on our part should be reserved. There, we may see things clearly; here, we view things dimly as through a veil. There, we shall be able to discern the motives and purposes which have possessed men's lives. We shall be able to look beneath the surface, and estimate matters at their intrinsic value; here, we must judge from the superficial, and take into account the outward acts as they appear to our clouded vision.
It behooves us now, therefore, to be generous in the estimate of our fellows. Christianity itself is broad, liberal, and generous. It does not condone sin, but it exercises great love for, and long patience with, the sinful. We are inclined sometimes in our narrow conceptions to pass judgment upon our fellows over the smallest details in their experience. Polite society may judge of a man's social standing by the cut of his coat or the style of his hat, and there is danger that we may even bring such minor matters as this into our estimate of Christianity.
God has called this people to a high standard of Christian living. He has called us also to peace; and peace in our homes and in the church of God is a thousand times more desirable than a spirit of contention and irritation caused by our continually harping over little details whose importance we think we see, but which our brethren do not appreciate. Let us not feel that God has laid upon us the burden of converting our fellows, or even our own families, to our conception of all the details of Christian living.
Let us teach principles. Let us exemplify those principles in our own lives, applying them just as closely to the details of our own experience as possible. Then let us live sweetly with those around us; let us think charitably; let us be kind and loving and generous. This course will make more for God and for truth and for righteousness than any spirit which unduly exalts our own conception of duty, and discounts the motives and purposes of our fellow men. We have quite enough to do if we can correctly determine our duty before God in all the details of life, leaving our brethren and sisters, by the aid of the Spirit of God, to determine their duty for themselves. Let God be judge.
F. M. W.
The Lesson of Russian Persecution
By C. M. S.
A STRIKING and impressive illustration of the working out of the “Christian nation” idea, “Christian patriotism,” “national Christianity,” etc., was recently set before the world in the printed experiences of the Russian Baptists while attending a convention of their brethren in America; and the people of America generally protest against the object-lesson. Our ideas have very much to do with our conduct toward our fellow men. Zealous superstition has often reddened its hands in the life-blood of its neighbors, has racked and burned them, and invented ingenious tortures to propagate its ideals. This suffering world has had long and terrible lessons in the working out of such ideals, and still there are multitudes ready at a moment to repeat the illustration. A few years ago we had another striking illustration of the working out of the same intolerant idea—at Kishinef, Russia; but right here in America great religious organizations are propagating the same ideal that, in its outworking, wrought such terrible havoc among the Jews of Kishinef, and has hung the chains of oppression on the Baptists in Russia. That ideal is national Christianity, religion-and-state union.
The feeling of the mass of the Russian people toward the Jews was crystallized into expression in these words by the periodical which did most to bring about the massacre:—
Become Christians and our brothers, and enjoy all the privileges of Russian citizenship. If not, you have one year to go where you please. After that term has expired, there must not remain a single Jew in Russia unless he is Christianized, and thereafter entrance to Russia will be forbidden to the Jews forever.
That this Russian declaration of purpose respecting the Jews is a “Christian11nation” purpose is evident. Notice the similarity between that “National Reform” utterance of the Orthodox Russian and the declarations of purpose uttered by American National Reform advocates, as follows:—
Our remedy for all these malefic influences is to have the government simply set up the moral law and recognize God’s authority behind it, and lay its hand on any religion that does not conform to it.—Rev. M. A. Gault, district secretary of the National Reform Association.
We might add, in all justice: If the opponents of the Bible do not like our government and its Christian features, let them go to some wild, desolate land, and in the name of the devil and for the sake of the devil, subdue it, and set up a government of their own on infidel and atheistic ideas; and then if they can stand it, stay there till they die.—Rev. E. B. Graham, vice-president National Reform Association.
We want state and religion, and we are going to have it. . . . Now we are warned that to engraft this doctrine upon the Constitution will be oppressive; that it will infringe the rights of conscience; and we are told that there are atheists, deists, Jews, and Seventh-day Baptists who would be sufferers under it. These all are, for the occasion, and so far as our amendment is concerned, one class.—Jonathan Edwards, D. D.
Mr. Edwards, after classing all who oppose the church-and-state idea of the National Reformers as atheists, declares:—
Tolerate atheism, sir? There is nothing out of hell that I would not tolerate as soon! The atheist may live, as I have said; but, God helping us, the taint of his destructive creed shall not defile any of the civil institutions of this fair land! Let us repeat, Atheism [in which he includes Jews and Christian denominations that believe in religious liberty] and Christianity are contradictory terms. They are incompatible systems. They can not dwell together on the same continent!
Now compare these utterances with the Russians’ declaration of purpose toward the Jews, and note the similarity of the sentiment, of the spirit which they breathe. It is the same spirit. It is simply “national Christianity,” the “Christian nation” idea, worked out—or, rather, working out; for when it is worked out, we see the blood-spattered dwellings, the ravished women and girls, the nameless cruelties, and the dead-strewn streets of Kishinef, and we see the scars of the shackles on the wrists and ankles of those who can not conscientiously make their religion conform to the religion of the state.
And wherefore do they thus slay and oppress?—Russia is a church-and-state government. If the Jews would embrace the doctrines of the Russian Orthodox Church,—become Greek Catholics instead of Jews,—then all the privileges of Russian citizenship would be granted them; the oppressive laws enacted against them would not apply; the fury of the people would be stayed; there would be no more Kishinefs. That is the meaning of the language in the expressed sentiments above quoted from the Russian spokesman. The animosity against the Jews is not because the Jews are money-lenders and merchants. The quotation shows that; for they would doubtless continue their occupations after “conversion” to the Greek Catholic Church. It is because the Jews are not yet “Christianized” that the so-called “Christian nation” of Russia has turned its hand against them.
If the Baptists would adopt the religion which the nation has adopted, and cease to preach and to teach anything save what the national church gave them permission to preach and to teach, they would not be exiled nor imprisoned nor whipped nor shackled. But what would be spiritual slavery, and the Baptists are not accepting it. What means it that a Russian Christian minister is now in this country attending a Christian convention under bonds of $2,500 to return to Russia and stand trial?—It means that the “Christian nation” idea is in full fruitage in that land; that “national Christianity” is in the ascendant there.
But the “Christian nation” idea might not work out so in America. It has worked out so already, only not to “the same excess of riot.” That idea wrought into the laws of our States has put the most conscientious, God-fearing, Christian men in this country into the chain-gangs and the prisons, side by side and cell-mates with ordinary criminals. What had they done?—Obeyed God, and worshiped him “according to the dictates of their own consciences,” which is supposed to be the sacred privileges of every American. But in doing that they had disregarded an ordinance of man which has set up for itself the claim of divine right over the consciences of men—the divine right to dictate religious ceremonies to Divinity, and enforce them under pains and penalties upon humanity. That human ordinance claiming a right which Divinity has never asserted over the consciences of men, is the Sunday law in the States and Territories. Hundreds of Christian men have suffered under it, and many are even now resting under its condemnation. If they would keep Sunday, they would not be molested; if the Jews of Russia would keep Sunday and join the Russian state church, they would not be persecuted. Verily, Satan is exceeding wroth against the Sabbath of Jehovah, whether kept by the Jew or the Christian.
It would be well for Americans to learn the lesson of Kishinef, and cast the beam out of their own eye before they seek to cast the mote out of the eye of Russia. It is all right to protest against the cruelties; but they are the result of the system, and the system is just as wrong in America as in Russia, and the cruelties and the system here are much less excusable. C. M. S.