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.VOLUME 7, NUMBER 3
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ual mid In tho group of Individuals. Materialise
luivo attempted to build tip a system of morality
upon the IiiimIh of enlightened self-interest, 'lhcy
would Imvi! man figure out by liiatliemaUcH Unit
II pn.VH htm to abstain from wrong doing; they
oven Inject mi clement, of hoIIIhIiiiosh Into altruism,
bill the moral system elaborated by the mnterlnl
IhIk hiiH .several (lefeels. First, Its virtues are bor
rowed from nwiil systems based upon religion;
second, as II rents upon argument rather than upon
....ii. ,.,.n,. ti t,,u ki.i iiMtwtiil in llio vnnnir imd b.V
the time the young are able to follow their reason,
they have already become set In their ways; and
third, one wlnne morality is based upon a nice
calculation of benellls to be secured spends time
ii ...ii.,,. ,i..,i i... .ii.vull utwiiul lii iU'fmn.
UII IIIIHIICIIUU UN IllHI in- niimnvi n'i" "
Those who keep a book account of their good deeds
seldom do enough good to Justify keeping book.
Morality Is the power of endurance in man:
and a religion which teaches personal responsi
bility to (Jod gives an unyielding strength to mor
ality. There Is a powerful restraining influence,
in the belief thai an all seeing eye scrutinizes
every act of the individual.
1 passed through a period of skepticism when
1 was in college; the theories of the scientists con
cerning the creation confused me. KuL I examined
these theories and found that they all begin with
an assumption. The materialist, assumes matter
and force as pre-existing and he assumes force
working on matter and upon these assumption
builds a solar system. I have a right to assume
as well as he, and 1 prefer to assume a Designer
back of the design a Creator back of creation.
No matter how long-drawn-out the period of crea
tion, so long as Cod stands behind it my faith in
Jehovah cannot be shaken. In Genesis It is said
that CJod created tho heaven and the earth, and
I shall stand on that proposition until some one
presents a theory that gives a more reasonable be
ginning. The miracles also disturbed me and I am in
clined to think that the miracle Is the test ques
tion with the Christian. Christ cannot be separated
from the miraculous; Ills birth, His ministrations,
and Ills resurrection, all Involve the miraculous,
and the change -which His religion works in the
human heart Is a continuing miracle. Eliminate
the miracles and Christ becomes merely a human
being and Ills gospel is stripped of divine au
thority. The miracle raises two questions, Can Cod per
form a miracle? and, Would He want to? The
ihs t Is easy to answer. A God who can make a
World can do anything He wants to do with it.
The power to perform miracles is necessarily Im
plied in the power to create. But would God want:
to perforin a miracle? this is the question which
has given most of the trouble. The more I have
considered it the less Inclined 1 am to answer in
the negative. To say that God would not perforin
a miracle is to assume a more intimate knowledge
with God's plans and purposes than I can claim
to have. 1 will not deny that' God does perform a
miracle or may perforin one merely because 1 .lo
not know how or why He does It. Tho fact that
we are constantly learning of the existence of new
forces suggests the possibility that God may oper
ate through forces yet unknown to us, and the
mysteries with which wo deal every day warn me
that faith is as necessary as sight. Who would
have credited a century ago the stories that are
now told of the wonder working electricity? For
ages man had known the lightning, but only to
fear it; now, this Invisible current is generated by
a man-made machine, Imprisoned In a man-made
wire and made to do the bidding of man. Wo are
Avon able to dispense with the wire and hurl words
through space, and tho X-ray has enabled us to
look through substances which were supposed, un
til recently, to exclude all light. The miracle is
not more mysterious than many of tho things with
which man now deals it is simply different. Tho
immaculate conception is not more mysterious
than any other conception it is simply unlike; nor
Is the resurrection of Christ more ' mysterious
than the myriad resurrections which mark each
annual seed-time.
It is sometimes said that God could not sus
pend one of Ills laws without stopping the Uni
verse, but do we not suspend or overcome the law
of gravitation every day? Every time we move
n foot or lift a weight, wo temporarily interfere
with the operation of the most universal of nat
ural laws and yet the world is not disturbed.
Science has taught us so many things that wo
are empted to conclude that we know every thing
but there is really a great unknown which Is still
unexplored and that which we have lear ed oug
to ncreaso our reverence rather than our egotism
Science has disclosed some of the nu chhury if
the universe, but science has not vet roveSed to
us the great secret-the secret of life it i, t
bo found in every blade of grass, in every inseef
in emy bird and in every animal, as well 11 iS
let we know no mora about tne secret of life t
The Commoner.
they know in the beginning. Wo live, wo plan;
we have our hopes, our fears; and yet In a moment
a change may come over any one of us and then
this body will become a mass of lifeless clay.
What is It that, having, we live and, having not,
we arc as the clod? Wo know not and yet tho
progress of the race and the civilization which wo
now behold are the work of men and women who
have not solved the mystery of their own lives.
And our food, must we understand it before we
eat it? If we refused to cat any tiling until we
could understand the mystery of its growth, we
would die of starvation. But mystery does not
bother us In the dining room; it is only in the
church that it is an obstacle. v
I was eating a piece of watermelon some
months ago and was struck with its beauty. I
took some of the seed and weighed them, and found,
that It would require some live thousand seed to
weigh a pound. And then I applied mathematics
to a forty pound melon. One of these seeds, put
into the ground, when warmed by the sun and
moistened by the rain goes to work; it gathers
from somewhere two hundred thousand times its
own weight and, forcing tills raw material through
a tiny stem, constructs a watermelon. It covers
tho outside with a coating of green; inside of the
green it puts a layer of white, and within the
white, a core of red, and all through the red it
scatters seeds r-ach one capable of continuing tho
work of reproduction. I cannot explain the water
melon but I eat it and eiijoy it. Everything that
grows tells a like story of infinite power. Why
should I deny that a divine hand fed a multitude
with a few loaves and fishes when I see hundreds
of millions fed every year by a hand which con
verts the seeds scattered over tho field into an
abundant harvest? We know that food can be mul
tiplied in a few months' time, shall we deny the
power of the Creator to eliminate the element of
time, when wo have gone so far in eliminating
the element of space?
Those who question the miracle also question
the theory of atonement; they assert that it does
not accord with their Jdea of justice for one to
die for others. Let each one bear his own sins
and the punishments due for them, they saj'. The
doctrine of vicarious suffering is not a new one;
It is as old as the race. That one should suffer
for others is one of the most familiar of principles
and we see the principle illustrated every day of
our lives. Take the family, for instance; from tho
day the first child is born for twenty-five or thirty
years the mother's time is devoted to her offspring,
she sacrifices for them, she surrenders herself to
them. Is it because she expects them to pay her
back? Fortunate for the parent and fortunate for
the child if the latter has an opportunity to repay
in part the debt it owes. But no child can com
pensate a parent for a parent's care. In the course
of nature the debt Is paid, not to the parent, but
to tho next generation, each generation suffering
and sacrificing for the one following.
Nor Is this confined to the family. Every stop
In advance has been made possible by those who
have been y, illing to sacrifice for posterity. Free
dom of speech, freedom 'of the press, freedom of
conscience and free government have all been won
for the world by those who were willing to make
sacrifices for their fellows. So well established
is this doctrine that we do not regard any one
as great unless ho recognizes how unimportant
his life is in comparison with the problems with
which he is conned ed.
The seeming paradox: he that saveth his life
shall lose It and he that loseth his life for my sake
shall find it, has an application wider than that
usually given to it; it is .n epitome of history.
Those who live only for themselves live little lives
but those who give themselves for the advance
ment of things greater than themselves find a
larger life than tho one surrendered. Wendel
Phillips gave expression to the same idea when
ho said, "now prudently most men sink into
nameless graves, while now and then a few for
get themselves into immortality."
Instead of being an unnatural plan, the plan of
salvation s in perfect harmony .with human nature
as we understand it. Sacrifice is the language of
ovo and Christ, in suffering for the world, adopted
he only means of reaching the heart, and this can
bo demonstrated, not only by theory but bv ex
perience, for tho story of His life, His teaching
Is sufferings and His death has boon tomsWi
into every language and everywhere it has
touched the heart. s
But if I were going to present an argument in
favor of the divinity of Christ, I would not begin
with miracles or theory of atonement. I wonkl
begin as Carnegie Simpson begins in his hn -ontlt
ed "The Fact of Christ." Comnenc ng with
tho fact that Christ lived he points out hat ouo
cannot contemplate this undisputed fact without
teeling that in some way this fact is relate to
those now living. As he studies the character of
Christ he becomes conscious of certain virt,,
which stand out in bold relief, purtty, humim a
forgiving spirit nud unfathonable love. The au
thor is correct. Christ presents an example of pur
ity in thought and life and man conscious of his
own imperfections and grieved over his shortcom
ings finds inspiration in One who was tempted in
all points like as we are, and yet without sin. I
am not sUre but that wo can find just here a way
of determining whether one possesses the true
spirit of a Christian. If he finds in the sinless
ness of Christ a stimulus to greater effort and
higher living he is indeed a follower; if, on tha
other hand, he resents the reproof which the purity
of Christ offers he is likely to question the divinity
of Christ in order to excuse himself for not being
a follower. , '
Humility is a rare virtue. If one is rich he is
apt to bo proud of his riches; if he has distin
guished ancestry, he is apt to be proud of his
lineage; if he is well educated, he is apt to be
proud of his learning. Some one has suggested
that if one becomes humble, ho soon becomes proud
of his-humility. Christ was the very personifica
tion of humility.
The most difficult of all the virtues to cultivate
is the forgiving spirit. Revenge seems to be nat
ural to the human heart; to want to get even with
an enemy is a common sin. It has even been pop
ular to boast of vindictiveness; it was once in
scribed on a monument to a hero that he had re
paid both friends and enemies more than he had
received. This was not the spirit of Christ. He
taught forgiveness and in that incomparable prayer
which he left as a model for our petitions He
measured our forgiveness by our willingness to
forgive, ne uot only taught forgiveness but He
exemplified His teachings in Ills life. " When those
who persecuted him brought Him to the most dis
graceful of all deaths, His spirit of forgiveness
rose above His sufferings and He prayed, Father
forgive them for they know not what they do.
But love is the foundation of -Christ's creed.
The world had known love before, parents had
loved children and children, parents; husband had
loved wife and wife, husband; and friend had loved
friend; but Jesus gave a new definition of love.
His love was as boundless as the sea; its limits
were so far-flung that even an enmy could not
travel beyond it. Other teachers sought to regu
late the lives of their followers by rule and form
ula, but Christ's plan was, first to purify the heart
and then to leave love to direct the footsteps.
What conclusion is to be drawn from the life,
the teachings and the death of this historic figure?
Reared in a carpenter shop; with no Iniowledge of
literature, save Bible literature; with no acquaint
ance Avith philosophers living or with the writings
of sages dead, this young man gathered disciples
about Him, promulgated a higher code of morals
than the "world had ever known before, and pro
claimed Himself the Messiah. He taught and per
formed miracles for a few brief months and then
was crucified; His disciples were scattered and
many of them put to death; His claims were dis
puted, His resurrection denied and His followers
persecuted and yet from this beginning His re
ligion has spread until millions take His name
with reverence upon their lips and thousands have
been willing to die rather than surrender the faith
which He put into their hearts. How shall we
account for Him? What think ye of Christ? It
is easier to believe Him divine than to explain in
any other way what He said and did and was.
I was thinking n few years ago of the Christ
mas which was approaching and of Him in whose
honor the day is celebrated. I recalled the mes
sage, Peace on earth, good will to men, and then
my thoughts ran back to the prophecy uttered cen
turies before His birth, in which He was described
as the Prince of Peace. To re-iuforco my memory
I re-read the prophecy and found immediately fol
lowing the verse which I had forgotten a .verse
which declares that of the increase of His peace
and government there shall be no end, for, adds
Isaiah, He shall judge His people with justice and
with judgment. Thinking of the prophecy I
have selected this theme that I may present spmo
of the reasons which lead me to believe that Christ
has lully earned the title, The Prince of Peace
and that in the years to come it will be more and
more applied to Him. Faith In Him brings peace
to the heart and His teachings when applied will
m-ing peace between man and man.
AH tho world is in search of peace; every heart
that ever beat has sought peace and many have
been the methods employed to find it. Some have
thought to purchase it with riches and they have
labored to secure wealth, hoping to find peace
when they were able to go where they pleased and
buy what they liked. Of those who have endeav
ored to purchase peace with money, the large ma
jority have failed to secure the money. But what
has been the experience of those who have been
successful in accumulating money? They all tell
nfXinSt0l7' )'W" lhut they sPnt the first half
Sim W VCS 7h:g t0 gCt m0ny fl'0m 0tllerS all
t e last half, trying to keep others from getting
their money and that they found peace in neither
MXtali.