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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 19, 1910)
7- fi progress,, of Christianity . is ot, as rapid, any where a'p wo would liko to have 'it. Moro than half of tho adult males of the United Stated dofinot attend any church, and that, too, In a land whero wo boo on ovory hand ovidonces of the advantages which Christianity has hrought to our country. If, where the environment tends to bring people into the church, so many remain outside, wo .must not bo surprised if the spread of our religion is -oven more slow among the heathen where-it is often necessary . forgone to leave home and friends and to sub mit to social and business ostracism to become a follower of Christ. But in spite of all the opposition mot by the missionaries Christianity is spreading. Tho growth of Christianity from its beginning on tho bonks of the Jordan, until today, when its con verts are baptized in all rivers of the earth is steady and continual. A- fourth objection is advanced by a few, namely' that our missionaries may by their mis takes got' us into trouble with othor nations. Of course, people are liable to make mistakes, whether they live abroad or at home. Wo all make mistakes, tho non-Christian as well as the Christian, the layman aB well as tho preach er, and a minister may mako mistakes in Asia as w,pll as in the United States, but I am con vfnqod. that tho good that tho missionaries- do far, i outweighs any harm that can come from theJr mistakes. They make us more friends than enemies. Tho Americans who go into for eign lands to mako money are much more apt tq,, involve us in diplomatic controversies than th,o missionaries who devote themselves to the uplifting of tho people among whom they go. The cause of missions has been abundantly vindicated by experience and the representatives carry a priceless message Our missionaries in Asia are entrusted with the important -duty of carrying the gospel back to the land of its birth. The Bible, both the old testament and the new, came from Asia; tho Holy Land, where tho prophets walked and whore Jesus taught and wrought, is Asiatic territory. The Saviour complained that, when he came unto Hi3 own, His, own received Him not; but now that Christianity hag vindicated itself in the new Wjprld' it roturns to conquer the old. ' Tho leaders of thought in the Orient arp ac customed to philosophizing; they defend their religions as moral codes, and the representatives of Christianity are, therefore, the more sure of triumph in the end, because they represent the highest code of morals, tho most perfect system of, philosophy, over prpmulgated a system which, fits into every human need and is world wide in its application. As Elijah overcame the prophets of Baal with his prayer test, so our missionaries can chal lenge the non-Christian world to accept, as the baBis of comparison, tho test set up by the Nazarene: "By their fruits ye shall know them." The representatives of Christianity can pre sent conclusive proof of the superiority of the system which they offer. There has been little, if any, progress in the non-Christian world during the last fifteen hundred years that is not tracdablo to the influence of tho Christian religion; it is tho leaven which ia gradually but surely leavening the entire lump. While other religions are withdrawing their outposts, Chris tianity is expanding, and the unselfish character of the Christian spirit is shown in the fact that schools spring up wherever it Is planted and all the energies are quickened. A religion that does not make one fruitful in, good works is not worthy to be .called a re ligion. While the purposes and motives of men are invisible, these purposes and .motives manifest themselves In life; .they are embodied in deeds. Paul declared that Christ came to bring life, as- well as immortality to light and, if higher authority is. desired, it can be found in the language of the Master Himself, who, in defin ing His mission, told His hearers that Ho had come "That they might have life, and have it inore abundantly" There is need of Christ In the present life to Interpret life for us. We need Christ in the the western world, and no one who has visited the non-Christian countries qan doubt that there is need there, also of Christ's conception of life. Tho happiness and welfare of the people will bo advanced by the light which Christ's teach ings and example throw upon life's duties and, responsibilities. Those who enjoy the blessings of Christian civilization must, therefore, out of ; gratitude as well as because of diroqt command, bring the Bible to the attention of those who know it not. .The idea that the character of a tree is to hedetqnniued Jyt tys fruit jpne of the most ' The Commoner. fundamental principles in our study of nature runs through tho Bible. In the last book of tho Word, and in the last chapter of the book, wo aro told that tho tree of life bears "twelve manner of fruits," and that it yields its fruits twelve times a year. Tho verso concludes with a declaration, suggestive of missionary work, namely, that the leaves of the tree are for tho "healing of tho nations." If Christianity is to bo tho tree of life to the world it must be a fruitful tree; if the indi vidual Christian is to be a worthy representa tive of the tree he must not only bear fruit, but he must bear such fruit that all may see that he is one of those of whom it might be said: "Ye are .the branches." The fruits of tho spirit arc so numerous that it is difficult to select a limited number and describe them as the most important ones, but 1 venture to submit twelve propositions which are fundamental twelve truths which must be woven into the Christian lifo if that life is to be "neither barren nor unfruitful." These truths may be added to indefinitely but the num ber can not easily be reduced, since Christ Him self has placed emphasis upon each and every one of them. First Belief in God, as Creator, Preserver and Father. The existence of God need not be proven; it is a self evident truth. "In the beginning was God" we can not go beyond that. We must commence somewhere; wo must start with something, and tho Christian starts with Jehovah. The mystery of creation is not made clear by assuming that matter and force are eternal; the Christian begins with a moro rea sonable assumption, namely, that God is eternal. If it is difficult to understand liow there can be an all-powerful, all-wise, and all-loving God the Creator of all things, it is still more diffi cult to understand how there can be a world, such as we see about us, without such a su preme and eternal being as its author and director. It is easier for the human mind to believe in such a God than to believe in any other theory of creation hence the almost uni versal belief in a Creator. . "The heavens de clare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handiwork." His power, .His wis dom, and His love are all manifested in the provision He has made for the welfare of His children. And how dependent we are upon Him! "Give us this day our daily bread," is not a formal petition. If He ceased to gather the mists from the ocean and form them into clouds, all life would disappear from the earth, but we have His promise of the early and the later rain, of seed time and harvest. If He drew a veil between us and the Sun, night would bring with it a sleep that would know no wak- -ingt but light and heat are meted out to us each day according to our needs, and He gives as freely to the humblest as to the greatest. No wonder He is called Father, and Father of all, whether, they acknowledge their indebtedness to-' Him or not. Christ draws a vivid picture of the Father's care, when He tells us that even the hairs of our head aro numbered, and what tenderness and comfort in the assurance that He is more willing than an earthly father to give good gifts unto His children! Tho relations which man fixes between him self and God is the most important influence that enters into a human life; and it means a revolution in the life when this relation is changed. Man needs the inner strength that comes with the conscious presence of an all seeing God; man needs the inner strength sup plied by a sense of responsibility to a Creator for every thought and word and deed. If those, thus fortified, sometimes in the presence of temptation fall, how helpless and hopeless must those be who rely upon their- own strength alone! Second Belief in Christ, as Son and Saviour, and as "the way, the truth and the life." , The divinity of Christ is a material part of the Christian creed; it can not be omitted. If Christ is to be a Saviour, or even an authorita tive example, He must be first a Son. It is not necessary to rely upon His birth, upon His miracles, or even upon His resurrection to prove His claim to sonBhip. In fact the natural process of reasoning is to confirm the Bible ac count of His birth, His miracles and His resur rection by showing what He said, what He did, and what He was. When He is understood, npthing said of Him will seem impossible. He is a fact which can not be disputed tho greatest fact of history. That a mere man should have said what He said, should have done what H,e did, and should have died as He lived andj died VOLUME 10, NUMBER 32 is incomprehensible. Reared in a carpenter's shop; without- contact with tlie sages of other lands and without knowledge of the sages dead except m He gained it from the Old Testament' He, at the age of thirty, announced His messiah ship, gathered a few disciples about Him, Bet forth a code of morals surpassing anything known before surpassing any code that the non Christian world can formulate today and then was crucified. And yet from this beginning His religion spread until millions have become His followers and have been willing to die rather than sur render the faith which He put into their hearts. Here is One "who, for 1900, years, has exerted an increasing influence over tho hearts and minds and lives of men One who wields moro power today than ever before! How can it be explained? It is not' a matter to scoff at; the question, "What think ye of Christ?" is not a question to be brushed aside; it is a question that must be answered. It is easier to believe Him divine than to explain in any other way His words, His life and His death. And the same conclusion is reached by an other course of reasoning. The work' to be done was more than a man's task. No man, aspiring to be a God, could save his fellows from their own selfishness and sin, fortify them against the temptations that come with appetite and passion, and bring them into harmony with the divine will. It needed a God, condescending to be a man, to work in the human heart that continuing miracle which is witnessed when one begins to love things he hated, and to hate tho things he loved wheti one Who, before the change, would have sacrificed a world for his ambition, stands ready, after the change, to give his life for a principle and finds pleasure in making sacrifice for his convictions. Neither could a mere man furnish an example sufficiently binding upon the conscience. The best of men have their limitations, their frail ties, and their easily besetting sins; and there is danger that these will be imitated instead of the virtues. As the plant, to repeat what an other has said, reaches down and draws inani mate matter up into the realm of life, so we need some, diyine power to reach. , down and draw us up into the realm Of 'spirit:, Man can respond to a summons "from aboyeVut he has' no physical Or mental force witniri'him which can, unaided, carry him to mo'ral heights. The foundations of character are laid in youth. Most of us receive our life-inclinations from environment before we are grown before the reason is sufficiently developed to be trusted as a guide. Youth needs some book to which it can refer in times of doubt and say: "It is written;" youth needs to lean upon an arm stronger than its own and to hear a voice that commands. "Lord to whom shall we go? Thou hast tho words of eternal life.' Even in our maturer years we need an ideal which defies complete embodiment in the flesh. It is a low ideal that can bo easily reached; when we overtake our ideal, our progress stops. It is the glory of the Christian ideal, embodied in the words and life of our Saviour, that while it is within sight of the weakest and the lowliest, it is yet so high that the best and the noblest are kept with their faces turned ever upwards; and Christian civilization , is the highest that the world has ever known because it rests upon a conception of life which, makes that life a con tinuous ascent, with no limit to human advance ment and development. Third Belief in the Holy Spirit, God's mes senger to man, and man's comforter and in spiration. If God is a Spirit, and we worship Him in spirit and in truth, it is only natural that there should be some means of communication be tween God and His worshippers. Christ taught that such a line tof, communication could be es tablished, and no one will dispute it who has learned how to pray. It is not necessary that I should be able to explain how, in olden times, the prophets spake as the Lord commanded them, or how the Bible was written by inspiration; man could see the lightning's flash and feel the shock long before he understood the laws which govern the ac tion of that wonder-working fluid which we call electricity; so, until I have more complete knowledge of the subject, I am content to know that there is an unseen Power which can. speak peace to the troubled heart and renew the flag , ging zeal sometimes manifesting itself in the "stilly small voice," sometimes pouring itself out .in a pentecostal flood. r Fouj Man's highest purpose; ,to "seek 1 t V -