The Commoner
JULY, 1922
t a nreventative is found; nothing spreads
e,e ,nn dlv than knowledgo of a preventative
Bref;,,pG No man wo.uld try to excuse himself
oramnir tn cive information on any subject
for li"? -, , ,l i. nulrlno-
of general nc , - o.
-a lienor :
c J .. ,
'Am I my broth-
P vnil it is the same with those who warn of in-
t."i.mi dancers as it is wuu uiusu wuu con-
l? . li.n hnrUlv or the financial
c nor ic i'"
welfare of
...1.11. f,,m,inro oro itnrt? with t.hn p.rnnn
,i thfii insects that attack them, while the la-Sr-nB
men are dealing with the things that
Inice the welfare of those who, work for
ffflces- while business men are taking notes of
(he things that make for weakness or prosper
tv the leaders in the intellectual world are as
uick t0 hang out danger signals and to spread
the news of any new method that promises im
provement in teaching.
WHY THIS TIMIDITY?
Why is it that timidity only manifests itself
In dealing with spiritual things? Morality is the
basis of society and religion is the foundation of
morality; why should there be hesitation in
speaking to one concerning his soul's welfare?
Is it merely a matter of religious coldness?
There are degrees of religious enthusiasm, run
ning all the way from freezing point to boiling
point. Those who are just above freezing have
no heat to give out; in proportion as "one's re
ligion is an active element in his life he feels
the spiritual urge that compels him to utter a
warning prompted by love and , grounded on
friendly concern for his fellows, .v.
"We know that we have passed from death
uuto life, hecause we love the brethren" that is
the test as to whether one has felt Christ's trans
forming power. And how is this love to be
manifested? "Brethren, if a man be overtaken
in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such
an one in the spirit of meekness; considering
thyself, lest thou also be tenipted." When one
is concerned as to his own condition he is na
turally alert to the condition of others.
"Perfect love casteth out fear.'r The danger
of being rebuffed will not prevent the doing of
one's duty if one has a vigorous sense of duty.
Just as Ezekiel was not to be ''afraid of their
words," or be "dismayed at their looks," so the
Christian is called to do his tfuty regardless of
the reception that may be accorded his words.
The condemnation of his own conscience is more
to be feared than any criticism that fidelity to
duty may call forth.
THE FOUNDATION OF LIFE
Thus far our text deals with the wicked who
has not turned from his way; now it turns to the
righteous man who falls.
If. after starting right, the rjghteous man
turns back and dies in his sins, his religious
deeds will not be remembered.
"Again, When a righteous man doth turn
from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and
lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die:
because thou hast not given him warning, he
snalt die in his sins, and his righteousness which
ne hath done shall not be remembered."
th ? wll lay GmPhasis upon deeds .rather
latio aCCGDt the Buddhist method of calcu-
iw?Uid(U!i8m sets the g00d deeds off against the
jai ueeds and makes the accummulated merit a
rawer of mathematics. The good deeds must
uuuveigii the bad deeds; the account can be cast
L i end oC each day or week or year. If
m V excee(ls Ul evil, there is a balance to
f n! I, tho evil exceeds the good, the balance
Sie wrong side of the ledeer.
mli I3.1' Christianity nor Judaism counte
wnceB the elimination of faith; it is the foun
reiupi.n which life is built. If one sins and
out nil lls sins are forgiven; they are blotted
if l! i , begins lie anew. By the same rule,
ttorlrQ ?us man turns back to sin, his good
vh Ph ?rG , blotted out. It is the direction in
that L ? s going that counts, not the distance
"at lie has gone.
heaven n!ai! is born again, turns his face toward
the nnnf d ll'avels straight forward, nothing in
turns i, I?11 ,mar llis Progress; and so, if one
Hon , on God and travels toward perdi-
vehim that he has done in the past can
One nil rttuvjua liULra liuujJiNso
criticism fG of these two verses has excited
lim-.UK aud I lay a stumblintr block before
him.
sense oMf.a8su'me to have a more delicate
touch Hhini8 , e than the Bible's God are very
"tumbling i ?d ,at the thought of God laying a
Words out iJ? ln one's way. They take the
ilder th t heIr connection and refuse to con
e co"text. The beginning of the sentence
SJm ,htakShUhen a riBhtG0US man dotb turn
rJf ghtf ousuess and commit iniquity "
God does not lay a stumbling block in the way
thni r ghteoU8 U 8 the way o : tho wicked
that He lays a stumbling block ickeu
In the administration of justice hunvin Fnv
attempted to lead an honest man into crime it
would be subjected to just criticism In t when
the government lays a stumbling block in the
tion of justice. If one decides to "turn from his
righteousness and commit iniquity," he has no
reason to complain of a stumbling block that en
traps him.
Those who defend the wicked to the extent of
criticising the stumbling blocks are much in tho
position of the friends' of criminals who become
indignant when the government entraps those
who are engaged in the violation of the law.
It is not necessary that a man who does not
believe in God shall be convinced of the justice
of the Almighty. The goodness of God need not
be established by proof offered before a biased
tribunal; "no thief ever felt the halter draw with
good opinion of the law;" God's goodness is
proven by experience "taste and see that the
Lord is good."
Those who commit their way to Him and con
form to His laws will have no reason to complain
of either His justice or His mercy.
HISTORY'S MOST NOTABLE DREAM
By WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
BIBLE TEXT LESSON FOR JULY 9
(Daniel 11:30-45, 47)
This is the dream; and we will tell the interpre
tation thereof bqfore the kins.
Thou O king:, art a king of kings; for the God
of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and
strength, and glory.
And wheresoever the children of men dwell, tho
beasts of the field and tho fowls of heaven hath he
given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler
over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
And after thee shall rise another kingnom in
ferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass,
which shall bear rule over all the earth.
And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron;
forasmuch as iron breaketh ln pieces and subdueth
all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall
it break in pieces and bruise.
And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part
of potter's clay, and part of iron, tho kingdom
shall be divided, but there shall bejn it of tho
strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest tho
mixed with the miry clay.
And as the toes of the feet were part of .ron
and part of clay, so the kinedom shall be partly
strong, and partly broken. ,,,.,,
And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry
clay they shall mingle themselves with the seed
of men: but they shall not cleave one to another,
even as iron is not mixed with clay.
And in the days of these kings shall the God of
heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never bo de
stroVed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other
people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all
these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut
out of the mountain without hands, and that it
break in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the
silver and the gold; the great God hath made
known to the king what shall come to pass here
after: and the dream is certain, and the interpro-
lath? ldnganswered unto Daniel, and said, Of a
,M,n, it s that your God is a God of gods, and a
Lord of kings, and a revealor of secrets, seeing
thou couldst reveal this secret.
Today we meet another of the Bible's great
characters, one of the most picturesque of the
great galaxy of immortal men and women who
ffiersUnKut as one of the greatest of the
i T in thP sense in which the word is most
X only mZevToa While all of the Bible
characters described as prophets forecasted com
t'l Daniel is conspicuous for the number
iZSoieftlB as to the future
"TJ It ha- bye de-
PpfSJSmeStW t cannot be elimi
tedoTufstdking a vital blow at the verac
ity of the Scriptures. wis.
The prop lets laid no cidim gi .
?m;th?eituw On tlu contrary, they modestly
into the iutuie. uii J" They spoke accord-
disclaimed ability to fowaeoi y i and gaye
ins as the truth wasieveeduitlfor theIr knowl
to the Almighty entire credit i ncatIon8
edge of cominEeven s in continuing endow.
came, not all at ; once, ab ,nforma.
ment, but in wonse to app tQ them
tion, or as a resun
directly from God. we mVLBt decide
In the M1W as a real th,Wg'
whether we will accept i
or roject ft as fiction. This Ih one of tho test '
questions that enable uh to dotormlno the faith f
of Christians. An overwhelming majority ot
those who call themselves Christians accept thb
Bible as tho revealed will ot Clod; they And in I
it truths uttered by men divinely Inspired.
There aro some, however, who attempt to ex
plain away all that Is miraculous or supernatur
al. Consistency requires that we apply the sumo
standard to all parts of the Bible. If one ropoct
the miracles as inconsistent with any given lino
of reanonirig, he is almost sure to rejoct the.
prophecies for tho name reason. If one don lot
that Clod performed tho miracles recorded In Liu
Bible he usually denies the truth ot all passage
that deal with the supernatural. Skeptics roa
son that if God would not perforin miraclorf
through men Ho would not talk to men and ro4
veal through them future events which are be-r
yond the reach of the reason or the knowlodg
of the uninspired.
One of the proofs of the Eible's authority Ik
to be found in the fulfillment of prophecy; the
explanation of Christ's mission upon earth rests
to a considerable extent on prophecy and Its fulJ
fillment. If we accept the Bible as true we must
accept prophecy as not only a fact but as a fact
of tremendous importance. The same logic that
leads one to reject prophecy as false will lead to
the rejection of practically everything else In tho,
Bible that distinguishes it from uninspired
books.
Those who question the communication of
God's thoughts to man will do well to study the
dreams of tho Bible. In olden times tho dream
opened tho door to the supernatural, and It may
do so today.
WATER VS. WINE
The record of Daniel's life begins with his en
trance into captivity. He was not only of a high
family but so precocious that at tho ago of 12
or 15 he impressed the officers of Nebuchadnez
zar's court as a boy of great promise. He and
others of promise of his own race were put In a
group by themselves and received special care.
The character of Daniel manifested itself at
the very beginning. Ho and his .companions
were to be supplied with tho rich fqbds and tho
choice wines from the King's table,' but Daniel
protested and asked that he and three of his
companions, also of tho children , of Judah
Shadrach, Meshack and Abed-nego be given the
simple fare to which water was substituted for
wine.
The overseer explained to Daniel that ho could
not do so without risk to himself, because (as
he thought) they would not, If they lived upon
the simple diet which they preferred, look as
well as those who shared the King's meat and
drink. At this day we are amused that any in
telligent person would think that wine would
improve any person's appearance.
Daniel asked that they be allowed ten days to
.prove by actual test that water and the simple
food were as good as the rich food and drink
from tho King's table. Daniel had evidently
made a very favorable impression upon the over
seer, and the latter agreed to the test, with the
understanding that they would obey orders if in
physical appearance they were not equal to those
who ate at the King's table.
This is one of the great tests of history; it won
for Daniel and his companions the right to ab
stain from drink and to use simple foods, and
2,500 years of history have failed to disturb the
verdict.
A VANISHED DREAM
Daniel began well, and he never made a mis
step, thanks not to his judgment but to his re
liance upon the God whom he trusted.
He was educated in all the learning of the
time, and rose, step by step, until he became
known as one of the wise men. Then came a
dream that troubled Nebuchadnezzar. In the
night a vision passed through his mind and
vanished. It disturbed him, but he could
not recall what he had seen in his sleep.
He sent for the magicians, astrologers, sor
cerers and Chaldeans, and'asked them not only
to interpret the dream but to bring it forth from
the darkness and present it before him, threat
ing them with death if they failed. It was a
cruel demand, such as only an Oriental despot
would make. It gives us some idea of the arbi
trary power exercised by the rulers of that day.
Of ccurse the wise men were helpless. They
protested against the injustice of the require
ment, but the King was unmoved.
Daniel, who was included in the decree, asked
for time, and promised to comply with the
King's requirement, without any doubt as to
God's willingness to disclose to him both . the
dream and the interpretation. He called upon
his three friends to unite with him In prayer to
"A . t
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