The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-04-19

thority Of God. Law and conscience were her
human functions. She could brook no rival
/ Other gods gods Other affairs were
profane. Proud, arrogant and contemptuous, she
scorned the LOWERED intruder On the other
hand. Christianity confronted paganism. Men
reared in the faith Of gods many" were the
Cicero, Aristotle Socrates and Pythagoras was the
| brightness in which they walked Reason blended
| with imagination and made fantastic pictures
of God, human life and the world.
Christianity got no favor save challenges
| Suspicion and persecution were the certif-
| Gates of its early growth. The simple religion
| of Jesus of Nazareth was soon called upon to
measure swords with the astute schools of spec
| ulative thought that had reigned in the world for
| six hundred years. Dream, myth, legend feble,
! poem and tradition made subtle and bewilder-
! ing host so that although Christianity was tri-
umphant against all Odds she nevertheless got
| her own veins tainted with foreign blood and
| contracted many bias and not a little coloring
| from which she is not free to this day.
/ The early fathers were hybrid race and be-
/ queathed theology whose mixed blood is max
| of the nineteenth century. The pagan
| eggs in the Christian nest are still
| Matching, and the war of incompatibles is still
| waging. Slavery and tyranny went to the wall
ant So verify believe that the God of provi-
dence is marshaling the forces of reason and
/ righteousness to drive from the Christian temple
the tripod and the pantheon.
| Next CnrlStianlty Tell among IanaClcS ana got
delirious on asceticism. One half of human nature
must be exercised to save the other half.
1 Religion went into deserts, lived in caves,
stood on high pillars in air, ate worms and rue,
shut herself up in cells wore rags, had no home,
hated the world her Master came to save. Old
superstitions found easy access to faith in such
conditions, and struck their fast colors into dis
| eased credulity. Superstition was succeeded by
scho!asticism. Here the creedless Christ en-
| countered the creed-makers the system builders,
/ pfarS Of Ioin nj viii fnni
| predecessors, they took dream, fable. supersti-
| ton. Greek metaphysics, Roman politics. ORR
| entail poetry, Hebrew legend, and, mixing them
| with John and Paul, reared q castle for the de-
| Tense of ''the faith once delivered" And there
stand the frowning walls still, and to this day
the world is debating whether they are fastness
| or prison.
When the Reformation came, it was more of a
violent protest against old abuses, practiced in
the name of God, than a well-ordered exodus
| from the house of bondage. But he who enters
| the fields OF literature, and social and political
life to-day, will find that medieval theology has
had its day; and so have medieval humanity and
civilization. They still hold somewhat, as period
blends with period, or the habits Of one genera
| ton lap over on to the next But the life of the
world has outlived their necessity, and they are
virtually obsolete. The old bugles sound, and
the old warehouses neigh for the battle
| but they rally no fresh recruits. If history has
| her laws and is not mere incoherent drift Of
| happenings; Ii God of law and order Is under
|
there is running through it all some grand law
| of connection by which God is perpetualy and
progressively interpreted, and by which man is
| set forth as progressive being, advancing from
| stage to stage toward divine standard held in
| Gods ideal conception at first Man is in
| his nature through all time. His supreme me-
cessity and essential element of life is God. The
| great struggle of humanity with adverse and Sa-
| tanic powers is to know God, whom to know
| Alright Is life eternal"
| The military evolutions that jar the air Of
| ChristeDdom in modern times, the great interest
/ that centers about Gladstone and all his move
ments, and the feverish agitation at this time in
| our own country growing out Of the encroach-
ments OF an aristocracy of wealth upon the rights
| of the poor man of toll, all mean just the
conflict of pure, simple Christianity with Chris
tianity adulterated, distorted and caricatured
| The faith and enlightenment of our times ought
to do two great things: First, to show that pure
Christianity is not responsible for the nonsense,
fanaticism, superstition, bigotry. intolerance and
pussianimities which men have put forth in her
name. Second, to show that the religion which
| makes the best people, which gives to the world
the best type of manhood and womanhood, is the
best religion.
"And now, brethren, commend you to God.
and to the word of His grace, which is able to
build you up, and to give you an inheritance
| among oil them which are sanctifed." Gods
plan is TO build up men. Gods building does not
| refer 80 much to outward organizations, but
| rather to the building up or carrying up, of the
| whole structure of character and divine man
hood. If this is done, the outward forms of
| government, civil and ecclesiastical, viii grow
about them Gods idea Of building is, first, to
build manhood from the heart outward, and
| then, out OF this, and as a means OF conserving
| it, to build the family and the church, society
| and the nation. The Christian father and
mother must make the Christian home, where
love. intelligence and purity surround and bless
likeness of God must be the result of the CO.
| operation Of divine and human agency. You
| can not unfold from within you, unaided by the
divine word and spirit the full stature of the
tc will and to do of His good pleasure" that you
can work out the building-the beautiful, SYM
metrical, powerful Christian manhood
| by grace are ye saved through faith, and
| that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God"
| Something that we are not to earn by work but
to receive by faith But this gift of eternal life
| is not something that God puts upon us,
| but something to be wrought within u.s. not an
| outside cloak covering over our old corruptions,
but an inside life and power that renovates the
| whole being and occupies every part and FIBRE
And so, to be anything at all, it must be works..
| out through the man himself, and, therefore, is
| not put upon the man from without A saliva
| ton that would fall upon US from heaven would
| crush US, and not save u.s. God Stays, not our
| powers but our sins, and saves US, not the rem
| nants of us, but all of us. He saves our forces,
| our wills, affections, sensibilities-our human
ity. But God cannot does not, destroy sin in
| u.s. unless we are willing to have sin destroyed
in as. Let us not misapprehend the nature of
| sir itself Sin is not something that may be put
to death by an outside being; it can be killed
| only when the creature from whose bosom it
leaps, and in whose purpose it lives, becomes the
executioner. God is not responsible for sin.
His infinite love would crowd all the angels of
heaven into this world of ours and put stop to
sin before the sun goes down. But the kingdom
| of God cometh not with observation; behold the
kingdom Of God is within you. There must be
the restoration of the divine government
throughout the whole nature of man. spirit. soul
| and body; not only a suspension of hostility to
God and His government, but voluntary cove
nant of fealty; not only covenant, but cor
dial acceptance of divine sovereignty; not
only an acceptance, but coalition
| of faith with divine forces to execute
and carry out Gods will and purpose.