The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-04-02
LECTURE-sERMoN ON.
Rev. DIR. Blanchard on What Alexander
the Great Did for Religion.

Rev. DIR. Blanchard delivered the first
of his four 1ecture-sermons yesterday
morning in Congress square church. A
very large congregation was present.
Referring to the fact that four lectures
of this winters historical course had
not been delivered on account of his re-
cent illness, he said that he should take
their topics as the themes of his course
| of sermons in April. All these are con-
nected. 1t will be seen that they have
to do with the Unity of God and the
Universally of His Sovereignty. He
should use, therefore, one text for all.
1t is in ". Ephesians-One God and
Father of All, who is above all, and
through ALL and in you ALL" The theme
of this first sermon-lecture is-What
Alexander the Great did for Religion.
DR.. Blanchard first described the scene
at Babylon, when Alexander, after con
quering the East, received the represen
tatives of the subgugated nations. He
was about thirty-three years of age. He
had dream of universal world domil
ion. He felt himself a Goldman. But
malaria from the marshes of Babylon
seized and overpowered him. The
funeral procession from Babylon to the
Nile was next depicted. Babylon is
dust. Alexander the Greats body is
dust. But Alexander's infuence-one of
the mightiest powers in moulding the
destinies of nations-lives on until today.
tue. %
ing his fathers throne at twenty, con-
quering the barbarians beyond the
Danube, destroying Thebes, Tyre, GAIA,
annihilating the forces of Darius at
Issus and Abebla, this prodigy of the
human race meant to make Babylon the
capital of his world empire. What did
he do for religion? First he gave power
to the doctrine of the unity of God. 1t
was said that at the head of his army,
he offered prayer, not to the gods. but to
the Eternal One. He declared that God
was the father of all men, and especially
of the good. He claimed that he had re-
ceived commands from God "to put
down all wrong and errors, commands
which he should obey till he died." So
capacious mind easily grasped mono-
theism. All polytheisnls are now KNOWN
to recongnize the One above all.
Alexander believed in the One. He gave
power to the doctrine of the Unity.
Secondly, he gave power to the
doctrine of the brotherhood of man. He
made, as against his teacher Aristotle
the barbarian equal with the Greek be-
fore the law. Though am bition was the
chief motive of his career, he believed,
with the Stoics, in the brotherhood OF
nations, and the results of his uniting
the various nations. was to deepen the
feeling of brotherhood,
Thirdly, he gave power to the use of
reason in religion. The Greeks wer 9
thinkers, reasoners. In his camp.
Alexander had retinue OF Greek
scholars. Their influence worked with
Alexander to make men reason. More
over, by his founding Of Alexandria, he
helped learning and reasoning. Its
museum had an inscription "The
Medicine for the Mind Its scholars
translated the Hebrew Scriptures into
Greek. 1t was at Alexandria the noble
books of the Apocrypha were written.
Jewish and Greek thought mingled
there. Greek reasoning has had place
in the Christian church.
Fourthly, Alexander gave power to be-
lief in Immortality. Men could not be-
lieve that such soul could die. In the
Wisdom of Solomon, one of the
Apocrypha, we have these words: "God
created man to be immortal, and made
him an image of His own eternity. To
know His power is the root of immor-
tality."
In closing, DR.. Blanchard dwelt upon
the lessons of his abasement Of intel
lect through egotism and of his sue
cum bing to disease by in ordinate use
of wine. His great conceptions, however
were helpful to mankind. Though he
waged war chiefly for glory, God over
ruled his sconquests for the good of
men. 1t startles us to see that he was
a preparer for the reception of the ideas
of Christ. Above them both, using
both, the one bloody soldier, the other
the Christ whose spiritual dominion
grows larger, while the soldiers empire
has persisted, we see the One God and
Father of all, who is ruling over all.
and who has resplendent end towards
which all things move.
The next sermon will be ON Mahomet
and bis Religion" and will be given
next Sunday morning.