The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-12-25
The New Passion of Christ.
By President George A Gates, of Iowa
College)

+ CBy President George A. Gates, of Iowa
College)
The world is moved by passion. The
direction of the movement is down or up
as the passion is base or holy-that it, in
the line of selfshness or service. History
has not been made by men rallying
around a proposition, however true or i'm
portant. New theories of government will
not save us. Our nation will not be re"
deemed by protection or free trade, nor
can it be ruined by either. America can
be great and prosperous, even rich, on
either gold basis or silver. We can
neither be dragged to any very profound
depth or ruin nor be rescued from any
very great danger by the Republican nor
the Democratic party nor any other party
Prohibition cannot save us Even nlhll1Sm
cannot damn Us. All these may help or
hinder much. They are all important is
, sues; none of them is vital. Only one
thing can precipitate the doom OF this last
and greatest attempt of people to govern
themselves under a republic-apathy. One
thing can save us-the passion of moral
aarnestness.
Some forms of government may proceed
smoothly independently of what the peo-
pie feel or think. An apathetic republic
is u contradiction iE terms. re9ublc
must be attended to. Ultimately there is
no one to attend to it but all the people.
Let alone it is sure to fall into the hands
of those who find it profitable to exploit
1t in their own private interests. The
people have permitted themselves to be
exploited by the politicians in the inter-
ests of party power, which in its turn Is
used for plutocratic ends. 1t is not so
near the. truth to say that we are in
danger of becoming a plutocracy, or even
tending in that direction, as it is to say
that we are already a Dlutocracy. All
this: not because we have as a nation
made this deliberate choice rather we
have alphabetically drifted thither.
What can arouse the nation to safety
and possible service?. Nothing short of
that which moved him whose name marks
TN1a.nt CT
Theologians have taken possession of the
word passion" and applied it in it's strict
Latin meaning of suffering to the death
of Jesus. at the hands of church and
state, on the cross. English usage has
moved the meaning of the word away
from this significance, SO that it has
come to mean the pain of impulse toward
action rather than the mere result of
action. Why not theologically and prac-
tically take over the word into this new
significance for the world?. If the church
him to all his mission and finally to that
other passion of the cross-the great
social and industrial movements for which
the world so hungrily waits might come
along with divine rapidity
1t is the active rather than the passive
passion of Christ of which the Christian
church has sorest need in this age The
tragedy OF ZOO years ago cannot save
the world of the goth century unless that
which inhered in that tragedy can be in
carnated in men today. If the church is
to be the savior in this age it must get
itself on fire with this modern passion
of Jesus
This call to the church is a call to share
the consuming passion, of his love for
men. passion for. right. by which alone
society as well as individuals can in any
wise be saved The church must hear
and obey this call or the world will soon
saved Not another man. but another
organization in; the name and spirit of the
son or man. which Shall more effectually
do the work he left for his followers to
| do. This work will at last be done in his
! name, under whatever form.