The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-12-12

up with Greek surroundings and he had the
apparent culture of a Greek man. When
the mob set upon him in Jerusalem and he
was rescued from the mob by the soldiery
and he turned to the officer outside and
sale. May speak to them, the officer was
surprised at what he said and replied. Are
you Greek? Why, / thought you were a
jew. The moment he spoke in Greek the
officer paid respect. to him thinking this is
different man from what 1 supposed he
was he is a man of culture, he is man Of
rennement. The ability TO speak the Greek
language as a Greek marked the man who
had that ability as belonging to the upper
class.
The indications are, too, that he was by
no means a poor man. 1t is true that he
was a tentmaker, that at times he labored
with his own hands. And it is true that he
says nothing himself about his possessions.
Btu the indications are unmiStakable that
ne was a man. If not wealth, at ell events
or considerable competence. A man could
not now and could not then travel all over
Greece and Rome without any money. Paul
was not an impecuniouS tramp. He travelled
in good fashion. When he went up to Rome
he took two companions with him as slaves
and he could not have taken them with him,
from all that we can learn, unless they had
been as his slaves. He took an appeal to
Caesar. Have any of you ever been to law?
Have any of you ever tried to take an ap-
peal to our own Court of Appeals or to the
Supreme Court of the United States? If
you have you have found 1t cost you a little
money before you got through. 1t did not
cost any less then. 1t was an expensive pro-
ceeding TO appeal to Caesar. Paul took the
had said again and again / will not be
burden to the church, will not take chart
ty from them. Paul was not a man to take
an appeal to Caesar and then ask the
churches to pay the law bills.
Paul was put in prison and held there by
Felix. Felix held him because he expected
bride. Felix did not expect brbe from
poor men. This Paul was no unkempt, rag
ged, poverty-stricken tramp. He was
Greek gentleman of culture. He was RO-
man citizen of dignity. He was a gentleman
with adequate means for leisurely and COM
Portable travel and it was no small advan-
tage to him. AT the beginning of his career
the spirit of Rome was spirit of tolera-
ton, or of that indifference which serves
almost as good a purpose at times Rome
did not care for the conflicts of religion.
There were any number of deities and any
number of religions, and the early policy of
Rome was to let every people have their
own religion and their own god. When the
Jews brought complaint against Paul that
he was interfering with their religion, and
brought him before Gallo in Corinth, Gallo
said, If it were question of justice
righteousness / would bear with you, but If
it is a question of your religion l do not
care anything about it, and he drove them
away.
CHARGES AGAINST PAUL
cit was not until some time after the be-
ginning of Paul's missionary tour that
Christians were prosecuted in Rome as
Christians. You will observe in the Book of
Acts Paul is never accused of being Chris
tian. That is not the charge against him.
He is accused of being sedtious. He is
accused of turning the world upside
down He is accused Of melting men to vio-
lence. He is accused of interfering with
trade. He is accused of some specific Of
Tense. If it had been sufficient simply to
say that he was a Christian all these false
charges might have been laughed out of
court. 1t was not until toward the latter
part of PauPs historical career that there
began in Rome the persecution of the Chris
tlans. The indications are that it first was
instituted in Nero'S decree, who provided
for the punishment or persecution or mar
tyrdom Of the Christians in Rome, to de-
fleet the growing passion against himself
for the burning OF Rome. That decree, once
issued, remained part of the imperial
policy, sometimes enforced and sometimes
unenforced, until we'll on to the time of
Constantine. But not until Pauls first inn
prisonment in Rome had that decree gone
forth.
Paul lived in period of religious ndif-
ference to Christianity. The people cared
very little about their religion The phil
osophers had long since abandoned it. The
wits made fun of it on the stage. The gods
were ridiculed in the comedies. And the
people were tired of it, 1t was retained and
maintained by and for priesthood, and
for no other purpose. And when there came
man saying, Here is a new faith they
We're ready to listen. No old faith held them
In its grip. The fingers of the old faith
had relaxed; the arms of the old religion
were paralyZed. The old religion WIS a
corpse. AND the appeal OF Paul was, III me
main, to the poorer classes. His congrega-
lions were made up, he tells himself,
not of the rich, or the strong, or the wise,
or the noble, but of the poor and the out
cast. Here came religion adjusted to free
men and to slaves, to men who had beeu
trampled under foot, cast out of the church
and cast out of traffic and cast almost out
of life. Here came religion adjusted to
them. You yourselves are sons of God. You
peasants L bring you q Messiah who was
himself a peasant. Carpenters, bring you
man who was the son of carpenter. He
is the worlds deliverer; he is the rescuer
of mankind; he is going to bring in a new
reign and a new life upon the world
That was one message and the other was
like it. Death does not end all. There is
a life beyond, and our faith in the life be-
yond rests on no philosophy, in no doubtful
disputation. We know there is a life be-
yond, because we know the Man that was
dead and lived again. The power of Chris
tianity resting on the resurrection of Jesus
Christ was something then; it is hard
for us to realize now. Eighteen centuries
have passed between ourselves and the liv
ing witnesses of the resurrection. But then
they were living. This man Paul faced his
audience and said: i know have seen Him
and know the men whom knew him While
He lived; l know He has risen, and so |
know you will rise, and shall
rise Sometimes his preaching was
There were great revivals,
would call them now. In the synagogue at
to studying them to see whether. this new
theology was biblical or not. The magi-
clans brought their instruments and their
books by the score and hundreds, piled
them in the street and built a great bon
fire. Eight or ten thousand dollars worth
of magical instruments were destroyed.
How much of a revival Go you think it
would take to bring the gamblers and the
liquor dealers of Brooklyn to make bon
fire of eight or ten thousand dollars worth
of their goods in Brooklyn? / would like
to have q Paul here who could bring it
about. And yet there were difficulties, too,
which Paul had to encounter and plenty of
them. 1t was not plain or easy work He has
given US in one graphic picture, in very few
words, his experience. Let me read it:
OF the Jews five times received forty stripes
save one. Thrice was ] beaten with rods, once
1 stoned thrice l suffered shipwreck. night
and day have l been in the deep; in journey
bers, in perils from my countrymen, in perils
from the Genties in perils in the city, in perils
in the wilderness, In perils in the sea, in perils
among false brethren; in labour and travail. in
watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in HASTINGS
often, in cold and nakedness.'
CONFLICTING INTERESTS.
'The money question threatened him.
Christianity has always had to fight, more
or less, what men call vested interests. 1t
did in this beginning of its birth. Pliny
tells us in his letter to Trajan, written. L
think, in the year 112, that as the result
of his persecution of the Christians there
had been a great increase in the demand
for fodder for cattle raised for sacrifice. 1t
is rather humorous commentary, is it not?