The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-28
GOD AND MAMMON.
Rev. c. H. StrOng's Application of the
First Commandment

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The subject of Rev. C. II. Strong's SER
mon at St. Johns Church last night was
the first commandment: Thou Shalt Have
None Other Gods Before Me" Mr.. Strong
also read Christs words from the twenty
fourth chapter, sixth verse of Matthew
"Ye cannot serve both God and NAM
non"
The second quotation contains the theme
of the sermon. Mr.. Strong dWelt upon the
importance of religion as a source of moral
inspiration. The Jewish was the only one
of the ancient religions, he said. which
combined the ideas of religion and moral
ity, basing them upon the same law. The
old tradition was that the ten command
ments We're written upon two tables of
stone, one containing the five commands
stating mans duty TO God the other the
five commands stating his duty to his fell
low man. 1t was the popularity of the
Jewish race, he said, that they had al
ways adhered to this idea of religion, the
idea of personal God as the base of their
national life. Surrounded by polythesuc
nations and often overrun by them, it was
one of the remarkable facts of history that
they had preserved this belief. The mis-
sion had evidently been given them to pre-
serve The idea of moral faith in , gu
preme God. 1t was this idea which per-
meated their entire national life that they
worshipped a God who was personally in
terested in their welfare, and who should
be honored in the observance of moral
law.
This is no abstract doctrine to the Chris
tian, MIR. Strong said. The God of the
Jews was revealed to us in Jesus Christ
in the full effioreseence of all His glory
and truth. Mr. Strong dwelt upon the
idea that belief in God as a mere intel
lectual truth is not sufficient. There must
be faith coordinate with belief.
Mr. Strong compared the ancient civili-
cations of the polytheistic nations with the
civilization Of to-day. He declared that
there was great similarity of conditions
and that should one of the ancients return
to earth and visit New York or Paris he
would not find conditions so very different
from those of ancient Rome
He would be likely to mistake
the first magnificent house of worship
which he would strike on landing in New
York as the temple of some lesser God,
| because of the small number of worship
pers there, but should he enter the Stock
Exchange with the thronging crowds and
| the eager interest i'm affairs there, he
would be likely to imagine that ne had
found the temple of the chief god.
Mr. Strong said there had been a great
change in the moral and social conditions
of the American people in the last sener-
! alton. In the haste TO grow rich there
has been a loss of home life and a grow
ing lack of respect for religious and moral
! beliefs There is a tendency towards
! condition of affairs but little, If any, bet
ter than those which marked the social
and moral conditions of the ancient hea-
then peoples. The faith in God of the Jew
and the Christian, he said, must be a
| living reality. In every age where religion
has ceased to be a living likeness of God
in that age religion and morals have de-
! cayed.
| The theories of science were unimpor-
tant in this respect, Mr.. Strong said. Ev-
| olution cannot take away the spiritual life.
RELIGION is for the moral, and not the
| intellectual life When religion is pure, it
! gives pure homes and pure social life. If
| the corruption of national and social life
is allowed to go unchecked the name of
! Christian will not preserve us, he said.
| We shall perish as the nation which be-
leyed in one God and forgot that he was
| the God of holiness and truth.