Omaha daily bee., 1898-12-14

PLANTATION of his faith had won for him many
warm expressions OF approval
The scripture reading was by Rev. Laroy
| s. Hand Of the Saratoga church OF this city
1t was selection from chapter xiv OF st
Johns gospel The installation sermon was
by Rev. George A. Gates, president OF Iowa
college at Grinnell, la. DR.. Gates discourse
was an exposition OF the principle OF self
sacrifice as applied to human society at
large. His text was st. John, xiv, 6, II am
the way" 1t was a pleasure, he said, for
him to again speak in the church here as he
had before DR.. Duryea, and he was also
| glad, considering his acquaintance with Mr.
Herring.
What the Answer Means.
| The answer Of Jesus to the question OF his
disciple Thomas, was dwelt upon at some
length by the preacher. He thought the
word way was properly capitalized in the
| revised version OF the New Testament
Jesus is the "Way" not only of individual
salvation, but for all human society in the
affairs of this world. He had broken
| away from all attempts at explanation and
| had put into one great phrase the whole
substance Of his mission" On this point
| said DR.. Gates:
This utterance was either the climax OF
impudent egotism, the very insanity OF a
madman. or 1t is the utterance OF the Son
Of God. There ts no middle ground. AL
though primarily 1t was an answer to the
question Of Thomas, yet 1t seems that II
voiced the great Thought OF the kingdom oil
God which Christ had come to found on
earth. He Is the way in which human al
fairs are to be conducted. Historic soci-
ology has laid emphasis on the thought i'm
piled that He is the way for the individual
out Of this world into the next but l can
not believe that that simple mechanical In
depreciation exhausts all his meaning.
Dilating on the fact that it is with the
heart that man believes rather than with
the head, DR.. Gates said there was some
thing much deeper than mere individual
salvation involved. To quote his words:
When he said II am the way" It seems
as though he meant what is coming to the
minds OF men in this era Of awakening;
namely. that he was the way In which
human affairs ought to be run. All other
channels and ways are vain and nugatory
until you 70 in Jesus way. 1t Is politically
and socially dangerous to 10 In any other
way. OF his disciples 1t Is first recorded tha,
they were referred to as those that are o.
the Way"-they were afterwards called
"Christians" at Antioch Saul. on his jour
ney from Jerusalem to Damascus. had a
commission against all those that were OF
the Way"
No mere intellectual acceptance OF the
truth can ever save. James eays II you are
relying on your orthodoxy, because you De-
lieve in monotheism. that so do the devils.
They believe with the intellect and they DO
more-thsy feel. because they tremble-pu
they do not will: hence they are devils.
Orthodoxy changes so much that l 90 not
know what 1t Is without iooKinR at my
morning paper
Christ in Practical Affairs.
Nor will some mere performance save you.
xha oh,,rr
robbing your neshbor and then building
a church. Christianity is not q creed, how.
ever important creeds may BE- It would
have saved US from so many blunders, po-
understood from the beginning that Jesus
Christ's wav Is the way in which human
affairs ought to be carried on in politics and
in business. Jesus would make good pre-
siding officer of our municipal affairs He
would make a good president Of ChicaSo's
municipal council and he will be yet; and
Chicago will be little hell upon earth
unit, Jesus can Fst hearing.
In this connection DR.. Gates went ON to
explain that the legal profession. insurance
and the railroads could all be conducted on
Christ's principles. A reason Of a promi-
nent railroad manager why tho railroads
were not was because they refuse to take
into consideration anything but "uncondi-
toned competition" - unconditional by
moral considerations. There is not rail-
road, the manager had said, that did not
violate the interstate commerce law every
day In some manner. On the other hand.
one OF New York's greatest business men
had characterized competition as the death
of trade"
Though free competition is much better
than the conditions that obtained previ-
ously," remarked the preacher, "it isn't
Jesus way. Teach competition" he con-
tinued, "all you will in political economy.
but It isn't Jesus way"
Explaining the principle OF Christ's way
he said 1t was that of service and sacrifice
for the benefit OF others all through the
human system. Yet it is the truest gain.
for "he that loseth his life for my sake
shall find It," The law OF selfshness and
would never fit the family and |
what is not good for the family is not good
for society generally. He thought II men |
were actuated by the motive Of what they |
would give instead Of what they could |
get the world would be transformed into |
a heaven. Nevertheless, owing to the faul. |
Of the church, the rule Of selAshness Is the |
rule Of the great industrial and commercial |
world instead Of the golden rule. The dan
ger is in the refusal Of Gods people to 90 |
ahead with Him and establish His kingdom |
of a large social Christianity for all tho |
world.
Not Exactly War.
point was made on the mission OF this
country in the war for the freeing Of Cuba,
though he did not feel like magnifying q
little disturbance with 1900, 900 people,
bankrupt for ages, by the name OF wer."
However. God had taken the American peo-
pie at their own word and had given them
to do for the betterment OF social
conditions as He had given a mission to the
relocated Englishman. With some sar-
,asm he derided the notion that this nation
was to enjoy sort OF high church ecclesi-
lsticism Of Its own on this continent under
he name Of the Monroe doctrine" OBJ
serving that God was teaching It to carry
,ut It's mission OF a true democracy to all
he hard d-headed. cold -blooded world OF
money and soldiers. England's mission had
,een to cvilize and 30 would Americas,
hough q much better civilization would
ollow the influence OF this country.
H0 concluded with n beautiful eYpatiation