The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-06-16
10Th CENTURY MOVEMENT.
TITS OPPORTUNE AND Much NEED
ED.

The Cooperation of Pastors, Teachers
and Leaders In Christian Work Eve
rywhero soIicited-The First of "a Sc
rles of Articles Written by ChanceI-
Tor Edward MccIain on the Purpose
and Nature of This Important Move
ment.
AS already widely known The
Twentieth Century Movement" is a
movement in the churches, Sunday
schools, Y. M. C. A. and different Chris
tian organizations of whatever name, to
supplement all Bible study work and 10
lead the people generally, under the in
spiraton of a concerted movement ana
by '"The Constructional-M nemonic
Method" to make a systematic and Sc
quential reading, at home, of Jesus from
the Bible only to the end of becoming
most thoroughly acquainted with His
personality, character and mission IN
the world.
Under the influence of this very mate
realistic age, when there is such an in
Vulnerable multitude of worldly things
in and out of the church, to think or,
thus paralyzing spiritual thought and
obscuring a vision of Jesus, this move
ment appears to be kind of spontane-
Gus generation, having sprung up under
Divine Providence, Just when needed, to
meet IAN exigency of the times, ana is
generally received as most opportune.
When people loose sight of Jesus ana
fail to duly recognize and know Him
continually then Satan plays havoc
with Christianity in many who profess
it, Spirituality runs to low ebb. The
church is devitalized, character building
after the perfect model and the empoW-
erment for service by the Holy Spirit
John 16:7-15) is impossible, and the
advancement of true civilization is re-
tarded Wherefore we have been hear
ing the bells of alarm as they are begin
ming to ring in all parts of Christendom
calling attention to a failing interest In
the personal Jesus and His service, with
a sad falling off in the relative number
of conversions annually in the various
Christian evangelical denominations.
To counterfeit such tendency and to
meet conditions as they exist at the
the twentieth century, never before has
there been such concerted movement
as conprehended by this Of the twen-
tieth century to arrest the attention OF
the people in general, especially of
Christians. young and old, and center 1t
more directly upon Jesus only, in such
way as to effectually lead them to be-
come more deeply interested in and
z 49, int wifi
atty and character of Him whom ito
know Is the zone thing needfur'-'I life
eternal, John 1873; Tx. 10:42.
AT the close of the nineteenth century
as now, great emphasis as been and is
laid upon the Importance of reading and
studying the Bible as book divinely In
spired, as if it We're an end in itself,
Some months ago it was the writer's
privilege to hear from one of the most
noted. highly esteemed and extensively
quoted Gospel workers of the present
age, deliver an address upon special
occasion, to a large audience of clergy
men and Sunday school teachers in one |
of our great cities. The speaker took |
for His topic ''How to Use your BIZ
BILE" He outlined his discourse as fol-
lows:
1--4Study your Bible. believe your
Bible. 3-Live your Bible. 4-Teach |
your Bible. This evidently voices the
real character and trend of Christian ed
vocational work and training at the close
of the nineteenth century, when every
where pastors tell us their churches are
becoming deluged with worldliness. In
the light of this twentieth century
movement, and In harmony with Gods
plan for the souls salvation, would it
not be much better and more correct to
outline discourse upon ''How to use
your Bible" thus:
Read your Bible to know jesus
only. believe Jesus. 3-Teach Jesus
when you live Him. Since the very
thing the church and the world most
need to-day is to know Jesus, the only
condition laid down in the Bible, upon
which the Holy Spirit imparts etcrnal
life to the soul. 1t is not so much a
fragmentary knowledge of the inspired
facts of the Bible, unrelated in the
mind, to Jesus, to be learned and prac
ticed as so many isolated precepts, that
is needed. For such would foster an
ethical religion and leave the people
without living knowledge of Jesus,
whom only they should know, live and
preach, as Paul declared: II am deter
mined to know nothing among you save
Jesus Christ and Him crucified"
Stirred by the twentieth century
in the churches and different
Christian organizations, so OPPORTUNITY
come that it appears a reminder from
God a retrospective inquiry naturally
arises, How have we ministers and
teachers, and this includes all such eve
ryWhere in Christian educational work
(for we are the responsible ones) been
leading and training the people, subject
to our influence, in the past, to- read
their Bibles and consider Jesus? Have
we led them to regard Jesus personally
as the only great subject of the Bible, ,
and the theme Of the entire book, it's
Alpha and Omega, in whom only every {
Christian should, through knowing Him,
be "rooted and built up?'' Have we led z
them to recognize and use any system
Or method, true and most effectual, ac- G
cording to which the entire Bible, from
Genesis to Revelations, inclusive, should 8
be prayerfuly read and considered rela
tive to Jesus, using the Bible not as an ]
end, but as q means to know Him,
whom only to know is the all important /
thing for the soul? Have we held up
Jesus before the people as the only one |