The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-03-31

I % The nation mediates between humani-
tarianism and individualism. In serving its
own ends and seeking to accomplish its
mission. 1t works for the good of all, and
also for the freedom of the individual man.
The tendency of humanitarianism as q mo-
tive apart from the higher life of the state
or apart from its representation in Christ
as its head and leader. Is to weaken indi-
vidualism and to defeat the very end It
wishes to subserve. the achievement Of the
rights Of man. Humanity as a whole lacks
the visible. tangible embodiment Of the ma
ton. 1t has not yet the consciousness of It.
self nor Of its unity. 1t cannot respond to
the needs it awakens. 1t does not, as q
whole. realize its relationship to God. nor IS
1t placed In such a position as to make Il
feel the need of God. 1t is in danger Of be-
coming an abstraction in so far as il exists
without relationships. But the nation Is
close at hand. near. and felt. as q moral
personality or being, seeking ideal ends
which are also within the bounds of possi-
bility.
The Nation
the Safeguard of Morals. 80
o. The nation as a moral personality and
depending upon God becomes the safeguard
Of morals. II there has been a decline in
morality in the Nineteenth Century. as
some maintain. shown in the general weak
ening Of moral sanctions. or by the in
crease of divorce and indifference to tho
sacredness Of family life. It must be at
tributed in some measure to the indi6er-
ence to nationality from the time that
political liberalism resting on an abstract
humanitarianism. or in combination with
a scientific naturalism, gained the ascend
ency. So far as this tendency has In any
degree invaded the Christian church, It has
been powerless to effect q change for the
better The 0roaf mon vbom hrpnopffv Io
directed to worship do not constitute a
moral standard. nor can scientific postulates
be made q basis for moral culture; for
nature fs at least immoral. II not, as some
assert, immoral, and 1t Is only as acted
upon by man that nature gives response
hgious truths-the personality OF God, his
creation and government Of the world, i'm
mortality. and the freedom of the will
these are shattered, we are told, "by tho
great eternal iron laws Of the universe
or ARE in hopeless contradiction with the
most solid truths Of empirical science"
And 50. 1t must be added. are the sanctions
of ethics and moral law. It is when we turn
to the state. to the moral personality Of the
nation. that we encounter other laws and
living forces which restore what an en-
pirfcal science or a transcendental hu-
manitarianism has broken down. Here the
supreme test Is spiritua1--the we'll Of
SAS ~ a DoAAu oRO1
the family as its corner stone: 1t must en-
force those moral laws which the history
of nations. as well as human experience in
its best estate. reveal to be the Utmost ex-
of the normal life Of man.
The beginning of a new century may
seem like an artificial division Of time. but
the Inconsistencies with which the Nine
teenth Century closed. the efforts at in
estimates of its place in history
and Of the work 1t had accomplished, in
dictate something more than a conventional
barrier to be passed. Prophecies In regard
to the new age may be futile. for God re-
serves to himself the knowledge Of the
future. But 1t Is much II we can. to any
extent. read the meaning Of the past and
the sources Of its strength and weak
And for the rest. Christian faith and
hope are inextinguishable. looking forward
to the fulfllment Of the Christian IDEAL
that higher unity where Christ appears as
the embodiment Of humanity and the voice
Of its yearning for a perfect brotherhood:
the nation also acknowledges him az
Its overload. so that, in the words of Chris
tian prophecy, the kingdoms Of this world
shall become the kingdom Of our God and
Of his Christ. In that ideal conception, this
belongs to the state. and the
ministerium to the Christian church.
THE REVEREND A. G. ALLEN.
Copyright. 1901. by the Sun Printing and Pun.