The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-01-25
RELIGION VERSUS S.
Can a Man Be Christian on SIS a
Week?
QUESTION ASKED J.K. HARDIE, MP.
He Might In Christian Surroundings,
but Not Under Present COndi-
lions, Is the Answer.

lions, Is the Answer.
''Can man be Christian on S.
week." is a question asked Of J. Keir
Hardie, NJ. p. editor Of the Glasgow Labor
Leader In answering it Mr.. Hardie con-
fesses himself in something OF a guam
dairy in attempting to reply, on account Of
the varying definitions of christianity"
II Christian is one who takes no
thought for the morrow, and who does not
lay up for himself treasure upon earth,
II is obvious that not only can a man
be Christian on IS a week, but he could
not possibly be anything else. He might
not be much of theologian and could
not we'll be church goer, but Chris
tlan he must be- says Mr.. Hardie. He
adds: -.. =.
In the early days of Christianity, ascetism
was held to be logical outcome of Christian
BELIEF. Dives vas sent to hades for appar-
emily no other reason than that he was rich.
Lazarus went straight to Abrahams bosom
because of his earthly poverty. James, the
spistolean called upon the rich to weep
and howl" for the miseries ahead OF them
Christ sent out his disciples with empty
purses, and himself had not where to lay
his head. The Sermon the Mount is
consistent and powerful argument against
property in every form. The great teacher
Clearly Inc uluSfSuce DelNSeu
life and a mere struggle for existence. II
men desired life they might have it In album
dance, but only condition that they aban-
doned the worship Of mammon. God, the
Father, had ordained that in response to
labor the earth would yield enough and to
spare for the supply OF every human need
and if men were only to follow the example
OF the owners of the field and the birds. of
the air and hold all natures gifts in common,
drawing from the great storehouse only what
each required for the needs of the day, then
life would become free, joyous and beautiful.
1t will Inc seen, therefore, that the man
who is most simple in his tastes. whose life
Is lived in closest communion with nature,
and is farthest removed from the pomps
and vanitles Of worldly display approximates
most nearly to the Christian ideal. Not for
him the glare and glitter of the saloon or
the haunts Of vice, not for him the ex-
pensive adornment OF gay apparel. His beauty
must be that beauty of holiness which comes
from closely following the laws which gov
ern life . The acquisition of property
he will regard impeachment to the de-
velopment of the SOUL which is alone immor-
tai and worth caring for. With Christ there
wealth save life and material things
we're only valuaby in so far as they con-
tributed to the production of life.
The Question Amended.
The fatal flaw in this argument as APP
piled to the subject, Mr.. Hardie says, is
simply this: We do not worship Christ
at all. but mammon. In church life, in
literature, in politics, mammon sits en-
throned. The original question resolves
itself not into a problem Of whether a
man can. be Christian on SIS week;
that is, live life in accordance with the
will Of God under Christian surroundings,
but whether he can do so under present
conditions. which, in the opinion Of the
writer are the reverse of Christian. To
the query in this amended form, Mr.. Har-
die does not hesitate to reply with an
emphatic negative. He says:
The neighborhood in which the man will be
compelled to live, whether, in London in
some other big industrial center, will be one
in which a healthy life is impossible. He will
see his children and his wife suffer from
sickness due in part to lack Of decent food
and in part to unsanitary surroundings. How
ever meek and mild he may be, the human
spirit within him will be forever in revolt
against such conditions. and this Of itself
is fatal to the Christian life. He will see
his wife and children poorly clad, INSULT
GENTLY fed; mis- employment nine times out
of ten will be precarious and intermittent
and each days loss Of work will be so much
necessary food kept from his loved ones. At
his work he will be ted with less con-
sideraton by those in authority than the
machinery, which 1t may be he tends. There
Will be no human relationship between him
and his employer; man with SIS week is
SIMPLY hreling of account, Of whom
there are thousands willing to take his place,
should he show the slightest revolt. Not for
him the fellowship of the Christian church.
That sacred place Is reserved for people who
wear good Clothes pay seat rents, and
subscribe to the minister's salary. There
are mission halls for $5-a-Week people, where
soup, blankets and coal are to be had in
winter on condition that a man foregoes
his manhood For the funds wherewith to
build the hall, and provide the soup and
blankets and coal, will be largely subscribed
by the employer and landlord who grow rich
- nut of his misery.
Under circumstances it is not difficult
to forecast the end. The man feels himself
enveoped in the meshes of net from which
there is escape. A sense of injustice
never leaves him. The present has no Joy,
the future no hope. And SO, bit by Bit mis-
self-rsspect departs, the Careworn face OF
his wife and the poor clothing Of his children
irrltate him; he loses heart, loses faith in
man, faith in God. With growing years
he finds it ever more difficult to get work
By and by some period of unemployment more
prolonged than those through which he has
gone overtakes him. and he ceases to strug-
gle, and becomes, in the language of the
fashionable summer, a lapsed man or a lost
soul.