The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1902-09-24

Cnrtstian AmpertAi0m.
The following article on Christian eiti.
zenship is from the pen of John G.. Woo.
ley, editor Of the New Voice:
"ADDITION"-"Add to your faith vir.
tue: and to virtue knowledge; and to
knowledge temperance; aud to. temper.
ancc patience: and to patience sodfness;
and to godliness brotherly kindness; and
to brotherly kindness love"
This is Christian imperialism.
Faith IN consciousness Of divine origin.
To build up from that to a realization OF
the divine nature is the Christian thesis.
It is a matter OF conduct. There is no
word or phrase in the Bible that can be
translated orthodox"
Add There must be something to
add to. What is it! Sonship. | am no
accident, no LEFTOVER" in the pottery OF
creation, no poor relative of the cosmic
forces. am a son of God by creation
first. then by recognition and acceptance.
and finally by the long, slow labor OF adoop-
tion. Virtue" is fighting goodness. To
be innocent In vacuum is no virtue. Such
innocence is simply well.balanced ignor.
ance, but to be tempted, ye. triumphant,
or .even to fall and stand erect again-to
fall thousand times and yet to be stag
gering ut the gcod-to be down and all but
lost, vet gasping for n noble breath OF life.
That is the real thing: add it: be virile.
manly Christian. Virtue Is man t'you.
Add it.
knowledge" Is the only road to power.
; Don't be afraid to know. If your creed
will not stand knowing. let the junk man
have it and get new one. If your Bible
| is afraid Of science let them loose together,
| and the devil take the hindmost. God
speaks first hand to many-to all who lis.
f.. boz ho,
know what you know and stand for it.
Don't follow any decimal point OF party
or authority; be an integer. great or small.
Temperance" Don't be so soft that
you won't hold an edge. nor so hard that
use breaks you. The church is full of these
| feather edge saints who spend their whole
energy at meetings getting whetteu. Don't
| be n bigot nor a milk-sop. Don't draw
your Bible on the elevator boy when he is
; busy, nor listen to the dirty stories OF the
clerk. Study to be fit.
Patience" Is staying power, waiting is
suffering. This is where the COMPROMISED
/ gets in mis- work. He says, go to; yield
! the point and be comfortable! Put price
! on it and prosper! Forswear yourself and
| run for something! Wheat is uncertain in
this climate. bu. tares will grow anywhere;
SOW tares." The common greeting OF the
4
you there" Patience is there-ncss. Add
F.; it.
| 'Godlinesa" is that splendor OF charac.
ter that gives actions the shine of omnipo-
, tence. II you can't have your way. do
your way end shine. II you can't abolish
a wrong. brand it as it goes and bide your
time. Take the God side Of every argu
ment. Enter the will OF God for every
judgment. This has a bumptious sound
maybe. but it is very simple. It is almost
no trouble to know what God, as we con
ceive Him, would say in any matter that
has a moral character. The labor OF the
politician to know the mind of the crowd
is infinitely harder. Goodness is God.likc
ness Add it.
"Brotheriy kindness" is recognition
that. for all our differences, we are the
same kind of pottery in different stages Of
frinc.kind.ness. The Arabian proverb, I'll
a man knows not ana knows not that he
knows not. and knows that he knows not
he is simple: teach him. II he knows and
knows not that he knows, he is asleep;
wake him. II he knows and knows that
he knows. he is wise; follow him." This
is 4 great treatise on kindness. Kindness
Is social consciousness. Add it.
Love" Is the eternal fixitive. Kindness
will be peevish. godliness will seem impos
sib!e. patience will fail. temperance is al
ways an experiment. knowledge will vanish
away. virtue will nod. faith itself will tril
in the shadowy partiality Of our percep
tions. but when love. the perfect thing
has been added. we shall see the solution
Of character in the face OF God Himself.
Add" Be An imperialist in your char
acter. Never concede that the Who'll,
thing il too much for you. II somethin!
hits you hard and you feel numb and mad
equate. as il something had gone out o.
youi life. remember nothing mean can 90
The flesh is the bottom OF .hings spiritual
If anything has gone out it is somethin,
fine and good. Dcay subtraction to thl
bitter end. Add.
| OL.Aat Wa Ror~sfV