The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-03-14
A RIOT IN A BIG CITY.
International Sunday School Lesson
for March 15-"The Riot at Ephesus.
Acts 19:2o-4O.


One of the seven wonders of the
world, the temple of Diana, had its
nome IN Ephesus, the city where Pau
labored longest, and his teachings came
Sharply into conflict with idolatry
there. 1t was with the customary au-
daclty of the gospel that Paul went up
against EphesuS. 1t was the leading
city of Asia, famed for it's wealth,
Tor It's art and literature. 1t was the
principal commercial port of the East.
1t was a free city under the Roman
power, and had self governing author
lty. TO Christians the city is also dis
tngu1Shed as having been for a lonA
tune, in his old age, the home of the
Apostle John and of Mary, the mother
OF Jesus. Here Paul had taught for
upwards of three years, and the gos-
pei had made such progress that the
men who got a living out of the Tenn
pie OF Diana began to grow alarmed
and created a riot for the purpose of
oVerthroWing Paul and his cause.
Riots Raised by Religion.
Paradoxically, the Prince of Peace
has been the cause of most of the
wars Waged in Christendom. The gos-
| pei is divisive. 1t is ever the center
OF storm; it must overturn and over
turn until 1t completely triumphs. The
common experience of the gospel does
! ont greatly differ from the Ephesus
| programme. When the leaven begins
to work it evokes the antagonism of
the forces whose material interests
are injured by it. Demetrius and his
fellow tradesmen have their successors
in the ''respectble" owners of tene-
ment houses, in the landlords Of evil
resorts, in the men who are getting
rich through child-labor and other in
| dustrIal evils, in the makers and sell
erS-yeS, the WearerS-Of sWeatShOp
goods, in the saloonkeepers, Sabbath
breakers, purveyOrs of evil literature
and host of others. The Christian
or the church that is not making enc
mics is not very positive force for
the kingdom.
At the Root of Evil.
In melting riot against Paul and
the Christians, Demetrius, the silver
smith, professed to be moved by high
religious motives. He was solicitous
for the fair name of the city's famous
! goddess. AS mater of fact, he was
looking out for his own job. Love of
money was the root of this evil pro-
cedure. The new teaching had won
the enmity Of the guild of which De-
metrius was probably the head be-
cause 1T was hurting the sale of ina
ges. st. Paul was called upon to face
the opposition of important vested in
terests, than which there is no foe more
formidable, INSCRIPTIONS and relent-
less, as many a living preacher and
reformer can testify. The power of
financial interests in our present day
political life needs no comment. The
men who have money at stake always
stand out for the old order and against
any change. Like Demetrius, they are
the best friends of things as they are.
There is more than one religious insti-
tuition in America, once useful, bun
now having no real reason for being
except the need of it's officers for the
income that accrues to them. Yet it
is to be remembered that Demetriuses
are always fighting a losing cause. The
relentless march of progress is bound
to sweep them aside. Happy they who
like the silversmith of old, become con-
verted to the new. GIL John 12.)
"Vox PopuIi."
''The voice Of the people" is seldom
the voice Of God when uttered in the
mass; it is likelier to be ''vox diabo-
Ii" The slogan of the Ephesian riot
ers that day was, Great is Diana Of
the Ephesians!" The whole city gath
cred together and shouted itself into
hoarseness. Religious prejudice, plus
personal interest filled the great Col
iseum holding $4,000 persons. For
two hours at a stretch it repeated this
cry. The scene irresistably recalls
k1plingS "bandar-lOg" in the Jungle
Book'-the monkeys on the tree tops
calling to one another day after day
that they are the people of the jungle,
although all the While the real jungle
folk will not SO much as notice them.
The Ephesian fashion is popular too,
among some who find their principal
pleasure in contemplating themselves
as society" they must be so, for have
they not assured themselves of it long
a little overload Of proving Out great
ness by the same method; we so re-
peatedly declare that we are the peo-
pie and that there are none others
who can stand beside US, we are sure
that this unanimous and long-sustain-
ed volume of sound must be the YER
dict of truth. AS matter of fact,
noise proves nothing in any of these
cases any more than it did in the great
EpheSian theater. Black cannot be
made white by the peoples voting it
so. All the While this yelling mob
was deranging its vocal organs there
was a little Jew, concealed somewhere
in the city and chatting to be in the
midst of the tumult to defy it, who had
already inserted the lever that would
overthrow Diana of the Ephesians
and leave her not a follower in the
world. 1t is the way of history, which
is to say, the way Of God, for one
IIlc1II " nave IlIOIS power tudu UlulJl-
tudes Of men. He who cultiVates
his individuality, seeking to ally him
self with God, is sure to be mightier
than the many who join themselves in
crowds, trusting that lin numbers is
strength"
The Craven Jews.
Troubles test a mans friends, the
true and false. In this crisis Pauls
companions shine as heroes, but the
other Jews of Ephesus went back on
the ties of race. They were so afraid
that they would be considered Pauls
friends that they put forth a repre-
sentative in the front of the theater to
declare that they were not allied win
this man who was so unpopular. They
might have taken a lesson from the
way the tradesmen stood together and
not proved false to their compatriot.
Still, they were only towards, so little
could be expected of them. They were
in the same class with Peter when he
declared, 81 never knew Him." Sunday
school is a proper place to learn that
the person who is disIoyal to a friend
is false to the Master, who, having
loved his own, he loved them unto the
end" Fear not to hold these coward
ly pusillanimous Jews up to contempt,
for they have their representatives in
our midst today.
A Speech Against Lynch Laws.
A level headed man worth knowing
is the town clerk who appears in the
midst of the riot in the Coliseum
with the plain advice, eye ought to be
quiet and do nothing rash" This
official is good man to keep in mind
for more reasons than one. Not only
did he stand for careful and orderly