The Penn's Grove record., 1903-07-17

lists in society and politics. With bIare
OF trumpet they herald their own broad
mindedness, but If they had their way, and
II tt-ey could sweep religion from the face
OF the earth, burn up the Bibles, dynamite
the churches, it requires no prophet to
foreteli what a dreadful situation would
ensue as the result Of their havoc. The
man who puts agnosticism against the
creed has nothing to give this world except
what would make men more narrow than
they are, and would speedily plunge them
into conditions first of civilized paganism
a u a little later of rank barbarism. The
skeptlc is no more al apostle of libera:ity
than IS the anarchist an apostle Of liberty.
With great regret it must he confessed
that there are and have been muItitudes
OF narrow-minded Christians. Inasmuch
as human nature finds it difficult to attain
unto liberailty, It is not to be wondered az
that SO many fall short OF the breadth OF
our holy religion. Christians have not
only been prosecuted, but they have ac-
tually prosecuted one another, because OF
differences of opinion. Only TOO frequently
have they failed to recognize the com
prehensiveness of the Gospel, and they
prefer their confessions to the catholic
faith and their sects to tae catholic
church. 1t is siniyly impossible to apollo
gize for them or to offer any argument in
extenuation OF their g~rievous ~offenses along
this line. They nave restricted their God
and their Bible and their creed, and
have stood up stoutiy to resist the large
mindedness of their Lord. BIT this does
not really affect the issue which we rave
IN hand. 1t does not at all impair our
contention that the gospel Of Christ itself
NOT Professionalism or Puritanism or
Medlevalism, but the gospel-contains the
broadest doctrines, the broadest ideas of
God and of man and of destiny, and the
hroadosf uarEfnn priro.D1a 80 tb1,~I% -
of life.
Gods Commandment is exceeding
broad in its practical application TO mans
conditions. 1t breaches Gods Fatherhood.
which is a mighty foundation for the in
tellectual life. and mans brotherhood,
which makes the scope of moral obligation.
Gods relation to us is most assuring, and
our relation to Him and to all our broth
ers makes the theatre of action and sets
forth the sphere of conscience. sympathy
and endeavor. One of the miseries of ir-
religion Is that it despoils humanity of all
this. The heart which cares not for the
doctrines of Christian belief is sadly i'm
poverished and reduces this present exist
ence to a small affair, for it has nothing
to say OF the higher things or of an eternity
OF blessedness. and nothing that avaiis for
the enlargement of aspiration and the re-
enforcement of energy. Christ truly dis
covered the individual. He argued that a
mans soul was more important than the
gain of the whole world; He came ex-
pressly to lift human nature out of its
smallness and to place it in an environment
where the sons of God rightly belong: He
revealed the model which is nothing less
than the character of the King of kings.
and called all the sons OF men to a royal
lite; He disclosed a large meaning for du-
ties and grlefs, pleasures and possibilities;
He would have His people stand on the
Mount Of the Ascension whence they can
see the present in its perspective. and have
an expansive outlook for the study Of them
selves and their lives. The broadminded
men waen they pray and work and suffer,
and He would inspire them to rise up
to the OBLIGATIONS and opportunities which
wait upon them every hour in the day.
How narrow is the average mani Mod
ern conditions are not an unmixed boon
to the masses. There have been many
gains, but there have been many losses
also. Among the losses in the world as we
know it to-day is the almost inevitable
tendency of our way of living and our
methods of business to ~curtail the indiyid-
ual in the living of his life and the doing
of his work. More and more are the peo-
pie Of the workaday world hampered and
restricted by the demand for specialization.
lie individual is being called upon to do
some one task and to do it over and over
again three hundred days in the year. all
of which is equivalent to shutting him
within confines where he can scarcely hope
to develop into his best self. This effect
is one of the deplorable ills of the times.
The rules Of offices and factories and shops
which encourage experts is ruinous to the
individual who indeed learns to do one
thing perfectly, bat who is thus hindered
from knowing anything else outside of his
4a,t,v tab TIn4 +oo %kAa 1< tho
business man that makes him ambitious
and satisfied to become a man Of business
and thus reduce his life to the level of a
mere monev-maker, is likely to produce
the same direful result. No one should
willingly become a machine. In spite of
the advancement which is one of the won
ders of the age. the people of the United
States are now face to face with a situation
which sorely requires 4 crusade in favor of
observation-disclosures crusade that will ex-
hort the people, in spite of discourage
ments to the contrary. to find leisure for
considering TOPICS and rcsorting to occu-
| pations in addition to those which belong
to their daily engagements. We must SIM
ply make time for thought and reading and
| recreation; we must rise to the glorious
liberty of the children of God; we must
insist for ourselves that the most import
| ant things are not meat and drink. but the
kingdom of God and His righteousness.
We need the observation-disclosures Of Jesus
We need His outlook, His doctrine, His
model of thought and life, His symmetry
| of character, His proportions of manhood.
| The Saviour of mankind would save us
| from pettiness and illiberality. He would
have us accept Gods largest estimate OF
ourselves. He would call us to a life which,
| will issue at last in the heavenly land. He
| would fill us in mind and heart and soul
! with Gods commandment which is so ex-
ceeding broad.