The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-09-17

HARRY LEON WILSON, I
The Author Of THE Seeker"
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outset that the seekers picture of Chris
tianity is little short Of monstrous. It is
not to be wondered at, that he revolts.
if he sees Christianity as it is set forth
in the book in hand. Having found the
Christian religion wanting, he begins his
quest for truth. He travels a long and
blasphemous way in that quest, and at
last comes to this:
For when you have demonstrated the races
eternal oneness will be as little tempted
to Cypress, staave, enslave murder separate
his brothers os he tempted to lnntilate
his body. Then only will he Lore his neigh
Dor hims elf-still with selfish love.
Preach Man discovery i'll Godhood :
Then you will make religion the one force. and
you will rally to it those great minds whose
alienation has been both your reproach and your
en,ba rrassment. You will enlist not only the
scientist but the poet-and all between. You
will have a God to whom all confess instinct
lively.
In what respect could he think that SUI
perior to the following?~-
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart. and with all thy soul, and with all
thy mind. and with all thy strength; this Is the
first commandment.
And the second is like. namely this: Thou shalt
love thy neighbor myself.
Yet the seeker regards the Savior OF
the Christians as most beautiful and
moving and doubtless the two COM
mandments quoted he would say, We're
reasons in part for that estimate. He
does not. however, reconcile this. beauty
and moving power with what he regards
as Christ's imposture in representing
himself as the Son of God. and which
every act of Christs life emphasizes.
The question, IF a man die shall he
live again?' the seeker regards of sec
ondary Importance. He says in part an
swer to it: Whether I shall die to life
or to death is not within my knowledge;
but since I know Of truth that the God
! I believe in must have a scheme OF
worth and dignity. I am unconcerned.'
He fails to see in the conception of a
future life the essential complement OF
1.-The races eternal oneness as he calls
it. or Of human brotherhood, to adopt
the more popular phrase. Immortality
clothes the races oneness. or the human
brotherhood with that dignity which the
seeker demands of, his God. The idea is
one. too, that the Christian church lays
| far too little stress upon-that its mem
bership should live its profession of faith
in a life hereafter. and conduct itself II
daily life as tho life was continuous, un'
| interrupted by the falling away Of thu
house of clay. Such living. coupled will
the acceptance of the human brotherhood
idea, once thoroly gra Sped gives life {
wholly new meaning.
The seeker protests against the belle
that the future life should hinge upon tn
intellectual acceptance of the claim 0
Jesus to godship, a belief which he say
the Christian church holds. Of course
this means that the story Of Nicodemu
L. ~. - L
whole secret of the acceptance o
Christ" something vastly deeper thai
"intellectual acceptance"
AS a religious treatise. then, Mr.. Viii
sons book, if judgment may be base
upon its cardinal conclusions, does no
make a strong appeal. AS a story NOR
may be said for it, perhaps But the stor
hangs SO completely upon the develop
ment of the religious thought of the on
character, and so much space is taken i
expounding his views. that there is littl
room for anything else. The first part
called 1.-THE Age of Fable tho, is les
open to this objection. There the tw
grandsons of a Presbyterian preacher, on
of whom becomes the seeker and tn
other a hypocritical minister of the gos
pei. are shown as children. Some portion
of this are fine art. The boys displa.
chara cteristics from the very first tina
continue with them in mature years. The
are in bed, as the story opens. 1t i
Christmas eve. The older boy, who af
forwards becomes the hypocrite, has bee
telling the younger that Santa Claus is
make-believe, and he gives this partin
caution:
) Now remember there clint any: but don
you let on there ain't-else he won't bring you
single thing.
Il There is the hypocrite, just as large a
the boy, never letting on anything n
, | 40 t,,f 1S,,D ~
something. It is doubtful If there is
, more atrocious hypocrite in fiction. His i
distinctly the best delineation of characte
, In the book, tho the seeker as child
!. we'll done.
/ Mr.. Wilson's style is fluent his phrasin
is telling. his characters move naturally
for the most part. But it is hard to con
!; ceive Of a Presbyterian minister. like tn
i grandfather Of the two boys meeklv sit
!, ting dumb under the attacks Of til
i younger on his most sacred beliefs as tn
!. those attacks were simply incontroverti
BILE. But, all told, Mr.. Wilson should con
fine his attacks on Christianity to treati
ses, and not try to thrust them down pee
n pies throats in the sugar coating of
| novel.
An Oakland. Cal, dispatch says: Fror
poet to millionaire is the position i
4 which JOAQUIN Miller. the poet of til
Sierras," finds himself. But it is becaus
Of OIL not poetry. While the man I
A meter and verse has been gaining a live
, lihood but only livelihood, by the us
, OF his PEN he has in reality been d sma
!, edition Of John D. Rockefeller, but Ina
|, not known It, And he Is lamenting tina
his fortune came thru sources other tina
, his beloved pen.
This is the information that reached Nh
, Miller within tine last few days at hi
J home. Many years ago Mr.. Miller secure
, some land in Texas. 1t produced littl
q and, aside from the annual demands frar
81 the tax collector, Mr.. Miller heard littl