Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1904-05-05
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
A DISCOURSE ENTITLED .uLTimATE
AMERlcA." -

&
4 Patriotic Address by the Rev. j. Alexan-
der jenkins, Pastor OF Emmanuel Com
gregational Church-This Country the
Spiritual Teacher of the Nations.
BROOKLYN, N. Yin Temple Israel the
Rev. J. Alexander Jenkins, pastor of I'm.
manuel Congregational Church, delivered
an address to a large audience on "Ulti-
mate America, the Spiritual Teacher Of
The Nations" He said among other things:
1t is commonplace Of the newer think
ates in the soul of man, the whole mighty
movement being satisfactorily explained,
according to the thinking of the theistic
evolutlonist, when matter endowed with
lie and perfected through countless gener-
atlons, has at last given to the mind Of the
human being the instrument for the ele-
mentafy exercises of its endless hfe The
struggles of the ages are justified in the soul
The student Of history is perplexed as he
hears the groanings and witnesses the tra-
valllngs OF the nations through the centur-
les. and his natural and legitimate query.
as he beholds the. rise and fall of nations,
is, Where lies the goal of the peoples and
what Justities the tolls and agonies of the
race! The answer to this inevitable ques-
ton is this: Almighty God is leading the
natloas toward the goal Of the highest life,
and the struggles of the ages find justifca.
tlon in the birth of the world-soul. And il
the fact that God breathed into mans nos
trils the breath of life, so that he became
= living soul Is sufficient recompense for
the bloody brute battles Of the worlds
gray dawn, the thought that He will
breathe soul into the nations should like
wise be deemed ample compensation for
the gropings and grapplings of the aspir-
ants Tor national permanency and suprem-
acy:
The American colonists were not the
first men to fight for independence, but the
Independence made their fight epoch.
marking as no other fight had ever been.
Other nations had given up slavery, but
no nation was ever before called upon to
furnish SO awful proof of sincerity of
motive in striking the shackles from the
limbs of the enslaved. Other nations have
had to deal with the problem of undesir-
able aliens, but no nation ever felt as feels
America the imperativeness of a course of
acton based upon Righteousness and JUS
t1ce. Other nations have seized the terri
tory of the weak and helpless, but none
has felt such deep, unselfish solicitude for
dependent. people as has characterized
our country In her dealings with primi-
tive people committed to her care as the
outcome of her Intervention in the inter-
ests OF humanity Other nations have had
to effect adjustments between employer
and employe, but no nation has ever been
called upon to effect such an adjustment
when the eonaitiqAa t q1 pffnefb1a ~
universal Importance is involved The set
tlement of the "labor problem" in demo
cratic America means the settlement for the
| world, for here the employer of the high
est type meets the worker of the highest
! type, and the final result will be in keep
! ing with the character of the contestants
So we are learning the lesson of deiber
ateness; and one of the most promising
| signs of the times is the tendency to- deal
| with great questions cautiously and calmly.
The result Of this course will be that what
the new America settles win stay settled.
She will settle, and that for all time, the
question Of the rights of inferior peoples,
| the question as to the character of the edu-
| cation most to be desired, the question of
the relation of employer to employed
America is today solving the e accumulated
that she should have time to complete her
! task
In view of what has been said, it will
! strike us as a fact of solemn import that
our country is preparing for her yet larger
service through the slow, constant develop
ment of her religious consciousness. The
existence and growth of this consciousness
the superficial observer of our life and in
stitutions might feel inclined to deny.
| Nevertheless, we are convinced that this
most necessary condition for present and
future leadership exists.
Where shall we seek for this religious
consciousness? Shall we look for it in the
institutions set apart as avowedly relig-
ious? No man has the right to scoff at or
ganized religion. Our schools, our churches,
our synagogues are, on the whole, true to
their mission. But the truly effective re-
igious consciousness must be found in
other places as well-in the editorial sane
tum, in the political gathering, in the mart
and the busy street. Let us find this con-
| it's form, and we shall have as good guar
, antee of the divine favor as though we had
gazed upon overhowing houses of worship
and listened to the eloquence of the elect
The religious spirit which makes for Amer
ican pre-eminence may be discerned in
!. many phases of the national life, but it Ii
strikingN evident in the new press, the
new politics and the new social ideal
There are many, doubtless, who would not
. concede that the press of the country fur
nishes an evidence Of growing nationa
righteousness, but the fact remains, that il
the newspapers of our land there is dis
tinct trend toward righteousness and god
liness.
The truthfulness and force Of our pres
ent contention will seem to many hard t.
reconcile with the well-known fact that il
the United States the avowedly religion
journals are steadily losing ground. Blu
even this fact, rightly interpreted, is no
an evidence of national decay. The relie
) ious papers of to-day have choice betweel
, | degeneration and evolution. The signs Q
degeneration are stubborn adherence to de
) nominational shibboleths, fierce champion
l ship of exhausted dogmas and growing In
I | patience with progressive Interpretation c
!, | truth. The signs of evolution are tn
throwing overheard of useless issues. an
: the adoption Of the leading features Of th
/ great secular" papers. The great relis
; | lous papers of the country to-day are sue
in name only. Were the contents of on
Of these papers rearranged and printed
newspaper form it would pass as new
: paper, minus the newspapers up-to-dat
: freshness. In the secular press, on tt
: other hand, there is steady progress an
a increasing vitality The moral tone of Il
American people is reflected in the ne
> journalism, and the fact that the citize1
Z of the republic desire righteousness is pa
t ent to all who seek the underlying motiv'
e of journalistic enterprise of the highe
= type. And this fact is most signifcal
= when we remember that these great age
J; cies Of publicity, free discussion and ed
It., cation have direct bearing upon the sha
n ing of the ideals of the infowing millio1
: of our population. The spirit of Il
Z American journalism ia communicated