Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-11-19


but brutal disregard of God and man.
All reckless atheistic thought was born In
the lap of such dishonored faith. Unbelief,
the petty excuse for all baseness and i'm
morality, has grown and flourished in the
miasma of faulty religion. And thus it
came to pass that whenever lawless mis-
ereants sought to justify their vile acts
they pointed to the dark spots on the sun
of religion, to the injustice so often COM
mitted under the law, and the bitter con-
troversies incurred by emergency of
faith. 1t is true: Righteous are the ways
of the Lord; the just shall walk therein
while the transgressors will stumble by
them.
Hence there can be no question as to
whether religion in itself is good or bad.
1t is just what man makes of it; as 1t is
part and parcel of the human nature, the
creative power by which man becomes the
free agent of his own fate, and through
which he may serve the purpose of God, or
that of satan.
The ideal of religion is the golden thread
which comprises the entire human family
in one loving embrace, which unites all the
children of man by one sense of justice
and right, and under the standard of an
all-one Father and God
The ethical nature of man, as religion is
often termed, teaches the human mind
that the light. the air, the water the soil
and all earthly productions are universally
accorded to satisfy the needs of all men
and to the injury of none. And while 1t is
His mercies are over all His creatures"
is it in any sense natural or religiously
lawful to supplant fellow-creature by
mere earthly contrivance, or for the sake
. of ACKNOWLEDGMENT to deny any of the
natural rights to any portion of the human
kind? Are We not all children of one
Universal Father? Has not one God Great
ed us all? Why should we deal treacher-
ously each man against his brother?'
Which is the most important passage in
Holy Scripture? Rabbi Akibba said: And
thou shalt love thy neighbor as myself
Ben-Azai simply referred to the clause:
" And these are the genera lions of man
not black, not white not great, not small
but mani"
1t is sad, very sad, that the laws of hui
man making stamp all men as aliens to
each other. The fundamental laws of ma
ture are therefore outraged; { odly free
dom is thus too often replaced by licentious-
ness and violence; natural and whole
some development by artfuI deception and
foppery. The technical formality and bus
iness-like" method with which the world
is now wont TO treat everything and every
body have made the human heart void of
compassior-nature's most beautiful trait
cold and stiff. like an automaton. A farcf-
cal, diplomatic. etiquette permits it that
tens of thousands of defenseless creatures,
men bent down with age, tender women
and innocent babes and infants, are ruth
lessly slaughtered by demoniac agents of
czardom and an accursed Pobyedonoszeff
without any one of the nations demanding
a reprieve or stay; without any one of the
rulers of the earth, even of the freest of
countries, calling out Halt" Even our
own man of the strong spirit, the truly
democratic, earnest, upright and humanity
loving Theodore Roosevelt, who detests
falsities and Inconsistencies even he is too
weak and powerless to do aught in the
face of these grievous circumstances. In
ternauonal law would not permit interven-
ton in this case
But if this so-called international law
is one of the many devices" by which
mans better nature is defed and the law
of God outraged, then, as civilized beings,
as thinking people, mark ye the admoni-
ton. All We nations take warning and
dread the curse of Cain, the evil conse-
quences entailed by blood-shed and vio-
lence everywhere, the effect of natures
penalty, which stretches far and wide, the
wrath of a just avenger that regards no
person. And it matters not whether We be
guilty of direct cooperation or mere con-
nivance at these bloodiest monstrosties
while you make not the slightest effort to
oppose them the guilt rests with you. Sin
lieth al your own door. The innocent blood
of your own brothers crleth unto heaven
| from the ground, and the Divine call is re-
sounded to each and all: Cain, where is
| thy brother Abel?" No petty excuses no
| false presentations, no artful devices in
the presence of Almighty God. Stand not
idle by the blood of thy neighbour is the
| call addressed TO US all as one common
brotherhood.