Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-07-16


and not as a spiritual power. II had a
malign power TO stide the voice Of the soul
in the search FOR God. but not the power
10 FIRE the soul in zeal for the true essence
Of the Christian spirit
Nothing In Empty Forms.
"The aesthetic, ritualistic and liturgicai-
J do not wish TO decry beautiful forms-but
ritualistic Christianity IL like a ladder upon
which many souls may climb up or down.
The Christianity OF the beautiful forms 10
not the Christianity Of the New Testament.
! am sick Of the Christianity OF the organ
and the aisle and the sunrise and twilight
service. The supreme question is not the
ritual Let us put our faith on the ele-
mental sources Of power. hope the Bap-
lists will waste no time in controversy upon
ritualistic forms Let not your ideal he
the beauty OF form. but Of righteousness.
intellectual Christianity In the pursuit
OF an intellectual Christianity men have
turned away from the task OF converting
men. There lie no good in endeavoring to
transform Christianity into an intellectual
problem. l believe the time was, is and
will be when Christianity was not thought
to be primarily intellectual, but as wholly
moral and spiritual. We must not triie
with the intellectual machinery Culture
tianity it's message TO culture. The aim
OF Christianity Is the transformation Of the
inward man, that OF culture is the trans-
formation of the outward man. Cultivate
your Christianity, but do not confound
your Christianity with your culture. Chris
tianity puts its arm around you and
whispers the gentle loving word, brother.
Culture tells you at the grave of the loved
one that there Is no hope. Christianity,
standing at the brink Of the open grave
comforts you and speaks to the broken
heart-I am the resurrection and the life
He that believeth in Me shall never die
And pours the balm OF comfort on the
broken heart. There s a conscious realiza-
ton in the life and resurrection that all
the power OF the world cannot rob us OF our
dead.
No Limit 20 Christianity.
Christianity is like a flame to a stubple
field, a hammer OF iron shaping, changing
everything The adjustment of Christianity
as power brings us to the thought OF
how shall we make ulr way back to the
original Christianity adjust ourselves to it's
source. the spirit OF God? Christianity as
power Is not an evolution from within
the heart OF man. but from without, from
| ycnder heaven. so all power comes from
/
So with our material lives, the bread we
eat comes from the wheat that Is given
power by the sunshine, the rain; the water
we drink and all elements entering into or
material body are allied to the great physi-
cal cosmos. I am Joining myself to a
mighty force outside myself. God has pro-
/ viued a power that / can reach out and
take hold OF, the omnipotent power which
| comes alone from God. The same omnip-
otent power looms before me when l go
/ astray and directs me Alright. All we have
TO do is to cultivate IT,
"The adjustment Of Christianity u its
instrument. the truth. Christianity is a
religion of history OF facts. First the in
carnation, second the earthly life Of Christ
and third the agony Of Gethsemane and
The sacrifice OF Calvary. The pentecost
followed the ascension and the interpreted
ton of the truth came in its fvllness.
Truth Is the instrument OF power, but truth
without the spirit OF God is powerless. The
word Of God lie sharper than a two-edged
sword and unless the spirit has this nstru-
ment of truth 1t is powerless.
Danger of Doctrinal Progress.
II am believer in doctrinal progress.
But It IL in danger of under or over state
ment--ths under statement OF liberalism or
the over statement Of dogmatism. Taking
the simile Of the pile driver. the steam
engine stands for the spirit of God, truth
the hammer that drives the pile The ham
ner must be adjusted to It's purpose SO that
1t may strike neither too heavy nor toe
light, Truth should be adjusted to the
power of Christianity and Christianity Ia
| truth.
christianity adjusted to It's agent-per.
/ -
women who bear the name OF Christ are
agents of God. Personality is the secret
of the progress OF Christianity in the
world.
I'VE long for Christianity In the form Of
a physical power. We do not think OF
grace a life blazing with enthusiasm &C
save lost man. We would slip little sticks
Of dynamite in the crevices of sin and
destroy them II we could. Power takes the
shape OF personality, The locomotive would
be useless suspended in the air but placed
upon its track II is capable of great things
Win, conscience and all the elements OF
human life are essential to the develop
ment Of personality linked with grace
which is the power OF God in contact with
divine energy through US.
The adjustment Of Christianity TO IT.
end-world conquest. The gospel Of Chris
tianity Is expansive, If you bind up you
Christianity to a narrow field you will hav'
club-footed Christianity. Let the spiri
OF Christianity expand. The promise o
Christian power is coupled with worl'
evangelization. Christ did not narrow tn
promise OF his gospel to the Jews. II wa
a militant Christianity crossing Asia Minor
the Hellespont ana out into the great world
IL was the gospel for all men, have oftel
wondered why Christianity having con
quered place IN Rome stopped. The an
swer lies in that fact that Rome was the
the center Of the worlds civilization an
1t was Gods will that It expand from Their
and be disseminated throughout the worlC
How great and vast has been this spiritua
empire building.
Appropriation of II.
Appropriation OF Christianity as powei
There are no more pitiful words than
cannot do anything, as applied to Chris
tian endeavor. DO the best you can. 70
can do all things through Christ tha
strengthens and sppropFiating to ourselve
the faith OF Jesus Christ. Mohammedanisr
is the religion Of the book, Buddhism is th
religion of method, but Christianity Is IN
religion Of the person. What want to II
a