Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1906-07-27

not the least bit afraid that you Will
become blatant atheist. | am not
afraid that you will turn your back
upon Christ or upon the Bible But l
am afraid lest the insidious advance OF
the new liberal thought should under
mine the foundations OF your faith.
find IL doing its deadly work in the
church and In society. Men are giving
up their anchorages and are drifting
out on the sea of doubt toward the
rocks OF eternal disaster. Never let go
your faith in the essential truths OF
Christianity. The divinity OF Christ, his
sinless life and his atonement on the
cross, his resurrection and ascension,
the work of the Holy Spirit. the neces-
sity OF the new birth and the inspira-
ton OF the Biblc-these are the dis
tinguishing doctrines OF our faith. To
has made our religion q power In the
world, IL is TO turn Christianity into a
dry, dead system of ethics. In Christ
alone have we life. The Bible declares
1t. II you deliberately go forth to eat
OF the unclean food in the Babylonish
capital You must perish o God, may
we never become so liberal that we
cannot make the words of Jesus Christ
the center, the circumference, the all
in all of what we should believe and
how we should live,
National Prejsdgee.
But there is still another fact which
would have made the eating of the
kings meat easy for Daniel. The kings
food was spread in the presence of the
young mans enemies, If Daniel did
not eat the meat and drink the wine
which came from the royal kitchens
and wine cellars at once. in all proba-
bility the refusal would be reported 10
the kings higher officials. and Daniels
bright political prospects would not
only be stopped. but without doubt
Daniel would lose his head. WELL"
you say, that is strange. How can this
be? Daniel did not have any enemies
as yet. He had just been selected for
future political favoritism and had moi
yet eaten his first meal In the palace
All, my friends. rs that question
know one fact. You have not Travelled
much abroad.
In our country the word "clannish.
ness" has not much meaning. When
we go back to our Revolutionary days
we find that Kosciusko and Baron
Steuben and Lafayette helped to win
our independence. Then we find that
Hamilton and host of other states.
men who helped make us what we are
were foreign born. Then we find thai
scores and hundreds of inventors like
Ericsson and moneyed kings like Car
negie and teachers like Agasslz were
also born across the sea. And thus
strange to say. the highest recommen
dation that an artist or a writer or G
preacher can have before the American
public is that he was foreign born
But, though our own people seem TO fee
that all prima donnss who have n for
eign name can sing better than ou
own. yet this is not true of foreign
lands. The man whom the German
are most ready to honor is the German
The man the English are most read,
TO honor is the Englishman. The maj
the Scotch are most ready TO honor
the Scotchman. The same law wa
true OF the Romans, the Greeks, th
Egyptians. the Hebrews and the Baby
lonians. The people who were not
their own nationality were Away
looked at askance and despised. Thu
you can see the national prejudic
which at once arose against Daniel
after his selection by the king because
be was foreign born.
"what Have You Doncy,
Aha! the people cry. AHA! III he
does not eat the kings meat we will
expose him. Then this foreign upstart
will remain slave, as he ought to do"
And yet, my friends, as hear the enc
mics OF Daniel gloating about his over
throw. can not hear your enemies
FLOATING over Your spiritual overthrow
in the same way? You enter a certain
line or business. The proprietor de-
cides to keep his place open on Sun
day, or, what is worse, his foreman
comes to you and asks you to do some
thing which is not squarely and up-
rightly honest. But" you say to the
foreman, II never work on Sunday"
or You say: THAT is not honest. I am
not going TO do it," The foreman
shrugs his shoulders and says: "All
right. If you won't do II, / will tell the
boss. Then ! guess you will have to
hunt another place" Then all your
enemies Will cry: "Ahai We will de-
stroy him. Aha, ahar' What have yeu
done? Are you today compromising
your Lord In the presence OF your enc
mics?
But there Is yet one more fact about
this kings meat to which / wish to
call your attention. 1t was spread in
q foreign land; It was spread scores
and hundreds of miles away from the
place where Daniel was born; it was
spread in the Babylonish capital: IL
was spread so far away from home
that methinks at first I can hear
Daniel whisper to himself these words:
well, what Is the difference il I do
eat the kings meat and drink the
kings wine? 1t Will only be for shont
time that win do it. Father and
mother will never hear about 1t. They
are away Off now among the Judean
hills, and even IL 1 DO go back to Jeru.
salem, why, then / will start all over
again and be consistent Hebrew, as
I used to be-" But no sooner does. he
speak thus than hear him say: NAY;
Will not do this, God sees; God
knows. see; know. And I will be
true to myself and true to my absent
loved ones and true to my Sod wheth-
er am in the Babylonish capital or
In my own dear Jerusalem or in my
own fathers house" Oh my friends,
has not the tempter come TO you, as I
have imagined he came to Daniel,
whispering: why don't you eat the
unclean food? No one knows; no one
will know. Why don't you eat the