The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-10-06

ss5 ldls plain people love 20 com
pact their philosophy into
proverbs. The ordinary man
is prone to dispose Of a great
subject IN a sentence. Few re
uh marks on the subject OF re-
Ugion are more common than If
man does his bes1, he is ali right" Va
Ious free renderings of what the Great
Teacher called the Second Command
Enent are current and popular inter-
pretations Of religion In the words
OF Jesus this was, Thou shalt love fny
neighDor as myself
While this is a distinct advance upon
the loose declaration do your best
and don't bother about the rest II is
not quite all of religion. Ahead of ii,
In the teaching of Jesus is the com
Enand, 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 Mans relation
90 man is less important than man re
fRtion to God
This question, which was raised on
the last day OF the Lords public min
Zstry when his enemies were trying
by every imaginable subterfuge to en-
mesh him. was one of the stock argu-
ments OF the Ossided religious teaching
OF the time Having divorced religion
from tactical life, the lawyers and the
scribes and Pharisees dearly loved in
genious debates as to which was the
greatest commandment Many and
protracted were the pretty arguments
one scribe, apparently in sincerity. was
made a stool pigeon by the Pharisees
in an eudeavor to catch Jesus IN this
old trap. The answer OF the latter was
so clear and so true that even the ques-
toner was forced TO say, "Of truth,
Master. thou hast well said
The secret of Socialism.
The Watchword Of present-day prog
ress in our own land is this Second
Commandment Teachers who yield
u N~e,1~4s az
constant in. proclaiming the law of
brotherhood The tidal wave of DOliti-
cal socialism which is rising alarming
T. over America, is but an expression
snarticulate and inadequate, Of the de-
sire of the 1ustice-lOViDg common
heart to see fraternity and benevolence
rule between man and man. The old
hostile spirit. which for centuries has
divided class against class has made
the world more or less of an armed
camp is utterly repungent to the
thinking man today He sees that nate
and self-iuterest have too long held
5uint rule over the race To the
fhourhtf1l member of society it is
plain that there cannot be an enduring
social structure built upon distrust and
eurnity. So the slogan of progress is
brotherhood In the Onmarching
ranks of united labor, in the socialistiC
propaganda and in the aggressive
Christianity of our time. may be seen
many. conspicuous examples Of the
great teaching Of human brotherhood
1t IS more than passing strange that
ln this greatest movement Of the cen
tury the church is not unanifestly in
the forefront The battle-cry. "Al ye
are brethren belongs to her Her
duty beyond question is to pioneer
every aItruistic enterprise; and to bring
IN the reign Of the spirit Of Him who is
alike the Prince of Peace and the best
Brother Of all mankind The loudly
heraIded revival which so many Chris
tians declare to be imminent. must par
take. at least IN part OF an ethical
character that viii bring soidly to the
front the teachings Of Jesus upon the
duty of man to man. The world
would be justified IN refusing leader
ship to a church which could be ga It's
ned with the present Wo1f-llke state OF
society. and fail to spend her last ounce
OF power to securing both justice and
love for the man who is down.
ssR7rst Thing First
The person with a respect for his
own intellectual integrity, must be al
T,eIng to see conditions in their true
perspective and proportion Any one
truth held too close to the eyes will
obscure broader truth in It's relation
ships Thus, If Is right and noble and
necesaTy and divine to champion the
principles of brotherhood. Every
friend Of Jesus Christ IS obliged, by
loyalty to his Master, to stand for this
vital teaching The law for the times
IS Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
myself"
Nevertheless, this is the Second
Commandment, and not the First. Il
IS the duty OF man to get right with
1nan-after he has got right with
God. his relation with his human fell
l0wbelngs Will be determined by his
relationship with the infinite The
fatherhood OF God is a true antecedenf
70 the brotherhood Of man, and 81
makes possible the latter. The pOpu-
lar evangeIistic watchward "Get righ
with God" is not merely pious
phrase savoring Of cant: it has far
reaching sociological significance