Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-04


Chrietian ages against you.
And this brings US to another issue. on
which Christians in these days are dis
tinctly called upon to take a firm and
uncompromislng stand In the last century
our fathers and mothers had such a rever-
ence for the sanctity of marriage, that they
protected and guarded It as the security of
all that was most precious and enduring In
our American life. They knew that the
family, not the individual. is the unit of
civilization; they knew that. as the well
fare of the whole commonwealth depended
upon family life, so family life itself de-
ponds upon the sacredness Of marriage.
Fathers and mothers, then, had such hor-
ror OF divorce that, however deeply their
private sympathies might go out to those
who were unhappIly married, they felt that.
for the public safety. for the protection OF
society. for the welfare of the whole COM
munity, for the sake of their own sons and
daughters as we'll as for the purity of that
social circle in which they personally min
gled, they could not visit or have social
dealings with persons divorced contrary to
the law of the church. Today the prevalent
ideas OF divorce are contrary to New Iesea-
ment teachings. Followers OF CHRIST IN
these days have therefore, to race tnls
aIternative-if. on the one hand. they are
honestly keeping Gods Word. then they
must keep to Christ's standard of the mar
rage relationship: ''rhose whom God hath
Joined together let no man put asunder
IT. on the other hand, the pressure of social
influence Is so great that they condone
divorce and receive Into their company
those who are married otherwise than Gods
Holy Word doth allow. they stand con-
,tcted by such acts, as dishonest and dis
loyal followers of the Lord Jesus Christ
appeal to the Christians OF this diocese
to stand firm here. Our Lord said that His
followers were to be the leaders Of the
world. not to be led by II. If ever the
needed the honest straight
forward example Of Christian men ana
women. 1t Is In meeting this issue. Inc
nrevalenee of divorce has already brought
evils in Its train. Much OF the
nur,tv and refinement of American life has
gone The old reverence for the mar
rIava tie has gone. The old chfvalric
reverence for womanhood has gone.
The old intense American love for home
and home life has gone. Our young
girls are reading books and discussing mar
rage and divorce in way that would nave
brought the blush of shame to their grand
mothers cheeks and every Christian VINO
condones and excuses prevalent ideas re-
earding divorce is personally responsible for
this state of things In the sight OF God.
IT Ia easy enough to shut our eyes to all
these corr,,ptions of modern social life, and
then to label the Christian stand which
Christs words compel us to take. as mere
provincialisn'' or narrow -mindedness or
''puritanism" or "pessimism'' or some such
catch words, which seem to mean SO much
as they are banded about. and yet really
mean 50 little. but the facts speak for
themselves The moral degradation OF the
times has become the sarcastic theme even
of the society novel and the l0-cent period
teal Much of the present style of living
among the so-called upper classes" Is I'M
christian, artificial and recklessly extrava-
giant: and IL is bound to become more and
more so, not because the progress OF civil
lization. the chief end Of which Is the build
ing up OF the character OF nation. but
because of the unfaithfulness to the stand
ard OF Christ especially on the part of
Christians who profess one thing and act
another There are not two standards OF
living for Christian men; there Is no dis
tinction drawn by Christ between the re-
ligious and secular life, between private
duty and public or social duty; there Is
but one standard of morals for Christian
men and women, for Sundays and for week
days for all times and places, for all
classes. professions, trades and social sets,
and Cod will Judge adj by that single stand
ard, without respect of persons.
Here in the capital of the whole country.
you followers of Christ have a special WITT
ness to bear for your Lord and Master; for
Washington Is as a city set on a hill 1t
is bound to be a center OF civic, social and
religious, or Irreligious Influences, whether
we will or no. At the present day 1t is
plain that we are living In an atmosphere
Of civic. social and religious irresponsi-
bility; and therefore I call upon the Chris
tian people of this diocese to discharge
the Christian responsibility that God places
upon them. whatever motives of expediency
they may have to cruelty and whatever the
social cost may be. OF course, to do this
honestly, every Christian will have to face
opposition In former centuries, the cost
ofrbeing honest was martyrdom, in this
century the cost of being honest is ridicule
and INSTRUMENTATION; but bear In mind
that this very fact is a tremendous proof of
the truth and power of the Christian re-
liglon
Worldly men superciliousIy ignore the
Christian believer so long as he, by COM
promising with the world. becomes thereby
compromised himself, but the very moment
our religion becomes a vital power we dis
cover-sometlmes with a thrill-that we
have to bear the reproach of Christ and to
feel the brunt of that enmity which cruel
fed Him.
The reproach of Christ and vital religion
are inseparable because Of conditions that
are unalterably fixed. AS Christ was sepa-
rate from the world. So If they honestly
keep His Word. must His followers be;
no other course Is open TO them In the
service of such a Master. In times Of
war every man must stand forth as a
loyal patriot or be branded as traitor,
and the Christian religion is always at
war with the power of sin. The alternative
Is before us: II must be. one thing or the
other. either separation from the world
which crucifed Christ, or separation from
Christ Himself.
EDWARD EVERETT HALE
TO PREACH TODAY
Rev DIR Edward Everett Hale, chaplain