The Oskaloosa herald., 1907-10-31

SIdnudfu Oh his lOrIleF SUCCESS. HIS
appearance is pleasing and his de-
livery, while not fowery, is clear, dis
tinct and forceful.
| The organization which Mr.. Crafts
represents is a world wide Christian
Organization for the promotion OF
moral reforms. Its foes are intemper-
ance, impurity, Sabbath breaking and
gambling, and its efforts in bringing
about the desired reformation are in
legislation, letters, lectures and liter
ature. The Reform Bureau represents
the churches on "the firing line" as a
Christian Lobby" in state legislatures
and particularly in congress in be-
half of moral legislation. Twelve
acts passed by congress were written
by the Reformed Bureau and intro
duced at its request and. with the help
of other reform organizations, pushed
to final success.
After the invocation by Rev. Dugan,
of the United Presbyterian church,
Major John F. Lacey introduced the
speaker of the evening, who replied
with a few opening complimentary
remarks in reference to Iowa's past
and present representation in con-
gress. In brief DR. Crafts said:
There are seven Kingdoms of love
that shall survey, but briefly by way
of preface to a study of the most I'M
portant of them all. Home, Sweet
Home In the Beginning of God.
He is everywhere, and therefore re-
ligion belongs everywhere. The cir
Gle, symbol of completeness, is its
fitting type. That circle Moses and
Christ alike divide into two overly
ing hemispheres of love. Love should
be the all-embracing circle of your
life and mine, with God as the object
of our love in the upper hemisphere,
and mankind as it's object in the low
er. Love is best defined as right re-
lations, which is also the best defini-
ton of religion. Love God means
get into rignC personal relations with
God. Love man means get into right
social relations with your fellow men.
I'VE can get right with God only
through the Saviourship of Jesus,
which it is the chief work of the pull
pit to preach. But the chief mistake
of the pulpit Is in forgetting that
while the individual is saved by the
cross of Christ the community is to
be saved by his crown, that is, by
making the law of Christ little by lit
tie, the law of business and politics
and pleasure.
1T has seemed to be good logic to
argue that If man is in right relation
ship with God he must be in right re-
lations with men.
"All history refutes that common
theory. Look at the deyout George
Washington, holding slaves, manag-
ing lotteries, drinking rum and Civ
ing servant, by contract, two days
month, after pay day, to be drunk.
The reason that men as devout as
Washington do not do as he did in
these matters is that ethical education
and organizations have supplemented
religious activity in teaching mems
duties to each other.
THE church must give more consid-
Grafton to the neglected hemisphere
of right relations with man.
"In order to help intelligently we
need to sweep aside another funda-
mental error, namely, that some one
reform will right all human relations.
To make men prohibitionists re-
gard as very important, but it will
not cure our social i'll, for Turkey,
right on prohibition for centuries, is
unspeakably wrong on almost every
thing else.
1.-THE aim of the church must be
what the aim of the whole Bible is,
not alone to save a soul in heaven
but here and now.
"Christs single but manifold pre-
scription for all this is: "lnou shalt
love thy neighbor as myself
let us consider Gods wonderful
plan for making selfish men love him
and all their fellows. have seen
nowhere so clear a presentation OF
this plan of God as in the circles of
love with which my wife is wont to
explain the two great commandments
to her Chautauqua classes of boys
and girls.
Here is selfish man who loves no
one much but himself, whom God de-
sires to broaden into whole-soule1
lover of his kind. How shall 1t be
done?
First, he is drawn out of self by
mystic love for a woman. 1t is easy
to love this 'neighbor as himself, or
better. All the world loves lover,
and true lover will come to love all
the world. In marriage the child Of
loves union again draws his selfish
heart out of selnshness--on the other
side. 1t is not hard to love his little
neighbor as himself, Each Of the
three, the father, the mother and the
child, is drawn out of selfishness. as
the tides are drawn by the sun and
moon, by love of and for the other
two. This Is the first Of Gods circles
] NJ love the family circle a unity in