Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-07-20
TREATS OF TRUE
GOSPEL OF AGE
WORD MEANS GOOD TIDINGS
AND FULLER LIFE
CHRIST NEVER CAME TO GIVE
MERE SET OF poeMAs
Rev. C. C. Pierce ProcIalms His Belief
in God of Intelligence Manifest
Ing Himself in the
Human Race


pastor, preached on 1.-THE Gospel for the
Age" taking for his text the words of
Matthew iv, 80: "And Jesus went
about all Galilee, teaching in their
synagogues, and preaching the gospel
of the kingdom" He said in part:
mo word in our vocabulary has
been more used or more misunder-
stood and misused than this noble old
word gospel Christ meant one
thing, we often mean another. 1t has
been made to do duty for all sorts of
dogma, all sorts of theology and all
sorts of doctrines, of which Christ and
his disciples probably never dreamed.
A man is generally said to be true to
the gospel when he reiterates number
of things which never belonged to the
Christian system for hundreds of years
after Christ had lived.
THE root meaning of this word
gospel is simply good news. Put this
meaning into 1t every time and you
will not stray far. Anything which is
really good news is gospel. Funda-
mentally what is good news for one
age is good news for all ages, Tor the
basic constitution Of man is ever the
same But in another sense there is
real meaning in the expression often
used, The gospel for the age What
might be good news for one man
might not be good news for another.
What might be good news for men In
one age might not be good news for
them in another.
First of all the gospel for the age
must be a gospel, as opposed to mere
formal law. We have inherited, too
much of our religious teaching from
times before Christ, and have not tax
en- what he said in the pure form in
which he gave it. Our theology is more
Jewish than Christian a great many
times While the Jews were the great
est people of all time, and had worked
out a system of life which, had 1t been
carried out, would have produced
race 1000 years ahead of anything ever
seen; still we have, as is customary
with human nature, retained most OF
their mistakes and errors, and disre-
garded a great deal of their funda-
mental truth. The world will ever owe
an inestimable debt to the Jews for
what they have done for mans spir-
itual nature, but we must build upon
their foundation. Some things in their
conceptions must be eliminated. Christ
brought us higher light.
What the world needs today is a
gospel and not a theology or phlloso-
ply The mistaken notion that man
to be saved must give assent to some
peculiar form of creed, doctrine or
philosophy, has filled the world with
sorrow, Redeemed the earth with blood
| and wrought untold misery and deyas-
| tation in the world. When Will mer
come to see that 1t is not any particu'
| lar form of doctrine which makes merl
or demerit in man? When VIII w
| come to see that that which really IN
i fiuences life and makes differences be
\ tween men and nations is something
which lies deeper than any mer'
| words?
TAUGHT Glory of Love
| "Christ never pretended to give mel
| a series of dogmas, but he came t
bring them a more abundant life. Tie
never established set forms OF Wor-
ship but showed them the royalty ano
| glory of love and service. He never
built up any great ecclesiastical sys-
| tenn to establish domination over the
reasons and consciences of men, but
he told us to love our neighbor as
| ourselves The remarkable thing about
| the gospel, as Christ gave 1t to us, is
its simplicity and its adaptabillty to
| the realm of humanity's daily life. Ii
| is a gospel Of life for the life we now
live. People are getting tired of hear
| ing about the wonderful things Whlcn
| happened away off in some past when
| things were so different from what
| they are now; they are weary of being
| told of the marvellous things which are
| going to occur by and by, but they
| are hungering and thirsting for some
thing that will help them bear the
burden and solve the problems OF 70
day. Let us stop telling people &c
prepare to die, and tell them that Goo
| would have us prepare to live.
| 1.-THE gospel for the age must be q
| gospel of instruction. People need tc
| be taught the true way of life. Jesus
taught in their synagogues. nave
more faith in the God of intelligence
as he is manifested In the intelligence
| of the human race, than anything else
I believe that in the end the right VIII
prevail. because it is the sensible
| thing. Things which appeal to the
| human reason as right and just VIII
prevail in the end. The greatest in
stitution on earth today Is the school
room of the home, and SO on through
all the institutions of learning, the pup
| lie school and the rest. Give us peo-
nle true to their intellects and the
country is safe Off with the binders
In with the windows. Teach people
to think, and they will win out In the
end. Anything that will teach man
kind how to rise to a higher plane OF
| life and to recognize the responslpil-
ties of life, that will make better rain
ers and mothers, and better, happier
homes. will meet the needs of the age
best The preacher of the age must
know something. He must Keep
abreast of the worlds thought; ne must
be conversant with the latest scien-
tific achievements. The day of the old
| fogy is almost over.
"Christ preached his gospel. he
preached. He called attention TO the
essential spiritual nature of man, &c
his kinship with God, to the reality oil
the eternal life, to the right and wrong
to the necessity of love and purity
and to the blessedness of a life which
tramples self-seeking under foot
The Divine Healer
'"Christ was a healer. The gospel fol-
the age ought to proclaim the glory
of good health The idea that God In
hicts disease upon us to cultivate our
patience, or deepen our trust, is relic
of savagery. In a world where men
did as God tells them there would be
no disease. When men come 10 De
born right, live right and think right,
disease will vanish forever. Ihe true
gospel for the age will preach or the
divinity of good health, and that this
health will come as the expression OF a
spiritual harmony which is so real as
to rule all life.
Some of my friends are very much
afraid of what Christian Science is
doing in the world. The favorite charge
is that 1t is neither scientific nor Chris
tian.' Perhaps this is SO, but 1t Is
winning people of all grades of thought