Los Angeles herald., 1908-11-08

When the good Dr. Burdette was or
dained to the ministry a few years age
in Los Angeles, among the many ques-
tiops put to him as to his religious
belief one was what view he held as
to the meaning of being born again
and he replied that 1t means to quit
your meanness and join the church.
But the first part of this definition has
/ in too many cases been ignored
Long ago prominent Christian writ
er in our country said what is just as
/ true now, that the church itself re-
| quires conversion and another said:
THE great want of this age is the re-
! generation Of Christendom."
When church members really act in
character as Christians in the church
and outside, manifesting the fruits of
the spirit-love, humanity and hon
esty-making this divine love atmos-
pheric in the church, there viii be no
need of special outside help to bring
| people to Christ. The sinners, there
/ fore, who should have the best seats in
/ the Torrey meetings should be those
who are members of the church.
A third danger is that people will be
| led to think in these meetings. as in
the history of protestant religion, that
if they only believe in Jesus and say
! they desire to become Christians, and
If they feel bad and then feel better,
/ get baptized and join some church,
they have done the main thing and that
all will be well with them henceforth.
Get Religion Wrong Way
Many people have got religion" in
this way, and they put it in glass
case to look at so to speak, as a thing
/ to be most highly valued, and through
| the years that follow they go back to
/ this experience in prayer meeting tes-
! timony and elsewhere as though 1t had
! for them as a possession in memory
/ all the power of eternal safety and the
/ full efficacy of sure passport TO
/ heaven when they die; as though 1t
had in and of itself 'the promise and
/ potency of all forms" of eternal life
/ and blessedness. 1t thus becomes to
/ them as really a charm, a consecrated
4 relic, as any in the Roman Cathonc
church.
The peril is that many will not realize
! that conversion is simply a new start
in the right direction, with new affec-
tions, new impulses and a new dlspo-
sition: that henceforth their daily
purpose must be to become trans
formed in character and conduct ac-
cording to the example of Christ: Inc
Protestants have emphasized faith or
trust in Jesus at the expense of right
eous living and the practice of the
Golden Rule.
Ever since Martin Luther's time the
idea of salvation by faith apart from
character has been overstated, and
Luthers exaggeration of this thlng
has been perpetuated to this day. Sald
he: You see how rich is the Chris
tian, even If he would he could not
destroy his salvation by any sins, how
ever grievous, unless he refuse to be-
lieve." "Be thou a sinner and sin bold
ly, still more boldly believe. From
Christ no sin shall separate, though a
thousand times a day we should COM
nit fornication and murder"
Needs an Ethical Revival
What the world most grievously
needs now is an ethical revival-a con-
version that will lead people to quit
their meanness and "be holy in all
manner of living" A revival of hon
esty in America in high places ana
low places is the one paramount ne
cessity and the ordinary conversion
does not secure this unless the con-
science is definitely enlightened by the
laws of moral science, which are the
laws of God, and uness people are
! persuaded by all the incentives of Vir-
| tue.
| Another danger is that the minds Of
the people will be filled again with
the teachings Of an antiquated theolo-
| gy which has come down out of the
middle ages and has grown out of mis-
! taxes HlduG ny llOSC AiiiPNAENSh NNNAi -
Christians.
If the best Christian scholarship of
today, as represented in all the col
leges and universities, in many of the
leading pulpits, in science, philosophy
and literature, is right in looking at
the universe as it does from new
viewpoint. and is right in the new
knowledge thus acquired, having dis
covered a near baseline or generaliza-
At ~ In
i've method of history, providence and
creation, then very much of the old
theology is out of date and the preach
ing of it now is a perpetuation OF an
influence that narrows, dwarfs and per-
verts the minds of the people.
In the light of the new knowledge
that is coming in upon the world now
and of the new science of society that
is rising like a strong, healthy, Wig
orous infant, there are many belated
saints in America and especially In
Southern California.
Are Out of Touch
They seem to be out of touch with
all the great movements of today and
out of sympathy with the age In which
they live. There are Protestant min
listers in our land who are as bitterly
opposed to modernism" as the pope
of Rome. They must be classified
among the reactionaries and obstruc-
tionists of human society.
From all that can be gathered from
reports, the great meetings now to
be held are to be of the most con-
servative type, and yet all should pray
that Notwithstanding this, great good
may be accomplished. The Lord has
always worked through imperfect
means and the truth that has saved
the world thus far has been mixed
fore while there is peril from an an
tique theology there is much to en-
courage hope and united effort.
The fifth danger is that only half of
the gospel will be preached in these
meetings-the gospel of individual
salvation, when there is also of equal
Importance the gospel of social saliva
ton
The old individualistic idea is that
the world is a moral wreck and Chris
tianity is a lifeboat to rescue as many
passengers as possible while 1t is GO
ing down. But the new conception
is that not only the passengers but the
| wreck itself is to be saved 1.-The Fa-
ther sent the Son." says the Apostle
John, "to be the Savior of the world
as well as a few persons in the world"
not only men but institutions, Gus
toms, laws. human society and the
methods of living together here on
earth.
What the Savior Meant
This is evidently what Jesus meant
by the Gospel of the kingdom" or the
| righteous social order, and that was