Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-07-06
TRUE GLORY IS
RIGHTEOUSNESS
Or. STRAT0N GIVES FIFTH OF
JULY SERMON
DISCUSSES DECAY OF oREAT'HIs-
ToRIcAL NATIONS
Modern Church Must Not Be Mere
Literary Institution, but Valiant
Fighter for Cause OF
Christ

Rev. John Roach Straton, pastor Of
the Seventh Baptist church of Balti-
more, Md, has arrived in Los Angeles
to occupy the pulpit of the Temple
BAPTIST church during the absence of
DR.. Robert J. Burdette In Europe.
At the morning service at the Audi
forum yesterday DR.. Straton preached
a Fifth of July Sermon" He dis
cussed some of the dangers confront
ing our country at the present time,
but sounded the note of optimism and
expressed the faith that our trying
problems would be solved successfully
and that the American republic was
destined to endure. In speaking Of the
dangers of materialism he said:
THE true greatness of a country is
not to be measured by it's material
achievements, it's military heroes or
its successful wars. The material
greatness of Greece has persisted. The
glory has departed from the Attic
plains and the Aegean shores. The
splendor of Athens is no more. Her
temple of Theseus is in ruins. Her
Parthenon is the home of the bat and
the owl, and even the tombs of her he
roes are but as the dust which they
We're vainly intended to commemorate.
But Greece still lives in the works Of
her immortal minds. She enjoys per-
petual youth through the eloquence of
Demosthenes and the heroic meter of
Homer, through the wit of Aristo-
planes and the stirring tragedies Of
AeSchylus; through the mighty
thought of Plato and the matchless
grace Of the marbles of Phidias.
1.-THE empire of the Caesars, too, has
I Ill IL. .NCI Dr.YSa
has faded. Her coliseum is molder-
ing away. The pathetic silence of her
Forum is unbroken by the eager elo-
quence of her great orators Yet the
Eternal City is not dead. She still
hourishes in the laws Of Justinian and
the master works of Virgil, Cicero and
Caesar.
"Sad, indeed, is this decay of nations,
and it's lesson for us is that these high
er things alone are the measure of
country's greatness. When her pros
perity has passed and her glory van
ishes like a dream of the night, then
must she live, if live she does, in the
thoughts of her philosophers, the deeds
Of her philanthropists, the chisels of
her artists, the visions of her seers and
the songs of her bards. If we would
see America truly great, then we must
build upon this sure foundation. Side
by side with her mighty achievements
in the material sphere we must put
ever more prominently her higher
achievements in the realm of spirit"
At the night service, in speaking
upon the subject Fighters Wanted"
DR.. Straton continued the spirit of his
morning sermon by pointing out some
of the things that are necessary Tor
America to win the victory over the
evils that now beset us. In this con-
nection he said:
''As never before in her long and
honored history the church of Jesus
Christ needs to assume the position
of leadership in social and political
reforms. This is to be done not by
making the church, as an organization,
a political machine, but by insistence
that every individual within the church
shall apply his religion to practical
affairs. We have swung so far in our
efforts to get away from the awful mi
quities arising from union of church
and state that many have actually
come to believe that religion has moth
ing whatever to do with practical life
Here is the fundamental error. There
is a vast difference between the union
of the church and state and the union
of Christianity and state. We need
this latter union imperatively today.
Church Must Be Militant
1.-THE ministry of the modern church
needs to become more militant in its
UGnI lOE I1SHlSOuSIlCSSs LS AlllllAoNA
is not called to the delights of literary
research or the charms of scientific
speculation. The true ministry is not
to consist of round of pink teas and
social coddlings, punctuated on Sum
days with dainty discussions of Brown
ing's poetry, sandwiched in between
the dulcet strains of operate airsi
Such ideals prostitute the pulpit. They
constitute treason to our sacred trust
The sermons of today need more of
the fire of the prophet and less of the
perfume of the priest. They will be
better If we catch them, as Christ did,
in the open air, as we go about doing
good and fighting evil in obedience to
his commands. Coming thus they will
have, perhaps, less finish but more
force; less polish but more power; less
rhetoric but more results.
DIR. Straton believes in thoroughly
up-to-date church work and employs
an automobile in his church visiting,
saying that church work should be
done on time-saving plan. He is his
own chauffeur and knows his auto to
every screw.
He is accompanied by his wife and
is the guest at the Kennedy home, 749
Hartford street. He expects to re-
main in Los Angeles six weeks and
will preach each Sunday at both serv-
ices at the Temple church and will
also have charge of several of the
prayer meeting services.
Aside from his sermons DR.. Straton
will deliver course of lectures at the
Long Beach Chautauqua, including
1.-THE Highway to Success" "An Even
ing with Negro Readings and a course
of morning Bible lectures.
Next Thursday afternoon DR.. Straton
will speak at the Venice Chautauuua
on 1.-THE South in Song and story"
While he is in Southern California
Dr. Straton will go to Twin Lakes.
where he will speak at the Chau-
tauqua. Later he will go to Portland,
Ore, where he will preach at the White
Temple.