The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1909-12-09
MAINE |T|NERANT'S
INSTITUTE
Great Religious Cues
tons Are Discussed
Scholarly and Able Addresses by
Earnest Men.

The session of the Maine Confer
ence Itinerant's Institute at the Cen
tenary Methodist church opened Mon
day evening with an address by DR..
Berry of Kent's Hill on Christian
Citizenship"
The State is a body of men banded
together for one definite purpose, the
common happiness and welfare. A
citizen is one to whom belongs the
privilege and obligations conferred
by the State. The three departments
of government are designed to further
this purpose and every official is APP
pointed to carry out this design.
The ideal of the State Is to afford
protection from future harm and put
away present evils. Two spirits are
at work, the spirit of Christ, and
the spirit of greed or avarice
bartering with lust for the
birthright of the State. We have
sinned grieyously when we have al
lowed party to interfere with duty
We vote for unfit men, ease our con-
sciences by kicking all the year, and
then we go and do it again. The
spirit of greed will never put itself
out. 1t must be put out by the spirit
of Christ and the ideal Christian citi-
zenship Is letting this spirit work
through us.
The only attitude then. to take to-
ward evils that threaten the State Is
the attitude of the farmers toward the
potato bug 1t would be just as reas-
enable to license a potato bug as
saloon and its kindred evils.
The saloon has dominated but the
church is beginning to dominate the
State. Through the Civic league we
have done much but there are great
er things to be done and we can not
do them till we come out of our stud
les where we have been praying THY
kingdom come"
Tuesdays exercises were according
to program The forenoon was Civ
en- up to examination OF students,
postgraduate work and reviews. At
IL O'Clock a chicken pie dinner was
served. There were fine address,
es In the afternoon by DR.. Dunnack
and DR.. Stewart and banquet served
at $50 D. m. Following Is the post
p~andial program:
Toast master Rev. G. D. Holmes;
toast, Our church, Leslie e. JACOB;
toast, Our polity, Harry Dinsmore;
toast, Our Ministers, S. F. Emerson;
toast, Our Laymen, Rev. II. E. Dun
mack.
This was one of the enjoyable fea-
lures of the Institute. The speeches
were bright, witty forceful.
DR.. Stewards address In the even
ing on will the World Outgrow
Christianity was an exceptionally
fine one.
His discourse was of course based
on the question raised by exPresident
Eliot of Harvard as to the likelihood
of new religion for the future:
Paul said every man should be
able to give a reason for the hope
that Is in him. He might have said
faith" since there Is no hope without
faith. Christianity is not contrary to
reason or nature. 1t Is only above
and beyond reason and nature. Every
man ought to have sufficient rational
ground to stand on to make 1t i'm
possible for anything to supplant his
faith. The world can not do without
Christianity because Christianity Of
fers something that satisfies the
world better than anything else. What
determines the value of faith? The
consensus of the opinion Of human
ity at its best. The Bible is worth
no more to a man than the measure
in which 1t appeals to him. What
makes 1t of value to man Is because
1t appeals to man.
Christ's personality has lost moth
ing of it's power and glory. In Car
lyle's Heroes" he has not included
Jesus; In the Beacon Lights Of His
tory" Jesus is not among the Lights.
Why? Because the authors knew He
did not belong there. II His life
were placed beside those others
they would have paled like candles
in the light of the MONDAY sun.
Jesus not only was q great char