The Washington herald., 1909-10-25

1
asked, Who is this man whom even the
winds and sea obey? Now. this same
God in human form startled his hearers
on more than one occasion by announcing
His Identity, His oneness with God the
Father. by telling them that I'm seeing
Him they saw the Father. and that no
man could go TO the Father except
through Him. Being in the form of God.
He thought it not robbery to be equal
with God: but empued Himself. taking
the form OF a servant. being made in the
likeness OF men, and in habit found as a
man" This is how ST. Paul in the Scrip
lures puts H. (Ph.; II: g. Besides Christ
exacted belief in His divinity from all.
and especially from those who came in
closest contact with Him Recall how
He drilled this belief into the Apostles,
the twelve men chosen 10 convey the
knowledge OF Him and His teaching to
all the world. What think you. Christi
was a favorite question with him, and
when Peter. failing down in alteration,
/ cried out, Thou art Christ. the Son
OF the living Cod" Christ did not re-
Duke him for this worship, nor refuse
! the appellation OF divinity nor tell the
| generous apostle he was mistaken and
was giving divine honors TO a man
/ In fact. the gospels record dozens OF fall
ings down and countless alterations of
Christ by the people among whom He
moved. Surely He with His universally
admitted wisdom and goodness would not
tolerate this II II were the outcome Of
| popular delusion. When finally challenged
by His Ubiquitous judges TO say plainly
! If He were the Son OF God literally and
truly. He gave them an answer so clear
20 them and unequivOcal that IN a rage
at His Unfiinching proclamation Of His
own divinity they quickly wound up the
formalitles Of the case against Him and
declared He was guilty OF blasphemy and
ought 20 die. But they understood that
He contended He was a divine person
and equal TO the Father.
II IS clear, I think. that the direct and
| personal teachings OF Jesus Christ. as
they are recorded IN the Gospels. attest
His dedication and proclaim His divinity:
that in Him "dwolls all the fullness Of the
God-head corporally" q Col, H:9)-that
Is, IN human form II is equally evident
that the hierophant Of the new cult IS
not In accord with these teachings when
he denies that divinity. and his gospel is
not IN harmony with Christ's. as Rev.
]
Christ teaches one thing and President
I Eliot directly the opposite. yet he saws
he agrees with Christ But this Is the
day of obscurantism. when men use terms
that are meaningless and arguments that
lead 10 no conclusion.
Does Not Understand Christ.
Harvard's president emeritus does not
understand Christ. for he makes Him
something more than man and less
than God This may be the Uni
tartan Interpretation OF Christianity.
but he must not say the whole world is
going 70 accept that Interpretation. espe-
oially when It Is at variance with the
Interpretation Christ gave OF His own
system OF salvation. which is real and
genuine Christianity I know that Jesus
Christ also said OF Himself: The Father
Is greater than l." But in this utterance
the Saviour merely enunciated the fact
Of His humanity. and that as man He Is
inferior 10 God the Father. Being two
things at Once-that is. both God and
Mantle could as one divine person
having two separate and distinct natures
predicate different attributes or things OF
Himself. He was the word made flesh,
as St Johns gospel put ii, and the
Word was with God. and the Word was
Cod"
am writing this letter on the train
that bears me home, and have no inten-
ton ot being drawn into any controversy
over T., as / am a busy man among peo-
pie who have the simple but aIl-con-
quering. all-sufficing faith In the triune
God, and who know something about
Ia FFaHr -a.l IN.
has sent do not question the sincerity
OF the Rev. Dr. shannon. hut I insist he
hasn't saved his man. It is no use try
ing 20 whitewash a pile OF coal: the black
VIII stick out IN spite Of the well-meaning
brush
don't believe the Methodist Fpis-
copal Church wants 10 champion the
new prophet OF the North. Certainly the
Catholic Church has only execratlon for
his new religion, and l am glad 10 saw
the saner and more reliable press Of the
country has denounced II. Papers and
periodicals OF the better sort. even those
who found something heretofore to adj
mire in Mr. Eliot, now question his use
fulness. II he viii try 20 inflct or US.
especially upon young men. his disbelief
IN the divinity Of Jesus Christ. he is "A foe
70 the dignity and consolation OF man.
nlEneSf
type Of manliness and takes away a
source Of infinite alienation in labor and
sorrow.
Rev. DR. Reid Shannon offers his
people something more substantial. /
think. than the religion Eliot presents 10
the public at large which is at best only
manned, defective and insufficient
Christianity founded on a human sage.
and not upon a divine Christ President
Eliot Ike Prof Goodwin Smith. is a dan
gerous man 10 take as guide In religious
matters Some have considered him a
derelict in the seat OF faith: that Is not
a help TO the navigation of the souls
ship 10 heaven, but menace 20 its prog
ress there. AT all events. he is a layman.
and opposed 10 his testimony against the
dedication OF Christ. I put that Of an
other laynan. as brainy as Mr. Eliot. the
convictions OF Pascal He says: Not
only is II by Jesus Christ alone we know
God; we do not know ourselves except
through Jesus Christ. Away from Jesus
Christ we neither know what our life IS
nor our death, nor what God is. nor what
we are ourselves"
Man Needs Christ.
Without Jesus Christ man would lie IN
vice and misery; with Jesus Christ man
is free from vice and misery. In Him
is all our strength and Joy; without Jesus
Christ the world could not last for IN
evitably it would either be destroyed or
become hell. All those who seek God
outside of Jesus Christ either stop short
at nature, where they find no light to
satisfy them, or they go on 20 make a
way Of knowing and serving God without
mediator, and hence they fall either
into atheism or into deism. two things
almost equally abhorrent 20 Christian
religion. That is. the irrefragable proofs
for the existence OF God are so much OF