Ottumwa tri-weekly courier., 1909-01-28
WHEN RELIGION GOES TO JAIL
The International Sunday School Les
son for January 81 is, 1.-THE Trial of
Peter and john" Acts q: 1871.
BY WILLIAM t. ELLIS.

somewhat startling, but the point was
well taken. He meant that the fires
of persecution would both purify and
solidify the forces of Christianity. Be-
cause religion is respectable, it is like
ly to lose its edge and earnestness.
The ideal conditions under which in
fant Church at Jerusalem began it's
life were almost too serene to last.
They needed to be welded together,
and made from molten metal into tenn
pered steel by the fires of persecution.
The need was met Immediately after
the healing of the lame man by Peter
and John, for the apostles were arrest
ed and arraigned before the Sanhed-
rim
1t is not altogether a calamity when
a man must go to Jail for his religion.
In the first place. 1t makes him test
his own faith TO be sure that he has a
religion worth going to Jail for. The
average PERSONS Christianity would
be priced more highly if it cost more.
In the second place, persecution has
always been the means of arresting
the attention of the Indifferent and the
hostile, and Of leading men seriously
to think upon beliefs for which others
are willing TO be martyred, Out of the
Imprisonment of the apostles flowed
many tangible results. Pilgrims Pro-
gress, born in tinker's cell at Bed
ford. is not the only great fruit Of an
Imprisonment for conscience's sake.
The Challenge of the Heroic.
Sealed beneath the commonplace
ness of the average man is consider
able spark Of neroism, which responds
to the challenge of the heroic. We
spend our energies in seeking more
comfortable conditions, but really
what we need, and in our hours of il
Elimination desire, Is not an easy lot,
but harder life. It is the people
who have to wrestle with rigorous
climates and difficult territories who
have given to history it's greatest fig
ures. The church's periods of perse-
cution have produced it's most shining
saints.
In passing it is well worth noting
that, thanks to the fearless labors in
the past of men and women who have
added all things for the truths sake,
there is today probably no spot in the
world, except Thibet, where men can
be imprisoned because of their relig-
ious intolerance of the Turkish rule
has been broken. Now, at the very
centers of Mohammedanism, religious
liberty prevails. The experience of
Peter and John, who were arrested on
theological grounds, cannot be dupli-
Gated. The days OF the great reform
ers, when men went to the stake be-
cause of intellectual convictions, seem
to have passed away. The long line
of imprisoned champions of truth have
been the liberators of the present gen
Grafton.
Standing With Their Leader.
This picture of Peter and John be-
fore the Sanhedrin as it sat in state,
recalls inevitably that earlier picture
of the same man when the Sanhedrin
was once before sitting. Then he
covered and cringed and skulled on
the outskirts Of the scene startled by
the mild words of servant maid, try
ing in vain to drive away the chill
from his heart by a fire kindled by
his Leaders enemies; and even lying
and cursing in vain effort to sep
arate himself from relationship with
the majestic Prisoner within. An ab-
ject, pitiable figure was that cowardly
Peter Now, however, we see him
standing just where his Master had
stood. He is in his right place face
to face with The same foes. No more
does he need to warn himself, for his
heart is aglow with joy and pride,
that he has been counted worthy to
stand in the stead of his Master. We
pity the heroes and martyrs OF faith,
when really we ought to envy them.
The most comfortable men in all that
distinguished Jerusalem assembly that
day were the two prisoners, Peter and
John.
The boldness of the disciples is a
characteristic of this book. 1t NAV be
called the mark of the Lord Jesus.
Neither the Sanhedrin nor the world
since would take knowledge of weak
kneed disciples that they have been
with Jesus. A trait of those close to
Christ is their utter fearlessness in
Witness-bearing. 1t still confounds op-
position, even as it did in the case of
Sanhedrin. The courage of the pris-
oners, and the presence of the healed
man, brought the persecution to i
standstill. The Sanhedrin made over
lures for compromise, but Peter and
John would not promise, but Peter
and John would not capitulate, They
demanded freedom without conditions.
To the request that they keep silence
when freed, the answer promptly
came, Whether it is right in the sight
of God to hearken unto you rather
than unto God, judge ye: for we can
not but speak the things which we
saw and heard" Isn't that an ut
terance to put iron into the blood of
every timorous immortal?
The Present Need.
According to this narrative, the
first recorded prayer of the Christian
church was a prayer for boldness in
bearing witness. Hard on the heels
of the petition is written the answer:
'And when they had prayed, the
place was shaken wherein they were
gathered together; and they were all
filled with the Holy Spirit, and they
spake the word of God with boldness. ;,
That still is the greatest need of the
Christian church today She does not
speak up with boldness concerning the
things which she cherishes most dear