The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-06-26
by wILLIAM T. ELLIS.


son For June 81 is Tempe9ahce
Lesson. Romans 1854
BY WILLIAM T. ELLIS.
A few weeks ago a New York col
Iege graduate was carried off to an in
zane asylum because he had become
deranged by one of the new Oriental
cults that are invading America In such
profusion. The episode was a reln1hoer
of the variety and strangeness or the
new-fashioned religions Wnlch are
claiming the interest of the western
world. Yet how few OF them are realy
making any impression upon the great
body of people! The busy, everyday
men and women do not even guess the
existence of these so-called mahatmas,
and transcendentalists. and new old
Thought Orientalists, whose pictur-
esoue garb and nebulous, mystical
speech wins the attention of few Idle
and 1aded spirits.
1t is no slight matter to establish a
new religion. There never mas Deen
time when it has been easy to get a
nearing from the busy world for the
claims of a different faith. The inertia
of things as they are must always be
overcome. The triumps OF Christianity
have been tremendous, and argue that
this gospel must have offered con-
tent of truth which mankind needed
and which appealed to the human
judgment.
In this year 1909 it is rather difficult
10 realize how fresh and different ana
radical were the teachings of Jesus and
the apostles which have now been
gathered into the New Testament
canon. They were far above the OLD
pagan PHILOSOPHERS, and ran counter
to many of the fundamental doctrines
of the latter. They superseded the
Levitical law of the Hebrews and were
a marked advance upon the teachings
of Moses.
A Study in Contrasts.
No, n
Sienckiwicz show the sharp contrast
between the new life of the Christians
and the old times into which it was
projected. The life of the early church
against pagan background is as
sAhaft of sunrise across the nights
darkness. The RIGHTEOUSNESS, selfish
ness, and general immortality of the
world that environed the apostolic
church makes us shudder as we view
it from our present standpoint The
times in which the gospel first showed
its power seem to have exhibited the
same characteristics which we may
find in the non-Christian lands to-
day.
The reason contemporaneous Chris
tianity is not more conspicuous in the
world-that is to say, the reason why
there is not a greater difference be-
tween Christians and non-Christians
in civilized lands-is that we see the
latter on a reflected Christian back
ground. The leaven of Christianity has
influenced the entire body of society.
We do not see Christianity in contrast
with sheer paganism, but its own ra-
dance has illumined its surroundings
so that the light merges into lesser
light It is a real triumph TO Chris
tianity that the contrast is not greater.
The indirect benefits of the gospel
must be accounted to it's credit. We
cannot hope for the sharp distinction
that Paul presented as he wrote from
corrupt Corinth to the church in the
Roman capital at the time or Nero
The Law of the Golden Age.
The fragment of Paul's letter which
IS studied this week is an exhortatlon
to some of the characteristics which
differentiated the Christians from the
non-Christians. 1t will be noticed that
Paul confines himself largely to stress
sing principles rather than rules. The
Jews were accustomed to a religion
of definite prescriptions and prescrip-
tons. Now these old regulations were
being superseded by the dominion of
the love of Christ in the hearts of His
Disciples. The law of love had been
written as Il gloss over the Mosaic ia
bles.
Somewhat the same truth is illus
frated by the fact that in the United
States today the Prohibition party is
weaker than it was fifteen years ago,
vet the principles for which it stood
are stronger than ever. The lesser has
been swallowed up in the greater. The
progress of the principle. Paul was
exhorting his friends to wake up to
their obligation to love. He said that
all that Moses had taught was COM
pretended in the single word 'NThou
shalt love thy neighbor as myself
The Christian may do much that the
ancient law said he might not do, but
upon one point it is inexorable: he
must love. Now this new law of the
better day cannot be a formal rite of
regulation. 1t is an upspringing love
from within. All the lawyers in Phila-
delphia cannot draw up an agreement
that will make the discordant temper
aments of a man and wife congenial.
Only a new inner motive can do that.
There is not a contract that can be
created to compel men to fulfill the
full measure of obligation to each
other Only the spirit of honor and love
can do that. The most advanced So
cialists in the world might write all of
. society's laws without improving con-
ditions any, unless human nature it
self was first improved. "Only the
Golden Rule can bring in the Golden
Age"
The New Social Sense.
We think that these are wonderful
times in which we live because at last
we are getting some slight grasp of
the conception that the teachings of
Jesus are working principle for so
ciety. Each for all and all for each"
is acclaimed as a new slogan of prog