The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1909-04-12

OF injustice, falsehood or oppressio:
and, again, that having subdued our
enemy to regard him no longer as
our foe, but to extend to him that
most glorious attribute of Deity,
mercy.
] Is there one among us who, with
Pontius Plate of long ago, is asking
What is Truth?' No, not among Us.
For, in the faith that we have pro-
fessed we have dealt the death-blow
to doubt. We know in whom we
believe. But what think we of
Christ? 1t is plain that He is all
that He laid claim to being the
very Son of God came down from
heaven-or else the basest impostor
the world has ever known-gullty of
arrogance. blasphemy, political
intrigue, and trickery, deserving to
die.
Strauss did all in his power to
undermine Christianity, but gave ex-
preston to these words, Jesus is
the highest object we can possibly
imagine with respect to religion: the
Being without whose presence in the
mind, perfect piety is impossible
| Theodore Parker adds this testimony
Above all men do 1 bow myself be-
fore that august parsonage, Jesus of
| Nazareth" Carl Bahrdt was
thorough going nationalist, but he
said, No Mortal can name Thy name
without bending the knee, and in
reverence and admiration feeling Thy
unapproachable greatness. Where
is the people among whom a man of
this stamp has ever been born?
That soul is most depraved that
knows Jesus and does not love Him.
Ernest Renan says, Christ for the
first time gave utterance to the idea
upon which shall rest the edifice of
everlasting religion. He founded
the pure worship which shall be that
of all lofty souls to the end of time.
The words of Jesus were CLEAN
in thick night. 1t has taken eigh-
teen hundred years for humanity to
learn to abide by it. But the CLEAN
shall become the full day, and after
passing through the circles of error,
humanity will return to these words
as the immortal expression of it's
faith and hopes Lecky, the Histor-
ian, sums up his calm estimate of
Christ's work as follows, 1t was
reserved for Christianity to present
to the world an ideal character,
which, through all changes of eigh-
teen centuries, has inspired the
hearts of men with an imprisoned
love-has shown itself capable of
acting on all ages, nations, tempera-
ments, and conditions not only
the highest pattern of virtue, but the
strongest incentive to its practice:
and has exercised so deep an infu-
ence that it may be truly said that
the simple record of three short
years of active life has done more
to regenerate and soften mankind
than all disquisitions of philosophers
and all the exhortations of moralists.
In the presence of such wit
ness, what think we of Christ?
There is but one reasonable answer
to this question. He is the Son of
God come down to earth, Emmanuel:
He is the truth for which we
have long sought, and having found
Him, we shall follow Him to the
end. The way which He trod shall
be our way of life and to life.
This way must pass by Gethsemane
and Calvary, but it does not stop
there. It leads to the open tomb,
and then on to Bethany, where as
He lifted up his hands to bless His
disciples cloud received Him out
of their sight, and finally, to the
right hand of our Heavenly Father,
where He even now sits, a mediator
and intercessor for all those who
put their trust in Him.
On this glorious Easter day our
hearts are cheered as we call to
mind those words of tremendous
power, I am the resurrection and the
Life, saith the Lord: he that believ-
eth in me, though he were dead, yet
shall he live; and whosoever liveth
and believeth in me shall never die
This dear friends, is the Gospel I
would declare unto you.
And now to come to our second
point-how are we called upon to
maintain this Gospel and to keep