Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1910-06-16
WHAT'S THE USE OF RELIGION

This was the topic that Bishop
Reese. OF the Georgia Episcopal do
cese, selected for his commencement
sermon at the state university.
The address was full of strong,
sound, hopeful and helpful advice TO
the student body Life, said he to the
graduates, is rich with opportunities
It is good, but it is thorny. 1t is not
always difficult to be clever and sue
cessful, but it IS always difficult to he
good And after all, goodness, integ-
rity, honor, purity, righteousness,
count just a little more than anything
else And the companionship of Goa,
Bishop Reese pointed out, is a great
help all the time, and sometimes it is
the only thing that helps. Religion is
of great use when the hour of trial, Of
temptat' on, of struggle, of darkness
comes, his sympathy and the sense Of
his eternal holiness and love, this is
the secret of the strength and cour-
age and fidelity that carries men
through storms and sunshine without
dishonor and without shame"
Conditions are not what they should
be to-day. There is too much indif-
ference to honor, too little restra'n mt
in the home and in society, too much
reaching after vain things to the ex-
clusion of the sound and noble Said
Bishop Reese along this line:
We read of the hidden currents of
dishonesty and graft like subterran-
lean rivers that sometimes send up
murmurs of Their mysterious tor
rents. Bribery from the halls of leg
| islatures to the sneaking interview
lbehind the fence at the crossroads is
a national menace. And WHEN we go
to the family, we find incompetent
parents and d sobedient. disrespect-
full toWseled childhood all unkempt
in morals and manners. Some time
ago head master of a boys boarding
school one of our Southern states
Told me that twenty-five per cent Of
the boys hadSO be weeded out as in
D
discipline, that It was impossible as
ye TO apply the honor Item in ex-
amnatiOns. because the IS did not
seem to understand the meaning Of.
the word. These boys come from the
average well-to-do famil es in our
small towns and country districts
Stealing euphemistically called swip-
ing. and lying were disgracefuIly pre-
valent. Now this is not the whole
story of our people. God forbid. Hon
or and truth and fidelity and true re-
llgion are not extinct and most of the
people are sound n faith and morals.
But cancer on our foot is not a light
matter, though the rest of the body be
sound. There is no doubt that family
religion is decadent that the plain
precepts of Gods Word are more or
less unfamiliar that money and
pleasure and automobiles are little
Gods and sometimes big Gods
What's the use of religion?" 1t is
to sober and gnify and solemnize
life. It is to root out the materialism
'of the home and the state, to furnish
ideals and motives and power Of VIII
ito resist evil and to enforce good. it
.is to give gack love to the Ten Com
mandments, to teach people that man
doth not live by bread alone but by
every word that proceedeth out of the
mouth Of God 1t is to restore to
men and children's souls the rever-
ence and the wisdom when express
ed tself Of old in the words, TO fear
God and keep His Commandments is
the whole duty Of man.