The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1910-09-13
Sermon by
CHARLES 7.
RUSSELL.
Pastor Brooklyn
Tabernacle.

pIcdCucu tOudJ III tue ACdueLuy O1 mu-
sic. our largest Auditorium. the Tab
ernacle'' being of insufficient capacity.
He had a very attentive hearing.
There were many Hebrews in the
large audience. He said In part
Coming events cast their shadows
before" Startling shadows are all
about us. A great change in the af-
fairs of men is indicated and acknowl-
edged by all thoughtful. intelligent
people. The worlds pace during the
past fifty years astonishes everybody.
New conditions meet us on every hand
The majority of books written half
century ago along scientific lines are
considered rubbish today. Rules and
customs and theories of the past. sup
posed to be immovable and absolute.
are abandoned as worthess-in chem
istry, In manufactures. In art, In
finance and commerce All these
changes necessitate new view of So
cial conditions and a re-examination of
the relationship of religion and the
Bible to man and his conditions. as
seen from the present viewpoint The
business and social world have been
compelled to keep pace with the steps
of progress. some of them gladly and
some Of them reluctantly. But reli-
gionists have been placed in a most
awkward position. Religion and NOR
al sense constitute the backbone and
fiber Of the best progress In civiliza-
ton. The perplexity of religious
thought. and its manifest inability to
adjust itself to the changed conditions,
is working serious disadvantage to
all disposed to look to the Almighty
for guidance in LIES affairs.
The increase in worldly wisdom, the
improved human conditions. the ad-
vancement along scientific lines in ma
terial prosperity have turned many of
the worlds brightest intellects away
from God and from the Bible. Many
Of these. still processing Christianity
in an outward. formal manner have
really abandoned it In favor of a theo-
ry of civilization" They have wan.
dered from the Divine Revelation. the
Bible. into paths of speculation their
own and other mems. They have cogi-
tated that the reverse of the Bible
statements Is the Truth-that instead
of man falling from the image of God
into sin and death. he Is rising from a
brute or monkey plane upward. grad
ually. to Divine heights Instead of
looking for great Deliverer, Messiah.
Savior, Life Oliver. they are hoping to
be let alone by any outside influence.
that certain fancied laws of Evolution
might help them upward and onward
to glory. honor and Immortality.
The result is that religious thought
today everywhere and In all denomina-
lions Is chaotic. The whole of Chris
tendon has practically become Agnos-
tic-admitting that they do not know
the Truth nor how to adjust their rea-
soning faculties to present consecra-
ton. They are in an expectant atti-
tude-seeking light. Nevertheless many
fear the light lest 1t shall make mani
fest cherished errors or selfish hopes
and ambitions which must be abandon
ed. But they are still pretending TO
know many things which we and they
know that they do not know But
daily the strain becomes more intense.
Gradually everybody is recognizing
that there is great crisis along every
line-that the people are awakening
and thinking and will no longer re-
ceive their errors.
Converting the World to God.
Fifty years ago Christian people. full
of faith In the Bible which they seri-
ously misunderstood and read with
sectarian spectacles of various colors,
were fully agreed that God had given
his Church the commission to convert
the whole world and to establish Mes.
would learn war no more. but beat
their swords into piowshares and their
spears into pruning hooks. Jealous
Christian people urged that the hea-
eternal torment at the rate of ninety
thousand every twenty-four hours
And noble men and women sacrificed
their earthly interests for the assist
ance of the heathen-to prevent that
awful catastrophe, to help thwart the
very program of God which some
other Christian people of an earlier
day had declared was predestinated
and foreordained as unalterable. Good
was certainly attempted. We trust
that some good was accomplished We
know that some harm was done, In
that fallacious conceptions Of the char
acter and plan of the Creator were
amongst the heather.
which have hardened and embittered
some of them
But by and by practical people
sought for statistics, and now know
that there are twice as many heathens
in the world as there were a century
ago. OF course. there are unthinking
and unstatistical people who refuse
knowledge and who are today claim
ing with a commendable zeal. but a
reprehensible ignorance. that large con-
tributions of money would enable
them to capture the whole world for
God Nevertheless. the masses no
longer see the matter as they did. and
can no longer be swayed to the same
extent. Thinking people refuse to be
lieve that God for centuries has sat
calmly viewing the situation, allowing
millions to go to eternal torment
They refuse to believe that their
hearts and sympathies are more ten
der than those of their Creator
Even the heather are getting awake
to the Inconsistency of what has been
given them under the Gospel label
They are finding out that the word
Gospel signifies good tidings." and that
what has been preached to them Is the
most awful message cOnceivable-that
all of the heather and the majority
of their civilized neighbors and friends
and relatives have been decreed. sen
fenced, foreordained. to eternal tor
ture because of ignorance. because Of
misbelief In respect to which they
were thoroughly honest Perplexed,
the missionaries ask. What shall we
preach7 The message of damnatiOn
does not sound good to the heather.
and they do not run after 1t nor feast
their souls upon 1T. The question
comes to the ministers and professors
of colleges throughout Christendom
and they are perplexed what answer
to give. The majority of them have
become higher critics and no longer
accept the Bible as the Word Of God;
they are Evolutionists and no longer
believe the Gospel which the Mission
airy Societies were organized to pro-