The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1910-02-03

demand that these shall reflect the |
sentiments of the people in civil and !
religious matters. The day of dark
ness and ignorance in which the peO-
pie believed that popes and kings were !
Divinely appointed to rule them with |
Divine authority has gone by. Gen
eral intelligence has taught mankind
that it is a mistake to suppose that
one God-appointed king and kingdom
were Divinely appointed to wipe anoth-
er Divinely appointed king and king
dom off the face Of the earth. Hence
popes and kings now admit that they
reign by a popular sufferance. and
their appeals for money, for armies
and navies, is no longer on the score
that they We're Divinely instructed to
Dbliterate each other, but on the score
of self-defense.
This claim, however, wholly de-
stroys the argument that we are now
or ever in the past have been under
Christs Kingdom, either direct or
through the popes. Neither now nor at
any other time in the worlds history
has there been reign of righteousness
such as the Scriptures declare ChrtSrs
Kingdom shall be. May we not. then.
with good grace-Catholics and Prot
estants-admit that neither our Catho-
| lie popes. emperors and kings, nor our
/ Protestant kings. emperOrs and heads
/ of Churches are reigning with any
| Divine authority manifest to human
! Judgment? Let US humbly admit the
! nonsense Of the legends on our coins,
Catholic and Protestant, to the effect
that kings and popes reign by the
grace of Colby Divine appointment.
/ Let us rather say that they came into
power through the exercise of brute
force and in a time Of common pubic
Ignorance Nor by this do we mean
any dsrespect to the governments OF
today-rather we have shown that to-
dav the people are ruling through
their Congresses, Parliameuts, Reich
stays. etc, and that the kings and
emperors are mere tigure-headS OF
power, more or less useful and de
pendent upon the goodwill of their
people.
If it be asked how We shall account
for the period of the dark ages and au-
tocratic and devilish misrule, our re
ply would he to point to the Apostles
words. He declares that Satan is the
god or ruler Of this world, who now
operates through the disobedient-
through those not in harmony with
God, who constitute the vast majority
In Christendom and elsewhere. And
we remind you that our Lord Jesus
also spoke of Satan as being the
Prince of this world or age Gohn xii,
81. and of himself as the Prince or
Ruler of the coming Age, the Millen-
NAL Age Gohn xviii. 3d.
All. yes, the sooner both Catholics and
Protestants admit what they and all
the world now see, the better-namely
that for a long time our great AdYer-
sary held US in bondage of ignorance
and superstition. in getting free from
which many bright minds have reacted
towards mfdelity, because they dld
not see that many of the teachings OF
the past. both Catholic and Protestant
were not only irrational, but most posi-
lively unscrlptural teachings Of men
and, as ST. Paul declared, doctrines o
demons" Il Timothy iv, H.
Not Vice gerent Christ
In view of the -going-in view O
the fact that the Divine titles of al
kings and emperors are now abrogat
ed. papacy need feel no special dis
p grace to her cause in similarly abro
eating the claim that the popes reigl
as REPRESENTATIVES of Christ or hav'
authority so to do. Indeed such
/ claim is more safely denied than held
: for in the light of our day papacy'
: best friends cannot look into the pas
| and point with pride to any achieve
ments as properly representing tn
e reign of the Prince of Peace-lmmar
e uel In the light of the present all o
I Gods people, Catholics and Protestant
I of every shade, should rejoice to joi
in the Lords Prayer-"Thy KingdoI
+ come ; thy will be done on earth as it
t done In heaven" Surely this is wha
> all saints of all denominations Shout
r desire and pray for and labor for.
e Not that we can hope to bring it
5. pass of ourselves. however Nearl
e nineteen centuries of efforts show
C the contrary. Even our last centur
Il of great missionary endeavor, Cathol
l. and Protestant, proves this. Unite
2 States statistics show that in the yes
n 1900 there were six hundred million
If of heathens. and that in the year 19l
81 their numbers had doubled-there we
$ twelve hundred millions of heather
+ While continuing our eXertions on b
z, half of the heathens abroad and
lie home, let us tie our faith to the Apo
re ties words and wait for Gods s.
le from heaven" Il Thessalonians i, 100.
e At the second coming of Christ Al
Mt the gIorfcation of his Church, 81
d elect" Ibis saints" gathered from
H. denominations, Catholic and Prott
to tant (and some from outside of
to of themJ-only then will the glorio
I'M reign of Christ and the Church beg
to Only then VIII the spiritual Seed
nj Abraham be complete and the work
ny blessing the uureEenerate world bes
the Minenuial Kingdom work
is overthrow Of Satln and his cmpir
On the scattering of darkness, iEaorat
ut. md suners itiun which he f.st9rg