The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1910-08-29
SHORT CUTS LEAD
TO QU|CKSAND
DR.. White Declares That Hiqh
Ideals and Noble Thinking
Lead to Higher Life.
CHICAGO DIVINE ENDS SERIES
Last Sermon an Appeal to Big
Audience for Practical
Religion.
CHICAGO DIVINE ENDS SERIES


cago divine, last night closed his series
of sermons at Central Union Church.
He preached on "The Sign of the
Prophet JONAH" and his sermon was
an appeal for practical religion. rather
than the emotional, irrational kind
which good many people take on dur
ing evangelistic revivals In other
words, he took the position that peo-
pie should not seek short cuts to the
higher life.
There was special musical program,
in which Mrs. Estelle Heartt Dreyfus
took part.
Doctor White said:
. No sign shall be given. to it but the
sign of the prophet Jonah The Phari-
sees asked for sign, that is, they were
after shortcut to intellectual certain
ty. The passion for shortcuts. so char
acterlstic of our age, and of all ages.
IS by no means always a reprehensible
thing, as Jesus asserts it was in this
particular case. Whether it is whole
some or vicious depends on the kind of
shortcut a man is after.
\ gOodIy fraction of the railway
activity OF recent years has gone into
precisely this work of securing straight
er and shorter tracks from place to
place. the abollshlng of curves, the
avoidance Of high grades, the tunneling
of ridges and mountain ranges. The
whole difference between failure and
dividends not infrequently hinges on
the discovery OF d short cut that
makes possible the avoidance of the
curve over and the curve around
Lee had Grant at bay and foiled
him repeatedly during that awful sum
mer of 1864 for the simple reason that
| he had possession of the inside lines
IN other words, controlled the short
cuts. Lee could 60 straight, Grant had
to go around. Every successful inyen-
ton represents short cut to efficiency;
every tool furnishes a short cut to the
working hand and arm; telegraph and
telephone afford short cuts for speech :;
speech itself is the consummate short
cut in getting ideas from man to man.
The history of civilization might be
written in terms Of the short cut. All
honor then to the human endeavor that
keeps up a restless search for the short
cut.
But there are short cuts and short
cuts, those that merit only praise,
those on the other hand that spell dis
grace; those on the one hand that rep
resent a large investment Of energy and
treasure, those on the other that ex-
press sheer laziness and inertia and
70 r,oSciny, 70 81.
ing. 1t is needless to say that Jesus
accuses the Pharisees, in their search
for a sign, of being guilty Of this latter
thing,
For what has happened? 4 won
derful man has appeared that has set
the nation agog. The crowd is talk
ing about him. The mob is throngng
him He said striking things. Never
man spake like this man. He spoke
with an insight and authority never
detected in the scribe. He did mar
Vicious things Health exhaIed from his
touch like fragrance from an apple or
chard in full bloom. He was unusual
from every point of view. His person
ALLY, his rreacneTy. has character, his
deeds, all presented a puzzle that BAT
fed the cIeyerest. " ho was he2 What
might he be3 What they should DO is
honestly to test him study him, OBJ
serve him examine his claims; IN Il
word, think their problem through, But
that takes time, takes brains. takes a
costly expenditure OF energy. They
baIk at that They are busy men, they
will have the question settled out Of
hand show Us sign. they demand.
In other words, Do something start
ling. extraordinary. We haven't time
% waste over you. II you want US
TO take YOU at your own rating, com
pei Us 10 believe by some feat Of
magic power You see what that
means. the demand for satisfaction
without being willing TO pay the cost.
They wanted the quarry without the
fatigue Of the hunt. They asked that
the truth be put in their open palms
done up Ia q neat parcel, properly label
Ell and accredited, without 50 much eft
fort on their part as the turn OF
hand They wanted, in d word, some
thing fer nothing.
1.-The moment you get at the true IN
wardness Of the situation, you see what
common. prevalent thing it : with
which we are dealing, 1t has score
Of DISCUSSES. but is the same spirit Of
mischief and evil under every disguise,
Why 10 people wear amulets and re
peat charms Simply because they have
iuggled themselves into believing that
thev can cheat the laws OF nature aud
purchase personal safety in some cheap
way that requires no personal watch
fitness and effort How explain the
vogue Of the fortmereIler and The me-
dium2 Why. they stand in popular
thought for clever short cuts to hidden
information, to fortune and success
What is the secret Of the sway Of popu-
lar sllperstitions concerning numbers
and DAYS. lucky ana unlucky, and the
Li-or+En-reH On pare FDurl