The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1910-09-09
PEOPLES
Sermon by
CHARLES T.
RUSSELL.
Pastor Brooklyn
Tabernacle.

preached today in the Academy of Mu-
sic. our largest Auditorium. the Tab
crnacle" being of insufficient capacity.
He had a very attentive hearing.
There were many Hebrews in tie
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 worthlesS-in chem
istry. in manufactures. in art, in
finance and commerce. All these
changes necessitate new view of So
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 it's manifest inability to
adjust itself to the changed conditions,
is working serious disadvantage to
all disposed to look to the Almighty
for guidance in life's affairs.
The increase in worldly wisdom. the
improved human conditions. the adj
vancement along scientific lines i'm 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 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 a great Deliverer. Messiah.
Savior. Life-Giver. 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-
tons 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 it 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 a 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
slabs Kingdom. when the nations
would learn war 10 more. but beat
their swords into plowshares and their
spears into pruning-hooks. Jealous
Christian people urged that the hea
then were going down to hell of
eternal torment at the rate of ninety
thousand every twenty-four hours.
And noble men aud 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
promulgated 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 century
ago OF course. there are unthinking
and unstatistical people who refuse
knowledge and who are today claim
ing with commendable zeal but a
repreiiensbIe ignorance. that large con-
tributiOns of money would enable
them 10 capture the whole world for
God. Nevertheless. the masses no
longer Spp 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