The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-12-19
IN THE RELIGIOUS WORLD
tomb, He is not here; He is risen.
The Twentieth Century and b Star.

! tomb, "He is not here; He is risen.
The Twentieth Century and the Star
There are many more Christmas
places upon earth than Bethlehem a
the present time. There are thousand:
of homes where Christmas is more mt
tingly kept than upon the site OF the
inn that was ~anciently OVercrOWed
Hundreds of western communities are
truer to the Christmas type than il
Bethlehem. Having seen the grOttO III
the Bethlehem church that is marked
by u golden star, and the hills where
the shepherds slept, n the village
upon the TigriS from which the Mag
are reputed to have come, and, what
is more illuminating, having spent last
Christmas V in a Syrian Khan faI
liker to the one that sheltered Mary
and the Babe than any that may be
found in Bethlehem today, | feel that
the Christmas spirit is the possession
of no one place, and that there is to-
day deep need that it should return GO
the Christmas site, to bring the peace
of Jesus to this strife-torn spot.
Really it is far more exhilaratine
to observe how this western world is
keeping Christmas all the year round
Here society is seriously bent upon
working out the angel message into
actual life. A few days ago | heard
John Mitchell, in the course of a de-
bate, read a list Of the organizations
with which he is connected. and all
were in the spirit of Christmas.
They stood for world betterment
and peace. From the organization for
the promotion of child-welfare to the
courts Of arbitral justice, they all
ooked toward the great Christ-goal
of human brotherhood. Where there
is any expression Of the love Of man
to man, there shines the CLEAN Of the
Eafh1ahon7 star The ol~aaTnnSvn4Y nv
institutions of our time, from h jul
venile court to the o. Of hope for
discharged prisoners, or from the
soup kitchen to the revival meeting,
all express the spirit Of Christmas. 1t
would be unfortunate II we should
concentrate our thought upon Bethle-
hem of Judea to the exclusion OF q
realization Of how Bethlehem has
come into our midst today.
The Worlds Quest of Christmas.
Romantic as is the journey Of the
Wise Men to Bethlehem, it is not
more so than the present-day quest
Of mankind for the new reign which
Christmas represents. AS readers Of
this column know, I have been upon
the trail Of the worlds unrest, to the
remotest corners of earth. For more
than a year / have studied at close
range this marvellous preSent-day
phenomenon. And what is the es-
sence of this multiform agitation and
ferment and discomfort, except a CROP
ing after the realization of those
ideals which were first proclaimed at
Christmas? Even as the East, m
bodied by the Magi, sought a new
king in the West, SO the Orient today
is in eager quest of a new reign of
those ideals which Jesus incarnated
and preached; n which are made
quately expressed by the modern
nhraSQ "fihp,fV Qnn2ifV f~r4fprNltV.
Justice
The world is restless under the do
minion of s~elfishness, oppression, ig-
torrance poverty, and strife. 1t wants
to dwell in peace and in brotherhood,
with freedom to cultivate the indi-
vidual man at his best. 1t wants to
restore his crown to man. SO that the
poor and the loWly may have the
chance which God designed for all.
For 10, the days are Fastening on,
By prophets seen Of old
When with the ever-circling years,
Shall come the time foretold,
When the new heaven n earth
shall own
The Prince Of Peace their King.
And the whole world shall send back
the Song
Which now the angels sing"
Christmas Peace for All the World.
This would be a needless keeping Of
Christmas which did not make recog-
milton Of the glorious vision, newly
come to the people of earth. that
world peace is a practical political
possibility. President Taft has sent
an electric thrill about the earth by
his proposals for treaties of arbitra-
ton between the great nations. Peace
has suddenly been lifted up into the
realms Of practical craftsmanship. It
is no longer a theory for dreamers
but a program for the chancel-
lories Of the great nations. 1t has
the right Of way in the worlds think
ing; and the present generation will
probably see the angels message more
nearly realized in the affairs Of ma
ions than our fathers thought pos
siblc for centuries to come.
This is a good time to remind our
selves that whoever works for peace
is doing the work of Christ. This pro-