The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1911-11-30

| lE&S&s$HA 81 A|&NI 70 lii II Le
| l above quoted.
$500 With more cause
F; llRASIOR RUSSELl)l than ever for
thank mess.
Christendom Is losing the sentiment of
gratitude to God. and Thanksgiving
Day is to many merely Il holiday. In
religious matters il general. Christen-
dom is rapidly approaching the condi-
tons pronhesied by st. Paul. when
men would preserve the form of god
illness but deny it's power. OIL Timothy
iii. s., The cause of this the Pastor
traced to the increasing intelligence
of our day which. along religious lines.
has cut loose from the Bible and pro.
portionately cut loose from the true
F, God.
Higher Critics. not content with the
rejection of the creeds of the Dark
Ages. have attacked the Bible. preju-
,, diced against it by the Inconsistencies
of the creeds. Thinking to render as
sistance to humanity and to the Truth.
they have for fifty years been quietly
and successfully engaged in undermin-
ing the faith of Christendom in the
Bible as Divine Revelation. They
claim for themselves q similar inspira-
ton to that Of the Apostles. while they
ridicule the thought that holy Prophets
of old spake and wrote as they were
moved by the Holy Spirit Of Cod
II Peter 1. 81.
Evolution and Higher Criticism.
Rejecting the Bible as special Di-
vine Revelation from a personal God.
the next step Of the Higher Critics
was an easy one-to proclaim nature
the god and creator of oil things-an
impersonal god. Thus they were just
in line for Darwin's theory of Evolu-
tion-that nature is god and ,cork is
the law Of nature-the survival of the
fittest-and the fittest the most pug
nacious and overbearing. and selfish
and scheming.
Thus we have gradually reached the
place where the masses of Christen.
dom doubt the existence Of a personal
God; and are inclined to believe in Il
blind. brute force-a natnre-god-and
to hope that by some process OF evo-
| luton their children's children. in the
far hereafter. may attain to something
better than the present: but they see
not even the assurance of future life
for themselves. any more than for the
brute creation.
UnthankfuI, Unholy, Covenant Break.
ers.
This explains to us why the masses
feel little interest in Thanksgiving
Day. except as a. holiday They have
lost their God-the living and true
Coda Heavenly Father. Under these
circumstances. declared Pastor Rus
sell. it is not strange that they are I'M
believers-that Thanksgiving is be-
coming mere formality. that the
churches are nearly empty and the
prisons overflowing and many of the
world pleasure-mad. st. Paul's words.
without God and having no hope in
the world" surely fit the majority of
Christendom today. These conditions
breed the reverse of thankfulness.
namely dissatisfaction. Thus we see
the world enjoying blessings as never
before. and discontented as never be-
fore. The opening Of the eyes of I'M
derstanding TO the fact that our race
/ is one. and that the blessings of earth
belong equally to all. is now coming
to men. These are great truths. With
| this knowledge should come an appre-
citation of the Divine supervision Of
the earth's affairs. and knowledge
Of the Divine intention to rectify all
the inequalities and in-equities of the
present time in future Age.
| Since the desire Of all mankind is
happiness. our college men are un-
philosophical in proclaiming a theory
which is destroying happiness. and
which threatens shortly to destroy our
civilization through anarchy.
| What Unthankfuness Costs.
We may be sure that unthankful-
ness today will bring upon man. nat
urally. great curse-a great calami-
ty. We see It coming! Unbelief in
God means more trust in self-means
more discontent-means strife to at.
tain the things coveted-means an.
archy-means the disruption Of our
present social system. as the Word Of
God foretells. Daniel XII, ~ Read
at your convenience the Apostles ar.
gument on this subject-Romans l.
The silver lining to the dark cloud IL
in tho Divine promise Of rescue. after
the world shall have learned Q lesson
for eternity. The Scriptures assure Us
that the time Of trouble and anarchy