The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1912-02-03

that | feel there is a greater advance
in His life over our ordinary sort of
lives, than there-is an advance in our
lives over the animal life around us.
The closer | feel / am living to the
ideal he has given me, the higher He
seems above me. The purer His life
appears to me, and the more l strive
after that same purity, the greater the
distance seems between Him and me.
Yet 1 feel no estrangement, but am
drawn irresistibly on.
More and more am convinced that
Johns great definition of Jesus as
"the word of God" meaning the eX-
preston of God to men, is perhaps
the last word concerning Him, who
is. God shown to men. The relation
between God and the expression of
God" is not as important for our
thinking as the great fact that Jesus
is that expression"
Christianity, l can best express my
views on that subject by qouting the
magnificent words of Schelling. A
clearer expression of my own belief
can be found in no other few words,
"Christus list NIGHT der Lehrer vie man
zu sagen pfegt, Christus NIGHT der
Sitter; err list der Inhalt des Chisten-
thums," i. e. Christ is not the teach
err, as men are accustomed to use that
word, nor is Christ the founder; he
is the content of Christianity"
1t is my firm conviction that Chris
tianity is the final religion of the
world. BY this l mean that Chris
tianity contains the great fact that
God as made known in Christianity
is able to do all that man needs to help
him fulfill his true nature, to attain
eternal life, and the possession of the
"summum bonum," or highest good. ."
This, take it, is the whole content
of Christianity. This, believe is the
whole purpose of Christ in the world.
Throughout the world men who are
seeking for the light of the truth un-
der the guidance of the common Mas
ter are coming more and more to at
tain their full nature. Harnack in
Germany may interpret the great mes
sge of Christ one way to the world, the
Japanese another, the occultism of In
dia still another. Christianity proves
its truth as it accomplishes its end
and the Spirit of Christ rules through
out the world.
The secret of Christianity is in the
self-consciousness of Christ, a subject
with which psychology is more and
more concerned today To my mind
the most striking feature in His con
seriousness was the repeated reference
to his coming death, and that he went
to it voluntarily. His whole life pre-
pared him for the browning event in
his career. To express this scientifical-
", he was out of his environment and
he must die All will agree to his
consciousness of never having done
anything wrong. He was therefore
unique in that respect, "a new spe-
cies," again to use a scientific phrase.
The old species, namely men filled
with motives that were centered upon
their own political preference, filled
with hatred and jealousy, fearful Of
revolt, swayed by various self-center-
ed motives, overcame him, and he had
to die.
The naturalness OF the whole event
can be seen in the eyes of the dis
ciples Unfortunately, for our own
deepest experience perhaps, we know
the story too well. Physically and
psycholoeically we can not sufficient
nv "orient ourselves" to make its
meaning fully clear! We are prelude
ed by our whore Christian training.
But the dependency of those disci-
pies, the positive disbelief in him after
he was dead, their denial of the posi-
bility of his temperance, and then the
complete change from sorrow to the
greatest joy-all prove without sha-