The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-11-12
RELIGIOUS
WORLD
THE OF ESTION
ANSWERED BY GUNS.

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1hc international Sunday School Les
SON Tor November II Is. The Great
Question,"-Mark 8:27-9:1.
by William r. Ellis
The guns have been roaring on the
Balkan Peninsula for a few weeks
past. Most persons in this western
world are befuddled as to the ac-
tOal reason. Fundamentally these
guns are making answer to the great
question which the present Sunday
School Lesson asks. The Christian
allies are laundering in dread gun
powder tones, Thou art the Christ
Thou, and not Mohammed. The is
sue that has brought on this long ex-
pected war is at cot the question of
the lac OF Christ in life. Shall the
carpenter be sovereign or the camel
driver? May Moslem continue to op-
press Christian?
question Of life is made BY the war
in Europe. 1t is not singular for it
thus to be actualiZed. This is the is
sue which has been dividing human
society, and creating wars and CON
fict, ever since the gentle Galilean
easan Tod the pleasant fields Of
Palestine. Walking close by every
man and nation, and rising to as
Sert itself at the most unexpected mo-
hient, IS this question Of questions,
which no man can answer for anOth-
er n which no man can escape for
say We that | am?'
Getting Down to Basis.
\ town meeting Is called to con
slder an important and immediate is
sue, and then it ~fritters it's oppor-
tunity away in irrelevant questions
and discussions. This is so with al
most every gathering. Lying on the
surface of this tragic conference at
49,, IDht1n,: =, t-l,
to-day, are many subjects for discus
sion. Yet at bed rock the issue is
wholly one Of the character and mis-
sion of Christ. Was He the Messiah,
the One long prophesied and ex-
pected?
The lieutenants Of Jesus reported
TO their leader the common opinion
uf their day and world. lie was re-
Iuted by one party, they said. to be
the Baptist; another declared that lie
vas Elijah come again: others con
tended that He was jeremiah in the
flesh. All conceded Him an extraOr-
binary place. This was the opinion
OF the scholars and Of the sophisti-
Gated men Of the tine. The worlds
Lost wisdom agreed that Jesus was
not like other men; and the most
srudging Of verdicts in the centuries
since grants Him at leaSt~this much.
Not 1attered, but rather diSheart
ened by this report, Jesus turne6
from the wisdom of the wise = The
simple faith of His own friends. hen
rs now, the eyes of the heart ha(
clearcst vision. Lowry belief saw fur
ther than scholarly skepticism. There.
fore Peters prompt reply rang DOldl,
out, thrilling the heart Of the lionel.
Leader, who in this hour especial.
needed the comfort Of being under
stood and trusted, Thou art tn
Christ With all his faults, Pete
had that spiritual faculty which dis
Germs the inwardness OF truth. Ill
was elemental wisdom
That same wisdom discerns chris
standing at the crossroads OF time
awaiting the Judgment of men upol
himself. by which judgment mel
themselves are to be judged.
4 Great Souls Suffering.
Lifting it's SnOw-crOWned head L
grandeur so high that 1t dominate
the entire region of Palestine iron
Jerusalem north, stands Mt. HermOr
strong in it's majesty and beauty. r
the solitude and strength OF thl
mountain Jesus had taken His friends
At its foot, in or near CaeSarea Phil
tppi. He underwent this experience
which some writer's have called tn
passion OF the north Here II
faced the question Of what He ha
come into the world for and no.
far the world recognized Him and III
mission. Into every strong life ther
come these experiences, when the SOL
is searched to its depth, and the etel
nal why ?" is fronted in all II
solemnity.
Suffering by anticipation is keer
es, pain. 1t is not the shock Of tn
bullet in the body, but the though
of it that hurts the more. Jesus VI
derwent His Calvary in spirit beneat
the shadow of Mt. Hermon. VIVA
this crisis Of self-exaninatlon ana .
realized public appraisal meant
Him we cannot understand. w
know tina His soul was exceeding
sorrowful. Out Of the deeps OF tn
hour flowed the sublime teaching
Observation-Disclosures Christ l!1te
up the cross upon which He was lat
to be lifted.
\ friends Foolish COunSel.
Nobody suffers alone. We are "