The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-05-07
Religious World
, NIX BRAND OF RELIGION.
The international SUNDAY Sflooi -
son for May 10 -. Inc y
ana INC \cw Life Matt. VIZ

Bb
Tho present ciamor and ~@roanlhB7
and unhrav1I OF society were aptlE
described the other day IS Only
"gr,udnp pa!ns." Deeply understood
All this cIafnor means that SocletS 10
learning the lesson 81 re!lSlon SCI
forth ~ Christ. Earh ne" seneta
tion must be taught for itself the
truth that Christianity outruns All
forms and must be adapted to each
ncw generation. Religion is no less
religion in Our time because 1t does
not express itself in the speech ana
forms OF Il century ago. n peiSiSl-
rnce of these forms when were dp
proved and proper III thelr lIHe
would mark a failure Of religion To-
day.
Except your righteousness exceed
the r~igh' pousnesa Of the scribes and
ph,risees"-that is the startling WORD
Of the Teacher. The ScrlDeS anu
pharisees had been good III their DAY,
but their goodness had degenerateo
into Detritied journalism. Ihat prln-
cipI, runs forever. In vain do short
sighted adherentS of the SOOu DO
DAYS endeavOr to impose upon the Nv
ing present the forms Of the dead
past The Christian life is like the
mamma Of the wilderness, new every
day. There is a sense in which there
must be a fresh brand Of religion Tor
every generation. That Is TO say.
the eternal truth will be manifested
in contemporary forms and be none
the less the eternal truth for that.
This is the way in which Jesus
came to fuiiill the law--to fill it full
to make It run over.
The Bucket OF Stale Water.
A home'y story illustrates the ma
tlre OF an ever-present living expert
ence Of faith. At a revival meeting
an enthusiastic man said, twenty
Years ago 7 let my bucket down into
the well Of salvation and brought 1t
up half full. Now | have let it down
again and it is trimming over-HAl-
ieleu Jan"
X staid deacon did not approve of
this enthusiasm and implied refiec-
ton upon the old, so he arose and
said grtmly, Twenty years ago L let
my bucket down into the we'll Of sal
walton and brought it up nearly fuil
and it amt ever been doWn since, but
attendant at the meeting arose and
said, II want to say that if this good
brothers bucket has been just so fol-
twenty years It's probably got wig
gle tails IL it now"
The homely anecdote Is frauSht
with a great truth. The Christian
LIE must be eternaliy renewed. II
hlIb SuiNbNt oli ol poSl
anoeS. The reason reforms have been
necessary in the religious history OF
the race from time to time has beer
that Christians have failed to realize
tina the Old law and the old lft
were to be freshly fulfilled from day
TO day.
When Religion "Sets."
Clay and wax and other plasti'
substances set" if left alone. Merel,
to assume some past eXperiance Q
conviction will ~eternally suffice is t
ignore this cardinal teaching Of Jesu
that His friends must possess a.
e~ternaliy contemporaneous spiritua
life. The possession Of a vital re
llgion yesterday obligates us to tn
possession of a more vital religio
today. More and more is tho rul
OF the Christian life. Startlin
stories Ia come out Of the Men an
Religion Movement to illustrate tn
truth. Churches and individual
whose life had become formal an
p~erfunctory were aroused to a real!
zation Of the vitality and even Sinfu'
ness of this sort Of religion. Office
holding Christians are found in man
cases to have divorced religion frOr
business so far that they were actua
y party TO the gravest evils, such
holding took in criminal corpora
tons. renting property for saloor
ana OlneF" eVll purposes, grossly VI
derpaying their employees and othe'
wise violating the cieareSt code
righteousness.
Proper Religious Extremes"
A nice conyentiOnaliy respectful
and i~nnocuous brand OF religion is
constant tendency of good peOpl
Somehow. though. when we get
reading such words as these of Jes'
We realize that this Is not the so
OF good form" that the gospel
after. 1t goes beyond all outward a
pearance. AS Browning says:
"EeligiOn'S all or nothing: it's
mere smile
O. contentment, sigh Of aspiratio
sir.
No quality of the finlier temper
day
Like lis Wilderness or Its likene
rather stuff