The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-05-21
Religious World
I~NADVERTISED RELIGION.
The international Sunday school Les
son for June . Is anu
Sincerity" Matt. ellis.
(By WILLIAM t. ELLIS.)

Travelling up h Grand odhdi "
China one day in a public boat WIS
interested in the attitude OF the
wealthy Chinese aboard TOWARD q
bep,gar on the banks. The boy ran
CRYING most plaintively and stopping
frequently to peat his head on the
earth in supplication. He was a pro-
fessional beggar and all about US
were the really starving put
the gentry on the boat TOOK up q
collection for the beSgar. Nnen II
was pointed out that he was only a
professional mendicant, they smiled
and said Yes, but well acquire merit
Just the same" They thought to earn
the reputation for liberality which
befitted their dignity, and also as
BuddhiSts to store up merit Tor tneIn-
selves in heaven.
That is the heather type Of phllan-
thropy, although it is not confned
exclusively to heather lands. Good
deeds are done ostentatiOuSly and IN
discriminatory. They are the earliest
form Of the modern system Of press
agentine, or self-advertising. The
practice existed in the time OF Jesus,
and in this searching lesson He lays
bare the sham and hypocrisy and tu-
tility Of it all.
An Untagged Request.
= II was counted so unusual as TO pc
important news when, a few weeks
ago, Lord Lister, the great English
man died, leaving a fortune to chart
ty with the specific injunction that
his own name should not be attach
ed to any of the forms that his be-
n~evolence should take. This implied
q keen rebuke to h men who Insist
upon purchasing pOSt-mOrten repu-
tatiOn for themselves by the money
which they are unable to take with
them beyond the grave. The whole
system of endoWing phi~lanthropies
that shall bear the donors name
would seem to come in for the con-
domination of the fearless Christ.
His bold teachings run counter to
the modern tendency of the official
heads Of His church to cultivate and
magnify the big giver." There is a
p~erceptible trend in Christian work
the exaltation of the person who can
give large sums for religion. Some
religious institutions have come to
depend almost wholly upon such.
eve tho UNCONVENTIONAL mission
boards are following the trend of re-
garding the person who can give
large sums as indispensable to their
work. Some day, and that soon.
there will be a great awakening to
the f~utility and folly Of building the
work of Christ upon the money bags
Of a few rich men. Already certain
notable institutions are m~anifestly
imperilled by this.
Who Are the Philanthropists?
Tho big word philanthropist-
which merely means "a lover Of men,
lis being monopolized, in the COM
mon opinion, by men with large bank
accounts. It is assumed that the phi
lanthrOpiSt is the n who endOWs q
library, a hospital, a college, or a re-
search fund; and it is taken fOl
granted that the donors name should
accompany the benfaction.
This notion needs to be directly
challenged. The real philanthrop.
Of the world is to be found in tn
good deeds of the plain people, who
without ostentaton or posing. pla,
the part Of brother to one another il
necessity. There is more philanthro
i. Ply among the hosts Of the world
toilerS who have naught to spare We
all to share, han in all the gilded list
that are kept in card catalogues il
Wall Street banks. Let us open GU
eys to this clear and simple fact, an,
remember it's bearings and outreach
ing. The hope for human helpful
ness, and the hope of all Christia
be~nevolences, lies ultimately with tn
great masses Of ordinary people, VIII
never think to exact q return in ad
vertising or recognition for what the
do out Of simple brother love, whic
is the AnglO-SaXOn for philanthropy,
The War Of Viewpoints.
TWO tendencies have always bee
at war IN society and in the breast {
man. Human nature naturally care
Tor reputation. Everybody from til
child In his first knickerbockers I
the old lady with a new bonnet is s.
licitOus about what other persons ma
think of him. That is i~nstinctiy
Reputation has always seemed to ma
Supremely desirable.
On the other hand, Gods intere
is in character. He Is Jealous that h
children should be, rather than tn
they should seem. All His laws tel
toward inner worth, rather than GU
ward show. Repeatedly through {
His revelations to humanity. He h
made clear that He judges by the i
visible standards Of soul meaSuremel
His judgments by no "a coinci