The Irish standard., 1912-12-07

"AAN oHGI tilcln iIlO pay no altentlOn
to them. Gentlemen, that is an un-
reasonable statement. When YOU como
to me and tell me YOU need no set OF
principles, that you need no creed of
trades unionism; when you can tell
me you need no organization, no bus
mess agents, no executive committees,
no labor press, no officers to carry out
the policy of trades unionism, then,
gentlemen, will I be ready to admit
that We do not need to believe In
Gods supreme business in the uni
verse, which is religion.
Miserable Tinkerine.
The trouble is that tho notion of a
great many people have about religion
is that they soc the miserable tinker
ing with Gods work OH the part %
men who set themselves up into the
place OF God, who are trying to scab
il upon the Lord; but when God made
His religion He made it right, and
gave it into the custory of men that
have formed the tightest union that
has over been known In the history of
the world and that is the tightest
union today. That religion which God
gave the world. which Is the express
sion of His divine will, is not subject
to the whims and the 'ancies of think
crs whether they call themselves re-
ligious or not. This religion is not
subject to the decrecs of conventions
or to the laws of parliumentS: ii
stands above these things suprcmcly
the law of God. No movement, no ma :
ton can set itself above the divine law
of God. And when men hoist up a
banner and put upon it the words. 'Nu
God and no Master they, in their pre-
sumption, will fail, as We are told in
one of tho first lessons of Christianity
that Lucifcr. the king and the prince
of angels. failed when he rchcllr,l
against God and said. IL will not
Scrve.' And. like Lucifrr. peoples and
nations have failed and fallen into dr-
cay because they would not obey God
Who made them.
Cannot Ignore God.
"My friends, this is the main,
thought l wish to bring out. that you
cannot storm the heavens, or cannot
ttrn r.,l
no movement, no nntion---ind the his
tory of the world bears me Ol,t--curl
do that. want to make tina, one
point that it. is above these things
that mere economic strength. mere
political strength by itself is no more
than the wooden toy sword of n SOL
dcr boy in the street as compared
with the all-l,owcrful arm OF God.
THAT is my first point. Tho second
is oven shorter. You are told that re-
li.on is Il private matter; people
write it in their platforms and try to
make 1t their policy; but, my dear
friends. do not deceive yourselves: re-
liglon Is not {: private matter; 1t is the
last thing in tho world that could af-
ford to be a private matter. Tell me
that the acorn must remain hidden in
the ground forever: tel me that mar
riagc must be without children; tell
me that your thoughts and aspirations
and cndeavors must be forever
hidden In the recesses of your mind;
tell me that you must remain in your
homes and not go out to work and
control and create and govern-when
you tell me those things, my friends, l
will admit religion is Il private matter
but not until then. But in addition to
that 1t requires the public expression
on the part Of boys and girls and mon
and women, and tho dcmocracies of
the twentieth century can no more ig-
more religion in it's public character
than could the movements of any
other age. When you take away
religion this world becomes a desert
and, therefore, It Is necessary that re-
ligion penetratcs into the home, and
into the school. that it pcnetratcs into
the union and into the factory, into
the market place and into the parlia-
mcnts Of the nations. 1t is necessary
as q public expression of our faith in
God, and the Creator and the Ruler OF
the world