The Brunswick news. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 1906-2016, 1912-09-29
Prince And Prophet.

The Columbia State is disposed to carp at Colonel
Roosevelt for that claims the progressive movement
to be a religious The State wants to know why
Colonel Roosevelt should be the of crusade"
When with all his greatness" it asks did he become
famous Christian worker?" The Colonel does not
claim to be Christian worker should be noted His
followers sing Onward Christian Soldiers" as they
fall to the leadership of Oscar Straus in New York
even more enthusiastically than they when they
mate Rev. Metzger in Vermont. They do not mean to
be taken literally. It's good marching song and has
fine militant cadence and it will serve well its pur-
pose But the religion of the progressive movement
the Christian religion or the Jewish religion 1t is
the Roosevelt religion Certainly the Colonel has good
warrant to the leadership of that kind of a religious
movement
DO great religious movements select persons
have had little experience in church
ers? asks The State Not necessarily But religious
movements not all sreat-there was Theudas who
rose up in those days boosting himself to be some
body who a very inconsequential finish
neither do they always select their leaders Who Sc
ected Mrs Eddy lead govern Christian scen-
lists? Who selected as the Prophet and Prince
of Islam? There is law against any individual set
ting religion of his own save the law of human
reason and understandng-and sometimes that is sus
pended for period the advantage of the enterpris
ing.
From enthusiasm imposture" says Gibbon dis
GUESSING the character of Mahome he step is perious
and slippery and the demon of Socrates affords
memorable instance how the conscience may sum-
Der in mixed and middle state between self illusion
and voluntary fraud He thus summarizes the nature
of Mahomets religious leadership: Charity may be-
ieve that the original motives of Mahomet were those
of and genuine benevoence but a human mission
is incapable of chershing the obstinate unbeliev-
ers who reject his claims; he might forgive his
personal adversaries he may lawfully hate the
of God. The injustice of Mecca and the choice
of Medina transformed the citizen into a prince
In the exercise of political government he was COM
PEELED to abate of the rigor fanacism to COM
ply in some with the prejudices passions
of his followers, and to employ the vices o.
kind the instrument of their salvation. I'm short
he was practical" man. The use of fraud and
perfdy of cruelty and injustice, often subservi-
of such pernicous habits would poorly compensated
by the practice personal and social virtues which
are necessary to maintain the reputation of a prophet
among his sectaries and friends OF his years
oiuon was the ruling passion; and politician will
pect that he secretly smiled (he victorious mposter
at the enthusiasm of his youth the creduty of
proseytes. philosopher will observe that their Gre
dulty and his success would tend more strongly to
fory the assurance of his divine mission that his
interest and religion inseparably connected and
that his conscience would be soohed by persuasion
that he alone absolved by the Deity from the obi
cation of positive and moral laws"
Why shouldn't the oonel be the leader of little re-
gious movement patterned after Mahomets great one?
Judcious mixture of politics with relgion-or of re-
gion with policsis not infreQuenty effective of the
aim OF the mixer. II prophet may become prince
Tor the sake Of expediency? little religion and
then is relshed by the worst of men