The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-06-25

had been esteemed as last ami least.
Reversing the Common Oriti.
This marvellous deIlNerance, up L.
the IeEel Of which the world i but
slowly climbing. turned upside down
the accepted notions Of the time. The
Master pronounced as blessed" not
the rich and the powerful and the
men Of place ana honor. but the poor,
the meek. the prosecuted. Ills pnllosp-
ply declared that the enNIabIe men
were not the conspicuous and wealthy
and highly placed. Ills teaching aim
ca directly to show that a mans lie
consisted not in the abundance u
the things he possessed, but that II
Was measured solely by the state Of
his spirit.
SO He bade men to love their
enemies, to seek to give rather thar
to receive, to turn the cheek in nom
resistance To the hand that sfnltes.
and to rejoice over persecution and
hardship. Even more, He interpreted
the law of Moses as meaning that
the real sin was less in the deed than
in the thought that prompted the
deed, and that q heart Of hatred was
as criminal as an act Of murder.
Simpleness, truthfulnesS. self-de-
NAL, lowliness of heart, lavish spend
ing of love, forgiveness of enemies
| these were the road to perfection
which is like unto the Divine per
lection, as pointed out by Christ.
That philosophy has stood the test
Of the centuries, and now IN our day
seems to be coming to a full accept
ance. When great teachers like Toll
stoi rise up and undertake to put
into actual practice the Sermon on
the Mount, hey are not hailed as
madmen, but accepted as interpret
ers Of the law Of Jesus. This phil
osophy, uttered on the slopes Of Cali
lee two thousand years ago, is the
ruling philosophy Of earth today.
Hard Knocks for EcclesiasticS.
All through this long address Jesus
scintillated brilliant and scorching
flashes Of arraignment of the profess
sional religious leaders Of His time.
Today we would call a man who so
spoke an "insurgent." Jesus hated
all shams, and he deSpised the &C.
c~lesiastical leaders who used their
religion as a cloak for self-seeking.
He babe all who would follow Him
to nave a Righteousness that exceeds
the righteousness Of the scribes and
the phariSeeS. Again and again He
heaped up His contempt upon the hy-
pOcritical pretenses Of men who trust
ed to their pre-eminence and vaunting
virtue for their reward.
1t was cOmmon hen-and the same
notion persists in modified guise-for
men who wanted to be counted re-
ligiOus to do their aims in the sight
Of all men, and to pray on the street
corner, and to take the chief places
in the synaSOgues. Their religion
was a religion Of show. They de-
spised the poor and the sinful. It
seemed as if the vocabulary of Jesus
was scarcely adequate to express His
loathing for this selfish, sinful carl
I Il ~ F thu ifo-of L.
His Father had prescribed for man
kind. He did not hesitate to point
to the public woman, whom the
pharlsee despiSed, as more worthy
than the self-righteous a%ristocrat.
Standing Up for a Servant.
One other striking incident occurs
IN the quarters lesson. that Of the
testimony Of Jesus to John the Bap-
l fist. Men and Religion workers have
frequently pointed out the fearless
n outspoken loyalty of the cam
palgn leader, Fred. 3. Smith. to al
l MS associates Let anybody c~riticiSe
n OF the team mon, and Smith
) would be to the fore with an un.
l hesitating, unqualified endorsement
5 OF that man. That is a Christliks
2 trait. Jesus never went back Ion
l friend.
e After John the Baptist had de
creased and CHI list had increased, tn
: prophet in prison wondere whethe
: things were really coming out as h
: had expected. He sent friends to in
Quire. Then followed that Super1
testimony to the brave prophet Of tn
0 wilderness. that among them tina
are born OF women there hath no
I arisen a greater than John the Bap
8 tist.' Jesus failed not one viii i
honoring the man who had IN be
e fore Him.
n The example is a good one for tn
times. In our zeal for the new, an
In our. ardOr in prosecution Of moder
reforms and developments let US nc
/ forget the old. Every form of prog
n ress today is the OutwOrking of earle
n ideals and activities. Others hay
i labored and we are entering into the
u labOrS. Our present privileges ar
l. an inheritance from those who De,
~ maps did not live to See their da,
- What there is Of good now is b,