The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1912-11-14


To be Judged by the work done
Apelles Of Cos drew straight line
across the wall Of his nelghbor's stu.
do and said to an attendant, SHOW
this TO your master when he asks
who has been here" The straight
line OF Christianity across the cen.
turtles could be drawn by the hand OF
One only.
Let us today meet this challenge
OF the olden time by showing a world
without Christianity. and then a
world with Christianity Perhaps. II
We believe not the words, we may be-
lieve for the works sake
Suppose the Christian faith should
fail Suppose we should wake up
tomorrow and find that the Bible
had been put out OF court. that the
Christian religion had been voted a
fabrication. and the world had decid.
ed to abandon it-what would hap
penn II would be dark day In his.
tory. After the first moments OF bc-
wilderment. the days when every.
when men began to get their bear
ings they would say let us get rid
OF the churches. They are expen-
sive even when considered necessary
What good are they now? The tho
alter and the lecture platform can
furnish better entertainment The
opera house will supply better music.
And so take away the Bible with its
sure words. destroy all confidence In
the gospel OF salvation from sin and
his time in the church service? The
word OF the pulpit is accepted as the
word OF God Not in the eloquence OF
the speaker. not In the beauty OF the
music, but in the authority OF the
message. lies the power OF the
Church.
And divine worship would cease.
What a mighty voice for good would
thus be stilled. Note the days when
the city OF Antioch was mad with
revolution because the Emperor had
imposed unjust taxes. and the Bm-
peror was eager for vengeance on ac-
count OF the insults offered by the
people.
Several ways are there for locating
the ship at sea. BY dead reckoning.
for instance. when the captain mere
ly judges by the speed OF the ship
and the direction sailed; by light
houses along the shore when not too
far from land. or by the lead II the
depth OF the sea be not more than
100 fathoms. But when far out on
the voyage the only sure method Is
by observation OF the heavens. The
sextant for the altitude OF the sun.
the cronometer for Greenwich time.
the nautical almanac for local time.
helmsman gets his orders. In the
church and on the Sabbath day we
make our observations We are apt
to drift through the week. We can.
not always see the stars from the Of
fee windows. The sun cannot get
down into the cold. yawnlng canons
into which we have turned our city
streets. But in the clear light OF the
morning service We get a glimpse OF
the old beacons. The mists OF self.
interest are lifted. the steslthy swish
OF the currents OF compromise and
policy may be heard and their power
to swerve calculated. and when Mon.
day morning comes we are bearing
away again toward the seas that lie
under the smiles OF God.
But you say We should keep our
even though We lose our
faith. We have learned that two
and two make four in straight bust.
ness; that honesty pays; that our so
cial creeds are our social salvation.
But our morality is the outgrowth OF
Men In the Old Testament
days made themselves clean that
they might come before God. Per
haps they had never been clean be-
fore, and they said among them
selves, This is fine let's try to be
clean on our own account and see
how II feels" The Sabbath day was
observed In Difference to the wishes
Of God and found TO be essential to
the wants OF man. What ground OF
morality is there except In the fact
Of God? Why should not the man
who is stronger than other men take
what he wants and 30 possess ALI
Your Emperor, your Gear. does he
desire your farm or your vineyard;
foes he covet your wife or daughter;
foes he resent some indignityH Then
lot him do as pleases him. True.
but there is a higher law. and its In.
.erpreter is Conscience and its heads.
nan is Remorse. and all this couples
back TO the consciousness OF God
which lies deep and definite In the hu-
nan heart.
Discredit the Christian religion
md some other form OF faith viii
AXE its place. II Is impossible to
teep our human nature unrelated to
he divine. We must keep our win
lows open toward some sunrlsing.
Ne must find some staircase winding
upward toward the stars. even though
I be q broken one.