Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1912-09-05

the discovery of Jesus. Here is neV
light on such claims as follows: -
came that they (the poor. the prOletar
iat) may have life anu may hav
abundance Jno 1910. A. >. Y
Come unto me all We that labor ant
are heavy laden and | will give yOu
rest. Matt. 11:2S The Spirit o
the Lord is uron me, because be hatl
annOinted me to preach good tiding
to the poor Luke 4:1S. THE King
dom of God is at hand; repent and be
lieve the good tidings. Mark leo
The very heart of the good tiding
of the kingdom is in "The emancipa
tiOn of society at large from all ex
ploitation, oppression, class s-distinc
ton and class-struggle.
1t has been the part of Orth OdOxy
and eCclesiasticism to resist the chang
es that real progress demands. Jesus
was prosecuted and crucified by the re-
| ligious rulers and the masters because
they said he was an agitatOr, an unde-
sirable citizen, drunken demOn-pO
sessed man and a basphemer of God
He had exposed their miserable hypOC-
risy. He had threatened the over
throw of their power and their mOri-
bund institutions.
1t was easy for bigotry and hatred
to dstort the facts about Him, and
put false value upon their orthodox
y. They are not the last of theil
tribe. 1t is the tragedy of history that
the rulers, the powerful, have regard
ed the existing order as sacred because
they are profiting by it. 1t is not to
be wondered at that fossilized relig-
iOusness, aristocracy and plutocracy,
and defunct politics should view the
rising tide of socialism with great
alarm.
But to undertake to prove that it is
ga denial of the existence of person
al God denial of the creation of the
universe as understood in the Chris
tian sense" is not only extremely
naive but fatuous and futile.
How is it that the most searching
analysis of society that has ever been
made can be construed in denial of a
personal God? Is the present social
order such a sacred thing that to chal-
| lenge it and Criticise it is to be atheis-
tic2 Think of the wretched condition
of the working people as revealed at
Lawrence, thiLk of the women and
children of the cotton mills of the
south. think of the sacrifice of human
life in the mines, shops, factories,
railroads, dock yards that
stare us in the face every day, every
where
These things are the fruits of a So
cial order based upon greed, individu-
alism, capitalism. Is it to deny God
to say that this must change to a So
cial order based on labor, socialism,
brotherhoodY Is it God or is it CAPT
taljsm that is offended7
''Sociologist aims to present for
midaDle array of quotations from So
cialists who say that socialism is anti
Christian. The citations are made at
random, and without scientific and his
tOrioal perspective.
Some of the socialists quoted are be-
levers in Jesus Christ. What they
criticise in christianity is what Jesus
criticised in Judaism-a decaying or
thOdOxy, a dead fCrmalism. a merciless
mammonism. He might quote many
preachers, today, as in the same cate
CORY, who have drawn sharply the line
between organized christianity and the
Kingdom of God as Jesus preached it.
Geo. D. Heron is referred to as one
"of notorious fame but still social
ist in good standing" This doub
le-headed inuendo. It aims to injure
both Heron and socialism by saying
that Heron is bad man, but is at
home in the ranks of the comrades.
Few of us know Of the troubles and
SORROWS of George D. Heron. But
those who do know them know that
Heron is an infinitely better man
than those who have DETAINED him that
they might injure the progress of So
Cialism. No man of modern times has
done more TO give men larger vision
of Christ. His books may be had Of
Fleming H. Revell Co, and T. Y.
Crowell & Co, of New York City.
"A Plea for the Gospel, " ''The New
Redemption, " "Tbe Christian State, "
"Social Meanings of Religious Exueri
ence, " "The Larger Christ, "The
Call of the Cross are books that have
given Heron an imperishable name in
the literature of the world.
John SpargO, another author quoted
by Psychologist has written a book,
"The Spiritual Significance of Social
ism," published by B. W. Huebsch,
New York, in which he says, on page
SO. "To the academic question as to
whether socialism and religion can be
reconciled the best answer is that they
are so reconciled by tens of thousands
in every land who find in each the
complement of the other
With the kind indulgence of the
News" other citations and argu
ments of Psychologist will receive
consideration in s 1~Aquent article.
J. o. LAWSON,
Memphis, Tenn.