The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1912-05-04
THE PUBLIC FORUM

us the old-time religion; it's the old
time religion; tbs the old-time religion
and it's good enough for me.p Pos.
sibly it is. II certainly seems TO be.
They don't seem to care to improve on
the religion which their grandfathers
believed in and practiced At least
they won't confess that they have i'm
proved on it. But | notice they don't
travel in stage coaches when they can
get express trains, with parlor cars.
The old-time method of travel isn't
good enough for them Why should
any man be less progressive in the
most important matters of life than he
is in the least important? The ques.
tion isn't whether the old-time religion
is good enough for a popular evange-
list Il certainly will be good enough
for man who doesn't use his head for
anything but hatrack The question
is, whether it is good enough for a
reasonable, thinking man. in the year
Of our Lord 1912.
For instance, Captain White-and /
refer to him simply by way Of illus
tration. not by way of personal at
tack-says that his mothers Bible is
good enough for him. | deny that il
is. Capt. White doesn't believe in
his mothers Bible. He only thinks
he does. He is the victim of a similar
ity of names.
AS a matter of fact, the Bible is
different book to each man who reads
it. One Bible teachers REORGANIZATION
Another, free-will Depends on
the reader is Presbyterian
or a Methodist. It is only in name
that these two have the same Bible.
One Bible teaches baptism by INNER
sion, another baptism by sprinkling.
according as the reader is Lutheran
Or Campbellite. It's dollars to dough-
nuts that Captain Whites mothers
Bible taught that the world was made
u LA hours, and that Hell was Mil
+onie lake Of 'eyer-burning sulphur I'M
surely do not give credit
70 Captain White for believing such
+hings, though 1t was entirely natural
or an intelligent Christian to believe
hem seventy-five years ago.
Religion changes, just as everything |
Else changes. There are no real stand |
oatters anywhere in the universe. ex-
,ept in the cemeteries. The only diff |
'erence between the so-called stand |
)atter' and the so-called radical" is. |
hat one moves faster than the other. |
Religion has been in a process of con-
inual change ever since its birth. It |
las developed fro ma worship Of indi- |
fidual gods in individual stocks and |
stones, through polytheism. to the be-
ief in one God. In Christian history.
We have had the simple, undogmatic |
aith of Jesus, the organization and |
recommendation of the Catholic church,
he iron-bound intellectualism OF Pro |
estant theology, and now we have the /
moral and spiritual freedom Of mod
'rn liberal thought Christianity used
o teach that the Roman Emperor was
Antichrist. Then it taught that the
Pope was Antichrist. Now it has /
'rown wiser, and doesn't know who in
he world the Scripture means by Anti
hrist. Once it was orthodox" to be-
Ieve that the sun moved around the
forld; now the common Christian be-
ef is just the reverse. Religion pro-
resses as the world progresses. The
ian who clings to his mothers re- 4
gion is standing still while humanity
weeps by him. He might as well be L
cad.
What do l care if the Christian
hurch did once persecute Galileo for
saching that the world moved? Chris
anity has got just as good a right to
utgrow its mistakes as science has.
! this particular case, science made
be mistake first. Christianity had
cen taught by science that the earth
as still in space, and the run NOV
lg round it; and believing implicitly
lat the teachings of science was the
nth of God, it thought Galilec was
saching hersey. Science can haruly
ford to throw stones at the church
n its mistakes in scientific matters.
s own house has too many panes of
lass in the walls. Science and re-
gion, as matter of fact, are getting
'gether. Each is confessing that it
asn't the final truth. but is still seek
e for it, and learning more and more
very day; science about nature, and
sligion about the soul They are
orking together. using each others
rocesses. sharing each others results.
'specting each others sincerity.
rience is growing more believing, re-
gion more progressive and expert
ental Science is discovering thel