The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-01-20
BY William r. ELLIS.

BY WILLIAM T. ELLIS
The real scholar is differentiated
from the average man by his ABILITY
to see causes as well as effects Most
of US are content to be like the pros
living in today for today, with httle
thought of the future and less OF the
past. We take things as we find tneln'
never looking back to beginnings me
persisting tendencies which have been
at work throughout the centuries DO
not interest us
That our country is in a period OF
general insurgency, and that new
ethical era seems to be daWnlng, Is
patent to the most superficial obSerN-
ers. AS one of the quiet, average men
said the other day The people are
doing a lot of unsupported thinking lot
themselves nowadays" This ferment
and unrest are so obvious that ne Is
blind who does not perceive tneHl-
Nevertheless, few persons are thinking
things through, and dlscONerlhS Inc
relation of present movements TO eter-
ual forces
There is a direct relationship exist
ing between today's universal Socidl
and political restlessness and the plrtn
of the Babe in Syrian KHAN, wv
thousand years ago. The Worlo Sot
more than new calendars on that sun
night AS there is a pathway or llght
over the oceans surface straight lroIA
the feet of every observer by the sea
shore to the moon itself, so there IS a
direct line of influence going back
from our own lettering times TO lne
new Force which then came into the
world so wondrOusly-
Back to the Babe.
Tt is but few weeks since Chrlsten-
dom stilled its activity long enough
to celebrate the birth of Jesus
throughout Christmastide some per
sons never thought behind the pleas
ant cares and expense of the occasion,
the shop early inJunct1OnS, anu Lne
h
Cause was forgotten in the celebra-
ton of the effect.
A clear look back through the
changing centuries to the BABE MIN
self reveals Just such a tiny, WARM
pink. soft and helples little creature
as every day comes to thousands OF
homes as Gods best gift. me ele-
mental humanity of it is one OF the
big truths of the story not 10 De
overlooked in the simplicity OF the
narrative. As We contemplate the
scene in the manger, civilization anu
its fashions, history and its Glamour,
our days heaped up appliances anu
appurtenanceS of life, all slip away
and we behold in awesome slmplclly
only the Babe, the mother, the patient
donkeys, the wondering peasants ana
the eternal stars.
Rack of the Babe is the fact of God
The ultimate verify that God IS looms
large above the birth OF Jesus. IN MS
eternal majesty, the Supreme Being IS
not unn1indful of man He cares for
mans affairs, and takes thought TOT
his progress and happiness He IS
eager above all things else, for the
welfare of his children on earth Mar
Vicious as it may be, the great Goa Is
also hungry for human love. All TINS
we read clearly written in the advent
of the Babe as Revealer and Recon-
cilef.
Mems thought concerning God has
been changed by Jesus The Angels
proclaimed a new social order as they
broke into song above the Bethlehem
plains. where once had sounded the
singing voices of David and Ruth ana
Boaz. We may conceive of this Beth
lehem Babe as new samson VINO mas
been pulling down the pillars of the
old order.
In our new mood of insurgency and
ethical discomfort, let us not be heed
less of the wonders already wrought.
Thanks to the impulse of the life and
teaching of Jesus, practically all the
slaves of earth have been freed. New
doctrines of human rights and liberty
and brotherhood have been firmly
esta blished upon the earth. The claims
of the woman and the child have
cor 2. or are coming. to universal &C
ceptance. The lot of the prisoner has
been transformed. Forms of OppreS-
sion which have existed unchallenged
for millenniums are now retreating In
perpetual defeat. The weak, the over
borne. the aged, the people with no
fair chance are all feeling today the
championship of the Hero born amid
the loWly cattle in wayside inn. One
IS utterly lacking in the historical in
Rtinct. and in plain common sense,
who does not see the relationship be-
tween our great today and the starry
night of which we study
The Champion of the East
Brother of all the world" the poet
AccIains Jesus He IS the champion
of all the worlds woes and needs: the
accepted Teacher and Redeemer of the
West. Yet the Babe was born in the
East This is the day of the revealing
OF the Orient, and the West is discOv-
ering anew the wondrous East, with
It's teeming millions and it solid human
worth, as we'll as its fundamental weak
resses. The attention of the present
dav is directed as never before to the
new old world that is comprehended
within the borders of Asia. All this in
terest should be hallowed by the
thought that the Christ was born in
the East. and that the ultimate eman~
cipation of the people s to come through
him.
This great truth may be further To-
cslized The very place CT the BIRTH
beset with unrest and problems be-
cause the spirit of the Christ has re
turned to his native land to impart new
osDiraticns and purposes. I have been
haunted by the memory of the weeping
women Of Bethlehem. as they saw their
sous and daughters set out for the
new promised land of America. Syria's
present predicament. like that of all
turkey. ELECTS the sympathy of every
-osmopoiitan heart. As we watch the
warning creeds and the struggle of
1,i9rotrv. terror and corruption to main
+ain their hold. we realize that only
the principles OF Jesus can solve. the
oriental problem
Getting the Facts.
While musing over the meaning of
4l,ings- let US not fail to get a clear
griD on the things themselves. Facts
come first; mOralizings take their force
L hea int