The Washington herald., 1913-09-15
"THE GREATER LESSON
EXPLAINED BY PASTOR
DR.. Wallace Radcliffe Says "The Fear
of the Lord Is Needed in
Religion.
RESTRAINT SEEMS LOST

On the threshold Of the opening of the
public schools, ministers throughout the
world yesterday made urgent prayers for
all free schools.
DR.. Wallace Radcliffe yesterday morn
ing in New York Avenue Church, urging
THE Great Lesson that ifs needed today
In the university of humanity, said in
part:
I'VE need the restoration of the old
conditions that are bound up in the ex-
preston the fear of the Lord. That put
iron into the blood and made men kings
TT is a fear which has no apprehen-
sion. 1t is born of reverence and stinlu-
lates to obedience. 1t realizes the Divine
Presence and puts God at the center.
1--WE have struck the devil out of our
creed and punishment out of religion until
motive is deprecated and restraint Is
lost The old COvenanter, and Quaker.
and Puritan had corners on him, he was
often harsh and severe. and his presence
was uncomfortable. but he saw visions
and attained results.
He feared God and feared nothing
else. To honor God was more than a SEN
timent. He was justice, truth, law. The
heresy of Americanism is our naturalism.
We resent authority OF tradition or ex-
perience. We claim to do as we please.
The common exhortation is, BE your
SELF Work out your own nature Live
your own life.' 1t possesses school and
societyl and Is eclectic, studies what ii
will. and cultivates only what interests.
That way is doom. Whatever saps
authority saps manhood. The hope of
the republic Is in the God Of our fathers.
. This great lesson has one textbook.
We cannot here be Independent. The
truth does not come by nature, nor rea-
son, nor the church, nor experience. The
spirit leads as the word directs, and the
word teaches as the spirit ilIumines.
This textbook belongs in the curricu-
lum OF the public school. That system is
to train for citizenship, and that citizen
ship must contemplate the whole man.
Our present method is incomplete and in
adequate.
This is a Christian nation and its
training should recognize the Christian
text book. 1t, of course, should have
some place in the daily devotiOns, but I
claim much more than this.
1T should have recognition in the ap-
pointed studies. We teach the mytholo-
gies, why not an equal space to theology?
IL is the best literature in the world.
''lf we give them HeFodotus. why not
Moses. the better historian? II Virgil.
why not David. the greater poet? If
Seneca, why not Solomon? II DemOsthenes
on the Crown why not Paul on Mars
Hill? II Cicero, why not the Sermon
on the Mount? We forbid them the
study Of the highest literature. But pre-
eminently we owe them ethical training.
Today we prepare them as sharp tools
for mischief. We give them dangerous
weapons and do not tell them how to
use them. The multiplication table and
the Ten Commandments must go to-
gcther. The boy must not only know
how to spell riches, but responsibility.
His penmanship must know the rights
inhering in other peoples names< The
Biblical ethics carry in them the ex-
istSnce OF the home, the order OF society
and the perpetuity of the republic"
The worldwide service was arranged
by the National Reform Association,
which has its headquarters in Pittsburgh.
Pa. II was part OF the program mapped
out at the Second Worlds Christian Citi-
zenship Conference, held at Portland.
Greg, this summer.