The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-21
THE STRONG SHOULD
MINISTER TO WEAK
Disapproves Doctrine of
Survival of the Fittest"
DIR. FOSTER breaches
Takes AS His Subject The Supreme
Chain and the Work of Christ"
Nothing Ambiguous About
Teachings of Christ

DR.. John s. Foster, pastor of the First
Presbyterian church, during the course
of a sermon on THE Supreme Claim and
the Work of Christ" declared that Chris.
tianity did not approve of the doctrine
of the survival of the fittest." He said
that the teachings of Christ clearly
showed that the strong should minister
to the weak and not disregard them en-
| tirely.
God raises a protest against this appi-
cation of the doctrine of the survival of
the fittest," said DR.. Foster.
DR.. Foster took as his text, Luke 1910:
''The Son of Man came to seek and to
save that which was lost" He spoke in
part as follows:
Christ is his own best interpreter. He
leaves us in no doubt concerning the mis-
sion of His life. He never clouded one S
understanding with ambiguous phrases.
1t is because men have not been willing
to accept the plainest and most reason-
able Interpretation of language that con-
fusion has been brought into the meaning
of the life of our Lord.
teacher with an utter disregard of the
meaning of His death. Others have hon
ored Him as the great example, as the
perfect pattern for all mankind ana
turned a deaf ear to His claims to be
the Savior of mankind. But when we
listen to the Masters own Interpretation
of His mission and honor His language
as meaning what He asserted there is
borne to us supreme claim and a su-
that at once arrest attention because of
their unique challenge What is this SUI
preme claim and this supreme work that
Jesus associated with himself? 1t is a
work and a claim which IL substantiated
make Him not Jesus the great after the
manner of the titles of men. but Jesus
the only, the absolute.
Christ Biggest Factor in History
'9He is the most pronounced factor in
history. He is simply Jesus. He is the
one being with whom we have no other
person pronounced enough to institute a
comparison. Now there is a profound
truth underlying the impression He has
made upon the history of the race and
it is this truth we are now seeking to have
our minds and hearts comprehend Why
has He survived the keenest criticism If
His character and the most minute exami-
nation of His words? The cry of the
world has been, we would see Jesus
More biographies have been written OF
Him than of any other parsonage. And
as the world has studied the world has
marveledeand' master minds have felt the
! linadequacy of language to convey the
moral loneliness and divine majesty OF
| this Jesus.
"And we would seek a reason for this
impression, for this leadership in thought
and morals and spiritually Transforming
power. About a generation ago there
passed out of the school room to the man
of the street striking expression, an
expression which in some quarters has
been turned into an instrument of much
cruelty. The expression in question was
THE survival of the fittest." 1t is true
expression Only the fittest does survive
In the stern tests of life. When the scien-
tist proclaimed his doctrine he was but
giving utterance to truth whose spr-
itual meaning Christ had exemplified
through all the centuries. He has sur
vived all tests in the light of His remark
able and unparalleled claims because He
was the fittest. He is the fittest and
therefore survives and reigns today.
Now let us see the meaning of this in
our lives, in the lives of every day men
and women. Above all else, 1t means
this for every man, that none is competent
to deal with the spiritual problems of life
and death save Jesus. He is the only
competent physician for human transgres-
sion. All others need to seek the remedy
for sin. He needs not only not to seek
the remedy. but is the only physician
who can cure. And secondly it means
this, that the quality which causes him to
survive is the standard He now exalts
among men, among those who are His
disciples. 1t is the high standard of holi-
ness.
Christianity the Purest
'If Christianity has one distinguishing
feature, it is this its opposition to evil.
1t will survive because 1t is the fittest
and 1t is the fittest because like a white
heat it burns out evil. Christ is calling
us unto holiness. II we are seeking to
show the power of God it must be done
through our morally transformed lives.
Now our Master proclaims another
truth in which the glory of God abides as
clearly as in the first. He shows us His
right to the supreme place among men.
That right belongs to Him by virtue of
His divine equipment, his holiness, power
and wisdom He survives because 1t is
the survival of the fittest.' And then the
grace and the glory of God are further
exhibited as He says, Il who am the fittest
am using myself to save the morally un-
fit The Son of Man came to seek and
to save that which was lost. All! that is
God. Loving more than all others love
serving more than all others serve: feel
ing the burden of sin more than others
feel 1t: not casting away the morally
unfit, but seeking its fitness, its cleansing,
It's redemption.
Strong Aiding the Weak
HE who is the fittest is morally stoop-
ing to lift up the unfit. How different is
this doctrine from the every day methods
| of men. There the weak are constantly
giving place before the strong The lion
devours the lamb. The smaller business
disappears before the larger. The weaker
nation becomes the prey for the more
powerfuL Everywhere 1t is the stern ap-
plication of the rigorous truth that the
strongest survives because it gives no
heed to the weakest. All our problems OF
sociology are rooted sn this fact. The
weak, those untitled to cope with aggres-
sive forces are pushed deeper and deeper
into perplexity and want.
Now God raises a protest against this
application of the doctrine of the sur
vival of the fittest.' Through the Savior
He shows that the fittest should survive
in ministrations of love to the unfittest.
ANY conception of the cross that pre-
vents you from seeing the God of all holi-
ness STOPPING to remove the guilt from
unholy lives is robbing you of correct
vision of the divine heart and of the
greatest gift God has for you. The NOR
IrlIx rrt~ LII