The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-02-08

now as the world experienced in its
most benightcd hour. II is unnecessary
To pause To answer this objection.
VIII leave the answer Ia the intelligent,
candid reader whose mind is access-
bic to the truth.
zone Of the most hopeful signs of the
awakening moral and religious con-
science of the age, especially in our own
land is found in the fact that the crring
and the criminal members of society
are no longer regarded as hupelessly,
irretricvably lost. Even the man who
does not profess To be an orthodox
Christian Will extend the helping hand
To his fallen brother man.
AT a tim" not 50 remote as to he for
gotten by aged citizens of to-day the
man who was once convicted of a
felony was given up by society as
hopelcssly lost, gone forever, shut out
from all sunshine His wings were not
only clipped hut broken and his l!fe
henceforth was To br spent in the hor-
rihle shades Of the underworld. Df
course there were exceptions to this
soul pulv"rizing rule. But the p, or
wretch who was once shackled. incar-
c"ratcd and had his body clothed in
the loathsome stripes which indicated
cases a doomed man.
Law was savage, Justice relentless
and memorable: III" light of God seldom
penetrated the prisons and the inmates
seldom ENCOURAGED the thought that
one day they would he restored To So
cety, To decency and to God. But to-
day all this is changed. or at least is in
process OF changing. Prisons are not
all they should he, discipline Is perhaps
ahsurdly abused in many of them and
melancholy failures in larg" numbers
mr." IN" necessary fruitigo of the sys-
tenn.
INT 1t cannot h" denied that thou.
sands If men who We're once incarcer-
a'cd now live useful AMI even happy
lives, Society in its hroadcnci and
onli"ht"ncd charity ov"rlooks the past.
This shows that the Master who preached
the gospel Of hope Is being rightly in
t"rpr"t"d in this age. IN this country
OF course there is a great deal OF
projudic" To overcome. u great deal OF
false teaching to combat and an amaz-
ing amount Of ignorance To- enliphtcn.
but every door Is opening We can
hear tn" Crcaking ana grinding Of rust
eaten bars as they ar" being forced
from their positions by the cnlightcn-
mont OF the present age. The church
has hut to enter the doors and take
possession
Il believe that these better days ar"
IN" frl'tag" Of Christianity. AZ any
rate paGanism could not do these things.
II had its chance and miscrably failed.
If learning could have accomplished the
salvation Of the world from gross sell
'ishncSS ana cruel mHtcrialiSm, this
would have been an acCompliS shed fact
thousands Of years ago. Athens had her
chance and failed, Rome had her chance
and failed.
"Rut Christianity will not fail. because
II is "A power that cannot h" resisted. 1t
Will triumph. Gloomy pcssimists who
can see no hope in the present age
which they are pleased To term one Of
| the worst that the world has seen, an
age in which frvolty and sclnshness
are the ruling drItics. have failed to read
correctly the signs of the times.
at is not necessary that Christian
| tenets be 'rcstatcd,' Higher criticism
| has had its day and accomplished
nothing more than the soldifying Of
| the forces who believe in the divinity
OF Christ and the inspiration of the
| Scriptures.
This Is the supreme moment In the
history Of the Christian Church. II it
fails it can blame nobody but itself"