South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-09-21
JESUS GREATEST
TEACHER Of ALL
Never Presented Any Argument
to Prove That God Existed.
Says Rev. James L. Gardi-
ner-SouI Most Valuable.

At the st. PauFs Memorial Meth
odist Episcopal church yesterday
morning the pastor. Rev. James l..
Gardiner. d. D., spoke on the subject.
The Message Of the Supreme Teach
err He chose as his text the words
Never man spake like this man
spake"
DIT. Gardiner said:
by common consent Jesus Christ
Is the greatest teacher Of religion that
the world has ever known. There
have been other religious teachers
who have sent their names down to
posterity. There have been prophets
like Isaiah and Jeremiah and Daniel
and Hosea and AmOs-names con-
spicuOus in the history OF Israel. out
side Judea there have been teachers
like COnfusciOus and Budda and
Mohamet-men who have made an
impression on the religious thinking
OF mankind. But yet friend and foe
are agreed that never man spoke like
Jesus OF Nazareth.
mo man ever spoke as did Jesus
concerning God. Jesus never pre-
scented any argument 70 prove the
existence Of God. The theOlogian does
that. He tells us OF the ontalogicaI,
the genealogical and the theological
arguments-al OF which prove that
God exists. But Jesus never did that
He was speaking TO a people WHO be-
lieved in the existence of Deity He
was speaking 10 a people who be-
lieved in the truth Of one Coda
God who was sovereign and who
should be wOrshiped as thus. There
fore such arguments were unneces-
sary.
Love Essence Of Fatherhood.
What then did Jesus teach con-
cerninS God? He taught that God
was rather OF this world OF men
otner religious teachers have used
me word father in speaking OF God
but no teacher ever read into the
word the moral and spiritual mean
ing that Christ did. He taught us
that the essence OF divine fatherhood
was love. BY His words and by His
life Jesus Christ told us that God
loved and cared for humans This
doctrine OF the fatherhood Of God
thus presented by Jesus differentiates
Christianity from every other system
Of religion.
Again I would remark that Jesus
spoke about man as never any other
teacher ever spoke. II has been truly
said that Christ was the first teacher
who ever really discovered the value
emphasis upon the infinite value of a
human soul. To Him the soul of man
was OF infinitely more value than
anything else I'm the world. once He
said, What is a man prOfited If he
gain the whole world and lose his own
soul OF what shall a man give in ex-
change for his soul Then Christ to
redeem men from sin and make them
fit for Gods kingdom died upon the
cross. He gave Himself a ransom
for men.
Jesus Christ taught that man made
in the image Of God had fallen but
that he was not hopelessly lost. He
saw the angel as we'll as the beast in
humans. He taught and lived and
cied that the angel and not the beast
might triumph within the human soul
Jesus set forth the great truth Of
the Immortality OF the human soul
lie taught us that 1T is not all Of life
To live nor all OF death 20 die He
told us OF the Fathers house Of many
mansions. where the children OF the
Father should live forever.
"As we think OF what Jesus taught
concerning God and of human life
and destiny we join with those who
heard Him in the days OF His flesh
and eXClaim with them Never man
Spalle like this man.
Begins Sermon Series.
Last night DR.. Gardiner gave the
first OF five evening sermon stories on
Bunyans Pilgrim Progress or The
story of an old Time Dreamer" his
particular subject being Bowed With
Humanity's Heavy Load
By way Of introduction DR.. Gard
liner gave a brief biography OF the
life of John Bunyan- He spoke Of
his Imprisonment in Bedford Jail
where he had the vision which led
him TO write his wonderful book.
The load that rested on John Bun
yam said the speaker. was the load
OF sin. That is the load that rests
upon mankind everywhere. Bunyan
felt the awful weight Of wrongdoing
You and 7 have felt it. But thank
God Bunyan found relief and SO may
we. This fact-the fact that the bur
den may be lost and we may find rest
on Calvary's hill-we will discuss next
Sunday evening"
Dr. Gardeners subject for next sun
day will be The Burden Lost and
on the following Sunday evening he
will continue the story under the title
I'm the Thick of the Fight