Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-02-13
RELIGION NOT mere
MATTER OF CEREMONY
Outward Forms While Good in
Themselves Are Not Vital,
Says W. 7. Ellis

The International Sunday School Les
son For February is, 1914, Is
"Christ's Hatred of Shams," Luke
11:37-54.
(William T. Ellis)
The most popular novel of the
present season is Winston Churchill's s
The Inside of the Cup" The title
is taken from words of Jesus which
are part of the present Sunday
School lesson. The entire story Is
designed to be an exposition. in mod
ern form, of the teachings of the
! Master as here set forth. Whatever
the defects of THE Inside of the
Cup 1t Is certainly intended to
teach one of Christs own lessons, and
in His favorite form of a parable.
That such discussion should be the
favorite book of the hour argues we'll
! for the serious -mindedness of our
day. Also it Is a reminder that peo-
pie are getting a great deal of their
religious instruction from other than
the conventional religious sources.
The background of the utterance,
and the lesson story, was a dinner
party. Then, as now. the social lead
ers were fond Of capturing every
lion" that came along, be he a re-
ligious tconoclast, picturesque So
cialist, famous writer, or what-not.
Anything to relieve the ennui of
jaded folk tired of their own COM
pany and at the end of their own
resources. There was a distant SIM
ilarity between the motives which
led the condescending pharisee to
invite Jesus to his table, as enter
tainer for his guests, and that which
once prompted vacant minded society
folk to give O monkey dinner"
Many lion" has lost both his
roar and his teeth beneath these
smothering attentions. One of the
commonest tragedies of the pulpit
of literature, and of public life. is
the attainment Of social acceptable.
ity and popularity, at the cost OF
the loss of ones message. Jesus,
however, was not of this class. He
cared more for His own intellectual
integrity than for the favor of any
aristocracy. While not lacking in
most real courtesy, He would not let
His courage and message be obscured
| by any mistaken sense of politeness.
In the CeremOnfOus East
This fresh-spirited western world
has had the vigorous good sense not
to let its religion become a mere
matter of ceremony. There have
| been attempts to fix upon certain
| practices-as card playing, dancing,
| theater-going, for instance-as the
| sign and test of godliness. This has
failed, because Christianity is a re-
| ligion of the spirit, and the whole
| some sanity of the church has re-
coiled from these attempts to label
outward forms and observances how
ever good in themselves as vital
Christianity. We have all seen too
many instances of men who do none
of the doubtful things such as
smoking, card playing, ETC., who
nevertheless show none of the spirit
of the gospel. 1t Is altogether pos
sible for one. to obey all these pro-
scriptions and yet be too mean to
live with human beings.
This sort of thing Is the essence
of pharisaism. Conformity to out
ward ceremonies, as distinguishe ID
from a religion of the spirit. begets
insincerity. The old Jews had added
| to the forms Of the Mosaic law
a bewildering array of detailed re-
quirements. Then, as now, the East
loved a religion Of ceremonial. The
Koran is full of it. Even as a Mos.
lem may observe the intricate rit-
ual Of motions and washings and
prayings and fastings and pilgrim.
age, and still remain a cruel, blood
thirsty, lecherous oppressor of hi:
fellow men, so the pharisee coulC
keep the ceremonial law, even dowr
to giving a tithe out of the min
patch in his back yard, and yet re-
main a moral monster. And to bt
wholly frank, we are not unac
quainted with the type of church Of
ficer who has incarnated in himself
the criminal practices of big bust
ness" who has been in unholy al
lance with corrupt politicians, who
has rented property at high rate:
for evil purposes, who has under.
paid his employees and kept chile
laborers under the yoke.
That is the sort of man whom thi.
rugged, truth-telling Carpenter ar,
raigned openly thereby causing So
cial CONSERVATION. Every active
church worker should examine him
self carefully, in the light of this
tremendous passage of Scripture, re-
membering that the blistering "Wot
unto you" was addressed to the pro
fessionally religious, and not to tn,
outcast and disreputable.
The Sensational Speech
No comments upon 1t can hav,
the force and pertinency of this ut
terance Of Jesus itself. The passag,
will at least interpret to some read
ers the origin of the phrase, 9TH,
Inside of the Cup"
Now as He spake, Pharisee
asketh Him to dine with him;
and He went in, and sat down to
meat. And when the Pharisee
saw 1t, he marveled that he
had not first bathed himself
before dinner. And the Lord
said unto him, Now ye the
Pharisees cleanse the outside of
the cup and Of the platter; but
your inward part is full of ex-
tortion and wickedness. Ye
: foolish ones, did not He that
makee the outside make the in
side also? But give for aims
those things which are within;
and behold, all things are clean
unto you.
But woe unto you Pharisee!
for ye tithe mint and rue and
every herb, and pass over JUS
tice and the love of God; but
!, these ought ye to have done.
and not to leave the other un-
done. Woe unto you Pharisee!
for We love the chief seats In
the synagogues, and the salu-
tations In the marketplaces.
Woe unto you, for ye are as
/ the tombs which appear not, and