The Alaska citizen., 1915-09-06
BY THE REV. c. G. BRUCE.

1 the world and endeayoring to prac- | tice the same? The ideal of the ! church has lecome regnant In the i lives of millions. It has shown i. | development of the most progress | sve peoples.
 1 Turn your attention to the way ! this instruction is imparted Our own church tor example. From the pulpits of 10000 churches the EOS pei is heard every Sabbath; 10000 Sunday schools are gathered to study the Bible; l.500.000 members of the church and almost as many Sun day school scholars are gathering S3O.000,000 annually to propagate the gospel under the direction of the nine boards of ine church Add to these the colleges. the seminar. ies the homes for the aged. the orphanages the great publishing houses sending out millions of books and papers. All these influences are bringing to bear good upon the masses. Then add the work of the , Methodists, Baptists. Congregational ists, Campbellites, the Church of England, the Lutherans. and to this the Roman Catholic church with it's mighty machinery, and the Greek church and the Coptic church and the Armenian church and the 15o others among the Protestant denom- nations and otherwise numerous bodies. It must become apparent nous aggregation of teaching influ- ence
 Science keeps before us constantly the law of the survival of the fit test. What is that law? Simply this, that in the fierce competition of life those institutions. nations and individuals which are best adapt ed to their environment survive. The strong live and the weak disappear Very good. What about Christiani ty? Is it surviving? It is it's own monument that it squares with the needs of the day and finds it's justi- fication in it's ability to conquer.
 Christianity takes the world in all it's broken and dilapidated condition and brings forth place for socie ty, for the. social condition of the times, place for business which place for science philosophy, and religion It takes man and shows him his relation to God in a way that man can ever live and con tinue in peace and the pursuit of happiness. Now what has doubt done for the ethics of the nation: Has it anything to offer to meet the situation that arises from time to time in any line of difficulty? What provision does it make for duties of man to man, saying nothing of duties of man to Cod?
 As everyone knows, unbelief is in unstable equilibrium over against materialistiC philosophy. It teaches that man is "a mere mass of matter differing from trees only in the fact that he is differently organ iZed' From such a standpoint feel ing and choosing would be inactive for man would grow as trees grow, to be of no greater use than his "order' would warrant. But Chris tianity has a reasonable plan which furnishes an adequate warrant fol obligation. In the fact of personal accountability to God there Is pro vision for efficient ethics. If doubts would take us away from the teach
 ngs of all ages, that have served us well, let the doubts slip and cling to God and the Gospel of ditch,
 At last, We find ourselves confront ed with some psychological difficult ties. There is conscience to be uedl1 WltH. A ueep certainty pos sesses us that We are alive. and of necessity, beings of responsibili- ty. Feelings, aspirations, hopes. purposes are realities, and no ar gument can shake the confidence in their value. We are growing older every day, as our fathers have done. Some day temporal things will pass from our vision. What of the future? Christianity right here has some very definite things to offer Things that comfort inspire and encourage for happiness. But what has unbelef? When the soul is yearning for things beyond, what answer does it give? Has it mes sage of any value here?
 In comfortable home lives a mother and three babes, Father is away performing his duties that these comforts may continue with out interruption. The fire bell rings. for the house is mass of flames. Sturdy men try to rescue the in mates but fail Their charred re- mains are tenderly laid away from the sight of the stricken father