The Washington herald., 1915-09-05
i'm THE REALM OF RELIGION

connection, there is one bright inci>
dent which shows that even war can
not make man become uninterested In
/ the work of his fellow-man. no mat
| ter what his nationality. Many of the
students who have been taken pris-
oners have determined that they can
not make better use of their enforced
detention than to continue their phil
osophical and theological studies. The
German priests in the villages near
which they are detained have thrown
open their libraries for these students.
Thus We have it that these young
| men who want to see France strike q
crushing blow at Germany are being
helped to complete their ecclesia sticai
education by the same men who hopN
and pray that France and her allies
will be defeated.
THE request of Pope Benedic. XIV,
to the German bishops to have then
French priests who are prisoners OF
war treated with as much courtesy as
possible has borne good fruit. The
Kaiser has given orders that the
priests be treated as officers of the
French army. They perform the duties
of the priesthood in the prison camp.
The French people do not know the
meaning of the word surrender They
will not listen to a suggestion that
they will be defeated. They are even
|
that defeat will be dishonorable ia
France, and that France can never ba
dishonored. The young boys are
yearning to reach the age when they
can fight. In the meantime they are
helping the old men and the women
to do the work once done by the men.
who are now at the front"
Father Levatois said that the French
people look upon the Russian reverseS
rpara1v sefhac<S hat
will. Of course. make the rest Of tho
allies fight harder, and which will deS
lay but not prevent ultimate triumph.
The war interfered not little with thu
program of this Bible Congress. speakers
being unable to cross the ocean. There
were greetings from the British and for
eign. French. German and other Bible
societies. and papers by the Patriarch OF
Constantinople and his bishops. DR.. Kuy-
per, formerly prime minister, and now
senator of Holland. Prof. Jean de Visne,
of the Reformed Church of France. and
others. Bible development in Europe.
Asia and in America was brilliantly pre-
sented. the climax being reached with
advance data from DR.. Henry Otis
Dwights Forthcoming book on the Story
of the American Bible Society for 100
years.
The Gideons are an organization OF
Christian travelling men There are 500
900 knights of the grip in America and
until the advent of this organization,
they were not particularly noted for ,
piety. Since 1905 the Gideons have dis
tributed 800. 900 Bibles In hotel bedrooms.
In many other ways they have been a
travelling public.
The Lutheran Church in America will
hold its general biennial convention,
September 9-15, in the almost contiguous
cities of Rock Island and Moline, I'LL
and Davenport, Iowa. Their women'S
auxiliary will meet at the same time and
places. The notable function which the
joint bodies are expected to arrange will
be the COMMUNICATION OF the 40oth an
niversary of the Lutheran Reformation,
which will be due in the year 1917. The
Lutherans are half million strong in
their enrolment of communicates.
Preaching is violent physical exercise
for Billy" Sunday. He was early COM
PEELED to recognize this, and engaged a
prize fighter to rub him down. after his
sermons. Jack Cardiff. the ex-pugilist !
who has for several years been the physi.
cal caretaker of the well-known evange-
list, has ambitions to De an evangelist
himself and has attached himself to the
company of Rev. Henry W. Slough, 1
where he will be given an opportunity
to preach occasionally. He asserts that
he is concluding his service with Mr..
Sunday in a perfectly friendly way.
Perhaps San Francisco is the nearest
churchless of any city in the republic.
says the Christian Advocate. New York.
A bishop said of this metropolis, "A man
who is religious is looked upon by the
average citizen as Pharisee or fool. IL
not a mixture of both The church that
appeals to the average denizen of the
Coast must be practical and efficient.