The Detroit times., 1916-05-02

J The Bible. like the human race.
begins with a garden end ends with
< city. Christianity got its name
and its world vision In city, and a
big heather city at that. Every body
knows that tho Church's greatest
present problem is that OF the mod.
ern city Broadly speaking. the
Church Is suffering defeat In
urban centers. She is dominating
civic life In a diminishing degree.
Where problems are thickest there
churches are fewest
| Worse yet. the Christian leader
with a civic sense and spirit is rare
almost to the degree OF invisibility
Most ministers Ia great cities think
In terms of their own parishes. IL
Ia notorious that no movement or
leadership has ever been able to get
the New York pastors together for
| active cooperation in any city-wide
| Christian service. Each is over.
whelmed BY his own psrochial prob
lens. A need that underlies most
other needs in our modern church
life is for q leadership that will
think In large units.
The City Problem Not New.
There is overmuch waiting about
the new problems which have been
created for the Church by the mod
ern city. This lament seems to as
sumo that Christianity WAS con-
structed IN units of rural congrega-
tons. Frankly. this is nothing less
than absurd. The Christian Church
began in Jerusalem. It's first uota-
bic victories were won there, in the
face OF such opposition as is found
nowhere in Christendom today The
| greatest conquest OF the early
Church was in the third city in the
Roman empire. Antioch, with It's
half million residents.
Now Antioch VAS no modern Phil
adelphia predisrosed by tradition
and aptitude toward Christianity
The bitterness OF its heathendom is
slimpsed In Ben Hur.' with its pic.
lures OF the abominations of the
Grove OF Daphne. I'VE miles out OF
Antioch. II was from this great
heather city that Christianity re-
| ceived its name. and IL Was in An
| tioch that there began the mission
airy enterprises for the conquest OF
the cities of the old world.
In Antioch a East number turned
10 Christ. That result was won b.
Eaymen, average folk who had been
scattered from Jerusalem by the
tritulations that arose over the mar
iyrdom OF Stephen. As they went
they preached. The brands that had
been sent flying far and vide by
the foot of persecution each started
a li-e In some new place. Those
early Disciples were like the mod
ern Korean Christians. who some
times move their homes and their
businesses TO new communities for
the GOSPELS sake. The FIRST and
Snail dependence OF the kingdom
mas beer upon he witnesses" who
hear testimony. wherever they may
be put. 10 the new life that is in
Christ Jesus.
New Light On Old Places.
One is surprised when he realizes
how cosmopolitan was the early
Church. We find the dispersed dis
ciples going TO Cyprus, the British
Island in the Mediterranean, where
now TROOPS are earrisoned. and about
which the wsrships are sailing to-
day: and to old Fhoenicia. the mari.
time nation lying along the upper
coast Of Palestine and Syria; and to
the great city Ct Antioch. Antioch
has recently core into the news be-
cause of the marvellous defense
which It's Armenian Christians made
for 50 days, on a mountain outside
| NJ the city. against the attacking
Moslem hosts.
The personnel Of the Church at
Antioch, which az the biggest city
n the whole region. became the ng-
tural rendezvous Of fugitives from
| Jerusalem. was even more cosmopol-
itan yet. We find among the names
I.ucius. the Cyrenean-all students
Of geography identify Cyrene AZ
within the modern Tripoli. which
| italy lately seized from the Turks,
| and Manaen, the fosterbrother OF
| Herold. ind Saul from the uniyer-
city city Of Tarsus. and Simeon the
Black--who may have been the 81.
mon of Cyrene who carried the cross
Of Jesus, and Barnsbas OF Jerusa-
lem,
| With such leadership the new
Church al Antioch could not be
parochiai or provincial, II had to
think In terms Of the then known
word, The sympathiss and contact
and eutresch OF the Church member.
ship ran as far as the Roman do
minions. Intolerance was impessi.
bic to these men blazing with the
seal for the crucihed Christ.
II vas easy for them to slip over
the fence OF Judaism and carry the
Coed News to the Gentiles also
l THAN breadth 81 vfsioo made AZ i'm,