The daily Nome industrial worker., 1916-03-21


 forms. It has really been the main spring of social life as far as such religion can be the handspring of anything. It dictated virtue for fear of He'll and it dictated compensa- tion to the devil lest he pursue the poor victims of his wrath against mankind with undue suffering. | Men read and learned about the , Golden Rule but how could the golden rule find expression when the blessings and happiness and en- joyment and welfare of some few depended upon the poverty and the misery of the many. Many talked about equality and the brotherhood of man, but how could the brother hood of man become a realization when the laws of men and kings were directed towards the enslave- men of the many for the profit of a few .. Instead they endeavored and very unsuccessfully to adjust the teach ings of Christ to the economic con- ditions of the time, and its wOful failure has ended in wars and acci- dents and death and disease ana crime and poverty and wretchcd- | ness and discontent.
 The christian religion became churchianity pure and simple, the
 prayers that voiced an expression of love and brotherhood became lip service merely, and we know now l that it did not stir the blood an6' 1 heart and soul of men as truth which would triumph over every thing and be light and guide and lantern to their feet.
 If men believed in Christ as the Savior literally, what would the orders of a Kaiser or Tzar or a King or a Country be in the face of the Truth of God persisting and lasting? If men believed the story of the Nazarene and that he was the son of God and that what he said went, what he taught would go despite Kings or Kaisers.
 But we know different. We know that christianity in the literal sense was not an existing fact The Churches themselves led the doubt ing and the skeptical. They fought like savages about their trifling In terpretations. They began early enough to act like swine and coveL the things of earth like filthy misers. The Golden Rule to them was nO- thing except a principle of morality we'll enough between chosen few; the principle of human brotherhood did not transcend national or class boundary lines. Christ taught to turn the other cheek to the smiter clergymen blessed warships, battle flags and great cannon. Divine service to Christ is even held in the trenches when men are to be later turned loose to Kill!
 Is any sane person going to be- lieve that the same God is autho- rizing the killing of British by Ger mans or Germans by British and that both sides are right? Is any sane person going to believe that the Supreme Being is reckoning his hand with human blood for sheer lust of human suffering and human misery and human terror?
 And when we see this condition prevailing are we going to believe that it is the religion of Him who passed no sorrow by, or the religion of the savage that murders his son to appease an angry devil?
 There was more candor in the days of pagans, more even in the days of the Robber Bnrons who took when they had the power and in- vited him to keep who could. The Red Hand of Ulster was the nation al symbol of a pagan day. It was symbolical of the Right of Might. But there was no hypocrisy about 1t It was red with the lust of conquest and scarlet with the glory of power. At least it asked no blessing upon it's carnage; no sacrifices for its success in foray; no prayers for it's brutal raids and conQuests. iiif
 It's followers were men of war with hands against the world whose hands in turn were against them.