Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-05-15
Our Disquieted Race
Must Be aci6ed Under
The Truce of God
BY BISHOP W. A. GAMBLER.

I -
/ ter. What man may be is con-
stantly and clearly disclosed by
the use he makes of the power which
! he possesses. Burke says, Nothing
! but the possession of some power can
with any certainty discover what at
| bottom is the true character of any
man."
! The sinlessness of Jesus is seen in
the fact that he used his divine power
always in conformity with the divine
law. When the tempter suggested that
he exert miraculous power for the self
| ish purpose of feeding himself, he per-
emptOrily and Instantly refused. saying,
| Man shall not live by bread alone. but
| by every word that proceedeth out of
| the mouth Of God" Nevertheless he
used his miraculous power to multiply
leaves and fishes for the hungry multi
! tude when tod 50 ordained.
! No man deserves to have power i'm
any degree who will not use il in a
Christly manner. Indeed. it is danger
Gus for any human being to possess
power greater than his purity of char
acter Wherefore with all increase of
| power there should be a proportionate
! increase of goodness. When the case
/ is otherwise the force of evil in the
world is made greater; for all power
not under subsection of goodness will
/ ne lneNltdDlN GAeEleu LOT evil enOS.
Wealth is a source of power Money
| is stored force, which may be expended
for the welfare of mankind or for the
] injury Of its owner and the damage of
others. The peril of growing wealth is
| always that it may outrun growth in
! the moral character necessary for its
proper use. Hence the danger of sud
den riches either of individuals or ma
lions; they acquire power before they
are prepared to use ii wisely vrtu-
ously.
The supreme danger of the modern
world has been it's rapid increase in
wealth. Inventive genius has devised
much machinery by which the fruits of
human industry have been multiplied a
! thousand fold within the life of the past
generation. BY consequence the nations
of chriStendom have advanced phenom-
enally in the matter of earthly possess
sions. 1t is clearly evident that their
riches have grown more rapidly than
their morality. Hence the world-war
which is now blazing forth in such a
destructive conf1agration. Greed for
gain, and lust for power have had much
to do with kindling the fires of this
huge conflict, and God is permitting the
nations to burn up their wealth in or
der to save their souls. Their gains
having become their peril, it seems nee
esary to destroy their goods in order
that new and nobler world may
emerge.
We are now learning the lesson of
preparedness for a state of war; but the
war will not last always, and we should
also think of a proper state of prepar-
edness for a new era of peace. For that
new era moral preparedness is needed
most of all. Without such moral pre-
paredness the world will run again it's
same old course of peace prosperity,
greed. lust for power, and a period of
conflict and conf1agration immortality
upon the part of either individuals, or
nations breeds inevitably contentious
and strife and war; for at bottom all
sin is selfishness and selfshness in one
party leads to collisions with selfish
ness in all other parties. 1t is demon
strably true, on the most philosophic
principles, that a sinful world can new
err be a peaceful world And the more
powerful and sinful the world becomes,
the more sinful and destructive will be
the wars which Will spring up in it.
Some have supposed that it is very
surprising that war like that which
is now raging should have come in the
Twentieth century. But sound reason
would naturally predict for this CEN
fury just such a conflict as is now rag
ing. During the last half century in
christendom there has been a growth
of intellectual power and an increase of
material goods; education and industry
have both mades amazing strides. From
educational progress and industrial
prosperity, which have not been accom-
panied by proportionate improvement
in the moral life of christendom, have
sprung extravagant national ambition
and a worldwide greed for gain. Dur
ing this period the passions of men
have been intensified while their moral
principles have been relaxed. What
but war could come of conditions of
this sort? A huge conflict was inev-
table
Germany has been one of the most
enlightened of all nations. But enlight-
eminent has not restrained German am
billions nor purged the German govern
ment of it's lust for power. Hence. the
world has seen power used by that en-
lightened nation in the most unscrupu-
lous fashion, and the most lawless
deeds justified on the ground that they
were necessary for the expansion of the
German empire. As the case has been
unfolded by the events of the last two
years, it is now manifest that the world
can not be a safe place for men to live
In until the aspirations for glory and
the lust for power with which this
great nation has been obsessed shall
be overthrown.
The history of the last three years
will be repeated at some later day, if
the nations do not set about a moral
preparedness of mankind for the main
tenance of peace. The great factor in
such. preparedness must be a nobler
type of education. Secularized culture,
utterly separate from religious truth
and moral principle can not safeguard
civilization On the contrary it Will
destroy civilization. and overthrow
even the institutions of learning from
which 1t has sprung, even as the god
less intellectualism of Germany has
pulled down both educational and re-
ligious establishments in Belgium and
Northern France In blazing letters
of fire the lesson that secular culture is
no security for peace has been written
i'm lurid lines upon the sky, so that all
the nations may read it, Why should