Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-07-24
NY BISHOP w. A. GAMBLER.

BY BISHOP w. "A. CANOh6H'
In the Scriptures there are militant
words, which bespeak warfare between
the powers of evil and the forces of
good. For example. in the Epistle to
the Ephesians is set out with minute
ness the whole armor of God with
which the Christian soldier must be
armed in order to resist successfully
the assaults of Satan.
But these militant words of the Chris
tan Scriptures are generally used by
the inspired writers to rally the human
soul to resist bravely and herolcally
the temptations to evil and the attacks
of the devil. whereby virtue is so often
overcome and loyalty to God vanquish-
ed. They are rarely. if ever. applied
10 the work of the church in bringing
the world to Christ.
In our times, however, these martial
couceptions are used constantly to sci
forth the conquest of mankind by chris
tianity. Bugle notes are sounded In al
the churches calling the members 10 all
sorts of campaigns" The phrases OF
worldly wisdom are employed with rel
erence 20 leadership" strategic
points," and "skillful organization as
if the mission of the church were TO
round up" the human race. overWhelm
mankind by irresistible combinations
and drive the llHdDlNdhNS VI NAiC - -
into obedience to Christ, as captives
might be brought under subsection TO
foreign power by force of arms.
Thus used the militant passages IN
the Bible are misused, and, thereby
become misleading.
Christ proposes no method but that
of conversion for the conquest or the
world If such a word IS plan may
be properly applied to his purposes OF
redeeming love, we may say that over
whelming men by any outward force
whatsoever is utterly foreign to the plan
of Jesus. He does not propose TO III
his kingdom with vanquished Souls
brought into subsection by campaigns,
but with regenerated souls, redeemed
by the saving grace of conversion. Ac-
cording to His teaching the Kingdom OF
God is within us, and men cannot be
brought into it except with their free
and full consent, secured by the removal
ing power of the Holy Ghost. Any
other conception Of His Kingdom Is
antagonistic to it's essential nature and
unfriendly TO the benign results which
1t is designed to achieve.
That group of ideas, now so preva-
lent, in which the Kingdom of Christ is
conceived to be a great movement which
is to overcome communities and ma
tions by it's enthralling plans and by
it's invincibIe management is hurtful to
the church and harmful to the world.
To the church it tends to bring a domi-
neering spirit, to substitute for the ten
der spirit of compassion the proud pur-
pose of conquest; and to the world it
imparts a spirit of resentment and re-
sistance to all that the church pro-
poses.
Moreover, by such an unchristly con-
ception of it's mission, the church is led
to discard Christs method for the pros
motion of the Kingdom of heaven
among men, and to adopt pretentious
plans for managing mankind in bulk
rather than for making loving appealE
to individual souls to be reconciled to
God. Before her eyes shines the de-
lusive vision of renovated world,
without the regeneration of individual
souls. and the delusion leads her astray
from her scriptural mission and di-
verts her from the methods by which
the multiplied. and ever multiplying,
schemes of present-day churches to
manage men rather than to save men.
Discussing. the method of Jesus in
contrast with these popular programs
Of world wisdom. James Martineau
says: 81 conceive that Christ preached
a gospel wholly at variance with the
prevailing temper and philosophy Of
our times 1t is their tendency no. to
excite men to become what they ought
to be, but to manage them as they are.
into the right kind of men; which will
render duty the smoothest thing on
earth by warning all interfering mo-
tives off the spot, and turn the chris
tian race into a stroll upon a messy
The present age has been prolific like