The Oskaloosa herald., 1917-10-25
THE SERMON
k ON THE BOND
AS PREACHED IN AMERICAN
CHURCHES YESTERDAY.
YOU CANNOT Be A TlGHTWAD
And Christian At the Same Time
II Christ Rules the World, Kals-
erism Must Go-Your Duty Is
Plain; Do It.

The following six minute sermon on
the Liberty loan was preached from
practically every pulpit in Oskaloosa
Sunday, and simultaneously from pull
pits all over America:
"And certain ruler asked him, say
ing, Good Master, what shall l do to
inherit eternal life?' And Jesus SAID
unto him, why callest thou me good
none is good, save one, even God. Thou
knowest the commandments, Do not
commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not
steal, Do not bear false witness,
Honor thy father and mother. And
he said, All these things have / OBJ
served from my youth up And when
Jesus heard it, he said unto him, One
thing thou lackest yet; sell all thou
hast, and distribute unto the poor, and
thou shalt have treasure in heaven;
and come, follow me- But when he
heard these things, he became ex-
ceeding sorrowful; for he was very
rich. And Jesus seeing him said,
How hardly shall they that have
riches enter into the kingdom of God
Through the ages this young man
has stood before the world as tragic
failure. We rank him with the 'Gada-
renes who preferred their swine to
Christ, and with Nicodemus who was
too timid to come out openly on the
side of the Master. And yet he wasn't
such bad sort of fellow; the test put
to him was one that not many people
in this church could stand-to give
all to the poor. He had kept all the
commandments from his youth up, he
was a seeker after the truth, he had
run out after the Master, and yet he
failed in the final test-he preferred
his riches to the call of the Master to
become one of the company of Peter,
James and John, He went away sor-
rowful for he was very rich.
Turn Wealth Into Love
To-day the rich young nation,
America, stands in the presence of an
imperative ideal that commands it to
turn it's amassed wealth into channels
of human love and sympathy. Sew
enty-five per cent of the time has
passed and only % per cent of the
$5,000,000,0 has been subscribed. If
we fail we will not be ranked with the
rich young ruler, or with the Gada-
renes, or Nicodemus, we will be
ranked with Judas Iscariot.
"The test to put to us is nowhere
near as severe as that put to the rich
young ruler. He was told to give,
the appeal to US is to loan, and to loan
on good security, at per cent inter.
est. We take no risk, the security is
gilt-edged, and the best in the money
markets of the world.
"The rich young ruler was told to
give all; we are asked to lend but
small part of our national wealth.
"In the Mark version it says that
Jesus, looking on the young man,
loved him. but if the gentle Jesus
who said, Let the little ones come
unto me- looks tonight upon the
graves of the starved babies of Bel
GUM and Poland; if the Christ who
was merciful to the harlot is con-
scious of the outraged womanhood
and motherhood of France, with what
utter scorn and contempt must he
look upon that American citizen call.
ing himself a follower of the lowly
Nazarene, who having the means still
refuses to buy these bonds.
Through the centuries Christianity
has slowly, painfully, and through the
blood of its martyrs and the toll and
struggle of Christian men and women
built up a civilization. 1t has wrested
the world from barbarism and saw
agery; womaIfhood has been lifted into
reverence; childhood girded about
with protection; the slave has been
freed; for the sick, the hospital; for
the wounded, the Red Cross; for the
ignorant, the schools; for old age, rev.
erence and protection. Nations ceased
to war upon one another and were
bound in the strong ties of interna-
tional treaties of good will Even war
Softened under the touch offChristian-
ity and international law sprang up
which protected women and children
and the aged, and the wounded, and
unarmed merchantmen, and guaran-
teed to prisoners of war honorable
treatment, and to hospitals and Re-
Cross nurses, protection. Each re
turning Christmas brought us nearer
to the reality of the angels song,
Peace, good will to men,"
"Then the Hun came; at one blow he
struck down the neutrality of Bel
GUM and cast tho treaties, the work
of centuries of Christian statesman
ship, into the waste basket as useless
scraps of paper; Red Cross nurses
were fired upon on the battlefield;
prisoners forced to prepare ammuni-
ton to slay their own comrades;
Christian priests imprisoned; women
and children and the aged slain.
A Struggle for Democracy
president Wilson asks you for the
sake of your country TO buy these
bonds. / ask you in the name of your
religion to buy them. President Will
son says it is a struggle for Democ-
racy against Autocracy; it is also a
struggle of Christianity against Prus-
sian Kultur. Ex-president Taft says,
If the kaiser wins, Bunker Hill and
Valley Forge are wiped out of our
history but l say to you, if the
kaiser wins, the Lords Prayer is idle
rhetoric, Gethscmanc farce, and Cali
vary a grim mockery.
"Men and women, we call ourselves
Christians, and our Christianity has
been profitable to US. Under the pro-
lection OF Christian ideals and Chris
ton civilization we have found lib
crty of thought and liberty of action,