Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-05-14

of the dollar is droSS, and that mate
rialism has no power to bring comfort
/ or endure with strength. The light of
| learning and science shines dimly as
men grope theT way through trenches
or keep vigil on darkened ships. Com
| merce is tributary to war and agricul-
| turo is valued only as it gives susie
nance to h=-.-.sg men. craftsmanship
was unable TO avert the catastrophe
| that engulfs all mankind. The world
| as we knew it before the hym of hate
was translated into slaughter and cruel
| ty no longer exists. In it's place we
| have one portion of the so-called
| Christian nations composing the CEN
| trail empire maddened by the lust of
| blood and the other portion suddenly
| called upon to accept slavery or take
| up arms TO preserve their own free
| dom and the liberty of future genera
lions.
In this modern Armageddon, all
! things which seemed stable have per-
| ished and troubled men and women
| look in vain in all that man has Gre
| ated for consolation and inspiration
! and valour. Stoicism alone of all the
| false creeds remains to those who have
| courage without faith in God and while
! il imparts bravery in battle it gives no
warmth to the heart, no glow to tht
| countenance, and no radiance in death,
AS one by one the old foundations
upon which men have builded are swept
| away by the tide of battle, men have
| struggled in the rushing waters for q
| life preserver, not for their bodies, but
| for their souls. They have not found
it in arms or munitions, in craft on
or under the sea or in the airy navies
graphing in the central blue. They
have not found it in the philosophy Of
fatalism, in the hopeless creed of I'M
ha1iaf in FnfI in he nf
war and passion, or even the gods OF
ambit' on and resolution. In the black
ness of the night of conflict no earth
ly glimmer has frightened the pathway
of nations or individuals. Science and
art and music grid no man with
strength in the hour of endurance.
Men Seek Savior
IAN temples of false gOos, all shrines
of pleasure, all affairs erected to fame
and wealth-these have crumbled and
fallen. Men who trusted to them for
safety have found themselves NAKED
and undone. In the wreck of man-made
religion and the crush of man-made
faith, what survives? What remains
to which man may cling when they
look into the face of the world be-
yond? Today as never before men are
looking for a Savior. They realize in
these anxious hours the worlds need
of faith that can send men into bat
tie with that assurance which the world
can neither give nor which the world
can take away.
Religion alone abides in the hearts
of men. We may not understand why
God permits war, our faith may at
times falter, but the only sure anchor
to the soul is the knowledge that God
is in His heaven and that after the thun-
ders of war, He will give us to see
that in the better days before US all is
we'll with the world 1t will be we'll
with us because we are fighting in a
righteous war. With no unholy or sell
fish aims, we are justified in the con-
fdent faith that God will give victory
to our arms and put it into the hearts
of men to establish here on earth gov
srnanants that promote peace and justice
fr~~d from greed and self-aggrandize-
ment.
This war is a challenge to Chris
tianity There are not wanting those
whose faith in God has wavered because
of the awful slaughter and some have
said this war shows that Christian civil
lization has failed. That is the super
fetal view. But it is not the true view.
Christianity has not failed. 1t alone
is the Star of Hope. A study of Prus-
sianism discloses that in that country
the state ndu the pAdOC VI CONt,
and that spiritualism had given place
to materialism. No people could wan
tonIy wage war for spoils who had not
repudiated the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Prussia outwardly professed the re-
ligion of the NaZarene. Inwardly it
has for years denied His teachings and
the fruit of it's materialism is seen in
it's brutal war upon women and chill
dren Men and nations may stand in the
market places and give lip-service, but
il is true of nations, as of individuals.
by their fruits shall We know them.
'Today the world in travail looks to
the church as the representative of the
living God TO recall men and women to
the old gospel, the only support, the
only firm foundation, the only light.
All other creeds have failed, all other
foundations have crumbled, all other
lights have gone out. To the glory of
the churches, they have themselves had
a new baptism, assembled the mountain
top and obtained a new vision, and are
calling to a world resolved to preserve
freedom to a new conservation. The
war will not be won by might alone.
1t will be won by faith, by prayer, by
| the courage which God imparts to all
who in their hour of need look to Him
| for guidance and for strength.
Amid the tragedies of this heart
breaking war we must always keep
in mind that we have many causes for
| thankfulness in this hour and for TAX
| ing courage. Let US thank God because
we have learned in this war that II
| a man would shoot straight he mus
| live straight. There was a time when
/ we shut our eyes to the perils of young
| men in camp. Kipling says, Single
men in the barracks make no plaster
saints We know the perils of the
| youth il our communities and how
| they are increased when they are away
| from the influences of home and for
| the first time the government has taken
| the lead in surrounding these young
| men with wholesome environment, We
| are making zones of safety. so that they
| may not be the prey of evil-minded
| people who seek to debRuch and de-
stroy them and make them inefficient
for the great work whereunto they are
| called
we have learned that when we
shut our eyes to evil it does not dissi-
pate evil. We must open our eyes and
tell young men the truth that II
they would be good soldiers they must
! keep their bodies clean, and our duty
to them is to take away every possible
temptation and surround them with
every good influence To that end the
Protestant churches have united in the
Y. M. c. A. and the Y W. G. A, and
our Catholic citizens have organized
through the Knights of Columbus, and