The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-06-08

subject of deliberations at the Frida!
afternoon session Of the Norwegian
Lutheran Church Of America, in SEES
sion at the Fargo auditorium. DR.
J. N. KiIdahl of the theological sem
mary at st. Paul delivered the open
ing address. The speaker based hi
remarks on Genesis, 1878.
The speaker showed how the frs
generation Of mankind, owing to IT
EperVersity, was permitted by thu
Lord to walk it's own benightet
ways.
However, that knowledge and sal
walton should not disappear from thu
earth the Lord raised up Abraham
and the other patriarchs and trained
them and through them the people
of Israel for their divine calling OF
preserving the truth, and transmit
ting it to posterity. Men who woulC
not be faithful in this calling were
eliminated, just as Lot, whose
descendants were the Amenities and
the Moabites, the enemies Of Israel
It was because Lot had not taught
his children to do Righteousness anC
justice. Likewise was Ishmael elm
mated. His descendants are the
Arabs and the Bedouins. The same
process of elimination was followed
| by the Lord in His dealings witt
| Esau.
The Lord changes not. The great
mission Of the church is to preserve
and pass on to posterity the truth
| Of the Lord that they may keep the
way of Jehovah to do justice and
righteousness. The patriarch JACOB
was not perfect, but he was willing
| to be used by the Lord. And the
| LORD will use today that person,
| family, country that will do right
eousneas and justice.
Therefore, If we as church people
want to survive and want the Lord
to use us in His world policy, then
we must command our children aft
er us to do righteousness and justice.
It matters not what great thing
we might be able to do materially II
we do not in earnest take hold OF
this one thing we shall go down. The
Lord will call others to do the work:
The seriousness Of our times ought
to make every man and woman sit
up and take notice.
We speak of the crimes Of the
Germans. Their greatest crime has
been committed at their universities,
where they have dethroned the Son
of God and taken everything divine
out of the word Of God. This is the
underlying crime OF the world. We.
too, have adopted this spirit and
taught it at universities, colleges,
high schools and grades. What is
the fruit Of this worship Of reason?
We are reaping the fruit today.
Atheism, scepticism, materialism,
lust Of money. There has grown up
boasting generation, fearing Meth
or God, the devil, nor man, whose
God Is their belly. whose glory is in
their shame.
There has been a cry against dog
ma, that is against the atonement
and the vital truths Of Scripture.
Take away the truth Of Scripture
from mans heart and he turns to
pleasure and the seeking OF sensual
joy.
ever. The world war Is a result and
q chastisement.
Shall we now let the Lord correct
US?
Let the wise man glory in his wis
dom. That's what we have been do
ing, Even though our country should
grow to be thousand times more
powerful than 1t is today, it will go
down, If we do not command our
household and children after us to
do righteousness and Justice. We
must see that our children are
brought up in our Sunday schools.
religious schools, academies and col
leges, Shall our children learn to
know the Lord that they may DO
Righteousness and justice? This is
absolutely the only way in which the
Lord can make use Of us.
The next address was delivered by
Prof. c.. K. Preus, president Of Luth~
er college, who was to represent the
college as an institution where the
Christian education is to be dissem-
mated.
To educate in the knowledge in
holy Scripture so that mind, will and
conscience shall be subject to the
will Of God, so that with Samuel says
speak, Lord, Thy servant heareth. Its
object IS to give information ana the
ability to use it for the benefit OF the
state and church.
We do not want our education
t"unsanctiffed," which is often the
ally OF Satan. Christian education
is education "sanctified." It has been
said that education is the dark page
OF. our history. 1t is not because we
have not spoken and written about
il and contributed toward 1t. It is
because we have not the missionary
spirit as we once had 1t. When the
people came from Norway they all
wanted school, because they knew
the value Of it and felt the need Of
It as a means of bringing us a child
In the knowledge OF Vhe Lord. That
was missionary spirit. Then the
mothers instructed their children in
the catechism.
When. men, like the sainted Rev,
J, Ottisen, would find a bright boy
and urge him TO go to school that
some day he might be a teacher or
a pastor, that was missionary splr-
it. So also when people during the
Civil war borrowed money in order
to erect colleges for our boys That
they might have q Christian educa-
ton. That is missionary spirit.
The danger is that this mission
ary spirit shall disappear from
among us in spite of our educational
institutions. History tells us that the
church, when it has prospered out
wardly, it has lost the missionary
spirit.
Il is not easy to point out this
missionary spirit and the dangers
threatening it. We cannot look into
mems hearts. But we know that, for
instance, the spirit Of nationa4ism as
one OF the evil spirits trying to crowd
out the missionary spirit. Instances
can easily be given Of schools once
doing their work in tho name OF
Christ, today doing 1t in the name OF
science and in the name OK reason
alone.
AGaterialism is another evil spirit,
driving out the missionary spirit.
The question is frequently: Does It
pay? Does it day in dollars ana
cents? why have church schools