The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-05-02

Deity and revelation. They have not
yet had even a formal introduction /
They are certainly not on speaking |
terms with Christianity. While these
writer's are not strictly Christian in |
the othodox sense-that is, in the
Bible sense-they get their inspira-
ton from the Master Teacher and
the Book of Books.
am frank to say I do not delight
IN the vaporings of misty men
like Il. G. Wells who inexperienced in
Christian discipline, hostile to the
evolutionary, historic and normal
development of Christianity, now
penitent-in a sense-at the 18th
hour, a dying thief upon the cross, in
his ignorance, inexperience- and char.
acteristic intolerance and ferYor of
an age-long civilization that has come
up "out of great tribulation" just
what it shall believe and do. For
many years a pronounced agnostic,
and even now defending a certain
kind of benevolent atheism, Wells has
| been berating and ridiculing religion
and God. He never sought to under
stand historic Christianity, but only
with tongue and pen to prosecute the
! of mind he would reveal and dictate
true religion to the waiting and hun
gry world. If the disciples at Jeru-
salem feare dto receive the new con-
vert, Saul of Tarsus, because of sus-
Dicion, the Church today may well re-
! ject Mr.. Wells as the self-appointed
apostle and exponent of Christianity
and the Christ of the gospels. I say
this knowing full well that Wells will
continue to be read with Meredith and
| others, by progressive students in the
4 coming generations. A quotation or
two from "God the Invisible King
will suffice. Modern religion has no
revelation and no founder; it is the
| privilege and the possession of no cot
/ erie of disciples or opponents; it is
appearing simultaneously around the
world exactly as q crystallizing sub
stance appears here and there in q
Erersaturated solution. 1t is a pro-
cess of truth, guided bv the divinity
IN man. 1t needs no other guidance
and no protection. 1t needs nothing
/ tut freedom, free speech and honest
! statement" (p- 1879 This is not a
criticism of present day Christianity,
/ but his idea of what Christianity
ought to be. Christ's discourses in
the little upper room are hardly to be
nlerated as orthodox by this brilliant
author If those last Illuminating up
per room conferences are correctly
reported Christ would not accept this
| from Wells: "The extreme aloof-
ness and inhumanitv, which is logic
ally necessary in the idea of a Crea-
tor God, of an Infinite God, was the
reason, so to speak, for the invention
of a Holy Spirit, as something pro-
ceeding from him, as something
bridging the gulf, Comforter, me-
diator descending into the sphere of
| The human understanding. (P.x)
This unsympathetic outsider and
stranger continues, "God is an i'm
mortal being arising out of man. =
somewhere IN the dawning of man
kind he had beginning, an awaken
ing, and as mankind grows he grows"
Cp- 61-) with our eyes he looks
out upon the universe he inyades;
with our hands he lays hands upon
All our truth, all our intentions
and achievements, he gathers TO him
self He is the undying human mem
DRY, the increasing human viii"
God is not an aggregate but a syn
thesis. He is not merely the best of
US all, but Being in himself, com
posed of that but more than that, as
a temple is more than a gathering of
stones, or a regiment is more than an
accumulation of men," Up. 62). eff
a figure may represent him it must be
the figure of a beautiful youth. al
ready brave and wise but hardly come
to his strength" (p. 64.) In spite
Of all this camouf1age of Bible phrase
Ology, his god seems to be purely sub
jective and in no sense objective; it
seems that God did not make man,
but that man made GodI Of Wells
we might ask today, as the surprised
and skeptical people asked about the
seemingly penitent King Saul thirty
centuries ago, 'Ts Saul also among
the prOphetstw There is no humility,
no docility, but only pride of intellect.
it is not an attempt to improve, but
to side-track Christianity. These clev-
er men, keen and plausible, of which
Wells is the type, would change the
J majestic and spreading and hoary oak
into q cottonwood forgetful of the
: fact that we have the ancient oak to-
day only because an acorn was
dropped mo the soil in the far past,
and that after the roofing, strength
ening and testing of centuries of
storm and calm, the acorn developed
because of that which its Maker put
into it.
: 1t has yet to be explained why
Christian students of large intellect
ual caliber should emerge from our
schools, colleges and universities,
easily familiar with the profane po-
cts but almost entirely IGNORANT of