Trench and camp. [volume] (Augusta, Ga.) 1917-1919, 1918-03-06
ARMY BOYS RELIGION

NSA-O''
vigor of his intellectual life and with
not a professor of theology, but he be-
lieved that the only approach to religion
was through clear conception OF the
dogmas of the church. AS the boys say,
he was long on theology, but short on
practical religion. He could not help it,
he had been taught that way. WE'LL we
all believe in theology The great car
dinal doctrines of the church are funda-
mental to the life of the church, but this
war and the massing of great bodies OF
men for moral and religious training is
have got to unlearn lot of things at the
same time that we get new conceptions
of method.
So our friend came to Camp Dix. He
actually thought that he was coming to
a goddess sort of place, where morality is
at q discount He had believed every idle
tale of gossip and Islander that had come
to his ears. He was deeply concerned, he
was dead in earnest; he wanted to give
the boys religion and he was convinced
that the way to do it was to make fly
| ing tour of the camp, speak in every
building and convince the men of the real
! ity of the great doctrines. His first audi
ence was a group of about $50 men, fine,
| splendid fellows, all in uniform, all COM
mitted to the supreme task and the su-
preme sacrifice, a fact of which they
were deeply conscious. They were rev.
erent, open minded. susceptible, hungry.
| Ninety per cent. of them We're members
| life in the army, their whole-souled con-
| secration to a gigantic, lofty task had
| quickened into new life the inward
! springs of morality and religion. They
had been baptized into the spirit of a new
| ideal and a splendid goal. But it was all
SO new, so vital, so inarticulate that they
| longed for someone to VOC the deep
yearning of their hearts. Those were the
fellows to whom he spoke.
For ten minutes this great minister
| argued for the eXistel CT God; for ten
minutes he argued for the existence of
| personal devil; by this time the boys be-
gan to leave one at a time, sometimes in
| clusters. Disconnected, chagrined and
| now convinced that most of the men were
reprobate in mind, the preacher stopped
with a sarcastic warning. At the close of
| the meeting one brave, frank lad came to
him and said Doctor, we fellows all
know there is a God, you did not need to
| tell US that, and sometimes our fight
| against temptation is mighty fierce, but
| what we want to be sure of is that God is
with us in this awful business and that
| Christ will go with. us into the trenches.
/ If he will go with us we will go anywhere.
| Do you think He viii! go with us?' "Of
course he will go with you was the an
swer. but we want to be sure" insisted
| the young soldier.
| Come let us sit down and talk it over"
suggested the preacher very wisely, and
soon he found himself the center of a
which he found it difficult to break away.
| He was being converted
For three hours our friend shut himself
| up in his room and would not havS any
! interruption. At five o'clock he emerged
with a happy, triumphant smile on his
! face. II have torn my sermon to pieces
| and have thrown it away he said, land
here is new one born out OF the expert
! preached with unusual power and at the
| close of the esrmon young rookie came
| forward and asked permission to say a
| word. 1T was readily granted to him and
| this testimony: have been
| this camp for two weeks, he said ''and
| this is the first time in ten years that
have been where everybody wanted to try
! and help a fellow be what he wants to be.
| l have been a professional gambler and
for three years a dope fiend-not because
| wanted to do these things, but because
| all my acquaintance seemed to be try
| ing to drag me down, When | was draft
ed and found that | had to go to war
| thought it would be he'll to come down
here. Now I think it will be hell if
! have to leave this place and go back
=, home. If this is what they call religion,
! then | want it and want all / can get of
it."
After the meeting the man woh wanted
to make flying tour around the camp
and preach at all the boys went to the
secretary with this request: Cant you
cancel half of my speaking engagements
and just let me stay here where l can
visit with these boys and get some of
this real religion that they seem to have?
| Perhaps God will allow me to be of more
| real ueS Ill tIlS way imam ever aCOuIU De
in just jumping here and there
So it was that he helped the fellows
sweep out in the morning; he messed with
the soldiers; he talked with them about
this great new experience into which they
were going and in which so many We're
finding the Christ of the ages and his
| blessed cross. When he came to leave
| he left this parting word behind him:
Good bye, old fellow. | have had the
time Of my life and [ have gotten re-
| ligion." About two weeks later a letter
! came from a layman thanking us for
what we had done for his pastor.
T. From Association Men