The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1918-06-23
THE RELIGIOUS RAMBLER
'By WILLIAM 7. ELLIS

to find how full the mems letters
are of illusions TO home, love and
God. They are thinking a lot more
about religion than | had ever sup
posed There is not much talk Of
things religious among the men;
and anybody who comes over here
looking for a revival" of the con
ventional sort, will strain his eye
Official announcement of the deaf
sight seriously before he finds it.
In one of the Salvation Army huts
sweet-faced lassie, whom the men
adored as a mother or a sister, com
planned to me that the soldiers are
not as keen for her meetings as they
are for her pies and doughnuts; and
that those who do come under con
viction' quickly backslide. She is
looking for the sort of religiosity
that she found in her street meet
iings bacp home, and fails to realize
that her noble personality and beau
tiful service is far more religious
than her stereotyped phraseology.
A new dignity and self-respect has
come to the men in France. They
walk with surer step than ever.
They have discovered themselves.
Therefore they arc rse than
ever to talkirr .Ip.t lte deeper
things of thcit nature. In the pri-
vacy Of their letters-for they soon
learn to disregard the censor-they
unveil their truer, deeper selves.
Face to face with the great realities
of life, and with their experience
deepened and enlarged, they have
come to an appreciation of the ulti-
mate things that they did not have
in the easier days of their civilian
life. Their position is that of
France, which has dropped her for
mer theism. and has come to re-
gard God as the first factor in her
life. Spiritual values have come to
their own place in all the armies of
this war with those thinking we are
conversant.
Religion at Bedrock.
Ont among the troops found
that there was a more general &C
ceptance of church services, if they
were simple and vital, than ever was
the case back home. This matter
depends largely upon the personality !
of the chaplain or the Y. M. c. A.
worker. | have seen Y. NJ. c. A.
huts filled at Sunday services. Also.
by the way, have seen boys read
ing their Testaments. One Red
Triangle hut has family prayers,
brief, simple and catholic, every
" ednesday night after the evening
program is over, regardless OF
whether that program is motion
picture, boxing match or vaude
vile. The report is that the boys
ike it. Indeed, there is evidence
hat some of the Y. NJ. c. A. secre-
aries have been too fearful of try
ng to thrust the religious element
Onward.
Here IN France among the sol
iiers new and elemental concep-
ion OF religion has developed. 1t
las little creed. and certainly no
ectarianism: Ecclesiastics back
lome might be startled into some
hing like awakeness could they but
ealize how little he thinks that bulk
o large in their life mean to the
older. These soldiers care nothing
or the differences that divide Epis-
opalians and Methodists and Pres
yterians and Baptists. They are in
crested in God, whether or not He
nswers prayers, and the relation be-
ween Him and the great considera-
ions Of righteousness for which the
HES stand. As for the shop talk
# the churches, over here they con
eSS that they never were in the
abit OF paving any attention TO
hat.
Three words characterize the re-