The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1918-03-29
THE N SENTINEL
THE CHRIST AND
THE WORLD WAR.

erican Magazine the leading article
is by Harold Bell Wright. The title
of this ~nrticle is "The Sword of Je-j
Mr.. Wright stapds before the
reading public as one Of the most
popular writer's Of the day; and the
very fact that su h an article in pop
ular form comes from his pen at this
present time is significant of the
great change that has taken place in
the consciences of men in regard to
war within the past n hundred
years. In the days of Nanoleon men
readily went into war without ever
thinking about asking such questions
as are indicated in Mr.. Wright's ar
ticle. At that time very few men,
comparatively, would have asked the
questions. Is carnal warfare and
'bloodshed upon the battle fields in
harmony with the teachings of Je-
place, and everywhere, both in Amer
ica and in Europe, thousands OF con-
scientious men and women are ask
ing this question. and here in Amer
lea it is a significant fact that this
question is being asked by those who
constitute the most stable .cless OF
our citizenship. Just what this pres
ent great war will do toward bringing
about a reversal of this conscienti-
|ous sentiment remains to be seen.
/ There have been wars in Europe AZ
ter which it took hundreds of years
ito recover lost ground, and it may
be that such will be the case after
this war is finished; but we Ameri-
can people are hoping that we may
find the silver lining behind the dark
ening cloud.
Some twenty-five years ago l was
a reader of 1.-THE Thinker" a free
for?-all magazine published in both
London and New York. At that time
the leading scholars of Europe, and
some of our own American writers,
were discussing questions relative to
what they referred to as the His.
] ~torical Christ" the Biblical Christ"
and the "Ideal Christ" The histor.
iical Christ being the conceptions OF
the Christ which men have received
through the writings of theological
historians, the Biblical Christ being
the Christ of Galilee, as portrayed by
New Testament writers, while the
ideal Christ is the Christ as concelv-
ed of according to mems highest
ideals in moral and religious ethics.
lust as Mr.. Wright has done, these
men of the idealistic school OF
thought look at the Christ on the hu
man side of his nature rather tnan
on the divine side of his sonshlp; IN
truth. it is claimed that all that Cnrlst
is to us is in humanity.
in Germany Observation-Disclosures
The so-called- advanced thinkers
in Germany made great pretensionS
in their conceptions of the ldeai
Christ. and it was from Germany that
This teaching was introduced lnto
America. BY these German teacher
the ideal Christ is supposed to 1--WE
lin the thoughts and lives of the men
Of everv age. accommodating himself
To the thoughts and feelings OF tnt
zoe and hence always speaks in ant
for the age in which he is living. AM
!. hence. also, the highest type OF TIM!
: Christ of ideality is always pest ex
rassad in what is conceived to b
~ - h;ohest type Of moral thinkini
IN every ape. and which Is to b.
9 Sound among the most advanced PEG
ME of that particular age. WIT
= those German thinkers this idea
/ Christ readily accommodated himsel
q to their ideas of the law OF the su.
3 yiyal of the ~fttest; that when IS II
to service will survive, while ina
u which is not fit to service VIII PEI
!. The Jesus of Maine n ONO an
ish." .
New York and Chicago and a tran
It cisco" as Mr.. Wright has picture
him, in a somewhat modlheo 1orHi'
simply the German ideal christ as u
4 has been introduced into our Amer
.. lean literature. -
!. According to recent development
# in Germany, this ideal Christ OF On
IGerman's conception is not the CnriS
that we need in America, and In
sooner we get him out OF III thougn,
\ and eliminate him from u puipi'
and literature the better Will 1t %
for the future of q country. Wns
we need is the Christ of the BLDG
the Christ as he is presented to us
the New Testament; the Christ WIN
is allowed to speak for himself an
express his own sentiments IN n
own way. We do not need the Chrl!
as he is spoken for by German SEQ
liars. nor as he may be impulsively r.
presented by the drifting tide of
sentiment that may change with tn
rising of tomorrow's sum-: but "
do need the Christ of the gospel, WI
is the one infallible STANDARD for tF
right thinking and right acting Il
men of every age; the Christ who
the same yesterday, today, and fo
ever. Authenticity. the Christ I
the Bible is the, one immutable stal
dard of righteousness.
AS respects the christians rel'
tionship to the government undo
which he lives, and in which he hol,
hiscitizenship, the Christ of the Bib
requires him to be submissively ar
p~atriotically loyal to those who no
authority over him. and no mar wi
is truly loyal to the Christ will +