The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-02-08
For February-10 is Jesus Chooses
the Twelve''-Mark 3:7-35.
The WorIr1 Var,s Nou Call tn Mon

/ the 1WelVe'-Mark $3.50.
/ The WorId-War's New Call to Men.
! There is a fascination in studying
/ the principles of the present world
| conflict as we find them in the four
biographies of Jesus. All over the
/ earth the call is for man power;
/ that is the factor that will decide the
war. Then we turn to the experience
| of Christ, and we find Him building
j all on ''manpower"; stating the very
progress of His kingdom upon a group
of ordinary men. All thru the ages
the cry has been that which, now
/ echoes so loudly. that call for men.
| God give US men, The time demands
Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and
| Men whom the lust of office does not kill !;
! Men whom the spoils of office cannot
| buy,
! Men who possess opinions and will;
Men who have honor; men who will not
/ Men who can stand before demagogue
f. And damn his treacherous batteries
without winking;
+ Tall men, sun-crowned who live above the
In public duty and in private thinking
| All of our studies in the life of
Jesus are made freshly vivid by the
activities of the armies in the Holy
Land. Where Jesus walked the SOL
diers of Canada and Australia and
/ Great Britain now march. In a real
sense they follow in His train.p They
are the successors of His disciples of
/ old. Reverently we may say that
Jesus still walks with them amid the
| scenes dead to His feet. He is in
Palestine today in newness and large
! ness of power, working out great
| world Purposes thru armies who fight
! for Righteousness.
The very designs of God seem to be
n ant
/ war 1t is such vast and holy con-
| siderations that make us willing to
give ourselves and our sons to the
struggle, sure that they are thus full
hIing the divine end of destiny The
/ throb of exultation which went thru
Cnrlstendom at the capture of Jeru-
| salem, city not especially important
from a military standpoint, revealed
now closely thoughts of religion are
interviewer with the war.
/ Men Called to Fight.
* A curious fact about the pacifists is
that those who know least about the
Bible are the ones who are trying to
quote it most freely. They read the
prohibition of private murder, Thou
/ Shalt Not KILL and seem not to know
that the Mosaic Code proceeds to pre-
scribe capital punishment as the pun
ishment by society and by God for
various offenses against the common
/ veal. Likewise, they appeal to the
| gentleness and love of Jesus, apparent
ly unaware of His repeated outbursts
! of wrath against those who wrong
/ their fellows.
/ No pacifist could be expected to
| know, for instance, that when Jesus
sent, forth His Twelve Apostles, He
| commissioned them to ito preach, to
heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils.
4 That is, they were to be helpers and
/ fighters Tney were sent forth to war
| against evil, as well as to proclaim
Righteousness. They were to be in
| conflict with sin and all it's agents.
The biggest battle of time (and one
that is still being fought out in the
present war;, was taken on by Jesus
and His disciples at the beginning of
His organized work. Nobody is a full
worker for Christ who is not able to
fight as well as to preach.
n Man Versus Church Steeple.
How dramatically this new era is
reversing old procedures! Until the
war broke, we were all busy building
up Institutions. Little was attempted
! on a abroad scale in religion except by
/ organizations. Indeed, the suspicion
! was prevalent that the best of our
/ powers were going to the strengthen
ing of congregations and denomina-
tions and societies and movements,
| rather than to the ministry of man
| kind. The worlds investment In re1-
| giouS institutions and their salar1ed
workers from the financial side alone,
| was staggering
Now, of a sudden, we hear the
camps calling for men-real men, with
an essential. vital message. The aver
age parson, it seems, makes poor
padre for the troops 1t is the red
bIooded fearless, brotherly man. who
is not disturbed by the smashing of
/ conventions, whom this life and death
ministry calls Our boys'over there"
| do not need aSvariety of buildings and
/ orea MIA tons; they want men who can
lspeak the real word, and lend the real
FheIping hand. One chaplain or secre-
tary of the Young Mems Christian As
ISOLATION. of the right sort, is worth a
dozen societies and UNCONVENTIONAL
buildings.
The New Call for the Church.
/ 1t takes no gift of prophecy to per-
! ceive that the deeper tendency among
Christian leaders is back toward the
Christ way of making disciples and
putting into everyday men and women
new ideas and new purposes; and then
trusting them to find ways of making
over the world. man is bigger than
a church Steeple and his kingdom
ca pa city is greater than an apartment
house and gymnasium and school COM
biDed. Back to man" will be the new
cry. The elemental human resources
that God has used from the beginning
still remain the chief dependence of
the Kingdom of Heaven. This lesson
upon the call of the Twelve Apostles
is timely and capable of significant
development in the right hands
i There is blinking the fact that
these CLAIMANT times demand some
thing radical of the church The real
ization of new opportunities has
brought new urgency, and new sense
Of the inmediateness of the duty of
the church to rise to this fresh oco :
aion- There never has been such call
upon the forces of religion by social.
political and economic conditions as
today.
= Realizing this, certain jealous per-
sonsswou16 turn the church into a de-
batting club or charitable relief So
); ciety. Others would shatter all