Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-04-12
By WILLIAM T. ELLIS

Doubtless it would help clarity the
thinking of some persons concerning
this great war if they, Were to look
at only one section of it. that part
y hich is comprehended within Bible
lands, and realize that the question
Is whether Christianity and ciyiliza-
tion, or Islam and deterioration and
terrorization. is to rule over the an
cient pages. The Christian Allies are
laundering in dread gunpowder
tcnes, Thou are the Christ, Thou.
and not Mohammed. The issue that
has brought on this long-eXpected
war is at root the question of the
place of Christ in life. Shall the
Carpenter be sovereign or the camel
driver? May Moslem continue to op-
pIess Christian?
Vivid and near as this supreme
question of life is made by the wal
i'm Europe, it is not singular for it
thus to be actualzed. This is the
issue which has been dividing human
society, and creating wars and con-
dict, ever since the gentle Galilean
Peasant trod the pleasant fields of
Palestine. Walking close by every
nation, and rising to assert itself at
the most unexpected moment, is this
question of questions. which no man
can escape for himself-"Whom say
ye that Il am?'
Getting Down TO Basis
\ town meeting is called to Consid-
e an important and immediate issue,
ana then it fritters its opportunity
away by irrelevant questions and
discussions. This is so with almost
every gathering. Lying on the sur
face of this tragic conference at
Caesarea Phillippi, which we study
to-day, are many subjects for discus
sion. Yet at bed rock the issue is
wholly one of the character and mis-
sion of Christ Was He the Messiah.
the One long prophesied and eN-
pected?
The lieutenants of Jesus reported
to their leader the common opinion
Of their day and world. He was re-
puted by one party they said, to be
the Baptist, another declared that He
was Elijah come again. others con-
tended, that He was Jeremiah in the
ordinary place. This was the opin-
ion of the scholars and of the So
phisticated men of the time. The
worlds best wisdom agreed that
Jesus was not like other men. and
the most grudging of verdicts in the
centuries since grants Him at least
this much.
Not battered but rather disheart-
ered by this report, Jesus turned
from the wisdom of the wise to the
simple faith Of His own friends.
Then. as now. the eyes of the heart
had cleaTest vision. Lowly belief saw
further than scholarly skepticism.
Therefore Peters prompt reply rang
boldly out. thrilling the heart of the
lonely Leader, who in this hour of
being understood and trusted, Thou
are the Christ" With all his faults,
Peter had that spiritual faculty which
discerns the inwardness of truth.
His was elemental wisdom.
That same wisdom discerns Christ
standing at the crossroads of time,
awaiting the judgment of men upon
Himself. by which judgment men
themselves are to be judged.
4 Great Souls Suffering
Lifting it's snow-crowned head in
grandeur so high that it dominates
the entire region of Palestine from
Jerusalem north, stands Mount
Hebron, strong in its majesty and
beauty. To the solitude and strength
Of this mountain Jesus had taken
His friends. At its foot, in or near
Caesarea Phillippi, He underwent
this experience. which some writer's
have called the passion of the
north" Here lie faced the question
of what He had come into the world
for and how far the world recognized
Him and His mission. Into every
strong life there come these expert
ences. when the soul is searched to
its depth, and the eternal why" is
fronted in all it's solemnity.
Suffering by anticipation is keenest
pain. 1T is not the shock of the bull
let in the body. but the thought of
II that hurts the more. Jesus under
V ent His Calvary in spirit beneath
the shadow of Mount Hebron. What
this crisis of self-eNamination and
Of realized public appraisal meant to
Him we cannot understand. We
know that His soul was exceedingly
sorrowful. out of the depths of this
hour flowed the sublime teaching of
self-renunciation. Here Christ lifted
up the cross upon which He later
was to be lifted.
4 Friends Foolish Counsel
Nobody suffers alone. We are tied
together in the bundle of life, for
veal or for woe. The sharpest thorn
in the Leaders crown of sorrow was
the knowledge of the suffering of
His disciples. To prepare them for
what lay before them. Jesus began
to teach them that the Son of Man
must suffer many things and be re-
jected by the elders and the chief
priests and the scribes and be killed,
and after three days rise again"
Without figure of speech and with
utmost directness and plainness, He
told these men who were looking
forward to earthly crowns that the
world had for them nothing better
than crosses.
At this point the mistake which is