Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-11-25
FINDS SSELFISHNESS
ROOT OF UNREST.
Bishop RhineIander Says Amer
ica is in "orave Danger" Of
Losing Fruits Of War
TELLS CHRlSTIANITY'S NEED

sylNhnin.
America is in grave danger, he says
Of losing the fruits Of victory Won in
p the war, because the country has been
attacked by spiritual and moral dis
ease.
Trust Christianity. 'to soften men
hearts, to turn mems minds away from
their own exclusive interests to the IN
terests of their fellow mcu, to break
down class rivalrics mud antogonlSms:
Ia make the welfare Of all the aim OF
each" offers the only remedy. n remedy
admitted by Christians nnd non -'hri'-
tians alike,
Bishop Rhinclandcr today issued q
statement addressed to the people oi the
diocese of Pennsylvania, explaining the
need for tho present nation wide cam
paign of the Episcopal Church.
Bishops Statement
The statement follows in full
''To the People of the Diocese of Penn
sylvania:
1.-The reason Tor the nation wide
campaign in the Episcopal Church is
very clear and convincing to any ono
who will take five minutes to face the
facts.
"Thc situation can he summed up in
four very simple propositions:
"Firrt. The country is in rave
spiritual danger What is called social
unrest is after all only n symptom of
a disease. 1t is not the disease itself.
We miss the point il we believe that
violent propaganda against the govern
ment, or outbreaks against law and
order, or rising prices, or decreased
production. or implRCablc conflicts be-
tween capital and labor, or the defeat
OF the peace treaty, or all of these
a rn
things before the nation. AS | have said
all these are but the symptoms of the
disease which lies beneath. This dis
ense is spiritual and moral. 1t is the
disease of sPlfishness and self seeking.
We hoped that the war and our ideal
purpose in entering it would have chas
tened MS and drawn MS all together for
the support of the common good and
indeed for the unSelfsh service of the
world. But such has not proved to
be the case BY victory in the war we
saved our country from n foreign foe.
But of what Use is that victory. and
the @Hrrif"" we made for it, If tile
country which we saved is now to fall
to pieces before our eyes?
''Second The country can be made
safe and secure only by vital spiritual
re enforcement. This is admitted on
all sides. And what is even more
remarkable it is also admitted, even by
those who are outside any definite
Christian allegiance that the Gospel
of our Lord Jesus Christ is the only
vital spiritual force which can meet
the present need. To soften mems
hearts. to turn mems minds away from
their own exclusive interests to the
interests of their fellow men, to break
down class rivalries and antagonsms.
to make the welfare of all the aim of
each, is a work so high and difficult
that nothing less can do it than the
whole hearted faith and allegiance of
the nation in and to Him who came
inso the world and died upon the cross
to reconcile and save us all.
n Must Christianize Country
Third. Our country must be Chris
tianized. The figures quoted from the
census show that more than one half
our people are entirely outside of any
form Of organized Christianity. Chris
tians are in the minority in America
All the more reason that they should
stir themselves to make their influence
felt like lraven in the lump. For the
future will depend on them. This
means that the Individual members of
the Church, men and women, boys and
girls, must do the work Not the
preaching or the ministry of the clergy
by itself. but the personal effort and
witness of our laity, man by man.
woman By woman is the pressing need
of this crisis and the keynote of the
campaign. We in the Church have
been caught unawarcs. Most Of us
have been asleep at our posts. Only
a few of us have been really on watch =,
on guard, ready in our places in the
line. The call is for the complete mo-
bilization of the whole force of the
Christian Church. in prayer, in sac
rihce, in thought, in money and in
lives.
Responsibility on =. Z. Church
Fourth. A peculiar responsibility
rests upon the Episcopal Church in thi'
connection. Not for n moment do W.
minimize the great service rendered by
other Christian bodies. or the great neet
of the co operation of every one of then
In this patriotic service. But in TIN
providence of God and in the develop
ment of our national history, our owl
communion has been given a pCCuiarl,
important place of leadership. ThOs
who were charged with the moding o
the new nation were for the most par
our members. They wrote into Ou
Church constitution the very same prn
ciples of true Americanism whiCl
they had immortali2ed in our great ma
tional documents and fOrmuaries TIT
same thing has been true all through
our history. The country trusts us ant
looks to us. We have not failed it yet
and we shall not now, We are essen
tally an American church. although 81
far we have been content to glory il
this as a heritage rather than to use i
as great opportunity of service t.
America.
"These four propositions taken to
gether tell the whole story. They la,
the foundation. The nation wide cam
paign is simply our devoted and deter
mined effort to build the superstructure
There is no escape from the force o
the appeal. There can be no excuse fo
any single one OF us to refuse to liSte
to 1t. There are many encOuragin
signs that we are really waking up a
over the country and not least in thi
old and most important diocese. Blu
we must do more than wake up /
PENNSYLVANIA. We must assert tn
leadership which properly belongs to Il,
Here the nation was born. Here tn
American church first worked out il
full organization. Here then, nor
than elsewhere. our people must b
ready to be put TO the proof. al
quite confident they will not fail Wit
all the earnestness at my command,
call them to go forward and to shO,
how effectively an aroused Church ca
nut forth its whole strength for til
kingdom of God and for the safety an
blessing of the nation"
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