The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-02-14
HOW COMMERCE
 HELPS RELIGION
Dr. Kirk Gives Lecture Be- fore Large Audience at
 Presbyterian Church

pr. Harris E. kfrk or Baltimore, dellN- cred a lecture on "The Aid of Commerce to Religion" before a crowded house last night. pr. Kirk delivered the first of his lectures, which are being given at the First Presbyterian church. last Sun day afternoon and the final lecture of the series will be given Sunday night.
 The lecture to be given tonight at s clock, which is said to be the best of the series yet rendered, will be on the subject of America at the Cross roads" These lectures are based on the parallehsms between the conditions treated in the book of Isaiah and those of the present time. On each succeed ing night pr. Kirk's lectures have drawn larger and larger audiences, and there was standing room only for late corners last night.
 'I am going to talk to you tonight on, the way commerce helps religion" said Dr. Kirk. You know that in the time of Isaiah the largest cities anywhere near Palestine proper were Tyre and Sidon' in Phonecia. These cities had been the outlets for all the commerce of the re- zion, and had built themselves up by handling all this huge amount of trade until Tyre and Sidon became a by-phrase with the natives.
  to know the true religion and become converted to 1t, 1t would have to be spread to all parts of the earth, to every out of -the-way nook and corner of 1t, so that the people could see its workings and know what it was.
 RELIGION UNKNOWN
 .It seems rather difficult to imagine that, in those days, the Christian reli- zion was absolutely unknown save in the small territory occupied by Judah and Israel, but such was the case. The people could be converted, if they knew about it.
 And he also saw the only practical fay to do this spreading of the word ot God was through the vast commerce or Tyre. If he could only implant faith deep enough in the hearts of the men ot Tyre, they would take their new-found faith out into the world with them, and spread it over land and sea. & With this end in view, he made the | long and weary journey to Tyre ano preached daily to the populace, winning many to God. Then he went to Sidon and there also he made converts. NOW | here is the practical side of this labor ' of his among the people of another na- I tion. every sailor and merchant or sol | dier or common working man he con verted was one step onward in the Great Work-the work of spreading the Word of God among all peoples. True he reached only the men of Tyre ano Sidon but they in turn. reached countless numbers of other peoples, and influenced them by their own faith.
 GREED AND AVARICE "The later degeneracy of these 'Tw1I | Cities of the Sea" was brought about l by their greed and avarice They looked about them and saw what great com
 merce they had built up about them | they were all moderately wealthy, fo the tiNe, but the prospect of such great | CT wesAth stirred up all that was meal and unworthy in them, and they forgo 1 God, and were later punished for 1t.
 'The greatest thing in the wrld today I for the spreading of religion Is commerce. l trade Every nation that trades with Christian nation is influenced to great
 CT or less extent by their contact. I'm is the real significance of world com
 merce today. The greatest thing inter national trade is doing is the bringin
 about of higher type of religion t l all nations"