The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-19
THE CHRIST IDEA"
 SERMON BY REV. J. T. WARE

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 At St. Andrews Episcopal Church yesterday morning the Rev. J. T. Ware rector, preached an interesting sermon on the Christ Idea" MT. Ware said in part:
 The existence of the Christian ideal the Christ idea is as unquestioned as that of iron in Red mountain.
 During the twenty centries the Christ idea has passed through many modes. Each cause dresses it up in something of its own enthusiams. We hear even of Christ the democrat, and Christ the labor leader.
 Yet the Christ idea is definite and tangible. In the days of its birth, it was unique. Before, there had never been anything like it. St. Paul can scarcely persuade his hearers that one who had suffered and risen from the dead could be the Christ. It was the very contraditon of the materialisn which pervaded ancient Rome. It can never be confounded with the static law of Mohammedanism nor with the apathy and self f-abnegation which is the ideal of Buddhism. Sweet reason ableness, wise benevolence, the endur- ing worth of character self-sacrifice as the way of life, are it's unvarying essential characteristics. With its thousands of varying forms, it has al- ways been comprehended and made dis tinct from everything else under it's symbol, the Cross of Christ.
 How did this Christ idea come into being? One hypothesis is that some unknown spiritual genius invented it. When we are perplexed by what crit icism has otell us of Jesus it does bring a sense of relief that we may cherish the Christ ideal without hav- ing to postulate miraculous histori- cal founder. And certainly one who has fallen in love with the Christ of the New Testament and is trying to be Christ-like himself. need not worry if faith wavers when it faces the real- ity of the Goldman Jesus. The ideal and not the how of it's origin is what is important
 But who could have invented the Christ? He must have been the most spiritually minded of men: Why then did he not scruple a a pious fiction about an earthly Jesus? He must have been the worlds geratest literary ar tist: how is it that no trace of his existence remains? How could any one, in the few years that elapsed be- tween the death of Jesus and the Epis- tie to the Corinthians, both create the myth of Jesus and succeed in having it accepted by a hostile world as un- questioned history?
 ''St. Paul holds the other hypothe- sis. that Jesus, Gods revelation of Himself in man, created by his life, death and resurrection. the Christ ideal This Jesus whom I preach unto you is Christ This very St. Paul, to whom the Christ ideal is everything nevertheless records the legions of wit nesses to the resurrection as if that were fact of fundamental truth and importance. And once we bring our selves to believe in such Jesus as we find in the gospels, we find in Him the one cause adequate to explain the Christ idea which is a fact
 The ideal and not it's origin is im- portant. But an invented idea, how ever beautiful. may be a delusion; there is always the possibility An idea created by God incarnate must be truth of truth. When it comes that living by the Christ ideal is costing us our dearest hopes, all that we have or hope to be, then, whether the Christ idea is of God or of man, makes all the difference in the world"