The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1920-10-24
Conduct Is Belief
Shoiping Up.

lesson october 81. Matt u ia-
%. 49,,
Tho dominating thought in this
,csson IL expressed in the phrase,
"ry their fruits yo shall know
,tsr," We are living In an ago
,shen is is the fashion 10 pass Judg-
,,spt Nothing is left for God $
rlsht to Judge and wo forget tho
sdy.co of John, Judge not. that Ee
. Io ,o. Judged" In fact 1t Is not an
infreauent case that we meet men
,srosr chief claim to picty Is tho
ssy,r.tv and mercileSsnesa with
,sbi.h they condemn the error OF
o,bors. The days OF the inquisition
s,o conc. the power of the puritans
10 broken. but the same spirit still
color .he affairs OF men. We are
III M us impatient OF those fellow
heipes that will not accept the gos-
nel On losed in capsules OF our own
making We bemoan the heartlcss-
,sSs NJ those whose conduct is not
shapci according to our creed. We
eye NOT willing for God to judge---we
wart that lob ourselves, and many
otthos. same people would be deeply
griey.l II God did not proceed to
extcutc judgment on those whom
,fey have condemned They pout
Ike Jonah II evil things do not come
iunor those whom we have felt called
lppon 10 warn of a wrath to come.
Seeking Martyrdom.
py this test we may safely de-
,eruline the good and the bad in
queer religious movements. In all
Inc ages OF man, except perhaps In
the middle ages when all dissent
ing thought was suppressed by the
iron hand Of Rome, there have been
all yarities OF religious belief
rather there have been many shades
OF belief and practice, who have
prided themselves on being Just n
little different in some particular
from the rank and file of Gods
peopc. There has been an mex
plicable feeling that whatever the
majority believed must necessarily
be wrong. and that especial virtue
came from finding some hook on
which to hang dissent II we could
Iust feel that we were being per-
secuted for our views, the more we
could congratulate ourselves on be-
ing pious. In this way a multi
tude Of minor sects have formed,
not so much because we sincerely
believe In our freak theology as be-
cause we thrived on opposition.
Let Time Decide.
On the other hand. 1t has never
been Just to condemn any set OF
beliefs because they differed from
the prejudices and customs OF the
time. II was openly charged of
Paul that he was crazy and that he
sought to turn the world upside
down" Those who have accom-
plshed the great reforms IN history
had to stand against bitter oppo-
sltion and calamity. Gamaliel had
a level head when he proposed to
the Sanhedrin that they let Christ
and his followers alone because, II
God was not with him, his cause
would ultimately fall of it's own
weight, cautioning his colleagues not
10 be guilty of possibly fighting God s
will. Many good pious people con-
denim these minor sects as works OF
the devil. But cold -blooded theo-
logians passed the same verdict up
on Christ, upon Paul, and upon Mar
tin Luther. But time has stamped
It's approval upon these and many
others who were condemned and
prosecuted. Perhaps we make the
same error. Spiritualism. Chris
tian science, adventism and n null
utude Of other isms may meet our
disapproval; yet we can we'll afford
TO follow our own conscience and
let these things stand the test of
time and Gods will. "By their
fruits we shall know them"
Truth Never Changes.
Sin Is catching. 1t is more con-
agious than smallpox or influenza
when II is propagated by false
prophets who lead many astray.
There are certain fundsmental ideas
10 Christianity that We do we'll TO
hang on to. Times and manners
may change, but Gods truth never.
We may have to alter our methods
oi application of truth to suit the
developments of tho ages. but God
himself and tho fundamentals OF
VAS teachings cannot change. We do
'eli 10 choose our own way carefully
WIN tre scriptures as our guide and
s- rot iured into strange paths.
laul says for us to test everything
sht hold fast that which is good.
bl' he doesn't mean that we should
cohsign to hell fire a brother who
sohScieutlously looks at things dif-
srently He may be a false pro-