Pueblo chieftain., 1921-08-21
In the Religious World

and civic justice and human welfare
that mankind has since aspired to
make practicable. These avail only
insofar as they yield allegiance to
the law and love of Christ. Ner-
sailles and Geneva have failed to
meet war ideals and postwar needs
because there has been more of the
cunning of selfish and sophisticated
statesmen in their deliverances than
the simple, sincere and straighttor-
ward spirit of Christ. God grant
that the mind of the Master, which
is truth and righteousness and love,
may dominate the forthcoming world
conference at Washington!
Meddlers and Mischief Makers.
The heart-sick men who saw. the al
lied war aims perverted and suffo-
Gated at Paris can understand the
feelings of Paul and Barnabas, after
their first mighty missionary tour
thru Cyprus and Asia Minor. They
had labored and dared and suffered,
in the glow Of great ideal and pur-
pose, and had prevailed. After them
tho. came the psrtisans and selfish
schlsmatics to thwart their clear and
simple mission, and to nullifv the
freedom of the Gospel they had
preached, These bigoted Judaisers
professed to speak in behalf of the
Church of Jerusalem, when thew de-
clared that all the gentle converts
would have to accept circumcision.
and the other manifold ordinances of
the Mosaic ritual.
Most veteran modern missionaries
could tell tales similar 70 Paul's. of
how pruselvters are forever coming
10 the mission field with their pecu-
liar doctrines, to preach TO the ma
tive Christians not to the heather
that field is too hard for them that
unless they are baptized after n GER
tam fashion, or by certain kind of
clergyman, or have "second bless
ing or believe in the imminent sec
ond coming of Christ. or keep Sat
urday as the Sabbath. or rorego the
use Of tobacco. or this or that or the
other distinctive teaching. thev are
not wholly saved "Sheep-stealers"
Is the current missionary name for
these meddlerS and mischief-mskers,
who are m direct descent from the
JudaRers who troubled Paul's flock
Of old. II cannot too often or too
strongly be said that it is important
10 keep TO the fore only those great
central truths of the Gospel which
the apostles preached. The men who
nre threatening to split the churches
of North America on the issues of
teachings need n new
Z ouncil of Jerusalem to deal with
them.
Between last week : lesson and the
present one lies this great story of
the Council of Jerusalem. whereat
the issue was once and for all settled.
that Christianity Is not narrow
ruase but broad guage: not sect of
but n Gospel FOR all the
world; not thing Of ritual aud oh
Servauce. rules and rites. but n suirit
and a life and great lovdity and
obedience. When Paul set forth on
his second missionary journey he ear
red with itim as credsntiai. a NOR.
sonal testimony and q Charter of
Liberty from the mother church al
Jerusalem. From that drv f, this.
every partisan and zad,ut VIII. w7rId
try to compress Ghr naritv INTO
narrow limits has had 10 laCv Peter
and James and the hpogtuli, Church.
as well as sJacious.soulci Paul
A Good Fellowship
Sinnl and Insignificant in apprnr-
lnce Paul may have been. bu, there
was nothing wrong with hs, sp,ne.
He was big in spirit and tolerant pud
gentle: but he had convictions thar
counted. So when Barnabas. with
rather forgiyablc nerotism. wanted
10 take the Stacker. John Marx. nj.
along on this second iour-
ney, Paul said, "No, no; we cannot
be hampered by quitter. He failed
is before: we will not take chances
With him again. We forgive brn.
md honor him as brother. but mo /
ms disqualified himself for pioneer
iervice.n
This very human disagreement he. I
.ween the two missionaries was in no
wise discrediiable either 70 Paul or
Sarnabas. The latter took Mark off
=, their own land of Cyprus. where
he family lived, and IN this easter.
'ongenial field they did good Gosppl
work. Paul, on the other hand. with
'llas and Luke, undertook the mnior
mission IN Asia Minor, adding Tim
'thy TO their part, At Lystra. What
goodly fellowship of immortrls that
ras-Paul, Christianity greatest OK
'onent: DIR. Luke, its greatest his
."riah' Inpothy, It's model convert
ma presbyter; and Silas. the hardy
amt who could make a prison cell
mig with his songs at midnight.
All too seldom do we reckon the
value of the associations of Christian
49,.