East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1921-10-04


Jesus prayer in John XVII. Il pray
not that thou shouldest take them
out Of the world but that thou
shouIdost keep them from evil" in
with this picture OF fear
as "a means Of salvation there arose
what are known i'm history as the
Morality Plays, the main feature Of
which was to frlghten men away from
hell and frightea them into heaven .
Within the past twenty-five years an
attempt was made in the United
States to revive Morality Pialsi
and one recalls the rendition in vari-
Gus cities Of play known as Every
man" with all its ghastly and horrible
scenes. The age, however had ad-
vanced too far in right thinking to en-
courage this sort Of teaching. The ap-
peal of that play was altogether to the
element of fear
In the later middle ages some Eu- I
ropean artists were busy with the |
brush. painting, in various places, pic /
lures known as the Dance Of Death. |
In the old covered bridge, crossing the |
Swiss river at Luccrne, ono finds near
Ily half "A hundred such paintings, on
the large triangular panelssand these
represent the most notable of all the
paintings known as the Dance oi
Death Their purpose was to INSPIRE
fear in the thought of all who saw
them. beginning with infancy, pass
ling through youth and manhood ana
!
profession of man, the panels repre-
sent various individuals busy ana hap
DIV with the affairs of life, while near
lat hand unseen by them, Is peering
the ghastly feature Of skeleton.
These came to be regarded as series
lof religious paintings, intended TO lay
a pail of fear over every human scene
land TO remind men constantly of the
lone enemy that all feared and to teach
trem that eventually he would become
their master. The great movement
known in history as the Reformation
did away with the worst features OF
this practice, and yet it survived IN
HYMNS, poems, sermons and funeral
orations of the Reformation period
ana tneSe are sun dNN"iiiP''ii'''A
| n great many services and sermons IN
modern orthodox churches. what m
lspiration. for instance, can one find IN
a hymn beginning on this wise;
, Soon as the infant draws its breath,
, At once spring up the seeds OF DEATH
or this:
| There is time we know not when,
| A point we know not where,
t That marks the distiny of men
| To glory or despair.
One does not care to advertise some
= modern preachers by mentioning
S names but they should certainly cease
1 from making these terrible word pic
Y lures and claiming them to be etllca'
/ cious as means of spiritual growth.
/ Materia Medica has also added lt'
Y contribution to the element OF rear eX'
a erciscd over mankind; but it may be
said and said truthfully, that Che pic
S lures drawn by materia medtca II
: the dark ages were neither so numer'
!, Gus nor so fear inspiring as those
t traced by theology. This is because
. the medical men in the middle @ses
F.: while familiar with the outward torn
i of man had not yet acquired suill
|, lciently accurate knowledge of anat
Z lomy and physiology to enable them tC
paint the horrible pictures of social
t ed diseased organs of the body WhcI
. descriptions are found, too often' il
G MAGAZINES papers, and charts of mod
crn days.
t A medical diagnosis of any so-calleC
Y disease, given either verbally or II
n writing, is a mental picture which TIT
r frightened human mind, unaided
q finds it impossible to cast out: 1t i
c little less than crime against chlI
n dren and even older people to displa'
q to them the horrible condition of dis
% eased organs of the body and thel
G after a diagnosis declare that individ
Il .uals are suffering from such diseases
n This is a wilderness of fear IRON
!; which many fail to emerge. Christian
v IScience is practically the only churcl
| which is combating this evil today, AM
e deserves the aid OF all fathers AM
e mothers who should know that tn
o medical profession has no more RICH
+ ito frighten their children with picture
t. of disease than theology has to fright
d en- them with pictures OF ghosts, Fea
q has always preached the eternal dam
If nation of u large part Of the huma
- race.
e. THE BETTER WAY.
N Christian Science teaches with log
Ie ical and spiritual cXactness that it
3, utterly impossible for any one to b
IS lost eternally; that nothing but erro
II shall be- cast as rubbish to the heal
d This salvation has been the universe
s. quest Of mankind, and its realization
t. foreshadowcd in the Old Testamcr
'e wherein it is written, "the earth sha
ii be filled with the knowledge of tn
W glory of the Lord as the aters cove
ie the sea- and in the New Testament b
10 such passages as the last enemy th'
IN shall be destroyed is death" and, "h
VI, must reign till he hath put all enemi(
10 under his feet
VI Human language has endeavorod
is picture this state of salvation
d. many ways and probably no pictul
e. Is more beautiful that that given
IS the closing chapter of the Revelatio
Il of st, John the Divine wherein I'll
vi state of salvation is liSened to beat
M tiful garden. Now let us for conven
IN ence de- what is perfectly legitimat
ID suppose salvation to be represented
n beautiful garden, which all men
some time desire to enter, and whiJ
as all men eventually will enter. Let