Perth Amboy evening news., 1921-07-23

ldNOlutu Cdplult ny plOtlelc, a ltduih5
citizen of Antioch, not long ago.
travelled secretly to Aleppo to bear
the city's appeal for an American
mandate to the King-Crane Com
mission on Mandates, then touring
the Holy Land. He gave to me GER
tain documents in Arabic, complain
ing of the city's alleged wrongs: for
1 had shown an especial interest in
this modern Antioch, the survivor
of the queen city of Syria, which
once was the missionary center of
the Christian religion. I wonder
how many persons, when reading.
several months ago, a brief dispatch
reporting fighting between the
the French and the Syrians at An
tioch, recognized the city as the iden-
teal spot where the disciples of
Jesus were first called christians"
Our constant effort is to bring the
things of the Bible down from the
realm of the unreal. The city of
Antioch has at present place in the
press dispatches as we'll as in the
lncient histories. Any traveller who
will turn aside from the main high
ways of Bible Lands may see for
himself the ruins and reminders of
the past of this former capital of
Syria, which was In its day the third
metropolis of the Roman Empire.
Paris and New York are almost
puritanical. as compared with old
Antioch, with It's hybrid population.
like that of Cairo and Constanti-
nople, and its large proportion of
parasites and p%anderers. The half
million residents OF Antioch includ-
ed many sober and thoughtful and
religious persons. as does every other
l IA, -. - -.t ,,@t H. H. 49,
one of volupte~dsness. idleness and
| pleasure-seeking. There is a strik-
ing picture of it's Grove of Daphne
to cloak their wickedness beneath an
in ben Hur." Modern cities have
outward semblance of responsibility;
but in %dissolute, idolatrous Antioch
it's shame was its glory. Evil had
the right of way. The whole con.
munity life was impregnated with an
atmosphere of debauchery.
Tackled a Great City
And 1t was there that Christian
ity first won out! This sodden and
sinful and shameless city of Anti
och became the real center and cap
ital Of the Christian faith, surpass-
ing eve Jerusalem. Today, 1t
would be only one of the innumer-
able ruins of classical grandeur, ex-
cept for the fact that it got a new
name and a new character from the
disciple of Jesus. It's highest honor
came by way of the despised follow
ers of the Nazarene whom it scorn-
fully dubbed "Christians."
Most preachers are afraid of the
big cities, which have a way of
swallowing up the men who were
conspicuous figures in small towns.
Indeed. there is almost an assump-
ton in religious circles that of
course the Church cannot be ex-
pected to dominate the cosmopolitan
centerS, with their inbred material
ism and their complex interests. 1t
is accepted as inevitable that New
York should not respond to any
general Christian movement.
This mood is alarming. If Chris
tianity is not equal to the greatest
tasks. it is not equal to its own mis-
sion or to the worlds needs. Unless
the modern cities can be mastered
by the great teachings of the Bible,
then it is only a question of time
until her whole field must be sur
rendered by church. What Verdun
was to the French front in the war.
the city is to the entire battle line
of Christianity. The great and shap-
lie ciSSo VI licutl illC, IN
papers perhaps first among them.
emanate mostly from the cities.
Two present day forms of Chris
tian effort are anew confronting the
cities of our time: one, the church
federations; and the other, the
United Sunday School forces of North
America. oBth seek to give express
sion to the Christian sentiment of
the land, and to create practical CO.
operation between themselves and
the newspapers and other great pub
lie agencies. This is but a beginning
of what must be if the Christian
church is to function as she should
in the urban life of this generation.
To be a disciple of Jesus today in a
city, especially to be q responsible
leader in Christian activity, is an
awesome thing.
A. man is the answer to every
problem. Unless our religious train
ing is producing personalities, 1T is
producing nothing else. The high
est service anybody can render to
the kingdom Of God is either to be
or else to help produce, a strong
character, equal to great emergen-
cies and tasks. When the scattera-
ton of Christian embers started a
new fire up in Antioch, the Church
of Jerusalem, little dreaming that
h was transferring her W prim-
acy to a heather city, looked about
for a man to oversee and guide the
new work.
The choice fell upon big Barna-
bas. His biography may be found
today upon thousands of tomb
stones: HE was a good man, and
full OF the Holy Ghost and of faith"
M ,.,N,,I1 l,-A.. 49,, D.--.
bas were he not obscured by the
vaster personality of his associate
Saul. Joses Barnabas-the latter
name meaning THE son of consola-
tion"-was a native of Cyprus, a
Levite. and a man of property. the
first member of the Jerusalem
church recorded as having sold his
estate and laid the proceeds at the
apostles feet. This mans tact and
force and piety had advanced him TO
the forefront in the new fellowship
of the Way: he was the sort of per-
son who is instinctively called upon
to lead in any new work. So it was
that he became commissioner to An
tioch.
Barnabas was so big that he could
recognize the need for a bigger man
than himself in this new situation.
In Antioch the Gospel was finding
ready acceptance among the Cen
tiles. Stated with sin, heartsick from
the fetid atmosphere of debauchery
in which they lived, hungry for a
life that would really satisfy, these
heather citizens of Antioch gave
ready ears to the simple Message
borne by fleeing believers from Jeru-
salem. Wise Barnabas saw the
greatness of the opportunity and-O
rare and great Sf-sa also