The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-09-09


religious" Even a community, like
an individual, may develop this fault
The greatest authority on Christianity
that ever lived, the Apostle Paul,
criticised Athens as being too re-
llgious" Or. w When spiritual sub
tleties and theological niceties and
| barren speculationS take the place OF
simple faith and holy living, then the
condemnation, too religious" falls.
Most of US know men of this sort:
| they do not weigh a pound IN shaping
| the opinion and life of their asso-.
NAL persons in the ordinary relations
| of life; yet they are wrapped up in
the phrases and ecstacies of 'spiritu-
| atty" They are too religious" be-
| in applied righteousness. Zion City,
ILL.,, is an instance of community
that is too religious: for in spite OF
its punctilios and pieties. it contributes
nothing to the effective Christian
sentiment of the state of Illinois:
| Worse yet, and a closer parallel 10
the condition which Paul met in old
Athens. is a case of a large proportion
! of our modern 'intelligentsia." They
| maintain a sort of intellectual aloof-
ness toward all religion. Spiritual en-
| thusiasm is bad form in their eyes.
They dabble in all the current cults,
from voodooism to occultism. but are
not deeply affected by any. Tolerance
| and indifference are almost synony-
nous words in the vocabulary. They
pat the Lord on the head patron
! izingly and approve of Christianity as
| good for the lower classes; but for
| themselves, like the Athenians of old,
! they spend their time in nothing else,
but either to tell or to hear some new
| thing" Their faVorite altar is that
! dedicated to Novelty. They would
rather ''be up to date than be holy:
Fashion is to them a greater Woro
| than faith. In their conceited and
aloof attitude toward the concerns OF
| the spirit they are too religious"
| This sort of intellectual pride and
grant-fnindedness is harder to af-
lSect with the Gospel than sheer
lpaganism. Paul found idolatrous and
comm ercially-minded Ephesus' and
even corrupt Corinth, easier to evan
gelize than intellectual Athens.
These speculative butterflies gather no
honey, carry no pollen, withstand no
storms. When our prophets for the
new day are heard they will be found
to have Savonarola indictments for
the shallow and barren sophistry of
our cultivated people" who are too
religious for everyday Christian faith
and practice.
Brains and Religion.
| Make no mistake here; real intelz
lectual power is as different from TINS
lsupercilious complacency of the intel
Ilectuals' as the ocean is from a
painted bit OF stage scenery. These
IAtheTlians who treated Paul con-
temptuously were the fshoddy aris-
itocracy'' of an ancient intellectual
center whose glory had departed.
Centuries had passed since the golden
age of Socrates and Plato. Athens
| had become a self-conscious, strutttng,
parroting sort of Greenwich village.
The worlds profound thinking, sur
passing that of an earlier and more
glorious Athens, was done by this very
man Paul, whom Athens despised, and
by the church fathers who followed
him.
To hear a cheap and noisy tnfidel
pirate from a soap box on the street
| corner, one would never know that
christianity had captured and revivi-
| fled the brains of the Graeco-Roman
world. Profound and subtle thinking.
such as puts to blush even the best
intelligence Of our own day, was done
| by the giants of the early church.
Vigorous discussion of the most diff
ficult subjects was prevalent among
the Christians OF the sub-apostoltc age.
| An intellectual awakening of the world
has always followed a revival of re-
] ligion. An open Bible opens brains.
Scotland is a land of strong men and
original minds because it is a nation
reared on the Book.
"Harper's Magazine" ''The Atlantic
| Monthly The Saturday Evening
Post" and other secular publications
have lately been publishing articles
| upon religious problems, because the
editors know that the subject is of
profoundest interest to the most
| thoughtful minds. Edward s. Martin,
who is probably the best essayist
writing for this western world, cannot
| keep his pen off the paramount issue
of applied Christianity. In scholas-
| tic circles many of the most famous
| brains of today, even in materiaiistic
| Germany, are engrossed with ques-
| lions of the Christian religion. In the
| realm of affairs we find the most emil
! nent men in the English-speakin
world avoWed and concerned Chris
tians. Second rate thinkers may scott
at religion, but first class minds know,
with that intellectual giant, Angus
/ tine, that, Thou hast made US for
Thyself, o Lord, and our hearts will
| never be at rest until they rest in
Thee"
The Gentleman Preacher.
No mature Christian is ever boor.
| Bad manners disappear as Christs
Spirit rules a life. The real graces
of culture accompany the grace of
! ed by rote, and displayed by coarse
and cruel spirits; but the gentle
heart is the only source of true gen.
Utility. Good people unconsciously
make up the. only genuine good So
ciety." Paul was a gentleman as
we'll as q soldier-saint His conduct
as well as his letters betray his gra-
| ciousness. His zeal never extin-
guished his courtesy; tho his courtesy
never enasculated his courage.
| So when Paul came to Athens he
| established a point of contact. The
| great statesman of Christianity, by
the way, is a perfect type of the good
| diplomat, possessed of both suavity
| and strength, consideration and con-
victions.s AS he had presented Christ
| to the Jews as a fulfillment of their
| faith, so he offered Him to the Greeks
as the satisfaction of their yearnings.
They were prospecting for a faith;
he cried 'Eurekai" Like the good
missionary that he was. he did not at
tack existing belief; he offered a re-
ligion fuller and more comprehensive
and satisfactory, which is also the way