Norwich bulletin., 1922-06-19

ist Episcopal church, members or St' l James lodge, No. 23 and Somerset lodge, No s4, F. and A. NJ, attended St. Johns day services Sunday morning at the church, marching in body from the Masonic temple on Broadway and having seats reserved for them in the church.
 Pastor Roberts preached to the Ma sons upon Gods Challenge to Men, saying that he wanted to speak of the ideals for which St. John stood ana lived for. The speaker pointed out that as an original endowment God gave man at least three of His own at tributes, free choice, reason and do- minion, making him by virtue or these sovereign over his own life and over the whole realm of nature. Not alone Tn creation did God respect mans person ality but He also honors it in redemp- ton. So sacred does he count it that he will not violate the saeredness or in tegrity of human nature even to save us from sin. God never intended to save any man by degrading him or taking away single item of His original en- dowment Redemption plans to restore the glory and perfection of human na- ture, tarnished and wrecked by sin, and present the man full grown and perfect
 
 maker.
 But it is objected, while God gave us great gifts in creation Christianity takes them all away. It limits full lib- erty of expression. It is form of self-repression. It forbids its adherents the pleasures of intoxication. the pleas ures of opium and other drugs, the pleasures of hatred and vengeance and vice and crime-the pleasures of sin. It aG o thousand way and therefore limits free | dom and enjoyment that one might | have by indulging the passions and ap- | petites of the body to excess. In other l words 1t demands self-sacrifice, and is not this a limitation of personal liber- l ty?" The objection is not well taken. | Mistaken or shallow thought might seem 1 to prove it. but let us remember that all worthy self-sacrifice is a process of self 1 preservation and self-preservation Is a l first law of life. Indulgence of appetites 1 and passions is destructive of all that is | best in human nature. They were in- l tended to be kept in control Good men and Masons "learn how to subdue their | passions and keep the body under the | sway of the higher nature. Christian 1 self-sacrifice does not in any way vi- l olate the integrity and completeness of human nature. It calls only for the uprooting of selfishness that fatal foe tc l all true manhood. Selfishness is for
 eign element brought in by sin, yet SC ingrainee In human nature that it seems to be part of ourselves. It is a cancer which needs 8 severe, painful opera ton to remove 1t, but if allowed to re. main it will poison the soul and destroy the life. Christian self-sacrifce means only the removal of this cancer of self ishness, that human nature in its na. tive sturdiness, kingliness, beauty anC power may have a chance to grow anG develop to the full No body can dC
 it's work with cancer at its yitals neither can a soul.
 It is further objected that "religior calls for self-denial In things that ar,
 harmless in themselves Surely this il } limitation of our natural power, ant
 thus hindrance to full unfolding O
 the personality Not at all. Moral dis
 cipline is a law of development "Bu
 it doesn't seem reasonable to say tha
 growth is dependent upon apparent limi
 tation." Well, it is, as can be easil,
 proved. Self denial stands at the doc
 of every worthy achievement in life, ant
 holds the key to all life's highest places
 Tn fact it is at the basis of all develop
 ment. If you want child to live at all you must deny him many things he ask for. Give small child whatever foo 1t cries for and you will soon have nee, : of the doctor and undertaken The yer, 7 life of the child depends upon denia : of its wishes. Self deniel in religion i 5 an intensifcation of every power b 7 focusing and directing it to legitimat uses.
 : Here then, we come upon one of tn & glories of our Christian religion It 1 2 no Buddhistic plan by which ma
 reaches his highest development b f losing every characteristic of his mar
 hood and becoming a hybrid nothing. ]
 does not rob a man of single origins power of his life, but controls them fc ' his best good The Christian is manhoo
 in bloom.
 "Yes," we are told, "all this may I D granted," but still more serious ma : ter is at hand. It Is objected that ''tf will itself must be given up if one is
 be good Christian, and thus frt 2 choice Is taken away, which means tn;
 man is robbed of his chief glory. Tn;
 which equals him with angels, ar 2, hears him to the divine must be reno II ed if you are to be perfect Tn Il seems to be serious. and to have sem ]. and reason on it's side unless you thfr ' little. The fatal flaw in 1t is faIs 1T ness. There is not one word of tr,I 4 in the objection. The will is not talk,
 away. God never means thus to d n grade a man. Free choice is by S. means impared when one becomes It Christian, No such outrage on hums g nature Is hinted at. The will is on 1t yielded not destroyed. The Christis merely gives new direction to his wi
 It is the helm of his life. The life
 headed for the rocks. He is convinc
 of this, put the helm down and steers P new course. Instead of taking the hel " out he never needed it more. In oth t. language, the Christian merely uses | of power of free choice to will the zoe )2 His will is as necessary as ever al a more so. A Christian without a will is l. poor pitiful invertebrate not to be T III spected The shame of many Christia C. Is that they have no will of their oy at and are led about by the devil as easi le as the boss leads some voters Nothi 20 is more needed in Christian than CT strong will. and no man has more of
 than a man of God The will is yield m to the service of the best in man. a, of the will of God, but it Is strengthen ", not destroyed. Controlled, not remove N. Here is where reason comes in T " will, unguided and uncontrolled by re s. son, would be as disastrous as steam Il d, controlled. A strong will used witho r. sense is a dangerous and foolish thir
 as we are all aware, because 1t is like
 i to defeat ones best prospects in life.
 Christian is one who has decided to [ of his will under the control of the Spi he of God who works through the will. ir will to do what God and conscier t demand, as any pupil uses his will to ;s what his master directs The will IT there just the same, but 1t is directed es the doing of what is highest and best oi us. To the realization of our high he hopes and the development of our gre T. est possibilities. Reason is thus exa of ed and honored, not violated nor ov -y. ruled by the Holy Spirit He sim n- makes it His agent of control, his ma
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