The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-12-10

creed and wrote the prayer ceases to have much of hold upon us, ana still less upon our conduct. However we must not lay this entirely at the feet of immediate circumstances. Civilization is slow of growth and faith in a religion is long in dying. The times simply acceHtuate the spiritual condition.
 In contemplation of the things that are taking place in the Near East, and to a lesser extent in the lar east it is to be remembered that there are to be found men the world around who are pointing the finger 5 of scorn at Christianity. They are saying that tried as cure for the ills of the world it has proven a failure Pointing out that most of the nations engaged in the World war were Christian nations, they are mCcking: see no wthese Christians hated each other, how each in the name of the Nazarene killed and pil- laged.| If any one of the nations waged the war with the approval Of Jehovah, how could any other na- ton have waged the same war with similar pretentions. they inquire, add : ing queries like these: "Is this God in whom you say you believe q dl- visible being, part of Him with ope
  of Him with the other?" Can you strike blows at each other in the belief and with the assurance that the blows are struck in righteous cause with the approval of right eous ruler of the universe?" Ques- tions, such as these~ are vexing and unsettled the religious faith or mankind.
 ;f naeHfhla fO E. tablish that the war was waged With real religious sentiment behind It there would be much to justify the sheer that curls upon the lip of the avera ge man when We ayow our faltn in the principles of the Christian re- ligion. He would have some right to suspect that we were insincere. But Christianity waged no war, made no fight. Hostile nations may have had in truth did have, rulers who believed in Christ. and millions of men in arms under these rulers may have had, and did have, a like faith. but the war of the world was not produced by the faith of the Galilean. It was not waged with His knowledge and consent. It did not exemplify tho principles which He sought to in- still into men as their guide posts along the journey of life.
 Laughed at by authority and sneered at by philosophy. just as the Savior was persecuted, despised and rejected of men, Christianity. never theless, permeated the Roman em- pire, insidiously yet powerfully, until (most remarkable of historic events) it became the religion of Rome with out a single blow having been struck That dIsofosed what Christianity can accomplish when prosecuted in ac- oCrda4ice with the ideas of its founder Not by might nor by power, not by sword nor submarine. but by the invisible spirit, it achieves it's mission among men and nations. Likewise with liberty. Neither lib- erty nor Christianity is benefaction that can be bestowed upon an indi- viGuai or a people Each is birth from within and must be given it's opportunity to develop.
 The slow growth of Christian mis- sions in the orient has~led hundreds of good people to believe that the effort to Christianize the east is vain and futile one. They say that the oriental mind is not fitted for the reception of Christian teaching. They object, therefore, to what they call the waste of money in this ef- fort. These good persons must not forget that many young men Of the east are educated in the schools ana colleges of the occident. Into their young minds are instilled the prin- ciples of democracy. They proclaim ----A \ A--------