The New York herald., 1922-12-24

national line in Professionalism to-day
comedies with a single live issue on
| the earth!
| "They hear many theological dis
putes which not only do they not un-
derstand but see no reason why they
should bother to understand. What
has all that to do with real life?' they
say. <Afar off you can see them stand
ing and wondering if they think at
all. what it is all about"
This indifference was not always
so. DR.. Fosdick brought out.
There have been times in Christian
history when not easily could man
be Indifferent to Christianity. When
our fathers first went out into the
Roman Empire they drew the line so
sharp and clear betwC the Gospel
on the one side and the paganism of
the world on the other that you might
hate them, you might fight them. but
not easily could you be Indifferent to
them.
80, at the time of the Reformation.
when men fought with all their might,
for spiritual liberty. so clear and so
significant was the issue that not cas-
lily could well instructed mind or
serious will be Indifferent in the mat
ter. Men prayed then, as one divine
in the First Westminster Assembly
In London did pray: % Lord, we be-
seech Thee that Thou wilt guide us
Alright, for we be very determined
You cannot be indifferent to live issues
approached In such a spirit"
DIR. Fosdick seemed to turn to the
youth of this generation as one hope
for the future, saying:
I'm particular we shall not easily
understand the attitude of the younger
generation IL we do not take into ac-
count this deep seated reason for IN
difference. When you have said the
worst about the younger generation, it
still remains true that the best of
them are tremendously in earnest and
are well aware that there are live
issues facing them on which the con-
tinuance of civilization depends
Human brotherhood. materialism and
war, DR.. Fosdick presented as three
issues lying close to the heart of the
Gospel on which the destinies of man.
kind hang.
"In the first place we must choose
between the Christian ideal of human
ity as one family OF God. made OF one
blood and able. by Gods grace, to be
made into one brotherhood again.
that on the one side, and on the other
our present cruel and ruinous regime
of interracial hatred and hostility.
There is an issue which lies near the
heart of the Gospel and on which the
future of humanity depends. AS a
matter of fact. when the Bible says
that God made us all Of one blood, the
bible is talking good biology.
I'VE often try to evade that fact
We try TO evade il, for example, when
out of our lineage we pick some out
standing figure and pride ourselves
upon our select and eminent heritage,
That is one of the strangest pieces
of voluntary blindness of which man
Is capable"
He cited some OF the absurdty TO
which the pastime of the family tree
is carried: For example, there is
somebody saying, I am descended
from william the Conqueror.'
But William the Conqueror lived
more than thousand years ago. Has
1t not occurred to us that we had two
parents. four grandparents. eight
great-grandparents, sixteen great
groat-grandparents. and that IL we
carry that back to the time OF Will
lam the Conqueror our ancestors num-
ber approximately one billion people?
Not William the Conqueror, standing
alone and eminent. our unique psogen-
itor but one billion people begat us.
and that makes up approximately all
the available population of that day.
We who come from European stock
literally have the same ancestors. We
are all made of one blood"
But" he was asked, can ethnic
barriers be reduced when they have
been centuries in the making?"
DR.. F'osdick smiled.
THAT Is the size OF the issue, but
the issue remains nevertheless, and Il
lies close to the heart of the Gospel"
He drew graphic picture of the
early times Of Exodus:
even now we dimly can discern in
those distant days beyond the from
tiers OF human history our early pro-
genitors moving out on great mlgra-
tions from the plains of southern >Eu-
rope or OF Asia. We see tribes and