The Columbia evening Missourian., 1922-04-26

the current hammerings at the gates Of
the other world have any basic spiritual
significance for Western civilization. Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle is our guest just
now Sir Oliver Lodge was with US awhile
ago. They bring us what they regard as
indisputable proof of contact with the
other world. Our printing presses pour
out a stream of spiritualisiic literature.
Never was there as wide interest in spir-
itualism. All this is. | think. only nat
ural after war which has left empty
chairs in millions of homes. but it has
! nothing TO do with the spiritual Renais
sance of which ! am speaking.
! am not attempting to pass judgment
ON spiriiualism per Sc. Between dog
matte credulily and cock-sure disbelief
there is a middle ground Of suspended
judgment. We ought to suspend Judg-
ment upon the activities of any man who
I is irving Ia push Bit further the from
tiers of the unknown. however futile or
foolish his efforts may seem to us. ! am
,ayng only that am not basing my
hope Of spiritual renewal of the posi-
war world upon the wave of postwar
spiritualism.
Must REVISE CHURCH
And third | am not basing my hope
Of a moral renewal of the Western world
upon any imminent awakening in the
churches | do not mean 10 suggest
that the churches will play no part in
this spiritual rdnaissance. The church
should furnish the leadership in this de-
paganizing of the Western world. But
before the church can furnish such lead I.
ership. ii must have the vision and the !
courage To substitute the religion of !
Jesus for christianity" which has for |
50 long ursurped lis place. misinterpre-
ted lis principles and maladministered /
its power.
limitations Of such vision are not .
wanting. | could mention 4 half-dozen
books which would usher in this moral
renewal Of Western civilization if the
church would courageously follow the
trials they blaze When the church scraps
its ancient vocabulary and begins 20 talk
To men If this generation in figures of
speech they can understand: when the
church substitutes daring for dogmatism:
when denominaiionalism is recognized a.
the twin brother of nationalism which
has plunged the world into periodic wars
nr kept il in 4 peace that was only I
latent war: when the church undertakes
the redemption of institutions with the
same passionate conviction that it has
brought to the redemption of individ-
cals: when the church spends more
thought. time. and money upon lis service
than upon its services; when the church
ceases to regard itself as an end and
realizes that it is only a means 10 an
end. and becomes divinely reckless
enough to save lis life by losing it; when
he church adds TO lis preaching of alb
,tract virtues a continuous moral analysis
# modern life 50 that men may know
Law by day the new and subtle ways of
committing the old sins that are always
DfFering themselves; in short, when the
church becomes its own severest critic
and takes the whole of modern life for
its field. then it will be on the way to-
wards leadership in the moral renewal of
Western civilization.
But the moral revival Of which | am
speaking will not be essentially a church
movement This spiritual Renaissance
will be fundamentally a revival Of re-
ligion, but it will not be 4 religious re-
vival. in the accepted sense of that term.
Ii will not manifest itself in mass meet
ings. or be recognized by the men who
live through it as one coherent move
ment. Only the historian will see that.
Many of its most thrilling episodes will
not occur in the carpeted aisles of cathe-