Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-09-04

break away from this system whenever
He felt that it was wrong. He avoided
with careful steps every temporary
element in the life and religion of the
Jews. He was living in a time when
the world had an altogether different
system of science. The world was flat
and the earth and the stars were i'm
movable. The forms of government
were different. He was an oriental
and had no way of understanding the
occidental people. He was a product
of a different country, age and civil
cation. And yet, in spite of all that,
His system does not at any point be-
CONF interviewer with any of these
temporary elements of the thinking of
His day. Our United States senator
eign entanglements.
Science Alters Beliefs
His followers have never been able
to do it. We have taken the simple
teaching of JESUS and expanded it into
what we call Christian theology. And
in this theology we have always put
~injunctions which rested on the false
standards and ideas of the day. Then
as knowledge has advanced, science has
demanded that we acknowledge as false
some of the things we have held sacred.
Christian theology has always been
entangled in the failacies of the day
in which it was given birth. We have
been forced to alter it, and | see no
indication but that the future. as well
as the past, may mean further altera-
ton. But has it occurred to you that,
although Christian thinking has been
altered. there has never been any ne
.-z.A e oI4nr;no fhn fhn1nht of mems ,
We have never added one word to
what He has said and we have never
found one word He said which could be
stricken our. The mind of Jesus
looked across the centuries and saw
clearly. and expressed concisely, the
eternal truth.
1.-THE mind of Jesus was keen and
quick in meeting situations where there
was not time to stop and think. The
best trained minds of His day were
the Pharisees and the scribes. They
were His enemies and they spent hours
in trying to frame questions and situa-
tons where they could put Him to a
disadvantage and thus discredit Him.
He had to answer in seconds the ques-
tons which it had taken their keen
minds hours to formulate. Yet He
always got the best of them. They
came to Him and asked if it were law
full to pay tribute unto Caesar. If He
had said that it was lawful to pay
tribute to Caesar, he would have been
in trouble with the Jewish authorities
who said it was not lawful TO pay taxes
to the Gentiles. If He said that it was
not lawful, then He would be counted
a traitor by the Roman authorities
and would be subject to the death
penalty. 1t was no light argument,
''They had Him in a tight place. His
answer was quick. as His mind works
with lightning speed. Give me a coin
He said. Whose image is that on the
coin?' They say, the image of Gaze
sar.' He replies. Then render to
Caesar the things that are Caesars
and to God the things that are Gods
Neither party could object to this and
He had spoken the truth. His mind
worked too quick for them. If He
had been good but not clever, His
ministry might have come to an end
with this incident.
The mind of Jesus was clear in it's
and expression and yet He was
deep. To say that a person is deep
means also that he is dull. His thoughts
are the thoughts of another world.
He is bored by the presence of or
people. To be able to deal with
the great fundamentals of life and
at the same time to be clear and inter
esting seems to be so difficult as to be
impossible. Even those who
are deep thinkers and interested in the
problems of existence do not
read books on theology, philosophy and
ethics with any great delight. Even
men like William James frankly tell us
that they read from a sense of duty.
1t is not altogether their fault. Yet
much better it would be if these |
could be the product of the mind
If Jesus. There was never any ques-
ion about what He wanted to say. He
expressed His thoughts in words which
anybody could understand.
Il remember one occasion of spend |
ng three hours attempting to read five
in a book and | never did dis
what it was all about. Yet this
nan had a great mind and was a pow
thinker. But his mind was pom
There was no such difficulty
n Jesus. He saw the nest of a spar
with its mother presiding over her
offspring. And suddenly tragedy en-
erred the home and one of the curious
TOung sparrOws fell out of the nest.
he talks about straight gates and mar
ways and taught men the secrets
# eternity. lie talks about the beauty
# the lily and teaches men the vanity
# worry over the material things of
life. He talks about a woman knead-
ng bread and teaches them the nature
# His whole scheme of redemption.
The mind of Jesus was clear. He held
Up to life a magnifying glass which
NAPLES men TO see clearly His most
Ielicate and intricate truth.
Mind Calm and Balanced
The mind of Jesus was calm. con-
rolled and balanced. He met situa-
where others would have gone
ii 10 pieces. but He never lost con-
rol of Himself. He. at all times, had
very righteous anger. but His anger
My inspired Him to more noble deeds.
lie was insulted, spat upon. He was
wen vinegar when He asked for water.
lie hung for hours in moral and phys
,al agony. Yet there is no evidence
hat lie ever for a moment lost His
mastery over the most powerful mind
men has ever blessed this world.
The mind of Jesus. There never
7as another like it.. We do MOI won
er that Paul charged us: Let this
md be in you, which was in Christ