Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1923-12-26
The Influence of
Jesus on Modern Thought.

Old as the story is it is eternally
interesting and along with the numer-
Gus phases of human life recurring
for discussion the spiritual comes in
for an enormous flood of interesting
comment and conjecture.
This discussion although shocking,
irreverent and disturbing to the or
thodox and stereotyped mind is bene-
fetal. Even men who take the time
and trouble to deny the divinity OF
Jesus show that his influence and
message is a disturbing factor to them
and that while they may dismiss the
miraculous they cannot dismiss the
tremendous import of the message
left by him and its profound appllca-
ton to human problems.
One writer in asking, Why Not
Give Christianity a Trial?" says the
question seems a hopeless one after
1000 years of resolute adherence to
the old Jewish cry of mot this man,
but Barabbas". Yet, he says, tits be-
ginning to look as if Barabbas was IA
failure, in spite of his strong right
hand, his victories, his empires, his
millions of money, and his mOT;alities,
and churches and political cOnstitu-
tions. This man" has not been a
failure, yet; for nobody has ever been
sane enough to try his way. 3iiiBut he
has had one quaint triumph Barab-
has has stolen his name and his cross
as a standard u.
There is a sort of compliment in
that. There is even sort of loyalty
in it. like that of the brigand VINO
breaks every law and yet claims to be
a patriotic subject of the king VINO
makes them.
The doctrine of Jesus is summed up
in dignity and power as follows:
/. The kingdom of God is within
you. You are the son of God; and
God is the son of man. God is a spirit
10 be worshipped in spirit and truth
and not an elderly gentleman to be
bribed and begged from. We are here
to do Gods work; we are members of
one another; so that you cannot IN
jure or help your neighbor without
injuring or helping yourself. You
and your father are one.
2. Get rid of property and disasso-
ciate your work from the idea of
money payments. If you let child
starve you are letting God starve. Get
rid of all anxiety about tomorrow's
dinner and clothes, because you can
not serve two masters; God and Mann
mon.
g. Get rid of judges and punish
ment and revenge. Love your neigh
Dor as yourself, he being a part of
yourself. And love your enemies;
they are your neighbors.
Another writer says:
He was too great for his disciples.
And in view of what he plainly said,
is it any wonder that all who were
rich and prosperous felt a borrow of
strange things, swimming of their
world at his teachings? Perhaps the
priests and rulers and the rich men
understood him better than his fol-
lowers. He was dragging out all the
little private reservations they had
made from social service into the
light of universal religious life. He
was like some terrible moral hunts
man digging mankind out Of the snug
burrows in which they had lived
hitherto. In the white blaze of this
kingdom of his there was no property.
no privilege, no pride and precedence:
no motive indeed and no reward blu.
love. Is it any wonder that men were
dazzled and blinded and cried out
against him? Even his disciples cried