The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1923-11-08
THE STUDY OF RELIGION

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One of the most popular novelists.
when asked what is the secret of the
wide popularity OF a book in these
days, said:
People today are interested in
moral problems. ] don't mean med
iaeyai Christianity or abstract ethical
questions, but concrete questions of
personal conduct They like in real
life to- watch other men and women
and see how they conduct themselves:
they like in fiction to cad the same
sort of thing, il is just the WORK ing
out of one of the basic elements OF
human nature. eternal curiosity in
fellow humanity; the same element
which has made, land always will
make, gossip indispensable to man
kind"
Interested in moral problems!'
Yet, the entire stage setting OF mod
ern life is constantly being shifted
i'm sympathy with the conspicuous
taste for novelty and enlarged ideas.
In this respect. our environment re-
sembles our bodies, whose parts are
continually decaying and passing
away like the water of a stream, and
IluSt W COHStdntly ItHEWSu' Dut hC
who loves old things is not too pas
sionately pleased at the modern craze
for change and novelty, he takes
pleasure in queer s%dnIights over front
doors and chimneys large enough for
factories, not that these peculiarities
are much in themselves, but because
of their historical "reminiscences. To
the student of history they are a ma
tons fame in stone or marble. The
historical cathedrals of England tell
the story of Christianity as plainly
as goldfish. The annals Of by-gonc
days reflect the taste and ideals or
the people, just as our changed con-
ditions since the days of Washington
bespake our tastes and ideals.
Greek art revealed the spirit of
Greece. Roman art mirrored the Ro-
a Both alike were faithful to the
laws Of symmetry. And American
art reveals the spirit of the American.
ITO flock into the cities is our slo~
gan said a ranchman recently. Why?
Cannot people entertain themselves
any longer at the ireside hearth !?
Have they no interior strength to
support. them in solitude? Is life sim
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anything that breaks the monotony
as the ranchman says?
Life is change and change Is life
The ranchman moves into the city to
inhabit a tenement, sandwiched be-
tween alien layers Of humanity. Al
ter a time he must recognize what a
fearsome tumble is the modern city
with it's constant change Of art, peo-
pie and laws. AS he seeks Oscar
Wilde's Little Tint OF Blue" the sky
line would recall a bad dream. Build
ings along the street are to him like
the recruits of an awkward squad
They toe the line and hat is all.
Like the raIchman we all change
Ii is frequently said hat WI all fai
to give rea recognition to distinguish
ed men who are in our midst; tina
we cannot quite grasp the fact that he
who is easily accessible, whom We
are able to see every day, may be a fal
greater man than some Of our deaf
heroes. Harold Begbie held a fore
most place among modern WRITERS
before he went to Europe som,
twelve years & to study Religion
and Europe. And because Of his name
his confessions are as interesting al
our many moderns who claim to cal
back the dead as we call our friends
on the phone; and who utter sucl
platitudes as I'VE went back t.
Babylon for the Deluge," "Eoah'