The Minnesota fiery cross. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1924-19??, 1924-03-14

self-sacrifice in war. Such appeals
are put forth in the interest Of tough
ening the fibre of the national char
acter, forgetting that war is the sur
est way to disintegrate the whole fab
ric of the race, that war kills off the
best sires of posterity and weakens
the very tissue and fibre of the hu-
man stuff. We look out on a world
of more obvious and ominous need
than ever before, because the war
patterns are being stamped upon the
minds and souls of men more subtly
perhaps than in any other generation
that has gone bfore.
In the second place, the passion of
racial hatred and the warrant of race
exploitation are openly defended to-
day with skill and daring new even
o our generation. l was reading this
last week a new book that has Just
been issued on Race and National
Solidarity" The author tramples
frankly and regretfully upon all
claims of humanitariansim and HUI
man brotherhood, does it deliberately
and &C knowledgedly. and sets up in
stead that the best interests of man
kind depend upon the assertion by
the white race of it's high superior
ity and warrant it's exploitation of
all the other races in order that they
may do the work of the white race,
and allow it leisure for its fullest de-
velopment and artistic self-expres-
sion. There is another book on 1.-THE
Conflict of Color" in which the au-
thor anticipates that the white race
may some day lament that when it
had its hands on the throat of some
of the weaker races it did not settle
the issue once for all, leaving it's do
minion undisputed. The need of the
world is more obvious and ominous
than ever, when serious groups of men
are preaching unblushingly the doc
trine of the absolutism of the white
race and sowing the seeds of inter
racial struggle and prejudice and
hate.
In the third place, never in our
generation or perhaps in any other,
has there been such deep inhumanity
of man to manas in this day in which
we are living now. DR.. Bible was
telling US this afternoon about the
Far East, and the price it is paying
for it's introduction into the indus
trial fellowship of the modern world.
was in Shanghai 80 years ago, be-
fore these great cotton factories had
been built. / have seen them grow,
year by year, until you can shut your
eyes now in the streets along those
rows of cotton mills, and think you
are hearing the thunder of American
| industry in Lowell or Lawrence or
| Fall River. ] have seen children busy
before the looms, feeding their lives
into the spindles, little boys and
girls, 8, 8, and 10 years old, working
IL to IA hours shifts in the cotton
factories and in the super-heated air
of the silk mills. In Christendom
many great forces flowing from Christ
have steadily ameliorated the lot of
mankind, but still in East and West
alike man is suffering for man, hui
man gain costing human loss and
pain. As much as ever we have to
mourn our inhumanity to ourselves.
And once again, this need, more OBJ
vious and ominous than in any other
day. springs out of the simple and
plain fact of human sin, not some
thing misty, nebulous, indefinable,
but the most real and practical thing
in the world, want of conformity to
and transgression of the plain law
of God, with regard to man himself,
and mans relationship to man, and
the relationship of race to race, and
of nation to nation. Again say that
as we look out over our modern
world, we see it's deep need more OBJ
vious and ominous than ever.
| And here as we gather in this con-
ference. we are ready to lay down
beside this generalization another
generalization to cover it. We hold
the assured conviction that Jesus
Christ alone, is competent to deal
with all the need of the world. We
are not concerned here because out
side the Christian church there are
men who deny Christ's adequacy to
meet human need. Our concern is
lest there should be any unbelief in
Christ's efficiency for the worlds
need inside the bounds of those who
professedly call Him their Master and
Lord. was reading, on my journey
here, an article in paper edited by
an old friend, in which the writer
said that the efforts of governments
to end war were contrary to the will
of God, that it is not the duty of ma
tions 10 try to drive war out of the
world, an dso the bring into the world
the warless day. I know what he was
thinking of. Hewas thinking that
war will never be done away with
among men until our Lord comes back
again. myself believe, and / re-
joice to bear my testimony, in the
| literal personal return of our Lord
Jesus Christ to this earth again, and
every day l pray and watch for his
return. But / believe that our Lord
would rather come back to world
from which war had been driven out,
where there was no longer the pas
sion of unbrotherly inter-racial hate.
where men did not exploit little
children and sacrifice the coming gen.
erations to the greed and gain of to-
day. / do not read my Gospel other
wise than that Jesus Christ set this
to be our aim. ! do not find among
the Beatitudes, Blessed are those
who make war, for they fulfill the
law of god" But / do find there set
plain and clear, His word, BLESSED
are they that make peace, for they
shall be called the children Of God"
| | know that He came to be the Saw
Jour and not the loser of the world.
/ know that He was lifted up, not to
repel men from Him, but to draw all
men unto Himself. And | know the