Seward daily gateway., 1925-01-27
THE THINGS THAT COUNT
Bv Frederick Palmer

Not so very Christmasy not very Christian, said cvnic to me m France on Christmas Day: ls17-''not with h.: Christians Of the world engaG- ed in slaughtering one another by millions y
 'Think how much worse it might have been if we had not Christianity replied. "Therc would rot have been millions to slaughter in this grand war spree Most of them would have been killed off piecemeal without benefit of clergy, before the war began
 ''Thnk how much worse 1t might have been ex- eept for Jesus Christ ! is always sufficient answer for the very smart who points out, Ill terms of ridicule the inconsistency of our personal con- duct and our conduct nations with Christian principles.
 When Christ was born on that first Christmas Day. 1924 years ago, Roman power and civilization were reaching their height. Roman armies gave quarter only to bring fresh captves home to the Ro- man slave market. Human being were set to slaughter each other and be torn to pieces by wild beasts to make sport for the beachers and grand stands of the Coliseum
 Romans were as accustomed to the agonizmg oroans of crucfied thieves and offenders along the Appian way as we to the traffic officer whistle Baseball and football in our collseums today ana union labor in place of slave labor, might be tame to Roman but they are Christian, and Rome was pagan.
 Mans narrowness has tried to confine Ill little tunnels the mighty current that flowed from Gallee He has made controversies texts; he has set up rnles in the name of Christ which may not have been His rules Each sect striving for Christian nerfection. That was the thought behind the Con- necticut blue law which would not have man KISS his wife on the Sabbath Day. It was behnd the re- mark of the English clergyman who said to me that America could not be Christian nation
 Have you met many Mohammedans, sunwor- shippers or devil-worshippers in our country 1 asked him. Have you noticed large crowds pros tratino themselves before idols? Have large dele cations of atheists met you at the railroad stations
 ssRut you have no state church, " he said. That was final to him.
 Possibly Christ will be just as grateful for a soul saved in nation that has state church as Ill 9 nation that has one An American may worship in any faith he chooses or in not faith he may be- leve in hell or personal paradise in the dsposl- ton of a single creed in neither hell nor para disc His faith Is the citadel of hls soul within hli- self That we must respect
 ''Isnt it better that he lie where he fell for ms country?'' said General after the armlstlce to father who had come to France to bring home the bodv of his son. ''His name may be on the family stone in the cemetery and i'll bronze Ill the City Hall-''
 ''What you don't understand" " said the father, " is that believe in personal resurrection and that when the trumpet blows I don't want my family scattered.''
 The only thing for the government to do in res pect for that father faith to bring that son body home. Any political social bias against any mans belief, the of any form of force for religious ends is not in Christ $ manner. He came to earth to convince hearts, minds and souls and save us through faith. Otherwise he would have organized an army to spread his faith. The reli- cion of the sword is Mohammedanism.
 Soma hioh reaSonars hold that Christ himself