Evening star., 1925-11-21

CiStOn.
,Tertullus in his charges against the
acts and activities of Paul made four
distinct accusations, any one OF which.
if proven, would have resulted in Sc
curing conviction. He charged
him with being a public nuisance.
He claimed that ne was an agitator
of sedition. lie insisted that he was
a leader of the NaZarene sect. which
was an Illegal religion. He accused the
apostle of trying to desecrate the tenn
pie. The Roman government presented
every recognized faith in its worship,
just as we assure men of every re
liCion that they can worship their
God in accorda nee with their faith. lie
presented no proofs Of his accusa-
tions against Paul.
Paul Before Felix.
In ma king his defense. tho apostle
revealed n poise and skill as an al
torney that Established his ability as
a courteous and capable advocate. In
making his defense. it is evident that
Pauls calmnesS grew out of the
apostles confidence that he would be
aided by the presence and aid of God
in establishing the falsity OF the Grim
inal charges made against himself by
the Roman criminal lawyer. who had
appeared against Paul, at the request
of the high priest, as the prosecuting
attorney. Tertullus had sought to win
the favor of Felix by statements
which all present knew TO be false.
The fawnins prosecutor sought to in
fiuence the decision of the procurator
. by appealing TO the vanity OF Felix
with flsttery. which went far beyond
the truth.
When Paul faced his third trial be
fore Roman official. the character
of the administrator of the law and
his methods of administration differed
widely from that OF Gallo or SerGius
PaulIs. The latter based their deCi-
sions upon the Roman law. which had
been carefully built up on the princi-
pies of justice. that furnished the
early church with powerful legal pro-
lection. This excellent system of law.
that is still the foundation cf jurispru-
dence in Latin nations and in the form
of the NapoleoniC code is the law in
Louisiana, has often been perverted
by the venality of officials. whose deci-
SionS were influenced by bribeS. AC-
Cording to TaCitus, Felix was "at once
a debauChee and n tyrant. who per
formed functions little less than royal
with the spirit OF a slave" He could
not get away from the fact that he
was born u slave. He was a freed
influence OF his brother who was a
favorite OF ASrippa.
Paul commenced his clean-cut de
fense by tactful reference TO Felix,
who had informed the apostle by =
wave OF his hand 10 proceed with his
defense. The procurator had ruled in
Palestine much longer than governors
had usually ruled. He knew the Ro-
man law without doubt. He had
l.. i Il ~,
country, the manners, customs and
general teachings of the Jews. His
wife Drusilla. was a Jewess, who had
violated the high ideals Of her race
and religion concerning matrimony
when she deserted her lawful husban
Aziz, the King of Amesa. to marry
Felix, who had sought TO establish
himself in his position. as procurator.
by marrying "A member of the fierce.
passionate and unsCrupulous Herodian
family. In "A straightforward manner
Paul pleaded not guilty TO each charge
il the indictment that Tertullus had
presented against him.
Pleads Not Guilty.
Paul met each one Of the complain
made against him squarely, without
fiinChnS or fear of the courts action.
He met the unsupported accusations
with dignified denial, taking up each
charge in turn and dealing with il in
a manner that would appeal to Felix's
sense of right and justice. He chal-
lenGed any of his foes. who were pres
ent or absent. 10 present any evidence
that would suhstantiate any one Of the
charges. Although the apostles en-
emes failed to offer any proof Of their
accuse tions. Paul suggested to the
procurator that he could easily ascer-
tain the truthfulness Of his state
ments by investigating through official
channels his statements concerning
the way the apostle had spent his
time In Jerusalem.
Paul pointed out that there was no
proof that he was public pest for no
evidence had been presented that he
had been guilty Of stirring up strife,
sedition. sectaria nism, or sacriligious
acts. He denied that he had been
guilty in the temple. synagogue. or
street Of doing any Of the things that
they had charged against him. 1t was
twelve days since he reached Jerusa-
lem. He spent the first day with
James and the elders. The next seven
days had been spent in performing an
orthodox religious rite in the temple
He had been arrested at the close of
the required Jewish ritual and the
next day had been placed on trial be-
fore the Sanhedrin.
He acknowledged that he was a fol
lower Of Christ. which was then called
the Way. He denied that Christianity
called the sect of the Nazarene," was
in any way heretical. because he wor-
SHIPPED the God of the Jews and be-
lieved In their Scriptures Paul en-
phasiZed the unity Of Christianity and
Judaism. He claimed that they were
10 fnit I,,t
sisted that in teaching the doctrine Of
the resurrection, which was the CEN
tral fact and fundamental foundation
In the Christian faith. he was in accord
with the PhariSeeS, a recognized Jew
ish sect. in their views Of the resur-
rection Of the dead. both of the lust
and unjust. Having pointed out that
| the Asiatic Jews were responsible for
/ the disturbance in the temple and
| challenged them to appear against
him, Paul insisted that il was due to
| his views of the resurrection that he
| had been placed on trial before Felix.
who postponed the hearing. proba bly,
| hoping that some of Paul's friends
| would seek to secure his freedom by
| bribery. He had noticed that the apos-
| tie had collected gifts for the Jerusa-
| lem poor from his friends, whom he
allowed to visit him.
Felix Before Paul.
| During the two years Paul spent in
Caesarea he had ample opportunity
! to help develop the church there by
| frequent conferences with the leaders.
| The fact that for five centuries it was
| A strong Christian center NAV be at
| tributed 10 the work of Paul while he
was a prisoner there. Frequently
! FeliH- summoned tho prisoner before
him, .n"i.rs - encourage Tie apus, DC ;