Evening star., 1929-12-21

Q.-What did st. Paul mean by the
phrase bringing every thought into
captivity unto the obedience of Christ?
A.-The apostle was addressing his
second letter to the church at Corinth,
a city noted for its cosmopolitan cult
isms and the pride of their diversified
opinions. In the tenth chapter of this
letter and the fifth verse he speaks
of the "imaginations" which exalted
themselves against the knowledge of
God, and entreats the Christians OF
that city, in the words you quote, to
resist these high notions Of certain in
tellectuaf coteries.
The argument Is that, not only do
outward things limit Gods grace in
man, but also the rebelliouS conditions
of proudly personal and self f-conscious
intellectualiSm. What If He enters
human life by lowly doorways which the
heart can unbar and the mind cannot
prevent? Consider in this respect the
case of Christ, whose submission to the
Fathers will overcame all obstacles and
conquered a defiant and superbly equip
ped paganism.
Mans exclusion OF that obedience is
fatal to spiritual reality. The skeptic
who reasons from purely materialistic
basis may be right in his own eyes,
vital to the development of pure and
ennobled life Is shown by human ex-
perience.
OF course, it seemed contemplate to
st. Pauls adverSarieS that the Supreme
Being should manifest Himself in q
Gallileean peasant crucified for Sedi-
ton under Roman law, yet the poten-
tialities concealed in the self-dedica-
ton of Jesus have transformed the
Yiu k,.i., - "a
apostle eXhorts his Corinthian converts
to practice the humility and receptive
ness which are the gateways to the
living God.
Q-Why not scrap all your churches,
creeds. ceremonies and begin again?
don't suppose you like this, but how
can you meet the suggestion?
A.-By asking who shall begin, with
what and whereP Surely you would
not have every person manufacture
q religion for himself or herself. Baf-
fling as is the present confusion, such
riot of individualiSm wouI0 mean
chaos. It Is a curious thing that ram
pant radicals eager to demolish institu-
tionS of any kind are as q rule con-
spicuously barren Of suggestions as to
what shall replace those discarded.
This quarrel with things as they are
has definite boundaries beyond which
stretch anarchy and impotence. 1t re-
bells against the past, forgetful that a
tree might as well attempt to tear it
self away from its roots and continue
to live, as man to attempt to sever him
self from what has been and still re-
tain his present development. He can
reorganize the forces he inheritS and
give them new aims, but he cannot
abolish them. 1t Is process Of pro-
greSsive accumulation.
That is a wise ordinance. Its in
vincibility Is society's protection from
destruction. The institutional religion
you deplore is a vital growth embedded
in human life, obedient to its develop
ments, capable of shedding superflous
accretions and Of producing the fresh
forms its vitality demands. Why rage
against the method? If 1t yields the
bitter and the detrimental, 1t also yields
the sweet and beneficial. Churches
exist by the reality. the goodness and
the virtue they transmit, and their
symbolisms must be regarded from this
viewpoint. When they cease to COM
municate what is helpful they will
PERISH and not till then.
Q-What is the meaning Of 7 John,
VT, "All unrighteousness is sin and
there Is a sin not unto death? What
Is the sin which Is mot unto death?
A. Sin Is described from many angles
in this epistle. Here the writer en-
phasizes its negative and destructive
aspects. The failure to fulfill life's