The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1933-02-06
CHURCH NOT INACTIVE
Bismarck. N. D.,
January %, 1888,

8sAAAVSAS AAAUOAASs
am very much interested in what
. reader at Werner. N. D.. has to say.
in the Peoples Forum of the Tribune
Jan. 18th, about the inactive church.
Obviously the cause Of his criticism
Is the tenor OF a report furnished by
q certain commission which had been
appointed by President Hoover for the
purpose Of having the social trend Of
Our and other nations studied.
Those investigators learned that the
tendencies are leading to the downfall
OF our form OF government and our
monetary system
OF course, about this social trend of
our nation we nowadays can hear
people talking almost everywhere. In
the concluding sentence the writer OF
said article declares that he is "ad-
dressing this to the church" I think
I am not much beside the mark in
Is attempting to preach the inactive
church, a kind OF a penitential SER
mon. That is indeed quite interest
ing; and this is the reason that I take
the trouble Of calling the attention of
some who should be directly interest,"
ed in it to this matter.
In so doing I do not pretend to
write as a representative or advocate
OF the church. but I do so because I
think the matter is Of great interest
to any reader.
In my opinion the writer of said ar
ticle Is using some sentences the
thoughts OF which is capable Of mis-
leading the reader Is it, for instance,
right to say that lin the last 500 years
the church has grown and become
used to the changes which all seemed
to make for better living conditions?"
No, this is not right, whereas it is
true that also In the four centuries
following the time of the Reformation
here and there it occurred that the
true church OF God was prosecuted
50 that many preacher had Ito break
away and sacrifice his creature COM
forts" And this was the case even in
the church of the old dispensation.
SO 1t could, for instance, happen that
In the kingdom of Israel the true
prophet of God, Elijah, had to flee
into the wilderness and there nearly
Starve, while the worshippers of Baal
the false god - were enjoying the
pleasure Of being the chosen friends
Of the queen Isebel who got all they
wanted to get. Il. King Chapter 49,
And true enough, SO far as those
500 years are concerned, it Is a fact
that there was persecution of some
group of the Christian church almost
all the time, at least, in some corner
or the other OF Europe and elsewhere,
so there was in many places hardly
any chance on the part of preacher
to break away from the daily COM
forts Of life," for almost everybody
was made by surrounding circum-
stances to exc out a living; for many
days not seeing anything around
which could be called a comfort. At
4 certain time. somewhere in the
southern part OF Germany, for in
stance, some soldiers were ordered to
catch certain famous leader of a
certain church group. The unfortun-
ate man fled from one hiding place
to another in order to save his life
and retreated to barn in the hay
loft OF which there was a pile of hay
stored. Here he hid from his pursu-
ers. The soldiers came and investi-
gated the place and also the hay, but
failed to find him. The hiding man
stayed there for several days. Now, it
happened that hen came around
and laid an egg there. So it did every
day. The egg was the only food of
this much-hated man. After some
days his pursuers left that region and
the man could go to meet his friends.
He surely had been breaking away
from the comforts Of life
One may be assured that even here
In North Dakota in those early days
Of the pioneer settlers most of those
preachers, If not all of them, who did
pioneer mission work did not think
OF breaking away from the social
comforts OF life" and hide in desert
somewhere. Most Of these men were
daily shaking hands with mother fru-
gality. I think there are some who
experienced a depression" for more
than 80 years, most of the time hav-
ing been "broke'-to use common
phrase. With regard to them, not
breaking way from any comforts OF
life," was out Of the question.
Another example taken from the
Bible may be mentioned here because
it Is illustrating the point Of view
quite well. At the time that preceded
the downfall of the kingdom of Judah
when the Jews were in the Babylon.
ian captivity, the prophet Jeremiah
was living and necessarily implorine
and admonishing the people and the
king to repent. They did not listen tt
him. At very critical time they went
even so far as to throw that faithful
man In an unused cistern to let hin
starve there. A negro chamberlain
named Ebedmelech brought him CON-
fort there, but the money men and
counselors of the king were holding
conferences and made foolish plans
about how to save the state from
ruin. (Read jeremiah, Chapter 49,
Well, they were unable to get Their
government machinery out of the big
mudhole 1t was then stuck in. It
seems to me that the social condi-
ton OF that Jewish state at said time
was looking much the same as the
social and commercial condition In
our country Is looking at the present
time. One may compare, for instance
what Is recorded in jeremiah 34:8-17
In order to understand little more
clearly what Is said there, let me say
here the following: the Cody law Of
that people permitted poor man
in case he was unable to pay off q
certain debt. to sell himself as Z
slave-servant to his creditor. How.
ever, that same law stipulated tina
at . certain time such contract hae
to become null and void, and thu
servant was to be released. A very
humane law indeed. Now apparent
IL, 1t had become the rule Of those
rich fellows to make the servant stay
ct his Job, also after the time Of hia
legal release, thus defying the God
u law which intended to give free
dom TO the poor fellow. We learn
In the passage referred to that Jere-
S,alnh n ral,alleinr those greedy men