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THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS SATURDAY, MAY 11, 1907. 5 A RELIGION FOR TODAY By REV. EVERETT DEAN ELLENWOOD, Pastor Universalist Church .lIHlmMinttHHIIMUIIIIMN UttUIHUMM • • • |, O NE of tho evils of tho common and quite too widespread con ception of religion Is that It tends to distinguish and differentiate between tho nominally religious Ufa and the life of simple, unaffected right eousness. Thu moral damage of this distorted Idea can scarcely bo overestimated. Beeauso of It millions of truly spirit ual. genuinely religious men and wom en lose tho certain help of compan ionship and deny to the world the power of their personal co-operation with tho men and women of the church In practical work for social redemp tion. Ono of the greatest stumbling blocks In the pathway of social, economic and religious freedom Is that too many of the natural leaders of their fellows, men otherwise reasonably Intelligent and thoughtful, persist In Identifying, and thus in confusing, religion and theology. These two avenues of hu man thought, emotion and service are allied, but by no means Identical. Re ligion, cither consciously or uncon sciously, always has Its foundation In theology, but there are certain theolo gies whose full development and faith ful following leads the devotee widely apart from actual religion, as we And that force defined by one of the great Christian writers in the New Testa- menu Religion may well be considered to be the personal practice of the pres ence of Ood In the human soul, while theology. In these bitter days of In creasing freedom and fluidity o thought, may well be deflned as "what a >nan thinks he thinks about Ood." Ono of the most readily recognisable differences between religion and theol ogy Is this: A man's private religion Is always made abundantly apparent In his public practice. His actual con sciousness of the presence of Ood Is ' evidenced by his conduct among and toward his fellows. Genuine religion, therefore, neither requires nor seeks subterfuges or deceptions. Theology, on the contrary. Is not so marked by frankness and cardor and bravery. Very many of the world's modern the ologians have one theology for the pul pit and another, and quite a different one. for the Intimacies of the study, or the secret recesses of the mind. They seem to be burdened by the conviction that It Is not safe or expedient that thoso who look to them for spiritual Instruction and counsel should be made acquainted wltlf the things they "think they think about God." Theology has ever proven a pleasant postlmo for the speculative part of tho human consciousness, and In so far as It has Innocently nnd harmlessly fulfilled this mission It has occupied Its proper place In the great scheme of the gradual unfolding and develop ment of tho human Intellect. But. In shame and In sadness, must the con fession be made that theology's hands have not always been free from the REV. E. D. ELLENWOOD, stain of blood. The so-called “re ligious'' wars occupy the most horrible and the moat sanguinary pages of hu man history. But religion has always been entirely Innocent of these mighty conflict. of blind and stupid bigotry agnlnst venerated and plausible super stition. It Is not religion, but rather theology, which causes men to kill and malm und shockingly misuse eaqh oth er, merely because they dlfTer slightly concerning speculations which can never be proven or assured this side the “great awakening." And It Is the ology and not religion which makes men today forget the real object of the religious life and continue to abuse each other with the subtle cruelties of an age of greater refinement A thoughtful and vigorous writer, laboring under the popular delusion concerning the Identity of religion and theology, brings this sweeping and se rious charge against that which he terms religion: "Religion takes away our attention from earth, something which should never be done until every man. woman and child has enough bread to eat enough clothes to wear, a home In which to lay their heads and Just a little time to love, laugh and loaf.'' And In so far as religion has becomo contaminated by theology does sho stand convicted of this charge, the charge of “wasting her substance In the riotous living" of the eagerly spec ulative mind. Doubtless speculation and conjecture regarding the future state are Inher ent In the human soul. Man feels himself to be Immortal, and because this Is so he can not refrain his Imag ination from painting Its Idyllic pic tures of the Ilfo of which ho believes himself to be an heir. This hope and Arm belief In the unending life Is one of man's most valuablo assets, and must never be neglected, but it must not be allowed to embody tho whole of tho religious Ufe. Tho great npostlo and preacher of Christ declared that “If In this Ilfo only wo have hope In ChrlsL then are we of all men most miserable." And whenever life's olden history of grief and bereavement re peats Itself upon our personal pages, and we aro called upon to stand beside "those low greeh tents, whose doors swing not open, outward," where Anal ly bivouac those whom wo havo "loved and lost, awhile,” wc aro cheered and comfurli'il t.i lind within our hearts Liu- echo of this beloved writer's splendid resurrection faith; but, as 1 have read again nnd ngntn. this familiar Scrip ture passage, I am always Increasingly thankful for the spirit within him which prompted that small but momen- tool word, “only." Hero Is. too often, tho grlovously neglected emphasis of tho great Chris-, tian church. Either by apathy or by proclamation, tho church* has allowed herself to come to a point where, la the consideration of an alarmingly Increas ing number of serious, sober sod sub stantial-minded men null women sho Is regarded as a sort of safe haven for the sanctified, a select clrdo of pre ferred saints furnishing free passport to realms of eternal bliss, or an amal gamated association of Are Insurance underwriters* w I And It Impossible to believe that Jesus Christ over intended that the great organization which should spring up and call Itself after His name should become so engrossed In tho specula tions of theology os to allow religion to die In the hearts of men. I can not conceive of Jesus Christ os having any Intimate interest In any “plan or salvation," not designed, flrst of all, to save nun and women from fin nnd sickness and tho wretchedness of pun ishment. In the life of breath nnd speech and feeling In. tho today. I con not think of any other emotion than that of sorrow and disappointment ns having rcsldcnco In the heart of tho great Master, upon the discovery that thoso who profess to bo His followers have nil too often utterly forgotten HU teachings In their violent squabbling over their differences of opinion con cerning HU nature and HU origin. Tho reason for tho Christum church's persUteht prostitution of her splendid opportunity Is not so far to seek. Christ's message to the world must como through men and women, nnd, unfortunately, although many of thoso men, and occasionally one of those women, may receive from their fcUows tho label which announces that they are "Doctors of Divinity,", yot the di vinity, which each oae has within him to some extent, no doubt, has not en tirely eliminated the indqtence and cowardice which, like hidden demons, lurk In every man's heart. All this I say, fully realising that 1 shall proba bly bo misunderstood, and consequent ly misquoted, and only asking that those who are pleased to sit In Judg ment upon my utterances shall be wlso enough to bear In mind that The At lanta Georgtnn Is In no wise responsi ble for my heresies. Preachers are Just ordinary human beings, after all, even though there are, unfortunately, a good many senti mental, hysterical women who try to mako deml-gods out of them. And the preacher, being human. Is quite a(t to taka his preaching Just • os easily rs posslblo, to allow his messages to tho pooplo whom ho Is supposed to try to lead, to "taka tho lino of least resis tance." Now, If Is certainly much easier, and decidedly safer, for tho preacher to discuss before an enrap tured congregation the dimensions and quality of the paving of tbe New Je rusalem than It Is for him to discover and to reveal to them the cause and the method of cure for any one of tho municipal plague spots which are n continual stench In the moral nostrils of the community In which ho lives, and to which he must look for support. It Is certainly much easier and It Is de. ctdcdly safer for the preacher to spin yarns about hell. In the abstract than It Is for Mm to make Ids hearers ac quainted with some of the local evi dences of Its existence, nnd to mention, for their odMention, tho particular devils In charge of these particular hells. Paradoxical as It may seem. It Is gen erally easier for tho preacher to talk about that concerning which absolute knowledge Is Impossible than It-is to prepare himself to speak Intelligently upon a subject which Is knownble, nnd whoso increased knowledge Is aBso- lutely Imperative to the safsty and progress of tho race. It Is always per- . fectly safo for tho preacher to talk about heaven and hell, provided he la always so careful as never to localize his remarks. But, when he attempts to show his hearers hour It Is posslblo for them to begin the answer to tin- ag« long prayer of Christendom, "thy king dom come, thy will bo dono on earth as It U In heaven." then It Is that ha dis covers that ho Is treading upon very dangerous ground. Tho very essence of tho religious Ilfo Is unselfishness, and unselAshnoss has tho Aold of Its operation In tho life that now Is. \Vhon actunl religion takes hold of a man or a woman, that Indi vidual becomes so engrossed In tho great work of “visiting the widows and tho fatherless In their affliction” that it is no longer a difficult task to “keep himself unspotted from the world," nor has he any longer tho time to give to a consideration of any hypothetical “plan of salvation." YES, MA’AM—NO, SIR! a grrraborn by t! rosy lie Insisting the f.imlly seyft By IRENE GARDNER. People are beginning to realise that there should not bo one form of courtesy for children nnd another for adults.' Most of us when we were young were taught to aay "no, ma'am," and "no, air," to our elders, bnt as soon ss we grew up we dropped tho form of reply ns lielug k'rEeyneug'man who wants to make (prod with Ids bast gild's mother doesn t address ■■ •ina'am.” • If Im ilora ho I* Totnl tbe who. however. f j upon tni* small «* ng "ma'am" to all the women he’knows. . , . and natty, hut, anraly. this form of ad dress Is lieing eliminated from tho child r vocabulary. It's a good thing, kor ea any ono giro a good reason why a ehlld should be ungbt a form of eourtrty which Ifhe uses when he becomes older pals Mm In the attitude of ose who bean t teen * imncfne*!’young man at a dinner party addressing his hostess as Ms sin. The other sweats would also him up as TEL HosbSs|ssks: "n»TU you see aew play this week, Mr. blank? young Mr. Illank answers: “No, ma'am. 1 haven't been to a theater for a month.'* „ m% KSS &5? roar 2S& Eire she returned homer and tho answer "SfS. ma'am, 1 bad a letter thin morn- ’'l't would never do, soma klad friend wwuSre to tell theVoong man thjttpeo- pie are not to bo ao addressed in polite so- But tho correction should hivegooe for- thor back. Jto^sboold have been toogbt tho child's conversation In school. Tho dlseiuudon baa railed forts both protest and condemnation. Home parents say they are glad, beeauso for a long time they have not Ono parent said that ho was going bo- fore the school board with tho matter, for he saw nn alarming sign In their abandon ment of tbs old form of address. “I shall try to correct this evil." said ha poattleaty. Now. I'd Ilka to koow If that man always says "yeii. ma'am." to Ids mother In-law. If ho doesn't, then what rixht has be gut bi Insist upon Ms own boy saying "Yes, ma'am" end "ho, sir?" There -cannot l>o one form of courtesy for tbs young and another fur the old. &srj5r? other* does not depend upon OCT form of| sm‘£."558 mother," or Just plain "no" caa bo made *■»,r given forth <h- vcr-li-l Cist "m, 1 "sir" aro to bo hereafter eliminated from WE LEAD Others folloar. That others Imitate our hsbtts shows that our policy Is sound. “Asconite” Stands for quality and quality saves money. Vso AS CONITE QUARTZ or GRAVEL ROOFING and your In vestment Is secure. "You esn put It on." ATLANTA SUPPLY CO., MANUFACTURERS, 29-31 8outh Forsyth Street, Atlanta, Ga. J. C. GretnAeld, Pres. C. A. Pack, See. ecured Money Back POSITIONS £ Contract given, backed by 3300,000.00 capital and IS years* success DRAUGHON’S PRACTICAL ^ COLLEGES 28 Colleges In IS States. Indorsed by business men. No vacation Law, Letter Writing, EnglUb. Drawlog, U-| or call on or sttdrras Usosgrr Draugboo'a rating, etc. Money back If not satlflled I Practical Business College: ATLANTA, 13 Peachtree, Piedmont Hotel Block; or Jscksoorillo or Montgomery, atrocious accounts. •••••••••! CURIOUS QUESTIONS. I Msi By PROF. EDGAR L. LARKIN “Why do wo shsko hands when friends moot, or strangers art intro duced?"—P. A., Duluth, Minn. A.—They hod to 100,000 years ago or more, to show that they were not arm ed. Two savages from two different tribes or clans meeting aqywhcre hud to offer their bore hands to each other to show good wilL If they refused It was tight. If one offered his hand and the other refused to “shako" ho could at once be killed according to "law." the. presumption being that he was a deadly enemy. , “Why do men grind and grit their teeth when filled with rage and uncon trollable anger?"—P. R. A.—This disgusting habit—I havo seen strong men do It here In this ob servatory when the insurance thieves in New Turk were exposed—is a lineal descent from the time when men fought with teeth, hands and nails, be. fore they Invented tho use of clubs, or clubs were at hand. "Will wsr over end?”—R. A. 8. A.—This I ran not answer. Not for a long time at least Each “civilised" nation will not rest until It engages in colossal war merely to see how quickly dynamlla and lyddite ran destroy a great city. Tho Inborn killing Instinct was never stronger than It is now In any period mentioned by authentic his- if- "Why do the people talk war? It is always heard of in hotels, trains and on thb streets.”—P. R., Sants Barbara* Cal., And others. A.—This modern talk Is based on the deep-seated law of Influence, now com- Vnonly catted "Suggestion." Tire erase for battleships suggests tight leg Mon uments to bloody kings and generals are an awful source of “light sugges tions” evor before the youths of the country. The shooting of deer ami other loving animals by the emperor of Germany acts like a dreadful curse upon the minds of those who read the