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•welfare of your beautiful adopted daughter, Mary
belle—my child, whom I seemed to have deserted
by flight into a suicide’s watery gra\e, but from
which my Father rescued me and placed me in a
good ship bound for Liverpool.
The past five years I have spent in my beloved
homeland, La Belle France, again inspired with the
fire and zeal of twenty years ago, to do the work,
the spirit of which was aroused by Sa [an then, but
by my heavenly Father now. Here, also, I have
obliterated self, and have worked quietly by voice
and pen in influencing others to be ready for the
crucial hour when the vote should be east, separat
ing Church and State.
I know that a man who keeps in tmch with the
world, as I see from your magazine you do, must
be familiar with the struggles of Fiance during
this crisis; yet, out of the fulness of my joy and
gratitude to our heavenly Father, I cannot refrain
from giving you some of the facts from an eye
witness whose soul is so enthused with the desire
to see France not simply a Protestant nation, but
transformed into a truly Christian people.
Can you possibly imagine, John, the emotions
which filled my soul as I sat in the Chamber of
Deputies in Paris, July 3, of last year, and witness
ed the passing of the bill separating Church and
State, which guaranteed to the republic: “The free
exercise of public worship, limited only by the re
strictions hereinafter enacted in the interest of
public order. ’ ’
“The republic neither recognizes, pays salaries
to, nor subsidizes any form of worship.”
“The law transfers the property of the churches
to associations of citizens known as 1 associations
cultuelles,’ which will be organized in each place
to continue the work of the local churches.
“It gives these associations the free use of the
church buildings.”
“It protects religious worship from disturbances,
but forbids the holding of political meetings in ec
clesiastical buildings, and it subjects !o fine oi im
prisonment preachers who. in a religious service,
attack a citizen holding office, or incite to violation
of the law.”
This is an authoritative report of some of the
provisions of the bill passed—an act as "vital in
its results to the future of France as was the Reso
lution.
“With keen perception and logical bent of mind,
the French have penetrated the fact that the Nation
al Church, so-called, and Gallicanism are but names
to evoke in the patriotic French heart allegiance
and servitude to the corruptions of Romanism.
“They recall with anguish the prophetic words
of their great statesman, Gambetta: ‘ Clericalism!
there is the enemy.’ ”
But this enemy is being dethroned. Now thous
ands of eyes and hearts are being opened to the
open pages of the blessed Book. Now is the time
to place the Scriptures into the hands of every
one, and may spiritual liberty be revived as in
apostolic days. At the mention of religious liber
ty, what scenes come to us! The planting of Eng
land with Puritans, Scotland with heroes, France
with martyrs and North America with colonists,
created such men as Calvin and Luther, Latimer and
Knox, Baxter. Taylor and Howe. The principle of
individual judgment is what divides Protestantism
from Catholicism in large measure.
To comprehend the present situation in France,
we must recall that, at the time of the Revolution,
all that remained of the French Huguenot Church
was a scattered flock of perhaps 500,000 adher
ents, who had been for generations without regular
worship, and many of them had become more athe
istic than evangelical; and, in 1802, when reorgani
zation began, but fifty-four ministers could be
found to become shepherds for the Protestant
churches over the whole of France.
And since 1802, the number of ministers and
churches has increased to only about 1,000. As we
know, the French Protestant churches were born
amid a reign of terror and were baptized by the fires
of most fearful persecution. During the reign of
Louis XIV., more than a half a million Protestants
chose exile and the loss of all their possessions in
preference to giving up their faith. It is to be
hoped that the consecrated and unwavering spirit
of those exiles still lives in the Protestants of
The Golden Age for September 13, 1906.
France to-day at this crucial period, when God has
made for them such a wide open door through
which to carry the blessed tidings of salvation to
their heretofore imprisoned brothers and sisters.
The question now naturally arises as to how the
loss of about $300,000 per year formerly paid to
ward the support of French Protestant churches by
the state, would affect their progress?
To some of the Protestant churches the loss of
this $300,000 will cause a severe strain, for a time
at least. But after they have learned the value
of self-reliance, their work will be more effective
than heretofore. Some of these churches have
made little impression on the Catholic community
in which they are situated, the pastors contenting
themselves with ministering to the small congrega
tions of Protestants without concerning or exerting
themselves further, and resting secure in receiving
their salaries from the state for such formal ser
vices. It would be a good thing if such as these
were closed, for then the ministers who had been
supported by the state would go to work in evan
gelizing the people, and the Lord would provide
for the laborer who was worthy of his hire.
A French newspaper, the “Lanterne,” in an edi
torial, said:
“However imperfect and incomplete the law de
claring a divorce between Church and State may
be, it has this important consequence: there will
in the future, no longer be any official connection
between any form of worship and the state. The
Republic will no longer throw its mantle over the
scandalous exploitation of human credulity by the
church, it will no longer give an official stamp to
fanaticism and superstition, and it will no longer
subsidize swindlers clothed in the soutane as it
has done in the past.”
The loss to the Roman Church under the new
conditions will amount to the yearly subsidy of
$8,000,000; and it is a fact of much importance
that its ministers will no longer be state officials,
all of which will doubtless cause the extinction of
many Roman congregations. But what is of greater
importance is the fact that the so-called lower
Roman clergy will be released to some degree from
the absolute denendence in which they stand with
respect to the bishops: and the Roman laity will
acquire an influence which it has never yet possess
ed.
It is gratifying to know that, whereas the monks
are nearly all narrow-minded and intolerant bigots,
the members of the French Catholic laity are of a
very different mind. Among them are many men
whose religious convictions are, indeed, practically
akin to those of an evangelical Protestant.
We rank France among Roman Catholic coun
tries, but do we place it in the proper category?
Ont of 39,000,000, the population of France, 36,-
000,000 are counted as Romanists; but close ob
servers declare that not more than four or five
millions of these should be reckoned as really de
vout adherents of the Papacy.
Many other changes which space does not permit
mv naming in this letter, would be interesting to
relate, the law regarding the rendering of an ac
count of church propertv of everv kind, its pos
sessions in silver and gold, diamonds and precious
stones, costly draperies and precious stuffs of great
value, besides paintings of fabulous prices. Visitors
will no longer be compelled to pay for viewing the
objects of interest in the cathedrals and churches.
Doubtless the bone from one of the limbs of Mary
Magdalene, and also a relic of St. Joseph, together
with a great many other relics and shrines that now
bring a large revenue to the church, will be thrown
into a rubbish heap.
I cannot refrain from referring to the passage
of the Association Bill in France, which has taken
the schools out of the hands of the religions or
ders. Where the priest leaves, his place will be
taken by the schoolmaster. There are said to he
many good men among the French teachers. It is
a startling announcement that, since the new law
has been passed, more than 990 priests have applied
to the Ministry of Public Worshin for secular situa
tions teachers, clerks, or even laborers, to escane
from their bondage. This forbodes greater changes
than we now see. The Romanist is taught that
to forsake Romanism is to fall into atheism, wheth
er it be under the cloak of Protestantism or what
other ism, it amounts to atheism. Hence the great
majority of teachers are freethinkers, it is claimed;
to them clericalism and Christianity mean one and
the same; and so, pronouncing it a failure, if not
a sham, they were led to discard the only religion
they ever knew, as you know I did myself. This
is a deplorable state of affairs, for, though the
schoolmaster may teach the most rigid code of
ethics, yet morality, without God as its founda
tion, cannot conquer the inherent evil within man.
All the philosophies of the large body of free
thinkers will not satisfy the yearnings of the human
heart.
Is it not in this hour that the Word of God may
find an open door in thousands of empty hearts?
Will Christians who have had every blessing from
God discharge the tremendous duty of giving the
bread of life to starving souls in France to-day?
This should be the question to ask every one.
Evangelism instead of church ism, the fundamental
principles of the Word of God, and not dogmatic
theology, the spreading of the Gospel as the power
of God' unto salvation, and not man-made creeds
and ceremonial rites and sacraments, must be the
means of a revival of religion in France.
The responsibility laid ’ upon the Protestant
churches, not only in France, but everywhere, at
present is a heavy one. May the churches in
France be encouraged by the assurance that Pro
testant churches in other lands are not only looking
on with sympathetic eye and prayerful heart, but
that they are ready gladly to extend a helping
hand, for the proclaiming of the power of God
unto salvation in the land which gave birth to
Calvin, and whose soil was so freely saturated with
the blood of the Huguenots.
And now, John, the principal point of my letter
is this: Will you not, through every avenue ac
cessible to you in America, arouse the Protestant
world to the need of consecrated Christian work
ers in France? To every true and capable Chris
tian who is willing to come to this work, you can
give the assurance of a reasonable living (for which
you may depend upon me). Will you not use the
columns of your magazine, “Into Marvelous Light,”
to arouse the Christian world to the desire to come
over and help ns in this hour of God’s call from
France? May I not see in your next issue some
thing on this subject? May your soul be aroused
for the sake of our Master’s work, and not in any
way on my behalf. And thus, may God enlarge
the sphere of your labors, and enable all men to
exclaim, “Ecce Deus!” The Prodigal Son.
Post Scriptum:—
I trust you will respect as sacred my request that
you do not seek to find me, nor make me known
to the world, for the old man is truly dead, and I
am a new man in Christ Jesus. T. P. S.
(Continued next week.)
Enlightened.
The vicar of a church in the Notting Hill district
on leaving his house close to the church saw a little
girl friend of his talking to a stranger. “Wlhat
was the man saying to you, Madge?” he asked as
he came up to her. “Oh,” said she, “he just want
eed to know if Dr. M—■ wasn’t the preacher at this
church.” “And what did you tell him?” asked
the gentleman. The little girl drew herself up with
an air of great pride. “I told him,” she answered
with dignity, “that you was the present incum
brance. ’ ’ —Tattler.
Relieved.
She glided into the office and quietly approached
the editor’s desk. “I have written a poem,” she
began.
“Well!” exclaimed the editor, with a look and
tone intended to annihilate.
But she calmly resumed: “I have written a poem
on ‘My Father’s Barn,’ and—”
“Oh!” interrupted the editor, with extraordinary
suavity, “you don’t know how greatly I am relieved.
A poem written on your father’s barn, eh? I was
afraid it was written on paper, and that you wanted
me to publish it. If I should ever happen to drive
past your father’s barn, I’ll stop and read the
poem.”—Tit-Bits (London).