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x i . / X Q J IT T *"* \ _ / / ' / I ( O I <f ffti HF rafr* ■f VOLUME SIX NUMBER TWENTY LIFE’S EVENING GRANDLY CROWNED Dr, Robert Stuart MacArthur, Preacher, Patriot Statesman and Scholar, and Forty-two Years Pastor of Calvary Church, New York, Elected President of the Baptist World Alliance—Thrilling Memories of Great Philadelphia Gathering, (Editorial Correspondent.) c ONWELL’S Temple was crowded! Nearly four thousand Baptists were cheering. There were English and Irish, Scots and Finns, Poles and Rus sians, Germans and Hungarians, Japs and Burmese, Africans and Persians, and workers and dwel lers in Bulgaria and Siberia, China and India, France and Spain, the lands of Mohammedan darkness, and the islands of the sea. With a thrilling babel of voices they sang the songs of Zion—different tongues, but the same tune and the same Spirit—while the very glory of the skies wrapped the whole Convention in atmosphere divine. Any effort to lay the hand on the moun tain-peak hour of the great Alliance would be honestly disputed by some eagle-eyed, warm-hearted soul who saw the glory from another angle. There were so many moun tain peaks—it was a regular Himalayan range, not capped with the “eternal snows” but crowned with the Heavenly warmth and beauty and grandeur and glory breaking continually in wondrous splendor from over the Everlasting Hills! A majority, perhaps, would vote for the hour when John Clifford delivered his mar velous manifesto, a part of which we pub lish on an other page; some would possibly mention first the Alliance sermon by the great Welsh preacher, Thomas Phillips, of London, wherein we learned that “Grace outloves Love itself,” others would place the palm on the hour when the great hearted English Secretary, J. H. Shakespeare pre sented one by one to the tearful cheering au dience the heroic souls from European and Asiatic lands, many of whom “bore in their bodies the marks of the Lord Jesus” —hav- ing suffered worse than death for Christ and His Hruth, —the hour when Vining’s sacred flame of eloquence swept the enchained au dience afresh into tears and cheers, and F. B. Meyer led in raising $70,000 to help build the Baptist University in St. Petersburg or Moscow. Some would place the emphasis on the hour for “Christian Education” when Dr. E. M. Poteat, President of Furman University, closed the discussion, or rather brought on an inspiring symposium by the greatest 20- minute speech of TRUTH and brilliant elo quence that was made during the whole Al liance. Still others would declare that tne most vital hour was Saturday night, when “The Church and the working man” was the ATLANTA, GA., JULY 6, 1911 theme, and Prof. Walter Rausenbusch, one of the greatest Christian Sociologists in the world closed the discussion with a trumpet call to the Church of Christ to hurry out to meet the every-day needs of the working man. Still again, many enthusiastic hearers would declare that the greatest hour of the Alliance came with the almost matchless Sunday morning message of President E. Y. Mullins on “The Lordship of Jesus.” With many devout souls the service on “Consecra tion” the last Sunday afternoon would be counted the best of all—the service that was Sfe * ME .. . DR. ROBT. STUART MacARTHUR, President Baptist World’s Alliance. •V closed by our own Dr. L. G. Broughton in a characteristic address of pointedness, pathos and power. And still again, those who love the climax of Climaxes, the wonderful closing hour on Sunday night would be crowned the grandest hour of all —the hour which no de scription can describe, when the only George W. Truett that the world has today, thrilled as only Truett can, four thousand people—sit ting, standing, smiling, crying, rejoicing over the duty that Baptists owe to America —and then when, everybody in that great throng took somebody by the hand and sang “Blest be the tie that binds Our hearts in Christian love.” MacArthur an Ideal World-President. But we frankly believe that, very close to the greatest, most far-reaching hour of the Alliance Was the announcement of the elec tion of the new President. The atmosphere was tense with expectancy. Russell H. Con well, the golden-hearted colossus who, under God, built the great Temple where we were meeting, mounted the stage and talked as only Conwell can of perfect peace and har mony in such a gathering. Nobody but the committee knows who has been nominated, but let us all agree that if the committee re ports unanimously we, too, will unanimously indorse their unanimous action.” Now who could resist such an appeal ? And it was so agreed. When the name of Dr. Robert Stuart Mac Arthur was called there was a burst of enthusiasm. Indeed, there would have been great enthusiasm if the name of Dr. E. Y. Mullins, or any other hon ored leader had been called—for the spirit of brotherly unanimity was in the air. But it was argued by many of Dr. Mullins’ warmest friends that even ten years from now when the Alliance is expected to meet again in America—doubtless in Louisville—Dr. Mul lins will then be several years younger than Dr. Mac Arthur is now. And while Dr. Mul lins at the head of the Southern Baptist The ological Seminary will be training young men to help “bring in the kingdom,” Dr. Mac Ar thur, rich in years and abundant in labors and powers—resigning Calvary pulpit where he has preached the gospel with such power for more than forty years, will spend his time largely in world-wide travel, studying the interests of the World Alliance and try ing to secure absolute religious liberty, not only for Baptists, but for Christians of every name in every land. Perhaps no other man in America was quite so well equipped for this high position of honor and influence as Robert Stuart Mac Arthur. In addition to his gift of eloquence, his wideness of culture and wideness of travel, making him already a world-figure, those who have known him for a generation declare that he is renewing his youth every day and is at the very zenith of his powers. Verily, it is the beautiful crowning of the evening of a grandly useful life. The Golden Age especially congratulates its readers on the enlarged opportunity which Dr. Mac Arthur will have for enriching them through our columns. He has long been one of our special contributors, and The Golden Age family will eagerly follow him now on his world-wide mission. ONE DOLLAR AND FIFTY CENTS A YEAR :: FIVE CENTS A COPY