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2 WHAT A CHRISTIAN’S ATTITUDE SHOULD BE ‘ WHAT SHOULD BE THE CHRISTIAN’S ATITUDE TOWARD THE CHAPMAN-ALEXANDER MEETINGS, THE MEN AND RE LIGION FORWARD MOVEMENT, AND CHIEF BEAVERS?” WAS THE THEME OF DR. WHITE’S ADDRESS SUNDAY NIGHT AT TABERNACLE BAPTIST CHURCH. The text was Isaiah 5 :20, “ Woe unto them that call evil good ind good evil; that put dark ness for light and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter." Tie said in part: “It is the duty of every Christian to con demn the unkind criticisms of Chief Beavers, the Men and Religion Committee, and the Chap man meeting. While I am not personally ac quainted with the chief of police, I have care fully marked his career. I was a member of the National Committee of the Men and Relig ion Forward Movement, and have kept in sym pathetic touch with the work in Atlanta. I am heart and soul in the Chapman-Alexander meeting. The criticisms of Dean Atkinson, of St. Phil lips Episcopal church, are a regrettable affair. His motive is hard to unravel. His alignment with the forces of evil is surprising. In pro nouncing his criticism against many great and noble agencies for good, he takes an occasion to defend the public dance hall. Surely he must have been suffering at that moment from some mental aberation. or was acting as jes ter in King Arthur’s court. The public ought not take the dean seriously. The history of the public dance hall is too weP known to allow of advocacy by people who love virtue and young womanhood. Mrs. Whit temore after careful investigation, declared that ninety per cent of fallen women were led astray in the public dance hall. It is prepos terous to think that a teacher of morals would advocate the maintenance of such a menace to public good. The dean has serious objection to Dr. Chap man’s methods. He tries to be facetious when he talks about “snivelling young men going down the saw-dust trail.” He makes little of all appeals to the emotional nature, and then he throw's the entire meeting overboard be cause the popular quotation, “Get right with God,” has been placed in conspicuous places. I am glad to say that many splendid young men have come forward confessing their sins and their faith in Jesus Christ. No nobler act will they ever do than this. Dr. Chapman as an evangelist is a world figure; the best known and most universally loved evangelist living. He is a man of cul ture.- is gentle, and tender, and strong. He is a fearless and powerful preacher of the Word of God. Mr. Alexander is likewise a world figure. Their methods are sane and unobjec tionable. The dean objects to the use of the name of Father in the sentence “Get right with God.” Tn the same utterance, he invites everybody to hear him on “get right about God.” His contention shows the modern trend of thought. Dr. Chapman, when he says “Get right with God,’ asserts his belief in personal experience; direct soul dealing with God. Dean Atkinson, when he says “Get right about God,” asserts his belief in a theory, or mental attitude, to ward God. Dean Atkinson is very modern, not neec^sarilye.scholarly. Dr. Chapman is old fash ioned, ancMjelieves in regeneration, “old-time THE GOLDEN AGE religion,” and a present salvation and a fu ture heaven and hell because the Bible says so. He believes that sins is more than a theory —an awful fact. He believes that the individ ual must have to do with God. Therefore, the call, “Get right with God.” And those who do not get right with God will call for the rocks and mountains ti hide thdm from His face. Dean Atkinson- must be allowed freedom of speech. The public likewise must not sit quiet ly under Ins criticism of our distinguished guests. It must be said in all fairness that he has not shown brotherly kindness nor interest in the salvation of men, but has made an at tack which is well timed to divert attention from the great purpose of the revival, namely, saving of the people, by his criticism of meth ods Who cares how a child is saved from a burning building, just so he is saved? All men, even the dean, would applaud the saviors. Why in the name of common sense will men be less interested in the saving of the moral lives and souls of multudes? The dean has been pleased to call upon the ad men to suppress the utterances of the Men and Religion Committee. He boldly states that they have slandered the mayor and are unworthy of the city. This criticism is an effort to de>- stroy the greatest agency for good that Atlan ta has ever had. The men composing the com mittee do not want office. They freely give of their money and time to the common good, and what they have accomplished hrs advertised Atlanta more favorably than all the boasting of pomp and power. They have had to put the knife in deep, but this was necessary surgery to let out the virus which, if left, would spoil all. They knew the enemy and could not af ford to give him quarters. Atlanta will be a better and greater city because of the Men and Religion Committee. The party or parties who seek to suppress their utterances, ally themselves with the element that wants an open town. Chief Beavers, by his unflinching loyalty to duty and fearless performance of same, has endeared himself to all lovers of truth and sobriety and virtue in the whole land. I take off my hat to him tonight, and hail him as the hero of the great moral battle which has been waged in Atlanta for the last two years. He has not perjured himself by violating bis oath of office. Tie has been fearless and feared. He has boldly defied the underworld crowd, mak ing his office a sacred truth. And now, in the midst of the supreme effort of his enemies to displace him, he issues orders which will make the locker clubs dry on Sunday. The dema gogue would call this chief a fool, but good citizens must hail him as the “Stonewall Chief of Atlanta.” This action of our chief brings a second in dictment against the locker clubs. They al ready stand indicated before the public of vio lating the state prohibition law by the fact that they have taken out federal liquor license which is prima facie evidence of guilt. The action of the chief indicts them of violating a well known state law which forbids the sale of any intoxi cating drinks on Sunday. This attack from a surprising source upon the forces of righteousness and the efforts to discredit Chief Beavers are thrilling calls for the Christian manhood and womanhood of this city to assert itself and to do even more dras tic work in the enforcement of the law. The supreme duty of the church of God at this mo ment is to put on her strength and to go forth as a mighty conquering host. It is a call for the conscience quickened. We have sat still too long under the enemy’s criticisms. It is time for every friend of righteousness to speak out. It calls for consecration sensible. It is not enough to just sing songs and say prayers. Up, oh church of God, and defend the right It calls for concentration of forces. There should be now a union of all Christian denom inations on these great moral issues. The weakness in former days has been the want of co-operation among the different denominations. Just now there is a great battle on in New York City. The Christian forces, led by Rev. James V. Chalmers, Vicar of the Holy Trinity church in New York, are attacking Mayor Mit chell and Commissioner Woods for their failure to close the saloons on Sunday. Strong reso lutions have been adopted, and the church peo ple of New York are indigrrant over the atti tude of the mayor and the commissioner in re gard to enforcing this law. The mayor’s an swer to the ministers’ resolution is that he adopted the policy of outward decency and in ward order. The Vicar replied that he was not elected judge nor legislator to make or weaken the law at his pleasure, but was elected and took the oath to enforce the law. To the anar chy of the nullification of the state law the mayor adds the sin of hypocrisy of pretending to close the front of the building and allow business to be done in the rear. In the end, the Christian forces will win. There will not be a saloon in the city of New Y 7 ork City ten years from today. Not a greasy one with its sawdust floors in the Bowery, nor a gilded one on Fifth avenue. Our battle to enforce the prohibition law U more important than the battle in New Y r ork to close saloons on Sunday. It is our duty to see to it that the chief of police has the heart iest and most persistent co-operation of all Christian forces in his effort to close the locker clubs on Sunday. More than that, it is our duty to see to it that the locker clubs which are notorious law breakers should be closed at once and forever. Such talk as that indulged in by Dean Atkinson and the attitude of many of the officials and citizens in higher places toward enacted law are sufficient to create a spirit of anarchy and to breed lawlessness for which the state and country at large will have to pay dearly. People who claim to reverence God must respect law and obey it. Yiy appeal is to the Christian conscience for consecration to a definite purpose, and concen tration of forces to accomplish that purpose, (Continued on page 16.) March 4, 1915