Newspaper Page Text
By REV. JOHN E. WHITE,
PASTOR SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH
A MAN OF MARK
By REV. JAMES W. LEE,
PASTOR TRINITY METHODIST CHURCH
There must be fact* with thought In
them before there can be any science
ae sutfely as at a lower level of exist
ence there must be material objects
with carbon In them before there cgn
be any fire.
Bare, empty, unrelated fac ts, even If
any such were adrift on the sea of
being, could never get Into the porta of
the human understanding. The harbors
of the mind afford no shelter for law-I
Isas tramps sailing the deep without
a flag and without a cargo.
Suppose the 50,000,000 of letters con
tained In the words of an unabridged
dictionary should by some mysterious
process lose all at once their relations
to one another, and Instead of falling
Into 2d divisions, should assume as
many shapes us there are letters, each
different from the rest, and all mean-
Inglesf. what student could express
‘bought through them or receive
thought from them? Conceived by the
mind and by It given form and sig
nificance, they can be used by the mind
for the expression of Ideas.
Buppose all the Atoms in the entire
sum of material things should lose
their affinities, qualities and specific
gravities and Instead of arranging
themselves in seventy classes should
assume ranks equal to the whole num
ber of elements in the universe, each
different from the others, each with
no relation binding it to the others,
each turning itself Into a little, lone,
refractory self-centered point separat
ing It from the others, and all together
making an illimitable mub of pulver
ised indistinguishable particles, how
cauld the universal mind express
through them the thought man has
organized Into modern chemistry?
I.
The thought in facts the mind finds
available for science is just their kinship
to one another. In losing their rela
tions they lose their intelligible ex
istence. All 111 a fact the mind can
grasp and turn into science Is its re
lations. Strip ft of these unci It Ik no
longer Intelligible, and for the mind
no longer exists. NVc m'e forced to
think of all things as standing togeth
er in a small system we call the uni
verse. The parts of this are necessarily
related, or together they would not
make the cosmos, but chaos. Facts,
however, lire to l»e distinguished from I one may use to describe Its functions,!
their relations. The outside of objects bul he should not be misled into sup-
we may call the facts of -them and the
inside the relations of them. The dif
ference made In thought between the
outer aud inner side of facts is due
to the mental doorways, known us sen
sibility Hnd reason through which all
objects pass into thu mind. The purl
of an object the sensibility admits is
the fact of It, the part the reason ad
mits consists of the relations of it.
Sensibility, the servant who opens the
outer door, does not know anything but
facts; reason, the master who opens
Hu- second door, does not know any
thing hut relations. By sensibility
things are apprehended, by reason they
Are comprehended. Sensibility fee;s
facts, reason thinks them. Henslblllty
I* a photographer and takes pictures,
reason Is* an. artist und creates them.
posftig that they cut ft Ifke bulkheads
do a ship into distinct and separate*
compartments. The conscious self uses
the mind through Its different modes
of activity to get out of the facts that
surround It what there Is in them for)
the whole of life.
The different sides of a fact come j
before different departments of the
mind for consideration. The relations
of u are dealt with by the Intellect, the
value of It Is appraised by the desire,
while the work Involved In getting pos
session of It is turned over to the will.
Through the different administrations
defined by the terms Intellect, desire
on.! will, the self estimates, appreciates
and appropriates to Its uses the facts It
finds around it. Intelligence, desire
and will are tin* mental organs by i
means of which tftie self digests, nsslm-
Henslbllity merely hears the waves t j| u t#*< and changes Into the forms of its
failing agujnst thc Hhores of the m j n £ [ Interior life the entire context of facts
* " * of every grade and range necessary to
from the depths of sound, but reuion
takes their pitch and measure and mel
ody to use in building a ship of song.
Wool on tile sheep's back Is u fact to
sensibility, to reason it is so many rr-
Isted threads for Inducing wild beasts
from the jungle?* to harmless pictures
in rugs. To sensibility an Iren moun
tain is an enormous something occu
pying space, to reason it Is a huge pile
of related dements for chains ami an
chors and bridges. lJy the use of sight
and thought one might take a xvntcli out
of a Jeweler's showcase and put it In his
mind, but If he is to secure a round
box of mechanism to murk off the
hours of the day, he mur.t pay the cosh
for It ami put it in his pocket. Images
and relations keep no record of the
movement*. That is done by the
beating heart of the watch throbbing
second by second In line with the re
volving heavens.
In the process of transferrlna the
watch from the allow case to the pocket
the whole mind of the self-conscious J
person Is engaged. Through the di
vision called the intellect lie thinks
it. Through the division called desire
ants it, and through the division
its equipment und fumUhment. Out
of the relations embodied In facts the r
self working through the mind as in-|
telltgence makes science out of the as- j
sential content of facts, the self work- i
Ing through the mind as dcsiro up- j
praises values, and the self working j
through the mind as will turns science i
und values to account in the activities)
of the practical life. If the mind had ,
no function except Intelligence, the.
self, like u Hindu Brahmin, would do
nothing but think, If the mind had no)
function except desire, the self, like a J
polyweg, would do nothing hut appro
priate, and If tht mind hud no func
tion ex> ept will, the seif, like a ehicken
ul»h Its head cut off, would do nothing
but lump up und down.
All facts contained hi the inimitable
store Imuse of the universe are either
material or human or divine. They
may be put Int i three classes ami
represented as belonging to the one
dellned by the term nature, or man. or
God. it is not to he supposed, how
ever, that these* descriptive words di
vide Into hard and distinct divisions
REV. JAMES W. LEE.
tills point of view
the facts of nature
vine aud human
which God expressei
which man receive
ve might say that
constitute the dl-
atplfahet, through
thought and from
The seventy
he wants if. and through Hie division flU t « r .„. W !iich u„.y *tatid. They enly bodies a
ihi* Will )1- I'U.VK for it am pink. jam slmulj for fOnv. ttlepi o In thinking. I <,mj\ Th. ri
eta It. Throughout the transaction the <j tH | credits nature and man, and Is live* j animal orgar
whole self acts, now through tin
telllgeme, now through the desire and
original elements of nature
rlously related and thus embody the
thought the student arranges Into phys
ics and chemistry. The relations rec
ognised In the mqffenifnts of the heav-
wrltten out In astion^
relations among plant and |
. — ganlsms are translated intoi**
thin point of j bhdoKy. Out of the facts of nature the j l* ;
.. ... nit.* rather of the human race.
! As eternal intelligence, He thinks all
i things; as eternal will, lit guides them,
• and as eternal love, He seeka to edu
cate, discipline and redeem His chil
dren. IH the revelation He makes of
, Himself ( in nature, In the structure of
; the human spirit, in history, in Hcrip-
; ture, and in life, man finds the thought
, out of which he formulates his the-
J olugies. But there are other great
t facts which contain thought available
for science, besides those furnished by
! nature considered In Itself alone, or
. by humanity considered In itself alone,
mu* by God considered in Himself alone.
| For Instance, there are compound facts
! that are not In nature alone, nor In
| man nlotie. but result from a partner-
| ship between somo original human
i quality and some natural current of
j Influence. There Is vision. It Is not In
1 the eye alone nor In the light
) alone; It is a compound fact formed by
I the union of the sun's rays and the
! mechanism of sight. Hearing Is a dou-
ble fact and represents the experience
I wo have when the auditory nerves
I trade with the nerves of the Atmoe-
i phere. Breathing is a dual experience
j that comes from the continuous traffic
between the air and the lungs. Physl-
I cal strength Is a fact due to the union
of hunger and food.
Besides these facts, which owp their
existence to something human get-*
t(ng* into association with something
natural, there are those which are due
to something human getting Into co
partnership with something dtvlne.
Know ledge is a fact made up of Inside
faculty and outside thought. Music Is
a fact due u> the sense of harmony in
man. combined with th* notes lodged
in objects outside of him. Morality Is
a fact, one-hulf of which consists* of
the human will and the other half of
divine law. Uellglon Is a fact, the hu
man half of which is found In the re
ilgfous sense, and the divine half of
which Is found In the revelation God
makes of Himself.
The universe of facts man faces com
bine to define the place und signifi
cance and worth of his life. Tin* whale
Is defined by a square mile of ocean.
acre of meadow and the
man Is to tit# universe, w hat he is by f pics he prefaced a Message to the Ko
hls intellect to the relations of it, what man senate just before he committed
he is by tills desire to the value of it, suicide with the words, "May all the
what he is by Ills will lo the reproduc- gods nnd goddesses, |f there be any,
now through the w ill. Not only is tii«* j tllx lm*. Man grasps the meaning of j the physical sciences,
wllole self engaged in the performance, ... 1 ~-
but employs the whole mind In think
ing the watch, the whole mind In
desiring it. and the whole mind In pos
sessing it.
For convenience in thinking. It Is
astl enough to divide the mind into so-
•allecl faculties ami name them intel
lect. desire and will. The?
ure ! thought Is obtained with which to build squirrel by a tree of hickory nuts. But
nature and God, and appropriates the
value of ihe one ami the love of the
other. So, from this point of \lew,
we might say that all facts are human.
Nature Is onl> u v.tat scene of blind,
unconscious elements and forces Old
uses to writ#* out the literature of His
Hie Irstructlon nnd enrich
terms j ment of man, His child
IF WE WERE ALL INDIANS
Bv CAROLINE PRES9OTT.
"You are an Indian," I said to my I
friend the other day, after she had done j
something that was particularly sav- j
age. "You’re an Indian, and nothing)
e!*e In the world."
What do you think her answer was*;!
“I’m not an Indian,” was her reply. ‘
"I only with 1 were. Do you think)
what I'd do if I were an Indian?”
I don't know, but I could pretty near
guess.
• In the first place l would be able to
■jlipense with gloves that make my
'.and* sweat, and I should wear nice
10ft moccasins In Place of patent
icgtktr shoes that make my feet (ctl
as though they were in frying pans.
And there would be no Dngn band
around making a noise when I chose to
eat In a restaurant- 1 would not have
to dodge auiumnbill* if I were an
Indian, nor get the fillings shaken out
of my teeth by tiding in one. I
wouldn't have to wear a veil to keep
my hair from flying, and I wouldn’t
have to spend my week's salary for
Marcel waves and manicures. I should
not have to subscribe to a fashion mag
azine to keep up with the styles, be
cause, if I were an Indian. I could wrap
a blanket around me In the void
eather and discard it and nearly ev- I
"And If I were an Indian I w ould start
out right'away to get even with some
people. The first out* i should tackle
would he the end-seat hog In the sum
mer car*. Now all I can do Is to come
down hard on Ids toes with my mili
tary heels as 1 climb over him to a
seat. Then I should get after that oth-
| nothing less than the whole sum of
Humanity ns parceled out In hull- thing Is sufficient to spell out the In-
v(duals, living together In a state of. finite meaning of man. A flower is the
society, discloses various relations.! outside, diffused, unorganized rieflni-
which are organized Into the science* j ti'*n of a butterfly, and a butterfly Is
of sociology, political economy, juris- ! the inside, pulsating, flying definition
prudence and ethics. * of a flower. In the fin wet- the buttar-
God as the Infinite, self-conscious, fly blooms. In the butterfly the flor/ef
self-determining, seljf-actlve Treat or. Is • takes wings. What a thing Is to un-
not the lone, cold, unrelated Absolute. ( other, that It Is within Itself. What
the other, and Jab right mid left in my
effort to have my light to he free from
the Interference of other |a.*ople.
"I would get »mt my war paint and
begin to wij>e people off the face of
the earth. I would commence on the
girl who sometimes waits upon me for
luncheon. She ueeda wiping off the
face of the earth If any one ever did.
She wears a j*)iiipadi*ur as does the
in
gutter* and then deposits Ilm en the
reut, so that he con wipe his muddy
feet on the clothing of the other pas
sengers.
"After I had finished three two 1
should turn my attention to the mo-
tonnan who starts the car with such
a jerk that he lands all the ittMeitgers
In a heap on the floor. After him the
smart elevator boy who is full of the
same tricks.
I would lead the simple life with a
though they were conferring a great
favor, and Iasi, but not least. I should
commit justifiable homicide upou a
man who sat next to me all the way
out to Craig street the other night. He
had been eating onions and drinking
whisky, and he yawner! every five min
utes. Oh. I’d be pretty busy if I were
an Indian!"
I wonder If we arc not all more or
less Indians. 1 fear that all of us agree
with the girl, though some of us do not
express ourselves quite so forcibly
tlon of It, what he Is in himself.
The constituent elements of man'
have been enumerated as body, mind
and spirit. But these terms Hre not to
be taken as representing distinct dl
visions In the one self, bul merely us
convenient phrases used to describe
threo phases of the one personality,
From the standpoint of breathing an
imated dust man is body, from the
standpoint of perceiving reasoning
tlvlty he Is mind, from the standpoint
of capacity to live a universal and holy
life he Is spirit. As body he passes
and perishes and sinks In the earth, as
mind he projects himself In literature
Hnd lives through time, its spirit he
unites himself with Ood and Jives
through eternity.
Man as spirit Is the real, comprehen
sive all-inclusive self, of which body
and mind ure but different aspects.
Body and mind are engaged In a per
petual warfare for mastery the one
ovey the other until they are reduced
to terms of service and loyalty and
unity In the wholeness and Integrity of
man as a spirit. The body cannot as u
rebel live a life of meie animality
without making the mind a slave of
lust and passion. Even If It were pos
sible for him to become a complete
animal he would lose whatever pleas
ure there is In being an itnlmal. In
coming uown w ith Ills outfit of mind
und spirit Into the body to find enter-
tulmnent. he overworks and deranges
it. He misses the limited pleasure It is
able to furuish when properly used
by forcing It Into a strange and wild
and lawless activity that destroys It.
A hoy wants no more power to run a
flutter mill than he can get by holding
up the spring branch by means of u
diminutive dam. ‘>ne turn of the Cor
ies* engine would obliterate his toy
and bring him pain instead of delight.
The bird greets the opening day with
a tiny streum of ineiody that gives to
the morning one of its brightest and
sweetest Items, but think of an orches
tra composed of five hundred members
coming with thetr souls full of song
to force through the throat of a bird
the sweep and wonder of Hrudel Mes
siah It would be ns easy to compress
an oratorio Into the cry of it bird as
to satisfy mind and spirit in the
poverty-stricken compas.i of the body.
It was the attempt to do this that
brought the Emperor Tiberius, the most
accomplished ruler Rome ever had, to
a very hell of agony and despair. Writ
ing from his place of resort near Na-
riamn me a thousand fold worse than I
am damned If I know* what to say to
you." In triumphing over the mind
the body defeats hself, degrades the
mind and corrupts the spirit, but the
complete triumph of the mind over the
body, In the sense that a Hindu monk
triumphs over It. while not so disas
trous ns the enslavement of tile tnlnd
by the body?'11 still the arrest and de
feat of life. The body is the seat of
desire, and If by the entire conquest «>f
the mind this aspect of the personal
self should utterly be eliminated, then
man would be like » watch with no
spring in It, or an engine with no steam
in it, or a trolley with no lightning
In it, or a solar. system with no sun to
heat It. ,\ero permitted himself to be
consumed in h conllagruticn of desire,
The kind of force that flamed In the
body of the emperor, St. Paul convert
ed inio the light and energy of his
spirit. Without desire Nero would
never have burned Rome and killed
himself. Without desire St. Paul would
never have planted the Christian
church In Europe. Had there been no
desire there would have been no sin;
had there been no desire there would
have been no holiness.
The disruption of the personal self
into body with Its desires seeking im
mediate gratification and Into mind
fighting a losing battle against them,
poisons the spirit und arrests the pur-
pore of human, existence. The whole
universe of facts can only be digested,
appreciated and appropriated by man
when he meets It In the Integrity of
himself as a spirit, whose temporary
home is the body and whose. Instru
ments of achievement are found In the
mind. It is only when we think of man
us a comprehensive spiritual unity with
body aud mind as subordinate elements
of it, that we can regard him as the
human half of the sum of things placed
over ujuinst him. As mere body he is
hu animal and call.* for what matches
his simple nnd limited necessities, a?
r.g»re mind acting through body he Is
an unnatural animal, and In addition
to what he needs he calls for what de
grades him. But when he stands In
the presence of the heavens and tin*
earth a whole and unbroken spiritual
self he finds all the facts they contain
und all the thought they embody and
all the values they represent open and
accessible to him. As a finite spirit he
associates then in term of Intelli
gence, affection and volition with ths
Infinite Spirit.
INTOXICATED MAX
SAT OX RAILROAD;
FATALLY INJURED
Special to The Georgian.
Albany, Ga., Nov. 3.—W. II. Moure, a
white man, was fatally injured yes*
l j terday by an incoming Central x pas-
QOOCHKWOOOOOOOOCKIOCKIOCOOOO \ lraln , lwo ml ,„
cry thing in the summer. If 1 were an tomahawk In one hand and a hatpin in water clerks who wait up"» y
her, don't you? Her pompadour was
so big that she had to lift it out of her!
eyes every time she wanted to i«?ok at;
anybody. That's the kind or pompa- •
dour my waitress wears. Then I would O SILVER IN BULK O.
wipe out a few of the telephone ex- j O BOUGHT FOR MINT. O j city. When first seen Moore was stt-
change operator?, and follow these u*> 0 Washington. Nov. 3.—The dl- O t | n g on the track and did not hern' the
with the people who stand on the side- J O rectors of the mint have purchfc-- Oi 7 . ” irac * anu not near u,e
walk in Cecil wav waiting for their; O ed 100,000 ounces of stiver at 71.25 £ (trains whistle. lie stated that he had
car. while the rert of us are obliged O cents an ounce to be delivered at O! been drunk and could not account for
to travel In the gutter. Then I would lO Denver; and 50,000 ougees at 71,20 _ 4l _ f
t after the high and mighty soda-id to be delivered at Philadelphia, *“ “ ““ * *
1 O to be delivered at Philadelphia. O (
hfs being on the track.
said Mitcvn U Ids horns.
EELEB NAMES
DELEGATESTOSAVANNAH
Delegates to the state reunion of
United Confederate Veterans in Savan
nah, November 13 and 14. were named
Friday evening at a meeting of Camp
A, Wheeler's cavalry. They are as fol
lows: Colonel J. P. Austin, chairman;
Major. Thomas S. Bowen. Dr. T. D.
Long!no, H. F. Lester, W. F. Shrop
shire*. Dr. W. K. Ilughen. W. C. Dod
son. Major Xathar Lyons, Major J. K.
Fain and P. L. Fuller. The delegation
will leave Atlanta In 4 special ear over
the Southern and expect * great Uws
in Fuvannali.
■■■■■■■
SATURDAY, XOVEMBKK l!rG.
of life. Up became Immediately of life. One who desire* can find out
marked man. People took notice of precisely what ChrtuP* creed la on any
him that he had been with Chrtat. It mudrm proposition Invoicing a moral
teas not the peculiar dre,* or the holy principle.
lone or any aucli external and super- ! Now, the Christian'* creed seta him
fltlal Insignia that distinguished him. apart. He believes tilings very dlf-
it was the marl; of a brand new belief, ft rent from the common codes of men.
a destlnctlvo philosophy of life, u start-) The Chitsttan'a creed consists of all
ling and original creed or duty In rela- that Christ believed and taught plus—
tlon to his fellow men. It was the j that something pin* Is very Important
mark of a new character, a soul re- It Is "plua" Christ Himself. Charlei
newed, a mind and heart divinely laid f H. Spurgeon said to his students on
hold on, that radiated a heavenly mag- ! the subject of preaching: "Load your
netlsni. It- was the mark of eatraordl- i sermon well, put In your best thought.
,01. nary conduct, of unususl behavior un- 1 your best logic, yoUr best rhetoric, and
ip, that Jesus ( Mist ( | #r persecution and wrong that com-j when you have shot that at your au-
hlghest and hardest peljed respect and even commanded dlence, before you quit, ram yourself
praise. Tis'.e things betrayed him. So I and all that you are in and shoot that
dlstlnotly at Antioch did the singular!- at them."
ty of the apostles In these respects ap- I Jesus Christ gave to this world HI*
peur that the jieople of that city point- I hlghast truth. Hla clearest revelation
ed at them and gave them their name! In thoughts that awakened and In
"Christlanans! (3irlatlanans!" that Is, words that made tile human heart burn
Christians. It would have b.en far; and then, like Pallsay, the artist, w ho
more remarkable If men who became threw himself Into the furnace to bring
embodiments of the principles and ex- j out the supremest tints upon the porce-
"What do-ye- morn titan others?”
Matthew v:47.
It was not In tfie' high tide of hi*
popularity when all the world seemed
going after Him and when lie might
have been bold ahd exacting: It was
not at tha and when all the world
seemed going against Him, and when
He might have been desperate nnd
defiant; but It was at the very begin
ning of HI* mission, when a mere man
would have made fair weather for hint- i
self and hla cauae,
eat up the very
■tandarde of Hla kingdom.
What does this fact signify? It
signifies that theae standards were not
an after-thought or a development, but
that they ate primary and fundamental.
It signifies that In the divine order Ihey
are not the^thlng* that are to he agreed
e« In #(.« m, as! sat In ox Ufa * IllUUtl HUrUlH UL Ull* |ll 11111^1' ' «»*«» M* llir »U|'l fllirrt UHJ
to after awhile In the Christian lire, n f t ^ e rharaetpr of Jesus Thrlst lain. <'hr|t;| Itun* Himself and every
when the fires of human nature have
burned low, bat are to be submitted to
at the outset of the Christian life us
the vital, essential and practical laws
of that life.* In short, that there can
be no Christianity, corporate or per
sonal, where\they aV« despised or dis
regarded. .
Christ began Ills ministry of teach
ing by explaining and defining what
should be the creed, the character and
the conduct of those who were to be
His disciples. First,’ lie went to the
highest social and religious rank, then
In the world about Him, and directed
attention to the ethical weaknesses of
those who made great claims for them
•elves, and said: “Verily I say unto yoi
except your righteousness exceed the
rlghteovBneea of the scribes and Phari
see* ye shall In no wise enter Into the
kingdom of God.”
Then He went to the other extreme,
the bottom tank of society, and with
characteristic consideration for those
who are despised among men. He
pointed, out the Publicans. "If ye, my
disciples, are kind and good only to
those who ure kind nnd good to you, in
what are you better than the most tie-
graded class among you? Do not the
Publicans that well? If you ure to
do just as well as the Publicans, who
have no religion, what better is your
religion than no religion at ail. What
do ye more than others?"
The disciples of Christ nre then to
be better than the world’s had men
and better titan the world's best men.
There are forty thousand Christians
In Atlanta, six hundred thousand in
Georgia, and twelve millions in the
South, who, at the present time, need
nothing so much as to be aroused to
the trutli and Its Imperious obliga
tion that to be a Christian means to
get out and above the crowd.
To the follower of Christ who nr-
Fepted Him ns Lord and Master, it
was made plain at once that in coming
after Christ he came under a new law
should have been able to escape dis
tinction, .than It was that such undis
tinguished Individuals as they were
should have become famous ms they
did. So It Is true now that the distinc
tion of the Christian man over the
ordinary run of humanity should be
Inevitable and unavoidable. There is a
superiority that Inheres In the Chris
tian man’logically und naturally. The
imprimatur of God Is on him. Tbe
severest indictment to be made against
r professor of the religion of Jesus is
that he esn be lost in the crowd.
There are three distinguishing facts
of the Christian life. First, his creed;
second, his character; third, his con-
Juct.
The Creed Mark.
Christianity is first a religion of be
lieving, then a religion of being, and
then a religion of doing. It Is "believ
ing" first. This Is the divine natural
order.
Nothing could be more unintelligent
than the cheap talk we heat against
"all creeds." JSvery man Ims his creed,
that Is, If he Is anything or thinks as
becomes a man. Bad men have their
creeds. The Devil has his creed. Christ
certainly had a distinct creed. He be
lieved tilings definitely. He taught
trutli In cVystals of thought—the things
He had received of His Father, in al
most every respect Christ's creed was
at variance with or u revolutionizing
extension of the religious and ethical
conceptions of His own and past uges.
In Ills one statement to the Pharisees,
"The kingdom of God is within you,”
He reversed three thousand years of
earnest religious thinking. In its spirit
most of ail Christ's ereod was diamet
rically an upscttal of the world's phil
osophy pigvatling then and since. He
hail a creed about God, u most original
and wonderful article of His creed,
that was; also u creed about man,
arcely less so. In fact, He had a
creed about practically everything flint
come* up for men to think and talk
about, relating to the ficep Issues of
thing He was upon the Cross, "and
gave H!m*elf up for us all.”
Therefore, the creed of the Christian
1* all that Christ believed and thought,
plus Christ Ilhnself, who is the center
of it all and the exhaustless source of
the energy that enables a man to
practice the great principles. This Is
the amazing wonder of the Christian's
faith. This was Paul'* creed at Cor
inth, "Jesus Christ, plus Him? What?
—Crucified!" This is the one creed
known among men that has truth as
truth, goodness as goodness, and also
Inseparable from It an efficient power
to reproduce It In the human life.
From another view the Christian's
creed Is remarkable. It goes further In
every way than human nature justifies.
It transcends natural piety, it over
leaps all conventional goodness. It Is
more generous than charity require*.
more liberal than thrift allows, more
unselfish than prudence dictates. It
risks the scorn of conservatism In every
way. It issues it* Imperative not only
for the great main programs of life,
but for every thought, every feeling,
every deed. Home one has suggested
that the difference between the moral
ity of the world and the creed of the
Christian may be Illustrated by the dif
ference between an ordinary weather
cock and the mariner's compRss. The
weather cock distinguishes only the
four quarters— dust, west, north,.south
—and by it men roughly guess lliolr
way. The mariner's compass is a much
more wonderful Instrument. It not only
gives the four cardinal point* of north,
south, east and west, but 32 points ure
exactly marked and named so that the
sailor can guide his ship with severest
Ision und find hi* way in storm
as In cairn. With ids creed there Is
la* need for a Christian ever to go
wrong.
Moreover, the creed of the Christian
Is remarkable for Its boldness. It says*
more, promises more, professes more,
hopes for more. Its claims are stupen
dous. Its pledge and provision are
glorious beyond imagination. Its pro
gram Is imperitti beyond the drealms of
REV, JOHN E. WHITE.
any conqueror.
How can a man holding such a creed
as this be a common man?
The Character Mark.
The Christian's creed fulfills Itself In
what we call Christian character. The
word becomes fiesh.
Have you ever thought this question
to it* ; humanly satisfying answer:
"What was It about Christ that gave
Him such personal peculiarity und
power?” It was His Christian char
acter. “The fullness of the God-head
dwelt In Him bodily." That is, He In
carnated Godliness or goodness. This
was His charm.
What Is It that make* a Christian?
It Is the Christ in Hint. If w© receive
Christ, Just in proportion as we do
receive Him our characters arc Chtlst-
llke. We want to get rid of the idea,
break with it utterly, that a Christian
Is Just an improved shiner. Her Is more’
and vitally more than that. The trans
fer from the kingdom of the world into
the kingdom of God takes place at the
•enter, not at the circumference, of u
man's lift*. A Christian Is a better
man from the heart out than he was
once, and than he ever could be with
out Christ. ’Tis a power outside of us
making for righteousness inside of us,
not merely by improving what is found
there, hut by the importation of a di
vine spiritual dynamic.
The wotnnn took u bit of leaven”—
took it from som-wK-**.. ••««*» *,••»
Jinto three measure* of meal till the
j whole was leavened.” The peculiar at
tractiveness of the Christian character
Js tho strangeness of a divine some
thing In a human somebody. This Is
the Christian's character mark. The
man that fills up on Christ, assimilates
the Spirit of Christ, will qeed to go t:o
further to learn the secret of personal
magnetism.-
In his remarkable tribute: to Robert
E. Lee the commander-in-chief of tho
British fcrmy, Lord Wolseley, said: "I
shall never forget his sweet, winning
smile nor his clear, honest *>es, tha*
seemed to look into your heart whilst
they searched your oraliu I have mel
many of the great men of my time, but
Lee alone Impressed mo with the feel
ing that I ‘was in the presence of a
man who was cast In a grander mould
and made of different and of flnor
metal than all other men. fie m
stamped upon my memory as a being
apart and superior to all others in
every way; a man with whom none I
ever knew, and very few of. whom * I
have read, are worthy to be classed. I
have met with two men who realize
ray ideas of what a true hero should
be; My friend, Chari*.*# ‘Chinese) Gor
don was one; General Leo was thu
bther.” *
l wonder If it did not occur, to th *
great and generous LLgllshmar that
the marvelous mesmerism of quality
that set Lee and Gordon higher than
all others in hi* admiration was not
that the fact those two men- hail In
common—the fact that they wfi > both
glprious lovers and followers of Jesus
Christ, and that it was HI* light with
in them that made them so radiant and
powerful?
Tho Mark of Good Behavior.
If Christianity Is first "believing" and
then “being,” It Is In the last and most
trying unalysls, "doing.” "What do ye
more than others?”
A Jocose friend sometime* says to
me: "Be good and you will be lone
some.” He Is right if you speak of
that peculiar goodness Christ exalted
In the sermon on the mount. The
man who will love those who do not
love hhn and pray for those who per
secute him will be gloriously alone In
the average company. I say "glorious
ly," for there is no spiritual Joy so
keen as that loneliness that result*
from superior conduct. "Had I melted
Into my surroundings life had not been
son lonely, but I lived among the star*
an abstemious ghost,” said Joaquin
Miller, writing of a period of trial In
his life. It was something to have lived
among the stars. Oh, it Is something
inexpressible for the Christian to re
fuse to melt Into his surroundings, for
it means that he dwells with Christ lu
true comradeship.
Mr. D. K. Pearsog, the Chicago mil
lionaire, addressing other millionaires,
says about this: "You fellows are
missing the fun of your life by not giv
ing away your money to build up thing*
and help humanity. Just try It.” Hnvd
you ever tried this great Joy of being
so»n*» because you jdave to be su-
I perlor to the multitude? There Is no
Joy like it. Cut right into the quick
of your human nature; go rasplngly
against ita grain. “But It hurts." "I
don't want to do It." Yea, it hurts,
hut let me tell you. If 5’ou will do It
the pang will soon turn Into a paean.
What a fetich we make of human na
ture. Judge Bleckley. In one of his
famous decisions touching the question
of' Interest charges In a law suit,
■ays; “Now, here comes Interest. In-
l rarest—a great rascal; almost if not
(always a thorough rogue." Here comes
l human nature at every turn. Human
nature! A freat rascal—almost If not
always a thorough rascal
To hear some of you talk about how
natural it is for you to think and feel
and do so and so, it would seem strange
that you don’t stop wearing clothes
because it would be so natural. "Hu
man nature” Is the demagogy of
the devil. It was to cure human nature
and make men partakers of the divine
nature that Jesus Christ came Into this
world.
The ordinary and common way of
doing in moral matters, the average
standard of -moral conduct. Is very low
(even for the publicans, not to speak of
tha Christian*.
My friends, the world lucks Just one
touch to turn it toward Christianity,
and that Is the touch of pre-eminent
Christian conduct. The Christian
ought to be a better husband and fa
ther, a better wife and mother. Thu
Christian home ought to be a finer
place than la common on the city street.
The Christian ought to be a better
business man. If hla methods of busi
ness are keyed no higher than the
tone and habit of the street, and lie is
characterized by no finer sense of duty
to truth and no keener considerations
of humanity, but is as sharp and grasp
ing as anybody else, will some one
please come to the front and tell me
what is he better than the publicans?
The story is told that a certain dis
tinguished lawyer In New York, who
was an officer In a Christian church,
was associated with ;i no less cele
brated Jewish lawyer In an Important
case. When the suit was ended In
their favor the question came up about
the fees they should charge their cli
ents. "I think It worth $5,000.” sahi
the Jew. The distinguished Christian
laughed. “You leave that to me. I'll
have you a cheek for $10,000 before
tomorrow night.” When he called on
hi* Jewish 'associate and handed him a
check for $10,000 tho Jew took It, leaned
back in his chair nnd said sardonically,
"My friend, ‘almost thou persuadest me
to be a Christian.’” I do not know
the merits of that matter, but the
comment speaks for itself.
Public Opinion.
The Christian ought to be a superior
citizen. Upon public questions, social
problems and'the issues that require
the b«t wisdom of men for their solu
tion. tho Christian can no more lay
down his first allegiance.to the spirit
of Christ than he can safely abjure Ills
faith in God on his death bed.
If a Christian man stands before me
expressing thoughts and avowing opin
ions that nre as far from what he him
self admits in the Christian point of
view as the idea of hell Is from the
idea of heaven, though he may laugh?
In my face. I dare to tell him, with'
,my back ageff»*t the throne of God and
my face toward a future that lie win
not laugh at, “You ought to be ashamed
of yourself to be a lie, a living lie,
even for the brief space of your
speech.”
B«; what Is the use, someone asks,
for us as I’hristlans to try to stand
up In opposition to the majority? Well,
what are Christians for, anyway? Be
sides. I would not say that the princi-
pal thing in a Christian's duty is to
stand up against things, but Jt is to go
in and change majorities if he ; cart: go
In and reduce them; go In and ihveeten
tho current of public opinion. B know
a great river that drags along .th^inhd
levels of North Carolina. Its 'Waters
are neither clear nor clean. At,, fre
quent Interevals in Its course then! come
thef sweet fresh creeks flowing out of
the high distant uplands. They- pour
injiheir generous sacrifice, but. do not
long seem to affect the turgid tide
that rolls muddily and moodily lu Its
stow fashion toward the sea. But you
nre greatly mistaken. Those spark)!ng
tributaries are the salvation of* that
river and of that section. The.river
would rot ere It reach the aea and scat-
tel- death through the land without
them. Where theae sweet creeks poui-
in to mingle with the muddy waters the
fish in great shoals come to spawn And
thus to make, the section prosperous.
On the banks of that river the rich fish
ermen have built their splendid homes
and erected about them the best civili
zation of the state, because those fresh
clean currents from the uplands have
been ancj are the saving health of the
Chawan’s mlnsmic flood.
Time Is the broad bed of i great
river. Public sentiment is its muddy
stream running over the low flats of
human nature, with Its mean passions
and Its selfish Ideals. But Christians
are the gracious tributaries whoso
waters, clear as crystal, proceeding out
of the throne of God and of the Lamb*
cleansed by the surifchlne of the hills of
heaven, and kissed by the freshening
flowers of grace and life. They pour
In their rivulets of Christ-llke thought
and feeling and save the world’s public
opinion from rottenness nnd death.
Little drops of water, little grains o!
sand
Make the mighty ocean and the bounte'-
ou« land.”
Only a drop of water—but be a clean
weet drop.
Only a grain of sand—but you may
be a golden grain.
"The period of life is brief;
It is the red of the red rose leaf;
It Is the gold of a sunset sky:
It is the flight of a bird on high;
But one can fill the space
With such Infinite grace.
That the red will vein all time
And the gold through ttfe ages shine
And the bird fly swift nnd straight
To the portals of God’s own gate."