The Changing Times by W. W. P.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jul 8, 1909

“The Changing Times”

By W. W. P.

THERE are thoughtful men who clearly perceive that in this generation marvelous transformations have been made, and who unconsciously bear testimony to the fulfillment of prophecy in preparation for the second advent. Such men do not incur the charge of attempting to interpret the situation in such a way as to harmonize with preconceived theories, but they frankly state the simple facts in the case. Of this class is Mr. Justice Brewer, of the United States Supreme Court, who in a recent article, under the heading, “The Changing Times,” describes in a forcible way some of the contrasts between the present and the near past. From this article we take these paragraphs:—

Wealth is piling up in such enormous sums that Croesus and Lucullus would be unnoticed among multimillionaires. All these changes are moving with increasing velocity, and that which to-day seems to be the summit of advance is to-morrow almost forgotten in the rapid unfoldings of something new.

It must be conceded that theology is at a discount; that creeds and forms of worship are losing their hold; that sectarian differences do not impress as they did; that neither Protestants, Catholics, nor Jews are as tenacious of their doctrinal beliefs, their church organizations, or their modes of worship. In other words, the domination of theological doctrines has largely passed away. It is not merely that the fire of persecution has died out, but also the intensity of conviction which brought about persecution.

We stand amazed in the midst of these marvelous changes, and wonder if this progress is to continue, and whether in these rapid changes is to be found evidence of a decaying moral sense, an uplifting of the material above the spiritual, and a splendor and a luxury which precede national decay and ruin.

This closing sentence brings forcibly to mind prevailing conditions in the Roman republic in the immediate period preceding its fall, and is an emphatic suggestion that the downfall of the world is an impending calamity. W. W. P.