The Purpose of the Conference
By W. F. Martin
[Mr. W. F. Martin is Religious Liberty Secretary for the Northwest, and is thoroly conversant with religio-political agitation of the present day.] THE second World's Christian Citizenship Conference is a thing of the past. It occurred to the writer that the readers of the “Signs” might be interested in some observations on the conference, taken by one who was in daily attendance at the meetings; one who had watched for more than a year the preparation for the great gathering, and had taken careful note of the subjects assigned, as well as of those who were to speak. All of this viewed in the light of the fulfilment of prophecy made the gathering one of supreme interest. It had been hoped by the promoters of the meeting that the attendance would reach twenty or thirty thousand. It was hoped to have more than ten thousand delegates, and that these with the visitors would bring the number up to the above-named figures. These anticipations, however, were not realized. It is not known just how many delegates were in attendance from outside the city of Portland, but the average attendance of these, with the local delegates and visitors, composed a daily attendance of from three to four thousand in the afternoons, to seven or eight thousand in the evenings. A few evenings it was more than this, and the congregation at the last meeting was estimated at fifteen thousand. The forenoon was devoted to sectional conferences held in the leading churches of the city. The afternoon and evening meetings were held in the stadium of the Multnomah athletic field. The forenoon meetings were devoted to the discussion of specific themes on which the leaders of the conference thought reforms were called for. These embraced such subjects as “Intemperance,” “Prison Reform,” “Social Purity,” “Public Education,” “The Sabbath,” and other topics. The discussions at these meetings were open to any who wished to speak, whether or not the speakers agreed with the ideas presented by those having the meeting in charge. In the main, all speakers were kindly received and treated with Christian courtesy. At these sectional meetings one could get more of the drift and real purpose of the conference. As is well known, the conference was promoted by and held under the auspices of the “National Reform Association.” The avowed purpose of this association is to promote needed reforms in the “government touching the Sabbath, the institution of the family, the religious element in education, . . . and to secure such an amendment to the Constitution of the United States as will declare the nation's allegiance to Jesus Christ, and its acceptance of the moral laws of the Christian religion and to indicate that this is a Christian nation, and to place all the Christian laws, institutions, and usages of our government on an undeniable legal basis in the fundamental law of the land.” These ideas and purposes were manifest more or less in all the meetings, and especially so in the forenoon sectional conferences. Again, in the addresses of the noted speakers from abroad there was not so much said about religious legislation, but when one of the full-fledged “National Reformers” would speak, there was always manifested the idea that religious legislation should be sought for, and if this could be secured, the kingdom of Christ would be ushered in. It was openly advocated that the Christian religion should be taught in the public schools, and that the sanctity of Sunday should be guarded by legislation. It was also taught that Jesus Christ should be recognized as the ruler of the nation, and to place this beyond dispute, the national Constitution should so declare. Viewed from the standpoint of true Americanism, this has too much of the old church-and-state theory. Many good things were said at the conference, and it was apparent that there was an honest desire on the part of the leaders to stem the awful tide of evil that is sweeping in upon the world, and yet, they should know that this can not be done by legislation. The kingdom of Christ comes not that way. There is only one power that can permanently check sin. That is the power of the Holy Spirit. “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.” “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood.” We fear the lesson has not yet been learned that “all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” One of the speakers said, “A storm of atheism is sweeping over our land.” The remedy proposed was to Christianize our government by recognizing God and Christ as sovereigns and rulers, and placing the name of God in the national Constitution. Near the close of the meeting, at the time of taking up a collection, a statement was made that revealed the immediate purpose of the conference as applied to the future. It was stated that the money collected would be used for the following purposes: - To put the Bible in the public schools where it is not now, and to keep it in the schools where it has already been placed.
- To suppress Mormonism.
- To secure a uniform marriage and divorce law.
- To secure legislation closing the gates of the Panama Exposition on Sunday.
- For a general propaganda of the National Reform doctrines.
As a closing observation the writer will say that many things sought by the conference are commendable, and the integrity of the promoters is unquestioned, and yet, it was apparent that altogether too much stress was laid upon the social service side, and as a result, too little attention was given to the actual motive power that must lie at the very basis of all reformations, the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. This is well stated in the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, “Not by might [margin, army], nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts.”