THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR MOVEMENT.
By F. C. Gilbert
As WAS shown in our last paper, this movement of so-called Christian endeavor is not in harmony with the word of God; for union of church and state, with its consequent persecutions, is contrary to the teachings of the Bible. We wish to notice in this paper the origin of this “Christian citizenship” movement, where it originated, and some things it has done. It seems to have originated in the Christian Endeavor Society, as clearly shown by the following statement taken from the secretary’s report:— Let me mention now, and briefly, too, that the battle for Christian citizenship, which was begun at President Clark’s suggestion, has been fearlessly waged, and has been blessed in promoting a more intelligent spirit of patriotism. And where it began, and how long it has had an existence, is seen from the following in the president’s annual address:— When, two years ago, at Montreal, the suggestion was made to you, Endeavorers, that as individuals you had unfulfilled duties along the lines of Christian citizenship, . . . who would have believed that your response would have been so prompt? . . . How the rapid contagion of these ideas has spread from society to society, . . . from state to state and province and nation? Thus it appears that this movement of Christian citizenship was born in the Christian Endeavor Society. Now, what have they done, and how have they done it? To speak first of our efforts for a better citizenship. It behooves us to be very modest. I make no extravagant claims for the Christian Endeavor Society, but it is fair to say that the society has had no insignificant part in the general uprising of Christian8people which has buried Tammany under fifty thousand white ballots in New York City, and is now fighting an equally corrupt foe of another breed in the same state; which has voted for reform fifty thousand strong in Chicago; which is now engaged in cleansing the dirty streets and dirtier politics of other cities; and which, in a hundred places, has awakened the civic conscience and purified a fetid political atmosphere. It was a Christian Endeavorer that led the splendid work in Montreal for better government. It was the Christian Endeavor Society in Kansas that helped put legislation upon the statute books, which struck gambling and lottery a deadly blow in that state, a Christian Endeavorer drafting the bill in the exact form in which it was passed. It was the Christian Endeavorers that in Indiana helped to pass the recent local option law in that state, bringing terror and confusion to the liquor interests. Five hundred meetings of Christian Endeavorers in Chicago in one week, and similar work in New York, have helped materially to redeem those cities from corruption. Numerous other quotations might be given to show some of the workings of this “Christian Citizenship” movement, under the auspices of, and in connection with, the Christian Endeavor Society. It is certainly very clear that they have spent a great deal of time and hard labor in dirty politics, and in order to show the world the filth of it, they were obliged to go to the dens of iniquity to ferret it out. And how was this reformation in New York brought about? and what were the methods used? We all know that the great prime mover in the movement was Dr. Parkhurst; and every one knows the places visited, and the means used to bring to light the iniquity that existed at the time. Let the doctor speak for himself on that point. In a lecture delivered in Boston, April 15, 1895, before a large audience in the music hall, he said, among other things:— I would have entered into hell, if need be, to find facts to answer my challengers. And that the last Christian Endeavor convention indorsed the work of the doctor will be seen by the following:— Look at New York City. Many of the people of God saw the iniquity in high places, and sin, like a plague, destroying the city. They shook their pious heads and said: “It is really too bad. What can we do?” Dr. Parkhurst saw the same things, and he said, “What ought to be done can be done.” Just as the hosts of Midian trembled before the faith of Gideon and his three hundred, so the hosts of iniquity workers in New York trembled before the faith of Dr. Parkhurst and his followers. Such we see are some of the things done by this society, and entirely approved are all the methods pursued. Is this the way Christ worked? Did he seek to go into hell, in that way to try to overcome the devil and his wickedness? or did he follow the work which was committed to him,—the preaching of the pure Gospel of God, and seeking to lead people out from the bondage of sin? This work is surely not in harmony with Christ’s work. Therefore beware of everything that opposes the blessed Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And yet it is evident that there are many connected with the society who really believe with all the sincerity of their hearts that they are doing what they believe to be right; but, viewed from the standpoint of truth, it is in every way contradictory to the teachings and spirit of Christianity. It is further claimed that this movement arouses the principle of patriotism, and inspires in the hearts of the young people the idea that patriotism is as sacred as piety. Here is what one remarked:— We welcome you because you believe not only in the prayers and preaching of God’s house, but also in the caucus and ballot; and that the ballot box is as sacred as the ark of the covenant of God. Is not the above blasphemy? On one occasion a man tried to steady the ark of the covenant, and in so doing was put to death. Do they propose to put the ballot box in its stead and put to death those who do not conform to their ideas of things? It has already been quoted that they propose to lay aside everything that hinders the progress of the work, and go into this thing for all it is worth. This logically will demand force and violence. They will be forced to use their sword if necessary, as before quoted, a sword distinct from the word of God. And the lengths to which they are going to carry this idea of patriotism will be seen by the following from the Christian Citizen, April number:— Sermons and prayer meetings and worship begin to take the form of political activity. Yet Jesus says that the house of God is a house of prayer, and not to be used for political caucuses nor political activity. But may it not be well to ascertain what patriotism is, and see whether this is really a patriotic movement? Patriotism is the quality of being patriotic, the love of country. The genius of true American patriotism is to keep politics and religion separate. As the treaty with Tripoli said (signed by George Washington), “This country is in no sense founded on the Christian religion.” President Grant said, “Keep the state and church forever separate.” But the object of this movement is to bring about a state of things which is to lead people to believe that this nation is founded on the Christian religion, and therefore must be run by those professing religion. That this is their object, I quote from a California preacher:— If Christianity fails in America, America fails; and if America fails, humanity fails; while if we can make the United States truly Christian, we can give to Christ the sovereignty of the world. But Christ himself said that his kingdom was not of this world, and that his servants were to be separate from it; that the things that were due to Caesar were different from the things which belonged to God, and that the things which belonged to God were not to be rendered to him by or through Caesar, the civil government. This Christian citizenship movement is, therefore, against the spirit of true Americanism and its genius, and is opposed to true patriotism, and, therefore, un-American. The Constitution of the United States, as well as the Constitution of the individual states, leaves the individual with the utmost freedom to be religious or not to be, just as he chooses; for man cannot be the arbiter of conscience. Every man, as long as he conducts himself as a good citizen, according to the higher law of this country, should be left perfectly free to do as he wishes about his religion, whether he wishes to have any or not. But this Christian citizenship movement proposes to make all citizens Christians, by law at that, or to disfranchise those who will not become Christians; or, as stated in their own literature, it is not so much the good citizen they want as it is the Christian citizen. While it is right and proper that all people should be Christians, it is not the business of the religionists of this country to compel them to become so by law; for in so doing they deny every principle of right and equity, and trample upon the rights so dearly purchased, and so sacredly guarded, by the fathers of this country. In conclusion, therefore, Christian Citizenship is both anti-American and antichristian, as is also Christian Endeavor, so called, as long and as far as it unites itself to the citizenship movement. But it is perfectly plain that the Christian Endeavor Society and the Christian Citizenship movement are agreed; for, as we have seen, the latter had its conception in the former, and most of its work thus far has been under the auspices of the Christian Endeavor Society. In all these movements which seek to connect Christ with the world by human means, let us heed what God hath said, “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”