The Men and Religion Movement
By Editor
THE Independent of May 9 has an article by William T. Ellis, secretary of the Department of Publicity of the Men and Religion Forward Movement. The article is entitled, "A Movement, a Message, a Method." Mr. Ellis clearly shows that there is a movement, and clearly shows, also that there is a method, but the message is not quite so clear. Those who hold to the Gospel side of Christianity must certainly regard with suspicion the fact which is clearly apparent, that evangelism is declining and social service is becoming the dominant thing. In a recent meeting held in New York, Mr. Ellis tells us, "To everybody’s surprise, the missionary sessions were among the tamest of all, partly because there was no new plea to be made, and partly because the presence and pull of the other aspects of Christian service had begotten in the delegates a passion of seeing things in their relationships." But the seeing of things from the human view-point is not always the true seeing. We see things truly only as we see them in the light of God. God would have us see by His seeing. He has given us a picture of this old world and its conditions, a diagnosis of human ills, and all the ages have demonstrated that diagnosis to be correct. He has given us the remedy, not in great, masterly movements of men, not in tremendous crusades, not along political lines, but in our Lord Jesus Christ Himself for individuals. The secretary remarks that, "judged strictly by its own preliminary claims, the Men and Religion Movement has not brought into the churches those three million unchurched men about which we heard so much a year ago. Most of them are still out of the churches." But even tho it should bring them into the churches, that of itself would mean nothing. The popular, aggressive, nominal Christianity of centuries ago, connected with the State, sometimes brought thousands into the church at one time, but she brought very few of them to Christ. It is bringing men to Christ which saves; bringing one into an organization merely, without the saving, regenerating power of Christ in the heart, makes him all the harder to reach with the only means which will save him, the Gospel.