IS THE GOLDEN AGE AT HAND?
By Editor
IN view of the roseate assurances of the popular clergy and the advocates of the "New Thought" that we are rapidly approaching the era of universal brotherhood, peace, well-being, and wisdom, brought about by the quenching of our own evil tendencies by the upgrowth within us of our own inherent goodness, it is well for us occasionally to look the actual facts in the face, lest we find, when too late, that we have been following a will-o'-the-wisp into the mire and quicksands of our own ruin. We hear much of this teaching, and see much of it in print, and see those who are being deceived by it turning away from the truth of God in which is salvation, and turning to these figments of human imagination which can hold out no hope to the soul. Human vanity is playing a large part in this doctrine of self-salvation, of soul-growth through human effort alone, of self-dependence in the perfection of righteousness; and because such vanity was never greater than now, these doctrines had never a more successful age in which to be propagated. Advocates of these doctrines close their eyes to the increase of crime in the world from year to year, a fact which completely overthrows the very base of their teachings. The following extract from one of our exchanges, under the title "Increase of Unnatural Crimes," while it touches the very heart of the matter, might be expanded into many columns, and still not tell it all:— The thoughtful man or woman who reads or merely scans the news of the day must be struck by the increase of unnatural crime, if such a term may be used. Of course, all crime is unnatural, or ought to be; and yet, on the other hand, it is the legitimate fruit of a seed-sowing of lawlessness, lust, and sin. As an instance of the prevalence of this sort of crime, we pick up a local paper of October 10. It tells of a school-teacher in North Dakota shooting three trustees, three girl pupils, and then committing suicide. This was in a settlement of Mennonites, a place that would not be expected to bring forth such results. From Pittsburg comes the news of an intelligent young man of seventeen years of age brutally murdering his mother and sister, wounding four smaller sisters, and seeking to kill three brothers, who overpowered him. Just the other day it was discovered that two young lads, one of whom was considered a good boy, in a town near San Francisco, had been setting fire to various buildings in the village for months, destroying many thousand dollars' worth of property. The sister of one, a pretty girl, was privy to the work. The motive seems to have been sheer maliciousness. The commissioners of prisons in England report that 17,163 more persons were sentenced to ordinary imprisonment in the year just closed than in the year previous, and 183 more to penal servitude. And such items as these are found in every day's news. Truly the apostle and prophet said: "Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse," and, "In the last days perilous times shall come." Further, we might say that the statistics of the past year show a steady increase of crime. For instance, there were 8,597 suicides last year, as compared with 8,291 in 1902. In 1901 there were 7,245 suicides in this country; in 1900, 6,755; in 1899, 5,340 suicides. The number of murders in 1903 was 8,976; in 1902, 8,834; and in 1901, 7,852. While there were more murders, there were less hangings. There were 406 persons killed by burglars and footpads last year, against 333 in 1902. While the amount of defalcations, bank-wreckings, etc., was a little less last year than the year previous, it was still nearly two million more than for 1901, over two million more than for 1900, and over four million more than for 1899. The amount of such stealings for 1903 was $6,562,165. Statistics of the French Government show a remarkable and steady increase in criminal activity among the young. In view of these serious facts, it is the worst possible folly to turn to these human inventions, and pin our most vital interests to such a sinking ship. In the powers of our own being such teachings would have men put their trust; but the Word admonishes us: "Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help."