Review and Herald, Vol. 83, No. 11. (3/15/1906)

Review and Herald

Mar 15, 1906

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Mar 15, 1906

The Right Attitude Toward the Truth

Brethren, we are now erelong to part asunder, and the Lord knoweth whether I shall live ever to see your faces more; but whether the Lord hath appointed that or not, I charge you before God and His blessed angels to follow me no farther than I have followed Christ. If God should reveal anything to you by any other instrument of His, be as ready to receive it as you ever were to receive any truth by my ministry; for I am very confident that the Lord hath more truth and light yet to break forth out of His Holy Word. For my part, I can not sufficiently bewail the condition of the reformed churches, who are come to a period in religion, and will go no farther than the instruments of their reformation. The Lutherans can not be drawn to go any farther than what Luther saw, and the Calvinists, you see, stick fast where they were left by that great man of God, who yet saw not all things. This is a misery much to be lamented; for though they were burning and shining lights in their time, yet they penetrated not into the whole counsel of God, but were they now living, would be as willing to embrace further light as that which they first received.

Remember your church covenant, in which you have agreed to walk in all the ways of the Lord, made known or to be made known unto you. Remember your promise and covenant with God and with one another, to receive whatever light and truth shall be made known to you from His written Word. But, withal, take heed, I beseech you, what you receive as truth. Examine it, consider it, compare it with other scriptures of truth before you receive it; for it is not possible that the Christian world should come so lately out of such thick antichristian darkness, and that perfection of knowledge should break forth at once.—From the Farewell Address of Pastor John Robinson to the Puritan Pilgrims on their Departure for America.

A New Magazine

THE following is a reproduction of the first cover page of the first number of the new quarterly Religious Liberty Magazine:—

Liberty

A Magazine of Religious Freedom

Devoted to the American Idea of Religious Liberty Exemplified in the Complete Separation of Church and State

Among the most inestimable ot our blessings is that of liberty to worship our Creator in the way we think most agreeable to His will—a liberty deemed in other countries incompatible with good government, and yet proved by our experience to be its best support.—Jefferson.

PRICE, FIVE CENTS

Liberty will be a 32-page illustrated quarterly magazine issued in the interest of the principles of true civil and religious liberty. It will be ready to mail in a short time. Immediate subscriptions solicited.

RATES: Single annual subscription, including extras, 25 cents; single copy of any regular issue, 5 cents; single copy of extras, according to size; five or more copies per year to different addresses, one order, 15 cents per copy; twenty-five or more copies of any regular issue, one order, to one address, 2½ cents per copy. Address Review and Herald Publishing Association, 222 N. Capitol St., Washington, D. C.

Revealing Christ

By Editor

Editorial

Revealing Christ

It is a part of the plan of salvation that humanity shall be the channel through which divinity shall reach and bless humanity. He who declared, “I am the Light of the world,” said also to his disciples, “Ye are the light of the world,” because the light of his life was to shine in them. It is, then, the one aim of the true Christian to reveal Christ to the world. “Humanity has in itself no light. Apart from Christ, we are like an unkindled taper, like the moon when her face is turned away from the sun; we have not a single ray of brightness to shed into the darkness of the world. But when we turn toward the Sun of Righteousness, when we come in touch with Christ, the whole soul is aglow with the brightness of the divine presence. . . . As Christ is the channel for the revelation of the Father, so are we to be the channel for the revelation of Christ. While our Saviour is the great source of illumination, forget not, O Christian, that he is revealed through humanity. God's blessings are bestowed through human instrumentality. Christ himself came to the world as the Son of man. Humanity, united to the divine nature, must touch humanity. Every individual disciple of the Master is heaven's appointed channel for the revelation of God to men. Angels of glory wait to communicate through you heaven's light and power to souls that are ready to perish. . . . Christ accepts, O so gladly! every human agency that is surrendered to him. He brings the human into union with the divine, that he may communicate to the world the mysteries of incarnate love.” What a privilege is thus bestowed! What a responsibility is thus laid upon the professed disciples of Jesus! “Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah.”

Digestion and Divinity

In the effort to establish the modern dogma of the immanence of God in man there are some who claim that the so-called miracle of digestion shows “the most wonderful manifestation of divinity working in humanity,” and the findings of scientists are adduced as the demonstration of this claim. Has it ever occurred to these dispensers of new light that the process of digestion is just as inexplicable in the case of the lower order of animals, as the horse or the hog, as in the case of the most beautiful representative of the human family? But does this fact prove that Deity dwells incarnate in these lower animals? This is only one illustration of the way in which the spiritual is brought down to the plane of the natural in the professed effort to exalt all things in the natural world to the plane of the spiritual. This particular teaching is the first step toward the denial of the supernatural birth of our Lord, toward the whole destructive work of modern rationalism. The doctrine of the incarnation can not be proved by modern science. It is the mystery of godliness.

The New Birth

No plainer words were ever spoken by the Author of our Christianity than those which he addressed to Nicodemus on the occasion of that night interview: “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he can not see the kingdom of God. . . . Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

A new birth—newness of life—a new creature—all things must become new to him who either sees or enters the kingdom of God. And this experience is fundamental and absolutely essential. Nothing can take the place of it. There is no exception to it. The king on his throne and the humblest peasant over whom he rules must enter the kingdom of God by the same door. The wisest philosopher and the Hottentot must have the same experience of regeneration in order to gain admission to the heavenly kingdom. Worldly rank does not rise so high as to bridge the distance between the earthly and the heavenly. Education can not develop the new life. Wealth can not purchase spiritual faculties. Except a man be born again, he can neither see nor enter the kingdom of God.

In its pride of self-sufficiency the human heart dislikes to acknowledge these truths, and seeks some way to avoid them. Speculative science and human philosophy have busied themselves in devising some other way into the kingdom, and the evolutionary conception of the universe as applied to religion is the result. That scientific explanation of the origin of things which denies special creation and substitutes development for it, thus seeking in the natural world to obliterate any line of demarcation between the different kingdoms, and especially the different orders of being in the animal kingdom, has now been applied to connect the natural and the spiritual so that a natural man can become a spiritual man by the process of development. Thus, according to this modern theory of transformation, we are not dependent upon a special act of the creative power of God by which we are translated “into the kingdom of his dear Son,” and the plain teaching of Jesus is set aside as unfitted to this advanced age.

Nevertheless it is a truth which should be widely emphasized that he who would see or enter the kingdom of God must be born again. And nature, when rightly interpreted, adds her testimony to the soundness of this teaching. The impassable barrier which has been established between the inorganic and organic kingdoms, so that there is no power in the inorganic of itself to cross this line of demarcation, is constantly proclaiming the fact that an equally impassable barrier exists between the natural and the spiritual realm, so that there is no power in the natural of itself to lift itself into the sphere of the spiritual. This has been well stated by an able writer from whose chapter upon this subject we quote the following paragraphs:—

Translating from the language of science into that of religion, the theory of spontaneous generation is simply that a man may become gradually better and better until, in course of the process, he reaches that quantity of religious nature

known as spiritual life. This life is not something added ab extra to the natural man; it is the normal and appropriate development of the natural man. Biogenesis opposes to this the whole doctrine of regeneration. The spiritual life is the gift of the living Spirit. The spiritual man is no mere development of the natural man. He is a new creation born from above. As we well expect a hay infusion to become gradually more and more living until, in course of the process, it reaches vitality, as expect a man by becoming better and better to attain the eternal life . . . .

Of the multitudes who confess Christianity at this hour, how many have clear in their minds the cardinal distinction established by its Founder between “born of the flesh” and “born of the Spirit”? By how many teachers of Christianity even is not this fundamental postulate persistently ignored? A thousand modern pulpits every seventh day are preaching the doctrine of spontaneous generation. The finest and best of recent poetry is colored with this same error. Spontaneous generation is the leading theology of the modern religious or irreligious novel; and much of the most serious and cultured writing of the day devotes itself to earnest preaching of this impossible gospel. The current conception of the Christian religion, in short,—the conception which is held not only popularly, but by men of culture,—is founded upon a view of its origin which, if it were true, would render the whole scheme abortive.

Let us first place vividly in our imagination the picture of the two great kingdoms of nature, the inorganic and organic, as these now stand in the light of the law of biogenesis. What essentially is involved in saying that there is no spontaneous generation of life?—It is meant that the passage from the mineral world to the plant or animal is hermetically sealed on the mineral side. This inorganic world is staked off from the living world by barriers which have never yet been crossed from within. No change of substance, no modification of environment, no chemistry, no electricity, nor any form of energy, nor any evolution can endow any single atom of the mineral world with the attribute of life. Only by the bending down into this dead world of some living form can these dead atoms be gifted with the properties of vitality; without this preliminary contact with life they remain fixed in the inorganic sphere forever. It is a very mysterious law which guards in this way the portals of the living world. And if there is one thing in nature more worth pondering for its strangeness, it is the spectacle of this vast helpless world of the dead cut off from the living by the law of biogenesis, and denied forever the possibility of resurrection within itself. So very strange a thing, indeed, is this broad line in nature, that science has long and urgently sought to obliterate it. Biogenesis stands in the way of some forms of evolution with such stern persistency that the assaults upon this law for number and thoroughness have been unparalleled. But, as we have seen, it has stood the test. Nature, to the modern eye, stands broken in two. The physical laws may explain the inorganic world; the biological laws may account for the development of the organic. But of the point where they meet, of that strange borderland between the dead and the living, science is silent. It is as if God had placed everything in earth and heaven in the hands of nature, but reserved a point at the genesis of life for his direct appearing.

The power of the analogy, for which we are laying the foundations, to seize and impress the mind, will largely depend on the vividness with which one realizes the gulf which nature places between the living and the dead. . . . If, as Pascal says, nature is an image of grace; if the things that are seen are in any sense the images of the unseen, there must lie in this great gulf fixed, this most unique and startling of all natural phenomena, a meaning of peculiar moment.

Where now in the spiritual spheres shall we meet a companion phenomenon to this? What in the unseen shall be likened to this dividing line? or where in human experience is another barrier which never can be crossed?

There is such a barrier. In the dim but not inadequate vision of the spiritual world presented in the Word of God, the first thing that strikes the eye is a great gulf fixed. The passage from the natural world to the spiritual world is hermetically sealed on the natural side. The door from the inorganic to the organic is shut, no mineral can open it; so the door from the natural to the spiritual is shut, and no man can open it. This world of natural men is staked off from the spiritual world by barriers which have never yet been crossed from within. No organic change, no modification of environment, no mental energy, no moral effort, no evolution of character, no progress of civilization, can endow any single human soul with the attribute of spiritual life. The spiritual world is guarded from the world next in order beneath it by a law of biogenesis—except a man be born again . . . except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can not enter the kingdom of God.

It is not said, in this enunciation of the law, that if the condition be not fulfilled, the natural man will not enter the kingdom of God. The word is can not. For the exclusion of the spiritually inorganic from the kingdom of the spiritually organic is not arbitrary. Nor is the natural man refused admission on unexplained grounds. His admission is a scientific impossibility. Except a mineral be born ‘from above’—from the kingdom just above it—it can not enter the kingdom just above it. And except a man be born ‘from above,’ by the same law, he can not enter the kingdom just above him. There being no passage from one kingdom to another, whether from inorganic to organic or from organic to spiritual, the intervention of life is a scientific necessity if a stone or a plant or an animal or a man is to pass from a lower to a higher sphere. The plant stretches down to the dead world beneath it, touches its minerals and gases with its mystery of life, and brings them up ennobled and transformed to the living sphere. The breath of God, blowing where it listeth, touches with its mystery of life the dead souls of men, bears them across the bridgeless gulf between the natural and the spiritual, between the spiritually in- organic and the spiritually organic, endows them with its own high qualities, and develops within them these new and secret faculties, by which those who are born again are said to see the kingdom of God. . . .

The difference between the spiritual man and the natural man is not a difference of development, but of generation. It is a distinction of quality, not of quantity. A man can not rise by any natural development from “morality touched by emotion,” to “morality touched by life.” . . . It is an old-fashioned theology which divides the world in this way—which speaks of men as living and dead, lost and saved—a stern theology all but fallen into disuse. This difference between the living and the dead in souls is so unproved by casual observation, so impalpable in itself, so startling as a doctrine, that schools of culture have ridiculed or denied the grim distinction. Nevertheless the grim distinction must be retained.

Evolutionary religion is contrary to both revelation and nature. Those who refuse the blessing of the new birth will never see the kingdom of God. ‘Ye must be born again.’

No Romance About It

By William A. Spicer

THERE is no romance about foreign missionary service, no peculiar uplift of inspiration in the surroundings, to keep the worker in high spirits. The love of Christ and the love of souls are the inspiring factors in fields abroad, as in home service. The novelty of strange sights and of dealing with strange peoples, very quickly wears away, and it is like home mission work—just the steady plodding, the daily earnest seeking to win souls from darkness to light.

And the laborer abroad, often in loneliness and isolation, without the privileges of frequent association with fellow laborers, feels, I believe, more than any the need of special grace for courage and buoyant spirit.

One of our missionaries in the depth of a heathen land was pleading for help for a fellow worker, left all alone, month after month, at another station. His plea gives a glimpse at the conditions:—

You know that in work for these people sometimes the work goes hard, as, for instance, when you have some promising and trusted helper, or some encouraging inquirers, and then all at once they turn out to be false. It is a trying thing to meet. Then, too, you know what it is among the heathen—when one is surrounded on all sides by the works of the enemy, and when the people worship the devil—that there is something depressing about it. Then it is necessary for one to look well to his altar fires, to see that they are kept burning brightly under such unfavorable circumstances.

These are some of the reasons why the laborers in the distant fields desire the prayers of the believers in the home lands who have sent them forth. There is a heavy burden, too, in personal contact with unwarned millions.

A missionary voices the “plea from the fields” in the following message to the believers at home:—

“Will you not pray for us? Each day we need Your prayers; for oft the way is rough and long, And our lips falter, and forget their song, As we proclaim the word men will not heed.

“Pray, pray for us! We are but vessels frail; The world’s appalling need would crush us down, Save that in vision we behold the crown Upon His brow who shall at length prevail.

“Not yet the crowning! Fields must first be won, Lives freely yielded, martyr blood be spilt, Love cast out fear, redemption blot out guilt, Ere we behold the kingdom of God’s Son.

“We shall behold it! Lo, his word stands sure, Our King shall triumph in a world set free. With joy his chosen ones his reign shall see! Pray for us, brothers, that we may endure!”

Thank God for the glorious victory assured, and for the privilege of fellowship in the service. The “blessed hope” shall keep our spirits buoyant through all the conflict. W. A. S.

The Progress of Spiritualism

By L. A. S.

SPIRITUALISM began as a manifestation of occult phenomena; it grew into a religion, based on the doctrines of the immortality of the soul and communication between the living and the dead. To-day, it has clothed itself in the garb of science, and is attracting attention as a field of scientific investigation and discovery. In the latter phase it gains access to, and weaves its spell about, multitudes who would not be interested in it as a form of religious belief.

The following quotations from an article entitled “The Invisible World,” in the March issue of Everybody’s Magazine, will give the reader an idea of the nature and extent of the alliance which has been established between spiritualism and science. After referring to the skeptical character of the age and the dominance of materialism in its intellectual life, the author, Mr. Vance Thompson, says:—

And yet the paradox is curious—never was the world so ghost ridden. Never has it turned so wistfully to the occult. Never has it listened with an expectation so painful at that closed door behind which mysterious silences stretch away—the door of the tomb. I dare say it is natural enough. Always in epochs of unbelief, when the conservative forms of faith are weakened, there is an immense growth of vague supernaturalism. It was in the cynical eighteenth century, when Voltaire had sneered religion out of fashion, that sorcerers, fortune-tellers, magicians—all the Mesmers and Cagliostros—ruled the world. [Striking proof of the oppositeness of faith and superstition.] Our new century, quite as skeptical, is equally in love with the marvelous. Only the fashion in wizards has changed. The modern magician comes from the laboratory. He speaks in the name of science, for there is a science of the immaterial,—a science of witchcraft,—a science which has its professors and learned societies, its journals and magazines. The very ghosts that haunt the societies for psychical research have taken on a scientific air; they walk no more in windy corridors, clanking spectral chains; in a practical, modern way they exhibit themselves to scientific congresses. World over, psychic phenomena are being studied by trained scientists. Dismissing theories, they give themselves to the observation of scientifically established facts. Their labors range from the study of hysteria, of hypnosis and the transmission of psychic forces, to the time-old mysteries of enchantment and apparitions.

The scientists, physicians, experimenters, those who are interested in psychic phenomena, are grouped in the various societies for psychical research. A yearly congress was held. The last was held in London,—at 20 Hanover Square, W.,—and Dr. Charles Richet, of Paris, was chosen president, succeeding men so diversely eminent as the Right Hon. Arthur J. Balfour and Sir William Crookes. The purpose of the association is to study by positive methods the phenomena called mysterious and abnormal. . . . So eager are they to escape from any taint of supernaturalism, that they have discarded the old phrases,—spiritualism, spiritism, and the like,—and have decreed the existence of a new science, metapsychics.

The name “spiritualism” has been discarded, but that for which the old name stood remains the same as before. That has not been discarded. Wonderful things are sometimes accomplished by a mere change of name.

Science recognizes the existence of an invisible world, wherein unknown forces flit to and fro; what ghostly things they are it knows not, but they are very real, very strong and terrible. They are not material; they are the masters of matter. Occult forces, but no longer unknown; science has given them passports and names. And then, following Lombroso and Maxwell, science admits the reality of the transmission of psychic force. . . . Second sight, and the telepathy by which personality communicates with personality across infinite space,—an old acquirement of the magi,—and the clairvoyance that reads the sealed letter or the document hidden in the black heart of an iron safe,—these are psychic phenomena licensed now by science.

It was well said, I think, that science itself is becoming mystic, phantomic, ghost ridden.

All doubt that there is a clear connection between modern occultism and satanic agencies ought to be removed by the following:—

The dark forces which science recognizes, but does not define, exercise marvelous attraction on minds of a certain order. In scores of temples they are worshiped under different names. I know a little temple in Bruges where the followers of Lucifer gather, and not far from the Pantheon in Paris there is an altar to Pandoemon. . . . A couple of years ago I visited one of the “chapels;” it was in the rue Rochechouart. The Black Mass, which I have no desire to describe, was celebrated. It was Friday, at three o’clock. . . . Every Friday the Luciferians gather. I could name many of them,—men not unknown in the learned professions. Some of them have influence enough to secure, now and then, a right of midnight entry to the catacombs. There amid skulls and bones, with orgies I do not care to describe, they have worshiped the spirit of evil. . . . This attempt to re-establish the worship of the fallen archangel is, I think, the most remarkable manifestation of modern occultism.

The modern necromancers deal most in hope and consolation; they fill the future with bright expectations and useful warnings; they bring messages from the dead whom love has not forgotten. . . . Paris, the city of light and laughter, is dotted over with spiritualistic temples; there is a notable one in the rue St. Jacques; another is in the rue des Martyrs. One and all they derive from the Fox sisters who amazed New York a half century ago. Among the faithful are such men as Sardon—himself a medium—and Saint Rene Taillandier, the French envoy to Morocco, and Camille Flammarion. If they are to be believed, the ghosts are more active in unbelieving Paris than in any other city at this present moment.

French spiritualism is a positive science.

Recently a writer in the New York World dwelt at some length on the study of occultism in that city, beginning with the statement that “some men and women of wealth and learning in this city believe they have lifted the veil that hides the spirit world.”

Spiritualism has become “scientific,” and is engaging the attention of men of wealth and learning throughout the world.

The danger in studying science to find out truth having to do with the welfare of the soul—a science which, so far from being able to expose and banish occultism, has itself “become ghost ridden”—ought to be clear to all. If we would know the truth, we must know it “as it is in Jesus.” L. A. S.

New Millions Approached.

By W. A. S.

The new mission fields added to our list last year, as entered for the first time, or supplied with the first settled ministerial help, represent a large population. The fields and their populations are as follows:—

Algeria .................. 4,429,000 Hayti .................... 1,000,000 Cuba ..................... 1,572,000 Ecuador .................. 1,271,000

Peru ..................... 2,621,000 Bolivia .................. 2,000,000 Barotseland (estimated) ... 100,000 Sierra Leone (with Hinterland) .......... 500,000 Philippines .............. 8,000,000 Fukien Province (China) ... 10,000,000 Korea .................... 10,528,000 Total population ........ 42,021,000

It is only a beginning made among these new millions, it is true; but well may we rejoice that every year sees the providence of God adding new tongues and nations to the list of those hearing the message of Christ’s coming. Just one witness for this truth in a new territory means that the leaven of truth is set working. We ought now to be looking over the great unentered fields, and praying and planning to get at least a foothold in every country on earth. Very few nations are now left unentered.

W. A. S.

A Statement of Facts Concerning Our Present Situation—No. 6

By Arthur G. Daniells

THE numerous quotations from the Testimonies given in this series of articles convey some idea of the large amount of varied instruction we have received through the spirit of prophecy regarding what we call medical missionary work. The true principles of health and healing have been enunciated; the failure of ministers and people to appreciate and practise these principles has been sharply reproved; the dangers arising from false views regarding doctrinal teaching, and plans of administration have been pointed out, and the proper course for the denomination to pursue in carrying forward its medical missionary work in all parts of the world has been placed before us in clear outlines.

And in all the instruction that has come to us regarding this important phase of our work, it has been made very clear and emphatic that we as a people are to carry forward this line of work with the same intelligence, loyalty, and enthusiasm that we do other lines. We are admonished to become well informed regarding health principles, to adopt them in our lives, and to make them known to our fellow men.

The following quotations convey some idea of the excellent counsel that has been given us for more than a quarter of a century:—

Medical missionary work is the right hand of the gospel. It is necessary to the advancement of the cause of God. As through it men and women are led to see the importance of right habits of living, the saving power of the truth will be made known. Every city is to be entered by workers trained to do medical missionary work. As the right hand of the third angel’s message, God’s methods of treating disease will open doors for the entrance of present truth.—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VII, page 59.

We have come to a time when every member of the church should take hold of medical missionary work. The world is a lazar-house filled with victims of both physical and spiritual disease. Everywhere people are perishing for lack of a knowledge of the truths that have been committed to us. The members of the church are in need of an awakening, that they may realize their responsibility to impart these truths. Those who have been enlightened by the truth are to be light-bearers to the world.—Id. page 62.

Let our people show that they have a living interest in medical missionary work. Let them prepare themselves for usefulness by studying the books that have been written for our instruction in these lines. These books deserve much more attention and appreciation than they have received. Much that is for the benefit of all to understand has been written for the special purpose of instruction in the principles of health. Those who study and practise these principles will be greatly blessed, both physically and spiritually. An understanding of the philosophy of health will be a safeguard against many of the evils that are continually increasing.—Id., page 63.

Books and papers treating on the subject of health and temperance could be placed in many homes. The circulation of this literature is an important matter; for thus precious knowledge can be imparted in regard to the treatment of disease,—knowledge that would be a great blessing to those who can not afford to pay for the physician’s visits.—Id., page 65.

We have received very definite counsel regarding the relation of the medical missionary work to other parts of our cause, and the general plan by which it should be carried forward. This counsel should be understood and followed.

The medical missionary work should be a part of the work of every church in our land. Disconnected from the church, it would soon become a strange medley of disorganized atoms. . . . The gospel ministry is needed to give permanence and stability to the medical missionary work; and the ministry needs the medical missionary work to demonstrate the practical working of the gospel. Neither part of the work is complete without the other.—Id., Vol. VI, page 289.

As the medical missionary work becomes more extended, there will be a temptation to make it independent of our conferences. But it has been presented to me that this plan is not right. The different lines of our work are but parts of one great whole. They have one center.—Id., page 235.

God knows the future. He is the One to whom we are to look for guidance. Let us trust him to direct us in the development of the various branches of his work. . . . The division of the General Conference into district union conferences was God’s arrangement. In the work of the Lord for these last days, there should be no Jerusalem centers, no kingly power.—Id., Vol. VIII, pages 232, 233.

God has not set any kingly power in the Seventh-day Adventist Church to control the whole body, or to control any branch of the work. He has not provided that the burden of leadership shall rest upon a few men. Responsibilities are distributed among a large number of competent men. Every member of the church has a voice in choosing officers of the church. The church chooses the officers of the State conferences. Delegates chosen by the State conferences choose the officers of the union conferences; and delegates chosen by the union conferences choose the officers of the General Conference. By this arrangement, every conference, every institution, every church, and every individual, either directly or through representatives, has a voice in the election of the men who bear the chief responsibilities in the General Conference.—Id., pages 236, 237.

The kingly power formerly revealed in the General Conference at Battle Creek is not to be perpetuated. The publishing institution is not to be a kingdom of itself. It is essential that the principles that govern in General Conference affairs should be maintained in the management of the publishing work and the sanitarium work.—Id., page 233.

From these statements it is plain that the medical missionary work bears the same relation to this cause that all the other branches bear, and that it is to be carried forward by the same general plans of administration adopted to advance other departments of the cause. This naturally leads to a study of the leading features of our plan of organization.

A. G. DANIELLS.

The Collection for Orphanages

By I. H. Evans

THE first Sabbath in April has been set apart by the General Conference as the day on which to make an offering for the support of the Haskell Home, and other orphanages maintained by our denomination.

The word “orphan” appeals in a special manner to every true heart. One of the saddest misfortunes of childhood is to be thrown upon the charities of a busy, selfish world, without a home and an education.

These little helpless ones can not care for themselves; nor can they know what they have lost by not having a Christian home, with the sweet, uplifting influences of such environment, until later in life.

How often have we sung that sweet melody,—

“How dear to this heart are the scenes of my childhood, When fond recollections present them to view; The orchard, the meadow, the deep tangled wildwood, And every loved spot which my infancy knew.”

Most of us have homes. Many of us are almost strangers to want and penury. When our own children are under the parental roof, with every need supplied, is it not a pleasure to consecrate an

offering to help the homeless and those in need?

Oftentimes it is not possible to take these little ones into our own homes. The lack of health, care of our own children, or our limited accommodations, often tend to make it impossible to take an extra child into one's family; but most of us can make an offering to help sustain orphanages already established, where these needy ones can find not only a shelter, but where they may receive a Christian education.

Various orphanages have been established in different parts of the country, and are operated by our own people. Generally, there is a large item of expense connected with these homes, and very few among our people are sufficiently well supplied with funds to enable them to establish and maintain a public orphanage at their own expense.

It is, therefore, necessary that these enterprises be supported by the contributions of those who are in sympathy with the lines of work that they are carrying forward.

Our people have generously supported orphanages that have existed among us in the past. Year by year they have contributed large sums of money for the maintenance of these homes. All these gifts are remembered by our kind Heavenly Father. The word of God is full of benedictions on those who are kind to the unfortunate and to the helpless.

When our Master was here on earth, he said: “For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

“Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

“And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

And in a description of an acceptable fast unto the Lord, we find these words:—

“Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

“Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. . . .

“And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.”

Remember Sabbath, April 7, 1906, is the day on which this offering will be taken. Shall it not be a liberal one?

I. H. EVANS.

Continue reading: Catholic Sentiment Toward Luther