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Review and Herald, Vol. 81, No. 38.

O Happy Home

Review and Herald

Sep 22, 1904

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D.C. · Sep 22, 1904

O Happy Home

By Carl J. Spitta; Mrs. Alexander

Carl J. Spitta
O happy home, where Thou art loved the dearest, Thou loving Friend, and Saviour of our race, And where among the guests there never cometh One who can hold such high and honored place!
O happy home, where two in heart united In holy faith and blessed hope are one, Whom death a little while alone divideth, And can not end the union here begun!
O happy home, whose little ones are given Early to Thee, in humble faith and prayer, To Thee, their Friend, who from the heights of heaven Guides them, and guards with more than mother's care!
O happy home, where each one serves Thee lowly, Whatever his appointed work may be, Till every common task seems great and holy, When it is done, O Lord, as unto Thee!
O happy home, where Thou art not forgotten When joy is overflowing, full and free; O happy home, where every wounded spirit Is brought, Physician, Comforter, to Thee —
Until at last, when earth's day's work is ended, All meet Thee in the blessed home above, From whence Thou camest, where Thou hast ascended, Thy everlasting home of peace and love!
— Translated by Mrs. Alexander.

Publishers' Page

By Editor

Conducted by the Department of Circulation of the Review and Herald Publishing Company

New Books

On this page we give a list of books which contain some of the works recently published or revised, and the readers of the Review will find them interesting and up to date.

Our Little Folks’ Bible Nature

BY ELLA KING SANDERS
A new child’s book of simple, graded lessons on Bible nature, beginning with light, and continuing with the study of creation in the order of the Scriptures. It is a beginner’s book of the sentence-method order, carefully graded. Each subject is thoroughly illustrated with new drawing, made especially for the book, and with thirteen colored plates. It contains 128 pages, and is beautifully bound in board and cloth, with colored cover design. While it is especially adapted to church-school work, it is nevertheless an excellent little book to sell to the trade. It is placed in the forty per cent list, and sells at retail for 25 and 40 cts.

Easy Steps in the Bible Story

Attempting to meet the demand for a clear, connected conception of the Bible story, the publishers have given careful study of the original plan and nature of “Easy Steps in the Bible Story,” and have arranged for the completion of the first plan of this series, and to produce a full story of the Bible for children in a series of six books, 6½ x 9½ x ½ inches in size, printed on a good quality of paper in new, large, open-faced type, profusely illustrated with original full-page drawings, colored plates, and new attractive marginal illustrations that really illustrate the text. Every page contains a picture made especially for illustrating and impressing the story recorded on that page. Also a beautiful new cover design for the entire series is provided.
The first volume contains that part of the Bible story from creation to the giving of the law, going over the full history of the week of creation in the order of the Scriptures, and in a higher grade than was followed in “Our Little Folks’ Bible Nature.” In each of these books the Bible order in the narrative of the creation is undisturbed, allowing the child to remember the events of the Scriptures in their order.
Volume 2 will resume the narration, and give the story of Israel’s building the tabernacle and establishing its service down to the time when the ark was taken by the Philistines and returned to Israel.
The other volumes will cover the remaining story of the entire Bible, including simple biographical sketches of the apostles, with the wars and complicated narrations more essential for adults eliminated from Old Testament history, and practical, moral lessons woven in where the child would not be able to draw them from the text without the aid of a more mature mind.
The work of the first two volumes is far advanced, and will be ready at an early date. This series of “Easy Steps” will be bound in two styles, board and cloth, and will sell for 50 cts. and 75 cts. a copy.

Our Paradise Home

50,000 Printed the First Year

Though no effort has been made for some time in the past to place this book prominently before the public, the demand for it remains good. The people recognize in it true merit. It seems to meet a hearty response in the common human interests, which quality in a book always guarantees a large circulation.
Of this little book many say practically the same as the following:—
“I have read ‘Our Paradise Home,’ and am much pleased to see the message of present truth made so simple and plain, and put, as it were, in a nutshell, that even the busy people can take time to read it. It contains the pith of the Bible plan of redemption, besides taking us over to the setting up of God’s everlasting kingdom. The language is simple, yet written in such a pleasing manner as to interest all who read it. This is the class of books that should be circulated by our people, instead of books containing but little present truth. We shall take pleasure in giving it a wide circulation in our conference.”
“W. J. STONE.”
Board binding, 25 cents; cloth, 50 cents. Presentation edition, 75 cents.

Uncle Ben’s Cobblestones

Uncle Ben’s “Cobblestones” or Familiar Talks about Common Things, is a very interesting and instructive work dedicated “To all those boys and girls who wish to gather out of the stones and build up good, strong walls of knowledge.”
Beautifully illustrated, substantially bound, 221 pages, price 75 cts.

Last Day Tokens

Those who have sent us advance orders for the new edition of “Last Day Tokens” will doubtless have received their copies before this issue of the Review reaches them, as our stock has been received, and all orders filled.
New interest will be awakened in this publication from the fact that the representations of the various signs seen in the heavens are reproduced in the exact colors in which they appeared. This makes the publication doubly interesting. Very few persons are acquainted with the phenomena which have appeared in the sky, and will be surprised at the information given in this connection.
None should obtain the idea that “Last Day Tokens” deals alone with the signs in the heavens. It is full of pointed truths. The second coming of Christ is given particular attention, also the Judgment Message, the Cleansing of the Sanctuary, the Sounding of the Trumpets, Close of the Turkish Independence, Termination of the 2300 Days, the Third Message and Last Call; and all these are especially interesting when connected with the 1834-44 movement, with which the author is so familiar. Elder J. N. Loughborough has a wide acquaintance, and this publication from his pen will meet with an extended circulation.
Price, postpaid, 25 cents.

Talks With My Students

BY PROF. FREDERICK GRIGGS
This little work is composed of the pith of stenographic reports of Professor Griggs’ heart-to-heart chapel talks to his students upon such practical subjects as Adaptability, Be Enthusiastic, Learn to Wait, The Value of Minutes, Our Conversation, Economy, Promptness, Our Manners, Association of Young Men and Young Women, If Thine Eye Be Single, The Love of the Beautiful, and Lest We Forget.
These talks were given to meet circumstances in the actual experience of the students, and proved to be of much value to them in character building and the preparation for successful life. They will prove the same to any young person who will read them, for this series of talks reveals in a practical manner the qualifications necessary for happiness and true success in all walks of life. They should be in the possession of every young person. Paper covers, 25 cents; cloth bound, 40 cents.
Kept by all State Tract Societies.

By Land and Sea

The new revised edition of this book seems to meet the approval of the general public. Orders are being received from news companies and from religious organizations, and many excellent testimonials are received in its behalf. Recommendations are freely given, and all young people are advised to study the book carefully, and especially those who are contemplating entering the missionary field. It is an excellent history, written in an attractive manner for use in our young people’s societies.
The reduced price ($1.50) brings the book within the reach of all.

Lover’s Love, or John Three Sixteen

This book has a special message. Every chapter is as good as gold. The revelations clustering around the words “God,” “so,” “loved,” “gave,” “life,” etc., as portrayed in this book, are worthy of the consideration of all. The first chapter on “God” is a feast to the soul. It gives a new conception of his divine character. It portrays why some do not believe in him, and why some deny his existence. Every page of the entire book sparkles with inspiring truths. Every chapter glows with lofty thought, clear reasoning, and a moving tenderness.
Tastefully bound, 176 pages; price, 75 cts., postpaid.
Order of Review and Herald, Washington, D. C.; Review and Herald, Battle Creek, Mich.; Pacific Press, Oakland, Cal.; Kansas City, Mo.; Southern Publishing Assn., Nashville, Tenn., or of your State Tract Society.

Resurrection Power

By Editor

Editorial

Resurrection Power

THE measure of the power available to every believer of the gospel is indicated in these words: “That ye may know . . . what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.” This is the abundant provision made to insure victory in the warfare against sin. The resurrection of Jesus is an accomplished fact. “This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.” His resurrection is the pledge and the proof of the power of the gospel. “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection.” Let no one fail or be discouraged. “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.”

Waiting and Watching

“LET your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching.” “And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
“O Jesus, my loving Redeemer, Thou knowest I cherish as dear The hope that mine eyes shall behold thee, That I shall thine own welcome hear! If to some as a Judge thou appearest, Who forth from thy presence would flee, A Friend most beloved I’ll greet thee, I’m waiting and watching for thee.”

The Alpha of Universalism

In addressing his pagan hearers “in the midst of the Areopagus,” the apostle Paul said: “The God that made the world and all things therein, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is he served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; and he made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us: for in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain even of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.”
In writing to the Christian church at Corinth, the same apostle said: “Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man destroyeth the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple are ye?”
In his address to the pagans and in his letter to the Christians does the apostle Paul teach the same truth, and are his statements equivalent in meaning? Is the pagan and the unbeliever a temple of God just as truly as is the Christian?
We refer to this question again because of the teaching which is being persistently urged upon us that “a man is a temple of God, even though God is not permitted to dwell in his rightful place, which is the inner apartment, the inner man or heart.”
An argument is based upon what is called “The Universal Fatherhood of God” which runs somewhat as follows:— The prophet asks, “Have we not all one Father? Hath not one God created us?” To these questions there can be only an affirmative answer. God is a universal father, since “he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.” “For we are also his offspring.” . . . If a man who begets a child and never cares for it is still its father, how much more truly is God the father of those whom he creates, to whom he gives life, who live, and move, and have their being in him. He is truly the God and Father of all, above all, through all, and in you all.
It is very true that God dwells in some men in a far more complete and intimate manner than in others. Those who love him, believe and obey him, are his children in a much fuller sense than are others. While it is true that the extent to which God is immanent with men depends upon their attitude toward him, no man can totally disconnect himself from God, no matter how he may hate him or how rebellious he may choose to be. To be in God’s universe is to live in him. Nor may we say that while all men live in God, he does not live in all men. . . . Those who have refused to acknowledge God, and have adopted the devil as their father, still live in God, and are the recipients of his love, of his gifts, and of his life. God ministers to them in temporal blessings, and serves with them in all they do, for he is their only source of strength. He ministers to them in the flesh, while they, through the flesh, serve the enemy of righteousness.
The conclusion from this argument is made to be that every man, the blaspheming sinner as well as the most devoted saint, is the temple of God, and this argument is designed to prove the universal application of the inspired statement in the letter “unto the church of God which is at Corinth, even them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus,” where it is said, “Know ye not that ye are a temple of God?”
We regard this teaching as subversive of the truth of the gospel, and as it appears so plausible that it may confuse some minds, we shall give it some consideration. Let us note the different steps in the argument: God is a universal father because he created all, and “giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.” And because of “the universal fatherhood of God, and his immanence with his earthly children,” every being in his universe lives in him; and when we consent to the claim that every being lives in God, we must notdeny that God lives in every being. Then comes the conclusion, that every man is the temple of God, even those who “have adopted the devil as their father,” being no exceptions to this conclusion.

It Proves too Much

If this line of reasoning proves that every man is a temple of God, regardless of his character, it also proves that evil angels, and even Satan himself, are temples of God. It is just as true that God gave and still continues life and breath to the hosts of evil angels, as that he gives these gifts to men; and if the statement that “no man can totally disconnect himself from God, no matter how he may hate him or how rebellious he may choose to be,” is one step in the argument to prove that every man is a temple of God, it certainly must be admitted that other rebellious beings, even Satan himself, who are dependent upon God for their existence, are also temples of God. And inasmuch as the same scripture which reminds the members of the church of Corinth that they are the temple of God also declares that “the Spirit of God dwelleth in you,” and that “the temple of God is holy,” it must follow as a further consequence that the Spirit of God dwells in the evil angels, and that all of them, including the great rebel leader, are holy. These conclusions are so clearly contrary to the truth that it is evident that the argument is fatally defective somewhere. Let us then look at it a little further.
In this line of reasoning which claims to prove that all men are the temple of God, there is a mingling of truth and error. There is a failure to distinguish between the relation which God sustains to all living creatures as the Creator of all, and the relation which he sustains to those who through faith in the gospel have been “created in Christ Jesus unto good works.” As a consequence of this failure, there is a mixture of terms and a confusion in the argument, which ends in a false conclusion. A more careful analysis of the argument may enable us to see just where this confusion is brought in.

Creation a Birth

The original creation is spoken of as a birth in the Scriptures. In the ninetieth Psalm, “A prayer of Moses, the man of God,” we read: “Before the mountains were brought forth [“were born,” Spurrell, Dr. Kay, and Polychrome Translation] or ever thou hadst formed [“gavest birth to,” margin] the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” As the creation was a birth, so the Creator was a father. As he was the creator of all, so he was the father of all. “Have we not all one Father? Hath not one God created us?” “For we are also his offspring.” All created beings were intended to be temples for the indwelling of the Creator, and so they would have been if sin had never existed. Since the entrance of sin, life and breath have been continued to rebellious angels and fallen men by the same Creator, but sin made such a change in their relation to God that they ceased to be his temple. Sinful man became “alienated from the life of God,” and “without God in the world.” The rebel angels refused pardon, and can never be again the temples of God. Through the gift of Christ to take the flesh, the privilege is offered to the human family of again becoming the temple of God. This is accomplished by the new birth,—

The New Creation

“the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Thus we read: “He came unto his own, and they that were his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” “If any man is in Christ, there is a new creation.” Conversion is not evolution. The difference between the sinner and the saint is not simply that of the degree in which God dwells in them. This is a very common teaching in these days, and it follows at once that evil is only undeveloped good, and the next step is that all men are holy—which is only another way of stating that all men are temples of God, since “the temple of God is holy.”

With Whom Does God Dwell?

There is a mixture of terms and a confusion of the argument when the truth that God is the source of all life and father of all, by virtue of being Creator of all, is perverted to mean that he, as a consequence of this, sustains the same relationship to all men, irrespective of their faith in Christ, and when the fatherhood of God by virtue of the original creation is substituted for the fatherhood of God by virtue of the new creation or the new birth. The conclusion that all men are temples of God can not be legitimately drawn from the fact that God is father of all by virtue of being the creator of all. The children by the old creation must become children by the new creation, before they are temples of God. A man must change his attitude toward God, and accept the provisions of the gospel, before he is a temple of God. God does not dwell in the unregenerate man in any such sense as to make him his temple, although that man lives and moves and has his being, his existence, in God. To all created beings—animals, the members of the human family, and angelic hosts both good and bad—God gives life and breath. All have their being, their existence, in him, but there is a vast difference between this and that indwelling of God in them which constitutes them his temple. This is plainly shown by such scriptures as the following: “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.” “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my word: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” “Christ [was faithful] as a son, over his house; whose house are we, if we hold fast our boldness and the glorying of our hope firm unto the end.”

Who Are Temples?

A distinction is here clearly made between different classes of men. It is those who are of a contrite and humble spirit, with whom God dwells, and whom by his indwelling he makes his temple. It is those who love Jesus with whom the Father and the Son will make their abode. It is those who hold fast their boldness and the glorying of their hope firm unto the end, that constitute the house of God, the church in which he dwells, his temple. Such persons are entitled to the honor of being designated as the temples of the living God. But those who persist in their rebellion against God, and do not accept the gift of his Son, become “a habitation of demons, and a hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and hateful bird.” What a confusion of good and evil to claim that such persons are at the same time the temple of God!

A Summary

The argument may be summarized, and the contrast between the truth and the perversion of the truth may be indicated, as follows: God was the creator of all; he was, therefore, father of all; all created beings, of whom he was the father, were intended to be the temples of God; because of sin man ceased to be the temple of God; God continued life and breath to men, and offered them the privilege of restoration through the gospel; believers in Christ again become temples of God, and the fatherhood of God is thus grounded in redemption; of such believers it will be said, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them.” On the other hand, those who refuse the gospel are not temples of God, even though through the long-suffering of God they are the recipients of life and breath and all that they have, from God. The argument when confused by amixture of terms, runs as follows: God is the creator of all; he is, therefore, the father of all; since he is a universal father, all men are his temples; although men have hated him and rebelled against him, he is still their father, and (substituting now, by a wrong use of terms, the fatherhood of God based upon creation for the fatherhood of God grounded in redemption) because he is still their father, they are still his temples. It is an easy step from this teaching to the conclusion that all men will in some way be saved.

Conclusion

To return to the question at the beginning of this article: we think it is clear that when the apostle Paul was seeking to make known to the men of Athens “the God that made the world and all things therein,” and said that “in him we live and move and have our being,” he was dealing with the relationship which God sustains to all his creatures by virtue of being the Creator of all. We think it is equally clear that when the same apostle wrote “unto the church of God which is at Corinth, even them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus,” and said, “Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” he was dealing with the relationship which God sustains only to those who have been born again, “created in Christ Jesus.” To make no distinction between these two relationships, and to make a sinner, as well as a saint, a holy temple of God by virtue of “the universal fatherhood of God, and his immanence with his earthly children,” is the alpha of universal salvation. The very expression, “the universal fatherhood of God,” is a favorite one with those who reject the divinity and the atoning work of Christ, the eternal Son, and who, by a perversion of the truth that “God is love,” and by an argument based upon a false idea of the universal fatherhood, claim that all men will finally be brought into harmony with God by the evolution of the good in them, either in this life or by a future probation. The claim that God dwells in all men, resting upon the fatherhood of God by virtue of his being the Creator of all, overlooks the change which sin has made in the relationship between God and man, minimizes the need of a Saviour, and prepares the way for setting aside the whole gospel plan of salvation.
That fatherhood of God which grows out of the original creation is not the fatherhood to which the apostle Paul has reference when he says: “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” And again when he says: “But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” The apostle Paul teaches “a conditional moral and spiritual fatherhood and sonship. In the divine family this sonship is by grace, and not by nature, not from Adam but from Christ, not based on creation, but grounded in redemption.” There is a wide difference between the fatherhood of God which is thus grounded in redemption, and the fatherhood of God which is based upon the original creation.
It is only those who have been born again, it is only those who have been “created in Christ Jesus,” it is only those who are “sons of God, through faith in Christ Jesus,” who are temples of God by virtue of the fatherhood of God; and this fatherhood is not one of physical relationship, but “of a real moral and spiritual relation of sonship that involves a participation in the moral character of the divine Father.”

The Catholic Church in Politics

By L. A. S.

THE proceedings of the recent Catholic federation convention at Detroit throw much light on the question of the purpose of that organization. Two addresses given at the convention, one by “Father” O’Brien, of Toledo, the other by Bishop McFaul, dealt quite fully with this subject, especially that delivered by the bishop, which took up the question of the federation’s relation to politics. The following quotations from this address show that while the federation is professedly keeping carefully aloof from politics, it is really a political organization in the broadest and fullest sense of the term, and is not designed to be anything else. It aims to wield its political influence whenever that is deemed necessary to the realization of its ends:—
There are some who at the mention of federation cry out, “Politics, politics.” Those who have raised this cry are either unacquainted with the literature of the movement, or they are scheming, selfish politicians, who realize that federation is a new factor which they can neither hope to influence nor control. Any one who stops to think will conclude that partisan politics can have no place in federation. It is made up of all political creeds and nationalities, and it would be suicidal to sway it in favor of any particular party. Others say: “But of what use is federation, if it doesn’t engage in politics? Isn’t it votes that count?”—Yes, that is true, and there is a sense in which the federation will take an active part in politics. To illustrate; a little over a year ago, a bill was brought up in the New Jersey Legislature; its language was ambiguous; bigots could have interpreted it in favor of taxing our parochial schools. Some Catholic gentlemen remonstrated against the phraseology of the bill, and requested that it be changed. No satisfaction could be obtained. When, however, a committee from the New Jersey American Federation of Catholic Societies, composed of both political parties and different nationalities, called on the introducer of the bill, he begged that the matter be dropped, and declared, “any changes you desire shall be made.”
This is the kind of politics the federation intends to engage in. Is it not high time that we learned to employ the prerogatives of American citizenship in the defense of our rights? Others have been using these methods whenever it was possible; we are just beginning to understand the necessity of activity, if we are not to fall behind our fellow citizens.
Federation is not then a mere grievance committee, although it will use its influence whenever possible to redress grievances. It is not a political party; it will not engage in partisan politics, yet there is no power known to American citizenship which it will not employ in the interests of Catholics.
Already by the exercise of its political power the federation has exerted a persuasive influence upon the government. On this point it was stated by another speaker:—
Since our meeting at Atlantic City a year ago, the federation has made steady progress in numbers and influence. Within the past year the rations that were withdrawn from the Indian children attending Catholic schools have been restored by an act of Congress. The “Browning Ruling” has been revoked, and the right of Catholic Indian children in the government schools to receive instruction in their religion has been recognized by the government.
The bishop also touched on the same point, stating that “as practical results of the influence of federation may be mentioned the concessions made in the Philippine difficulties, the present amicable relations existing in Porto Rico, the changed aspect of the Indian schools, and the clear light thrown upon the vexed public school question.”
Of the importance of the federation as a political power the bishop said:—
If federation had done nothing else but unite, and have ready for action, whenever called upon, nearly a million and a half of male Catholics of different nationalities, this would have been a sufficient indication of the sincerity of its motives, and of the vast influence it must eventually command in a country like ours, where public opinion is irresistible. We must remember that in “a government of the people, by the people, and for the people,” it behooves the millions of American Catholics to have a voice, and to have some visible, tangible instrument whereby that voice may be heard. Seldom may it be necessary to use it, but we should know where to find it when it is wanted.
The “visible, tangible instrument” is the ballot. The influence alone of the federation will suffice to gain most of its demands, but if necessary it will exercise its political power at the polls.
The immediate objects to be realized through the federation, as stated by Bishop McFaul, are the following:—Broadly stated, these objects are (1) the unification of the Catholic nationalities in America; (2) the voicing of Catholic public opinion on the solution of modern problems; (3) the destruction of divorce; (4) the banishment of Socialism; (5) the education of all citizens to a realization of the injustice of taxing us to maintain a system of public instruction which we can not conscientiously patronize, because it divorces religious from secular education.
And among other purposes of the federation which were brought forward at this meeting, was that of the “better observance of Sunday as a day of rest and religious exercises.” Note this.
This federation is really the Catholic Church in politics. That church has always been in politics, but the effectiveness of its political power was weakened in this country by the racial antipathies and social disunion of its adherents, which are drawn from so many different quarters of the globe. The federation is to unite all these in one body under one leadership and one political influence, so that the force of the entire mass can be concentrated upon any purpose of the church in the briefest space of time.
This movement can not fail to have a profound effect upon the relation of other great churches in this country to politics, and to greatly stimulate the tendency of these churches which is now discernible to political alliances. “Old controversies will be revived, and new ones will be added. New and old will commingle, and this will take place right early.”
L. A. S.

The Sabbath Offering for the Haskell Home

By Arthur G. Daniells

WHAT is known among us as the Haskell Home Sabbath offering is to be taken Sabbath, October 3. This is the regular fall offering that has for several years been taken in all our churches in behalf of this institution.
The object of this offering and the plans for taking it are too well understood to require any explanation. The object of this note is to speak of the present needs of the Home. I am informed by those who have been appointed to the management of its affairs, that for some time they have been sorely pressed for means to meet current expenses.
As the winter approaches, extra means for fuel and repairs will be called for. In view of this, it is earnestly desired by those who have to meet the bills, that the October offering shall be large, and that the gifts shall be sent in promptly.
The devoted workers, as well as the orphans of the Haskell Home, need the sympathy and co-operation of our people. The Home is full of unfortunate children who have no other place to live. They must be fed, housed, clothed, and educated. This requires devoted, sympathetic ministry on the part of men and women who are free to devote their lives to such work, and it also requires means from the rank and file of our people.
Those who have immediate charge of the Home are working hard in caring for the children. Sabbath, October 3, will afford an opportunity for our people throughout the States to do their part in making a liberal offering of means.
While the gift of means is needful, and will be highly appreciated, there is another very substantial way of assisting in this line of work, and that is to open the childless homes among our people to the homeless children being taken care of at the Haskell Home.
There are hundreds of families among us that could each take at least one child into their homes; and at the same time the children would bring sunshine into these homes.
This we know, both by personal experience and by extended observation. While a public institution may serve well as a home for homeless children, a more natural and helpful arrangement is for families who can do so, to take these children and care for them as they would for their own offspring. This not only distributes the burden of financial responsibility, but gives the children better advantages than they can secure in a public institution.
The Haskell Home is now full of children who need immediate financial help. The winter is approaching. The object of the October offering is to provide this help. As the Lord has blessed us with good crops, high prices, and general prosperity, let us share these blessings with the less fortunate of the Haskell Home.
A. G. DANIELLS.

Note and Comment

PREMIER COMBES, of France, has declared for a complete separation of church and state in that country. A dispatch dated at Auxerre, September 4, says: “Prime Minister Combes, speaking at a banquet in this city, declared that the republic meant to free France from all dependence as regards religious power. For thirty years, he said, the ecclesiastical power had audaciously violated the concordat. A new one was impossible. The only solution was the separation of church and state by mutual consent. In the interests of social peace and religious liberty he was disposed to make all reasonable concessions in order that the separation should open a new era of social concord.” Pope Pius professes to welcome the prospect of the proposed separation, saying that a union of church and state is desirable only where the state is Catholic as well as the church.

The Battle of Liao Yang

THE recent great battle in Manchuria between the Japanese and Russians, which will probably go into history as the battle of Liao Yang, is noteworthy in several respects. While the precise number of combatants on either side is not definitely known, it is believed the combined number is greater than ever before met on the battle-field with modern military weapons. It also raged for a longer time than any other known military combat. But far more noteworthy than this is the fact that for the first time in military annals the white race has given way before the yellow race in a great pitched battle. It gives a new and, until recently, undreamed-of aspect to the question of the conquest and partition of Asiatic territory, which the powers of Europe had regarded as fairly well settled. It calls a decisive halt on the program for the dividing up of China. The yellow race must be reckoned with; and if China, under Japan's leadership, can be awakened and brought in touch with the spirit of modern progress and military science, the yellow race can bid defiance to all the Caucasian nations combined. In this battle the Japanese were numerically somewhat superior to the Russians, but the latter occupied strongly fortified positions, which had been made impregnable to assault by all the devices of modern military science, and the Russian commander fought on ground of his own choosing. Nor were the Russian troops at all lacking in bravery. But with all these advantages in his favor, the Russian commander, though accounted a man of much experience and ability, was squarely beaten, and with difficulty saved his army from disintegration and ruin. By some this battle is regarded as entitled to rank as one of the decisive battles of the world,—decisive in its effects upon Europe and Asia far more than in its immediate results to the defeated army. According to the historian Creasy, there had been fifteen “decisive battles of the world” since Marathon, B. C. 490, down to his own time, which was half a century ago. Since that time there have been Gettysburg and Sedan, and to these should perhaps be added the battle of Manila Bay, which brought the United States into the arena of old-world politics. This would make eighteen decisive battles of the world, with that at Liao Yang, if it may be classed with the others, the nineteenth. Certainly it will be a long time, if ever, before Russia recovers from this blow to her military prestige.
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