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Review and Herald, Vol. 81, No. 34.

John the Beloved

Review and Herald

Aug 25, 1904

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D.C. · Aug 25, 1904

John the Beloved

I'm growing very old. This weary head That hath so often leaned on Jesus' breast In days long past that seem almost a dream, Is bent and hoary with its weight of years. These limbs that followed Him — my Master — oft From Galilee to Judah, yea, that stood Beneath the cross, and trembled with His groans, Refuse to bear me even through the streets To preach unto my children. E'en my lips Refuse to form the words my heart sends forth. My ears are dull, they scarcely hear the sobs Of my dear children gathered round my couch; God lays his hand upon me, — yea, His hand And not His rod, — the gentle hand that I Felt, those three years, so often pressed in mine In friendship such as passeth woman's love.
I'm old, — so old I can not recollect The faces of my friends, and I forget The words and deeds that make my daily life; But that dear face and every word He spoke Grow more distinct as others fade away, So that I live with Him and holy dead More than with the living.
Some seventy years ago I was a fisher by the sacred sea. It was at sunset. How the tranquil tide Bathed dreamily the pebbles! How the light Crept up the distant hills, and in its wake Soft, purple shadows wrapped the dewy fields! And then He came and called me. Then I gazed, For the first time, on that sweet face. Those eyes, From out of which, as from a window, shone Divinity, looked on my inmost soul And lighted it forever. Then His words Broke on the silence of my heart, and made The whole world musical. Incarnate Love Took hold of me, and claimed me for its own. I followed in the twilight, holding fast His mantle.
O, what holy walks we had, Through harvest fields and desolate, dreary wastes! And oftentimes He leaned upon my arm, Wearied and wayworn. I was young and strong, And so upbore Him. Lord, now I am weak, And old, and feeble! Let me rest on Thee! So, put Thine arm around me. Closer still! How strong Thou art! The twilight grows apace. Come, let us leave these noisy streets, and take The path to Bethany, for Mary's smile Awaits us at the gate, and Martha's hands Have long prepared the cheerful evening meal. Come, James, the Master waits; and Peter, see, Has gone some steps before.
What say you, friends? That this is Ephesus, and Christ has gone Back to His kingdom? Ay, 'tis so, 'tis so. I know it all; and yet, just now I seemed To stand once more upon my native hills, And touch my Master. O, how oft I've seen The touching of His garment bring back strength To palsied limbs! I feel it has to mine. UP! bear me once more to my church! Once more There let me tell them of a Saviour's love; For, by the sweetness of my Master's voice Just now, I think He must be very near, — Coming, I trust, to break the veil, which time Has worn so thin that I can see beyond, And watch His footsteps.
So, raise my head. How dark it is! I can not seem to see The faces of my flock. Is that the sea That murmurs so, or is it weeping? Hush, My little children! God so loved the world He gave His Son. So love ye one another. Love God and man. Amen. Now bear me back. My legacy unto an angry world is this. I feel my work is finished. Are the streets so full? What call the folk my name, — the Holy John? Nay, write me rather, Jesus Christ's beloved, And lover of my children.
Lay me down Once more upon my couch, and open wide The eastern window. See, there comes a light Like that which broke upon my soul at eve, When, in the dreary Isle of Patmos, Gabriel came And touched me on the shoulder. See, it grows As when we mounted toward the pearly gates. I know the way! I trod it once before. And hark! It is the song the ransomed sang Of glory to the Lamb! How loud it sounds! And that unwritten one! Methinks my soul Can join it now.
O my Lord, my Lord! How bright Thou art! and yet the very same I loved in Galilee. 'Tis worthy the hundred years To feel this bliss! So lift me up, dear Lord, Unto Thy bosom. There shall I abide.
— Selected.

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By Editor

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

Steps to Christ in the Thin Edition

THERE is not a person who, having read “Steps to Christ,” will not vouch for the good things it contains. There is doubtless not one person who has not seen the new thin edition of this book who would believe that it could be gotten up in such convenient style. It is bound in red Russia leather,—like the leather-bound Testimonies,—is but one quarter of an inch thick, and weighs but three ounces.
You can not appreciate this volume until you see the book; and once you see it in this style, so convenient and attractive, strange though our statement may seem, you will want to read it again.
Ministers and workers will want this edition, of which, by the way, there was but a limited number printed.
Price, postpaid, 60 cents.

The Home Over There

Is a theme in which all are interested,—the home over there, of which poets have written and bards have sung,—an eternal home, where sickness and sorrow are no more, where partings cease, and where there will be no stain of the curse of sin.
This soul-inspiring subject, the Christian's hope, has been the foundation of that interesting little volume by Elder S. H. Lane, entitled “Our Paradise Home.” Along with this subject, other kindred topics on present truth are given careful consideration. It is a volume to interest the unbeliever, to turn him from his way, and point him to the reward to be given to those who are faithful.
The 75-cent binding makes a charming gift to any friend.
Bound also in board covers, 25 cents; in cloth, 50 cents.

Early Writings, or Experiences and Views and Spiritual Gifts

THE book “Early Writings” is a source of encouragement and strength to every believer in the third angel's message. At the beginning of this work, in 1844, the children of God were placed in peculiar positions, as foretold in the Scriptures. In their time of bitter trial the Lord did not forsake them, but was pleased to give them special instruction and direction through his Holy Spirit. Scenes were presented to them of those who stand faithful to the end, of the trials and victories they will meet, etc. These instructions, written so few years ago, are intensely applicable at this time. As we are carried further from the early days of 1844, we draw nearer the close of this world's history. Many fail to consider this fact: the further from the beginning, the nearer is the end.
When the enemy is working with every sign and lying wonder, the Lord sends his people words of good cheer. We believe this is especially the case with “Early Writings.” Such subjects as the Shaking Time, the Sins of Babylon, the Loud Cry, the Third Message Closed, the Time of Trouble, Inheritance of the Saints, the Saint's Reward, etc., will appeal to every soul, faithful or discouraged. In the latter class, this little book will instill new hope; in the former, it will increase faith and praise to God.
Every Seventh-day Adventist family should have a copy of this book, and those who have it should read and study it. It will give new life and faith in God's Word.
Bound in cloth, postpaid, 75 cents.

Gives the Message, and Sells Rapidly

THE new, illustrated edition of “Story of Daniel the Prophet,” by Elder Haskell, is meeting with a rapid sale. The book is written in simple, story form, sells at a popular price, and takes well with the people. Some who are handling it say that it is the best-selling book now on the market. It is a unique and distinct contribution to the literature of the prophecy of Daniel, and presents just the truth that is most needed at the present time, and that so plainly that all are enabled to understand it.
The scriptures narrating the story are printed in the margin, together with 4,048 other Bible references, making it an exceedingly valuable book for Bible students. There are also given over two thousand questions, covering the contents of each chapter. These bring out many important facts which otherwise might be overlooked.
Our workers will find this a good book for which to take orders for their fall and Christmas deliveries. Being a subscription book, it is subject to regular canvassers' discount. It can be obtained through the regular channels.
“The Story of Daniel” contains 369 pages, and is artistically bound. Price, postpaid, $1.

Just as We Claim

WE recently received a request from a lady, asking us to send her a Bible with large print for a certain amount of money which we had to her credit.
She did not specify any particular Bible—except that it should have large print. Most people are anxious to have large print, but when they see the size of a regular large-print Bible, then they do not want it so large.
As an experiment, we sent the good lady one of our “Quart in a Pint” Bibles, and have just received word from her, saying:—
“AUGUST 10.—Received Bible, August 1. I am well pleased with it. Just what I wished.”
The “experiment” only proved more conclusively what we have decided in our own minds,—that our “Quart in a Pint” Bibles, which have large type in a comparatively small book, give the best satisfaction in these particulars of any Bible published. They sell as follows, according to the style of binding:—
Without Concordance, $3.25, $3.75, $5.00, $6.50, $7.50.
With Concordance, $4.00, $5.50, $7.00. When you want a good Bible, get a “Quart in a Pint.” It will cost you no more, but will please you much better.

The Rights of the People

EVERY person is more or less interested in the history of his own country. The book “Rights of the People,” by Elder A. T. Jones, may properly be termed a history of the United States, dealing particularly with subjects pertaining to the Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Independence.
Part I is what might be known as a treatise on How to Form a Government, profiting by the experiences of the Roman empire; in connection with government, What Is Due to God and What to the State? What is the Relation of the Individual to the Powers that Be? etc.
Part II treats fully of the Rights of the People, How the United States Became a Nation; What Is the Nation? Who Made the Nation? Religious Right in the United States; Religious Right Invaded; Will the People Maintain their Rights? etc.
In the Appendix are given in full the Constitution of the United States, the Declaration of Independence, the Dred Scott Decision, the “Christian Nation” Decision.
The Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Independence are two of the world's greatest documents. They alone, with the great amount of matter pertaining thereto contained in this volume, are of great value. The other valuable information contained in this work with reference to questions arising as to the prerogatives of church and government will be of inestimable value to every person who gives this subject consideration.
“The Rights of the People” is a history and authority on questions pertaining to civil governments, and the extent of their power in the matter of principles—civil and religious.
Bound in cloth, postpaid, $1.

A Trip to Africa

NOT many persons have occasion to make a trip to Africa; and the world at large knows but little of what the few who do make this long journey see and encounter on the way.
A journey which starts in the United States, touching the two largest cities of the world, and including two long sea voyages before reaching destination, and then to continue far into the interior of Africa, and that during the time when a great war was raging,—we say, the events of a journey such as that would be interesting. It must also be interesting to know of the strange peoples, their peculiar customs, and the many things found there which we do not see in our own country.
All these are described in the book “How a Little Girl Went to Africa.” The book is written in childish simplicity, and will interest old and young. The pictures are photographs from life, and while they are interesting, they reveal the true condition of man and nature in this far-off continent.
Bound in nicely ornamented cloth cover, postpaid, $1.
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.

The Danger-Signal

By Editor

Editorial

The Danger-Signal

WE are now in times of peculiar peril, and it is the duty of every faithful watchman to lift the danger-signal. We should not be mere alarmists; but when a real danger threatens, it is a betrayal of trust to keep silence, even though in warning the people we may be compelled to expose the errors of those who have been our former companions in arms. Sin is sin, and rebellion is rebellion, and apostasy is apostasy, and “there is no respect of persons with God.” In the history of every departure from God there comes a time when to remain neutral and not to be outspoken against a wrong course, is to compromise with evil, and to become responsible for it. The integrity of God’s cause and faith in his last warning message are to be preserved at whatever cost to our feelings. It seems to have been the experience of nearly every reform movement that an effort would be made to counteract its influence and really to bring it to naught, by perverting its principles, and by holding to the mere forms of truth while denying its power. This advent movement has not escaped from this experience. It is now time to lift the danger-signal, and to take an uncompromising stand against those influences which, if allowed to work without hindrance, will greatly dishonor God, and bring defeat upon this advent movement. “The enemy is on our track. We must be wide-awake, on our guard against him. We must put on the whole armor of God. We must follow the directions given through the spirit of prophecy. We must love and obey the truth for this time. This will save us from accepting strong delusions. . . . Let not erroneous theories receive countenance from the people who ought to be standing firm on the platform of eternal truth. God calls upon us to hold firmly to the fundamental principles that are based upon unquestionable authority.” A strong influence is being exerted to counterwork the work of God for this time, and to destroy confidence in his leading. It is time to lift the danger-signal. Let the truth be spoken in love.

Mystery and Mysticism

We should carefully distinguish between the mystery of the true gospel and the mysticism of a false gospel. To his disciples Jesus said, “Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven,” but many modern teachers have departed from the example of the Great Teacher, and have substituted mysticism for mystery in their attempt to expound the truths of the kingdom. The result is that iniquity abounds, and the love of many waxes cold, because there is no power in mysticism to save from sin. It is the duty of the faithful preacher of the truth to proclaim the mystery of the gospel in such a clear manner that the contrast between it and mysticism shall be apparent to all.

Rejoicing in Trouble

THE same apostle who enumerates eight different kinds of perils to which he had been exposed, and who had been “in labor and travail, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness,” also says, “Rejoice in the Lord always: again I will say, Rejoice.” There is nothing except a personal acquaintance with God which will make it possible for one to rejoice in every experience which may come to him. Uncertain indeed is the happiness of the one who depends upon the fickle fortune of circumstances, and such happiness is, after all, only a flight of feeling, a mere ripple upon the surface of life. It is in the deeper quiet of the soul that true happiness abides. This blessedness is the fruitage of the most intimate communion with the God of peace, in whose presence is fulness of joy. This was the experience of the prophet of old, who saw the coming Babylonish captivity and its attendant troubles, and yet stayed his soul on his God. Observe his words:—
“I heard, and my body trembled, My lips quivered at the voice; Rottenness entereth into my bones, and I tremble in my place; Because I must wait quietly for the day of trouble, For the coming up of the people that invadeth us. For though the fig-tree shall not flourish, Neither shall fruit be in the vines; The labor of the olive shall fail, And the fields shall yield no food; The flock shall be cut off from the fold. And there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in Jehovah, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”
God is able to spread a table in the wilderness, and he can care for his people even though the usual channels of temporal blessings are closed up. And more valuable than all these is the gift of righteousness, the gift of himself. Then “be glad in Jehovah, and rejoice, ye righteous; and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.”

Studies in the Prophecies

“Babylon the Great”—No. 5

The gospel is God’s provision to save men from their sins. The great central fact in this provision for salvation from sin is the gift of the Son of God to take our flesh. Only divine wisdom could devise, and only divine love could execute, such a plan as this. This is “the gospel of God, which he promised afore through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”
It was the purpose of God that man should be a temple for his indwelling, but sin interfered with this purpose. Through Christ in the flesh divinity and humanity are again united, and the original plan of the Creator is carried out. This great truth is set forth in many places in the Scriptures: “Behold, thevirgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel; which is, being interpreted, God with us.” “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth.” “When the fulness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, that he might redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” “Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, becoming in the likeness of men.” “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness; he who was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, received up in glory.”
“In taking our nature, the Saviour has bound himself to humanity by a tie that is never to be broken. Through the eternal ages he is linked with us. ‘God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.’ He gave him not only to bear our sins, and to die as our sacrifice; he gave him to the fallen race. To assure us of his immutable counsel of peace, God gave his only begotten Son to become one of the human family, forever to retain his human nature. This is the pledge that God will fulfil his word. ‘Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder.’ God has adopted human nature in the person of his Son, and has carried the same into the highest heaven. It is the ‘Son of man’ who shares the throne of the universe. It is the ‘Son of man’ whose name shall be called, ‘Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.’ The I AM is the Daysman between God and humanity, laying his hand upon both. He who is ‘holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,’ is not ashamed to call us brethren. In Christ the family of earth and the family of heaven are bound together. Christ glorified is our brother. Heaven is enshrined in humanity, and humanity is enfolded in the bosom of Infinite Love.”
Of those who had accepted this gospel of God manifest in the flesh, the apostle Paul wrote, ‘We are a temple of the living God; even as God said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.’ And each one who has experienced this blessing is able to say with the same apostle, ‘Christ liveth in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.’ Of the church which is composed of such members as this the same apostle writes, ‘So then ye are no more strangers and sojourners, but ye are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner-stone; in whom each several building, fitly framed together, groweth into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.’ This is the true gospel of the living temple.
In direct contrast with this truth of the gospel of ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory,’ this gospel of salvation through faith in a Saviour who has shared our flesh and blood, this gospel of righteousness by faith, is the creed and teaching of Babylon. Babylon stands for another way to heaven. Babylon did not acknowledge the need of, or the necessity for, the atoning work of a divine Saviour, the eternal Son, who could transform a habitation of demons into a temple for the living God. ‘The principle that man can save himself by his own works, lay at the foundation of every heathen religion,’ and Babylon was the fountainhead of the teaching of righteousness by works.
All this is bound up in that one statement which the wise men of Babylon made before King Nebuchadnezzar when they were urged under threat of death to tell him his dream and to make known its interpretation. They said, ‘It is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is no other that can show it before the king, except the gods [or that God], whose dwelling is not with flesh.’ This is the creed of Babylon. It had no place for the mystery of godliness, and it knew nothing of the possibility of becoming the temple of the living God through that wondrous union of divinity and humanity which is the foundation experience of the gospel of Christ. But this denial of the very essence of Christianity was zealously promulgated by Babylon, so that the nations became drunken with the wine of her teaching, and her abominations filled the earth. Thus it was with ancient Babylon.
We have already seen that ancient Babylon was a type and a prophecy of modern Babylon, the papacy. It is proper therefore to inquire whether we find in modern Babylon the same rejection of that vital principle of the gospel as we have found in ancient Babylon. In the creed of ancient Babylon the union of divinity with humanity was openly denied. In modern Babylon it is apparently accepted, but in reality it is rejected. The formal statement of the creed is found in what is called the dogma of the immaculate conception of the virgin Mary, which runs as follows: ‘By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the blessed apostles Peter and John, and by our own authority, we declare, pronounce, and define, that the doctrine, which holds that the most blessed virgin Mary, in the first instant of her conception, by a special grace and privilege of Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of mankind, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, has been revealed by God, and, therefore, is to be firmly and steadfastly believed by all the faithful.’
Put into plain language, this dogma means that Mary the mother of Jesus was in her nature different from other women, and that her son Jesus took his human nature from an incorrupt human source instead of from a corrupt one, as do other members of the human family. It follows at once that Jesus was not made like unto his brethren in all things, and that although he took the flesh, yet he is still separated from us by a gulf which must be bridged in some other way. This is supplied in the papal creed by the intercession of saints, angels, and the blessed virgin herself. But the very fact that other intercessors are necessary in order to bring us into fellowship with the Saviour shows that modern Babylon does not teach the gospel of God manifest in the same flesh that we bear. In this respect her creed is but a variation of the creed of ancient Babylon, and the result is the same in both cases,—man is cut off from God.
In this connection it may be well to mention that teaching which attempts to make every man the temple of God irrespective of the gift of Christ to take the flesh, or of any personal faith in his atoning work. While this doctrine seems to bring God very near, it really shuts the true God away from man, for the reason that only through Christ and the ministry of his Spirit does God dwell in humanity and make it his temple. Whatever it may appear to be, it is not in reality the gospel of God manifest in the flesh, and it just as truly leaves man without a barrier against sin as do the creeds of both ancient and modern Babylon.
The alpha of all this teaching may seem plausible, and even pleasing, to the natural heart, but the omega will be seen when Babylon ‘is become a habitation of demons, and a hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and hateful bird.’ If the God of heaven does not dwell in the flesh, the god of this world will ultimately take complete possession, and the ruin will be complete. It is therefore necessaryto emphasize the everlasting gospel of the Word made flesh. In this experience is the barrier against sin.

A Belated Discovery

By L. A. S.

Some visitors at the St. Louis exposition are calling attention to the visible result of the policy, adopted at the dictation of Congress, of keeping the gates of the fair closed on Sunday. This was done for the purpose of making at the fair a weekly exhibition of “the American sabbath;” but this exhibition, taken in connection with that made by the city outside the closed gates each Sunday, does not favorably impress many law-abiding, religiously minded people. They see the multitudes on Sunday kept out of the fair, where at least the influences are refining, and turned into the beer-gardens and other resorts of vicious and degrading character, and they can not see that the ostensible purpose of closing the fair, which was to conserve public morality, is being realized.
One of those who believe Sunday closing of the exposition was a great mistake, is the editor of The Outlook, who contrasts the closed fair-grounds and the wide-open city resorts. He says:—
The beer-gardens are all open, and in the neighborhood of the exposition there are two immense beer-gardens, which, combined, can entertain from thirty to forty thousand persons between noon and midnight on Sunday. Right next to the largest and most popular of these gardens there is a race-track, with races on most Sundays during the exposition season; and in the open country about the exposition grounds there are scores of resorts and attractions which would not be tolerated on the “Pike.” . . . In the city itself three or four theaters have two performances a day, and down at the levee there are dozens of excursion boats in waiting for Sunday crowds which seek a cool river breeze, combined with opportunities for gambling with professionals of the lowest and most dangerous type. On Sundays all these places are in full blast, while the beautiful grounds at Forest Park are tightly closed to the public by a high fence. . . . Street-car traffic to the Sunday attractions is as heavy as it is on week-days. It is even heavier, for St. Louis’s working-class population is at liberty on Sunday, and like the visitor from a distance, is drawn to any attraction which is offered.
The Outlook continues:—
We suppose that it is now too late to correct the error; it could be corrected, we judge, only by act of Congress; but that it is an error from every point of view appears to us almost self-evident, and the fact is worth noting now in order that the country may be saved from similar errors in the future. To shut up by law innocent, educative, and helpful places of recreation on Sunday, and leave doubtful, degrading, and vicious ones in full operation, and to do this in the name of religion, is to inflict another of those wounds from which religion has so often suffered at the hands of its friends.
There was a time when such words from The Outlook might have been helpful not only in avoiding the error of turning the Sunday throngs away from a beautiful park and into dens of vice, but the much worse error of Congressional legislation on a religious question. “It is now too late to correct the error,” as The Outlook observes, and what is worse, the evil precedent of Congressional legislation on Sabbath observance is now fully established, and an important bulwark of religious liberty in this republic has been undermined. It will be found impossible to save the country from “similar errors in the future.”
The Chattanooga News takes a view of the matter similar to that of The Outlook, but seems either to have forgotten or to have overlooked the reason of the act of Congress by which the exposition directors were bound to Sunday closing. In the view of the News the closing of the exposition is so obviously in the interests of the surrounding vicious resorts, that it says: “In all probability it was the influence of these Sunday resorts that led Congress to put the closing feature in the bill extending aid to the exposition.”
The News is quite certain that “the churches did not demand the Sunday-closing feature.” If the News will look up the files of the Congressional Record containing this act of Congress, it will see that it was the church influence, and no other, that induced Congress to take such action; that it was an act of legislation dictated by the preponderating religious element in the community, and for purely religious reasons.
So prominent a paper as Collier’s Weekly, from which the News quotes, seems to be still more ignorant regarding the origin and purpose of this Sunday-closing act. It says:—
One of the worst mistakes connected with the very interesting exposition at St. Louis is the Sunday closing. Nobody loses more by it than the champions of real religion, for nothing could do more to cool a people toward religion than an act so out of accord with the feelings of the time. How the error came to be made nobody seems to know. The provision was made a condition of the national government’s contribution, several years ago, but what influence led the government to make the provision we have been unable to learn. It may have been merely the idiosyncrasy of some one Congressman. We have heard, with scepticism, that brewing influences were behind it. Certainly the brewers, the St. Louis restaurants, and the keepers of billiard halls are the only gainers, and especially the brewers, for the crowds which would have been having refining pleasure at the exposition grounds now have a somewhat less refining pleasure drinking beer by thousands in the resorts with which St. Louis is surrounded. It would be a good thing if the forces which caused this mistake at Washington could be uncovered.
It would be a much better thing if the people of the country could be awake to the situation, and watchful of the forces of the enemy when they are uncovered and laying siege to the national legislature. There was nothing secret about the influence to which Congress yielded in this matter of closing the St. Louis fair. It was, as stated, the church influence, brought to bear on Congress through a “Christian” lobby maintained here at Washington by the Rev. W. F. Crafts. Mr. Crafts has made himself felt and feared in Congress because of the political influence he is able to exert through the co-operation of the churches, the W. C. T. U., and other religious organizations. He finds also allies in Congress, such as Senators Platt and Hawley, of Connecticut, Gallinger, of New Hampshire, and the late Senator Quay, of Pennsylvania. Through the influence of some of these Congressmen, Mr. Crafts is enabled to send his literature broadcast over the country free of cost.
The leading Methodist organ in this country, the New York Christian Advocate, vigorously dissents from the view that Sunday closing is a mistake, and says: “The Outlook has missed the whole point. It is the management, under its contract with Congress, that shuts up by law the grounds on Sunday, ostensibly to conserve the regard for Sunday and existing Sunday laws in the whole United States of America, without regard to local conditions, and it is the city of St. Louis that leaves doubtful, degrading, and positively vicious recreations in full operation.”
What business has Congress to legislate for the purpose of conserving the regard for Sunday? Suppose that Sunday is not the Christian sabbath; suppose that the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, and not the first. That is what the fourth commandment says, and what many Christian people teach and practise, so it is fair to make the supposition. If that supposition be true, Congress is legislating against the Christian sabbath. The Christian people of this land would not wish that; nor would Congress have any right to legislate in that way. The religious majority say this supposition is not true; but without insisting that it is true, the fact remains that it is a purely religious question; and what right has Congress to legislate on religion or to decide religious controversies? That is the very thing the Constitution prohibits it from doing.
We are not arguing about the proper way of observing the Sabbath. We do not think the Sabbath day should be spent at an exposition, however free it may be from debasing influences. The Sabbath is a religious day, and shouldbe religiously observed. But in such a matter each individual must be guided by the instruction of Him who made the Sabbath. The wrong comes in when one individual attempts to become conscience for another, and when one class of the people attempts to force the rest to a certain standard of Sabbath observance, or to any standard, and compel them to act without conscience. That only results in forcing those who are without conscience in the matter to do worse than they would do if they were not subjected to legal compulsion; just as it is worse for the Sunday throngs to go to the beer-gardens and the dives than it would be for them to see the exposition. And when this is done to conserve public morality, and in the name of Christianity, it is a foolish and wicked mistake. All religious legislation is of this character; for force has no rightful place in the domain of religion.
The “Christian” lobby at Washington is a distinctly religious institution, maintained by purely religious forces. Mr. Crafts, its head, is a religious man, who advocates Sunday rest from a religious standpoint, and believes Sunday labor to be immoral and an offense to God. He would have no use for the day as one of rest if it were not for his religious views, and it is solely on this basis that he asks legislation of Congress. Congress has several times yielded to this religious influence, and it is high time indeed that some steps were taken, if indeed any now can be, to prevent the further progress of religious legislation. Unquestionably it will go further if the friends of religious freedom do not strongly rally to its support. L. A. S.

Christian Science

By L. A. S.

Christian Science is a phase of the great world-wide religion of human nature. The false religions which fill the world all get their hold on mankind through human nature, which exalts self and is opposed to self-sacrifice. The religion of human nature always provides some way for a man to be saved through his own works. Either he lives a life which merits salvation, or he discovers another way of salvation than that of the narrow, cross-bearing path and the strait gate. The religion of the divine nature always humbles self and exalts Christ.
Christian Science is Christianity without the cross. There can, of course, be no such thing except only in name. Human nature shrinks from the cross. It is pleasant to think that evil is only a negation, and that sin is not the positive, tangible, malignant thing, to be gotten rid of by crucifixion of the carnal nature, as it is set forth in the old-fashioned gospel. It is pleasant to be able to get rid of this carnal nature without any crucifixion, by simply relegating it to the realm of shadows and figments of the uninstructed mind. Christian Science promises to do all this. It is a very soothing, as well as seductive, doctrine.
As Christian Science is not Christian, so neither is it scientific. As one writer has said, what little is true about it is not new, and the larger, new part about it is not true. It is not scientific because it is not true, and it is not scientific because it denies the gospel. Nothing that denies the gospel can be truly scientific; for truth can not be separated from the omniscient One who is the Author of all things.
Christian Science attempts to turn truth into error, and error into truth. It tries to make real things into unreal things, and vice versa. This gives it a sort of fascination for many minds in which the reasoning, logical faculties are not predominant. As regards the healing of disease, Christian Science has appeared to be efficacious in cases where the trouble is mainly imaginary, or mainly due to the influence of the mind over the body. In common with drugs, it may get the credit for the healing that is often done by nature in spite of the treatment or lack of treatment. This leads many to believe in it as a curative agency, especially such as know least about physiology and anatomy and the nature of disease. But its greatest power is derived through its promise, before stated, to confer salvation without the cross. It does nothing to exalt Jesus as the Saviour of sinners.
Conditions in the world at the present time are well suited to the rise and spread of such a religion. The enemy of God's truth and gospel has many different religions and various organizations and confederacies by which to catch people of all phases of mind and character, and of these Christian Science is one. You can not reason with its devotees; for it is not a reasonable thing. It leads off into a realm of mysticism upon which the light of reason and revelation has never shone. It is as elusive as a shadow. Take its plainest utterances and bring to bear upon them the Bible and other acknowledged sources of truth until you have dealt it a knock-out blow, and the only result is that you will be told by the follower of Mrs. Eddy that you have wholly misrepresented Christian Science, that you do not correctly understand it. You discover then that you have been chasing a phantom.
But the power of the gospel is still greater than all else, and whosoever is willing to surrender his human nature, as an act of faith in Jesus receive in its place the divine nature, will have the light of divine wisdom, and will be able to discern what is truth, and to escape the snares of error in the subtle guises it has put on in these latter days.
L. A. S.
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