Review and Herald, Vol. 82, No. 40. (10/5/1905)

Review and Herald

Oct 5, 1905

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D.C. · Oct 5, 1905

The Jordan

This celebrated stream, the name of which means in the Hebrew “swift flowing,” is the principal river of Palestine. From its rise in a cave at Banias, which is the historical source of the stream, the distance to the Dead Sea direct is one hundred and four miles, and during this course it descends from a height of 1,000 feet above sea-level to a depth of nearly 1,300 feet below sea-level, making a total descent of nearly 2,300 feet. It is necessarily therefore, in many places at least, a rapidly flowing stream.

There are three streams which unite to form the Jordan near its source, one rising on Mount Hermon, which is regarded as the true source of the river geographically, and one at Dan, besides that already mentioned. From its source to the Huleh Lake, or Lake Merom, the stream is very rapid, falling 1,000 feet in twelve miles. Lake Merom is four miles in length, and ten and a half miles distant from the Sea of Galilee, the descent between these lakes being 682 feet. The Sea of Galilee is twelve and a half miles long. Below this lake the Jordan flows through a valley having a width of from four to fourteen miles, but with a deeper valley, from a mile to a furlong in width, bordering the stream. In March the Jordan overflows and fills this narrow valley, but its width in summer is from thirty to fifty yards. Along the edge of the stream are close thickets which afford a shelter for wild boars, jackals, and other animals, as well as birds. The course of the river is extremely tortuous.

The river is crossed by ford and ferry in several places, one ford being between Lake Merom and the Sea of Galilee, at a place supposed to be the site of Jacob’s wrestling with the angel. Another ford is nearly opposite Jericho, and is the traditional site of Bethabara. A bridge spans the stream a short distance below the Sea of Galilee.

Geologists find reasons for believing that previous to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah the Jordan may have flowed into the Red Sea.

PLANS FOR THE Great Missionary Campaign

SEASON OF 1905-06

The Recommendations = The Supplies = What to Do = When to Do It

A Condition and a Conclusion

At the Missionary General Conference, held at Washington, D. C., in May, 1905, the necessity of a never-ceasing, ever-enlarging missionary campaign was given consideration, and the following is one of the recommendations adopted:—

“Realizing that many are ‘in the valley of decision,’ and that the time has fully come when the Master pleads with every child of his ‘to go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city’ and ‘into the highways and hedges,’ to bid the hungry and perishing to the marriage feast,—

“We recommend, That the great missionary campaign entered upon last year be strengthened, deepened, and enlarged into a mighty movement for the promulgation of the third angel’s message.”

The conference also thought it best to appoint a special committee to plan for and carry through this effort, and provided for it as follows:—

“We recommend, That the General Conference Committee appoint a missionary campaign committee to co-operate with the conference officers in the carrying out of these recommendations.”

The general campaign committee, appointed in harmony with this action, is:—

W. C. White, Chairman; H. H. Hall, Secretary; E. R. Palmer, G. A. Irwin, W. A. Spicer.

The First Work

Now we wish to lay before you the definite plans for “strengthening, deepening, and enlarging” our missionary operations.

“To avoid confusion, and to economize effort, we recommend the following general plan for North America:—

“That the effort to place the REVIEW AND HERALD in every Sabbath-keeping home be continued, especially through the camp-meeting season and early fall.”

Therefore at the camp-meetings and throughout every conference the first effort is to see that all our people are subscribers to the REVIEW. No other periodical so nearly reaches all our Sabbath-keepers, and no other paper is so indispensable to every Seventh-day Adventist. The instruction, the reports, the helpful experiences which appear in the REVIEW, should be read by all.

The price of the REVIEW in the United States or to foreign countries is $1.50 a year, 75 cents for six months, 40 cents for three months. Subscriptions should be sent to your conference tract society, or to Review and Herald, Washington, D. C.

The Next Step

After the effort in behalf of the REVIEW for our own people, the next recommendation is,—

“That a general campaign in North America for our missionary periodicals be entered upon about October 1.”

And further,—

“We approve of the plan to publish four special numbers of The Signs of the Times and The Watchman, two special issues of Life and Health, and such issues of the foreign papers as their publishers may deem best.”

In the carrying out of these recommendations the Signs of the Times will publish, beginning with October 11, a series of four special numbers. A brief outline of the contents of these numbers, so far as announced, follows:—

“Signs” and “Watchman” Specials

1. Special Signs of October 11, PROPHECY AND CHRIST’S COMING: Object of Prophecy; Prophecy May Be Understood; Importance of Prophecy; Alphabet of Symbolic Prophecy, Daniel 2; God’s View of the Nations, Daniel 7; Christ Will Come Again, How? When? What His Coming Means; Christ Our Life; The Only Power That Can Save, Acts 4:12.

2. Special Signs of October 25, THE SANCTUARY,—THE GOSPEL IN TYPE AND ANTITYPE: The Gospel in Type; The Sanctuary and Its Lessons; The Priesthood in Type and Antitype; The Day of Atonement and the Judgment; The Wonderful Book—The Seven Seals; The Closing Work of Our High Priest; The Great Apostate Powers, Revelation 12 and 13; Signs in the Heavens; A Message of Preparation.

3. Special Signs of November 8, THE LAW, THE GOSPEL, AND THE SABBATH,—“THE WHOLE DUTY OF MAN:” The Eternal Law; The Everlasting Gospel; The Bible Sabbath; The First Day of the Week; The Broken Hedge, Sabbath Changed in the Church; Babylon,—Its Character; Principles of Babylon in Succeeding Ages; The Reformation and America; Encroachments on Freedom—Beast, Image, Mark; Great Field of Prophecy; Signs in the Earth.

4. Special Signs of November 22, THE CHURCH TRIUMPHANT: A Spirit-Filled Church; Requisite Conditions To; Spiritual Gifts; The Apostasy; The Great Center of Sanctuary Service; The Seal of God—Sabbath Restored; God’s Last Great Protest; A Church Restored and Triumphant.

The Watchman will also issue four special numbers, and the following is a partial outline of their contents:—

1. The Watchman of October 3, THE COMING OF THE LORD: The Coming King; His Glorious Appearing; His Coming Foretold; The Signs of His Coming; The Time of the Second Advent; The Manner, “He Shall Not Keep Silent;” He Comes as King; The Object of Christ’s Coming and the Resurrection; The Kingdom of the Righteous.

2. The Watchman of October 10, THE SANCTUARY AND THE JUDGMENT: The Judgment and the Sanctuary; Christ Will Judge the World; The Nature of the Judgment; A Definitely Appointed Time; The Standard of Judging; The Judgment Day; The Judgment Scene; Armageddon; The Sinner Condemned; The Righteous Vindicated.

3. The Watchman of October 17, THE SABBATH: The Holy Sabbath; God’s Memorial; The Sign of His Authority; A Blessing in the Day; A Perpetual Obligation; The Sabbath in Prophecy; The Seal of Revelation 7; Three Wonderful Sabbaths; The Sabbath in the New Earth.

4. The Watchman of October 24, PRAISE NUMBER: The First Dominion—Man’s Goodly Patrimony; The Ruin Wrought by Sin; The Redemption through Christ, Including Spiritual and Temporal Blessings.

The Prices

The prices for sets of these special Signs or Watchman are the same, and are as follows:—

1 to 4 sets to one or more addresses ........$ .20 a set 5 or more sets to single addresses .......... .15 a set 25 to 500 sets to one address ............... .10 a set 500 and upward .............................. .09 a set They will be sold only in sets. (Continued on page 21)

The Missionary Campaign

(Continued from the second page)

The Signs should be ordered of your conference tract society or of Signs of the Times, Mountain View, Cal.

Orders for the Watchman may be sent through your conference tract society, or directly to the Watchman, 1025 Jefferson St., Nashville, Tenn.

Life and Health for October and November will be the best numbers yet published.

Life and Health for October Now Ready

As we look over the pages of the October number of Life and Health—the first full campaign issue—we are greatly pleased with its contents, and believe it to be the “best yet.”

It has a full-page frontispiece showing a Russian Officers’ Convalescent Ward in a Japanese Hospital, and each department is made attractive with a new heading. The articles are of unusual interest and importance, as will be seen by the following partial list of contents:—

GENERAL ARTICLES: Chronic Rheumatism of the Joints, by George A. Hare, M. S., M. D.; Extremes in Diet, by Mrs. E. G. White; The Daughter in the Home—The Little Tot, by Augusta C. Bainbridge; A Twofold Conversion—A Story by Mrs. M. E. Steward, A. M.

THE MEDICAL MISSIONARY AT WORK: A Visit to a Japanese Hospital (Illustrated), by S. A. Lockwood, M. D.

HOUSEHOLD SUGGESTIONS: Making Bed Comforts; Orderly Home-Making, Mrs. D. A. Fitch; Miscellaneous Helps.

FOR THE MOTHER: The Power of Mother’s Voice (Poetry); The Home Life, by Mrs. E. G. White; Tact with Children; Why Single Blessedness Is Preferred, by Mrs. M. C. Wilcox; Making Children “Show Off;” A Place for Boys (Poetry).

QUESTION AND ANSWERS: Two pages, by George A. Hare, M. S., M. D.

BY THE EDITOR: Prepare for the Winter Diseases, Guard the Child Against a Crippled Heart, Growing Pains, Food Frauds, The Cause of the Social Evil, Mental Influence in Sleeplessness.

NEWS NOTES: Three pages of the latest information concerning Pure Foods, Sanitary Progress, etc.

The November number (ready October 15) will be an educational or “School Children’s” number, more fully illustrated than usual, and the following are some of the topics to be considered:—

“The Medical Inspection of Schools,” “Spending Money for School Children,” “Our Little Miss at School,” “Diseases of School Children,” “Lunches,” “Recreation and Exercise,” “Home Study,” “Hygiene of the Schoolroom,” “Questions and Answers” pertaining to the health of school children.

The price for either October or November will be 5 cents a copy. The rate in quantities of 25 or more copies to one address is 2½ cents each. On less than 25 copies and more than 6 copies, the rate is 3 cents each.

Orders for Life and Health should be sent to your tract society, or to Life and Health, Washington, D. C.

The foreign papers—the Christlicher Hausfreund (German), the Sions Vaktare (Swedish), and the Evangeliets Sendebud (Danish)—have not yet made definite announcement of their plans for special issues. They are all published by the International Publishing Association, College View, Neb., and those who wish full information should address the publishers.

The Third Step

We look with favor upon the plan of setting aside certain small, easy-selling books for the use of those who wish to canvass in their own neighborhoods.

“We recommend, That beginning in early November, special efforts be made by conference workers and church officers to interest our people in the sale of forty-per-cent books.”

This work is usually termed “resident canvassing,” and means that those who can, while living at their own homes—in city or country—shall devote some time to introducing one or more of our publications to their friends and neighbors. These persons may not be able to leave home duties to engage continuously in selling the regular subscription books, but can spend a few hours each week in this work.

For this class, the books in the Home Workers’ list are especially adapted. They are gotten up in attractive style, and are of sufficient variety to meet the requirements of all. It is not necessary to consult with a State canvassing agent in order to begin work on these books. The territory for them is at the disposal of our churches. Select your book, arrange with the church librarian where to begin, and go to work.

Home Workers’ Books

DESIRE OF AGES.—Plain edition: Cloth, $1.50. Library, $2. Russia limp, $2.

THOUGHTS OF DANIEL AND THOUGHTS ON REVELATION.—Pamphlet style only. Daniel, 25 cents. Revelation, 25 cents.

GREAT NATIONS OF TO-DAY.—Paper, 25 cents. HIS GLORIOUS APPEARING.—Board, 25 cents. Cloth, 40 cents.

STEPS TO CHRIST.—Paper, 25 cents. Cloth, 50 cents.

THOUGHTS FROM THE MOUNT OF BLESSING.—Cloth, 60 cents.

EDUCATION.—Cloth, $1.25. HELPS TO BIBLE STUDY.—Paper, 25 cents. Cloth, 50 cents.

VEGETARIAN COOK BOOK.—Cloth, 75 cents. POWER FOR WITNESSING.—Paper, 25 cents. THINGS FORETOLD.—Board, 50 cents.

HOW A LITTLE GIRL WENT TO AFRICA.—Red Cloth, $1.

OUR LITTLE FOLKS’ BIBLE NATURE.—Board, 25 cents. Cloth, 40 cents.

UNCLE BEN’S COBBLESTONES.—Board, 75 cents.

The above books are all subject to a discount of forty per cent to actual workers when ordered through the librarian of the church. No discount is allowed to individuals for books for their own use.

The above books should be ordered from your conference tract society or from our nearest publishing house.

To Develop the Interest

Now we come to a part of the work which is of the greatest importance in the successful carrying out of the general plan:—

“We recommend, That the interest aroused by this work be developed by,—

“(a) The liberal use of message-filled tracts. “(b) Securing subscriptions for our periodicals. “(c) Holding Bible readings and cottage meetings.

“We also approve of the steps being taken in the publication of the ‘Signs of the Times Leaflets,’ to furnish our ministers and people with an inexpensive literature for general circulation.”

The “Signs of the Times Leaflets” are sixteen in number. They cover the important phases of the message. The price is so low

that they can be furnished only in packages as below. Very few are too poor to order a supply of at least one pound.

The following are the titles of the leaflets in this series:—

1. The Sure Word of Prophecy. 2. Prophetic History of the World. 3. Second Coming of Christ. 4. Signs of Our Times. 5. The Sanctuary. 6. The 2300 Days. 7. The Law of God. 8. The Sabbath of the Bible. 9. The First Day in the Bible. 10. Who Changed the Sabbath? 11. The Great Threefold Message. 12. The Seal of God and Mark of the Beast. 13. Church and State. 14. Life and Immortality. 15. The Great Judgment Day. 16. The Home of the Saved. Prices, post-paid:—

100 of any one leaflet ............ $ .15 1 lb. (about 20 of each kind) ...... .50 1000 (100 each of 10 kinds—your own selection) ...... 1.30 1600 (100 each of the whole series) ................. 1.95

Address your conference tract society, or the nearest publishing house.

The Missionary Conventions

“We recommend, That missionary conventions be held October 7 [postponed to October 14] and November 18 in all our churches, to study local needs and to organize for service.”

The missionary conventions, when properly arranged for, and when the regular program has been carried out, have been most helpful in developing and increasing the missionary spirit, and it is hoped that they will be held in every one of our churches this fall.

Church officers should plan for them early. Arrange for persons who can read well to present the readings. Have those who are actively engaged in some kind of missionary work speak briefly and to the point of their good experiences. Get the young people interested, and have them render some special music suitable to the occasion. All this preliminary effort will arouse the interest of any indifferent members, and will insure their attendance at the convention.

The readings for the October 14 convention appear in this paper.

Watch the REVIEW for reports of this first convention and for program and readings for the one to be held November 18.

A Practical Suggestion

As a result of the missionary convention to be held October 14, it is hoped and expected that a large number of our people, young and old, will be aroused and stimulated to renew, or to try for the first time, some definite labor for others. Some will decide to order a quantity of the special Signs, or Watchman, or Life and Health; others will order a supply of tracts or leaflets; still others will arrange to devote some of their time to the sale of some book. It is expected that every one will do something, the circulation of a pound of “Signs Leaflets” being suggested as a minimum of effort on the part of every Sabbath-keeper.

We do not want to see any less work done this year than during any previous effort. In fact, the nearness of the end and the demands of the hour should constrain us to do much more than ever before. But let us plan the work in such a way that we shall not go into debt.

Let each member of the church decide how many sets of the missionary papers or tracts he can pay for outright and use. We say use, for it is discouraging to have a lot of papers on hand which have not been circulated, even though we have paid for them. Then let the librarian take all these orders, together with the cash, and send at once for the supplies. This makes a cash deal throughout, and saves time and expense in bookkeeping wherever the order goes.

This is the ideal way of carrying forward the business side of a missionary effort, and it is hoped that most of our people will adopt this “cash in advance” plan.

Hope and Expectation

It is hoped and expected that this season’s campaign will enlist more of our people than

ever in some kind of missionary effort, and that finally every one will find the exact place the Lord expects him to fill. The message will swell to the “loud cry,” and it will then be quickly preached in every nation for a witness, and “then shall the end come.”

Our Publishing Houses

We give below the name and address of each of our publishing houses and their branches in the United States so that all may know where our nearest publishing house is located:—

Review and Herald Publishing Association, Washington, D. C., and Battle Creek, Mich.; Pacific Press Publishing Company, Mountain View, Cal., also Portland, Ore., and Kansas City, Mo.; Southern Publishing Association, Nashville, Tenn., and Fort Worth, Tex.

Editorial

By Editor

On the Wane

IN stating the reasons why “the first day of the week has passed from being a holy day, into being a holiday,” the Episcopal Recorder declares that “the average run of people have had their faith in the decalogue shaken,” and further that “faith in the divine law as given by Moses has for some time past been on the wane.” The Recorder suggests that “the rampant criticism of the Old Testament” is to some extent responsible for this attitude of the average people toward the ten commandments, but we are confident that the teaching of the religious leaders of the past generation has had much influence in breaking down the sense of obligation to obey the plain requirements of God’s law. The fourth commandment says that “the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God,” and declares that it should be kept holy. When attention has been called to these facts, and a message of Sabbath reform has been preached, all kinds of theological jugglery have been indulged in for the purpose of avoiding the duty of keeping the seventh-day Sabbath. It has been claimed that the law was for the Jews only, or that it has been abolished, or that it meant simply one day in seven, or that the spirit of the law could be obeyed by keeping Sunday, etc., etc. Such teaching as this could have only one result, and that result is now apparent. If the ministers can deal lightly with God’s requirements, so can the people. Thus instead of standing firmly against the destructive tendency of the “rampant criticism of the Old Testament,” those who have professed to be the defenders of the faith have really aided and abetted the attack upon the Bible. By their campaign against the Sabbath of the Lord they have destroyed the foundation upon which they had formerly based the obligation to keep the Sunday sabbath, and their old-time appeal to the law of God for divine authority for regarding the first day of the week as a holy day does not have the desired effect upon the people. The only way to restore the law of God to its place of authority is to teach it and obey it just as it reads; but this would mean to abandon all efforts to establish Sunday as a holy day, and to observe the only true Sabbath—the seventh day of the week. Such a course as this would increase the faith of many people in the decalogue, and rescue many whose faith in the divine law is now on the wane. This is the very work which we are trying to do. Will the Recorder join us in this good work?

Divine and Human

JESUS says to each one of his disciples, “Without me ye can do nothing.” It is equally clear that the Lord does nothing for our personal salvation apart from our co-operation. This union of the human and the divine in the experience of deliverance from sin is plainly suggested by the cry which Gideon and his three hundred men raised when they fell upon the camp of the Midianites. “The three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.” It was the Lord’s sword, and the glory for the victory was all due to him, but at the same time it was Gideon’s sword, and in order to show the union of the divine and the human the cry must be, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.” This is simply presenting in the form of an experience the lesson which is taught in these words: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure.” We can not explain by any human philosophy how infinite power and perfect weakness are thus mutually necessary in the divine plan, but we know that “the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men,” and we can accept the fact and enjoy the salvation, even though we are unable to fathom the depths of the wisdom which has provided it. “Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.”

Pleasing and Plausible

THERE is a way of expressing the modern idea concerning God and his relation to men and things which is both pleasing and plausible, but when it is analyzed, it will be found that it sets aside the revelation which God has made concerning the present condition of things in this world.

Here are some of the statements recently put forth in an editorial in one of the leading mouthpieces of this advanced theology:—

Between the faith that perceives God in all history, in all phenomena, in all experience, and the unfaith that perceives him in none, we can see no middle ground. . . . He is in the prophets of the twentieth century after Christ as truly as in the prophets of the sixth and seventh centuries before Christ. . . . If God were not in America to-day, it would be of little service to us that he was in Palestine twenty centuries ago. He is either all and in all, or he is not; he is everywhere or nowhere. He is the Force that is in all forces, the Life that is in all life. All the natural is supernatural. . . . Blessed is the man who knows that he is living in a divine world, and uses the divine forces of the world, of society, and of his own soul in divine fellowship and to divine ends.

Such teaching as this is pleasing. It has a strong flavor of religion in it. It appears to honor God by acknowledging him as being in supreme control in this world. It easily satisfies a kind of religious sentiment which is, after all, little different from superstition.

Such teaching as this is plausible. It appears to encourage faith as against unfaith. Some of the statements, taken apart from their general connection, seem to be quite in harmony with certain expressions in the Bible taken apart from their connection. One who does not study his Bible, and who does not base his ideas of God and religion directly upon the Scriptures, could very easily accept these assertions as light and truth.

But let us look a little deeper and see what is really involved in these statements. Experience has taught us that some who really desire to know and obey

the truth can be confused and befooled by just such sophistry as this, and it therefore seems necessary to point out its true meaning.

In the first place two alternatives are presented to us with an implied assurance that we must accept one or the other, and that to deny the ground taken by the writer of the article is the same as to deny that God has anything to do with the affairs of this world. This is an old fallacy, but it is often used quite successfully. But the fact is that neither one of the alternatives presented is a correct statement of the truth when taken in the sense indicated by the general trend of the article. It is certainly true that God's throne is in heaven, and that his kingdom ruleth over all, but it is equally true that there is another being whose relation to the affairs of this world must be reckoned with in order to give a correct solution to the problem with which we are dealing. Satan, who was recognized by Jesus as “the prince of this world,” has through the temptation and the fall gained a position where he is permitted to exercise for a limited time a limited power in opposition to God, and it is to this counterworking of the purpose of God that all imperfection is due. Wherever the tares appear, we may know that “an enemy hath done this.” But this new philosophy makes God “the minister of sin,” the direct agent in the perpetration of all forms of wickedness. The only way of escape from this conclusion is to declare, as is being done by many advanced thinkers, that there is no such thing as sin, and that all that is, is good. But this shows the true character of their philosophy and what is involved in their teaching about God.

But again: this teaching denies the inspiration of the Scriptures in the usual sense of that expression, and makes all teaching which is in harmony with the truth inspired in the same sense in which it is admitted that the Scriptures were inspired. The direct consequence of this philosophy of inspiration is that there is no authoritative standard of truth, and each one therefore appeals to “the voice within;” and each one who thus ignores the Word of God, and is deprived of its defensive power, will be sure to hear a voice within testifying that the Scriptures are unreliable, and that the religion of apostolic times is wholly out of date now. This is not a matter of theory, but of actual record. This is the inevitable result of this new conception of inspiration.

Furthermore, in the attempt to lift all things to the plane of the spiritual and the supernatural, this new philosophy really brings down the spiritual and the supernatural to the plane of the natural. In other words, so far as it is concerned, by breaking down the distinction between the ordinary and the extraordinary working of God's power it eliminates the God of the Bible from the minds of its devotees, and substitutes in his place an Infinite Power, an Intelligent Force, which works everywhere. By claiming that every manifestation of this Infinite Power is a miracle, it confuses the minds of many concerning the miracles recorded in the Bible. But this is an utter perversion of the revelation which God has made of himself and of his working in the Scriptures. And on this basis spiritual things are simply the reasonings of the natural heart.

It must be pleasing to “the god of this world” to have professed representatives of the Christian religion designate this groaning creation, just tottering to its ruin, as “a divine world,” and to have them talk about “the divine forces of the world,” while at the same time they really set aside the divine revelation and the divine plan for recovering a lost world and restoring it to that original perfection, unmarred by sin and the curse, when it was in truth a reflection of the divine mind. We have certainly come upon perilous times, and it behooves us to hold fast that which has been revealed through the infallible Word of God, and to pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit, “the Spirit of truth,” who has been sent to guide us into all truth. So only can we be saved from the deceptions of the enemy, and be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord.

The Majority Argument

By L. A. S.

THE Christian Statesman, organ of the party which seeks to enforce the law of Christ by legislatures, policemen, and courts, argues for an anti-polygamy law by an amendment to the Constitution which shall make an acknowledgment of the law of Christ as the basis of the legislation. It notes, among objections which it anticipates to such a measure, the fact that “many of our citizens do not believe what it is proposed thus to acknowledge,” and attempts to dispose of this objection by asserting that the majority have the right to dictate in religion, the same as in civil affairs. It sets aside the American principle of separation between church and state,—between the domain of the spiritual and the realm of secular affairs,—and likewise sets aside the Christian principle of a free conscience, subject only to the will and the instruction of God.

The Statesman says:—

No doubt this is true [that “many of our citizens do not believe what it is proposed thus to acknowledge”]; but an overwhelming majority of the American people do believe it, and if this belief of theirs is the actual ground and reason for the proposed enactment, they have the same right to declare the reason for their legislation that they have to legislate at all. No law was ever enacted, and no public declaration was ever made, about which the people were altogether unanimous.

The Statesman cites the various “Christian features” of the government, such as prayers in Congress, Thanksgiving day proclamations, etc., as justification for this further proposed step in the “Christianization” of the government.

It is true that all men are not unanimous in their approval of laws that are enacted, and it is true also that a certain amount of disagreement in regard to governmental policies is a salutary thing in the domain of secular affairs; but too frequent and violent divergence of opinion on the part of those governed would unquestionably be destructive of good government; and for this reason religion, in which men are notoriously divergent in their views and are bound to their differences by the strongest emotions of their natures, can not be brought into the realm of civil affairs without not only losing its own sacredness, but exerting a destructive effect upon the government itself. L. A. S.

Preparation for the Mission Field

By W. A. S.

MANY things enter into the preparation for missionary service which are not found listed in the training-school curriculum. There are hearts among us sadly tried because of the delay in getting into the fields. Let such take courage. God can turn the delay to the advantage of the candidate, and make it one of the “all things” which he worketh together for good to those that love him. Waiting to get to the field is not always losing time. Some of the best lessons in the divine course of training come through apparent delay.

Arnot, who opened the Garenganze country of Central Africa, just beyond Barotseland, wrote in his journal in 1881: “I would rather wait for years for a fellow worker than that one should come out hastily.” The time of waiting may be to the future missionary like the time of seasoning to the piece of timber—the process that prepares for enduring the strain and weight of the future burdens to be borne. The waiting time in the lives of Joseph, Moses, David, and others with whom the Lord dealt, shows that the process in the divine school for missionaries includes the development of patience and persevering steadfastness by waiting.

And patience is one of the first lessons for the missionary. Judson’s prospects, “bright as the promises of God,” after years of apparently fruitless labor in Burma, were bright only to one who could hold on patiently where the soul that had not learned the

lesson of patience would have been discomfited. Arnot wrote amid delays in Africa: “The value of dear Dr. Moffat’s advice to me when I was leaving London, ‘Have patience! have patience! have patience!’ is more and more apparent.” Let hearts that are longing to get away into needy fields be of good cheer. The Lord knows how to prepare his workmen. W. A. S.

The Disregard of Sunday

By L. A. S.

What shall be done to stay the increasing disregard of Sunday? is a question that continues to agitate the minds of people who regard Sunday as the bulwark of civilized society. Recently the clergy of Plainfield, N. J., have been making a protest against the playing of Sunday golf, and the leading Methodist organ in this country, referring to the situation there, says that “the destruction of respect for Sunday has made terrific strides within a few years,” among the causes of which it notes Sunday golf playing and Sunday automobiling by church-members. It fears that such an example set by men of social and religious prominence will “utterly destroy the remaining reverence for the Sabbath,”—an eventuality which would, in its view, be attended by appalling results. “What subject is there more important,” it inquires, “than the promotion and perpetuation of a regard for the one day that stands as a bulwark against invasion of the domestic life and the destruction of those conservators of morality, the churches and the Sunday-schools?”

Yet to avert the threatened catastrophe, the clergy and religious organs of the country rely on legislation, and call loudly for the enactment and enforcement of Sunday laws. They have no “Thus saith the Lord” against working or playing on the first day of the week, to present to the people; the force of church precepts and customs is not sufficient to deter those who would use Sunday for purposes of amusement, and legislation is the only remaining remedy.

Thus they will have human legislation as the foundation of their religious system,—regard for Sunday resting on a Sunday law, and the bulwarks of morality, the churches and Sunday-schools, upheld by regard for Sunday,—the Christian religion resting on a human foundation. Such is not the foundation laid for it by the Author of that religion, and any system resting on a human foundation must meet the fate of the house built upon the sand. The true foundation is the Word of God.

These individuals should stop and consider the seventh-day Sabbath, which is steadily gaining adherents in this country and throughout the world, though having neither human laws nor popular custom for its support. Resting solely upon a conscientious regard for the Word of God, this institution stands as the bulwark of morality and domestic virtue in many homes, and might do the same for all homes if there was in all the same conscientious, intelligent regard for the law of God. The history and present status of this institution show that Christian morality is conserved by it without the aid of legislation; while the history and present status of Sunday show, on the other hand, that with all that human legislation can do for its support, as a conservator of the interests of morality and religion, it is a failure. L. A. S.

A Betrayal of Trust

By L. A. S.

The disclosures of “graft” in the manipulation of the assets of life insurance companies still come, and the end is not yet in sight. A Chicago telegram dated September 26 states the following:—

Investigation of the affairs of the Western Life Indemnity Company by a State examiner to-day brought to light facts tending to show that claims of perhaps thousands of policy-holders in assessment companies have been practically wiped out through company manipulation. Examiner Lucius Frouts discovered that twenty-eight small insurance companies have terminated their existence by merging into the Western Life Indemnity. “That means,” said the examiner, “that the policy-holders of the original companies have gone through a process which leaves them practically uninsured, although they are still paying their premiums, and have been doing so for years. This condition is not particularly the fault of the Western or other absorbing companies, for the absorption is done according to law.”

The New York World, comparing the Equitable Company of New York with some other leading insurance concerns upon which the lime-light has been recently turned, says:—

For years these insurance companies have been giving to the public what are now admitted to be false statements. The New York Life has been proclaiming that it owns no stocks of any kind. Its treasurer yesterday admitted that it had thousands of shares of speculative stocks, but it omitted them from its annual statements. It was also admitted that the company made fictitious loans to clerks to conceal stocks which it pretended to have disposed of, in order to meet the requirements of the Prussian insurance regulations. The Equitable is apparently no worse than its associates in the system. It almost shines by contrast. Its expenses of management are less and its dividends greater than either the Mutual or the New York.

The use by these companies of the policy-holders’ money to influence State and national elections, is about as far from the legitimate purposes of an insurance company as anything could well be, yet such use of their assets is shown to have been made by some, and probably by all, the leading companies.

The fact that no loss to policy-holders from this species of “graft” is yet apparent, does not afford any justification of it. Any business which is run on such lines is unsafe, and sooner or later must involve somebody in disaster. Disregard of justice, honesty, and truth never leads to safety. It is well to keep on the safe side. L. A. S.

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