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THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION THE SOLE
HOPE OF THE WORLD
By John Temple Graves
The hope of the world today lies in a revival
of old-fashioned religion in the old fashioned
Christ; the acceptance of a religion which will
place altruism above the sordid selfiishness now
apparent in the hearts and minds of nations and
of individuals; a belief in the Golden Rule and
the practice of this rule in all relations between
men.
Selfishness is the greatest sin of this and of all
other nations. For example, take capital and
labor. Both are sordidly selfish.
Each class is trying to get all it possibly can.
Unless some change is made in the mode of opera
tion of each it is impossible .to, foretell what
will be the result to this nation and to the world.
■ There are those, who ask that the world war
be forgotten, this is an. utter impossibility.
The experiences through which humanity went
during, and immediately after, the war can never
be forgotten. Even while the war was taking
its toll of men the epidemic of influenza swept
over the world, causing the death of thousands.
And before the epidemic had begun to, subside
famine andipestilence werej experienced. These
scourges, according to the teachings of Christiani
ty, were allowed by God. This because all the
nations were more or less guilty before God.
The United States had allowed itself to for-
get the principles on which the Government was
founded in the chase after wealth. Engla.ndhad
taken advantage of smaller nations in every pos
sible way—the forced opium trade with China
being discussed in this connection. France was
known as the infidel among nations. Leopold’s
cruelty practiced in the Congo left a trail of
blood sccross the flag of Belguim. The cruelty
of the Russian ruling class to the poor and the
pogroms to which Jews were often subject are
notorious.
And Germany—the home of the higher criti
cism through which God was discountenanced; a
nation whose principal belief was that might
makes right; the country which had in more
ways Violated the laws of ; God and man—Ger
many suffered more during the war and during
the followinv days and is suffering now, because
she w'asthe greatest offender.
This is the period of the real Armageddon
-—the time of the great conflict between
the forces of good and evil, of the fight
between altruism and selfishness. There is a
growing realization that the Christian church
must take the leadership in the fight to main
tain the civilization of the world. With all of
its faults the church stands as the great stabiliz
ing influence in the world. WTth its removal
from the earth chaos and disorder would
result.
The spirit of selfishness which has, for the
past number of years, 'apparently almost ruled
the world, is losing its hold, that, beginning in
a manner of selfishness, the armament conference
at Washington has become fired with the idea of
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altruism and that it now appears to have been a
great success-.
The world must recover. It will recover if
the great body of individuals who maKe up the
nations base their beliefs and their actions upon
the spirit of the golden rule, and this is being
done by many people today who, a few years a^o,
paid no attention to religion or to idealism. And
in this lies the salvation of the world.
Education is a group enterprise and every
pupil has a part in it. The person who cannot
be trusted to do right when the teacher’s back is
turned, or when darkness shrouds, who shields
another in wrong doing, who is not obident or
respectful, and who is destructive in attitude and
act, will not make a desirable citizen, and the
less education he has the better for the world.
Mars Hill does not rule by force as a military es
tablishment, neither is it a place to reform in-
corrigibles, and members of any of the classes
named above will be uncon:fortable here unless a
new spirit gets control.—I'rof.* R, L. Moore.
What The Tithing Movement Means
By E. Y. .Mullins, D. D.
A NEW and significant movement has been
started by the laymen of the Southern Baptist
Convention. I refer to the effort to enroll half
a million tiihers during the present conven
tional year. This movement is full of promise,
because it is the best possible preparation for
our next great campaign, The doctorine of
.stewardship is one that is rapidly being recogni
zed by all our people. But the doettine of
stewardship is not always one which influences
people to give proportionately. This is be*
cause, unless interpreted, it is apt to be vague
and indefinite.
The movement among th^aymen to secure
lialf a million of our people who will pledge
themselves to give at least one-tenth of their
income to the Lord’s causes will tro a long way
toward making the doctrine of stewarship
practical. It will he a means of clearing the
principle of stewardship front' its ooscurity, at
least in part.
What Does the Movement Mean?
What, then, does the tithing movement j
mean? Perhaps Ibis question can best be I
answered by indicating first what it does not-
mean that any one is seeking to enforce the re
quirements of the Jewish law upon Christians.
It does not mean that the Mosaic or the I^viti-
cal requirements, with penalties attached, are
to be introduced into our churches. Nor, as I
understand it, does it mean that our layman
claim that the New Testament specifically
commands that we shall give one-tentb. Jesus
indeed recognized that tithing was a duty under'
the old dispensation, and does not himself an
nul the obligation in expiess langu^e; but I
take it all will agree that the New Testament
standard of ownership is that all of our pro-
pe-ty belongs to God. We ourselves belong
to him, and Uie Christian obligation requires
that we shall give to the Lord whatever he
requires of us in the material good things
whicl) he has bestowed upon us. One tenth
of the annual incomoi therefore, does not at
E.II exhaust our Christian obligation, so far as
the ownership of property is concerned. Our
obligation to God extends to the utmost limit
of our posessions. Christian stewardship means
that all we have is held at the disposal of our
Lord and Master.
Why, then, should the, Christian man bo
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