5g||;r* m-. - ;
— _ : .=.4 ' fl
By.! ’ 1 », V ' ’ -■■i
#|jb -
},
^f1! £
■ W iti
JL,
mmm
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
An Excerpt from the Sermon of Dr. WiUiam O. Thompson,
the Retiring Moderator, on “The Gospel of
Reconciliation.”
Text
“And all things are of God, who
hath reconciled us to himself by
Jesus Christ, and hath given to
us the ministry of reconciliation;
To wit, that God was in Christ,
reconciling the world to himself,
not imputing their trespasses
unto them; and hath committed
unto us the word of reconcilia
tion.” H Cor. 5: 18, 19.
A San Francisco paper recent
ly remarked that man has not
invented a new- sin in 51,000
years, but that he does invent a
new alibi now and then. Obvious
ly the alibi has been over
worked. Men operate on the
theory that a man’s ways are
just in his own eyes. This ac
counts for many of the innum
erable excuses by which men
attempt to escape the unpleas
ant condition of sin. Meantime
sin has persisted in its deadly
consequences. No one has yet
been able to escape the judg
ment that “sin when it is fin
ished bringeth forth death.”
There is nothing new about this
announcement. That is the
tragedy of it. The same old rec
ord of disaster, worst than all
the-rest of nature with her fires,
floods and famines, is a never
ending, continuous story of end
less repetition but no reforma
tion. Nothing has occurred in
all the history of progress to
transform sin and make it re
spectable. To those hot spirit
ual^ blind, the leoDard’s snots
are as distinct in our lives as
ever. In fact, the more assured
the progress, the deeper the
conviction that sin has no cor
made the basis of a
satisfying personal experience
or of a desirable social order.
Whether it takes the form of a
disordered intellectual life of
selfish and depraved emotions,
or of an ill-driven will power due
to the sway of motives of mal
ice or evil, or whether it takes
the form of a defeated moral
purpose, the end is spiritual
death.
No wonder men have sought
release in the alibi. They would
gladly be relieved of any respon
sibility for transgression, in
iquity and sin. Experience with
sin has been so disastrous that
no one has come forward with
an attempt to justify it or make
it respectable. There have been
cases where the morally color
blind under the blighting influ
ence of selfishness have at
tempted to explain away the ob
vious teachings of Holy Scrip
ture. Explanations are often in
teresting, but not so often satis
fying. The darkness abides.
The brilliant age in which we
live carries the darkest shad
ows except to those who will not
see. Sin has never been blacker
nor righteousness wniter tnan
at the present moment. People
who see dearly distinguish be
tween the intellectual mid spir
itual progress of our time and
the darkness of selfishness
wherever found. The beauty of
the future lies in the fact that
there will be no night there; for
the Lamb is the light.
The fact that sin is so inti
mately personal still further ex
plains the use of the alibi. The
defense of sin is never a wel
come task. Men do not usually
desire to sacrifice their own
good names as a reward for try
ing to make sin attractive. Many
there are who attempt an .expla
nation, but few there be who
attempt a justification of sin.
Some means of escape from the
disrepute of sin is eagerly
sought There is conscience
Mi^igh in the worst of men to
restrain them from a defense of
that which they cannot justify
except upon the same basis as
that which seeks to justify self
ishness. Others less depraved
in their ideals seek a means of
escape through affirming the
universality of selfishness as "if
that proved it a necessary part
of the moral order.
Our generation, like others,
has sought a release by denying’
the nature of sin and its con
sequences. So long as the
Scriptural nature of sin is rec
ognized, the element of hope is
gone until an adequate remedy is
provided. A denial is never a
remedy. The attempt to gloss
over the fatal consequences of
sin by ignoring its true nature
deceives but for the moment. To
treat it lightly is • to fly in the
face of aU human experience.
The element of self-justification
fails to satisfy the honest mind.
It is simply a means of attempt
ed escape. Those who seek an
ethical basis for individual life
or for that more highly com
plex life of the social order must
reckon with the fact and the
consequences of sin. No alleged
superiority relieves the situa
tion. History is too illuminating
upon the record of sin and self
ishness to warrant the assump
tion that wealth, power, social
position or popular favor may
be accepted as evidence of free
dom from the contamination or
guilt of sin. Social respectabil
ity or social approval, 'a thin
veneer in many cases, is in no
sense an evidence of moral in
tegrity. The sham and vanity
in much of the current living in
any generation bears unmistak
able testimony of the deceitful
ness of sin. These external evi
aences oi wearen ana ainuence
do not go to the center of the
analysis, for$ut of the heart are
ng for or
commending people of wealth, of
high social position or of public
favor, chiefly because of their
trappings and superficial appear
ances.
When the evidence is all in,
it is not quite sure that even
the grosser forms of vice and
sin do not frequent the centers
of wealth and luxury as often
as they do the, least favored
portions of the world. It is not,
necessary to read your Bible in
order to be sure of a statement
like this. The first chapter of
the book of Romans is a very
modern description of a type of
life which many people of this
generation have not the courage
to criticize. The daily newspa
per furnishes all the evidence
necessary for an intelligent mind
to understand the heinousness
of sin. We are prone, however
to take these things as a matter
of course, instead of a matter of
life and death which occasioned
the world’s greatest tragedy.
The effort in our generation
to think lightly of sin and espe
cially of its consequences has
failed to commend itself to the
mature judgment of spiritually
minded people. Those who
would treat it lightly from a
theological point of view fre
quently speak of sin in civic and
political circles in most denun
ciatory terms. Some of the
most vehement denunciations of
social, civic and political sin have
been from the sources where the
doctrine of personal sin involv
ing a divine remedy by way of
Calvary is rarely heard. This is
not due to increased learning or
to human progress, but rather
to neglect and to a certain culti
vated indifference. The con
sciousness of sin and guilt with
such people is no longer a per
sonal experience demanding a
thorough going treatment, but
is regarded at most as a fitting
shadow whose memory may soon
be forgotten and out of mind.
Materialism in our day and gen
eration has no more significant
quality than that it tends to sub
stitute the lower for the high
er. Under this philosophy men
assume that wealth, public of
fice, high social standing, are in
some sense a certificate of char
acter. We have overlooked the
.
real essence of the problem.
There are millions of people to
day, of the very finest among
us, who have these material
conveniences, and at the same
time humility and meekness of
spirit, as well as a reverence far
God and a love for man. This
fact should not blind us, how
ever, to what a true diagnosis
reveals from day to day. The
current comment on every hand
directs attention to the fallacy
in placing too great reliance upon
the mechanical and material ad
vance in our generation. Men
seem to forget that a man is bet
ter than a sheep. They fail to
appreciate that the human spir
it is better, finer, and of more
vjalue, than all these aids to hu
man comfort. A man’s life con
sisteth not in the abundance of
the things which he possesseth.
A little more personal applica
tion of the direct teachings of
our Lord and of His disciples,
would make it perfectly obvious
that the gaining of the whole
world is still possible with the
loss of one’s own life.
URBAN LEAGUE REPORTS
ON INDUSTRY FOR APRIL.
Bulletin No. 14 of the Indus
trial Department of the Nation
al Urban League summarizes
employment conditions as fol
lows :
General Conditions
Employment conditions showed
considerable improvement over
what they were the previous
month. This is particularly true
of the iron and steel industry,
the building trades, shipping,
out door activities, road build
ing and even the textile indus
try.
The Flood Area
From the flood- area in which
80 ppriiWiiSi4he snftoror* mm
said to be Negroes there ap
peared no wide spread migration
into the North as was predict
ed. While there are indications
and correspondence pointing to
an exodus to Northern industri
al centers because of the devas
tation which the flood has caused
in agricultural regions in which
large numbers of Negroes live,
such a movement will probably
not be observed, if at all, until
the victims have had a chance
to recover from shock and de
privations they suffered. In St.
Louis, Cleveland and Chicago
there have already come to the
notice of welfare agencies
enough instances indicating the
arrival of new citizens from the
flood area to warrant special ef
forts for their employment and
care.
A rumor tnat camps oi ivegro
men and women, bent upon
leaving the South to take up
residence in the North, were de
tained by public and private au
thorities against their will,
could not be substantiated. Bul
letins, from the area tell of con
siderable restlessness, but dp
not indicate any approaching
unified conviction that the antic
ipated number will exchange
their Southern habitats for res
idence in industrial sections of
North.
The favorable conditions re
ported are those which refer to
the return of workers to the jobs
they held before the depression
forced them out of employment
and from a larger number of re
ports than usual there was but
one account of the accession of
a new field or a new job. This
was in Chicago where 14 colored
workers part of a 65 per cent
Negro force in a factory that
manufactures roofing materials,
were placed on machines, work
ers -of this race had never before
run. In Milwaukee about three
hundred men were placed back
on jobs they were dismissed
from in the winter when employ
ment conditions generally were
poor. In parts of the South and
in many points of the North in
creased building activities took
up the slack of unemployed
workers. This was true partic
ularly in Baltimore, Chicago,
Winston-Salem, Jefferson City,
Tulsa and Fort Wayne.
ON BOARD COMMISSION
^ ERS' SPECIAL TO THE
Peah4r bust,” on his ascent,
khew what he was talking about,
for if: you do not reach the peak
or summit, you certainly will
burst. Our party spent the af
ternoon and night there (May
20) On our arrival a fleet of
Arrow cars, was there to
ufe up the highest automo
timeof five hours in a half. That
seeins a long time, but one must
remember that 14,109 feet is no
small job over a perilous climb
of that nature. It is an exciting
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
• V' -!-'T !
in America, an ascent
miles and in an actual
innu every moment ot going.
Here you go on a short stretch
ew yards; now a sudden
turn, and as the car
swerves around the short curvi
your blood almost chills
sharp wind around the
filled with gravel, hits
and harder as the cur
>les along on the upward
Again, as you are
;ht to another short and
turn, you have a chance to
down the deep precipice and
smplate what might happen
a less skillful driver. One
cannot describe the scenic
beauty and the awe-inspiri g
- *— as they lift up their heaj ;
with snow, above tne
It is not only thrilling
lerful as one beholds the
of nature, but it also gives
feeling of the Creator
is wonderful panorama,
top is reached at last,
vered and cold, the par
alights and walks unsteadily
and the fire, for we have encoun
tered freezing weather. This
particular day the wind was ter
rific and the dust blinding. One
can imagine our looks, much
more our feelings. Rare air on
that high elevation did not suit
everybody. Difficult breathing
caught some, while dizziness got
others; and this other fact, not
to be discounted, in the least,
fear played a great part in get
ting almost the entire party.
The cog route, by rail, is the old
way and is still in vogue. That
is tame now compared with this
hair-raising ride on the automo
bile.
How do ybu feel when you get
on the “top of America ?”I don’t
think the sensation, whether
physical, mental or spiritual,
can be described accurately by
any one. Wonderful and mar
velous and sublime, one may say
in all of its sensations, but these
are faint words to portray the
experience and feeling on this
dizzy snow-and-rock-covered
peak.
After this wonderful trip and
a night spent at Colorado
Springs, we are. on our way
again, next morning. About 10:
30 o’clock we reached the Royal
Gorge and the Hanging Bridge.
The train stops to give passen
gers a chance to see this wonder
of nature. IThe road bed is cut
out of the side of the mountain,
with sDace enough for the track.
One the other side of the track
are the turbulent waters of the
Arkansas River, beating against
these solid walls of granite as if
a prisoner trying to loose itself
from its bounds. Look up at the
towering peaks and cliffs , as
they raise themselves over two
thousand feet almost in perpen
dicular heights! Here is grand
eur and majesty, and here is or
der and symmetry, for Nature’s
Designer has been perfect in
His works. We are on our way
again. Mounts Elbert and Mas
sine loom up in the distance with
their heads covered with snow.
Down in the valley it is warm,
aqd exceedingly so on the train.
Traveling on we reach Salt
Lake City early Sunday morn
ing where we stop off for rest
and worship. Good Presbyteri
ans do not travel on Sunday as
a rule. Only necessity will make
them begin a long journey. on
the Sabbath.
Salt Lake City is a splendid
city of 126,000 people. Brigham
Young, the founder of Mormon
ism in Utah, was a prophet of
vision, if nothing else. He was
fortunate in hisselection for the
development of his Cult. Today
we saw the first cabin built by
him as we emerged from the
mountains into this fertile val
ley.
Salt Lake Presbyterians
(white, for there are no colored)
welcomed us warmly. We were
met at the station by a delega
tion with ears enough to carry
everybody to the Newhouse Ho
tel and thence to the different
churches. Some of us wor
shipped at the First Presbyteri
an church of which Dr. W M.
Paden is (he acting pastor. We
heard a fine Adult Bible Teach
er, jar, a nomas weir, a reurea
Hrho is devoting his
time to the Church
brist. We heard a
n by Dr. S. A. Mun
rson, Kansas. After
; the hotel, we were
rvice at the Mormon
Tabernacle. We must admit
that we were not greatly inter
ested in the tabernacle service,
but were in that wonderful or
gan and beautiful singing. The
tabernacle has perfect acoustics,
for every word can be heard
over that building which will
seat 10,000 people. We suppose
that if the service had been in
the temple, “The Sanctum
Sanctorium” of the Mormons,
our interest would have been
aroused. But only “the faith
ful” can enter there. Well, it was
wonderful anyway.
We were on our way again af
ter this service to Westminster.
College, the only Protestant Col
lege anywhere in this section,
butfhiMug vtmmmmmHG
ing Presbyterian. It is a beauti
ful place and efficiently admin
istered by Dr. H. W. Reherd.
An educational rally was held
here with Dr. Wm. Covert mak
ing the principal address. It was
a fine, inspirational meeting and
is destined to do much for West
minster College in the future.
Only about five hundred col
ored people live here. The few
we saw were as glad to see us
as we were to see them. SC h
is racial instinct or whatever yt
may call it. (
Devotions are still carried on.
Several from other cars wor
shipped with us Saturday night,
among whom were Dr. and Mrs.
Gaston. It might be well to add
here that the day we spent on
Pike’s Peak was given over to
prayer. Nobody had any need
to bother the Lord that night.
Salt Lake Presbyterian hospi
tality was splendid in every de
tail to our group. They did not
leave anything undone to make
everything pleasant and on
equality with everybody else.
It snowe^ last night (May 21)
and again, May 22, here. The
mountains are white and the air
is keen and bracing. Some of
these brethren have increased
appetites, among whom is the
writer. We just saw Drs. Shute
and Partee with two big bags.
Those brethren were eating.
Rev. A. A. Hector, took part
in the service at Westminster
church, of which Dr. J. H. En
sign is the pastor.
The Mormons have large real
estate and business holdings in
Salt Lake City. They do a vol
ume of business amounting to
$7,000,000 a year.
After the law was passed pro
hibiting the practice of polygy
my, the government passed a
law to provide a hotel for the
discarded wives of Mormons
There was only one applicant
for admission. One can react
his own conclusions as to the
reason. The building is usee
now as an apartment house. 11
is one of the objects of interesl
for sight-seeing.
Mr. A. E. Spears, of Durham
N. C., found among the smal
population in Salt Lake City, th<
“Black Cat Hotel,'' so named bj
Dr. G. W. Long. So glad Wish)
to see some of his own, and so
glad were his new found friends
to see him that a special recep
tion was extended to him.
Today (May 23) we are pass
ing over the sage-covered fields
of Nevada, bordered by snow
capped peaks. The varied scen
ic beauty continues and our ar
dor for this wonderful country
is heightened as we continue to
wards the Coast Soon we shall
be in Reno, the place made fa
mous because of the ease with
which one can obtain divorce.
We have had no applications
from our party so far, for after
several days in Pullman cars en
route and back, home will be
“Home, Sweet Home,” to every
body.
Everything continues pleas
ant and everybody is in good
health. We reach San Francisco
tomorrow morning (May 24).
SIDELIGHTER.
ST. JAMES CHURCH
GREENSBORO
By Mrs. G. A. Bridges
Sunday morning, Rev. H. C.
Miller spoke from Hebrews 12:
2, 3, subject, “Endurance 'the
Test of Worthiness.” Among
other things the speaker said:
Life in its final analysis—at
least in so far as achievement is
concerned—revolves about what
we can endure rather than what
we can do.
One of the elements of Nordic
predominance is the power to en
dure—hold on to the bitter end.
Christ was glorified because
He had the power to endure—
stand up in the face of opposi
tion, criticism, loneliness, endur
ing even the ^agonies, of the
Cross.
The Ladies’ Aid met with
miTBgfr. lC8rleria8t‘ThUlf«iyi,f1>
evening.
The Earnest Workers won the
cup from the Up and Doing
class this Sabbath. Since the
Up and Doing class holds the
banner for finance they do not
worry about the cup.
Mrs. Horne, of Sanford, spent
several days in the city last
week visiting Rev. and Mrs. H.
C. Miller. She gave a very in
teresting talk to the Ladies So
ciety Thursday evening.
Miss Lois McRae has returned
'rom St. Augustine, Raleigh,
where she attended school. She
will spend the summer with her
sister, Mrs. S. W. Carter.
SALEM DAY OBSERVANCE
URGED.
June 17th Set for Public Cele
bration.
Boston, Mass., May 23, 1927.
—Today the national headquar
ters of the National Equal
Rights League issued a call for
the race everywhere to observe
“Salem Day as a nation-wide
Race Day on June 17th, anniver
sary of America’s first regular
battle for Independence, at
which Colored men were sol
diers and heroes, especially
Peter Salem and Salem Poor,
thus reminding Americans of
manly service in demand for
Equal rights and stiffening the
spirit of the race itself. A his
torical leaflet is offered for 6
cents in stamps, post-paid from
9 Comhill.
Observance everywhere by
Equal Rights Citizens Commit
tees or Leagues or by Equal
Rights sub-committees of race
bodies or churches is advocated,
with a plan for every meeting
, to send a resolution to Presi
i dent Coolidge for abolition of
, federal segregation and for a
; federal anti-lynching bill with
, signatures and addresses and a
i copy to the League to be used
I in bulk as a united race appeal
; to President Coolidge.
There are volumes of the
, Scriptures in 448 different lan
1 guages and dialects in the libra
! ry of the American Bible Soci
* ety at its headquarters, Astor
i Place, New York City.