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NO. 38. v OL LIV. ‘AND YE SHALL KNOW THETRUTH, AND URSPAY, CHARLOTTE, N. C*TH Y,SEPTEMBER 28, 1933. LOVING AND HATING IN THE BIBLE By Dr. J. H. Dillard (Reprinted from The Southwest ern Christian Advocate) The full strength of thege words as they are used in the Bible has been lost by missing their meaning. We take them to mean more than they mean in one direction, and in this way we lose the force of their mean ing in the intended direction. We take them to mean too much in the direction of sentiment, or even sentimentality; we miss their force in the direction of fact and act. In one sense love and hate can not be commanded; in another sense they can be. I What Is Loving: An Enemy? It would be a gain if we would try to clear up in our minds different shades of meanings which the one word love is made to serve. When we are told to love our neighbors as ourselves, and to love our enemies, mani festly the meaning of love is not romantic or affectionate or pa rental or filial. Many words are difficult, that is, they are mere attempts, the best we can do, to express the idea. It is so with the word love. r In the great thirteenth chap ter of First Corinthians our King James translation uses the word charity,, and the more re cent translations have substi tuted the word love. Charity is better. Of course, it does not mean charity in the sense of giving a dime to a beggar. It means being kind and unselfish, free from envy and jealousy, not rejoicing in injustice, but welcoming the truth and not de traction in regard to our neigh** hors aTHrevww<mrenemies.r' As used in the Bible in sen tences like loving our neighbors and enemies, the word love car ries a combination of justice and kindness, with thinking and do ing justice as the basis. It is the spirit of practical good will. Whatever of sentiment may precede or follow it, justice is the foundation of satisfactory relatione. How easily and con ventionally we use the Vords brotherhood of man, and loving one’s neighbor, without thinking of the ABC of justice. Justice is something practical, has its feet on the ground. Our translation of the New Testament, in several outstand ing passages, does not use the word justice where this is really the actual translation. For ex ample, it is, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his justice.” And in St. Paul’s definition of the kingdom of heaven he says, it is “Justice and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” When; 'ettr King James translation was made, righteousness meant primarily rightness or justice. The Catholic translation does in fact use the word justice in these passages. It is worth while to dwell on this thought, because the basis of satisfactory relations among men must be justice. There must be justice before the law, justice in our thoughts, justice in our dealings. This applies to individuals, to governments, and to rafcf<s. Dr. Washington once said that the best Southern speech on race relations he ever heard was made by a certain gov ernor who began by saying that ne laid no particular claim to a sentiment of love for Negroes, but he believed in justice. This is different from the sentiment that still hovers around the ghost of the “old black mam my.” However fine and even beautiful such sentiment may be, we see the difference. In the ordinary relations of life justice is the stanle. But, of course, we need kindness and mercy to supplement justice. There must always be Good Samaritans. Does not the wonderful, often quoted verse in the book of the Prophet Micah cover the whole ground? It is in the Old Testa ment but it is a Christian verse. “What doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” Here we have the whole matter > beautifully knit together—justice, merely, and reverent obedience to )the| will of Him who is Father of all. i ir What Is Hating. Your Mother? In the twenty-sixth verse of the fourteenth chapter of the gospel according to Luke, it reads: “If any man come to me and hate not his father, and mother, and'-'wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he can not be my disciple.” Now it is per fectly evident what our Lord means. He means, of course, that in following Him there may arise some occasion when everything has to give way and a man must take issue with, and perhaps separate himself from, even his mother. I personally knew such a case. The young man's integrity of conscience was at stake, loyalty to his vis ion of justice was at stake. His attitude of opposition wounded j his mother deeply, but he was right. Had the mother lived longer, she would have ac knowledged that he was right. This seems to me to illustrate what Christ meant. He was not thinking of sentiment. At no time .did the young man hate his mother—that is, in the sense in which^we ordinarily^ use^ the was all the time deeply ’dis tressed at her distress, and perhaps loved her more than ever, just as Christ loved people whom He knew to be in the wrong. | The fact is that .the word hate, like the word love, is made to serve a number of meanings for which we might well wish that distinct words had been available. In some sense neither hate nor love implies sentiment. In a sermon preached several years ago one of the ablest the ologians and preachers of the English Church sstfd outright: “Love is not sentiment.” He was, of course, speaking of the word as used in most passages of the New Testament. So when our Lord spoke about hating father and mother, it I was not “sentiment” that He had in mind. The young man mentioned above never for a moment had the “sentiment of hate” for his mother. What he was about was not Tiating his mother in this sense, but follow lowing the will of God. In the New Testament love generally means just this, namely, beihg jand doing in accordance with the will of God. So loving an en emy means being and doing to ward him as God would have us be and do, under any and all cir cumstances; that is, forgiving and ready to" help. In thinking about neighbors and enemies we have to remem ber that God cares about one person just the same as about any other. He expects us to think and act toward all others as we would wish them to act toward ourselves. This is a 'statement of a fact. There is no “sentiment” about it. any more than our Lord was thinking of the sentimental side when He | said that under certain circum stances a man must hate his .father or mother. | We ought always to use judg ment in our reading of the Bi ble. I do not mean that there is any requirement of great learn ing and high intellect, but there |is requirement of • common l sense. We sometimes destroy ,the very force and power of the words by putting them into the tone of sentimentality when they are tremendous statements of fact or sledge-hammer com mands. One of these sledge hammer commands is, ‘"Thou ehalt love thy neighbor as thy self.” When we thihk of its great meaning, we see that it is no im possible command, but an abso lute rule for right relations be tween man and man. BLANDONIA CHURCH NOTES, SANFORD By Mrs. ,N. L. Crumpton The Blandonia church has suf fered great loss this year in the removal by death of some of her most loyal members. We wish to honor their memory by recording the death of the fol lowing members: Mr. Russell M. Mclver de parted this life on Sunday, March the l'9th. He was our senior deacon and was faithful to every duty required of his office. He was noted for his punctuality. It was a rule of his life always to be on time. He ieaves to mourn their loss a de voted wife, two daughters, one son, ten grandchildren and a host of relatives and friends. He lived a consecrated Christian life, and inasmuch as he was faithful over a few things here we believe he has entered into the joy of the Lord he loved and served so zealously. Mr. S. D. Mclver was called from labor to reward on Sunday, July 16th. He leaves to mourn his passing a wife, Mrs. S. D. Mclver, eight children, Mrs. A. J. Williams, Atlantic City, N. J.; Mrs. C. J. Little, Springfield, iVer, Englewood, JN. j.; Mrs. Julius Hanson, Passaic, N. J.; Mrs. J. T. Evans, New Haven, Conn.; Mrs. Linda Mftcheini, New Haven, Conn, r Mr. Preston Mclver, of Sanford, and a large number of relatives and friends who loved him for his splendid Christian character. He was the oldest elder in the church and his place will be hard to fill, but we know we must be submissive to the will of God who doeth all things well. We find comfort in the belief that he has attained that rest which remaineth foi the people of God. Miss Janie B. Mclver was tak on from us on Wednesday, Au gust 9th, in the fresh beauty oi young womanhood, being jusl eighteen years of age. She united with the church in early childhood and hers was a con sistent Christian life until her death. She was ider^ified witli oil the activities of the church in which young people partici pate. We shall miss her but we feel that our loss is heaven's nrain and that our lives are the better because of the beautifu and sunny life she lived while with us. She is gone but not for gotten. However, in the midst of al this sadness and the so-callec depression, our church is stil *going forward in attemptinj great things for the Master. On Sunday, October 1, Rev McMillan preached two greal sprmons that were spiritual^ inspiring to all. At 11 A. M. his text was taken from II Samue [9:7, “And thou shalt eat breat |at my table continually.” At i |P. M. his text was “And y< shall know the truth and tin [truth shall make you free.’ John 8:32. Both of these ser imons were heard and enjoye< I by large congregations in whicl imany visitors were noted. Yoi I shall hear of some of the worl I we are doing in the near fu tore. Thei man in whom the commoi [breed dominates rejoices t make little men tremble; but th man who stands on high groum , vaunts not himself at another* expense.—Dr. W. L. Metz: .. p f. • THE ECONOMIC PLIGHT Ify Dr. KeOy Miller For the first time ip our his tory we are approaching the ifen law of competition between white and black labor. Where there is not work enough for all, S strong will serve themselves . Up to now there has been work enough for all willing h&Bds, white and black. The re sources of a new continent had t| be developed and its oppor tunities exploited. America had t# draw on Europe for an ade q.|ate labor supply. Immigration dpors swung wide open. But with the rapid advance in ma chinery the labor demand cphinished. Immigration doors l|ere closed. Labor began to or lize so as to protect itself inside and outside compe tition. The Negro was not wel come or wanted in these organ isations whose chief motive was th limit competition. The Amer ican Federation of Labor toler ates the black man with a cold and icy tolerance. It is shot through with that primeval jealousy which forbids the de spised race to take of the tree pf opportunity “lest there be not enough for you and us.” . At first the Negro was < pushed down to the bottom of i the labor ladder* and confined i manual and menial types of 1 t.asks which the white man did 1 pot chose to do. But as necessity * became more pressing the white < Workman began to push down- ( ward and to crowd the black 1 man Out of fields customarily-: assigned to him. The barber, i the waiter, the cook and the 1 coachman gradually gave way to j The |*r- j fection of machinery drove rae colored woman out of the laun dry business. The rise of apart ment hdus^s, household appli ances and r^ady cooked foods are driving them out of the kitchen. Being thus dislodged from their former strongholds the Negro finds few new avenues to take' the place of those which he has lost. The large scale industries1 make only limited allowance for I him either at the bottom or at ithe outer edge. j The sudden impasse between man and the machine brings the Negro’s sad plight into full Mght His list of unemployment is out of all proportion to the | general average. He is rapidly j recruiting the ranks of enforced .idleness. These plain facts of ob-j servation. are apparent to all | who have the courage to face the situation. The time has come to face the facts and tell the truth. It no longer boots us any good to boast of our won - derful achievements to con demn white men for their mean 1 r.ess. The white race will admit 1 its meanness and injustice, : without argument, if forced to • do so, just as they do to the Japanese in California. “Shall We Tell the Truth About Our selves?” was a topic for discus sion on the agenda of the late, ; lamented Amenia Conference. We must either face the facts , or we will be faced up to them. ; Now comes the N. R. A. with - its codes for the relief of the i unemployed and the return to I prosperity. All loyal Americans, [.and true, are praying for the ! success of the Blue Eagle. But s after the N. R. A. has done » a11 that it is calculated to do, ' I what then will be the lot of the ■ jNegro? Up to date there is little I or no indication that he is re ceiving any substantial benefit II from the codes. Instead of di ['minishing his number of unem ■ ployed they are actually in creasing it. The minimum wage under the codes is deemed too l.high for the black man in some ) quarters and is taken as an ex J j ruse for supplanting him with i. white workmen. Thus the iron s iheel of competition crushes out .the weaker compeltitor by one pretext or another. All possible j protest, petition and remon-' strance should be made against such discrimination mi account | cf race, but we need not be' foolishly optimistic. But after the Blue Eagle has folded his wings, the Negro's industrial and economic lot will be sub stantially as now. I do not be lieve that any hope lies in the manifesto of the late Amenia Conference that we may hopej for proffer of fraternity from the white laboring man. Capi talism, mindful of its own best welfare, will accord the Negro as much opportunity as the white laborer will permit it to do. There is still some remain ing germs of hope in appeal to the sense of justice and fair play of the American people. Reli gion, though much the worse for wear, has not yet, like the spear mint on the bed post, lost all of its flavor of beneficence. I can see but one ray of hope amidst the encircling gloom, and that is the old Booker Washington gospel of having the race root itself in the soil. If there be little hope in the domestic service from which we are being driven or in trade and manufacturing pursuits where the arrogance of white labor tends more and more to reduce the Negro to a minimum, the only remaining large scale oc cupation where race prejudice is least effective is on the farm. Hard and - uninviting as the rural prospect is, it furnishes the best outlook. The race slo gan should be, if not “Back to KNOXVILLE LETTER “By The Scribe” The 68th anniversary of the Shiloh church was celebrated the first week in September. The principal address was de livered by Hon. Hu B. Webster, Judge of the Court of Domestic Relations. Judge Webster chose for his subject: “The Mission of the Church to the Unfortunate.” Shiloh was organized in 1865 by the Rev. Jno. B. Reeve, who also organized the Theological Department of Howard Univer sity. A Seminar on Missions was held in the Shiloh church during the second week in September. The purpose of this seminar which lasted for five days, was to make a larger number of peo ple conscious of the missionary program of the Church, and to enlist their active support in carrying out the program. The adult courses were taught by Mrs. J. S. Dailey, who was also the guiding genius of the sem inar. The young people’s cours es were taught by Mrs. A. H. George. Platform talks were made each afternloon ajnd eve ning. The experiment was a de cided success. A group of young people from! several of the churches in thej ’Presbytery met fn th,e Shiloh church on September 15th for the purpose of studying the' New Youth Movement. Out of | this gathering came a recon secration of lives to Christ. .These young folks resolved not only to live closer to the Christ I themselves but also to aggres- j °ively challenge others to makei a surrender of their lives to the I Christ. There was a spiritual1 fervor and an active enthusiasm i in this gathering that is seldom i I witnessed. It is most earnestly (hoped that from this meeting of j serious-minded youth a spiritual J fervor will be set in motion I which will touch every chuith in the Synod. McClelland presbytteri AL • By Mm M. V. Marten, Corresponding Secretary The McClelland Preabyterial 'held its FaU session with, .the Woman’s Missionary So* v |t;!dty of Mt. Zion Presbyterian [church, Due West, S. C., Sep* tember 8th. The Executive Com mittee was called together by the President, Mrs. A. P. But ler, at 9:30 o’clock. The meeting opened with the Missionary Doxology. Plans were given for the con tinuation of a well built up Preabyterial by the President. “I Am Thine, 0 Lord,” was sung which closed the meeting. At ten o’clock the Preabyterial j opened with Mrs. Jones, of Newberry, conducting the devo tionals. “Give of Your Best to the Master,” was sung. Scrip ture, Luke 10:26*32, was read, and commented on beautifully by the leader, who compared the v women with the Good Sa maritan. “Beneath the Cross of Jesus” was sung, followed with sentence prayers for the mis sionaries on the home and for eign fields. The devotions closed with the missionary doxology, Then the President took the chair and brought a message which will linger long in our hearts. She even carried us back to the years of Mrs. Hughes* Allison as President and gave us her closing remarks at the Fall meeting of 1913: “Read and you will know; Know and you will pray; Pray and you will give.” Then she brought Us ten years forward to 1923 and gave us Mrs. J. G. Porter’s closing re nuufca of thertr Fall —meeting: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,, saith the Lord.” Then six ears onward, 1,929, Mrs. J. H. Toatley closed the Fall meeting with: “Step by Step, but Always Forward.” We must say that those who were new in the work certainly caught a vision of the work of previous years and will be will ing to launch into the work and help to push it onward. The minutes of the last meet ing were read and adopted. New business was brought forward. The President empha sized the importance of giving systematically, study classes in each local society, and ten or fifteen minutes were given over to the studying of the DiaL This was very interesting and I am sure our societies wfill be bet ter. The enrollment of officers, Dresidents, delegates and vis* itors numbered 44. This showed that everybody was eager to iome to Due West, because of the cordial treatment they would receive and the fine hos* pitality that is always shown to visitors by these good people. Mrs. Eloise Williams gave an urgent appeal to the societies to please send their money on time. Mrs. R. W. Boulware being ill, sent a glowing message by Mrs. D. T. Murray along with her report. We closed at this hour to worship with the Presbytery in its morning devotions. The afternoon session began at 2:30 P. M. Mr?. Hattie Pitts, of Mountville, and Mrs. I.. E. Ginn, of Aiken, conducted the devqtions. It seemed as if all the members were in an atti tude of work and service as all entered into the devotions readily. The reports were called for and eleven societies answered the roll. They all showed that thy had been working hard since last reports as* some had met their quarterly quotas, and one had paid up in full. The re ports of the district leaders were not so good, but they are 1 (Continued on page 3)
Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.)
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Sept. 28, 1933, edition 1
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