The Present Truth, vol. 12

January 9, 1896

“Front Page” The Present Truth, 12, 2.

E. J. Waggoner

The Apostle Paul was in a Roman prison for preaching the Gospel. A Jewish mob had seized him, and Roman soldiers were guarding him. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 17.1

Yet in an epistle to his brethren he refers to himself as “Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 3:1. And so he was. The Roman Emperor thought that he had Paul in his power, and Roman soldiers thought that they were keeping him. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 17.2

But he was in the power of the Lord, and angels of God were his keepers. He was in the hands of the Lord, who could let him out of prison in an instant, if He wished, just as He did Peter. And so Paul was content. Happy is the man, even though he be in a dungeon, who knows that he is “the prisoner of the Lord.” PTUK January 9, 1896, page 17.3

“The wisdom which is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated.” James 3:17. This is the wisdom which God gives, therefore it is characteristic of God. What a comfort it is to know that He is “easy to be entreated.” We do not have to work hard to induce Him to be gracious to us, for “He delighteth in mercy.” Micah 7:18. Even when we have been foolish, disobedient, and hateful, breaking all His commandments, He is still “easy to be entreated.” PTUK January 9, 1896, page 17.4

For a man to be stern and unrelenting, standing stiffly for his “rights,” and exacting from debtors or transgressors all that the law will possibly allow him, is evidence of a deplorable lack of wisdom. It shows that his wisdom is only of this world, which is foolishness with God, who is the source of all true wisdom. He who knows God and His ways, how that “He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities,” will, like Him, be “easy to be entreated,” and “gentle to all men.” PTUK January 9, 1896, page 17.5

“The Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ” The Present Truth, 12, 2.

E. J. Waggoner

CHRIST IS CREATOR

Immediately following the familiar text which says that Christ, the word, is God, we read that “all things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.” John 1:3. Comment cannot make this statement any clearer than it is, therefore we pass to the words of Hebrews 1:1-4: “God...hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” PTUK January 9, 1896, page 17.6

Still more emphatic than this are the words of the Apostle Paul in the Colossians. Speaking of Christ as the One through whom we have redemption, He describes Him as the One “who is the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of every creature; for by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by Him, and for Him; and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.” Colossians 1:15-17. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 17.7

This wonderful text should be carefully studied and often contemplated. It leaves not a thing in the universe that Christ did not create. He made everything in heaven, and everything on earth; He made everything that can be seen, and everything that cannot be seen; the thrones and dominions, and the principalities and the powers in heaven, all derive their existence from Him. And as He is before all things, and their Creator, so by Him do all things consist, or hold together. This is equivalent to what is said in Hebrews 1:3, that He upholds all things by the word of His power. It was His word that made the heavens; and that same word holds them in their place, and preserves them from destruction. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 17.8

We cannot possibly omit in this connection Isaiah 40:25, 26: “To whom then will ye liken Me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number; He calleth them all by names by the greatness of His might, for that He is strong in power; not one faileth.” Or, as the Jewish translation more forcibly renders it, “from Him, who is great in might, and strong in power, not one escapeth.” That Christ is the Holy One who thus calls the host of heaven by name, and holds them in their place, is evident from other portions of the same chapter. He is the One before whom it was said, “prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” He is the One who comes with a strong hand, having His reward with Him; the One who, like a shepherd, feed His flock, carrying the lambs in His bosom. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 17.9

One more statement concerning Christ as Creator must suffice. It is the testimony of the Father Himself. In the first chapter of Hebrews, we read that God has spoken to us by His Son; that He said of Him, “Let all the angels of God worship Him;” that of the angels He saith, “Who maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire,” but that He says to the Son, “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom;” and God says further: “Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of Thine hands.” Hebrews 1:8-10. Here we find the Father addressing the Son as God, and saying to Him, Thou hast laid the foundations of the earth; and the heavens are the work of Thine hands. When the Father Himself gives this honour to the Son, what is man, that he should withhold it? With this we may well leave the direct testimony concerning the Divinity of Christ, and the fact that He is the Creator of all things. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 18.1

Let no one imagine that we would exalt Christ at the expense of the Father, or would ignore the Father. That cannot be, for they are one, and their interests are identical. We honour the Father in honouring the Son. “He that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father.” Therefore no one can have a high conception of the Father unless he has a high conception of Christ. We are mindful of Paul’s words, that “to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him” (1 Corinthians 8:6); just as we have already quoted, that it is by Him that God made the worlds. All things proceed ultimately from God, the Father; even Christ Himself proceeded and came forth from the Father; but it has pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell, and that He should be the direct, immediate Agent in every act of creation. Our object in this investigation is to set forth Christ’s rightful position of equality with the Father, in order that His power to redeem may be better appreciated. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 18.2

CHRIST NOT A CREATED BEING

Before passing to some of the practical lessons that are to be learned from these truths, we must dwell for a few moments upon an opinion that is honestly held by many who would not for any consideration willingly dishonour Christ, but who, through that erroneous opinion, do actually deny His Divinity. It is the idea that Christ is a created being, who, through the good pleasure of God, was elevated to His present lofty position. No one who holds this view can possibly have any just conception of the exalted position which Christ really occupies. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 18.3

The view in question is built upon a misconception of a single text, Revelation 3:14: “And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write: These things saith the Amen, the Faithful and true Witness, the beginning of the creation of God.” This is wrongly interpreted to mean that Christ is the first being that God created; that God’s work of creation began with Him. But this view antagonises the scripture which declares that Christ Himself created all things. To say that God began His work of creation by creating Christ is to leave Christ entirely out of the work of creation. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 18.4

The word rendered “beginning” is arche, meaning, as well, “head” or “chief.” It occurs in the name of the Greek ruler, Archon, in archbishop, and the word archangel. Take this last word. Christ is the Archangel. See Jude 9; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; John 5:28, 29; Daniel 10:21. This does not mean that He is the first of the angels, for He is not an angel, but is above them. Hebrews 1:4. It means that He is the chief or prince of the angels, just as an archbishop is the head of the bishops. Christ is the commander of the angels. See Revelation 19:11-14. He created the angels. Colossians 1:16. And so the statement that He is the beginning or head of the creation of God, means that in Him creation had its beginning; that, as He Himself says, He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Revelation 21:6; 22:13. He is the source whence all things have their origin. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 18.5

Neither should we imagine that Christ is a creature, because Paul calls him (Colossians 1:15) “the Firstborn of every creature;” for the very next verses show Him to be Creator, and not a creature. “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by Him, and for Him; and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.” Now if He created everything that was ever created, and existed before all created things, it is evident that He Himself is not among created things. He is above all creation, and not a part of it. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 18.6

The Scriptures declare that Christ is “the only begotten Son of God.” He is begotten, not created. As to when He was begotten, it is not for us to inquire, nor could our minds grasp it if we were told. The prophet Micah tells us all we can know about it, in these words: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall be come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from the days of eternity.” Micah 5:2, margin. There was a time when Christ proceeded forth and came from God, from the bosom of the Father (John 8:42; 1:18), but that time was so far back in the days of eternity that to finite comprehension it is practically without beginning. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 18.7

But the point is that Christ is a begotten Son, and not a created subject. He has by inheritance a more excellent name than the angels; He is “a Son over His own house.” Hebrews 1:4; 3:6. And since He is the only begotten Son of God, He is of the very substance and nature of God, and possesses by birth all the attributes of God; for the Father was pleased that His Son should be the express image of His person, the brightness of His glory, and filled with all the fulness of the Godhead. So He has “life in Himself;” He possesses immortality in His own right, and can confer immortality upon others. Life inheres in Him, so that it cannot be taken from Him; but, having voluntarily laid it down, He can take it again. His words are these: “Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of My Father.” John 10:17, 18. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 18.8

If anyone springs the old cavil, how Christ could be immortal and yet die, we have only to say that we do not know. We make no pretensions of fathoming infinity. We cannot understand how Christ could be God in the beginning, sharing equal glory with the Father, before the world was, and still be born a baby in Bethlehem. The mystery of the crucifixion and resurrection is but the mystery of the incarnation. We cannot understand how Christ could be God in the beginning, sharing equal glory with the Father, before the world was, and still be born a baby in Bethlehem. The mystery of the crucifixion and resurrection is but the mystery of the incarnation. We cannot understand how Christ could be God and still become man for our sake. We cannot understand how He could create the world from nothing, nor how He can raise the dead, nor yet how it is that He works by His Spirit in our own hearts; yet we believe and know these things. It should be sufficient for us to accept as true those things which God has revealed, without stumbling over things that the mind of an angel cannot fathom. So we delight in the infinite power and glory which the Scriptures declare belong to Christ, without worrying our finite minds in a vain attempt to explain the infinite. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 18.9

Finally, we know the Divine unity of the Father and the Son from the fact that both have the same Spirit. Paul, after saying that they that are in the flesh cannot please God, continues: “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you, now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.” Romans 8:9. Here we find that the Holy Spirit is both the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ. Christ “is in the bosom of the Father;” being by nature of the very substance of God, and having life in Himself, He is properly called Jehovah, the self-existent One, and is thus styled in Jeremiah 23:56, where it is said that the righteous Branch, who shall execute judgment and justice in the earth, shall be known by the name of Jehovah-tsidkenu-THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 19.1

Let no one, therefore, who honours Christ at all, give Him less honour than He gives the Father, for this would be to dishonour the Father by just so much; but let all, with the angels in heaven, worship the Son, having no fear that they are worshipping and serving the creature instead of the Creator. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 19.2

“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that He through His poverty might be rich.” PTUK January 9, 1896, page 19.3

“‘Separate from Sinners’” The Present Truth, 12, 2.

E. J. Waggoner

When the leper came to Jesus, saying, “Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean,” “Jesus put forth His hand and touched Him.” The leper was an unclean being, and great was the fear of contagion; yet Jesus was not afraid to touch him, and he suffered no injury from the touch. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 20.1

This is a likeness of Christ’s connection with sin. He “bare our sins in His own body on the tree.” 1 Peter 2:24. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6. Yet although He was made to be sin for us, He “knew no sin.” He “did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth.” He could come into the closest contact with sin and not be defiled by it. He received sinners, and was their friend, associating freely with the worst of them, yet He was “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.” Hebrews 7:26. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 20.2

So may it be with us, if Christ dwells in us. We may work for the degraded, coming in contact with them, and giving them the sympathetic touch, as He did, and not be defiled. We may be “unspotted from the world,” while coming close to it as Christ did. It is possible that we may not be in high repute with the world for so doing; but that matters not if we have the mind that was in Christ, who “made Himself of no reputation.” PTUK January 9, 1896, page 20.3

“A Study of War” The Present Truth, 12, 2.

E. J. Waggoner

A French writer has brought out a book on war from the point of view of a student of social history. There is no need of any special study of the history of war on the part of the Christian in order to know what it is. It can only come from lust and Satan. Two nations fight just as two men do, and the outcome is murder whether two or two million combatants engage. But it is interesting to see the plain terms in which the writer referred to sets down the results of his study of war from primitive lines and amongst all peoples. The Echo says of it:- PTUK January 9, 1896, page 20.4

M. Letourneau’s book is rich in documentary illustration of the diverse forms of cruelty born of war in all climes and ages, and he shows clearly that pillage is at the bottom of all war, whether ancient or modern. The booty may be crops, herds, flocks, women, slaves, or territory, but the determining cause is theft, brigandage, conquest, choose the name you will. Rapine is behind all war, and the philosophy of war is theft by violence. The footpad and conqueror occupy the same moral ground. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 20.5

You may trick your thief out in scarlet and gold, and pin stars upon his breast; you may count the work of the assassin as glory, poets may hymn his praise, artists raise trophies in his honour, historians chronicle and commend his deeds, a stupid people applaud him, without thought of his victims. The atrocities he has committed may be made the occasion of Te Deums. But strip him of the glamour, the accessories with which war-worship has surrounded him, and he appears in his native verity, a robber and an assassin, whether decked with dangling scalps or glittering with stars and crosses. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 20.6

Our age is full of contradictions, arising possibly from the new-born spirit of humanity asserting itself even more strongly against the old, and so we do not eat our slain, but by a sorry pleasantry pretend to respect their remains. We bury them, but we have slain them notwithstanding. Moreover, and this is a most significant fact, we make believe to be ashamed of war. It has no defenders. It is doubtful if we shall ever hear again from the lips of any weight the paradox dear to Joseph de Maistre and Count von Moltke, that war is of Divine origin. We are leaving the blasphemous appeal to the God of Battles to races on lower rungs of the ladder of human progress, like the fanatical sectaries of Allah. We proclaim war to be evil, and lament its necessity. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 20.7

This may be hypocrisy; but if hypocrisy is a homage paid by vice to virtue, we may conclude that the detestation of the crime of war has grown strong enough in humanity to extort a semblance of respect from the old and savage Adam. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 21.1

“The Facts and Hypotheses of Spiritualism” The Present Truth, 12, 2.

E. J. Waggoner

The following paragraphs from a paper in the Wesleyan Methodist Magazine stated very plainly the facts regarding the growth of the doctrines of Spiritualism. The writer does not overstate them, but rather otherwise; for the principles underlying the cult are well nigh universally received. We know that the wonder-working power of Satan will increase as the end draws near, until the “great signs and wonders” will deceive all but the very elect, who know the keeping power of the Lord indeed, and know that His Word is true. When that Word declares that “the dead know not anything,” and that only in the resurrection is there life to those who sleep in death, it may be known that these manifestations can only come from Satan. But the writer says:- PTUK January 9, 1896, page 21.2

Probably the generality of our readers are little aware of the magnitude of the actual and potential importance of the questions which arise in connection with the subject indicated by the above title. If the matter is mentioned in the circles in which we generally move, it is usually received with more or less of derision, and the scoffers are often disposed to pride themselves on a scepticism which they euphemistically describe as common sense. They will admit, however, that facts are stubborn things. In saying this I by no means intend to imply the admission that all or any of the alleged phenomena asserted by professed Spiritualists do really occur; I will leave that for the present. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 21.3

The stubborn fact to which I now refer is that millions of people in America and thousands around us at home do thoroughly believe in them, and, moreover, prove their faith, as all professed believers do not, by taking it with them as a factor in their practical life. Further, they not only believe in the occurrence of these phenomena as physical facts, but they fully accept the hypothesis which ascribes them to operation of discarnate spirits; or, rather, they do more than this-they regard this explanation as no longer of the nature of an hypothesis, and class it among the number of established facts. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 21.4

Nor can it for a moment be said that those who entertain such convictions are gathered mainly from a class of less than average intelligence: quite the contrary is the case. You could easily fill the largest hall in London with holders of the faith of Spiritualism; and among them you would find Fellows of the Royal Society, university professors, literary men and women of the highest standing, and numerous members of every learned profession, not excluding the Church. For many years a Society has been growing and gathering strength in our midst, one of whose principal objects is to pursue and encourage the study of the whole subject. This Society, which though at first obstinately sceptical, has recently, in affect, endorsed many of the most astonishing assertions of the Spiritualists, numbers amongst its members scores of the most distinguished names of the day, and is represented in almost every civilised country. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 21.5

It is true there are a few purists who profess to be exponents of the most rigid scientific orthodoxy, who persistently refuse to listen to or look at any evidence bearing on the question. On the other hand, after many years’ acquaintance with the progress of this inquiry, I do not know of a single instance in which a man, of whatever capacity, has fairly faced the phenomena and honestly examined them, without being entirely convinced of their reality. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 21.6

“Items of Interest” The Present Truth, 12, 2.

E. J. Waggoner

-Queen Victoria as Empress of India rule over more Mohammedans than the Sultan. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 30.1

-One-quarter of all the people born die before six years, and one-half before they are sixteen. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 30.2

-The Queen of Portugal has successfully passed the examination for second year’s medical students in Lisbon. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 30.3

-A lady named Miss Aldrich-Blake has been the first of her sex to take the degree of Master of Surgery of Loudon University. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 30.4

-Vesuvius now presents a magnificent spectacle. The lava is precipitated over a ravine, forming a cascade of fire 30ft. in height. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 30.5

-The largest diamond ever found in Africa has been discovered in the Transvaal. It weighs 694 carats, and is valued at ?300,000. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 30.6

-Technically, we are told, any inhabitant of the United Kingdom is liable to be called upon to undertake the uncongenial task of hangman. The salary is one pound a week as a retaining fee, and two pounds after an execution. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 30.7

-About 85,000,000 Christmas letters and book packets passed through the General Post-office in London. In Manchester over three and a-half millions of Christmas letters passed through the post, half a million more than last year. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 30.8

-The average wealth throughout the world, taking its population at fifteen hundred millions, is about sixty-five pounds per head, according to recent calculations. Russia, in spite of her natural resources, appears to be the poorest civilised nation on the face of the globe. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 30.9

-It is estimated by the Poor-law Guardians that there are 4,000 more paupers in London this season than in the corresponding period of last year, the total now being 107,000. This is a greater number than the returns have shown for the past twenty-four years. Throughout the whole of 1895, pauperism maintained a high level, the worst month being February, when there were no less than 150,000 names on the poor-list. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 30.10

-Farming, which was once practically the only industry in the kingdom, still remains the largest single industry, and agricultural capital still forms one-fourth of the whole wealth of the nation. The number of persons supported by it in the United Kingdom is estimated at 6,520,000, as against 9,108,400 by manufacturing and 19,182,000 by commerce. The number of persons actually employed in farming is estimated at 2,501,000 as against 5,189,000 in manufactures and 7,985,000 in commerce. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 30.11

-The ordinary pension to the widow of a lieutenant in the English army is ?40, and ?10 for each child. A captain’s widow has ?50, and ?12 for each child; a lieutenant-colonel’s widow has ?90, and ?16 for each child; a general’s widow ?120, and ?20 for each child. If death is directly traced to fatigue, privation or exposure, the pensions are increased by half as much again; if the officer is killed in action or dies of wounds within twelve mouths of the battle, the pensions are doubled. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 30.12

“Back Page” The Present Truth, 12, 2.

E. J. Waggoner

Our mission ship, the Pitcairn, has just returned to San Francisco from its fourth cruise among the islands of the South Pacific, having left workers in various groups, preachers, teachers, and medical missionaries. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 32.1

During the latter half of last year exceptionally heavy shipments of our books to foreign countries were made, and we are glad to say that the activity of the book canvassers promises a continuance of the demand. During the week cases of books have been sent to Singapore, Jamaica, Melbourne, Cape Town and Hamburg. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 32.2

We are glad to learn from friends who have recently come from Constantinople, where they attended a general meeting of our brethren in Turkey, that our workers, most of whom are Armenians, find no great difficulty in carrying on their work in these troublous times in Turkey. Those who preach the Gospel of Christ, without vitiating their message by politics, are not persecuted, except by the Armenians. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 32.3

In an interview after a recent address on the education question, in Hull, Cardinal Vaughan said: “I see in the distance a great drawing together of the two sections of the Christian faith. I see more-I see the time when there will be only the two great camps of Catholics and Rationalists.” Protestants may know by this the position that is marked out for them. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 32.4

One of the newspapers said the other day that not since Napoleon’s day has the situation been so warlike as now. The suddenness with which events come and go is characteristic of the age of electricity and steam. The sensitiveness of the nations, which is but the aggregation of personal sensitiveness, which is but another name for sinful pride, finds more rapid means of expression than formerly, and from the Word Christians may know that these evils will “wax worse and worse.” The world is rushing to destruction, and how great the need for earnest work on the part of every believer, from now on more than ever before. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 32.5

He who begins by refusing to accept something which the Bible enjoins, will end by insisting upon doing something which the Bible forbids. In other words, he who is content with less than the Bible, will presently be found claiming a great deal more. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 32.6

There is as much danger in attempting to do more than the Lord requires, as there is in refusing to do as much. When Lucifer determined to be above God, he fell to the depths of the bottomless pit. Men are to live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Now if we presume to add something to His Word we are separating from the life as surely as when we openly reject some of His words. In fact, adding to God’s words is always connected with taking from them. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 32.7

The Daily Chronicle of Monday, Dec. 23, contained the following editorial comment on the sermons of “Peace Sunday”:— PTUK January 9, 1896, page 32.8

For a Sunday dedicated to peace, yesterday may be reckoned as one of unusual interest. The Venezuelan question, of course, evoked hearty and spontaneous prayers for peace between “blood-tied” nations in all the churches, prayers which were further emphasised by vigorous appeals embodied in sermon or address. But the surprising thing was to hear, on such a day, more than one thoroughly belligerent address on the question of Armenian liberation. It is scarcely possible to recall a period when the Nonconformists of England assumed this attitude. The fact is significant, but the occasion arouses positive wonder. If on “Peace Sunday” the clarion of war may be sounded, it is evident that the spirit of Cromwell still survives in Protestant Nonconformity. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 32.9

Without doubt; but where is the Spirit of Christ? Is the spirit of Cromwell supposed to be a sufficient substitute? PTUK January 9, 1896, page 32.10

In expressing a doubt as to the world’s readiness to substitute arbitration for war the Chronicle observes:- PTUK January 9, 1896, page 32.11

It is the will and character of man that requires change, as well as the acts and deeds that are, after all, but the record of his passions and beliefs. Let us admit the sad truth that we are far from the ideal social state. Civilisation has brought no message of rest, no self-balanced and assured society, no reign of mildness or justice or truth. Poverty remains with us; or does not leave us; and though the race grows longer-lived and healthier, it is not appreciably happier or wiser. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 32.12

Every believer in the Gospel knows that the heart of the difficulty is sin, and that nothing which fails to cleanse from sin can work reformation. Here all social reformers have failed. They have tried one form of government and another, one political party and then another. It is all the same the world over. It is not new constitutions, new rulers, new combinations that the world needs, but it needs to know the power that can change the heart and translate men from the kingdom of darkness into Christ’s kingdom of light and peace. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 32.13

The Pope has just “blessed” a shrine and picture which is said to be the earliest authentic picture of the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus. There is a third figure in the group, which with a delightful disregard for consistency is called Isaiah. The Pope has granted an indulgence of 300 days to all who shall visit this picture, which he has named “the Queen of the Prophets,” and pray before it for the “conversion” of England. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 32.14

Madame Novikoff, writing in praise of the Greek Church, says that in Russia there is perfect equality in the churches, no one having any claim to precedence, rich and poor alike standing together in the congregation. (“In Russian churches pews are unknown, and there are in general no chairs.”) The equality in church is good, but the test of the matter is the situation outside of the church. The brotherhood of the Christian faith is not a thing for the congregation merely, but a relationship of service and helpfulness every day and everywhere. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 32.15

It is a fact that the most logical disestablishment party is within the Church of England. The organ, The Church of To-Day, speaks straighter for the separation of religion and the State than any of the great Nonconformist organs. These, in fact, argue constantly for the union of religion and the State, missing the principle of the whole question entirely. It matters not a whit whether it is a Churchman, Nonconformist, or Catholic in possession of civil power. The church that accepts it forsakes the Lord, and the power will be used against the truth of God; for he who does not go with Christ will surely go against Him. PTUK January 9, 1896, page 32.16