The Present Truth, vol. 11
September 26, 1895
“Front Page” The Present Truth 11, 39.
E. J. Waggoner
“All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.” Matthew 7:12. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 609.1
Here is a portion of Scripture with which everybody agrees, in theory. It is hardly possible that any man, no matter how opposed to Christianity, has ever found fault with this precept. However far men are from obeying it, they all agree that it is the correct principle, and that it would be a grand thing for the world if it were universally followed. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 609.2
Every schoolboy knows that it “isn’t fair” for one to be seeking or even quietly accepting favours from others, which he is not willing to return. The man or boy who seeks all good things for himself, and is not willing to do as well by anybody else, is voted “mean.” Now it is a fact that nobody in the world likes to be ill-treated. People can endure it, but nobody would prefer to be ill-used. Therefore the person who does not do the good to others that he would like to receive from them, is not acting with common fairness. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 609.3
Read the words once more: “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.” It is not that we should do to others as we can endure that they should do to us, nor even as we may be willing that they should do, but that we should do to them what we should like to have them do to us-what we are anxious to have done to us. And this not only to one man, but to everybody. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 609.4
Recall the fact already noted, that this is universally admitted to be just and right; as being only common fairness. Now note the Saviour’s comment upon the rule: “for this is the law and the prophets.” That is, it includes all that the Scriptures require; it is Christianity. The man who does to everybody just what he would like to have everybody do to him, is a Christian. But since it is admitted that not to do so is not fair, it follows that the man who is not a Christian is not acting with common fairness. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 609.5
The Scriptures tell us that to serve the Lord is but our “reasonable service.” Romans 12:1. The most reasonable thing in the world is to be a Christian, a follower of Him “who went about doing good.” Acts 10:38. The one who does to all as he would like them to do to him, is a Christian; “for all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Galatians 5:14. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 609.6
This does not exclude love to God, but grows out of it, because “love is of God.” Only by the love of God can we love one another. 1 John 4:7. And this indicates how we may do that which is seemingly impossible, namely, love our neighbour as ourselves. Christ went about doing good, because “God was with Him.” He gives freely His Holy Spirit, and all “good things” to those who ask Him, and “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” Romans 5:5. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 609.7
And this shows why the “golden rule” is introduced by the word “therefore.” The Saviour had just been saying that if we ask we shall receive, and had shown how willing our heavenly Father is to give “good things,” even the Holy Spirit, to those who ask Him. Matthew 7:9-11; Luke 11:11-13. Parents give food and clothing to their children without being asked. So God does good, and sends rain from heaven (Acts 19:17) “on the just and on the unjust,” and makes His sun “to shine on the evil and on the good.” Matthew 5:45. The free gift of God to us are ample reason why we should do good to our fellow-men (See Matthew 18:23-35); how much more, then, do they demand our service to Him from whom every good and perfect gift comes. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 609.8
“Doing God’s Work” The Present Truth 11, 39.
E. J. Waggoner
The work of preaching the Gospel, by whatever means, is very properly called the work of the Lord. People who engage in Gospel work are said to be engaged in the Lord’s work. How often do we think what that means? Because the force of the expression is so much lost sight of, a great deal of work is not the work of the Lord at all. Only the Lord Himself can do the Lord’s work. Jesus said of Himself, “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work.” John 4:34. But He also said, “The Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works.” And again, “I can of Mine own self do nothing.” John 5:30. How much more, then must this be true of us? PTUK September 26, 1895, page 609.9
Suppose a man goes to work in his own strength, and calls what he does the work of the Lord; what is he really claiming for himself? Simply this, that he represents God on earth; that he himself is capable of doing as well as God Himself. That is the spirit of the Papacy. It is the beginning of the manifestation of “that man of sin, who... sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God.” The difference between him and the Pope of Rome is only one of degree. It is not meant that all who do work in their own strength are consciously acting the part of the Pope. They think that they are doing the work of the Lord. Even so it was with the Papacy in its beginning. Men were deceived then, and the same deception works to-day. None of us are so safe from the possibility of being thus deceived that we do not need to be sharply reminded of our danger. Let God do the work in us, and let Him have the glory. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 609.10
“The Wars of Israel” The Present Truth 11, 39.
E. J. Waggoner
When the wickedness of war is pointed out, and it is shown by the precepts of Christ that Christians can have nothing to do in settling the quarrels of the powers of the world, it is often urged that the wars of the children of Israel constitute a justification of war. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 610.1
But the wars of Israel were not personal or national quarrels. The Lord was casting out the inhabitants of Canaan for their iniquity and destroying them, as He will destroy all the nations of this world at His second coming. Death did not come, as in modern warfare, to innocent and guilty alike, to men in sin cut off from all chance of a possible future repentance. The Lord sent Abraham’s seed into Egypt to wait for four generations for the time of possessing the land, because the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full. Genesis 15:16. Not until the wicked inhabitants have rejected every offer of mercy, and the Lord could do nothing more for them, did He “drive them out;” and the Lord did it, who knew the hearts of all. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 610.2
When the Israelites came to a city, they were first to “proclaim peace unto it,” and in the case of Rahab, in Jericho, we see how the Lord interposed to save even one of the wicked inhabitants of the city when she was willing to accept His salvation. Thus not one soul who would by any means be saved was allowed to be destroyed. The Judge of all the earth, who can do no wrong, was using Israel as an instrument of His judgments against sin, even as He will use the elements and the brightness of His glory and the armies of heaven when He comes the second time to destroy sin and sinners from the earth. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 610.3
He reads carelessly who makes the Lord responsible for all that Israel did, and many things the Lord suffered them to do because of the hardness of their hearts. But the fact that the Lord destroyed Sodom by fire does not justify a man or a nation in venting hatred against an enemy by firing his house or a city. God is no respecter of persons or of nations, and when the nations quarrel, just as persons do, over a bit of land or about their rights, filling the earth with violence, it matters not whether it is China and Japan, or Germany and France, the slaughter is alike pagan and Satanic. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 610.4
All “the kings of the earth and their armies,” when the Lord comes will be “gathered together to make war against Him.” Revelation 19:19. There will be no Christians in those ranks, and now, while Satan is stirring up strife and urging the powers of this world on to the “battle of that great day of God Almighty” (Revelation 16:14), it is high time that Christians should recognise the fact that their “citizenship is in heaven,” and that their service is due to that “better country, that is an heavenly.” Where the peace of God rules in the heart there must be peace. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 610.5
“The ‘Religious Life’” The Present Truth 11, 39.
E. J. Waggoner
“All English Catholics are agreed that the revival of the religious life for man in the Church of England is most desirable.” PTUK September 26, 1895, page 610.6
Thus writes a “priest” of the Church of England, to the Church Times. The statement will be assented to by very many people who are not “Catholics” of any kind, and who are not even Churchmen. Indeed, we should go much further, and say that the revival of the religious life is most desirable, not only for men, but also for women, and not only in the Church of England, but in every denomination. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 610.7
But we read further, and find that the “religious life” to which the writer to the Times refers is a religious life of a special kind. He signs himself as head of the “Brotherhood of St. Paul,” and says: “I have now three or four promising men waiting for reception into the Novitiate, but am unable to receive them, simply because I have only a very small roof to shelter those already with me, and can take no more men until I have more accommodation; ?250 will enable me to build cells for nine novices.” So we find that this “religious life,” the revival of which is thought so desirable, is simply the revival of monkery. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 610.8
Now without saying a word against the character of monks themselves, or of any order of monks, and even admitting that they are sincere and honest, and wholly engaged in works of charity, the fact still remains that the evils wrought by such orders is infinitely greater than all the good they can possibly do. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 610.9
How so? Simply because they give the people in general utterly false ideas as to what constitutes a religious life. A false standard of religion is raised. The idea is given that in order to live a religious life one must withdraw from ordinary business and from family and social relations, living wholly apart from the rest of mankind, except when he meets them in the discharge of the duties of his order. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 610.10
It is evident that when such an idea of the religious life prevails, the inevitable result must be that common working people will think that they cannot be religious, and will make no effort. There are then two classes of people in the community,—the religious class and the working class, and the business of being religious is left, with the exception of a few ceremonies, to the former class. It is a fact that wherever monkery has flourished, there the general morality has been lowest. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 610.11
The probability of there ever being any great revival of such a “religious life” in England is so small that it would not be worthwhile to write about it if it were not a fact that as a result of the teaching of “the Church” in time past, the idea is still quite prevalent that it is much more difficult for one to be a Christian when engaged in the ordinary duties of life than when living alone with little to do except to read, sing, pray, and meditate. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 610.12
“UNSPOTTED FROM THE WORLD’
The Bible tells us that “pure religion, and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” James 1:27. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 610.13
Notice this, that it does not say to keep out of the world, but to keep unspotted from the world. Christ prayed for His disciples: “I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” John 17:15. They are to be in the world, but not of it. But a man may be of the world in a monk’s cell or in a cave, just as much as if he were in a place of business. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 610.14
“The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” is of the world. 1 John 2:16. An unconverted man is of the world though he may live like a hermit, and a truly converted man is not of the world, though he be surrounded by the crowds of the city. It is what is within a man that determines whether or not he is defiled. “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness; all these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” Mark 7:21-23. The only way to keep “unspotted from the world,” is to have Christ within. Without that there can be no pure religion. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 611.1
FREEDOM FROM TEMPTATION
Many people imagine that if they were by themselves, with no one near to bother them, they would be free from temptation. Well, suppose they would? The truly religious life does not consist in not being tempted, but in resisting temptation. Temptation is not sin, but the yielding to it is. Christ was tempted, but He did not sin. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 611.2
The man who has never been tempted to commit a certain sin may feel very well satisfied with himself, and yet he may know far less of the religious life than the man who in the midst of temptation has gained the victory over it through Christ, even though he fell many times before he learned how to stand in Him. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 611.3
But the fact that a man is alone and released from the responsibilities of active life, does not free him from temptation. It is from within, not from without, that sin comes. It is utterly impossible for any person to be on this earth in the possession of his senses, and be free from temptation. No person ever becomes so good that he has no temptations to sin. The One who lived entirely free from sin, was tempted more than anybody else ever was tempted. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 611.4
It is possible, however, to live a righteous life, no matter where one’s lot may be cast. But in order to do it one must get away from himself, and this he cannot do simply by living alone. He takes himself with him. The only way is by putting off the old man, and putting on the new man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Then one can be a Christian wherever he is. Christ was a carpenter till He was thirty years old, and was always, with the exception of certain periods of retirement, in the midst of busy, social life; and He most surely lived “the religious life.” PTUK September 26, 1895, page 611.5
“THE SALT OF THE EARTH’
If the Lord had designed that men should live by themselves, shut away from human society and fellowship, He would have made them like snails or oysters. But that was not His design. Jesus says to His followers, “Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost its savour wherewith shall it be salted?” Matthew 5:13. But if the salt were to be kept shut up closely in a box, it would make no difference if it had no savour. It is of use only as it permeates a substance. So Christians are of no use in the world if they are not really in it. Yet as salt retains its savour, and does not cease to be salt even when in use, so Christians must be Christians in the world. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 611.6
Again, “Ye are the light of the world.” A light is of no special use if it is surrounded by thousands of other lights equally brilliant. Its loss would not be felt if it were removed. The light is needed where there is darkness. Christ, the light of the world, shown in the darkness. So Paul exhorts us to “be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.” Philippians 2:15. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 611.7
RELIGION IN WORK
The Bible tells us to “pray without ceasing;” but that does not mean that we should be continually in the closet on our knees; for the command is to all, and some at least must work. We are also told to be “not slothful in business; fervent in Spirit; serving the Lord.” Romans 12:11. The Apostle Paul also wrote, “Let ours learn to profess honest trades for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful.” Titus 3:14, margin. He himself practised what he preached, for although he was the chiefest apostle, he worked at his trade as tentmaker. Acts 18:3. The man who cannot pray while his hands are actively employed does not know how to talk with the Lord at any time. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 611.8
There are many hard-worked housewives whose time is closely occupied with the care of a large family, who are so influenced by the old monkish idea that they imagine that they are doing no religious work, and they either fear lest they shall fail at last to hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” or else they become indifferent. If such ones are not making unnecessary work for themselves, but are simply doing the necessary work that comes to hand, they are serving the Lord as truly as a missionary who is teaching the heathen. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 611.9
When the Lord was about to come down upon Mount Sinai, to proclaim the ten commandments in the assembly of the people, He gave them certain directions, among which was this: “Let them wash their clothes.” Exodus 19:10. That is a commandment of the Lord, and is as important as any other. When the Israelites were washing their clothes, they were serving the Lord just as well as when they were standing in the congregation listening to the proclamation of His law. Cleanliness is as essential now as it was then. Therefore when the God-fearing woman is washing the clothes of herself and family she is serving the Lord just as truly as when she sits with her family in those same clean garments and sings and prays. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 611.10
Let those who are doing honest work that naturally falls to them, remember that they can do it “to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31. “Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance; for ye serve the Lord Christ.” Colossians 3:22, 24. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 611.11
GRACE SUFFICIENT FOR THE NEED
Finally, as to the idea that it is much more easy to serve the Lord in some situations than in others. It is very true that it is more easy to serve the Lord when we are in a place where He wishes us to be than when we are in a place where He has not sent us. Suppose Jonah had been allowed to finish his journey to Tarshish, and to work there in quiet; he might have led a very quiet, contemplative life, but it would have been more difficult to serve the Lord there than in the busy streets of Nineveh. In fact, he could not have served the Lord at all in Tarshish. If God places a man in the midst of ungodly and scoffing shopmates, he may serve the Lord there, and live the religious life just as well as he could in the quietest place in the world. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 611.12
God “giveth more grace.” “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” Romans 5:20. The Christian has the promise of “grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16. Nothing is too hard for the Lord. He works and upholds by “the word of His power.” And it is no more difficult for Him to speak the word that upholds the universe, than to speak the word that carries the thistle-down. So when we are in a specially trying situation, if we cast all our care upon Him, the burden will be no greater for us than if we have but a light load to roll upon Him. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 611.13
The true religious life, therefore, is the life of Christ. It is lived only by Christ dwelling in the heart of the one who is yielded to Him. And just as Christ Himself could live a sinless life in any part of the world, and under the greatest temptation, so can He, by the power of His life, keep every soul who puts his trust in Him, and can present him “faultless was before the presence of His glory.” PTUK September 26, 1895, page 612.1
“The Ransom of Rome” The Present Truth 11, 39.
E. J. Waggoner
The Ransom of Rome.-For want of something better to talk about one of the London daily papers has started the discussion of a scheme by which a writer “well acquainted with the policy of the Vatican” proposes to ransom Rome from Italian rule. Italy is badly off financially and needs money, and it is proposed that “Catholic countries and peoples of the world should combine” to raise ?200,000,000 to buy off Italy, and secure a little kingdom of this world for the Pope. Of course it is all talk, but it is worth remarking that more and more attention is being given to the Papacy and its influence. The Chronicle, discussing this scheme of its contemporary, suggests that as the Pope is now He “wields an influence admittedly greater than nearly any pope since the Reformation. His empire is in men’s minds and hearts.” However the temporal power question may come out, it is a fact that more and more every day the Papacy is regaining its influence in the world, and parties and power taking its policy and attitude into account in framing political and social policies. Rome, too, knows how to play one party against another, when her aims can so be furthered. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 614.1
“Ecclesiastical Displays” The Present Truth 11, 39.
E. J. Waggoner
Some time ago in a note about the new Westminster Cathedral, we alluded to the pomp and display which figure so largely in the Catholic religion. An Anglican correspondent takes us to task for this calling attention to the “great solemnity” of the cathedral services and decorations, and says: “Look at our noble St. Paul’s and Westminster Abbey; we seem to feel more holy when we step into one of such places.” PTUK September 26, 1895, page 614.2
That is why these displays have been introduced. They make people “feel” holy, and holiness and religion become a matter merely of sense and feeling, and not of the heart. This appeal to a feeling is the strength and mystery of all Paganism. And it is openly confessed by intelligent Catholics that these things were adopted from Paganism for the purpose of attracting to the church the same heathen classes who had felt the drawing power of the religion of the senses in the services of the pagan temples. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 614.3
When one is willing to open his eyes and see things as they are, one does not see in these ecclesiastical trappings anything to regard as sacred. During the Tractarian controversy, when some Anglican writers charged Rome with having in its religion a large measure of the ancient Paganism, Cardinal Wiseman retorted by showing that the Church of England had taken the same things. He cited the pagan characteristics appearing in the building and services of St. Paul’s Cathedral, and declared that “if a Roman pagan were to be raised to life and brought to St. Paul’s he would recognise the likeness to his ancient faith on every hand.” PTUK September 26, 1895, page 614.4
Cardinal Newman declared that “the very instruments and appendages of demon worship” were brought into the Church in the early centuries. When we know that faith is not feeling, and that the Word of God is the source of faith, the one faith of Jesus, and when we read of God’s warnings to have no fellowship with the practices of heathen worship, we can feel no solemnity about the sensual display which attend high services. The Lord does not desire His Church to adopt the livery of Paganism in His service, and He calls, “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing.” PTUK September 26, 1895, page 614.5
“Items of Interest” The Present Truth 11, 39.
E. J. Waggoner
-The Jewish New Year 5656 was celebrated the 19th. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 622.1
-England works up ?1,700,000 every year into jewellery. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 622.2
-Macedonian insurgents are still giving the Turkish troops trouble. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 622.3
-The British Army uses up nearly 25,000 black bear skins every year in caps and trappings. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 622.4
-Great Britain has had, it is estimated, 66,000 acres of land added to it by the Wash in 1,700 years. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 622.5
-Pirates still ply their vocation on the Moorish coast. Last week a British ship was boarded and plundered. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 622.6
-2,907,236,000 is a large number, but it represents the number of letters, etc., handled by the Post Office this year. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 622.7
-France and Brazil are having a quarrel over boundary lines between Brazil and French Guiana. Fighting is expected. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 622.8
-The labour world is quiet, but not altogether settled. Strikes are impending in the weaving, baking, and ship-building trades. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 622.9
-The high price of the sable skin is due to the scarcity of the animal, but 2,000 skins come annually into the English market. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 622.10
-There have been more than the usual number of disasters to passenger boats round the coast lately, one closely following another. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 622.11
-71,589,069 telegrams were sent in the United Kingdom last year. This means of rapid communication is used more frequently every year. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 622.12
-Last year, ?36,000,000 worth of butter, cheese, eggs, ham, bacon, fowls, ducks, and other farm produce was imported into this country from the Continent and America. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 622.13
-As a result of the presence of official military representatives from Russia at the French army man?uvres it is expected that those two powers will be still more closely allied. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 622.14
-Seven Chinese have been executed for taking part in the massacre of missionaries. It is not certain whether they are guilty or whether, as is often the case, they are substitutes for the guilty ones. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 622.15
-Affairs on the Mekong, where the French and English are facing one another over the division of portions of Burmah and Upper Siam, are rather critical. The French have occupied some of the disputed territory. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 622.16
-The Thames is continually enriching Essex at the expense of Gloucester and Oxford. Every year it carries down sufficient solid matter to create twenty-four acres of good land six feet deep at the mouth of its estuary. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 622.17
-The official report of a Select Committee on Adulteration shows that there exists systematic adulteration in the production of the foods most commonly used. Frauds of all kinds and degrees are practised, and honest traders are handicapped by dishonest rivals. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 622.18
“Back Page” The Present Truth 11, 39.
E. J. Waggoner
Two of our workers left London this week on their way to Calcutta, India. Others will soon follow to the same field. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 624.1
During the past week our publishing office has sent considerable shipments of books to Burmah, Austria, and South Africa. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 624.2
In the news that three thousand of the French troops have died in Madagascar of climatic ailments one cannot help seeing something of retributive justice, following a campaign of robbery. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 624.3
In a notice of the Factory Inspectors continued Sunday visits to the office of the International Tract Society, and of the prospect of another prosecution, a Church of England paper, The Church of To-day, says:— PTUK September 26, 1895, page 624.4
The Adventists, let it be remembered, are not Sabbath-breakers, and pay the greatest regard to Saturday; but they decline, on conscientious grounds, to be bullied into keeping Sunday. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 624.5
In Belgium the Clerical majority are making it compulsory that every school receiving State help shall teach the Catholic religion. Heretofore they have worked under a compromise, but the end of all compromises must come sooner or later, and the party in power will have its way. When religion is made a branch of politics it will inevitably become merely an instrument of party machinery, and Rome will in the end be the gainer, because the Gospel is not preached in this way, whether in Belgium or England. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 624.6
The Bible tells us that in the last days the word will be “Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up; ... let the weak say, I am strong.” Joel 3:9, 10. There has never been a time when the very air seemed to be so charged with the spirit of war as now. War is being elevated by the religious press to the rank of a Christian institution. Not long ago a Church paper said that war ought to be conducted “in the spirit of worship;” and now one of the leading religious journals in the world publishes on its first page a poem entitled, “In Time of Battle,” the first portion of which thus extols war and suicide:— PTUK September 26, 1895, page 624.7
It is a seemly thing to die in battle,
Ensanguined for the Right;
The sudden swoon, the ominous death-rattle
Mere phantoms in the fight
Against the music and the Victor’s cry,
’Tis noble so to die.
PTUK September 26, 1895, page 624.8
And if one fall, ‘tis hell in such disaster
Like Saul to end the day.
PTUK September 26, 1895, page 624.9
If that is Christianity, can anybody tell what Paganism is? PTUK September 26, 1895, page 624.10
Referring to the Pope’s letter on Unity, the Archbishop of Canterbury in a recent pastoral says: “For the unquestioned kindness which now invites our common prayers, already gladly offered, we are thankful.” The Archbishop earnestly desires reunion with Rome, but he is not willing to have it except on condition that Anglican orders are recognised as valid, a condition which Cardinal Vaughan says can never be granted. It will be worth while to watch to see which party will yield. Of one thing we may be sure, that any compromise that may be effected will not be to Rome’s disadvantage. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 624.11
The Osservatore Romano, the organ of the Vatican, speaking of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s pastoral letter, in which he says of the Pope’s letter that “recognition might have lent a meaning to the mention of reunion,” says that the Archbishop has a wrong view of the question since “the Pope addressed himself either to the pseudo-episcopate nor to the pseudo-clergy of Anglicanism, but to the English people, calling on them to unite with the Roman Church.” It adds, “The question is not whether the Anglican Church should unite with or submit to the Roman Church, but that Anglicanism should disappear, when the Anglicans become Catholics.” PTUK September 26, 1895, page 624.12
Friday, the 20th inst., was the twenty-fifth anniversary of the entry of Italian troops in Rome. One of the features of the celebration was a speech by Signor Crispi, at the unveiling of a monument to Garibaldi, in which he gave the Pope some good advice, giving evidence that the statesman knows more about Christianity than the man in the Vatican does. Among other things he said:— PTUK September 26, 1895, page 624.13
The enemies of Italian unity have sought to interpret these f?tes as an insult to the Pope, but it must not be forgotten that Christianity, Divine in its nature, had no need of cannon to defend itself. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 624.14
And again:— PTUK September 26, 1895, page 624.15
Prayer and religion are not and cannot be affairs of State. In no other country, moreover, does the Church enjoy as much liberty and respect as in Italy, the only nation which has set the example of renouncing all claim on behalf of the State in ecclesiastical matters. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 624.16
In showing how much the Pope’s influence had increased since the loss of temporal power, Signor Crispi stated a significant and most alarming fact. He said:— PTUK September 26, 1895, page 624.17
Protestant Sovereigns, and even those who are outside the religion of Christ, bow respectfully before him and defer to his judgment. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 624.18
And that shows that they are not Protestant at all. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 624.19
“Fulness of Joy” The Present Truth 11, 39.
E. J. Waggoner
Fulness of Joy.—“In Thy presence,” says the Psalmist, “there is fulness of joy.” And again he asks, “Whither shall I flee from Thy presence?” No one can escape from the presence of the Lord. Therefore it is not simply in heaven, but in earth also that there is fulness of joy for every one who will believe it. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 624.20
“Search for Heretics” The Present Truth 11, 39.
E. J. Waggoner
Search for Heretics.-A German paper publishes the text of a letter addressed to the Russian authorities by that Grand Inquisitor, the Procureur-General of the Holy Synod, urging that a minute inquisition be made into the views of Sunday-school teachers in order that persons suspected of teaching heterodox social and political views may be removed from the schools as quickly as possible. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 624.21
“That Precocious Infant” The Present Truth 11, 39.
E. J. Waggoner
That Precocious Infant.-The infant prince of Bulgaria is again receiving attention on account of his religious views. A despatch says:— PTUK September 26, 1895, page 624.22
According to intelligence from Sofia, Prince Ferdinand has decided to have his son, Prince Boris, converted to the Orthodox Church. The act of baptism will soon take place. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 624.23
What strange ideas of conversion must be held when the press and statesmen can discuss such a farce as this seriously. PTUK September 26, 1895, page 624.24