October 1927
639
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K i n g ' s
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could be found than the ravings of these atheists against God, Christ, the Bible and all who seek, as best they can, to follow the Teacher of teachers. Their writings are not marked, as were those of some of the earlier atheists, by an evident attempt to be reasonable and courteous. Scof fing at all who believe in God and hurlihg themselves dead against the human experience of the ages seems to be their main line of attack. So vituperous and indecent are many of their statements that we doubt if any fair-minded person would be impressed with the worthiness of their cause. The danger of the propaganda of the American Asso ciation of Atheists lies in the.fact that they put their liter ature into the hands of immature and unthinking people. Their chief work is in schools and colleges. It has estab lished chapters in 20 colleges and many high schools. Its junior atheist movement works among the children of grammar schools, seeking to prejudice their minds against all religious teaching. H ere ' s W hat T hey P ropose To D o According to the records of the Association, there are atheists’ clubs in the following universities: Colgate, Brown, Cornell, Rochester, Denver, Clark, George Wash ington University, University of Chicago; New York University, and in the State ■universities of Colorado, Kansas, Tennessee, Texas, Kentucky, Wisconsin, and California. The organization encourages picturesque names. An example is “The Damned Souls,” at the University of Rochester, an organization of 22 student atheists, who hold meetings and expound their views. A chapter in Los Angeles rejoices in the name, “The Devil’s Angels.” . “A splendid help to us in our work,’’ says one of their leaders, “are the scientists of America. We sent out a questionnaire to the scientists of America recently—cost to us $400—and we found that 75 per cent are agnostics and atheists.” They claim to have many teachers of schools and colleges lined up with their work. i ESUS preached at all times,” said the late Mr. Noah, a Jew, and a distinguished editor of New York, “and in all places, in and out of the temple, with an eloquence such as no mortal has since possessed. Jesus was free from fanaticism; His was a quiet, subduing, retiring faith. He mingled with the poor, communed with the wretched, avoided the rich and rebuked the vainglorious. He sincerely believed His mission, courted no one, flattered no one; was pointed and severe in His denunciations. These are not the char acteristics of an impostor; but, admitting that we give a different interpretation to His mission, when one hundred and fifty millions believe in His divinity, and we see around us abundant evidence of the happiness, good faith, mild government, and liberal feelings which spring from His religion, what right has any one to call Him an im postor?-—that religion which is calculated to make man kind happy cannot be a false one.’J Whatever else may be taken away from us by rational criticism, Christ is still left—a unique figure, not more unlike all His precursors than all His followers, even
Here are nine objects that the 4 A’s is striving toward: 1. All churches shall be taxed. 2. Chaplains in Congress, legislatures, and in the Army and Navy shall be done away with. 3. Appropriations of public money for sectarian use shall be stopped. 4. The bootlegging (their phrase) of the Bible and religion into the public school shall cease. 5. No religious festival or fast shall be recognized by the state. 6. The Bible shall no longer be used to administer an oath. 7. Sunday as a religious Sabbath shall no longer " be enforced by law. ' 8. “Christian” morality shall be done away with. In its place shall be natural morality, equal rights, and impartial liberty. 9. “In God We Trust” shall be taken off coins! S hall I t G o U nanswered ? The least that any Christian can do in meeting such insidious propaganda aimed at the very foundations of country, home and human welfare, is to see that there is put into the hands of our young people constructive literature that will point out to them the evidence of the divine inspiration of the Scriptures, the Deity and Saviour- hood of Christ and the vitality of the Christian faith as witnessed in the lives of millions who have accepted Christ. . Suitable tracts and booklets can be obtained at our Biola Book Room at very low cost. T he K ing ’ s B usi ness and other orthodox periodicals have been used of God in opening the eyes of hundreds who were wavering in their faith. It is apparent, however, that unless these helps are placed by Christians.in the hands of those who need them most, their testimony will be lost. The Amer ican Atheists will see to it that our young people have plenty of literature against Christianity. Is this matter on your heart? What are you doing to turn the coming generation Godward? ^1^, those who had the direct benefit of His personal teaching. It is of no use to say that Christ, as exhibited in the gos pels, is not historical, and that we know not how how much of what is adihirable has been superadded by the tradition of His followers. The tradition of followers suffices to insert any number of marvels, and may have inserted all the miracles which He is reputed to have wrought. But who among His disciples, or among their proselytes, was capable of inventing the sayings ascribed to Jesus, or of imagining the life and character revealed in the gos pels? Certainly not the fishermen of Galilee; as certainly not Paul, whose character and idiosyncrasies were of a totally different sort; still less the early Christian writers. About the life and sayings of Jesus there is a stamp of personal originality, combined with profundity of insight, which must place the prophet of Nazareth, even in the estimation of those who have no belief in His inspiration, in the -very first rank of the men of sublime genius of whom our species can boast. When this preeminent genius is combined with the qualities of probably the greatest moral reformer, and martyr to that mission, who ever existed upon earth, religion cannot be said to have made
afe afe afe Adm issions of Skeptics Concerning Christ
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