King's Business - 1917-10

VOL. VIII

OCTOBER, 1917

No. 10

Published once a month by the BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES LOS ANGELES. CALIFORNIA. U. S. A.

ONE D O L L A R A YEAR

MOTTO : 4 / the Lord do keep it, I w ill water it. every m om ent ■ lest any hurt it , 1 w ill keep it night and d a y /'—Isa. 27:3.

R- A. TORREY, D. D., Editor T. C. HORTON. J . H. HUNTER, WILLIAM EVANS» D. D., Associate Editors A. M. ROW, M m f i o | Editor

Published by the "8 BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES, Inc. Los Angeles, California, U. S. A. Entered « Second-a»*« Matter Norember 17, 1910, at the poatoffice at Lot Angelea. Cal.. y , 'under the Act of March 3, 1879. Copyright by R. A. Torrey, D. D„ and Bible Institute of Lot Angeles, for the year 1917 '

DIRECTORS

Lyman Stewart, president. J< M. Irvine, secretary, T. C. Horton, superintendent. .

R. A. Torrey^ vice-president Leon V. Shaw, treasurer.

William Evans.

H. A. Getz.

Natkan Newby

J. O. Smith

DOCTRINAL STATEMENT We hold to the Historic Faith of the Church as expressed in the Common Creed, of Evangelical Christendom and including! The Xrinity of the Godhead. The' Deity of the Christ.

The' Maintenance of Good Works, The Second Coming^ of Christ. The Immortality of the Spirit. The Resurrection of the Body. The Life Everlasting of Believers. The Endless Punishment of the im penitent. . The Reality and Personality of SatanT' (7.) Bible Women. House-to-house visitation and neighborhood classes. (6 ) Oil Fields. A mission to men On the oil fields. — (9 ) Book* and Tracts. Sale and dis tribution of selected books and tracts. ( 10 ) Harbor Work. For seamen at Los Angeles harbor. ; ( 11 ) Tbe Biola Club. Daily noon meetings for. men in t b e , down-town district, with free reading-room privi leges. ( 12 ) Print Shop. For printing Testa ments, books, tracts, etc. A complete establishments profits going to free dis tribution of religious literature.

The Personality of the Holy Ghost. The *Supernatural and Plenary .au thority of the Holy Scriptures. The Unity in Diversity of the Church, the Body and Bride of Christ. The Substitutionary Atonement. V ", The" Necessity pf the New Birth- P iim n c a • The Institute trains, free’ " ’ 0f cost, accredited men and women, in the knowledge and use of the Bible. Departments: except on Saturdays and Sundays. (2 ) Extension work, Classes and conferences held in neighboring cities * and towns. (3 ) Evangelistic. Meetings conducted, by our evangelists; (4 ) Spanish Mission. Meetings every night. (5 ) Shop Work. Regular services in shops and factories«. (b ) Jewish- Evangelism. Personal work among the Hebrews.

SCOPE OF THE WORK

æ THE KING’S BU S INESS VOL. VIII. OCTOBER, 1917 No. 10 TABLE OF CONTENTS Editorial: The D raft— W hat A re We Fighting F o r?— Vain Hopes— A Sickening P arade— Economies T h a t Would Count— Dom ination of Rum— Rum and Romanism— Rom e’s A ttitude— Commercializing Patriotism— Danc ing Over the G raves of the Heroic Dead— The Presi- den t’s A ttitude on the Drink Question— Reprisals......... 867 P rayer Circle .......................... 878 A rchaeology in Criticism. By Melvin Gore Kyle, D.D., L.L. D ............................................................................................. 879 Puzzling Passages and P roblem s........................... 883 Ministerial In s titu te .............................................................................. 885 Dr. Gaebelein’s W o rk ....................................... 892 Songs in the Night. By Charles H addon Spurgeon................... 893 Evangelistic Department. By Bible Institute W orkers............ 900 Through the Bible with Dr. Evans.................................................. 907 The F ar Horizon................... ............................................................... 91 1 Destiny of the World. By Rev. Wm. H. Bates, D. D ............. 916 Hom iletical Helps. By William Evans.......................................... 920 International Sunday School Lessons. By R. A. Torrey and T. C. H o rto n ........................... 924 Daily Devotional Studies in the New Testam ent for Individ ual Meditation and Fam ily Worship. By R. A. Torrey 941

SUBSCRIPTION PR ICE In th e U n ited S tates a n d its Possessions a n d Mexico, a n d p o ints in th e C e n tra l A m e ric an P ostal Union» $ I p e r y e ar. In all o th e r foreign countries, $1.24 (5 s. 2 d .). Single copies, 10 cents.

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THE KING’S BUSINESS

Our Correspondence School By the Faculty of the BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES Instruction by correspondence long since ceased to be an experiment and took its well-earned place as a duly accredited method of education. If it lacks the personal touch of the class-room, it intensifies the originality and determ ination of the individ- uai student. A student may thus pursue his ordinary occupation while perfecting himself as a Christian worker.

Course 1.—Fundamental Doctrines of Christianity By R. A . TORREY, Dean of the Institute

is a careful study ^of w hat the upon the doctrine under discussion and Bible teaches on the Christian faith. The from them ascertain and formulate the method pursued is to bring together teaching of the Bible. This is the true every statem ent of Scripture bearing inductive method of study.

Course 2.—The Life and Teachings of Our Lord By R. A . TORREY, Dean of the Institute

This course presents a thorough study of the life and teachings of our Lord as recorded in the four Gospels, it consists of 140 studies. These studies cover prac-

tically every verse in the four Gospels. At ' the end of each tw enty lessons a series of questions on the whole section is sent to the student to be answered.

Course 3.—Through the Bible by Books and Chapters By JOHN H. HUNTER, Secretary of the Faculty « .??urs? carfics the student .through each chapter in each book analyzed A Bib^e, from Genesis to Revelation, special blank i s .furnished on which the eacn book being studied as a whole, and student records the result of his own study. Course 4.—Personal Evangelism and Practical Work By T. C. HORTON, Superintendent of the Institute business of every believer is to be

equip for the work of dealing with believ ers and unbelievers; second, to direct the student in the best methods of doing per sonal work; third, to give suggestions concerning the preparation for conduct of religious meetings.

qualified for service. The work of every believer is soul saving. It will therefore be the privilege of the instructor in this course: first, to put the student in touch with the Scripture best calculated to

Other Courses in Preparation TERMS : For Numbers 1, 2 and 3—$5.00 each. For Number 4—$3.00 SEND FOR PROSPECTUS

T H E K IN G ’S B U S IN E S S □ j------------------------ 1 Voi. 8 rii----------------- OCTOBER, 1917 L J] E D I T O R I A L ------------------------ IHJ There has been more or less clamor throughout the The Draft. country against the military draft. If there has to be war, the only wise and just way to obtain men for the army is by a selective draft. The system of voluntary enlistment is unjust and unwise. It secures for our armies an altogether undue proportion of our best young men, the men who are brave and self-sacrificing and well equipped intel lectually and morally, the men who are needed in all departments of life, and a very small proportion from the selfish, and. the useless, and the unemployed. It has been agreed among the wisest persons who have carefully studied the war, that England made a great mistake in not adopting conscription sooner, and the result has been that an appalling proportion of university men and noble spirited men from the better homes (better mentally and morally, not merely socially) have gone to the front and been slaughtered. The draft falls equally upon all classes of society. Of course there must necessarily be a diversity of opinion in the details in regard to the carrying out of the draft, but on the whole the princi ples adopted in our draft are as good as could be expected. It might have been well if the unmarried men, and the men who have been married for several years but remained childless, and the unemployed, who are a burden on society and are unemployed because of their own shiftlessness, up to the ages of 45 or 50 had been summoned to the war or at least liable to draft. But absolutely ideal legislation is of course never practicable, and the law as it is is as nearly ideal as it is reasonable to expect. The principle upon which the actual draw ing of names was carried out, was of such a character apparently as to elimi nate all possibility of fraud. The exemption rules seem to be of a most wise and just character; and there is every reason to suppose that in most instances they will be applied with rigid impartiality. That there would be some excep tions to this would be expected. With men as they are and governments as they are it is practically impossible to safe-guard against all favoritism.

There seems to be great confusion as to why America is in the war. Our President, and many members of his Cabinet, seem to be putting forth frantic efforts of every conceivable kind to convince the people that we

What Are We Fighting For?

are in the war to save Democracy. Now this may sound well for a Fourth of July celebration and as an appeal to thoughtless people, but it simply is not true and it is well that it is not true. We are in the war because Germany violated and re-violated our rights .and things came to such a pass that we were left without any choice as to whether we would go into the war or not. The Government of the United States simply recognized a war that already existed,

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THE KING’S BUSINESS which Germany had begun. And as to saving Democracy, a very large propor tion of the people of America would not be in favor of shedding one drop of good American blood to make any other nation a Democracy. If Germany or any other nation wishes to be a Democracy, that is for them to decide. We have no more right to force Democracy upon Germany by bomb and bayonet than Germany has a right to force Autocracy upon us in the same way. To force Democracy upon another people that does not want it, is in itself thor- oughly undemocratic. Indeed, while we are talking about making the whole world Democratic, we are making America more undemocratic all the time in countless ways. ^The act on the part of the Congress and Senate of the United States of America was purely on the ground that Germany had already begun a war upon us. There is no need of shifting the ground and to try to do so is simply weakening the cause of the United States'of America. of Righteousness through the triumph of the Allies, l his hope is utterly vain. The Allies may eventually conquer in this war. To us it certainly seems to be hoped that they will, but if they do the outcome will not be Universal Democracy, and even if it was it would not be a Reign of Righteousness. Democracy can be just as corrupt as Autocracy and there may be as much society bondage in a Democracy as under an Autocracy. Secretary of State Lansing, in an address delivered to the 1600 candidates for the reserve i commissions at Madison Barracks, July 9th, is reported as spying, “The inde- pendence of no nation is safe, the liberty of no individual is sure, until the military despotism which now holds the German people in the hollow of its hand has been made impotent and harmless forever.” This may be true, but even if the “military despotism which holds the German people in the hollow of its hand” were “made impotent and harmless forever,” the independence of no nation would be safe, and the liberty of tjo individual would be sure. But there is not the slightest possibility that the German people will be permanently sub jugated. Nations have been defeated and practically crushed time and time again, simply to emerge in a few years. The German people will not be perma nently crushed by any possible outcome of the war. It is not desirable that they or any other people should be crushed. Mr. Lansing went pn to say, “For its own safety as well as for-the cause of human liberty this great republic is marshaling its armies and preparing with all its vigor to aid in ridding Germany as well as the world of the most ambitious and unprincipled autocracy which has ever arisen to stay the wheels of progress and imperil Christian civiliza tion. This is buncombe, pure and simple. This country is marshaling its armies for no such purpose, but- to defend specific rights that have been infringed upon. We have no business to rid Germany of anything it wants. It is for them to decide. If they want autocracy, they have a right to keep it In another flight of eloquence Mr. Lansing says, “With lofty purpose, with patriotic fervor, with intense earnestness, the American democracy has drawn the sword which will not be sheathed until the forces of absolutism go down defeated and broken.” This is simply foolishness. If we are not to sheath the sword “until the forces of absolutism go down defeated and broken,” we have Vain Hopes. Many are flattering themselves that the-outcome of the present war'is to be Universal Democracy and a Reign .

THE KING’S BUSINESS 869 a long fight before us. This triumph is unrealizable* in this dispensation. The present age is going to end according to the prophets in a perfect triumph of the most awful absolutism that the world has ever seen, the absolutism of the coming Kaiser (not the German Kaiser), the Anti-Christ. That will be beyond question “The most awful, ambitious and unprincipled autocracy'that has ever arisen to stay the wheels of progress and imperil Christian civilization.” For tunately we who have a living faith in Jesus Christ will not be here when that awful day comes. We will have been caught up to meet the Lord in the air. That autocracy will ultimately go down to utter and everlasting defeat, but it will not be through the armies of the United States, but through the coming of the King, the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

Many of the hard working and poorly paid people of this country are being nauseated by the parade of self- sacrifice and economy on the part of spend-thrift and gluttonous society. The Ladiesf Home Journal for

A Sickening Parade.

July has an article headed “We Are on the Job, Mr. President !”•with a sub title “What the Ladies of American Society Are Doing to Conservé Food in Their Homes of Wealth and Fashion.” In it seventeen society ladies tell of the apparently remarkable economy they are practising, but after all their economy, they are living in a style of lavish expenditure far beyond the reach of the great mass of the people in this country to whom the President is making an appeal to practise more rigid economies. One woman writes, “When I have a guest, as a titled foreigner, (here she finds an opportunity to let society know that she entertained a titled foreigner recently, and the opportunity was seized) his presence makes no dif ference in the dinner served. The meal consists of a vegetable soup, plain fish, salad and a very simple desert. My husband and I recently took up with our foreman the problem of intensive food articles on our ranches, and I have mobolized cooks who will be discouraged in wasting food stuffs, that our .house keeper has to contend with.” Now what appears to this woman as a remark ably plain dinner and which she tells us is the one she serves whether she has guests or not, would be beyond the reach of the great majority of the working people in this country. Of course it is economy for her as compared with the gluttonous way in which the family have doubtless been living in the past, and yet to parade it as economy is exasperating to people who all their lives have to practise a far more rigid economy. Another well known society lady writes, “In my family we now have two course lunches and three course dinners. I feel it is due to give up the use of veal, suckling pig (what tremendous self- sacrifice) and spring lamb, and to use the grown animals, thus saving tons of meat for our allies abroad (one wonders how many tons of meat they have been using in their family heretofore) and for our own use when necessary. I am not serving small chickens for food, but using the larger fowls, this not only effects a gain in pounds of food but increases the egg supply as well.” One wonders how many chickens they use in this family per week. To the poor, chickens are a luxury, indulged in perhaps on Thanksgiving and Christ mas day. This woman goes on to say, “The larger fowls, when properly cooked, are tender and appetising.” Doubtless they are. Many of the poor

870 THE KING’S BUSINESS who are being asked to pr&ctise a rigid economy would like the opportunity to find out. Another society leader writes, “ No dainties now grace my table. Only nutritious foods comprise my menu, substituting fish, in the place of oyster soup in the first course. The second is a roast with two or more vegetables,* chosen with regard to the components of fat, sugar and starch. I believe that simple deserts are needed to make up a well balanced meal. Apple tarts for instance contain a very large proportion of carbohydrates and fat. My one desert is salted peanuts, which is valuable as food.” This is set forth as an economic dinner. Fish and roast meat, two or more vegetables at one meal, apple tarts and salted peanuts, chosen because of their nutrition. What wouldn’t the great mass of working people of this country give if they could only afford to have either fish or roast meat at one meal every day. But here is fish, roasts, vegetables, pies, etc., etc., set forth as such a rigid economy that it ought to be paraded before the world. Another society lady says, “It is now the duty of every American house-wife to be the general in her own household and to know absolutely what is going on and to eliminate wastes and indulgences in food,” then she goes on to tell, of the rigid economy she is practising. She writes, “The only changes I have made from the regime of the year past was to order one serving of corn bread each day instead of wheat bread, to have two pota toless days and substitute macaroni or rice and to have two fish days per week instead of seven meat days. I have fruit, vegetables and milk in liberal quan tities to make up for dropping meat and bread stuffs from the diet.” What tremendous sacrifice! Wheat bread only twice per day and corn bread to take its place at the other meal (probably there are four or five meals in the family) and just to think of it, going without potatoes two days in the week and to be forced to live in part, in.lieu of the potatoes, upon macaroni and rice, (many of the laboring classes would be glad to have macaroni or rice any day in the week) and just think of it they can’t have meat when they have fish, but they are given plenty of fruit, plenty of vegetables, plenty of milk. How many of our working people would be glad to have “a liberal supply of milk.” Another woman writes, “In our household we are living very simply. I have not felt it wise to pledge myself to serve any specific number of courses at dinner, but the fact is, when we are alone we rarely have more than two courses, and I am sure we all get quite enough to eat. (We are sure the laboring classes would feel they were getting quite enough to eat if they could have two courses at every meal, instead they are glad to get one). When we have guests I feel I must hold myself free to give what courtesy and regard my guests’ entertain ment require (that is to say serve a considerable more than two courses at a meal).” The woman who is ministering to the gluttony of her guests better keep silent and not make appeals for people to practise economy. This lady goes on to say how exceedingly generous they have been, that is generous in her own eyes. She says, “We have given the use of the one bit of land around our home in Washington to two men for a garden. In New Hampshire we have turned over a large piece of ground for two men to cultivate.” (What marvelous generosity). Of course it was the right thing to do, but why parade it as if it was something great. Some of the letters are so utterly nauseating that we do not quote them. One woman tells how “800 acres " of their “country place” “have been planted to vegetables.” It will be interesting reading to the average woman who is trying to practise economy and help the nation, to learn of the 800 acre country place. She goes on to tell how “we have also put on

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THE KING’S BUSINESS

our country place sheep and cattle to be used later as food.’ One wonders how many sheep and cattle this one family is going to use in the present stringency. Another society lady tells how they are trying to help Mr. Hoover by using so much less white bread as to save twelve loaves of bread per week in their home. It would interest the laboring people to know how many loaves of white bread per week that family has been in the habit of using. To help out in the^pinch, of economy she tells how the cook makes corn bread and how they have “muf fins or something of the sort.” It must be very hard to put up with corn muf fins. One can’t but pity this family. Further on she tells how they have decided to have one day in the week in which they will do without meat and how they have been in the habit of having “jive or six courses” for their din ners, but how in their burst of patriotism they are going to cut it down to three, then goes on to tell what the three will be: “soup or fish, meat with vege tables and a simple desert.” To most of the common people of this country that would be considered a feast. She tells furthermore, how she attended many dinners in Washington (it would strike the ordinary person that attend ing many dinners would not be a good way to use one’s time in these days of stringency, strife, action and sorrow) and one was given by the Secretary of State and- his wife. She says there were 28 present, including some distin guished guests and there were but three courses, soup, lamb with peas, pota toes and asparagus, all served on the same plate,” (it was fine to save on the plates, but one rather wonders how the soup tastes when served on the plate with lamb and peas and potatoes and asparagus). She goes on to tell how all they had for desert was “ice cream and cake.” In another place she tells how a number of the guests “expressed their approval.” One doesn’t wonder that they did. Most people would decidedly approve of such a dinner, as it was decidedly beyond what they ordinarily get. An article has gone the round of a large number of the daily papers in the country in which it is set forth that “the food,serving program adopted at the home of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, has been selected by the conservation section of the food administration as a model for other large households. It goes on to tell how this lady in her description of this model for others had “seven in the family, and that ten servants were employed.” Each servant" signed a pledge card and there are daily conferences on economy. The economies prac tised were as follows: “No bacon is used in the Roosevelt home. Corn bread is served once a day. The consumption of laundry soap has been cut in half. Meat is served but once daily and all ‘left-overs’ are utilized.” The natural supposition is that .these left-overs are left-overs of meat and therefore meaf is served more than “once a day.’ “Menu rules allow two copses for luncheon and three for dinners. Everybody eats fish at least once per week.” Mrs. Roosevelt goes on to say, “Making the ten servants help me do my saving has not only been possible, but highly profitable.” We do not doubt but that it has, but it does not seem to have occurred to Mrs. Roosevelt that if she would cut the ten servants down to two there would have been just about half as many people to provide for as there was with the ten, and the cost of living would have been reduced from the infinitesimal amount it is now to about one- half and the majority of not only the working people, but well-to-do families in this country would be glad to get two servants or even one. Articles like this published in the papers, read by the common people and the poor, set the poor to doing a great deal of thinking and produces serious discontent. Doubt-

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THE KING’S BUSINESS less these things look like economy to these women, but with all the economy that they are practising they set forth a style of living that to the average working man and his family looks like excessive gluttony, especially when the poor are urged by the President and Mr. Hoover to add to the economy which they have been forced to practice by the rising cost of food products still more rigid economy, and economy that means serious detriment to the health of themselves and families. This sort of thing if paraded before the poor and forced upon their attention will add to the increasing social discontent in this country and will help on the cause of unreasonable socialism and will strengthen the hands of the wildest anarchists. The best thing that society people can do at this time is to show as little as possible of their home life and methods of living. Instead of parading their imaginary economy and self- sacrifice they better go way back and sit down and keep quiet. could be put into exercise at once that really would count. For example, eight hundred and sixty-five million dollars could be saved in America if the people would give up the use of candy. That is what our American candy costs. Sugar is one of the things in which there is a serious shortage and the rising price of sugar has been one of the things that has perplexed, and much per plexed, the American house-wife. If people would only give up the use of candy for the present, the sugar situation would be saved. Then there could be an economy that would count by giving up the use of soft drinks, especially ice-cream sodas. We have not the figures at hand as to the exact amount spent in this country in this way, but it is very large. No one is any better physically and most people are worse by the use of these soft drinks. Pure water is a much better beverage. Another economy that would save many millions of dollars for this country would .be in the giving up. of the use of chewing gum. The manufacturers of chewing gum have tried to make us think that its use is good for digestion and also for the teeth, but the best hygienists are agreed that this is absolutely untrue; that so far as it has any effect upon digestion, it is bad and that it is not beneficial for the teeth. If an intelligent economy was practiced in these things there would be no need of urging the underfed poor to practice a still more rigid economy in the matter of wholesome food stuffs. There are many ways in which the average American is squandering money wholesale, in things that do him no good. Let every Christian and patriot forego absolutely at this present time of need, the use of candy, chewing gum and soda and let him also abstain from all unnecessary expenditure of any kind. . The people of this country are being urged, sometimes almost in a frantic way, to economies that have not been thoroughly thought out, and which would not accomplish a great deal. But there are economies that Economies That Would Count.

T H E K ING ’S BUS INESS 873 The liquor interests seem to have today a throttle hold, not only upon the government in the United States, but also in Great Britain. While Great Britain has appealed to us to economize rigidly in our consumption

Domination of Rum.

of grains, that we may have it in our power to send grain to England to support life there, England is permitting an enormous waste of the same kind of grains in the manufacture of beer. It was recently decided by the government to per mit a manufacture of one-third more beer during the summer months than has been permitted in the past. It is said in the defense of Lloyd George, by his friends, that this was necessary, that otherwise there would have been a revolu tion. This defense may be true, but if it is true, what an appalling state of affairs it reveals, that the liquor powers will either rule or incite rebellion. Neither is this all. A book has been published and had a large circulation in England called “Victory and Defeat.” This book has exposed some of the enormities of the liquor traffic. From what one can learn of the book it would seem to have been an extreme statement of the case (though containing a very large measure of truth), but even if that is the case the action of the govern ment is astounding. The book has been proscribed outside of England. The sale is permitted in England, but they are not allowed to send it here, and the circulation has been proscribed in Canada. If any Canadian is found with it in his possession, he is fined about $5000. What are the liquor powers afraid of ? What is the government of England afraid of ? The people will know the facts, but must England and America bow to Rum and acknowledge Rum as absolute master of us and our destinies.

When the dry forces of our Congress and Senate seemed to be about to gain a complete triumph, Cardi- nal Gibbons came out with a public manifesto against bone dry legislation. And what he had to say had a

Rum and Romanism.

great deal to do, if it was not altogether responsible for, carrying the day against the dry forces in the United States Senate. Those who do not know Rome were Surprised at Cardinal Gibbons’ action, but when we bear in mind how thoroughly the church of Rome is supported by the liquor element, one ought not to be surprised. A total suppression of the manufacture and sale of alcoholic liquors as a beverage would very Seriously deplete the revenues of the Romish church. There' has been a long understanding, if not formal alliance, between Rum and Romanism.

One of the things which is causing most serious thought in connection with the present war is the conduct of the Roman Catholic Church. Rome’s attempt to

Rome’s Attitude.

Romanise Servia had much to do with the assassination that was made an excuse for the present war, and Rome'as far as she dared seems to have played

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THE KING’S BUSINESS into the hands of the Kaiser almost from the beginning. Of course, there have been men, like Cardinal Mercier, who have displayed a noble patriotism, and there have been many priests in France and elsewhere who have played the patriot s part, but what support has the Cardinal had from the Pope? and what protest has Rome ever made against the outrageous enormities practiced by the powers that be in Germany ? What single thing has the Roman church done that has not played into the hands of the Central Powers? There is good reason for supposing that the present agitation against conscription in the Prov ince of Quebec in Canada is organized and pushed by the priests. Apparently Rome has her eye upon the triumph of the Kaiser and upon an alliance with him for the domination of the world. The greatest danger to our Republic is not from the Kaiser, but from Rome. We do well to be alert and to watch and pray.

. . .

° ne of the saddest developments of these days of war and distress is the way in which a large proportion of our people are commercializing their patriotism. There has been not only a reasonable display of our glorious

Commercializing Patriotism.

and beautiful American flag such as would be expected at such a time as this, but an effort to compel the people to display it in many unnecessary ways, so that there has been a tremendous rise in the price of flags and bunting. The real object in many cases has been to pour money into the coffers of the manu facturers of flags and bunting. It is commercializing their patriotism. Then again many moving picture shows, theaters and commercial houses are trying to make personal gain out of the enthusiasm for the noble work of the Red Cross. The Red Cross is to get a part of the profits of a great many enter prises. The real object in giving a portion of their profits to the Red Cross is to line their own pockets with their part of the profits. Some men of affairs have placed their great organizing abilities at the disposal of the United States Government out of patriotism pure and simple, but it seems that others have offered their services to •the Government simply that they may promote the profits of the lines of business in which they are engaged.

AH over the country, dances and other frolics are being held ostensibly from a patriotic motive to raise money for the Red Cross. The real motive is in many cases anything but that. We are living in a time in which many are awakening to the fact that if dances and

Dancing Over the Graves of the Heroic Dead.

other entertainments of that character were ever tolerable, they certainly are not in the present day of war, and distress and grief. But the people can’t give up their dances and other frolics, so they seek to sanctify them by holding them for the benefit of the Red Cross. It is like dancing on the graves of our dead. How jny person with any real sense of propriety can have anything to do with such things is a mystery to us.

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THE KING’S BUSINESS

The conduct of the President" of the United States in relation to the attempt to do away with the appalling waste of food stuffs in the manufacture and sale of strong drink has been very disappointing. We do not know that if any one of the rival candidates had been

The President’s Attitude on the Drink Question.

elected President, he would have done any better, but we certainly wish that President Wilson had acted a wiser part. If he had thrown his influence in favor of saving all this food that is being wasted in the manufacture of strong drink, there can be no doubt but that he would have succeeded, and that today this most enormous and appalling of all wastes would have been stopped. Instead of doing this, he threw his influence in favor of the tremendous waste of food stuffs in the manufacture of beer. He even went so far as to appeal to the Anti-Saloon League of America to withdraw their agitation in favor of the only policy that has any promise of reasonableness at the present time, and he said to the members of the Senate, who consulted him on the matter. It would undoubtedly be in the public interest in this very critical matter if the friends of those provisions should consent to their elimination.” There is one man more than any other man in this country who stands responsible for the largest and most unnecessary waste of food stuffs that there is in our land, and that man is President Wilson. matter appears in the London Christian which reads as follows: The latest experience of Germany’s moral lawlessness, while in no sensible degree affecting the courage of our people, and while certainly failing in one at least of its obvious intentions—to quicken a popular demand for premature peace while the moment is still favorable to the KAISER—has brought again into the foreground the question of reprisals. A section of the press, in keep ing with its modern tradition, has almost lashed itself into a freijzy in denounc- ing the recent air-raids upon defenceless men, women and children, and in clamouring for a definite policy of reparation in kind on the part of the Gov ernment. True only to itself, it poses as the one sincere exponent alike of patriotism and of the national spirit; and since it is principally read by that part of the community which likes to have its thinking done for it, and its least noble passions appealed to and endorsed in the name of duty, the mischievous influence of this propaganda is incalculable. A great matter may very easily be kindled by a little fire, and the conflagration get so entirely beyond control as to become a real menace to the national cause and to the Nation’s well-being, which are so closely bound together. It behooves Christian men therefore to steady themselves, and to offer strenuous opposition to proposals that bear upon them the stamp of their origin. For there is a specious wisdom that is from beneath, which is earthly, sensual, devilish. We speak with deepest sympathy for those who have recently suffered, having ourselves suffered in ways upon which we are not permitted to enlarge. And we believe it is simple truth that the agitation for retaliation by the bomb- The recent outrages committed in England by German aeroplanes has awakened anew the demand for repri- sals upon the Germans. An excellent article on th e , Reprisals. F ’

876

THE KING’S BUSINESS ing of open towns in Gfermany, neither originates with, nor expresses the mind of, the majority of those who have best reason to know what the outrage by German^ air-raids means. It comes rather from a panic-stricken few, who, fearing lest it should be my turn next,” are.vociferous in their cry for meas ures which they mistakenly imagine are likely to prove a deterrent to the enemy. We are not sure that such self-concern is entitled to any consideration at all, in view of the enormous sacrifice of precious lives by which alone we are all being maintained in almost unchanged comfort. But there are, of course, always some people in whom to look for courage, or even for a sense of propor tion, would be labor lost. We commend to them the fine example of some of the poor women whose children were killed in the East-end school which suf fered so terribly in the raid. When it was proposed in their hearing that Ger man towns and German schools should be treated in the same way by our air men, they asked what good it would do them to know that some other poor mothers—even Germans—were being punished for a crime of which they were innocent!, We must let neither fear nor self-interest blind us to the things that war cannot change—the fundamental issues of right and wrong. It has been pointed out with cogency that nothing could be more stupid, from a' military point of view, than to weaken our air-forces on the battle-, fronts in order to carry vindictive defiance into Germany. That would simply be to play the enemy’s game, and to expose ourselves to even worse things ^ occasional raid on England. But there is another consideration also which appeals to us as of utmost importance. The use of armed force against armed force has sanctions which make it legitimate to the Christian conscience. But the use of our arms against unarmed non-combatants, as is contemplated by the demand for reprisals, has no such sanction, Divine or human, and is illegitimate. We have contended from the first that in going to war we were actuated solely by consideration of honor and ideals of freedom which are beyond price, and could not be surrendered except by point-blank denial of our faith. Are we now to take lower ground, and to make it impossible for men to carry the cause of our land into the sanctuary and to spread it daily before the Lord? Are we to fling away our moral justification, and finally to dispense with Heaven’s favor? In all conscience, we have failed badly enough m respect of pur attiture toward GOD. We have dethroned the supreme for the secondary, with grim consequences. We have had altogether too much actuation by expediency and too little application of principle since the war came upon us. Let us not now lose our souls altogether because a few noisy people have lost their heads. . jSsf llpK to say that Germany is not to be punished for gross barbari ties, and for deliberate violation of the humane restrictions within which the natjpns have long agreed the horrors of war should be confined. But the pun ishment must be such as those immediately responsible for these things will feel. It is only by breaking its military power, which is the German glory that we can ever bring home to that nation the enormity of its crimes against humanity. Effective punishment must be inflicted by the army upon the army With cold-blooded calculation Germany provoked the cause of war, and chose the arbitrament of the sword; and it is by the sword that her strength must be destroyed. The argument from the psychology of the German mind, which is being' much advanced just now—that its craven fear once aroused in the civil popula-

THE KING’S BUSINESS 877 tion by bombing exploits would speedily bring the war to an end by their unanimous demand—leaves us quite unmoved. Such a specious plea for attempting measures of reprisal is based upon an entire misconception as to the relationship between the military powers and the civilian subjects of the KAISER. Whatever may be the case in normal times; it is only too apparent now that those who created the war-machine autocratically control it. That being so, the violent death of a few men, women, and children of un-military value would have not the slightest effect. The war-lords care as little for the lives of their own people as they do for ours, Do not let us, therefore, be misled into joining any popular clamour for Hun-emulation, or futile abuse of the Government for remaining unmoved by it. Rather let us use what influence we possess for the steadying of opinion in the community, and the keeping of Britain’s blade clean. For it will need the cleanest possible surface, and the keenest possible edge, before it has hewn a pathway of victory through the phalanx on the Western Front. The time for reprisals will come. But not for the murder of innocents who have as much to do with the war as had those who fell in our streets a fortnight ago. When the military strength of Germany is finally broken in the interest of a world’s freedom, and conditions of peace become the all-important issue, we shall then press for fullest reprisal. We shall stand with those who demand the removal of the Hohenzollerns, root and branch, as a race of proven unfitness to rule an Empire whose relationships extend to every nation. We shall require that summary justice be done to the men responsible for crimes that have blackened the record of honorable combat, and covered the name of Germany with ignominy. We shall not be satisfied until the blight of Prussian- ism is finally stamped out, never again to threaten the peace of mankind. These are reprisals against which no Christian man will protest; for only by their means will the righteous aims of the war, on the part of the Allies, be realized. Meanwhile our duty is clear—to fight so as to forfeit no degree of the Divine help, and to thwart no part of the Divine purpose. Let Great Britian lay to heart the eternal fiat, when tempted as now to model her ethics upon the enemy’s unholy tactics, that “if we deny Him, He also will deny us.” In this cause we have to do, not only with the lawlessness of Germany, but with the law of the GOD OF HOSTS.

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878

P r a y m C i r c l e

I N response to a cabled invitation, writes George J. B. Davis, I have just returned to the United States after spending nearly three years working among soldiers and sailors in great Britain. The Bible and Gospel campaign with which I have been associated has been carried on by the Pocket Testament League in co-operation with the Y. M. C. A. The work has con sisted in visiting the various military camps and holding meetings with the men. Illus trated pocket Testaments were presented to those who would join the League and agree to carry the little Testanjents with them and to read one or more chapters daily; while the chief aim of the cam paign was to win the men to a definite decision for Christ. The League plan has appealed power fully to the British soldiers. Since the war began over 365,000 soldiers in the British Empire have been presented with Testaments and joined the league. Soon after the war began I had the privilege of going down to Salisbury Plain with Charles M. Alexander, general director of the League. We held meetings for six nights in the Y. M. C. A. marquees and started the campaign of Bible distribution and soul winning. Then the Y. M. C. A. camp leaders took it up, and in three months more than 10,000 soldiers joined the League and received Testaments; and more than 3,000 marked “A. C.” (“Accept Christ”) in the corner of their League cards, thus sig nifying their acceptance of Christ as their personal Saviour. For two years and five months I have been going up and down Scotland visiting the military camps; and during this period more than 65,000 soldiers have joined the League and received Testaments, and over

38,000 have marked “A. C.” on their League cards. In order that American soldiers may receive similar help from the movement, a strong business men’s committee has been organized for purchase and distribution of League Testaments to soldiers and sailors in the training camps in the United States; and for the conduct of a great evangelistic campaign among the men in co-operation with the Y. M. C. A. The chairman of the League War committee is Joseph M. Steele, who was chairman of the Billy Sunday campaign in Philadelphia. The president of the League in America is Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman; the chairman of the Executive committee, Charles M. Alexan der. The War Committee of the League has inaugurated a National prayer move ment composed of those who will agree to spend a few moments daily in prayer for the Bible and Gospel work of the League among the troops. This prayer union is known as the “Home Helpers Prayer Circle of the Pocket Testament League Campaign among the American Soldiers and Sailors.” Cards of membership are now being printed for free distribution to those who will pray daily for this object. It is suggested that ministers, Sunday school superintendents and Christian work ers of all kinds, send for a quantity of these cards, and seek to enroll their mem bers in this National prayer circle. They may be secured free of cost in any quantity desired, from Allan Suther land, General Secretary of the Pocket Tes tament League, 133 Witherspoon Bldg., Philadelphia, Pa. Please send for a quan tity and bring the matter before your Church or Sunday school or young peo ple’s or missionary organization.

By Melvin H ot ®Kyle, Ba

U U . P= T h e o lo g ic a l S em in a ry , Z®aafla3O.

Note.—The address given below was delivered by Prof. Melvin Grove Kyle, D. D., LL.D., St the M inisterial In stitu te held a t Montrose, Pa., July 9th to July 27th, under the auspices of the Bible In stitu te of Los Angeles.

HE function of archaeology in criticism has only recently been given much attention. And, as is inevitable on all subjects of importance, and

Biblical Encyclopaedists generally, until the most recent, have not given this sub ject a place at all. A Dictionary of the Bible (Hastings), omits it entirely. Nor can the subject be said to be indirectly introduced, except it be in a very subor dinate way in the discussion'of other sub jects. Indeed, the very word “archaeology” is entirely omitted from the index. The Encyclopaedia Bíblica (Cheyne), has no article on either archaeology or antiqui ties, nor is there elsewhere in the work sufficient place given the subject that it should be indexed. The recentness with which the subject of archaeology in Bib lical criticism has come to the front could have no better illustration than the com plete omission from these two great Bibli cal encyclopaedias of any explicit reference to the subject. Such omission was scarcely noticed at the time the works were issued; today it would be inexcusable if an over sight, and a tacit confession if intentional. A subject that is engaging the keenest minds of the most radical as well as the most conservative critics cannot wisely be ignored.

especially where predilections are certain to play so large a part, opinions concerning the value of archaeology argument and thé cogency of archaeplogical evidence, when applied to the crucial questions of criticism, have varied greatly. Here, as elsewhere, caution generally corresponds to anticipa-- tion. Naturally, we approach more read ily and rapidly toward supposed friends than suspected enemies, and are less inclined to take account of a new field of investigation that does not promise much to our preconceptions. This is not to cast reflections upon the honesty and candor of all or any schools of criticism, but simply to recognize a very human characteristic. It is altogether probable that the solution of many of our critical and even theological problems would be found in a careful study of ourselves. But explain the phenomena as we will, the fact is, as stated, that few have given much attention to the function of archaeology in criticism.

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GENERALLY IGNORED Turning to other Dictionaries of the Bible, there is found generally the same omission of this subject, except in the most recent works. Smith’s Bible Dictionary (Kitto), Encyclopaedic of Biblical Litera ture (Hamburger), Real-Encyclopaedic (Eadie), Biblical Encyclopaedia, have noth ing on this subject. McClintock and Strong, Encyclopaedia of Biblical and Ecclesiastical Literature, has an article' on “Biblical Archaeology” consisting entirely of Bib lical geography, also an article of a general character under the title “Sacred Antiqui ties.” Coming to works of more recent date, the Catholic Encyclopaedia has an able' and comprehensive article on “Bibli cal Antiquities.” The Jewish Encyclo paedia has also; a helpful article of five pages on .“Biblical Archaeology.” The Schaff-Herzog Encyclopaedia has an article. But even in these Bible Dictionaries, where the subject of archaeology is presented, it is almost always treated in a general -way. On the function of archaeology in criticism, the right, power and authority of archaeol ogy in critical discussion, there is almost nothing, certainly nothing approaching an acknowledgment that archaeology is counted upon for very much in the settle ment of critical controversies. But what have the critics to say upon the subject? Since encyclopaedias have lit tle to say on the subject of archaeology and criticism, it is to be expected that critics, who are contributors to all the encyclo paedias, will have as little to say in their own individual writing. The expectation is not disappointed. Where they have said anything at all on the subject, they have varied much in their estimate of the value of archaeology in criticism, according to their individual predilections and the pre conceptions of their critical theories, but for the most part, until very recently, archaeology has not been given a com manding, or even a prominent, place by critics. Most use was made of it formerly by conservative critics but latterly it has

been much used by a few who would be shocked to be so designated. AVOIDING THE FIRE Wellhausen, it is true, seems to declare, indeed does declare, for the dominance of certain phases of archaeology in criticism, in the beginning of -his History of Israel when he says: “Fròm the place where the conflagration was first kindled, the firemen keep away. I mean the domain of religious antiquities and dominant religious ideas, that whole region as Vatke in his Biblical Theology has marked it out. But only here where the conflict was kindled, can it be brought to a definite conclusion !” But this is one of the canons of criticism which Wellhausen found it convenient, for some reason, to leave in almost complete desue tude in the delevolpment of his brilliant theory. Driver, in his admirable essay on Hebrew tradition in Authority and Archaeology, when discussing the value of various kinds of evidence on critical questions, says : “The testimony of archaeology sometimes deter mines the question decisively,” but rather amusingly adds a manifest saving device to the effect that archaeological testimony is “often strangely misunderstood,” and then hastens to take refuge in his own ark by declaring the defeats' of criticism at the hands of archaeology often “purely imag inary.” It is interesting to note that Driver maintained this same attitude in his Intro duction in its early editions, he seemed to abandon it in later editions, but has now returned to it in the recent seventh edition of Genesis. Cheyne admits the former disposition of critics to make little use of archaeology, especially Assyriology. In his Bible. Prob lems he says : “I have no wish to deny that the so-called ‘higher critics' in the past were as a rule suspicious of Assyriol ogy as a young, and, as they thought, too self-assertive science, and too sceptical as to the influence of Babylonian culture in relatively early times in Syria, Palestine and even Arabia.”

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