THE KING’S BUSINESS 595 Has Christianity Failed, or Has Civilization Failed, or Has Man Failed? O UR best and most thoughtful periodicals are teeming with editorials upon the collapse of Christianity, or the collapse of civilization. The fact that so many supposedly Christian nations are now at war is taken by many as a proof that Christianity has failed. The most extreme and at the same time most illogical and silly editorial of this kind that we have seen reads: “ WHAT HAS CHRISTIANITY DONE?” “ Is there any wonder that the non-Christian denominations question Christianity when the so-called Christian nations are at war in Europe and every nation praying to the same God that their nation be allowed to win ? And we have been taught to believe that the world was becoming better through Christianity. Education and Commerce have made the world a better place to live in, but we fear that religion has aided but little. The Christian nations are warring today just the same as in Biblical times; hence what has Christianity done ?” One does not need to stop to point out the amusing lack o f logic in this argument. Any one can see for himself that if the fact that nations have gone to war proves that Christianity has failed, it would prove just as much that “ Education” and “ Commerce” had failed. Furthermore, no fairly intelli gent person would need to have it suggested to him that Education and Com merce in their best forms are themselves an outcome of Christianity, and that if Education and Commerce have done anything to make the world a better place to live in, it is because of what Christianity has done for Educa tion and Commerce. Neither do we need to stop to call attention to the fact that all that is best in the social life, the commercial life, the poltical life, the domestic life and the individual lives of the nations now at war is directly due to Christianity. The point we wish to call attention to is that Chris tianity has not failed, and Education and Commerce have not failed, it is man that has failed. Christianity would have kept the nations from war if the nations had accepted Christ, but they have not. We speak about the nations at war as “ Christian nations.” Not one of them is a Christian nation. A Christian nation is a nation, which, as a nation, has accepted Christ as its Saviour and as its Ford in its Commerce, in its Politics, in its International Relations, and in all the departments of its life. Such a nation does not exist on earth, and never has existed, and never will exist until our Lord comes again. The overwhelming majority of men in every nation on earth to-day have rejected Christ. They acknowledge Him only when they want some help from Him. As Lord and Master they have never acknowledged Him and never will until He comes again. The overwhelming majority of men in any great city of England, America or Germany or France do not even go to the House of God once a week. The Devil is the ruling spirit of the commerce and politics and education of every nation on earth to-day. Furthermore, it was not the purpose of Christianity, as every one knows who understands his Bible, to save nations as nations during the present dis pensation. The purpose of Christ in this present dispensation, as clearly re vealed in the Word, is, to gather out of the nations a people for His name. The people thus gathered out, the Church, are “ a little flock.” It is true that they do affect in a very marked degree commerce, education, politics and social life, but they still are in the minority, and our Lord knew that they
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