Polk to stay on another day. So, the Senate elected a President to serve from Sunday noon till Monday noon, the time scheduled for the historic event. David Rice Atchison, head of the Senate, received the dubious honor. The last week of the Polk administration was so hectic for Senator Atchison that he retired late Saturday evening after instructing his landlady not to awaken him for any reason. She followed his orders. As a result the 24-hour Presi dent slept through Sunday and on into Monday, past the time of his official term. It became quite a matter of amusement, for here he had slept through his entire term of office! Of course, some people have felt there are other Presidents who have done about the same, only for four whole years. Seriously, there’s a real spiritual anal ogy here. Biblically, election is a won derful doctrine, yet many complacently are asleep. Let us remember we are exhorted, “The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.” Never forget, my friend, that as joint-heirs of Jesus Christ, the greater the privi lege, the greater the responsibility. FOOLISH PHILOSOPHIES When man seeks to reason out life, apa/rt from the wisdom God alone can give, confusion, chaos and corruption result. Hitler is said to have believed in a super race of men because of the teachings of a minister’s son, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, an otherwise bril liant professor of philosophy. He ac cused Christian civilization as being “decadent and the producer of a slave morality.” It was Nietzsche who called for this new humanist creation, a man who would represent the highest crea tivity living beyond the old standards of good and evil. It was sad to note that Nietzsche was afflicted with nerv ous disturbances and eye trouble. Mov ing from place to place, he vainly tried to improve his health, only eventually Criticism is the disapproval of people, not for having faults but for having faults different from our own.
to end up hopelessly insane. Yet, his ideas permeated teachings of Nasi phi losophers in their effort to justify sup posed racial superiority. While Hitler’s empire has long since vanished, the in sidious ideas of Nietzsche still linger in the minds of those who avow that not only is God dead but also that man’s only hope is to be found in him self. Recent newspaper reports told of an inscription on the wall of the Co lumbia University subway stop in New York City. It declared, “God is dead!” signed “Nietzsche.” The next day, how ever, there appeared above it this leg end, “Nietzsche is dead!” signed “God.” While the critics of God may momen tarily flash across the horizon, their flame soon flickers out and is forgot ten. The Word of our Lord endureth forever. The fool hath said in his heart there is no God. They are all gone out of the way. They are together become unprofitable. The wisdom of this world is foolishness to God, but the wisdom of God is light and life to those who believe on Him . . . and “without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins.” CHURCH ATTENDANCE With vacations just ahead, there is always the temptation to get out on the road, and to forsake regular and faithful church attendance. Some peo ple will go to Sunday School and then duck out of the morning worship. Such deviation from God’s will is the same as saying, “I told my church that I didn’t need it; that I received all the spiritual power necessary during the Sunday School hour. I told the minister that his work was useless. All the effort he put into what God wanted said, all the work in preparing that message to make it effective, all his energy in delivering it, these were of no use, at least to me. “I told my family it would be better for us to go home than to remain for the hour of worship. I told them we would receive a greater blessing than 27 Men like steel lose much of their value when they lose their temper.
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