THE KI NG' S BUS I NESS 1029 by a big arc light. Of course, this is Fritz dropping an illuminant from his air plane. It falls to within about 100 feet of the ground and there hangs, suspended in the air while it burns away. This burning may last two minutes. This guess is, I think, about correct. But if, perchance, you are directly under the light, prone upon your face, not a muscle moving, in constant anticipation of the falling bomb, why then you will swear upon faith that the miserable things burned through eternity. Then is when the cold dew of perspiration stands in beads upon the forehead and the nervous system undergoes supreme test. Above, not high, you hear the hum of the Hun motor. Like a giant bee he is looking with strained eyes into the circle of light— looking for a target for his bombs. Will he see us? Every tense nerve answers yes. But he doesn’t! Blessed be the Saviour of men! Heinie, too, is mortal and we, blending with the earth, escape his gaze. “ I have had this experience twice, so the description is original. The lieu tenant who was with me the second time whispered, ‘Pray.’ I did pray for the lights to go out. Frankly, I think the lieutenant was the most scared of the two.” Further on in the letter he says: “ This war will— no doubt about this—make better men of us all. How often I have heard such expressions as: ‘If I ever get cut of this, I will seek some quiet home and work in gratitude and virtue, in the fear of God, the remainder of my days.” Of course this is not verbatim, but it is what they mean. And they do mean it. Never was sincerity more sincere.” But on the other hand one hears from other sources just the opposite account of the hardening effect of war, how men become desperate and care not for God or Christ or heaven or hell. Doubtless many who were not profane before have become profane through the war. The physically injurious, mentally weakening and morally debasing cigarette has been almost forced by the unprincipled tobacco trust working through foolish Y. M. C, A. secretaries, weak kneed preachers and silly women on young men who never used them before. But take it all in all, on vast numbers of men the war has had a sobering effect; it has shown them the folly of frivolity; it has set men to thinking about God and eternity who never thought much on these subjects before, and thousands upon thousands of men through the work of the Y. M. C, A., the Chaplains, the Salvation Army, and individual Christians, have been led to an intelligent, definite acceptance of Jesus Christ, and many others who were professed Christians but who did not much work at it have become active soul winners. But the war has certainly exposed the folly of that type of preachers who seek to play to the galleries and are simply seeking to amuse men and win applause. In such days as these what men. want is reality. They want the real thing. S H A L L W E P R A T or SKall We Concentrate? Red Cross chapters throughout the United States decided that on October 23rd they would observe “ the silent moment” at the noon hour, when for “ one minute” according to the resolution adopted by the War Council of the organiza tion, they would pray for all workers and soldiers and sailoYs. Orie daily paper puts it, and possibly it is the way the resolution was passed, though we thin?* not, “ All workers will concentrate their minds on the soldiers and sailors over seas, with hope of victory, and good wishes for their welfare.” As the paper M which we read this is notably of Christian Science tendency, the proprietor o|4he paper being a very enthusiastic Christian Scientist, it may be that this way of putting it is peculiar to this paper, though the item was headed, “ By Associated Press.” But there is a widespread tendency today, even in circles where one w#uld not expect it, to think that the value of prayer lies in the subjective influence of the prayer and in the power of concentrating the human thought o f many on thj object desired. One hears the word “ concentrate” used by Christian Scientists and New Thought people and all that ilk until one is thoroughly nauseated. Oft course, there is power in one’s individual study in concentrating one’s thought» upon the subject that one is studying, shutting out everything else, but the attempting to bring things to pass by a large number of people concentrating thei^ thoughts upon that thing, and the disposition to substitute this for prayer to GoijyAlmig'hty,
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