T ? E T no man deceive you any means; for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first and that man o f sin he re vealed, the son o f perdition.
Therefore, Brethren, stand fast, and hold the teachings xtfhich yehavehéen taught, whether hy word or our epistle. 2 Tries. 2 : 3 , 15
FEBRUARY , 1919
Bible Institute ofLosAngeles (INCORPORATED ) LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U. S. A. Free T raining School for Christian Workers
D IR E C T O R S
R. A. Torrey, vice-president Leon V. Shaw, treasurer William Evans J. O. Smith
Lyman Stewart, president J. M. Irvine, secretary T. C. Horton, superintendent H. A. Getz
Nathan Newby
D O C T R IN A L S T A T EM E N T
Church as expressed In the Common Creed The Necessity of the New Birth. 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 Impenitent. The Reality and Personality of Satan.
We hold to the Historic Faith of the of Evangelical Christendom and including: The Trinity of the Godhead. The Deity of the Christ. The Personality of the Holy Ghost. The Supernatural and Plenary authority of the Holy Scriptures. The Unity in Diversity of the Church, the Body and' Bride of Christ. The Substitutionary Atonement.
S C O P E O F T H E W O R K
P U R P O S E : The Institute trains, free of cost, accredited men and women, in the knowledge and use of the Bible. D E P A R TM E N T S : (1) The Institute Classes held daily 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 Work. Personal work among Spanish speaking people. (5) Shop Work. Regular services in shops and factories; (6) Jewish Evangelism. Persona! work among the Hebrews and mission for Jews. (7) Bible Women. House-to-house visitation and neighborhood classes. ( 81 Oil Fields. A mission to men on the oil fields. (9) Books and Tracts. Sale and distribution of selected books and tracts. (10) Harbor Work. For seaman at Los Angeles harbor. (11) ' The Biola Hall. Daily noon meetings for men in the down-town district, with free reading-room privileges. Evangelistic service every evening. (12) Print Shop. For printing Testaments, books, tracts, etc. A complete establish ment, profits going to free distribution of religious literature.
T H E K IN G ’S B U S IN E S S MOTTO: ‘I, the Lord, do keep it, I will water it every moment, lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day. - Isa. 27:3 .....- ................ 1 ■ = P U B L IS H E D M O N T H L Y BY T H E BIBLE I N S T I T U T E O F LO S A N G E L E S Entered as Second-Class Matter November 17, 1910, at tke Post Office at Los Angeles, California . r . under tke. A ct of March 3, 1879 Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1.103, Act of October 3, 1917 authorized October 1, 1918; Volume X February, igig Number 2 Editorials: Illogical 'Sophistry of Newell Dwight Hill is (99) Faith- wrecking Institutions (100) Taking Their Medicine (100.) Dishonest Use of the Gospel Flag (101) ; Signs of the Times (102) , Persuasive Power of the Printed Page (103) l Gigantic Undertakings of the Last Days (104) Remarkable Remarks: Short Helpful Sayings (106) ; Is It Pre- or Post-Millenniarianism That Is Devisive? by I)r. R. A. Torrey (107) Kultur—Applied Evolution, by Prof. H. W; Kellogg (110) Bible Institute Happenings (117) Heart to Heart Talks with Unsaved People (120) Seven Rules for Bible Study— Dr. Frederic AY. Farr (122) LEAD ING ART ICLES OF TH IS ISSUE
Evangelistic Stories from Experience (127) International Sunday School Lessons (135) Devotional Home Readings— Df. F. W. Farr (168) Homiletical Helps and Bible Outlines (175) The Far Horizon— Missionary News (177) Book Review— Dr. R. A. Torrey (173) Advertising Section (182)
O N L Y Y E A R SUBSCRIPTION PRICE-^ In tke United States and Its Possessions and Mexico, and points in tke Central American Postal Union, $ 1.00 per year. In all other foreign countries, including Canada, $ 1 . 24 , ( 5 c. 2fL/ Single copies 10 cents. See expiration date on the wrapper. B I B L E I N S T I T U T E O F L O S A N G E L E S 536-558 South Hope Street - - . . . . Lo, Angel«, California O N E D O L L A R A
DR. RALPH ATKINSON Noted Evangelist and Teacher, who became a member of the Faculty of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles this year
T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S T . C . H O R TO N , Editor KEITH L. BROOKS, Managing Editor R. A .TORREY , D. D. FREDERIC W . FARR, J. H . HUNTER W . H . PIKE Contributing Editors
E D I T O R I A L
T H E ILLOGICAL Sopkistry of Newell Dwigkt Hillis. For ten years The Family Altar has been a welcome visitor to thou sands of Christian homes. It has on its editorial committee, Board of Directors and Advisory Board some of the leading evangelists and minis ters of the country. But the December number must have brought sorrow to the souls of many of the saints who have followed the teaching and inspiration of this little paper with such great pleasure. In. this number is a sermon by Newell Dwight Hillis entitled “ Where Are Our Slain Soldier Boys?” which is as false to Hod and Christ and the Holy Spirit and the teaching of the Bible as was ever the utterances of Robert Ingersoll. The sermon is full of highsounding words, pyrotechnics for the gallery, but beneath all is the subtle poison of Satan which is being so insiduously introduced into all quarters of the church. Here are a few selections: “ In old tim es th e youth who perform ed some brave deed fell upon his knees before the throne, while the king touched his shoulder, and cried: ‘Rise up, sir knight! But all these noble ones who died th a t our in stitu tion s m ight live, have been knighted. * * * W ith a certain solemn pride and a glory shining upon our tears, we celebrate young soldiers who received from God in advance th e g rea t assurance of imm ortality. * * * The psychology of th e soldier’s conviction th a t if he falls.h e will find his own and live again, and th a t th e re is a meeting place of th e dead, has a certain moral sense of justice in it. Uncon sciously they p u t th e ir theology as to life imm ortal, into these words: ‘When you grow accustomed^ to th e fellows dying, you ju st know th a t somehow th e re must be a God th a t w ill m ake it up to them .’ * * * But the young soldier who has nobly sacrificed him self upon th e field of battle, th e m artyr, the patrio t, the men who have been tested by suffering, as gold is trie d in the fire, th e mothers an d the fath ers who have given up th e ir best beloved because they love what God loves, and hate w hat God hates, shall en ter into th e empire of etern al beauty, tru th , justice, science, liberty, and develop un til no im agination can conceive the kingdom of gold and am ethyst in which these shall live and reign as centers of ligh t and love. * * * O men you cannot beat F ran ce and B ritain w ith men and women so divine. These are the souls for which God made the world. They have slain death and dying. F o r them victory is inevitable, both here and there. * * * In th is g rea t hour, therefore, look toward your son and say: ‘My son, he is; God’s soldier let him be. I could not wish him a fairer d€ath.’ ” The whole sermon is Unitarian and full of those smooth sentences so well calculated to deceive even the elect, and in perfect harmony with all the infidel teaching of those ministers and laymen who have trampled under foot the solemn words of the Scripture, and are putting on thrones in heaven, the men who have died in the war. The men who died in the war were fighting for a righteous cause, but
100 T HE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S why are they more entitled to these splendid epithets than men who died in the Civil War? And are these men who died in France entitled to more of eulogy than the thousands who have died in our camps, for had they not also yielded their lives to their government and were ready to face the death which came to their comrades? And if men can go to heaven by enlisting in the army and laying down their lives, for heaven’s sake let us get as many men as possible into the regular army and save them from hell! For pure, unadulterated, illogical sophistry, nothing can compare with such devilish doctrines; hut, thank God, thousands of soldiers are testifying to their abhorrence of such teaching. The men know that they are sinners and have no confidence in meeting a righteous God without a consciousness of a sin-bearing Saviour. We trust that The Family Altar in its next issue will repudiate this message from Mr. Hillis.—T. C. H. gy&Sj %£& jjy? FAITH-WRECKING INST ITUTIONS We take the following from “ The Evangelical” : “A F aith-W recking University: Mr. J, C. Moore, w riting in The H erald and P resbyter, states th a t several years ago, in a conversation w ith Rev. Dr. Tunnell, a prom inent B aptist m inister of Morristown, Tenn., on th e subject of th e Chicago University, th e Doctor made th is sta rtlin g declaration: ‘X have never known a young man who w ent to Chicago University th a t did no t come away from there w ith his religious beliefs w recked.’ This was said a fte r Mr. Moore had expressed th e opinion th a t if, ‘John D.’ had invested his m illions in saloons and gambling houses over th e country they would no t do as much harm as has his much-boasted university. In th e same paper, ano th er w riter, referring to Union Theological Sem inary in New York, w ith Dr. McGiffert a t th e head, quotes a Chicago Daily to th is effect: ‘Is th e re no place in which to assail Ch ristian ity b u t a divinity school? To perm it men who deny th e Christian fundam entals to use an office of th e Church for th e dissem ination of unbelief, to perm it them to in stil th e poison of th e ir teaching into th e m inds of th e coming m inisters and pastors, is surely nothing less th a n treason .’ Strong words are these, b u t amply justified by the distressing, saddening facts. Easy, silen t tolerance of such conditions is little less th a n a crim e ag ain st those who are being poisoned by th e un ch ristian teach ing of such in stitu tion s.” Good for the Chicago daily, above referred to. Many secular news papers are voicing sound doctrine in these days and are striking hard at the enemies of the truth who, clothed in the gown of the priest and preacher and fattening at the expense of the church, are using their position to destroy the foundation of the faith of the true church. There should be a combined attack of the real evangelical forces against the Satanic powers entrenched in the fortress at Chicago.—T. C. H. C h r i s t i a n s c i e n t i s t s “Taking Their Medicine” Some interesting events were chronicled in Los Angeles during the influenza ban. The Christian Scientists were in had. The law said that no churches should be open. Now, inasmuch as in the creed/ of the Scientist there is no sickness, there could, of course, be no death; and if there could be no death, there could be no need of a ban; consequently they were
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S 101 greatly humiliated. They were forced to admit that the city authorities believed in sickness and death, and by closing their churches, compelled them to subscribe Jo such a law. They sought to violate the law by opening their churches and one church did ma^e a test of the law. The judge before whom the case came, was taken down with the influenza, and the ban lifted before he was lifted from his bed. It was a new lesson for a great city to learn,—the lesson of the possibil ity of disaster that would arise if the Scientists should be in the majority in the city government. Very many of the Scientists died, however, and strange stories have been told of practitioners down with the “flu,” attended by physicians who were urged to come to their homes at night, leaving their machines a block away so that the dear people would not know that the practitioners were sick. One physician, called by a Scientist, tells the following : On entering the room the Scientist said, in a quivering voice, ‘‘Doctor, what^do you think of my ease?” The doctor replied, “ You are a very sick man.” Trembling, “ Doctor, can you do anything for me?” “ Yes, if you will take my medicine.” Eagerly, “ I ’ll take your medicine, doctor!’’ and he did, and will live to testify how wonderfully he was healed by “ absent treatment!^” For they will all lie, and deceit is the basic principle of their cult, for a “ lie is but an error of mortal mind,” so—let it lie!—T. C. H. One of The Hague rules of war prohibits the making of improper use of a flag of truce, of the national flag, or of the military insignia and uni form of the enemy. It means that combatants must fight under their own nag and in their own uniforms. What would happen in Christendom today if church members who believe their Bibles should apply a rule of this kind to the ministry? When a preacher discovers that he is out of gear with the teachings of the Bible, and hopelessly at variance with the tenets of his Church, what should he do ? Should he kêep right on working under the flag of the Church when he is entirely out of adjustment with his ordination vows, either denying openly from his pulpit the fundamental doctrines for which the Church stands, or keeping silent on the supreme topics he promised to preach about, because he no longer believes in them? If any sinner on the streets were to be asked the question, “ What should a minister do who does not believe the doctrines of his Church?” doubtless a quick answer would be forthcoming. The most dangerous infidelity today is that which masquerades in the livery of heaven. It cannot be denied that there is an ever-increasing number of “ pulpit apostates”—men who, while they stand under the flag of the Gospel and wear the uniform of the Church, yet are doing the work of Ingersoli, Voltaire and Paine, and filling the minds of the people with interrogation marks instead of the love of Jesus Christ. Herbert Booth recently said, “ Thousands of sermons today, despite all the maneuvers of eloquence and gesture, don’t go. God is withholding His Spirit. The minister is a crackerjack at psychology, biology, physiology, Éet JÉ? D ISHONEST USE of the Gospel Flag and Uniform
T HE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
102
philosophy and foolosophy, hut the pulpit cylinder is out of adjustment with the divine spark, and though there is plenty of ‘gas,’ there isn’t any real dynamic power, and no progress is made with the Gospel passenger, service to heaven. ” This is the day of “ strong delusion”-—the day in which the devil’s chief instrument is “ a lie” (2 Thess. 2:9-11). Of these days the Christian is warned, “let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first.” ' The great world' war has helped on this apostasy, and if there was ever a time when the Bible-loving remnant in the churches should stand together, it is now. Pray for the ministers that they may be bold to preach the unadulter ated Gospel of Jesus Christ. If some are determined to betray the flag of the Church, pray God to remove them. Above all, let no condition in the Church hinder definite soul saving Work. If the Gospel is not being preached, it is all the more the responsibility of the believer to engage in the most definite kind of personal work.—K. L. B. “T h e SIGNS OE THE TIMES” This was the title of a little pamphlet recently mailed to us. It looked attractive and suggestive. We opened it with interest. “ Order of the Star in the East” was the caption over their “ Declaration of Principles” on the first page, as follows: “ (1 ) We believe th a t a G reat Teacher will soon appear In the world, and we wish so to live now th a t we may be w orthy to know H im when He comes. (2 ) We shall try, therefore, to keep Him in our m inds always, and to do in His name, and therefo re to the best of our ability, all th e work which comes to us in our daily occupations. (3 ) As far as our ordinary duties allow, we shall endeavor to devote a portion of our tim e each day to some definite work which may help to prepare fo r H is coming. (4 ) We shall seek to make DEVOTION, STEADFASTNESS and GENTLE NESS prom inent characteristics of our daily life.
T HE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S 103 (5 ) W e shall try to begin and end each day w ith a sh o rt period devoted to th e asking of His blessing upon all we try to do for Him and in H is name. (6 ) We regard it as our special duty to try to recognize and reverence greatness in whomsoever shown, and to strive to co-operate, so fa r as we can w ith those whom we feel to be sp iritu ally our superiors. All in agreem ent w ith the above principles, are cordially invited to join the O rder.” Who can find any fault with these “ principles?” How delightfully subtle is the soothing voice of the hidden one! But listen to another extract i “ So it is no t w onderful th a t many are looking and longing for th e advent of one of th e E ld e r B reth ren of th e race, and th a t th is world-wide expectation has found organized expression in the O rder of th e S tar in th e E ast * * * Many mystics and accultists among th e H indus also see in th is world catastrophe the ending of th e d arkest cycle of the Kali Yuga or Iron Age, and they look th e re f o re ,f o r th e coming of th e World Teacher to bless th e New Age a t its b irth .” “ There is also a growing movement in Buddhism which expects the advent of the Maitreya Bodhisattva, the Lord of Compassion. So in this world-wide Order thousands of members of different raeey creeds and castes are being drawn together in loving expectation of the appearing of Earth s Greatest Teacher. No name do they give to Him whom each man worships according to his own ideal, believing that the Great Teacher must be recognized in the heart, and not by the label which he bears. If we put the name of the Lord Jesus in place of “ the Great Teacher,” could we not say amen to their declaration of principles? But when one names Him as but “ one of the Elder Brethren of the race,” he is at once a blasphemer against God the Father, and God the Son. The softer and more soothing the sophistry, the more easily will the poor ignorant flies light upon the ointment. This tract was from the Theosophieal Society, with an invitation to come into their parlor. Not only the Theosophists' but the Buddhists and the Mohammedans are all looking for the coming of a great Teacher. Strange, is it not, that a great many in the church, with the Bible in their hands,vare not looking for their Great Teacher, the Man Christ Jesus, our coming Lord.—T. C. H. S8§|g| ^1^. Wf T he persuasive power 0f the Printed page It cannot be denied that this is a day in which thousands of people are reaching conclusions in religious things, by reading and not by listening. The rapid spread of all kinds of heresies is very largely due to the printed page. It is true that men are not reading long drawn-out theological discussions, but they are reading the pointed and attractively arranged short articles, that grip the soul. The leaders of heresies are working early and late to issue and circulate attractive and cleverly worded things. Is it not time for true Christians to be awake to the opportunity of reaching souls for Christ by the distribution of the right kind of literature ? Dr. A. C. Dixon recently said, “ The objection that people do not read strictly religious articles is not well taken. If I had the money, I would fill at least a column of every daily paper in this land with saving Gospel Truth. • If the editors would not publish it as reading matter, I would insert it as advertisements, and make the way to heaven so plain that every reader would have no excuse for being lost, f’
104 THE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S “ The printed word comes with a quiet, persuasive power. It has no repulsive manner. Attention is not attracted from the truth to the way in which it is delivered. It persistently presents its claims and makes no reply. We must still depend, as in apostolic times, on the pen for indoctrin ation. Rich men need to wake up to the importance of spending money in supporting the printed as well as the spoken Gospel. ’’—K. L. B. G igantic undertakings of the Last Days Five years ago the world was peacefully jogging along in the customs and ruts of its forefathers. Everyone-was doing his bit in that corner oi the earth where he happened to be born. Only a few traveling men, mis sionaries and globe-trotters were away from home. But how changed today. Millions of people are thousands of miles from the scenes of their child hood; soldiers across the seas; sailors in every latitude and longitude; refugees wandering in unknown lands. Even Kings, Presidents, statesmen, ministers, doctors and nurses are miles from their hearthstones. It is the exception today to find a family where each member still remains at home. What a change in five years! Who dared prophecy in 1914 that 58,514,700 men from Great Britain, Italy, Russia, Belgium, Germany, Aus tria-Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria, United States, France, China, Japan, India and Australia' would meet in Europe 1 A number nearly twice as great as the entire population of South America. The question has often been asked, how can so many events of such large magnitude take place during the seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy, (Dan. 9 :24-27) the time of “ the great Tribulation.’’ This is easily answered in the greatness and swiftness of the events that have transpired in the past four years. Think of America alone, putting in France, in a year and a half, 967 standard gauge locomotives and 13,174 freight cars of American manufacture and building 843 miles of standard gauge railway. Then add to that 53,000 motor vehicles of all descriptions, to say nothing about air craft, tanks and guns. Also pile up the 390,000,000 rations of beans; 183.000. 000 rations of flour and its substitutes, 267,000,000 rations of milks, 161.000. 000 rations of butter, 143,000,000 rations of sugar, 89,000,000 rations of meat,-57,000,000 rations of coffee and 113,000,000 rations of hominy ana rice. These gigantic endeavors answer our question. How quickly the whole world came under the restrictions of food laws and other war rulings. This fact will answer many of the doubts suggested in reading Rev. 13. Some have wondered how the Jews could be gathered and their temple rebuilt in such a short time as seven years. When we think of the vast number of men being moved to different parts of Europe and Asia; and all these provided with food and clothing, we have a gigantic task exceeding in magnitude, the birth and organization of a new Jewish nation in Palestine. Then again consider the 24,536,108 casualties during this period, means thousands of doctors, nurses, ambulances, hospitals and other paraphernalia. Here is a sick population as great as the entire'popu lation of Jews in the world and yet they are. housed and given medical attention.
T HE K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S 105 Then let the immense fortifications of the Hindenburg line impress you. Think of the laborers and prisoners who worked on these mammoth cement underground srtuctures. Ponder the buildings and equipment of our own cantonments. Then consider the immense ship yards where an ocean liner has been brought into being as by magic. Think of these titanic achievements in less than five years and most of them in the past three years, and you will have no difficulty in believing what the Scriptures have to say about the future events of Palestine and the rebuilding of a Jewish temple. —W. H. P. É k BOOK REVIEW DEPARTMENT Many of our read ers will be gratified to know th a t Dr. Torrey has consented to edit the Book Review D epartment. It behooves Christians in these times to exercise th e g reatest of care in the selection of books. Dr. Torrey’s discussions, we are sure, will be highly valued by many.
CHURCHLESS SUNDAYS The w ar b rough t us “ gasless Sun days,” b u t it has tak en a plague to bring us ehurchless Sundays. One of th e things th a t a churchless Sunday is impressing upon th e community is th e need for church service. People who seldom w ent into churches now are dem anding th a t they be opened for worship. Sorrow and death have vis ited so many homes in th e past few weeks th a t th ere are thousands who are th ink ing about God as they never did before. We v en tu re to say th a t the com fort th e reading of th e Bible
brings, is again being discovered in a m u ltitude of instances. May it no t be th a t God designed th a t th rough th is plague those who had forgotten Him should be rem inded of th e ir opportun ity to tu rn to H im for peace and help? — The Monitor. ftst A SMILE . “ If I knew th a t th e ligh t of a smile M ight linger th e whole day through And lighten some h eart W ith a heavier p art, I wouldn’t w ithhold it— Would you?”.
COME, LORD JESUS We begin to hear on every hand of individuals who love His appearing, and of conferences'in nearly every Christian center, convened primarily to learn more of this wonderful theme. Such a cry for Jesus to come as has not been heard since the days of the early Church, is now ascending to His glad ears from the saints in every comer of the earth. He cannot_ He will not delay much longer, for it is for this He has been so long waiting.—Garrison.
g Really R emarkable R emarks 1 m HELPFUL TH OU GH T S FROM M A N Y MEM m
A living Christ in living men is a living sermon. He who would und erstand the false hood and deceit of sin m u st compare its prom ises and its paym ents together. G reatness is revealed in th e way it tre a ts th e little man. Our song of praise can never be checked unless we rejoice in circum stances and in things around us, more th an in' God Himself. We are not to be troubled th a t we have no more FROM God, b u t we need to be troubled th a t we do no t do more FOR God; It is h ard for a man to pray accord ing to God’s will, if he does no t live according to it. Even giving one’s life for “ old glory” will no t fu rn ish a passport to glory. Nothing is done b eau tifu lly which is done in rivalship, nor nobly which is done in pride. Trouble does not benefit people by its own direct influence. It is only as God comes w ith it and we receive it in yieldedness, obedience and confi dence, th a t it is made a blessing. Those who bring sunshine to th e lives of others cannot keep it from themselves. There is no use arguing w ith the inevitable; th e only argum en t w ith th e east wind is to p u t on your overcoat. If th e K ing is indeed n ear of kin to us, th e royal likeness will be recogniz able. The self denial of ou r Lord Jesus Christ is th e best argum en t against th e selfishness of Christians. “ Deserved” is w ritten on the door of hell, b u t on th e door of heaven and life, “The free g ift.”
The wisdom of God does no t go from the head down, b u t from th e h ea rt up. A good conscience is to th e soul w hat health is to the body. When we w ant to know w hat is the secret of dead churches and dead souls it is a very simple one— they have ceased to he m issionary. The Christian is no t ruined by living in th e world, b u t by th e world living in him. L ittle faith will b ring your soul to heaven, b u t g reat faith will bring heaven to your soul. God has no enemy, and Satan no tool, like th e zealous professor of Chris tia n discipleship whose life is not actu ally directed and sustained by th e indwelling Son of God. Keep your tem p er—nobody else w ants it. W itnessing for th e tru th is not tren ch w arfare. Men who stand for Christ must stand in th e open. There is nothing so despoils the streng th and beau ty of a life as to be continually asking, “W hat will men th in k of it? ” ""One of th e pu rest treasu res a mortal life affords is a spotless reputation. If we’d all get on fire for God, we’d scare th e devil. If we haven’t enough religion to drive us to share it w ith all th e world it is doomed h ere a t home. In th is world a man must either be an anvil or a hammer. There are many women who are sin gle because they are singular. B etter have a black eye in defense of th e tru th th a n a black h e a rt th rough a mummy inertia. The more education a man has, the more he needs th e power of God.
Is It Premillennarianism O r Postmillennarianism That Is Divisive?
Bÿ DR. R. A. TORRET Dean of Bible Institute of Los Angeles
The charge is often brought against premillennarianism that it is divi sive, but from many things that are being written and said in these days it would seem that it is postmillennarianism instead of premillennarianism that is divisive. There seems to be a well organized movement at this pres ent time to drive the premillennarians out of some of the churches, or at least to silence them and to shut them out of places of influence. We have received recently from India copies of. | ‘The Indian Witness ’’ of June 5, 1918, and the issue of July 17, 1918, both of which contain very bitter attacks upon premillennarianism. In the issue of June 5th there is a letter copied from the Nashville Christian Advocate and prefaced by this stater ment: ‘‘The Rev. C. C. Carey, an honoured preacher in the Methodist Episco pal Church, South, has the following to say about Premillennarianism and its relation to Methodist doctrine” : Then follows these words: “ I charge prem illennarianism w ith being en tirely un-Methodistic and say th a t it cannot possibly be made to fit into our doctrines. I t is a g raft which cannot live upon our doctrinal tree. There is no place for it, and we must eith er su r rend er our doctrines and policies or m ake w ar on th is school of though t. And I go fu rth e r and say in all kindness th a t no Methodist preacher w ith credentials in his pocket can consistently be a p rem illenn arian .” Much more follows of a similar character, which the Nashville Chris tian Advocate seems to have endorsed, and which “ The Indian Witness” very heartily endorses. This would seem to indicate that some very influ ential men in the Methodist Episcopal Church South at least, are advocating that all preachers who have imbibed premillennarian views from a study of the Word of God must either give up their views or get out of the Metho dist Episcopal Church South. In the issue of “ The Indian Witness” for July 17th there is an attack upon premillennarianism covering a page and a half, "an attack of a most bitter character. It is by Rev. James Mudge, D. D., who had been editorially connected with the paper. In another column in the paper the fact is announced that Dr. James Mudge “ was last week elected secretary of the New England Conference for the thirtieth successive time.” Dr. Mudge’s article begins with these words: “F o r th e protection of th e community and th e m aintenance of th e sobriety of th e Gospel, some heed m ust be given to the present enormous activity of the propaganda of pessimism and the exploitation of certain eccentric dogmas p erta in ing to th e la st things. When one th ink s of th e vast numbers of good people who have died, deceived and disappointed because of th e ir strong faith in one of th e
108 THE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S most, p itifu l delusions th a t ever cursed th e earth , one is moved w ith an earn est desire to say something, if possible, th a t shall keep o ther m u ltitudes from follow ing in th e same baleful path. I refer to th e u tte rly unfounded notion th a t Christ is soon to m ake a spectacular appearance in th e clouds of heaven, begin a tem poral reign a t Jerusalem , and usher in th e end of th e world or of th e age. Dr. Mudge evidently realized how clearly the doctrine of the personal, bodily, premillennial return of our Lord is taught in the Scriptures, and therefore felt it was necessary to take a fling at the reliability of God’s book in his determination to fight premillennialism and drive it out of the church at any cost, for he says further on: “Most people have yet to realize th a t it (th e Bible) is a hum an as well as a Divine book, and, more th a n th a t, very largely a Hebrew book as well as a Christian one. The Old T estam ent is, of course, wholly Hebrew ; yet m ultitudes ignore th e fact and pu t it practically au tho ritativ ely on a p ar w ith th e New. And in th e New th e re is a large Hebrew elem ent which needs to be w atched very care fully for th e apostles were Jews, train ed in rabbinical learn ing (P au l specially), deepiy imbued w ith th e sp irit of th e ir age, full of Jew ish predilections and the inherited ideas of th e ir generation, which were strongly, unconsciously influential in th e ir thinking. I t could no t be otherw ise. I t was inevitable th a t th e ir con ceptions of C h rist’s kingdom and th e m anner of H is re tu rn should reta in the form to which th e ir early associations h ad accustomed them , th a t they should in te rp re t H is words in th e lig h t of th e cu rren t th o u g h t of th e ir day. The apostles were p rim arily m en of th e ir own age . . who grasped th e sp iritu a l ideals of Christ’s kingdom slowly and imperfectly.” In other words, we cannot trust the Old Testament because it is Hebrew, —we cannot even trust the apostles. Who then can we trusty Such utter ances as this are characteristic of much of the postmillennarian argumen tation of today. A large share of the postmillenarians are evidently, in their bitter hatred of premillenarians, willing to give up the authority of the Word of God rather than to give up their postmillennialism. Of course, this is divisive, and if this method is pursued it will necessarily lead to a separa tion between those who believe in the Word of God, its absolute inerrancy, and those who do not. Further on in the article Dr. Mudge flatly denies one of our Lord’s own statements and speaks of His utterance as Jewish in its origin, and Judaizing in its tendency. Dr. Mudge’s words are : “There would seem to be no call fo r H is visible re tu rn in th e clouds. That conception is Jew ish in its origin, an d Jud aizing in its tendency, p a r t of^an o u t grown dispensation.” Dr. Mudge says this in face of the plain statement of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, a statement made, by the way, under oath, found in Matt. 26:63, 64: “ But Jesus held His peace. And the high priest said unto Him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou art the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Henceforth ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Is there any further extent than this to which men can go in their hatred of a doctrine? Along the same line, July 8,1918, Mrs. Clotilda L. McDowell, wif-e of one of the Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, sent the following letter to every mis sionary employed by the Wbmen’s Foreign Missionary Society of the Metho dist Episcopal Church: “R eports have come to us from tim e to tim e of th e P rem illennial propaganda in different p arts of our mission fields. In these times, when th e m inds of men and women are agitated, to an extent alarm ed, it is n a tu ra l th a t th e old question of Christ’s imm ediate re tu rn to ea rth in physical form should be raised. We
T HE K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S 109 believe our m issionaries will be glad to have, by way of inform ation, th e enclosed leaflet stating as it does w ith sub stan tial accuracy th e position of th e Methodist Episcopal Church on th is im p o rtan t question.” The enclosed tract to which she refers is Shailer Mathews’, “Will Christ Come .Again?” This tract, as many of onr readers know, is a very bitter and unfair attack, not only upon the premillennial doctrine that Christ will come before the millennium, but an attack upon the doctrine that He will come personally, visibly and bodily at all. Furthermore, this tract, still more than being an attack upon the doctrine of our Lord’s personal return, is an attack upon the reliability of the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the inspired apostles, and. the wife of a Bishop sends this out to every missionary employed by the society with which she is connected, with the statement that it states ‘‘with substantial accuracy the position of the Meth odist Episcopal Church.” Many of the postmillennarians seem ready, in their bitter hatred, not merely of the doctrine that Christ will come before the millennium, but the doctrine that He will ever come personally, bodily, and visibly at all, not only to divide the church but to undermine faith in the credibility and reliability of our Lord Jesus Christ.
“PATRIOTIC” PROFANITY One of th e most pernicious evils we have to p u t up w ith today is wide spread and growing profanity. Since th e w ar th is h ab it seems to be on the increase. Men forget God’s name stands for His Holy N ature, and they use it in connection w ith the most un holy things. It is not my n a tu re to find fault. But I cannot find it in me to sanction the public use of pro fan ity which some of our retu rn ed soldiers use on th e p lat form. I say some, because I am glad th e re are fine men, of high moral char acter, clean in though ts and ideals, who have been in th e trenches, and who can speak of th e ir experiences w ithout sinking to th e low plane of using lan guage no t decent to be used in a poli tical convention, much less before mixed audiences of cultured Christian people. A man on a public p latform has no rig h t to swear in th e name of patriotism . When you ta lk th is “ broad stuff” as an excuse for your soldier swearing, you are using mere camouflage. We cannot get around th e commandment, “Thou sh alt not tak e the name of th e Lord th y God in vain,” on such a flimsy excuse.
A soldier who swears from a public platform , while civil and church au th o r ities applaud, is se ttin g an example before th e boys of a community th a t cannot be counteracted by perhaps years of church and Sunday School influence. The soldier is looked on by th e aver age boy as a g rea ter hero th a n the President. Are we going to throw mor ality and common decency to th e winds, and p erm it a community to be contam inated by men of th is type?— H. M. Wyrick. M BLESSED EPILEPSY Dr. Joseph P a rk e r was once preach ing on Saul’s conversion. “And they say in Germany,” said th e Doctor, “ th is is th e resu lt of an epileptic fit. L et us look a t Saul before he w ent into the fit, sno rting blasphemy and persecu tion. Together we will look a t him ir. th e fit. ‘And behold, he p rayeth .’ And now look a t him when he has come out of th e fit: saint, hero, missionary, m a rty r.” Throw ing up his hands, he shouted, “F ly on, Thou m ighty Epi lepsy!”
“Kultur”- Applied Evolution Notes of an Address Given at Bible Intitute of Los Angeles tke Past Summer, Düring Bible Conference Bÿ PROF. HOWARD W. KELLOGG Formerly of Occidental College
m u st go to war, the ruthlessness w ith which such w ar was to be waged and had even revealed th e philosophic back ground, upon which his reasoning depended. Back of him lie von T reit- schke and Nietzsche. B u t th is is merely to sh ift responsibility from individual to individual. W here does th e phil osophy of these men classify? W ith w h at o ther phases of th is philosophy are we fam iliar and w hat o ther con clusions th a n those justify ing w ar are inevitable? Unerringly we are confronted by cer ta in trade-w ords as it were— “E lim in ation ,” “ survival of the fittest,” “Evo lution of th e Superm an,” “N atu ral se lection.” W ithou t th e scaffolding furnished by Darwin, Spencer and Haeckel th is mon strosity of thinking could never have bu ilt its pinnacles of shame. Biolog ical necessity justifies w ar and all th e hideousness of its demoniacal frig h t fulness. i Mugge in his book on F ried rich Nietzsche states Nietzsche’s positions as follows: 1. The world is am oral, (th a t is non- m oral) w ithou t goal or purpose,— an artistic phenomenon. 2. Mankind has no goal either. But a goal is of value— artistic value. Therefore we assume a goal— th e sup erman. 3. Every religion or system which delays the coming of th e superman must be^ abolished. Only the moral code of strong and m asterfu l men is compatible w ith th e tru e aims of life.
N th e first sentence of the book, “Conquest and Kul- tu r ,” Guy S tanton Ford says, “The present w ar is in th e la st analysis a w ar between ideals, and thu s between th e peoples who
uphold them .” In America, our th ink ing had long been done in an atmosphere charged w ith pacifism and w ith th e fatuous hope th a t men would soon realize : th eir brotherhood. On th e b reaking ou t of th e war, our feeling for long was th a t of onlookers not a little annoyed th a t, th e world-neighborhood should be dis tu rb ed by a braw l in th e alley, we were too dignified, if no t too proud to fight, and we felt th a t all would soon be well — a t least when the parties had become sober. We could no t conceive th a t a nation should deliberately choose w ar and our sp irit of fairness insisted th a t no meddling should be done. Slowly, iaga|inst every instinct, we were convinced th a t th e w ar was not an accident, th a t it was deliberately planned and th a t to our own nation had been assigned a part, th a t of paying the expenses when all was over. The program was so absurd th a t it must somehow be accounted for. In w h at condition of m ind could men com ceive of such an enorm ity? And then th e lite ra tu re of Germany was ques tioned and th ere th e whole plot stood revealed. W ith brazen effrontery B ernhardi in his book, “Germany and th e next W ar,” had outlined th e reasons why Germany
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4. The Christian religion w ith its slave-morality is, above all other, life’s fiercest enemy. Christianity counter acts n atu ra l selection. It is th e “ g reat est of all conceivable corruptions, the one imm ortal blem ish of m ankind.” 5. Our next goal on the road to the superm an is th e H igher man. 6. The imm ediate steps advisable in a melioristic policy tow ard th e H igher man are; a Eugenics Revision of our p resen t m arriage laws, a sensible edu cation of youth, a united Europe and th e annihilation of th e Christian Church. F irs t he 'repud iates the Bible as a revelation from God and then re proaches God for not having spoken. To quote, “Would he no t be a cruel god if, being him self in possession of th e tru th , he could calmly contemplate m ankind in a state of m iserable to r ment, worrying its m ind as to what is tr u th ? ” F airb airn , on th e other hand, argues from the same d ata th a t th e Bible is to be expected and th a t it carries out its own assertion th a t it is a message from God. He says, “ If God is unable to reveal H imself to his crea tures, he is not God: if He is able and has not done so, He is not morg.1.” The freedom of th e hum an will exas perates Neitzsche, and P ity fares worse a t his hands. “ P ity thw arts the law of development which is th e law of selection.” He hates pity as an expres-« sion of supine weakness and rails th a t “Christianity has developed into soft moralism .” He asserts th a t, “The g reatest of alm sgivers is cowardice.” Christianity is called th e religion of pity. He says, “The weak and the botched shall perish; first principle of our humanity. And they ought even to be helped to perish. W hat is more harm fu l th a n any vice? P ractical sym pathy w ith all the botched and th e weak— C h ristian ity !” Nietzsche ta u g h t th a t all progress in morals has been made by means of
crime. Thus th is fu tu re m orality will no t be reached w ithout violent revolu tions, w ithout crime. “All good things were once bad things, successful crim e.” “We children of th e fu tu re . . . do not by any means th in k it desirable th a t th e Kingdom of righteousness and peace should be established on the earth . . . . We rejoice in all men who like ourselves, love danger, war and adventure . . . we count our selves among the conquerors; we pon der over the need of a new o rder of things, even of a, new slavery—-for every streng th en ing and elevation of the type of man also involves a new form of slavery.” F r. N. J. W. Section 377. The. following quotations which are tak en from “Gems (? ) of German Thought, compiled by W illiam A rcher and published by Doubleday, Page and Company, Garden City, New York, indi cate how widely the conclusion th a t violence plays a necessary p a rt in hum an evolution is received by leaders in Germany: “ Ye say it is the good cause which halloweth even w ar? I say unto you, it is th e good w ar which halloweth every cause.”— F r. Nietzsche, Z., “W ar and W arrio rs.” “The lessons of histo ry confirm1 the view th a t wars which have been delib erately provoked by far-seeing states men have had the happiest resu lts.”— General v. B ernhardi, G.N.W., p. 45. “ Ye shall love peace as a means to new wars— and the sh o rt peace more th an th e long.”^ F r . Nietzsche, Z., “W ar and W arrio rs.” “Unless we choose to sh u t our eyes to th e necessity of evolution, we must recognize th e necessity of war. We must accept w ar, which will la st as long as development and existence; we m u st accept etern al w ar.”— K. W agner, K p. 153. “W ar is th e fath e r of everything, says Heraclitus. It will be th e fath er
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“ I m ust first of all examine th e aspir-‘ ations for peace, which seem to domin ate our age and th rea ten to poison the soul of th e German people. . . I m ust try to prove th a t w ar is not merely a necessary element in th e life of nations, b u t an indispensable factor of K u itu r, in which a tru ly civilized nation finds th e high est expression of streng th and v itality .”— General v. B e rn h a rd i,.G.N.W., p. 14. “The tim e for petty politics is p ast; th e next cen tu ry w ill b ring th e struggle for th e dom inion of th e world— th e compulsion to g reat politics.”— F r. Nietzsche, B.G.E., section 208. “ I g reet all th e signs indicating th a t a more manly and w arlike age is com mencing, which will, above all, bring heroism again into g honou r!”— F r. Nietzsche, J.W ., section 283. General Keim from Berlin insisted th a t th e p ath to German un ity and power was no t paved w ith sealing-wax, p rin te rs’ ink and parliam en tary resolu tions, b u t m arked by blood, wounds and deeds of arm s. S tates could be m aintained only by th e means by which they were created.—A t meeting of Pan- German League, Augsburg, September, 1912. Nippold, D.C., p. 72. “We * owe it to Napoleon . . . . th a t several w arlike centuries, which have no t had th e ir like in p ast history, may now follow one ano th er— in short, th a t we have entered upon th e classical age of w ar, w ar a t th e same tim e scien tific and popular, on th e g rand est scale (as reg ard s means, ta len ts and disci pline) to which all coming m illenniums will look b ac k w ith envy and awe as a work of perfection— for th e national movement ou t of which th is m artial glory springs, is only th e counter-choc again st Napoleon, and would n o t have existed w ithou t him; To him , conse quently, one will one day be able to a ttrib u te th e fact th a t m an in Europe h as again got th e upper hand of th e merchant and th e Philistine.”—Fr. Nietzsche, J.W ., section 362.
of th e new German race of the fu tu re .” — Prof. B. Hasse, Z.D.V., p. 126. “ The efforts directed tow ards th e abo lition of w ar m ust no t only be term ed foolish, b u t absolutely immoral, and m u st be stigm atized as unw orthy of th e hum an race. . . . The weak n a tion is to have th e same rig h t to live as th e powerful and vigorous nation! The whole idea represents a presumptuous encroachm ent on th e n a tu ra l laws of development.”— General v. Bernhardi, G.N.W., p. 34. “ It is proved beyond all shadow of doubt th a t reg u lar w ar (d er regelrechte K rieg) is, no t only from th e biological and tru e k u ltu ra l standpoint, th e best and noblest form of th e strugg le for existence, b u t also, from tim e to time, an absolute necessity for th e m ainten ance of th e S tate and society.”— Dr. Schmidt, of Gibichenfels, a t m eeting of Pan-German League; Berlin, October, 1912. Nippold, D.C., p. 73. “W ar is a biological necessity of the first importance, a regu lativ e elem ent in th e life of m ankind which cannot be dispensed w ith. . . . “W ar is the fath e r of aU th ing s.” The sages of antiquity, long before Darw in, recog nized this. . . . “To supplant or to be ^supplanted is th e essence of life,” says Goethe, “ and th e strong life gains the upper hand .”— General v. Bern hardi, G.N.W., p. 18. “I t is n o th in g b u t fanaticism to expect very much from hum an ity when it h as forgotten how to wage war. F o r th e p resen t we know of no o th er means whereby th e rough energy of th e camp, th e deep im personal h atred , th e cold bloodedness of m u rder w ith a good con science, th e general ard o u r of th e sys tem in th e destruction of th e enemy . . can be as forcibly and cer tainly communicated to enervated na tions as is done by every g rea t war. K u itu r can by no means dispense w ith passions, vices and m alignities. F r. Nietzsche, H.T.H., section 477.
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•“What men tower highest in the his to ry of the nation, whom does the Ger man h ea rt cherish w ith the most ard en t love? Goethe? Schiller? W agner? Marx? Oh, no— bu t B arbarossa, the g reat F rederick, Blucher, Moltke, Bis marck, th e h ard men of blood. It is to them , who offered up thousands of lives, th a t the soul of the people goes out w ith tend erest affection, w ith positively adoring g ratitude. Because they did what now we ought to do. . . Our holiest rap tu res of homage are paid to these T itans of th e Blood-Deed.”—Dr. W. Fuchs, in article on “ Psychiatrie and Politics," in Die Post, 28th Ja n uary, 1912. Nippold, D.C., p. 2. “I must assert w ith emphasis th a t the cardinal sin of our whole policy has h ith erto been th a t we have lost sight of th e etern al tru th : Politics Mean th e W ill to Power. . . The his to ry of th e world teaches us th a t only those people have strongly asserted themselves who have w ithout hesitation placed th e W ill to Power higher than the Will to Peace.”-—Gênerai Keim, at meeting of Central Comm ittee of Pan- German League, Munich, April, 1 9 1 3 , Nippold, D.C.r p. 77. Thor stood a t the m idnight end o f the world, His battle-mace flew from his hand: So far as my clangorous hamm er I ’ve hurled Mine are th e sea and th e la n d !” And onward hu rtled th e m ighty sledge O’er th e wide, wide earth , to fall At la st on the Southland’s fu rth e st edge In token th a t H is was all. Since then ’tis th e joyous German rig h t W ith the hamm er lands to win. We mean to inh erit world-wide m ight As the Hammer-God’s k ith and kin. FEL IX DAHN (1878) The foregoing quotations which could be multiplied almost indefinitely prove th is th a t Nietzsche had created an atmosphere, a background for the en tire philosophy of self-assertion which
has plunged th e world into its welter of blood. B ernh ard i’s book bears on its title page as a motto Nietzsche’s words: “W ar and Courage have done more g reat things th a n th e love to the neigh bor.” No one disputes th e iden tity of the philosophy of B ernhardi and Nietzsche, b u t the th ing th a t is not receiving th e emphasis th a t it should, is th a t th is philosophy is Evolution, stripped of all pretense. N ietzsche’s g reat m asters among the Greeks were H eraclitus who anticipated Evolution and Empedocles who antici pated Darw in’s idea of N atu ral Selec tion. E lim ination is the g reat idea of n atu ra l selection. There is a serious lack of E lim ination among men. Nietz sche believed th a t th e worst impedi m ent to elim ination was and still is the Christian church, because th is protects and preserves the unfit and the weak. It will of course be argued th a t Nietzsche does no t rep resen t modern Evolution and th a t present-day Evolu tion ists cannot be charged w ith his vagaries. But Nietzsche is a modern, living un til 1900, and th e m u ltitud e of followers who are still living and sta k ing all upon th e tru th of th is philosophy are present-day living exponents of th e ir faith in his theories. Nietzsche believed w ith many mod ern Evolutionists in th e unproven or disproven theory of th e inheritab ility of acquired characteristics. W ith Rutesmeyer, and w ith most modern Evolutionists, he believed th a t th e p resen t anthropoid monkeys and p resen t man are two divergent branches of th e same stem. Let us remember th a t th is philosophy has assumed to rew rite all history, biol ogy, geology and theology:— th a t the universities of Germany have for gen erations been train ing the leaders of American ‘liberal’ theology: th a t Well- housen, G raf and Kuenen were all Ger mans and were committed to th is Evo-
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