The preacher’s sermon this morning held a lot of inspiration for me.
There was something of a challenge in his saying that there had never been any doubt in his mind as to the existence of Jesus Christ, that when he says “God” he has come to mean Jesus. He said he had to admit that his mind is hazy on the existence of God, but he is satisfied with his conception of Christ. My thoughts were then diverted from the sermon while I pursued the possibilities of a good campaign for Christianity. If arguments are won by yielding points, why could not Christianity be furthered by hypothetically granting the unbelievers that since we have no material and visible evidence of a God – a supreme being, the Father of Christ – let us grant a spirit of since-we-don’t-know-we-can’t-say, if the other side will in turn acknowledge the existence of the Christ and the blessings which have been brought to the world by its perpetuity. They cannot help allowing that there could be no civilization without Christianity – or the principles of individual rights and divine worship which Christianity teaches. It stands as an indisputable fact that without those principles there could be no civilization – no right or wrong; therefore, it must be admitted that the principles of Christianity are good for the world, regardless of whether or not they are accepted unaminously [sic] by the world as Christianity. Whether the desire to respect one’s neighbor, to despise stealing, killing, etc., comes from within or from without, the fact remains that they are good for us.
With this step accomplished, the next would be to teach the world its responsibility to posterity. Church life – and active church life – has been the only force which has preserved the Bible and the all-important matter of reverence for it 2000 years, and I know, nor can think of, no other way to keep the spirit of civilization alive for peoples yet unborn than an outward show of religious fervor to create anew a respect for the Sabbath in those who are examples for the lower and middle strata of life.
Certainly the half empty churches of today do not tend toward that goal. From my own casual observance, I would say that only in the small towns and communities in still found that mutual feeling of reverence for the Sabbath. There, and there only, is the Sunday morning stand-out in the minority, while in the cities, supposed to be the centers of culture, intellect, and all that is considered fine and successful in this world, we find the church-goers far in the minority and lacking the deep-seated consciousness of the purpose of it all that we remember best in our mothers and grandmothers and fathers and grandfathers. It isn’t hard to see that here we have the reverse of what should properly be: religion going hand in hand with the finer things of the civilization it has created. The path of religion has been one from the savage to the successful and philanthropic business man – success mingled with philanthropy, with a side interest in the arts, seem to be the ultimate in a full life now, as viewed by the average man. Though the parallel cannot be considered a true one, we have come nevertheless to consider the farm and the city as opposite and contrasting ends of the ladder of intellect – of New World civilization, if we may be allowed to call it so. As a boy becomes older and wiser, he is expected to leave the farm and move on to something just a little bit better, with the aim of ultimately attaining success in the city. The City holds the key to all that is great and worth while in this life.
But back there at the foot of this topsy-turvy ladder of modern civilization is the last real evidence of the force that has brought civilization to the point where men could have the City. Having obtained his City, it seems that man has turned his back on the impelling force in his picture, literally cutting loose all binding strings, so that his sons, grandsons, and great grandsons may decline to a level approaching that of the savage from which he sprung.
The answer to this is obvious: more religion in the City, more church-going along with pocket-fishing on the part of the intelligentsia – a return to the old days in this respect.
[Four pages missing – torn out.]
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