November 5, 1896

“The Catholic Religion of the Natural Man” The Present Truth, 12, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

When the Spaniards, under Cortes, penetrated Mexico, when the New World was new indeed and strange to the Old, they were not more amazed at the wealth and splendor of the ancient civilisation of the Aztecs than at the religion which was practised there.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 705.1

The priests who accompanied the expedition (in order that the papal religion might win the souls of the barbarians while the arms of Spain were winning their possessions) were at loss how to account for the striking similarity to their own rites and doctrines which the Aztec religion bore.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 705.2

The Sign of the Cross .-“They could not suppress their wonder,” says Prescott, the historian of the Spanish conquest, “as they beheld the Cross, the sacred emblems of their own faith, raised as an object of worship and the temples of Anahuac. They met with it in various places, and the image of a cross may be seen at this day, sculptured in bas relief, on the walls of one of the buildings of Palenque.”PTUK November 5, 1896, page 705.3

Sacerdotal Order .-“The sacerdotal order was very numerous; as may be inferred from the statement that five thousand priests were, in some way or other, attached to the principal temple in the capital.” Whilst in attendance at the temple “they lived in all the stern severity of conventual discipline. Thrice during the day, and once at night, they were called to prayers. They were frequent in their ablutions and vigils, and mortified the flesh by fasting and cruel penance-drawing blood from their bodies by flagellation.”PTUK November 5, 1896, page 705.4

Confession and Absolution .-“It is remarkable that they administered the rights of confession and absolution. The secrets of the confessional were held inviolable, and penances were imposed of much the same kind as those enjoined in the Roman Catholic Church.” The priestly caste by this means held the people in their power as fully as the priests of modern Rome or those of ancient Egypt and Babylon. By a few drops of water sprinkled upon an infant it was supposed to be regenerated from all traces of original sin, and there was a celebration resembling the Catholic mystery of the Eucharist.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 705.5

Clerical Education .-The priests controlled the educational policy, and at an early age children were brought into the schools within the temple enclosure, and trained in the mysteries of religion and the sciences of the period. “Such was the crafty policy of the Mexican priests, who, by reserving to themselves the business of instruction, were enabled to mould the young and plastic mind according to their own will, and to train it early to implicit reverence for religion and its ministers.” Thus they exalted themselves and made the people willingly subject to a priestly caste.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 705.6

A Catholic Paganism .-These and other features might well amaze the superstitious Catholic missionaries, who did not know that paganism is the Catholic religion of the natural man, and that from the cradle of the race in the East the religion of apostasy had spread into all the earth by the migrations of the human family after the dispersion of Babel.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 705.7

An Oriental Religion .-The religion of the Aztecs was not similar to that of the Romanist because-as some of the early chroniclers were inclined to believe-the devil had copied the rites of Rome in building up the gorgeous system of the Mexicans. It was because the Roman corruptions came from the same place as the Mexican-the East. The Spanish “were not aware,” says Prescott, “that the cross was a symbol of worship, of the highest antiquity, in Egypt and Syria; and that rites, resembling those of communion and baptism [after the Catholic form], or practise by pagan nations, on whom the light of Christianity had never shown.”PTUK November 5, 1896, page 705.8

Natural Religion .-Natural religion is a religion of all the world outside of Christ. It is expressed in many ways, but the central thought in it is self-salvation, and the systematisation of this religion inevitably leads to the exaltation of a priestly caste whose business it is to save men and whose power to do so comes from the consent and authorisation of their fellows. This built up the sacerdotal system which Babylon of old, as the first of the great cities after the deluge, passed on to all nations. Along with priestcraft came the worship of the forces of nature, the sun and moon, and all the host of heaven. Instead of worshipping the God who made all that he saw, a foolish man did not like to retain God in his knowledge, and so he worshipped the creature more than the Creator. Instead of keeping the Sabbath, which God gave the race as the memorial of His power as Creator and as a sign of His salvation, in order that men might keep Him in their knowledge, the natural man, to suit his self-appointed natural religion, substituted for it festival days dedicated to the gods of his own imaginings, chief of which was the sun.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 705.9

“The Catholic Religion of the Natural Man” The Present Truth, 12, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

Making of the Papal Religion .-Repeatedly God warned Israel against this religion of apostasy, as practised by their heathen neighbors. They failed because they became corrupted by it. The apostle says the story of their failure was written in order that the early church, and all believers, might profit by it. But the predicted “falling away” came, and as Cardinal Newman acknowledges, and the fathers of the Catholic Church in the third and fourth centuries adapted “the very instruments and appendages” of the heathen religions in order to win the people to the Church. Thus Romanism took on many points of similarity to the Mithraic worship of the Orient. The Aztecs of Mexico had preserved many of the traditions of the East, and the story of their origin clearly indicated that their fathers migrated from Asia and came down through the great North-west, planting in sunny Mexico a civilisation resembling that of Egypt and Babylon in many features other than those of religion, already mentioned. So it was that the Roman Catholic missionaries found the subjects of Montezuma caricaturing the Roman ritual. Later they tried to believe that the similarity was Divinely ordered to facilitate the conversion of the natives. The religion of the modern Mexican Indian is full of the old superstition, and in out-of-the-way places the priests have sometimes found those nominally under their spiritual charge showing regard to images of heathen gods. Most natives, however, have accepted the crucifix and images of the saints as efficient substitutes for the gods of their fathers.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 706.1

“Japanisation of Christianity” The Present Truth, 12, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

An interview relating, in one of the daily papers, the impressions of a traveller in Japan makes the interviewed speak as follows, in answer to questions:-PTUK November 5, 1896, page 706.2

“What I most studied in Japan was the mission question; but the Christianisation of Japan can, perhaps, best be described as the Japanisation of Christianity. The Japanese are essentially a light-minded and Atheistic people, and adapt religion to suit their own ideas. The Romish section of the mission, here as elsewhere, is undoubtedly strongest; what catches the people so with the priests is their whole-hearted zeal for their work. One of the most popular men in Japan is Bishop Nicolai, of the Greek Church. He is a splendid fellow. He is commonly known as the ‘Apostle of Japan.’”PTUK November 5, 1896, page 706.3

“Are the Nonconformists doing much?”PTUK November 5, 1896, page 706.4

“Yes, they are doing a good deal; but they are much disliked. It seems to me that the hatred in which these well-meaning people are held is an ever-increasing one. Every Englishman with whom you discuss this subject only adds to the cry against them; but in all fairness I must add that my own experience does not explain the attitude adopted towards them. As a rule they belong to an inferior class of people, and possess but little tact, notably their women, and so there is bitter animosity against them, especially on the part of their fellow-countrymen.”PTUK November 5, 1896, page 706.5

The gentleman who is giving expression to these views is a travelled and well informed man,-himself a writer of experience. More than that, he is not alone in holding them,-similar opinions have been expressed before by others. His description of the acceptance of the Christian religion in Japan as the “Japanisation of Christianity,” is no doubt in great measure as truthful as it is pithy and suggestive. The same thing is immeasurably true everywhere where intelligent men adopt Christianity as a good social, political, or business policy, in order to make it subserve to their own interests. In that sense it is just as true that Italy has Romanised Christianity, and that England has Anglicised Christianity. Wherever religion is so treated it will be popular, and those who preach such a religion always be acceptable, both personally and in their teachings, to the world at large, whether there world be that of Japan or of England. But this is not religion pure and undefiled. It is not the religion of God, but the religion of humanity. This is what Christianity becomes when it is Japanised, Germanised, Anglicised, or Latinised.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 706.6

It may be that the last paragraph of the quotation is also true in both particulars. If the first be so, that a large and active body of well-meaning missionaries are held in hatred by their fellow-countrymen, it is a serious charge against those who hate these well-meaning Christian workers. That they belong to what may, from one point of view, be called “an inferior class,” is not a sufficient reason why they should be hated. That they do not possess as much tact as could be desired is not in itself, either, good cause for hatred. Peter was a plain, blunt man, and on several recorded occasions showed great lack of tact. If Peter were to-day missionary in Japan, would these people hold him in ever-increasing hatred. Peter was a Nonconformist, and was hated. The same things, it is evident, would be true of him to-day. What then is the conclusion? If a well-meaning man, who was a follower of Christ, but one who lacked in some degree tact and discretion, was hated then, it is quite possible that such a man may be hated now. It looks somewhat as if it were so. If it is so, where lies the greatest fault, and the chief blame? Upon the well-meaning Christian who lacks tact, or upon the man who thinks he possesses tact, but shows his lack of it by hating an innocent, well-meaning, self-sacrificing Christian man, and thus proving himself unchristian?PTUK November 5, 1896, page 706.7

“Heart-Obedience” The Present Truth, 12, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

The Pharisees were very scrupulous observers of the law. That is, they professed to be. But their observance of it was only outward. They did nothing that men could see that was wrong; but they did not hesitate to do any evil, provided nobody could find it out. The Saviour said of them, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” Matthew 23:27, 28.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 706.8

Therefore when Christ said, “Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven,” He meant that the righteousness which is only on the outside is worthless. They that do the commandments of God will have right to the tree of life, and shall enter into the gates into the city of God, the New Jerusalem. Revelation 22:14. But they who only outwardly appear to be righteous, cannot in any case enter there. This shows that the keeping of the commandments is an affair of the heart and the life, and not one of mere form.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 706.9

“The Promises to Israel. Object Teaching” The Present Truth, 12, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

God deals with us as with children, and teaches us by object lessons. By the things that we can see, He teaches us the things that mortal eye cannot see. So in the water that flowed from the rock, and in the water and the blood which flowed from the side of Christ, we learn the reality of the life that Christ gives those who believe on Him. Spiritual things are not imaginary, but real. The people in the desert could know that the water that refreshed their bodies came direct from Christ, and from that they could know that He can actually give life. They could not know how, but that was not necessary. It was sufficient for them to know the fact.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 707.1

If we believe the Word, we may know that we drink as directly from Christ as did the Israelites in the wilderness. He made the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and the fountains of water. “In Him all things consist.” The water which we drink, coming forth from the ground, is as truly from Him as that which gushed from the rock in Horeb. “He layeth up the depth in storehouses.” Psalm 33:7.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 707.2

People speak of the water on the earth as a “natural product,” almost with the thought that it is self-existent. The falling rain and the flowing spring are referred to “natural causes.” Convenient terms are these to avoid giving God the glory. Stand by a stream of clear, sparkling water as it rushes on its way from its birthplace in the mountains. It is ever changing, yet ever the same. Unceasing in its flow, why does it not exhaust the supply? Is there a reservoir of infinite capacity in the heart of the earth, that enables the brook to “go on for ever,” without ever diminishing the quantity. Is there not something marvelous about that constant flow? “Oh no,” says the man who knows it all, “it is a very simple matter; the water on the earth’s surface is drawn up to the clouds, and these give rain which keeps the supply constantly good.” But who causes the rain? “The Lord is the true God, He is the living God, and an everlasting King;...when He uttereth His voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth.” Jeremiah 10:10-13. He is the “living God” and the operations of “nature” are but manifestations of His ceaseless activity.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 707.3

No doubt the Israelites in the desert soon ceased to look upon the flow of water from the rock as miraculous. No doubt many of them never, even at the first, gave a single thought to it, save that it afforded a supply for their thirst. But as it flowed on year after year, and became a familiar thing, the wonder of it diminished, and at last ceased altogether. Children were born, to whom it was as though it always had been; to them it seemed but a product of “natural causes” as do the springs which we may now see coming from the earth; and so the Great Source was forgotten, even as He is now.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 707.4

Be assured that those who credit everything to “Nature,” and who do not acknowledge and glorify God as the immediate source of all earthly gifts, would do the same in heaven, if they were admitted to that place. To them the river of life eternally flowing from the throne of God, would be but “one of the phenomena of nature.” They did not see it begin to flow and they would look upon it as a matter of course, and would not glorify God for it. The man who does not recognise and acknowledge God in His works in this world, would be as unmindful of Him in the world to come. The praise to God that will come from the lips of the redeemed in eternity will be but the full chorus of the song whose first strains they practiced on earth.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 707.5

ACKNOWLEDGING GOD

“In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:6. When God directs a man’s ways they are all perfect; even as God’s own ways. “What man is he that feareth the Lord? him shall he teach in the way that He shall choose.” The man who sees and acknowledges God in all His works, and who in everything gives thanks, will live a righteous life.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 707.6

Take the gift of water, which we are continually using. If as often as we need water we thought of God as the provider of it, and as often as we saw it or used it we thought of Christ as the giver of the water of life, and remembered that in that water we receive His own life, what would be the result?-Simply this, that our lives would be continually subject to His control. Acknowledging that our life comes from Him, we should realise that He alone has the right to order it; and we should allow Him to live His own life in us. Thus we should drink in righteousness. For us truth would spring out of the earth, and righteousness look down from heaven. Psalm 85:11. Even the skies would “pour down righteousness.” Isaiah 45:8.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 707.7

This acknowledgment of God in all our ways would keep us from selfish pride, and from boastful trust in our own “natural abilities.” We should continually heed the words, “Who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” This would keep us in the right way, for the promise is, “The meek will He guide in judgment; and the meek will He teach His way.” Psalm 25:9. Instead of our own weak, foolish wisdom, we should have the wisdom of God to guide us.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 707.8

We learn the same truth by looking at the opposite side. Men became degraded heathen simply through not acknowledging God as He is revealed in “the things that are made.” For the gross darkness into which they fell there is no excuse, “because that when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.” “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind [a mind void of judgment], to do those things which are not convenient; being filled with all unrighteousness,” etc. Romans 1:21-23, 28, 29.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 708.1

Even so it was with the Israelites, who were in a most wonderful manner permitted to see some of God’s wonderful works, but who did not acknowledge Him in them. “They made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.” Acts 7:40. “Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass. They forgot God their Saviour, which had done great things in Egypt; wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red Sea.” Psalm 106:20-22.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 708.2

But this need not have been; it need not be now. God was bringing the children of Israel to plant them in the mountain of His own inheritance, in the place which He had made for Himself to dwell in, the Sanctuary, which His hands had established; and while they were on the way He would have them partake of the delights of that place. So He gave them water direct from Himself, to show them that by faith they could even then approach His throne, and drink the water of life that flows from it.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 708.3

The same lesson is for us. God does not wish us to wait until immortality is bestowed upon us before we can share the joys of the heavenly city. By the blood of Christ we have boldness to enter even into the Most Holy place of His sanctuary. We are invited to come boldly to His throne of grace to find mercy. His grace, or favour, is life, and it flows in a living stream. Surely, since we are permitted to come to the throne of God, whence the river of life flows, there is nothing to hinder our drinking of it, especially when He offers it freely. Revelation 22:17.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 708.4

“Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house; they will be still praising Thee.” Psalm 84:4. If in the things that we see we learn of the things that are unseen; if we behold and acknowledge God in all His works and in all our ways, we shall indeed, even on this earth, be dwelling in God’s immediate presence, and will be continually praising Him, even as do the angels in heaven.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 708.5

“Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; to show that the Lord is upright; He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.” Psalm 92:13-15. “How excellent is Thy loving-kindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of Thy house; and Thou shalt make them drink of the river of Thy pleasures. For with Thee is the fountain of life; in Thy light shall we see light.” Psalm 36:7-9.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 708.6

EDEN HERE BELOW

Mark that expression, “Thou shalt make them drink of the river of Thy pleasures.” The Hebrew word rendered “pleasure” is Eden. Eden means pleasure, or delight. The garden of Eden is the garden of delight. So the text really says that those who dwell in the secret place of God, abiding under the shadow of the Almighty, shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of His house, and shall drink of the river of Eden, which is the living river of God.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 708.7

This is the portion of believers even now; and we may know it as surely as the Israelites drank water from the rock or we live day by day from the bounties of His hand. Even now by faith we may refresh our souls by drinking from the river of the water of life, and eating of “the hidden manna.” We may eat and drink righteousness by eating and drinking the flesh and blood of the Son of God.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 708.8

“River of God, I greet thee,
Not now afar, but near;
My soul to thy still waters
Hastes in its thirstings here;
Holy River,
Let me ever
Drink of only thee.”PTUK November 5, 1896, page 708.9

“RIVERS OF LIVING WATER”

But God blesses men only that they may in turn be a blessing to others. To Abraham God said, “I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing;” and even so it is to be with all his seed. So we read again the words of Christ, which may be fulfilled to us today and every day if we but believe them:-PTUK November 5, 1896, page 708.10

“If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this He spake of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive.” John 7:37-39.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 708.11

As Christ was the temple of God, and His heart God’s throne, so we are the temples of God, that He should dwell in us. But God cannot be confined. The Holy Spirit cannot be hermetically sealed up in the heart. If He is there His glory will shine forth. If the water of life is in the soul it will flow out to others. As God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, so He takes up His abode in His true believers, putting into them the word of reconciliation, making them His representatives in Christ’s stead to reconcile men to Himself. To His adopted sons is the wonderful privilege given of sharing the work of His only begotten Son. Like Him they may also become ministers of the Spirit; not merely ministers sent forth by the Spirit, but those who shall minister the Spirit. Thus as we become the dwelling-places of God, to reproduce Christ again before the world, and living streams flow from us to refresh the faint and weary, heaven is revealed on earth.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 708.12

This is the lesson that God wished the Israelites to learn at the waters of Meribah, and it is what He is still patiently endeavouring to teach us, even though we like them have murmured and rebelled. Shall we not learn it now? “Happy is the people that is in such a case; yea, happy is the people whose God is the Lord.”PTUK November 5, 1896, page 708.13

“Christian Nations” The Present Truth, 12, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

The loud professions that most of the great civilised nations make of Christian character leads non-professing peoples to judge Christianity by what they see in the history of these powers. Of course it is a mistake; but it is not an unnatural error, as in religious circles the term Christian nation is so commonly used. It is a symptom of the almost total loss of knowledge of what Christianity is which has come about by neglect of the means by which Christ may be known. Christianity means the life of Jesus Christ, nor will there be any such thing as a Christian nation until the nations of them which are saved walked in the light of the City of God.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 710.1

A truly Christian nation would be one in which the people were Christians, and there would be no military, no fighting, and when a slight was offered or an attack made it would be met just as Jesus Christ met such things. Needless to say, no nation to-day exists which has the slightest claim to the title, and to use the name of Christ to cover the policy of the nations of this world is to use the sacred name in vain.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 710.2

It is often and truly said that no nation could exist if it acted according to these Christian principles. Of course it could not, and the fact that the very existence of all the nations depends upon the transgression of the principles which Christ laid down for His disciples shows that Christians must necessarily live apart from all the strife and hatreds animating those whose citizenship is in this world alone. The Christian is subject to all government, wherever he is, for he is not a fighter, and does not resist even the evil and the froward. He knows that the only reason why God restrains the national rivalries and race hatred from causing the nations to destroy one another is that the Gospel may reach all and save some. Absolute subjection to Christ and law of His kingdom solves every problem as to duty toward God and man.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 710.3

“The Denunciation of the Pharisees” The Present Truth, 12, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

Throughout all His ministry on earth Christ was so mild and gentle in His dealings with the people that the terrible outburst of denunciations, recorded in the twenty-third chapter of Matthew, is more markedly intense and striking from the contrast. Yet, notwithstanding the character of that which He was about to say, He began with a plea for the respect and submission due to the scribes and Pharisees, as rulers, and a statement of the honourable position which they held, and to which all were to render fit respect. “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat; all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do.”PTUK November 5, 1896, page 710.4

But He warned the people against copying their proud and vainglorious ways, against assuming the vice-regency, which was His, and against acknowledging the supreme authority of any man in the place of the Father: “But be ye not called Rabbi, for One is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth; for One is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters; for One is your Master, even Christ.” So important is this thought that He enforces it upon them in the virtual repetition of the last sentence, and then comments further in the two following verses. “But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.”PTUK November 5, 1896, page 710.5

Then opens that awful denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees,-the “Woe unto you,” eight times repeated, with gathering force and intensity at each repetition. “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” “Woe unto you, ye blind guides!” The list of their crimes, and the awful indictment culminates with the words which should have been startling indeed to them, “Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.”PTUK November 5, 1896, page 710.6

And He stretched out His arms and broke forth into that tender, heartbreaking expostulation, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” And then the forecast of the fate of the city-“Behold your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see Me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.” This chapter is an epitome of the dark tragedy of human weakness and sin, and of Divine wrath and tenderness.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 710.7

“Items of Interest” The Present Truth, 12, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

-The number of families in the United Kingdom is just over 7,700,000.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 718.1

-To run the railways of the world costs weekly the sum of ?110,000,000.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 718.2

-This year’s wheat crop in the United States is 470,000,000 bushel’s against 460,000,000 last year.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 718.3

-Spain’s difficulties were added to last week by another small rising in the Sulu Archipelago, near Manila.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 718.4

-The population of the world averages 109 women to every hundred men. Eight-ninths of the sudden deaths are those of males.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 718.5

-There are about 40,000 Welsh in London, and twenty Nonconformist chapels devoted to worship in the vernacular.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 718.6

-The missionary ship Dayspring has been wrecked on a rock to the north of New Caledonia. Ten of her crew, it is believed, have been lost.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 718.7

-The situation in north-western India increases in gravity, and the scarcity of food is already being felt in parts. Relief works have been started.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 718.8

-The music halls of London give employment to between four and five thousand persons nightly. These receive in weekly salaries not less than ?10,000.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 718.9

-A boat leaving Regent’s Canal, in London, can travel by canal to Kendal in Westmoreland. This town is 251 miles distant from London by rail, but by canal it is over 900 miles.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 718.10

-Bread has gone up everywhere in England because of the rise in American wheat. The famine in India, and crop failures in Australian wheat districts accounts for the rise.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 718.11

-A comparison of sunshine statistics of European countries shows that Spain heads the list with 3,000 hours of sunshine in the year; Italy, 2,800; Germany, 1,700; and England, 1,400.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 718.12

-By means of telephonic communication the sound of a marching political procession, and the shouts of the people in Chicago was transmitted to many different cities throughout the United States, and heard from New York to San Francisco.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 718.13

-The inmates of Lambeth workhouse have consumed tobacco the past year to the value of ?290 5s. 10d. Six hundred and twenty-six persons are in receipt of their regular rations of tobacco. Besides this, forty old women receive their allowance of snuff.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 718.14

-A general strike among dock workers is contemplated by the Dockers’ Union, and it may turn out to be international, as special efforts have been made to bring Continental and American workers up to the organisation of the British unions. The prices in the sea-carrying trade are said to have risen very materially, and the dockers demand a share in the increased prosperity.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 718.15

“Back Page” The Present Truth, 12, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

The Victorious, just completed at Chatham, has cost, in round numbers, one million sterling. The sum is nearly equal to the amount the churches in the entire country spent per year for foreign missions.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 720.1

Bishop Tugwell, who has recently returned to England from West Africa, reports the drink traffic is flowing in like the tide. Last year the value of the spirits imported into Lagos rose from ?1,250,000 to nearly ?2,000,000. Three hundred miles inland the natives can buy gin at a half-crown per bottle.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 720.2

The Bible Institute in Constantinople closed last month, after several weeks profitable study and consultation amongst the workers. Amidst the trouble that has fallen upon Turkey, God’s overruling providence has signally wrought in favour of the work of our friends there, and the truth makes progress daily.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 720.3

The latest official statistics of India give the following figures of the various denominations working in that country: Catholics, 1,315,263; Church of England, 295,016; Presbyterians, 40,407; Lutherans, 65,376; Baptists, 191,746; Methodist Episcopalian, 14,503; various Protestant sects, 60,713; Syrians, 200,467; and other sects, 100,889.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 720.4

The Russian law against the Stundists provides that, when thought advisable, “The children of Stundists are to be taken from their parents and are to be confided to the care of such relatives as belong to the Orthodox Church; and if such are not to be found, the children are to be given into the care of the Orthodox clergy of the place.”PTUK November 5, 1896, page 720.5

The only disgrace that can come to any man in this world is the commission of sin. It is not the exposure and punishment of crime, but the crime itself, whether known or not, that constitutes the disgrace. Therefore the fact that a man has committed gross sin, is not necessarily a disgrace to him. That depends wholly upon whether or not he has repented of the sin. If he holds to the sin, the disgrace still clings to him; if he has repented, the disgrace is removed; because the grace of God removes the sin of him who repents, and where the grace of God abounds, there can be no disgrace. This is self-evident.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 720.6

This shows that there is no disgrace to the repentant sinner in the fact that people who do not know the grace of God still remember his previous misdeeds, and despise him. It is not what others think of us, but what we are, that determines whether or not we suffer disgrace. And so it is no disgrace for a man to be unjustly suspected or accused. The disgrace rests upon the false accusers alone. Many people will say, even after a falsely-accused person is proved to be innocent: “There must be something wrong that gave rise to the suspicion.” Such persons should remember that Christ, “who knew no sin,” was accused of the grossest misdeeds. He Himself has said, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My name’s sake.”PTUK November 5, 1896, page 720.7

“And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines,” said Christ, speaking of the increase of calamities as the end drew near. The earthquake and tidal wave in Japan, which caused such an enormous loss of life, is being followed by the first serious famine that country has ever experienced. “The horrors of it,” says a report, “cannot be told in language lurid enough to furnish an adequate portrayal.” “The Japanese Government is issuing wholesale legal permits to destitute parents to sell their daughters.” This abominable traffic is resorted to in the nation which, first of all in the far East, has proudly taken its place as a military power alongside Western nations.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 720.8

A magazine writer, who discusses the abilities of those who stand at the head of the armies of Europe, says in conclusion:-PTUK November 5, 1896, page 720.9

It is to be hoped that the military leaders of Europe will not be pitted against each other for a long time, but at present such a pious wish seems ridiculous. It does not require a soothsayer to predict that war must come soon, and that the longer it is staved off the more horrible it will be.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 720.10

This feeling may be noted in the speeches of responsible statesmen, and in all the press. Acting on the profession that the best way to secure peace is to prepare for war, all the nations are stirring up the rivalries that inevitably lead to conflict.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 720.11

“Catholicism in Wales” The Present Truth, 12, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

Catholicism in Wales .-“It appears from Roman Catholic official statistics,” says the Christian World, that there are 12,500 Catholics in Monmouthshire, 25,000 in Glamorganshire, and about 6,000 in the remaining eleven Welsh counties. In the year 1840 the Roman Catholics had not a single chapel in Glamorganshire; at present they have sixty chapels. It is stated that there are eight students at one of their institutions in Brittany who have learned to speak, Welsh, and will shortly come over to labour as missionaries among their Welsh cousins in the Principality.”PTUK November 5, 1896, page 720.12

“Shutting in the Light” The Present Truth, 12, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

Shutting in the Light .-The sun has risen, and is beginning to flood our room with light. Brighter and brighter the light shines, as the sun ascends in the heavens. “Ah, now we have light enough; this is quite sufficient; we shall not need any more. We will therefore now close the shutters tightly, so that we may prevent any more light from coming in, and keep only that which we now have.” This we forthwith do, but, behold, it is perfectly dark. The light we had went out as soon as we shut out the light that was streaming in. So we find that it is impossible to retain the light that we now have, unless we will allow the light to continue to come in freely. How many are forgetting the obvious fact, content to have no more light, and even strenuously resisting its entrance. Let such remember that they are in the way of making the light that is in them become darkness.PTUK November 5, 1896, page 720.13

“Smashing the Glass” The Present Truth, 12, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

Smashing the Glass .-When the Indian looked through a microscope at the water he was drinking he smashed the microscope. Just so many who find the law of God convincing them of sin try to make themselves believe that they can abolish law. The modern theory that God’s law is not binding is the answer the world in sin is making as the everlasting Gospel is lifting up again “the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:6-12. It is the man who feels the condemnation of the law who wants to put it out of sight. The Apostle James likens the law of God to a mirror, into which a man should look continually for correction of life. What would be thought of the man who smashed his mirror because it revealed a fault in his appearance?PTUK November 5, 1896, page 720.14