STUDY I. THE MEANING OF CHRISTIAN LIFE. "And he came forth and saw a great multitude, and he had compassion on them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, The place is desert, and the day is now far spent: send them away, that they may go into the country and villages round about, and buy themselves somewhat to eat. But he answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?" (Mark vi. 34-37.) "And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.” (Mark x. 21.) PART III. ALTRUISM AS RELIGION. ONE of the most prevalent misconceptions of our day is that religion consists in doing good deeds. Men glibly quote St. James about "caring for the widows and orphans in their trouble" as the essence of pure religion. Social service has come to be such a magic phrase with us that many men have supposed that it is a dynamic for life within itself and a "cure-all" for personal and social evils. One would not want to underestimate the value of social service. One would not dare belittle the altruistic impulses. But the doing of good deeds is hardly sufficient. It may become a fad and have very little of spiritual dynamic behind it. But deeper than this is the fact that altruism does not spring out of nothing. It has an origin and a cause. It goes back to something deeper than itself: the appreciation of the value and sacredness of human personality. Now, this appreciation of the sacredness of personality is of the very essence of Christ's message of life, and out of that message have sprung all the world's philanthropic movements. One who has traveled the world knows well that the fact of social service is known only in countries where the message of the Bible has been made known. Social service is not, therefore, religion; it is the expression of religion. It is the normal and natural outgrowth of all true Christian experience. The man who thinks he is religious but has no interest in his fellow men is surely mistaken, and just as surely is that other man mistaken who thinks his interest in men has not sprung from a religious impulse. He may not have consciously given himself over to the Christian life, but his conception of the value of humanity, which is the mainspring of his service program, is purely and specifically Christian. The danger of past religious periods has been that religion would be too subjective, spending itself on mere intellectual and emotional states; but the chief danger of our age is that religion shall become too objective, spending itself in outward deeds without giving sufficient attention to the enriching of the inner personal experience, from which all good deeds must flow. 2 STUDY I. THE MEANING OF CHRISTIAN LIFE. "Hear the word of Jehovah, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. What unto me is the multitude of your sacrifices? saith Jehovah: I have had enough of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or lambs, or of he-goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to trample my courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; new moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with iniquity and the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth; they are a trouble unto me; I am weary of bearing them. And when you spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek justice, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow." (Isa. i. 10-17.) "For thou delightest not in sacrifice; else would I give it: (Ps. li. 16.) "And in his teaching he said, Beware of the scribes, who desire to walk in long robes, and to have salutations in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues, and chief places at feasts: they that devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers; these shall receive greater condemnation." (Mark xii. 38-40.) PART IV. RELIGION AS RITUALISM. ONCE more we must set aside a false conception in the form of ritualism, which is but an aspect of ecclesiasticism. Perhaps this is not so prevalent a misconception as in past times; but there are still those who think that joining the Church, attending its services, partaking of its sacraments, the reading of the Bible, the saying of prayers, constitute the whole of religion. To them religion is loyalty to an institution; it is a beautiful form, a well-appointed service, a careful performance of set practices. The danger of all religion and of all worship is that it shall become dead and formalistic. Indeed, this is the archenemy of all life; but perhaps it is a more serious problem in religion than in any other phase of life. The evil of all evils to be dreaded is that our religion. shall become institutionalized and lose its vital content. Formalism was the chief sin of Isaiah's day, which, he tells the people, induces religious stupidity and finally incapacity to see truth. The danger of our loyalty to an institution is that we forget that for which the institution stands. The great danger of any set ritual is that it shall come to take the place of real fellowship with God. It is apt to leave the life without any moral content. "When ye make many prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of blood." We must not go to the opposite extreme, however, and suppose that there is no need for loyalty to the Church or order in worship. Human life seems to be dependent to a large extent on symbols. We are not, for the most part, able to grasp abstract truth. Truth must become incarnated or put into symbols. This the Church as an institution, with its ritual of worship, helps to do and thus is a means to strengthen the reality of religion. There is no possible objection to using symbols, provided we know always that they are symbols and not realities. We must always be able to break through the form and get to the reality. We must pierce the crust of organization and ritual and find the reality of God. If organizations, times, seasons, and forms help us to find God, let us have them; but not for the sake of the institutions or seasons, but for the sake of finding life. God may be more vivid to us in the Church service, but he is just as real and as active in everyday life. We must not shut him up to consecrated places nor expect to see him only in hours of ritual performances. He is greater than any form, any sanctuary, or any sacred season or creed. We must find Him. STUDY I. THE MEANING OF CHRISTIAN LIFE. "Wherewith shall I come before Jehovah, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth Jehovah require of thee, but to do justly, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Mic. vi. 6-8.) "And this is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ.” (John xvii. 3.) "No longer do I call you servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I heard from my Father I have made known unto you." (John xv. 15.) PART V. RELIGION AS RELATIONSHIP. If religion is not intellectualism, not emotionalism, not altruism, not ritualism, then what is it? Micah says it is right relationship to our fellow men-doing justice and loving kindness-and fellowship with God. If we were trying to define religion in generic terms, we would say that it was man's consciousness of relationship to a higher but kindred power, with whom he desired to live on terms of friendliness. It is the expression of man's desire to have fellowship with the kindred power outside himself. The unifying element in all religions is this God-consciousness. The interpretation of this consciousness by peoples of varying temperament, culture, and environment has given. rise to very divergent forms of religious belief. But the fact of universal religious consciousness makes us certain that there is central truth here. This fact of consciousness |