Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 232, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 September 1913 — DO FALSE GREEDS MAKE CRIMINALS? [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

DO FALSE GREEDS MAKE CRIMINALS?

PrisonStatlstics Support Inference, Says Pastor Russell. Reverenoe For Qod Constitutional With All—With Proper Conceptions of Qod All Would Delight to Worship Him—How Satan Has Foatered the Misconceptions—How These In Turn Have Driven Men From the Almighty In Fear—God Has Been Piotured aa Beelzebub—The Bible, Considered the Revelation or Satanic Purposes, la Bhunned—The People Perish For Lack of Knowledge —Christiana >Bhoutd Awake —The True Qod Bhould Be Preaohed—True Knowledge Will Draw All Men Toward Him.

Columbus, Ohio, September 28. Pastor Russell preached twice here today. We report one of his discourses, from the text, “If our Gospel be hid, It Is hid to them that are lost, in whom, the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which be-

lleve not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who Is the Image of God, should shine unto them.”—2 Corinthians 4:3, 4. I do not charge our forefathers with evil Intent In making the creeds. I cheerfully admit that every creed contains an element of Bible Truth. My contention Is that Satan has substituted the creeds for the Bible; and into the creeds, through human weakness, He has Injected a sufficiency of nonsense and ‘‘doctrines of demons” to render them unhealthful for and absolutely poisonous to others, said the Pastor. Taking up his text, he declared that its truthfulness Is manifest on every hand. The word 'Gospel means “good tidings of great Joy.” This Gospel of Divine Love and Mercy toward our race Is completely hidden from the world. Even mature Christians discern but little because the creeds of human tradition have so misrepresented God and His purposes as to make of them bad tidings. “Hath Blinded Their Minds/’ The Pastor pointed out that St Paul, as well as the other Apostles, foretold the falling away of the Church from "the faith once delivered to the saints.” St Paul particularly declared that this would result from giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrfifea of demons —the fallen angels. (1 Timothy 4:L) In a thousand ways, through mediums, planchettes, visions and dreams, thSse seducing spirits have Intruded their demon doctrines upon God’s Church. Their purport Is to deceive mankind regarding God’s real character and purposes. The Pastor then showed Bow successful Satan and his fallen host have been. While persuading men that they were afar off. stoking fires, they have really been assisting ecclesiastics tn mislnterpretlon of the Bible, especially Its parables and symbolical statements. As a result, the glory of God manifested In Jesus for human salvation is unintelligible to the world. The statement of our text, "Hid to them that are lost,” said the Pastor, does not mean that they are lost because they cannot see it The Bible distinctly tells us that all are lost through Adam's disobedience. The Apostle means that the masses of the lost world cannot see the Gospel light Soon Christ will take His power and reign. His first work will be to bind Satan, that he may no longer deceive mankind. What Prison Btatlstios Mean. In all modern prisons, statistics are kept showing what religious training was received by the prisoners in early life. In almost every case the prisonera guilty of the most serious crimes were from Infancy trained to believe In eternal torment In such homes, fear prevailed Instead of love. The natural effect upon the children would be a terror of God, a torturing tear respecting the future. Even In Christian homes, the parents feared to tell the children their advanced views. They said, If children are scarcely restrained from evildoing with the thought of eternal torture, how terrible might be their course If they were to doubt that doctrine! Little did we realize the foolishness of such reasoning. Fear cannot draw the sinner to God. “The tore of Christ constralneth us.” The Pastor then showed that the influence of the creeds of the Dark Ages has been the very reverse of what has been expected. Man naturally has reverence for God. The true knowledge as God would Incline men to worship Him. The highest qualities of their being would find expression in worship. With , the enlightenment of tba Bible men would learn that all are sinners; that death Is the penalty for sin; hot that God has provided through Jesus’ death a reconciliation. By hiding the Truth from men, Batan has driven them from their best Friend—Almighty God. In dread of God and In fear of the unmerciful arrangements for the future taught them from Infancy, many have plunged headlong Into sin. striving to forget Qod. But a true knowledge of God’s character has revolutionized the liras •f many. .