Fiery Cross, Volume 3, Number 28, Indianapolis, Marion County, 9 May 1924 — Page 3

Friday, May 9, 1924 THE FIERY CROSS

. PAGE 1 Wreck in the Path of Alia

World Slowly Repudiating Catholicism; Protestantism Is Sure to Rule Ultimately An Address by Bruce Brown, PJi. D.

The adoption of the word Protestantism to designate the great, positive, reconstructive movement in religion that has been so closely Identified with all the progress of the last five hundred years was very unfortunate. Its motive Is not primarily to protest, a negative thing, but to replace ceremony with serv

ice, ritual with righteousness and dogma with faith in a personal, living Saviour. But like many another epithet it has passed into current usage and become an integral part of our rcligloiw-TOcalmlary. We can effoid to forget the etymology of the

plainest. He denounced the prayers of religious leaders because they thought that they would be heard for their much speaking and held up as an example the publican who simply cried in unassuming sincerity, "Have mercy upon me a sinner." The people believed that worship was a very complicated affair and could be accepted only in certain sacred spots and accompanied by many ceremonies and genuflections. He taught that honest, simple worship

was pleasing to God when offered neither in the temple nor on the sacred mount and that the sinning

soul needed no other intercessor than

word in its splendid history and the-,.Iimself Qn(i Ulat his atonin-g sacrifice

sufficed for every human need. He considered the elaborate ritualism of

vital significance of its usage today.

Must Substitute Will of ( hrist , It is quite certain that the final chapter of the biography of the human race will record the existence

the old testament as valuable only for the childhood of the human race1 He condemned the "washings often"

of the scribes and the broadened

and the power of something equiva-1 phylacteries of the Pharisees. Aclent to what we mean by Protes- j t (.ptable giving consisted not in the tantism. Without a prophet's vision ; amount, time nor place, but in the wo attempt, by the progress of the ! sincerity of the sacrifice. The past, to forecast the outlines of that I widow's mite was more than the

Ultimate Protestantism, which holds j ostentatious donations of the rich, as ils fundamental principal the be- His church was the simplest imagliever's privilege of a personal, direct j inable organization, held together by approach to Christ and the preroga-;no formal or external power but tive of interpreting and obeying the j "called out" and united by his love Bible In the light of his own reason. ' alone. Deserving the most careful This involves the substitution of the; and prayerful consideration is the will of Christ for the edicts of the 1 question, Was the ideal In the mind church and the actual enthronement! of Jesus when he but twice used

the term "church" at all analagous to our modern concretely organized institutions wearing that name? Paganism is characterized" by complexity and elaborateness. Bright colors' for clothes, paint9 for faces, rings for noses, ears and fingers, feathers in hats and hair are the

indices of its "best society." As a man advances in Christian civilization he becomes more simple in his dress, ceremonies and religion. We have in church and society many relics of savagery, the mute evidences of mankind's childhood days. In war and dancing, our shortest avenues to barbarism, it Is significant that we closely imitate the costumes and customs of savagery. Evidence of Paganism

of Christ as the head of the church! In the place of any prelate or council. This sublime deal has entranced I the minds of the world's thinkers and has become the Inspiration of every heroic effort for the emancipation of mankind. It appeals to the deepest impulses of the human heart and makes man thrice armed by allying him with the Lord of Hosts. Brighter Day Coming The day Is bright with promise of Protestantism's world-wide conquest. Statistics of numerical increase are not credentials of character nor a eafe criterion of victory but they are an Indication of inherent power and a prophecy of further progress. When Luther nailed his theses to the

Wittenberg Thureh. Protestant re- t,o r'v.rici ianit-ir nf Thrift which

formers were hounded into caves.! Is but another name for ' Ultimate never Srow wearisome, and their disciples were a byword protestantism, is differentiated from The ..primary object of ancient unicng .the people. Roman Catho-' human forms of worship by its aim- i Christianity will be the supreme purlicism held the power of the civilized , nneitv of doctrine and life. Elab-! pose of the Ultimate Protestantism.

Vorid in her regal hands. The : orateness of forms, ceremonies, wealth, the armies, the thrones of 'robes, rituals and creeds in religion the nations were at her c ommand, j is evidence of pagan parentage. The Invested interests always represent i childish voice of the hi'dden savage unmeasured power. - This nower was 1 in the human .breast still cries for

he excused the sin of divorce as sanctioned by Moses, permitted because of the hardness of the human heart. He must take us as we are and make the best use of us possible. We may hope that Luther and Wesley and Bunyan and Campbell wero teachers, like the law, to bring us to Christ, but when we have fully

come to him we will no longer be

under earthly schoolmasters. When

we were children we spake as Calvin and thought as Swedenborg, but men

of faith will put away childish

things. In that glad day, that triumphant day, Ultimate Protestantism will make the Master's will supreme and the church that he loved will be purified and cleanse! by the baptism of water and the word and he shall be as true to him as the wife is to her husband and ho shall present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, but holy and without blemish. To Be Ethical Power Ultimate Protestantism will be distinctively an ethical power. Every sermon and prayer, every church building and baptistry, every

prayer meeting' and gospel invitation will be measured in the terms of individual character and social redemption. Every doctrine that Jesus taught has an ethical Implication and every ordinance of his derives

its values from its moral influence.

Baptism is nothing unless It brings death to sin and life for righteousness. The Lord's Supper is an empty form unless it opens the headgates of the life-giving stream to fructify our desert souls. For that reason

Ultimate Protestantism will preserve no ordinance that can be isolated from conduct and character. Confirmation and baptism without faith and knowledge, will be abandoned for the same reason that presentday Protestantism rejects the mass and penance for the .dead. The Lord's' Supper will be vitalized with a new spiritual meaning, the old spiritual import of the first disciples, and then no man will ever speak of

observing it too often lest it become a convention. Like love it will

church and drew their sustenance from her bosom. I am glad that they have grown too big for tho mother's arms and have been adopted by civilization. We must never

forget that efery beneficent and philanthropic institution that is leveling the pathway of human progress has been the gift of the church to society. Each also, at Its inception, was as greatly scorned by the big men of its day, the warriors and statesmen, as the work of foreign missions and the Anti-Saloon League in our own day. The church has

had the high honor of beginning

every noble movement that has been

adopted by society. In giving life to others it has received life. The

great nations of England and Amer'

ica are already adopting the work of foreign missions in their colonies of benighted peoples by establishing

schools and hospitals and sending j out health officers. But a few years

ago when the church began this work statesmen called it Utopian and chimerical to think of changing the character of barbarians. The sunshine diffuses itself and seems to be lost when night comes on. But in other days it is found in the blush of the rose and the glow-of the electric

arc. So it is in our sacrifices and efforts for social and civic regeneration. They disappear like beams of light in the world of sin. But in other days they are found reincarnated in the flower and fruit, in the voltage and amperage of the currents of social righteousness. By them we join that company of immortal dead who live again in lives made better by their presence. It is a thousandfold more important than work that shows itself in immediate,

tangible results. The aim of the Ultimate Protestantism will be the largest measure of social service.

in the hands of the pentiff and in defiance of this power L.ither raised liis hand to heaven and took a mighty oath to appeal from the throne of Peter to the throne of God. The last 300 years has seen the government of the world changed from Itomnn Catholicism to Protestantism. ln 1700 A. I). Protestant nations poverned thirty-two million subjects end Catholic nations ninety millions In 17S6 they were about even, each governing 150 millions. In 1S91

Protestant nations governed 523 mil-j lions of people and Catholic nations but 242 millions. The population of the world is rapidly passing from Catholic to Protestant control. It takes Catholic nations 1I!S years to double in population and Protestant nations but sixty years. Kvy Catholic nation is rapidly degenerating. In 1KO0 A. 1). England liad a population of four millions and Spain foitythre; millions. In l!t00 England had thiri.y-eip;ht millions. In Spain but seventeen millions. What is true of population is also true of territory. Catholic nations are continually suffering their territory to be wrested from thein by Protestant nations

the glittering and mysterious and in response to this ojir modern intricate ceremonialisi has been adopted from our heathen ancestors. When Naaman came to the old prophet in Jerusalem he was very wroth because such a simple remedy was offered him. "Behold," he said, "I thought ho would come down and strike his hand over this place and over that place and recover the leprosy." He wanted much ceremonies because he was accustomed to barbaric religions. How dipping seven times could benefit him was past his comprehension. That obedience is better than sac

rifice and harkening unto the voice of the Lord than the fat rams he j had never learned, and many have i not learned it today. "If he had commanded some great thing you ; would have done it faithfully," his j servant argued. Of course he j would. Multitudes are impressed by I obscure, abstruse and complex ritu- ! alism. Every substitution for a doc- ! trine or ordinance of Christ, in any ; church will be found to be an elaborate affair designed to impress the people with the thought of their de- ; nenderce. There has never been a

When the ministry shall again compass the work of Christ and the apostles in precept and social program we will need services every day. With the fervor of the old evangelism and the message of the

new evangelism yet to come, every ! church building, located with the! same acumen with which we build our schools, will be open every day and every night for the development of body and soul and will supplant the theaters and saloons. It Is a truth worthy of all acceptation that it shall come into the world to save sinners.' It will not be a life-saving station to rescue a few from the wreck but a weather bureau to warn the ship of every storm. "Throw out the life-line across the dark wave" will be a song forgotten. "Signal the ships to stay in port till the

storm is past" will be its new melody. Ultimate Protestantism will not be a Red Cross nurse to close i the lids of the dying soldier but a peace envoy to prevent the war. It I will not be a doctor with little vials ! of specifics but a sanitary inspector j that places an embargo against the ' plague. It will purify the infected I stream instead of building hospitals

for the victims. Ultimate Protestantism will not be concerned, like a certain ancient council, with the number of angels that can dance on the point of a needle but with the num-

Religion That Endures

The religion that endures will be

positive and not negative. It will foster heroism and not fear of heresy. Christ and the apostles never used any word equivalent to our word heresy. The heretic of the New

Testament is the person who sinned in the light of knowledge. What we call heresy Is always magnified and multiplied by arguments and opposition. The only friend the heretic has is the one who opposes him. Our generation would never have heard

of men we have labeled skeptics. if workmen had not left the walls to come down and fight with them.

What need has the gospel of Christ for any argumentative defense. As well send a poodle dog to guard a lion. . Preaching the gospel is its own evidence and vindication. Virtuous living is the gospel's only defense and an impure life labeled with the name of Christ its only dangerous enemy. Him that is weak in the faith we should receive but not by doubtful disputations. "Foolish and

unlearned (impossible of being evidently demonstrated), questions avoid

knowing that they do engender strife." The church of the future will be big enough for God-fearlns

men to think in. But, on the other hand, it will have little room for the egoist and opinlonist. No benediction will be pronounced over the peacemaker. The world will soon foTget what we quibble here but heaven will register what we do here. I offer no word of apology for any man who preaches his doubts instead of his faith. To have fitted

some today Jesus would have needed to say, "He that doubteth and is baptized shall be saved and he that be-

lleveth shall be dammed." Faith In!

Christ, In the power of his simple

gospel will be the vitalizing creed of Ultimate Protestantism. A Spiritual Dominion It remains to be said (and this ts the most important of all for it underlies all the rest) Ultimate Protestantism will be a spiritual dominion. Like the kingdom It will not be meat and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the spirit. Its

coming will not be - of observation for its throne will be within the sanctuary of the souls of men. It is Idle to suppose that we will eveT

win the allegiance .and devotion of

men by making the church a vaude

vllle or a penny arcade. The church

of God is not a show. It has ever

been true, it must of necessity ever be true, that the preachers that have mightily moved humanity have been

concerned with deep spiritual things. If there were no soul hunger for the

infinite there would be no place for religion. Christ proposed to bestow a peace that this world could not

give or take away. The ministry of

the ministry is to point to the altar of sacrifice and to declare the way into

the Holy or Hones, it is not ours to lay the mains from a pumping station but to guide men to the lining fountain. The supremacy of love, the regnancy of character and the Catholicity of .truth are the royal message we bring from the king. The preacher of Ultimate Protestantism will be a prophet and not a priest. The kings of this world will bring their glory and honor into the city of God when it gives bread and

not a stone. The morning Is bright with promise. The mountains are being leveled, the valleys exalted, the crooked made straight and a highway prepared for the coming of the king. With confidence may we labor

To unite mankind in one vast

brotherhood, Linked in the bonds of doing good. With unfaltering faith we Pray, that come it may And come it will for a' that, That man to man the world o'er Shall brithers be, for a' that. This is the mission of Ultimate

Protestantism. Towards it all the ! movements of history point the way; ! in it all the radiating lines of proph-; ecy meet. It is the glorious hope, j the morning star of the eternal day, i when the light of the world shall ; light every man that cometh into the world. It is not ours to count the years, i nor to tell the times. We advance i the banner at our Captain's command. He shall possess the gates of j the enemy. In his own time thej ransomed shall return to Zion with j

songs and everlasting joy upon their heads. It is ours with toils and tears to fit our lives as living stones, according to the design on the trestle board. Into the walls of the temple that God will grace with Christ as

the head of the corner. It may not be ours to wield The sickle in the ripened field, Nor ours on summer eves To hear the reaper's song among the sheaves, But when our duty task is wrought In mission with God's great thought, The near and future blend in one And whatsoe'er is willed, is done.

'sL.ii Z&iyi

The photograph shows the wreck of the store building of Joseph Ketchum, an agent of The Fiery Cross at Loogootee, Ind., after it was visited late Friday night, April 25, by aliens of Loogootee. Ketchum, a cripple, is shown at the side of the building in his wheel chair, his only mode of locomotion. The building was wrecked because the "aliens wished to get even with someone who had been connected with the progress of the l5u Klux Klan in that vicinity. Klansmen held one of the most successful celebrations ever held in Indiana at Loogootee, Saturday. April 28. This celebration was held in spite of the handicaps placed before the Klansmen by the Roman Catholic mayor and other city officials of Loo

gootee. They had attempted to prevent a parade by Klansmen, and had passed a city ordinance in an attempt to prevent the parade, but the city officials weakened at the last moment, knowing that their ordinance was class legislation, and permission for the parade was given. About 20,000 Klansmen were at Loogootee to attend the celebration.

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What America did to Spain is but-subst itulion that was simpler than

one act. of a continuous process. , the teaching

great Master

to Its elements. His words are transparently clear. The common people- heard him gladly, for he sp;;ke not as the scribeB. His few ceremonies were beautifully Symbolical. He was a great preacher, but had not gown, vestments nor

In oar own country in 1800 there altar- He Poached the sermon on

Lilt? IIIWUIIL OilllUft UUUU LUC

What France has recently done to the Vatican, Spain and Portugal will soon be compelled to do. Our children will live to see the day when not a nntion of Europe will call itself Iloii:an Catholic. Education Spells Doom

her-of cubic feet of fresh air allotted

and example of our i to every child in a congested district.

He reduced religion i It will save potential sinners by

locking the switches where wrecks have occurred.

were 304,876 Protectant members, even out of every 100 population, ami 100.000 Catholics. In 1890 there were 14,180,000 Protestants, twentytwo out of every UK) population, and 7,1'JS.OOO Catholics and this period witnessed the most remarkable influx of population (three-quarters Cat holic I that t lie world h;i3 ever pecn. If Catholicism had simply held Its own and their descendants It

ground. He was a wise man. He spoke for the maturity of the human race and not to amuse its childish hours. His words grow bigger with meaning and as they grip our lives we lose our love for gilt and glitter. ! "Strength and beauty are in hla sanctuary." Strength and beauty are the elements of simplicity. His baptism and his memorial supper.

how simple they were! His creed.

v.ouhl nave Had thirty-five millions how short! His names for disciples of members. The wealth and com- anrt ehumh how- nlaln' Hta ntf-

meree of the world are passing from ! ture of God, "our Father," how perCatholic to Protestant nations, i feet! . His program, "Preach the Catholic nations in 1S90 had a re- gospel to every creature," how cathp rted wealth of ninety-five billions olic! Yet this very simplicity will villi an annual increase of three and be the throbbing heart of the Ultl-one-half billions. ProteHtant nations! mate Protestantism.

and controlling Its com-!0' Cephas and another of Apollos

had 150 billions with an annual increase of eight billions. The education of the world is shifting to Protestantism. In Catholic nations only 10 3 per cent of the population attends school, while In Protestant nations the percentage is doubled. 20.7 P"r cent. The spread of popular education epells the doom of Roman itli(illcism. No wonder it opposes the public schools. Protestantism Is Boon to rule the earth, possessing its territory and wealth, governing its

people, directing jts education and

thought

nierce. j I harnctf rlzed by Simplicity This final, triumphant Prjotestantism will be characterized by simplicity in both faith and organization. This was an elemental teaching of brfth Christ and the apostles. Jesus understood that his doctrine would not be accepted by the wise because they sought for the complex and abstruse and would be comprehended by the common people because of Its simplicity. His ideal of life was "The humble," "The poor in spirit," "The meek," "The pure In heart," and his manner of living was the very

All Will Be One

Just what form the finality of

Christianity shall assume one cani

not presume to tell. But this one thing is certain. It will be a united force. Jesus clearly intimated that the world would not believe until all of his disciples were "one." Traditions and doctrines made the word of God of no effect. The world was to know the truth and the truth

I would make men free but Kith him j "Thy word is truth." When one was

Paul taught that they were carnal. What we call denominationalism the

New Testament calls sectarianism and most specifically and vehemently

condemns. Every interest of the kingdom is retarded by a divided Christendom. The millennium will

never dawn on a schismatic Protestantism.

The basis of that union Is very plain. "One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and one church." In other words, Ultimate Protestantism will be a return to the Christ, to his teaching, to his ordinances and to his life. It is possible that he will excuse our sin of division as

Church Saved by Schools If the time ever comes when the church loses sight of the supreme imperative, of social service, its mission is ended and there will be no need of any discussion of an Ultimate Protestantism. In the middle ages the church preserved itself in spite of its sins by founding schools, hospitals, asylums, etc. Just in so far

as it abased itself it was exalted. It weathered the storms of the past centuTy through organizing the Sunday school and beginning the work of foreign missions. The Endeavor society, temperance leagues and other social institutions have been preservative measures. In so far as denominations or congregations have failed -to co-operate in these mediae of social betterment they have assisted In writing their own obituaries. The hope of a glorious Protestantism, in form worthy of Its faith, is a consuming passion for social redemption. The benediction of heaven would rest upon our labors

If a great enthusiasm like that accompanying the crusades, for some great co-operative plan of human betterment should possess the minds

of Christian people. Christian union Is to come in some supreme crisis

just as the North and South forgot

their differences in the war- with Spain. We need a new Joan of Arc to lead in a crusade against the slums, or the saloons or the hosts of heathenism. The only danger the church has ever had of losing its life was in seeking to save it. 'Innovations Always Scorned I am not cynical. I find big in

spiration in the past. In the very darkest days there has been light and hope. The church has rendered great, practical service to ' man. There was the time when the only

schools were fostered in the clois

ters of the church. Socialized public education is one contribution of the church to human progress. It preserved for us art and printing and was the inspiration ot the masters of music and architecture. The world's first hospitals, orphanages and almshouses were born ot the

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