ABOUT the gloomiest outlook in the world is that for the ushering in of the kingdom of Christ through the gateway of politics.AMS July 22, 1897, page 448.2

A VERY poor way of making a man a good citizen is to teach him that he must educate his conscience by the laws of the State.AMS July 22, 1897, page 448.3

THE lowest conception of the character and dignity of the law of God, is that which teaches that its effectiveness depends upon its being reinforced by State enactments.AMS July 22, 1897, page 448.4

HE who insists that it is a Christian duty to vote, is not consistent if he fails to designate the party for which Christianity demands the vote should be cast. Is that party the Republican, or the Democratic party, or some other?AMS July 22, 1897, page 448.5

THE Christian patriot must be he who loves the Christian’s country. But that country is a heavenly country. Hebrews 11:14-16. The individual who says “my country” of any land on this earth, either does not mean what he says, or proclaims that he is not a Christian at all.AMS July 22, 1897, page 448.6

LIBERTY, like every other valuable possession, is lost by not being put into use. “From him that hath not [or does not use what he has] shall be taken away even that which he hath.” This is a law of nature. He who does not prize a thing sufficiently to use it for its intended purpose, does not deserve to have it.AMS July 22, 1897, page 448.7

“THE Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver; the Lord is our King; he will save us.” Isaiah 33:22. The Christian’s life is ordered by laws which are righteous and eternal, and judgments which are infallible and irrevocable. The government of heaven is as superior to the governments of earth as God is superior to man.AMS July 22, 1897, page 448.8

“What Only Can Be the End?” American Sentinel 12, 29, pp. 448, 449.

ATJ

THE forces which worked in Greece and Rome wrought steadily and only to ruin as their end.AMS July 22, 1897, page 448.1

Those same forces are steadily at work to-day among the nations, and to no other end than they wrought before.AMS July 22, 1897, page 448.2

The forces that wrought in Greece and Rome are the chief forces at work in the great nations to-day: they are deliberately chosen to be the chief and all-guiding forces for to-day.AMS July 22, 1897, page 448.3

All through Europe, and all over the United States, to-day, the leading and all controlling forces in education are Greek and Roman. And by compulsory-education laws it is sought to oblige all to surrender to these forces. But as originally these forces only ruined Greece and Rome, to compel people to surrender to these forces is only to compel them to the way of ruin.AMS July 22, 1897, page 448.4

Nor is it only the States schools that are so led; but private, denominational, and independent schools, academies, colleges, and universities, are all conducted after the same lead; so that Greek and Roman conceptions and ideals practically dominate the whole educational world or Europe and America to-day. Greek and Roman literature, ethics, philosophy, art, and mythology, are the supreme models, they are indeed the goal of all intellectual effort of the students, throughout the whole educational system of our time.AMS July 22, 1897, page 448.5

But what did all this, in its veriest perfect, do for Greece and Rome?—It wrought only their ruin. It is not enough to say that all of it could not keep them back from ruin: it all only helped forward their ruin. What less can it do for people to-day? When through all the formative years of children and youth, they are caused to dwell intellectually in Greece and Rome among the Greeks and Romans of the “classic ages,” what can they be expected to be, but Greeks and Romans all the rest of their lives?—just such Greeks and Romans too, as their models were. And being such Greeks and Romans as their models were, how many generations can pass ere the nations of to-day will have reached the same end as did the Greece and Rome that are their models?AMS July 22, 1897, page 450.1

To-day, in the schools, children as young as twelve years, are put through daily drills in Greek and Roman mythology. They are required to read and study the wicked and even abominable conceptions in which the myth is involved. These things they are taught and are required under penalties to learn, when it would be difficult for them to learn anything worse if they were turned entirely loose among the professional liars, thieves, adulterers and murderers, in the very dives of the worst cities in the land. And in this sink of abominable conceptions they are kept until they graduate from college or university, especially when they take the classical course.AMS July 22, 1897, page 450.2

It is nowise different when the youth are induced to take up the study of what passes popularly for art. For the chief models are Greek and Roman; and Greek and Roman art was idolatry, and Greek and Roman idolatry was abomination of every sort. Their extolled philosophy and their boasted wisdom were after the same order. Their philosophy was a lie; their wisdom was foolishness.AMS July 22, 1897, page 450.3

Such being the great forces that wrought in Greece and Rome, how could such forces work to any other end than ruin? And such being the deep and leading forces which are working to-day, by every means that can be invented, how is it possible for such forces to work to any other end than ruin?AMS July 22, 1897, page 450.4

Seeing the inevitable tendency of such education, it is not strange that sober thinkers in both Europe and America should begin to call for something better in education. In view of the situation as it really is, it is proper enough that the question should have been raised, “Does College Education Educate?” One leading educator who is striving for better things very pertinently remarks:—AMS July 22, 1897, page 450.5

“There is another and most important point at which the subject matter of an educational system touches the well-being not only of the student but of the nation at large: that is the ethical influence.AMS July 22, 1897, page 450.6

“It cannot but be manifest to every thoughtful observer that one of the most discouraging signs of the times, is the want of honest thinking and practical common sense which is daily exhibited in high places and in low, in the rulers of nations, the dispensers of law, the managers of great enterprises, and so on down to the political “boss,” or, if there be a lower level, the politics of the saloon.AMS July 22, 1897, page 450.7

“Trickery and juggling with words in absolute disregard of facts; plausible expressions disguising well-known facts and the disposition to build upon inequitable technicalities in defiance of the most manifest principles of right and wrong, are the things which give daily support to the views of the anarchist who regards all law, order and government with hatred, and is pleased to see that representatives discredit themselves and bring daily distress and alarm to those who would fain believe in an advancing evolution of the human race and a millennium in even the far-distant future.”AMS July 22, 1897, page 450.8

Yet surely it should not be thought strange that these things should appear in the lives of people where education has been largely in a literature of which the warp and woof is composed of just such things. People whose minds have been taking in just such stuff as this, through all their formative years, cannot well be expected to let out anything else in their after years.AMS July 22, 1897, page 450.9

If the nations desire anything better to appear in their characters than appeared in the characters of Greece and Rome, they will have to give their youth an education better than that of Greece and Rome, their minds will have to be fed with something vastly different from the foolishness, the chicanery and the abominations generally that are found in the classical literature of Greece and Rome.AMS July 22, 1897, page 450.10

“‘Christian Citizenship’ in France a Century Ago” American Sentinel 12, 29, pp. 450, 451.

ATJ

THE duties of Christians with respect to the State were clearly defined in the “Imperial Catechism,” which was imposed upon the church in France by the new empire which had been evolved from the Revolution. They were as follows:—AMS July 22, 1897, page 450.1

“Ques. What are the duties of Christians, in respect to the princes who govern them? and what, in particular, are our duties towards Napoleon and the First, our emperor?AMS July 22, 1897, page 450.2

“Ans. Christians owe to the princes who govern them, and we owe in particular to Napoleon the First, our emperor, love, respect, obedience, fidelity, military service, the taxes usual for the preservation and expenses of the empire and of his throne.... To honor and serve our emperor is, then, to honor and serve God himself.AMS July 22, 1897, page 450.3

“Q. Are there not special motives which ought more strongly to attach us to Napoleon the First, our emperor?AMS July 22, 1897, page 450.4

“A. Yes; for it is he whom God has raised up in difficult circumstances to reëstablish the public worship of the holy religion of our fathers, and to be its protector. He has brought back and preserved public order by his profound and active wisdom; he defends the State by his powerful arm; he has become the help of the Lord by the consecration which he has received from the Sovereign Pontiff, the head of the universal church.AMS July 22, 1897, page 450.5

“Q. What ought we to think of those who should be wanting in their duty towards our emperor?AMS July 22, 1897, page 451.1

“A. According to the holy Apostle Paul, they would be resisting the order established by God himself; they would be rendering themselves worthy of eternal damnation.”AMS July 22, 1897, page 451.2

This catechism was highly approved at the time by the papacy, whose legate in France recommended its use in all the dioceses.AMS July 22, 1897, page 451.3

The “Christian citizenship” of that day failed. What will be the result to-day? In that day it professed to be following the dictates of Scripture, as it does to-day. And it cannot be denied that the principle of being in subjection to “the powers that be” applied as well in France a hundred years ago as it does in America to-day. That Napoleon was a wicked man and a despot, has not bearing upon the principle. That kind of subjection of which the Apostle Paul wrote in the thirteenth of Romans, is as proper under one government as under another. It did not mean that Christianity should be in subjection to the State, or joined with the State. It did not mean that “every soul” has two masters, of which the State is one, in the sphere of morality. And what it did not mean then, it does not mean now.AMS July 22, 1897, page 451.4

Christian citizenship is heavenly citizenship. It is a high privilege, much higher than any earthly government can grant, which is extended to men by the King of the Universe. It is a birthright privilege, obtained by being “born again,” of water and of the Spirit. It is the privilege only of the sons and daughters of God.AMS July 22, 1897, page 451.5

“The Maintenance of a Good Cause” American Sentinel 12, 29, p. 452.

ATJ

IT is a truth which is made prominent in the volume of inspiration that “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” “The words that I speak unto you,” said Jesus to the Jews, “They are spirit and they are life.” John 6:63. And the exhortation is given by the apostle Peter, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby.” 1 Peter 2:2.AMS July 22, 1897, page 452.1

The cause of spiritual truth must be maintained by the Word. The cause which opposes spiritual error must be thus maintained. The Word furnishes life and the principle of growth; and without the Word, they will soon fail and come to naught.AMS July 22, 1897, page 452.2

No man can live on an experience. He cannot live upon his opposition to something else. Nor can any organization of men maintain itself in this way. The experiment has been tried many times, and has always failed. Many a would-be Christian tries to live on an experience which he had when he first started in the service of God, or perhaps at some other special season. It seems to go very well for a short time, but he soon finds that the power of it is gone. To repeat over and over the statement of the blessings he enjoyed on that particular occasion, becomes monotonous. It soon palls upon his listeners, and upon himself. It fails to produce enthusiasm or to stir people to action. They must have something new, something fresh. This is a law of their natures.AMS July 22, 1897, page 452.3

Neither does opposition to error furnish the principle of life and growth. Of this we have an illustration in the work of the “A. P. A.” This organization exists for the purpose of combatting [sic.] the papacy. It maintains a number of journals, which aim to arouse public opposition to Rome by crying out the evils which are charged against her. In every way, the effort is made to spread before the people the real or supposed wickedness by which the papacy is endangering American institutions and liberty. The same thing has been done by other organizations in the past; but they have each failed and gradually faded into oblivion. The cause for which they stood had no food upon which to maintain its life. There was no life principle in mere opposition; and hence, while for a time the cause seemed to flourish, it came ere long to an inevitable decline, which could only terminate in dissolution.AMS July 22, 1897, page 452.4

It is all very well, of course, to call attention to the evil of the principles and work of the papacy, and the danger which they threaten to the national interests. But to repeat this day after day, becomes at last monotonous. No matter how great or how real these evils and dangers may be, the continual shouting of them becomes first a familiar and then a tiresome sound. Of itself, it can only tend to produce indifference, even in the minds of those who have lent their support to the work. The enthusiasm of the movement declines, and only time is then necessary for its complete extinction.AMS July 22, 1897, page 452.5

What is lacking is the power of the divine Word. It is this alone that can cause growth in true and right principles. A bad cause can flourish upon the depravity that is inherent in human nature; but a good cause which stands in opposition to the movements of the world’s agencies of evil, must be maintained by the power of divine truth. It is not looking at error, or crying out against it, that strengthens the heart in opposition to it, but a growth in the principles of righteousness. And it is by the Word that this growth must be attained. The Word of the infinite One is itself infinite in depth and breadth, and the finite human mind can never exhaust its treasures of truth. There are always fresh revelations, new meanings and vistas of truth afforded by it to the inquiring mind; so that as one studies the Word, he becomes more and more built up and rooted and grounded in eternal principles of truth and righteousness, and become more and more antagonistic to error and injustice, in their forms.AMS July 22, 1897, page 452.6

All other forms of opposing evil than by the eternal Word, must certainly fail. Evil is not to be overcome by evil; the devil cannot be successfully fought with fire. We are directed to “overcome evil with good.” It is the Word that makes us good, by faith in it; and by the Word must our goodness be retained, and ourselves nourished and strengthened in adherence to the right, and opposition to the wrong.AMS July 22, 1897, page 452.7

“A Mystery” American Sentinel 12, 29, pp. 452, 453.

ATJ

ONE of the apparent mysteries of the Christian profession is the fact that so many good people who claim to believe the Word of God should be seemingly blind to some of the plainest truths of revelation.AMS July 22, 1897, page 452.1

Here, for example, are hundreds of thousands of Christian young people who have pledged themselves to “strive to do whatsoever he [Christ] would have me do, and yet deliberately and continually disobey one of his plain commands. In support of this statement we will ask who ever read a command or law of any kind plainer in its meaning than the following:—AMS July 22, 1897, page 452.2

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.”AMS July 22, 1897, page 452.3

Most of the words used in this expression of the will of the Creator are common words of one syllable. The whole expression, in point of simplicity, would not be out of place in a child’s “First Reader.”AMS July 22, 1897, page 452.4

Yet her are multitudes of the most intelligent young people in the land who are seemingly most anxious to do “whatsoever He would have me do,” who never observe the seventh day at all from one year’s end to another. It is a singular thing, to say the least.AMS July 22, 1897, page 452.5

They are careful not to worship other gods, to bow down to graven images, to swear, dishonor their parents, kill, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, or covet; there is no question in their minds for a moment that all these are things which He would not “have me do.” Yet the thing stated in the fourth precept—the very bosom—of this same law, is set aside as though it were a matter of no consequence.AMS July 22, 1897, page 453.1

Oh, well, it is said, in this one precept of the Decalogue there has been a change; and we, as Christians, now keep the Sabbath on the first day of the week, in honor of Christ, who on that day rose from the dead.AMS July 22, 1897, page 453.2

But was it not Christ who commanded the observance of the seventh day? and must not that therefore be one of the things which he would have all people do, as well now as then? Aside from the self-evident fact that a moral law must in the very nature of things express the will of Christ and be the same in all ages, it is plain that Christ himself spoke the law which commands rest upon the seventh day. For the first words of the speaker on that memorable occasion were, “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” The deliverer from bondage is Jesus Christ. He it is who was divinely anointed to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.” Isaiah 61:1. He it was who went before the host of Israel in a pillar of cloud and of fire; and they “drank of that spiritual Rock which followed [or went with, margin] them; and that Rock was Christ.” 1 Corinthians 10:4.AMS July 22, 1897, page 453.3

Would you strive to do whatsoever the Lord Jesus Christ have you do? Then consider who it is that has brought you up out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Or have you not yet been delivered from the bondage of Egypt? “Out of Egypt,” it is written, “have I called my son.” If you are a son of God, you have come up out of that realm of spiritual darkness and bondage into the spiritual Canaan. You have left the company of the idolators, and have “come out from among them,” that you might be separate unto the Lord, one of “a peculiar people,” unlike the nations of the world. 2 Corinthians 6:17, 18. And He who has brought you out of Egypt and its bondage says to you, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.... The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.”AMS July 22, 1897, page 453.4

Many, no doubt, fail to discern this plain truth concerning the will of God, because they are among the “wise and prudent.” It is to the “babes” that truths are revealed which the “wise and prudent” fail to discern. Matthew 11:25. Human “wisdom” and “prudence” can darken the plainest language in which God’s will was ever spoken. Pride of opinion is exceedingly strong. This was almost the last thing which the disciples of Christ were willing to surrender, and which darkened their minds to the comprehension of some of his plainest and most important utterances. See Mark 8:31, 32; 9:31, 32. If human wisdom, human teaching and traditions, were set aside, there would be no disagreement among people respecting the identity of the duty imposed by the fourth commandment.AMS July 22, 1897, page 453.5

“Personal to Our Readers” American Sentinel 12, 29, p. 456.

ATJ

WE wish a few earnest words with you. We are not given to sensationalism, but we want you to look at matters just as they are, and then help us to save what can be rescued from a sinking craft. The immortal Lincoln once said in the dark days of slavery, “These are bad times, and seem out of joint.” This was true then, but it is doubly so now. Society is rotten to the core; politics is the very essence of corruption; murder and rapine stalk like giants through the land; the rich are growing richer and the poor poorer. Only a short time ago thirty thousand employés of the sweat shops of this city marched passed the SENTINEL office, having struck against the oppression and tyranny exercised over them, and now well nigh a quarter of a million coal miners of the country are arrayed against the greed and injustice of soulless corporations. An unrest has taken possession of the toiling masses that amounts to frenzy; their minds are filled with dreams of rebellion bordering on anarchy. Statesmen look into the future with deep forebodings. Men’s hearts are literally failing them for fear, and the anxious inquiry on all sides is, “Whall [sic.] shall the end be”?AMS July 22, 1897, page 456.1

The religious world is fast imbibing the idea that the solution for this intricate problem—the panacea for the gigantic evils that confront us, is to be found in a recognition of God by legal enactment as the ruler of the nation. The devil never invented a greater deception. But nevertheless plans are being laid, stakes set and lines drawn to accomplish this very thing.AMS July 22, 1897, page 456.2

Now, as never before, an opportunity is presented to tell the people what all these things mean, and the only avenue of escape from the inevitable ruin that will follow. This can be done in no better way than by inducing them to become readers of the AMERICAN SENTINEL. Will you help us to help the paper in their hands?AMS July 22, 1897, page 456.3

Now, for the purpose of introducing the SENTINEL more generally among those not now readers of it, we have determined to make the following unprecedented offer: Any such person can have the paper sent to his address until January 1st next, for only twenty-five cents. This is but little more than the cost of the white paper on which it is printed, and it is made in the hope that every member of the SENTINEL family will lay his plans to send us at least one new subscriber under this special offer, for it is our experience that these short-time subscribers invariably become regular readers. Here is an opportunity to do real missionary work in a worthy cause rarely offered.AMS July 22, 1897, page 456.4

Of the future of the SENTINEL, just a word. It will endeavor to keep fully abreast with the times, and keenly alive to its mission. It will deal fearlessly and faithfully with every question within its province. It has in contemplation several substantial improvements, among them being a department called “Religious Liberty for Young People,” which can hardly fail to interest hundreds of our young people who have heretofore paid little attention to the subject.AMS July 22, 1897, page 456.5

Can we not count on our friends everywhere for a long pull, a strong pull and a pull altogether for at least five thousand new subscriptions by September 1st?AMS July 22, 1897, page 456.6

July 15, 1897

July 29, 1897