## SM443 - Creed Idols of Christendom

SM443 CREED IDOLS OF CHRISTENDOM

"The Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort." —2Co 1:3.

When in India, China and Japan last year, I was forcibly struck with the intelligence of many among these peoples. I visited their idol temples for the purpose of noticing the degree of reverence exhibited and the status of worshipers, and was favorably impressed. Many seemed sincere, absolutely unmindful of any other matter than their own worship. I made inquiry as to what importance was attached to the idol. Was it regarded as the god, or merely a reminder of their god? They assured me that the idol itself was known to be of metal, or stone, or wood, and was used merely as a reminder of their god, in much the same way that Catholics use the crucifix—not as worshiping the image or the picture, but merely having these before the mind to assist in fixing reverence and the spirit of worship.

OUR CREED IDOLS WORSE

At first I felt disposed to chide the heathen for the horrible features which they give their images. I said to myself, Why do they not make graceful, beautiful idols instead of horrible ones? But a little reflection brought me shame and confusion. I said to myself, Look at the creeds, the idols, the images of God, set up in Christendom.

We have not attempted to picture our Deity in wood or stone or mineral, but we have written out a description of His character—our Christian creeds.

These creeds stand before our mental eyes with exactly the same hideous features that the tangible idol has before the natural eye of the heathens. Each different creed shows a slightly different image of God, but they are all horrible. They all picture God as a most

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atrocious character, more hideous by far than are any of the idols of heathendom.—Ec 7:29; La 5:7.

How could anybody carve, or cast, or model, a mute image, or idol, that would speak such horrible things as all of our creeds portray by description? Where is the artist who could picture a God deliberating upon the creation of the human family, and before beginning His work planning and arranging a great place called Hell (and some say another called Purgatory), creating fire-proof devils to man these, laying up fuel for use therein through all eternity, and then starting the human race with procreative powers, with the foreknowledge that billions would spend eternity in those horror chambers!

Who could picture or model an image representing a God who would, after preparing such a place, inject new life and vigor into the poor sufferers so as to prevent them from dying—so as to insure that they must live everlastingly under those horrible conditions! No heathen was ever capable of such an imagination; and hence none was ever able to picture such a God, either in clay, or stone, or metal, or wood, or with the pen. It remained for the most cultured and civilized peoples of the world, who had enjoyed most of God’s favors and blessings and enlightenment, to misunderstand Him most, to misrepresent Him worst, and to carry those misrepresentations to the heathen, in the name of the God of Love.

THE HEATHEN KNOW IT, TOO

Missionaries have indeed reached a few people and brought them under a measure of Christian influence, but their number is small; so also their intelligence. Like some true Christians here, they have a reverence for God sadly encumbered with error. The more intelligent classes are agnostics. Christianity, so-called, has led them to doubt their own religions, but it has not given them anything in their stead.

When some of the higher caste natives learned that my preaching was different from that of the missionaries,

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and that it presented a God of Love, and an ultimate opportunity to all mankind to come into harmony with Him, the matter spread among them. Committees were sent to me to inquire if I could not stay longer, assuring me of audiences of the higher caste natives. They explained that as much as they appreciated the intelligence of the white man and his Christian religion, they could not receive it because it pictured a God so terrible and so unjust as to be repugnant to their minds.

"Why," said they, "our gods and our religion teach us to be kind, even to the dumb brutes, and to cause them no unnecessary pain. How, then, could we worship the God of the missionaries? They tell us that He has consigned our forefathers, from the remotest generation, to everlasting torture because they did not believe in Jesus, whose name is the only name by which any can be saved.

We cannot believe in so unjust a God. The slightest degree of justice would have obligated Him to send our forefathers the Message in no uncertain terms."

I felt it obligatory to apologize, not only for myself, but for all Christendom. I said: We Christians have erred. We neglected our Bible, and thus brought on the Dark Ages. Since then we have been trying to get nearer to the light as the days go by, and some of us have made a little more progress than others. I am preaching the God of the Bible, "the God of all grace, the Father of mercies," whose name is Love, and who is perfect in all His ways. Certain parables and symbolic phrases have been misunderstood, misapplied, mistranslated; and thus, while we had the best of intentions, the great Adversary, Satan, has kept Christendom considerably in the dark, and has led us to picture in our creeds a God who is fierce, unjust, unloving, unwise, and who is using His Power contrary to every principle of righteousness. Now the dawn of the New Age is about upon us. The thousand years of Christ’s Reign is shortly to begin. God is getting us ready for it by sending blessings of every kind.

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Furthermore, we see that we are in the Day of the Lord’s preparation, and His faithful people are finding a better light shining on the Bible, and are gradually coming to a better understanding of it. Cling to the Bible!

We are endeavoring to arrange so that yourselves and all people who are hungering for a God of Righteousness, Justice, Wisdom and Love may learn what the Bible really teaches.—Isa 40:8.

MISSIONARIES OPPOSE THE TRUTH

I am sorry to say that although the missionaries are free to confess that the conversion of the world is an absurd proposition, they are not ready for the Bible teaching on the subject. Although they know there are twice as many heathen today as there were one century ago, they are bound, fettered by their creeds. True, they are seeking federation, co-operation; but the co-operation includes only those who are colaboring to get the heathen to cast away his graven and molten images, and to take instead a written creed image that is worse. Of course, few of the missionaries believe in these creed idols themselves; but they were sent to foreign lands to put these fetters upon the poor heathens, and they are not at liberty to do otherwise than they have been instructed.

One would think that even then they would rejoice to have somebody else proclaim the Message of a God of Love, and one chance of salvation to every member of Adam’s race. But they do not; they oppose our teachings at every step. We cannot read their hearts; we must therefore imagine some of them are still fettered by the ignorance and superstition of the Dark Ages and are thoroughly conscientious in their endeavor to put these fetters on others, thinking thereby to do God service.

Others, we must assume, feel their responsibility in respect to the reports they will make to the home Boards of Foreign Missions. Their reports in the past have been colored to the very limit to show progress and to encourage contributions to the missionary funds. The

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very thought brings terror—that any of their followers would get more light, more knowledge of God, and thus cease to be counted in as worshipers at the shrine of the hideous creed idols of the various denominations.

Apparently for the past few years, missionary activity has been chiefly with the native children. Apparently very little religious information is being imparted. If only the missionaries had read the Bible to the people, many more in heathen lands would know about Messiah’s Kingdom and appreciate the import of the prayer, "Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth, as it is done in Heaven."

GOOD TIDINGS TO EVERY NATION

My visit to foreign lands was not a pleasure jaunt, but strictly in the interest of the true Gospel, of which the angels sang—"Good tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people." I had heard reports which led me to believe that there were sincere people in heathendom who were feeling after the true God, if haply they might find Him. I believe that God wishes us to carry the Message to these. I have far greater interest in such, whether at home or abroad, than in the vast majority of people, who are utterly careless, utterly indifferent, utterly faithless, and who do not wish to know God.

Christ’s Millennial Kingdom will deal with all such, and open their eyes of understanding, and through chastisements develop the peace of God in all who will. The present Age is merely for the electing of those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. Finding such in heathendom I, as President of the INTERNATIONAL BIBLE STUDENTS ASSOCIATION, promptly took the necessary steps for sending the Gospel of God’s Love and Justice and Wisdom and Power all over heathendom.

Our association has had sermons translated into the languages of Japan and Korea, and into the principal languages of China, and into the six principal languages of India; and millions of copies are in the hands of the

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people. Considerable fresh interest in Christianity has been aroused. Peoples in those lands who had begun to doubt everything religious have begun to take courage, and to think and study their Bible. If the missionaries could but catch the same spirit, what a blessed opportunity would be theirs! But, alas, not many of them are so inclined! Very generally they seem to be bitter, hostile, slanderous, doing everything in their power to oppose the light, even as Jesus declared that the darkness has always hated the light, because the light makes manifest, or shows up the darkness.—Joh 3:19-21.

HOW TO KNOW GOD

Jesus said, "This is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent." He knew we could not come into personal touch with the Almighty. He knew that we could learn respecting Him only through the Bible, as He said, "Sanctify them through Thy Truth; Thy Word is Truth." There is a difference between knowing about God and knowing God. The beginning of faith is to believe that there is a great Supreme Creator. It is another step to learn that He is wise and powerful, as indicated in the great Universe that He has made, and in our human organization with its wonderful powers for thought and action. Truly "There is a God— All Nature speaks!"

At first it may occur to some that knowledge of God simply means to come to know that there is a God, and that He has provided a Savior, His Only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. But the knowledge of God means far more than this. To the advanced and developing Christian it signifies an intimate acquaintance with the Father and with the Son—a knowledge of "the mind of Christ," which is a full and clear representation of the Father’s mind.—1Co 2:16.

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We grow in this knowledge by the study of the Word of God, by discerning through that Word the principles which govern the Divine conduct—as to how Divine Wisdom, Justice, Love and Power operate. These are progressive studies. Something may be learned along this line on the very first day of our Christian experience; but the end of the first year should show considerable progress in the knowledge of the Divine mind; and so to the end of the Christian’s course.

It is only as we realize something of the greatness and the perfection of the Divine character that we are properly able to estimate our own littleness and imperfection.

Only as we see the beauties of His gracious character can we become intimately acquainted with God, with His graces and virtues—His glorious attributes.

Then we come to investigate the more subtle qualities of the Divine Being, His Justice and Love. Who can imagine a real God who is devoid of Justice, devoid of Love? So surely as it is true that no human being could be really great without the qualities of justice and love, so surely is it true that there could be no real and great God without the same qualities. Wisdom and Power without Justice and Love would picture to us a demon, and not a God—not the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

But what can we know respecting God’s Justice and Love? We answer that there are two ways of ascertaining: The first way is to wait and see how His plans and arrangements will be ultimately carried out. If it is true of humanity that "by their fruits ye shall know them," the same must be true of the Almighty—by His fruits, His workmanship, finally completed, He may be known to be either good or bad, just or unjust, loving or vicious.—Mt 7:16.

The other way of knowing the Divine character, in advance of the finished work of God, would be along the lines of faith; and faith, in order to be intelligent, must

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have some basis or foundation. The Bible is God’s Message, to those who have the ears and eyes of faith. In it He tells us in advance what He purposes to do; and from what we thus hear we must determine whether He is just, loving and good, or whether worse than ourselves.

If the creed idols which we have been worshiping truly represent God, then the consummation of His Plan will be awful in the extreme—enough to make all creation shudder. It would mean thousands of millions in everlasting torture without the slightest hope of any glory coming to God, or of any good coming to the sufferers or to anybody else. The only purpose to be served by such torture would be the satisfaction of a devilish disposition to witness the torture of others. Is that creed idol which we have worshiped a real picture of the God of the Bible? We know that it is not.

The God of the Bible on the contrary declares that He has permitted the reign of Sin and Death, which is entirely just. He tells us that from among the sinners He will first gather out a saintly handful to be associates with their Savior and to participate with Him as members of His cabinet, or Kingdom, for the administration of the world’s affairs, to lift humanity up out of sin and degradation and death back to human perfection, and ultimately to destroy all of those who prefer sin when they shall be brought to a full appreciation of it.

The outcome of this Divine Plan of the Bible shows us a reclaimed humanity, in a world-wide Eden, blessed with a knowledge of God, and with experiences which will make them happy to all eternity. Our Lord tells us that then God’s will shall be done on earth, even as now it is done in Heaven; and that there will be no more sighing, crying and dying on earth, even as there is none in Heaven; and that every creature in Heaven and on earth will everlastingly praise the Creator and the Redeemer.

Hallelujah, such a Savior! Hallelujah, such a God!

SM451 PEACE DESIRED, WAR NECESSARY

[Washington, May 25, 1913]

"He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth....Be still and know that I am God."—Ps 46:9,10.

No one could be more averse to war, on general principles, than myself. I am an extremist in my sentiment for peace. Yet I cannot close my eyes to the facts of history—that practically every blessing has come to the world through war, at the cost of cruel bloodshed. Where would America be today had there been no War of Independence?

Where would the nations of Europe be today if they had not fought to maintain their national liberties?

Where would a refusal to fight land every nation in less than a year?

There is no conflict between this particular and common-sense view of the matter and the teachings of our Savior. Our Master was not addressing nations, but individuals, when He directed that he who is smitten on the one cheek should turn the other, and be non-resistant.

The instructions of Jesus were wholly and solely intended for His disciples, His followers. And they were instructed that they should come out from the world and be separate—a new nation, a holy nation. They were to expect to suffer persecution, even as did their Teacher. They had His personal promise that if they would thus suffer with Him for righteousness’ sake, their reward would be by and by in the Kingdom—then they should sit with Him in His Throne.—Re 3:21.

Jesus gave His followers no assurance that a peace policy would be successful and bring them earthly prosperity.

Quite to the contrary, the Scriptures declare that whosoever will live godly shall suffer persecution—yes, must expect to endure persecution, in order to thereby have his loyalty to God demonstrated prior to his acceptance

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to the Throne of his Redeemer. "If any man will be My disciple, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me."—Mt 16:24.

THE BEATITUDES NOT FOR NATIONS

When Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God," He was not addressing nations, but individuals—a special class of individuals—those who would become His disciples by a full renouncement of all earthly interests. The Redeemer’s declaration respecting nations was the very reverse of His statement respecting His followers. He declared, "Nation shall rise against nation," and there shall be wars.—Mt 24:6,7.

I fear that I shall be misunderstood; but there is so much confusion upon the subject that the Truth needs to be stated plainly. And I know of no place more appropriate for its statement than in this capital of the most peace-loving nation on earth—next to China.

The truth is that war is not the disease, but merely a symptom of the disease in the body politic and in the affairs of earth. So long as the disease continues, its outward manifestation, war, is bound to continue. Need I say to you that the disease to which I refer is sin? Sin and war are inseparable. There would be only two ways of inhibiting war:

(1) By converting the world of nations from a condition of hardness of heart, selfishness, sin, to a condition of righteousness, tenderness of heart, generosity; or,

(2) By the establishment of a government or power not swayed by sin, to supervise, overrule and control the affairs of the sinners by superior strength. Is this proposition debatable? It is not. Its basic facts are as sure as mathematics, as certain as that two and two make four.

Various scriptures may be cited corroborating this position, and showing that sin, selfishness, is continually on the warpath, either politically, socially or financially.

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The battle has been going on ever since man became a sinner. At one time this selfishness manifested itself in buccaneering, piracy, slavery. At another time policy changed and the leaders of men perceived that they could accomplish more by milder methods, along the lines of politics and ecclesiasticism. Again conditions changed; and the wise perceived that with the coming of mechanical inventions into the world’s affairs human slavery would be unprofitable, and that more could be accomplished with less responsibility by setting the slaves free, and making them work for their own living in competition with machinery. This course was followed.

Next came the era of financial combination, giant trusts and corporations controlling the destinies of the human family, from peasant to king. But with all these changes, war has gone on. It has merely changed its form, merely changed its weapons, merely changed its methods. The basis of all these wars is selfishness; and so long as selfishness continues, war will continue. Success will mean prosperity. Failure will mean oppression.

VARIOUS KINDS OF WAR

You see that I am not limiting warfare to naval engagements, nor to battles fought with guns and swords and charging steeds. I am including in the great warfare all the social, political and financial disturbances and conflicts. They are all battles in which the shrewder minds, as a rule, conquer. And now instead of earth’s war being ended, we see new conflicts begun from new quarters. Labor, having organized, is developing strength more and more each day. It is professedly training for a great conflict or battle. The battle is on; and it already has won some victories, and declares that its warfare against oppressors of every kind is only commencing.

The dull and stupid and ignorant of a century ago, by free schools and educational advantages, have become keen-eyed and keen-witted, and alert to grasp every possible

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advantage. Moreover, for a quarter of a century our great colleges have been undermining faith in the inspiration of the Bible, and their influence has extended finally to the masses. These are now declaring their doubts respecting a future life, and their determination that they will grasp at the earliest possible moment the opportunities of the present life, that they may share in the luxuries of the rich and make them common to all. If their program be half carried out, it means the most dreadful war ever known in the world’s history. The Bible describes it as "a Time of Trouble such as never was since there was a nation."—Da 12:1.

Since the spirit of war is the spirit of selfishness in action, it corroborates the thought that the world was never more strifeful than at present, never more on the alert for self-gratification; and although we have blessings beyond the dreams of any other day, discontent is more general than ever before and is goading mankind with increasing speed to the greatest of all conflicts.

So long as money has its value and political combinations can hold control, the social structure will remain intact and exercise itself, nation against nation, through fleets and armies. But as soon as the political and financial powers begin to crumble, the warfare will become anarchy, which the Scriptures describe as "every man’s hand against his neighbor."

WHAT IS THE REMEDY?

The leading minds of the world clearly recognize the matter as I have presented it. Only a smile of sympathetic pity greets the proposal of well-intentioned peace men, such as Andrew Carnegie. Not generally have inheritance taxes and income taxes been legalized by those who will suffer by their requirements. Not of good-will, but of necessity, have come many of the reforms of our day. They are concessions wisely made. They will doubtless be followed by still greater concessions, which

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also will be wise; yet all the concessions that can be made will not satisfy the appetite of the growing discontent.

Each concession of the favored classes to the masses is like throwing food to a pursuing pack of hungry wolves.

They stop to devour the advantage, but have their appetites thereby whetted for more.

Man’s only remedy is now too late. A complete turning of the hearts of men to God was much more nearly possible fifty years ago, when there was greater faith in the Bible, greater faith in an Almighty Creator. The Higher Critics have done their work well, destroying faith in the only Book for which Divine inspiration can be claimed. Education has done its part and commercialism its part, until the world is on fire with selfish ambition—desire for riches and luxuries—being desirous of obtaining them without cost to themselves.

THE CHRISTIAN’S GLORIOUS HOPE

The picture I am painting you, dear friends, would only harrow you and not be worth while, had I not a good Message of encouragement to give in offset. I will proceed to explain that God has foreknown the course of evil for the Six Great Days of earth’s history—six thousand years—and has prepared for the Great Seventh Day, which will also be a thousand years long. God describes it as the Day, or Epoch, in which Messiah upon the Throne will make all things new.

Many Scriptures may be quoted respecting the evidences of the night of sorrow and sin and strife, and the dawning of the new Day, in which righteousness will be enforced throughout the earth, not only by the word of the King, but by the Divine Power of His Kingdom. The words of the Prophets describing Messiah’s Kingdom as the "desire of all nations" give us the correct thought.

Other Scriptures show that the Time of Trouble now looming up as a cloud before mankind will be such a terrible storm of strife, bloodshed, trouble, that the world

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will have its fill and be nauseated. Thenceforth, under the guidance of the new administration of Messiah, the spirit of a sound mind will gradually come to mankind as a whole; and proportionately they will turn to Messiah’s Kingdom in loyal obedience, declaring, as says the Prophet, "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us." (Isa 25:9.) Rich and poor of every nation will gradually be made aware of the changed conditions, and all lovers of righteousness will rejoice.

So, then, dear friends, let us not be discouraged if the wars between nations continue or increase, if the strife—political, social, religious and financial—shall rage as never before. Let us think it not strange, but remember that all these are the motions and out-workings of the fallen human heart. The Bible intimates that God is about to give mankind an object lesson respecting the influence of selfishness—a lesson which they will never forget, and which will prove valuable to all eternity.

"BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS"

What we have said should in no way encourage anybody toward selfishness and strife, but to the contrary.

For those who can learn by instruction God’s Word is provided. He who closely follows the instruction of the Scriptures will receive a proportionate blessing. While the Bible is specially addressed to the few, the consecrated, who are the real peacemakers meant by Jesus when He declared, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God," nevertheless in proportion as others recognize the right principle—the principle of justice and mercy, sympathy and compassion—they will proportionately be in harmony with the great King, and proportionately shield themselves from a measure of the trouble of the great Day of Wrath, which is rapidly approaching.

We have only kind words for Mr. Carnegie and his fellows of the Peace Society. We merely forewarn that

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their well-meant plans can never carry out; for God is not favorable for peace at the present time and under present conditions. "There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked."—Isa 48:22.

This word wicked includes broadly the entire human family; for "there is none righteous, no, not one."

Only a comparatively small number have ceased to be wicked, from the Scriptural standpoint. The only ones justified in God’s sight are those who have gone the full length of the surrender of their hearts to the Redeemer.

These the Scriptures declare have escaped the condemnation that is on the world. These were once "children of wrath," even as all the others are children of wrath.

But alas, the number who have come fully into the family of God is indeed small! Not many have made a full surrender to the Lord. Not many have received Jesus as not only their Teacher but their Redeemer and Exemplar.

The majority, as the Apostle said, are still bound by the Wicked One—still blinded, still deaf in considerable measure, and cannot see afar off, nor appreciate fully the Divine arrangement.

These will have a terrible experience in the approaching Time of Trouble, because they will not understand how and why the Omnipotent Jehovah will allow the storm of human passion and strife to work such terrible havoc in the world—even as they do not understand why the same gracious Creator has permitted the storms and floods, earthquakes, pestilences and famines. The full and satisfactory understanding of these matters is designed to be granted by the Lord only to His faithful few—the disciples of Jesus. Of these He declares, "The secret of the Lord is with them that reverence Him; and He will show them His Covenant."—Ps 25:14.

We are not advocating the cause of any particular Christian denomination or earthly Church. From our viewpoint there is but one Church, which includes all recognized by the Lord as His people. We consider all

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such as brethren—whether Catholic or Protestant, black or white, old or young, male or female.

It should not be difficult to discern that the words of Jesus respecting the offering of the other cheek to the smiter could not be applicable to the world, even in a figurative way. Such counsel would be utterly impossible for a natural man to understand. God’s saintliest people have found great difficulty in observing this rule, even when its literalness is ignored and its spirit accepted as His teaching. All such we earnestly exhort to "follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord"—in the sense that none but such will experience the glorious change of the First Resurrection, and be made like the Master—of the spirit nature—and see Him "as He is"—in His glorious spirit condition.

The world will never see Him thus. As the Master declared, "Yet a little while, and the world seeth Me no more."—Joh 14:19.

The Lord’s followers, like Himself, are to be peculiar, and separate and distinct from the world—a New Creation.

They are to be so devoted to the teachings of their Master and so filled with His spirit of love for each other and for all mankind that they would suffer evil and injustice rather than do injury to others. Our Lord Himself was always peaceably disposed and a peacemaker as respects others; and so all of His followers are to be.

"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God."

I am waiting, hoping, praying For Messiah’s glorious reign, For I know He’ll rule in justice; Right and truth will triumph then.

Worldly pleasures cannot win me, While I wait for that bright day; Worldly splendor cannot charm me, While its light beams on my way.