GIFT 
 
 OF 
 
New Christian 
 System of Living 
 
 -OR- 
 
 BUNDANCE FOR ALL 
 
 WILLIAM KELLAWAY 
 
 i book that will receive more than passing 
 i. Its earnestness and aim are of the high- 
 id-hot against the selfishness that makes 
 r and wretched. But still better than that 
 way by which ALL can have enough to 
 every reasonable want a way to relieve 
 ess and establish an adequate livelihood 
 >rker. 
 
 Social System MUST appeal to every good 
 d woman. Surely we would see everybody 
 abundance for their needs, even as we 
 ame for ourselves. The New Christian 
 jving herein proposed is built upon mutual 
 ibor. Think if there can be a more ex- 
 iation. Reason says it must prove both 
 and enduring. 
 
 :e - One Dollar and Fifty Cents. 
 
 Address the Author, 
 t Third Street, Los Angeles, California. 
 

 GIFT OF 
 
 THE NEW 
 
 CHRISTIAN 
 
 SYSTEM 
 
 OF 
 LIVING 
 
 W. KELUWAY 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
The New Christian 
 
 System of Living 
 
 OR- 
 
 AN ABUNDANCE FOR ALL 
 
 BY WILLIAM KELLAWAY 
 
 This is a book that will receive more than passing 
 attention. Its earnestness and aim are of the high- 
 est. It is red-hot against the selfishness that makes 
 millions poor and wretched. But still better than that 
 it shows a way by which ALL can have enough to 
 supply their every reasonable want a way to relieve 
 present distress and establish an adequate livelihood 
 for every worker. 
 
 JTT Such a Social System MUST appeal to every good 
 ^J] man and woman. Surely we would see everybody 
 happy with abundance for their needs, even as we 
 crave the same for ourselves. The New Christian 
 System of Living herein proposed is built upon mutual 
 Love and Labor. Think if there can be a more ex- 
 cellent foundation. Reason says it must prove both 
 satisfactory and enduring. 
 
 Price - One Dollar and Fifty Cents. 
 
 Address the Author, 
 3 1 8 East Third Street, Los Angeles, California. 
 
bo 
 
 2 
 w 
 o 
 
 s 
 
 o 
 
 OF LIVING 
 
NEW CHRISTIAN SYSTEM OF LIVING 
 
The New 
 Christian System of Living 
 
 OR, 
 
 An Abundance for All 
 
 BY 
 WILLIAM KELLAWAY 
 
 (ELDER) 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR 
 
 318 East Third Street, Los Angeles, California 
 
 1917 
 
ACKNOWLEDGMENT 
 
 It is with genuine pleasure that I acknowledge 
 the encouragement given me by my beloved wife, 
 CLARA AUGUSTA, in the preparation of this vol- 
 ume. Perceiving that the Spirit of God was 
 upon me for the work, she very heartily sec- 
 onded me in the prosecution of my task, and now 
 shares with me the joy of its completion. We 
 mutually trust the book has a mission of bless- 
 ing for the world. 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 424543 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 Introduction i 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 An Associate Christian Life Possible 17 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Re-Birth to Brotherly Love Indispensable for 
 the Community Life 29 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Tears Over the Injustices and Distress of the 
 World 41 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Ministers Should Teach Business and Social 
 Righteousness 55 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Righteousness and Equality Demanded 67 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 The Primitive Church Communistic. 81 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 The Christian Church a New Nation 95 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Brotherliness in Business 109 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Protesting and Isolating the Grasper 123 
 
ii Contents 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Just Treatment of the Exploiter 137 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 The Predicted Age of Covetousness Come 153 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Selfishness and Ferocity as Signs of the End. . . 169 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 Beginning a New Community 187 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 Life in the Christian Community 199 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 Reasons for the Community Life 213 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 Domestic Conditions in Community 227 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 The Christian Community a Converting 
 
 Agency 241 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 Business that is Not Service of Bad Men 257 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 How it Feels to Be Poor 271 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 A Brotherly Emergency Fund 287 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 The Conversion of the Exploiter 301 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 God Requires Man's Love. . . 315 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 THIS is a holy book. It has been written under 
 an impulsion of the Spirit. The manuscript of nearly 
 a thousand pages was prepared in about forty days. 
 Many of the thoughts herein contained never oc- 
 curred to me before. Indeed, the remarkable thing 
 about this book is that it is nearly as new to me as 
 it will be to the reader. When I have read over a 
 chapter after completion it has seemed as though I 
 were reading the work of another. 
 
 And it is the work of Another. I did not premedi- 
 tate it. I laid out no plan of composition or arrange- 
 ment. But as I progressed, borne along by the spir- 
 itual Power, I put down what came to me to write. 
 Therefore, I feel I am only an amanuensis in its pro- 
 duction. It is new to me, after so many years of 
 authorship, to be thus so directly moved by God and 
 sustained by Him in prosecution of a task. In a 
 sentence, this book has truly been begun, continued 
 and ended in God. To some this may sound like fan- 
 aticism; but I am satisfied that nobody indwelt by 
 God will find herein a single fanatical paragraph, or 
 even line. It is far away from visionary. It is real- 
 istic, to the last word. 
 
 If anybody shall be disposed to criticize it as lack- 
 ing art, and being crude in part or as a whole, I 
 answer, this is not an art book. It was not composed 
 for men's admiration, to win their praise. It is an 
 unveiling, a message. Messages from God are not 
 meant to be models of composition. The work be- 
 longs to the Pauline account of his ambassadorial 
 visits. He says, he came not to those to whom he 
 
ii Introduction 
 
 was sent with elegancies or tricks of speech, where- 
 by the orator captivates his hearers and causes them 
 to laugh and cry, sympathize or rave, in turns. No, 
 no. Plainness is all I claim. God would have His 
 word understood. Understood to be obeyed. God 
 seeks obedience from man. If any line may seem 
 dark, I shall be glad to be given a chance to remove 
 the obscurity. 
 
 Now as to the substance of this book. It views 
 this world as very evil. It calls it a "damnably bad 
 world." Very strong words, I grant; but having 
 lived in it nearly seventy years I know it. And noth- 
 ing is gained by calling it good. Besides, it is not 
 the truth. Facts prove it is not. The economic and 
 industrial conditions of earth are all based upon 
 selfishness and greed. Of course, there are other 
 stones besides these at the base of society and mer- 
 cantile life ; but these are sufficient to mention here. 
 Any thinking man will allow that love of self and 
 covetousness are not very hopeful principles from 
 which to expect satisfactory conditions for mankind. 
 Therefore, it is no wonder that millions are poor and 
 cheerless, restless and resentful. There is a very 
 great and substantial grievance in the heart of the 
 toilers against the exploiters of the race, the rich 
 men who have everything. Great God ! how devilish 
 these creatures be! Men who can feast and lie 
 down on their beds at night satisfied, while millions 
 are empty in stomach and huddle together between 
 rags to keep up a little heat that they may not utterly 
 perish, have passed out of the class of humans, al- 
 though bipeds and with the features of man. This 
 book speaks of them in epithets as strong as those 
 used by Christ against the Pharisees. Why not? 
 The miscreants deserve every bad word in the dic- 
 tionary that describes them, whether they have 
 church affiliation or are openly irreligious. 
 
Introduction iii 
 
 This book, too, rebukes the churches that coddle 
 the bad men for the money they can get out of 
 them. If they were good they would say to the money- 
 stealer, under cover of business: "Thy money go 
 to perdition [hell] with thee." It will ; and there are 
 unmistakable signs that it will not be long before the 
 exploiter and his badly gotten gain will together go 
 into the fire. 
 
 But the greatest service which this book renders 
 is that it gives a sketch of a new system of living 
 together, founded upon love. Really, it is not new; 
 it is the old, the first way Christians dwelt together, 
 slightly modified to suit the changed civil conditions. 
 For the converted it is entirely practical. But, alas ! 
 there are few converted. Most persons, while look- 
 ing toward the Zoar of safety, face about and look 
 back to Sodom. Their heart is there, because their 
 material possessions are there. Surely they are not 
 fit for the Kingdom of God. And the unfit will never 
 enter therein. They may as well know it now. Here 
 they are fearlessly told the truth. 
 
 The end sought is the re-establishment of the early 
 Community System, based upon a covenant of mu- 
 tual love and support. It is shown that if the Broth- 
 erhood will once for all give up private interest as 
 the end of life, and put what they have together and 
 co-operate in work, everybody will have enough, even 
 to plenty ; all will be relieved of worry and care ; all 
 risk of losses will be gone; poverty will be ended; 
 and the Christian Community will be a gloriously 
 converting agency. Which may God grant for the 
 church's and the world's sakes, but chiefly for His 
 own pleasure and glory. 
 
 WILLIAM KELLAWAY. 
 
N. B. I invite correspondence from all earnest 
 readers upon the subject of this treatise, with state- 
 ment of difficulties and presentation of questions, for 
 answer in following editions, or treatment, if too 
 lengthy, in a separate volume. 
 
The New Christian System of Living 
 
 OR, 
 AN ABUNDANCE FOR ALL 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 An Associate Christian Life Possible 
 
 "IT can't be done. What you propose is beauti- 
 ful indeed, and would bring supply and satisfaction 
 to all, but it can't be done ; hence, it is waste of time 
 to talk any more about it." 
 
 "John, John! and you among the canters! How 
 much better to be of the willers and the doers !" 
 
 "Yes, where a thing is possible; but I say this is 
 unattainable, an impossibility, and it is vain to con- 
 sider it further." 
 
 "That is what is said of everything until it is 
 done; then it seems strange that it was not always 
 thought of as practicable." 
 
 "I know, Dad, you are good-hearted, and always 
 thinking up and doing something to relieve people 
 and give them pleasure ; but positively, a Community 
 dwelling together in brotherly love, working for each 
 other, with plenty for everyone, is too heavenly 
 for this old world of ours. Nobody would like to 
 see such a state more than I, but really it never 
 can be." 
 
 "John, do you remember it was but a short time 
 ago when men spoke of flying, and how it was 
 
18 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 ridiculed? Birds might fly, but not men. Heavier- 
 than-air bodies could never be as the slight beautiful 
 creatures that cleave the ether. The law of gravita- 
 tion would pull them down ; or, rather, prevent their 
 ascent. But, lo! they do fly! And such monsters, 
 too! Why, I saw in the papers that the latest air- 
 ships are 770 feet long ! Think of it ! And so heavy 
 hundreds of tons ! And I read the speed of some 
 of them is above a hundred miles an hour ! But men 
 said it could not be done; sky-flying would not be 
 a success. But now aerial boats are even carriers of 
 passengers and freight! After this, who dare say 
 that anything is impossible to be done." 
 
 "Yes, I do remember when flying was first 
 broached. I can remember that in conversation every- 
 where it was said the proposers of airships were 
 'crazy' gone daft ; and it is amazing to see to what 
 perfection aviation has been brought." 
 
 "Talking of 'crazy/ John, I had a little experience 
 along that line with Big Business lately. It was a 
 lumber concern, one of the merciless corporations of 
 our day a concern that in cold-blooded cruelty 
 cannot be exceeded." 
 
 "Alas ! there are hundreds of such concerns ; mon- 
 sters that bring together their teeth upon the unfor- 
 tunates whose heads come between their jaws." 
 
 "Well, I told this concern the sort of people they 
 were, and applied to them the proper epithets; and 
 they were so astonished to hear anybody talk up 
 Justice and Goodness to them that they intimated 
 that my 'nut* must have a little crack in it, and that 
 I was a subject for examination by a lunacy com- 
 mission." 
 
 "Didn't that scare you, and make you shut up ?" 
 
 "John!" 
 
 "Well, facing an asylum is not a very cheerful 
 prospect." 
 
An Associate Christian Life Possible 19 
 
 "Ha, ha! The suggestion that /, with such a 
 steady, reliable old brain, whose mental grip is de- 
 cision and firmness themselves, should be thought of 
 as non compos mentis, amused me in the highest. I 
 had to laugh almost a riproarious laugh. 'Let them 
 send along their commissioners/ I said, with scorn. 
 No streak of insanity or delusion was ever found in 
 our family, and the suggestion was ridiculous." 
 
 "Well, I grant that many things that have been 
 held impossible have a little while later become part 
 of the common things of life." 
 
 "Truly; and to mention but one more, Sir Thomas 
 More of England, about three centuries ago, wrote a 
 book on a Social system that he conceived of as a true 
 Commonwealth. People smiled with incredulity at 
 the dream ever becoming anything more solid. But 
 since then one idea after another of Sir Thomas' 
 brain, from being a flimsy creation of the imagina- 
 tion, has been incorporated into the governments of 
 the world, and is in existence to-day de facto. Why, 
 it was once enough to say of any scheme, to smirch 
 it and cause its abandonment, that it was 'utopian' 
 that was its death-blow." 
 
 "Well, what you have said is sufficient as illustra- 
 tion, to show that what is judged impossible some- 
 times happens or comes to be ; but you know in logic 
 illustration is not proof of a specific proposition be- 
 ing true. That is to say, proof that your noble and 
 remedial plan to end anxiety and want can succeed." 
 
 "I allow it. I know I have not as yet given rea- 
 sons that it is possible, by a simple method, to bring 
 poverty and solicitude to an end ; nor have I demon- 
 strated its reality in a Community of working 
 brothers; but as truly as sin is curable, so also is 
 poverty. Not in everybody, but in everybody who 
 will take the course that brings to the goal. I will 
 give reasons later ; and if I am co-operated with, will 
 
20 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 show in a Social fellowship that what I claim is a 
 possibility such a possibility as will cause count- 
 less thousands to lift up their voices to Heaven to- 
 gether in paeans of gratitude and praise. But, really, 
 did you ever think closely as to possibility and im- 
 possibility what can or cannot be done, or brought 
 into being?" 
 
 "No, I cannot say that I have studied the matter. 
 I speak only from first impression, from considera- 
 tions that are present to my mind at this moment. 
 Maybe there is nothing to them of real unsurmount- 
 able difficulty ; but still I am of the opinion, as I now 
 view the matter, that desirable as a partnership may 
 be among men in which all shall be beneficiaries, 
 first, to the extent of their actual necessities, and 
 next, to participation in comforts and even 'extras/ 
 it can never be. But if you will tell me how you look 
 at it I shall gladly hear, that I may know the rea- 
 sons which make you so sanguine or optimistic, 
 shall I say? of rendering service that would be of 
 inestimable good." 
 
 "John, you credit me with optimism a hopeful 
 outlook. Why, that is nothing to it. I even see you 
 an active member of such a Society ! and an enthus- 
 iast in spreading the beneficial plan! Yes, you, 
 John you! I can see plainly the three stages of 
 your conversion: First, an unbeliever, incredulous 
 of so great a reformation or more correctly revolu- 
 tion ; Second, a willing hearer of the doctrine ; Third, 
 a convinced brother, saying, 'Arise, and let us 
 build !' It delights me greatly. In the Revised Ver- 
 sion of the New Testament we are commanded to 
 be 'despairing of no man/ And I certainly do not 
 despair of you" 
 
 "You are ahead of me, in your zeal; but I will 
 justify your conversion stages so far as to admit that 
 Number One is correct: I think your shall I say 
 
An Associate Christian Life Possible 21 
 
 Utopian? vision cannot materialize; Second, I will 
 go farther and hear what you have to say out of your 
 own assurance ; but Third, I make no promise of co- 
 operation with you in your work, without persuasion 
 of its feasibility. The essential Tightness of it I 
 cannot deny, that each should stand by his brother 
 for the supply and safety of all." 
 
 "John, what makes impossibility to do a thing? I 
 will answer my own question and ask you to criti- 
 cise it. As I see it, impossibility exists: 1, when 
 a thing is beyond our capacity; 2, when, having 
 capacity, we lack the will to do it, or have an oppo- 
 site mind; 3, when there is present in our moral 
 nature a defect that is non-sympathetic, non-con- 
 genial." 
 
 "Those reasons appear to be right, upon the face. 
 But I desire to take the place of a learner, and would 
 rather you would do the talking." 
 
 "Be it so. Now, let us examine these reasons and 
 see if they exist in prevention of a new Society 
 among Christians; for I would have you recollect 
 that I have only claimed it as a condition for Chris- 
 tian living together of course, not excluding any- 
 body who will agree to abide by the same rules. Do 
 not think of it as a close Society, an exclusive body ; 
 it would open its doors and arms to everybody seek- 
 ing its fellowship and willing to be governed by the 
 laws of Christ and yielding to His Spirit's impul- 
 sions." 
 
 "I will make a note of it, that you are now speak- 
 ing of a System founded on Christianity, and pro- 
 posed for disciples of its Head and others willing to 
 be subject to His rules." 
 
 "I said, the first thing that makes anything impos- 
 sible is lack of capacity. And can any say that men 
 cannot work together for a particular purpose and 
 end? Surely, they can. Christian men can follow 
 
22 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 their various trades and occupations, as they are 
 doing every day. They are destitute neither of skill, 
 strength, nor aptitude the three essentials of labor. 
 They can work in co-operation ; they do it now, un- 
 der the 'hire' system. They can also work for their 
 mutual benefit, as they now work for a contractor's 
 or an owner's gain. There is nothing about these 
 things but what can be done. Capability is commen- 
 surate with any and every demand for the partner- 
 ship life." 
 
 "Yes, what you say about the getting-together 
 plan, and each taking his part according to his quali- 
 fication, is so self-evident that the life you suggest is 
 not only possible, but, as you say, is being exemplified 
 every day before our eyes. I cannot deny the possi- 
 bility of group-working because of natural inca- 
 pacity." 
 
 "But now, capacity to begin, carry on and com- 
 plete any job that is undertaken in mutuality and for 
 the profit of all being established, there comes the 
 next affirmation, that a thing is impossible when, 
 having capacity, we are without the will to do it, and 
 are even hostile towards its performance. It is a ques- 
 tion of will. That is the question of all questions. 
 We do nothing without will. We may not take notice 
 of the fact, but will, decision for action, is root and 
 cause of every movement. Take the commonest 
 things of life our everyday acts. We arise from 
 our bed, wash, dress, read the Bible and pray (if 
 we are religious) , eat our breakfast, leave home for 
 our work, do all our labor, return home, etc., all by 
 willing to do so. Question : Is it impossible for a man 
 to will to extend the unity of his love and fellowship 
 in Christ with his brother to the inclusion of secular 
 work? Can he not will to complete this God-created 
 unity and decide to co-operate with his fellow Chris- 
 tian in labor, to sink or swim with him? Of course, 
 
An Associate Christian Life Possible 23 
 
 he can. There is nothing that can be master of will 
 but the man himself. An individual can be influ- 
 enced, persuaded and so forth ; and he can by choice 
 of will, if he is sufficiently Christian, co-operate in 
 labor on the basis of love of the brotherhood." 
 
 "It is true, if a man wills to be part of such a 
 System, and live his life by such principles and rules, 
 he can do it, as you say. But will he?" 
 
 "That is another question, which I will allude to 
 hereafter. The only question now is, whether it is 
 possible for him to decide on such a relation in 
 earthly business; and you have agreed that it is 
 wholly within his power thus to act." 
 
 "Yes, will is exercisable in the way of a man's 
 predilections ; he can will to be a Communal fellow- 
 worker or otherwise if he choose. Disposition for, 
 as against, is his." 
 
 "The third note of impossibility is a real one 
 unless a man can be changed ; and I grant it is stub- 
 born to combat, and one that can only be over- 
 come by a new spirit received from above. That is 
 why I do not speak of the Christian System as uni- 
 versally applicable. It is only a solution of distress- 
 ing world problems so far as men can receive it to 
 act upon it. But mankind as a whole, the race in its 
 entirety, has been corrupted by Satan (I accept the 
 Bible statement of the Fall, in Genesis, as true). 
 The depravation of the wicked one has affected in 
 greater or lesser measure every human being. His 
 first depravation was to beget covetousness in man. 
 The beginning of covetousness was in the Garden of 
 Eden; the end of it will be in hell (Gehenna) fire. 
 Eve was content with approach to the fruit-bearing 
 trees of Paradise till Satan directed her attention to 
 the one forbidden tree. Then she saw the fruit, that 
 it looked luscious; desire to taste it (covetousness) 
 arose within her; she plucked, and ate; and knew 
 
24 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 'good', alas ! as departed, lost ; and 'evil/ as a sinner, 
 a guilty rebel. This covetousness is in all. In some 
 it is continually present as a working principle, 
 swallowing up every other incentive to action. It 
 is impossible for such a covetous person to be a mem- 
 ber of a Christian Brotherhood founded on love and 
 looking every man on his brother's, rather than his 
 own, wealth." 
 
 "I have listened to you so far on this important 
 matter with great interest. Do you know that 
 writers on Sociology all, so far as my reading ex- 
 tends base their rejection of a co-operative, frater- 
 nal System, such as you describe, on this very 
 ground? They call it an 'imperfection of human 
 nature/ a 'defect of humanity/ and so forth; and 
 admit, that were it not for this 'defect* (you call it 
 'Satanic depravation') men could live together in an 
 ideal and blessed Commonwealth, being helpers, in- 
 stead of devourers, one of another, as at present. 
 This moral imperfection they claim makes it impos- 
 sible." 
 
 "I have noticed the reason given for non-frater- 
 nity between men ; and that with one consent writers 
 say that the pivot of the world's actions is selfish- 
 ness, called by some a moral imperfection or defect, 
 a defect of humanity (0 that all men moved upon 
 the jewel of Love!). Indeed, I am now reading a 
 book by an able author, Amos Kidder Fiske, that says 
 this very thing. Its title is very attractive, 'Honest 
 Business : Right Conduct for Organizations of Capi- 
 tal and Labor.' Repeatedly Mr. Fiske recurs to this 
 fact of selfishness as part of man's make-up, and 
 claims that the economic crimes of the world are but 
 phases of this 'instinct' (as he calls it). Would you 
 like me to make a few quotations from his book on 
 the subject?" 
 
 "I should; because I want to get at the true in- 
 
An Associate Christian Life Possible 25 
 
 wardness of man's alienation from man ; the real rea- 
 son why he will not pull with his brother instead of 
 working against him. If I can settle that, it will 
 help me greatly. Then, too, I can do my part to 
 eradicate it, or cure it, or whatever term you may 
 choose to employ to signify its extermination." 
 
 "I am glad, John, that we can thus investigate to- 
 gether. Mr. Fiske quotes in one place the known 
 lines, which he calls the 'Rob Roy doctrine' 
 
 'The good old rule 
 Sufficeth them the simple plan, 
 That they should take who have the power, 
 And they should keep who can.' 
 
 "He calls selfishness 'the economic principle/ He 
 affirms, 'men have one controlling motive, which has 
 its dogmas and variations ; they are naturally selfish.' 
 He works it out, that in all business relations that 
 are evil, and by which men suffer, selfishness is the 
 cause. But he holds, also, that there is a kind of 
 selfishness from which good proceeds. We think, 
 however, selfishness is not the right word to name 
 the fountain of goodness ; for love of self is reckoned 
 by God in Scripture to be wicked understood, of 
 course, that self is the object for whom all actions 
 are performed and all interest sought." 
 
 "Please let me break in upon you to say, as I un- 
 derstand selfishness, it is doing things chiefly or alto- 
 gether for one's own self." 
 
 "That also is my apprehension of the term that 
 others' rights and interests are entirely out of sight 
 with him who is selfish, or so little regarded as to be 
 practically nil. But now let us hear some things 
 that Mr. Fiske says about the selfish instinct the 
 greedy, grasping element in man, the low, brute prin- 
 ciple. He calls it 'primal' ; and it is in the depraved 
 victim of Satan, fallen from his original excellence. 
 
26 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 It is a propensity as truly of the evil one as love is of 
 God." 
 
 "Yes, that is the significance from common usage." 
 
 "Mr. Fiske talks of 'the continual struggle of sel- 
 fish instincts, the use of every faculty and power for 
 self -gratification' ; 'the policy of selfish competition 
 (which) makes some rich and powerful and many 
 poor and feeble it causes much enjoyment and more 
 suffering'; 'cold-blooded economics, taught as a 
 science ; the benefit of some at the expense of others' ; 
 'striving to "make money" or get wealth a defi- 
 ciency of the ethical motive and of the moral sense' ; 
 'human selfishness ... is essentially unmoral.' 
 He says, to save from this selfishness, 'appeal must 
 be made to the altruistic side of human nature, to 
 the moral sense, and this must get the better of 
 selfish instincts, and establish a reign of conscience 
 as well as reason' ; and in a strong passage declares, 
 'the policy of unbridled selfishness, with its attendant 
 derelictions of conduct, sacrifices to the immediate 
 gain of the grasping few the lasting benefit of the 
 many, the safety of the Community, and the per- 
 petuity of the State and Nation.' He charges selfish- 
 ness against both capital and labor, capital being by 
 far the greatest sinner; and names it as the cause 
 of the eternal strife between employers and em- 
 ployed. We have marked sixty-one pages in which 
 he directly or indirectly deals with this 'defective 
 moral sense'." 
 
 "It is clear to me, after listening to you, that sel- 
 fishness, begetting covetousness and greed in the 
 hearts of men, with unwillingness to render to others 
 their rights and dues, and even exploiting them for 
 self-enrichment, is what prevents solidarity, keeping 
 mankind in separation from each other." 
 
 "John, this selfishness, this unsocial principle in 
 men. this passion to get and to hold in one's own 
 
An Associate Christian Life Possible 27 
 
 name, for one's own use and enjoyment, to the ex- 
 clusion of the rest of the family, the family inheri- 
 tance and the wealth thereof, is a damnable sin the 
 greatest on earth next to denial of the God above, 
 atheism, and the rejection of His mercy in Christ. 
 This is the core of unfraternity, avariciousness and 
 hatred. The personal and private indulgences and 
 infirmities, as drunkenness, etc., though great and 
 harmful vices, are as peccadillos in comparison. 
 frightful selfishness, forever grinding up the world 
 of men ! One time a number of estimable ladies of 
 the W. C. T. U. came to me with the question: 
 Which is the greatest social evil?' I knew they ex- 
 pected me to answer, 'the manufacture and sale of 
 intoxicating liquors/ But I felt that I must reply, 
 that for extent and injury, common selfishness led 
 the van. It is the parent of so much worry in all de- 
 partments and inclusive of so many evils. This sel- 
 fishness is an effectual disqualifier for brotherly 
 dwelling together and spending for mutual susten- 
 ance. Co-operative action for supply of common 
 needs would never satisfy a selfish person ; he would 
 be an 'undesirable citizen* of a Theocratic Common- 
 wealth. He would make discord in a heavenly State 
 on earth a state of love in deed and in truth." 
 
 "I see now why it is that co-operative communities 
 have not worked ; why they have been failures. The 
 seed of discontent from dissatisfied, because selfish, 
 men have broken them up. Some, in covetousness, 
 have wanted more than enough. But I also see, that 
 given the right kind of men, a co-operative Brother- 
 hood would be a success." 
 
 "That is precisely it. The failure has been in the 
 constituency. What has brought them together has 
 not been reciprocal love love that 'seeketh not her 
 own* ; love that is beneficent and that Vorketh good 
 to one's neighbor,' Given such membership, a group 
 
28 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 committed by covenant to each other could not fail of 
 success in an Associate condition. The impossible 
 through selfishness would be possible through the de- 
 votion of love. Mutual love is a sure basis for an 
 industrial life that would be good to all." 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Re-Birth to Brotherly Love, Indispensable for 
 the Community Life 
 
 " 'YOUR plan of living would be a success if all men 
 had the same regard for others as they have for 
 themselves, but, sad to say, they have not. It depends 
 wholly upon their being born again' so said a man 
 to me to whom I had spoken about the new and 
 better life of mutual care and help. John, he was 
 right. A man must be born again for qualification 
 and willingness to enter upon and live the Social life 
 of beneficial service. Should one come into Com- 
 munity without first being re-begotten he would be 
 an inharmonious and disruptive unit : his old selfish- 
 ness would cause trouble and break up the concord 
 of the holy Brotherhood." 
 
 "I agree with you, that being born again is a neces- 
 sary pre-requisite and an essential element of a per- 
 manent Collective life. As Jesus said: 'Except a 
 man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom 
 of God' the Theocracy, either now in this world, or 
 hereafter in the Regeneration." 
 
 "O John ! to become a new man, different from and 
 even the contrast of one's old self I repeat it, to be- 
 come such a man, is indispensable to the new Chris- 
 tian system of living. Other systems that I have in- 
 vestigated, while they hold that mankind must under- 
 go a great change to ensure to all a happy, because 
 
30 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 just, earthly existence, do not base it upon regenera- 
 tion birth of God. Some look for it through nat- 
 ural evolution ; by which, they say, the race will keep 
 on progressing, or rising, until it reaches perfection. 
 Others aver, that experience of suffering of evil 
 through adopting bad rules and following evil cus- 
 toms will in time drive men to choose the good and 
 eliminate the bad bad by proof. And there are yet 
 more who teach that man is dual, that he has a higher 
 and a lower nature, spiritual and animal, and that 
 the assertion of his spiritual nature is his hope of 
 final escape from the grossness and selfishness of the 
 flesh. But, not being a naturist, nor an evolutionist, 
 I regard not man as the source of his own redemp- 
 tion ; no more so than of his original creation. With 
 the Sacred Scriptures for my rule, regeneration, by 
 the Spirit of God, through the Word of God, received 
 into one's understanding and confidence and yielded 
 to in one's life, is the only way of escape, as it is 
 the only hope and consolation for the race." 
 
 "I am delighted to hear that word 'regeneration' ; 
 it used to be very common, but I am sorry to say it 
 is rarely mentioned in our time." 
 
 "True, for our age is not the age of God, nor of His 
 government. He does not have the say among the 
 children of men. Subjection to His will is far from 
 the thoughts of the masses. A new start from Him, 
 and an after life sustained by Him, is a new origin 
 and creaturehood generally undreampt of. 0, by the 
 way, speaking of Government how many sorts have 
 been tried by men! and what frightful control our 
 earth is under in this present year of grace, 1917! 
 We have experimented with autocracy, aristocracy, 
 plutocracy, democracy; and to-day most dreadful 
 of all, frightful beyond precedent demonocracy, the 
 sway of harmful spirits. For it is irrefutable that 
 the nations of the world, plunged into such deadly 
 
Birth to Brotherly Love Indispensable 31 
 
 hate as now rages, and guilty of such atrocious deeds 
 as are daily being registered, are under the inspira- 
 tion and are working out the doctrines of fallen 
 spirits, who have come down into the earth from the 
 aerial realm, and, possessing congenial (bad) men, 
 are active in every fiendish enormity. But let me 
 blow upon the trumpet a joy-note there is coming 
 another Kratos 'cracy' if you like as the universal 
 ruling power or government, and it is even now here 
 in part among men propense to righteousness; it is 
 the Theocracy, the rule of God. For its arrival in all- 
 comprehensive glory how fervently does every one 
 who has even partial conception of its blessedness 
 pray, saying : 'Our Father, which art in heaven, hal- 
 lowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will 
 be done on earth even as it is done in heaven . . . 
 For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the 
 glory for ever/ It only awaits the coming of the 
 King for its materialization." 
 
 "Dear Dad! seeing the oppression, mischief and 
 heartlessness of all earthly governments, together 
 with the harm suffered through the moral deprava- 
 tion of individuals, in civil, in business and in private 
 life, I join you heartily in welcome to the rule of 
 Heaven. Hail to the kingdom of God, the blessed 
 Theocracy ! Hail to King Jesus, who comes to reign 
 in righteousness upon the earth!" 
 
 "Son, did you know Mr. Benjamin Fay Mills, now 
 deceased, ex-evangelist and Socialist reformer? For 
 years he denied redemption by the shed blood of 
 Jesus, the Lamb of God, and other fundamentals of 
 the evangelical faith. During his apostasy he tried 
 human systems of reform human in conception, ap- 
 plication and spirit. He found them all failures as 
 correctives of the world's evils; for they did not 
 reach and change the heart. God granted him at 
 the last the grace of repentance; he came back and 
 
32 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 asked forgiveness and reception again into the fold 
 of Christ. And this is the reason he gave for re- 
 turn, that experience had shown him that the Church 
 of the Lord Jesus is the only regenerative institution 
 there is in the world the only Society containing 
 converting and transforming power. The Gospel, 
 believed, is that power. The Gospel is not a system 
 of ethics or moral rules (although its precepts and 
 commandments are highest ethics), but an an- 
 nouncement or message of salvation and transforma- 
 tion through grace; which is the most constraining 
 and converting power known. 'By grace/ says the 
 Apostle Paul, 'are ye saved, through faith' that is, 
 belief of the Gospel, the story of God's love in Christ 
 for sinners, ourselves, and His provision for their, 
 our, delivererance. Would you have me speak to you 
 about the new birth, or the being born again? It 
 has vital and inseparable relation to Sociology, as 
 well as to a part in the coming Restoration of the 
 Universe to God? 
 
 "Nothing would be more pleasing, dear Dad." 
 "Well, my son, knowing what it really is to be 
 born again, I testify to you (and praise be to God 
 you are able to confirm my testimony) , that it is the 
 greatest event of life, an experience the most radi- 
 cal and satisfactory a man can know. It is so altera- 
 tive that one is to himself, his neighbors and his God 
 a different being 'turned into another man/ The 
 same, and not the same. And considering one's new 
 self with the self of the past, there is created mingled 
 marvel and gladness. One feels to say without mis- 
 giving or hesitancy: 'I must be, and I really am a 
 child of God.' He can look up into God's face and 
 say 'My Father !' The feeling of assurance is based 
 upon the fact of new spiritual creaturehood, per- 
 ceived in one's own personality. A Begetter is real- 
 ized, and that Begetter not the Wicked One. 'Ye are 
 
Birth to Brotherly Love Indispensable 33 
 
 of your father the devil/ said Christ to the covetous, 
 unsocial, wicked Pharisees. Your parentage, you 
 are sure, is not the devil; for your approvals, emo- 
 tions and actions are anti-devil and pro-God and 
 goodness. O who would not be born again? Who 
 would not have in himself the principles of love and 
 righteousness and peace! the principles that are so 
 wonderful for blessing to the world! Not more 
 clearly are the outside things of the world perceived 
 by the eye, than the inside things of the heart by 
 the vision of the soul. The lion is seen a lamb ; the 
 covetous man a giver; the selfish man a philanthro- 
 pist. All this, and much more, is true true in fact 
 and in consciousness of the man who is born 
 again." 
 
 "And yet, Dad, with religious people generally the 
 new birth is such a mystery, and discourse about it 
 so vague, that a person of ordinary intelligence can- 
 not grasp it to know what it is, and sighs in vain to 
 be the new creature it represents." 
 
 "John, it is true; painfully true. In exuberance 
 of spirit, I once congratulated a Calvinist minister 
 that being born again he was a son of God. To my 
 astonishment and how it shocked me! he replied, 
 he did not know that it was so with him, although 
 he hoped it. I could not but answer him: 'What! 
 you a minister and not know that you have been born 
 again ! A man a child of God and not know it ! You 
 know yourself; and hence must, cannot help know- 
 ing if you are of God, begotten of Him, His child/ 
 Ah, John ! every child of God has the witness in him- 
 self. He knows he is God's workmanship, created 
 anew in Christ Jesus unto good works. He knows 
 the ruling, actuating spirit within him. He sees 
 how he is fruiting into what works. If anything 
 is to him a fact it is his own personal regeneration. 
 Hope it? No, a thousand times no! God-features, 
 
34 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 God-likeness is the end of mere hoping: it is the 
 stamp of one's Divine origin and nature." 
 
 "I think, Dad, the old Calvinist doctrine has stum- 
 bled many, or at least involved them in confusion. 
 With a Calvinist, the new birth is the act of God's 
 Spirit immediately upon the human spirit, independ- 
 ent of the will of the man; a sovereign act, and of 
 selection (election) alone as to its subjects. All that 
 a man can do is to wait and hope that he may be one 
 of the lucky men of Divine choice. If he does not 
 have some particular experience or feeling revela- 
 tion or emotion the probability is that God has 
 passed him by; if he is deeply affected toward God, 
 the probability is that he is a son of God. But no 
 man can be sure; hence no man can have positive 
 standing and satisfaction that he is God's child. It 
 is a very pernicious doctrine. It makes doubtful 
 what is most evident. It has not the right rule, or 
 rather rules, of determination of the vital matter of 
 new creaturehood." 
 
 "My son, a man should have no difficulty about the 
 new birth called also born of God, begotten of God, 
 born of the Spirit, born again, born from above. All 
 the phrases agree that it is a birth. The source of it 
 is given God. The quickening power is named the 
 Spirit. It is said to be second in order the first 
 being from our earthly parents, the will of man, the 
 fleshly passion. We are told also in another place 
 of the instrumentality the Word of God, the Gos- 
 pel ; which is called the 'seed' of this new being." 
 
 "Can you shed any light on the phrase 'born 
 again'? 
 
 "Yes, I can. It was not a new expression with the 
 men of Christ's time, although uncomprehended by 
 Nicodemus, who took it literally as meaning issuing 
 forth a second time from the womb; and he there- 
 fore asked how it was possible for a man to return 
 
Birth to Brotherly Love Indispensable 35 
 
 to whence he first came and emerge again into 
 the world. Among the ancients, when a boy became 
 a pupil of some philosopher, he was conceived and 
 spoken of, figuratively, of course, as born again. He 
 commenced life again, took a new start, had a new 
 beginning as an infant sage. Now, not merely a 
 man, he starts, is born a child of wisdom, to learn, 
 practise, and later to teach, the system of his master. 
 The name of the first book of the Bible is Genesis; 
 which means birth, or beginning. It records the be- 
 ginning of the world, the beginning of man, the be- 
 ginning of all the creatures, the beginning of vege- 
 table and plant life, the beginning of nations, the 
 beginning of governments, etc. Born again, as I use 
 the phrase, simply means that the man who had a be- 
 ginning in which he shared the nature of his par- 
 ents, comes to another beginning, a new existence, 
 by which he partakes of the spiritual nature of his 
 second-time Father, God. It is easy to see that a 
 man who has a physical frame, with qualities mental, 
 emotional and moral that belong to it and are prop- 
 erly its own, who has deteriorated, being depraved 
 by Satan and sin, may be re-begotten by God, and so 
 become His son in an additional sense to that of 
 original creation. It is easy to see, if this never 
 takes place, he will never be a different and better 
 man than what he is. But it is further as easy to 
 see that such difference is a possibility that he can 
 be born again, become spiritual, partake of the per- 
 fections of God moral in this life and substantive 
 in the resurrection. This is to be born again." 
 
 "But is not the Calvinist right, that, as in nature 
 so in grace, being is determined solely by the will 
 of the sire, independent of every creature ?" 
 
 "John, it is not so in nature, nor is it so in grace. 
 Besides we must remember, that a figure, like a 
 parable, is not to be stretched to all the circum- 
 
36 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 stances of the figure, but only to the one or more 
 points for which it is used by way of illustration. 
 So misused, the Parable of the Lost Sheep could be 
 made to prove universal salvation, instead of the 
 great solicitude and love of a shepherd for a single 
 lost sheep. A new beginning, a beginning again, to 
 live unto God, as His son, in faith, righteousness 
 and love, is its obvious meaning. And God has such 
 sons. They are 'of God' in an additional sense to 
 that in which it is said of the whole human family, 
 'We are all the offspring of God/ And whosoever 
 will, not in opposition to God's will but in agreement 
 with it, can become a child of God, a son of God ; can 
 have a new start in righteousness ; can manifest his 
 parentage as from above." 
 
 "Will you explain, dear Dad, how this can be?" 
 
 "Gladly. An Apostle says : 
 
 'Ye have purified your souls in obeying the 
 truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of 
 the brethren . . . being born again, not of 
 corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the 
 Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 
 . . . And this is the word which by the Gos- 
 pel is preached unto you.' And again: 
 
 " 'Of His [God's] own will begat He us with 
 the word of truth.' 
 
 "And Paul writes to the Corinthians that he had 
 begotten them 'through the Gospel.' The Gospel is 
 the living 'seed.' In itself, it is a good message of 
 deliverance and eternal life. Received by faith, it 
 becomes salvation. 'The Gospel is the power of God 
 unto salvation to every one that believeth.' There- 
 fore the message is, Believe and be saved. Receive 
 the Gospel and of course the Christ who is the cen- 
 ter of it, who is Himself the Saviour and you shall 
 
Birth to Brotherly Love Indispensable 37 
 
 be born unto God. Receptivity of the 'seed* is neces- 
 sary, in grace as in nature. No seed, no child. No 
 Gospel, no birth unto God. The Word is living and 
 quickening to the receiver thereof by faith." 
 
 "Tell me more about this new birth, this new crea- 
 tion. How may one know that he is of the re-born? 
 Who are the re-born ? What are the certain marks 
 to themselves, and to those who have business with 
 them?" 
 
 "John, there are three great distinguishing marks 
 of the regenerate mentioned in Holy Scripture. They 
 are : 1, Faith in Jesus as the Son of God, the Christ, 
 and our Saviour and Lord; 2, Righteousness per- 
 sonal rectitude and justice to others ; 3, Love of the 
 Christian Brotherhood and of all mankind, proved by 
 devotion and benevolent service. These are the tests 
 whereby to know the manner of men we are. They 
 are God's descriptions of His sons. By these traits 
 the children of God are manifest. And it is our most 
 solemn duty to compare ourselves with this stand- 
 ard and see if we match it, in spirit and in letter." 
 
 "Would you be at the trouble to inform any one 
 not acquainted with what God explicitly says on these 
 conduct- or character-marks, as proofs of Divine 
 sonship, or birth again, in the very words of the 
 Testimony." 
 
 "No trouble, John. It is my message as an ambas- 
 sador of Heaven. My life-business is to teach it. 
 Concerning then: (1) Faith in Jesus as the Son of 
 God, the Christ, and our Saviour and Lord. The 
 Lord God Almighty, the living Father, having loved 
 us, begat a son, Jesus, of a virgin, Mary, and gave 
 this His Son to us to be our Saviour and Lord, 
 anointing Him with the Holy Spirit and with power 
 as none was ever anointed. Jesus gave many proofs 
 that He was God's Son, and able to do everything for 
 us that we need. He expiated our sins upon a cross ; 
 
38 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 He arose and ascended into heaven, as our mediator ; 
 He lives to raise all who believe in Him and bring 
 them with great gladness into a kingdom of glory, 
 which He will establish in an age not far distant. 
 Believing His claim and putting confidence in Him, 
 we are born again begin a new life of faith, live as 
 believers and expectants, Christ being formed within 
 us the hope of glory. It is quite a new and unique 
 existence, this life of faith and hope in the Son of 
 God. Moreover, it embraces obedience to Jesus as 
 Lord and Master, whose commandments are abso- 
 lutely binding upon us. This faith in Christ must 
 be supplemented by an open acknowledgment and 
 commitment to Him, and the ordinance of baptism is 
 instituted for that purpose. Scripture says : With 
 the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with 
 the mouth confession is made unto salvation.' We 
 read concerning faith and the new birth: 
 
 " Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the 
 Christ is born of God.' 
 
 " 'To as many as received Him [Jesus] to 
 them gave He power [privilege or right] to be- 
 come the sons of God, even to them that believe 
 on His name/ 
 
 " 'Ye are all the children of God, by faith in 
 Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been 
 baptized into Christ have put on Christ.' 
 
 " 'The life that I now live in the flesh, I live 
 by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, 
 and gave Himself for me/ 
 
 "Faith is life; life of the highest kind. It is re- 
 demption; it is communion. It is peace and hope. 
 All of the Father's love in giving His Son, and of 
 Jesus' love in giving His life. Coming into union 
 with Jesus the Christ, we are quickened. We are no 
 
Birth to Brotherly Love Indispensable 39 
 
 longer dead in ignorance, sin and despair ; but alive, 
 in knowledge, righteousness and hope." 
 
 "Tell me, Dad, now, about righteousness upright- 
 ness, justice as a mark of the new birth from above 
 and of a child's standing with God." 
 
 "Hear the Scriptures, in answer to your request: 
 
 " 'Ye know [or know ye] that every one that 
 ddeth righteousness is born of God.' 
 
 " 'He that committeth sin is of the devil. . . . 
 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin ; 
 for His seed remaineth in him, and he cannot 
 sin because he is born of God. In this the chil- 
 dren of God are manifest, and the children of 
 the devil : whosoever doeth not righteousness is 
 not of God, neither he that loveth not his 
 brother/ 
 
 "A life disregardful of all that is just or righteous 
 in our personal conduct or in our transactions with 
 the business-world is a certain sign that we know 
 not God as partakers of His nature ; while a scrupu- 
 lously truthful, just and fair course with others, 
 faith and love also being present, is as infallible a 
 sign of being God's as we can have; since God and 
 His laws are all there is to righteousness. His laws 
 written in our affections 'holy, and just, and good' 
 give us kindred standing with Himself." 
 
 "Tell me now about the third mark of the new- 
 born, the men and women who belong to the family 
 of God by second begettal. You said it was Love." 
 
 "I did, John ; and love is as essential as faith and 
 righteousness to be a child of light. Nobody who 
 is evangelical would say that faith in Jesus can be 
 omitted and a man be alive to God His child. Nor 
 would any claim that righteousness just principle 
 and action can be absent and a man be God-related. 
 Neither can a human being who has the former be 
 
40 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 minus love and yet be of the children who form 
 the household of Heaven. Love is as striking a fea- 
 ture of the heavenly lineaments as any that exist. 
 Resemblance to God in love is highest attraction; 
 love is the greatest of the graces. It is cement to a 
 Society of mutual helpers ; a granite foundation that 
 endures. God owns for His and they are His 
 the men who have purified their souls from selfish- 
 ness through obedience to the truth, to unfeigned 
 love of the brethren. O to be thus purified from that 
 self self-love, self-seeking, self-serving that 
 makes the heart a sink of impurity ! Hear it : love 
 is the grace that does the work, now and for ever. 
 The Holy Word dwells much upon love. Hear it 
 speak : 
 
 " 'Beloved, let us love one another; for love is 
 of God ; and every one that loveth is born of God, 
 and knoweth God/ 
 
 " 'He that doeth not righteousness is not of 
 God, neither he that loveth not his brother.' 
 
 " 'He that loveth not his brother abideth in 
 
 death.' 
 
 "Faith, righteousness, love indivisible trinity. 
 God claims every soul of man possessed and ruled 
 by these principles. He says, they got them from 
 Himself. He says He lives in them. How beauti- 
 ful! 'he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and 
 God in him!' New creaturehood ! renewed manhood, 
 after the image of the all-perfect Father and Son! 
 such beings are fit, are prepared for every good fel- 
 lowship and work. As members of a united co-op- 
 erative Society they will not disappoint one another's 
 confidence. Set it down as immutable truth re- 
 creation to lovingness, renewal to brotherly affec- 
 tion, is indispensable for the Christian Society life; 
 only to such re-born individuals would it be satis- 
 factory, but for such it is needful. 
 
CHAPTER in. 
 
 Tears Over the Injustices and Distress of the 
 
 World 
 
 "As clouds are sometimes heavy with rain, so, 
 John, is my heart with sorrow. if I could but cry 
 and be relieved." 
 
 "What makes you so sad, dear Dad? Your face is 
 often lighted as though touched by the glory of the 
 better world." 
 
 "True, my son; I know the joy of the saved, the 
 joy also of fellowship with God. It is exquisite, ex- 
 quisite ! Others may fight ecstasy ; but not I. With 
 David I can say, Thou, Lord, hast made me glad 
 through Thy works/ God's works of creation, pro- 
 vision, redemption, transformation are rivers from 
 which I am ever drinking. But there is another side, 
 another experience, and it is heartbreaking. Only 
 an occasional freshet of tears can make it bearable. 
 The sons of Belial are too hard for me. Their do- 
 ings move me to grief. And even brethren of the 
 Faith ah, God! that you would give them a heart 
 of flesh ! their hardness has not passed ; often they 
 are such unbrotherly brothers !" 
 
 "Good Dad, tears are not popular to-day. Even 
 preachers encourage the philosophic spirit, which is 
 cold and dry-eyed. It is thought soft and effeminate 
 to weep. And so restraint is put upon the emo- 
 tions." 
 
42 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 "Yes, child, I am aware of it, and miss it greatly. 
 The tenderness and sympathy of my boyhood days I 
 have not seen in years. I recall my good old father, 
 a saint in every relation, and how fervently he 
 preached, the tears meanwhile running down his 
 cheeks. He knew what he said was true ; his themes 
 were intense realities ; and in warning and entreaty 
 he melted with emotion." 
 
 "I, too, remember, dear Dad, the effect of such 
 vivid seeing and feeling, how whole congregations 
 were bowed in contrition, to 
 
 'Weep, believe, and sin no more.' 
 
 "They were 'stirred" in spirit; and stirred means a 
 world more than a slight movement upon the sur- 
 face, making only for greater outside decency." 
 
 "Yes, John, there was Evan Roberts, the Welsh 
 revivalist. One day he went to a meeting-house to 
 preach. Going up into the pulpit he fell upon his 
 knees, and putting his face between his hands he 
 began to cry. His realization of the horribleness 
 of sin and the terror of the judgment-day over- 
 whelmed him, and he sobbed because of the impeni- 
 tence of men. His lamentations increased like an in- 
 creasing storm. Presently one up in the gallery 
 joined him; then there was a cry downstairs in the 
 body of the house. In a few minutes the whole con- 
 gregation was confessing and supplicating the divine 
 mercy. Great strong men who were as hard as iron 
 fell on their faces. There was no sermon that night, 
 but there were many conversions, for the Lord had 
 poured upon the people the spirit of grace and of sup- 
 plication." 
 
 "Dad, what makes you sad?" 
 
 "Several things: (1) The selfishness and cruelty 
 of men toward one another; (2) The wrong done to 
 God, the violation of His laws of justice, the ingrati- 
 
Tears Over Bad World-Conditions 43 
 
 tude of the world for His goodness and merciful 
 kindness; (3) The miseries which most men suffer, 
 without ability to deliver themselves or a friend to 
 help them; (4) The anger of God threatened the 
 ungodly and disobedient; (5) Especially, the apos- 
 tate condition of the Church of Christ, and the re- 
 proach cast upon her for her ^^Christianity." 
 
 "Well, these are dreadful, dear Dad, and even I, 
 with not nearly your experience, know they are not 
 imaginary." 
 
 "Imaginary? no, child; would to God there was no 
 truth to these saddening things ; they are subjects of 
 newspaper record and of personal knowledge. I 
 think first of the Church. Naturally, being a Chris- 
 tian myself, a member of the Lord's congregation, 
 one of His people, my first interest is in the Church 
 and her prosperity, heavenly and earthly (so far as 
 she has need to use the earth). I am solicitous and 
 exercised not only for her welfare as a whole, but 
 for her every member individually. Not for the 
 leaders merely, but for the led; the sheep with the 
 shepherds. The most obscure, the weakest, the least 
 of the flock, is to me of as much account to receive 
 consideration and help as the preacher. Now, the 
 Church of to-day is to me a great problem and a very 
 unsatisfactory institution. The confessing host of 
 God is a bundle of factions, instead of a divine unity. 
 Each faction has its special interests and seeks pres- 
 tige for itself among men. The strife goes on per- 
 petually, to have the best edifice (house of worship) , 
 the most polished and eloquent preacher. And when 
 one body reaches the top it crows with all the self- 
 satisfaction of a hen that has laid an egg. For ex- 
 ample, Bishop Hamilton, before he left the Pacific 
 Coast, so I read in an address, scored the point that 
 when he came to California the Presbyterians had 
 the prestige, but that at his departure the Metho- 
 
44 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 dists had gained first place and exercised chief in- 
 fluence. His glory was shame. A good man who 
 had served only Christ would have mentioned many 
 turned to righteousness, many added to the Lord. 
 But a denominationalist has "my church" upon the 
 brain. I grieve that growth of a division can be joy 
 to any one called after Christ. A story is told by 
 Dr. Gabbelin of a new family in a city neighborhood. 
 The mother sent her son to Sunday School. On his 
 return home she asked him what the teacher had said 
 to him. The little fellow replied : 'He asked me what 
 abomination I belonged to.' I am sad that believers 
 in Christ, after so many years, have got no farther 
 than to 'agree to disagree/ If each body made up 
 its mind to come to an understanding with the rest 
 unity could be restored, on the basis of love to God 
 and Christ and forbearance of one another in things 
 about which they differ, till God should enable them 
 to see eye to eye." 
 
 "Dear Dad, it is painful, and as scandalous as 
 painful, to have followers of one Master unable to 
 find a basis of agreement, a working unity." 
 
 "Yes, my son, but that is not all : these bodies are 
 so far away from the original pattern of a church 
 of Christ that one has to reject them as repre- 
 sentative of the primitive Brotherhood in collective 
 relationship." 
 
 "Dad, it is certainly so. And what amazes me is 
 that hardly anybody takes it to heart ; in truth, they 
 do not see it they do not realize the apostasy. And 
 if one points it out he is accused of being a 'knocker/ 
 and railed at as a pessimist and a disturber. Grief 
 unspeakable ! 'having eyes they see not/ " 
 
 "Dear John, eyes that see and hearts that feel is 
 the first need of humanity. Reformation always be- 
 gins this way. I think of Nehemiah as an illustra- 
 tion of what I say. You may remember, his interest 
 
Tears Over Bad World-Conditions 45 
 
 did not end with his own personal well-being. As 
 chief butler in the royal palace of Shushan, the capi- 
 tal of Persia, and waiter upon King Artaxerxes, his 
 rank and pay gave him place and means calculated 
 to satisfy any man not a man re-born in Christ to 
 live His life toward others ; and most men, judging 
 by those we know, in such circumstances would not 
 have troubled to be active and at pains for others. 
 But Nehemiah had a heart of love for his brethren ; 
 and so when Hanani, his brother, accompanied by a 
 few others, came from Jerusalem to visit him, he in- 
 quired of them earnestly about the remnant who 
 were left in Judea and their condition, and concern- 
 ing the city of Jerusalem, which had been sacked 
 and demolished and the gates of which had been 
 burned ; and when he knew the whole pitiful story of 
 the great affliction of his kinsmen, by raid and op- 
 pression and reproach of the surrounding peoples, 
 he was distressed even to tears. He writes thus of 
 himself, 'When I had heard these words, I sat down 
 and wept, and mourned certain days and fasted and 
 prayed before the God of heaven/ In his prayer, 
 confessing sin, acknowledging that the punishment 
 visited was just, he pleaded for merciful dealings 
 from God, entreating that God would give him 
 favor with the king, so that he would grant him a 
 vacation to go to Jerusalem and do all that was neces- 
 sary to restore comfort and prosperity to his people. 
 The outcome we know the Holy City, her people 
 and her worship were established again in safety and 
 joy. Yes, eyes to see existing misery, together with 
 a heart to feel it, and resolution to plan and work 
 for a change, is what is needed first of all in those 
 who would be saviours under our great and ador- 
 able Saviour, the Lord Jesus. God means us to go 
 through life in Observation Car, and to look out 
 and see what is needed to be done. Sleeping Car is 
 
46 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 for the dead ; or for men only when they reach that 
 condition called 'Night/ in which, Jesus says, 'no 
 man can work.' " 
 
 "Yes, Dad, to will to see is essential. God's sent 
 servants, the prophets, have all been seers; and in 
 their seeing they have sorrowed, sometimes nearly 
 to death. How could they live unmoved by what they 
 visualized? They have also at times rejoiced; but in 
 this world where sin reigns there are countless 
 causes for sympathetic grief; and they have wept 
 with those who weep, and often for those who shed 
 no tears for themselves." 
 
 "John, I was thinking lately of how seeing became 
 a factor in the life of Jesus, bringing deliverance to 
 many. There is, for example, the touching account 
 of the widow who was taking her son to the sepul- 
 chre to be buried. But Jesus happened along at the 
 time, and 'when the Lord saw her He had compas- 
 sion on her, and said, Weep not !' And then He raised 
 up the young man alive and gave him back to 'mother 
 dear/ When Jesus saw certain blind men, He was 
 moved with compassion and it meant for them 
 sight. The palsied man let down through the roof 
 into the room where Jesus was benefitted as Jesus 
 'saw* the faith of his friends who loved him enough 
 to bring him to the Saviour. There are many such 
 cases in Holy Writ. Why, it was what Jesus 'saw' 
 that 'moved' Him, and brought out His great help- 
 fulness. Looking, seeing, induced to action of bless- 
 ing. As Jeremiah long ago had said, 'Mine eye af- 
 fecteth my heart.' O it is first seeing, directing 
 one's eyes to what is going on about us, that does 
 the work unless there is a cold, flinty heart of un- 
 concern behind: if such be the case, the most that 
 results is profession of sympathy. Did you ever 
 observe how all the holy prophets took things to 
 heart? They were an impressible lot, as every man 
 
Tears Over Bad World-Conditions 47 
 
 is who is born again. It is one of the assurances 
 that we are alive, that we feel." 
 
 "Will you, dear Dad, please tell me about the 
 prophets and their sensitive hearts." 
 
 "I will, with gladness ; and I pray that we may be 
 as they were as impressible, as righteously and as 
 kindly moved. Of Nehemiah I have already spoken. 
 Let me now mention Jeremiah, who because of his 
 crying so much is called 'the weeping prophet.' 
 What a feeling man he was ! I heard censure passed 
 upon him recently. A city pastor discoursed upon 
 the topic 'Discouraged Men/ Love requires of us 
 that we believe all things good to the limit of possi- 
 bility of our fellows, and so I will not think that said 
 pastor intended false accusation or irreverence to- 
 ward Jeremiah, but certainly his lips greatly trans- 
 gressed. He mentioned Jeremiah as a discouraged 
 man, and proceeded in the following strain : 'Of all 
 discouraged men a discouraged minister is the worst. 
 When a minister becomes discouraged he should 
 come down from his pulpit. Jeremiah was such a 
 man ; and God had to send him to the potter's house 
 to cure him of his despondency. What was the trou- 
 ble with Jeremiah? He cried too much! Think of a 
 man saying, '0 that my head were waters, and mine 
 eyes a fountain of tears !' Think of a man talking 
 about 'crying day and night!' Thus was God's 
 holy prophet abused by one who called himself a min- 
 ister of Christ, and of whom probably nobody could 
 say that he cried too much ; or perhaps that he cried 
 enough; or possibly that he cried at all! It was 
 atrocious !" 
 
 "Dad, although Jeremiah did once say that he 
 would not speak to the people again in God's name, 
 it was, as I take it, not so much from discouragement 
 as from knowledge of its utter uselessness. God 
 had commanded him to pray no more for them, for 
 
48 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 His mind could not be toward them; and Jeremiah 
 testifies that the word he spake was made a reproach 
 unto him and a derision daily. To say that he would 
 not mention God to them again, nor serve as His 
 prophet toward them any longer, was not discour- 
 agement. But were it so, he did not after all re- 
 frain ; for, he said, 'His word was in my heart, as a 
 burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was heavy 
 with forbearing, and I could not stay [from testi- 
 mony]*. Besides, the speaker was wrong in his 
 'facts/ for it was four years later that the Lord 
 ordered him down to the potter's house, and he had 
 long gotten over his momentary decision not to pro- 
 phesy again ; and it was not to give him courage that 
 God sent him down to the potter's house." 
 
 "Of course, John, his crying was not for the reason 
 alleged. It is pure defamation of a very holy char- 
 acter. The truth is, he had such a sensitive heart 
 for the rights and honor of God, and such love for 
 his people, and distress in view of the Babylonian 
 invasion and captivity, that tears were his meat day 
 and night he had spells of grief that he could not 
 restrain. There is nothing like it to-day. Nobody 
 cries much ; at least not in Los Angeles. The usual 
 slightly passionate even to airy way that wrongs are 
 referred to. shows there is generally no root in the 
 heart to the words on the tongue. Indeed, not long 
 ago, in one of the largest churches of the city, a 
 serious, ruinous matter, to the victim, was made a 
 jest, which was responded to with a titter through- 
 out the congregation. The speaker was alluding to 
 'East and West/ and comparing them together. A 
 poem was improvised for the purpose, 'Out West/ 
 it said, the sky was a little bluer, the sun a little 
 brighter, the grass a little greener than in the East. 
 It finally wound up, that one coming here is getting 
 more than he is giving; at which the reverend (or 
 
Tears Over Bad World-Conditions 49 
 
 irreverend) speaker said, with merry face and a 
 twinkle in his eye, 'Except in real estate deals; but 
 when you write home to your friends don't tell them 
 that I said so!' There were those present who had 
 suffered unspeakably from the real estate swindler, 
 who had been impoverished to the point of destitu- 
 tion, and it was indeed no joke to them ! The proph- 
 ets never were in a light vein over sin and wrong. 
 Jeremiah ivept because of sin and coming judgment; 
 his eyes brimmed and overflowed in supplication for 
 his people's forgiveness." 
 
 "I do think, with you, that tears such as Jeremiah 
 shed are most precious in God's sight and nothing 
 to be reproved. I am sure the present unrighteous- 
 ness of business and the numerous economic wrongs 
 would awaken grief in such a heart, and should make 
 every reputedly good man of our time a second Jere- 
 miah, in sorrow and denunciation." 
 
 "John, let me show you Jeremiah, as he was. Like 
 the Apostle Paul, he served God day and night with 
 many tears; he ceased not to warn sinners, weep- 
 ing as he exhorted. Never was there such pathos! 
 'Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the 
 destruction of the daughter of my people. Mine eye 
 trickleth down and ceaseth not, without any inter- 
 mission, till the Lord look down and behold it from 
 heaven. Mine eye affecteth my heart, because of all 
 the daughters of my city.' 'Mine eyes do fail with 
 tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon 
 the earth for the destruction of the daughter of my 
 people ; because the children and the sucklings swoon 
 in the streets of the city. They say to their mothers, 
 Where is corn and wine? when they swooned as the 
 wounded in the streets of the city, when their soul 
 was poured out into their mothers' bosom.' 'How 
 doth the city sit solitary that was full of people! 
 how is she become a widow! she that was great 
 
50 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 among the nations and princess among the provinces, 
 how is she become tributary ! she weepeth sore in the 
 night, and her tears are upon her cheeks : among all 
 her lovers she hath none to comfort her. . . . 
 Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction and 
 because of great servitude ; she dwelleth among the 
 heathen, she findeth no rest. . . . For these 
 things I weep ; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with 
 water, because the comforter that should relieve my 
 soul is far from me: my children are desolate, be- 
 cause the enemy prevailed/ 'Hear ye, and give ye 
 ear; for the Lord hath spoken. Give glory to the 
 Lord your God before He cause darkness and before 
 your feet stumble upon the dark mountains. . . . 
 But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret 
 places for your pride ; and mine eye shall weep sore, 
 and run down with tears, because the Lord's flock is 
 carried away captive/ 'Oh, that my head were 
 waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I 
 might weep day and night for the slain of the 
 daughter of my people! . . . They bend their 
 tongues like their bows for lies: but they are not 
 valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they pro- 
 ceed from evil to evil, and they know not Me, saith 
 the Lord. Take ye heed every one of his neighbor, 
 and trust ye not in any brother; for every brother 
 will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will walk 
 with slanders.' Jeremiah calls them also to weep for 
 their own 'sins. O that there were some Jeremiahs 
 to-day!" 
 
 "There would be, dear Dad, if men had not so 
 many things of their own selfishness to occupy them. 
 Usually one is answered, if he comes to speak of a 
 pressing case of need, 'I am very busy, and have not 
 the time to look into the matter." 
 
 "John, shall I continue and tell you of other Bible 
 
Tears Over Bad World-Conditions 51 
 
 personages who saw and were affected an example 
 for us who live in this day?" 
 
 "Yes, continue, and refresh my memory with this 
 mark of holiest living; for I confess to you, I could 
 myself be softer to human wrongs and misery than 
 I am, to my own good and the good of others." 
 
 "Hear me, then, as I pass in line before you other 
 weeping saints. We will begin with Job, the patri- 
 arch of Uz. The afflictions of Job extended to every- 
 thing but his life. His friends became accusers ; but 
 he answered them nobly, saying, 'Miserable comfort- 
 ers are ye all. ... I also could speak as ye do : 
 if your soul were in my soul's stead, I could heap up 
 words against you, and shake mine head at you. But 
 I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the 
 moving of my lips should assuage your grief!' A 
 weeper for others was Job. He says of himself: 
 'Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was 
 not my soul grieved for the poor?' None could an- 
 swer this challenge with Nay. 
 
 "David, too, was of the same company. He 
 mourned the oppressions of the enemy there were 
 men who made him grief (Ps. 42: 9, 10; 43: 1, 2). 
 But he also mourned for God's sake, for the slight 
 and presumption of the wicked. 'I beheld/ said he 
 'the transgressors and was grieved, because they 
 kept not Thy word/ 'They speak against Thee wick- 
 edly, and thine enemies take Thy name in vain. Do 
 not I hate them, Lord, that hate Thee ? and am not 
 I grieved with those that rise up against Thee? I 
 hate them with perfect hatred; I count them mine 
 enemies/ 'Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, be- 
 cause they keep not Thy law/ 
 
 "Ezekiel likewise was of the emotive in regard to 
 others. A remarkable command had he from God 
 to 'sigh* before the nation- in respect of coming 
 wrath. 'I, the Lord, have drawn forth my sword 
 
52 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 out of its sheath ; it shall not return any more. Sigh, 
 therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy 
 loins; and with bitterness sigh, before their eyes. 
 And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore 
 sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tid- 
 ings ; because it cometh ; and every heart shall melt, 
 and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall 
 faint, and all knees shall be weak as water; behold, 
 it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the 
 Lord/ And recall the man with the ink-horn, of 
 whom I will speak later. 
 
 "Micah is another prophet with the mournful 
 spirit. 'Hear, all ye people; hearken, earth, and 
 all that therein is: and let the Lord be witness 
 against you, the Lord from His holy temple. For, 
 behold, the Lord cometh forth out of His place, and 
 will come down, and tread upon the high places of 
 the earth. And the mountains shall be molten under 
 Him, and the valleys shall be cleft. For the trans- 
 gression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the 
 house of Israel. . . . Therefore I will wail and 
 howl, I will go stripped and naked. I will make a 
 wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls. 
 For her wound is incurable; for it is come unto 
 Judah ; he is come unto the gate of my people, even 
 to Jerusalem.' 
 
 "Daniel must likewise be included with the weep- 
 ing intercessors. He says : 'I set my face unto the 
 Lord God, to seek by prayer, and supplications, with 
 fasting, and sackcloth and ashes ; and I prayed unto 
 God, and made my confession, and said/ etc. (here 
 follows confession of Israel's sin and strong plead- 
 ings for God to pardon). And again he says: 'In 
 those days I was mourning three full weeks. I ate 
 no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my 
 
Tears Over Bad World-Conditions 53 
 
 mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three 
 whole weeks were fulfilled." 
 
 "Joel he must not be left out. '0 Lord, to Thee 
 will I cry ; for the fire hath devoured the pastures of 
 the wilderness, and the flame hath burned up all the 
 trees of the field/ A dreadful scene of judgment is 
 depicted in Chapter I, and Joel calls the priests to 
 weeping. 'Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests; 
 howl, ye ministers of the altar : come, lie all night in 
 sackcloth, ye ministers of my God. Alas for the day ! 
 for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruc- 
 tion from the Almighty shall it come/ 'Let the 
 priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the 
 porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare Thy 
 people, Lord, and give not Thine heritage to re- 
 proach, that the heathen should rule over them/ 
 
 "Habakkuk is one of the interested with a deep 
 heart-interest: '0 Lord, how long shall I cry, and 
 Thou wilt not hear! even cry unto Thee out of vio- 
 lence, and Thou will .not save ! Why dost Thou show 
 me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for 
 spoiling and violence are before me; and there are 
 that raise up strife and contention. Therefore the 
 law is slacked and judgment doth never go forth; 
 for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; 
 therefore wrong judgment proceedeth/ 
 
 "Zechariah is not to be forgotten, who sent Shere- 
 zer and Regemmelech to the house of God 'to pray 
 before the Lord* and to inquire, 'Should I weep in 
 the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done 
 these many years?' 
 
 "And for I must desist that I may not tire you 
 should not the Lord Jesus, above all, be mentioned? 
 It is written of Him 'He sighed deeply in His spirit' ; 
 and again, 'looking up to heaven, He sighed/ And, 
 beholding the coming of the Roman army and the 
 
54 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 fall of Jerusalem, her wall razed to the ground, Jesus 
 wept. 'When He was come near He beheld the city 
 and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even 
 thou, at least in this thy day, the things which 
 belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from 
 thine eyes/ " 
 
 "John, you may say, Why have you assembled all 
 this army, this noble army of holy weepers who 
 weep for God and humanity!" 
 
 "Yes, dear Dad, why ? although I have some idea 
 why." 
 
 "Because, child, there is much to be wept over to- 
 day; and only if God shall cause the ministry to see 
 it, and to become interested to the extent of the 
 breaking up of their own hearts, can anything be 
 hoped of them to bestir themselves to bring relief to 
 the millions who rarely see joy, and who ask, 'Where 
 in the world can I find a man who will be to me a 
 friend and a brother?' This is an evil age; but many 
 evils are curable, if a physician will apply the rem- 
 edy. And may the world have to say of some man 
 upon whom God shall pour grace for the work, as 
 the people said of Nehemiah of old : 'There is come 
 a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel !' 
 God raise up that man !" 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Ministers Should Teach Business and Social 
 Righteousness 
 
 "My son, did you ever read in the Book of Ezekiel 
 The Vision of The Man with the Ink-horn? In the 
 eighth chapter of this book God commanded the 
 prophet to use his eyes to behold scenes almost too 
 horrible to read; and of course the realities were 
 worse still. 'Seest thou what they do? even the 
 great abominations that the house of Israel com- 
 mitteth here ? . . . but turn thee yet again, and 
 thou shalt see greater abominations than these/ 
 Ezekiel turns three successive times and gazes upon 
 these 'greater abominations/ God will stand it no 
 longer; hence He proceeds to judgment. He speaks 
 to Ezekiel, saying, 'Cause them that have charge 
 over the city to draw near, every man with his de- 
 stroying weapon in his hand/ Six men answer the 
 summons. One of the six was clothed in linen and 
 slung on his side was a writer's ink-horn. They go 
 in and stand beside the brazen altar. The glory of 
 God had left its place between the cherubim that 
 were over the lid of the ark, and now appeared on 
 the threshold of the Temple. God was departing 
 from His own palace because of the sins of His wor- 
 shippers. And now in audible voice God charges 
 the man with the ink-horn, 'Go through the midst 
 of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set 
 
 I 
 
56 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and 
 that cry for all the abominations that be done in the 
 midst thereof/ Then, addressing the other five, He 
 said : 'Go ye after him through the city and smite ; 
 let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity . . . 
 but come not near any man upon whom is the mark ; 
 and begin at My sanctuary/ Without delay they 
 begin their work of slaughter, the first to fall being 
 'the ancient men* (elders) who were before the Tem- 
 ple. Ezekiel, being a marked man, escapes : he says, 
 'I was left.' When the commission was executed, 
 we read, the man with the ink-horn reported it done. 
 Where are the men to-day who 'sigh and cry for all 
 the abominations' now being committed? God re- 
 quires separation from crime even to the bemoan- 
 ing of it in others. Only such will be spared in the 
 day of visitation and hour of Jehovah's anger. I 
 would converse with you upon the abominations and 
 what should be done in respect of them ; for tears in 
 themselves, acceptable as they are to God, work no 
 deliverance for oppressed men." 
 
 "Dear Dad, men once sighed and cried over wick- 
 edness as they do not to-day. They have become 
 hardened to it. It is the common thing ; and what is 
 common attracts little attention. Occasionally a 
 very great enormity causes a flurry, a slight stir; 
 but soon it is forgotten as the dream of yesternight." 
 
 "What would you call the greatest of sins, John, 
 as toward God and man?" 
 
 "Well I think, as towards God, the greatest of- 
 fenses are idolatry giving some object the worship 
 and devotion due only to the Living Father and 
 the disobedience that believes not in His Son and 
 that slights the love that would bestow upon us eter- 
 nal life. And toward man, the greatest of offenses is 
 the selfishness that excludes others from their rights 
 
Ministers Should Teach Righteousness 57 
 
 and takes from them everything that can be seized, 
 without compunction or shame; and that never la- 
 bors and suffers for humanity's welfare." 
 
 "That is a good answer. God himself always puts 
 idolatry devotion to others than Himself, giving 
 credit to them as the source of good as the chief 
 offense. And in this Gospel age He feels it acutely, 
 to speak after the manner of men, to have His Son 
 Jesus, and the redemption provided in Him, treated 
 as nothing. To have other gods beside Himself to 
 neglect or spurn the gifts of righteousness and life 
 by His Son are greatest sins with God. But no 
 less is it hateful to Him for man to be the enemy 
 of man in deed, if not in heart in the system of 
 industrial exploitation and strife under which we 
 live. Indeed, I hesitate not to say that "Business" is 
 at the very core unrighteous, unjust, unfair inimi- 
 cal and depraving to the human family. It is 'crooked 
 from the start' and crooked to the finish. Of course 
 I speak of Business as Business is, not as it could be ; 
 Business, the wrecks of which are on all shores. 
 Pity the multitudes that founder daily! Setting to 
 sea with high heart, their barks are fouled by pir- 
 ates, are torpedoed by enemy craft, and disappear 
 forever !" 
 
 "Dad, the world must be full of idolaters, if the 
 definition you give of idolatry is correct and I be- 
 lieve it is." 
 
 "Most truly it is. That to which we give our 
 inner and supreme devotion; that we keep always 
 before us; that we never tire to seek; that we de- 
 pend upon as the foundation of life and of all good 
 must be our God is God to us. To the old question 
 'Who will show us any good?' and the answering 
 prayer implying what is the greatest good, namely 
 the favor of God the prayer that says, 'Lord, lift 
 
58 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 Thou up upon us the light of Thy countenance' all 
 sanely good men consent; but the answer that says, 
 'Give me dollars, dollars, dollars; for these are the 
 supreme good,' shows a heart that has departed from 
 God, a man with a new object of love. 'Covetous- 
 ness/ says Holy Scripture 'is idolatry.' How many 
 set up this idol, this golden calf, in their heart ! How 
 abominable to the God who is God God alone. And 
 then, what wretched ingratitude to be indifferent to 
 His Son, given for the express purpose that we 
 should not perish, but have everlasting life." 
 
 "Should these be kept to by preachers, and rarely 
 a reference be made to the requirement to be good 
 to man?" 
 
 "No, no; and that is my special business as I see 
 and feel it at the present time to labor and pray, 
 and even suffer, to restore in the Church some meas- 
 ure of brotherly sympathy and help, and pre-emi- 
 nently a System of fraternal relationship in which all 
 shall have plenty, and eat and be filled and give 
 thanks to God ; with delight in one another after the 
 delight of God in His own benevolent course toward 
 His creatures. this love-vision entrances me!" 
 
 "Should we not all be for such an existence? But 
 I see you speak expressly of ministers as principally 
 bounden to this duty and extension of fraternity." 
 
 "I do. I regard them as the natural as well as the 
 God-appointed leaders in righteousness and the 
 living examples of lovingness. Their duty is to teach 
 and practice these characteristics. They are com- 
 manded to be specially good, as examples or copies. 
 The line for a child to copy in a copy-book is well 
 written ; the letters are of good shape and symmetri- 
 cal in form. 'Be thou an example to the flock,' ap- 
 plies firstly to ministers. If they fail us, we have to 
 set them aside and look ahead of them at Christ; 
 
Ministers Should Teach Righteousness 59 
 
 but I for one am not satisfied with being obliged to 
 ignore them in order to follow Christ. I feel, as a 
 minister myself, that we must be able to say in 
 everything with Paul : 'Follow me, as I also follow 
 Christ'." 
 
 "Then you are not hostile to persons set apart for 
 teaching the Word, for guidance, rulership, minis- 
 try in spiritual things?" 
 
 "No, no; I feel the responsibility of all such and 
 pray for them. It is not a small thing nor a slight 
 honor to be a chosen and sent vessel conveying the 
 precious Bread and Water of Life. But I want them 
 to know what righteousness consists in, and be in- 
 sistent on brotherly love. And I do not want them 
 to be muzzled from speaking their deepest convic- 
 tions as taught of God, in the plainest language, even 
 to the disturbance of the consciences of rich men who 
 exploit the masses. I do not like to see them 'sold 
 out* to capitalism. In the good System, the Chris- 
 tian System of living, they could not be so fettered, 
 for there would be no capitalist to please or offend. 
 I would go on my knees to get them to hear and pon- 
 der what God shows me about this blessed arrange- 
 ment, so feasible, so Christian." 
 
 "Dad, you are very earnest." 
 
 "I could not be otherwise, my son. At my age 
 I have no strength to give to trifles or even second- 
 ary matters. This message is of first-class import- 
 ance. It presses me. It never departs from me. 
 The sum of it is, 'Let us love one another; for love 
 is of God/ 'Let us love one another;' a man full 
 of God ought to be able to make discourses without 
 end upon this text; it is so fruitful." 
 
 "Tell me your plain opinion, Dad, are the organ- 
 izations which in their totality are called the Chris- 
 
60 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 tian Church full and faithful exponents of righteous- 
 ness and of brotherliness ?" 
 
 "They are not. The Christianity that passes as 
 Christ's religion is low-grade ore. It gives us a 
 pang to say it. Neither ministers nor members come 
 up to the standard. don't think that I speak as 
 an I-am-holier-than-thou man! I put myself in as 
 having been part of this imperfect Christliness. I 
 make my confession 'we have sinned/ But God 
 has so manifested it to me that I must be up and 
 doing for a change. I have renounced all I am and 
 have to be the servant of others all things to all 
 men. God has utterly weaned me from what He 
 has shown me to be so far below the life of real and 
 whole discipleship." 
 
 "Well now, what do you say about righteousness? 
 and I shall ask you later, what about love?" 
 
 "Righteousness, justice, is simply what is right 
 between beings according to their nature, rank, and 
 relationship. Between God and man; between man 
 and man. My thought now is not of private, personal 
 goodness; not of sincerity, chastity, truthfulness, 
 sobriety, graciousness, and so forth; I am thinking 
 only of Social and commercial righteousness; and 
 it is my conviction, without casting a slur upon the 
 general knowledge of the ministry, that they are not 
 informed in the premises, never having given it thor- 
 ough investigation. I will say for myself, that al- 
 though I have always been concerned for true belief 
 and have expended the most of my life in self-deny- 
 ing service of the poor, until about a year or two 
 ago I was ignorant in regard to Social and economic 
 righteousness. I am amazed that I was so ignorant, 
 and for so long; and many things that I then did I 
 could not even entertain thought of doing now, hav- 
 ing awakened." 
 
Ministers Should Teach Righteousness 61 
 
 "I think, Dad, that must be so with many they 
 have never really analyzed everyday life to find out 
 the merit or demerit of the principles upon which it 
 is lived." 
 
 "Well, then another thing, those who have given 
 attention to Sociology have doubtless generally stud- 
 ied it according to the prevalent system, custom or 
 consents ; instead of in the light of God's Word, the 
 book of eternal fairness and equity. There are two 
 standards of industrial and commercial ethics, God's 
 standard, in Holy Scripture; and the standard of 
 what is known as Business, which is simply rules 
 and customs laid down by employers for their own 
 selfish interests. Often these have been enacted 
 into laws, which has raised them to an authority 
 which bind citizens at their peril if they disregard 
 them. Then they get the odious name of 'law break- 
 ers/ or even worse, of 'Anarchists/ " 
 
 "Anarchist is often very wrongly applied, Dad, to 
 good men, as though they did not believe in and 
 were unwilling to recognize government; whereas 
 the fact is that they are only against slug govern- 
 ment, that hits the poor to aid and please the rich." 
 
 "I was told the other day, John, of a case that came 
 up in Court in a trial, in which the prosecuting attor- 
 ney, pointing to several publications, said to a wit- 
 ness, "I assume, from what these books contain, you 
 are an anarchist?' '0 no,' said the witness, 'I am 
 worse than that, I am a Christian!' This may evoke a 
 smile ; but, come to the heart of things, the writings 
 of many Socialists and Anarchists are more Chris- 
 tian than the rules and teachings of Big Business 
 pleaders that pass as sound secular doctrine. If 
 a man teach Christ's laws of righteousness is he not, 
 in that, righteous and Christian?" 
 
 "It is important that we know and use the right 
 
62 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 textbooks if we go into the study of righteousness, 
 to have good groundwork for our own actions and 
 for the instruction of others; for certainly if we 
 fill up on the wrong laws that will be our teaching 
 we shall mislead where we would lead safely." 
 
 "Yes, and there are two more considerations, 
 namely, acceptability and pecuniary interest. A 
 minister wishes to give satisfaction; that is, please 
 the whole church ; or if he cannot do that, the most 
 substantial and principal members of his congrega- 
 tion ; and if their standard is Business, Law, Usage, 
 he is likely to pervert interpretation in their favor. 
 His bread and butter are at stake. Why should he 
 raise a rumpus about earthly things? Either he will 
 see through their eyes, or say nothing about it. It 
 is 'prudence/ worldly, to do so. So many things 
 militate against preaching righteousness: (1), 
 Never having learned it, because of inattention; 
 (2) , Learned its perversion, in textbooks written by 
 those who find it unprofitable to practice the real 
 standard; (3), Being swayed by interest to side with 
 supporters who largely pay their salaries. The 
 Church has yet to realize how high and essential is 
 righteousness, and then to stand right up loyally and 
 publish and contend for it." 
 
 "To teach righteousness, dear Dad, in some 
 churches, where the membership is either rich, or 
 near-rich, would disrupt those churches, or send the 
 ministers off to new grazing grounds." 
 
 "True, John, but a man of God is ready to pay 
 for his testimony the price required. John the Bap- 
 tist came to the Jews 'in the way of righteousness* 
 that was the burden of his message, along with 
 announcement of the Messiah and His coming King- 
 dom. Paul reasoned of righteousness, temperance 
 (self-mastery) and the coming judgment. The Old 
 
Ministers Should Teach Righteousness 63 
 
 Testament is pre-eminently the book of righteous- 
 ness. Righteousness must be taught. Its omission 
 leaves the people in bad plight. They will not prac- 
 tice what they do not see or know. Obligation is 
 not created. Righteousness is indispensable. 'Give 
 me/ says David, 'understanding, and I will keep 
 Thy law ; yea, I will observe it with my whole heart.* 
 If a man has the 'rule' before him, and he is of 
 will to do God's will, when temptation comes to him 
 he will say, 'It is not right, and I will not do it.' 
 A corporation-head cannot change the law of justice 
 by 'company rules,' and company rules are not Di- 
 vine righteousness." 
 
 "You are making righteousness very binding, Dad, 
 and I bethink me of Jesus, the Great Teacher of 
 Righteousness. It seemed to impress Christ's hear- 
 ers that He was a man of right, an inculcator of 
 justice. And, as I remember, 'we being delivered 
 from the hand of our enemies, are to serve God in 
 holiness and in righteousness before Him all the 
 days of our life'." 
 
 "There is a proverb, John, that says 'First learn, 
 then teach.' Righteousness must be learned; then 
 it must be taught. But who is sufficient for these 
 things with a world so unwilling to hear? Instruc- 
 tion in righteousness in all the ordinary business of 
 life must be given; but now begins the warfare as 
 to what is righteousness. God and Mammon both 
 claim to be heard ; and alas ! many professing Chris- 
 tians choose the Barrabas called Mammon, and de- 
 liver up Jesus to be crucified. And yet it ought 
 not to be hard to determine what is righteousness. 
 If the intention in any enterprise is greed to make 
 a lot of money, and if the business sees only gain, 
 that business is surely unrighteous, and so is every- 
 body and everything connected with it everybody 
 
64 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 official and executive, I mean. Sophistry may 
 excuse the foundation and the working on the ground 
 that a good object is contemplated as the end; but 
 it is long a discarded doctrine, except with Jesuits, 
 and even they now deny it, that 'the end justifies 
 the means'." 
 
 " 'Let us do evil that good may come/ dear Dad, 
 will never do. That was what Germany said when 
 she invaded Belgium; and she paid for it with the 
 world's condemnation. 'We will appropriate the 
 world's inheritance and drain it of its treasure, that 
 we may have money to support missionaries and 
 build religious institutions/ will not pass with right- 
 eous men nor with God. To steal with one hand 
 in order to dispense charity with the other is the 
 exploiter's righteousness; but except a man's right- 
 eousness exceeds the righteousness of the oil king 
 he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. It ought 
 to be up as a question to be solved in every church, 
 and its decision should bind every member: 'What 
 is righteousness between the capitalist exploiter and 
 employer and his employee?' If rightly decided, 
 many men held in esteem would be subjects of labor 
 by the elders to bring them to repentance. 'Judg- 
 ment never goeth forth,' was God's complaint about 
 Israel. Judgment must go forth. What is right- 
 eousness, in the hundreds of questions of the day, 
 should be settled. It concerns not theories, but the 
 life, and the encouragement of men with conscience 
 toward man as toward God. We cannot give men 
 conscience, but in the Spirit a pastor can help in 
 settlement of cases of conscience by treating of 
 righteousness." 
 
 "Dear Dad, I feel as I never felt before upon the 
 matter of righteousness. I have been thinking, I 
 have seen many printed handbills announcing 
 
Ministers Should Teach Righteousness 65 
 
 series of sermons on such subjects as: 'Prayer/ 
 The Holy Spirit/ 'The Church/ The Character of 
 the Lord Jesus/ etc., but never, in my recollection, 
 have I heard or seen, in nearly half a century, a 
 series upon 'Righteousness Toward Our Fellow 
 Men/ It is very decisive as showing that it does 
 not come upon the hearts of Christian leaders; and, 
 as you say, it should." 
 
 "Yes, it should. Other subjects may be more 
 popular, and entertaining such as do not arraign 
 conscience or bring conviction ; but a series on right- 
 eousness, informatory and warning, would be words 
 in season, w r ords fitly spoken. But think how many 
 would be uncovered! And a hypocrite, or at any 
 rate a self-deceived man as to his standing, does not 
 like to fall in his own estimation. A witness in 
 such case must be ready to be a martyr. A martyr ! 
 in these days, who ever heard of such a thing? But 
 there are yet some who if they would search and 
 get conviction would readily yield themselves to 
 contention for the right, come what might. I be- 
 lieve they will be given to see that the only Chris- 
 tian way of living is that in which many do not serve 
 to enrich one, but all labor, with glad hearts and 
 willing hands, for every brother, so that unright- 
 eousness is excluded. What a happy time, when 
 unrighteousness shall not fit into prevailing condi- 
 tions and thus shall be impossible !" 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 Righteousness and Equality Demanded 
 
 "John, He who is with me and speaks through me 
 will not let me proceed without adding to what I 
 have already said concerning righteousness. Right- 
 eousness ! great word with God, very small with man ; 
 I speak that I may make it greater. What trivial 
 things human beings meditate on and converse about 
 to the neglect of the study of and mutual exhortation 
 to righteousness. What God loves to see in man 
 is righteousness. It is named as that for which 
 He honored His Son Jesus above all others. David 
 said, in the Spirit: Thou hast loved righteousness 
 and hated iniquity; therefore God, Thy God, hath 
 anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy 
 fellows!* And generally we read, The righteous 
 Lord loveth righteousness; His countenance doth 
 behold [with favor] the upright/ " 
 
 "Surely, Dad, if anything else you say is consid- 
 ered questionable, righteousness will not be." 
 
 "Yes, John, right conduct, righteousness, is that 
 to which God first renews a man when a human soul 
 lets Him have His way with him. His first word is 
 'Repent; return to righteousness/ That was the 
 greatest outstanding feature of God's dealings with 
 men before Jesus came. His law, which we know 
 as the Ten Commandments, was of our duties toward 
 Himself and our fellows. It said, in effect: 'Be 
 
68 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 just to Me; be just to men.' Read the first four of 
 those commandments, and you will learn what God 
 insists on for Himself as His rights, and demands 
 of His creatures. Moreover, He is very much in 
 earnest to have them; as it is proper He should be. 
 He says 'I am a jealous God' ; 'My glory will I not 
 give to another ; neither my praise to graven images.' 
 Even though a man do all his duty to his fellow- 
 man yet if he omits giving God what is His due 
 he is unjust, he is a robber, he cannot escape sen- 
 tence when his case comes to trial. The last six of 
 the Ten Commandments are also most righteous. 
 What can be condemned in the commands, 'Give to 
 your parents reverence; take not away your broth- 
 er's life ; do not wrong him as regards his wife ; steal 
 not his goods, the fruit of his labor; do not testify 
 against him falsely; do not have a covetous mind 
 for his home, his wife, his servants, his cattle, nor 
 anything that is his?' God is just as earnest to have 
 these laws obeyed as those about Himself. He is 
 the great Public Defender. He is the Champion-in- 
 Chief of human rights. The exploiter will find it 
 out in due time. And even now, nobody can be in 
 His favor and have that best of all experiences His 
 fellowship, as an unrighteous man. It is a fellow- 
 ship of righteousness." 
 
 "Dear Dad, that righteousness were unceasingly 
 taught ; that it was never out of sight. That seems 
 to be what God intended when He commanded His 
 law to be written on everything and be a frontlet 
 between His people's eyes." 
 
 "John, righteousness must be proclaimed as a 
 preparation for the reception of Christ unto salva- 
 tion. Sin must be bared; injustice unveiled. The 
 thief of the public domain, and the man to whom 
 he has passed title to the same of course, clouded, 
 
Righteousness and Equality Demanded 69 
 
 bad title must be called Robber! The workers of 
 the jumped claim I do not mean the staked-out 
 bit of mineral land of a prospector, but the great 
 oil, gas, and coal fields that jump the heritage of 
 us all, and get enormously rich from the same while 
 millions starve, must be pilloried as scoundrels and 
 defrauders. Then may the ministry be counted 
 as worthy and fulfillers of their duty in regard 
 to justice. Of course, it may cost them something 
 it will for so doing; but is it a 'job' or a min- 
 istry they are engaged upon? Think of John the 
 Baptist, of whom Jesus said, 'He came unto you in 
 the way of righteousness/ and who said of him- 
 self that his work was to make a road for the Lord, 
 who would follow soon afterward." 
 
 "John the Baptist was a very fearless prophet, 
 Dad, and a great denunciator of wicked men and 
 their sins." 
 
 "Yes, and so should all be who claim to be sent 
 of Jesus Christ. But, I say, think of John the Bap- 
 tist. He did not spare even Herod, the Roman gov- 
 ernor of the Galilean province, but reproved him 
 for his crimes, and esnecially for having married 
 Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. Why should he 
 not? Herod was a bad man; the purple of royalty 
 should not shield him. Nor should any high in 
 rank who are wicked be spared to-day. And then, 
 think how he 'insulted' the most reverend religious 
 folk of his time, speaking right up to the rabbis 
 and calling them to their faces a 'brood of vipers'! 
 They were not accustomed to such language ; but he 
 did not care that they were adulated by others; for 
 himself he must speak to them the truth. It took 
 courage to do it; and John had plenty of that. 
 And just observe how he preached generally. He 
 did not select men's private, personal infirmities and 
 
70 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 excesses for his objects of attack; but the things 
 they did to others, their Society crimes, their eco- 
 nomic sins; just the things that the preachers of 
 to-day do not attack, and often do not mention; or 
 if they do speak of them, have no vehemence in their 
 voice and imperativeness in their manner for new 
 action. Three types of men interrogate him as to 
 what they should do. (His preaching, you see, was 
 business, something they should get busy at.) 'What 
 shall we do, then?* they ask. 'Have you two coats, 
 one more than you need for use? give the extra 
 one to him who has none. Have you more food than 
 necessary to satisfy your own hunger ? feed him who 
 is in want.' To the publicans, tax-gatherers, he said : 
 'Regarding the taxes, extort not from any an unjust 
 amount. Collect only the lawful impost; in short, 
 be honest; defraud nobody/ And to the soldiers he 
 answered, 'Do violence to no man; neither accuse 
 any falsely; and be content with your allowance* 
 a man with power or authority must not abuse it 
 to the harm of others. You will see that all this 
 advice is touching wrongs done to others injustices, 
 which he demanded must be ended." 
 
 "I see it, Dad; injustice to others is the leading 
 note in John's preaching of righteousness." 
 
 "Yes, injustice to others. O the earth is full of 
 wrongs done to others! The sufferers from others 
 are nearly endless. If only man would do right 
 simply right by his fellow! It is a big question of 
 righteousness. The cry of the robbed, the mur- 
 dered, the oppressed, is the pitiful one of 'Do right 
 by me!' And ever from hill and vale there echoes, 
 'Do right! do right.' One would think that minis- 
 ters would always be preaching to their congrega- 
 tions, along with faith in God's mercy through Jesus 
 Christ, 'Do right.' John, it is the first, the prepara- 
 
Righteousness and Equality Demanded 71 
 
 tory work, to call upon men to 'Break off transgres- 
 sion by righteousness/ It is the unfairness, the dis- 
 honesty of man, his countless trespasses against his 
 brother and dispossession of him in his rights, that 
 is at the foundation of our Social miseries. It is 
 not a case of an honest man through unexpected 
 disasters and cutting off of income being unable to 
 meet his signed obligations. A man may be so 
 caught by circumstances that he cannot pay a note 
 when due. It is more anguish to him than it is 
 suffering to the one who has to wait for his money. 
 What I speak of is, that mesh, that ramified sys- 
 tem of land-stealing, owning of facilities and col- 
 lection of tolls that cause others to languish hope- 
 lessly and finally go down in the swirling mael- 
 strom." 
 
 "Why, Dad, I really think that some who profess 
 no discipleship but are socially good, humanly kind, 
 have more real religion than professors of conver- 
 sion ; for their books show them to have sympathy, 
 and according to their lights they propose remedies 
 for existing evils." 
 
 "That, John, is true; but it hurts me to say so. 
 It is a scandal that should not be allowed to remain. 
 If not for goodness* sake, for shame's sake it should 
 provoke the churches to do something. Righteous- 
 ness to agitate for it and put it into practice 
 would tear existing bodies into tatters ; but my prop- 
 osition is not a political one, but a Society as it were 
 on the side living out and so exemplifying right- 
 eousness ; a Nation inside nations, a Kingdom within 
 kingdoms ; and the sustenance not of parties but of 
 measures that benefit the whole Commonalty; of 
 laws that are as fair as can be obtained wrung 
 from interests that have all the advantages." 
 
 "Dear Dad, they will never relinquish the death- 
 
72 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 grip they have upon the throat of Society. Not 
 prejudice, but the somber facts of each day's doings 
 make me dubious of any radical alteration; but a 
 separate Society banded together for help of each 
 other, extra and outside the combines of greed, they 
 could not prevent." 
 
 "My first interest, John, is in the Church. I want 
 above all things to see her right. My first, I say, 
 but not my exclusive interest. Our rule is so plain 
 that justice and benevolence must not be confined 
 to the household of the faith; it is distinctly en- 
 joined that we must be just and good to everybody. 
 What clearer commands than these: 'Ever follow 
 that which is good, both among yourselves and to 
 all men'; 'As we have therefore opportunity, let us 
 do good unto all men, especially unto them that are 
 of the household of faith'; The Lord make you to 
 increase and abound in love toward one another 
 and toward all men.' 'All men/ 'every man' are not 
 restrictive, but wide as the world. The trouble is, 
 that piety oftentimes only pietism is largely the 
 ideal of a Christian : contrite prayers, reverent bow- 
 ings, humble kneeling, subdued feelings, etc. To 
 me, however, the Simeon-type of godliness, with 
 twofold relation, is better. That holy man was 'de- 
 vout' to perfection; his attitude of subjection and 
 worship could not be criticized. But he was, in addi- 
 tion, a 'just' man. 'Just and devout/ is his sacred 
 characterization !" 
 
 Dad, a strong element of justness is needed, with 
 a befitting frame toward God with devotion and 
 worship. Such justness would make life fairer and 
 happier for the masses. But who will be the pioneer 
 in analyzing established wrongs? And who will be 
 the man to dare in holy boldness to attack accepted, 
 entrenched usages that are iniquitous ? There should 
 be a few John the Baptists yet alive. Why think! 
 
Righteousness and Equality Demanded 73 
 
 he refused to receive into fellowship men who would 
 pass muster today, now that justice abashed is 
 gone away backward. Believe me, they were very 
 good men of their sort. Only they 'passed over judg- 
 ment and the love of God !' That was all. No, not 
 quite, they 'devoured' others. 'Ye devour widows' 
 houses/ said Jesus. Why not widows, as well as the 
 common run of people? Their righteousness how- 
 ever was not good enough for John the Baptist; he 
 turned them back as candidates for baptism. And 
 Jesus says, 'Except your righteousness shall exceed 
 the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye 
 shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven/ 
 
 "Then you hold, dear Dad, that with personal 
 rectitude, such as sincerity, truth-speaking, purity 
 and the like, Christians must be industrially and so- 
 cially righteous; must only be companions of such 
 characters, and must protest all the inequitableness 
 of this world." 
 
 "I do; and pursuit of riches to the impoverish- 
 ment of others is one of the leading forms of pres- 
 ent-day unrighteousness (there are many others) ; 
 concerning which Paul says, Thou, man of God, flee 
 these things I' And now I must, to be faithful, deal 
 with the unrighteousness in the church. To smirch 
 her? to make her odious? far be it! That she may 
 be clad in a white and spotless robe! O beautiful 
 righteousness of saints. You must not understand 
 me, John, to charge that in the purely private realm 
 of conduct I say that church members are wanting 
 in Tightness of principle, feeling or conduct. Doubt- 
 less I thank God for it! many are scrupulously 
 conscientious as to purity and the private and do- 
 mestic virtues. At least so I want to believe, and 
 will hold true, unless convinced to the contrary 
 which I hope nobody will attempt with me. What 
 I do see, however, is, that in intersocial matters they 
 
74 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 lack conscience, and allow in conduct things gross- 
 ly unjust. They consider not how they came by their 
 money ; how their dividends are earned ; the inequal- 
 ity of the pay for different kinds of service; how 
 proportionately unjust wages are; what a dreadful 
 life is the lot of thousands that they may have lux- 
 uries ; how rotten and stinking to Heaven is such cor- 
 poration business. They have never looked at such 
 disturbing matters. Their present self-satisfaction 
 would be destroyed if they did. So it is convenient 
 not to ponder them; not even to behold them. That 
 is true witness. Let me begin with the ministers. 
 (Pity, pity the necessity!)* 
 
 "I believe you, Dad, that it is not pleasure to you 
 to touch on such subjects." 
 
 "Pleasure, John; it is not pleasure to God to be- 
 hold iniquity; and I know I am of Him in this re- 
 spect as in others; that it grieves me to testify 
 against any; and I do so now only in hope that by 
 teaching and expostulation I may deliver some. You 
 know, it is written, 'A faithful witness delivereth 
 souls.' Now the Church has a bad reputation with 
 the masses of working men. At a Church Conference 
 (Episcopal) held recently in the East, it was affirmed 
 and deplored that working men were shy of the 
 Church did not attend her religious meetings ; and 
 it was proposed that something should be done to 
 conciliate and bring them in. It is claimed that the 
 ministers feel nothing in common with the toilers; 
 that being lifted out of their class with an assured 
 and often a large income they naturally incline to 
 the friendship and cause of their principal support- 
 ers; for at the Conference alluded to it was said, 
 it is from the rich, or at any rate the well-to-do, their 
 living is chiefly derived. 
 
 "I, too, think, dear Dad, that it is the large con- 
 
Righteousness and Equality Demanded 75 
 
 tributions that come from the better-off members 
 that is their main reliance for their salary." 
 
 "Well, John, the trouble is here, men who get 
 common wages feel that the minister is an overpaid 
 servant of the public; that he is avaricious; and 
 hence his ministry in holy things is rejected. As 
 a man said to me lately, when I asked him if he had 
 heard a certain Doctor: 'No, and I don't want to. 
 I have no use for a $10,000 preacher/ (The preach- 
 er's salary was $8,000, a free parsonage, and I know 
 not what in addition, but my informant said it ate 
 up nearly $10,000.) Men at the present day are 
 largely cynical. Do you know what a cynic is, John? 
 He is one who has lost faith in anybody doing good 
 to others simply for brotherly kindness* sake; to 
 make them safe and happy. His experience is that 
 men exert themselves only 'for reward/ So when 
 the cynic sees a minister receiving from $2,500 to 
 $9,000 a year the going rate for 'first-class talent* 
 in the city of Los Angeles, he says, 'Whew! but 
 they do come high.' The trust is killed out of his 
 heart; and he feels, and where bold enough says, 
 with a sneer, 'Religious grafters!' There is much 
 in appearances to justify that (whether it is so in 
 substance God knows) ; and it is the law, 'Shun the 
 very appearance of evil;' that is, in the matter of 
 making godliness gain. Always the motive is con- 
 sidered ; and if the motive is suspicioned as a sordid 
 one then the usefulness of a minister is lost for him 
 who imagines love of money is the inducement in 
 his preaching." 
 
 "Dear Dad, I have heard a story of a Missionary 
 preaching in the open air in India, who discoursed to 
 a crowd of natives of Jesus' life of teaching and 
 healing, and finally of His death upon the tree. One 
 of them listened very attentively, and then asked the 
 
76 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 question, 'Sahib! did He do good for money?' He 
 wanted to know if money was the reason of our 
 Lord's service. Poor fellow! Probably no service 
 had ever been done him except for pay. The minis- 
 ter could tell him, praise God ! that all that the Mas- 
 ter did was rendered for nothing for nothing!" 
 
 "John, I have had some very biting things said 
 to me about the ministry and their large salaries. 
 One said: 'Ministers preach for the same reason 
 that I do to make a living/ Another : 'The minis- 
 ters will be on their job to-morrow (Sunday), as I 
 shall be on mine/ A third: 'Do you know why 
 ministers preach ? For the money there is in it. J As 
 I sat in a chair for a shave, a barber said to me : 'I 
 see by the newspapers that the clergy are coming 
 back from their vacations ; some from Europe, some 
 from back East, some from the mountains, some 
 from the seaside. They have a good time; while I 
 have to stand here and work from morning to night, 
 year in and year out, just to make both ends meet!' 
 It does seem a little inequitable, does it not? It does 
 not look like justice to have some have bags of money 
 and a pleasant recreation, and others be as good as 
 chained to a mill-wheel ! 'That is all right/ says one ; 
 'there is a difference between us. Ours is an honor- 
 able profession; theirs a menial business/ Indeed! 
 if any minister thinks the humblest honest laborer 
 inferior to himself he is yet a heathen and no Chris- 
 tian/' 
 
 "Dad, the objection is not to ministers having a 
 living; every reasonable and fair man knows a 
 preacher can no more subsist in the flesh upon ether- 
 eal food than other men, and is willing that he 
 shall be supported, supported comfortably and on 
 the same scale as the middle man, but not that he 
 shall dress as a king, live sumptuously every day, 
 
Righteousness and Equality Demanded 11 
 
 bring up his children seclusively, and lay up a for- 
 tune upon which to retire as an ex-minister." 
 
 "John, our Lord has made it an ordinance that 
 they who preach the Gospel shall live of the Gospel. 
 The one who puts his whole time into public service 
 is not a pauper if he receives carnal things while he 
 gives spiritual. I indignantly reject the thought. 
 But it is a 'living' Christ says he shall have ; and what 
 is a 'living' for a man? I remember how it used to 
 be, a long time ago. The brethren, by committee, 
 waited on him whom they thought could do them 
 good and desired to have live with them as guide and 
 comforter. They told the elder their mind, and 
 asked him: 'How much, brother, do you think, it 
 will take to keep yourself and family?' The ques- 
 tion was in harmony with the Lord's will of supply 
 of things temporal for the man of God. One day, as 
 I returned home from the East, I broke my jour- 
 ney of a Saturday evening to stay over the Sunday 
 at Denver, and rest and worship with God's people. 
 I was delighted to find that an old friend was to 
 preach in one of the places of worship. It was the 
 fiftieth anniversary of his ordination to the minis- 
 try. In the course of his address he remarked, the 
 Lord had always taken care of him so that he had 
 never been utterly destitute ; 'and,' he added, naively, 
 'I am not without money to-day. I received my pass- 
 book yesterday from the bank, and I find I have still 
 a balance of sixteen dollars to my credit.' (The 
 audience here smiled at the small balance.) 'And,' 
 said he, 'talking of money, I don't know what it is 
 good for do you, brethren? except to buy plain 
 food and clothing and give to the poor !' Noble man ! 
 We loved him much before; we loved him better 
 afterwards." 
 
 "Dear Dad, the size of the salary counts consider- 
 
78 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 ably when a church gives a preacher a call. Men 
 say ironically that the highest bid from competing 
 churches is with ministers a 'divine call' for them 
 to move ; and while this is not in all cases true, it is 
 true that in a majority of instances, other things 
 being equal, $1000 more stipend tempts them to a 
 new field of labor." 
 
 "I wish John, there had never been anything to 
 build such remarks on. A strange thing once hap- 
 pened in the city. A leading pastor came to the 
 platform, and without any introductory speech said : 
 'You say, You [himself meant] are paid to be good. 
 Maybe!' He added no more. I could not imagine 
 his reason. And this reminds me once more of the 
 barber to whom I have referred. He had assailed 
 all ministers, and I felt to take up their defense ; so 
 I remarked, 'Well, you must acknowledge that he is 
 a good man.' He slammed me back with the reply, 
 bitterly spoken : 'Anybody can be good on six thous- 
 and dollars a year.' There may be a tinge of envy 
 on the side of the poor; but is not greater wrong 
 done by those who will take these large sums while 
 their brethren have scarcely a whole garment and 
 are famishing for food? If it be asked, 'Why don't 
 they tell it?' They have a memory that when they 
 have told it it has been in vain. True love finds out 
 some things; it has not to be told them. It is in- 
 quisitive with intent of kindness." 
 
 "Dear Dad, one of the Old Fathers said, a bishop 
 who appropriates to his own use much money is a 
 'stealer of the bread of the poor.' At that time, both 
 came out of the same fund. The bigger the sum 
 taken by the clergyman the smaller the amount left 
 for the supply of the needy." 
 
 "Well now, since our Lord has laid it down that 
 His ministers may 'live/ what does it cost to live? 
 
Righteousness and Equality Demanded 79 
 
 That depends on what style of extravagance one will 
 keep up, or what frugality he will adopt. If he fasts 
 oft, there is a save there. If he will be an example 
 of what a minister can go without, that will cut off a 
 lot. A committee in New York figured it that the 
 cost of keep for a family of five, nourishing food, 
 middling quality clothes, was between $12 and $13 
 a week. That was before the present high prices 
 for necessary foods. Into a question-box of a minis- 
 ter of the city was dropped a letter: Would you 
 advise a young woman to marry a young man whose 
 wages is only fifteen dollars a week?' The answer 
 given was, that $15 would be enough to keep two 
 willing to live carefully, but more would be required 
 to meet expenses as family came on ; and his counsel 
 was that they agree together to wait until his wages 
 was raised to twenty-five dollars, which would be 
 ample for a plain living, afford money to buy in- 
 surance, and leave some for deposit in the bank 
 'against a rainy day/ But it cost the supporters of 
 that minister more than a hundred and fifteen dol- 
 lars a week, in salary alone, to keep his family! 
 This says nothing of perhaps twenty-five dollars 
 more a week received as marriage fees. When a 
 sense of equitable righteousness shall come home to 
 the Church such a minister will not be the load that 
 he is upon a generous people. Brethren who do equal- 
 ly high service for a pittance that reflects shame up- 
 on Christian people will then get some of the differ- 
 ence. At any rate, establish the Community life 
 and all this inequality and injustice will come to an 
 end, swept into the sea of oblivion. Then every 
 family will have guaranteed to it all it can rightly 
 use, which is all that anybody should ask. To re- 
 quire more is to be unchristian. What a solvent of 
 unrighteousness is the new Christian system of liv- 
 ing ! Desire it ; pray for it ! But this is not enough 
 unless we also covenant together and work for it." 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 The Primitive Church Communistic 
 
 "THE primitive Christian Church, John, for whom 
 we have such ardent love, was not without her faults, 
 and serious faults they were; but it could hardly be 
 expected that, coming as her members did out of the 
 grossness and ignorance and superstition of heathen T 
 ism, and in respect of the Jews out of carnal wor- 
 ship and formality, they would perfectly represent 
 the exalted principles of the Holy Son of God. They 
 were frail human beings as we are; men of like pas- 
 sions with ourselves. They had bad habits to break 
 and temptations of environment to conquer. But 
 over against this, and more attractive to the world 
 than anything it had ever seen, was the new Social 
 relationship the Christians sustained to one another. 
 Power, passion, had been in evidence and on ex- 
 hibition everywhere and in all time ; but now a new 
 thing appears, a Society founded upon love. The 
 new doctrine, or dogmata, was of tremendous im- 
 port, the announcement of a Saviour and Lord; but 
 here, in a Society, a body of flesh-and-blood men, the 
 doctrine of the new Master materialized into a con- 
 cordant Unity that was admirable beyond descrip- 
 tion. In the eyes of a philosopher the Gospel of 
 Christ might appear incredible and even foolish- 
 ness; but as a Social principle His commandments, 
 
82 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 'Be one ; live as brethren ; love one another/ was an 
 undeniable success, and positively unassailable/' 
 
 "The recollection of that happy state of the Church, 
 dear Dad, makes me sorry that it was not con- 
 tinued until now; for certainly the ecclesiastical or- 
 ganizations of our day are nothing like it. Do you 
 not think it may be possible to restore the Christian 
 Community, with its love, as of old? It seems to 
 me it would be worthy the unceasing prayer and 
 efforts of the best of men to re-establish it." 
 
 "John, I hope and pray and labor that I may do 
 something on this line; although we must remem- 
 ber that we are in the time of the apostasy, concern- 
 ing which Scripture says men shall be lovers of 
 their own selves and ruled by covetousness. This 
 declension from goodness is already here. Still, 
 there must be some who realize that things are not 
 among believers in Christ as they should be, who 
 may agree to return to primitive love in a Social 
 life, in which we shall all care for each other. 'As 
 many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the 
 sons of God/ and the Holy Spirit prompts to this 
 near and blessed Communion." 
 
 "Dad, with the example of Christ and the Apostles, 
 the teaching of Scripture and the urgings of the 
 indwelling Spirit of God, I hope reluctance to enter 
 into a covenant of mutual love and help will give 
 way." 
 
 "John, I was telling you about Christianity as it 
 was before innovations altered it for the pride and 
 gain of individuals. I would first speak about our 
 Lord and His twelve Apostles. Roman Catholic 
 writers, pleading for the cenobic life, have made 
 assertion that Jesus and the Twelve led a semi-mon- 
 astic existence. That is not true; it is one of the 
 exaggerations of the Papal church. It is not true 
 
The Primitive Church Communistic 83 
 
 that the Apostolate were celibates. It is not true 
 that when they became apostles they separated from 
 their wives. It is not true that they took vows to 
 lead the single life. It is not true that they shut 
 themselves up in religious houses and became clois- 
 tered and interned individuals. But it is true, that 
 the disciples, believing in Jesus and attaching them- 
 selves to Him, companied with Him, followed Him 
 on His journeys. They lived together in the same 
 house when they stayed for a time in any particular 
 place. In Jerusalem they dwelt together. One of 
 their habitations, hired I presume, is mentioned sev- 
 eral times their departure from it and their return 
 after a preaching and healing tour, or a visit to some- 
 body who invited the Master's presence and help. 
 The people crowded in and filled the place, particu- 
 larly tax-gatherers and open sinners ; and when the 
 simple meal was spread all present ate with them. 
 This was before the resurrection ; before Jesus had 
 begun to build His Church ; that is, before the disci- 
 ples were gathered together into a visible organized 
 body with Christ as its Head and Ruler. ' Jesus 
 speaks of them as 'those who have continued with 
 Me in my temptation* (trial) ; an apostle, to take the 
 place of Judas Iscariot, is mentioned as 'one who 
 companied with us* (the Twelve)." 
 
 "Dad, they certainly kept together, united by a 
 common interest; and I remember they had a com- 
 mon fund, and that Judas the traitor was their treas- 
 urer 'had the bag/ " 
 
 "That, and much more, might be said of the pre- 
 Pentecostal era of the Church. But the number of 
 the disciples having multiplied to such a host at 
 the descent of the Spirit three thousand converts 
 were made in a single day it became necessary to 
 put them in order, and set over the several groups 
 
84 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 or companies exemplary persons, able to teach them 
 and superintend them generally, and so officers were 
 appointed the word is not a good one, 'shepherds' 
 is better to serve them in the Lord." 
 
 "Dad, was not that the beginning of 'ecclesiastical 
 orders?' and is it not justification for their existence 
 now ? I ask, because the Pope of Rome and the Epis- 
 copal bodies who tell us Christians who do not look 
 upon the peculiar garments of bishops and priests 
 with reverence, but esteem them as the rough gar- 
 ments (skins) of the false prophets who garbed 
 themselves differently from other people to pass 
 themselves off as real prophets of God these say, it 
 was then they were put in authority over the flock, 
 and were given charge to go through their perform- 
 ances." 
 
 "Dear John, I answer this question because I can- 
 not be rude to you, having learned better manners, 
 but the claim is one to be scoffed at and derided; it 
 is preposterous in the highest. It assumes, too, total 
 ignorance upon our part of facts ; and really, though 
 I humbly own that I know little of what there is to 
 be known, I resent treatment as a complete ignor- 
 amus. This puts me in mind of an incident in my 
 life. On my last visit to England I made a trip to 
 the famous collegiate city of Cambridge. Here stand 
 imposing buildings of learning, and I am not insens- 
 ible to reverence for seats of culture. But as I be- 
 held this great assembly of colleges I thought, it is 
 not necessary for spiritual effectiveness to know the 
 many branches and abstruse subjects taught in this 
 great school; and the really important things are 
 open and discernible by all. Coming out of a quad- 
 rangular court, there stood in the portal a gentleman 
 whom I took to be a professor. His square hat and 
 gown made me think he was one of the instructors. 
 
The Primitive Church Communistic 85 
 
 We passed the usual salutations of friendliness and 
 good will ; when I said to him : 'I have been thinking 
 there are some things that a school-boy can know 
 as well as a professor ; that a professor, with all his 
 learning, cannot make less nor more. For example, 
 that two and two are four ; a professor cannot make 
 it five.' He saw the point and laughed; we laughed 
 together. So, for anybody to say that the -gathered 
 disciples, formed into congregations (for Church is 
 simply congregation) became the institution we now 
 behold it, is making more of the facts or story as told 
 us in the Word than truth allows; it is saying, two 
 and two are a hundred." 
 
 "Dad, I perceive you do not believe in prelacy." 
 "There was no prelacy, my son, in the primitive 
 Church; it was a charming brotherhood, a united 
 household ; and common sense and experience will tell 
 you that no such proud overlings are consistent with 
 brothers in their father's house. Besides, Jesus di- 
 rectly said on one occasion, the kings of the earth 
 exercise authority over their subjects, treating 
 them as inferiors ; 'but it shall not be so among you. 
 One is your Master, even Christ, and all ye are 
 brethren.' That 'it shall not be so among you/ set- 
 tles for me the assumption of father, bishop, greater 
 bishop, pope, etc., in the Church. The early Church 
 consisted of brothers, at home together in a heavenly 
 fellowship, with sympathy for one another such as 
 brothers feel.' " 
 
 "Would to God it were so to-day, dear Dad. Even 
 in the dissenting or non-conforming bodies to Epis- 
 copalianism, I mean there is the great paid hireling, 
 through whom solely, in public service on the Lord's 
 day the grace of God is dispensed to the congrega- 
 tion. But I have renounced the fiction that through 
 one man, a salaried man, comes to the body all wis- 
 
86 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 dom and unction, and that to him alone it is given 
 to bless in the name of the Lord, as in the final bene- 
 diction. Taught of God, I have learned that min- 
 istry is given to all saints, to be exercised as the 
 Spirit wills (operates) in every member." 
 
 "Well, we will leave this general talk and come 
 back to the Church as she sallied forth at the first, 
 'fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an 
 army with banners/ she was an excellent insti- 
 tution, comely above all the societies of earth. Her 
 loveliness was her love coupled with her purity of 
 life. This virgin-daughter of the Father of All won 
 the hearts of the devotees of systems that knew 
 philosophies and rites that had no kindness nor vir- 
 tue to them. The world is not so enamored of the 
 Church to-day. She is not loving as she was at 
 the beginning. This deficiency, this awful lack, is 
 one that is felt and complained of even by her own 
 members, not to speak of the outside world. But 
 there are individuals from whom the supreme grace 
 shines forth in splendid effulgence. Grief that 
 Christian bodies are not households of brotherly 
 affection ! Some churches discard evangelical dogma 
 altogether require not consent for fellowship to 
 the facts set forth for belief in the New Testament 
 and called The Gospel; which speaks of redemp- 
 tion by Christ, sins pardoned for His name, the 
 coming Theocracy, etc. They say, belief in a Re- 
 deemer and a coming glorious reign of God in which 
 the Messiah will rule, and to which He is the 'door' 
 of entrance, is not essential: love is everything. 
 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God; thou shalt love 
 thy neighbor ; practice the 'Golden Rule' ; be a good 
 fellow; be kind; assist your brother!' This is the 
 position of The Church of the People. I do not know 
 the members; but if they live up to their covenant 
 
The Primitive Church Communistic 87 
 
 not confession of faith, but covenant of mutual 
 friendliness and brotherly help they are Socially 
 good neighbors; but it comes short of Christianity. 
 But now here is another 'covenant/ It is that of 
 an 'orthodox' church, The Church of the Open Door; 
 certainly a very pretentious church, putting itself 
 forward as above all a conserver of The Faith to 
 the last iota. The nature of its covenant is con- 
 fessional. It defines everything there is in Scrip- 
 ture, and requires from a joiner the knowledge and 
 convictions of a mature Christian who has mastered 
 all theology and philosophy as well (for some of 
 its propositions are philosophical) . A babe in Christ 
 must be a full grown man in understanding to be 
 admitted to membership ! More than that, it exacts 
 a promise, that should a believer hereafter change 
 his views upon any point of the creed to which he 
 subscribes he will forthwith take himself away 
 get out of the church! The covenant requires of 
 him 'loyalty* to his own church, whatever that may 
 mean. (It means, generally, to stay at home, and 
 give one's money and efforts solely to the institu- 
 tion, and not to be a visiting brother to other assem- 
 blies.) It devotes many lines in its confession of 
 faith to some subjects, but dismisses God, the holy 
 and blessed Father of our Lord and ourselves, with 
 a paragraph of but two lines! And, in fact, God 
 is not a subject at all of the confession of The Church 
 of the Open Door, although He is the supreme and 
 most blessed Being; the scant reference to the liv- 
 ing Father says nothing whatever of His individu- 
 ality, perfections, powers. It is not for me to say 
 whether I do, or do not, assent to its every propo- 
 sition, since I am not a candidate for membership. 
 So much for the Church's 'faith,' or rather sub- 
 scription of belief. To a former declaration of its 
 
88 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 doctrine, the compiler added the line, 'Sounds good ; 
 doesn't it?' So that doctrine, dogma, stands very, 
 very high with this church. I also hold faith to 
 be of the essence, with love, of Christianity; but 
 not theological definitions. But when I look for love, 
 that basic quality of our salvation, that knitting 
 element of believers into true unity, I find it ENTIRELY 
 OMITTED. There is not one word in the covenant 
 of this church inculcating or requiring Christian 
 brethren to love one another, as a condition of fel- 
 lowship! Think of it! A church supposed to be 
 the purest and most Christian in Los Angeles with- 
 out a word about love! I do not say there is no 
 love among the members; but clearly it is not a 
 leading element; it is not of enough importance to 
 be mentioned in its confession and covenant ! To me, 
 this is a vital defect." 
 
 "Yes, dear Dad, some persons are such doctrin- 
 aires their apprehension of Scripture, of course 
 that they shut out a saint of saints, the most Christly 
 and estimable man in a community, should he differ 
 in honest judgment from them upon any matter! 
 They must have bidden goodby to humility and have 
 assumed infallibility and inerrancy for themselves! 
 Besides, they make of mental infirmity moral or 
 spiritual hostility." 
 
 "Well, be that as it may, in the early Christian 
 Fellowship the world beheld for the first time Faith 
 and Love united. Not The Faith only, but The 
 Faith and the Fellowship. The Fellowship, the 
 Heavenly Sociability, disposed the heathen to listen 
 to the Word. The fame of the new 'sect/ as it was 
 called, spread into all the world, till nominally 
 would God it had been really Christianity, under 
 Constantine, became the world's religion ; or rather, 
 the religion of the Roman Empire. But alas, by that 
 
The Primitive Church Communistic 89 
 
 time the trait that made her queen had departed. 
 The Church was no longer the church of the first 
 century." 
 
 "0 Dad, what you say is verity of verities ; it was 
 Christ's commandment of love lived that won out. 
 It made men glad that they were ever born to get 
 into such a harbor of peace out of the sea of the 
 world's strife! The Church was a city of refuge 
 to those within, and a city set upon a hill as a bea- 
 con to those outside." 
 
 "Yes ; and I will try to picture to you how it was. 
 Let us go back and visit a city of the Caesars where 
 Christ had been received. That man who is coming 
 toward us is a disciple. He does not hurry by us, 
 you notice; he is stopping. Teace to thee, in the 
 name of the Lord Jesus! Are you staying in the 
 city, without home?' We are strangers, and have 
 no lodging place.' 'If thou countest thy servant 
 worthy to be host, I give thee invitation to my 
 house and the comforts I am able to afford thee, 
 in the name of the holy Lord.' We accept the prof- 
 fered hospitality. To offer money for it would be 
 gravest insult ; only to think this kindness is for gain 
 would hurt if suggested. We make ourselves known 
 as brethren, and are invited to a gathering of Chris- 
 tians, if indeed the house where we stay is not itself 
 a meeting-place for believers. We enter where 
 prayer is wont to be made; are announced, and 
 received in the Lord. The cordial greeting we re- 
 ceive would be called a 'lot of fuss* in these days. 
 But love in the early Church was not esteemed gush 
 because at the bottom there was sincerity of affec- 
 tion. The kiss of love is planted on our cheek. We 
 are in a Community where is fulfilled the commands, 
 'Have fervent love one toward another,' 'See that 
 ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.' 
 
90 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 Here we find 'love indeed/ A brother has just risen 
 to his feet : 'Holy and beloved brethren/ he begins. 
 He intersperses his address with 'Beloved/ 'Beloved 
 in the Lord/ 'My dearly beloved/ He talks of some- 
 body as 'Dearly beloved and longed for/ Indeed 
 through all the talks for all have liberty to speak 
 in turn such words of endearment and cordial af- 
 fection are used as go straight from the heart of 
 the speaker to the hearts of the hearers. They are 
 heart-to-heart talks. Sermonizing? Bah! That was 
 learned later from the heathen. The philosophers 
 took a line from say Homer's Iliad, and descanted 
 upon it, for their own glory. The people who speak 
 are prophets. That is the divine order of speakers ; 
 the other, sermonizers, is the human. Prophecy is a 
 breathing of God through a man; and the rule was 
 'Ye may all prophesy, one by one'; sermonizing is 
 an 'art/ 'The Art of Sermonizing/ is it not de- 
 clared even in the title of a book that tells how it is 
 done? A sister has arrived by the name of Phoebe, 
 and a letter has come from an Apostle so beloved 
 that they would willingly be blinded themselves if 
 they could cure the trouble of his eyesight. The letter 
 is read to the Church. 'Help our sister, Phoebe/ it 
 says, 'in whatsoever business she hath need of you/ 
 That is enough, apart from the spontaneous good- 
 ness of their own re-made hearts, to insure for sis- 
 ter Phoebe all the assistance she requires. The 
 Church is not too busy, is not too much occupied with 
 'church affairs/ to respond to cases of individual 
 necessity. Such a matter was a Church affair of 
 first obligation. The 'brother* was first objective in 
 service." 
 
 "Dear Dad, I never massed things together as you 
 are doing. I never realized as I now do that love 
 was only another word for kindly helpfulness among 
 
The Primitive Church Communistic 91 
 
 the early Christians; and I have half a mind that I 
 will substitute it in my New Testament for 'love' in 
 the passages where that word occurs in usage to the 
 brethren. For example: 'Love the brotherhood/ it 
 seems to me that 'Be helpers of the brotherhood* 
 would express the sense. 
 
 "Yes, John, fraternal helpfulness is brotherly 
 love. Not a word on the tongue but an extended 
 hand of aid. Not a phrase of commiseration but 
 a gift satisfying need." 
 
 "Tell me more, dear Dad, about the love of the 
 early Christians: with the love of God, I feel it is 
 the great craving of the human heart ; but I know by 
 experience a man will hunger in vain for it from 
 present Christianity. 'Because ye belong to our 
 church' is more potent to secure even a dole than 
 'Because ye belong to Christ.' 'A cup of cold water, 
 in the name of a Methodist, a Baptist, a Presbyte- 
 rian' is given where it is denied if a man asks it in 
 the name of Christ. 'Because ye belong to Christ' 
 that made men dear to each other in the primitive 
 Church. What sounds more beautiful and what is 
 more soothing and happifying than the words of the 
 Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians : 'Being affec- 
 tionately desirous of you, we (Paul, Silvanus and 
 Timotheus) were willing to have imparted unto you, 
 not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls 
 (lives) , because ye were dear unto us.' The words 
 continually echo in my mind, 'because ye were dear 
 unto us.' " 
 
 "Dad, what about the Community life you recom- 
 mend to Christians." 
 
 "John, a writer tells us that Christians, loving one 
 another so dearly, lived together in communities, or 
 groups, for nearly three centuries after Christ. Hav- 
 ing no relish for the excesses and selfish pursuits of 
 the world they sought to find in each other's society 
 
92 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 the solace and purity they had come to love ; besides, 
 sometimes for safety they ran together to some 
 underground place. You remember an Apostle said 
 of those among whom they lived, they 'think it 
 strange that ye run not with them to the same excess 
 of riot, speaking evil of you/ And this evil-speaking, 
 among the rest, charged them with being unsociable, 
 and in their meetings plotting against the govern- 
 ment. Unsociable, in their enemies' mouths, was 
 withdrawing from them in their evil practices. The 
 most social of beings unsociable ! The popular, fash- 
 ionable churches want Christian ministers, now-a- 
 day, to be 'good mixers,' members of worldly lodges, 
 and orders, and clubs, and what not; but the early 
 Christians 'went unto them of their own Company ;' 
 and for this they were charged with unsociability 
 and hated. You know how it is with one who loves 
 another he wishes to be as much as possible in the 
 company of the beloved ; indeed, never to leave it, if 
 he can remain. 
 
 "Was not the first Christian Community estab- 
 lished at Jerusalem? 
 
 "It was, and a delightful account is given of it in 
 Acts 2 and 4. Let me quote it: 'And all that be- 
 lieved were together and had all things common; 
 and sold their possessions and goods, and parted 
 them to every man as he had need. And they, con- 
 tinuing daily in the temple, and breaking bread from 
 house to house, did eat their meat with gladness 
 and singleness of heart, praising God and having 
 favor with all the people/ The effect was great 
 upon their neighbors; it had converting influence: 
 daily, persons were being saved and added to their 
 number. And we read in the fourth chapter: 'And 
 the multitude of them that believed were of one heart 
 and of one soul. Neither said any of them that ought 
 of the things that he possessed was his own; but 
 
The Primitive Church Communistic 93 
 
 they had all things common. And with great power 
 gave the Apostles witness of the resurrection of 
 the Lord Jesus ; and great grace was upon them all. 
 Neither was there any among them that lacked ; for 
 as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold 
 them, and brought the prices of the things that were 
 sold, and laid them down at the Apostles' feet, and 
 distribution was made to every man as he had need.' 
 This happy way of living continued until persecu- 
 tion of the Christians came, which broke them up. 
 We read, Acts 8:1: 'There was a great persecution 
 against the Church which was at Jerusalem; and 
 they were all scattered abroad throughout the re- 
 gions of Judea and Samaria, except the Apostles.' " 
 
 "Dad, how were they fed?" 
 
 "John, it seems at first that they went from house 
 to house; but later, after 'deacons' were ordained, 
 which is simply ministers, daily distribution was 
 made, as every man had need. Ecclesiasticism, 
 which corrupts everything it touches for its own ends, 
 has entirely changed the diaconate (deaconship) 
 from its purpose of ordination and original service, 
 having done away with the System of which they 
 were a part, and to which they were necessary. 
 These deacons were really distributers of food to the 
 Community. They were very good men. The ac- 
 count of their appointment is as follows : Then the 
 Twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto 
 them, and said: 'It is not reason (reasonable) that 
 we should leave the Word of God and serve tables. 
 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven 
 men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and of 
 wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. 
 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and 
 to the ministry of the Word.' " 
 
 "Dad, and so that was the work and service of 
 deacons, was it, at the first? They were a kind of 
 
94 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 commissariat for the Church in community. How 
 different is that from the popular and clearly erro- 
 neous idea of Episcopacy, that they were the priest- 
 hood in first orders." 
 
 "John, you will learn more and more, as you study 
 the Word, that nearly all that is done today is a trav- 
 esty upon God's design and institution. Let me add 
 this, however, to what I have said about deacons, as 
 corroborative of the fact that they were distributers 
 of food ; first, they were to have reputation for hon- 
 esty, and you can easily see that they would not be 
 pilferers if honest ; second, they were to be men full 
 of the Holy Spirit and of wisdom, so that when they 
 went their round they could counsel and help spirit- 
 ually as opportunity offered. But I must stop now. 
 I want, however, to speak to you further about the 
 new Nation, the new Society, the new Order, the new 
 Fellowship, as well as the new Faith, that came into 
 being through Jesus Christ and His Apostles." 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 The Christian Church a New Nation 
 
 "IN the early Church the world beheld the begin- 
 ning or arising of a new Nation. It was the be- 
 ginning of the Kingdom of God among the kingdoms 
 of men under a new administration and with new 
 methods. Its authoritative Lord was the glorified 
 Jesus. That Kingdom had its laws. Outside the 
 first (which was love to God) , all were summable in 
 one. It read : 'A new commandment give I unto you, 
 that ye love one another/ Therefore it was a spirit 
 rather than a code that was the foundation of this 
 new Nation or Kingdom. And all its laws or rules 
 grew out of this spirit. They were love-command- 
 ments, as distinguished from equitable. They re- 
 quired more than mere righteousness ; they were act- 
 ings from good will, from generosity. The brethren 
 lived in mutual sympathy. Holy Scripture calls this 
 Church a Nation. 'Ye are a holy nation/ said Peter. 
 A 'nation* was being born when the Church was be- 
 ing established. The constituent members of it were 
 prepared individually. They were spiritual. Yet 
 they were a veritable Nation. They were a People. 
 'Ye are a peculiar people/ said Peter, again. There 
 were already many peoples or families in the world. 
 Their origin could be traced back to some name of the 
 past. They were tribal, with tribal prejudices and 
 selfish interests. This People, or family, was the 
 
96 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 people or family of God. It was not a blood 
 progeny ; and yet blood, the precious blood of Christ, 
 had an essential relation to its existence. It 
 was a Society, formed of called-out ones from 
 every nation and kingdom and tribe and tongue, to 
 be one body, to associate together for specific ends, 
 such as no other society contemplated. It was 
 a new Order, under One who was a Priest-king, after 
 the order of Melchizedek. Shall I name it, The Or- 
 der of the Son of God ? Certainly, it was a 'religious' 
 Order. It was a new Fellowship. That word 'fel- 
 lowship' is greater than is generally supposed. It 
 means a partnership with Jesus, the King of glory ; 
 with the Father of lights, or perfections ; a partner- 
 ship with one another. Truly/ said an Apostle, 'our 
 fellowship [partnership] is with the Father, and 
 with His Son Jesus Christ/ And again, we are said 
 to be 'called to the fellowship [partnership] of God's 
 Son.' Also, it is a fellowship [partnership] between 
 brethren who are like each other, in trust and sub- 
 jection to God. 'If we walk in the light as He is in 
 the light, we have fellowship one with another, and 
 the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from 
 all sin.' Now all this was not of the brain but visible 
 to the eyes. Christians had come to stay, come to 
 grow as a Nation. No Nation, Kingdom, People, 
 Society, Order, Fellowship, could be more tangible. 
 Together with the Word, the Faith, the Gospel, they 
 went forth. The Evangelist with the Evangel made 
 their mark. They went everywhere, breathing 
 peace and holding forth the torch of life. The Nation 
 was a composite of all nations. Jew, Greek, Roman, 
 Scythian, barbarian of every name, they came ; but, 
 instructed and baptized, they were assimilated into 
 one, and henceforth were of no nationality but the 
 one holy People of God. All their hostilities, preju- 
 dices, customs, sank into the sea of oblivion. They 
 
The Christian Church a New Nation 97 
 
 were molten into one. They became the love people!" 
 
 "Truly, Dad, they were a very real as well as a 
 very distinct People; a little bit of the Kingdom of 
 Heaven upon earth; understood as doers of God's 
 will." 
 
 "They were a People without caste or class. The 
 wise man had to renounce his wisdom to belong to 
 it. The great man had to surrender his title for ad- 
 mission. The mighty man had to give up his boast 
 of power to be a member. It was at once a great 
 leveller and a great raiser. It cast down the person 
 of high degree and exalted the man of low estate. 
 Really, I mean ; literally. Or what means such a pas- 
 sage as this : 'Let the brother of low degree rejoice 
 in that he is exalted, but the rich in that he is made 
 low* (abased) ? As in the monastic life prince and 
 peasant become 'Brother' the prince no more so 
 than the peasant so in this new Nation. Looking at 
 the differences in the standing of men to-day, the 
 social distinctions, the degrees of respect, we ex- 
 claim, Where, God, is Thy Church, Thy People, Thy 
 Nation ? Of old, there was equality ; but it was a Di- 
 vine equality, in which they were all unspeakably 
 raised. They obtained for the names they discarded 
 the more excellent name of Sons of God. This was 
 the Nation that originated soon after Pentecost." 
 
 "Yes, Dad, it was the putting down of the mighty 
 from their seats and the exaltation of obscure men, 
 men of low degree; but at the same time it exalted 
 the whole number to the Divine rank and nature. 
 How wonderful ! how blessed ! May it happen again ! 
 There seems no good reason why it shall not be so 
 if we yield ourselves for it, will it, and take measures 
 to bring it about. It probably never will be, generally, 
 before the Millenium, but it can be in part now to all 
 who will submit, pray and act to make it a reality." 
 
 "John, how much that meant to the world, especial- 
 
98 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 ly at that time when there was but one sovereign, free 
 people and the other nations were tributary, we can 
 only imagine. 'I am a Roman !' was the proud boast 
 of the dominant man ; outside of that, servility ruled 
 and manhood was nearly effaced. But to both these 
 alike the door of the Church stood wide open, and a 
 voice said, 'Enter, and become one of the new Na- 
 tion.' And they did enter ; in time, millions of them. 
 But what a Nation it was! A resident 'Anglican 
 Catholic' conceives of this Nation as a 'hospital' 
 where the sick enter to be cured ! (This is the worst 
 ever. ) A local bishop preached a sermon in which he 
 declared the Church to be a Society in which ordin- 
 ary men, full of sin, are worked over into 'saints' 
 at the last ; but are anything but saints now ! Some 
 have thought of this institution as a sort of poor- 
 house or asylum for the indigent. The new Nation 
 was neither. It was a new creation of God His 
 most beautiful handiwork! It was good from the 
 beginning. It was a royal, priestly body. It is as 
 absurd as it is wicked to regard the Church as a 
 lazar-house, a reformatory, an almshouse. beau- 
 tiful temple of the living God how these 'Catholics' 
 with over-the-sea affiliation do think and speak of 
 thee! It must be their Church they are describing, 
 not God's." 
 
 "Dear Dad, these blue-blooded ecclesiastics defame 
 and libel God's Holy Church, His Nation among 
 nations ! I feel the same repugnance to their teach- 
 ing as I do to their false claims." 
 
 "John, none could gain admission to this Nation, 
 according to its rules for citizenship, except by con- 
 version. Paul says to the Ephesians, 'Ye turned to 
 God from idols to serve the living and true God and 
 to wait for His Son from heaven, even Jesus.' True 
 repentance, abnegation of their old self according to 
 their former lusts, was indispensable. They had to 
 
The Christian Church a New Nation 99 
 
 be washed white to be admitted to that Nation. They 
 could not come in with their sins upon them. For 
 the people were a clean people. Did I not tell you 
 that Peter calls them 'a holy nation' ? Now it is true 
 that 'holy* may mean in some uses simply dedicated. 
 But not in Christians. It must mean also, conse- 
 crated, devoted. The Nation, every member of it, 
 was a 'committed' people ; a people who having ac- 
 cepted God's King for them, were by obligation of 
 conscience and glad surrender of heart loyalists 
 the Lord's own. Such was the new Nation. And 
 they had a 'vocation,' although sham ministers of 
 Christ narrow vocation (calling) to the life, min- 
 istry or work of their oath-bound Orders. Their 
 vocation was to shine as lights in the world, be be- 
 fore men as letters written by the Spirit of God, show 
 forth the virtues derived from Him who had called 
 them from darkness to light. Their creation was of 
 purpose that they perform good works: 'created 
 anew in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God 
 hath before ordained that we should walk in them.' 
 They were, in short, Children of the Resurrection, 
 and seekers after the things that are above. What a 
 Nation ! 'Ye have purified your souls [yourselves] in 
 obeying the truth, through the Spirit,' says Peter, 
 'unto unfeigned love of the brethren.' A people who 
 had purified themselves by faith. This purification 
 of the soul, manward, led up to and culminated in 
 unfeigned love of the brethren ! The Church of to- 
 day is terribly wanting it has not brought its mem- 
 bership unto this 'unfeigned love of the brethren.' " 
 
 "Dear Dad ! real, living love of the brethren ah, 
 me!" 
 
 "John, I do not wonder you sigh, 'Ah, me !' I have 
 often done so myself. There are smiles for you if 
 you are sect-affiliated. But even then the 'deep sweet 
 well of love' is generally a fountain unopened. But 
 
100 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 in the early Nation it was an amazingly blissful real- 
 ity. That is, it amazed the new convert; he mar- 
 velled and rejoiced at the heavenly atmosphere ; and 
 always, after entrance, he found repose in the affec- 
 tions of the saints. He was refreshed, comforted, 
 filled with the love of all. Drink in the sense of that 
 term 'unfeigned/ Let me show you a King, David. 
 He was captured and brought into the presence of 
 Achish, King of Gath. Certain death confronted 
 him. But he bethought himself of a plan to save his 
 life. Doubtless the God he served put it into his 
 mind. So he 'turned the trick' of feigning himself 
 mad. Scrabbling on the door of the gate of the 
 city, he let the spittle run out of his mouth down upon 
 his beard. And when the king, his enemy, saw it, 
 he said: Take him away; why do you bring a mad 
 man to me !' And thus he escaped. There are many 
 men who slobber at the mouth toward others. 'With 
 their mouth they show much love/ You are to them 
 'dear brother/ Not at all. They feign love. If you 
 were dying for a hundred dollars and they had a 
 thousand they would not give you help. They love 
 money too well. But still they say 'dear' or 'be- 
 loved/ But this fine Nation of old time had purged 
 their souls. Self-love, money-greed had been elimin- 
 ated from their systems by a dose of heavenly medi- 
 cine. John, the oil of love, of blessed brotherly love, 
 is the best, the only sure cure for the greedy eye and 
 the grasping hand. Love is the sovereign specific 
 for indifference to a brother's being and well-being." 
 
 "And did the believers live thus together in love, 
 dear Dad?" 
 
 "They did, John. I will give you Scripture testi- 
 mony, my authority, that the new People were a 
 splendid People, for all their shortcomings and tres- 
 passes; that they were the salt of the earth, pre- 
 serving society from complete putrefaction. (That 
 
The Christian Church a New Nation 101 
 
 salt they had in themselves.) Let us dwell on the 
 love they had toward each other; and then their 
 kindness and labor for those outside themselves ; for 
 they never said to a stranger, as party-men say to- 
 day to the needy : 'You are a stranger ; I feel under 
 no obligation to you ; go to your own church/ 'Your 
 own church* as if the body of Christ were many, 
 rather than one! while they sing, 'We are all one 
 body.' Among themselves, ministry, service, in 
 things spiritual and temporal, was a living, satisfy- 
 ing fact. They did not depute their personal duty to 
 paid officials. Officialism and perfunctory service 
 as it exists today had not then arisen. Priestcraft, 
 with its central idea that the Church exists for a 
 sacerdos, was not even a dream. No; the Church 
 existed for all its members; for self-edification, ex- 
 hortation, comfort. The idea is as untrue as it is un- 
 natural. Some of the members taught, some ruled, 
 some 'served tables' (looked after provisions) . Cer- 
 tain ones addicted themselves to special ministries; 
 others did anything that the Holy Spirit moved them 
 to do. But all was done of love ; love was the prin- 
 ciple of their service. how they labored for one 
 another through mutual love ! Comparatively it may 
 be said, Christendom of to-day does not know love. 
 I have in mind numerous acts of benevolence and 
 charitable institutions, but they are not the same as 
 the love of original Christianity. I rejoice, however, 
 to say that there are individual hearts mellow with 
 this heavenly grace, who, had they lived in Apos- 
 tolic times, would have been in their element. I hope 
 to find some such to restore in Community this sweet- 
 est relationship of believer with believer." 
 
 "Dad, I think we had better all begin and settle 
 down to make more of love love as a life, rather than 
 as an occasional sporadic act or acts ; and I almost 
 think we will have to get away from the Christian 
 
102 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 bodies that make charity (love) but a 'department* of 
 church life, rather than, with faith and testimony 
 of the Gospel, the whole of it. The people of God a 
 love people, the holy nation a love nation would 
 that it were true in Society now !" 
 
 "I purpose, John, that you shall have before you 
 how good Christians were of old so loving toward 
 each other that it is said in some passages of Scrip- 
 ture that there was no necessity to write them a 
 word about brotherly love, they were already so af- 
 fectionate! 'Keep it up; continue in it; abound in 
 it, more and more/ was all. And where love is at all 
 mentioned in exhortation, it is not by way of com- 
 plaint. Except in the case of the Apostle Paul him- 
 self, who, on account of his enemies, was not loved 
 up to his desert. But speaking of the Church, the 
 new Nation, as a whole, she lived high up toward the 
 standard of perfection in fraternal love. I think 
 many miss the fact that discipleship is a double de- 
 votion devotion to the Lord, and devotion to the 
 brethren. 'Devotion : giving oneself wholly to a per- 
 son, course, study or thing.' Paul says of the 
 churches in Macedonia, they 'first gave themselves to 
 the Lord, and unto us, by the will of God/ To the 
 Lord and to one another did the early Church give 
 themselves. They were not only attached but clave 
 to the brotherhood ! 'Cleave : to be united closely in 
 interest and affection/ says a dictionary. Cleaving 
 unto the Lord with full purpose of heart, they also 
 stuck with devotion to one another, as servants in 
 common, in things spiritual and material. A notable 
 example of 'cleaving' one to another is narrated in 
 Nehemiah, 10th chapter: 'Every one having knowl- 
 edge and having understanding, clave to their 
 brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and 
 into an oath, to walk in God's law, which was given 
 by Moses, the servant of God/ Devoted one to an- 
 
The Christian Church a New Nation 103 
 
 other! The devotion of love, as a mother to her 
 babe, or a man to his friend, is not a far-off idea, but 
 an every-day occurrence; and, blessed children of 
 God! how they did cleave one to another and make 
 each other's tears and smiles their own ! Assistance 
 was gladly rendered for each other's comfort; while 
 now the smallest act is made a 'pay job'; a little 
 loan for relief an interest-bearing obligation ! Talk- 
 ing of devotion, hear these words: 'Ye are in our 
 heart, to live and die with you !' 'In our heart* : is 
 there a warmer place in which to nestle than a broth- 
 er's heart, excepting only the Heart of hearts, the 
 love of the Lord Jesus ?" 
 
 "Dear Dad, such love leaves nothing to be desired 
 except its ocean fulness." 
 
 "True, John. Now, before I present you with the 
 testimonies that speak the happy, harmonious condi- 
 tion of these lovers of old, with exception of isolated 
 instances to the contrary, I wish to show you how 
 the harmony and love were maintained. The govern- 
 ment of this new Nation was of the simplest ; it was 
 a family affair, a sort of spiritual paternalism. Pres- 
 byters, or elders ruled it, as a father a family. The 
 new Nation was a novelty in government. The 
 elder ('superior,' to speak in the language of monas- 
 ticism) did not demean a brother by some unreason- 
 able, arbitrary command, some puerile order, to 
 'break his will' or pride, and humble him by the in- 
 dignity to abjectness of manhood. Subjection in this 
 Nation meant no such thing. It simply meant the 
 plain, open, known laws of Christ taught by an elder 
 honored by observance. That was Christian obedi- 
 ence. It was obedience to the elder, inasmuch as he 
 was their teacher : 'Obey them that guide you' (in our 
 English version, 'have the rule over you') . The rea- 
 son is given. It is not for the gratification of their 
 own feeling of overlordship, or their personal dig- 
 
104 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 nity's sake; it was for the sole reason that 'they 
 watch [as shepherds] for your souls [the protection 
 of your lives, against the prowling foe] , as they who 
 must [are held to] give account* (as protectors of 
 the Lord's flock). Their rules of safety must be 
 heeded; but they had no authority (it is an outrage) 
 to make a brother or a sister in Community carry 
 an article from place to place and do sundry useless 
 and menial things of purpose to bring them under, 
 humiliate and make them subservient. Nothing was 
 ordered to impress upon any inferiority. Indeed the 
 ruler was himself under order not to be 'self -willed* : 
 he must not be insistant to have his way; he must 
 not be obstinate for his own plans. 'An elder must 
 not be self-willed/ says the law of qualifications for 
 eldership." 
 
 "Dear Dad, such government could not be tyran- 
 nical nor irksome to the governed." 
 
 "John, to be a 'master* is opposed to love and to the 
 genius of the Gospel. 'Be not ye many masters/ 
 says the Word. The reason is given, because there 
 is offense in mastery; others feel aggrieved and are 
 made to stumble into bitterness. The scripture says, 
 'for in many things [as masters] we all offend [give 
 offense] .* Mastery is not allowed in Christianity. It 
 was not an element of the new Commonwealth. But 
 if an elder should forget his rule, and forget 'holy 
 obedience,* he was not to be harshly treated. The 
 rule in such case was, 'Rebuke not an elder, but en- 
 treat him, as a father.* Certainly, no new doctrine 
 or dogma might be imposed by an elder, or body of 
 elders (a council) upon the Brotherhood, not even 
 under the name of a 'definition.* Nothing was com- 
 manded to be believed or done but what Christ and 
 godliness required 'the things which ye have heard 
 from the beginning.* Paul says, 'Not that we have 
 
The Christian Church a New Nation 105 
 
 dominion over your faith [to force upon you a new 
 dogma] , but are helpers of your joy/ ' 
 
 "How satisfactory, good Dad, was such an ar- 
 rangement and how curbing of any tendency to 
 dominate." 
 
 "Yes, John ; and even an elder must at times bend 
 and submit to his brethren. As it was written : 'Ye 
 younger submit yourselves to the elder; yea, all of 
 you submit yourselves one to another.' Dignity, rank 
 had not place in the new Nation as in the world, 
 where precedence and subservience are strictly en- 
 forced and observed. All were required to be re- 
 spectful to each other, in agreement with the rule 
 'Be courteous/ but no big ecclesiastic strutted up and 
 down in rich garments to be kow-towed to as a per- 
 son of great distinction. Boo! such a dignity exist 
 in that day ! No saint kissed another's feet ; except, 
 perhaps, when one had washed his fellow's feet 
 who had happened in or returned from a journey, 
 he might have, impromptu, of brotherly love, kissed 
 the feet he washed ; especially if they were the feet of 
 an evangelist; whose feet -"beautiful feet" had 
 carried him abroad to proclaim the holy Evangel 
 (good message) ! There was no major domo, or 
 master of ceremonies, in the early Church. She was 
 not then of the earth earthly. She had not even 
 asked as a Nation to become like the nations around 
 her, pompous and worldly." 
 
 "Dear Dad, your description of what the new 
 nation was not is so graphically descriptive of what 
 she is in many places today." 
 
 "My son, the more is the pity ; and it is to her loss 
 and shame. Subjection there was in the beginning, 
 but it was to the Gospel, to the evangelical command- 
 ments; not to a man, or a number of men, as in 
 pseudo-churches of Christ. As we say here in the 
 States, 'government by law, by the constitution ; not 
 
106 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 by men, after their own ideas.' Of course, there 
 were things of order to be agreed to : no reasonable 
 person could take exception to that ; all sensible men 
 would wish it ; but the warp and woof of the harmony 
 of the early Church, the new Nation, was love, and 
 the obedience and accommodations of love. As to 
 honor or esteem it was not lacking; they received it 
 who deserved it : and they who for their faithful, un- 
 tiring teaching and many good deeds deserved it 
 most got it in greatest quantity. 'Honor them that 
 fear the Lord' was observed toward every brother ; 
 but additional honor and love was paid to the best 
 of the brotherhood, or citizenry. One who became 
 a near-martyr, Epaphroditus, was commended by 
 Paul to the church at Philippi in these words, 'Re- 
 ceive him in the Lord with all gladness, and hold 
 such in reputation [literally, honor such], because 
 for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not 
 regarding his life to supply your lack of service.' 
 Honor, estimation, love was graded for services ren- 
 dered, and not for ordination or appointment's sake." 
 
 "Dad, what a model Nation that must be whose 
 rulers receive honor on their merits of service. I 
 remember hearing of a judge for whom reverence 
 (high respect) was claimed merely for his office's 
 sake, and scripture was urged in support. The 
 party addressed admitted respect was due to author- 
 ity represented by the judge, but replied, 'Let the 
 judge himself so behave that the people can respect 
 him.' " 
 
 "Speaking of honor, John, the new Nation was 
 not a lot of hoodlums, all were estimable ; but it had 
 also its especially honorable men. Let me tell you its 
 laws in respect to honor. I will recite the sentences. 
 They cover their King, the rulers, the citizens and 
 every human being. First, their King, Jesus. The 
 grand gathering of the Nation hereafter acclaim 
 
The Christian Church a New "Nation 107 
 
 Him in glowing words as 'worthy' His position of 
 King of kings and Lord of lords. 'Worthy is the 
 Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and 
 wisdom and strength and honor and glory and bless- 
 ing', they say. They put the honor of universal sov- 
 ereignty upon the ground of worthiness; they pro- 
 claim that worthiness to be His great love in the gift 
 of His life for their redemption and upon the raptur- 
 ous experience of their own salvation and glorifica- 
 tion thereby. The honor of the King of the new 
 Nation stands upon His glorious merits. Regarding 
 the elders, the law is : 'Let the elders that rule well 
 be counted worthy of double honor/ Why dou- 
 ble? Because they serve well as rulers, and also as 
 evangelists and instructors of the believers 'they 
 labor in word and in doctrine.' Double duty per- 
 formed, double honor due. And Paul agrees with 
 Peter, saying, 'We beseech you, brethren, to know 
 them which labor among you, and are over you in 
 the Lord, and admonish you; and to esteem them 
 very highly in love for their work's sake.' They 
 were to be more dearly beloved, as well as receive 
 greater honor. Why ? 'for their work's sake.' " 
 
 "Dad, do you notice it is not double salary or 
 double support; but, along with a living, to stand 
 higher in esteem and to be more beloved by the Chris- 
 tian Commonalty." 
 
 "John, even among the plain citizens of the new 
 Nation, if you will allow me so to call them, the law 
 was, 'Love the brotherhood;' 'Honor to every man 
 that worketh good.' And generally, the rule read, 
 'Let each esteem other better than himself.' 'In 
 honor preferring one another.' blessed unambi- 
 tious life ! where envy slinks away abashed, as each 
 believer with small esteem of himself and great re- 
 spect for his brother goes to the lower seat! Now 
 concerning men as men, the National law was: 
 
108 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 'Honor [esteem] all men/ Why honor all? Because 
 man was made in God's image and likeness ; because 
 the stamp of God is upon him. So in this new Na- 
 tion, regard, esteem, honor flourished along with 
 love ; which made it the grand Nation it was. I have 
 now shown you some things of the new Nation 
 which made it desirable for a man of the world to 
 flee to, tired of the jars and wrongs of the 
 nations of men. But where in the world can be 
 found all these attractions today? The Church is no 
 longer a retreat, with welcome and mutual burden- 
 bearing. It is not a home. Family conditions are 
 absent. Let us make it, from an abode of sects and 
 a fat pasturage for preachers from an institution 
 of human ideas into a fold for God's sheep to lie 
 down in; a place of satisfaction; an abode of true, 
 helpful love. O that it were as it was, with its old 
 principles in activity, and its serviceableness in full 
 swing ! Let those of us who want back the departed 
 fraternity seek to regain our own, according to the 
 will of God/ " 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 Brotherliness in Business 
 
 "I LINGER, John, as one lingers on a lovely scene or 
 a fond memory, on the new Nation that had its 
 genesis in Jerusalem, to spread out from thence and 
 become the Church Universal. I have called her a 
 fine and splendid People; as well she might be that 
 had such mottoes as these by which to live : 'Let all 
 your things be done with charity/ and 'Whatsoever 
 things are true, whatsoever things are honest, what- 
 soever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, 
 whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are 
 of good report : if there be any virtue, or if there be 
 any praise, think on these things/ These, carried 
 out, would make any institution of superlative ex- 
 cellence. Let us look at them for a minute or two. 
 Do everything from love. Let every deed be an act 
 of love. Exercise your mind with all that is real, 
 all that is venerable, all that is fair, all that is clean, 
 all that is beautiful to contemplate, all that is of 
 good reputation, all that is virtuous, all that is praise- 
 worthy. Contemplate, meditate, admire, practice 
 them." 
 
 "Dear Dad, how could this be in a world where so 
 many things corruptive and irritating press upon us 
 all? where the vital interest of getting a living mili- 
 tates against such lofty conduct and thought? They 
 must needs forsake the world." 
 
110 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 "John, that is what they did; they forsook the 
 world in all that the world means to him to whom 
 it is all. They left it; gave it up. The world has 
 nothing that I want/ said a new Nationalist of mod- 
 ern times : that was their feeling and attitude. They 
 did not have in mind earthly things money, prefer- 
 ment, indulgence, power as objects of living. The 
 things that had been treasure to them of old they 
 scattered. Their minding was heavenly things. 
 They concentrated upon them. They were spiritual, 
 as opposed to material. They forsook this world for 
 the world to come. In this world indeed were they, 
 but not of it. But that does not mean that they shut 
 themselves away from all society. That does not 
 mean that they swore away their liberty of coming 
 and going. Nor does it mean that they had no handi- 
 craft or secular business. No, no. They went in and 
 out among men as freely as we do ; mixed with them 
 in business and things lawful as we ; and all without 
 fear of contagion or distraction. This was accord- 
 ing to their Founder's mind, who prayed, saying: 
 'Father, I pray not that Thou shouldest take them 
 [His disciples] out of the world, but that Thou 
 shouldest keep them from the evil.' His wish was 
 their preservation from the evil, contaminating in- 
 fluence of the world's conduct, maxims and spirit. 
 Always, these Theocrats had in mind and in pur- 
 pose the new object of their calling, which was not 
 to be conspicuous and peculiar as following the rule 
 of some founder other than their great Founder, the 
 Son of God. You would not have known them by 
 some oddly cut garment or habit of grey, black or 
 white ; and they had no great cross depending from a 
 chain around their necks. There was neither rever- 
 ends, right reverends nor very reverends, man- 
 tled or petticoated members, in their number. But 
 they had the look of sanctity, because the clay of 
 
Brotherliness in Business 111 
 
 those who live with pure and generous and loving 
 thoughts gets stamped in time with the expression 
 of what they are." 
 
 "You talk of their forsaking the world was it an 
 entire abnegation?' 
 
 "Yes, John, it was. Their renunciation was even 
 more than a renunciation of the world, it embraced 
 themselves likewise, yea, and their own lives also for 
 mere life's sake. In renouncing the world, they 
 broke with its allurements and rewards ; in denying 
 self, with its pride, adornment, self-pleasing, las- 
 civiousness, even wisdom and righteousness; and 
 with their own lives, as to being spared to them at 
 the cost of disobedience to their King and God. All 
 went in, in the transfer of their allegiance." 
 
 "But what about manual labor, Dad; did they 
 henceforth do nothing of a secular nature, living on 
 public charity, dependents upon the generosity of the 
 benevolent?" 
 
 "No, John, they worked, as was their wont; in- 
 deed, it was required, to be a member of Community, 
 that a man work ; with the alternative that if he did 
 not work neither should he eat. Every able-bodied 
 man had to be a producer, a mechanic, or a trader ; 
 except he were a laborer in spiritualities, entirely de- 
 voted to his ministry as evangelist or teacher. But it 
 was as different beings, so to speak, they farmed, or 
 wrought, or sold. They had not the old purpose; 
 they did not labor in the same spirit : they occupied 
 themselves in businesses that were good for the satis- 
 fying of needs. In a word, each one worked for all, 
 for ALL!" 
 
 "But, Dad, can it be possible that they did not work 
 to accumulate to 'make money/ as we say? and 
 rejoice as they grew richer, as men making a 'suc- 
 cess' of life ? and call it 'getting on in the world/ as 
 they rolled up a fortune?" 
 
112 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 "0 John, you are thinking of the heathen of to- 
 day, church-members as well as non-professors; I 
 am talking of the 'holy Nation' and of its component 
 units; of the People of the new principles! The 
 golden calf was not their God ; they were not as the 
 idolaters of our time." 
 
 "But, Dad, money, good shining gold! think what 
 a dependence it is ! The general feeling is that there 
 is nothing like money ; that he who has it need worry 
 for nothing else; while he who has it not should 
 slave or scheme to get it." 
 
 "Hence, dear John, the imperative and pressing 
 need of conversion ; for of all perversion the love of 
 money, and living to make money, is greatest. 
 Money, frightful word! Word full of all peril! 
 More to be feared than the bubonic plague ! It was 
 attractive to the arch-traitor, Judas Iscariot, as it is 
 to present-day traitors ; but it made no appeal to the 
 holy citizens of the new Nation. They were utterly 
 weaned from the money-getting craze. The moment 
 any new Nationalist got this microbe into his system 
 he ceased to be a typical citizen. The Book of faith 
 and conduct of the new Nation says: The love of 
 money is a root of all evil/ Yes, and when that 'root' 
 has grown up into a tree, a great wide-spreading tree 
 with many branches, it is a upas-tree of death to the 
 soul which is its soil of sustenance. Believe me, 
 John, if the necessity of watching and praying is ever 
 of importance it is when Satan is around with his 
 bag, saying, Tay me homage and this bag is thine/ ' 
 
 "But you said, Dad, they worked at their different 
 occupations did no money pass to them for their 
 services? Did not that good and eminent man John 
 Wesley say to the members of his Society 'Make all 
 you can ; give all you can ?' Is not that good advice ?" 
 
 "John, I will answer you first as to John Wesley. 
 Were he here he would be the first to repudiate (and 
 
Brotherliness in Business 113 
 
 I am thinking he would do it with some heat) that 
 anybody should interpret misinterpret him to in- 
 culcate that a member of the Wesley an Society was 
 counselled by him to make all he could, by any 
 method, that he might have much to distribute to 
 others. He would say : 'Make all you can honestly, 
 as real earnings; use as little as possible for yourself; 
 and give the surplus to the needy/ His life was a 
 testimony to this effect. To die rich, with him, was 
 to be damned. An exploiter of others to a fabulous 
 amount, who offers the plea in self -justification that 
 he is making his millions so that he may have large 
 money to give away, is affirming usually what is not 
 true, as he himself knows, and as his benefices and 
 the large hoard he reserves for himself show. He 
 disobeys God in so doing, as well as steals from man ; 
 and we are not allowed to do evil with the plea that 
 we have a good end in view." 
 
 "Please, let me stop you, dear Dad ; I will not con- 
 tend that a man may disobey God or do injustice to 
 man to have money to spend on others." 
 
 "Well, John, I will agree with Mr. Wesley as I 
 believe he would have me understand him, namely: 
 to make all one can by personal labor, directly and 
 purely of love, to give to the needy. For example : 
 If in the new Nation a brother wished to redeem a 
 captive who had become a Christian, and setting his 
 heart upon doing it he worked hard, taxing himself 
 to the uttermost, even putting in long days, nobody 
 would condemn but praise him, and give thanks to 
 God for such a noble example. But you see that 
 supposes personal exertion and sacrifice for the end 
 in view, and is different from a man becoming a 
 plunderer with the excuse that he might have to give. 
 Regarding the taking of money, or its equivalent, by 
 the early Christians it would seem at first, in their 
 Community life, before they settled down to the 
 
114 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 basis of mutual labor, the rich gave their possessions, 
 which were sold, and the money was used to keep 
 the body and give to those who had nothing. They 
 doubtless thought it would be but a very short time 
 to our Lord's return; hence the arrangement was 
 temporary. It is presumable that what was neces- 
 sary to be done for one another they did without 
 compensation. Those who were isolated and in serv- 
 ice doubtless received their 'hire' to support them- 
 selves and those depending upon them. Besides, it 
 might have been different as between those of their 
 own Company and the outside world. But there is 
 not a solitary hint in the new Nation's code that any- 
 body might launch out into a big speculation, use his 
 brethren for his personal gain, and then compound 
 the matter with gifts, public or private. In fact, in 
 principle it is absolutely wicked and indefensible. 
 There is not an example of it in the New Testament." 
 
 "But were there not rich men in the new Nation ?" 
 
 "Yes, but they must have been rich before they 
 became saved ; for Scripture rules that no Christian 
 may wish to be rich and work for that end. Regard- 
 ing such rich men as I have referred to, the com- 
 mandment is, 'Charge them that are rich in this 
 world that they be rich in good works' disburse 
 their riches, distribute them, to relieve the necessi- 
 ties of fellow saints." 
 
 "Then, Dad, you hold that a Christian should not 
 be an accumulator?" 
 
 "John, is it believable that our Lord would have 
 us heap up money or goods apart from the extra 
 cares possessions bring upon their owners when 
 Paul, in the spirit of Jesus, says, They that will be 
 rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many 
 foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in de- 
 struction and perdition. For the love of money is a 
 root of all evil ; which while some have coveted after, 
 
Brotherliness in Business 115 
 
 they have erred from the faith, and pierced them- 
 selves through with many sorrows' ? And Jesus said 
 directly, as he saw a man depart in sorrow to whom 
 He had said 'Sell all that thou hast/ 'How hardly 
 shall they that have riches enter into the Kingdom 
 of heaven.' " 
 
 "But still you say you believe in business: what 
 sort of business?" 
 
 "Business, John, is what a man busies himself 
 with ; what he employs his skill, energy and time in 
 doing. There is such a thing as doing even one's 
 secular work, one's worldly business, religiously, 
 benevolently, and hence to the profit of others as 
 well as oneself. Then there is the common corpora- 
 tion-way of doing it, on an immoral basis, and with 
 an eye only to self gain. Hear how it was done in 
 the new Nation. The pedlar or merchant was in- 
 structed to say (and of course act upon that plan) 
 not, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, 
 and continue there a year, and buy, and sell, and 
 get gain ;' but, 'If the the Lord will, we shall live and 
 do this and that.' Men generally would laugh today 
 at the suggestion of doing business subject to the will 
 of the Lord. They would say 'The law is too archaic 
 for the twentieth century.' The Lord, in Big Busi- 
 ness! Such Business would, Pharaoh-like, answer, 
 'We know not the Lord ; neither will we transact bus- 
 iness after such manner. Christianity in business 
 we could not be hampered by it.' But the new Nation 
 had for a fast law, 'Whatsoever ye do in word or 
 deed [not excluding business] , do all in the name of 
 the Lord Jesus.' A Jesus-representative in business, 
 making sales or purchases according to the rules 
 taught by the heavenly Master, how rare ; preposter- 
 ous the proposal to such as would buy for the least 
 and sell at any price obtainable." 
 
 "Did this state of things last?" 
 
116 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 "Yes, for a long time, except that some left ; such 
 as had not really died to worldly desires. Persons of 
 this class sneaked into Community. They were num- 
 bered for awhile with the faithful ; their names were 
 entered upon the Nation's register. They promised 
 well ; they won the confidence of the really good. But 
 in the day of fiery trial, or of soft worldly seduc- 
 tion, they left the fold for Sodom and returned no 
 more. Paul writes : 'Demas hath forsaken me, hav- 
 ing loved this present world, and is departed to 
 Thessalonica/ John mourns others, saying, 'They 
 went out from us, but they were not of us/ That 
 was the explanation of their leaving. And the 'be- 
 loved disciple* beloved for his love ! adds : 'If they 
 had been of us, they would no doubt have continued 
 with us ; but they went out that they might be made 
 manifest that they were not all of us/ They were 
 fewer for the desertion of these changelings; but 
 they were purer. The light still burned brightly in 
 those who remained. Alas, things have so changed 
 since then we can hardly trust ourselves to tell it 
 without tears." 
 
 "I see that they have ; but still I should like to lis- 
 ten to you if you will tell me in what, as you realize 
 it." 
 
 "John, the change is in so many things. In the 
 government, in the membership, in the pervading 
 spirit, in the ends sought, in the spectacle it is to 
 the world. Amid all these are those who grieve and 
 speak for something better, but a multitude always 
 drowns the voice of one or two, and those who want 
 improvement are reproached as fault-finders. It is 
 greatly too bad that those who beseech: 'Let us 
 return unto God that He may bless us as of yore, 
 and that in returning we may find rest to our souls/ 
 are cold-shouldered or worse. Now, please, I speak 
 first of the government those who rule, who decide 
 
Brotherliness in Business 117 
 
 things, the minister and his cabinet (I will give it 
 this name in general, because the ruling parties in 
 spiritualities and finances are in different organiza- 
 tions called by different names) . The Christian Com- 
 monalty, the general membership, in some organiza- 
 tions, have a voice in what shall be and be done; 
 but as a rule that is more complimentary and sec- 
 ondary than real and deciding : a few usually hold the 
 reins of government. I do not wish to be harsh to- 
 ward anybody, but we must face facts if we would 
 remedy shortcomings and redress wrongs. The 
 membership comes next, the brethren. They are the 
 'many' of the institution. In what they do not 
 measure up to the first Christians we shall see. The 
 pervading spirit is the dominant spirit, in which we 
 shall discover that it is not the spirit of holiness, 
 brotherly knitting and power of the first century 
 A. D. Ends sought are, objects aimed at for accom- 
 plishment. Spectacle to the world, is what the 
 Church is now, in character and example, in the 
 eyes of the world. There is a great come down ; the 
 Church's influence may still be great for respectabil- 
 ity, but its winsomeness and converting (salty) effect 
 has diminished." 
 
 "Dad, will you please reverse the order and speak 
 first of what the Church is to the eyes of the world, 
 and the impression it makes upon men." 
 
 "I will ; and to do so must revert again to the love 
 of the early times and the absence of it today not 
 entirely in individuals but very little in the general 
 membership for one another. The intimate acquaint- 
 ance of believers of early days, and their readiness, 
 with joyfulness, to render service to one another, 
 offering their lives at times to shield others, counting 
 nothing too arduous or self-denying to relieve and 
 cheer their brethren, was most touching. This was 
 not exceptional, but the rule. They were provoked 
 
118 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 by each other to this love : a healthy emulation was 
 created. All were looked after at that period over- 
 sight was a reality ; for two reasons. First, because 
 there was an individual heart-interest existing be- 
 tween the brethren; and Second, because the over- 
 seers were in sufficient number to meet the demand. 
 It may be said, 'You are not an Episcopalian ;' I re- 
 ply, 'I am obliged to be more of an Episcopalian than 
 any man called by that name ; for I have to believe, 
 since I am told it in Scripture, that elders (plural) 
 were ordained in every church, and that the Holy 
 Spirit had made these elders overseers (bishops) of 
 the flock. Therefore, as there were several bishops 
 in a church of fair size, all could have their cases 
 attended to. Now the love between those who 
 watched over the flock and the sheep tended was, as 
 I have said, very great. This in addition to the love 
 every member bore for his brother. The world 
 looked on and commented in words like this: 'See 
 how these Christians love one another/ And they did 
 love. Just a few scriptures." 
 
 "Dear Dad, as I understoood you, though the early 
 Christians were an example of purity, pure associa- 
 tion, godliness you may say, fairness in dealing, 
 truth-speaking, and so forth, to you, their first char- 
 acteristic was that of mutual love, in full exercise, 
 productive of every kindly attention." 
 
 "Precisely so. And I cite a few scriptures in sub- 
 stantiation. They speak of the prevalence of love in 
 the body of Christ at the beginning. Hear how Paul 
 writes to the several churches he established and to 
 individual members thereof. To the Christians in 
 Thessalonica he wrote : 
 
 " 'We are bound to thank God always for you 
 brethren, as is meet, because your faith grow- 
 eth exceedingly and the charity (love) of every 
 
Brotherliness in Business 119 
 
 one of you all toward each other aboundeth' (2 
 Thess. 1:3). 
 
 "And again, to the same persons, 
 
 " Timotheus came from you unto us, and 
 brought us good tidings of your faith and char- 
 ity (love), and that ye have good remembrance 
 of us, always desiring greatly to see us (as we 
 also to see you)/ (1 Thess. 3:6.) 
 
 "And yet again, still to the same church of Thessa- 
 lonica : 
 
 " 'As touching brotherly love, ye need not that 
 I write unto you; for ye yourselves are taught 
 of God to love one another. And indeed ye do it 
 toward all the brethren which are in all Mace- 
 donia; but we beseech you, brethren, that ye 
 increase more and more/ (1 Thess. 4:8,10.)' 
 
 "Dad, the Thessalonian Christians must have been 
 a very loving Brotherhood. The late beloved H. L. 
 Hastings of Boston, Mass., wrote an excellent book 
 describing their gifts and graces, under the title of 
 'Thessalonica; or, The Model Church.' It is a very 
 profitable work and one that I wish all believers 
 had in their library." 
 
 "John, I know the book ; it is one of the good books 
 of the world. But now, the Christians at Thessa- 
 lonica were not the only ones in whom brotherly love 
 abounded; although I grant they were an eminent 
 example of it. To the saints at Colosse Paul wrote 
 in a similar strain, saying: 
 
 'We give thanks to God and the Father of our 
 Lord, Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 
 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and 
 of the love which ye have to all the saints." (Col. 
 1:3,4.) 
 
120 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 "He came to know of it especially through Epa- 
 phras, of whom he writes : 
 
 " 'Epaphras, our dear fellow-servant . . 
 declared unto us your love in the Spirit.' (Col. 
 1:8). 
 
 "And it was the same with the Christians at 
 Ephesus. 
 
 " 'I also/ says Paul, 'after I heard of your 
 faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the 
 saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making 
 mention of you in my prayers ; that the God of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, 
 may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and 
 revelation in the knowledge of Him, (i. e. 
 Christ). (Eph. 1:15, 17). 
 
 "Nor were the Christians at Philippi behind in 
 love. Paul says they were to him cause of thank- 
 fulness to God : 
 
 " 'I thank my God upon every remembrance of 
 you, always, in every prayer of mine for you all, 
 making request with joy. . . And this I 
 pray, that your love may abound yet more and 
 more, in knowledge and in all judgment/ (Phil. 
 1:3-9.) 
 
 "Continued and increasing love was all that was 
 necessary to be asked for the early Christians; ex- 
 hortations to 'let brotherly love continue' and 
 'abound/ How beautiful their condition !" 
 
 "Indeed, Dad, it was beautiful. To come into the 
 Church out of the world was like coming into a warm 
 and brightly lighted room out of the streets of a 
 cheerless and wintry night." 
 
 "But, John, the same that was true of churches 
 was also true of individuals in that happy, simple 
 time of Gospel light. Peter declares generally and 
 

 Brotherliness in Business 121 
 
 individually in his letter to the scattered stranger- 
 Christians, that they obeyed the truth (believed the 
 Gospel as commanded) and purified their souls even 
 to love of the brethren. They believed and loved. 
 They ended not with the acceptance of Christ, but 
 followed on in obedience to His commandment to 
 love the Brotherhood. Some of the instances of 
 mention and commendation of the love of individual 
 Christians are very touching. That, for example, of 
 the Apostle John, to Gaius : 
 
 " 'Beloved . . I rejoiced greatly when the 
 brethren came and testified of the truth that is 
 in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. . . 
 Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou 
 doest to the brethren, and to strangers; which 
 have borne witness of thy charity (love) before 
 the Church; w r hom if thou bring forward on 
 their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do 
 well." (3 John, 3-6). 
 
 "Paul's love for his converts and their love for him 
 is several times alluded to in the New Testament. 
 This conspicuous love, not for display but on the 
 other hand not concealed, shed a soft light in the 
 world that touched hearts that hungered for but 
 could find it nowhere else than in the new Nation, the 
 Church of the living God." 
 
 "Dear Dad, some may carp at calling the Church 
 a Nation, because of their carnal idea of a nation, 
 such organizations of the different tribes and tongues 
 as we behold but she was really a Nation, really a 
 People ; and her brightest, holiest grace was that love 
 which was begotten in her by the Spirit. Love is of 
 God: she herself was of God, and so was the love 
 that made her persona grata with men. For I re- 
 member it is written, that not only did they grow in 
 
122 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 favor with God, but likewise in the love of men. 
 And how could it be otherwise with those who loved 
 so truly and heartily !" 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 Protesting and Isolating the Grasper 
 
 
 "THE war is on the war between Heaven and 
 earth, between righteousness and unrighteousness, 
 between love and greed. John, it is a terrific conflict. 
 But it can spread no farther, since it already reaches 
 from extreme east to extreme west and from ex- 
 treme north to extreme south, the world over. Je- 
 hovah hath a controversy with the nations. On what 
 grounds ? Because 'there is no truth, nor mercy, nor 
 knowledge of God in the land. By swearing and 
 lying and killing and stealing and committing adul- 
 tery they break out and blood toucheth blood/ But 
 let us understand what we are talking about when 
 we speak of righteousness warring with unrighteous- 
 ness. We can only mean the righteous; for right- 
 eousness is not itself an entity. It has no existence 
 except as embodied. For example : Scripture speaks 
 of looking for a new heaven and a new earth 
 'wherein dwelleth righteousness/ We understand 
 this to mean righteous persons, persons who live 
 righteously. As it is said in another scripture : The 
 righteous shall inherit the land and shall dwell 
 therein forever.' As love can only exist in a lover, 
 so righteousness has no being without personality of 
 righteous principles. Laws of righteousness, a code 
 of justice, is one thing; a righteous being another. 
 So in talking about war between righteousness and 
 
124 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 unrighteousness, I mean, war between good and holy 
 beings and those in whom is incarnated and who 
 work injustice, moral evil. The way is now cleared 
 for progress upon the great and dreadful reality 
 of the moral conflict in the world. It is more than 
 an interesting theme ; it is a very solemn one, entail- 
 ing inescapable responsibility." 
 
 "Dad, our Lord says He came to create antagon- 
 isms. A wicked man once cursed the Lord Jesus 
 charging against Him the bloodshed that has deluged 
 the world because of Christianity." 
 
 "He was quite wrong ; a man could not err worse. 
 The war Jesus inaugurated was not a war of hatred. 
 How could it be, seeing He commanded love ? It was 
 not a war of covetousness and spoilation; since He 
 said, 'Give/ 'let them take' which is very different 
 from, 'Seize ; take from others/ No ; the war He set 
 afoot was a war for the rights of God and man, and 
 of course for His own rights as the Son of God. Was 
 He not the 'Just One' 'Jesus Christ the righteous ?' 
 How could he begin a hostility of evil? Was not His 
 work to establish righteousness in the earth? Dis- 
 miss then the libelous, the blasphemous thought of 
 His responsibility for the bloody wars fought in His 
 name for carnal ascendancy and pelf. Yet He 
 brought on a mighty war. It had been in progress 
 before as a clashing between principles ; but now is 
 added Himself as the Lord of righteousness and 
 Ruler of men, whose laws are paramount and must 
 be respected. such laws! who that knows them 
 and their beneficence does not rejoice over them !" 
 
 "Dad, to be under Jesus Christ as our Lord is not 
 oppression but freedom, blessing. His laws all con- 
 duce to our well-being. Obeyed, they yield us peace 
 for time and unspeakable joy for eternity." 
 
 "Well, John, Jesus Christ is the enemy of all un- 
 righteousness ; from its incipiency, when a man sits 
 
Protesting and Isolating the Grasper 125 
 
 down at a table or desk and uses his brains to think 
 how he can become rich, to its materialization, when 
 he has accumulated an immense fortune, stealings of 
 his crooked career. For it goes without dispute, a 
 several-times-millionaire can only be such by deeds 
 that are dark with sin. It is not possible to own so 
 much money by a good life. When I meet such men I 
 confront them as enemies of God and man. I feel no 
 respect for them ; I give them no honor. To me, they 
 are vultures. So also are they who oppress others 
 with heavy burdens. They are creatures of mis- 
 chief; they tear and fling down their prey, with not 
 merely unsympathethic, but remorseless hearts. 
 How much a bad man can become like a fiend ! How 
 almost infinite sometimes in his possibilities for 
 evil." 
 
 "Dad, there was an old man, honest and kind, with 
 years of toil behind him, who was ahead of demands, 
 who thought with carefulness he might be able to 
 spend his few remaining years in free service of 
 others in the gospel, without being chargeable to any 
 and even without the necessity of accepting freely 
 offered gifts. He was unsophisticated in the ways 
 of those who connive together to form companies and 
 profit from others' losses. He was induced to buy 
 stock in several corporations. The stock soon be- 
 came worthless, or nearly so. It returned no divi- 
 dends, but entailed payment of assessments. He was 
 so reduced that he could not meet his current obli- 
 gations. Getting behind in interest his creditors set 
 upon him. It would have touched your heart with 
 pity to see these dogs 'curs' is a more befitting name 
 come up growling and yelping, jump at their vic- 
 tim and take their mouthful of flesh. First one bit 
 him and carried off his chunk; then another; and 
 another ! He bled ; he suffered 0, what he suffered ! 
 
126 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 But nobody cared ; nobody, nobody ! Neither banker, 
 nor city official, nor minister of religion !" 
 
 "That is what I am coming to the war of right- 
 eousness is the war of the righteous. Their captain 
 is the King of kings. If we are righteous we are 
 summoned to the colors. We are sent on to the firing 
 line. We immediately attack. The enemy is willing 
 to let us alone provided we do not molest him. He 
 wants us to engage in just such warfare wait until 
 he attacks us. But our King's orders are to be 
 aggressive, to act upon the offensive. Injustice is 
 rebellion ; it belongs to eternal righteousness to take 
 the positive side in the war ; to 'up-and-at' the strong- 
 holds of wickedness. And for myself, I feel like 
 fighting against sin. Out of my weakness I am made 
 strong by detestation of wrong, to fight it without 
 truce or pity! A subordinate officer in the Lord's 
 army, I am determined that the men of the line shall 
 see me resolute and unwavering in this Holy War." 
 
 'Dear Dad, as a soldier of Jesus Christ I will fight 
 at your side. You can depend upon me! The foe 
 is a mean one. Wicked men are crafty. They lay 
 traps to catch the unwary. They must be watched 
 with eternal vigilance. O if their wicked hearts with 
 their evil designs could be seen by us as God sees 
 them! Appearing to be friends, they lay a snare 
 for our feet. But watching and praying we are 
 safe. As says the proverb : 'Surely, in vain the net 
 is spread in the sight of any bird." 
 
 "With me, John, it is a case of 'once bitten, twice 
 shy/ Fut O, it is more than shyness; it has intro- 
 duced me to a knowledge and led to an understand- 
 ing that I had not sensed in more than threescore 
 years I had not dreamed of such crass unrighteous- 
 ness. Before I knew unrighteousness as applied to 
 material conditions, the state of man upon earth, 
 it seemed but a commonplace term ; now it is appall- 
 
Protesting and Isolating the Grasper 127 
 
 ing, shuddering in import. We live in a damnably 
 bad world ! The big worthless fish swim around and 
 eat up the small and good ones. Wicked men are un- 
 scupulous; conscience does not trouble them; they 
 have no compunction of mind. We are not learned in 
 tricks as they. We are in one sense at a disadvan- 
 tage. And yet who, for all the wealth of a subtle 
 corporation-manager, would be perverted in the 
 fabric of his soul, in his thoughts, affections, emo- 
 tions as he, although the profit in golden 'moons' be 
 many? 'I would have you/ says Paul, 'wise unto 
 that which is good, and simple concerning evil/ Bet- 
 ter to know less than so much that is bad." 
 
 "Yes, Dad, knowledge how to acquire (steal) the 
 treasures of the earth for oneself; how to gamble 
 and cheat in business; how by big capitalization of 
 one's holdings, share dividends and stock manipula- 
 tions to increase wealth ; how by mergers with com- 
 petitors to get them out of the way and rule the 
 market ; how to obtain control of a company's affairs 
 while owning but a minority of the stock; how to 
 keep office as president at an exorbitant salary ; how 
 to boost prices for the output as any conscienceless 
 extortioner; how to have an 'arrangement' with 
 other companies that is a conspiracy against the 
 world ; how to make things 'safe' by a secret corpo- 
 ration fund for services of a nature that cannot be 
 disclosed; how to do wrong things and keep inside 
 the laws made for the protection of the public this 
 knowledge, and knowledge like it, I do not want, 
 and would not have in my brain, defiling my heart 
 and conscience, and making me a bad man. I will 
 fight such gross, greedy, cursed business as part of 
 my Christian duty, and will wage war in the name of 
 God with the perpetrators of these multiplied 
 crimes." 
 
 "John, your decision is that of a man of God; you 
 
128 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 could make no other and be a righteous man. David 
 said of old : 'I was envious at the foolish when I saw 
 the prosperity of the wicked/ It is at times very 
 straitening to be poor, as I have found ; but could you 
 or I envy a man who became rich by such means? 
 A proverb says : 'Envy thou not the oppressor, and 
 choose none of his ways/ It will apply to any unright- 
 eous man and the astray ways of his life: 'choose 
 none of his ways/ The world applauds such a man as 
 'smart/ 'able/ 'capable/ and the like ; and some of the 
 men themselves hug the delusion to their heart that 
 they are righteous, and that their tremendous gain 
 is 'God's blessing' upon their business! I could 
 not think so and believe in God as the God of right- 
 eousness. There is another to whom has been de- 
 livered up this present world, who is its disposer as 
 well as ruler, who says if a man will pay him hom- 
 age and devote himself to him I should say such 
 things as you mentioned is service of this being he 
 will give them the things of this life. And doubtless 
 if one will be faithful to Satan and diligent in his ser- 
 vice he will not go unrewarded. But the reward of 
 unrighteousness turns at last to fiery scorpions !" 
 
 "Dad, may God protect us in these evil times when 
 'gain* seduces so many from the right. what will 
 not men do for money ! They will swear by God or 
 the devil they have no choice : 'does it pay?' is their 
 one question. But we can only use and enjoy while 
 we live and life is uncertain and short at the longest ; 
 and a proverb asks : 'What is the hope of the hypo- 
 crite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away 
 his soul' (life) ?" 
 
 "You remark well, John; what we gain is ours 
 to have and to hold, to see and to enjoy only while 
 the breath is in our nostrils. When we die we 
 have to let go everything and another comes in our 
 place as inheritor. Death is a great dispossessor. 
 

 Protesting and Isolating the Grasper 129 
 
 How pertinent then is Jesus' question, 'What shall 
 it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and 
 lose his own soul (life) ?' He could not gain more; 
 and as a matter of fact the richest is possessor of but 
 an insignificant fraction of the world. If he lose his 
 life, then all the gains of his labor or cunning 
 are lost ; lost in a second, the moment of his expiry. 
 It is like a pearl-fisher who fills his basket ; but he 
 has been down so long and the pressure has been so 
 great that he bursts a blood vessel and dies as he 
 emerges from the water. What profit though every 
 oyster shell contains a pearl? Who that thinks 
 would gain by wickedness, by exploitation? The 
 wise wicked man, wise to make money, to make it 
 dishonestly, is a fool after all! He is not so smart 
 as reputed to be. But it is of the war I think. What 
 action should we take toward such sinners against 
 their fellows, against society, of which they form a 
 part?" 
 
 "Dear Dad, I am glad to hear you talk of taking 
 action. Action is the word ; only action counts. Pol- 
 troons there are too cowardly to stand up against 
 bad men and their deeds ; supinists also who lie down 
 in abjection to every criminal and raise no hand and 
 open not their mouths against the monster; and a 
 laissez faire lot who say 'let alone/ leaving a scamp 
 to carry out his rascality at his pleasure and to his 
 wicked heart's content ; but it seems to me that every 
 good man should do something ; if only to show, even 
 though he cannot win to frustrate the bad design 
 and deed, that he himself is not depraved like the 
 rest ; that he is not of the kidney of wickedness." 
 
 "John, you talk like a soldier of the holy war. A 
 soldier becomes not such to sleep while mischief is 
 being done. He is enlisted, appointed, trained for 
 fighting. So also is a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 
 He must do something or be courtmartialed. And 
 
130 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 this is no theological notion. It is not the same as 
 playing soldier, as in ecclesiasticism processioning 
 through church aisles with a cross at the head and 
 singing 
 
 'Onward, Christian soldiers, 
 
 Marching as to war; 
 With the Cross of Jesus 
 
 Going on before/ 
 
 The cross that is borne is not the cross of Jesus. 
 It is nothing but a sentimental, theatrical perform- 
 ance. There is no 'war' about it ; it is a deception of 
 the wicked one to satisfy ideality. The reality of the 
 holy war is very different. It is fighting against 
 sin, even unto death. All have not yet paid this 
 price. 'Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving 
 against sin'; but it is a strife in which life is im- 
 perilled, and many who have not died have lost about 
 all save life in this most real of contests." 
 
 "Dear Dad, I have just thought of one good man 
 who did something, all that he could, in a council 
 of murderers he withheld his consent, he protested 
 their action. The resolution would have been unani- 
 mous, but because of his being a righteous man there 
 was a minority vote. The minority was only one. 
 The chairman could not report unanimity that one 
 vote registered a contrary mind, a solemn protest 
 before God and men and angels. It was heroic. I am 
 not referring to Luther at the diet of Worms; al- 
 though he stands forever honorable with the right- 
 eous. I allude now to Joseph of Arimathea. When 
 the Sanhedrim met to condemn our Lord Jesus to 
 death, Joseph would not agree that He had broken 
 any law or done anything worthy of death. He would 
 not cast the lot for His execution. Doubtless he ar- 
 gued His innocency and warned the Council to be 
 careful what they did. Perhaps some may have 
 'labored with him' to see differently and be in agree- 
 
Protesting and Isolating the Grasper 131 
 
 ment. If they did they did not succeed. They found 
 him obstinate because of his convictions. You see, 
 he was a 'righteous' man that was the bottom of 
 it. 'There was a man named Joseph, a counsellor, a 
 good man and a just. The same had not consented 
 to the counsel and deed of them* who tried and con- 
 demned our Saviour. If he could not save His life, 
 he wanted His dear, dead body, to intern it in a 
 worthy manner in a newly-hewn tomb that he had 
 designed for his own sepulture. Blessings upon the 
 righteous man who disagrees publicly with sinners 
 and will not consent or be in quietude as they per- 
 form their wicked acts." 
 
 "John, my conviction is of the deepest that all 
 righteous men should protest the present wicked 
 industrial system and corporations of our times, by 
 which men who would are unable to earn their bread , 
 and those who are employed are as sheep fleeced of 
 their wool. A man earns but receives not his earn- 
 ings ; just as a sheep grows the wool that a shearer 
 takes from his back. The shearers of the industrials 
 pile up many bales for themselves ; every bundle of 
 them should be branded 'stolen.' Only a just part- 
 nership is righteousness in economics. A man came 
 to me one time and volunteered his counsel; but I 
 could not accept it. I could not say, as David to 
 Abigail, 'Blessed be thy advice/ It was not accord- 
 ing to God. I remembered, too, the scripture, 
 'Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel 
 of the ungodly.' I had another counsellor, God's 
 Word. I owned a large property on which there 
 was a small second incumbrance. Unfortunately 
 I was caught in that devil's trap a Trust Deed, 
 drawn to grab the pledge in sixty days. I paid reg- 
 ularly upon the obligation, but not in amount equal 
 to the imposed demand. The property in these hard 
 times, through only partial letting, did not return 
 
132 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 enough in rent to pay the liability. The creditor 
 was very largely secured and could have had the 
 realty transferred upon agreeing to allow my equity 
 after receiving his claim. But he would not. The 
 ultimatum payment of the arrears or foreclosure 
 was duly delivered. Payment could not be com- 
 plied with, and I became dispossessed of thousands 
 of dollars of value, the income from which was my 
 living, and the living of a relative whose money was 
 invested in the place. My would-be counsellor said, 
 'Let it go; forget it; say nothing about it to the 
 cincher.' 'No/ I replied, 'he has gained the drop on 
 me; he has got my property by law; he shall not 
 possess it with my consent. I will not concede that it 
 is his in justice. I will protest.' And so I protested. 
 The robber will remember that he is held to be a rob- 
 ber in his misdeed; a very unmerciful, a most cruel 
 man in plucking away the stilts of a cripple and 
 causing his fall to his ruin. I say, submit not dumbly 
 to bad men and their wrongs ; protest them ; protest 
 their deeds! Appeal the case to the judgment of 
 God! Make the rascals feel that they are classed 
 with the wicked, to which class they really belong. An 
 inhuman man, an unmerciful man, a hard exacter 
 should always be protested, denounced and exposed." 
 
 "Dad, I agree w T ith you. It is not a question of 
 what good it will do to reverse the injury; it is 
 the question of a poor righteous man's attitude to- 
 ward unrighteousness. In my judgment, he must 
 solemnly affirm to the culprit and to society that the 
 evictor or dispossessor is an abuser of his brother. 
 Such a jolt may cause the sinner to think and change 
 his course. Not to do it, is to let him go on with 
 the thought that he is but following common usage, 
 accepted custom, established rule, which justifies him 
 and lets him feel he has done no wrong." 
 
 "John, non-consent, protestation, may be the only 
 
Protesting and Isolating the Grasper 133 
 
 weapon left a sufferer to use. It is not always an 
 inefficient act. In some instances it disannuls action 
 as in the case under the Mosaic Law where a child 
 or a wife made a vow. In the case of the child (called 
 in modern law a 'minor'), who made a vow, the 
 father as her responsible head and guardian had the 
 right to reverse or make a dead letter of her bond. 
 So also the husband of a woman as to his wife, there 
 rested in him power to declare of no force any oath 
 she might take. But the f afher must disallow her obli- 
 gation directly he hear his daughter assume liability 
 or bind herself; so likewise must the husband his 
 wife. Failing that, holding his peace, saying nothing 
 to the contrary, the oath of daughter or of wife 
 obliged to performance. A later disapproval and in- 
 validation could not change matters. Silence gave 
 consent. 'If her husband altogether hold his peace 
 . . he establisheth all her vows ... he confirmeth 
 them/ So likewise silence in the presence of sin is 
 tacit consent; it certainly is not pronounced disap- 
 proval, which is the duty of every Christian. There 
 must be the spoken word against the sinner and his 
 sin for a man to be exonerated. Say nothing is fail- 
 ure in duty. Say something is God's will concerning 
 every man in Christ Jesus. 'Have no fellowship with 
 the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove 
 them.' 'Reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long suffer- 
 ing and doctrine/ John the Baptist reproved Herod. 
 John Knox reproved bloody Queen Mary. With apos- 
 tacy reproof ceases. For how can he reprove who is 
 not himself clear? The retort would be made, 
 'Physician, heal thyself/ 'Unto the wicked God saith, 
 What hast thou to do that thou shouldest declare My 
 statutes, or that thou shouldest take My covenant in 
 thy mouth? When thou sawest a thief thou consent- 
 edst with him/ ' 
 
 "Dear Dad, it is a very vital principle in a life 
 
134 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 of godliness. Witness for righteousness is not com- 
 plete without witness against unrighteousness. And 
 doubtless why reproof of sin is so rare is because 
 those who should reprove cannot, being themselves 
 sinners. For it is not concealed, it is the open terri- 
 ble fact, that the industrial and commercial barons 
 who devise spoliation and bring it to pass are wear- 
 ers of the name Christian and officers in the spurious 
 Christianity of the day. Names will come to the 
 mind of all. In complicity with evil, consent with a 
 thief effectually shuts the mouth against condemna- 
 tion of it, against rebuke of the presumptuous sinner. 
 Instruction should be given in the churches upon 
 silence being tantamount to endorsement. In the 
 war against sin the tongue should find employment, 
 to disapprove it." 
 
 "That means, John, that individuals must be ap- 
 proached. The guilty one must be visited. -A brother 
 or a group must wait upon him to show him his sin. 
 He should be approached meekly but not timidly; 
 compassionately but not servilely after prayer, and 
 with desire for his conversion. With reproof 
 there should be exhortation to repentance. And 
 above all teaching; for maybe in many cases ignor- 
 ance of what is righteousness, along with greed, has 
 been an important element in his unf raternal course. 
 He who does not know the rules for a new creature 
 in Christ Jesus, nor even those of our common hu- 
 manity, may do wrong without being aware of its 
 wrongness. The law is informatory. The visitor 
 or visitors must be prepared with reasons solid and 
 incontrovertible for another way of living." 
 
 "But suppose, dear Dad, the corporationist, swim- 
 ming in plenty, is not amenable to the instruction 
 of righteousness ; suppose he has become so perverted 
 in nature that tender human instincts have been 
 dulled or obliterated; suppose he has fortified him- 
 
Protesting and Isolating the Grasper 135 
 
 self with arguments to sustain and justify him in his 
 life of exploitation, what then? You know how 
 plausible Big Business is and how sophistically it 
 argues the great accruing good to the public from 
 capital and its employment in development of nat- 
 ural wealth and building industrial factories, and 
 so forth, which of course is not the reason why they 
 are established not by a million miles ; but only an 
 afterthought, as an excuse for the graft concerns 
 what then is to be done with such a person ?" 
 
 "John, certainly the fallacy of his arguments must 
 be met; but if after that he still persists in being a 
 covetous, greedy man, running business on the 
 basis of love of himself to the injury of the world, 
 he must be what? 'Avoided' is the scriptural word; 
 separated from the company of men. The modern 
 word is 'boycotted/ A stigma must be put upon him. 
 No violence must be used. There must be no ill- 
 treatment of him as a man. Retribution belongs to 
 God. 'Vengeance is Mine; I will repay/ saith the 
 Lord. He must simply be sequestered from man- 
 kind. He must not be reviled, spat upon nor cuffed. 
 Righteous men must go away from him ; hold no in- 
 tercourse with him; leave him alone in his infamy/' 
 
 "Dad, that is certainly drastic treatment. Still it 
 does not seem unjust, nor too severe. He whose asso- 
 ciation with men is to pilfer from them ; who estab- 
 lishes it in a gigantic business; who bends all his 
 energies and uses all the facilities he can command to 
 steal from them ; paying only such wages as the com- 
 pulsion of labor forces, is a man who deserves neither 
 companion nor companionship. To be severely let 
 alone is his due. And yet, would you not counsel 
 toward such a man feelings of commiseration and 
 prayers for his return ; with relentings and receiving 
 again of the offender when he showed the least sign 
 of contrition?" 
 
136 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 "John, yes, yes ! It is the sin that is abominated ; 
 the sinner is involved per consequence. And God is 
 always merciful to the returning sinner; and we 
 must be like Him. But think, John, what that would 
 mean to a man for all men to separate him from 
 their society as too depraved and too inhuman for 
 association." 
 
 "Dear Dad, I imagine such isolation would be 
 dreadful in this teeming world! I once heard 
 a man describe the feeling that is born of soli- 
 tariness, who had traveled in Alaska. He said the 
 absolute stillness and the thought that he was alone, 
 nearly made him mad. And for a man among multi- 
 tudes of people to be alone, all refusing to speak to 
 him, and for it ever to be before his mind why the 
 reason of their abstention would surely have a 
 great effect upon him." 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 Just Treatment of the Exploiter 
 
 (Continued) 
 
 "JOHN, you need not fear that it is too great sever- 
 ity to treat a hold-up man, yclept corporation-ex- 
 ploiter, as I have suggested, namely, sever relation- 
 ship with him and leave him alone in his guilt and 
 shame. It is of course fair to give him a chance by 
 first going to him and reasoning of righteousness. 
 Persuasion is first treatment. But if after being ad- 
 monished he still remains stubborn, his contumacy 
 calls for further action. That action is not to be de- 
 cided by man, after his own heart. To be in the will 
 of God we must be instructed by God. And His rule 
 with regard to stubbornness is told us as follows: 
 'We hear there are some which walk among you dis- 
 orderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now 
 them that are such we command and exhort by our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, 
 and eat their own bread. And if any man obey not 
 our word by this epistle note that man, and have no 
 company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet 
 count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a 
 brother.' Now if a man is to be noted and with- 
 drawn from for mere idleness, how much more so 
 for drawing off from the subterranean reservoir 
 where God has stored oil, gas, etc. His provision for 
 all, putting the price of it, less what he must pay 
 
138 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 for the draught, into his own and his friends' jeans. 
 And when one and a dozen go to him and say, 'Let 
 him that stole steal no more/ and he will not stop 
 stealing, but becomes notorious for his audacity, 
 should he be received among working men the same 
 as the honest toiler whose bread is won by fair labor ? 
 Reason, leave out the higher wisdom, answers No." 
 
 "Dad, he should not. He is not even a good citi- 
 zen, much less a good Christian. He is not a good 
 man." 
 
 "John, when I say he should be sent off as Cain 
 was, with all but the brand mark, which is the espe- 
 cial mark for murder, I mean it literally. I mean that 
 when he goes into a store to buy goods men should 
 step out. When he walks on the pavement men 
 should cross to the opposite side. When he enters a 
 car men should go into the next car. When he goes 
 to church (but what such a man as this can want to 
 go to church for it is hard to tell) men should get up 
 and leave. When he stays to communion Christian 
 men should not partake. Good men should not recog- 
 nize nor salute him upon the street ; no right hand of 
 friendship or fellowship should be given him; no 
 conversation had with him. Always, everywhere he 
 should be made to feel himself an outcast. Not for 
 hatred's sake. Nobody could hate such an unprinci- 
 pled, such a wretched man, but for righteousness' 
 sake, whose countenance toward him should be stern 
 with condemnation." 
 
 "Dad, those who make little of righteousness might 
 think this exceedingly harsh and unchristian." 
 
 "Friend John, that would only be those who do not 
 know Christ. Methinks the Master could frown with 
 the sternest as well as weep with the tenderest. Why 
 do not people read their Bible? If they did, they 
 would find in it these passages, 'He looked round 
 about on them with anger ;' 'the wrath [anger] of the 
 
Just Treatment of the Exploiter 139 
 
 Lamb is come/ They would also find He said to His 
 disciples, 'Have nothing to do with them/ (Let 
 them alone/) Of course this was with allusion to 
 the stubborn Pharisees (but not more stubborn than 
 the capitalistic thief who will not repent). John, 
 who of those who are Israel are on the Lord's side? 
 Where are the soldiers? Why are they not out in 
 warfare?" 
 
 "Alas, Dad, I fear many of them are bought by 
 interest and so are tongue-tied. I fear they are in 
 the incorporations themselves and would have to 
 get out. Not that these have been guilty like the 
 promoters. To them it has been a simple investment. 
 They are far from harmful intent. Their money is 
 entrusted as to stewards. They have not examined 
 what the business is based upon, or its shady work- 
 ing. Yet they are a part of the concern. 'Come out 
 of her My people/ is a command causing consterna- 
 tion. Alack for the dividend-check that is as much 
 a silencer as a bullet. As the orders upon the bank 
 of deposit pass through Satan's financial department, 
 he may rub his hands with glee, and chuckle : 'Hush 
 money! this will keep folks quiet!' He knows what 
 a big percentage of interest means in most instances 
 no inquiry and no let go. The sop satisfies. 
 Enough said. 'Come out of her My people, that ye 
 partake not of her sins and receive not of her 
 plagues/ 'That ye partake not of her sins' is that 
 what it says? 'and that ye receive not of her 
 plagues' does it say that too ?' There is no stir ; no 
 response of obedience. The friendship with Mam- 
 mon stands pat ; I mean the Mammon of unrighteous- 
 ness of unrighteous business. Evil is called good ; 
 darkness light. Believers and infidels, respectable 
 people and crooks are joined as one to share the plun- 
 der ! O why were not my eyes always open to these 
 things? Why was I ever one of them? But, never 
 
140 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 again! Never! Never! John, it puts me in mind 
 of an epitaph on a tombstone. A man wrote it be- 
 fore his death. 'I have sinned; I have repented; I 
 have been forgiven/ That is as near the wording 
 as I can remember; it is at least the substance. 'I 
 have sinned;* let us drop our eyes with shame and 
 sorrow. 7 have repented!' not till we get there are 
 we anywhere : the place of repentance, the hour, the 
 fact. God grant it to covetous seekers of money, 
 place and power to those who, loving the wages of 
 unrighteousness, run greedily in the way of Baalim 
 for a reward ; and whose eyes are so full of illusion 
 that, as a traveler in the desert, they see the satis- 
 faction of their thirst in a mere mirage." 
 
 "Dear Dad, 'I have repented' returned, come 
 back from the evil life of covetousness, to love of 
 others and to the seeking of their wealth that alone 
 is acceptable to God and satisfactory to the world." 
 
 "0 these wicked exploiters, John, what 'nerve' 
 they have ! How composed they are ! They quail at 
 nothing. As they stand in court, accused of crimes, 
 they seem to lose sight of the fact that criminality is 
 charged against them. They reply that the busi- 
 ness in which they have engaged unholily has been 
 'prosperous;' that they have made a 'success' of it 
 as managers ; that they have divided up millions of 
 dollars with their stockholders ! A poor and unsatis- 
 factory reply indeed. As though such 'success' was 
 makeweight for the wrongs they have committed." 
 
 "While these wicked exploiters talk of 'success,' 
 dear Dad, and 'prosperity,' and 'big profits,' they are 
 soaked in greediness, almost to pickling. In fact, 
 they are pickled men; not the good, hearty, honest 
 men that God and the people love." 
 
 "John, you are right; for what does 'prosperity' 
 and 'success' mean to them? Do they mean any- 
 thing noble as toward their brother? Are they 
 
Just Treatment of the Exploiter 141 
 
 talking about their employees* great benefit and hap- 
 piness, material and spiritual; such as the Apostle 
 prayed for when he wrote, 'that thou mayest prosper 
 and be in health'? Everybody knows it is not the 
 prosperity of their men of which they are talking. 
 And 'success' do they mean that they are making 
 the lives of others something of value and joy with 
 their brotherly help; that they are refining and 
 Christianizing them ; that they are bringing them up 
 to heights of greatness and goodness whereon they 
 had never before stood?' Dear John, you laugh: 
 why?" 
 
 "Dad, those men, those mercenary men, those dol- 
 lar-chasing men have any such thought in their 
 covetous hearts ; as well may we think of Satan being 
 filled with the goodness of God !" 
 
 "You cannot think it of them, John. Their next 
 words will tell you what is 'prosperity' and 'success' 
 in their stay-at-home hearts. They point to figures 
 representing money. More dollars for themselves. 
 Gotten how ? Alas, at the expense of wearing down 
 their employees till there is nothing of strength or 
 thought left in them for their family or their God. 
 It is loss to their slaves ; for themselves it is ducats 
 that do not enrich. War upon such men !" 
 
 "Have you noticed, dear Dad, that there are only 
 two ways possible to regard men if we have positive- 
 ness of being? Of course, if we are jelly-fish it is 
 different. Those ways are, with favor or aversion. 
 That is, with estimation or abomination. And truly, 
 to his victims, an exploiter is an 'abomination,' even 
 
 in 'abomination that maketh desolate.' And toward 
 ich an 'abominable' one there must be no greeting 
 
 >f friendship. Let there ever be a distinction put 
 itween the precious and the vile of humanity. 'I 
 
 lever did a day's work in my life,' bragged a man; 
 
 ind the exploiter, if he would speak truthfully, would 
 
142 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 say : 7 have never done an honest day's work in my 
 life.' 
 
 " 'But how have you lived ?' 
 
 "With a grin, 'You bet ! I have lived.' 
 
 " 'But how have you lived, if you have never done 
 any work?' 
 
 "With a chuckle: 'It is all in knowing how? I 
 was wise. I knew how to make others put in their 
 capital ; and how to make the poor man work ; and I 
 have lived; and you can guess how I have lived. 
 And if you were smart you could live the same 
 way.' " 
 
 "Yes, if we were the same unscrupulous rascal as 
 the exploiter we could live and be rich and boast of 
 'success' and 'prosperity' as he. God save the mark 
 we should be as sure of hell as he is ! Such a man 
 is for a sign ! not an example." 
 
 "Yes, Dad, for a sign a warning! 'Abominable 
 are they! my soul, flee away from them. They 
 are a contagion. There is revulsion in the good man's 
 soul against the exploiter. He must not be counted 
 or courted as a 'worthy' man." 
 
 "But, John, you could not get the average man, 
 nor the average minister, to think thus of a rich 
 man usually an exploiter, or the inheritor of 
 wealth made by an exploiter. Although it is hard 
 for such a man to enter into the Kingdom of heaven, 
 it is easy for him to join a church. The 'examina- 
 tion' of such a man is not made very rigorous; in- 
 deed if he just intimates he would like to become a 
 member of an ecclesiastical organization he can get 
 the right hand of fellowship 'next Sunday.' He is 
 not kept waiting. Nothing is asked about his wealth 
 how he got it ; or if he has no restitution to make to 
 anybody. I forgot, though, soon after he is made a 
 member, it may be asked, unless he volunteers in the 
 
Just Treatment of the Exploiter 143 
 
 matter, how much he will contribute to the church 
 expense, pastor's salary, missions, and so forth." 
 
 "Dear, Dad, the rich exploiter practically buys his 
 way into the church and into the good graces of the 
 people. He knows that 'money talks.' He is wise as 
 to what money will do ; as well as how to get it. Ever 
 since the time Jacob sent a present to Esau, if not 
 before, it has been understood that 'a gift procureth 
 favor.' The exploiter, alias thief, by the judicious 
 use of his ill-gotten money, gets reputation as a 
 'generous' man ! He is a philanthropist ! If he helps 
 the 'ladies of the church' in their enterprises he is 
 a 'beautiful man !' And I really think, amid all the 
 homage he receives, he forgets his injustice and be- 
 lieves himself a paragon of benevolence ! If he had 
 been avoided, as he should have been, he never could 
 come to such self-delusion." 
 
 "John, you speak the truth, the rich man is angled 
 for by ecclesiasticism. It rejoices over one such 
 more than over a dozen poor men. Sigh and cry for 
 the 'cause of God/ so-called, in the world! When I 
 was a boy my father told me that it was the exhorta- 
 tion of John Wesley never to make a rich man 'neces- 
 sary* in Society. Directly he becomes necessary and 
 knows it he will dictate things. Or perhaps, to use a 
 little softer word, 'suggest' this or that. If anything 
 is to be done, Brother Exploiter must be consulted. 
 He must not be offended. 'If he should leave, we may 
 as well shut up the church.' The brother knows he is 
 'necessary.' That is the principal cause of the de- 
 cline of the church today ; the rich, who are question- 
 able men with God, are 'necessary' to the organiza- 
 tions. Hence selfishness, the world, rules. It is in 
 honor. It will do nothing against Satan's kingdom. 
 So long as the cunning old devil can make the rich 
 by robbery acceptable in the gates of Jerusalem, and 
 even judges of the service of God, he has nothing to 
 
144 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 fear. His house is kept in safety. Poor ministers! 
 servants of their rich members. So shrewdly flanked 
 that they know not that they have lost !" 
 
 "Dad, let us pity, when we blame, the capitalistic 
 ministers. I heard one say a few months ago a man 
 of good understanding of righteousness but one who 
 was surrounded in the church by many rich men 
 that he felt there was a great lack. Their orthodoxy 
 was unassailable ; but the power, the power, that is 
 God, was absent ! How could He be present ? How 
 could His Spirit work where money was king and 
 God!" 
 
 "John, how different it is in Community. Big 
 bad fish is not its desire ; only little, good ones. Com- 
 munity receives no rich exploiter, except upon con- 
 fession of the evil of his past life and his announced 
 determination to forsake it. To Community, a rich 
 man is not necessary. If he joins, it is to become on 
 an equality with every other brother. His sinful life 
 must cease immediately. Community has no big, ex- 
 pensive show-church to keep up. Building is noth- 
 ing, except only that it must be clean and commo- 
 dious; worship is everything. When Americans 
 flock to Europe as tourists their greatest attraction is 
 the old churches. They are very beautiful as works 
 of art. Doubtless they were erected in many in- 
 stances with a worthy motive. But they express an 
 essential error; for God, since the Temple was 
 thrown down, has had no palace on earth. His 
 home in which He lives and walks is the contrite 
 and believing heart." 
 
 "Dear Dad, Community can be kept pure because 
 it does not need a patron ; and certainly not a selfish 
 one, with an axe to grind. Selfishness is excluded; 
 in the very covenant of fellowship it is renounced for 
 the sake of all. All, all! the self-seeking individual 
 may be an observer of the mutual accord ; a fellow is 
 
Just Treatment of the Exploiter 145 
 
 something else. He may knock at the door and be 
 answered by the porter with : 
 
 " Who is there?' 
 
 " 'A rich man.' 
 
 "'A rich man, humph! What does a rich man 
 want here?' 
 
 " 'Please let me in.' 
 
 " 'What for ? The business of money-making is not 
 practiced in Community ; we do not work for an indi- 
 vidual.' 
 
 " 'But please report to the elders that Mr. Money- 
 bags wants to belong to Society.' 
 
 "But I tell you, this is not a hunting ground for a 
 poacher ; it is a holy Brotherhood, living in our Fath- 
 er's house.' 
 
 " 'Oh, oh ! Then I must go to some other church, 
 if you do not count me worthy.' 
 
 " 'Man, there is a way by which you can become 
 one of us. We have left all to follow Jesus. If you 
 will do the same, then may you lodge with us in this 
 pavilion of the Lord.' 
 
 "There is no room for the exploiter in Community ; 
 he is not a character held in estimation. my God ! 
 my God! how glad the churches are to get Dives! 
 For Dives is a go-to-church man. His penchant is 
 religion ; but no more purely or benevolently than his 
 run of business. What chance has Lazarus ? though 
 Lazarus will at last repose in the near companionship 
 and especial love of Father Abraham the greatest 
 aspiration of a pious Hebrew. Poor Lazarus ! he is a 
 man of desire. His desire is the scraps, the left-over 
 pieces, the partially gnawed bones of the exploiter's 
 table! How mean his condition; how small his de- 
 sires! But he does not get even these and so he 
 dies! But the Church cares not that he dies! He 
 never was any 'strength' to the Church. He never 
 could 'support' it. And, then, too, he wants 'crumbs.' 
 
146 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 And the Church is made poorer the 'crumbs' by his 
 membership ! Dives is the man ! How he is fawned 
 upon. And Dives knows it all." 
 
 "Dear Dad, the churches believe practically that 
 riches, not wisdom and spirituality, is their strength ; 
 and so they lean upon the wealth of man, no matter 
 how obtained. ('No questions asked/) But I read 
 in Ecclesiastes about a poor wise man who was his 
 city's welfare more than all the rest of the people, 
 even the Moneybags, if there lived any such in that 
 city. 'There was a little city, and few men within 
 it; and there came a great king against it, and be- 
 sieged it, and built great bulwarks against it. Now 
 there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his 
 wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered 
 that same poor man. Then said I, Wisdom is better 
 than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom 
 is despised, and his words are not heard.' The poor 
 man, with Divine goodness, with heavenly wisdom, 
 who would preserve the Church, holding it against 
 all enemies (spiritual) , 'his wisdom is despised, and 
 his words are not heard.' The fellow whose desert 
 is the curses of humanity wins, because he can make 
 the clink that 'sounds good' to worshippers of Mam- 
 mon. What poor 'strength' is money, such polluted 
 money, to the cause of righteousness ! Christianity, 
 I mean Christ's Christianity, does not consist in 
 keeping up church buildings and paying orators for 
 jingling speeches. It lives much more in barring out 
 the wicked rich and bearing the burdens of the Lord's 
 poor ; indeed, in making poverty ancient history." 
 
 "Dear John, I should like to see a 'clean up;' 
 but it will never be in the modern church. It cannot 
 be. The church would go to pieces in the operation. 
 It could not survive the ordeal. The bottles are old. 
 New wine would burst them. The Community life 
 and love of the first estate must be a thing apart. Of 
 

 Just Treatment of the Exploiter 147 
 
 course, the good members in the ecclesiastical bodies 
 could take the welfare of Zion to heart and agree one 
 with another to establish the more excellent way. It 
 could be done. But an already satisfied company is 
 not likely to have in it earnest care and love for all 
 saints. I recollect how when dinner was called the 
 father who presided used to look around and see if all 
 the family were present, before eating. If one chair 
 was vacant, he asked, 'Where is Thomas? Go and 
 call Thomas, and we will all eat together/ Dear Dad 
 said, in effect 'We will eat when all can eat/ The 
 Church is not so today. It cares not for Thomas, 
 the absent brother. It falls to as a lot of pigs, and 
 poor Thomas it not thought of. Would it not be a 
 good motto to adopt : 'We will eat when all can eat' ? 
 A scramble for self only is not Christianity. We 
 have not so been taught of Christ. The exploiter 
 must be ousted; the brethren must all be known as 
 having necessary things for the body, for a true 
 Christian Commonwealth. (Of course, for the spirit 
 likewise is understood.)" 
 
 "Dear Dad, is not that what you are seeking as the 
 object of your labor and prayers a running institu- 
 tion upon the basis of labor and love? happy condi- 
 tions and happy scenes that is happiness for all?" 
 
 "0, John, for such things I would die; and it looks 
 from present experience that one may have to lay 
 down his life in continual service to accomplish it. 
 But it is good dying ! At times I feel as if the body 
 cannot endure the anguish and toil. But I should like 
 to live to see with my own eyes the brethren become 
 brethren. Then I am sure I could ask my dismission 
 from life in some such words as the Nunc dimittis of 
 Simeon the blessed 'Lord, now lettest Thou thy ser- 
 vant depart in peace/ ' 
 
 "Yes, Dad, good living makes good dying. On the 
 altar of service and sacrifice, consuming in the flame 
 
148 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 of love, what can be better using up ? God give us all 
 the passion of love even to willingness and offering 
 of ourselves to death to accomplish the deliverance 
 of the captives of hellish selfishness, the unspeakable 
 industrialism of our times !" 
 
 "John, you questioned me a few moments ago 
 about Community conditions and scenes; I will tell 
 you what you will not see on Main street, nor on 
 any parallel or side streets of the City of Brotherly 
 Love. You will not see any Dives' palace with exten- 
 sive grounds, side by side with a hovel. You will not 
 see a righteous man, a brother in Christ, lying at his 
 gates, in the poor plight of Lazarus, with dogs com- 
 ing up and licking his sores. You will not hear 
 Lazarus express desire for a scrap from the rich 
 man's table! God, no! Shame upon the ministers 
 who serve rich men and not Christ and His poor 
 brethren, that they have not made a rumpus about it ! 
 that they have not been frantic (furious) over the 
 exploitation of brother by brother ! A hundred zea- 
 lots for God themselves above all suspicion for sin- 
 cerity and helpful love going from town to town 
 on a true crusade, and holding red-hot meetings, 
 could move the entire nation! And it ought to be 
 done. I recommend that it be done. I will be one of 
 the party." 
 
 "Dear Dad, it is a great suggestion. It brings to 
 my mind the friars of the past. Without doubt, at 
 the first they were very good men; fired with a 
 mighty fervor against the grossness of their times. 
 Their movement had in it however elements that 
 should be omitted by holy men of the new reforma- 
 tion. But the spirit and consecration of the friars 
 may well be imitated." 
 
 "Yes, John, if one hundred men, moved by the 
 Spirit of God, filled with a burning indignation 
 against the despicable despoilers of mankind, the 
 
Just Treatment of the Exploiter 149 
 
 abominable exploiters of the country ; and filled also 
 with resolution to be big brothers to the little broth- 
 ers too feeble to defend themselves, would form them- 
 selves into ten companies of ten brethren to a com- 
 pany, and go through our cities and towns, visiting 
 all the rich rascals who control business, and going 
 from house to house to instruct the people, holding 
 also public meetings, what a stir for a change would 
 be set in motion and what good must follow." 
 
 "Dad, that would be the movement of all time. It 
 would be a Pro-righteousness Movement O, so bad- 
 ly needed! But what if men could not leave their 
 businesses to do it? for, of course they could not 
 neglect to its ruin their means of livelihood." 
 
 "John, there are enough men of leisure, men with 
 time on their hands, to do this. It only needs the 
 heart, the interest in others, to set it going; and 
 there should be in the nation a few who would forget 
 self-gain to make gain for mankind." 
 
 "Dad, how would you proceed to make an effective 
 job of it?" 
 
 "I would have the facts of jobbery put up on the 
 people, of unearned gain made out of them, of bur- 
 dens imposed to profit a few, of loan sharks' depreda- 
 tions, of merciless foreclosures of struggling, unfor- 
 tunate men, all prepared for a public charge and de- 
 nunciation. I would have the churches notified to 
 toe the mark in regard to their duty or be stricken 
 out as churches of Christ. I would have men ap- 
 pealed to and argued with for better things. In case 
 of non-compliance sin should be exposed and wicked 
 men made odious. I would have the workers get the 
 good people together and help them establish com- 
 munities of mutual love and reciprocal service and 
 maintenance. And every bit of this is practical. 
 And it ought to be done." 
 
 "Dad, your suggestion is really almost like a reve- 
 
150 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 lation and command from heaven to be up and at it. 
 I never conceived such a thorough way of dealing 
 with the oppression and spoliation of the masses. 
 And the expense could be made very little; because 
 there would be nobody to bribe or overpay as in a 
 political campaign." 
 
 "Dear John, the expense could be reduced to a 
 minimum. In many places worthy men and women 
 would offer bed and board free to such messengers 
 of God, or at any rate for the actual cost of the food 
 and the wages of somebody to prepare it. The news- 
 papers would in many instances give support to such 
 a movement. Unfortunately some of them are 
 owned by capitalists, and they would fight the 'craze.' 
 But if the men of God could not overwhelm their an- 
 tagonists they would be poorly qualified soldiers. 
 Cars could be chartered at a reduction for travel. 
 Printing would be the principal item. But a few 
 thousand dollars would go a long way. It could be 
 done; there is no line where it would be impossible. 
 may God ignite some good men to start the fire! 
 Setting a few men afire is the greatest way to em- 
 blaze a community." 
 
 "I think, dear Dad, the bare announcement, 'The 
 Reformers are coming ! The Reformers are coming !' 
 would strike terror into the hearts of the advantage- 
 takers and the men of shady deeds. They would 
 dread the exposure; for exposure would be first at- 
 tack, if after being talked with privately they would 
 not desist from their bad economic or social course." 
 
 "Dear John, this would be advanced treatment, 
 and more effective than isolating the bad man from 
 fellowship. But I would give every bad man in- 
 formed upon a chance, privately, to 'save his face/ 
 Of course, an inquiry would be instituted, and all 
 who regarded themselves as wronged or who knew 
 of any wrong would be invited to testify before a 
 
Just Treatment of the Exploiter 151 
 
 committee in private, or communicate what they 
 knew by letter." 
 
 "If such a movement is started, dear Dad, it cannot 
 fail of good results; and all over the land groups of 
 homes will be erected for those who are tired of being 
 worked for the exploiter's benefit." 
 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 The Predicted Age of Covetousness 
 Has Come 
 
 "IN view of the many mistakes which have been 
 made by Christian believers at different periods of 
 the world's history about the Second Advent, or re- 
 turn of our Lord Jesus to the earth believers as 
 sound at heart, as sane in mind, and as well-informed 
 as the best of scholars I feel I should speak cau- 
 tiously, but not doubtfully. Infallibility of inter- 
 pretation belongs to no man, although pretentiously 
 claimed by one of our number, to be disproved many, 
 many times. Still there are those who act as iner- 
 rant, instead of humbly owning their limitations and 
 mental infirmities, and admitting that they may come 
 to conclusions upon imperfect knowledge which 
 must later be confessed to be mistakes. However, 
 for those who have at times announced our Lord's 
 advent as near, and an event that would take place on 
 a certain date, and which they not only confidently 
 but joyfully anticipated, there is this to say, that 
 with many it was the sign of a good state of heart 
 and of a readiness to meet their Master; which is 
 much too rare among Christ's disciples. For who 
 can say with longing and beseeching heart, 'Come, 
 Lord Jesus; and come quickly/ and anticipate with 
 a glow of pleasure and with assurance of prepared- 
 ness for the meeting that He will actually arrive on 
 
154 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 a known day, except he be an ardent lover and 
 devotee of that same great Lord? Therefore, if they 
 make a mistake as to the time of His back-coming, it 
 is but the mistake of friends 'a little previous' 
 through over-eager love to see their Beloved. Which 
 is not a very serious matter after all as to sub- 
 stance. It certainly will not keep Him back when the 
 fulness of time has come." 
 
 "Dear Dad, as you say, it is only being a little 
 premature; and while it is disappointing to an ex- 
 pectant, and an indication to him of his liability to 
 misapprehension of some prophetic scriptures, it does 
 not destroy the faith and hope which are reposed in 
 his Redeemer." 
 
 "John, I would much rather, if I must err in some 
 things, make a mistake with regard to 'times and 
 seasons' than to be of those who have plans of this 
 world to carry out and desire that the Lord will 
 tarry. It is a sure token that Jesus has second place 
 in their affections ; and He tells us plainly that any- 
 body who loves father, mother, wife, children, or 
 anything of this world more than Himself is not 
 worthy of Him that is, of His discipleship ; and that 
 He will finally disown them, calling them strangers, 
 unknown to Him as His. I love, instead, to be of the 
 number who look for redemption in Israel." 
 
 "0, dear Dad, I confess myself a believer in Christ, 
 and in His every promise. I believe that He who 
 said: 'I go away, and come again unto you;' and 
 'In my Father's house are many mansions, . . I 
 go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and pre- 
 pare a place for you, I will come again, and receive 
 you unto Myself; [in order] that where I am, there 
 ye may be also,' will really come back as He said. I 
 trust that I, even I, will one day be 'received' by 
 Him received into eternal company with His own 
 dear Self." 
 
The Age of Covetousness Come 155 
 
 "And such also, John, I affirm of myself without 
 shame before those who in their great self -wisdom 
 despise and pity as simpletons and credulous men 
 who wait for their Lord from heaven. I believe the 
 testimony of the angels, 'This same Jesus which is 
 taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like 
 manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven/ Of 
 course, I cannot demonstrate the fact ; it will not be 
 demonstrable until it happens ; and then its demon- 
 stration will be overwhelming confusion and death to 
 those who believed not the Lord's words nor pre- 
 pared themselves to meet Him. But I can demon- 
 strate, by facts of history, that His predictions and 
 promises, the time of their fulfillment having arrived, 
 have been fulfilled ; and hence, that His word is true 
 and reliable. And on His veracity as proved I rest 
 my hope and expectation of His glorious Second Ad- 
 vent; with all that it means of deliverance and 
 beatitude to myself and to all believers." 
 
 "Yes, Dad, that is the foundation that will never 
 give way the word of the living Christ. Confess- 
 ing to God, David sang, 'Upon Thy word hast Thou 
 caused me to hope/ And it was not a promise mere- 
 ly, but a promise confirmed by an oath God vows 
 blessing to His own. Here are 'two immutable 
 things :' it is not possible for God to lie. And Christ's 
 promise of His second appearing, unto the salvation 
 of those who look for Him, is equally reliable." 
 
 "Therefore, John, I rejoice to be of the company of 
 those who wait for redemption. I will speak to you 
 about them. They are the real heroes of the world ; 
 but of them, their presence, their life, their testi- 
 mony, the world was not worthy. Neither is the 
 world worthy of us. Before our Lord came the first 
 time many prophecies foretold His advent. And by 
 Daniel God made known the elapsing time until the 
 Messiah, the Prince, would appear. We read it in 
 
156 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 the 9th chapter of Daniel. (The brazen impudence of 
 the critics in trying to invalidate Daniel, when his 
 prophecy was literally fulfilled in history ! And the 
 absurdity of its being written after the accomplish- 
 ment, when it was quoted as a prediction and already 
 in existence before the events happened!) Now, in 
 this chapter the time is given 'unto Messiah the 
 prince ;' until He should be 'cut off, but not for Him- 
 self ;' until the coming of the Roman General; until 
 the destruction of Jerusalem, etc., etc. It was read 
 and understood by the good ; in fact, there was gen- 
 eral expectation of the Lord Jesus. I will mention 
 two individuals especially, Simeon and Joseph of 
 Arimathea. Father Simeon was a man in close 
 touch with God: 'the same man was just and devout, 
 waiting for the consolation of Israel/ One day he 
 had a revelation by the Holy Spirit 'that he should 
 not see death before he had seen the Lord's Anointed' 
 (Christ). It was not an hallucination: he saw the 
 Desire of all nations, and went satisfied to bed, to 
 sleep in the dust of the earth until the morning of 
 the resurrection, when he will see Him again; not 
 then as a sweet Babe but as the Almighty Deliverer 
 from the grave and the all-glorious King. The other 
 man was Joseph the councilman, who was a resident 
 of Arimathea. He was 'a good man and a just;' 
 'he also himself waited for the Kingdom of God.' 
 These godly men did not mistake ; they were watch- 
 ers and expectants, with hearts throbbing for the 
 'salvation with eternal glory.' The Messiah has come 
 and gone. But He has gone leaving behind Him a 
 promise that He will return. And now those who 
 are intelligently saved are 'turned to God . . to 
 serve the living and true God, and to wait for His 
 Son from heaven.' It is an 'expectation sweet.' It is 
 many times referred to in Holy Scripture. Blood- 
 washed; re-created in the image of God; diligent, 
 
The Age of Covetousness Come 157 
 
 always abounding in the work of the Lord, we are 
 watchers for the returning Saviour with greater de- 
 sire than the tired watchman who watches for day- 
 break the morning. 'Our citizenship/ said Paul to 
 the Philippians, 'is in heaven; from whence also we 
 look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ/ 'Once, 
 in the end of the age, hath He appeared to put away 
 sin . . but now unto them that look for Him shall 
 He appear the second time, without sin [an offering 
 for sin] unto salvation/ 'Behold He cometh with 
 clouds/ "Blessed are all they that wait for Him/ I 
 could fill hours with the testimony of His glorious 
 appearing for the renovation of the world. My heart 
 leaps at the prospect !" 
 
 "Dear Dad, it is the stauncher of our bleeding 
 hearts, suffering from sin ! 0, what consolation will 
 He bring us at His bright appearing! how I 
 should like to see Him just now! Not to-morrow; 
 to-day. Not in an hour ; this minute ! Dear Dad, we 
 should never have another grief; never again be 
 tried and suffer ! After the clearing-up storm would 
 appear the clear shining of the Sun of righteousness. 
 What a hope is ours : seeing Jesus and being like Him 
 and with Him. 'We know that when He shall appear 
 we shall be like Him.' There are substitute theories 
 of the progression of the human race ; but they are 
 no part of the Gospel. They are not its hope. 'The 
 Lord Jesus Christ himself is our hope ;' 'The ap- 
 pearing of the glory of the great God and of our 
 Saviour Jesus Christ/ I am Old Orthodox and Old 
 Believer ; not ecclesiastically, but vitally. Blessed is 
 the King that cometh in the name of Jehovah !" 
 
 "Dear John, I am not amazed that you are so rapt 
 with that crowning happiness, Jesus Christ back 
 again to take us to His own side to be with Him for- 
 ever ! The healed man desired of old 'that he might 
 be with Him/ Jesus remain in His company. He 
 
158 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 thought so much of being with his kind Saviour. 
 And it was a great privilege and continual blessing. 
 But what is that to being with Him in the Regen- 
 eration, 'all glory through and through/ as the hym- 
 nist says. Well, I may not tarry because my work 
 remains yet to be done. He who gave us promise of 
 return was pleased also to give us intimations when 
 we might expect Him, yea, be confident of His near- 
 ness. Was not that kind of Him? It says to me that 
 His return is not a figurative expression, but a real- 
 ity. For there can be no sign of the approach of 
 what is figurative. Realities were to be harbingers 
 of The Reality. Events of the Great Event. Be- 
 lievers differ as to the one great 'far-off Divine 
 event/ It is not at such a distance as the poet 
 dreams. It is a near Divine event. I believe it is at 
 the door. I will not dogmatize; but will present 
 reasons. My work is to show that present world- 
 conditions are bells ringing in the day of God !" 
 
 "But, Dad, do you not know that those who have 
 not the blessed hope of the glory-crowned Saviour 
 returning as He said, and who have no need of His 
 return in their plan of salvation and doctrine of last 
 things, quote Himself as declaring that nobody can 
 know when He will return? They point to the pas- 
 sage, 'But of that day and that hour knoweth no 
 man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither 
 the Son, but the Father (only)/ " 
 
 "Yes, John, I know it; and I know with what an 
 air of trumph they quote it. It seems also to me 
 it is repeated with a kind of relief (relieved feeling) 
 from some portentous event, some fateful horror 
 (portentous, foreboding or fearful fact) . It is not 
 that, but a hope; our Lord's Second Advent is cheer- 
 ful and cheering. I grant it is not so to the wicked. 
 The passage is cited really to convey the impression 
 that no knowledge whatsoever can be gotten of Jesus' 
 
The Age of Covetousness Come 159 
 
 Second Coming ; that it is a great secret about which 
 nothing has been said no revelation made; which, 
 of course, is false, and is only advanced by those who 
 know not their Bible." 
 
 "Dad, that is one of the two reasons given by Jesus 
 to the Sadducees : 'Ye do err/ said He, 'not knowing 
 the scriptures, nor the power of God.' He might, 
 though, have meant, not understanding the scrip- 
 tures, their signification ; for surely they must have 
 known the words. But many do not even know the 
 passages, the words, of Holy Writ about the 'signs' 
 of Christ's coming and of the end of the age." 
 
 "Dear John, people should love and read their 
 Bible; then they would find that it does speak of 
 future events. Scripture commands: 'Exhort one 
 another ; and so much the more as ye see the day ap- 
 proaching/ There are many scriptures that tell us 
 of events that will immediately precede the day of 
 the Lord and give the world warning and believers 
 joy that the time is at hand and that Christ is at the 
 door. To understand these aright and correctly ap- 
 ply them, or find their counterparts, is the more 
 difficult, but not impossible task; and in doing this 
 mistakes have been made. But must mistakes ever 
 be made, of necessity? The answer 'Yes' is not war- 
 ranted. Certainly, not by the text quoted. And as 
 certainly it is not evident that Christ's remark is 
 meant to be applicable to all subsequent probationary 
 time. Careless reading, and reading by those who 
 have no portion and hence no participal interest in 
 the coming redemption, make it : 'Of that day and 
 that hour no man will ever know.' Does it say it? It 
 does not. It says, 'knoweth,' present tense; at the 
 time when the words were spoken. That was true 
 then, or Jesus would not have said it. Observe, it 
 is said, even Christ himself was ignorant at that time 
 of the day of His return! Does He not know now? 
 
160 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 Do we not read, 'The revelation of Jesus Christ, 
 which God gave unto Him/ in the opening of The 
 Apocalypse? In that 'revelation/ a revelation of 
 'things which shall be hereafter/ there are a num- 
 ber of allusions to times. Was Jesus ignorant of 
 what He was talking about? Does He not know 
 to-day? Of course, He does! 'Knoweth' is present 
 tense: He did not know then; nor did the angels, 
 nor any human being ; but only God. I make no as- 
 sertion as to what may be revealed in the last hours 
 of this age to beloved waiting saints. It is not im- 
 possible, nor to me personally unbelievable, that an 
 angel might be sent to one here and another there, to 
 say, '0, man, greatly beloved, I am sent to tell thee, 
 thou shalt never see death! Behold, the Lord will 
 appear to-morrow !' or 'to-day !' or 'in an hour !' I do 
 not wish to labor the point further. My object is 
 not argumentation." 
 
 "Dad, an hour before Simeon received intimation 
 by the Holy Spirit that he should not die without 
 seeing Jesus the same might have been said of him ; 
 but an hour later it was different. And I really 
 think, when a man says, 'Nobody knows anything 
 about the proximity of the Second Advent/ he should 
 say, 7 do not know / for he cannot speak for every- 
 body. All he can speak for is himself." 
 
 "That is true, John. And it is a fact that there 
 are many scriptures that speak of events that were 
 to serve as signs and premonitions of Him and of His 
 royal entry into His Kingdom. If we can find them, 
 we know our whereabouts. What are they? Can 
 we find them ? Closer question, Are they here ? And 
 here we reach a climax. Interest becomes absorb- 
 ing! I make confession, I not only believe the good 
 news of the coming of Jesus a second time; I also 
 believe in the signs of that coming. This is no 
 fanaticism. It is simply prediction, foretelling ; and 
 

 The Age of Covetousness Come 161 
 
 with me it is but identification This is that!' I 
 have the profoundest conviction that we have arrived 
 at the period called variously 'the last times/ 'the last 
 days/ 'the latter time/ 'the end of the days/ 'the 
 end of the age/ etc. If that perception is not an 
 illusion, then the present breakdown of the world, 
 the break-up of its foundations, says says distinct- 
 ly and with thunder tones 'The day is almost here ! 
 The heavens will soon reveal the Son of God !' This 
 is literalism. What a prejudice there is against 
 literalism ! It is unreasonable. Our Gospel is a fact- 
 founded Gospel. Its dogmas are literalisms. Real 
 angels ushering into the world a real baby King. A 
 real mother, Mary. Real people preached to and 
 healed. A real cross and a real death, upon Calvary. 
 A real resurrection, ascension and glorification. A 
 real coming advent of 'this same Jesus/ A real puri- 
 fication of the earth. A real subjection to God's 
 will by all its inhabitants, as there is real obedience 
 in heaven. All is literal real. Nothing is fog, or 
 vision, or dream, or figure ; all is reality. The signs 
 predicted are realities objective realities." 
 
 "Dad, it must be that the signs are real ; it must be 
 that they can be observed with the eyes, that they 
 are tangible to the senses. Some may say, 'It is a 
 sensuous religion / I would reply, 'Nay, it is a sensi- 
 ble one!'" 
 
 "Dear John, it would take a long time to enumer- 
 ate all the signs given us of the great Second Advent. 
 I will take up but two of them. I wish it were possi- 
 ble to mention them all. Maybe I shall be divinely 
 privileged to talk more comprehensively on this sub- 
 ject some day. The two 'signs' I will speak of as in- 
 dicating that we are in the last days shall have to do 
 with economics. They are covetousness and self- 
 love." 
 
 "Dad, I wish you could tell us all the signs given 
 
162 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 us from above of the consummation of the age and of 
 the coming of our Lord. I think at times of the good- 
 ness of God in revealing these matters. He has not 
 given us His own personal perfection of foreknowl- 
 edge or knowledge of all things before they happen ; 
 but He has given us the benefit of that foreknowledge 
 by making known to us the things in which we are 
 most vitally interested, the dangers we shall meet, 
 and the events that will announce deliverance ; thus 
 practically, so far as these experiences are con- 
 cerned, placing us on the same plane as Himself." 
 
 "Yes, dear son, prophecy is God's foreknowledge 
 speaking for our information and warning. Now I 
 am to discourse to you of Covetousness as a Sign of 
 the Last Days which, of course, will bring us to the 
 end. But the end is also a beginning. As in gradu- 
 ating, Commencement Day is the end of school life 
 and the beginning of an industrial career. Scripture 
 says: 'In the last days, perilous times shall come, 
 for men shall be . . covetous/ 'Men shall be 
 covetous/ God says this shall be a token of the pres- 
 ence of the end of the age, which brings the harvest 
 of the world. Tor the Son of man shall come in the 
 glory of His Father, with His angels, and then He 
 shall reward every man according to his works/ It 
 is not everybody who knows that the covetousness 
 that is the source of the world's present unhappy in- 
 dustrial conditions is a foretold 'sign* of the ending 
 of the bad man's rule ; but it is. And now to speak 
 of covetousness as the spirit that rules the world of 
 to-day. It is the chief, the dominating trait of a gen- 
 eration that stamps the character of that generation. 
 Those features which are common or subordinate 
 are not distinguishing. Men have always been covet- 
 ous. They have desired the goods of others. Through 
 covetousness they have seized what was not their 
 own. There has also been here and there a man of 
 

 The Age of Covetousness Come 163 
 
 more than ordinary greed. But one or two men do 
 not make the character of a people, or the world. I 
 understand that the prophecy is, that 'men/ in the 
 great wide use of the term, men generally, would be 
 covetous in the end of the age." 
 
 "Dear Dad, that too is my understanding. I do 
 not think it means a man here and another there, 
 when it says 'men/ without limitation." 
 
 "Well, now, John, two things make for the devel- 
 opment of an extraordinary desire for gain. The 
 first is Chance; the second, Means. Both these are 
 now present. Chance, or opportunity: in the past, 
 the common people did not have the chance ; and so, 
 lacking opportunity for gaining of wealth, they were 
 generally content with a living, or a little more. 
 Some measure of covetousness they had, but condi- 
 tions and environment were not favorable to its 
 growth. But to-day all is changed. Grabbing, 
 plunging, speculating, with prospect of a fortune, is 
 open to all; and the greedy and unscrupulous avail 
 themselves of the chance to make make as before it 
 was impossible to make. But it takes something be- 
 sides Chance; one must have Means. A man says: 
 'If I had a thousand dollars I could make ten thou- 
 sand.' Another remarks : 'I know how by investing 
 a small amount to increase it a hundredfold/ He 
 must have that little first capital ; that essential small 
 amount. He must have that particular down-to-date 
 machine to multiply production. Before, it was not 
 easy to get the first money; the machine had not 
 been invented. It is all changed now. A moderate 
 amount can be raised saved or borrowed ; the auto- 
 matic machine, with everything but brains, is ready 
 to be operated. Then, the chance to get and exploit 
 the common patrimony, and men to work subordi- 
 nately to the greedy man's will, for his personal gain, 
 are here. As to the domain, with its surface treas- 
 
164 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 ures and the wealth stored in its bowels, some have 
 'got wise* about it; they know how quietly to act to 
 get these valuables in their own names, although no- 
 body has right to give them ownership. And as to 
 men they loiter around in groups with nothing to 
 do; and a crust, and anything more the landshark 
 may be pleased of his benevolence ( ?) to add to it, 
 they are, for their necessities' sake, obliged to take ; 
 for no man willingly starves. And so, with chance 
 and means, the world, and particularly the United 
 States, which is known everywhere as the most 
 money-loving and greedy nation upon earth, be- 
 comes notably, monumentally covetous. Covetous- 
 ness finds congenial soil, soil with all the elements 
 for sustenance in it; and the little slip that was be- 
 comes a great and overshadowing tree." 
 
 "It is a solemn fact, Dad, that the man most 
 worm-eaten with covetousness began his bad life 
 with a small first desire and first act." 
 
 "One thing only is necessary with chance and 
 means and that is will will to be rich. Given will 
 with these, and a human being becomes with time a 
 greedy dog, who can never have enough. Now as to 
 propensity, it is in men, and need but to be excited 
 into action. If a man has not admitted to his heart 
 a higher and nobler Will the Will that moves to 
 helpfulness instead of harmfulness; if he has not 
 been converted to benevolence, and thus become 
 really a good-wilier toward others and devoted to the 
 service of the world, his will will fit into and be 
 fostered by the favorable conditions for accumulat- 
 ing, and greedy desire will become active. It will 
 surely determine for gain. Justice, scruples will be 
 set aside. It will satisfy self with the thought: 
 'After I have gained I shall be generous ; I shall help 
 the poor.' He does not say, 'The man I have indirect- 
 ly made or helped to make poor/ Nay, he even re- 
 
The Age of Covetousness Come 165 
 
 gards himself as a very useful ( ?) citizen, arguing 
 that he has given men work by his enterprise ! That 
 ought to be enough to satisfy any perverted mind; 
 and it generally is satisfactory to the public plun- 
 derer." 
 
 "Amazing, Dad, that such men can quiet the in- 
 ward accuser, and even turn it into an approver." 
 
 "But now, here is my point, John and it is liter- 
 ally and irrefutably true that we have arrived at 
 the Age of Covetousness. There have been other 
 ages of tyranny, debauchery, superstition : ours is 
 the age of greed, of Covetousness. It is the great 
 frontal trait of the world. Everywhere men are 
 eager and restless to accumulate wealth. The laws 
 help them. Society often condones their crimes in 
 doing it. The subdivision of large estates into small 
 holdings enables acquisition. Easy terms of pay- 
 ment draw them on in accumulation. Think of the 
 millionaires in America to-day ! Once, to be a mil- 
 lionaire was to be a very rich man. Now, it is only 
 to be moderately wealthy. Tens and hundreds of 
 millions is the rule. In fact, the newspapers have 
 announced a billionaire. Think of it ! Let me write 
 it down. Look at it, John, $1,000,000,000. The sum 
 is inconceivable. 'Rich and damned/ is generally the 
 true combination. There will be a good many pluto- 
 crats as fuel for hell fire." 
 
 "How wrong, how wrong it all is, dear Dad. The 
 masses undergoing such torture to live; and these 
 men with 'money to burn.' " 
 
 ' 'In the last days men shall be covetous/ It is 
 true to-day; IT NEVER CAN BE MORE TRUE! Except 
 that additional names may be written of the exces- 
 sively rich. Why do I say, the prediction can never 
 have a greater fulfilment that it is now distended 
 to its fullest possible size? Because, hear it! every- 
 thing has been seized by the greedy that is capable of 
 
166 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 being transmuted into wealth ! Nothing more is left 
 to be desired ! I do not mean no more vacant spaces, 
 town lots, acreages, etc. ; but every article of produc- 
 tion. All is monopolized and monetized. Forests 
 and all products of the earth's surface; water, gas, 
 oil and everything else that is below the surface. 
 John, do you know one only one more thing that 
 the hands of greed has not seized taken, to work 
 dishonestly? Covetousness, injustice is busy with 
 everything! It is size, not peculiarity, that makes 
 present covetousness so observable, and a 'sign* of 
 the closing days of the present age. It is a novelty 
 because it is a Colossus! The world revels and 
 grovels in greed. One has almost to take a pickax 
 to pry a little of the yellow stuff out of men for 
 a poor brother's assistance, it is so imbedded in their 
 hearts. Men love money the money they so covet- 
 ously acquired. Can it be doubted that we live in a 
 supremely covetous age? One may say, 'Well, men 
 would have been just as covetous centuries ago if 
 they had had the same environment and temptations 
 as those of to-day.' Doubtless that is true ; but they 
 hadn't! Hence it is reserved to us now alive to be 
 living in the Age of Covetousness. I cannot enumer- 
 ate the signs of present-day covetousness. that 
 somebody with time, information and ability to 
 present the -facts would write a book, and let us see 
 at one view what a covetously wicked age we live in, 
 that we may hate it and clear ourselves of its de- 
 pravation ; and especially that all may have the con- 
 viction that 'this is that' which the Holy Spirit warns 
 of as a 'sign' that we are in the closing days of the 
 present order. How long God will allow this sign to 
 remain before the eyes of men He only knows, but 
 it is very risky under the circumstances to defer re- 
 pentance for even a day; and repentance must in- 
 
The Age of Covetousness Come 167 
 
 elude, as a principal part of it, a break with this 
 awful covetousness." 
 
 "Repentance, surely, dear Dad, is not complete 
 that turns not away from covetousness." 
 
 "John, we have been long in conference, but I must 
 just mention two very striking objects that are pure 
 covetousness. One is the many subsidiary companies 
 of the great exploitive business concerns. The other, 
 the present-day department stores. Delvers into the 
 earth, borers for oil and gas, for instance, are not 
 content to extract these commodities from mother 
 earth ; they must also have side businesses to supply 
 all their needs, and thus monopolize the living of 
 thousands. They would let nobody live and make 
 profit but themselves. And the department stores 
 they try my patience almost to the losing of it. These 
 great emporiums are the last word that can be said 
 on greed. I remember when storekeepers used to 
 carry one or two lines of goods. They made a com- 
 fortable living, raising their families in respectabil- 
 ity. But these merchants have nearly disappeared, 
 crushed out, gobbled up by the miserably covetous 
 department-store proprietor, who runs all the busi- 
 nesses both of sales and manufacture. He even 
 caters to the stomachs of the people ! He sells cloth- 
 ing, furniture, hardware, musical instruments, sew- 
 ing machines, art goods, stoves, chinaware, cutlery, 
 kitchen utensils, stationery, books, periodicals, hair 
 goods, bedding, automobiles, groceries, and a hun- 
 dred other things. He carries on the businesses of 
 printer, hair dresser, manicurist, optician, and I 
 know not what besides. He will take orders for 
 what he has not in stock and does not make. Such 
 an all-devouring monster is a fit representative of 
 this age, harmful and cursed above all ages, the Age 
 of Covetousness ; which God declares a peril to man 
 and a sign of the end of this world and the return 
 
168 The New Christian System of Tiiving 
 
 of the blessed Christ. I have not been able to get to 
 self-love and all the rest of the signs: is not one 
 enough to establish the truth of the wind-up of 
 present affairs?" 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Selfishness and Ferocity as Signs of 
 the End 
 
 
 "JOHN, let us consider again existing evil condi- 
 tions as an indication of the approach of the end and 
 of better times beyond, for although life's experi- 
 ences are so bad there is a good time coming. This 
 is hoped for vaguely by thousands who reason that 
 the sky is brightening and that sooner or later the 
 last cloud will be gone. But you and I have a surer 
 foundation for our vision of coming good. We rest 
 not in our wish to have it so ; nor in appearances of 
 progress, which I personally think assure no wholly 
 benevolent era, in which alone is satisfaction. 
 Neither desire nor reason is our position; but that 
 word of revelation, that word of God which says, 
 'As truly as I live, saith the Lord, the whole earth 
 shall be filled with My glory/ Hence we entertain 
 more than vision; we have hope, which is personal 
 assurance. We live in expectation of the better day ; 
 and, of course, enjoyment of its blessedness. Now 
 this I say, there is revealed conditions, states where- 
 by when they come we know that the last lap of our 
 earthly race has been begun and the goal is near." 
 
 "Dear Dad, that is very comforting to one in the 
 midst of trials and sufferings. It calls to my mind 
 the words of the poet-founder of Methodism : 
 
 'Whatever ills the world befall, 
 A pledge of endless good we call, 
 A sign of Jesus near/ " 
 
170 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 Will you please name some of the tokens that 
 presage good for us who serve the Lord Christ and 
 wait His appearing, knowing by such tokens that 
 redemption draws near. (Tresage: to indicate by 
 some present fact what is to follow, or come to 
 pass/ Dictionary.) It will make us patient in trib- 
 ulation as we abound in hope." 
 
 "That is what I had in mind to do, John. I thought 
 to show you how phenomenally selfish the world is 
 at present and its unawareness that this is a sure 
 sign of the consummation of the age and the begin- 
 ning of a new one. Also I desire to make you feel 
 that the unexampled ferocity of men that now pre- 
 vails is another voice proclaiming 'Behold, the Lord 
 cometh out of His place' ; 'Behold, He cometh that is 
 to come !' Do you reniember what is said with regard 
 to that? 'In the last days perilous times shall come; 
 for men shall . . fierce;' and that they are now as 
 fierce as wild beasts, yea, fiercer than the fiercest, 
 there can be no gainsaying. But I shall return to 
 that later." 
 
 "Dear Dad, it is sometimes charged that believers 
 in the nearness of Christ's Second Advent draw upon 
 their imagination, basing their faith upon their de- 
 sire instead of upon facts ; but surely you are point- 
 me to facts to conditions, to happenings that every- 
 body can see, even the skeptical who discard religion 
 altogether. But, Dad, is not the phrase 'the last 
 days' a very elastic expression, too general to be 
 pinned down or confined to one short period of 
 time?" 
 
 "Dear John, the 'last days' do indeed cover a long 
 period. They embrace the whole Gospel dispensa- 
 tion the 'Christian era/ as it is called, although it is 
 very wwchristian. You see, the last dealings of God 
 with the world in its fallen state is prophesied to 
 end with the Messiah. He was to be crucified, rise 
 
Selfishness and Ferocity of Men 171 
 
 again, be proclaimed throughout the earth as Lord, 
 and the Kingdom of God as coming upon the earth 
 was to be announced to every nation under heaven. 
 This was to be the last period. There was the Crea- 
 tion period, the Patriarchal, the dispensations of the 
 Law and of the Prophets. John the Baptist was the 
 end of the latter : 'the Law and the Prophets/ said 
 Christ, 'were until John.' Then there comes this sig- 
 nificant sentence, indicative of a change, 'since then 
 the Kingdom of God is preached and all men presseth 
 into it' by faith; to become the subjects of the 
 Lord and enjoy the blessings of His righteous rule 
 now as they individually yield to His sway ; and an- 
 ticipatively to enter into His glorious Kingdom when 
 it shall be manifested : this by hope. Now, John, this 
 peculiar age had its opening days and will have its 
 closing period its last days. Surely, those are its 
 very last days when, like the cumulus of the sky, the 
 signs mass themselves and demand the world's atten- 
 tion with imperious insistance. And that is the case 
 to-day! It is my 'say so' because it is a visible fact. 
 Lift up your eyes and see how all things are ripe unto 
 harvest. There have been seasons of growing when 
 they were small and unripe; to-day they are large 
 and filled out with their particular contents. Where- 
 by a rational certainty is established that the end of 
 all these things, the things of the 'now,' impends. 
 Mark, I say 'these things.' There comes a disrup- 
 tion for a reconstruction. Ruin is not the end." 
 
 "I am glad, dear Dad, that destruction is not the 
 ultimate. I understand that destruction will be the 
 truth in regard to those who have sown wickedness ; 
 but there are the abiders in the day of judgment. 
 We read, 'He that doeth the will of God abideth 
 forever.' 'No evil shall come nigh thee; only with 
 thine eyes shall thou behold and see the reward of 
 the wicked.' " 
 
172 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 "Well now, John, I must talk to you about the 
 'danger* of living in the world today. Men talk of 
 our advantages and privileges; and indeed we have 
 them, and thank God for them; but the Bible says, 
 also that our life, the life of those who will be alive 
 in the last days, will be full of danger. Please re- 
 member, danger! There are rocks as we near shore. 
 Between them run channels which we have to thread 
 ere we tie up at the wharf. Navigation will be dif- 
 ficult. It is possible to go upon some exposed or 
 hidden reef. But, thank God, the rocks are charted ! 
 They are named ! Standing by the wheel and looking 
 at our compass the broken land-line has really no 
 terrors for us. Still we must never be careless ; but 
 remaining at our post must pilot our ship as though 
 our life depended upon it as practically it does. 
 Well, John, one of the charted rocks, one of the signs 
 of the last days, is universal selfishness. 'In the last 
 days men shall be lovers of their own selves.' It 
 must be selfishness of prodigious, unprecedented pro- 
 portions to become to us a sign an ar restive object 
 and herald of the King. It must be a mountainous 
 peak. And it is. This is the day of danger from self- 
 ishness. In extent world-wide; in density as the 
 darkness of Egypt that could be felt. Why, only in 
 my lifetime I have seen it grow amazingly. Do not 
 believe it, John, that the world is less selfish than it 
 was say sixty years ago ; it is the other way. There 
 are more selfish people today than there has ever 
 been and their selfishness is greater. In my mem- 
 ory some things that now evoke no remonstrance but 
 are let pass as 'the common thing' ('they all do it'), 
 would have been such shame to a man in his home- 
 town that he would have felt it as he walked the 
 streets, conscious that the faces of fellow-citizens 
 were averted from him." 
 
 "What you say is true, Dad ; selfish men now have 
 

 Selfishness and Ferocity of Men 173 
 
 outgrown blushing or being ashamed, and Society 
 makes no protest. Except that here and there a poor 
 pinched individual who has been squeezed to death 
 with his expiring breath appeals to deaf and bowel- 
 less men for pity and help. It is written, The meek 
 shall inherit the earth'; that is surely yet future; 
 for now the strong, the selfish man has it- is getting 
 it all. Adding house to house and field to field 'till 
 there be no room/ Think of it !" 
 
 "Dear John, it is frightful ! We enter the world as 
 babes without right to occupy a foot of it ; it has pre- 
 viously been pre-emptied by the selfish. We have to 
 pay a large price for a little bit of it situate in a 
 desirable location as a site for a house to live in 
 plunder, demanded of us by the selfish. Throughout 
 our whole life we must toil and sweat to enrich the 
 men who corner everything in selfishness. When 
 we are old we have nothing ; what we have made has 
 been taken from us by the selfish. Damn selfish- 
 ness! 'Profanity !' My little finger shall be as my 
 thigh: a million curses upon that evil thing selfish- 
 ishness. I know it to be all rottenness, all villainy, 
 all heartlessness. Bali ! to the man who is squeamish 
 over the propriety of an epithet used to the vile! 
 who stands by and sees his brother set upon by 
 thieves without opening his mouth or helping the 
 defenceless ! He is as bad as the bandit who holds up 
 his victim! Such crimes as are committed daily, if 
 the preachers and church members were worth a 
 pinch of salt, would arouse them to flashing indig- 
 nation! And there would be more to it than that! 
 And the wronged would feel that religion, professed, 
 had content to it. As it is, the despoiled turn away 
 with heartache and feelings of antipathy to Chris- 
 tianity. Why this indifference? Many who form- 
 ally are godly are themselves selfish. Woe to the 
 man who is himself God's sign, God's flag, held out to 
 
174 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 the world that the Judge of all the earth is approach- 
 ing! 'Men shall be lovers of their own selves': 
 selfishness is the tap-root, as it is the cap, of present 
 social and industrial miseries and sorrows." 
 
 "Dear Dad, I agree with you, nothing too bad can 
 be said of selfishness. It is inconceivable, before it 
 happens, what can be done of rascality and brutish- 
 ness by a man actuated by selfishness. Looking after 
 himself he is lost to all fairness, feeling, honor. And 
 alas ! 'the woods are full of them/ " 
 
 "Yes, John, they swarm like flies. And they are a 
 plague like the plague of flies. And, like flies, filled 
 with poison gathered from everything filthy, they 
 bite. Oh, how active for evil is selfishness ! A sleep- 
 ing python is not as a python that has coiled and 
 raised itself up to strike. Neither is the old selfish- 
 ness the same as the new selfishness, the selfishness 
 of our time so intently watchful to seize wherever 
 it can for self. Its great activity is its worst feature. 
 It was always in nature the same; but it is now a 
 full-grown lion as compared with a cub. Scripture 
 says there is 'peril' in it for those who live. Great 
 God, what peril! Regardless of justice, it strikes 
 down to destruction its millions. How many are the 
 defrauded through selfishness ! Factory hands, mill 
 workers, miners, agricultural laborers, poor naked 
 savages, private individuals innumerable cry to 
 Heaven against selfishness. To-day, I mean, to-day! 
 In this day of mines, factories and mills. In this day 
 of greedy commercialism. And who is safe? The 
 security against such selfishness is the Community of 
 brotherly love ! But there would not be security even 
 there if the Society I speak of should live only for 
 itself, its own membership. Then would it like- 
 wise become selfish. However, it does not live for 
 itself. It contemplates establishing other communi- 
 ties indefinitely. And its interest is not ended even 
 
Selfishness and Ferocity of Men 175 
 
 there. To the world it extends its helping hand to 
 carry the Gospel and give relief !" 
 
 '"'Dear Dad, the Community of love for one another 
 forever! The Society from which selfish aims and 
 ends are excluded ! What a heart it has within it ! 
 It is the very heart of Jesus, the great Serving Man, 
 as well as the divine Christ ! Hurrah for the Society 
 where selfishness is not so much as proposed, nor 
 meditated, nor thought !" 
 
 "John, I must enter more into this sentence, 'men 
 shall be lovers of their own selves/ It is said, they 
 shall be 'lovers/ which implies a loved object or 
 being. But hear who it is. Their beloved is them- 
 selves! They do not get beyond themselves! If any 
 of them should claim they love their wives and chil- 
 dren in addition, Scripture says that is still loving 
 one's self: 'he that loveth his wife loveth himself/ 
 In loving his own family he yet loves himself. The 
 dear one, the beloved of the selfish man is his own 
 self! 'Love* means particular regard, attachment; 
 selfish men have a particular liking and are supreme- 
 ly or exclusively attached to themselves ! For them 
 exists neither God, nor Christ, nor men. They them- 
 selves are the all of the universe! The earth was 
 made for them. The rain falls for them. All human- 
 ity is made for them. They would be the god of all. 
 Their worship is of themselves. What shapes ! what 
 monsters ! If that described me I should be horror- 
 stricken at my own likeness. I should want to be 
 converted or die! Everything within me rises up 
 in revulsion against the selfish man!" 
 
 "I am sure, Dad, as you say, that selfishness, organ- 
 ized and unorganized, is a sight the like of which was 
 never seen before. The very atmosphere of the life 
 of to-day is selfishness. There are great corporations 
 seeking franchises, concessions, privileges, exemp- 
 tions, reductions, bonuses, etc., amounting to incal- 
 
176 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 culable sums through selfishness. Then come the 
 bankers, the loan sharks, the money changers, thriv- 
 ing on interest, brokerages, percentages, margins, 
 commissions, exchanges, credits selfishness. Then 
 the merchants, storing up provisions of all sorts in 
 warehouses while the public is in want, with no 
 other thought than to increase prices selfishness. 
 The cost of living goes up, up, up because of selfish- 
 ness. And this selfishness hardens continually, as 
 loose soil under many rains packs into greater solid- 
 ity. Men's natures are modified, and in some cases 
 completely changed by the affiliations and surround- 
 ings of the times the environment till the most 
 noble are brought down to selfishness. A creature 
 (creation) of circumstances one is what the mold 
 makes him, and the mold of to-day is selfishness." 
 
 "Dear John, this selfishness does not make the 
 world happy. It causes a man to hate his fellow 
 his selfish brother. You remember it caused trouble 
 in the band of Christ's disciples. The wife of Zebe- 
 dee came to Jesus to ask for her two sons, James and 
 John, the highest places in His Kingdom to sit one 
 on His right hand and the other on His left say, to 
 be Prime Minister and Secretary of State. Selfish 
 woman ! she received only rebuke from Christ. And 
 the ten were mad through and through ; there was a 
 great row over it. And selfishness to-day makes bit- 
 terness, strikes, bloodshed, war between employers 
 and employed, between nation and nation. Poverty 
 gaunt spectre, death's advance messenger ! walks 
 through the land. Millions are underfed and insuf- 
 ficiently clothed, are both hungry and naked 
 through selfishness. The world of working men is 
 sullen and resentful because of the wrongs of self- 
 ishness. There smolders a fire that may at any 
 moment burst into flame. Self-love, self -planning, 
 self-seeking make much unhappiness." 
 
Selfishness and Ferocity of Men 177 
 
 "Dear Dad, all one has to do to 'get wise* on how 
 the common man feels about it ground down and 
 barely able to keep himself and family out of his 
 meagre wages, yea sometimes compelled to see them 
 go hungry is best learned by going among the men, 
 and particularly by attending their meetings. They 
 do not mince words, and their words are not good to 
 repeat; but their telling is not half as bad as the 
 facts. Hear a few comments about the owner : 'He 
 is a hog!' 'He is a bad egg!' 'He is a cunning old 
 rascal !' 'He is a scoundrel from the word Go !' 'He 
 is a brute;' 'He is a devil!' 'He has a heart like 
 flint!' 'Damn him!' Good treatment never earned 
 such names. The Pilgrim Fathers did not come to 
 this country to found a society of brutal selfishness. 
 They came for liberty to worship God. But they 
 came also to establish a Brotherly Society of mutual 
 helpers. I say this, 'lest we forget;' lest we settle 
 down with the thought that whosoever has might 
 may take." 
 
 "John, it sank deep into my heart one time when a 
 man who knew my purpose in life and my untiring 
 activity in doing good to others put his hands upon 
 my head and said, 'God bless his good old head.' A 
 'good old head ;' take in what that means. Is a cun- 
 ning old head, a cranium filled with brain matter that 
 has always worked for self -profit, self -pleasure, self- 
 advantage, a good old head? I should think men 
 would want to have others bless them, rather than 
 to think of them with discontent and curse both them 
 and their actions." 
 
 "No, Dad, a shrewd old head that meditates and 
 schemes for selfish ends is not a good head; it is a 
 very bad head. This selfishness rules not only in Big 
 Business but in the civil world, in fact in every- 
 thing. In some instances it is not so conspicuous as 
 in others, yet it is there thought of self; rest when 
 
178 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 self is secure and is supplied with the things fancied. 
 A bone thrown to a 'dog' one of the poor wretches 
 in want does not alter the fact of selfishness." 
 
 "John, 'this is that' 'lovers of their own selves' 
 is foretold as a sign of the last days. But few 
 are instructed to see in selfishness a token ; and many 
 do not believe it, would not believe it though one rose 
 from the dead. And so men go on unaware of the 
 near ending of the age. Alas! it will close with a 
 snap, as did the antedeluvian age. There were signs 
 then, but the people did not heed them. They may 
 have commented on the gathering together of the 
 animals and birds during the last seven days before 
 the door of the Ark was closed as remarkable, some- 
 thing out of the ordinary; but they did not realize 
 that it portended the close of the hundred and twenty 
 years of God's patient waiting for their repentance 
 and of their destruction in the boiling waters of the 
 geysers and the torrential rains. I recall the account 
 with solemn feelings. Animals, creeping creatures, 
 birds, in pairs or sevens, possessed by an impulse 
 from God, make for the Ark ; gather at its door ; go 
 into the vessel without being driven: 'they went in 
 unto Noah, into the Ark.' And what of mankind out- 
 side? 'They knew not until the flood came and took 
 them all away.' And what has this to do with us; 
 with the generation of the last days ; with the people 
 whose character is pre-eminently and significantly 
 'lovers of their own selves' ? 'Even thus shall it be in 
 the day when the Son of man is revealed/ ' 
 
 "Truly, Dad, faith means something; it is the sav- 
 ing of one's life and inheritance in the new, clean 
 world." 
 
 "John, I must give you one more 'sign' with a pro- 
 phetic bearing. 'In the last days perilous times shall 
 come; for men shall be ... fierce.' I connote 
 the prophecy with the great murder enterprise of the 
 
Selfishness and Ferocity of Men 179 
 
 demonized Hohenzollern Wilhelm II of Prussia. How 
 we can any of us eat, drink, do our ordinary business, 
 sleep while such carnage as Europe is witnessing 
 progresses is testimony only of our own hardness. 
 Think of the carousals, dancing, merrymakings, and 
 all the things of common life that go on among us, 
 while the next room, as it were, is full of bayonetted, 
 bombed, asphyxiated, torn, bleeding, groaning, dying 
 f ellowmen ! We are truly hardened to the limit." 
 
 "Certainly you know, Dad, there are different 
 opinions about the present war, and that men are 
 largely pro-German or pro-British through their ex- 
 traction and natural sympathies." 
 
 "John, I know no prejudice toward any man or 
 nation under heaven; but being careful to ascertain 
 the facts I have come to certain conclusions, being 
 forced to them, as to who is to blame, and in my 
 mind I lay responsibility for this awful conflict at 
 the door of the Emperor of Germany. It might have 
 been that he was egged on to it by restive officers who 
 when they met toasted each other Der Tag (To the 
 day!) the day of war, especially against England. 
 One can understand how men having been taught to 
 do a thing, and never having done it, especially if 
 they had one great hatred, would seethe to put it into 
 operation, and it is matter of common knowledge that 
 the Crown Prince and his military cronies were 
 eager to attack 'the enemy' (the unfriendly name 
 which the Prussians gave to their neighbors). If 
 this was a fact, then the Emperor was a weakling, 
 and like Pilate deserves blame. But there is another 
 story which places the responsibility directly upon 
 the Emperor, attributing to him the initiative, and if 
 that is true, then the sobriquet by which it is said his 
 name will be handed down to posterity, 'William the 
 Assassin/ is his by right." 
 
 "Dear Dad, it is the conviction of the people of the 
 
180 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 United States, to speak generally, that the Kaiser is 
 responsible for the present war. It is held to be 
 hypocritical, and disproved by facts, that he only 
 acted on the defensive, fearing attack by Russia and 
 France. Had he stood on the boundary-line of his 
 kingdom prepared for defense that would have been 
 one thing ; but when he ordered his army into France, 
 and even violated the neutrality of little Belgium, 
 which he had sworn to respect, that was quite an- 
 other; it was plainly a war of aggression. The 
 special pleading of men after he failed that defense 
 was his only design, especially when he also ad- 
 vanced in the East, even his own papers characterize 
 as not capable of maintenance." 
 
 "Dear John, I am not interested in all the contro- 
 versies concerning the war moves. I am only speaking 
 as to the man who let fall the spark that has set the 
 world on fire. That man is Kaiser William. I feel 
 I must say a few words about the Kaiser that shall 
 truly describe him as a man and a ruler. His tem- 
 perament also counts for something, likewise his am- 
 bition. Emperor William is not what would be 
 called an amiable man; nor is it of record that he 
 possesses the softer with the more virile qualities of 
 human nature. There is a sternness in his face and 
 his manner and tone are those of arbitrary authority. 
 His training from boyhood has been military, and 
 that may be one reason for his haughtiness, for he 
 entertains peculiar views of himself as king. He be- 
 lieves he is king by divine right; that the people 
 belong to him; that he is their lawgiver; that they 
 must obey him absolutely; that not to obey him is 
 sin against God and treason. He is very self-willed. 
 His own people who had different ideas about gov- 
 ernment than himself, the Social Democrats, were 
 greatly disliked by him. It is said also that as a 
 father he was The King; and that his wife is re- 
 
Selfishness and Ferocity of Men 181 
 
 garded by him as his subject, and that she, too, obeys 
 him as lord. Ruling through bodies he still holds 
 control and the king's will is prevalent in all matters 
 of his kingdom. He is very sensitive to any en- 
 croachment upon his royal prerogative, and a man 
 falling under his displeasure has his future blighted. 
 He has always courted his army, and lately also his 
 navy, in both of which he takes great pride, and his 
 conceit of himself is unbounded. He has what has 
 been called 'gimlet eyes/ that bore through a person 
 and make men tremble for fear. He can brook no 
 opposition in anything." 
 
 "Dear Dad, but he is really a great man in some 
 respects. See what he has done for Germany, unit- 
 ing her and raising her to the first rank. No ruler 
 has done so much materially for his people." 
 
 "John, I am very glad you put in that remark. I 
 cheerfully grant that in material things Emperor 
 William has been a great asset for the Teutonic fed- 
 eration. Please let me say, I have no thought of de- 
 traction; to all their due. But with all this pros- 
 perity of a worldly kind the Prussian overlord he 
 likes to be called by his people their 'war-lord* has 
 some very bad, very depraving principles, and his 
 doctrine is 'Be hard!' We remember no address of 
 his that we have read where Christian gentleness and 
 true brotherly love as it was first taught is enun- 
 ciated. If there be any such, the teaching (for he 
 preaches) is not made prominent enough to make 
 impression. Now the trouble with the Kaiser is that 
 he is a supreme lover of himself, and of Germany 
 for his own sake. That is, he is a tribal man. His 
 motto is 'Kaiser and Fatherland/ with Kaiser first. 
 His sympathies end with the boundary-line of his 
 kingdom. That is not saying he never has taken in- 
 terest in anything across the border; but that for all 
 real, efficient purposes he is circumscribed in mind 
 
182 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 and interest to 'my beloved Germany.' But even 
 that has to give way if his prestige and will are at 
 stake. To save the throne for the Hohenzollerns he 
 has sacrificed hundreds of thousands and millions of 
 men, sending them on in waves and in solid forma- 
 tion to sure death! The Kaiser has never been 
 broadened out to love men as men, Britons as well as 
 Germans. Humanity, in the sense of love, impar- 
 tial love to all men, he has not." 
 
 "Dad, I observe, too, that his manner has been 
 very imperious toward the rulers of other nations, 
 which naturally did not endear him to them." 
 
 "Yes, John. Now through many years he has had 
 his army in his mind. He has kept on perfecting it. 
 He has contemplated using it which, of course, 
 meant war. Whenever anything was invented that 
 promised to be useful for destruction he greeted it 
 and medalized the inventor. Thoroughness was his 
 motto, and it was sustained to the last detail. Now 
 imagine, John, what changes must have been wrought 
 from normality in the brain of the Emperor from 
 so many years' contemplation of war and getting 
 ready in every department to launch the bolt! Of 
 course, he became abnormal, a monomaniac. All 
 this was a foundation of affinity with Satan, the 
 murderer from the beginning; just as Judas' covet- 
 ousness was a foundation. And one day Satan 
 entered into Judas and supplied the lacking but nec- 
 essary inspiration to sell his Lord. So finally the 
 Kaiser, being prepared for every evil work, Satan 
 entered into him. It was noticeable by his friends. 
 A strangeness, an unusual look came into his eyes; 
 an evil spirit animated his entire being. A friend 
 of his describes the light in his eyes when the British 
 were mentioned as like 'phosphorus' a very gleam 
 of hell! A man composed a song of hate and he 
 pinned a medal on to his coat ! He had the song of 
 
Selfishness and Ferocity of Men 183 
 
 hate sung in the public schools and the little children 
 were turned by him into adders! All who did any- 
 thing especially cruel or harmful to the enemy 
 were praised by him and honored and promoted. 
 We all know a devilized man has large sustaining 
 strength ; Satan upholds him. He has upheld the Kai- 
 ser, who has been regarded with pity and disgust by 
 good men the world over. He lived in a frenzy of 
 hate. We know of no man anywhere in all the 
 world, of any color, painted or unpainted, tattooed 
 or untattooed, with rings in his ears and nose, naked 
 all but for the breech-cloth around his loins, that 
 has ever exhibited and for so long a time such a 
 puerile fiendish hatred to others as has the Emperor 
 of Germany." 
 
 "Surely, Dad, as you say, he must have had an 
 inspiration from somewhere and from somebody to 
 keep him up. Men get angry and get over it. They 
 explode and then are calm. But some spirit has sus- 
 tained the Emperor, and it is unbelievable that it is 
 the Spirit of God." 
 
 "Dear John, with such implacable hatred in his 
 heart the Emperor became a fountain to others. 
 That explains how such a peaceable people as the 
 Germans excepting the Prussians became so filled 
 with hatred and fury. They drank into their veins 
 his spirit and were alike intoxicated. He told them a 
 lie, but it became a vital lie. He said the nations 
 intended to destroy Germany. He knew it to be a lie ; 
 but he wanted something to justify the war and 
 exasperate Germans against their neighbors. For 
 some time the Emperor has not been a man but a 
 demoniac. Having sold himself to the devil he can 
 never come back. Sanity is never again for him. 
 Were he to hang himself through remorse, like 
 Judas, it would be good for humanity. Ah, good 
 were it for the Germans, good for the Allies, good 
 
184 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 for the world, good for himself if he had never been 
 born." 
 
 "A man, Dad, who could do such things as he has 
 done in warfare is unspeakable. Take the sinking 
 of the Lusitania, for example." 
 
 "Now, John, I come to my point. Here is a fierce 
 man of the last days. And he has gathered about 
 him others equally fierce. If a commander under 
 him is not a seven-times imbruted creature smashing 
 everything he is relieved of his command and an- 
 other more fierce is put in his place. If his troops 
 will not advance because they cannot, report has it 
 that they are shot from behind. Nothing is too bar- 
 barous or vile for this bad coterie of men to do. They 
 suffocate with poisonous gas; they squirt fire upon 
 the Allies; they drop bombs on non-belligerents and 
 unfortified cities; they torpedo unarmed merchant 
 vessels; they tear husbands from wives and send 
 them away to work; they put fines upon the nation 
 they have decimated. And if there is anything else 
 that they can think of that is inhuman and diabolical 
 they will do it. Every holy principle and sympa- 
 thetic feeling has been thrown overboard and the 
 slogan now is 'Anything to win !' is not this the 
 fiercest ever? 'In the last days men shall be fierce/ 
 Let the rattling of musketry and machine-gun fire; 
 let the monster screeching, bursting explosive shells ; 
 let the charges of solid masses into barbed wire 
 entanglements; let the greenish-yellow clouds of 
 poisonous gas; let the naked bayonet testify if this 
 is not the greatest fury and ferocity of all time, 
 yea, impossible of being heightened ! Let more than 
 two and a half years of this infernal war speak up 
 and he heard. Let the earth, literally trembling 
 under the fire of hundreds of mighty cannon; let 
 everything done in this war say, if it is not at last 
 fulfilled: 'Men shall be fierce/ " 
 
Selfishness and Ferocity of Men 185 
 
 "And, Dad, what about the Allies?" 
 
 "John, the Allies did not start this war ; but they 
 have been worked up to retaliate in kind. Except 
 that they have not been so ruthless throughout, even 
 if they have in an occasional instance. They, too, 
 are fierce. They will tell you their ferocity is differ- 
 ent from that of their attackers; that they are re- 
 pellers of a horde out of hell, led by King Apollyon. 
 We shall not discuss that. They are doing terrible 
 things. Their acts, with those of Germany, prove 
 that men are at last supremely fierce. There is no 
 good nation under heaven. Nations are only com- 
 paratively good. But with whole nations bending 
 their energies to kill; with science exhausted of all 
 .her secrets to aid in the awful struggle ; with infan- 
 try going into battle full of revenge and set in fury, 
 I look upon the world and say : This is that which 
 was spoken/ 'in the last days men shall be fierce.' 
 I turn from the blood-drenched battlefield; I look 
 upon the peaceable Community of men and women 
 obeying the voice of Christ, 'Be harmless as doves ;' 
 and here I rest, awaiting the day when men shall 
 learn war no more, and none shall terrify and deci- 
 mate his brother. There is no selfishness in the 
 Community fold. No frenzy of hatred stirs the 
 bosoms of its loving membership. It is a good place 
 to be found in at the appearing of our Lord to 
 assume openly His royal right of Universal King- 
 ship. A time is allotted to Him, of which we read, 
 'Who in His time shall show who is the blessed and 
 only Potentate' and the echo dies away in my 
 thoughts, The blessed and only Potentate !' " 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 Beginning a New Community 
 
 "JOHN, the time has come for me to unfold to you, 
 in the will of God, the new System of Christian liv- 
 ing, the right Social life for believers in the Lord 
 Jesus Christ. Its foundation is the eternal rock of 
 Love. That is a ground of relationship and work to 
 which nothing else is comparable. The Song of 
 Songs says, 'Many waters cannot quench love, 
 neither can the floods drown it.' It survives all cir- 
 cumstances; and hence cannot be beaten as a basis 
 for union and mutual support. How many things will 
 we do for love's sake that we would not consider for 
 pecuniary reward! when Love came down from 
 heaven in the person of our beloved Lord Jesus the 
 fairest visage of all appeared! Virgin Purity, so 
 chaste and with the bloom of the heavenly country 
 on her cheeks, needed sweet, gentle Love by her 
 side to complete her it was not good for her to 
 remain alone. Righteousness must have for her 
 co-partner Love. Love is brightness, joy, union ; love 
 is heaven. Now the new System that is given me to 
 show to you is based upon love. The bases of exist- 
 ing systems of Social being-together are riot those 
 of mutual love; hence they are defective. They do 
 not and cannot be made to work the good of all. They 
 are made for tribes or nations ; their symbol is that 
 narrow word 'patriotism/ which of course is not 
 
188 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 synonymous with humanity which has no frontier- 
 line nor boundary, but embraces the entire world. 
 Then, too, other systems are devised and worked for 
 special privileges and gain for some, for a few; 
 to the robbery and suffering of the masses. They 
 are systems of selfishness and plunder. But the 
 record of Love will show you that she never was 
 selfish; that she never has plundered anybody of 
 goods or of happiness. Love, then, let it be borne in 
 mind, is the basis of this new Society ; love, not greed 
 to make a fortune." 
 
 "The basis is a good one, dear Dad ; but now how 
 do you propose to build upon this basis the super- 
 structure of a supplied and contented Society?" 
 
 "That, dear John, is my task at present, to show 
 the way of action to accomplish the end. Tlain it 
 a little/ says a builder who looks over the plans of 
 an edifice 'plain* in this case means 'explain'; the 
 constructor asks that the several markings shall be 
 explained. He is practical; that plan is to be his 
 working guide, and he must understand all about it. 
 John, I like to meet with the good man who wants 
 things explained, details gone into. I know in work 
 one must grasp details for results. A rough state- 
 ment that a love-relationship would bring supply and 
 satisfaction to all is only good as a first general 
 statement; how must be told. That is where so 
 many err in salvation matters I mean now, the 
 deliverance that takes men initially and forever out 
 of the world to be followers of Christ: they never 
 get the details, they do not know how to work out 
 salvation, God working within, giving them incli- 
 nation and moral strength. They read Peter's words, 
 'Repent and be baptized every one of you/ but omit 
 to notice that 'with many other words did he testify 
 and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this unto- 
 ward generation/ Those 'many other words' of 
 
Beginning a New Community 189 
 
 testimony and incitement doubtless explained and 
 urged and brought the final result. And there was 
 that first great general statement of Paul to the 
 Philippian jailer, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 
 and thou shalt be saved' which said the destroying 
 Power was also a saving Power, and that through 
 faith He would be the jailer's Saviour. For the jailer 
 however to comprehend this he must have it explained 
 to him, and this Paul did; for the narrative says, 
 'And they [Paul and Silas] spake unto him the word 
 of the Lord, and to all that were in his house/ He 
 must have the Gospel told him, and simplified down 
 to his understanding. So this System must be 
 worked out to the varying intellects of men; and I 
 am the man to tell it you, dear John. Why do I say 
 this? Am I not conceited? or presumptuous? No, 
 John ; he who is shown a vision is the man to disclose 
 it. It is a duty imposed in the revelation. He is 
 shown it purposely that he may show it to others. 
 'What thou seest write in a book and send to* the 
 parties of the vision, the persons interested. He who 
 sees is the one to reveal, whomsoever he may be." 
 
 "Dad, I understand you, that it is the general 
 will of God that any man whose eyes God has opened 
 to see things that pertain to others, necessary or 
 useful to be known, must be faithful and loving to 
 speak them. I wonder would that include also the 
 brother who had a sudden revelation in the worship 
 of the early church to whom all had to give way and 
 for whom the exercises must stop until he delivered 
 his word from the Lord or told his revelation vis- 
 ion? The principle, anyway, seems to be of God, 
 that a seer is also a testifier ; with of course the cor- 
 relative that he who sees nothing remain quiet." 
 
 "That is the principle, John; 'the revelation of 
 Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to show 
 unto His servants the things that must shortly come 
 
190 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 to pass; and He sent and signified it by His angel 
 unto His servant John* who in turn communicated 
 it to the seven churches of Asia. 'To show unto his 
 servants' and 'he sent and signified it' : no more need 
 be said as to my assertion that my word is the 
 word of the Lord upon the subject considered it 
 being assumed that 'let all your things be done with 
 charity' is a dictum of Heaven. But now to con- 
 tinue, this is my 'let us' that for our earthly life, 
 a transitory existence, soon to merge into the life 
 of full knowledge, full functioning, full bliss, full 
 honor in the presence of Jesus, at His coming back, 
 under His glorious reign 'let us' enter into a cove- 
 nant of mutual love and support and diligence in 
 every good work toward those within and without for 
 the days of our pilgrimage through this unfriendly 
 country of our temporary sojourn; thereby making 
 our life less burdened and care-filled than present 
 conditions entail. And again how?" 
 
 "Dad, it always comes to the 'how.' 'What must 
 I do ?' naturally arises to the lips of one who would 
 escape ; 'tell me the course to take, the action to pur- 
 sue ; how ? how ?' It is the eternal 'how' !" 
 
 " 'How' shall be answered, dear Son. First, I sug- 
 gest, as form of action but not bare formality, the 
 calling of a meeting of such brethren as have interest 
 in others as well as themselves which is only plain 
 Christianity after all and not a special mark of per- 
 fection or of pre-eminent sanctity. (Alas, this nor- 
 mal Christianity is not common!) Have for this 
 meeting one definite object, to confer together upon 
 the establishment of a Society of fellow-helpers. 
 Let it be devoted solely to business, Christ's busi- 
 ness, which He left us to carry on when He departed 
 from us to go into heaven. Avoid desultory conver- 
 sation, even upon religious topics. The usual meet- 
 ings, for talk only without definite point and solely 
 
Beginning a New Community 191 
 
 for religiosity instead of religion, are dissipative 
 of true spirituality. They make of believers only 
 emotive theorists. But this, let it be remembered, is a 
 meeting for the 'do' people, co-workers, in fellowship 
 with Father and Son. Of course, prayer will begin 
 the exercises ; or perhaps follow a hymn of praise to 
 God. Then may follow informal talk by groups of 
 two or three, or impromptu addresses to all, as the 
 free spirit, the family sprit, may move, all bearing 
 upon fraternity and the reciprocal duties of brother 
 to brother, that all may be more deeply impressed 
 with the obligation of brotherhood that it may be 
 engraved deeply by the stylus of the Holy Spirit, 
 the word of God, in every heart. This, please, as 
 preparation only to prepare the heart for Godly 
 action, for the essential object of the gathering; 
 namely, the extension of the unity in Christ to work 
 as well as prayer and good morals. 'Let us now pro- 
 ceed to business/ they say, in legislative halls, after 
 the speaking. Business! business! Talk only is 
 smoke, however good it is. It creates but a frame; 
 makes but sentiment." 
 
 "Dear Dad, it sounds good to hear mention of busi- 
 ness among Christians that is more than running a 
 church and paying a preacher ; business for the good 
 of all the membership is decidedly better." 
 
 "We shall now conceive, dear Son, that the time 
 has come for the making of the Covenant ; but before 
 I outline further I wish to dwell upon the proposed 
 compact of love that would be a new beginning of 
 Christian living. Why a covenant at all? I frankly 
 allow there should be no such necessity. If the love 
 of the early Church had not cooled or subsided if it 
 had not disappeared in its mutual care-taking phe- 
 nomena there would be no need of talk about re- 
 storing it, or of a distinct covenant with that intent. 
 'Let brotherly love continue'; had it continued, saint 
 
192 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 upholding saint, a covenant would have been super- 
 fluous. It has not. If any disputes this, I challenge 
 mention of a Society where the business of one and 
 the livelihood of one is the business and felt obliga- 
 tion of another. As a rule, nobody thinks of such 
 interest in his brother's well-being. But it ought to 
 be so. Men complain to the Church, 'You profess to 
 have interest in saving my soul in heaven after I 
 am dead; but you have no interest in my struggles 
 while I am alive/ The System I propose to my breth- 
 ren is one that takes personal interest in others! 
 interest for time as well as interest for their here- 
 after! Now about the Covenant to bring us to- 
 gether again and bind us in one. The Spirit of God 
 witnesses with my spirit that this is His mind, His 
 will for us." 
 
 "Dear Dad, this being established, Christian unity 
 would become a circle an all-round thing not 
 a broken fragment, as to-day." 
 
 "John, it occurs to me that our condition is very 
 like that of the worshipers of God in the days 
 of Nehemiah. They had the Law, as we have 
 Christ's commandment of love of the brotherhood. 
 They should have obeyed the law given them, but they 
 did not. So we have the law of Christ to be broth- 
 ers one to another, and are not. But there came to 
 them a man 'to seek the welfare of the children of 
 Israel/ and reproving them he caused them to 
 return to the good way by means of a covenant one 
 with another, in which they forsook their evil life and 
 commenced a better. What if it is God who sends 
 me to His own to urge and beseech them by cove- 
 nant one with another to be again loving as Chris- 
 tians once were to be so loving that no interest of 
 a fellow-saint shall be a matter of indifference ; but 
 that all, working side by side, and singing for joy 
 
Beginning a New Community 193 
 
 of heart, as a blessed Brotherhood, shall establish a 
 Commonweal that shall be a rejoicing in the earth." 
 
 "May it be so, dear Dad ! A million blessings rest 
 upon the head of him who shall do the church and the 
 world such great good." 
 
 "A covenant, John, as I think of it, is very sacred 
 and creates a strongly binding obligation on the 
 parties thereto. If they are men of integrity, or as 
 we say 'men of their word/ and especially if they 
 profess Christian discipleship, what they promise 
 promise one another in the sight of God is an invio- 
 lable engagement. Far from all goodness and honor, 
 far, far, is he who regards a document of agreement 
 with his name subscribed thereto as only 'a scrap of 
 paper/ Paper (or parchment) it originally was and 
 still is, but it is not a sheet of scribbling paper to be 
 torn into bits and thrown into the waste basket. 
 The righteous man 'sweareth to his own hurt and 
 changeth not/ He is not like that unspeakable 
 ruler who has made of Europe one vast shambles 
 and cemetery, and who having dishonored his solemn 
 word has now adopted the vile motto : 'Anything to 
 win/ See the criminals the covenant-breaker is 
 listed with in the first chapter to the Romans: 
 'without understanding, covenant-breakers, unsoci- 
 able, implacable, unmerciful/ Now although it is 
 thought by men who are themselves lax with regard 
 to their promises that a covenant is but a rope of 
 sand as a foundation for a Society, I do not believe it 
 would be so with such men and women who under a 
 solemn sense of duty and with a great baptism of 
 brotherly love agreed together to be co-partners and 
 good fellows to the end. Especially when the plight 
 was in the name of the Lord Jesus ! And made with 
 fasting and prayer ! And after it was perfected cele- 
 brated with songs of rejoicing and thanksgiving to 
 God ! These are not the men who break their word. 
 
194 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 Having burned their boats behind them they would be 
 extremely unlikely to want to return to the old 
 selfish and unsatisfactory life of competition and 
 greed. Indeed, having tried it out, we are confident 
 that they would find the Collective life the surest for 
 the things of this world." 
 
 "I think so, too, dear Dad. I think if there was 
 doubt at first it would, like the morning mist, soon 
 clear away and be gone gone forever !" 
 
 "As a basis too of government what is there so 
 reliable as the right hand of a man in that of 
 his neighbor? It is just that sort of government 
 we live under in the United States. It is a covenant 
 of the people. Its stability has been long proved. At 
 the beginning it was prophesied that it would soon 
 fall to pieces ; but it has remained united long enough 
 to refute monarchists who said a king was indis- 
 pensable. I doubt not that a Society founded upon 
 mutual love, assiduously cultivated, would stand. I 
 do not see how it could fail, if all continued faith- 
 ful; and I would 'take chances/ as credit men say, 
 on that, having confidence in my brethren's sincer- 
 ity and good-heartedness by the Spirit. In other 
 forms of government, not by agreement of the peo- 
 ple, laws are imposed and people become subjects; in 
 a covenant-government every man is a sovereign, and 
 not a subject but a citizen. No king, who may be a 
 tyrant or despot, owns them and has the power of 
 life and death over them if they rebel against his 
 oppression. The government of the new System of 
 Christian living would be, of course, much better 
 than that of our civil State, because its laws would 
 be better, and its citizens persons ruled by more 
 exalted principles, even those of Holy Scripture; 
 and the workers would have all they earned. It 
 would be in short a Theocracy." 
 
 "But Dad, men say such combines have always 
 been failures." 
 
Beginning a New Community 195 
 
 "Do you know one, dear John, of this sort that has 
 not succeeded? There have been co-operative, 
 socialistic organizations (communities) that have 
 failed; but some have succeeded. But this Society 
 suggested is quite unlike those that have gone before 
 for many centuries. The new Christian Society 
 never would and never could be the sport of private 
 owners. All would own everything, and receive 
 through their united efforts all that their needs and 
 their reasonable wants required; but no one would 
 own anything so as to make it exclusively his I 
 mean by title. A covenant of association for the 
 ends named starts the System and living up to the 
 rules establishes it; and from the first, without the 
 shadow of a doubt, God's benediction would be given 
 it ; and one of the members of the Community would 
 be Jesus himself invisible truly, but certainly one 
 of the partnership its Head; for where His Lord- 
 ship is honored, honored with gladness, Jesus is in 
 the midst." 
 
 "Dear Dad, you speak with the greatest certainty ; 
 you are very confident as to the outcome. And 
 speaking for myself, I can not see any flaw in the 
 enterprise that would cause a break. Love, so long 
 as its was maintained, and the presumption is that it 
 would be with persons doing everything every day 
 to endear themselves to one another, would be good 
 enough for the bottom of anything ; and joint work- 
 ing of all must mean, after all were established in a 
 home, large production; and nobody to take the 
 cream off the milk but the worker to get the cream 
 with the milk. If a Society could not succeed with all 
 these advantages it would seem that none ever could. 
 But Dad, would you have the covenanters give their 
 verbal promise, or reduce it to writing and ask them 
 to sign up ?" 
 
 "Dear John, if a man approves a thing with all 
 
196 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 his heart I for one can see no reason why he should 
 refuse to sign his name and so put himself on record 
 as endorsing it. And if it be a covenant such as I sug- 
 gest I think he will want to be of the honorables who 
 are parties to it. In Nehemiah, ninth chapter, Israel 
 who returned to obedience 'with fasting and with 
 sackclothes and earth upon them' (chapter 9:1), 
 said, 'because of all this we make a sure covenant, 
 and write it, and our princes, Levites and priests 
 seal unto it;' and the first half of the tenth 
 chapter gives the names of those who engaged them- 
 selves in behalf of the people ; and they even 'entered 
 into a curse and into an oath to walk in God's law ;' 
 and if God grants us grace to return to the early 
 love of the Brotherhood, why should we not be will- 
 ing to put down our names as covenanters? It is 
 not for speculation or to risk anything, as we have 
 been verily guilty of doing when we were 'yet car- 
 nal and walked as men/ bearing at the same time 
 the honorable name of the Lord Jesus. In my judg- 
 ment the covenant should be written, that we may 
 have before us its provisions ; and our names should 
 be on the document declaring that we were mem- 
 bers of the United Brotherhood of Saints." 
 
 Well, Dad, that is manly. As to 'oath' and 'curse' 
 in case of breach of the covenant we do not belong 
 to the vowing age, and there is no obligation of oaths 
 laid upon us by Christ; indeed, He says to the con- 
 trary, 'Swear not at all;' but certainly the purpose 
 of our heart must be the settled one of faithfulness 
 to one another loyalty if you like, and we must not 
 have the remotest thought that our action is but 
 an experiment from which we can honorably with- 
 draw. Still if after a while a brother is tempted to 
 go back to his old selfishness, losing the love of the 
 Brotherhood out of his heart, and takes himself away, 
 utterly refusing to come back to the Association of 
 
Beginning a New Community 197 
 
 labor and love, the faithful should not force him to 
 keep his word. At least, I would not be one to force 
 him." 
 
 "John, everything in such a life must be free and 
 unconstrained. And yet my personal convictions are 
 that no Christian should feel free in regard of obli- 
 gation to his brother to act without sympathy toward 
 him, but should have it in his heart and will to do 
 everything in his power in every way, in business as 
 in counsel and encouragement, to help him, and make 
 his life one of freedom and gladness." 
 
 "You speak of a 'covenant' a written agreement : 
 will you please tell me how you would word it?" 
 
 "John, as to how it should read the wisdom of 
 the whole through the Holy Spirit would determine 
 that ; but I may give my judgment, seeing you ask it. 
 I am of the opinion that it should be very short. The 
 Apostles' Creed is short, and I think it is the best 
 Confession of Faith framed by man. As I may return 
 to that later I will not say more about it now. I 
 think the Covenant should read somewhat as follows : 
 'We the undersigned, being disciples of the Lord 
 Jesus by faith and confession, and observing that 
 He has commanded us to love one another and be 
 fellow-helpers, hereby confess with sorrow how far 
 we have come short of obedience, having had very 
 little regard to our brethren, which we know to be 
 wrong ; now therefore repenting of our covetousness 
 and self-love and begging His forgiveness whom 
 we have dishonored and grieved, we hereby enter 
 into covenant one with another to labor together in 
 secular work for our mutual needs, also to comfort 
 and assist each other as far as lies in our power in 
 body and in spirit; and promise that we will stand 
 loyally and lovingly by each other, praying God that 
 our association may always be pure and acceptable 
 in His sight (Signed)'. Of course John, this is only 
 
198 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 suggestive; it is but a rough draft written on the 
 instant and is capable of improvement." 
 
 "Well, dear Dad, it contains the sense of the agree- 
 ment, and it is good not to let that be obscured by 
 verbiage." 
 
 "John, God sparing my life and if it shall seem to 
 me His will, I will again take up the thread of the 
 present discourse upon the Community life and 
 describe it as I think it should be to be enduring and 
 profitable." 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 Life in the Christian Community 
 
 "I WANT, my son John, before proceeding further 
 with the practical sketch of the new System of living 
 in this world, to throw out a few casual remarks 
 upon several involved matters not of the main con- 
 sideration. I have called the System 'new' The New 
 System of Christian Living/ I do not mean absolute- 
 ly new; I mean new only with the signification that 
 it is new to us of this generation. I have told you it 
 obtained largely in the first three centuries of the 
 Christian era; hence it is old, very old; and that is 
 the right way to think of it, namely, as 'the old path, 
 the good way' of the Apostles, their contemporaries 
 and their successors for several generations. Then 
 there is another thing. It is not thought nor sug- 
 gested that all the ways of the early Christians 
 can or should be copied by us of to-day. There is a 
 great difference in the construction of Society now; 
 and as we say 'circumstances alter cases.' That is 
 to say, with an environment different the filling in 
 must be modified. Not the principles, John ; love to 
 all saints remains eternally for the family of God. 
 And that means, with me, love in action. Then I 
 use the word 'Community' not in the sense of every- 
 body being housed in one building, with chambers of 
 restricted size and dim light and as uncomfortable 
 as can be made for mortification of the flesh. Away 
 
200 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 with the idea of being buried as a stiff ! God does not 
 mean that by saying we must be dead to the world. 
 Community, as I use it, means an associated life 
 organized into one for practical purposes, co-opera- 
 tion. There may be a house of many apartments for 
 single persons with houses of all sizes for families; 
 but all are a single working body. Of that more 
 presently. But I particularly wish to impress on 
 you that Community, with me, is not monastic se- 
 clusion or a hermit's life. Still my thought of Com- 
 munity carries with it propinquity nearness of resi- 
 dence for the members of each Community for con- 
 venience sake say, if not all living on a square, on 
 lots near each other." 
 
 "I can see, Dad, the disadvantage of co-workers 
 far apart, making consultation difficult and really 
 separating them. Ready access to one another de- 
 mands neighborhood settlement." 
 
 "John, I now proceed with my sketch. We were 
 at the point where the earnest company of believers 
 had ended their 'say' on the business before the 
 meeting. And now they are about to act, accord- 
 ing to the rule 
 
 'Say well is good, 
 
 Do well is better; 
 Do well is the spirit 
 
 Say well is the letter/ 
 
 It is a crisis ! Every turning to the will of God is a 
 crisis. They decide no longer to prowl about as 
 beasts of prey, at times hungry and then in a fight 
 for a quarry. It is the jungle life, and they are 
 men, Christians. Why should they seek work and 
 seek it often in vain, and know want? Why should 
 they have to compete for a job or a contract? The 
 die is cast. Christ's way of love, of partnership, of 
 good fellowship is better; and they decide to be all 
 good men together, and not go beyond nor defraud 
 
Life in the Christian Community 201 
 
 their brother in any matter. They agree to be one. 
 Each subscribes his name bona fide. But now begins 
 taking stock of their assets, or means ; and each one 
 makes a show down of what is in his hand. One 
 brother says, 'I have $10,000 cash/ Another, 'And 
 I have $5,000.' Another, 'I have a few lots, free or 
 with a little incumbrance upon them/ Another, 'I 
 have a farm of forty acres, slightly improved/ An- 
 other, 'I have neither money nor land; but I have 
 skill as a carpenter and energy and the will to work/ 
 And a painter, a bricklayer, a plasterer, a plumber, 
 a cement-worker, a laborer, a tailor, a farm hand, a 
 teacher of music, in turn say they are mechanics, or 
 tradesmen or instructors, but have no money, till 
 twenty of them have shown their hands. All agree 
 to put in what they have, with their hearts full of 
 love and rejoicing that they have at last seen one of 
 the days of the Son of man not yet a day of His 
 glorious majesty, but a day of the glory of His 
 gracious working in believing hearts." 
 
 "Dear Dad, I imagine the Doxology would be in 
 place here." 
 
 "John, the laws of this world require that property 
 must be in some name how shall the assets be held, 
 and disbursed? They decide it shall be placed in 
 the hands of a holding company, which shall act as 
 trustee for the Community, with a deed that shall 
 make it forever inalienable; to guard against any 
 thief stealing it under forms of law. A treasurer 
 and secretary are appointed, and a chairman, for 
 order. No office is salaried. The name of the trus- 
 tee company is THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERS HOLDING 
 COMPANY. This day is to them the beginning of days 
 of a new era. It is a day in which they declare 
 their independence of the graft-world, of the world 
 of nasty selfishness. They decide to keep it annually 
 as a memorial for ever. And the day we get out of 
 
202 The New Christian Syste mof Living 
 
 the clutches of robbers is worthy of such remem- 
 brance !" 
 
 "Dear Dad, about how many members, do you 
 think, would be sufficient to make one group such as 
 you speak of that could supply the mutual needs of 
 its membership ?" 
 
 "I have not definitely settled that question, John; 
 but I think certainly not less than twelve and not 
 more than twenty. These would generally be hus- 
 bands and represent families, although young men 
 and women could also find employment and be very 
 serviceable in a Community. It should be large 
 enough so that no help would have to be hired, and 
 not so large that there would be a great surplusage 
 of labor. But one could tell better about this after 
 experience." 
 
 "How would the brothers and sisters be employed, 
 dear Dad?" 
 
 "They would do work at the trades they had 
 learned and followed before becoming associated 
 eight hours' labor to the day, to begin with. No- 
 body would be over another, except as a director of 
 the work upon any job, and these might be changed 
 occasionally. Every part would be equally honor- 
 able ; nobody could have the feeling that he was con- 
 sidered an underling." 
 
 "What would be the very first business, Dad, in 
 a Community?" 
 
 "Building of houses, that every one might have a 
 home for himself and family. The money would be 
 used first to buy material, which the craftsmen 
 would work up ; and the general treasury would be 
 drawn upon for furniture and to buy provisions that 
 were not produced by the brothers. Wages would 
 not be paid ; all services would be rendered for love, 
 the workmen being guaranteed support. In fact, 
 the Community would assure each other all necessa- 
 
Life in the Christian Community 203 
 
 ries and the usual things of an ordinary family. For 
 example, I said the first thing would be to domicile 
 the members. The houses would be of all sizes 
 three rooms for husband and wife ; four, five or six 
 for larger families. They would be modern and fur- 
 nished with full conveniences. One would be no bet- 
 ter than the other; but there would be a variety of 
 architecture. No severe or dead uniformity would 
 be followed. They would be homes that are homes 
 indeed; only extravagancies would be cut out. No 
 debts would be incurred for the buildings or the fur- 
 nishings. No mortgage would encumber the Broth- 
 erhood. Interest would not be paid to anybody. 
 Things would be bought only as fast as they could 
 be paid for. 'Keep out of debt/ would be a hard and 
 fast rule." 
 
 "Dear Dad, that is what makes thousands so mis- 
 erable they have of necessity to go in debt. A lady 
 said recently : 'I should be so happy if I could only 
 pay my debts/ " 
 
 "John, that would be one of the satisfactory con- 
 ditions of the new Christian System, nobody would 
 ever be dunned for money he did not have to pay his 
 debts/' 
 
 "Dear Dad, you said, homes for all would be first ; 
 of course the members must have food and clothing 
 as well ; and gas, light, water, etc., would have to be 
 provided while the buildings were in process of con- 
 struction." 
 
 "Certainly, John, and the start would make the 
 greatest drain on the resources, for when the houses 
 were up and furnished money would not be required 
 for material, except for extensions and repairs." 
 
 "How much money real cash do you think, Dad, 
 it would take to house twenty families of varying 
 sizes, two to six persons each? I mean, if nothing 
 had to be paid for the ground," 
 
204 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 "I should be willing to undertake to build accom- 
 modations for twenty families, furniture not in- 
 cluded, for fifteen thousand dollars; putting this 
 number on a self-sustaining basis.* If a rich man, 
 good kind, would give this amount, it would be the 
 work of his life-time ! What reflections would be his 
 at seeing so many families relieved forever of the 
 burden of rent! May God put it into the heart of 
 somebody to give this amount ; and into the heart of 
 another to contribute $5,000 for the furnishings of 
 the houses." 
 
 "How about lots, dear Dad?" 
 
 "I know these can be had, subject to some incum- 
 brance, which could be paid off. There may be others 
 with clear lots who would prefer to make them a 
 blessing to men than keep them to yield an income 
 for themselves. I believe, the money being forthcom- 
 ing for the building material, the housing of the 
 brethren can be considered settled." 
 
 "Well, that would be splendid for a start, Dad; 
 each to have a nice, new, comfortably furnished 
 house, with no rent to pay, and no bills for light, gas, 
 or water. But there is still the matter of provisions 
 for their keep, and clothing." 
 
 "John, if some Christian brother in the adjacent 
 country would put in a twenty, forty or eighty-acre 
 farm, there would be meat, vegetables, fruit, butter, 
 milk in abundance. And I believe some good man 
 would consider himself as well off then as he is now, 
 if guaranteed a living for himself and family; for 
 
 * Although $15,000 is named as an estimate of the cost of 
 putting a Community of twenty families upon its feet as a 
 fully supplied and self-sustaining institution, much less, say 
 $5,000, would be enough to begin with if the number of Com- 
 munity families were reduced to about six or seven. The 
 smaller Association could not co-operate quite so effectively; 
 yet it would prove much better than the prevailing system, 
 with its unemployment contingencies and general handicap I 
 have no doubt. 
 
Life in the Christian Community 205 
 
 now it often happens that a rancher has not sufficient 
 money to develop his farm, and with his agricultural 
 outfit can only bring in a fraction of his holding, hav- 
 ing a hard time to get along. But with all in cultiva- 
 tion he would get full supply for himself with prod- 
 uce also for his brother." 
 
 "Dad, there may not be found such a person, but a 
 Community farm might be hired for a little." 
 
 "That could be arranged, doubtless, by looking 
 around ; and all would know that they had pure and 
 fresh food." 
 
 "Dad, what about transportation, storage and dis- 
 tribution?" 
 
 "John, the Community must have its own auto. It 
 might be one that could, by putting on a top, be con- 
 verted at once into a riding auto, as well as a truck to 
 bring in food from the farm; and there must be a 
 storehouse (barn) to receive it. Then somebody 
 could be in charge, to go round every morning, take 
 orders for things wanted, and deliver the goods in 
 the afternoon, all without price-bill and weekly col- 
 lection of dues; unless the houses were within a 
 block or so and tables were set in a dining room for 
 all, and all shared from the same joints and dishes. 
 That is a mere incident to be arranged." 
 
 "How about reading a library, the newspapers 
 and meetings?" 
 
 "John, a special building would meet these re- 
 quirements comfortable, cheery, worthy of such an 
 excellent Community. And Ministry there would be, 
 without hireling wages. He who waited on holy 
 things gave all his time to them would share like 
 the rest." 
 
 "What, Dad! no distinction in social standing; no 
 extras for professional services ?" 
 
 "John, still of the earth earthly! Still thinking 
 of the system judged and condemned! Still turning 
 
206 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 in mind to the flesh-pots of Egypt ! The highest title 
 and honor in the world is being a brother in Christ ; 
 except that he may be higher in esteem and love who 
 is an elder and has ruled and counselled well. Pro- 
 fessionals in a Theocracy : it is to laugh ! or cry ! In 
 Father's house titles are an abomination." 
 
 "Very democratic, dear Dad!" 
 
 "Very, John, when you come to the people of God! 
 I think very highly of the people such people! I 
 take off my hat to them in reverence, but not in wor- 
 ship. I keep my hat on before canonicals, scarlet 
 and purple images. The priests of Baal or Mammon 
 are not as the people of the Most High God the 
 'common' people, if any like to talk that way." 
 
 "Would you have the Community dress in drab, 
 Dad?" 
 
 "Yes, those who prefer drab to black, or grey, or 
 brown, or a mixture ; every man to his taste. There 
 would be bolts of cloth on the shelves, and it would 
 be 'Take your choice.' A good tailor is available to 
 make every fellow a new suit, some of whom are at 
 present hardly presentable at the seat and frazzled 
 around the feet. The Community would buy cloth at 
 wholesale and wear substantial clothes. Father is 
 good for it! He says His children must not be ex- 
 travagant and fops are not to His liking; but 
 clothes that will wear, that are not rubbish, I am 
 sure He would have us possess. He certainly would 
 not have us waste money on trash." 
 
 "And how about the women, Dad ?" 
 
 "Tailor-made suits to order : think of it ! Nothing 
 to pay for them ; and no charge for alterations." 
 
 "And the children, Dad?" 
 
 "Dear children! Community would be full of 
 them! It could keep them, and school them, and 
 teach them honest trades. Why, John, I believe I 
 could give children such a curriculum as would make 
 
Life in the Christian Community 207 
 
 them far above the average of the common-school 
 students. The basis of all would be knowledge of 
 God and love to man. I wish I had a chance. If a 
 Community shall ever materialize, I hope they will 
 put me on the school board. I am not speaking idly ; 
 I mean it." 
 
 "Well, the laws and the lawyers what about 
 them, Dad?" 
 
 "You have hit me, John, where I am sore. The 
 Community will have Jesus' laws; not enactments 
 which are largely a frame-up of mischief, contempti- 
 ble, unjust, the joy of the wicked rich. The laws 
 that are good are not available to those who have no 
 money. And the lawyers pleaders for pay, per- 
 verters of righteousness woe, woe, woe to the peo- 
 ple among whom they come ! They would never be 
 admitted to Community. Upon repentance and by 
 employing themselves in better business they might 
 be received as others. What cases of dispute might 
 arise would be settled in a jiffy, by an incorruptible 
 Patriarch, who would not think of a fee. Ruling in 
 the fear of God he would administer justice so far 
 as fallible man can do so." 
 
 "But tea, coffee, sugar and many things that could 
 not be raised would have to be bought, Dad." 
 
 "And they would be, John. I know what was in 
 your mind, Where would the money come from ?" 
 
 "Yes, where would the money come from, Dad? 
 for it would take a great deal of money to make pro- 
 vision and do all the things you have said." 
 
 "Money, John? Well, since the avaricious world 
 will not get along without it we should have to get it 
 for them. Not for ourselves; nobody among us 
 will get a salary. They will get, however, the full 
 supply of their needs, with never a care or worry 
 about inability to get enough money to pay expenses. 
 And they can have a little of the 'filthy lucre' to defile 
 
208 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 their pockets and their hands! (Must have a little 
 of it for the obsessed world!) This is how it would 
 be procured: when not working for the brethren 
 the members would do outside jobs for pay, like oth- 
 ers, and put it into the common treasury. Unless it 
 was work for a widow of slender circumstances and 
 other poor persons, and it was voted, say, to go out 
 for a couple or three days (all hands) and build her 
 or them a house, for the love of Christ ! I am sure 
 there would be money. The wasted time between 
 job and job under the present system, by itself, is a 
 fortune. We should have to use the stuff we loathed 
 among the deceived, and an industrious Community 
 could secure all that would be needed." 
 
 "And what about vacations, Dad?" 
 
 "John, you do not begin to realize what lay-offs, 
 short days, excursions, country outings the Commu- 
 nity System would afford her members, after first 
 getting settled. They would have to be busy then, 
 busy as bees; but afterwards, treats in the open 
 galore! They would get to know God's beautiful 
 world. Only the rich can do that now." 
 
 "Dad, you talk as one in an ecstasy." 
 
 "You are right, John, I am in an ecstacy, or as 
 one in a dream; only the dream of the Christian 
 System of living changes into transporting reality 
 when we pass from the captivity and tortures of 
 capitalism, of the greed system, into the emancipa- 
 tion of the new and holy System. As said David: 
 'When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, 
 we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth 
 filled with laughter and our tongue with singing: 
 then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath 
 done great things for them! The Lord hath done 
 great things for us, whereof we are glad.' To dream 
 the good clairvoyantly and then stand in the midst 
 of it is good dreaming and good having." 
 
Life in the Christian Community 209 
 
 "Dad, you anticipate every sort of relief and en- 
 joyment in the System you visualize." 
 
 "Alas, no, John; we cannot go to a new country 
 where the plunderbus does not reach. Utopia is no 
 man's land; is not a country at all. With the best 
 system that can be devised, the best for working our 
 good, still the exploiter and extortioner lays his 
 hands upon us in many things. We have to live on 
 his territory. He gets us in innumerable ways. 
 This we must endure. But we can reduce his harm 
 to a minimum, and make for ourselves the maximum 
 of comfort if we will ; and we are fools if we will 
 not. As Shakespeare makes a character in one of his 
 plays say, 'What fools we mortals be!' But I want 
 to tell you one of the most charming things of Com- 
 munity life the comfort it is to the aged. Homes 
 for the aged, where they live apart from the rest of 
 Society, is not ideal for people on the western slope 
 of life as that where middle-age and especially young 
 life touches them with respect and cherishing love; 
 and this is found in Community alone." 
 
 "Dear Dad, the experience of the old under the ex- 
 isting industrial system is tragic ! Amazing that the 
 Church is not aroused to sleepless and resolute 
 action of relief and provision to end the present 
 dreadful conditions !" 
 
 "Well, John, it is all different in the new System 
 of Christian living together. I know that the aged 
 working man in this unnatural generation and evil 
 social system is considered and spoken of as 'in the 
 way/ a 'burden/ one who has 'outlived his useful- 
 ness/ It is a shameful story, and I may tell it later. 
 At present I only speak of age in the covenanted life 
 of mutual love and support, and I want you to see 
 and feel how happy it is. It warms the coccles of 
 my heart to see the good old man in Community. He 
 dwells in the bosom of all. Fathers and children 
 
210 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 alike do him honor, rising at his approach, saluting 
 him with signs of pleasure. This new Social System 
 is a paradise for the aged; and for that alone, if it 
 had no other recommendation, it ought to be estab- 
 lished." 
 
 "Dear Dad, please tell me the standing of the old 
 man in the new System of Christian social life." 
 
 "With pleasure, John. In the first place he is con- 
 sidered a veteran. You know what a veteran is he 
 is a man who has been through the war, continued 
 loyal, fought bravely, and deserves honorable men- 
 tion and the support of his country. He is not one 
 to be shoved out of the way by any hoodlum and be 
 left in disgrace to perish. In Community he is con- 
 sidered a great asset. His experience, accumulated 
 wisdom, disciplined spirit are prized, and Com- 
 munity avails itself of them for its benefit. Now, 
 when with age brethren begin to lose the natural 
 energy that with skill makes for results in the trade 
 they follow, they are affectionately told to take a 
 siesta at noon, of sufficient length to bring them 
 back to vigor. And they are further told they may 
 quit their trade altogether at their pleasure for any 
 other occupation to their mind that is lighter. The 
 rules that apply to the able-bodied and youthful are 
 relaxed or suspended altogether in their favor at 
 their choice. They are not driven from their calling 
 as inefficient. Love does not make quantity the basis 
 of satisfaction. It is not a question of quantum at 
 all; but of ability and of work without strain. So 
 the old man may at any time lay down his tools, say 
 to do light gardening, or anything to keep up the 
 establishment or beautify the place. But the especial 
 use to which the old are put is for instruction and 
 entertainment of the children and for counsel in 
 regard to the general good of the Society. And here 
 they are at home and most happy. They realize that 
 
Life in the Christian Community 211 
 
 instead of being 'good for nothing' their life is one 
 of great benefit; so much so that they say to them- 
 selves the Community 'could not do without them/ 
 and they rejoice in living. They have an object in 
 living: they are not just waiting to be 'carried off 
 in a box/ as a dead horse. No, no; just come with 
 me and see one of our old men who has stood up 
 against the storms of life. He has made this beau- 
 tiful green lawn. It was he who planted these rose 
 bushes, full of lovely flowers. See how nicely he has 
 weeded around the cement walk. He takes delight in 
 his work, and is proud as he shows it to others. A 
 little girl has just run smilingly up to 'grandpa/ to 
 have a talk with him. She is not afraid of him, nor 
 shy as of a stranger. She pours out her little heart 
 in her child-like prattle into his ears, and he feels 
 young like her as he talks back. He is to 'fix' her a 
 swing, make her a draw-cart, do anything that will 
 cause her little heart to be merry. He will, in the 
 afternoon, when Willie comes home from school, go 
 into the Community workship and teach his Willie 
 for all the children belong to him and are his, as well 
 as their parents' how to handle tools and make arti- 
 cles; perhaps among them some present for his 
 mother for Christmas. Meanwhile he will talk to 
 the children about the Good One who is the All- 
 Father, and His Good Son our Saviour, and what it 
 is to be a good man. Occasionally he meets other 
 aged brothers, and sitting together they suggest to 
 each other improvements for 'our place' and the 
 benefit of all the Commoners, and also work for those 
 outside. By and by when he dies (if we do not all 
 live until the Lord's Second Advent) 'devout men* 
 will tenderly carry him to his burial, repeat his good 
 deeds, weep over his loss, but rejoice in hope of 
 reunion in a better life. The 'hoary head' has found 
 comfort in this life, and like Simeon departed in 
 
212 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 peace to his rest. This is a benefit of incalculable 
 good; it can only be a reality in the united life. 
 Everybody who has a father growing old should 
 want it for father's sake. John, it appeals to me 
 wonderfully to have it a fact as well as vision." 
 
 "I must say, dear Dad, I never was so moved to 
 pray and work as I am now for the new System of 
 living. For father's sake, for mother's sake, God 
 grant to bless to success the attempt to reach an 
 end so holy, so good !" 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 Reasons for the Community Life 
 
 "STILL further must I describe to you, my Beloved, 
 the life of those who have fled out of the world to 
 find refuge in the blessed Communal System of 
 brotherly love. Have you ever seen a tree of singing 
 birds? My, but how sweet was their music! Dear 
 hearts, they warbled forth the praise of their Maker 
 as they could, to the fullness of bird capacity. To 
 us it is given to be praiseful, if our hearts be but 
 right, in a higher way. John, I hold that every 
 person should be taught the power of his vocal 
 organs and be instructed in singing. I hold also 
 that all should be able to play some musical instru- 
 ment. Why? That they may express their emotive 
 nature. That they may be capable of pouring out 
 their joy to God! You can be a happier Christian 
 if you can sing and play. If you can do neither you 
 must ever remain stunted. It is the old truism that 
 expression makes for development; tends to matur- 
 ity of being. No exercise, and men, like plants, 
 shrivel up, wither away. Therefore one member of 
 Community is a music-teacher. His or her ministry 
 is great. The cause of joy is the love of God, in 
 nature and in grace; the sweet fellowship of like- 
 minded saints. It is deep in the hearts of the God- 
 gladdened. Happy are they who know how to pour 
 it out, and who are always at it! The consecrated 
 
214 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 man or woman who teaches the folk 'how' are of our 
 best people !" 
 
 "Yes, dear Dad, and who has not heard those who 
 have not had advantages of a musical education 
 speak regretfully of their deficiency? And partic- 
 ularly those who, being saved, have wanted to sing 
 and play. No doubt everybody would have learned 
 these branches of knowledge in their ordinary school 
 course (they are doing it now) had not caste-men 
 and silk-stocking women in the old countries, from 
 whence our citizens have come, conspired to keep 
 the people from what they boasted was one of the 
 accomplishments and distinguishing marks of the 
 gentry. In earlier days it used to be said that the 
 common people were being over-educated for their 
 station." 
 
 "Well, John, all the Community people sing and 
 play. The old theory, we are told, that only some 
 are capable of singing, has been exploded as untrue. 
 Highest authorities affirm that there are organs that 
 can be attuned in every anatomy; though some per- 
 sons may not acquire proficiency as rapidly as 
 others; and also, through long neglect, may not be 
 able to sing perfectly. Singing, like talking, is 
 common to all in the new Society. But John, there 
 are far higher benefits than the material and senti- 
 mental ones named; there are the spiritual advan- 
 tages of the life. I know spiritualities are nothing 
 to the world, as colors are nothing to a blind man. 
 I know the world is very real and eagerly sought by 
 millions who are utterly ignorant of Him who made 
 it, but who hides Himself as to His personal Being. 
 But it is not so with those who would be attracted to 
 the Communal life; they would be religious. They 
 could not commit themselves to this way of living 
 unless they were. And fellowship is, with them, of 
 
Reasons for the Community Life 215 
 
 great price ! Fellowship which is identification with 
 God, His ways and His plans, and that works with 
 Him for their control in everything." 
 
 "Fellowship with God, dear Dad, is no notion. It 
 is, with all of us, either fellowship with the Divine 
 or with Satan. It is in union with Satan that wicked 
 men work. All exploiters, all who fatten from the 
 sweat of others, are certainly co-workers with man's 
 chief adversary." 
 
 "Dear John, there are three reasons for the exist- 
 ence of the life of Associate dwelling and work. The 
 first is that of obedience to Authority divine com- 
 mandment; the second is the economic reason 
 necessity, in order to live free from care, with "a 
 requisite sustenance; the third reason is that of 
 spiritual affinity oneness of heart, in things per- 
 taining to God, righteousness and love." 
 
 "Dear Dad, anything for which there can be given 
 sufficient reasons, especially where that thing is nec- 
 essary, is also obligatory." 
 
 "John, what you say is true, obligation is begotten 
 of good reasons for an act ; especially when there is 
 very urgent necessity. I have said there exists three 
 reasons for the brotherly Community life. The first 
 is the reason of Authority. Authority comes to us 
 in commandments. Commandments are either im- 
 plicit or explicit. Implicit means that certain action 
 is implied as obligation in a verbatim law. It may 
 not be all that the words embrace but it is cer- 
 tainly a part, by fair construction. An explicit com- 
 mandment requires of us an act in express words 
 specifying that act. Now the general law for be- 
 lievers is that we love one another; and love, espe- 
 cially when it is service, means that we come to- 
 gether. Why we all know that whom we love we 
 visit ; and if we love ardently our visits are frequent. 
 
216 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 Indeed we are loath to part when we must. There- 
 fore to be together with our fellow-Christians is 
 implied in loving them. It is not claimed that there 
 is anywhere in the New Testament an express com- 
 mandment of Christ, or of the Apostles in His 
 name, that believers must live the Associate life to 
 be obedient to their Lord. It is not the genius of the 
 Gospel to thus carry everything into detail. We 
 are left to make application of the general law to 
 special cases. What is asserted is, that love, which 
 requires nearness for service, implies being in prox- 
 imity to the parties served, and the Community life 
 is such proximity continued indefinitely. But 
 though there is as I have said no explicit law, what 
 Christians actually did at the beginning under the 
 Holy Spirit is convincing to me of how they under- 
 stood the Lord's will." 
 
 "Dear Dad, if we did nothing but what was com- 
 manded in very words, instead of according to the 
 revealed principles, we could not live our life upon 
 earth." 
 
 "Now the next reason, John, is the economic 
 reason neccessity. That is to say, a great many 
 persons cannot get a subsistence as life now is. 
 They cannot find employment. Their only way of 
 survival is to combine and work for one another, or 
 rather together, for the benefit of all. Voracity and 
 rapacity eats up or takes away all one has. Ours is 
 a frightful world ; except to the incorporated thieves 
 and their paid servants who act as their agents and 
 are their accomplices. The companies have money 
 and power: shall we die at their malevolent will? 
 As one said of old, I answer, 'I will not die for the 
 devil/ And so, if we would live, we must hold to- 
 gether and keep one another. And this is the Com- 
 munal life. We cannot make money our dependence 
 
Reasons for the Community Life 217 
 
 who have none ; but we can pool something as good, 
 and very much better in itself, namely work ; and by 
 this mutual labor we can express our brotherly love." 
 
 "Your second reason, Dad, is a good one, that be- 
 ing driven to do something to live, we elect the fra- 
 ternal way of co-operation in love. 
 
 "Dear John, my third reason is the great one for 
 association, it is that of spiritual affinity. That word 
 'affinity' expresses so much ; it is the very element of 
 adherence of Christian to Christian. The familiar 
 figure is that of two drops of water; brought to- 
 gether, they run into one. Where there were two 
 there is now but a single globule. They had affin- 
 ity for each other, and have of twain become a unit. 
 There is between real children of God a great affin- 
 ity. (I refer not to carnal attraction, which I de- 
 nounce as unthinkable with the spiritual.) Spiritual 
 affinity tends to bring believers into an at-home in- 
 habitation in a holy Society. As truly as the cus- 
 toms and sins of the world are repulsion to us, so 
 really is goodness in Christians a drawing power, 
 attraction. And a whole Society of good people 
 how can we resist such godly magnetism! Our in- 
 ward life is to be with them by the will of God ; why 
 not our outward also ? We must be with them very 
 often, for Scripture says, 'Not forsaking the assem- 
 bling of yourselves together, as the manner of some 
 is;' why not be with them altogether? And it says, 
 our gatherings must be oftener 'so much the more* 
 as we see the day of Christ drawing nigh: why 
 not stay with them, and pray together and exhort 
 one another continually; meanwhile working with 
 our hands that the table may be spread with life's 
 necessaries? Where do we like to be half as much 
 as with the saints? Where do we feel strange and 
 restless but with the world ? Why not then take up 
 
218 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 our abode with the People who suit us so well the 
 People whose company we enjoy the People whose 
 mind is heavenly as our own those whose communi- 
 cations are matters of such interest to us? And that 
 spells the Community." 
 
 "Dear Dad, we say in the creed 'I believe in the 
 communion of saints/ and in a Community of Chris- 
 tian people is to be found communion to our heart's 
 content. If it is heavenly communion we are after, 
 it is in a Community of heavenly people we shall 
 find it." 
 
 "John, coming from afar once or even twice a 
 week, to hear a sermon and worship or to attend a 
 prayer-meeting, cannot be like the fellowship of the 
 Associate life lived in the concord of the Holy Ghost. 
 In the latter a brother becomes a brother indeed. 
 With him all the day in labor, visiting together in the 
 evening, taking recreation together, worshipping to- 
 gether, cultivating in all things considerateness, good 
 will, purest affection, we live at the very gate of 
 heaven. Nor is this overdrawn if all will live up to 
 the agreement of their covenant to be genuine, 
 ardent lovers." 
 
 "Dear Dad, the spiritual reason of the new Chris- 
 tian System of living is really the reason. It is the 
 reason of reasons. Necessity, driving us together 
 for mutual protection and common supply is a pow- 
 erful incentive to partnership; but the greatest is 
 mutual assistance in fighting and overcoming the 
 world, and by instruction, admonition and prayer 
 making each other ready for the appearing in glory 
 of our common Lord." 
 
 "Dear John, think in how many things we who 
 believe are of spiritual affinity. We are the same 
 in conviction that there is a living God and a living 
 Mediator between ourselves and the Father, who is 
 
Reasons for the Community Life 219 
 
 appointed over us as our Lord and is our Redeemer- 
 Saviour. We are one in this persuasion, acceptance 
 and confession. We are one also in fealty to our 
 King; one in our affection for Him (and also for 
 the Father, whose executive He is) ; one in belief of 
 the Gospel concerning Himself and the restoration of 
 God's rule upon earth, called the Kingdom of God, 
 and in acceptance of His words as the law of our 
 life; one in setting aside by renunciation our own 
 likings of the flesh for subordination to His perfect 
 sovereign will. We are one also in our aspirations 
 and supplications and giving of thanks to God for 
 ourselves, the brethren and all men. We alike aim 
 at and sacrifice for the blessing of others, holding 
 forth the torch of life, testifying the love and won- 
 derful works of God, being supporters tff him who 
 goes forth with the message of salvation not as a 
 hireling or for money but as called thereto by the 
 Distributer of ministries and Operator in the one 
 sent and constrained by love. One in waiting for our 
 Lord in exultant hope and love Who will not forget 
 us nor delay longer than is absolutely necessary 
 for the fulfillment of the Divine plan His absence 
 from us toward whom He yearns so ardently. How 
 great is our affinity in spiritual state, in work, in 
 ends sought, in anticipation of the future. With 
 all these things in common, how came the Church 
 ever to break up her common domicile? We know 
 how, though we ask the question. But surely we 
 should end the parting carnality and flow together 
 in near dwelling and hand-in-hand labor and holy 
 and acceptable worship." 
 
 "Dear Dad, you talk as an angel of heaven. But 
 have you thought that all do not see alike in all mat- 
 ters and that differences of judgment might prevent 
 a perfect union or disrupt one that might be formed, 
 
220 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 and there arise a scandal, and so the last state be 
 worse than the first. How could that be avoided? 
 Are we not commanded to be 'perfectly joined to- 
 gether in the same judgment and in the same mind?' 
 And how could that be where Christians differ in 
 convictions and usages? Would not that be an in- 
 superable difficulty in the life of Association ?" 
 
 "And, John, do you not remember that we are like- 
 wise commanded to endeavor to 'keep the unity of 
 the Spirit in the bond of peace/ and to dwell in 
 love one toward another; love that is compassionate 
 and forbearing ; love that is humble about ourselves ; 
 love that is non-critical; love that dares not charge 
 any with wicked intent whose apprehension is im- 
 perfect. Such a condition as you describe is a test 
 as to what kind of persons we ourselves are; if we 
 are of the assistive or unfriendly sort. As to dif- 
 ferences, it is my belief that you would see most of 
 them disappear in a short time with the changed 
 environment. The standpoint of looking at things 
 spiritual would not be tradition, usage, sect, gain. 
 And then love would clarify our sight." 
 
 "But Dad, some say, if you do not stand as ada- 
 mant against every false doctrine, and get up and 
 criminate everybody who slips with mind and lips, 
 and go away from them in a pet, and form an exclu- 
 sive body and call it The Church/ you are a par- 
 taker of heresy and obnoxious to God." 
 
 "I know them, John; and I know that while they 
 mean right they are very, very wrong and much 
 worse than those who apprehend and define imper- 
 fectly; whom they should teach, teach with forbear- 
 ance and sympathy, and not impatiently and with a 
 frown. Certainly they should not abandon tfiem and 
 hold them enemies of Christ. The grace of God 
 makes men Christians, not critics. The spirit we 
 
Reasons for the Community Life 221 
 
 receive from Him who baptizes with the Holy Ghost 
 is a healing, not a wounding spirit. It is certain 
 such men have the great fault of being imperfect in 
 love. And remember love is the basis of Community 
 life." 
 
 "But Dad, since such a Community as you picture 
 is a religious one, a body of believing men and 
 women, you would not have me understand that 
 there should be laxity in faith and obedience the 
 things to be believed and the commandments to be 
 obeyed. That would be to build Babylon, which 
 means Confusion. Confusion of tongues caused sep- 
 aration, it never could establish union." 
 
 "John, do not stretch charity toward all saints, the 
 real maintenance of unity, to mean that anybody 
 can be a Mohammedan, a Parsee or a Scientist and 
 yet of the same spiritual affinity and one consenting 
 body. There are assentials; but definitions about 
 everything in heaven and upon earth are not of the 
 essence of discipleship. Many doctrinaires have 
 gone out into the world, zealous for their interpre- 
 tations of Scripture (frequently they are not so 
 scrupulous about conduct). They are mischievous 
 men, dividers of the flock: beware of them! The 
 sum of all things is, love to God and man ; carefully 
 look after that. Go slowly with him whose spirit is 
 unfraternal; who, professing conscience for the 
 honor of God, is regardless of his duty of love to 
 men. The two can be maintained. In the Christian 
 Community both are cultivated." 
 
 "But tell me, Dad, how is this worked out in a 
 Community of Christians?" 
 
 "Certainly I will, John. In the first instance all 
 consent that Holy Scripture is the book of God and 
 the book of the constitution and rules of governance 
 and history of His church at the beginning, and 
 
222 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 agree that they will make it their sole standard of 
 faith and conduct, the book of their consultation in all 
 matters and the arbiter of any and everything that 
 may arise. I mean the Book only; not opinions of 
 men, church usages, the pope, or any body, sect or 
 commentary. And having renounced all authority 
 but God's Book every matter is willingly referred 
 to that Book. And here is the difference between 
 this good Community life of fellowship and sectism 
 called Christendom, nobody wants to hold or do any- 
 thing for their church's sake; because their fathers 
 believed or did it; because it has become habit and 
 it is unsettling to break it; because pride prevents 
 confession of error; because interest, a living, as in 
 the case of the clergy, binds them. From these all 
 become free when they accept simply Holy Scripture 
 as the life book, the guide book, the book about the 
 word and the work, faith and love." 
 
 "But how do they proceed, for all must have some 
 conviction as received idea or established belief?" 
 
 "Well, it is wonderful how things that are sec- 
 ondary in Community fall into secondary place by 
 the prevailing Spirit of God. Each comes to feel 'the 
 greatest of these is love ;' and to heed the exhortation 
 'Above all things, have fervent love among your- 
 selves.' You see love is written large in their hearts 
 and before their eyes. They are living love, and 
 have no animus of hostility toward their brother 
 saints. That counts for a lot. So they approach 
 these matters not as controversalists or disputers of 
 this world. They have not a case, as lawyers, to de- 
 fend. They do not care who loses ; in fact they want 
 the wrong to lose, even if it be themselves, that all 
 may be in the right. And so they agree to compare 
 their reasons for their conclusions. They 'thrash it 
 out,' as we say. Then they take time to consider the 
 
Reasons for the Community Life 223 
 
 matter alone, at home. They pray God to give 
 them wisdom. And He does not fail them! They 
 come together again as friends and brothers. Bear 
 in mind it is not a contest of wits, but a consultation 
 of the King's own, Whom above all they would un- 
 derstand and please. They have a motto among 
 themselves that in the dogmas of the faith they must 
 be in agreement, and even believe that being good 
 before God He will enlighten them in other matters. 
 The rule is expressed thus: 'Let as many of you 
 as be perfect [in love] be thus minded; and if in 
 anything ye be otherwise minded God shall reveal 
 even this unto you/ The plan works admirably. 
 There are no angry discussions; but increasing 
 knowledge and love. Attainment in knowledge they 
 hold to be progressive; but love they require abso- 
 lutely along with faith in the Lord Christ." 
 
 "But still dear Dad, what is the substance of The 
 Faith as they hold it, for you have said yourself 
 faith and love 'faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and 
 love to all saints'? The Faith cannot be ignored. 
 There must be definite belief." 
 
 True, John, as you say; but they hold faith to be 
 belief in a person, or rather persons, firstly ; and then 
 truth about those persons as revealed, and belief of 
 what they teach didactically. I will put it in other 
 words : first, acknowledgment of the living God and 
 of Jesus Christ as His Son. Belief of what they say 
 about themselves as told in Scripture, and what they 
 gather from Nature and Providence as true con- 
 cerning them. Also that there is a Holy Spirit from 
 God given by Jesus Christ. Then they receive the 
 promises of Holy Scripture for fulfillment now and 
 for hope for the hereafter. They also believe as 
 touching the Divine commandments that they are the 
 right and the good way, and so walk in them. But 
 
224 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 no creed is presented to any believer for acceptance 
 as necessary to membership." 
 
 "But now Dad, because belief with me is some- 
 thing great, are you willing to express yourself as 
 to a creed which do you think the best, the sim- 
 plest, the shortest to cover every essential which, if 
 truly accepted and subscribed, would be satisfactory 
 to you, along with brotherly love ?" 
 
 "John, understand me, I am not a creedist, but a 
 worshipper of God and an adherent of His holy, 
 adorable Son (blessed be both Father and Son!) and 
 a believer in the Holy Spirit. But if I must say 
 what in my judgment is the best creed I know, of 
 human composition, and it was felt by all that there 
 should be a public testification of their standing in 
 regard to belief, as informatory and their due con- 
 fession, I should say that any statement that covered 
 the facts of our holy religion, which was seen and 
 heard from the beginning and acknowledged from 
 the first, would be sufficient. Deductions, definitions, 
 opinions I would not consent to as requisite for 
 Christian discipleship or brotherly communion. That 
 is how divisions have come about. It was not the 
 original plan. In Community it is not allowed. And 
 so sect antipathies are healed. There is no Calvinist 
 and no Arminian in Community. All are content 
 to be believers, cleaving unto the Lord with full pur- 
 pose of heart. They vary in intelligence and attain- 
 ment. Some may speak as silily as prattling chil- 
 dren ; but relationship is not denied because of this. 
 Eventually they will come to the stage where they 
 no longer understand and reason as children. In 
 time they put away childish things. But they are 
 no more brothers when they are thus advanced than 
 when they were simple babes." 
 
 "Dear Dad, this is all good; I know it will work 
 
Reasons for the Community Life 225 
 
 well. But even now you have not told me if there 
 is any creed that is available for Community use." 
 "John, I say again, I am no creed advocate; but 
 if I must make a selection I say, that of all confes- 
 sions of faith known to me The Apostles' Creed 
 stands first. We will dismiss the fiction that each of 
 the apostles contributed a sentence apiece to its com- 
 position. I will tell you why it commends itself to me. 
 It has the quality that I hold to be of the essence of 
 a confession, namely, it is a statement of truths, 
 of facts as held by all. It has not in it an opinion or 
 definition. There is no Christian but what can take 
 and affirm it as a symbol of his discipleship. There- 
 fore it is completely unitive. In it is no cause of 
 separation. Let us see exactly what it says: 'I 
 believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of 
 heaven and earth.' We cannot but assent that this is 
 our belief. 'I believe in Jesus Christ, His only 
 begotten Son our Lord; Who was conceived by the 
 Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under 
 Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried; He 
 descended into hell [hades, the invisible state] ; the 
 third day He rose again from the dead ; He ascended 
 into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the 
 Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to 
 judge the quick and the dead/ This is nothing but 
 little pieces of Scripture put together: we heartily 
 consent that the facts are as stated, and confess such 
 is our belief. 'I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy 
 catholic [universal] church; the communion of 
 saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of 
 the body, and the life everlasting/ The whole con- 
 fession finishes with 'Amen'; and 'Amen' is voiced 
 without dissent by every Communist of the new 
 Christian System of living together. Amen, amen, 
 amen ! As to the exact understanding all may have 
 
226 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 of every clause of the confession that is not required, 
 and so none is disf ellowshipped through the dictator- 
 ship or intolerance of a not-too-well-minded person 
 who listens for heresy. Miserable creatures ! not one 
 of them is accepted in Community. If they get in 
 at all they 'creep* in when the body is not watching." 
 "Dear Dad, I feel what you say is entirely satis- 
 factory. I hold with you that another man's cer- 
 tainty in a definition is not the rule of his brother's 
 doubt if that is the right sense. I know I personally 
 have infirmities of the intellect. I like my brethren 
 to be tender and kind towards me if they discover 
 them, as I am willing to be toward them. I do not 
 purposely err in anything. In fact I use all the dili- 
 gence I can to take Christ's teaching as He would 
 have me, and not m^s-take Him. The rule of your 
 new Community is such that all should recognize a 
 Community of such spiritual affinity and oneness in 
 faith and in love would be the greatest institution in 
 the world. And such a model multiplied indefinitely 
 until all Christians were embraced would put light- 
 houses in every part of the earth. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 Domestic Conditions in Community 
 
 "DEAR John, would it interest you for me to tell 
 you about the domestic or home-life in Community? 
 It is as pure and sweet as the early morn, when all is 
 fresh and the air is redolent with the scent of flower 
 and shrub. In Community, we hold that a husband 
 and wife who do not leave behind them at least two 
 children to fill their places makes the world poorer 
 than they found it, and unless there are good reasons 
 for it they have done the State a wrong, as well as 
 failed to fulfil the Divine law of increase, which com- 
 mands, 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the 
 earth/ They should really produce one or two more 
 than simple substitutes for themselves. But the men 
 and women of pleasure who live not under the laws 
 of the Community think nothing of this and by de- 
 struction of children in embryo become murderers 
 of their species. They plead, in extenuation of their 
 crime, that they could not keep them, and hence it 
 is more merciful that the little ones never see the 
 light. Nevertheless they frustrate the design of 
 God and are criminally responsible to the judgment- 
 seat of Christ. Now in Community there is no ne- 
 cessity to do this. It cannot be pleaded that if chil- 
 dren are brought to the birth it would be to undergo 
 privation and know suffering. We would all rather 
 work harder, joyously of course, that parents may 
 have their full quota of offspring. 
 
228 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 "Dear Dad, that is a sign of goodness in the Com- 
 munity, but it is one more black mark against the 
 world-system of economics, that parents, because of 
 money shortage, should even think to do such unnat- 
 ural and wicked acts." 
 
 "This is one instance, John, in which Society life 
 excels the common living. 'I love babies/ said a 
 beautiful mother; and well she might such babies 
 as came to her home; such healthy little cherubs, 
 whom she fed with milk from her own breasts. 
 They were fine specimens. And we of Community 
 protest the world, this wicked world, that it should 
 take from husband and wife the means of fulfilling 
 the original law of propagation, because some bach- 
 elor club-man or some married exploiter, who has 
 agreed with his wife to be childless or leave off 
 with one, will have thousands of dollars for the 
 gratification of their worthless lives. Thank God, it 
 is not so in Community !" 
 
 "That is right, dear Dad; there should be no pre- 
 vention of offspring; but every child should be a 
 welcomed addition." 
 
 "John, you should see the happy husbands and 
 wives of the Community state. They do not defraud 
 one another; but in temperance live together their 
 marital life. Husbands do not think of leaving for 
 their work without a good-by word and a kiss! 
 Should one go to the door in forgetfulness, he is 
 called back to give the token of affection, the sweet- 
 heart sign ; and on his return home there awaits him 
 from wife, dear wife ! a smiling welcome and another 
 kiss! What they can do for one another, how they 
 can make each other happy, is their mutual thought. 
 It seldom is so in the world; not because men and 
 women are not dear to each other, but because anx- 
 iety and pre-occupation with business twin evils 
 
Domestic Conditions in Community 229 
 
 which do not exist in the Society life cause them to 
 omit proper loving expressions and manifestations." 
 
 "Dad, husbands and wives do love one another, 
 dearly, in many cases, and when a crisis comes we 
 see them loyally standing together; but as the world 
 is, with its many cares, they let drop the honey-love 
 of their courting days; they are not considerately 
 affectionate as they should be; and this is largely 
 chargeable to their evil social condition." 
 
 "John, the happy escape from that is the Commun- 
 ity of brotherly love and co-operative labor. Anxiety 
 is laid out dead and a thousand cares are dumped 
 when one becomes a member of a Society of fellow- 
 saints, industrious, frugal and good, who carry one 
 another around in their hearts as a maiden carries 
 the photo of her beloved around her neck in a heart- 
 shaped locket. How often she looks at it and kisses 
 the picture. She cultivates and cherishes her affec- 
 tion as do the members in Community, and in par- 
 ticular the husbands for their wives, and vice versa. 
 They have the time and are free in mind to live the 
 love they bear to each other." 
 
 "Dear Dad, love is all. To have all wealth and not 
 be rich in affection, rich in heart, is poverty; indeed 
 there is no poverty so poor." 
 
 "Well, John, I want to tell you why these Com- 
 munist families are so happy I refer now to hus- 
 bands and wives, children later they are joined 
 together by a double love; two loves unite them." 
 
 "Dad, I thought love was simple, one undivided 
 quality. A double love and a two-banded couple 
 what is the explanation?" 
 
 "John, please let us not say a divided love, a 
 single love separated into two parts. No; for each 
 is whole in itself. Let us say they are joined to- 
 gether by two whole loves a binding hoop at the 
 top and a binding hoop at the bottom." 
 
230 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 "Explain, Dad; for such a bond must be uncom- 
 monly and blessedly uniting." 
 
 "John, there are two distinct loves among Chris- 
 tian couples in the Community family; but they 
 agree in one. There is the natural love, the love in 
 the flesh (not fleshly, nor filthy). The young man 
 who sees a woman who is beautiful in form, clear 
 in skin, bright of eye, intelligent, accomplished, is 
 attracted. He has been charmed and is full of de- 
 light. He loves the fair, virtuous damsel and wants 
 her for a companion. He becomes what we call 
 'dead in love' with her. His love is good. The per- 
 son loved is good ; her qualities are good ; her accom- 
 plishments are good. This is love as units of the 
 same genus, love in the flesh. With such love par- 
 ents love children and children parents. This is 
 one of the loves. The other is love in the Spirit. It 
 is of a higher type. It endures to eternity; for its 
 attachment is in eternal things. Such love exists 
 between the Christians of the Community. Husband 
 and wife are joined together in appreciation of God 
 and Christ and all things pure and holy and kind. 
 They know each other as divinified beings, by the 
 word and Spirit of God ; and what delight they find 
 in each other as new in Christ Jesus ! Hear the hus- 
 band speak of his wife : 'What a spiritual woman she 
 is!' And the wife of her husband: 'What a thor- 
 oughly good man!' And they clasp each other 
 around as delightful objects of love. An Apostle 
 wrote of one saying, 'whom I love in the Spirit/ So 
 with the believing husband and wife, who live to- 
 gether in faith and charity, being the temples of the 
 Holy Spirit. Living in the Spirit they love with a 
 spiritual as well as a natural love." 
 
 "Dear Dad, beautiful ! Too heavenly for words to 
 express. Better than to be in a state loaded down 
 
Domestic Conditions in Community 231 
 
 with care and striving against the world for one's 
 daily bread, and in the struggle forget the law and 
 the life of kindness, of mutual affection." 
 
 "Now, John, it follows that the children of such 
 unions will not be regarded as little 'brats/ nor as a 
 great care causing unceasing weariness. No, they 
 are plants from good stock. And instruction is not 
 omitted, nor prayers restrained, nor oversight want- 
 ing to make of them good men and women, and 
 worthy of their parents as good humans and good 
 Christians. No stringency is put upon them; no 
 repression, that is as irksome as it is unnatural ; and 
 they realize that great saying, 'Freedom under law !' 
 I cannot tell you all about the children, their training 
 and government, but the Community parents have 
 found a way to rule their houses in wisdom and love 
 that yields the best results." 
 
 "I sometimes think, Dad, when I see children neg- 
 lected or abused, that it is partly because the par- 
 ents, amid the cares and worries incident to the 
 present unjust system of living, are frequently 
 unable to find themselves. Swept along in the cur- 
 rent of the world they lose footing, which means 
 losing control, proper action toward others. Oh, 
 how happy the state that is outside the rush and the 
 overloads of life !" 
 
 "John, I want to speak to you further, freely yet 
 not indelicately, about the domestic life of the new 
 Christian system of being together. Personally, I 
 have strong convictions regarding what I am going 
 to say. God made woman for man; and conversely 
 man is woman's complement and her proper desire 
 when she reaches the age of puberty. And it is 
 neither a sign of wantonness nor lewdness for a man 
 who is a man to want a wife, or for a woman to 
 desire a husband. That is plain ; and is meant to be 
 
232 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 so. And furthermore, Community smiles frankly 
 and sympathetically upon a straightforward declara- 
 tion of the fact and helps towards its fulfilment. So 
 it has made this provision, that if any single mem- 
 ber of Community desires to get married and have a 
 house of his own to which to bring a wife and form 
 the nucleus of a new family unless he goes directly 
 to the woman of his choice, wins her heart and 
 hand and notifies Society of his act that the elder 
 man and elder woman of Community have this mat- 
 ter in charge, and by invitation to tea at their own 
 house bring together suitable parties, affording them 
 opportunity to make each other's acquaintance ; that 
 if they like each other it may ripen into attachment 
 and wedlock. But it is prohibited to such father and 
 mother of Society to introduce, say a woman, to a 
 man who is shiftless, lazy, unprincipled or of filthy 
 habits (of which there are none in Community) , or 
 any who for other and good reasons is unsuited to the 
 would-be wife. The same also as to a man who 
 would be a husband respecting a wife. Fact is, the 
 Community jealously watches over its young people 
 as precious jewels, and advises as far as possible for 
 companions young people of the Community, al- 
 though it does not make a law of it, nor welcome less 
 cordially any one selected from without, provided 
 the marriage is in the Lord, that is, of a Christian." 
 
 "I suppose, Dad, a Community woman is recom- 
 mended to a man because of the greater fellowship 
 through having been brought up in the mutual love 
 and assistance principles, and therefore naturally in 
 harmony." 
 
 "That is the reason, John; there is no down-look 
 upon a stranger ; but when a stranger is brought into 
 the fold she is no longer a foreigner but as one al- 
 ways of the hearth and heart of the Society. Now 
 a marriage-day is a gala time in Community. The 
 
Domestic Conditions in Community 233 
 
 happiness of the new couple becomes the happiness 
 of all the Society. Each sister gives the bride the 
 kiss of love; and each brother the bridegroom a 
 hearty shake of the hand, with a fervently pro- 
 nounced benediction. You should see the tears run 
 down the faces of the grandpas and the grandmas as 
 they recall the happy time when they stood together 
 like the pair before them pledging each other their 
 hearts and their service ! The new home for the new 
 couple is beautifully prepared; there is a wedding- 
 feast and songs of joy and praise to the Institutor of 
 a relationship so comforting; and the new starters 
 upon the life of delight are made to feel that it is 
 every way worth while to get married. Society would 
 turn single unblessedness into married blessedness, 
 ending the loneliness of the solitary life. We love 
 our brides and our bridegrooms, and do not teach 
 our young people that to choose to be shut up in a 
 prison-like brick building, with none of the tender 
 love of parents and friends, is more holy or happy 
 than living together as husband and wife and rais- 
 ing children to increase the host of holy worshippers 
 before the throne of God and of the Lamb for ever ; 
 for it is expected that all the parents will bring up 
 their children in the nurture and admonition of the 
 Lord." 
 
 "Dear Dad, marriage of good people who are com- 
 patible, and for good ends, what can be better, touch- 
 ing earthly things? Yes, and for heavenly also? I 
 see many excellent men and women around who, if 
 they could have such service from their brethren as 
 you speak of and live in such a state, would feel life 
 had substance to it, and be unspeakably happy. 
 Doubtless many who feel that something is wanting 
 to their well-being, and know not exactly what it is, 
 would find in marriage what they needed." 
 
 "John, the new Society of corporate life is very 
 
234 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 convinced that marriage is the natural and the or- 
 dained state for mortals. We believe a pure wed- 
 lock is better than an impure celibacy. We believe 
 that a heart yearning, and yearning in vain because 
 of an imposed oath, is a very unhappy life, and a 
 great cruelty inflicted upon a pure, simple-hearted 
 girl. Society says, young men and young women 
 should marry, except there are very good reasons to 
 the contrary, which may exist in special and rare 
 cases and in times of persecution. 'Mary ever virgin* 
 as a pattern for daughters is a pernicious teaching. 
 And besides, it is not true that Mary had no children 
 beside Jesus. The subtility of Rome's explanation is 
 unconvincing; the New Testament confronts her 
 with the testimany that Jesus had brothers and 
 sisters (Matt. 13:55-56). Mary the mother of our 
 Lord is not a pattern for the single but for the mar- 
 ried. Virgins, in the sense of personalities not de- 
 filed by fornication or a settled life in sin, is good 
 before God ; but God made man and woman for mu- 
 tual companionship, and it is not service of Him, nor 
 of humanity, to allure them to a different life, in 
 which they often pine away with an unsatisfied na- 
 tural and not wicked longing. So Community is a 
 happy place. Single persons coming into it often find 
 those who make whole beings of them. For man has 
 virile qualities that woman needs ; and woman quali- 
 ties that softens, enlarges and blesses man." 
 
 "Dear Dad, I have understood you in regard to 
 the work of the men-folk in Community, but now 
 what do the women do ?" 
 
 "My beloved John, they do everything besides what 
 the men do that is necessary in Community; and by 
 their united wisdom they have reduced that work to 
 a minimum. It is done with the least effort and the 
 best results. First, there is the general housework. 
 They wash and sweep and tidy up directly after the 
 
Domestic Conditions in Community 235 
 
 children have been got ready and sent off to school. 
 You see, they are such good neighborly women, and 
 they are all so dear to one another, that they are glad 
 of the opportunity to turn in and lend a hand to the 
 mother who has an unusually large flock of children, 
 or who is of feeble constitution. 'Sister Margaret, 
 I have stepped in to wash up the dishes ;' 'I am come 
 to help you with your sewing and mending* these 
 and such like services they render to each other so 
 cheerfully that the one who needs help almost feels 
 as if she is conferring a favor in letting the sister 
 help her, instead of receiving one from her. You 
 see, some have only small families; and the children 
 of others are grown up and gone; and these have 
 spare time, which they do not indolently waste in 
 lounging or novel-reading. They use this leisure 
 time, outside their private devotions and reading for 
 self -improvement, doing something useful for others, 
 either assisting those in Community or working for 
 the outside poor. You will see many Dorcases there, 
 working with nimble fingers to clothe the naked." 
 "Do they have any expert assistance, Dad?" 
 "Yes, John, one or two seamstresses and one mil- 
 liner are taken into fellowship. These cut and fit 
 garments, and teach those who do not know how to 
 use the needle. They are always busy going from 
 house to house, and their work is not the ordinary 
 hireling's work, but is work of love done as unto the 
 Lord, Who sees and will not forget later to speak of 
 it to their unutterable joy. John, our women are 
 not numb-skulls nor drudges. They know how to 
 do their own housework and their dwellings are 
 models of neatness and cleanliness; but they are 
 likewise well furnished in mind and are bright with 
 that higher excellency the Spirit of glory and of God. 
 And so when they meet to sew together, as they 
 sometimes do, instead of engaging in gossip, which is 
 
236 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 usually carrion crow-meat, one reads something at 
 once interesting and beneficial and it becomes the 
 topic of conversation ; or something is told stimulat- 
 ing to the good heart God has put within them. John, 
 our beloved women, usually our wives, are queens, 
 hand-maidens of God most high. They know enough 
 not to domineer over their husbands to their dis- 
 grace; on the other hand their husbands do them 
 honor before all, never making a humiliating remark. 
 In short, they have mastered the quaint old wisdom 
 that says : Woman was not made out of man's head 
 to rule over him ; nor out of his feet, to be trampled 
 upon by him ; but out of his side, to be equal unto and 
 to be loved by him/ You see, John, she must have 
 come from very near his heart, the fountain of his 
 being." 
 
 "What other occupation have they, Dad?" 
 
 "They buy all the necessary material for their own 
 clothing and for outside charitable work. Every 
 three months there is a called meeting, at which they 
 elect an executive committee of three or four of their 
 number to serve for the ensuing ninety days. These 
 buy at wholesale the goods needed in Community; 
 and thus a stock is kept on hand, in variety, of the 
 generally used cotton and woollen goods, hosiery, hab- 
 erdashery, etc. Everything that is bought is good ; 
 but there are no 'extra grade' articles for anybody in 
 Community. It would get disesteem and rebuke if 
 one should wish to fare better than the rest. There 
 is no need of such wish, for it is seen that all are 
 well fitted out." 
 
 "How does the committee know what to buy, 
 Dad?" 
 
 "They have this plan : Say one of the children is 
 in need of a pair of shoes they carry a good assort- 
 ment in stock, and the child can usually be supplied 
 instantly ; but if the size is not on hand it is written 
 
Domestic Conditions in Community 237 
 
 on a slip of paper (a printed form is supplied to be 
 
 filled out) : 'Wanted, Shoes ; for boy, aged ; 
 
 size , breadth (narrow, medium or wide) ; 
 
 Name ; address ;' These slips 
 
 are dropped in a box kept for the purpose. Every 
 week the box is opened and the wants are supplied 
 as quickly as convenient. There is no charge. The 
 women appoint meetings whenever they like. Six 
 names are necessary to call a public gathering. The 
 sisters are particularly interested in establishing 
 other communities like their own, in fellowship with 
 all the communities but subject to none of them. 
 There is no head of all the communities to consign to 
 perdition all whom he dislikes. The one Head of all 
 the Communities is the Lord Jesus Christ." 
 "And about the children, what of them?" 
 "The very young children, John, are of course, the 
 special care of their mothers ; but to teach those who 
 are a little older to be useful and to promote love in 
 the family they are let hold baby, wheel it out of 
 doors and do little things that delight them and give 
 them employment; and, as we say, they bring up one 
 another! Those who are of school age have their 
 lessons, and mother sees that they are thoroughly 
 learned. Running errands and play fills up their leis- 
 ure time. No, not entirely, for mother works for the 
 unfoldment of their minds as well as the robustness 
 of their bodies. She talks to them for their informa- 
 tion; asks them questions to make them think for 
 themselves and to strengthen their memories. Above 
 all things she inculcates into their minds the knowl- 
 edge of God and of Christ, implants good principles 
 of conscientiousness, truthfulness, honesty, straight- 
 forwardness, justice, sympathy and love, and pre- 
 pares them for their future upon earth and their ap- 
 pearing before God the Judge of all. The still older 
 children become servants of the Community's good 
 
238 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 in things for which they are fitted and which are 
 congenial to their tastes. They learn, besides all 
 things necessary, to conduct a home of their own, 
 special branches and languages ; but as they are re- 
 fined and godly, about as fast as they mature they 
 marry and become builders of other households of 
 faith and love." 
 
 "Is anything done to make Christians of them, 
 Dad?" 
 
 "Yes, they are all, according to their capacity, in- 
 doctrinated in the faith in Jesus, and are exhorted to 
 decision and confession of Him as Lord, and are in- 
 duced by precept and example to walk in His steps ; 
 and it generally comes out true, Train up a child in 
 the way he should go, and when he is old he will not 
 depart from it.' " 
 
 "Anything more that the women and children do, 
 Dad?" 
 
 "Yes, they assist the aged brethren in the garden, 
 and whatsoever in any department their hands find 
 to do that they are capable of doing they do it 
 cheerfully and with their might. And there is some- 
 thing they all very much like, when the automobile 
 is out of use, to put in the seats and go off for a pic- 
 nic or for half a day's outing at the beach. You see, 
 John, it does not take long when many lend a hand 
 and all work with a will to put a job through; and 
 there remains time to be charmed with the country 
 and drink in the ozone of the ocean." 
 
 "If any member of Community should have a spe- 
 cial aptitude in any direction is encouragement given 
 him, and is be assisted to perfect himself and be 
 useful to others ?" 
 
 "He is, John. For example, suppose one should 
 have literary talent, his inclination to authorship is 
 seconded and circulation is given to any production 
 of merit and usefulness. Or suppose a member is 
 
Domestic Conditions in Community 239 
 
 musically inclined and has a gift for composing 
 tunes or larger compositions ; or suppose a man is an 
 inventor, has mechanical genius ; or can do anything 
 superiorly in any department of benevolent service, 
 he is helped to his utmost capacity. Only here is the 
 difference, in Community nothing is done or encour- 
 aged to be done for a mercenary end. And produc- 
 tion is for necessity, and not for speculation, to make 
 money; and every invented improvement and com- 
 fort is gladly made common to all. Any brother will- 
 ing to work on this basis and that is their covenant 
 is sure of co-operation to add to the relief and com- 
 fort of the world. Love of men, not love of money, 
 is the causative principle in all labor by all the 
 Brotherhood, and the more things God gives one the 
 faculty to discover and the perseverance to perfect 
 the greater the happiness of the band of good- 
 willers. I cannot tell you everything of domestic and 
 business life in the Community, but I can tell you it 
 is all good, because it is done of love that 'worketh 
 no ill to his neighbor/ and that adds to instead of tak- 
 ing away what another has. To serve, or to serve 
 oneself of others Community does the former, the 
 present bad economic system the latter." 
 
 "Dear Dad, the domestic life of the new Christian 
 System of living together looks good to me. I think 
 I should like my name proposed as a joiner. But I 
 see that I must be unselfish and devoted to my broth- 
 er's good like Him who came not to be ministered 
 unto but to minister and I am searching my heart 
 to see if I am worthy for good will's sake to be en- 
 rolled with those who have slain the selfishness of 
 the old man of sin." 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 The Christian Community a Converting 
 Agency 
 
 " 'AND being let go, they went to their own Com- 
 pany' : in these few words we are told that there was 
 at Jerusalem a Company, or Association of Chris- 
 tians; and that when Peter and John were freed 
 from arrest they made a bee-line for that dear So- 
 ciety of companions in faith and charity. We can 
 imagine the mutual embraces, and how closely the 
 members of Society listened as the Apostles related 
 what took place from the time of their apprehension 
 by the priests, the ruler of the temple and the Sad- 
 ducees to that of their release. Now, John, I want 
 that we both shall realize what a converting power 
 the Christian Communities were at the first ; and not 
 merely that, but what regenerative influence must 
 still necessarily inhere in the Christian Fellowship; 
 and, therefore, how greatly desirable it is that it 
 shall be re-established and flourish as of yore. In- 
 deed the Word, without the People and their un- 
 worldly and other-worldly home-life, is shorn of half 
 its strength. For neither in Roman, Greek, Anglican 
 or other ancient ecclesiastical organizations is there 
 anything resembling that constituent part of primi- 
 tive Christianity the Community. And certainly it 
 is as absent from the Free Churches, which have no 
 affiliation and give no allegiance to these organiza- 
 
242 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 tions, being known as Nonconformists and Protest- 
 ants, but called by them 'heretics' and 'schismatics', 
 and avoided and cursed for their non-submission. 
 These latter churches had a chance at the beginning 
 and have not wholly lost it now of restoring the 
 brotherly love and co-working peculiarities of the 
 early Christian Society, in which each brother was 
 the care of the other; but they could not get over 
 their old habits and customs of corrupted Churchian- 
 ity so as to embrace truly the family relationships of 
 the Apostolic era; hence they do not meet the need 
 of the world, and cannot be satisfying to those who 
 hunger for Society that is Society and worship that 
 is worship indeed. But, John, I wish to speak to 
 you of the effect upon the world of the Community 
 life, and the great converting power stored up in it, 
 and streaming from it to non-Christians." 
 
 "Dear Dad, there was a revival of its spirit under 
 Wesley and Whitfield; but these good men did not 
 go far enough, or as we sometimes say, 'all the way' ; 
 they brought not the fruit of their gospelization to 
 perfection. The societies they organized were not 
 the Society. Still, as proof of what you say, when 
 only the spirit of the old fellowship was restored, 
 without the Home of brotherly love and the hand-in- 
 hand working for the good of all, conversions were 
 in evidence converts were greatly multiplied. But 
 since they left us, the churches have fallen back 
 again, and the old blessed attachments, and oft- 
 being-together and sometimes residential relation- 
 ships have become of the past; with the result that 
 the converting power in many places has dwindled 
 and almost subsided. It is an instance of the enemy 
 having 'accomplished to scatter the power of the holy 
 people/ It is a fact to be regarded, that the Com- 
 munity of brotherly love and co-operation is an in- 
 
The Community a Converting Agency 243 
 
 strumentality drawing the world to one another and 
 to God." 
 
 "Yes, John, and to-day I feel almost as one without 
 a home. The churches do not appeal to me. And I 
 know it is not that I am unsocial or cranky. Think 
 of that new thing that has sprung into existence, 
 neither God nor devil, man nor beast, bird nor fish, 
 the Institutional Church. It is a sort of combined 
 show and temple of God ; or rather show in the tem- 
 ple of God ; with amusements of the world as its chief 
 attraction. The minister jokes and holds up his end 
 as a clown and entertainer, and the people laugh and 
 clap their hands at his funny sayings. Sacredness, 
 divine ministry, goes floating away as a chip upon 
 the stream. Imagine a Paul by the side of the 
 Institutional Church minister. The contrast could 
 not be greater. In this mongrel thing, two parts 
 Canaanite to one Israelite, there is not the contents 
 of the old-time Community. It is commercialized to 
 the uttermost, and is not run for the people's profit. 
 Of course, it has no Holy Ghost virtue in it to stream 
 forth and flow into the frequenters of its Audito- 
 rium. It is not a home of refuge and house of bread 
 to the spiritually hungry. It does not beget and fos- 
 ter the love which makes one offer himself to save 
 another 'lay down his life for the brethren.' It is 
 not of God. Still, its establishment is plain confes- 
 sion that more than pulpit lectures are requisite to 
 meet men's felt needs. Their craving is the Chris- 
 tian Community, as at the beginning." 
 
 "What you say, Dad, is uncontradictable. The In- 
 stitutional Church is not founded to turn men to God 
 and hold them to the God-ward attitude. The attend- 
 ants do not pay their ten or twenty-five cents admis- 
 sion fee to be labored with to give up the world and 
 follow Jesus. It has its stars and sense-gratifying 
 performances like any operatic hall. It lets its rooms 
 
244 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 and runs its cafeterias the same as the ordinary 
 lodging house and restaurant. It is all on a business 
 basis and caters to the humorous rather than serious 
 end of life. It is nothing at all, considered as an in- 
 stitution of Christ." 
 
 "Nor can I feel delight, dear John, in the sect or- 
 ganizations. I want the Society of the good. I hun- 
 ger to be always with Christians. The Community 
 would just meet my need. It has something for its 
 members. In that fellowship all give and take. One 
 does not take all and the rest have nothing. Besides, 
 the very first thing a denominational church asks of 
 me is to commit a sin. I can only join it by sinning. 
 I must become a schismatic. I must be a member of 
 a faction. I must identify myself with a strife. I 
 must confine my sympathies and pay my money sole- 
 ly (or chiefly) to the support of the sect and its 
 activities. I must loyally, as a partizan, seek her 
 prestige. All these things are against the desire and 
 commandments of the Lord Jesus and the Apostles. 
 Unity was their teaching. And in the Community, 
 blessed fellowship! unity wide, inclusive unity 
 prevailed ! That is what I want. I want in being in 
 union with fellow-believers to be also a servant of 
 the Lord Jesus and a doer of His utmost wish. I 
 want to be led of His Spirit which is fraternal, and 
 extends to all saints, without division from some and 
 partiality for those of a given confession. I want, 
 in short, the 'communion of saints' all saints. And 
 this is only obtainable in a Christian Community 
 which is Christian only. There is some evangelizing 
 power in the unsatisfactory ecclesiastical organiza- 
 tions, because the Word of God is read in them, but 
 great converting agencies they are not." 
 
 "Dear Dad, it has become customary now, in many 
 places of worship, to do little more than expatiate 
 upon moral, political and religious topics. In the 
 
The Community a Converting Agency 245 
 
 days when religion was mighty, the faithful elders, 
 charged with the care of the flock for Him to whom 
 they belonged, rebuked publicly those who sinned 
 publicly, exhorted brethren pointedly, and after gos- 
 pel services 'drew in the net/ as they phrased it, 
 their understanding being that they were fishing 
 for men. They sought fish ; not praise for themselves 
 nor standing for their sect. Conviction was strong 
 and conversion definite. But the demand from min- 
 isters to-day is sermons, eloquent talks ; and this does 
 not fit into true evangelism." 
 
 "John, I must come back to the purpose of my 
 present conversation to impress upon you that the 
 new Christian System of living is, with the preach- 
 ing of the Gospel, a mighty ordained agency for the 
 drawing together and unification of men in love and 
 righteousness; and for lack of it the cause of God 
 in the world suffers loss. How blessed will he be 
 who will talk talk unceasingly and peremptorily 
 for this great instrumentality of God to be re-estab- 
 lished in the earth." 
 
 "Dear Dad, I recall to mind what made Christian- 
 ity win its first great triumphs it was the Christian 
 Fellowship. The Christian life of Communal love 
 disposed the heathen to listen to the message. And 
 some tens of thousands espoused the new Faith and 
 dwelt together in the new love." 
 
 "John, have you read the scathing article just pub- 
 lished from the pen of Charles W. Eliot, ex-president 
 of Harvard college? We should not endorse all this 
 ex-Christian says. He is very open to just criticism 
 and rebuke. But he wields a facile quill and it is 
 easy to read after him. Some things, however, that 
 he says are true. He charges that The immense 
 moral catastrophe of the [European] war is the 
 last and most convincing demonstration that the 
 great churches of Christendom have lost their power 
 
246 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 to keep man from sin, to guide him in an upward 
 path, and to make him happy; for the churches are 
 helpless in the presence of this terrible mass of long- 
 planned, elaborately continued human sin, shame and 
 suffering/ He makes a powerful indictment of the 
 churches. But he need not have gone across the 
 water to prove the churches* great deficiency; for 
 here in our own country, because Christendom has 
 lost her first love, beautifully manifested in Com- 
 munity, tens of thousands of her members are unre- 
 lieved and unhelped, lack necessaries, are sick at 
 heart, and go slowly and sadly down to the grave. 
 Alas! the brotherly spirit if it exists at all is in a 
 deep, deep sleep. Christians will not agree together 
 to befriend one another in a true Christian System 
 of living together. I entreat all who are called Chris- 
 tians to give this matter gravest consideration." 
 
 "Dear Dad, I begin to see more in the Christian 
 Society than ever before. You see, we are taught in 
 Protestantism that the Word is all; on the other 
 hand in Catholicism it is the Church which is 
 usually confined to what is called the teaching 
 church, namely, the priesthood. In the former, the 
 slogan is 'The Bible, the Bible alone, is the religion 
 of Protestants ;' in the latter, 'Hear the Church/ The 
 former lays its stress upon belief; the latter upon 
 obedience to the hierarchy. Neither is wholly right. 
 The Gospel and faith are certainly of God : we must 
 know, believe and obey the Gospel. But the Bible 
 also talks of a life of love not such mere civility and 
 geniality as passes among most persons for love, but 
 a real, benevolent, self-sacrificing service of the 
 brethren. And here Protestantism is nearly a dead 
 letter, except in units. On the other hand, the 
 Church of God is not Rome's idea of it; and as for 
 The Faith, we know that Gospel preaching has never 
 under the Papacy been of paramount importance. 
 
The Community a Converting Agency 247 
 
 Indoctrination into the definitions of Rome has been 
 industriously pursued in the place of simple Gospel 
 preaching. I urge all to give the mutual fervent love 
 of the ancient time and the sanctuary of the Com- 
 munity a place again in the world." 
 
 "Well, Dad, a stranger in a city is like a man lost 
 in the woods. There is no hospice to receive him; 
 no brethren to greet him ; no love to touch him.. And 
 in this right? Of old he inquired for the headquar- 
 ters of the Christians, and there found the fathers 
 and mothers, the brothers and sisters Jesus said he 
 should." 
 
 "Now, John, I want you to do three things with 
 me: 1, Take account of the design of Christ to 
 create a Body in the world that would supplement 
 the Word, or Gospel, and present that Word to men 
 believed and lived; 2, Go with me into Community 
 quarters and see the real conditions or atmosphere of 
 the Society; 3, Behold the Community as a trans- 
 forming institution, a great converting agency, at- 
 tracting a thoughtful observer to the better life, the 
 life according to God." 
 
 "Dear Dad, I shall be glad to comply with your 
 request." 
 
 "Well, John, we will first take up Christ's design 
 to create and maintain in the world, before the eyes 
 of men, the Gospel lived as well as preached; the 
 Gospel not a good message simply but transmuted by 
 faith into salvation and hope; not a showing of the 
 way to go but a great host going it, walking in that 
 way. He never thought to have Christianity pre- 
 sented to men as mere precept, but intended they 
 should see it in practice. Hear it again : the Gospel 
 preached and lived; the story of salvation and life 
 demonstrated in saved and hope-filled personalities; 
 with pointing of the way, goers therein. And of 
 
248 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 course this called for individuals, personalities, liv- 
 ing men and women, a body, a Community." 
 
 "The Word of God in itself is a lamp and a light. 
 It informs us. It is perfect, converting the soul. 
 The revelation of the law and of the Gospel manifest 
 respectively righteousness and mercy. But there 
 must be seeing as well as hearing. Something heard 
 to be believed; something seen to be copied or fol- 
 lowed. The preaching to be heard ; the Community 
 life to be seen; or the life of some individual disci- 
 ple. Hearing and seeing: as Paul says: Those 
 things which ye have both heard and seen in me, do/ 
 Visible, that it may be seen. Conduct, manner of 
 life, sort of behavior. Thou hast fully known 
 [Marg. been a diligent follower of] my doctrine, 
 manner of life, purpose/ etc., wrote Paul to Timo- 
 thy; manner of living, observe, as well as doctrine, 
 that is, teaching. And again to the same beloved 
 Timothy he wrote: These things command and 
 teach. . . But be thou an example of the believers, 
 in word, in conversation [life, conduct], in charity, 
 in spirit, in faith, in purity?* Command, teach; but 
 also be an example of the good living you talk about 
 and require. Be 'living epistles [letters] , known and 
 read of all men/ Christ's design was good people 
 with the good message" 
 
 "Yes, Dad, the People of the new creation, and the 
 rule of the new creature, love, lived; the two in- 
 dissolubly joined/* 
 
 "John, the New Testament is full of it. Conse- 
 crated personalities; holy, amiable sons of God 
 Christ would have them, for His glory. Followers 
 after all good things. 'Follow after righteousness' ; 
 'follow after charity' ; 'follow peace with all men and 
 holiness' ; 'be followers of that which is good' ; 'ever 
 follow that which is good, both among yourselves and 
 to all men/ Follow all these good ways of living. 
 

 The Community a Converting Agency 249 
 
 The grace of God that bringeth salvation taught the 
 believer denial of worldly desires and the life of 
 godliness ; and the word was emphatic 'exercise thy- 
 self unto godliness. Godly instruction and godly ex- 
 ercise. These characters were Christ's will; there 
 was power to make such of ordinary men. They 
 were to be conspicuous to their neighbors in all this ; 
 shall I cite a few scriptures bearing upon this mat- 
 ter?" 
 
 "Do, please, Dad." 
 
 "Well then hear Jesus, first : 'Ye are the light of 
 the world [made, set to be the world's light, to man- 
 ifest the way] ; a city that is set on a hill cannot be 
 hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under 
 a measure [covering it] ; but on a candlestick, that it 
 may give light unto all that are in the house. Let 
 your light so shine before men, that they may see 
 your good works, and glorify your Father which is 
 in heaven.' And to this agrees Paul, writing to the 
 Community at Philippi : 'Be blameless and harmless 
 [sincere], sons of God without rebuke, in the midst 
 of a crooked and perverse generation ; among whom 
 ye shine [or, imperative mood, shine ye] as lights in 
 the world, holding forth the word [torch] of life.' 
 The torch-bearers were to be shining forms them- 
 selves bright with the spiritual glory of the invisible 
 God! Notice, men are to be able to 'see' the good 
 works. The goodness is to be palpably objective. 
 'Your good conversation [conduct, course] which 
 men behold.' Paul talks very much to the churches 
 about being an example to them, and prays them to 
 be followers of himself. To the Thessalonians : 'Ye 
 know how ye ought to follow us. . . We made our- 
 selves ensamples unto you to follow us.' And again, 
 'Ye became followers of us and of the Lord' (after 
 receiving the Gospel). And to the Corinthians: 'I 
 beseech you, be ye followers of me.' And again : 'Be 
 
250 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 ye followers of me, as I also am of Christ/ You will 
 see it is in all cases an out-and-out visibly new People 
 that Christ had in mind for Himself. Now let us 
 go into Community quarters (a place where these 
 Christians live together) and see and feel the atmos- 
 phere of their lives ; let us be impressed directly as 
 wax is by a seal." 
 
 "Dad, to know a people we must mix with them; 
 talk to them; hear them express their principles; 
 take notice of their demeanor; see exactly their 
 every-day life." 
 
 "Yes, John. Thus will we do toward the members 
 of the Christian Association. I ask you to observe : 
 1, The spiritual mien of the Communists; 2, their 
 composure, restfulness, serenity; 3, their deep con- 
 tentment ; 4, their joyf ulness ; 5, how untroubled they 
 are in labor ; 6, their forwardness to help each other ; 
 7, their courtesy to strangers. There is among men 
 what is called 'the upward look/ the far-away vision 
 which sees the Invisible and holds communion with 
 Him. Then there is, alas ! 'the downward look/ with 
 one's face to the earth in grief and despair. This 
 last is the case with millions in this world, ground 
 down by avarice, robbed of their rights. Our Com- 
 munists have, as we say, the upward look and the 
 changed countenance. A brother, helped a little by 
 another, brought home a bundle of work, and on the 
 bundle wrote the name of his customer, adding to it 
 the two words 'saint' and 'priest/ The Communists 
 are 'saints/ God's dedicated and devoted people. 
 But they are more ; they are also 'priests' unto God. 
 A priest must have something to offer, or he could 
 not be a priest ; that is, perform the work of a priest. 
 They have no sin-sacrifice to offer. Sacrifices for 
 sin have passed ; except in that terrible misrepresen- 
 tation of Christianity the Roman Catholic church. 
 The last sacrifice for sin was offered by our great 
 
The Community a Converting Agency 251 
 
 High Priest, Jesus, the Son of God. The victim was 
 Himself. The place of offering was Calvary, which 
 is a little outside of Jerusalem. But still there are 
 offerings to God and priests to offer them. The 
 Apostle Peter tells us about this as follows : 'Ye as 
 living stones [upon the living Christ] are built up a 
 spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spirit- 
 ual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ/ 
 And out of hearts filled with gratitude for mercy 
 received and for assisting grace to overcome the 
 world its greed, lasciviousness, anger, and the like 
 they present to God songs and hymns and praises, 
 along with service by all their powers and members. 
 Their faces show what they are. They have a 
 heavenly cast upon them. As the voluptuary shows 
 it, as the artist shows it, so the devoted servant of 
 God, full of faith and the Holy Spirit, shows it. Wis- 
 dom, reverence, love are stamped upon their faces." 
 
 "Dear Dad, there is something in the face of the 
 genuine, habitually good man that is perceivable by 
 others; there is a facial expression of the heart's 
 goodness. There is a remarkable statement about 
 Stephen, the first Christian martyr, 'a man full of 
 faith and of the Holy Ghost/ He was a man filled 
 up with God. While he was being tried, we read, his 
 judges, 'looking steadfastly on Trim, saw as it were 
 the face of an angel.' We may expect, even if when 
 we are newly departed from the thief's business of 
 the modern plunderbus there is no observable change, 
 that with time there will come an alteration in our 
 features, a transformation." 
 
 "Now observe, John, their serenity, their com- 
 posure, their restfulness. No agitation of worry, 
 no anticipation of want, no fearfulness of a deluge is 
 in their hearts. They have found repose in the ever- 
 faithful love of God. They rest in the Lordby 
 faith. They believe in the love of Him who proved 
 
252 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 His interest in them by dying for them. They have 
 confidence in the integrity and plighted word of their 
 brethren in the Community covenant of love and 
 support, and hence they are composure personified, 
 more serene and calm than a summer's eve. The 
 Kingdom is here ; it is one of great peace." 
 
 "Dear Dad, I cannot see that persons so environed 
 have anything within themselves to disturb them, al- 
 though from without there may come molestation, 
 that is persecution and oppression." 
 
 "Dear John, their deep contentment is manifest. 
 Their holy rule is, 'Be content with such things as ye 
 have'; and again, 'Having food and raiment, let us 
 therewith be content.' They are admonished that 
 'Godliness with contentment is great gain/ They 
 believe in 'gain/ but it is the 'great gain* of godliness 
 with contentment. Having sufficient for their daily 
 wants, their passing needs, they crave not a super- 
 abundance they can never use, like the unwise 
 grasper of this world. 'Give us for the day our daily 
 bread/ they pray, as they fulfil their duty of work; 
 God gives it and they are content. Let the rich fools 
 of earth think of barns filled with supplies for many 
 years ahead; these brethren in Community have 
 God's constant care for them as their reliance and 
 are content. No murmuring is heard in their street." 
 
 "Dear Dad, a man can hardly be content with the 
 way he is treated in the world ; but in the Christian 
 Society you sketch there is solid ground for content- 
 ment. I do not see how a man can be other than 
 satisfied." 
 
 "Observe the joyfulness, John, of this blessed 
 People. Sorrow they have, weeping for others, 
 especially for their fellow-Christians who choose to 
 remain the willing, oppressed captives of Satan and 
 of the greedy exploiters of the world, when they 
 might by combination fly from their enemies. But 
 
The Community a Converting Agency 253 
 
 joy they have also ; for the Kingdom of God means to 
 those who enter into it joy joy in the Holy Spirit; 
 joy in their conditions of earthly living. Every bird, 
 as it were, sings for them. Joy wells up in their 
 hearts. How. untroubled, too, they are in labor! 
 They need not accomplish a certain task set by bosses 
 regardless of their comfort or ability or lose 
 their job. They are not oppressed with the night- 
 mare that they will probably waste time between the 
 work they are on and the next job and 'run behind* 
 again. Life is not to them a continual, hopeless 
 struggle to once attain economic freedom. No, no. 
 They just keep at their work, being diligent in busi- 
 ness, and do what they are able, easily, and there it 
 ends. They leave at night without a thought to break 
 their sleep. 'Diligent in business, serving the Lord :' 
 not serving a slave-master ; not serving a stranger's 
 greedy propensities and aims; in their labor they 
 serve the brethren, the brethren they love and 
 themselves. For he serves himself best who is the 
 devoted, untiring servant of others." 
 
 "Dad, I cannot express fully my delight with the 
 sights of the Community." 
 
 "John, their forwardness to help each other, how 
 it pleases me. They have not to be importuned. Un- 
 willingness has not to be overcome. They look to see 
 where they can serve. They are forward, take the 
 initiative in assistance. They suggest comforts; 
 offer to make them. They pray and labor spon- 
 taneously from love and goodwill for the benefit of 
 others. Then, last, see how polite, how courteous 
 they have been to us. How affable! how ready to 
 converse ! If we were in want we should be invited 
 to their hospitality. We have seen the Christian 
 Communist and his life: is he a good fellow? is his 
 mode of life blessed or cursed? I say, it is altogether 
 blessed." 
 
254 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 "Dear Dad, the System is as admirable as it is pos- 
 sible. The covenanters standing loyally to their 
 word, that loyalty being secured by continuing love, 
 it must succeed. And more, it cannot be excelled." 
 
 "But, now, John, it remains for us to consider the 
 Brotherly Community's effect upon observers. I in- 
 vited you to behold the Community as a transforming 
 Institution, a great converting agency, attracting a 
 thoughtful observer to a better life, the life accord- 
 ing to God. It is the great question of influence: 
 now what we are and do affects those who know 
 about it and come in contact with us. And I think 
 we will agree, to begin with, that it will either be 
 beneficially or injuriously. Let us remember the 
 twofold instruments of the new Christian Com- 
 munity: 1, testimony of the gospel; 2, conduct, set- 
 ting a copy for others to pattern after. But it is 
 more particularly the will of God lived by them of 
 which I would have us take notice, embodying the 
 gospel, showing to others what it is as interpreted 
 in a state of existence." 
 
 "Dear John, action by another does not end with 
 him who does the act. 'No man liveth unto himself/ 
 We operate, often unconsciously and certainly with- 
 out volition, upon our neighbors and particularly 
 our companions upon their personalities. Our lives 
 are suggestions; they are either pervertive or con- 
 vertive pervertive if bad, convertive if good. Nor 
 is conversion always through a formal setting forth 
 of dogmas of belief or a statement of the require- 
 ments of God; not even directly through preaching. 
 Peter supplies us with an example of this. He com- 
 mands: 'Wives be in subjection to your own hus- 
 bands ; that, if any obey not the word, they also may, 
 without the word, be won by the conversation [way 
 of living, conduct, behavior] of the wives, while they 
 behold your chaste conversation [conduct], coupled 
 
The Community a Converting Agency 255 
 
 with fear [reverence of God and of their husbands] .' 
 Won without the Word by the chastity of the good 
 wife by her reverence of God and her husband, 
 made manifest in due compliance with their wills. 
 We now consider Community in respect to its in- 
 fluence upon others." 
 
 "Dear Dad, influence is more formative of men's 
 lives than is seen. How solemn, that we are making 
 men, for good or bad, what they are." 
 
 "Dear John, we are all a fountain from which 
 there ever flows a something that we apprehend as 
 to idea, but of the substance of which we are yet in 
 the dark. It is called "power" because it effectuates 
 changes in others. It is effluence as it leaves us, but 
 influence when it reaches them. The word means 
 a flowing into. The mind, will, affections of another 
 are affected by it through sympathetic thought, 
 by receptivity, which is an opening up of one's inner 
 self to a positive. There can be no influence of an- 
 other where nature closes against entrance. Apply 
 this to the Community life and you will see how it 
 makes for conversion. By conversion is now meant 
 a change from the old life of selfishness to the new 
 life of benevolence; from one's own bad will to the 
 will of God, which is, as towards man, mutual help- 
 fulness." 
 
 "Dear Dad, the outflow from good people can only 
 be goodness ; for a fountain can only give forth of its 
 contents what is in it." 
 
 "That is it, John; hence what is emanated being 
 good what is received must be good. Now it has 
 pleased God to make us capable of change. We can 
 be altered from what^we are. There are men who 
 find fault with God because He has made us so ; but 
 personally I dare not say to Him, 'What doest Thou?' 
 Eve fell through advantage taken of this law of our 
 nature. She was depraved; she altered for the 
 
256 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 worse, was changed downward. O how thankful I 
 am that we are not obliged to remain as we are. We 
 can return upward by change, or conversion. Will 
 we admit the 'power* that can do this the good spir- 
 itual power? It is for us to say. That power is per- 
 suasive. It comes to us in the Gospel. Now listen : 
 not the Gospel as words ; but the Gospel in the Holy 
 Spirit, charged with the God nature. That comes to 
 us through a preacher. The stream of power reaches 
 us through personality. Here is the Community. 
 Its membership is spiritual. Appeal is made, mighty 
 appeal. The Word is in faith, from men full of 
 faith ; that, with the facts, makes for faith in us ; it 
 persuades us. But the life we see is unadulterated 
 love; love reigns. Her sceptre is golden. We are 
 impressed; convicted; converted. Convinced that 
 this is the right way, the good way, God's way, we 
 surrender are converted. The things in Com- 
 munity are all of a converting tendency; they com- 
 mend themselves to us: will we be converted? If 
 we are stubborn, or prejudiced, or opinionated, we 
 will not be. If we are docile and receptive we will 
 be, receiving the Kingdom of God as a little child." 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 Business That Is Not Service of Bad Men 
 
 "DEAR John, the man who has been taught of God 
 with regard to Jesus His Son accepts Him as his own 
 and the world's Saviour. He beholds in Him as the 
 Christ the one made mighty through the Spirit to do 
 acts of God as no other man ever could deeds of 
 grace the half of which have never been told. He 
 recognizes His exaltation to lordship, which makes 
 Him Lord even of lords and King of kings. And for 
 himself he falls down before Him with homage of 
 heart and prostration of body, confessing, 'My Lord 
 and my God/ That is how it is with a Christian, who 
 differs from, say a Christian Scientist, or any other 
 'ist' in whose system there is no central Object, per- 
 sonality being denied. A religionist may enthuse 
 over 'character/ such as the drawn portrait of a 
 novel writer, to whose imagined man there is no 
 entity. There is entity, personality, to the Chris- 
 tian's Jesus. The warmth of feeling within him is 
 for a living Being; and as it is a Person he has to 
 do with, obligation of obedience to Him becomes 
 paramount in his thinking and acting. Why obe- 
 dience? Because the same Jesus as was crucified, 
 having been quickened and raised again, has been 
 made Lord over all the universe. That is where the 
 Christian Science religion is utterly unacceptable 
 and repugnant to a Christian. In its system there 
 
258 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 is now no personal Jesus, to be acknowledged, loved 
 and obeyed." 
 
 "Dear Dad, personality is the essence of the true 
 religion. First, a personal God, a living Father. 
 'He that cometh to God must believe that He is.' 
 Then a personal Mediator between God and man. As 
 it is written : There is one God, and one Mediator 
 between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus/ Of 
 course where it is held that man is not a being who 
 needs to be saved, it follows that there will be denial 
 of the Arm of Jehovah, the Child of the Highest, the 
 divine Jesus. Personality for affection, for obe- 
 dience; to be pleased and honored. The teaching, 
 whatever it be, that declares Jesus to be a dissipated 
 material conception or a drawn character of some 
 religionist of the first century, is to be rejected in- 
 stantly and absolutely without further examination. 
 Paul spoke for Christians of all time, saying : 'We 
 trust in the living God/ To us there is but one God 
 the Father, and one Lord Jesus Christ/ Our Lord 
 Jesus lives and is over all ; for blessing to those who 
 acknowledge and obey Him; for judgment to those 
 who recognize Him not or say 'We will not have this 
 Man to reign over us/ ' 
 
 "Dear John, I refer to Jesus as living Lord for 
 a purpose. Think of His great love for our race, for 
 us individually. Think how for three years He 
 served us, teaching us about God, telling us of His 
 grace towards us, healing our sick, exorcising 
 demons from the oppressed and tortured, proclaim- 
 ing the coming of a blessed heavenly System upon 
 earth, praying for us doing it all for nothing! 
 Absolutely for not a penny of material recompense ! 
 Indeed, enduring dislike and obloquy while giving 
 us all this service. Men listening to Him to get Him 
 into trouble. Proposing questions sometimes lead- 
 ing questions, as they are called in law to have 
 
Business that Serves Not Sinners 259 
 
 Him commit Himself in evil-speaking of the Law or 
 treason toward Caesar. Finally, permitting Himself 
 to be hanged on a cross for our redemption. what 
 love ! As the hymn asks : 'How can I but love Him T 
 A personal Jesus with great constraint put upon us 
 by His great personal kindness and sacrifice, to give 
 Him our sacred, inner attachment of devoted love. 
 That is first, but not all. With trust in Him we are 
 His love-slaves. Be it so, only more so forever ! To 
 Him we come as to a Stone a living Stone to make 
 Him the foundation of all we are and hope. Our 
 heart lives for this end, to be His. All this is only 
 true as personality is a reality with us." 
 
 "Dad, as you say, personality is the beginning of 
 true religion; a necessary foundation, if it is to 
 stand." 
 
 "Now, John, Jesus is Lord Lord of men. 
 Acknowledged Lord by Christians; served and 
 obeyed Lord, Lord indeed, to all who would be and 
 are right with God. For nobody can be right with 
 God who denies His Appointee; or acknowledging 
 Him does not allow Him to control him his 1 heart 
 and his life by His Spirit and laws. And here 
 comes the vital matter of Christian living. It is vital 
 to a man who means things ; whose Christianity is an 
 earnest reality. You see it is this way : This living 
 Lord Jesus is to be pleased and honored. Pleased: 
 we know what it is to be pleased in or with the course 
 of another. We know what the delight of a father 
 is in a good child. So are we to be the pleasure of 
 our Lord Jesus. Then as to honor: we have His 
 honor to maintain among men, and the only way to 
 do it is to scrupulously respect His authority by per- 
 sonal subjection to Him, that is by carrying out of 
 His laws as delivered to us and in the spirit He has 
 intimated and which He gives. Tender yourself to 
 me/ said an old King to a subject, 'and I will be good 
 
260 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 Lord to you* : we are to tender ourselves to Jesus by 
 willing, cheerful compliance with His plain and sim- 
 ple commands." 
 
 "Dear Dad, it is true ; it is true : His overlordship, 
 in the nature of things, means our going at His com- 
 mand, our coming at His call, our doing things at His 
 bidding. It is binding on us by His relationship to 
 us; it is pleasure to us through the knowledge that 
 all His laws are good, beneficial in their aim and end, 
 and honor and peace to us in their fulfillment." 
 
 "0 John, it means so much to me to so act as to be 
 approved of my Master in heaven and gain His 
 commendation for a life well-lived and work well- 
 done. 'Study,' said Paul to Timothy 'to show thyself 
 approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to 
 be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth/ 
 And my ambition towering above all ambitions is, 
 to be commended of Him with 'Well done, thou good 
 and faithful servant.' Approval by Him who is 
 placed over me as Lord; praise from His lips: if I 
 am so happy as to gain these I shall be happy indeed. 
 Jesus himself, in His trial days, was 'a Man approved 
 of God/ His Father; and He received from Heaven 
 the witness and encomium, 'This is My beloved 
 Son, in whom I am well pleased : hear ye Him/ 'My 
 darling boy and My delight/ no wonder the Father 
 loved Him so well! A true Christian wants to be 
 satisfactory to His Lord and one of those whose 
 praise is not of men but of God. may Jesus ever 
 be satisfied with me; and may He have that in my 
 spirit and course that He can praise! And now, 
 John, here begins the endeavor on our part to do His 
 will; the purpose and submission, of course, neces- 
 sary therefor being implied." 
 
 "Dad, wishing only will not yield results such as 
 you describe ; sturdy resolution and a great fight are 
 before a man who decides at any cost and by suprem- 
 
Business That Serves Not Sinners 261 
 
 est effort to be thus satisfactory to Christ and have 
 honorable mention from Him." 
 
 "John, that is exactly it. And here the question 
 arises : 'Can a man carry on business in this world, 
 as business is required to be conducted in order to 
 profit, by which is meant not a fortune but a living, 
 and in so doing maintain his Christian standing be- 
 fore his Xord, preserving an approving conscience, 
 and having the testimony of Christ through the 
 same that he is living unblameably and to His 
 entire satisfaction?' I answer, he cannot. Mark, I 
 am not saying he cannot be engaged in business of 
 some sort, and be a Christian. He can. He can be, 
 as exhorted, 'diligent in business, fervent in spirit, 
 serving the Lord/ But such business such service 
 as wicked men impose such work as present indus- 
 trial conditions oblige men to do, cannot be followed 
 and the doer remain undefiled before God, a worker 
 of good only." 
 
 "Well, Dad, that being so, what must we do to get 
 the bread and butter needed for our subsistence? 
 How can a man get a living and at the same time be 
 wholly a servant of Jesus? It appears to me to be 
 one of the greatest of problems." 
 
 "Dear John, it is, as you say, among the greatest 
 of questions which can engage a Christian mind; 
 but we never hear it discoursed upon from the pul- 
 pit. Hence believers are not clear of sin before 
 Christ. They are not strong in confidence of their 
 Christian standing. They have not the certain testi- 
 mony that their ways please the Lord. But when a 
 man is able to sit down and think up his business-life 
 and activities, and pass upon them as performed in 
 harmony with the moral and evangelical laws of 
 righteousness and love, he is assured in heart, in the 
 presence of Christ, that he is His servant. The best 
 a man can come to who is not able to do this is the 
 
262 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 desire and intention to be a Christian in business 
 as well as in feeling, and so he asks recognition of 
 the Lord. But upon him is defilement ; he is unclean 
 because of his unholy business relations and con- 
 duct; not made by him, but submitted to and 
 carried out in his capacity of a hired ser- 
 vant. And if you ask him why; he will tell 
 you it is the inescapable condition of living. 
 But is it? I answer, it is not; a man can be busy 
 another way and live and keep himself free from 
 iniquity." 
 
 "Please, dear Dad, specify upon this line." 
 
 "I will, John. In the world there are many bad 
 people. I have shown you that prophecy has pre- 
 dicted that in the last days men shall be evil in all 
 sorts of ways, those ways being told. 'Lo this only 
 have I found, that God hath made man upright, but 
 they have sought out many inventions/ says an old 
 scripture. To-day those inventions are greatly mul- 
 tiplied; and as it was said of Ephraim, 'Ephraim 
 hath made many altars to sin/ so by parallel it can 
 be said our generation have conceived many devices 
 for sinning. This is the age of supreme sinfulness. 
 The marauders of this world are numerous. 
 Through facility of travel they go from place to 
 place studying conditions, chances, schemes to plun- 
 der. They hit upon many ways to exploit the world. 
 And then they get busy." 
 
 "Dad, I remember, you made a statement, that 
 business is anything a man busies himself with 
 usually with thought of getting a living; although 
 you made the distinction that with bad men it was 
 to make a fortune, a number of livings, and wrong- 
 ing others to accomplish their end." 
 
 "Well, now, John, business cannot be carried on 
 by one man not the common business of life. And 
 so he who would do business big business must 
 
Bminess that Serves Not Sinners 263 
 
 have diggers, constructors, carters, agents, with 
 office clerks, collectors, and almost every kind of as- 
 sistant. And he seeks where he can find them; and 
 finding them puts them to work. And it is here 
 where 'peril* conies for the men who must work 
 under others. And here it is that they become 'tools' 
 of the spoilers ; and yield their members to be instru- 
 ments of sin. Yes, Christian men are compelled to 
 do un-Christian things ! Have to do them as duties 
 of their office ! It is frightful ! Horrible, horrible ! 
 that men of Christian principles and conscience are 
 compelled to be sin's executives ! That their hands, 
 tongues, feet must be lent to greed, mercilessness, 
 anger, and every scheme of the unregenerate !" 
 "Tell me some instances, as examples, dear Dad." 
 "I will, John. I will take up the two classes, store- 
 keepers and their salaried men salesmen, clerks, 
 etc. Storekeepers are general merchantmen and fre- 
 quently special agents as well. Now, if they are 
 under authority of the Lord Jesus to do His will and 
 to act in accordance with godliness, they cannot sell 
 many things that are usually carried by the trade 
 generally the best-paying. And then, too, they can 
 not be purveyors or suppliers of those things that 
 minister to sinful propensities, as appetite, pride of 
 appearance and requisites for society functions. A 
 brother who kept a small store held in conscience 
 that he could not sell cigars and tobacco. He said, 
 for these there was greater demand than for the rest 
 of the goods sold, and the margin of profit was 
 larger. A near-by storekeeper, with no conscience 
 toward Christ or his fellows, was prospering; but 
 the outlook for the brother was that he must go to 
 the wall. A dry-goods storeman must keep, for a 
 furnished store, rich, elegant, expensive things for 
 the adornment (not need and neatness) of the proud 
 and gay; and thus help or be an accessory of pride 
 
264 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 and gaiety and godlessness, which he knows is con- 
 demned by the laws of Christ. And even worse, he 
 must be the indirect servant of seduction and profli- 
 gacy, supplying various garments that do not cover 
 nakedness, and are often used as a lure to unchas- 
 tity. The Christian drygoodsman can tell all the 
 rest of it wherein he cannot be strictly Christian 
 and carry the goods demanded of him. Likewise 
 men's clothiers and sellers of boots: they will tell 
 you of cut-a-way, swell clothing, open vests, dance 
 shoes and slippers, none of which are necessaries of 
 the simple, sane life of godliness, which they must 
 sell or close their doors go out of business. Per- 
 haps also the storekeeper is the appointed agent for 
 a special line of goods. Several manufacturers have 
 conspired with one another to keep up prices. It is 
 called by the law monopoly ; it is done in selfishness 
 and to the restraint of trade. To handle those goods 
 he is put under a promise, and sometimes penalty, 
 to be subservient to the manufacturer. He gives 
 away his freedom ; helps the monopolists and breaks 
 the law. Should a Christian man place himself in 
 such relation toward any? Should he aid the dog in 
 the manger?" 
 
 "Dear Dad, many things can be mentioned which 
 are forbidden by God to Christians, as gold, and 
 pearls, and costly array, and I know not how 
 many other things ; and yet by the business of to-day 
 a Christian must have them on hand to sell to others, 
 and make profit out of them, to follow his business. 
 Are these incongruous things consistent with entire 
 discipleship." 
 
 "John, I think not. And then look at the working 
 businesses. Here, for example, is a printer. He is 
 opposed to the liquor saloon and the whole business 
 of making and retailing intoxicants. But he is a 
 printer and by printing he gets his living. He says 
 
Business that Serves Not Sinners 265 
 
 he is not responsible for other persons' businesses; 
 and so as a matter of business he prints the labels, 
 bills and letter headings, and general stationery of a 
 brewer. He does it under protest of conscience. Is 
 he excused? Is he in that business serving God and 
 acceptable to Christ? But, John, let me turn your 
 attention to the underlings, the hired help. Their 
 condition is the most pathetic. It is the most pathetic 
 because they are the most dependent. Think of the 
 salesmen and saleswomen in a store. They desire to 
 make good. They know the keeping of their position 
 depends upon the number of their sales. And here 
 temptation to wrong-doing presents itself. If a cus- 
 tomer wants something that is not in stock a substi- 
 tute is suggested. It counts against a salesman if he 
 cannot persuade a prospective purchaser to buy the 
 substitute. Usually he is expected to say the article 
 offered is "just as good/ He does not know it is as 
 good; but the temptation is to risk telling a lie 
 through the exigency of his condition ; and not infre- 
 quently he takes the risk. Two prices, misrepresenta- 
 tion regarding old stock and last season's garments 
 being the fashion, etc., etc., confront the salesman 
 unceasingly." 
 
 "A salesman, Dad, is often placed in a trying situa- 
 tion by present-day commercialism." 
 
 "Yes, John ; but think again of the clerks and even 
 the higher-ups in the public companies of the day. 
 Let us say they are Christians. In the Church they 
 testify their discipleship and sing where Jesus leads 
 they will follow. But now go with them into their 
 business places, say the offices of the electric light 
 and water companies. The clerk of the water com- 
 pany who makes out the bills comes to a name. No 
 water has been taken during the month. The house 
 is vacant. Still he has to make a charge of fifty 
 cents. It is pure robbery ! True, by contract, a man 
 
266 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 is bound to give notice and have service discon- 
 tinued; but the law itself is unjust. If a man will 
 not sign it he can get no water. The clerk with a 
 conscience makes out the bill, and so is in collusion 
 with the thieves ! So, too, the electric light clerk he 
 is compelled to perform a similar service and be- 
 come an agent in wrong-doing. The man who stands 
 at the window to receive payments for water or 
 electric light service gets his turn. Notice has been 
 served on a delinquent to pay or have the water or 
 electricity cut off from a premises in two or three 
 days. The taker cannot get the money, little as it 
 is; can neither earn nor borrow it; and so he goes 
 with cheapened face and reluctant step to ask a few 
 days' longer wait to let him try once more. He 
 tells secrets of his destitution that he should not 
 have to reveal. It is bad enough to be in want with- 
 out the humiliation of having to state it. The clerk 
 says the bill must be paid or orders will surely be 
 given of discontinuance of service. Oftentimes hav- 
 ing to talk in this way has perverted his tender, 
 sympathetic instincts. He has lost out in merciful- 
 ness. But sometimes one will tell you, regretfully, 
 that he is obliged to insist; that those are his orders; 
 but that if he could he would personally be lenient. 
 What a bad fix he is in through a situation of this 
 sort. I pity him." 
 
 "Dear Dad, these servants of the corporations 
 who have Christian hearts cannot live the forbear- 
 ance and mercifulness of their hearts, nor even be 
 honest men. They have to become, unwillingly, evil 
 in action." 
 
 "John, it is the same with a collector for a firm. 
 His business is to go round monthly and receive pay- 
 ment of the firm's accounts. But in this world of 
 disaster nobody knows what will take place even in 
 a day. An owner may have a house or two and 
 
Business that Serves Not Sinners 267 
 
 some income-stock. The houses may temporarily 
 be empty and the stock yield no dividend. The col- 
 lector comes once, twice, perhaps thrice. The debtor 
 has not the money. The company's agent looks 
 browdy and talks severely. The account will have 
 to be put into the hands of the firm's attorney for 
 collection. It is done. A summons is issued. Ex- 
 penses are added. A judgment is obtained. The 
 collector is a Christian. He comes to tell you how 
 sorry he is ; but the firm is insistent and he is help- 
 less. It is hard to say which is in the worst predica- 
 ment, the delinquent debtor or the regretful collector. 
 And so I might continue speaking of servants who 
 are Christians." 
 
 "Truly, Dad, service of soulless or of hard exact- 
 ing corporations is no joy to a good man." 
 
 "And, John, think of the film corporations, of 
 which there are so many in Los Angeles. A leading 
 minister of the city has struck up a very chummy 
 acquaintance with the movie picture people. They 
 can be good church members ; and I doubt not there 
 are some in church fellowship in our city. Now, I 
 really think the moving picture business can be made 
 very serviceable to those who cannot travel in show- 
 ing them foreign countries and business as it is 
 carried on abroad; also in reproducing scenes of 
 history in their old surroundings. It can also be 
 made useful in teaching lessons of sympathy and in 
 exposing injustices, etc. Indeed, the business is not 
 without its real usefulness. And this, in part, in 
 small part, is the work done by the movies. Yet 
 many of the films are suggestive of evil and utterly 
 depraving. They are f ramed-up elopements, attacks 
 upon virtue, divorces, and rowdy scenes of the most 
 reprehensible sort, with nearly nude women dancing 
 or lounging with idle and dissolute men. In two or 
 three cases, as evidenced by the pictures on the bill- 
 
268 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 boards, some of the performers (women) are utterly 
 naked, or slightly gauzed, which is no better. I saw 
 one advertised lately called "The Hypocrites," which 
 exposed outside the theatre a picture of the kind I 
 mention; and another called "The New Purity," 
 which offended modesty and corrupted virtue. Now 
 there are a number of Christian women who never 
 thought of being actresses, but since the movies have 
 been so glorified and become so apparently respect- 
 able, and since very big amounts can be earned for 
 taking parts, in their need they have turned to them 
 for a livelihood. And now think of the parts they 
 have to play. A young woman was talking recently 
 to another, her senior, telling her of being obliged 
 to take part in a rowdy underground dance hall as 
 an abandoned woman only half clad! She added, 
 'You have to do anything they tell you to do.' What 
 a paradox for a virtuous woman to act the role of 
 a Magdalen ! I am sure the young woman referred 
 to did not do it of pleasure, nor could she feel the 
 approval of her conscience in such 'business'." 
 
 "Dear Dad, it is so destructive of chastity and 
 goodness in a woman that it should be abhorrent to 
 the entire community. But women of high standing 
 and of good reputation, so it appears, are ready with- 
 out shame to sell even their nakedness and play at 
 seduction and harlotry as 'business' !" 
 
 "John, you know it is possible to continue on this 
 line and show that there are many Christian men 
 and women who are in business where they are 
 required to do things that are not honest, nor pure, 
 nor kind, nor merciful, nor Christian; but how 
 can they procure a livelihood in a better way? If 
 they knew how they would go at that better work." 
 
 "Dad, that is what they say, when I talk with 
 them. They want to be good Christians. And they 
 frankly say a man cannot take his Christianity into 
 
Business that Serves Not Sinners 269 
 
 business; that he cannot do business successfully 
 and maintain Christian standing." 
 
 "John, the Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul, 
 gives this commandment, 'Be not ye the servants of 
 men/ Of course, it does not mean, Do not work for 
 anybody; do not minister to or serve your fellows. 
 No ; because it elsewhere commands us to work and 
 to serve. The sense is do not serve the selfishness, 
 the greed, the anger, the lust of men. There are 
 such sorts of men ; they offer a price for service ; we 
 are not to sell ourselves for wages to assist them, 
 or carry out their wicked schemes." 
 
 "Dad, this will apply also to militarist ambitions 
 and crimes. if the Germans had heard and heeded 
 this command when the wicked Kaiser called upon 
 them to up and murder their neighbors, against 
 whom no case of wrong was ever made out! And 
 think how they attacked the Belgians, because of 
 orders from their war-lord !" 
 
 "Yes, John, and it includes the churches of to-day 
 also. that all denominations of Christians, even 
 all the ministers, would hear and heed the law not 
 to serve anybody as separatists, not even their de- 
 nomination. For there is service of Methodism, Con- 
 gregationalism, Presbyterianism that is not service 
 of Christ. In seeking our clan's glory we are not 
 honoring Christ. "Be not ye the servants of men" 
 men singly, or men in a party, for division is sin; 
 and we should not perpetuate division." 
 
 "But, Dad, if these Christian men who live under 
 compulsion of service in things they disapprove, 
 which is condemned also by the Gospel, were to cease 
 such service, throw up their jobs, how could they 
 live?" 
 
 "John, here is their asylum. Here is their work- 
 shop. Here is their bed and board. Here is their 
 sweet, holy, heavenly retreat. Here is the sheepfold 
 
270 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 of security and rest. It is the Community of Chris- 
 tians, solemnly, sacredly, gloriously pledged to each 
 other that they will not be the servants of the vicious 
 and the vile, but helpers of each other in all good 
 things. Who cannot see that this is a way of living 
 that is a solution of the important problem of being 
 able to exist in this world without descending to the 
 prohibited service of corrupt men ?" 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 How It Feels to Be Poor 
 
 "BETWEEN thirty and forty years ago, in a little 
 town near Boston, Mass., there was a union church, 
 of which I was pastor. A couple, husband and wife, 
 worshipped in this church. They were well advanced 
 in life. The husband was a compositor, and already 
 his hand was shaking with age. His ability to make 
 results had decreased and it was not as easy as 
 formerly for him to get a job, although his work 
 was excellent. His employment was precarious and 
 his earnings small. That meant that they were poor. 
 One day I called at their home. It was clean and 
 tidy, but it was cheaply yet not shabbily furnished. 
 The good woman seemed a little embarrassed at my 
 visit, because she had not as 'nice' a home as her 
 neighbors. Passing the usual amenities, I entered 
 her living room. Speaking to me apologetically, she 
 remarked they were poor, adding these words: 'It 
 is no disgrace to be poor, but it is very inconvenient.' 
 I have thought of her saying many times it is not 
 disgraceful to be poor, but it is the cause of much 
 trouble and uneasiness in life. O how came it that 
 any of us were ever poor ! that some of us are poor 
 to-day! It surely is not a crime that we have com- 
 mitted ; yet it has in it much annoyance and anxiety. 
 John, I want to speak to you on how it feels to be 
 poor. I purpose to let you feel it with me in a few 
 
272 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 selected cases from life, as I have seen it in others 
 and known it in my own experience." 
 
 "Dear Dad, I pray, 'Good Lord, deliver us from 
 poverty/ as fervently as I do, 'Deliver us from sin 
 and the Evil One/ For that there is an evil one, 
 and evil ones, around, is made too true by what we 
 realize to be denied." 
 
 "Yes, John, it is evil ones, bad men, men filled 
 with demons, that usually bring us into poverty. The 
 spirits Desire and Grab are the two worst. They 
 covet and take till we have nothing left. Mr. Henry 
 George delivered an address on 'The Crime of Pov- 
 erty/ He explained that the 'crime' was not on the 
 part of the poor, but of those who made them poor. 
 But the title of his lecture is inexact, for a crime is 
 an act of wrong committed; as murder is an attack 
 that destroys another's life. The crime that means 
 poverty to one who had something by right or in 
 possession is stealing. 'Thou shalt not steal' is the 
 shot to fire at the thief who is usually the author 
 of poverty, or the bad economic and industrial sys- 
 tem; for it applies to a system equally as to an 
 individual. But let that pass. How does it feel to 
 be poor ? for there is a feeling that corresponds with 
 the state of indigency: what sort of feeling is it?" 
 
 "True, Dad, as you say, there is feeling along with 
 station and condition; the mind senses it, for pleas- 
 ure or pain. A king not only knows that he is His 
 Majesty So-and-so, but he feels what that means by 
 his environment and the attitude and actions of those 
 about him. The late Robert Mclntyre, beloved pastor 
 of the First M. E. Church of this city, exalted by 
 his denomination to be one of its chief rulers, an- 
 nounced on his return from Conference that he 
 would deliver a lecture on 'How It Feels to Be a 
 Bishop/ Certainly there was in the bishopric of 
 this society something more than in being a local 
 
How it Feels to be Poor 273 
 
 minister ; its duties were different. 'How does it feel 
 to be poor?' is well worth spending a few minutes 
 upon to realize." 
 
 "John, it is in feeling, not in name nor even in 
 fact, that everything comes home to us. Oppression 
 is oppression to us as felt by the indignities heaped 
 upon us and the harshness visited. With the setting 
 down and the cruelty of the lash we feel it, we really 
 know what it is 'on our side of the house/ as the 
 saying goes. The love of Christ only comes to be real 
 to us by its inflow to our feeling. We hear about it 
 and know of it; we believe it, and faith becomes to 
 us cause of feeling, constraint of reciprocity, like 
 return is excited within us. But, how do we become 
 poor ? it is a question that should have our thought 
 before the one proposed, 'How does it feel to be 
 poor?' " 
 
 "Yes, how do we, Dad; how do we become poor?" 
 
 "John, poverty is lack. It is deficiency, instead 
 of sufficiency. The worst poverty of all is to be with- 
 out God: His realized presence and fellowship; His 
 righteousness, peace and love. O there are millions 
 such! And without Christ His knowledge, good- 
 ness, power. It is not, however, of this spiritual 
 poverty I here speak ; but of those natural comforts 
 and human fellowships that are necessary for our 
 visible and invisible being, in our pilgrim-life 
 through the world, while we live in the flesh. And 
 how do we become poor lacking these things ?" 
 
 "Dad, I think we should recognize that poverty 
 has its grades or gradations, from barely enough to 
 free us from want to very poor, in which we lack 
 nearly every comfort and have not supply of the 
 necessaries which men regard as essential for nutri- 
 ment to keep us alive. And then down from that to 
 utter destitution nothing at all. These steps of 
 
274 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 poverty are each real in life poor, very poor, com- 
 pletely poor." 
 
 "It is so, John, and millions are getting lower 
 daily to the completely poor, the utterly destitute 
 state. The race goes down, down, down! We all 
 know the next step is death. And unobserved, with- 
 out noise, starvation comes to tens of thousands. The 
 doctor comes; examination is made; the cause of 
 death is recorded, 'Died of in-nutrition* or 'under- 
 nutrition' which, in one word, is starvation, 
 poverty. Is it not awful to think of persons dying 
 among us for lack of something to eat something 
 to eat, when the counters and shelves and benches 
 of our stores are loaded with provisions ! What is 
 the great gulf between those provisions and the 
 pinched belly that craves them? A little money to 
 buy them; and that little impossible to obtain, be- 
 cause men are unbrotherly, do not live according 
 to the beautiful Christian system of mutual sus- 
 tenance, that, I thank God, I have the pleasure and 
 honor to show my fellow-men." 
 
 "I wish indeed, dear Dad, that you may be able 
 to button-hole the eager man dead on 'business/ and 
 stop him long enough to make him feel that poverty, 
 so dreadful to the needy, does not abide with us of 
 necessity; but that, if willing, we can say to it as 
 Jesus did to Satan, 'Get behind !' and it will be com- 
 pelled to go to the rear." 
 
 "Now, John, as to where poverty comes from, or 
 how it is that men are poor, several answers can be 
 given, all true. There are answers, if I may be 
 allowed so to speak, from the Divine standpoint and 
 from the human. The God-book tells us, sometimes 
 it is sent for purposes that are God's own; let me 
 turn it around and say, purposes of the Almighty. 
 Do not think I am talking what some men call 
 'theological fiction/ We have an example of what 
 

 How it Feels to be Poor 275 
 
 I mean in the case of Job. God had purposes of 
 double blessing for Job. He delivered his servant 
 into Satan's hands not for the destruction of his 
 life, but for stripping of things earthly that a basis 
 might be laid for greater reward because of fidelity 
 to Him in trial. And the rich Job became a very 
 poor man. Yet, for all that came to him of disaster, 
 'he sinned not, nor cursed God foolishly;' i.e., as a 
 fool would. Out of such poverty the Lord delivers 
 in due time, and adds blessing for steadfast ad- 
 herence. 'So God blessed the end of Job more than 
 the beginning.' In like manner, He appoints to His 
 people at times spoiling of their goods, in test of 
 their sincerity and faithfulness, always to recom- 
 pense it at a later date, in such measure that he who 
 loses his short and vexed life upon earth shall find 
 it to everlasting being in a sorrowless era in the 
 presence and company of Him for whose sake he 
 hungered and died. Another way by which poverty 
 comes, as an act of God, is by discipline for sins 
 committed, and sometimes that will only be forsaken 
 when God mercifully refts from us the god of gold 
 we make our confidence, in place of Himself. It is 
 the story of a disobedient, naughty child with a 
 faithful Father using the rod that he may not later 
 use the bar of iron with which He will destroy the 
 wicked. And for this chastening, although it may 
 feel grievous as the blows fall, we should ever pray 
 with Jeremiah, that we may not go on without in- 
 dication of our Father's disapproval of our sins and 
 become utterly bad. Recall Jeremiah's words: '0 
 Lord, correct me, but with judgment; not in Thine 
 anger, lest Thou bring me to nothing.' In temporal 
 punishment God sometimes cuts off the crop, makes 
 the harvest fail, minishes a man so that he is 
 brought low; he is pinched with want, the drought 
 comes in every direction. But, 'Why should a living 
 
276 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 man complain, a man for the punishment of his 
 sins?' It is well when we are reduced so as to be 
 in want to search our hearts and ways and see if 
 there is any evil in us, and put it away, that God 
 may return to us again in favor and blessing. We 
 are commanded through Micah, 'Hear ye the rod, 
 and Who hath appointed it.' The 'rod' has a voice; 
 it speaks to us saying, Turn ye every one from his 
 evil way/ and it promises, if we will heed the voice 
 of discipline, God will return to us in blessing. 
 Blessings shall come down in showers upon the 
 parched land ; the earth shall give her increase. The 
 rod that meant to us deprivation of bread and water 
 (what things are considered necessaries of life) shall 
 be put away, and supply shall return with the return 
 of sunshine through the clouds that overshadowed 
 our life." 
 
 "Dear Dad, thank you for showing me that failure 
 of earthly things, visitation with scarcity, is some- 
 times an act of God for benevolent, saving ends to 
 unclasp our arms from sinful embrace and to load 
 us with a double blessing, if we will be exercised 
 with His faithful dealings, turning at His reproof." 
 
 "There is much in God's dealings with us, John, if 
 we will apply our hearts to wisdom ; that is, to under- 
 stand His actions toward us ; but I feel I ought now 
 to speak of poverty how we become poor in re- 
 lation to men. It is bitterness of wormwood and 
 gall that men, our brothers, can do anything to 
 plunge us into the misery of poverty. There is no 
 good end in their act, as in God's, to inflict a slight 
 punishment to make us better; to let us give up a 
 little for Him that he may sevenfold repay us for 
 our proven love. Their injury is altogether injury; 
 they never heal it; there is no compensating bless- 
 ing. How then do we become poor from men's 
 actions? (I will not, however, lay all the blame 
 
How it Feels to be Poor 277 
 
 upon others; for our poverty sometimes is self- 
 caused.) We will look at that first." 
 
 "Dear Dad, this talk of yours is very instructive 
 to me ; and I trust it will be useful in coming days." 
 
 "Now, John, as I said, some persons' poverty is 
 not attributable to others : they are the cause of their 
 own want. Idleness is one cause of being without. 
 He who is unwilling to produce cannot have. If 
 our poverty is from indisposition to work and lazy 
 lounging, we deserve to be poor, even to death! That 
 is very strong, is it not? But if it is God's law that 
 he who will not work shall not eat, then he who 
 persists in not working shall be punished, and if he 
 still persists shall be allowed to take the full con- 
 sequence that, is, be let die. Another reason of 
 poverty is wastefulness. A man who has a living 
 and throws it away as a spendthrift, say in high and 
 riotous living, deserves to be, and will surely become, 
 poor. Dollars soon fly with such a madman. The 
 same will apply to gambling. The bettor upon the 
 races, and upon anything under the sun, will at 
 length become a beggar for a ten-cent meal. The 
 imprudent man, also, is frequently the author of his 
 own poverty. He is a foolish man who cultivates 
 a rock; so is he who starts a business where there 
 is no one who needs his goods, or who hopes to live 
 on profit from articles which nobody requires. There 
 are many phases of imprudence. And last there is 
 speculation; but that is a matter to be considered 
 carefully, for some transactions that are called 
 speculative are really not intrinsically speculative 
 as dealings in margins, but only incidentally so, and 
 are such speculation as is practiced in straight busi- 
 ness, ordinary buying and selling/ 
 
 "Dear Dad, it must be conceded that poor judg- 
 ment in some cases results disastrously to loss of 
 
278 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 all; and that imprudence will bring one down as 
 much as dissipation and waste." 
 
 "Yes, John, we make ourselves poor, and sad 
 therefor, by our own acts. But I want to say again, 
 that many men are blamed for speculation and their 
 difficulties are ascribed thereto when they have only 
 taken the course by which others succeed. As a 
 man once said to me, in a very real sense all busi- 
 ness business of the present unjust system, but not 
 of the good one that I propose is speculative. A 
 manufacturer makes a lot of goods, say shoes, to sell. 
 He, so to speak, takes chances on disposing of them 
 while they are fresh and in style. In a sense that 
 is speculation. A drygoodsman fills up his store 
 with stock of his line to sell if he can. There is 
 a risk. That risk is of the nature of speculation. 
 John, I deem this speculative element in business 
 vicious ; in the new System of Christian living noth- 
 ing is made 'on spec.' Needs are supplied abun- 
 dantly; whatever is over is help of or supply of 
 outsiders who lack. Nobody has visions of failure 
 or becomes bankrupt by this excellent way. Now if 
 a man starts and endeavors to carry on in the 
 present state a business that is good, manufacturing 
 and selling things that men need, and cannot sell 
 them, and comes to ruin, it is not fair to say that 
 he failed through speculation." 
 
 "Dad, I agree with you, justice is not done him 
 by calling him a speculator." 
 
 "But, John, poverty comes from another quarter, 
 and this source of destitution is the most prolific and 
 terrible of all it is appalling! man's wicked 
 propensity to defraud his brother that he may have 
 an overabundance himself, and the system of in- 
 equality of opportunities, indeed cutting off oppor- 
 tunity altogether from many to work the soil that 
 yields the corn that sustains life. Pacing to and fro 
 
How it Feels to be Poor 279 
 
 like a soldier, gun in hand, to keep off trespassers, 
 even to shooting them! Is not that dreadful? In- 
 accessibility to the land ; lack of tools ; want of seed 
 to plant; no money for a business capital no 
 brother-man's assistance in these. He will monopol- 
 ize them all for himself in selfishness; and the 
 other fellow is overboard. Behold the wickedly- 
 caused poverty! Then chance of work is unequal. 
 Those who control civil offices have relatives to care 
 for, partisans to remember, pledges to pay, friends 
 to think of; so that, even if there is not averseness 
 and revenge in the heart of a controller of patronage 
 toward a fellow-citizen, he has ahead more than he 
 can provide for whom he speaks of as having first 
 claim upon him. Then, lastly, there is the down- 
 right robbery, the violent seizing and taking from 
 men that which is theirs for an obligation that can- 
 not be met for insuperable reasons. All result in 
 dreadful poverty. Ah me ! don't I know what it is ? 
 Have not I felt the teeth of the two-legged wild 
 beasts of earth! John, the howling of the wolves 
 ceases not day nor night. To gain by another's loss 
 is intrinsically evil. That gain to the loser is poverty. 
 for the Christian way each adding, nobody sub- 
 tracting; and all drawing out of the total wealth as 
 they have need. Avaunt Poverty ! As the Israelites 
 saw the faces of the Egyptians no more forever, we 
 say to you the final word of eternal separation! I 
 have told you the whence of poverty, now let us know 
 how it feels to be in the state itself. I select a few 
 cases." 
 
 "Dear Dad, I know before you tell me your expe- 
 riences and those reported to you by others, that 
 poverty is not good to feeling. It is not good in fact ; 
 and hence its sensations are not good. Neither to 
 mind nor body does it give satisfaction, saying noth- 
 ing of delight. Being emptiness it cannot supply 
 
280 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 fulness. how distressful all round is poverty." 
 "John, you don't know it really, and I cannot tell 
 it you all, I mean. The worst I must veil. There 
 are things too heartrending to speak of; delicate 
 things that for decency must be covered. But some 
 things can be narrated. I will tell you one, about a 
 poor debtor whom I have known for many years. 
 This brother had a 'bunch' of houses erected for 
 him. The builder, to get the job, volunteered to 
 finance it provide the money. It was naturally ex- 
 pected that he would do it in an ordinary, fair and 
 safe way. But this is what he did. First, he secured 
 a building loan of $9,500, repayable in six months. 
 Then, to clear this amount, he borrowed $10,000 for 
 a half term (18 months). As the time of the loan 
 was so short, to secure re-payment of $1600, money 
 advanced by him to clear the lots, a Trust Deed was 
 drawn, with all the provisions of that wicked devil's 
 instrument (do you know, John, the iniquity of a 
 Trust Deed?) It called for $100 a month and inter- 
 est ; which, with all the other imposed and incidental 
 obligations, made too great a load to be carried. It 
 was so stated at the time of signing the note; but 
 representations were made of the prospect of income 
 from the houses that would be sufficient to take care 
 of the payments and promise given of assistance in 
 case of shortage, and the note ('Writ of Execution,' 
 as it later proved) was accepted. Then the contrac- 
 tor, having made himself safe, went to a company 
 with whom he had dealings and transferred the note 
 to them to be credited on account of his liabilities. 
 The brother thus found himself put in relation with 
 strangers, whose hearts were hard and who spared 
 not to gather in his all. It was impossible to pay so 
 much, as many initial expenses had to be met and 
 letting of the bungalows was but gradual. Still, 
 every month as instalments became due good faith 
 
How it Feels to be Poor 281 
 
 of intention was shown, a payment of some amount 
 being made. In a few months $125 of the principal 
 was paid; the interest was kept up; and a balance 
 remained of but $1474 and odd cents. The hard- 
 hearted company was not satisfied with a man doing 
 his best, but pressed for payment of the arrears. 
 The property was foreclosed. This is how it stands 
 to-day: the poor man has lost all his thousands of 
 dollars of equity and his living ! And the company 
 has sold or exchanged the realty property to some- 
 body, according to information, having netted a 
 realty profit value of thousands of dollars in the ex- 
 change! The houses are all let (so I was told when 
 last I inquired) and should be yielding between $250 
 and $300 a month. It was all selfishness, merciless- 
 ness, villainy." 
 
 "Dear Dad, it is a very, very hard deal for the 
 poor fellow who owned the place. The builder is 
 verily culpable for his dangerous financing and his 
 excessive interest, and then turning the one he had 
 financially imperiled over into the hands of an unin- 
 terested party ; and the company is to blame for seiz- 
 ing the property of one proving himself so worthy 
 of consideration and help by his tireless efforts to 
 meet his obligation." 
 
 "But now, John, here is an episode of this wretched 
 'business/ The brother had been notified that the 
 credit-man of the concern wished to have a personal 
 interview with him, and called accordingly at his 
 place of business. He was engaged when the brother 
 called. Presently being free, the brother drew up to 
 his desk, and the following colloquy took place : 
 
 "Mr. ?" 
 
 Slight nod. 
 
 "I am Mr. . I have come to see you about 
 
 the arrears due on ," 
 
 "Not a word of respectful recognition had passed ; 
 
282 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 nor a proffered hand. Not a 'Good morning/ nor a 
 'Glad to see you / nor a 'How are you ?' Not, indeed, 
 anything that is usual among men, gentlemen, who 
 have transactions together. Only a steely-eyed look ! 
 Then suddenly, with rapier-like thrust, 'Well, when 
 are you going to pay?' ' 
 
 "That is what I came to talk to you about." 
 
 "Now, as hard as flint, 'But when are you going 
 to pay?' emphasis on 'are/ " 
 
 " 'I have been doing the best I could/ began the 
 brother in reply, ready to explain matters." 
 
 "But he was cut short with : 7 don't believe you!' 
 
 "And it was shot back to him : 'Sir, I resent your 
 imputation that I am a liar. I am an honorable man 
 and a Christian, and am not given to lying. I repeat, 
 I have done the best I could/ " 
 
 "No apology was offered; but there came instead 
 the proposal: 'Shall we put a man in to take the 
 rents?'" 
 
 " 'Certainly not/ was replied, 'I am not a rascal, 
 trying to cheat you, but a business man, with a good 
 record for honesty. I strongly object to a sheriff 
 being put in charge of the place. Besides, I know 
 my wife would feel it feel it keenly, as I also should 
 do." 
 
 "Then, throwing himself back in his chair and put- 
 ting his thumbs under his vest at his arm-pits, he 
 jeeringly cried: 'Feel it; feel it!' with a snicker 
 and expression on his face like that of a devil 'why 
 should you feel it?' He could not understand, he had 
 not even the idea, that a man should or could feel 
 such treatment. How did it feel then to be poor ; and 
 because poor exposed to the cruel assaults of this 
 gutter-mud creature? Imagine it!" 
 
 "Then he laid down the law : 'If you want us to 
 consider the matter you will have to furnish me a 
 list of all the properties you own ; how much incum- 
 
How it Feels to Be Poor 283 
 
 brance there is on each piece; the rate of interest. 
 A list also of the houses ; what they rent for ; which 
 are vacant; and when you think you will be able to 
 let them/ " 
 
 "The brother said, 'No ! You have sufficient secu- 
 rity in the property on which you have a lien. (It 
 was several times the amount of their claim.) I am 
 not asking you for a loan. You are amply secured 
 already/ The interview ended: it was frightful 
 while it lasted. The brother says he is the worst 
 man, the most inhuman he has encountered in his 
 lifetime. And, John, was he not a very bad man to 
 jeer at another in his helplessness and scorn his 
 natural feeling? This is one case of how it feels to 
 be poor a poor debtor." 
 
 "Dear Dad, it was most brutal. Among men 
 who have business together civility at least is due. 
 This man's conduct was monumentally outrageous. 
 Feeling, through being poor, must have been acute." 
 
 "John, I could tell you cases of poverty where men 
 have verged on insanity through wrongs done them 
 which made them poor. An old man, in his seven- 
 tieth year, who had been robbed of his lot and house 
 said he felt like taking a pistol and shooting the 
 party who had made him and his wife paupers pen- 
 niless in the world. Another nearly lost his wife and 
 family because he was unable to get employment to 
 earn money to keep them. (They loved each other 
 dearly.) Something had to be done ; the family could 
 not starve. A rancher gave the woman employment 
 as housekeeper, and let the children come with her 
 for any chores they could do. He offered her, if she 
 would not write to her husband for twelve months, 
 the statutory time to get a divorce, he would marry 
 her. So desperate were their circumstances that 
 husband and wife entered into a compact to break off 
 correspondence. The man's anguish was unutter- 
 
284 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 able to think that for lack of a little money he must 
 lose his wife and children. A month or two went by. 
 But the wife could not stand it; she could not for- 
 sake a husband always good to her. Finally they 
 were restored to one another; but they were almost 
 parted. O how many are the victims of poverty. 
 And it hurts believe me, it hurts!" 
 
 "Dear Dad, I am sure it must. But people who 
 have regular and sufficient salaries, and stockholders 
 who receive dividends, know not what it is and have 
 small feeling for the sufferers." 
 
 "I must tell you one more case where poverty 
 would have hurt, only that the abused one did not 
 let it, because the thing charged was not true. I 
 knew a brother who occasionally gave another a lit- 
 tle help nearly always to his profit, by way of in- 
 terest. But there was sensed reluctance in his help, 
 and 'that made it very hard to accept; still in severe 
 pressure one has to ignore this. The brother used 
 to rub it into the one he assisted, and in so doing I 
 believe he really thought he was acting the faithful 
 part, and possibly that he was doing God service. 
 But, as was told him once, it was very painful to a 
 man when he was sore from evil, and the skin was 
 as it were broken, to have so much salt rubbed into 
 him, making the smart greater. According to this 
 friend (?) the man he assisted must have gone 
 astray or he would not be afflicted. He was one of 
 Job's comforters or rather a 'successor* of their 
 kind. God testified of Job that he was 'a perfect and 
 an upright man/ one who 'escheweth eviP and 
 'holdeth fast his integrity;' but his 'friends' (?) 
 said to him: 'Who ever perished, being innocent? 
 or where were the righteous cut off? . . They that 
 plow iniquity and sow wickedness reap the same/ 
 Well, this man frequently told his brother he was 
 'out of God's order/ and many other bad things, 
 

 How it Feels to Be Poor 285 
 
 until he got tired of hearing what a bad man he was 
 because he was poor. John, there should be no 
 spirit of self -justification when one does wrong; and 
 personally I am willing to own up. And indeed I 
 feel very penitent and ashamed if I find myself a 
 transgressor. And I will not conceal it either from 
 myself or the world, that I have only ever been able 
 to find rest in God's compassion and forgiveness in 
 Christ. I have walked in ways not right. But when 
 I have really repented and am really doing different 
 things, I cannot feel that I am sinning. Well, this 
 brother was inclined one day to lend his friend a 
 little assistance to save a note that had been put up 
 as security to aid a poor man to buy transportation 
 for himself and family to where there was work. 
 He said he would think and pray about it and ap- 
 pointed a meeting the next day. They met. He had 
 news for the needy one. He said God had shown him 
 he was not to help him ! The brother told him to his 
 face it was not true; that God had nothing to do with 
 it; but that it was his own unwillingness of his 
 personal unbrotherly heart. There were the com- 
 mandments to love and help one another; and no 
 extra special revelation was needed, or should be 
 asked. John, obedience to Christ's commandments 
 is the called-for thing in us." 
 
 "Dear Dad, recently a Christian brother wrote to 
 another, 'I believe you are a sincere Christian 
 brother; but :' it does hurt the weak (the strong 
 do not mind it) when they are in poverty to have 
 brethren say, 'Your poverty is a sign of sin/ Cer- 
 tainly it could be; but to assume that it is, without 
 the condemnation of one's own heart, is anything 
 but comfort it is sheer cruelty." 
 
 "John, it hurts to be poor. If it were for Christ's 
 or the Gospel's sake it would be welcome suffering; 
 but when it is simply men's vileness that brings on 
 
286 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 mischief it is different: we all feel injured, even 
 though we may not retaliate. How does it feel to 
 be poor? Poor and unable to buy shoes, when the 
 last sole has a hole in it and one has to cut out card- 
 board for inner soles to keep his feet from the 
 ground! Poor, and pass by a restaurant and smell 
 the meat and say, 'Great!' and not have a nickel to 
 buy even coffee and bread, but must continue on to 
 Central Park and fill up on water, with the thought, 
 Water is good/ Poor, and rarely ever to have new 
 garments, but always be clad in second-hand and 
 worn coverings! Poor, and seeing the stores filled 
 with wearables and edibles, say to self, 'Not for me !' 
 Poor, with wife arid children thinly clad and no 
 spending money in one's pockets to give them a taste 
 of the good things of life! 'Give me not poverty' 
 it is an old prayer : I revive it." 
 
 "Dear Dad, I fancy I hear you say, 'The Com- 
 munity for the abolition of poverty ! No more poor ! 
 No more poverty! Let judgment upon poverty be- 
 gin first at the house of God !' " 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 A Brotherly Emergency Fund 
 
 
 "BEARING down upon me with as great pressure 
 as the thought that some other system of living than 
 that of to-day must be found to ensure to all an 
 existence of comfort and joy, is the fact of men's 
 need of relief, immediate relief, until the permanent 
 and blessed condition of mutual love and supply can 
 be prepared and established in a Community of good 
 willers. For such an arrangement is not the work 
 of an hour, a day, or a month. Meantime the woes of 
 humanity do not cease. The arrogance, thievery and 
 oppression of the rich and strong continue in full 
 blast. The evil economies and industrial crimes of 
 the time grievously affect millions who suffer there- 
 from all but death; and who come at last to choose 
 even that as the least of evils. Abandoning hope, 
 they cry to the Lethe waters of oblivion to roll over 
 them and swallow them up! Better, they say, con- 
 sciousness lost, than consciousness which is nearly 
 all pain and dread. John, the majority of mankind 
 live under this pressure of evil, actual or threaten- 
 ing. Something must be done for them; done now. 
 Let us not say, 'It has been thus of long time ; there 
 is no need of rush ; urgency is not imperative/ True, 
 it has been of long duration sin and shame to us 
 that it has not been tackled before ! But this, instead 
 of being excuse for further delay of the work, is 
 
288 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 greater reason for its immediate performance. Tem- 
 porary measures of relief for brethren in difficulties, 
 want and menacing ruin must be provided." 
 
 "Yes, Dad, must be prepared. I am not thinking 
 of must as logical reasoning or conclusion; but of 
 must in immediate and available provision. A body 
 of fatherly sympathizers as counsellors ! A fund of 
 dollars and cents proportionate to the need ! So that 
 on the instant advice can be had and help obtained. 
 One may say, 'The city has already made such provi- 
 sion through its Charity Board/ It has ; but not in 
 the sense nor on the basis of Christian love. True 
 sympathy is not at the bottom; nor is its working 
 fraternal kindness. It is better than nothing; but 
 there is something much better. I do not say that 
 all its activities are perfunctorily performed. There 
 are doubtless many really sympathetic paid officers 
 engaged in this public charity business ; but there is 
 with a Christian in difficulties a craving for the spir- 
 itual element that should accompany material relief, 
 to lessen the feeling of humiliation, or at any rate 
 sorrow, in being obliged to become a receiver of 
 unearned value from others. Besides, with this pub- 
 lic relief there is the feeling that one has sunken to 
 the pauper plane." 
 
 "Dear John, a city owes it to her citizens if they 
 are in need to provide for their temporal necessities. 
 They have contributed to her upbuilding and now 
 she should give to them. The greatest evil of the 
 country is that it asks all of its citizens and gives 
 them nothing. That may be too sweeping ; it may be 
 more correct to say gives them little. It expects peo- 
 ple to be patriotic whom it does not befriend. For 
 what does a poor man get from his country? Pro- 
 tection in his rights? No. Redress of his wrongs? 
 No. Attendance when he is sick? No. Provision 
 for his old age? No. Nearly all he gets is laws to 
 

 A Brotherly Emergency Fund 289 
 
 restrain him ; fine him ; shoot him to death ! It piles 
 upon him taxes for things he never uses. It makes 
 him pay for benefits for the rich. Beautiful parks 
 in the neighborhood of the well-to-do a sort of pub- 
 lic garden for their dwellings ; macadamized country 
 and mountain roads over which to drive their auto- 
 mobiles, etc., etc. This is all of benefit chiefly to 
 the rich at the expense of the poor, to whom to get 
 a crust of bread becomes increasingly difficult. If 
 any should say, 'But the poor have the chance to use 
 them, and therefore should pay for the improve- 
 ments;' I answer with an incident that once hap- 
 pened in England. At that time 'Church rates' were 
 levied upon the people. A Nonconformist had to pay 
 equally with an Episcopalian. Not to pay was to 
 have your goods sold at auction. One day a tailor, 
 who was a Dissenter from the Established Church, 
 made strong remonstrance with the parish priest. 
 He urged that he never used the church and should 
 not be compelled to contribute to its support. The 
 priest replied, That is not my fault, but your own. 
 The church is open to you, and you will have to pay 
 the rate/ The Dissenter was a wise old fellow. So 
 he presently sat down and made out a bill against the 
 clergyman for a suit of clothes and mailed it to him 
 in due course. Soon His Reverence came around 
 in great dudgeon and demanded to know what 
 he meant by sending him the bill. He had never 
 ordered a suit from him. The injustice and inso- 
 lence of the tradesman in sending him a demand for 
 payment for what he never ordered nor used ! The 
 shrewd tradesman replied that he was a tailor ; that 
 he had cloth upon his shelves to make the dominie a 
 suit ; that it was not his fault that the clergyman did 
 not get the suit; he must pay the bill. The poor 
 man would be glad to be able to take out his family 
 in an auto ; in which case it would be justice and he 
 
290 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 would willingly pay his share for making the road. 
 But auto ! ha, ha, ha ! it does not come as a dream 
 to him who cannot buy sufficient food. But I must 
 leave this. I want to speak to you about provision 
 for the immediate help of men, in brotherly love, 
 who may become necessitous through causes as vari- 
 ous as the states of man's existence." 
 
 "I realize, dear Dad, the cry, the wailing cry of 
 men of family and the single; of women, matrons 
 and maids ; of youth and little children, who by ad- 
 versity have been brought into the torture-chamber 
 of Poverty, and there are racked by the unscrupu- 
 lous rich despoiler, who is the high-priest of Misery. 
 These all cry: 'Deliver us! Make haste to our 
 help ! Bring us out of this dungeon ! Give us the 
 sunlight and air of heaven ! Let us eat, for we are 
 hungry!' Dad, they need these things, need them 
 now: now, not to-morrow. We should make instant 
 preparation for their relief. It is as obligatory upon 
 us as that we work and provide for ourselves." 
 
 "It is, John ; it is. I get so much good out of the 
 Bible. Reading it with sympathetic heart and ob- 
 serving closely what it says, praying, too, that all its 
 wisdom and goodness may be incorporated into my 
 being, I am wonderfully instructed and blessed. 
 Things that in a different state of mind I would pass 
 over become to me very important. Thus I have 
 noticed particularly how Jesus acted in circum- 
 stances of human danger and need. He did not 
 philosophize. He did not say, 'Yes, it ought to be 
 done/ or 'we should do it.' He did it. He did it 
 immediately. He did it without fuss. It is an exam- 
 ple for us to do likewise. There was Peter, who 
 asked Jesus to bid him come to Him on the water. 
 His request was granted. Peter walked a few steps. 
 But, 'when Peter saw the wind boisterous he was 
 afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, 
 
A Brotherly Emergency Fund 291 
 
 'Lord save me!' He was, you see, 'beginning to 
 sink ;' like so many poor men to-day ; going down in 
 the sea of a treacherous commercialism ! And what 
 is the rest of the record? 'And immediately Jesus 
 stretched forth His hand and caught him/ ' 
 
 "0, Dad, how good of Him to be so prompt ! When 
 a man begins to sink, it is then that a hand becomes 
 so welcome and blessed !" 
 
 "I repeat, John, the thing that is needed to be done 
 to relieve others should be done now. Jairus had an 
 only daughter who lay dying. Loving her greatly, 
 he asked Jesus to come to his house and heal her. 
 And the good Master started at once! A Centurion 
 had a servant who suffered from the palsy, and he, 
 too, desired Jesus' help. The Lord replied, (it is 
 just like His great love!) 'I will come and heal him/ 
 'Will come* is indefinite as to time. The man added : 
 'I am not worthy, Lord, for you to come under my 
 roof: only speak the word and my servant will be 
 healed/ 'Go home/ the Saviour said, 'and you will 
 find him well!' That is not only service, dear John, 
 but immediate service: just what poor men need. 
 Help, help ! the outstretched arm, to save ; the minis- 
 tering hand, to supply want now, to-day! How 
 glad was he who said: 'I am poor and needy;' that 
 he could also sing : 'God is our refuge and strength ; 
 a very present help in trouble/ Let us, now that 
 need is with us, 'straightway/ without delay, 'arise 
 and go ;' start, commence the action that will bring 
 relief and joy to the wretched! Immediacy is the 
 right course! Dare we delay? To defer is not to 
 follow Christ." 
 
 "What do you suggest, dear Dad, for 'the present 
 necessity?' for, as I understand you, it is only provi- 
 sional relief of distress you are thinking about, re- 
 garding fellowship in the Community as the real 
 solution of economic troubles." 
 
292 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 "You have understood me rightly, dear John. My 
 thought is of emergency service; the true aegis, or 
 shield of protection from poverty being the hearts 
 and hands of believers united in a Christian Com- 
 munity. Now I propose that help be prepared in 
 every city in the shape of a sufficient fund to take 
 care of all possible wants; to be increased at any 
 time when the demand shall exceed the money in 
 the treasury." 
 
 "About how large do you think, dear Dad, that 
 sum should be?" 
 
 "To be amply sufficient, John, for a city of the size 
 of Los Angeles, I would suggest fifty thousand dol- 
 lars; smaller cities would not need nearly so much 
 for their purpose." 
 
 "And how do you think it might be raised, Dad?" 
 
 "Dear John, the way would be to print a circular 
 setting forth the fact that Christians through ex- 
 traordinary expenses of increase of family, sickness, 
 accidents, death, unemployment, half-time work, as- 
 sessments, taxes, bad debts and so forth, find them- 
 selves in peril, distress and straits; that they need 
 shoes, clothing, heaters, etc., and that as a matter of 
 prudence and brotherly love there be subscribed a 
 Fund of Fifty Thousand Dollars, which fund shall 
 be for the help of all believers in Christ and instantly 
 available in the hour of adversity and need. And I 
 would have a volunteer committee appointed (pay 
 for their work could not be considered ; the only paid 
 servant being a secretary, whose duties would be to 
 receive applications and do the work of correspond- 
 ence) ; the committee to be notified by the secretary 
 of applications for relief, that they may meet, pass 
 on the appeals and sign the checks for the aid 
 granted." 
 
 "What conditions, dear Dad, would you require 
 
A Brotherly Emergency Fund 293 
 
 ordinarily of a man to be a beneficiary ; for I suppose 
 you have some definition of a Christian?" 
 
 "Certainly, I have. He must be a confessor of 
 faith in the living God and in Jesus Christ as His 
 Son our Saviour; and he should affirm his life as one 
 of obedience to our Lord's commandments. I think, 
 too, that he should make statement that he holds 
 love of the brotherhood and of all men, in deed and 
 not in word only, as essential to Christianity, i. e. t 
 the Christian life." 
 
 "Anything more, dear Dad? No creed?" 
 
 "No human formula of faith; which generally is 
 not faith, but a definition by a compiler of Christian 
 doctrine, as he conceives it, upon religious subjects." 
 
 "Would you listen to the cry of a poor man not a 
 Christian?" 
 
 "Yes, indeed ; and very sympathetically. But the 
 arrangement I propose is meant, firstly, to be a 
 mutual fellowship of believers. This, however, is 
 what I should do in respect of any poor man: he 
 should have the privilege of making his statement to 
 the secretary, whose duty it should be to put the 
 same down in writing and have the applicant sign 
 it ; when the case shall be considered right off as any 
 other application. And if the committee approves 
 assistance, help should be given him ; with especially 
 gentle words of fellow-feeling and exhortation to be- 
 come a disciple of the Lord Jesus. Maybe he may 
 thus be won to Christ, and later become a Com- 
 munity brother." 
 
 "How could the fund be raised, dear Dad?" 
 
 "All who love the Brotherhood and are walking in 
 holiness and righteousness before God should be 
 given an opportunity to contribute toward the crea- 
 tion of this fund as they may be moved by God, that 
 is, by the spirit of love which is the sign of His in- 
 dwelling, and according as they are able ; being also 
 
294 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 told that it will be for their own benefit if they ever 
 require assistance or relief. Those who were minded 
 to make a single contribution could do so ; and later 
 add to it at their pleasure. Salaried persons, unable 
 to pay down such amount as they felt they would like 
 to contribute, could pay in instalments, on account, 
 till the sum of their offering was reached. Let us 
 say one brother wished to have fellowship in the 
 amount of fifty dollars, payable one dollar or half a 
 dollar a week. He would sign a purpose blank; but 
 not a promise (promissory note), collectable at law; 
 for a man's circumstances might change, and he who 
 thought to give help might himself need help, or at 
 any rate be unable to do more than keep his own. 
 The 'purpose* could be expressed somewhat as fol- 
 lows : 'God enabling me, I, John Jones, purpose in 
 my heart, in love to Christ and for the help of the 
 brethren and needy men generally, to give fifty 
 dollars ($50.00) to a fund for mutual relief; avail- 
 able for myself also if need should require ; which I 
 think to pay in installments of half a dollar or a 
 dollar a week, or any amount at any time that I can. 
 It is understood that this not a promise but a pur- 
 pose; which I pray God to enable me to carry out. 
 But if I cannot, it is agreed that I shall be held under 
 no obligation to any person or society in regard to 
 the same. 
 
 Name 
 
 Address 
 
 Date 
 
 "Would you donate the help right out to the needy, 
 dear Dad?" 
 
 "I think, John, most would prefer to have it as a 
 loan, of course without interest; for they would 
 rather pay it back that it may keep circulating, and 
 be in turn a benefit to others as well as themselves. 
 
A Brotherly Emergency Fund 295 
 
 But they should never be dunned for the money ; and 
 if unable to return it it should come under the rule of 
 Christ, 'Do good and lend hoping for nothing again* 
 neither principal nor interest. You see the money 
 is to help, to relieve distress; not to put one under 
 another grief. Nor should a single loan disqualify 
 the indigent from further aid, even though the first 
 amount were unpaid (unreturned) . The hope would 
 be that a Community would soon be established and 
 the delinquent brother come in as a member work- 
 ing member, and end poverty, and even a crisis of 
 want, for himself and his family forever." 
 
 "The fund would be a kind of Emergency Fund, 
 would it not, Dad?" 
 
 "That is just what it would be ; and I suggest that 
 the name of it be The Brotherly Emergency Fund; 
 and that all moneys received be banked for safe- 
 keeping in that name, with the Treasurer's name 
 added thereto." 
 
 "Would you have a paid solicitor, Dad, to collect 
 contributions, with a percentage allowed him for his 
 services ?" 
 
 "0 no, no, John. To names of those counted 
 worthy for their record's sake to contribute, a pros- 
 pectus would be sent telling about the Fund and its 
 purpose. No urging would be used. It would be de- 
 sirable to raise the money wholly among the faithful, 
 who, imbued with love, would present it as a free- 
 will offering to Christ a kind of love-token to Him- 
 self. The money should not be such as was gained 
 by exploitation and that had a curse resting upon it." 
 
 "You speak of this Fund as an Emergency Fund : 
 do you mind explaining a little more, Dad ?" 
 
 "John, I mean, it is a fund for persons in an emer- 
 gency ; not for one to draw on for a livelihood or for 
 speculation. The livelihood is provided for in the 
 Community relationship; and as for speculation 
 
296 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 that is utterly tabooed and will die of non-necessity 
 in the new System of Christian living together. Now 
 I suppose you know what emergency means say 
 emergency treatment in an army, by way of exam- 
 ple. A wounded soldier is brought into camp in an 
 ambulance. Something must be done for him right 
 away. He cannot be sent to the hospital at the rear ; 
 he will die on the road. So he must receive emer- 
 gency treatment 'first aid* it is called. If he is very 
 badly hurt he may be put under the influence of 
 chloroform to make him insensible to the pain at- 
 tending an operation. His wounds are medically 
 washed. If they are ragged the edges are trimmed ; 
 if gangrenous, they may be cauterized. Then they 
 are tenderly dressed and bound up, and the patient 
 may be given a narcotic to induce sleep. If bones 
 are broken they are put into splints. Emergency 
 treatment is first, simple treatment; the patient 
 being passed on to the hospital at the base for more 
 thorough and constant medical and surgical treat- 
 ment and nursing until convalescence returns and 
 the man is well. How necessary is this first treat- 
 ment ; his life is in receiving it. A brother has been 
 run down by an automobile. He is taken to the city 
 hospital, where he is treated to make him removable 
 to his home or a public institution. In such a case 
 The Brotherly Emergency Fund comes in, sees that 
 he is nursed to health, his family being meanwhile 
 provided for : distress is taken from his mind, and he 
 feels there is, after all, somewhere those who care, 
 really care, that he lives and is in ease from his mis- 
 fortune. what breasts are they in which there 
 throbs real brotherly love!" 
 
 "Dear Dad, the man who is 'putting up a fight' to 
 honestly earn his living by hard toil is not much 
 thought of among men. The blind, the maimed, the 
 feeble, the insane, those who, so to speak, are out of 
 
A Brotherly Emergency Fund 297 
 
 the battle, have consideration; institutions are 
 founded for them; but he who above all others de- 
 serves loving help, the able-bodied man, the man 
 upon whose skill and perseverance others live, how 
 sadly is he neglected! Little sympathy is felt for 
 him and what lack of assistance when he is in a 
 crisis! The Brotherly Emergency Fund would be 
 hailed by him as a life-boat in a shipwreck !" 
 
 "John, many a man has become shipwrecked and 
 made a derelict all his life because no help was given 
 him when he needed it. And such a little help at that 
 particular period of his life would have turned the 
 battle in his favor and have given him the victory! 
 how great is the need for a Brotherly Emergency 
 Fund ! How much money is spent on service of lesser 
 value and the money is sunk forever. In The 
 Brotherly Emergency Fund, as the loans are re- 
 turned, the money goes out again on its errand of 
 mercy. And again, and again, and again, it brings 
 relief and joy to the sufferer. to prepare help for 
 our brethren and for all as we are able! Speak to 
 some and they say, 'I will think about it!' Think 
 about it, when men are perishing! No, jump over- 
 board ye swimmer, and save him! Save him, man; 
 do not think if he needs a saviour. John, that is how I 
 feel to speak to the indifferent who see men in their 
 death struggles financial relation understood." 
 
 "Dad, I feel the urgency of the situation. Urgency 
 in civil life takes a law out of the ordinary and puts 
 it into force within a day or two; so should the 
 urgency of men's needs provoke to immediate forma- 
 tion of a fellowship to help those in trouble now 
 and I offer my hand to every one as a partner to now 
 go into the work of fraternal help in the crises of 
 life as a business, a something to be followed daily, 
 every day." 
 
 "John, I would repeat the objects : First preser- 
 
298 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 vation of life, that men may be able to get the things 
 they must have to live ; Second making life worth 
 living, that is joyous, freeing from burden and 
 depression; Third helping mien to usefulness, in 
 service of others. These are worthy our concern, 
 our money and our prayers." 
 
 "It is a great chance, Dad, for those who mean 
 goodness. There are talkers and meaners; blessed 
 are they who are forward in action." 
 
 "John, you used a word that in my life is one of 
 the greatest ; it is the word 'chance.' Let me change 
 it to 'opportunity/ Without opportunity no man 
 could be or do anything. The circumstances, condi- 
 tions, means of our life are our opportunities to be 
 or not to be, to do or not to do. We cannot be schol- 
 arly if we have not the opportunity of schooling or 
 tuition ; we cannot do good to others without the op- 
 portunity. Our opportunity of doing good to an- 
 other is his need. If he lacked nothing there would 
 be no occasion and we should have no chance to 
 show him kindness that kindness of love that God 
 works in the hearts of the regenerate. Our broth- 
 er's need is our opportunity for the brotherly act. 
 Think of it ! a chance given us by God to be a saviour 
 and a factor of new and bright things in another's 
 existence. A covetous man contemplates and seeks 
 opportunities to make money; a Christian, oppor- 
 tunities to be a blessing to sin-cursed lives. Which 
 is the better?" 
 
 "Why, of course, Dad, to be a blesser is greater 
 than to lay up treasures for one's-self in this world. 
 It seems horrible to me that a man should go smell- 
 ing along the ground all his life in scent of money 
 like a dog seeking a bone. It is 'the downward look.' 
 But like an angel is he whose face is benignant and 
 who goes about like Jesus doing good ! And it is said 
 of Him that His life was seeking cases to teach and 
 

 A Brotherly Emergency Fund 299 
 
 to heal : 'the Son of Man is come to seek and to save 
 that which was lost/ " 
 
 "Well, John, here in The Brotherly Emergency 
 Fund is an opportunity to do good to the saints and 
 to outsiders. And a scripture says, 'As we have 
 therefore opportunity let us do good unto all men, 
 especially unto them that are of the household 
 of faith/ An opportunity to do good : let us greet 
 it joyfully! The money-loving man does not want 
 such opportunity. He wants men to give to him ; not 
 he to them. A poor man is greeted with 'Here comes 
 another beggar!' Sometimes he will 'hand out/ as 
 he phrases it ; but reluctance is in his heart. He does 
 not want the poor to come to him. Unspeakable !" 
 
 "Dad, the money-lover makes it very evident by 
 his face that a solicitor of a helping hand is not an 
 agreeable visitor. But the good man! he avails 
 himself, with thanksgivings to God, of chances to 
 help. He knows that opportunity, with ability on his 
 part, spells duty; and with generous heart he opens 
 wide his hand for his poor brother. I trust there are 
 many such who will join to create The Brotherly 
 Emergency Fund; for it is real, genuine philan- 
 thropy." 
 
 "Ah! and one thing more, John. We believe in 
 heaven. Our Father lives there as His central 
 place of abode. Jesus taught the Twelve to pray, 
 saying, 'Our Father, which art in heaven/ There is 
 such a thing, according to our Lord, as having a 
 bank account in heaven. I hope, John, for our long, 
 our eternal joy, that account will be a big one. I 
 desire very much to have great treasure there ! To 
 do so, we must part with earthly currency. Or, 
 rather, buy with it exchange, that we may be rich 
 eternally. We must make deposits. We cannot have 
 wealth there unless we make payments to our credit 
 here. The receiving tellers in this suburban world 
 
300 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 are the poor. They receive for headquarters. We 
 have the opportunity now in The Brotherly Emer- 
 gency Fund to add to our account where moth and 
 rust do not corrupt and where thieves do not 
 burglarize and steal. I give God thanks for the 
 opportunities granted me of wealth hereafter. I am 
 resolved to put in all I am and all I have to be rich in 
 the land of eternal life.' " 
 
 "Dear Dad, it is a wonderful, a transporting 
 thought ! Such things were not present to my mind 
 when I was greedy with the greedy. If I could be a 
 profiter by others it was all right, very pleasing; to 
 profit others and give myself and my all to do it is, as 
 I have found, the new life in Christ. And oh to 
 think that every act that we do goes to swell for us 
 eternal riches of which we have heard but which are 
 beyond our present understanding. I shall increase 
 my deposits with the poor God's receiving tellers, 
 in number and in amount. And then as to the 'sweet 
 by-and-by,' to those who ask me the conditions and 
 employment of the benevolent ransomed host, I shall 
 reply, 'Friend, brother! let us go there and see!' I 
 pray that every one who talks kindness will give 
 proof of his love by having partnership in The Broth- 
 erly Emergency Fund." 
 
CHAPTER XXL 
 The Conversion of the Exploiter 
 
 "AN exploiter is worth saving, whether he be a 
 hypocritical churchman or a Lothario without dis- 
 guise. Surely, not for what he is, but for what he 
 may become. For even such a bad man as an ex- 
 ploiter, worked thoroughly over and dipped seven 
 times, can be made good and clean. It is astonish- 
 ing how many exploiters there are who profess to be 
 religious. Perhaps some of them are not conscious 
 humbugs; maybe a part of them are self-deceived. 
 A self-deceived man reckons himself good, when 
 God's Word shows him bad, by test. But as true as 
 God is in heaven, he who is rich from exploitation is 
 pre-damned. His judgment is sure. Such a covet- 
 ous thief is more worthy of hell-fire than any other 
 kind of sinner. The major sentence is his by right. 
 Nobody shall ever think that I regard a man who 
 assiduously piles up a fortune from the painful ef- 
 forts of his unfortunate fellows is even an approach 
 to what he ought to be, or has the faintest streak of 
 whiteness in his robber soul. A minister, seeing in 
 a pew beneath him a wealthy corporationist, is him- 
 self implicated if he does not arraign him for the 
 plunder he has accumulated. We have about as 
 much respect for a bloated or shrivelled-up Money- 
 bag as Jesus had. The fellow who has year in and 
 year out lived on the fat of the land by profits from 
 
302 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 coal mines, gas fields, oil wells, water development, 
 may build churches, libraries, museums ; but he never 
 will bribe me by such deeds to have a good opinion of 
 him. Rockefeller good, or any like him? He is not 
 good, in justice, in honesty, in essential principle. 
 Still, such a man is worth saving; and it is worth 
 while to attempt his redemption, although he is not a 
 promising case." 
 
 "Dear Dad, I wish everybody would be thus frank 
 with the rich rascals of the country. It would be in- 
 teresting to hear them attempt to prove that they 
 went hand-in-hand with righteousness and benevo- 
 lence to their present affluence. It is inconceivable 
 to me how they can even pretend that they were led 
 by God to their selfish Paradise. At any rate, only 
 themselves think so. And they think so because they 
 love to have it so. The wish is father to the 
 thought." 
 
 "John, I shrink from such criminals. Jesus said : 
 'How hardly shall they that have riches [in another 
 Evangelist it is, 'shall a rich man'] enter into the 
 Kingdom of Heaven.' He said again, it is easier for 
 a camel to go through one of the small tunnels in the 
 wall of Jerusalem needle-eyes than for a rich man 
 to be saved. Think of a camel squeezing through 
 such a small opening! It implies the next thing to 
 impossibility, and I am not sure but impossibility 
 itself. Of course, exploiters appear very nice per- 
 sons. They make up in suavity and politeness what 
 they lack in principle at least they try to ; but they 
 do not juggle me into belief of their integrity. O 
 John, never let the thought of riches have a lodging- 
 place in your mind! I am not ignorant of the 
 things the plutos say. It does not alter the fact, that 
 acquisition of great riches cannot be made without 
 guilt. He who being interested denies this if he is 
 not an intentional hypocrite is immeshed in delusion 
 
The Conversion of the Exploiter 303 
 
 that will destroy him. And yet it is written, 'He that 
 converteth a sinner from the error of his ways shall 
 save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of 
 sins/ To save a man from that awful, that com- 
 plete, that irretrievable judgment the second death 
 shall be my attempt now." 
 
 "But how will the word find a way to such, dear 
 Dad?" 
 
 "My Son, God will look after that; the God who 
 has implanted the earnest desire in my heart to 
 accomplish the work." 
 
 "John, I would first say: 'Man, brother! you are 
 the owner of certain properties from which you ex- 
 tract oil. (I will say 'oil/ because that is what is 
 found most plentifully here ; it is something different 
 elsewhere) . But to be a titular and recorded owner 
 is not being the real owner, unless one of three 
 things is true : 1, That donation has been made you 
 by the original Owner, God. Please let me see the 
 rescript in which He granted these properties to you. 
 If you cannot point to a donative decree by the first 
 Owner, then you have no right to call these proper- 
 ties yours, nor use them exclusively as yours, for 
 your own benefit. And again : Show me where the 
 people, the whole people, assembled in called meet- 
 ing, agreed to give you those properties for your per- 
 sonal possession, to the shutting out of all other men. 
 For second title is in man, the whole community: 
 'the earth hath He [God, the first Owner] given to 
 the children of men ;' not to a few men, making the 
 rest their slaves. If you cannot produce from the 
 people title to those lands how are they yours ? And 
 again : Show me that the world has consented and 
 now consents that they are yours. For you must at 
 least have the consent of mankind for the realty 
 to be de facto and undisputably yours; for you to 
 justly hold it as against all claimants. You may 
 
304 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 reply, you bought them. Good. But now show me 
 that any man had right to sell you, and make grant 
 deed to you. Sir, you know, and all the world knows, 
 that God, the bottom owner, never gave you that 
 land, not even for use; hence, so far as God is in- 
 volved, you have no right to it ; it is not yours. And 
 you know, and so do we all, that the people of this 
 country never, at any representative meeting, made 
 you owner. If the Government has ever done it, it 
 is like extra-territorial action and has no force; for 
 not even the Government can give away the people's 
 inheritance to their privation and injury. Then if 
 you bought it from those who had no inherent or 
 acquired right to sell you have no more ownership 
 than a pawnbroker who buys stolen goods. And, 
 thirdly : It is not assented to by the masses of the 
 people. The public, the whole people, do not con- 
 sent that some of their number shall be land-barons 
 while they are landless. Especially when that bar- 
 onage consists of their own acreage. Is it right? 
 Judge yourself. Now it is clear that you have squat- 
 ted upon the land and called it your own without 
 fairness to the Community, and greatly to the dis- 
 parity of your fellow-citizens with equal right. And 
 the working of the property has been usufruct, in- 
 stead of legitimate income. It is very clear that you 
 are but a claimant and an exploiter pure and simple. 
 The world's patrimony is not yours. You are not 
 the world; but only an audacious member of that 
 world. And what are you going to do about it? It 
 is just righteousness, common fairness that is de- 
 manded of you/ " 
 
 "Dear Dad, the reasoning is sound, and I can con- 
 ceive of nothing that the exploiter can say, except, 
 'Well, what you say may be true ; but it is an accom- 
 plished fact that I am in possession, and I have no 
 
The Conversion of the Exploiter 305 
 
 mind to be disturbed. I have also the power by law 
 to call soldiers to protect me against any evictor or 
 molester ; and I intend to still be owner, even though 
 I know I am wrongly in possession." 
 
 "John, he may, too, say let me hope that he will 
 'I never gave thought as to my right of ownership 
 and I see that I am not justly the proprietor: what 
 ought I to dor" 
 
 "Dear Dad, that is what a good and upright man 
 would do; if he had inadvertently missed the way 
 and one showed him the right road, his first thought 
 would be to get back to the road he should travel. 
 But, you see, many relationships and obligations 
 have been established and assumed and it is not easy 
 to get out ; also it is a serious, practical question how 
 he should act." 
 
 "I grant it, John ; but man never made up his mind 
 to do right, made it up determinedly, but that some- 
 how he found a way ; although sometimes it has been 
 at the cost of his life. I do not, however, apprehend 
 it would be so costly in the^case of an exploiter who 
 wished to become an honest man." 
 
 "But, Dad, please tell me further what you would 
 say and how you would advise and admonish an 
 industrial thief, a corporation robber." 
 
 "John, having shown him that he is unlawfully 
 (by God's law) and unfraternally in possession of 
 his holdings, the substance of which he is draining 
 for his personal gain, I would press him as to action, 
 somewhat as follows : 'Sir, brother ! I am not going to 
 say what we, the People, think of doing or will do about 
 it ; but I am asking you, you the offender, what are you 
 going to do about it? The action is first up to you; 
 or rather you are given the opportunity by God and 
 a long-suffering world to consider and change your 
 mind. I know what you ought to do ; and I have your 
 
306 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 own conscience with me, if it is in working order 
 you ought to turn back to the world its own. Wrong 
 does not consist so much in a man taking a mis- 
 step or even many steps in wickedness, as it does in 
 persistence therein when he is shown the right way 
 and urged to repentance. When that is true, a sin- 
 ner becomes an incorrigible, and drastic treatment 
 is his due. Let me tell you a story of history. While 
 Jerusalem was being beseiged there was in the city 
 a very bad man, John, who was guilty of all kinds 
 of excesses and profanities. Josephus tried to 
 reason with him and persuade him to give up to the 
 Romans. But John, standing upon the wall, only 
 hurled reproaches upon him. One thing Josephus 
 said that arrested my attention. Upbraiding John 
 for his crimes, calling him even a vile wretch, he 
 turned to exhortation to repentance and said, 'But 
 still, John, it is never dishonorable to repent and 
 amend what hath been done amiss, even at the last 
 extremity/ (b. 6, c. 2, s. 1, Wars.) Man, think! it 
 is always not only wicked but likewise dishonorable 
 to sin; but it is never dishonorable to repent. In 
 fact, it is creditable as showing that betterment has 
 set in. Now you have done dishonestly and are still 
 as a claim-jumper before the world; should you, 
 however, now repent it would not only set you right, 
 but it would be creditable to you as being susceptible 
 to good things/ " 
 
 "How true that is, dear Dad, while sin is the re- 
 proach of any man or nation, repentance is credit 
 and honor to the man or nation that repents." 
 
 " 'Man ! what are you going to do about it ?' I would 
 continue. "If you repent the people will forgive you, 
 and love you, and hold your name in high esteem. 
 They will even instance you as an example to be 
 copied by other exploiters. They will serve you with 
 
The Conversion of the Exploiter 307 
 
 all their hearts. And God will forgive you for the 
 sake of Him who died to expiate the sins of all men 
 turning to righteousness (and as a mercy-seat for 
 the whole world for a time to give everybody a 
 chance for repentance). If you repent you shall be 
 forgiven and received into the Company of good- 
 workers. Now it is not that you are asked to give 
 anything to your fellows. You cannot give your 
 lands nor the money you have made by operating 
 your plunderous corporation; because neither the 
 one nor the other was ever yours to give. It is not 
 liberality I am speaking about; only restoration or 
 restitution of things monopolized stolen. You may 
 never have considered it in that light ; but that is the 
 true light in which to view it.' " 
 
 "How striking, Dad ! Yes, that is the truth about 
 privately owned and exploited holdings: they are 
 possessions of the people to be returned to them, 
 for righteousness." 
 
 " 'Man, brother !' I would further say, 'your duty 
 is to make restitution by restoring to the world its 
 natural domain. The usufruct you are unable to 
 return. You have used it up in expensive living; 
 in having good times. That is lost to the public. 
 But the estate and the business you have in your 
 power to convey back to the owners. Now it is im- 
 possible to return them back to individuals as such, 
 and the State cannot act as trustee, therefore you 
 have to consider how you can return the world's 
 inheritance to that world from whom you have taken 
 it. To sell it and scatter the coins it may bring 
 right and left indiscriminatively would not be wis- 
 dom. Let me suggest that you dispose of it or use it 
 to establish communities so far as it will go for the 
 blessing of the many. It must however be done not 
 by way of patronage but as restoration-money, re- 
 
308 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 turned humbly and contritely to God by a sinner to 
 whom He has given grace to put His will and love 
 of the brotherhood before thieving selfishness." 
 
 "Dear Dad, that is the only ground on which a 
 bad man's possessions can be received for use in a 
 good cause, as the embodiment of repentance and the 
 restoration of property unjustly taken." 
 
 "John, I would make this duty of restoration very 
 strong; for it is a teaching of Holy Scripture of 
 indispensable moment. And so I would continue: 
 'Restitution, restoration, friend! I can say nothing 
 more to you till you accede to this. Of course you 
 know what it means, but let me refresh you with 
 the exact sense of the words I use. 'Restore: to 
 return to a person, as a specific thing which he has 
 lost, or which has been taken from him and unjustly 
 detained.' 'Restitution : the act of returning or re- 
 storing to a person some thing or right of which he 
 has been unjustly deprived/ The only way for you 
 to lift up your face without spot or shame is to make 
 restitution. So long as you retain the stolen prop- 
 erties and use the proceeds for yourself you are a 
 bad man. Yea, you may not say, 'I will compromise 
 the matter; I will use the money therefrom partly 
 in educational, charitable or religious work/ God 
 nor man will accept this as sufficient. The root re- 
 mains. Righteousness makes no compromises; it 
 compounds no wrongs. Pharaoh, King of Egypt, 
 offered several compromises to Moses, but as repre- 
 senting God he could not accept them. There must 
 be complete yielding to right ; the wrongfully seized 
 land, or whatever it is, must cease to be yours. It 
 is not yours ; you must acquiesce by giving it up/ ' 
 
 "But Dad, the man may reply: 'It is a hard say- 
 ing; who can hear it? A hard thing is demanded of 
 me/ How would you reply?" 
 
The Conversion of the Exploiter 309 
 
 "I should answer him, John : 'Yes, to a man who 
 does not first say very sincerely and resolutely, The 
 right shall have it, righteousness shall win though 
 the heavens fall. But that attitude being taken and 
 that spirit imbibed giving up anything is easy. It 
 is a matter of the spirit chiefly, although restora- 
 tion must be made materially." 
 
 "What then, Dad?" 
 
 "0 John, I should say, again, again and again: 
 'Brother, what are you going to do about it? Will 
 you make restoration ? Will you begin a better exist- 
 ence? Shall this day that I speak to you be 'the 
 beginning of days, the first month of the year* to 
 you? That was what God said the day of Israel's 
 departure from the captivity of Egypt should be for 
 the delivered nation. Do you not want, exploiting 
 brother, to come to the day of release from the bond- 
 age of selfishness? And shall not this be the day? 
 Declare your independence of selfish greed ! I guar- 
 antee you, if you do it with your whole heart, you 
 will find the grace of God present to forgive you 
 and the power of God at hand to enable you. Do 
 not say, 'It has gone too far. It has been of too long 
 standing. I am so much mixed up with the business, 
 my entanglements are so numerous, it never can be 
 changed. I shall always have to be what I am and 
 do what I do. Waste not your breath upon me I 
 am a goner. Talk to those who have not yet come 
 into the life of exploitation but who are standing 
 on the edge of the precipice and are disposed to 
 take the risk.' You must not talk this way. I know 
 yours is a hard, but not a hopeless case. Rich ex- 
 ploiters have returned to God and to the love of man. 
 Make not your case hopeless by despair. A man once 
 remarked, 'No man is utterly lost until he gives way 
 to despair.' Nil desperandum. You have nothing 
 to do with what God will do in your case; all you 
 
310 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 have to be concerned about is what you should do. 
 And that is, repent; make restitution. And thus 
 cast yourself upon the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. 
 I beg you be able to say, by immediate action : 'I 
 have done my part.' " 
 
 "Dad, I feel greatly impressed that this is the 
 matter in a nutshell. Restoration is the way back 
 for a land-owner who uses the people's inheritance 
 without permission of Heaven or earth. But suppose 
 he will not relent nor retrieve his deed of malappro- 
 priation and selfish use, should he be 'lawed' for it?" 
 
 "Dear John, you have introduced the question of 
 society-dealing with a culprit; I am on a different 
 line. I have before me the converting of a sinner 
 from the error of his ways. Mine is a case of appeal 
 to the moral nature of a man. For God how kind it 
 is! has established in every man's breast a judg- 
 ment-seat that he may bring himself to self -judgment 
 and condemn himself ; and self -condemned and repent- 
 ant fly to the clemency of the great Judge. But re- 
 pentance is absolutely necessary. Confession without 
 restitution, prayer without the new life, is vain. But 
 now you have asked me as to civil government and 
 civil righteousness I am not afraid to speak plainly 
 with regard to it. The law is for all, and all are sub- 
 ject to its workings. No man can demand that a law 
 shall be made for himself only; for his own protec- 
 tion or benefit regardless of and detrimental to the 
 good of the rest of his fellows. Society has rights as 
 well as individuals. I call them collective rights. As 
 to the 'rights of property,' or 'property rights' 
 there are none. Property has no rights. Things 
 have nothing that they may claim as properly theirs. 
 Indeed, things cannot make claim at all. Only liv- 
 ing beings have rights. It is people who have rights. 
 And the lower creatures also. But I confine myself 
 to people humanity at large. Groups of humanity 
 
The Conversion of the Exploiter 311 
 
 as the inhabitants of a city; a nation; the world. 
 These have common rights. Rights with respect of 
 the earth in which they dwell ; the land on which they 
 walk and lie down; the soil which is the source of 
 their living." 
 
 "Dear Dad, I had not thought that 'property 
 rights/ 'rights of property/ were only words, terms 
 of selfish owners. I now see plainly that it is people 
 who have rights in respect of land as of everything 
 that is by nature common. Of course things, which 
 cannot see, or feel, or make claim, are in their very 
 nature subordinate and without rights; but, cer- 
 tainly, they should be used rightly, still if they are 
 not they do not consciously suffer." 
 
 "Now, John, as you have asked me, it is my im- 
 pression that the People have invested in them as 
 owners of the earth 'in one piece/ as the real estate 
 agent says of the acreage he offers for sale some- 
 thing to say with regard to it, and that they never 
 lose that right absolutely. So, if they find some of 
 the best parts of it have been acquired as private 
 property and is being worked for a narrow rather 
 than the public interest ; and indeed that its exploita- 
 tion degrades a part of its manhood and robs them 
 of a portion of their earnings, they have the right of 
 interference with that so-called ownership and evil 
 management. Such right is allowed and practiced 
 in some directions already. Thus a city condemns 
 certain property to perfect a street which is ob- 
 structed by houses in the center. And a roadway is 
 cut through a farm as a public highway. So the 
 right of interference by Society with private prop- 
 erty is not a new suggestion. And the same will 
 apply to all the squatter occupation of land in all 
 the world. Especially and most urgently to such 
 land as is the source of incalculable wealth, as the oil 
 fields. Amazing boldness that pumps it out into 
 
312 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 tanks for a few men, estranged in their greed from 
 a common humanity! Their 'dare* is perfection of 
 contempt for justice and religion. These are the 
 men who fear not God neither regard man. Re- 
 ligious? No; lowest-down thieves, in the abyss of 
 depravity. Society may at any time righteously stop 
 their conspiracies and eject them from the place of 
 their iniquity." 
 
 "Dear Dad, is not that Socialism?" 
 
 "I really cannot say, John ; I do not know exactly 
 what Socialism is. There are so many definitions of 
 its aims and the scope of its operations. Some say, 
 it is dividing up the world in severalty of lots or 
 farms. Rich people think it is robbing them of their 
 all to give to the poor. I do not think, with sensible 
 men called Socialists, it is anything of the kind; 
 certainly, not all the bad things it is called. I be- 
 lieve, generally, it is a system devised to equalize 
 man's condition on earth and make all contented. 
 The system of living I propose is outside all political 
 parties, but not in opposition to any good thing any 
 one of them may advocate. If Socialism is fairest 
 fairest to all then my sympathies must be larger 
 for Socialism than for any other proposed system of 
 human existence. But, of course, I think there is 
 nothing like the Community of Christian love; be- 
 cause I see in it the solution of all the perplexing 
 problems of Sociology." 
 
 "But Dad, you did not answer as to what rights 
 Society have in regard to public property that is 
 developed with usufruct for a handful of stock- 
 holders." 
 
 "John, I hold that in perfect justice, and without 
 any valid objection from occupiers called owners, 
 the State may proceed to replevin for the Common- 
 wealth the lands so acquired or seized and make of 
 them contributaries to the common benefit. I have 
 
The Conversion of the Exploiter 313 
 
 used the word 'replevin/ Do you know what that 
 term means? Suppose now you had some cattle or 
 household goods, and somebody claiming that you 
 owed him a debt came and drove off the cattle or 
 carted away the goods ; and suppose you denied your 
 liability; you could go to Court and upon giving 
 security obtain what is called a "Writ of Replevin/ 
 under which you could take back what had been 
 taken from you drive your cattle home, cart back 
 your furniture and your creditor-claimant could 
 not hinder you ; nor would he be able to molest you 
 till your case came up in Court and was tried upon 
 its merits and the evidence. This is almost a parallel 
 as regards the public owner the People, the State, 
 and the private owner, and exploiter. Men had an 
 inheritance the Earth. Individuals have appro- 
 priated parts of it to themselves. It has grown to 
 such proportions that much or most of what is de- 
 sirable and can be profitably worked is taken. So- 
 ciety is beginning to be sorely pinched by its loss and 
 its operation. If it should issue a writ of replevin to 
 take back its own who would have right to complain? 
 Who is injured? When individuals can establish 
 before the court of public fairness, the court of 
 equity, that it has a superior right to that of the 
 right of all, then should they have back their never- 
 owned lands/* 
 
 "Do you recommend that course, dear Dad ?" 
 "It is not for me to 'recommend* anything that has 
 force in it. Violence, even righteous violence, is not 
 my life nor my work. My work is only to show an 
 Associate life outside of the common life under civil 
 government. I seek to convert the sinner. I would 
 have him choose a better course. I only say, the 
 State, in my judgment, is above a citizen; and that 
 her laws as to property should be in force, instead 
 of the laws of an individual or corporation ; and that 
 
314 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 if she had substantial reason for taking back her 
 domain, or rather taking it out of private control for 
 injurious selfish ends, she has the right so to do. 
 Her right is good and sound as against a howling 
 robber." 
 
 "Dad, I do not see any flaw in your argument. I 
 know you are not meddling in the affairs of political 
 parties. But with you I think dispossession in cer- 
 tain cases is a right of the State. Howbeit you 
 would have all Christian men run together to Com- 
 munity, because God is there! May you convert, as 
 you wish, some hurtful exploiter and see him happy 
 in the Christian System of mutual love and united 
 work!" 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 God Requires Man's Love 
 
 "JOHN, we have spent many profitable hours to- 
 gether considering matters pertaining to brotherly 
 love, the neglected business of the day; let us now in 
 our last conference converse on the requirement 
 which Jesus says is ahead even of this, and which 
 puts first obligation upon us, namely, love of God 
 God, the author of our being. Our first duty, natural 
 and for reasons of loving-kindness upon His part, is 
 to give to Him our truest and most affectionate 
 attachment, the constantly upspringing emotion of 
 our heart and devotion of our hands. Demanded 
 of a lawyer which was the greatest commandment, 
 Jesus answered : Thou shalt love the Lord thy God 
 with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all 
 thy strength, and with all thy mind/ Bowing our 
 heads, let us take this commandment to heart as we 
 never have before to obey it, obey it utterly, and 
 ever increase in love of God. Thanks be to God that 
 we have already surrendered ourselves to Him; but 
 what room there still is for a more clinging and 
 a broader love. And for that greater cleaving and 
 wider devotion let us now give ourselves. How com- 
 prehensive is the command : all the affections, all the 
 vital force, all the energy of action, all the 
 intellect these, all these, are impressed into love of 
 God. I think of the words of David : 'Bless the Lord, 
 
316 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 my soul; and all that is within me bless His 
 holy name.' 'All that is within me/ all that is in- 
 cluded in self, love, bless God !" 
 
 "Dear Dad, that must be the supreme obligation 
 as well as requirement. To our Sire, the Father of 
 all, it needs no argument to convince us, must be due 
 our premier and whole-hearted attachment, fidelity, 
 regard. I shall be delighted if you can say anything 
 that will help me to love God better." 
 
 "Dear John, it is a matter of love, which is both a 
 principle and a passion. Sometimes, with humans, 
 it is only the latter; but love in its perfect state is 
 an abiding principle of regard and faithful intimacy. 
 It is not like mere passion that explodes, but it is a 
 steady flame of close and dear relationship. God is 
 to be dear God to us; His fellowship our delight; 
 thought of Him sweet. He is to be our beloved, our 
 best beloved ! And why should not the Father and 
 Preserver of our lives, and the Comforter of those 
 lives, be first in our eyes and heart? I find myself 
 heartily consenting with Jesus the Lord that loving 
 God is man's chief work upon earth. And still how 
 little is heard concerning it ; and what small labor is 
 bestowed even by teachers to make God beloved to 
 the hearts of men and to beseech all to love Him for 
 His merit, for His own love's sake. It seems that the 
 pulpit should never tire in effort to make everybody 
 fall in love with the living Father and the living 
 Christ; instead of scattering its energy on so many 
 subjects that relatively are of small importance. 
 For, as I get it from the Master, to love God and 
 one's neighbor is the whole duty of man; and what 
 is a man's whole duty he ought to hear about and 
 hear it often. I should be quite satisfied to have per- 
 sons invite me to spend from a day to a week at a 
 time to teach them the double love of God and of 
 humanity; but firstly the love of God. In that time 
 
God Requires Man's Love 317 
 
 I should hope to show them the reasons for such 
 love and constrain them to truly give their hearts 
 to God." 
 
 "Dear Dad, but love cannot be bestowed on any- 
 body at mere commandment to love, no more than 
 trust can be reposed in a stranger of whom we have 
 no knowledge. And then, you remember, God is 
 unseen, and for that reason but a dim reality to mil- 
 lions, and non-existing to many. Do you not think 
 there must be something endearing in one for whom 
 love is asked? and must there not be reality of being, 
 personal being, as an object for love? For if there is 
 to a man no God, no existing Deity; or if there is 
 conviction of such a Being but without personality, 
 qualities, principles, perfections in Him that are 
 attractive, again how can a man fulfill the command- 
 ment to love God ?" 
 
 "John, you have suggested the essentials for lov- 
 ing God His being and His goodness. Now, in my 
 own case, as a lover of God, I have found it neces- 
 sary for these to be established within me ; and every 
 day confirmation of them is requisite to feed and in- 
 crease my love for Him. And now I shall talk freely 
 to you about them, that our obedience may be more 
 pronounced and our love grow and flourish more 
 abundantly. I shall begin with God's being the 
 existence of God. The first question that arises is, is 
 there a God at all. Men use the word and attach to 
 it the idea of an Overlord ; but is there such a Being. 
 We see no form ; we hear no voice ; how can we have 
 assurance so as to be satisfied that there may be 
 ground of relationship between us and Him, and of 
 actions of any sort toward Him; and particularly 
 that sacred, solemn, joyous relationship of loving 
 devotion. A man should not be blamed as a skeptic 
 and as lacking proper moral feeling who when coun- 
 selled to throw himself into the arms of an unseen 
 
318 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 Being asks for satisfaction that there are Arms into 
 which to throw himself; that there is such an Object 
 to love. He should be respectfully and sympathet- 
 ically treated, and the evidence, the demonstration, 
 be given him that there are Arms, that there is such 
 a Being. The difficulty is that God is invisible as to 
 personal being. Hence, a man must be made sure 
 from other considerations than vision. And I thank 
 God it is not necessary to tax faith to hold to the 
 existence of God ; although belief is required of us in 
 regard to the testimony which God has borne to 
 Jesus, that He is His Son, and that He has given us 
 eternal life in Him." 
 
 "I think that is very important, Dad, that we do 
 not have to accept any man's word by faith to come 
 to assurance of the existence of a God; but that we 
 can verify it directly by our own intelligence and 
 rational faculty. Hence the charge that religion is 
 all credulity, 'blind faith/ is untrue. As you say, it 
 can be perceived by the mind of man that there is a 
 God, although He be not cognizable by the senses. 
 But some things are knowable by these senses, which 
 infallibly prove the reality of God's being." 
 
 "Yes, dear John, and I find it easy, one of the 
 easiest things in the world, at any moment, fo real- 
 ize that God is. Of that I shall speak later. But let 
 me tell you a story. A long time ago some sailors 
 were shipwrecked. They took to their boats and 
 rowed to an island that was in sight. Was it in- 
 habited ? or was it not? they queried. Walking along 
 the sands they saw the imprint of feet fresh, re- 
 cently made. They now knew the island was in- 
 habited, although they had not seen one of the na- 
 tives. It is not necessary to see God to be certain 
 beyond doubt of His existence. His footprints are 
 everywhere in the world. By day we behold His 
 works; and when darkness has enveloped the earth 
 
God Requires Man's Love 319 
 
 we are still face to face with the things He has made. 
 Why do I say, 'His works/ and 'things which He 
 has made'? Because I know no man could have 
 made them; and I am therefore shut up to the 
 only remaining conviction that it was God. For let 
 us go out to-night and what shall we see? The moon 
 as placid as serenity herself; the sky studded with 
 brilliant lamps. Somebody put them in their place, 
 as well as made them. Man is not of magnitude 
 enough. And there are no hooks to hang them upon. 
 Who but God could have lighted and suspended the 
 stars in the heaven ? But creations imply a Creator, 
 and acts an actor. All this is independent of faith. 
 It is observation and reflection. We see the things ; 
 we reason God's existence. The Apostle Paul wrote : 
 The invisible things of God, from the creation of 
 the world are clearly seen, being understood by the 
 things that are made, even His eternal power and 
 Godhead/ and he adds to this, of those who do not 
 know Him, 'they are without excuse/ " 
 
 "Yes, Dad, a man who denies the existence of God 
 is without excuse. It is preposterous, and an insult 
 to our intelligence, to speak of a self -evolved order. 
 There never was such a thing; there can never be. 
 The idea that all things tumbled into shapes as we 
 have them, and became of themselves perfect work- 
 ing creatures, is a lunatic's wisdom. Let the dis- 
 puter cart a load of dirt and stones to an eminence 
 and pitch them over a precipice and see if they will 
 become a man or even a donkey (like himself!) 
 Creation proclaims a Creator. God is ! Yes, He is ! 
 Then, also, without faith, let a man consider the 
 power God has implanted in a human being : by will 
 he can take in and retain persons and things not 
 present, which are invisible. Why this faculty, if 
 not primarily to make it possible for the creature to 
 have his Creator with him, although He dwells in 
 
320 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 'the secret place/ and is undiscernible by mortal 
 eyes? Other reasons for this construction and en- 
 dowment can be mentioned, but the leading one is 
 that man might be able to apprehend God as the 
 Living One, a Reality of existence. 'Understand/ 
 said the Psalmist, 'ye brutish among the people ; and 
 ye fools, when will ye be wise ? He that planted the 
 ear shall He not hear? and He that formed the eye, 
 shall He not see ?' It is unreason not to reply affirm- 
 atively. The power of making present beings and 
 things that are absent ; the faculty of seeing the non- 
 visible, plainly says to us that God has made possible 
 apprehension of Himself although He is in heaven 
 and not with us in any form. But there is a nearer 
 and still more decisive proof, apart from faith, of 
 God's existence, which is bound up with His benevo- 
 lence, that I shall mention later. Let it be, without 
 further words, that to us God is. The Object exists. 
 Exists not as diffused quality, but as a Personality. 
 A self-conscious, all-conscious Being. An Intelli- 
 gency. Somebody to be loved. Less than that I 
 could not conceive of, to love and trust and imitate. 
 Truth, justice, power, love are not sufficient. There 
 must be a truth Speaker; a justice Renderer; a power 
 Exerter; a love Bestower God himself. A soul 
 need not cry out for somebody to love. If men are 
 unloving, and do not attach us to themselves, there 
 is yet One in whom to anchor our affectionate nature 
 God." 
 
 "Dear Dad, but is this Being of the unseen lov- 
 able? Or is He a great, a frightful, a forbidding 
 ogre? And has anybody in all history been able to 
 love Him? Dad, I am talking about love, remem- 
 ber ; and you know love in a child cuddles its mother, 
 and throws its arms around its father's neck, and is 
 happy and oblivious to evil as though no such thing 
 existed." 
 
God Requires Man's Love 321 
 
 "John, the One of whom I speak is most lovable 
 and attractive. In fact, to know Him as He truly is, 
 and in His acts and purposes, is to love Him. It is 
 a can't-help-it case. But you may say to me, How 
 then is it that all are not wrapped up in Him? I 
 answer, they have never known Him. There is both 
 knowing about Him by report of others ; and know- 
 ing Him by personal transactions 'experience' it 
 is sometimes called. Taking notice* is necessary 
 for both. A scripture says, talking of God's preserv- 
 ing care, 'Whoso is wise and will observe these 
 things, he shall understand the lovingkindness of 
 the Lord.' We need to be good observers. But now, 
 still, to be assured of God's love, of His great all- 
 benevolence, before we come to the Gospel and to 
 faith (the highest exhibition of Divine love) , let me 
 ask you to give attention to your own being, that 
 you may see how benevolence and beneficence shine 
 out in man's very construction. When God made 
 Adam He by no means had in His mind the making 
 of a machine a working thing. He had before His 
 all-wisdom idea of a happy intelligency. Although 
 He did not make Adam sufficient unto himself, that 
 is, self-satisfying apart from his Creator and his 
 Creator's communion or fellowship, yet He created 
 him so that every part ministered to the other what 
 it needed for a full life, and then He placed his 
 creature in a charming environment; and I do not 
 see what more He could do to make man happy. 
 But the fact of His arranging to make him thus 
 happy shows the goodness of God, the benevolence 
 of His nature and heart. For if He had not enter- 
 tained good thoughts about man He would not have 
 cared nor planned nor wrought for his happy being. 
 The fact that He did is proof of His good heart." 
 
 "Dad, how, in what, did He so benevolently design 
 and create man to see good days, as well as to take 
 in the vital air?" 
 
322 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 "Reflect, John, on how the body is constructed and 
 furnished for its preservation and comfort; of 
 course, the mind being made correspondingly good. 
 God gave you two eyes : what for? For four things : 
 1, To 'look into the eyes and faces of father, mother, 
 wife, child, friend. A blind child who recovered 
 her sight went into raptures at first view of her 
 mother. 2, To enable you to go about safely in the 
 world see dangers of pit-hole, precipice, morrass 
 and avoid them. 3, To earn a living go to your 
 work, see the job, use your tools, see your home, food, 
 etc. 4, To gaze upon your beautiful habitation the 
 earth, with its mountains, valleys, plains, rivers, 
 oceans, and so forth. For communion, safety, neces- 
 sity, pleasure, God made your eyes. Can you not 
 read between the lines that He cared thus for you 
 because He loved you ? Then He gave you two ears. 
 There are sounds of trilling birds in the world, 
 gurgles of limpid streams, the hum of living nature, 
 and above all the voice of man. Knowledge comes 
 in part by observation and action of beings and 
 things upon us in our daily life, but chiefly by the liv- 
 ing voice. He created you capable of pleasant com- 
 munications, of hearing the wisdom of others, of 
 conversation : why ? that you might not be lonely in 
 the world; that you might gain from the general 
 knowledge. Why did He care as to this except that 
 He loved you ? God made you with two hands. Had 
 He not, how dependent you would have been upon 
 others. They would have been obliged to give you 
 your living, feed you, dress you, do everything for 
 you. But His goodness made you independent of 
 other folks' hands, and a minister not merely to your 
 own wants but to those of others likewise. Did you 
 ever feel emotion of gratitude to God that you could 
 do for yourself?" 
 
 "Why, Dad, how many things there are that I had 
 
God Requires Man's Love 323 
 
 not noticed as love for thanks to God; that I have 
 never taken account of as tokens of Divine good- 
 ness." 
 
 "John, this is but the beginning. God made you 
 with feet, so that you are not compelled to be all your 
 life in one place, but can go hither and thither and 
 have variety of scenery; and if you are good, visit 
 the house of bereavement, poverty, imprisonment, 
 and be a very angel of heaven to the unhappy. How 
 good of Him to give you the means of locomotion and 
 fill your life with such interesting and recreative 
 change. And I could continue and refer to all the 
 senses, organs, parts of the human frame, not one of 
 which was made unbenevolently, that is, unthought- 
 ful of man's good; but, contrariwise, were created 
 and adapted to each other with that good in view. 
 'Good God/ we have to exclaim, as we consider our- 
 selves. He who is happy in His own existence, being 
 good, did everything to make us happy in ours. I 
 do not know one thing about man's construction that 
 was not love working for the creature's good. And 
 then when God made man He put him in the midst 
 of all beauty and fragrance and sweetness, with sup- 
 ply and gratification for every sense with which He 
 had furnished him, showing that He cared for man's 
 habitat and environment, and that it is His will that 
 man should live in a paradise, and not in a hovel as 
 if he were nothing of value or nobility. And when 
 He gave him work, it was not such work as the 
 wicked exploiter and the evil system of industrialism 
 puts upon men. Tell me, for the home God furnished 
 Adam, and the pleasant work He gave him for occu- 
 pation of his mind and body, is not God good? How 
 different He is from the gods that are not God; the 
 creations of the distorted brains of wretched men. 
 The Lord is good'; '0 taste and see that the Lord is 
 good' : it has been the song of the ages. God is, and 
 God is good !" 
 
324 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 "But Dad, is there not another side? President 
 emeritus Eliot of Harvard College same out recently 
 with an article in which he severely, almost savagely 
 attacked God (Jehovah) as a very bad God, who 
 committed all sorts of atrocities ; and certainly, there 
 are some passages in the Old Testament that do not 
 run in pairs with New Testament scriptures: what 
 do you say about that?" 
 
 "John, the man Eliot you speak of, because he 
 knows a few things they are very few and be- 
 cause he has been placed in the chair of a pedagogue, 
 has lost sense of decency in putting God think of it, 
 God! on trial; and his remarks about Him are wild 
 and unreliable, and show him an enemy of God as 
 well as injurious to man. Of course, what he says is 
 a travesty, almost a burlesque of the facts. For all 
 Mr. Eliot says, 'Yahweh, He is the God; Yahweh, 
 He is the God;' And He is a 'good* God! What 
 God did of old, acting in the severity of justice, He 
 had right to do as God; and it was 'good* for the 
 world, although not for the sinners whom He de- 
 stroyed, root and branch. Certainly God is good in 
 His forbearance of enemies whose lives are all pollu- 
 tion and robbery. And if after bearing with them 
 He at last proceeds to judgment wherein does He do 
 wrong? Is it not true, that 'He maketh His sun to 
 rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain 
 on the just and on the unjust' ? Is it not true, that 
 men 'despise the riches of His goodness and His for- 
 bearance' ? And if at last he considers some too vile 
 to be longer suffered to live and wipes them off the 
 face of the earth, who is this man Eliot that he should 
 stand up and vilify Him and accuse Him of being a 
 bad God? Of course Mr. Eliot must know that the 
 dispensation of grace and the proffer of salvation by 
 Jesus Christ had not yet arrived; and that before 
 that time God made but partial revelation of Himself, 
 
God Requires Man's Love 325 
 
 unfolded Himself but in measure ; and it is not proper 
 modesty in a creature to criticize God when He pro- 
 ceeds to just retribution. As to God being simply a 
 national god, the god of the Jews He was God in 
 Israel, and He was in covenant with Abraham His 
 friend and with his posterity ; but He was not 'good' 
 to them to favor them if they were wicked, simply 
 because they were Hebrews. The Bible puts it thus 
 (let the unfair man be fair) : Truly, God is good to 
 Israel, to such as are of a clean heart/ and He will 
 only have those come up to Him in His temple who 
 have 'clean hands and a pure heart' people who 
 work righteousness. And He claims to be 'the God 
 of the whole earth', to whom 'all flesh shall come/ 
 Yahweh did 'establish a testimony in Jacob and ap- 
 pointed a law in Israel.' I purpose, God willing, 
 answering fully these God-defamers. I repeat, God 
 is good; God is lovable." 
 
 "Yes, Dad, God is lovable; so say a great host who 
 love Him because He is lovable, and more than that, 
 a Lover of men. As says the Apostle John, 'We love 
 Him because He first loved us.' But I am thinking 
 now of some of the sayings of those who loved God. 
 I recall, as chief of them, David, King of Israel. 
 'I will go,' said he, 'unto the altar of my God; unto 
 God, my exceeding joy.' The margin has it, 'unto 
 God, the gladness of my joy.' Hear his exclamations 
 to God : 'Thou Lord hast made me glad through thy 
 work; I will rejoice in the works of Thy hands.' 
 'Thou hast put gladness in my heart more than in 
 the time that their corn and their wine increased/ 
 As he thinks of God, listen to what he says : 'I will 
 sing unto the Lord as long as I live ; I will sing praise 
 to my God while I have any being. My meditation 
 of Him shall be sweet; I will be glad in the Lord/ 
 Hearken again: 'In the multitude of my thoughts 
 within me, Thy comforts delight my soul/ His ex- 
 
326 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 hortation to all is: '0 taste and see that the Lord 
 is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in Him/ 
 In an outburst of soul he exclaims : 'I love the Lord/ 
 and he had a 'because' for his love; and stimulates 
 others to a like love, saying, '0 love the Lord, ye His 
 saints/ God was 'good' in the eyes of the Psalmist. 
 He was lovable; his heart's dear refuge. And if 
 that Philistine Eliot, with no part in Zion and its 
 King, had stood on the ground beneath the ramparts 
 of Jerusalem vilifying the God of Israel, as he is 
 doing to-day, and had called upon David to forsake 
 the Holy One his beloved, methinks he would have 
 taken no notice of him as a foe beneath his regard, 
 or have rolled a big stone upon his ribald pate ! Cer- 
 tainly, Yahweh was to David no such being as He 
 is to the apostate of Harvard College. And who was 
 right, David or the ex-president? If David was 
 wrong he derived a great deal of good out of his 
 error; which is more than Mr. Eliot can get out of 
 his correction of the God-blessed man." 
 
 "Dear John, please let me talk further of loving 
 God. You see, my obpect is to join all hearts to the 
 great Heart ; for I am sure the Unseen One is Heart, 
 although some only think Him as Mind. I have 
 hitherto kept away from faith, and asked for love 
 for God for things visible. One of these things is 
 the goodness of God in His supply of all His 
 creatures ; in making seasons and giving food to all. 
 'The earth is full of His goodness/ What a bountiful 
 God He is ! What an abundance there is every year 
 for all ! the crops overflow the barns ! I said, God 
 gives these crops. If one should say, This is a state- 
 ment only ; I ask who gives the increase, if not God ? 
 Somebody does ! We put the seed into the furrow we 
 have made and cover it up. Rain falls; the sun 
 shines. The rain belongs to somebody; and so the 
 sun. I have never yet heard any man say they are 
 
God Requires Man's Love 327 
 
 his. Whose are they but His whom we see not? We 
 do not set in operation the forces that cause germina- 
 tion and growth and that ripens the fruits of the soil. 
 Somebody does. Somebody with a good mind toward 
 us. Somebody who would have us live, and who gives 
 us better than opportunity, supply. The selfish 
 economic system goes no farther in our help than 
 opportunity an equal opportunity to live, which it 
 does not give; the new system of Christian living 
 that I teach does better than that, it ensures supply. 
 Well, here is supply. Autumn comes; cereals and 
 fruits are full and brown or red-ripe. Somebody is 
 very good to us. do not mention the exploiters. 
 The thieves and rascals, so far from giving us any- 
 thing intercept the bounty of God intended for all, so 
 that we do not get our own. God is displeased and 
 will deal with them for it. We are poor because our 
 share is seized and carried off. But for all that God 
 is good. He is Giver. What I see of God's provi- 
 dence convinces me He loves me." 
 
 "Dear Dad, so many times do we read in Scrip- 
 ture, 'The Lord is good.' It is not moral quality that 
 is meant, but the Divine beneficence. Supply, pro- 
 tection, watching-over with much affection. The 
 goodness of this Good One is unceasing to all. The 
 'good' is good that fills fills others. 'Thou openest 
 Thy hand, they [all creatures] are filled with good.' 
 'Being good' with God, is more than being holy and 
 righteous ; many who are very decent in their private 
 lives have not learned that being good is being benefi- 
 cent, munificent. God is both, by every-day proof. 
 It ought to be easy to love Him. And it is, to those 
 who, having eyes, see, and who, having hearts, feel. 
 'Thou shalt love' this good God! The marvel with 
 me is that so many do not love God." 
 
 "Dear John, I am sure such constancy in care-tak- 
 ing and providing must appeal to the thoughtful. Of 
 
328 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 course there are other reasons that appeal to us to 
 give God our heart. There is, and perhaps it should 
 have been mentioned by me first, His own personal 
 peerless rectitude, His individual excellence and per- 
 fection. It is what we call the moral perfection of 
 Deity. I fall down in admiration as I gaze upon God 
 and see what He is in Himself. What God is is made 
 manifest to us in what He does. A man is exactly 
 as he intends, and he acts as he intends. How mar- 
 vellous is God himself. As I love the true, the pure, 
 the faithful, the kind, so I love the embodiment of 
 these virtues and qualities. And God has in Himself, 
 perfect and infinite, every one of these good qualities 
 and all others. It does not take faith even to see 
 this. I am going to make a statement of a great truth 
 that was not given me until to-day ; it is this : There 
 is no standard anywhere, in any being, or in any 
 myth, of holy, moral principle outside of God. He 
 only, in His life toward us, is the core and example 
 of all the virtues! All you have to do to know the 
 principles of God is to see on what side He is in all 
 matters; what He stands for and insists on; with 
 what He is pleased and what gives Him offense; 
 whom He rewards and whom He punishes. You will 
 find every time that He is on the good side. He is 
 true in all His statements; faithful in all His rela- 
 tionships, and in a word, 'Good and upright is the 
 Lord/ And that is lovable by the man of principle 
 and honor. It is easy to love God because He is al- 
 ways a God of rectitude, and there is no unrighteous- 
 ness in Him." 
 
 "O Dad, what a subject this is ! We should have 
 many conferences upon God, and loving God. And I 
 think if this was presented to men properly there 
 would be many more adherents to Him, not in name 
 but in truth real lovers of God." 
 
 "John, I must now come to faith; but even faith 
 
I 
 
 Vv 
 
 ' 
 
 God Requires Man's Love 329 
 
 becomes knowledge to those who believe. It is like 
 trying or testing a thing on the word of another ; but 
 when you have made the test you no longer believe, 
 you know. But this knowledge those only have who 
 make the trial. Suppose a man should show you two 
 samples of powders. They are both white. He says 
 to you : 'This is sugar. It is sweet to the taste/ 'And 
 this', says he, pointing to the other powder, 'is salt. 
 It makes food palatable, preserves meat, etc.* You 
 know now both about sugar and salt ; and again you 
 do not know. But now put a spoonful of sugar into 
 your mouth, and you can testify against all the world 
 that has never tried it that sugar is sweet. So of 
 salt. Sprinkle a little over your food and eat, and 
 you know what salt is in relation to food as you 
 never would know without using. This is a parable 
 of the Gospel received and obeyed, lived as to its 
 commandments. the best way in which God is 
 good and most lovable is told us in the words : 'God 
 sent His Son into the world that we might live 
 through Him/ 'God sent not His Son into the world 
 to condemn the world, but that the world through 
 Him might be saved/ 'God so loved the world that 
 He gave Jlis only begotten Son, that whosoever be- 
 lie veth in Him should not perish, but have everlast- 
 ing life/ Herein is love ; wonderful love. Salvation 
 becomes known by faith ; but when we have believed 
 it is knowledge. We know we are saved. And we 
 love God for salvation experienced, enjoyed/' 
 
 "Glorious is it, dear Dad, to have love bestowed 
 upon us unto salvation and preparation for every 
 good work, and for glorification in the hereafter." 
 
 "Dear John, 'Thou shalt love the Lord, thy God!' 
 the saved are so happy because God through Christ 
 has brought them out of the mire into which they 
 were sinking to complete submergence and put them 
 
 upon firm ground, they know not how to contain 
 
330 The New Christian System of Living 
 
 themselves for love. To persons of propriety who 
 have never been saved they may seem to be excited 
 and a lot of other things that I admit do not look very 
 decorous. But then, you know, it is always so in 
 great crises ; when the matter has turned for the bet- 
 ter. The father who received back his prodigal son 
 did make some 'fuss' over it. Why did he not take it 
 in a common-place way ? Why that boy was his son. 
 And he had not seen him for many years. And he 
 had given him up for dead. But now he is in his 
 arms! And that boy, in rags, without sandals on his 
 feet, hungry, and saying himself that he had ex- 
 hausted all his rights as a son (which he really had) , 
 received by his father so kindly, the old man's tears 
 dropping upon his face, it made some effect, believe 
 me; and he could not feel ordinary in such extraor- 
 dinary circumstances! how I should like Mr. 
 Proper to be Mr. Saved. There would be an imme- 
 diate change. such love for God! Such uncalcu- 
 lating love ! Such whole-hearted love ! Such devoted 
 love ! 'Thy first love/ it is called in Scripture." 
 
 "Dear Dad, 'Christ died for our sins/ God 'made 
 Him to be a sin-offering for us/ 'He is our peace/ 
 as we accept Him. Reconciliation and righteousness 
 are ours. 'Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and 
 it doth not yet appear what we shall be ; but we know 
 that when He shall appear we shall be like Him/ 
 'Like Him and with Him !' is on our banner ! 'Blessed 
 be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who 
 hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ 
 Jesus/ Blessed be the One who 'hath begotten us 
 to a hope of life [living again] , by the resurrection of 
 Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incor- 
 ruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away/ 
 He who believes all this will keep the first command- 
 ment, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God/ And as it 
 is commanded us that we show or give proof of our 
 
God Requires Man's Love 331 
 
 love for God the unseen by loving man the seen, we 
 shall be converted from the selfish life, from the life 
 of exploitation of others. We shall then find that the 
 Community of mutual love and service is our con- 
 genial state upon earth, until Jesus comes. Dad, I 
 with you will love God as He commands, by loving 
 the brethren for His dear sake. And the most 
 solaceful and gratifying thought that lingers with me 
 is this : 'If any man love God, the same is known of 
 Him/ He knows every beat of the heart toward His 
 dear Self ! He knows all the help given the brethren 
 and the world at large to please Him. He knows; 
 He knows! And that is enough!'* 
 
ANOTHER BOOK BY THE SAME 
 AUTHOR 
 
 To be published as soon as 500 advance orders are 
 received at $1.50 per copy to pay the cost of pro- 
 duction, or some earnest Christian man will provide 
 the necessary money, a second volume, dealing with 
 Sociological matters left out of the present volume. 
 Its title is to be 
 
 LIVE EMBERS; 
 
 OR 
 
 THOUGHTS TO IGNITE THINKING MEN 
 
 The size will be the same as this book and printed 
 in the same clear type. Commercialism is not the 
 basis of the productions of the pen of the Author, 
 but service real service of love; and co-operation 
 is asked of all who for their works* sake are worthy 
 to be fellows in the propagation of righteousness and 
 brotherly love. 
 
 Are you a Soldier of the Common Good? Cor- 
 respondence is invited from such. Address : 
 
 W. KELLAWAY, 
 
 318 East Third Street. 
 Los Angeles, Cal. 
 
 It is purposed to issue a 16-page prospectus of the 
 new work. Readers sending their names will have 
 their addresses put on file for a copy when ready. 
 
UNIVEKSITY OF CALIFOENIA LIBKAEY, 
 BEEKELEY 
 
 THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE 
 STAMPED BELOW 
 
 Books not returned on time are subject to a fine of 
 50c per volume after the third day overdue, increasing 
 to $1.00 per volume after the sixth day. Books not in 
 demand may be renewed if application is made before 
 expiration of loan period. 
 
 15w-12,'24 
 
/ 
 
 424545