religion, we find that except where they have
borrowed from Christian nations, they have made no progress in fifteen
hundred years. Here, all have the advantage of Christian ideals, and
yet, according to statistics, something more than half the adult males
of the United States are not connected with any religious organization.
Some scoff at religion, and a few are outspoken enemies of the Church.
Can they be blind to the benefits conferred by our churches? Security of
life and property is not entirely due to criminal laws, to a sheriff in
each county, and to an occasional policeman. The conscience comes first;
the law comes afterward.

Law is but the crystallization of conscience; moral sentiment must be
created before it can express itself in the form of a statute. Every
preacher and priest, therefore, whether his congregation be large or
small, who quickens the conscience of those who hear him helps the
community. Every church of every denomination, whether important or
unimportant, that helps to raise the moral standards of the land
benefits all who live under the flag, whether they acknowledge their
obligations or not.

But lack of appreciation on the part of those outside the Church would
not disturb us so much if all the church members lived up to their
obligations. How much is it worth to one to be born again? Of what value
is it to have had the heart touched by the Saviour and so changed that
it loves the things it used to hate and hates the things it formerly
loved? Of what value is it to have one's life so transformed that,
instead of resembling a stagnant pool, it becomes like a living spring,
giving forth constantly that which refreshes and invigorates? What is it
worth to the Christian, and what is it worth to those about him, to
have his life brought by Christ into such vital living contact with the
Heavenly Father, that that life becomes the means through which the
goodness of God pours out to the world?

But, I go a step farther and ask whether the Church as an
organization--not any one denomination, but the Church
universal--appreciates its great opportunities, its tremendous
responsibility, and the infinite power behind it. If the Church is what
we believe it to be it must be prepared to grapple with every problem,
individual and social, whether it affects only a community or involves
a state, a nation, or a world. There must be _some_ intelligence large
enough to direct the world or the world will