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VOL.
XXIX
ALLEGHENY,
PA.,
SEPTEMBER
1,1908
VIEWS
FROM
THE
WATCH
TOWER
No.
17
DISCOURAGED
PREACHERS
Ministers
are
reported
by
one
of
their
number
to
be
in
a
permanent
condition
of
"Blue
Monday."
The
editor
of
The
Standard
(Baptist,
Chicago)
informs
us
that
he
was
told
by
a
friend
not
long
ago
that
"nine-tenths
of
all
the
preachers
in
his
circle
of
acquaintances
are
discouraged."
This
.same
Jeremiah
"asserted
that
the
great
majority
of
pastors
are
practically
hopeless
of
accomplishing
anJ'-thing
worth
while;
that
they
are
restless
and
discontented,
and
heartily
wish
that
they
had
never
entered
the
ministry."
If
he
is
right,
the
editor
of
The
Standard
observes,
"we
may
add
another
to
the
tabulated
reasons
why
young
men
do
not
enter
the
ministry."
The
editor
thinks
that
the
preacher,
under
stress
of
unusual
discouragement
himself,
is
mistaken,
but
the
Rev.
Dr.
Aked,
in
a
recent
sermon
on
the
alleged
decay
of
Christianity
in
New
York,
practically
asserted
the
same
facts
as
falling
under
his
observation
when
he
first
visited
America.
As
quoted
by
The
Examiner
(New
York),
his
words
are:
"One
of
the
things
that
impressed
me
most
when
I
came
here
for
a
month
in
the
autumn
of
1906,
was
the
depression
of
so
many
preachers
and
recognized
leaders
in
the
churches
of
this
city.
I
met
many
representatives
of
the
denominations,
and
their
discouragement
about
Chris
tian
work
in
this
city
seemed
very
strange
to
me.
,
'It
was
unlike
anything
I
had
observed
on
previous
vi.sits,
reaching
back
about
fifteen
years.
It
seemed
to
me,
also,
so
unlike
yourselves.
The
American
people
are
not
easily
discouraged.
There
is
in
you
a
buoyancy
of
spirit,
an
irrepressible
vitality,
an
intellectual
and
emo
tional
agility
which
smiles
in
the
face
of
difficulty.
"We
English
people
have
shown
through
many
centuries
the
grim
determination
we
possess,
and
our
Yorkshire
say
ing,
'It's
dogged
as
does
it,'
represents
a
national
char
acteristic.
With
you
it
is
different.
It
is
not
'grimness'
nor
'doggedness'
that
I
find
in
you
so
much
as
a
joyous
and
.sunny
disregard
of
difficulty,
and
the
easy
assurance
of
victory
everywhere,
which
itself
is
more
than
half
the
battle,
so
that
this
attitude
toward
the
problems
of
religious
life
struck
me
as
significant.
"I
have
heard
much
of
that
kind
of
talk
since
I
came
here
more
than
twelve
months
ago.
First,
one
well-known
preacher
or
worker
and
then
another
has
shown
that
in
his
opinion
Christianity
is
not
holding
its
own
in
this
city.
And
lately
some
remarkable
utterances
have
reached
the
public
ear."
The
editor
of
The
Standard
attempts
to
furnish
healing
balm
to
the
cases
that
may
come
under
the
preacher's
clas
sification.
We
read:
,
'To
be
sure,
almost
every
man,
in
the
ministry
CIl'
out,
has
his
hours
of
depression.
The
minister
who
goes
home
from
the
Sunday
evening
service
after
speaking
to
a
hand
ful
of
people,
a
majority
of
whom
are
not
members
of
his
church,
somewhat
worn
by
the
wark
of
the
day,
casting
about
in
his
mind
for
something
upon
which
to
preach
on
the
following
Sunuay,
carrying
in
his
heart
the
news,
just
mauc
known
to
him,
that
one
of
his
best
families
will
.soon
remove
to
a
distant
State,
will
doubtless
feel
cast
down.
But
even
so,
his
cOlll'age
is
not
utterly
destroyed.
After
a
good
night's
rest
and
a
talk
with
his
Master,
he
goes
about
the
tasks
of
the
new
week
with
a
good
measure
of
hope
in
his
heart.
The
man
who
is
permanently
disheartened
by
one
difficulty,
or
two
or
three
or
a
dozen,
ought
not
to
be
in
the
ministry.
In
fact,
it
is
difficult
to
think
of
a
place
in
this
world
where
he
ought
to
be,
for
there
is
not
a
worthy
activity
of
man
that
can
be
continuously
prose
cuted
without
meeting
obstacles.
The
lawyer,
the
physician,
the
fal'l11er,
the
merchant-each
has
his
peculiar
trials.
If
he
amounts
to
anything'
among
men
he
mu.st
no
his
work
in
spite
of
discouragements.
The
minister
is
no
exception
to
the
general
rule.'
'-Lttc'taI'JJ
Dtgest.
TOLSTOI
AND
THE
PEASANT
Not
long
ago
a
small
party
called
on
Tolstoi,
of
whom
Ivanhoff
was
one.
One
of
the
visitars
first
conversed
with
the
Count
about
political
and
social
matters.
Then
Ivan
hoff's
turn
came.
He
wa.s
resolve.]
to
hear
from
Tolstoi's
own
lips
his
religious
position.
The
following'
canversation
ensu~d.
"Who
are
you'"
aske.]
Count
Tolstoi.
"I
am
only
1'I
peasant,"
answered
Ivanhoff.
"What
have
you
got
to
5ay
to
me'"
was
the
next
question.
'
'I
wish
to
knaw
your
opinion
about
Jesus
Chri.st,
and
about
the
Holy
Scriptures
1"
"With
regard
to
.Tesus
Christ,
there
is
noth
ing
to
be
said,"
answered
the
Count.
"His
Personality
is
not
necessary
to
us,
only
his
teaching."
"That
is
very
.strange,"
said
Ivanhoff;
"if
I
found
a
letter
in
the
street,
the
contents
of
which
interested
me,
I
would
do
all
I
could
to
find
out
who
had
written
it.
For
me,
at
any
rate,
the
writer
is
of
more
consequence
than
the
letter.
The
writer
can
write
one
hundred
other
letters
equally
good,
as
this
first
letter.
He
himself,
therefore,
is
of
more
interest
to
me
than
the
letter.
If
I
do
not
know
him,
I
can
only
have
this
one
letter;
but
if
I
am
acquainted
with
him,
I
may
be
able
to
receive
a
hundred
letters
be
sides.'
,
"As
you
really
want
to
know
what
I
think
of
Jesus,
I
will
tell
you,"
said
Tolstoi.
"For
me,
Jesus
Christ
is
a
good
man,
a
man
such
as
all
men
ought
to
?e.
You
and.I
ought
to
be
just
as
he
was.
But
to
call
hIm
God,
that
IS
blasphemy.
As
regards
the
Holy
Scriptures,
take
this
Bible
in
your
hand.
The
Old
Testament,
I
don't
read
it;
rather
tear
it
out
and
throw
it
away.
The
Old
Testament
only
causes
as
the
Dukhabors
rightly
say,
a
great
deal
of
work
and
~ly
leans
to
trouble.
Then
there
remains
the
New
Testament.
Take
the
book
of
Acts
and
the
Epistles,
and
then
take
Revelation;
tear
them
out
and
throw
them
away.
You
have
then
only
the
four
Gospels
left.
Take
these
Gospels
read
them
through
and
think
over
them.
There
are
wo;a.s
there
that
Jesus
said,
and
the
Apostles
have
writ
ten
down'
there
are
also
words
that
the
Apostles
have
writ
ten
of
themselves.
All
that
the
Apostles
have
written,
tear
out
and
throwaway.
Now
you
retain
only
the
words
that
Jesus
himself
spoke.
Of
these,
there
are
two
classes.
Some
of
the
words
are
dim
and
mysterious,
and
hard
to
understand.
Lay
them
aside.
It
is
best
for
you
not
to
read
them.
Then
you
have
left
only
the
clear
words,
especially
the
Sermon
on
the
Mount.
Read
it,
for
it
is
the
teaching
of
Jesus.
In
this
way,
you
will
become
a
Christian."
"Leo
Nikolajewitsch,"
answered
I
vanhoff,
"I
have
un
derstood
what
you
have
said.
But
you
have
not
given
me
any
right
to
do
that
which
you
have
said.
In
one
of
the
books
you
left
me
to
retain
is
a
passage
spoken
by
Jesus
Christ
that
says:
'0
fools,
and
slow
of
heart
to
believe
all
th~t
the
prophets
have
spoken.'
(Luke
24:25.)
You
said
to
me,
that
I
should
throwaway
the
Old
Testament;
but
Christ
himself-whom
you
call
a
good
man-has
com
manded
me
to
believe
it
all,
therefore
also
the
prophets.
I
hold
that
I
have
no
right
to
throwaway
any
book;
yea,
even
more,
that
I
have
no
right
to
throwaway
anyone
word
that
he
has
commanded
me
to
believe."
Tolstoi
was
evidently
very
uncomfortable.
He
took
the
Bible
from
Ivanhoff's
hand,
threw
it
on
the
table,
and
be
gan
walking
up
and
down
the
room
in
an
annoyed
mood.
Suddenly
he
stopped
in
front
of
Ivanhoff,
and
looking
him
straight
in
the
face
said,
"It
would
interest
me
to
know
what
you
think
of
me?"
Ivanhoff's
friend
wanted
to
come
to
his
help,
but
he
held
him
back
saying:
"If
the
Count
had
asked
you,
you
could
answer,
but
now
he
has
asked
me,
and
I
want
to
an
swer
him
myself."
He
turned
to
Tolstoi
saying:
'
'I
will
tell
you.
In
one
of
the
books
that
you
told
me
to
take
out
and
throwaway,
the
Acts,
is
a
story
about
a
pious
man,
who
gave
many
alms
and
always
prayed
to
God.
As
you
see,
this
man
had
the
following
virtues:
He
was
God
fearing,
merciful,
did
many
good
deeds,
and
he
prayed
and
yet,
he
was
not
a
Christian.
But
an
angel
appeared
to
him
and
commanded
that
he
should
send
to
Joppa
and
call
Simon
Peter,
who
would
tell
him
what
to
do
to
be
saved.
And
when
Cornelius
had
fetched
Peter
and
heard
his
words
he
became
a
Christian.
Corneliu.s
had,
as
you
see,
the
fol
lowing
excellent
qUlllities:
He
was
pious,
God-fearing,
be
nevolent,
and
he
prayed.
In
you,
Leo
Nikolajewitsch,
there
is
not
even
all
these,
because
you
do
not
pray.
And
as
you
do
not
pray,
I
cannot
call
you
a
Christian."
Tolstoi
again
began
to
walk
to
and
fro
in
the
room.
At
last
he
said:
"When
a
chicken
has
once
come
out
O'f
the
shell,
it
cannot
be
put
back."
With
this
Russian
proverb,
the
conversation
ended.
"I
have
since
told
this
little
incident-
to
several
of
Tol
stoi's
admirers,"
adds
I
vanhoff.
"They
could
hardly
be
lieve
that
I
had
dared
to
speak
out
so
freely,
because
Tolstoi
is
to
many
thousand.s
of
the
younger
Russians
almost
an
idol.
It
is
said."
remarked
Ivanhoff
at
the
close,
"that
Tolstoi
has
now
begun
to
pray.
If
this
man
becomes
a
Christian,
he
would
be
Russia's
Luther.'
'-Quarterly
Review.
MRS.
EDDY'S
ABSURD
IDEAS
OF
THE
BIBLE
Mrs.
Eddy's
exegetical
theorie.s
are
dealt
with
in
the
final
article
on
the
history
of
Christian
Science
in
the
June
McClure's.
The
writer,
Georgine
Milmine,
makes
copious
[4230]
Vou. XXIX ALLEGHENY, PA., SEPTEMBER 1, 1908 No. 17 VIEWS FROM THE WATCH TOWER DISCOURAGED PREACHERS Ministers are reported by one of their number to be in a permanent condition of ‘‘Blue Monday.’’ The editor of The Standard (Baptist, Chicago) informs us that he was told by a friend not long ago that ‘‘nine-tenths of all the preachers in his circle of acquaintances are discouraged.’’ This same Jeremiah ‘‘asserted that the great majority of pastors are practically hopeless of accomplishing anything worth while; that they are restless and discontented, and heartily wish that they had never entered the ministry.’’ If he is right, the editor of The Standard observes, ‘‘we may add another to the tabulated reasons why young men do not enter the ministry.’’ The editor thinks that the preacher, under stress of unusual discouragement himself, is mistaken, but the Rev. Dr. Aked, in a recent sermon on the alleged decay of Christianity in New York, practically asserted the same facts as falling under his observation when he first visited America. As quoted by The Hxaminer (New York), his words are: “One of the things that impressed me most when [ eame here for a month in the autumn of 1906, was the depression of so many preachers and recognized leaders in the churches of this city. I met many representatives of the denominations, and their discouragement about Christian work in this city seemed very strange to me. ‘It was unlike anything I had observed on previous visits, reaching back about fifteen years. It seemed to me, also, so unlike yourselves. The American people are not easily discouraged. There is in you a buoyancy of spirit, an irrepressible vitality, an intellectual and emotional agility which smiles in the face of difficulty. ‘We English people have shown through many centuries the grim determination we possess, and our Yorkshire saying, ‘It’s dogged as does it,’ represents a national characteristic. With you it is different. It is not ‘grimness’ nor ‘doggedness’ that I find in you so much as a joyous and sunny disregard of difficulty, and the easy assurance of victory everywhere, which itself is more than half the battle, so that this attitude toward the problems of religious life struck me as significant. ‘‘T have heard much of that kind of talk since I came here more than twelve months ago. First, one well-known preacher or worker and then another has shown that in his opinion Christianity is not holding its own in this city. And lately some remarkable utterances have reached the publie ear.’’ The editor of The Standard attempts to furnish healing balm to the cases that may come under the preacher’s classification. We read: “(To be sure, almost every man, in the ministry or out, has his hours of depression. The minister who goes home from the Sunday evening service after speaking to a handful of people, a majority of whom are not members of his church, somewhat worn by the work of the day, casting about in his mind for something upon which to preach on the following Sunday, carrying in his heart the news, just made known to him, that one of his best families will soon remove to a distant State, will doubtless feel cast down. But even so, his courage is not utterly destroyed. After a good night’s rest and a talk with his Master, he goes about the tasks of the new week with a good measure of hope in his heart. The man who is permanently disheartened by one difficulty, or two or three or a dozen, ought not to be in the ministry. In fact, it is difficult to think of a place in this world where he ought to be, for there is not a worthy activity of man that can be continuously proseeuted without meeting obstacles. The lawyer, the physician, the farmer, the merchant—each has his peculiar trials. If he amounts to anything among men he must do his work in spite of discouragements. The minister is no exception to the general rule.’’—LZiterary Digest. TOLSTOI AND THE PEASANT Not long ago a small party called on Tolstoi, of whom Ivanhoff was one. One of the visitors first conversed with the Count about political and social matters. Then Ivanhoff’s turn came. He was resolved to hear from Tolstoi’s own lips his religious position. The following conversation ensued. ‘‘Who are you?’’ asked Count Tolstoi. ‘‘I am only a peasant,’’ answered Ivanhoff. ‘‘What have you got to say to me?’’ was the next question. ‘‘I wish to know your opinion about Jesus Christ, and about the Holy Scriptures?’’ ‘‘With regard to Jesus Christ, there is nothing to be said,’’ answered the Count. ‘‘His Personality is not necessary to us, only his teaching.’’ (259-260) ‘“‘That is very strange,’’ said Ivanhoff; ‘‘if I found a letter in the street, the contents of which interested me, I would do all I could to find out who had written it. For me, at any rate, the writer is of more consequence than the letter. The writer can write one hundred other letters equally good, as this first letter. He himself, therefore, is of more interest to me than the letter. If I do not know him, I can only have this one letter; but if I am acquainted with him, I may be able to receive a hundred letters besides.’’ ‘CAs you really want to know what I think of Jesus, I will tell you,’’ said Tolstoi. ‘‘For me, Jesus Christ is a good man, a man such as all men ought to be. You and I ought to be just as he was. But to call him God, that is blasphemy. As regards the Holy Scriptures, take this Bible in your hand. The Old Testament, I don’t read it; rather tear it out and throw it away. The Old Testament only causes, as the Dukhabors rightly say, a great deal of work and only leads to trouble. Then there remains the New Testament. Take the book of Acts and the Epistles, and then take Revelation; tear them out and throw them away. You have then only the four Gospels left. Take these Gospels, read them through and think over them. There are words there that Jesus said, and the Apostles have written down; there are also words that the Apostles have written of themselves. All that the Apostles have written, tear out and throw away. Now you retain only the words that Jesus himself spoke. Of these, there are two classes. Some of the words are dim and mysterious, and hard to understand. Lay them aside. It is best for you not to read them. Then you have left only the clear words, especially the Sermon on the Mount. Read it, for it is the teaching of Jesus. In this way, you will become a Christian.’’ ‘‘Leo Nikolajewitsch,’’ answered Ivanhoff, ‘‘I have understood what you have said. But you have not given me any right to do that which you have said. In one of the books you left me to retain is a passage spoken by Jesus Christ, that says: ‘O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.’ (Luke 24:25.) You said to me, that I should throw away the Old Testament; but Christ himself—whom you call a good man—has commanded me to believe it all, therefore also the prophets. I hold that I have no right to throw away any book; yea, even more, that I have no right to throw away any one word that he has commanded me to believe.’’ Tolstoi was evidently very uncomfortable. He took the Bible from Ivanhoff’s hand, threw it on the table, and began walking up and down the room in an annoyed mood. Suddenly he stopped in front of Ivanhoff, and looking him straight in the face said, ‘‘It would interest me to know what you think of me?’’ Ivanhoff’s friend wanted to come to his help, but he held him back saying: ‘‘If the Count had asked you, you could answer, but now he has asked me, and I want to an swer him myself.’’ He turned to Tolstoi saying: ‘‘I will tell you. In one of the books that you told me to take out and throw away, the Acts, is a story about a pious man, who gave many alms and always prayed to God. As you see, this man had the following virtues: He was Godfearing, merciful, did many good deeds, and he prayed— and yet, he was not a Christian. But an angel appeared to him and commanded that he should send to Joppa and call Simon Peter, who would tell him what to do to be saved. And when Cornelius had fetched Peter and heard his words he beeame a Christian. Cornelius had, as you see, the following exeellent qualities: He was pious, God-fearing, benevolent, and he prayed. In you, Leo Nikolajewitsch, there is not even all these, because you do not pray. And as you do not pray, I cannot call you a Christian.’’ Tolstoi again began to walk to and fro in the room. At last he said: ‘‘When a chicken has once come out of the shell, it cannot be put back.’’ With this Russian proverb, the conversation ended. ‘“‘T have since told this little incident to several of Tolstoi’s admirers,’’? adds Ivanhoff. ‘‘They could hardly believe that I had dared to speak out so freely, because Tolstoi is to many thousands of the younger Russians almost an idol. It is said,’’ remarked Ivanhoff at the close, ‘‘that Tolstoi has now begun to pray. If this man becomes a Christian, he would be Russia’s Luther.’’—Quarterly Review. MBS. EDDY’S ABSURD IDEAS OF THE BIBLE Mrs. Eddy’s exegetical theories are dealt with in the final article on the history of Christian Science in the June Af{cClure’s. The writer, Georgine Milmine, makes copious [4230]
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