by James Cowan
CHAPTER XXXV.
AN EXALTED THEME.
The doctor and I had not forgotten that Thorwald still held in store forus a talk on the most important theme of all. We wondered why he didnot give it to us, as he had many opportunities in those days of quietpleasure. He seemed to take great delight in hearing from us everythingwe chose to tell, asking numerous questions which showed a growingknowledge of the earth and its inhabitants.
It was the doctor who finally inquired when we were going to hear whathe had promised us.
"I suppose I have been waiting," answered Thorwald, "for you to ask forit. I could listen to your talk a great deal longer with pleasure andprofit. It is astonishing how closely your history matches ours up toyour times. The period you have been describing to me as that in whichyou live corresponds with a similar age here. It was a time of greatactivity and rapid change, and one whose records make a deep impressionon many of our writers, judging from the attention they give to it. Itwas an enviable time to live in, if you compare it with the previousages, but chiefly on account of the promise it contained of the gloriousday to come.
"Doctor, are you sure you desire to hear about the growth ofChristianity in this world and the blessings it has brought us?"
"Most certainly," answered my companion. "I want to learn all I can ofyour history and present condition, and, as religion seems to occupya chief place in both, anything you may say on the subject will belistened to with delight."
Perhaps Thorwald was a little disappointed because the doctor did notgive a more personal reason; but he failed to show it if he was, and,after calling to Zenith to come and sit with us, he began:
"Fair shines the sun on this fair world. So shines the sun on otherfair worlds. Its piercing rays dart out in all directions from thegreat glowing mass, and as they fly outward they lose in brilliancyand intensity every second. In eight minutes some of these rays areintercepted by the earth and find there an atmosphere well adapted toreceive them. In twelve minutes some strike this world, and althoughthey are less powerful than those that fall on the earth, the conditionshere are favorable for their reception. At varying distances from thecenter other rays find other planets as ready to welcome them, no doubt,as ours are.
"As the sun is in the physical universe, so is the Sun of righteousnessin the domain of the spirit. Infinite in power, wisdom, and love, hecomes wherever there are souls to save, shedding light in every darkspot, bringing life and hope and comfort, and lifting men out of thedarkness of sin up to a condition of peace and happiness. Many ages agohe came to this planet, and started into life those forces which havebrought us to our present state. Then he came to the earth, and youare at this time beginning to feel more intensely the impulse of hismission."
"Your illustration is a forcible one," said the doctor, as Thorwaldpaused a moment, "and weakens my former position, which would make itnecessary for me to believe that all the rays of the sun, except thefew that fall on Mars and the earth, are lost. It seems to me now quitereasonable that some do their beneficent work on other planets also."
"Yes," answered Thorwald, "whenever they are ready to receive them. Andnow I hope to lead you to see that the same intelligence that made thesun and gave to its rays such power has been present as a personal forcein this world, molding it to his use and raising up a people here forhis service and glory.
"In the perfect plan of that omniscient being the advent of the Savioroccurred at the most opportune moment. Deep in the heart of one nation,firmly grounded in their nature by ages of discipline and suffering, laythe belief in one only God. The other nations of the world, surfeitedwith sinful pleasure and worn out with a vain pursuit of happiness, wereready to abandon the gods of their imaginations. Some lofty souls amongthem, following intently every prompting of their better nature, haddeveloped high characters, while of God's peculiar people many purehearts waited, with joyful expectancy, the coming of the promisedSavior.
"He came, the lowly, patient one, and, although the world was made byhim, it knew him not. The greatest event in the history of the globepassed almost without notice; but the seed was planted, and in God's owntime the growth began, which has filled our happy world with the perfectflower of Christianity.
"The religion which Jesus taught aimed to save the race. It wasuniversal, not only as adapted to all nations, but as fitted toregenerate and perfect the whole nature of man--body, mind, and soul. Itwould take me too long to tell all the changes it wrought. It found theheart hard and unfeeling, and made it tender and loving. It found menfilled with every evil passion and almost without a desire to be better,and it gave them a longing to be free from sin and pure in heart. Itfound the race in darkness and despair, and brought them hope and lightand comfort. Above all, it attacked the demon of selfishness and gavemen the promise that in time they should be entirely free from itspower.
"Slowly the truths of Christianity spread. The missionary spirit wasborn and the gospel was carried to remote lands. It was ever God's wayto work through the agency of his creatures, whether these be bruteforces or intelligent beings. And so through imperfect men the perfectrule of life made feeble progress. But as it was the work of the Spirit,there was never any danger, even in the darkest ages, that the gospelwould not triumph over all the sin and degradation of the world, andlift men to a higher plane.
"For a long period the truth lay buried beneath ignorance andsuperstition. Then came an awakening, and men, with their minds moreenlightened and their consciences quickened, began to catch something ofthe true spirit of the gospel. Christianity now became a dominant power.Under its benign sway civilization advanced, intelligence spread, andChristian nations outstripped all others and extended their power toevery part of the globe.
"Soon the ameliorating influences of the gospel were felt on every hand.Government began to be administered with more regard for the interest ofthe governed, and men came to receive consideration simply becausethey were men. All the aggravated forms of oppression ceased under thenewborn spirit of human brotherhood, a sentiment brought into the worldby the founder of Christianity.
"This brings us, my friends, up to that intense age of which I havespoken before, and which you say you recognize as that correspondingwith the time in which you are living on the earth. Let me state brieflythe condition of some of our affairs of that period.
"The industrial world was in a ferment, as we have seen, and it was onlyin a general and impersonal way that the Christian religion shed itsinfluence on the majority of the actors in that drama. Individuals,among both employers and workmen, had good impulses and indulged themas much as they could, and I am inclined to think this class was largerthan most of our writers admit. But we read that the greater part weremoved chiefly by motives of self-interest. Still, Christianity wasa growing force among them, and they could not entirely escape itsinfluence. They were born under its elevating power, and, even if theydid not acknowledge its sway, they were quite different men from thosewho lived before Jesus began to preach the law of love. This remark willapply to all the people of that day who were born under Christian skies,and yet acknowledged no personal allegiance to the Savior. They were theunconscious heirs of a priceless inheritance."
"I just want to say, Thorwald," the doctor interrupted, "that I canaccept that idea fully now, with respect to the people of the earth,though at one time I should not have been willing to do so."
Thorwald smiled his answer, and without further reply continued:
"Let us look at the business situation. National and local governmentshad begun to extend their powers beyond what had before been consideredlegitimate. With one excuse or another they had taken out of privatehands many branches of business, and there was a strong tendency towarda continuance of the policy. There was no difference in principlebetween carrying the mails and carrying freight and passengers, orbetween giving the people cheap water in their houses and furnishingthem with cheap coal.
"It was acknowledged that there were certain things which the c
ity orstate could do better than private enterprise, and the difficulty wasto decide where to draw the line. While this uncertainty existed in theminds of most people, there was a small but aggressive party who were infavor of not drawing the line at all, but of putting everything intothe hands of the government. They would have had the people, in theircorporate capacity as a nation, raise and distribute the products of thesoil, do all the manufacturing and dispose of the goods to consumers,conduct all the trades and professions, and, in fact, carry on everykind of business necessary to the well-being of society."
Of course, this woke up the doctor, whose practical mind could seenothing attractive in such an arrangement as that, and he was moved tosay:
"I trust, Thorwald, that your ancestors did not adopt that crazy schemeas an experimental step in their development. But I beg your pardon forusing such vigorous language without knowing whether they did or not."
Thorwald smiled, as he answered:
"You are safe, Doctor. From actual experience we cannot tell what theresult of such a trial would be, for the vast majority of the writers,and the people too, of the period were opposed to the plan, and no doubtwith good reason.
"But I do not wonder that this idea had a fascination for someright-minded people, in the promise it gave of doing away with the evilsarising from competition, to which I have before referred."
Thorwald paused here, as if to invite one of us to speak, if he wantedto do so. I accepted, by saying:
"I wish you would tell us a little more on that subject. Competition issaid to be the life of trade with us, an accepted principle of honestbusiness. And yet you speak of it as something that should be done awaywith."
"If you could know," answered Thorwald, "how repugnant the idea is tous of the present day, you would understand how truly you have voiced myfeelings."
"I have no doubt," I said, "that your experience has taught you much onthe subject that we do not know, but this is the way it looks from ourstandpoint: There is born in us a passion for getting that which belongsto others, or that which others are trying to get. In some of us thisinstinct is developed more than in others, and some are unprincipledenough to indulge it unjustly; but let me ask you if it is wrong tofollow the leadings of such a desire if we are strictly honest in allour dealings."
"We might differ over the meaning of the phrase 'strictly honest,' but Iwill answer your question by saying it is certainly wrong."
"But it seems to be a part of our very nature."
"Do you offer that as a reason for its being right? I never heard youclaim that human nature was perfect," said Thorwald.
"Then," I returned, "in our present state, with which you are nowpretty well acquainted, is it not possible to carry the principles ofChristianity into business?"
"To answer that as I should be obliged to do would make me appear to youtoo arbitrary, and so perhaps I had better let you find your own answerin the questions which I will ask you. Is not unselfishness one of thefirst principles of Christianity? Now, the very essence of competitionis a regard for self-interest, with no room for thought about theinterests of others. In an ideal state of society the rules of lifegiven by Jesus are fully obeyed. In such a state, would a transactionbe right where each person was trying to do what was best for himself,although it might be to the damage or loss of another? It might becalled honest to own slaves, and probably in the history of the eartha great many sincere Christian people have owned them, but you have nowreached that condition, I think, where you can see it is wrong. So yourway of doing business may be honest, but in our more ideal state we seethat it is not right. Our remote ancestors, through the various stagesof our development, did a thousand things with clear consciences whichwe could not do now. I understand your situation perfectly, and am sureyour race will outgrow its imperfections."
I thanked Thorwald for his faith in us, and he resumed his narrative.
"In the age of which I am speaking," he said, "the church was taking aprominent place in the world, but had not assumed the leading positionwhich it afterward reached. Many nations were still without the light ofthe gospel, and even in nominal Christian lands the actual supportersof the church were in the minority. In the midst of much evil and manydiscouragements the church was trying to regenerate society, but it hada difficult task, partly on account of the great perversity of thehuman heart, and partly because the church itself was not free fromthe imperfections of the age. Its members represented all shades ofspirituality, the great majority of them having but a faint appreciationof the glorious cause in which they had enlisted. They called themselvessoldiers of the cross, but were so burdened with the ordinary but morepressing duties and occupations of life that they never dreamed of thegrandeur of the service, nor of the brilliant deeds of which the churchwas soon to show itself capable.
"One chief hindrance to the growth of the church and to the spread ofits influence was the spirit of division within itself. Theoretically,all believers, the world over, were one body, or church, but in point offact there were many churches, and in some particulars they were quitesharply opposed to each other. This evil was in full force in that age,but there were signs in the air that it was not to remain forever astumbling-block to the faith of the world."
"We are afflicted in the same way," said I, "and some of us are hopefulenough to look forward to a really united church. But many think it isa part of our nature to differ, and are not able to see how all can evercome to think alike. They say that if by a miracle all should be broughtinto one church, and then left to their own inclinations, in a shorttime there would be as many sects as there are now."
"And so there would," returned Thorwald, "with your present ways.Your imperfect nature must change under the softening influence ofthe gospel. The differences that cause such trouble come from eachindividual's selfish regard for his own opinion. All must learn not onlyto respect but to embrace the opinions of each other when they areright opinions. Two streams may run in parallel channels forever if eachpersists in following strictly its own course. If one turns toward theother and the other turns away, they will still be kept apart; but leteach turn toward the other, and how quickly they come together."
I told Thorwald I could apply his illustration to our condition and wewould try to profit by it.
"One of the promising features of the religious situation," hecontinued, "was the good start the church had made in missionary work.In the zeal with which this was taken up it was quite a new departurefor the church, for not long before this time good men believed that ifGod intended to save the heathen he would do it without any help fromman. But now success had come in the work in sufficient measure togreatly encourage the faithful souls engaged in it.
"When I speak of zeal, however, you must understand that this qualitywas confined to a few people. Nearly all were only half-heartedChristians at the best, doing something, to be sure, but not at allalive to the grand opportunity of bringing the world to the feet of theSavior. Only here and there was one found who was ready to give himselfunselfishly to the work, and the amount of money given to advance thecause of Christ, at home and abroad, was small indeed compared to thatspent in luxurious living and hurtful indulgences.
"At the same time, it was an age of progress. The ordinary span of lifewas long enough to show improvement in many ways, and men, seeing therapid advancement the world was making, took courage and looked forwardmore confidently for the dawn of a brighter day. Religion was beginningto be more of an every-day matter, and Christians were coming to a faintrealization of the real value of the gospel in its adaptation to allthe needs of men. Care for the body, better ways of living, and rightconduct toward others were all taught, as well as duty to God, andsociety began to feel the benefit of such sensible teaching."