The history of the Church teems with examples of the success of violence. "Talk and remonstrance had failed to abolish gladiatorial shows in the Roman Empire, even after it had become Christian. Old custom dies hard. Then a monk one day leapt into the arena among the wild beasts, That put an end The Reformation began when Ma Luther did a very violent thing, that made an immense ing of the Pope's bull inst him, a risky thing to those days. Violence like fers verbal fogs, principles into a clear light, does more to make men think than ages of talk. That is the effect of the crucifixion' of Jesus.
Sermons on the Mount have made Him the world's Saviour.
The chances are that we should never have heard of Him, if He had left nothing but dusty' volumes mons. But He was crucified, a violent, terrible thing. The world has had'to sit up and take notice of that. That the Son of God, that such a one as Jesus, s0 holy, so loving, was crucified, and had to be crucified, before man could be saved, leaves sin, and all excuses for sin, without excuse. There is nothing to be said for a thing that id that. Man, if he will think at all on his relation to God, knows that he cannot belittle sin in view of Calvary.
Now, for a few moments, let us see why it is, that Christianity Jesus calls "violence," First, it is in its very nature jolent." That ix to say, it is a breaking into the, natural order of the world of 9 higher and supernatural order. Jesus Christ wag not the outcome and evolved result of previously existing "resident forces," Huxley anid. No. It is, however explain it," a breaking in of divine power in Jesus Christ, and all breakings in to an established order are in the nature of violence. Christianity is a "new thing"; it is not just old methods furbished up and "given. a new name, Violent things are definite, and we date the actual time when' this happened, when the angels sang in heaven the ears of a few shepherds, amd a child was born in Bethlehem, Naturalism hates this idea, a tries to smother it, but it is plain on the most superficial reading of the New Testament, that this is what Christianity claims to, be. We can't argue it all out now.
This being so, the Gospel implies the introduction into the world of tremendous forces. It is strong wine, not the weak aerated water we tend to represent it to be. No. It is the gathering of all even of His own forces by God, the Eternal, in a supreme effort to bring: man to Himself. It has the energies of the Eternal Spirit of God wrestling with man, has the ceaselessly po: exerted power of the Son of God, conce alive in the flesh, dead and buried, and risen at the right hand of God, ever seeking entrance into human hearts, and there is all th cosmic clash of opposing divine and human wills. No. wonder there is upset and trouble in th world, and will be as long as man rebels' against God's Chosen.
And finally, Christianity claims to be final.' No wonder Jesus Christ was in deadly earnest, A: the late Dr. Gwatkin says," claims to be.the final truth of God and man." The New Testament means nothing unless it means that, The final destiny of us all depen: on our relation to Christ, Th idea of Christianity is tremendous, and in a sence terrifying; that it is the final appeal of the God of heaven to man, to accept His love, to seek His pardon, to be reconciled to Him in Christ Jesus. Such being the case, no wonder the Saviour smiled on men, who broke down roofs to get at Him and be healed, and who shouted at the passing prophet of Nazareth, to the annoyance of quieter people, that He would give them their sight. He always approved of vigorous initiative which iv always in its nas ture "violent."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.