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Show fiy'n EFFECTS OF CHRISTIAN TEACHING. lied 1 in tl "'V ' The near approach of Christmas presents many ! amer thoughts lhat are well calculated to set thinking ! ftiimls 1o reasoning over the effect produced by the ich birth of the Savior of the world. Xone more so 'y1, than the great change that has been wrought of5 through the influence of his teaching and example, inner Up to the time of his appearance in the scene of intvt j 1 i ft', the world was in darkness. Slavery was the - ntia established law of the universe. Liberty was an '"j . ""known quantity. Han. like a cow or an ox, was rais destined only to do the will of his master, and when ran ! ghbc , . . 2 UI1 j worn out, and unable to perform the .menial work j prescribed for him, he was disposed of like any use-j use-j less implement of labor. "A wise husbandman," j said Cato. the Roman censor, "must get rid of all implements no longer in use worn-out ploughs, old ' horses, aged slaves." They were treated as mere i chattels, with no legal protection. A slave had no right. His destiny was to work. The difference between him and other implements of labor is summed up in these words hy a pagan writer : 'There is, however, a difference: Oxen bellow, slaves speak, and the plough is silent." When they became too numerous, so that there was not sufficient suf-ficient 'demand for the supply, as was the case during the reign of the third emperor of Rome ! Caligula by liis order, Ihey were given as food to I the animals which were reserved for the circuses. ! This cruel order was to save expense to the em-i em-i pire. All this, through the influence of the ex- ample and teaching of Jesus, has long since been ehanirod. Nor was. slavery the greatest evil of pagan rule. To please the nobles, and amuse the rich and powerful, pow-erful, human lives were sacrificed in the various games of the circus. Their theatrical amusements meant deadly combats for the gladiators, or to go into the arena to be devoured by wild beasts. Viewing View-ing the change brought about, under the light of I the Gospel, in man's heart for his fellow-being, thoughtful minds cannot fail to perceive that the cause of this great change belongs to a higher order than the natural order. Human nature, moving mov-ing in the plane of the natural order, is about the same in all men and at all tunes. Intelligence, divorced di-vorced from all moral restraint, .does not effect a change of -the heart. On the contrary, when backed j by power and opulence, its tendency is to harden the heart against "the woes of humanity and take" advantage of its weakness 10 weld more tightly' the chains of slavery and despotism. Realizing that a change has taken place, and seeking for its cause, there can be but one verdict, namely, it was due to the influence of Christian teaching. The influence influ-ence of Christian civilization, whilst its teaching is practically ignored, till hovers over the human heart and sways men's thoughts, and actions. So it is no longer possible to recede or descend into the depth of 'ihe abyss of degredation from which Jesus elevated humanity. Liberty and equ-ility are the inheritance of Christian civilization, whilst intelligence in-telligence and progress are the rights of freemen, be they workmen or master workmen. Manual labor, la-bor, which the old pagans, regarded with contempt, has. since the dawn of Christianity, assumed a new dignity. Aristotle taught that labor and freedom were incompatible, whilst the Greeks thought workmen work-men unworthy of the name of citizen. Terence, the Roman comic poet and ex-slave, wrote, that "to be respected one must lead an idle life, and not be obliged to work for a livelihood." The birth of Christianity introduced a new order. Tt brought all "back to creation. When the Father of all decreed t hat all men were to earn their bread by the sweat of their brow. What -pagan teaching condemned and despised was elevated and glorified. '"The poor were blessed." . Today.' through the evolutions brought uborit-by the 'little.':, mustard '-seed planted iwenty centuries ago, and the intelligence of the age. in which ihe .representatives 6f labor share, new problems, regarding the relations between capital cap-ital and labor arc coming up every year. Demands j which would !o -considered semi-revolutionary a j quarter of a century ago, are discussed and tested. j Why? Because the individual who feels, that he has a grievance no longer crouches aud piteously craves redress, hut, being a member of a corporate body, his cause impleaded by that body, which feels his wounds. This gives independence and redress if the cause be juM. The cause of this independence independ-ence must be attributed to him, who, 'in. an age when men were ruled by fear and the masses of the peo- I pie were slaves, fearlessly declared that all men were, equal, and that oppression was one of the great evils of society. There is no effect without a cause, and. tracing the present changes in men's thoughts and the changed condition of the laborer and mechanic, back to its fountain head, we come to Jesus, who laid the foundation for real progress, and from which the present improved condition of ihe human race has been developed. L |
