The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1914, Page 35

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The Lutheran Pioneer. 35

to the heathen resulting from evangelization are
sometimes presented. A softening influence upon
the usages of war; upon the standing and relations
of woman; upon the treatment of the aged, the
sick, the insane, the poor; and elevating influences
upon industrial habits, upon education and legis-
lation, are indeed of great moment. A great deal
is also said of the indebtedness of commerce to
foreign missions, and regarding various other sec-
ular results, such as appear in contributions to
literature, to the natural sciences, to archaeology,
philology, and ethnography. Often, too, and
rightly, we have the reacting benefits upon home
churches set forth, in breaking up the monotony
of religious thought and services, in enlivening and
broadening piety, in stirring to more vigorous
efforts for the neglected at home. Published ser-
mons, not a few, have been devoted to these and
kindred topics. But whatever use may be made
of such auxiliary topics, care should be taken that
due prominence be given to the prime deniand for
loyalty to the Messianic King.”

Pity and sympathy for those not having the Gos-
pel is proper. ‘The degradation and sufferings of
those sitting in the darkness of superstition may
well stir our hearts and urge us to missionary zeal ;
but in the end the main motive must be and remain
the Lord’s parting command to us, His followers,
pastors and people, Go ye and make disciples of
all nations.

+ ++______

Irreligion and Crime.

In a recent editorial, the Abendschule called
the attention of its readers to the relation of irre-
ligion to crime, basing its remarks on the follow-
ing official statistics of Prussia.

In Prussia the average number of people sen-
tenced to terms of imprisonment for all kinds of
crimes is 1,215 in every 100,000. Among the mem-
bers of the State Church of Prussia 1,094 were

_ sentenced out of every 100,000, or 121 less’ than the
average; among the Catholics the proportion is
1,443 per 100,000, or 228 more than the average;
among the other denominations, that is, among the
independent Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, etc.,
the number sentenced was 561° per 100,000, or 654
less than the average; among the Jews the number
imprisoned was 1,128 per 100,000, or 97 less than
the average; but among those not connected with
any church the number sentenced was 3,963 in
every 100,000, hence 2,748 more than the average,

—three times as many as were sentenced from
among members of the State Church, and seven
times as many as were imprisoned from among the
members of the independent Lutherans and other
Protestant denominations.

These are official figures. They show very
plainly that where there is no religion, conscience
has lost its power, and the evil lusts of man hold
full sway. What a strong argument for mission
work among the churchless round about us!

The Inspired Word of God.

The Holy Bible is the Word of God. Thus it
is called on its own pages. Peter, for instance,
writes: “The Word of the Lord endureth forever.
And this is the Word which by the Gospel is
preached unto you,” 1 Pet. 1, 25. Similar texts are
Rom. 3, 2; Acts 13, 46; and many, many others.

But has the Scripture of the Old and New Testa-
ments not been written by men, namely, the proph-
ets, apostles, and evangelists? How, then, can it
be of divine origin? The answer to this question is
contained in the words, “All Scripture is given by
inspiration of God,’ 2 Tim. 3, 16. God Himself
inspired the sacred writers of this unique, this per-
fect, this best Book that was ever produced, so that
what they wrote was “not the word of men, but in
truth the Word of God,” 1 Thess. 2, 13. The third
person in the blessed Trinity, the Holy Ghost, not
only “moved the holy men of God,” 2 Pet. 1, 21,
to speak and write it, but also inspired them,
“breathed into them,” supplied them with the
thoughts, yea, even the words found in it, as
St. Paul asserts: “Which things also we” (he and
his fellow-apostles) “speak, not in the words which
man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost
teacheth,” 1 Cor. 2, 13; and David confesses: “My
tongue is the pen of a ready writer,” Ps. 45, 1.

True, each of the holy writers used his own
peculiar language which reflects his personality.
Isaiah’s style is lofty and majestic, while that of
Jeremiah is soft and tender; Paul’s diction is elo-
quent, fiery, and imaginative, while that of John
is simple, wonderfully sublime, and deep; and so
forth. All express themselves in a manner natural
to them, yet — according to the Bible’s explicit tes-

+ timony — they were only the penmen of the Holy

Ghost, the real Author of the Book of books both
as to substance and form.

The purpose of the Scriptures is to teach sinful