Article February 5, 1927 Issue

Signs of the Times

with contributions from Charles Fiske, The Bishop of London

[From the New York Times, New York]

The same solutions for the ills of humanity that are being proposed to-day by the most profound thinkers were advanced nineteen hundred years ago by Jesus Christ, according to Dr. Robert Fortenbaugh, Professor of History in Gettysburg Lutheran College, who preached at St. James Lutheran Church, Madison Avenue and Seventy-third Street. "In these days of unrest, and even a possible breaking down of civilization," he said, "all thoughtful people are asking what can be done to eliminate the more important problems which are facing humanity. Many of these thoughtful people advocate the abolishment of war as the first step toward a better plan of living. Others hold that the solution is to be found in a fairer division of profits. Still others feel that happiness is dependent upon greater equality and physical well-being. No one will deny the potential value of all of these, but those people who have taken a deeper and more comprehensive view of the subject hold such remedies insufficient. They are saying that the solution can be effected only through attention to the individual. The interesting thing, in this connection, is that Jesus Christ set this same thing forth nineteen hundred years ago. To him the individual was everything. God is interested in individuals. . . . But the individual is pleasing unto God only when he views his life as an opportunity for service. In the problem of living, then, the individual must first be taught to love God. Modern thinkers call this 'spiritualizing the individual.' Christ [Jesus] expressed it when he said the individual should love God."

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