Chicago Tribune
MIGHT JAIL DAVID IF HE LIVED TODAY
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Professor Says God John the Baptist Worshiped No Better than Our Devil.
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HAS FAITH IN MAJORITY
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Thinks Intellectual Minority Should Not Be Snobbish; Religion Justified.
John the Baptist's God was no better than our devil.
The things which made Solomon and David saints in their own day would land them in the penitentiary in ours.
Public men associated with George Washington were praised for doing things that they would not dare to do today outside of a "bathroom."
These are statements that Dr. Charles R. Henderson, chaplain and professor of sociology a the University of Chicago, made in a sermon yesterday at Mandel hall, on the university campus.
"The intellectual has no right to regard the majority with contempt, much less with pity," Dr. Henderson said. "If any one ask if we are not in a bad way when there are 20,000 or 40,000 young men who are interest in baseball to one who is interest ing in art or literature or any other of the things that we consider the best and highest in this life I must answer that the majority is climbing."
"Majority Is Upward Bound."
"It is true that there seems to be everywhere only a small minority that really stands for the best — for progress — but we must put our faith in the climbing majority. The important thing is not where the majority is, but where it is going.
"And I venture to say," the doctor continued, "that we are advancing not only materially but in morality, even in religion.
"Biology tells us that we are descended from a being not altogether unlike a monkey. You must remember that we have been coming from the apelike man, not going toward him.
"Take the case of Solomon and David. They were saints. But if they tried to do things that made them saints to their contemporaries in our day they would be in the penitentiary. Take our conception of God. We have a God that we can really worship. We have made God.
"Our conception of God is an honest, patient, just, decent sort of human being. The God of John was no better than what we would call a devil.
"More than this. Men about Washington in the early days of our country did things that they were praised for which they would not dare to do today unless they went to a "bathroom."
"In the face of these facts you cannot regard the majority with contempt.
Religion Its Own Justifier
"There are men who regard religion as a sort of social panacea, men who will tell you that religion is good for what they please to call the 'mob,' because it keeps them in order; men who will tell you that religion is good because it helps business or because it helps to make beauty.
"But the attitude which makes religion good for others but not good for use is hypocrisy. That belief in religion which is founded on conviction that is good for government or good for business, or good for art is worthless. Religion is good for these things. The religious nations are the best governed nations, they are the prosperous nations, they are the nations who are great in art and literature, but to attempt to advance religion merely because it is good for these things is futile. It cannot be done."
