No genuine reform is ill-timed or superfluous. In the inevitable march of progress old systems are worn out and cast aside, once cherished theories are forsaken, and time-honored laws are superseded and forgotten. Humanity awakens to a higher need which must be met upon a higher plane; and some devoted man or woman leads the way up the new heights —a rugged road, a martyr's road. These pioneer reformers have been crowned by after ages with glory and honor, but the world forgets that its first homage was jeer and ridicule, and its first crown plaited with thorns.
In the deep darkness of materialism and corruption into which the Jewish church had fallen, in response to the world's greatest need, Jesus came with the gospel of the Christ. He came that men might through him be resurrected from their material beliefs; he led the way up the divine heights where men worship the Father "in spirit and in truth." It was a rugged road, a martyr's road. The Jews had long been waiting and watching for him; and when he came with the sweetest and holiest message ever brought to man they said, "He hath a devil." He came preaching the gospel of Life and Love, healing the sick and raising the dead; and they scourged and crucified him. Pilate sent to the cross the one man who could answer his question. The world has not changed; the human heart has not changed. The question, "What is Truth?" is still on the lips of men, but if one be found to answer, they cry "Away with him."
In the blood of the martyrs and the persecution of the saints the early Christian church was established. For a time the gospel was preached and the sick healed in accordance with Jesus' commands. But factions and dissensions arose; royalty became the patron of Christianity; it became popular; the lust of worldly ambition crept in, and on the altar of temporal power and dominion the church sacrificed her consciousness of Christ's power and presence. Christianity became a mere name; the church became a synonym for despotism, intolerance, and avarice. Luther stepped out from its domination and Christendom was divided between Catholicism and Protestantism. The latter in its turn became intolerant and persecuted its dissenters; and the Puritans stepped out from Protestant domination, and on the shores of free America raised the standard of religious liberty.
