The German papers have reproduced a characteristic con- versation between
the Kaiser and a Prussian Lutheran pastor on the Bible. In the course of his remarks the Kaiser is reported to have observed that he read the Bible often and with pleasure. "A Bible lies beside me at night in which
most of the precious thoughts are underlined In all my thoughts and actions I ask myself the question, 'What does the Bible say on the point P' The Bible is to me the source from which I draw strength and light. In hours of trembling and fear I lay hold on this treasure of comfort. It is my firm belief that many who have fallen from God will again embrace the faith. In the Christian Church, times of strong doubt awaken in an especial degree the courage of confessors and the joy of the faithful. All of us must pass through Gethsemane hours,' hours in which our pride is humbled. To be humble is hard for us. We would be our own masters." The Kaiser added that he was fond of giving Bibles to Catholics, who differed from Protestants in this essential point, that while Catholics had many mediators between God and them, Protestants bad only one. On the whole, the Kaiser's utterance is far less controversial than the Papal Encyclical. The admission that he has hours of trembling, fear, and humiliation exhibits him in quite a new light.
Previous page
