12 THE ACORN Theology The Fall and the Atonement The history of the creation shows that the earth was prepared for the abode of man, that man was the crowning act of creation. God placed Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, and told them to eat of all the fruit, except of the fruit of the tree of a knowledge of good and evil, "For in the day thou eatest thereof," said the Lord, "Thou shalt surely die." Adam had taken upon himself the mission of peopling the earth, so when Eve ate of the fruit and presented it to him, he ate, that their mission might be fulfilled. The punishment for the breaking of this commandment, whatever it might have been, was death, a banishment from the garden of Eden and from the immediate presence of God death which was really a birth into mortality. Adam and Eve had broken a law of God and the result must follow just as surely as weakness and debility follow the breaking of physical laws. Man, having been driven from the garden of Eden that he might not also partake of the tree of Life, was compelled to live by the "sweat of his brow." To the earth he must look for the gratification of all his appetites. To the earth he turns for all the comforts, and pleasures of mortality, and soon man's life would have become a mere animal existence, living entirely for the gratification of these appetites. But God in His wisdom allowed man to retain enough of the remembrance of his former association to lift him up and direct his thoughts toward something higher. It is this spark of divine light that has kept man from becoming animal-like. Not long after his banishment, Adam sought the Lord for guidance, and the Lord guided him, as he will guide you and me. He gave Adam the gospel, the plan whereby he might come back into the Lord's presence. As a result of the Fall, we have our life here on earth; we have a knowledge of good and evil, which enables man to become as God is. Man was condemned to death and by no act of his (as it was no fault of Adam's posterity) could he get back into God's presence. But "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son," that the world through Him might be saved." Christ was permitted to come into the world, to demonstrate to it that man can live a sinless life, and to die for Adam's sin, and redeem mankind. This act of Christ's is known as the Atonement, which means at-one-ment, reconciliation with God. The Atonement is and ought to be just as universal in its effects as was the Fall. For "As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive." Christ offered himself as a sacrifice for the sin of Adam. Among THE ACORN 13 the first commandments given to Adam was the one that he should offer the firstlings of his flock to God. Why firstlings?- It is man's nature to be selfish, to gratify his own longings; therefore it requires strength and will power to part with the best that one has. Christ freely gave of what is more dear to man than all else, His life. This he did for the benefit of the human family; and should not man give of the lesser things to show his appreciation? Christ's entire life was one of self sacrifice. Selfishness is animal-like, self sacrifice is Godlike. Psychologists recognize this fact. James says that we should do something every day that is unpleasant to us, in order to develop strength of self sacrifice within us which gives us power to overcome obstacles. God through His wisdom permitted the Fall, Knowledge of good and of evil unfurled: Christ through His mercy atoned for us all, Laid down His life for the sin of the world. Lay down a life for the good of a friend, Give of your all for the gospel of love; Take up a life then, again at the end, A life as eternal as the Father above. In Miss Austen's Academy A Christmas Ghost "I tell you, Mildred, I can't stand ten days of this. And just at Christmas time too. I could cry my eyes out, if I didn't feel so cross." Two young girls sat huddled on the upper-hall window seat of the Austen Academy Dormitory, and stared disconsolately at the murky twilight outside. The dead silence of the great building was unbroken save by the half-whining voice of Addie Davis, who poured her complaints into unsympathetic ears. Truth to tell, Mildred paid but little heed to her cousin Addie, for she was always finding fault. However, the last remark roused her from her musing, and she answered sharply, "Oh, hush Addie, we've got to stay here, and that's all there is about it. If your brother Rob hadn't caught the diphtheria and given it to our children, we might both have gone home for our holidays as the other girls have. I'm sure it's mighty good of Miss Austen to let us stay in