Then, entering into a dialogue with his hearers upon the vital point of Sionism, he asks: "Does America pay her tithe to God?" The audience replies "No." "Do the churches pay their tithes to God?" "No." "Do you yourselves pay your tithes to God? Stand up, those of you who do." The listeners stand up in thousands. "There are a number of robbers here who remain seated, and do not pay their tithes to God. Now I know who are the robbers. Do you know what should be done with you? I will tell you. There is nothing for you but the fire--the fire! Is it not villainy to rob one's brother?" "Yes." "Is it not villainy to rob one's mother?" "Yes." "Is it not the vilest villainy to rob God?" "Yes." "Well, there are some among you who are not ashamed of committing it. You are robbing God all the time. You are like Ahaz, the Judean king famed for his impiety, and if you remain as you are, you will be doomed to eternal death. To whom does the tithe belong? What is done with it? I am going to answer that. If anyone here says that what I possess is taken out of the tithes, he lies--and I will make his lie stick in his throat. The tithes and all other offerings go straight to the general fund, and do not even pass through my hands. But I have a right to my share of the tithes. Have I--or not?" "Yes." "Yes, and I shall take it when I have need of it. It is you whom I address--you vile robbers, hypocrites, liars, who pretend to belong to Sion and do not pay the tithe. Do you know what is reserved for you? You will burn in eternal fire. Rise--depart from Sion!" But no one departs. All the defaulters hasten to pay, for the prophet inspires them with a terror very different from their dread of the tax-collector, and there is no single example of one sufficiently obstinate to brave his threats of damnation. In other ways also Elias was all-powerful. He made a mock of political or ecclesiastical elections, holding that a leader's power should not be subject to suffrages or renewals of confidence. Thanks to these sermons, dialogues, and the general _mise en scene_, the autocracy of Dowie was beyond question. IV The new Elias called himself "the divine healer," and, like Schlatter, he attracted all who believed in the direct intervention of God, acting personally upon the sufferer. In their eyes he was simply the representative of God, source of health and healing. It was not he who brought about the cures, but God, and therefore the payments that were made to him were in reality payments to God. This teaching was largely the source of Dowie's power. There were two large hotels in Chicago which were continually filled to overflowing with pilgrims from all parts who came to seek "divine healing." These left behind them sums of money--often considerable--in token of their gratitude to God; not to the prophet, who would accept nothing.