Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1868-12-23
The Faithful Activity of the Life of
Christian Faith

HIT VI H4flt VI
Christian Faith.
This is the theme Of the discourse delivered
by President Angel, Of the University Of
Vermont 70 the graduating class of that
institution last Augustil md is a most thought
full and eloquent presentation of the subject
We copy some of the closing paragraphs of
this sermon
This is not an age Of robust faith. A large
propOrtiOn of the men, who for the last fifty
wears have been leaders in shaping opinion,
have eschewed the simplicity of this old
fashioned filth as puerile and superstitious
and supcrannuated. Skepticsm concerning
the biblical ideas of God and Of our relation
to HIM have largely prevailed The effect
upon the intellectual work Of this period is
manifest That work has been negative
rather than positive. Destructive criticism
we have seen and still see in abundance.
But Of construction, creation of the highest
order, we find but little in philosophy or
letters. Every period Of doubt has been
marked by the same intellectual character
istics. acuteness and subtlety in questioning,
but no up-building power They are barren
Of those great works, which the Germans
call epoch-1naking, those works. which never
grow stale or old, bus fresh in eternal youth,
enrich and charm all coming generations.
1t is with phil sophie truthfulness that
Goethe paints his Mephistophiles a. one who
indulges in perpetual negations. Is it not
because Of the lack Of a manly and inspiring
faith that 50 much Of our poetry gives us
sentimentalism. instead of pure and noble
sentiments, and while protesting to paint
with del ght all forms Of sensuous beauty is
gliding straight down into sensualIty? Inc
open and unblushing dedication of lust by
one Of the most popular and gifted Of the
Younger poets of England, and the extreme
sensuOu=ness Of GerOme and the other mem
bers of the realistic school of art IN France,
which seems to have so much vitality Just
now. and the positively pagan spirit of some
Cf the verses of certain brilliant American
poets, are facts which awaken painful re-
fections in one who studies the tendencies
Of the times We find an able, learned and
increasing school Of philosophers practically
Ieglsating our personal God, our loving
Father, our Sanctiier and Kedeemer, out of
the universe, limiting faith to that little
world which can he seen and touched and
handled, in fact supplanting faith by sight
There are 10 them ND yerities Of unseen
world The narrow horizon which our eve
sweeps around, Imprs0ns Us as with wall
Of brass Man Is to them only n splendid
animal whose character and whose intellect
are determined mainly hy the fact whether
he eats rice or beef. Psychology Is blotted
from tie circle Of sciences, and Physiology
Is the only science Of man. The invisi BILE.
the immortal. the spiritual. even if their
possible existence is conceded, are practically
disregarded. because they cannot be meas
ured and weighed by our rods rnd scales.
BY the side Of this hard, dry. narrow, ma
teralistic philosophy, Pantheism itself is
poetical and inspiring. One might almost
be pard0ned for turning away from 1t to the
elder mvthologies and exclaiming :. Oh
L-- ba
peating these words OF the German poet in
better sense than lie gave them
The meadows for the old hallowing life.
NainIy search the earth, Of gods bereft-
Where once the wltm and living shapes were rife
Shadows alone are LETT
Better in some respects APOLLO and Miner
va and JOve, with ali the lofty inspirations
which in the paimy days of Greece were
kindled by their names, than by philosophy
which would annihlate the faith, which
reaches out into the glorious certitudes of
the unseen world
Alas for our young men alas, alas, for
our aye if they give themselves over to the
system of ideas, which cuts them off from
vital connection with the great verities of
the spiritual world Our literature will be-
come arid and egOistic, our philosophlzing
cold and narrow and pinched. our manhood
meagre and morbid, our whole life barren
o. mean. The tendency in this direction
mas Already N~on so obvious as to awaken
painful sOlIcItude IN the 4--i"ds of many men.
Various remedies have been provided. Rut
all VIII he in vain, if the men who are as
piring. and not without success, to
dry up the springs of simple christian faith,
shall accomplish their end Never was there
greater need for scholars to repeat in SINGER
ity that wonderful prayer of Bacon, which
every student should inscribe in his Liturgy
for daily use:
This also y hunnbIy anil earnestly beg that hu-
man thIne- NAV not prejudice such : divine
neither from the unlocking of the gates OF sense
and the kindling of greater natural light, anything
of ncredutv intellectual night may arse III our
mines towards the Divine Mysteries But rather
that bv orr mind thor ughly cleansed and purged
from fancy and vanities and yet subject and per
fectIy gwen mp to the Divine Oraces there may DC
given unto Faith the things that are Faiths
Ii our life is not 10 be introyerslve and
Limited and selfish, if we are to make 1t no
BILE. fruitful and heroic, we must have the
lifting and inspiring power Of a manly faith
IN God. in his truth, in his love manifested
in his Son Jesus Christ. Cur expanse-of ter
rItorv the untold wealth hidden in our mines
our Inexampled national prosperity will ne
worse than useless, what We call national
success viii be only splendid failure, unless
we pour into our national life that great spir-
itual torch, which flows from he throne OF
God. and is appointed by him to vitalize, ell
evate and sanctify all earthly life. To every
nation as truly as to every man, God says
- Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou
shalt be saved.