The sun., 1873-09-13

consOnant with the general working Of an all
powerful Creator that he should have endowed
human nature with the germinant conditions OF
speech instead Of presenting mute beings with
grammars and dictionaries ready made - and
that n universal ptlmcval religion revealed
direct by God to man, or rather to a crowd of
atheists, may to our human wisdom seem the
beat solution of all difficulties"
Orthodox theologlans and critics have never
claimed that the Creator presented mute be
ngs with grammars and dictionaries ready
made Such statement is a inisrepresenta-
tion Of the orthodox position on this question.
The second clause OF Mr. Mnlers statement,
In which lie refers 20 " universal primeVal re-
ligon revealed direct by God to man, or rather
to crowd Of atheists" is still more unfair and
offensive. Besides, IL Ia a false analogy, and
does not logically contrast with the bestowal Of
grammars and dictionaries, ready made, upon
mute beings. The mute beings must have been
in the lowest scale OF intelligence and mere
passive recipients. But an atheist Is a man Of
some degree Of intelligence, who has arrived at
a theological conviction, who has considered
some system OF religion, or some theory Of a
God, and made up his mind that there is no
GUd.
Mr.. MGllcr's next blunder reminds us of one
that company Of young japanese once made in
the press room Of The SuN, which they visited
to see how newspaper Is printed. They had
been through the tabllshmcnt, had examined
its workings with intense interest, and seemed d
to understand everything until the printing
presses were started 10y letting on the power,
which came through a shaft from neighhorns
building. This mode of driving the presses they
could not comprehend; they looked upon them
a- live creatures. and could not hc made To- be-
leve that they did not run 10y virtue Of their own
Inherent forces. 1t Is just the same with Nr.
NGllcr and an the uaturali-tc school. Their
analysis ot phenomena, II facts, " everything,
is complete, t.l they get down tu the source Il
Intelligence aud life, the conduit Of revelation
and Of divine influence to them invisible. Then
they are like the young Japano who thought
the presses Of InE SIS ran hy thcir own M
horcut powers. They think that nature runs
by its own inherent powers. They cannot COM
prcheud the sClf-cXi,tcnt, divine motor TO-
them invisible.
According to Mr.. Miller the motor which
works mans religious machinery Is "third
faculty." n scientific faculty. faculty ON
which religion is based, which lc calls "a
power independent of sense and reason. a
power in certain sense con'r1dicted by
sense aud reason which "neither sense nor
reason has been nbie to overcome, while
n alone Il ahle to overcome both reason
aud sen-e,' and without this power Mr.. Muller
declares that mo religion would be possible" "
And yet on the sixty-seventh page q his book
he says the word II God, which he there uses
a. synonymous with religion, will Ice found
revealed, where alone II can be revealed-rc-
veoled In the heart Of man"
MIR Mnler's third faculty. then, Is not an in
telectuh faculty, scientific fac Ilty, as hc sup
poses It to be- II religion can only be revealed
IN the heart Of man, then the faculty to which.
or In which, or through which It is revealed
must be a faculty of the heart and not faculty
OF the head. Tlis would account for the third
faculty being independent Of sense aud reason,
aud In certain sense contradicted 10y sense
aud reason and 1t al-o lcreayes Mr., MGllcr of It
as scientific faculty aud foundation for his
Science - Religion. And what kind OF a
science would that be which was founded
ON faculty INDEPENDENT Of sense and
reason, which q In some respects con.radc;ed
by sense and reason, and which has a habit Of
overcoming both reason ami son-cf
II Mr. MGier only understood that that ire
sistible and dcetAles- power, which lie calls a
third faculty" and who Sc presence hc So con
stantly recognizes as underlying religious pho
nOnena, IL the germ Of the spiritual nature
Of man. and that instead of It's being All
originating faculty as he supposes IL to
be, 1t Is receptive faculty, bestowed up
on us by the Creator t. enable us to receive
and accept the revelations which lie gives
us by influencing our affections aud illuml-
mating our iutoiecncc-if Nr Muller under
stood these truths, then hc MlLht hope to make
effective use Of that "third faculty. In the de
velupment - science II Religion. But tho
trouble wiki him lis that he plants himself un an
uusound basi-. lie believes THAT man, hy search
ing, cau find out God that there Wa. no necessity
furarcNelatiun A. tu the iwuIort .ty AMI the dee
tiny Of the human soul, the origin 4 nature, the
creation Of man, the existence Il God, or any
other fundamental fact of tine or eternity. Ac-
Cording to his theory. man aud nature possess
inherent originating forces suficcn to initiate
and AIRY ON to perfection every discovery ANA
development of which the human mind can take
cognizance. That is To say, man and nature
having once got aguinG, no matter how, can
ow 80 on Independently and run the
machine by their own inherent vital forces
Thus Mr.. Muller argues, because hc finds
divine elements and traces of fundamental
unity In the religions Of the Aryans, the
sh,mites, the Turnnians, and their collateral
branches, that all these different peoples and
tribes, without any rS Of revelation To iHuminc
the precedent darkness which surrounded them.
must have severally wrought out their religions
from their own inner Consciousness by means uf
their third faculty.
We entirely dissent from this doctrine, and
H'ld tat the me- the power ut nature IN every
part, aud including man himself, Is manifesto
tion ot the life and power of God and that what
ever divine elements inherc In the religions Of the
world come through revelation from Him who
can alone furnish divine clementsl lrhey were
not furnished 10y Nasshtha, ZJrOastcr, or Bud
dha, hy Moses or MAhumet, hy Cmfucius or
Lao-tsc, 10y joe smith or brigham Young.
Whatever there II Of divine truth in the Koran
or in the Book Of Mormon, or in any religion
whatever, is derived from divine revelation.
II Is not natural product Of the mind
Of man. Ii l. not drawn out Of his Intel
ltct or hi. affections. II Is not suggested
| 10y the phenomena Of nature or prompted
| 0y the experience Of ifc 1t source is higher -
the highest. J.. comes from God out Of Heaven.
And the fact that In all i.iuus there Is much
that IL identical, that Cuufdcius and Christ have
uttered words nearly the same; that the Lord :
| Prayer was addressed TO the Father If All be-
/ fore the Lord gave 1t to Ills apostles. that
/ buddhism likewise teaches some Of the truths
taught 10y our Saviour; al these facts and others
! Of kiLdr.d character do indeed prove that the
various religions = men how from one common
! fountain, bat they GO not prove that fountain
! to he Nature; thcN prove rather that this won