The New York herald., 1874-10-04

Preaching Dy tDe heV. Dr. flagg IN tne Cnurcn
oil the Resurrection tins morning and evening.
The Catholic Union will hold quarterly meet
ing in the College Hall in West Sixteenth street,
tomorrow evening, and on Friday morning
QUEEN mass with be celebrated for It's deceased
members in St. AIMS church.
The Rev. S. Ii. Piatt win ask DeKalb avenue
Methodist Episcopal CHURCH this morning 10 'pre-
pare the way OF the Lord" and this evening to be
"Fied with the Holy Ghost"
The Christian Theory OF Creation Ver-
sus the Rlateria aIists' Theory.
To TIE EDITOR OF THE HERALD:-
As conclusion to the structures presented to
your readers OH the unwarrantabIe dogmatism Of
some modern scientists, would fam, IN this and
my next Letter, establish parallel between what
may be called the Christian theory OF the uni
verse and The counter theory OF the moterallsts.
Science has sent her prophets to preach clay SER
mons" on the housetops OF London, and our god
lest New York publishers have reproduced them
III cheap editions, to their own great profit doubt
less, albeit to the eternal detiment OF our popula-
tion. Were our most learned and eloquent diyines
to attempt to undo the spiritual mischief thus
done TO our American pubc-loyers OF fair play
and iree dlscussion-they might learn the truth Of
an Old, old saying .'rhat one TOOL can propose
more riddles than ten OF the wisest men can eX-
plain"
II is not my purpose to cast ridicule on true
scieuce; your readers will, l trust, acqut me OF
all sucn intentions Nor do deem it OF any last
ing advantage to the cause of truth to cover even
alse science with rdcule Truth, like liberty, has
been the passion OF my lie, and would bring to
her service no other weapons but candor and
simplicity. Il, in this leIter can only make plain
to every man, woman and child who reads this
page the sublime simplicity OF Goo's ways and
show how lie has made all things sin number,
weight and measure" and governs all things with
a wisdom and power that 'reach nightly from
end to end" and "ordain all things most sweetly,"
then my pans Will have full compensation in your
readers enlightenment.
Christian phiosophy-that is, science enlight
ened by Observation-Disclosures that God created,
governs ana ordains the world 1or His own glory
and tue happiness OF all intei1gen; beings therein.
This proposition sounds commonplace, and
savors, you may think, ol the Sunday school. Only
listen. The natives OF Western Territories
may have crossed the Rocky Mountain passes and
forded Its streams at all seasons without suspect
ing wnat the ghtterng fragments In the water
beneath them denoted and what golden treasures
lay hidden IN the shaggy rocks above and around
tnenl.
So with ourselves. We dream not OF the treas
ures OF knowledge, and, with knowledge, OF
strength and lite, which lie concealed beneath
every one OF those b0undleSs, untathOmed tracts
we Call CHRISTIAN dogmas
Explore we together, reader, this one little
dogma OF creation, aud see what 1T will yield US.
Before creation there was Creator; there was
cause before the effect. AS clearly, as certainly
as now apprehend my own existence and all IN
the past and present connected herewith, per-
ceive God existing from all eternity. He presents
Himself to my understanding as the Infinitely per-
Dafn Gpftn haca f,,tJt tbatn
can aad to His abysmal Iulness and nothing take
from 1T. He contains within the ocean OF HIS being
every conceivable reality; therefore that supreme
realty OF being intelligent, willing, loving-that
Is, OF being personal Cod
Ny God IS, tnen. all intellect and will, all inte-
gence and love, an intelligence embracing and
eXnauSting in It's one simple and most perfect act
OF Knowedge the divine nature itsell and al that
IL Can bring forth, and q love coextensve with
that knowledge and yet Tree yes, iree in all things
that relate not to the perectiohs OF the alvine
essence.
We are treadIng on Gods depths; let us be care
ful, reverent ana slow.
Being the Infinite reality he needed nothing out
SIDE OF Himself Within Himself HIS being was so
rcn and His lie 50 fertile, that He had by the very
necessity OF His infinite nature word, the pro.
duct and son OF HIS intelligence co.substantial
way, like the intellect IRON which it proceeded per-
sonal IN It's nature therefore like the Father SIM
SELL THIS word, Just IKE mine, 1t were the per ect
conception and expression OF an infinite, instead
OF q finite and limited intelligence, expressed the
whole divine reality the mirror OF the Fathers
greatness, rejecting Him back to His own eye and
altering eternally, "Abba, Father" From the
mutual and necessary love OF Father ana Son
sprung another inanite person who is third in that
most perfect and nving unity-the Holy Spirit, the
substantial cOequa ana necessary term of that
mutual infinite love OF Father and Son.
Can make this great truth, this most primal
fact, accessible TO you, readers Bear with me one
moment and you shall see how all this explains
You, Gods creature like everything which He
has made. have in your own soul the living image
OF your Gods being and lie. You, too, are lntell-
gent; every act OF your intellect is conception,
and the term OF each act and conception IS an In
eegsoe sue Do of start or wnbs become
distracted. IL on any one most beautiful and en-
chanting subject you could conceive the truth ade
quately ana express 1T perfectly, II would be the
word mirroring forth your mind on that matter;
and how you would love that conception, that
word, that expression oi your own most intimate
thought and sefl How you would make that 1--we
suDstantl tla lasting and perfect In every way as
that conception Oh yoursl
For reader we poor limited intellecrs do love
With an absorbing love our own conceptions, our
own interior words, expressed in oooks or statues
or paintings or edlnces
But these vital acts of ours. the operations OF
intelligence and OF love which separate us nom
tue brute and make us godike, are only the dim
imperfect shadowings OF what eternally takes place
within the bosom OF the most perfect God.
From all eternity God was by the very necessity
OF Hls nature Father, Son and Holy SPIRIT; God
knowing Himself and finding an eternal, substan-
tia, minute and personal expression OF himself
in the son. and both finding eternal, substantial,
infinite ana personal expression OF their mutual
love IN the Holy Spirit. Such is the wealth OF
mutual knowledge and mutual love which these
three infinite Persons enjoyed from evermore in
their own all-sullcient and most blessed society.
Christian philosophy tells us that this interior
wealth oil lie and happiness, which God possesses
by the very necessity Oh HIS nature, is, on the one
hand, wnat made Him independent OF all things
terna TO Himself, ard what, on the other hand,
made Him able to create, and to create freely and
10 create III time.
God had no need OF creating, because He was all
Intelligence and all love- and mad within Himself
ln1nlte and exhaustlng objects ior both intellect
and Will But because He ,ls both Infinitely good
aud infinitely free He wiled tv communicate both
being ana happiness TO others outside OF Himself
And God. having resolved to create the world,
acted according to the laws OF His nature. Being
supremacy Intelligent and reasonable, lie acted in
creating, as we see reasonable, intelligent beings
acting. IL Is the essential characteristic Of ra-
tonai nature to act according to design-tO work
after preconceived plan. The Old architect OF
tne cathedral OF Cologne had his plan In his mind
before ne sketched II on paper, as discovered at
Length within our own times. Tnere was unity IN
that grand conception, and simplicity. There Is