, 1875-07-26
The Rev. Charles L. Thompson
on the Proofs Of Religion.
Continuation OF tho Rev. e. r. Pow.
cll's Disc0urscs on Chrls!'s
Divinity.
Sermon by DR.. Thomas on
Mystery and Religion.
The Rev. Albert WaIkley on Unity IN
Christ.

| CnrISIs
THE RATIONAL SUPPORT OF RELIGION.
| 8ERMoN III TIE nEY. c. l.. THOMPSON.
| Tho Roy. Charles L. Thompson, rnstor OF tic
| Fifth Presbyterian Church, preached tho follow
Ing excellent Botmon yesterday morning, taking
for bis subject, "Tho National Support OF To-
| 1gion ":
In tho great spiritual obHcnrisy that bnnga
| aronnd the world, lickcriny hope III the bcs:
10 can havo, and 1t Ia idle 10 whit for tho stealy
light of conviction that springs from argument.
| We Al1ude to tho Ruggostion OF tho daily pross,
because In thts ~ Ia many other THUGS 1t ia tho
cxponont Of popular sentinont. Tho daily pfcBs
with wonderful verBa.iIity tnkoa tho iloas Of
currcnt literature Translates thom into tho yer-
nacuinr Of daily life, and thon sends thom abroad
the teady-conel sentiments Of poopIo too idle to
road or too foehlo to thinls. Tho philosoplic
form OF tho Bugachtion, that quit arguing;
about raligion and con1ne ourselves 10 hoping,
| In about this:
From, tho nature Of religious truth. 1t ia vague
and uncertain. Being In tho realu, Of Bcn.i-
ment and emotion rathor than In that Of roason,
1t In not capable Of .hoao fo:ms OF lugIc by whirh
roaaon assuros US OF truth. It may or 1t may
not DO true; hut It is impossible for uH to
. scenco OF uncertainty, and IS, tho1cforo,
properly areating. science at all. 10 tho cx-
issenco Of God, and Of tho future. ana all tho
groAt idoas that cluster around death aud in
mortality, must bo asanrnod ratbcr than
proven; or, At tho most, tho proof is
merely inferential. Thus NO may infer
from our moral nature that thoro
IN somewhere An object Of worship corresponding
t!ierato: Wo may. IRON the aualosics OF Nature,
The revival of spring, Tho motarnorph0sos OF .i,-
scctn, and ~ On, coIlutrGct kind Ut theory of
pro6abhtios from wLlci. it shall nppoar ropalt'ln.
aud perhaps probable, Tint tliero ii a 0ul! ald 4
fttnra Ftato but tllis III not kn0wlett:u It In at
btrt Int l,opo, having moro or lcsA foundation.
And religion cDnnot, on theso grounds, ctAln d
renly ratorai support.
AKalu, 1t Ia claimed that religion dealh with
tho Infinite; nl to M, with faculties bounded
by ti'na and sracc tho iutaita canot ho rat,os,-
ny considered. 1t cannot 10 q factor il, hty
hn iniinito God aud M iutinito lifo, yon
are projecting parabolA whose curve
will mover rotuzn, and cannot bo do
.cEmincl. You nro dealing with terms thnt
yoi1 from Them construct All Argument about re-
ligien, you deceive yourself with wotdH,-with
terms which seom 10 stand Tor aouac large truth.
bnt Which SO far Is you can know, really stand
for nothing at all.
For these reasons, Tho higher class Of utllita-
tian nkeptcs remand all te,igion to the realm Ut
tho clotds. Ihey measure tho earth. md sound
the aoaa. On the former shoy build thoir
louaes, tue iattcF ts the highway for their
wea'tll. But religious truths are only thu clouds,
gloomy or gorgeous, M tho Varying hue NAV
tsko them. that hang over tho homes Of sciences.
Beautiful TO look upon, but neither weighed nor
measured, too uuroai to uphold any Structure
Of argument or 10 10 tho Anchor Of an4 ration
0l expectation.
And hero lot me- say that am using tho word
religion Ia this discussion instead of tho word
CHFlHtipf1itF hAc Him Iv
whether the ChrlatEan tollgon has rational
grounds, but whether any roligion has. Uocausa
al forms Of religion doal With those unknown
0y n,' 81 !he in,v,sns the n-
ttcism which attacks tho foundations Of our
faith by iGuoring them, which af'rms that what
aver n outside the catogortes Of logic ts outside
=. hkaowiGdss attesks equally o,oy form Of
voey foundation Of rnorais, At all the ltnmorta,
hopes Of man. Il IL indoed question not Of
thia form Of faith or that; not OF Christisn-
ity ~ oppoaea 70 Judaism, Of Protestant.
roTealod religion - imposed TO Deidm
eyon. Tho grand question Of the age, aolennty
essled from heights Of speculative science, like
dipPantly ro.eehood by cl,srstans iu various d.
partments OF literature, "a this: "1lAye wo gnY
God or any religion ?"
The Angrer to that All-imporsant question, IA
Science gives T. il that tiere may be, but uauro
Tho ansxer from philosophy ia this, There
may be; but IT there IL, you must not sock tho
evidence from reason.
rhs s..s, fes , tho ,ksp;is.l world =. Largo
osatnto and the daily press, H this: En.oEtain
the dream Il Il bo pleasant TO ynu, il Ii glltls
tLe horizon beyond tho dark mountain
IL ,u drawn > beautiful dr.pcrY around
down to pleasant droams. but tho hard world OF
sclet1ca aud reason IL no more Affected by your
dteNn than we're Tue stones Of Bethel that
sxsps 1ons ssa s, . s ,;Sa as Of ;fs
thus that thore s1e two eksptical tendencies
Ono Of thom aitrms that tho evidence Of
M Nature md history proves thas there IL no God.
This ta The old. aud now, among tho better odu-
Gated. tue abandoned position. Positive Athe-
i'm III looked upon ~ vulgar and unscientiiio,
even Comte, tho anthor Of tho Positive PHI
losnply.@ @ would not be called an Atheist. Nor
spencer school admit auch uone,
Tie other ekepttcal tendency, taking Ito rise
from DAVID Hume aud carried on BY Bsntham
II diversified by thoir followers, 10 = purely
doubto. strictly 70 called. mol believer IL
God not \ believer In NO God almply mau
OF ~ poas aoa IT, 10
Arguments for God aro Ill detective, that tha
supernatural Ia incapable OF proof aud that,
though religion ncvek can agAin tcst on auy
basis Of 1oaaon, It Ia we'll enough 70 retain 1t Ia
tho rcaln Of sentiment and fssliax. upon thla
polnt. mir. hll!l thinks, = subjective religion, 4
Worship Ut self or humanity. Ii a good tiuug.--
preferable 10 the Christian religion. Dnt
whateyes theso skeptlcs are willing 10 concuIe
+ as matter Of favor to tho unlyef Il moral aou.
timsnt, they all aK!ee that the cd supposts u
tho Christian sellglon have been knoea.d away
BY science, aud though We build altars wo nlu,t
foraTerswrlte Oh them tho Athcnian inscription,
ITO tho unknownF' It iH thta aguosticistu--
I thla tEaory Of the religious Know Nothis.gs-
!, which wish 10 combat
Lot ~ como directly 10 tho question bcfore NJ,
Can religion bo proven 7
The inquiry Arises, What do you mean by
psunstas seI&1onf What " rational support Of
9eH&1ons Ihs astronomer co1eY with hin ta1a-
ssope. s*eops y around tho heavens, and ssya,
~. cAnaot 200 GOD. l an lsft in doubt whether
siah theda = ~ n.y." Tho sntomoloRist looks down
t.,.,@. sne aooole ieuses Of hia microscope