Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1875-12-04

ned in signalling this renewal OF the OLD war
fare, II, Indeed, there has ever been q truce;
Natural religion is gone. The old
forms OF deism have departed. DIFF
nculties OF scripture, questions Of
canonicity and inspiration are thrown INTO
the back ground. Pantheism has dropped It's
mask; apparent extremes have come together;
q false spiritualism is found TO De the sPecter
of the grossest materialism; the mirage Is
dissolving; the ghosts have ned, ana now
there stands directly confronting each other
the two mighty FOES that al aI 10 s
battlefield. have been the only real antagon-
lists On the one side stands christianlty-tne
old christianity, the only christianity that
has ever had power for the souls OF men; on
the ether q blank Atheism, with all the APP
palling desolRtlon that connects Itself with
old battle-stbe conflict of ages" as il may
be well termed. II was in Moses days the
God of the bible against the gorgeous nature
worship of Egypt and Syria, with It's subtle
science which said, "God Is nature; Nature is
God" 1t is the God of the bible now against
this same theory Of the universe which denies
the first article OF the Apostles Creed, which
says, al believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth" l propose,
therefore, that we follow the comparison IN a
threefold contrast. First-The two creeds con-
trasted as to their doctrines. Second-As 10 the
evidence upon which they claim our assent.
Third-As 10 their respective lnnu nue. l upon
human happiness, civilization ana progress:
l. First, then, the cTee5s contracted as 10 tpe1T
contents. "God, +" SO teaches the prevailing IN
fidelity, "God TO reclaim the old name Tor
mere conyenience) is the sum of all those
nVsferious forces by whose ceaseless play the
forms OF animal and vegetable life are heated,
maintained and dissolved. Matter is the
eternal clay, force the potter. We and all or:
ganisms are the vessels, nrst fashioned ana
then shivered into atoms by the heaItless,
passionIess, sightless, purpOseless fate or force
Man is a bodily organism and no more.
Thought Is q secretion of the brain. Prayer is
a harmless self-deception. Heaven dream,
hen a cheat, Immortality a delusion, unless
with Moleshott holding the indestrucubility OF
material atoms, we comfort ourselves WITH
the thought of death sending our d1ssoiyeo
particles forward upon ceaseless combina-
lions in the circle OF life. This, brethren, U.s.
in bri eff utheir rock" Let us turn to the other
creed. The first sentence almost OF Moses re,
turning from exile 10 liberate those degraded
slaves of Pharoh, was denial OF the "secret
doctrine" Of Egyptian nature W9rshlP.
"Jehoyah," he replied. "I am, the self-exist-
emit One, who is above, throughout, beyond all
nature-a personal Cod; rms was the pasls
development of this germ OF scrptural theol-
ogy. The law .giver's mission was TO establish
the personality, unity, holiness and dominion
proved His omnipotent Providence while
Prophecy stood pointing TO the coming one,
greater than Moses as the kings son is above
the kings servant. Aaronic priesthood,
smoking affairs, dying lambs and blood, be-
dewed mercy-seat, all betokening the tragedy
of Calvary as the first faint III, bushes IN. IN the
Moses finds its full development In Jesus
Christ. God is revealed as ga spirit, infinite,
eternal and Interchangeable IN MS oelng, WIS WIS
truth" Man is the earthly image OF that
God, possessing soul that scorns the shafts
of death. Prayer is child asking faVors OF
an almighty parent, which he loves to grant,
Christ having all power in heaven and earth,
is our friend and brother. He warns, chaSt-
with us through the "dark valley" he
walks with us over the verdant fields
Of the heavenly, Can Canaan ho,ra angels
companions. Surely we can see in this hasty
outline how true II is that " their rock is not
as our rock" And we might cite abundant tes-
tinony to show that our enemies are aware of
it. 1 shall name two only;-Hegel and
Strauss. "The worlds history" says Hegel,
is the golgatha of the absolute spirit
wherein the hopes and interests of the indi-
vidual are mercflessly sacrificed that the ideal
humanity may progress" Let not names de-
ceive you, brethren. Hegel uses the biblical
His absolute spirit only comes to conscious
ness in man" 1t is not distinct from nature
you see. II has no personality, and in this he
fact he tells about the truth when he
says that his god equals an infinite
nothing" He evidently confesses the su-
periority of christianity in seeking to
embody the "ideal humanity" in every 1ndi-
viduaI christian. sit doth not yet appear
what we shall be, but we know that when He
for we shall see Him as He is" The seer
of Patmos is above the German sage, and
he felt it. And David Frederic Strauss, posi-
bly the bitterest enemy Of christianity that
ever lived, seems conscious of the same in
that famous passage wherein he compares the
universe to vast machine, driven by I'M
known powers, without any plan, Its adaman-
tine wheels crushing out the hopes and aspi.
rations of men, as the car OF Juggernaut
u l. i.| The Evidences for he Ts0o 6+eeds-
To adopt the infidel creed must consent to
ignore the clearest intentions OF reason.
mands that the cause be adequate
TO the effect But infidelity requires me 10 be.
lieve that unintelligent forces can bring
thinking mind out of nfeless matter. The
principle of design leads me to trace out the
thought embodied in work of art or in
cunningly devised piece of machinery. But
the infidel creed is annihilated when we ap-
ply this same principle to the facts OF the
world. A living writer comments upon Ba-
cons description of the attitude ofthe human
mind ia the very act OF studying nature. The
problem is'Given a certain result to be accom-
plished, what means are probably employed
powers working together, what end do they
seem likely to accomplish" Lord Bacon de-
scribes the search as "a prudent questioning"
marks that this questioning" assumes all the
while that there is q mind in nature
analogous to our own. The physical in
Vestigator really seeks to place himself en-
rapport with this mind. He solves his prob
lem by saying, "What means would choose
to employ for this end? What results would
thus, says this acute thinker the underlying
basis of the inductive method is that very
princip pie which teStifieS to personal God.
Again, mans moral nature must be ig
nored, explained away, or silenced for the
benefit Of this infidel creed. Conscience dis
eliminates right from wrong. This gives a
law, and q law implies n law given. Con-
science gives rise to the feeling of good or i'll
desert Conscience cannot punish me, but IL
suggests one who can and will. Conscience
gives rise TO that word, "ought"-duty. And
duty carries me 10 the feet of my King and
Lord. All this must be ignored or denied, if l
am TO be an infdel.
Lastly-My religious nature testifies TO that
unseen object whom tnstinctively am in
clined to adore. Is this instinct a delusion?
Then there is a lie in the noblest element of
my being. "False in enc thing, false in all -
In point OF evidence, tabth has the advantage.
3. Their ReSpectfue Influences upon Human
Happiness, Civilization and Pro0TeSS-As to the
ancient nature-worship, we know what it de-
yeloped in Egypt, Babylon, Corinth and
Rome. AS the tinsel and paint began to wear
of, and the ''secret" began to leak out, Pagan
authors and the bible agree in every particu.
lar. Paul, as an eyewitness, draws the picture
from life. Go, look on 1t in the first chapter
of Romans. In our modern world the con-
trolling influence of christianity has as yet
kept down the tide of pollution
W6rd Ba dH %ce ugea fSa s eeeupT
has 1t pleased God to permit the infidel creed
to have full sway. The scene of the tragedy
was on both these memorable occasions laid
in the " orld's metropolis-the capital of arts,
civilization and refinement. The "Reign OF
Terror" and the wild orgies of the commune
were the successive acts in the bloody drama.
Learned men may amuse themselves with adj
the modern theory of the universe,
as skeptlcal priests enjoyed the "secret doc
trine" in olden times; but woe be to the world
when an intiamed people begin to act as if
God is an empty name, death al eternal sleep,
heaven dream, aud hell deluston!
Looking to their observed influen ces upon
human happiness, progress and civilization,
say with Moses, "Their rockis not as our rock;
even our enemies themselves being judges"