The Andrew County Republican. [volume] (Savannah, Mo.) 1871-1876, 1875-09-24
A Day Outside of the Church.
''U Christ b not risen, then is your tiaiE,
ratn, 0ti &c are get IN your sins"

gagged the attention of the historian,
Through all ages of men: the poet, where
history has spoken, and where it has
NOT, has reached his highest strain when
he sought TO brin" the idea of divinity
into his song; the philosopher has con-
fe>Sed 10 his own devotion and with his
fellow mortals worshippeI at some
common shrine. Every nation, every
tribe, has, in some peculiar way, mani
tested the common inclination of man to
uust, or dread, some supernatural pow
CT, and clothc such a power with the
highest attributes conceived in their
minds, and to worship such Il being as
their supreme duty. No fact is better
sustained by history no thought more
constantly doccNupon by the poet; and
with the philosopher, an idea neUer for
goHcu. The universal, and constant
presence OF definite ideas of religion,
and sentiments, Indicating the i%nclina-
ton of mankind to religion, seem to be
fully Sustained by evideRce, as satiSfac-
tory as man could wish; 10 ancient
writing has been found but cOYroberates
this fact. and modern werks of history,
travels, &c, fully confirm it as a truth.
Whether man is ignorant, or intelligent,
he wOrShips If the mind be darkened
he wOrShipS, wen if he knows not what
he wor>hipS; ifhe is enlighted, SO that
he attains the highest natural benefits,
reaping from art and science, the great
est good of earth, or, from his intellec-
tual development, possessing the great
est bOons OF civilization, he still wor-
ships some being beyond the clear con
ccption of the mind. The highest civil
cation of the world finds Its pOsseSSors,
in the fullneSs of their intelligence, I'M
ceasing in their worships and earnest in
inquiry concerning the will of God;
bringing their religion into the precincts
of thought making actions, and even
desires and intentions, pregnant with
awful responsibilities, putting busy life,
with all its doingS and purposes, under
the searching inquiry of an Almighty,
All-Seeing. and infinitely holy being, at
whose will, they expect to receive pen
atty, or reward for conscious righteous
ness OF sin. From this extreme, of civ
ilized and intelligent man, to the other
of the savage and barbarouS races, man
is a religious being; from generation to
generation he retains the same propen-
Sitv; and while cities decay, and nations
perish, and idols are DESTROYED, the re-
ligiouS inclination, seems everlasting as
MAJ himself. 1t seems, that the inves-
LEGATION of this question, reveals the
fact that where the intellect is develop
ed, that the religious nature acquires
corresponding strength, and that the
dcgencrGcy ofthc mind points to the &c
Gnction Of the religious principles. Many
travellers, have declared that certain
tribes have no religious ideas whatever.
One writer says: 1.-THE opinion that re-
ligion is general and universal, has
been entertained by many high authori-
ties. Yet it is opposed to the evidence
of numerous Trustworthy obScrverS.Sail
ors, traders and philosophers, Roman
Catholic Priests, and Protestant Mis-
sionaries, in ancient and in modern
times. in every part of the globe, have
concurred in stating that there are races
of men altogether devoid of religion.
''Origjn Of Cirilizaii0n," p. III. An
other SAYS: atheism is the natural
condition of the SaUdge unrestricted
mind" ~"Abeokuta," p. 179, vol. i.
Darwin says: The idea of a univer-
sal and bcneficcnt Creator of the uni
verse does not seem to arise in the mind
0I man until he has been educated by
long continued culture descent OF
Man, On the contrary it is said by
another writer. that, The idea of God,
the belief in God, may be justly repre-
Septed az native TO man. ''IntUGttOnS of
tie Nind' p. So. Mr.. Spencer says,
and there are few ~profounder thinkers,
'.ReIigious ideas of one kind or another
are almost, if not quite universal, even
lift be true, that there exist tribes OF
men who have nothing approaching a
theory of ~creation-cven should 1t be
true, that only when a certain phrase of
intelligence is reached, do the most ru-
dimentary Of such theories make their
appearance, the implication is practical
" the same. The universally of relig-
ious ideas, their independent evolution
among different primitive races, and
their great vitality. unite in showing
that their scarce must be decp-seated
instead of superficial" "F!rSt PTinc5-