, 1877-06-23
asni!MJsI,iCnli0S.. a.
Superstition.

I We often hear much Of the snnprpti-
FioloE he savage ondth' seHmi nw,llruus
pnfions Of the world at the pr,s,ut day.
RoI"mrs have been written descriptive ut
=" superstition q! past ages. Tet few are
F"rc now much present und pest super
u t'ion influences national character The
I'euel IN the supernatural and the mlrNcu.
t1ui Is wHlc spread anrn- thu numtn race
p even in this enlightened day; and with
HiI onf boaSting and our advantages We
aavc very little to boast Of How many
ages hive elapsed since man came on
cnrth few can tell. His marks OF the
sands OF time though numerous do not
cNteth very far back in the past A few
Ilm scratches here and there, traces OF
his advances and rctrogressions, and we
suon come face to face with prehistoric
nNn; character we have but little
more knowledge Of than OF his brute
cotcmpowrics Yet We are influenced
unconsclousIy every day Ivy habits
primitive customs and modes of thought,
and hug closely to dcIusons that ham
prrcd progress and intellectual develop
nent in the rrmotcst periods. If " were
possible 10 believe in lnan us special ere.
alton which eliminated ot once in prrlec.
tion, without sin or sorrow, free Gnm
pain, inhcricr ofa life Of ease, full grown
M stature both Of botly and intellect. fun
ot oil knowledge, except Of good and
evil, the picture would bp more charming
than the sober reality, Of his gradual de.
vciopcment from msightIy particles to
his present high estate, yet to reach II
still higher and nobler sphere The
doc'rinc ofa special creation nccrsstates
another, that ot n special destiny. This
httcr lctls the human mind to pry into
that destiny and find out what 1t is.
Hence in nll ages beliefs have arisen and
correspondence in belief has resulted in
first patriarchal, then tribal associations
and finally eliminated in the growth Of
nations. As all animals ard plants are
modified m form, habits and modes OF
life by their surroundings, so is mau;
geographical metes and bounds, temper
aturcs and climates, modifes' his
habits, thoughts, aspirations and
beliefs, and as belief is the rudder that
! guides conduct, VIC find the human race
today, governed and controlled by beliefs
That took early root in the prlmahye
mind, and are so venerable with age that
few dare even think of them rs ought
else but truth itself
a Such belief is that ct a personal
v Deity, being with foim of visible sub
stance, with attributes, passions,
aspirations and fixed abiding place, of a
future state of existence where man ran
again recognize his own identity and
that Of those he loves. Such belief can
only spring from desire, and the kind OF
OF Deity and future state we believe in nre
such as we earnestly desire they should
be. Or in other language, primitive man
has created a supreme being and future
state, in form such ashe wished or imng-
incd him to be, and as races multiplied
and separated, their beliefs have been
modified from time to time by theft en-.
yironment, their Deity and future has
undergone corresponding changes, result
ing in the various religious beliefs which
are to be found in modem times among
the nations Of the world. The idea, that
the material universe furnishes all the
evidence we have OF Deity, and none
whatever of any hut matcrialistic
Future, is comparatively a modern one.
SO complete Il revolution in thought will
necessarily be ofsIow growth. Children,
do not easily surrender ti,eir toys, grown
up children their pets and idols, and old
ones their bcliefS.ti they do sur ender them
they will often afterwards he, found lin.
gering around the old play houses, look.
ing wistIully at the old household rods
and gliding up and down, in the old
l. Al