Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1878-06-22


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to take Iis p.Are-
Coionel Insersoll. n he prOclaims
himself to he, II an infidel. and Vet
even As an infidel. believe tha; he
has been ordained ami sent forth Of
Almighty God Just "a the prophets
and iconoclasts of o!d; that lie IL a
voice crying in the wilderness, en-
phatically in the wilderness, all un-
consciously himself. Make straigh,
the crooked paths for .he coming oi
our God"
1t is not to the great crowd OF
those who 60 especially to hear him
that his message is sent, but rather il
is to church members and to preach
ers, to those who, the same as all
other sinners, are too apt to stay
away from the truth. which is pro-
claimed, that they really need. He
calls himself an unbeliever and he
denounces outwardly all beliefs;
but between the lines there is
another reading to this speech, and
underneath oil of this Aippancy
there is an undertone, which 1 be-
lieve is the very breath of the spirit
of God. 1t tells us all; it tells min
listers and church members and so
ciety all through, not that it needs
no religion at all, but rather it pro-
claims that it needs moro religion, o
better religion; proclaims that it
needs richer and grander concep-
tions of God and the spirit world.
1t is this that is the lesson that the
church needs-oh, how much!--to
learn.
> Ard now, tonight, instead of de-
nouncing him with hard names, or,
what is worse perhaps still, passing
him by with the silence of contempt
or a sneer. I propose to recognize
this reading that is between the
lines. I only propose to recognize
this undertone of spirit which there
is oil through his own aippancy, and
to ask whether there is not some
higher, middle ground between
those hard doctrines OF the old
creeds, which he so justly denoun-
ces, and his own utter atheism and
uubelief, where honest, intelligent,
truth-loving men aud women can
consistently stand; something that
shall satisfy at once the demands of
reason and the demands of faith.
Take first that idea which lies at
the very foundation of all religion,
the idea of a personal God; the
doctrine preached to him so often in
the olden times, and set forth even
to-day in so many of the church
creeds; the doctrine of an exacting
tyrant, a being of measureless will
and force, creating myriads of crea-
lures, and then, at his own good
pleasure and without any foresight
Of their faith. or of their works, good
or bad, predestinating some of them
to everlasting happiness and some
of them to everlasting misery; il is
an idea of him that l reject with all
the atheism and infdelity of any
sceptic that is 10 be found in the
land.
But is it therefore necessary that
ws should go 10 the other extreme.
and in giving up the old idea he is .
God Of force and will. 60 Z, the
other extreme and say that there Is
no God Of any kind. as ails Far
from it. Commoa sense. IL seems 20
ne: r~s~un. 1t seems 10 Hne: the
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