News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1884-06-26

which as the result of use produce cor
viction or belief. are not self-wOrkin
and independent faculties, but are rathe
the tools furnished by the Divine Archi
| tect, to moral agents who are to use thes
tools in the formation of opinions, an
beliefs, Just as much as the hand
| furnished as a tool for manual labor, an
is made subject to the man possessing II
In the original creative act God CAV
man dominion over the fish of the sea
and over the fowl of the air, and owe
every living thing that moveth upon tn
earth, and he who was made moDarch G
all these things exterior to himself, mus
also have been made king over himself
His physical powers, his intellectua
perceptions, his moral faculties, all beini
subordinated to the ego, the person
back of them. To hold any other view
is to dishonor God and to belittle man
Belief is modified
10 BIZ mans enUiroznlent w
are in some measure the creatures o
circumstance. From our surroundings
for which we may or may not be ac
cOuntable. we gain impressions whicl
give birth to the views we hold. A mani
birthplace and his parentage have mucl
to do with his faith. The opinions We
hold are in a great measure the legacie'
of the past. They have come down tt
us from generation to generation, passed
from father to son. 1t is natural anC
right that the child should receive its in
struction from the parent, and the in
telligence of the child and its correct
l..
ure on its parentage and the b me in.
struction. The faith of the father is al
least the first faith of the child. The
associates are also moulders. The
schools are irfuential-the books and
papers read-the lectures attended, all
these I call n mans environment. His
belief must be modified by it, and his
responsibility or lack Of responsibility
must be proportioned to the measure Of
opportunity. A man born in Central
Africa, will have the religious concep-
tions of central Africa. He will be a
polytheist, without doubt. Born in Per-
sia, Dualism would be the legacy of his
fathers, aud dual conceptions of God
would be his. Educated as Jew, he is
by the force of his surroundings a mon.
one God would berepugnant. These diff.
feI ences of belief are the effects of sur
roundings, and in the final estimate of q
mans responsibility for the truth ol
falsity of his conviction the environment
must be counted in. From whom much
is given much shall be required. These
SUI roundings, home instruction, schoo
instruction, church instruction, reading
ETC., are TO every searcher after truth
either lights to aid the natural powers
of vision or blinds to obstruct, and it is
part of his duty to inquire whether
they are lights or blinds.
But 2. A mans character n1odifet
his belief in the same sense that his be.
lief modifes his character. The conflict
between conviction and life can not be
long continued and either the life must
conform to the conscience or the con.
science becomes blunted in such a man.
ner as to at least cease its accusations.
If guilty pleasures and sinful ways are
persisted in, the result must te belief,
that will in some way condoue his faults.
False testimony is admitted into court,
special pleading is made by desire, while
conscience finds his voice hushed in the
clamor, the jury is suborned, and ver-
dict rendered that is obviously unjust,
put yet has the scent and flavor of legal
ty. A dissolute life gives birth to lax
IDEAS concerning divine justice. The
very conception of God as a consuming
fire is most terrific to a man under bond
age to himself; it keeps him in constant
alarm: it burns beneath his feet like the
fires of a volcano; he hears its rumble
and roar, and at last terrified by its
sound and its menace he either leaves
his sin or purchases peace by stopping
his ears, shutting his eyes and doing
away with moral responsibility by doing
away with divine being, who interests
himself in the affairs of men. In this
bIasphemy against heaven he fancies
himself free, and reioices in the triumph
of reason over education and superstition
and priestcraft. Young, in his Nigh
Thoughts, says. ''What ardently We
wish we soon believe" Desire sees only
that evidence which ministers to its ap
petites. 1t hears but one side, and if IL
response to its call the soul becomes for,
tilted in some erroneous conception o.
some false belief, it must be held respon
sible. On the soil of an impure and de
fective life, we have no right to expect
any thing other than rank harvest o
errors in faith and doctrine, and if fol
the life a man is responsible, he is re
sponsible for the belief that is a legiti
mate out-growth of the life. When {
mans spiritual blindness is the result o
willful eye closing to light given, he may
well tremble in thought Of the Judgment
The very consciousness of rejected Ggh
is its own condemnation. "This is the
condemnation, said the Savior, "tha
light is come into world and men love
darkness rather than light, because thei
deeds are evil" Evil deeds and evil de
sires make darkness in the midst of tbs
suns MONDAY glare simply because the!
lead the man to close the eyes that woul(
see the light.
3. Belief Is modified by aaegLecttrag t.
use the souls Perce1OtiUe fOaOerS, unit
at last they become extirpated by disuse
Responsibility is always commensurate
with privilege. The man with fv,
talents was measured in his responsi
bility by five talents, the man with thre,
by standard of three, and the man will
one by one, and that only. To the maj
using the five to good purpose, the Lore
said, "well done" To the man improv
ing his three, He said, "well done
For the slothful and wicked servant
who buried his gift in a napkin, He haC
nothing but condemnation and ordered
his little taken away and given to hin
who had much. In this parable il
plainly taught the law well revealed 10y
nature, that the permaueucy of posses
sion and the power of any faculty de
pends upon his use. God has furnished
every mind with a greater or smaller
stock of perspective apparatus. Its in
crease depends upon its Dse, and {
failure to use it which results in disaster
to the soul, leaves the responsibility fol
the disaster with the agent thus en-
dowed. Conscience is an aid to correc
belief. Experience is an ally; observa
tion-educatiOn- sibilities- affections
all parts of every mans furnishing
and yet vast numbers make no use o
them. The most important questions o
life are not once thought upon. TIL,
cares of this world, the petty details o
daily life, the question as to how thi
dress shall be cut? or this picture hung
or this trade cOmsummated ? or this am
bition gratifed? or this appetite satisfied
these things come in, occupy the time
and the servants of the mind given c
God to lead men to Him, are eithe
prostituted to some other uses or left i
total neglect, and total neglect mean
extinction sooner or later. The arm un
used means paralyzed arm. The eve
perpetually closed lose the power {
vision. Neglect, of the garden of tn
soul that should blossom with the flower
of bright ideas and correct belief cor
cerning God, and mature in the fruit c
love, joy, peace, long suffering an
righteous living, insures an unsightl
patch of noxious weeds, that shall chok
ont the good seed sOMn of God Ever