The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1885-09-23

viewed ~ absolutely material. SPEAK
as unto wise men Judge We what I say. A
world of our own creation would EN-.
body ideas superior to 1t, independent
OF it. Given such a world and the thing
that made 1t is unto it as God.
Take man whose beliefs are wholly
governed by what he calls his "senses. y
Even such q man, believing only in
material civilization, Is forced to con-
fess, in his better reasoning, that sfteI
all what he admires in art and archi.
lecture WAS a thought before it WAS q
fact ocular Educate the rudest, bold
est materialist away from the sensual
into the elementary propositions Of
philosophy-sueh ss ''the densities Of
different substances are as their specific
GRANTEES, land he will begin to see
what is the motor and master power
thought. He now begins to see that
wrong thought could not build cor
rect bridge. He begins to applaud the
prowess of thought, and to see some
meaning at least in pray ing as well as
planning. Wonderful to tell, yet we
challenge denial Of the charge, that 20
soon AS scientific doctrine becomes
practically beneficial, these would-be
wise men abandon ii to the populaee.
80 long as it is a fine theory, il is the
creed, but when it becomes practical, it
h deserted and damned.
But our skeptical friend may answer:
admit all you demand. There is a
spiritual side to all materi,l facts, but
the one is movable, the other un-
movable. All, indeed Why and how
unknowable? DO you mean that man
has no power to know God? We grant
it, But does 1t follow that God has no
power to make himself known? Mark
you, now, II there 10 any rational hope
that God may reveal himself, the world
will build on that hope. Ii il not ra-
tional to dc 50? You prove that man
cannot know God, and aside from the
Bible the question remains. Can God
make himself known? III you are dis
posed to discredit the Christian con-
seriousness Of all ages, surely you dare
not do violence to the laws OF thought,
and reject philosophic thesis discussed
from the standpoint Of natural reason
You assert that nothing whatever can
be known concerning the origin of
things. What do you mean by "origin
of things?" j. y. Mill denies that God
is the author, because some one may
ask, Who made God? Indeed. Then
all high inquiries must stop. For to
ask, who holds this book? Is to start the
question, who holds him that holds the
boOk7 Suppose We should find that the
psychological difficulty, yea, impossi-
bility, of man knowing God is taught
in the Bible, would you not accredit a
book with such a suggestion as some
what philosophical and worthy Of all
scceptation? Here it is: "Canst thou by
searching find out God?" Sup
pose that our faith goes out in the di-
rection Of mediation, admitting that
"the Lord of lords dwells in light which
no man can approach unto" admitting
that mo man hath seen God, nor can
see him" our faith exulting in the fact
that 1.-THE only begotten Son, which is
in the bosom of the Father, He hath de-
clared him." is it rational in Us TO
withhold our worship. because there
may be beyond our conception "thun-
der ofpowerT Seeing that man only
knows so much of himself as is mani
fest and yet Herewith is content, why
should he fall out against his ignorance
Of God and because, forsooth, he may
not, cannot, know all of God, and his
ways reject the whole revelation, You
insist that seeing is believing. True,
but what is seeing? What Is il that
believes? How does it believe? You
deny Gods existence. The very fact of
denial implies the existence Of that de-
MED. There can be no negatiou with
out an affirmation. With God there il
the mystery of light. Without God
there is the mystery of darkness. We
leave you to choose. You cannot be
neutral If you were to try. David Hume
tried to be a nihilist, that is. denying
everything and affirming nothing" but
he at last blurted out ave can have no
sensation of efficiency, therefore no idea
of it." The philosophic postulste OF
materialism is i: "sensation Is the only
source OF knowledge" No act of man
is really spontaneous. Ii is due to what
they call molecular changes" Ae-
cording to Mr.. Stuart Mill, "the mind
is voltaic pile, giving shocks of
thought"
II we must interpret the abstract by
the concrete, and we must, we lind
that personality becomes doctrinal, and
to criticise character is to criticlse logic.
-sADaJ VI hhC hoAoCto Aa8tCAfoi
not TO say all of them, took
counsel with prudence and used the
hands of Esau to bride church whos e
creed they, in their hearts, condemned.
Hobbies was crafty and cowardly. He
said worship was due to God" and in
the next breath said: "sll religion is
Follow such n man, Ex.
cuse US. When dying, Hobbies said:
III shall he glad TO find hole to creep
out of the world" But, you say, L
intend to die without fear Indeed
So do hogs and dogs, without hope and
without fear. You say 1 will answer
God for myself. Iwilltel him that
was honestly mistaken Honestly mis-
taken! What do you mean by that? A
man is driving recklessly through
streets and runs over a child
and kills it. Can the plea, III did not
,oaon 10 10 IA - axa,,sa h;p,9 NJ in !