The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1886-09-25
BELIEF THROUGH EFFORT.

One of the marked phenomena of
this age, is the spiritual unbelief of
large classes of men and women. 1t is
not merely doubt about specific dogmas
of the church, or of the facts of historic
Christianity, but of all religious truth.
And the fact suggests the inquiry, SIS
it all necessary ?" Are so many I'M
believers inevitable ? Are they part
of the age and its life ? Why do so
many merely drift on the sea of opin-
ion, and never come to the truth ? Is
there any need that a man should be
forever in doubt about the great and
central truth of his being Must one
be lever learning and never able to
come to the knowledge of the truth ?''
Is it an unavoidable feature of our age
that men should hold their convictions
on moral and religious themes so loosely,
and drift so aimlessly around among 9TH
er mems views IF it is necessary, it
must be because men are mentally more
inert or morally more careless than
ever before. For there never was an
age when the criteria of truth were
more clear or more numerous. The &C
cumulating evidence sof truth, enlarged
and strengthened through centuries of
time, are stronger to-day than they
were when Luther believed, or Greg
DRY, or Origen. The signs of a certain
intelligence ruling in the heavens have
multiplied with every discovery of sci
ence, and every Investigation of his
tory. If we only think of the facts
which make the foundation of belief, it
is harder to doubt either Gods exist
ecne or the divine nature of Christ and
bis gospel than ever it was before. The
secret of mems indecision or skepticism
does not lie in the confusion of evidence,
or the lack of proofs, so much as it does
in the mental and moral dispositions of
the age. The reason so many have
drifted into doubts about Gods being
and nature, is not that the evidences of
that solemn and inspiring truth are
less clear or convincing, but because
the sordid, worldly, materialistic living
into which our generation has sunk,
dulls the sensibilities and dimnishes
mems aptitude for truth. 1t is not the
truth which is hard it is the heart to
which that truth is presented. Chris
fianifu hoe NOT honnnn hn lose
credible with the increased light of the
present age. But certain men and
women have become less capable of
understanding and receiving it, because
of what the Bible calls 1.-The hardness
of their hearts" If you think of it,
the mysteries of Christianity do not
give men so mucn trouble as its certain
ties. Men are not nearly so slow about |
accepting the miracles as they are about |
believing in the sermon on the mount. |
For every one who doubts the doctrine |
of the souls immortality, you may
count two and three who doubt the |
code of Christ's perfect morality. Our |
believe strongly in the soul. 1t thinks
too much of what it can get to eat and |
to drink to believe much in the bread
of life. The materialism which has
crushed down the faith of so large a
number in our age is not the materi-
alism Of speculation, but the material
ism of selhshness, of greed and of car
nality. And the doubt, the incredulity,
the weakness of faith, the wavering and
the unbelief about which we hear so
much, is two-thirds of it taceaose di-
rectly to the benumbing vlorldlineAs of
the day. There may be two reasons
why you do not see we'll the light may
be poor, or your sight may be weak.
1t is not fair to blame the sun when the
trouble is win your own eyes. And
there are the same alternatives with ref