St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-09-03
SKEPTICISM.
All Doubt Will Never BE Banished
From the Human Mind.

Rev. Marion ID. Shutter preached at
the First Unitarian church to the con-
gregatiOn of the Church of the Re-
deemer, OH "Skepticism."
An infidel denies outright; skeptic
doubts, knows not exactly what to be-
lieve, can not accept the old, hesitates
about the new. His condition is we'll
described by modern poet who speaks
for himself:
Wandering between two worlds, one dead,
The other powerless to be born;
With nowhere yet to lay my head
Like these on earth, wait forlorn."
There is much more uncertainty than
downright denial among men; more of
skepticiSm than of infidelity. Is there
anything to be said that will REDUCED
do not say remove-the uncertainties of
men? The time will probably never
come when all doubt will be banished
from the human mind. 1t must be con-
ceded that there are many problems, re-
ligious as we'll as scientific, which, here
at least, we shall not be able to solve.
The things of religion are in sphere
where mathematical certainty is
impossible. On the other hand, doubt
is better than unthinking repose. 1t is
often a sign of growth. 1t is one of the
means of restraining and discipline.
No one has right to stif1e his doubts.
When they cease to be mere fleeting
shadows and become more or less per-
manent, he must fight his way through
them to footing as solid as possible!
In these struggles the minister may
help, if he is wise. He must be intelli-
gent and sympathetic. The club of the
giant in Bunyan is not for him TO WELD
upon the prisoners in doubling castles.
Along two main lines must his work be
done. He must simplify the things that
are now complex and direct attention
to those things which are certain. Along
the first line we must distinguish be-
tween religion and its accidents.
Religion is life of righteous
ness and must not be COMPOUNDED with
Bible, or creed, or church. These may
be helps but are not the thing itself.
Let the gospel be reduced to the origi-
indeed, but belief in love-lOve to God
and love to man. Nothing else. Let the
world have theory of the Bible that
makes it natural and not an unnatural
book. For the doubts of a central good
ness, that rise from the aspect of the
world and the experiences of human
life, we may do much by substituting
the recent theory of development for
the old arguments from design. In
this view the calamitieS of men, the mis-
fortunes of the world and the suffer-
ings of the individual are seen to be,
not infections from a divine hand, but
| the necessary incidents of state of
ignorance and imperfection, whose
trend is, in the main, towards light and
beauty and goodness.
From the things TO be made clearer,
return to the things that are certain:
| First-The stability of nature, the uni
versatility of law. He is under the care
| of Pr evidence who is in harmony with
the laws of nature. Second-The
sovereignty of duty, God or no God. l
dare not do that which will smirch my
honor or degrade my manhood. Heaven
| or no heaven, there is yet a kingdom of
| God which is righteousness. Soul or no
soul, my conscience demands that / be
| just and loving and helpful to my fellow
men. Third-The value of the present
moment. He who solves the problem of
to-day solves the problem of eternity.
Fourth-The great practical affairs of
| life. These things are positive and GER
tain. Whatever may be beyond the
dark curtain, it is well to do Justly and
have mercy here. If there be no awak-
| ing from the slumber which is coming
if the eyes we close so gently here
never open in fairer realm-it is still
better to tighten the sorrows of the sad
| and burdened about us and leave our
| deeds as heritage and example to
those who shall come after. But if we
awake, as we hope and believe, the
best preparation for it is the upbuilding
of character and the cultivation of
| righteousness here.