The Brookhaven leader., 1889-06-20

SUCK, OF every emCrOl0eIeu tuItoAut VI
every efhmb Of shew bread, OF every drop
OF oil in that sacred edince. He knew all
about God. He knew all about man. He
knew all about Heaven, for He came from
IL. He knew all about this world, for He
made it. He knew all worlds, Tor they
were only the sparkling morning dew
drops on the lawn in front OF His heay-
emily palace. Put these seven Bible words
In wreath Of emphasis: "Both hearing
them and asking them questions"
sm not 30 much interested in the ques-
tons they asked Him as In the questions
He asked them. He asked the questions,
not to get information from the doctors,
for He knew 1t already, but to humble
them by showing them the height and
depth and length and breadth OF their
own ignorance. While the radiant boy
thrusts these self-conccited philosophers
with the interrogation point, they put the
forehnger Of the right hand to the temple
as though TO start their thoughts into more
vigor, and then they would look upward,
and then they would wrinkle theft brows,
and then by absolute silence or in posi-
tive words confess their incapacity to an
swer the interrogatory. While any
enc OF hundred questions about
omy, about time, about eternity, He may
have baked them, disconnected them,
flung them fat. Behold the boy Christ
asking questions and listen when your
child asks questions. He has the right to
ask them. The more he asks the better.
Alas for the stupidity Of the child without
inquisitivenessi 1t is Christianlike to
ask questions. Answer them II you can.
Do not say; q" can't be bothered now"
1t is your place to be bothered with ques-
lions. II you are not able to answer,
surrender and confess your incapacity,
as 1 have no doubt did Rabbin, Simeon
and Hi1lel and Shammai and the sons OF
Betirah when that splendid boy, sitting
or standing there with a garment reach
ing from neck to ankle. and girdled
at the waist, put them to their very
Wits end. 1t is no disgrace tc
say: ~ don't know" The learned doc.
tors who environed Christ that day in the
Temple did not know, or they would not
have asked Him any questions. The only
being In the universe who never needs tc
say: III do not know" is the Lord AL.
mighty. The fact that they did not know
sent Keppler and Cuvier and Columbus
and Humboldt and Herschel and Morse
and Sir william Hamilton and all the
others Of the worlds mightiest natures
into their lifelong explorations. Tele'
scope and microscope and stethoscopt
and electric battery and all the scientific
apparatus Of all the ages are only ques
tions asked at the door OF mystery. Be
hold this Nazarene lad asking questions
giving everlasting dignity TO earnest in.
terrogation.
But while see the old theologians
standing around the boy Christ am i'm
pressed as never beio with the fact that
what theology most wants is more OF
childish simplicity. The world and the
Church have built up immense systems
of theology. Half of them try to tell what
God thought, what God planned, what
God did Ave hundred millions years
before the small star on which
we live was created. / have hat
many a sound sleep under sermons
about the DEGREES of God and the eternal
generation of the Son, and discourses
showing who Melchisedek wasn't, and
give a fair warning that if any minister
ever begins a sermon on such subject IL
my presence l will put my head down or
the pew in front and go into the deepes
slumber / can reach. Wicked waste o.
time, this trying to scale the unscalable
and fathom the unbelievable while thu
nations want the bread of life and to b.
told how they can get rid of their sins ant
their SORROWS. Why should you and
perplex ourselves about the DEGREES o.
Godf Mind your own business and Goo
will take care of His. In the conduct o.
the universe / think He will somehow
manage to get along without us. II yol
want to love and serve God, and be goof
and useful, and get to Heaven, warrant
that nothing which occurred eight hun
dred quintillion of years ago will hinder
you a minute. 1t is not the DEGREES OF
God that do US any harm; it is our Own
DEGREES Of sin and folly.
You need not go any further back in
history than about 1855 years. You see
this Is the Year 1859. Christ died about 81
years of age. You substract 80 from 1885
and that makes it 1856 years. That is as
far back as you need to go. Something
occurred on that day under an eclipsed
sun that sets us all forever free IL with
our whole heart and life we accept tbs
tremendous proffer. Do not let the Pres
byterlan church, or the Methodist church.
or the Lutheran church, or the Baptist
church, or any Of the other evangelical
churches; spend any time in trying
to fix up old creeds; all Of them i'm
perfect, as every thing man does is i'm
perfect. l move new creed for all the
Evangelical churches Of christendom
only three articles in the creed, and no
need of any more. II I had all the con-
secrated people of ali denominations of
Tire eaftE On One great plain, and had
voice loud enough to put it to a vote, that
creed of three articles would be adOpted
with a unanimous vote and a laundering
aye that would make the earth Quake and
the heavens ring with hosauna. This is
the creed propose for all christendom:
Article I. God so loved the world that
soever beliveth In Him should not perish,
but have everlasting life.
Art. 3 This faithful saying and worthy
of all acceptatidn that Christ JesHs came
intd the world to save sinners, even the
chief.
Art. 3. Worthy is the Lamb shat was
slain to receive blessing and riches and
honor and glory and power. world with
out end. Anier,
But you go to tinkering up your old
creeds and patching and splicing and in
terlining and annexing and subtracting
and adding and explaining and you will
lose time ard fs1ake yourself target for
earth and hell to shoot at. Let us have
creeds not fashioned out of human inge-
nui.ies, but out of scriptural phrase ology,
aud all the guns of bombardment blazing
from all the port holes Of infidelity and
perdition will not in a thousand years
knock off the church of God splinter as
big as a cambria needle. What is most