West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1889-06-20


know all about the famous Temple under
whose roof they held that most wonderful
discussion of all history He knew.
the meaning OF every altar, of every
Of every embroidered curtain, OF every
| crumb OF shew bread, of every drop OF
oil In that sacred edifice. He knew all about
God. He knew all about man. He knew all
about heaven, for He came from it. He knew
all about this world, for He madei It, He knew
all worlds, for they were only the sparkling
morning dewdrops ON the lawn In front of His
heavenly palace. Put these seven Bible w-rds
in wreath OF emphasis: " Both hearing
them and asking them questions
am not so much interested i'm tho questions
they asked Him as in the questions He asked
them. He asked the questions not TO get IN
formation from tho doctors, for Ho knew it
already, but 20 humble them by showing
them tho height and depth and length and
breadth Of their own ignorance While the
radiant boy thrusts these self-conceited phil
oSophers with the interrogation point, they
put tho forefinger Of the right hand 10 the
temple as though 10 start thor thoughts into
more vigor, and then they would look upward
and then they would wrinkle their brows and
then by absolute silence or in positive words
confess their incapacity 10 answer the inter-
rogatory. with any one of hundred ques-.
tons about theology, about philosophy, about.
astronomy, about time, about eternity. He.
may have baked them, disconnected them.
hung them fiat. 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 stu
pdity of the child without inquisitiveness!
IL is Christlike TO ask questions Answer
them IL you can. Do not say: 81 can't be both
cred now. 1t isyour place 10 be bothered with
questions. III you are not able to answer
surrender and confess your incapacity. as /
have no doubt did Rabbin Simeon and
H1llel and Shammai and the sons of Betirah
when that splendid boy, sitting or standing
ankle, and girclled at the waist. put them TO
thelr very wits end. IL is no disgrace to say:
II don't know" The learned doctors who
environed Christ that day in the Temple
, 9I. not Know or thcy would not have asked
HIM any questions The only being in the
universe who never needs to say: sI do
not know" is the Lord Almighty. The
fact that they did not know sent Keppler
ana Ciyier and Columbus and Humboldt and
lierschel and Morse and Sir William Hamil-
ton and all the other of the worlds mightiest
natures into their lifelong explorations
Telescope and microscope and stethoscope
anu electric battery and all the scientific APP
parntuS OF all che ages are only questions
nsked at the door of mystery Behold this
Nazarene lad asking questions giving ever
lasting dignity to earnest interrogation.
But while SEQ the old theologians standing
around the boy Christ / am impressed as
never before with the fact that what theology
most wants is more of childish simplicity
The world and the church have built I'M i'm
mense systems of theology. Half of them
try to tell what God thought, what God
planned, what God did five hundred million
years before the small star on which we live
was created. have had many a sound sleep
under sermons about the DEGREES of God and
the eternal generation of the Son and dis
courses showing who Melchisedel wasn't and
give fair warning that if any minister
ever begins sermon on such a subject in my
presence will put my head down on the new
IN front and go into the deepest slumbcr can
reach- wicked waste of time this trying to
scale the unscalablo and fathom the I'M
fathomable while the nations want the bread
OF lltc and 10 be told how they can get rid of
their sins and their SORROWS Why should
you ana perpex ourselves about tho DEGREES
of Godl Mind your own business and God
will take care of His In the conduct OF the
universe / think He will somehow
manage TO get along without us IL
you want To love and serve God and be good
and useful and get TO heaven L warrant
that nothing which occurred eight hundred
0ulntlulon oEvolrs GEO will hinder you n min
ute. iu Is not the DEGREES or God that do ,s
any harm, it is our own DEGREES of sin and
ioily. You need not go any further back in
history than about 1856 years You SEQ this
IS the year 1889. Christ died about thirty
three years of age. You subtract thirty-three
from 1889 and that makes it only
1896 years. That is as far hack
rs you need to go Something oc-
CURED on that day under an eciiDsad
sun that sets us all forever free if with our
whole heart and life we accept the freuen-
dous proffcr. Do not let the Presbyterian
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
crceds, all OF them imperfect as everything
man does is imperfect / move a new creed
for all tho evangelical churches of Chris
tendon, only three articles in the
creed and no need of any more IL L had
III tho consecrated people of all denomina-
lions OF the earth on one great plain and
had voice loud ENOUGH to pItt H. to vote that
rreeu or three articles would be adopted with
unanimous vote and a laundering aye that
would mako the earth quake and the heavens
ring with hosanna. This is the creed pro-
pose for all Christendom:
Article First-"God so loved the world
that He gave His only bcgotten Son that
whosoever believeth in Him should not per
Ism but have everlasting lifer
Article Second This is a faithful saving
and worthy of all acceptation that Christ
Jesus came into this world to save sinners.
even the chief
Article Third-"Wo is the Lamb that
was slain 20 receive blessing and riches and
honor and glory and power, world without
end. Amen"
But You 20 to tinkerina, I'D your old creeds
and patching and splicing and iutorlining and
annexing and subtracting and adding aud ex-
planning and you will lose time aud make
yourself target for earth and hell TO shoot
~ NV ha A4bft Nittih ilDh AdNnlOflfi out OF
human ingenuitics but out of scriptual phrase
ology and all the guns of bombardment
blazing iron all the port holes OF infidelity
and perditiou will not i'm a thousand
years Knocked of the Church Of God a splin-
ter o. big as a cambria needle What is most
needed now is that we gather all our theolo-
gles around the boy in the Temple the elabo-
rahons around the simplicities, and the pro-
tundities around tho clarietics the octoeeDa-
rian Of scholastic research around the
unwrinkled cheek Of twelve year iuven-
csccncc. "nzcepU sou become as nj
uo child you can in no wise enter
tho kingdom and except you become rs q
ittlo child YOU cannot understand the
Christian religion. The best thing that
RaDDiu Simeon aud Hillei and ShamInai and
tho sOus Of Botirah ever did was I'm the Temple
~ bend over the lad, who first made ruddy
Of check by tho breath Of tho Judean hills
and on His way 10 tho mechanics shop
where He was soon TO DO tho support
Of Ills bereaycd mother, stopped long enough
~ grupplo with The venerable dialecticians Of
the Orient both hearing them aud asking
thcm questions Some referring 70 Christ
have exclaimed Ecco Dousi Behold tho God.
Others have exclaimed Ecce homoi Behold
tho man. But to-day i'm conclusion Of my
gnbicct ! CITY, Ecco adolcscensl Behold the
Boy.
Immortality In q Tree TOP.
Gus NJ Setter died rccentlyat China
Grove, Rowan County. n. G.. he was