The American citizen., 1889-03-01

igion. But this is an old question.
1t is but the echo of the Saviour's
own words: eye will not come to
ne that ye might live" Outside the
churches, among all classes Of our
people, cultivated and uncultivated,
educated and uneducated, there is
great deal of positive disbelief con-
cerning the effect of our religion.
Many of those who absent themselves
from the churches, do 50 because they
have ceased to believe that Christian
ity is any more than morality. Now
it Is easy to see where these scepti-
cal ideas came from. The air is full
of them. The scientific books and
periodicals that are now so widely
scattered at such reasonable cost, con
tain many suggestions of doubt re-
garding the truths of religion. Po-
lite literature gives frequent voice to
these questionings; tn" newspaper
press Especially the Sundays) is
the vehicle of essays and lectures and
discussions in which the fundamental
doctrines of religion arc challenged.
The contents of these books and pc
riodicals are turning our young men
and women against the churches. But
there is small profit in studying doubt,
as a disease, unless We can discover
its cause and prescribe for it. How,
then, shall we account fer the preva-
lence of this distemper at the present
time? Skepticism has been on the
increase among us ever since the
doors of institutions Of higher learn
ing have been opened to us. What
are the reasons for it?
I. The growth of a spirit of in
dependence, will in part account for
it. The revolt from an authority in
church and in state which had long
been burdensOme and despotic ha:
swept multitudes into an attitude O
chronic dissent which is often extreme
and illogical. In casting off tyranny
some are ready to throw away th'
faith once delivered to the saints. II
rejecting the bondage imposed on
their conscences by a proud and tyr
annieal hierarchy, they become thu
slaves of their own caprice, Th'
skepticism now Oxtant among US, re
suits from an Overgrown individual
ty. The rights Of contradiction, con
troversy and denials are classed amoni
our inalisnabls rights; and there ar
those who lose no opportunity in as
serting them. Civil liberty may de
generate into license and anarchy
and liberty Of thought may eaSil
become a roOtless, ridiculous, rattle
, Drained, and big-mouthed conceit.
II. The wonderful development
of the sciences, during the last Is o
, 20 years, has had the effect of in
creasing unbelief. The old cosmog
onies have been undermined by geo.
ogy; the development and the evolu
r tien theories have raised many diff
= cuIties respectisg the methods of Gre
, ation in these and others. The teach
9 ings of the Bible have been discred
tied. Unfortunately, the defender
y ofthe faith have unwisely Staked th,
r authority of the Scriptures and tn
truth of Christianity upon the VERT
of the Bible-;hus making money
: sceptics and infdels. The discover
3 that the Bible is not manuel sci
: ence and that its value il not in tt
/. least affected by scientific inaccurs
IS cies, is a discovery that theologiar
V have been slow in making. The d
d rect conflict between physical scient
d and revelation has no doubt give
). rise to some scepticisu; but the scep
It ticism vi ich has arisen from this
1t due scarcely less to the defenders
le religion than to the students of sc