The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1889-06-26

got information from the doctors, for he
knew 1t already, but to humble them by
showing them the height. depth, and length,
and breadth of their own ignorance. While
the radiant boy thrusts these self-conceited
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 wrinkle
their brows and then by absolute silence OF
in positive words confess their incspacity 70
answer the interrogatory. With any one OF
hundred questions about theology, about
philosophy, about astronomy, about time,
about eternity, He may have baked them,
Disconnected them, flung them fiat. Behold
the boy Christ asking questions, and listen
when your child asks questions. He has the
right to ask them. Alas for the stupidity OF
the child without inquisitiveness 1t is
Christ-like to ask questions. Answerthem II
you can. Do not say II can't be bothered
now" 1t is your place to be bothered with
questions. If you are not able to answer,
surrender, and confess your incapacity, as
have no doubt did Rabbin Simeon and Hillel
and Shammai and the sons of Betirah when
that splendid boy, sitting or standing there
with garment reaching from neck TO
ankle, and girdled at the waist, put them
to their very wits end. 1t is no
disgrace to say, 81 don't know" The
learned doctors 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 to say, 81 do not know" is the Lord
Almighty. 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 other OF the
worlds mightiest natures into their life long
explorations. Telescope and microscope,
and stethoscope and electric battery, and all
the scientific apparatus Of all the ages are
only questions asked at the door of mystery.
Behold this Nazarene lad asking questions,
giving everlasting dignity to earnest inter-
rogation.
Butwhile l see the old theologians stand
ing around the boy Christ, am impressed
as never before with the fact that what the
ology most wants is more Of childish sim
plicity 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 five hundred
million years before the small star on
which we live was created. have had
many sound sleep under sermons about
the DEGREES Of God and the eternal genera
ton of the Son, and discourses showing
who Melchisedek wasn't, and ] give q
fair warning that If any minister ever
begins sermon on such . subject in my
presence, I will put my head down on
the pew in front and go into the
deepest lumber can reach. Wicked waste
Of time, this trying to scale the unscalable
and fathom the unfathomable while the ma
lions want the bread Of life, and to be told
how they can get rid of their sins and their
sorrows. Why should you and perplex
ourselves about the 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 with
out us. If you want to love and serve God,
and be good and useful and get to Heaven,
warrant that nothing which occurred
eight hundred quintillion Of years ago
will hinder you minute. It 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
1885, Christ died about thirty three years
Of age. You subtract thirty-three from
1889 and that makes it only 1855 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, II
with our whole heart and life we accept the
tremendous proffer. Do not let the Presby-
| terrain 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 imperfect as every thing
man does is imperfect. l move new creed
for all the evangelical churches of christen-
dom, only three articles in, the creed, and
no need of any more. II l had all the
consecrated people of all denominations
of the earth ON one great plain, and l
had voice loud enough to put it to vote
that creed of three articeswould be adopted
with unanimous vote and laundering
aye that would make the earth quake and
the heavens ring with hosanna. This is the
creed propose for all christendom
Article First-"God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son that
whatsoever beieveth in Him should not
perish but have everlasting life." t..,..-
Article Second-"This is a faithful saying
and worthy of all acceptation that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners,
even the chief" I.....
Article Third-"Wort is the Lamb that
was slain to receive blessing and riches and
honor and glory and power, world without
end. Amen"
But you go to tinkering up your old creeds
and patching and splicing and interlining
and annexing and subtracting and adding
and explaining and you will lose time and
make yourself a target for earth and hell to
shoot at Let us have creeds not fashioned
out of human ingenuities but out Of scriptur
al phraseoogy, and all the guns of lombard.
ment blazing from all the port holes of in
| fidelity and perdition will not in thousand
years knock of the church of God splinter
\ as big as a cambria needle. What is most
needed now is that we gather all our theolo
gies around the boy in the temple, the elab-
orations around the simplicities, and the
profundities around the clarifies, the octo-
| genarian of the scholastic research, around
the unwrinkled cheek of twelveyear
juvenescence Except you become as
q little child you can in no wise
6nter inc hluguoHS anu SACcPo you
become as little child you can
not understand the Christian religion. The
best thing that Rabbin Simeon and Hill
lei and Shammai and the sons of Betirah
ever did was in the Temple, to bend over the
lad who, first made ruddy Of cheek by the
breath of the Sudean hills and on his way
to the mechanics shop, where he was soon
to be the support of his bereaved mother,