Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1890-01-27
8eligions department.
Religion not Contradictory to
Human Nature.


our human nature and human life
No. it is the highest reach Of our life.
There is nothing in religion that has
not its roots in human nature, and III
the fundamental affections of man
kind. The natural affections reach
upward, and when they find a God
who has been in them from beginn-
ming, then they are the Christian
oraces. The Bible is the crown and
glory of all books, but all other
hooks that are sincere endeavOrs TO
discriminate truth are but so many
reaches in the same direction, though
falling short of the mark. Christian
experience, the divine co~mmunings,
so rich and enticing to US when we
see the glory of giving ourselv' and
our lives for God and Gods children
what are all these? The full flower
of these experiences which have
struggled darkly and deeply in our
human life. Shall we say that the
flower has dropped upon the stem
from heaven? Nay, all its beautiful
life was in the stem just IS truly be-
fore its blossomin9 as it is now in
the flower afterward. Shall we say
that the cataract has been interposed
from without in the onward. flow of
the river? Nay, far back up the
stream lay its power and possibility.
And so do the six days of the week
reach upward to realize the sacred
ness of the seventh and so every
where in that relationship of the
secular to the sacred, in the distinc-
ton which we so foolishly make be-
tween the two, the one is but the
realization of the efforts of the
other, and all is explained by
the truth that man is the child of
God, and has always been, and does
not become the child of God at some
special time in his life.
1t is not within our own ranks alone
that we see this enthusiasm of hu-
manity already working. For cen
turtles the Roman Catholic Church
did a great service in holding this
great truth before the world, that
man enjoys the fatherhood of God.
And the effort of men to do outside
the church and Christianity that which
the church and Christianity under
take to do shows the same good spir-
it, however imperfect it may be.
What mean all these secular attempts
at education, relief or suffering, re-
moval of the ills of society and de-
velopment of character? Only that
which Christianity intends the human
heart desires. And shall we not dare
to rejoice that that which the church
cannot do or is not doing is attemp ed
by the heart of man? And shall we
forbid it and discountenance it just
because it is not done by the church?
"'Master, we saw one casting out
devils in Thy name, and we forbade
him because he fUlloweth not u.s."
Shall this be our spirit? Shall we not
hope that outside the church there
are those doing Christ's work who do
not know Christ as we do. and yet
who do not speak lightly of Him?
''He that is not against US is on our
part" May it not be that some day
the church will awaken to find that
all around her is a larger church?
The city lives within its four walls,
bounded by four turreted corners,
and there it carries on its life, quite
insensible of anything beyond it; but
some day it awakens to find that all
around the fields men are living and
working, and then it enlarges its
bounds and says it has grown. The
church may awaken some day to find
that it is much larger than it dreamed.
Have few or no very Intimate
friends.
A quiet and pleasant home is insured to all
mothers that use DIR. Bulls Baby Syrup for their
little ones. 1t contains nothing injurious.