The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-06-01

tween gentle and Jew 1t is possible,
however, to note some important elements
in tho problem. and also to answer in some
measure the query, ''Can you suggest what
should be done to disDei existing prelu-
has dice." We are confident that Christian
teaching in general for many generations
been altogether favorable TO a high regard
Tor the position and character of the Jews
as nation. At the present hour, tic sacred
oracles OF the Jews are held in more es-
TEEN among Christians than they are in
many Of the influential synagogues. For
centuries it has been laDorious by taught in
. Christian cenrers that the crucifixion
OF Christ was the work of human uHbellef
and sin; that the rejection of the Savior
by theJews was typical Of his rejection by
all who who did not accept him and his
mercy. During the three hundred years
in which the Bible has become the most
widely read and studied volume in the
world, it has exercised a powerful infiu-
ence in mitigating the traditional hostility
to the Jews, which has so often nantes
ted Itself in bitter perSecutions.-NelC IOrIs
Observer.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF FREE RELIGION.
Ever since we can remember, it seems to
have been the fate of large number OF
good Christians to exist in a chronic state
OF scare. When we were very young,
there was the Pasey scare, which dreaded
the re-establishmentof all the worst terrors
OF the papacy under the fostering wing OF
the English national church. Then there
was the Darwin scare, which concerned
itself most s0licitously in regard to the
truth of the Mosaic account of the creation
and other kindred matters. Later on, we
suffered from the Tyndall and Huxley
scare, which almost frightened timid souls
out of their wits lest the foundations should
be destroyed, and the hope of the righteous
be put to confusion. Now it appears to be
the dread of agnosticism and pessimism
which darkens the minds of the faithful,
and calls forth the supremest efforts of all
good defenders of the faith both in philoso
ply and religion. Surely, very large
portion of this anxiety and distress must
be an unnecessary waste of power. Does
1t net also indicate the existence of large
amount of latent unbelief in the breasts OF
those who profess to hold, and to be set for,
the defense of the faith once delivered to
the saints. Surely, one who really knows
in whom and in what lie has believed will
not easily suffer himself to lose his anchor
age, and to say the least, will calmly wait
and meekly trust to see the goodness of the
Lord in the land Of the living, without per-
hitting himself to be tossed about with
every wind of doctrine, and to live in dread
OF every little system thatin the good prov
idence of God may arise and have its day.
Moreover, when we reflect that the history
of philosophy, carefully studied, reveals,
above ali things else, the absolute necessity
that each system should appear at its
proper time and place, to correct the errors,
I'LL up the blanks, and stimulate the on
ward movement of contemporaneous
thought we shall be prepared in a gener-
Gus spirit to do full justice to the relative
truth of every successive system, while re-
serving TO ourselves the full right of rejec
ton and the full privilege of faith. Let US
see, for instance, how the matter stands in
the case of the two systems already men
toned, agnosticism and pessimism. We
are not agnostic; we are not pessimistic;
and yet we most firmly believe in the ne
cessity for the appearance of these two
schools of thought. The position of the
former as every one knows, has for its
most able and systematic exponent Mr.
Herbert Spencer. A careful reading of his
First Principles" has revealed to many of
US most clearly the fundamental contradic-
ton of an Unknowable which is absolutely
known to exist and to be the noumenal
cause of all phenomena; yet we shall
neither deride nor be unduly agitated be-
cause OF the depravity of philosophical
human nature We will patiently and de-
voutly sit at the philosophers feet while
he laboriously shows to US the absolute in
sufficiercy of the scientific method to solve
Tue ulIludUe pEOUlcul, ISuCuiuCilhS budo
from of old all life has been development,
and all knowledge but in part. We will
also allow him to correct US in regard to
that grossly anthropomorphic conception
of God which still haunts much of our best
thinking, and. thank him for showing us
once again that we can not by searching
find out God or know the Almighty to per-
lection. AS regards pessimism, every one
also knows that it has been for the first
time set forth and philosophically formu-
lated by Scherehauer, Hartmann, and their
disciples.