The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-08-31


the same earthly temple may form different
opinions about these things and organize a dif
.eient society; but would any right thinker saw
mat therefore the church has chaueed7 What
We want 70 know is as to whether the principles
nave changed. Did the founder of the Chris
.isn cnuren give such an imperfect system of
principles that they need to undergo changes
would such q course be safe?
III men IN the first place were so sinful al TO
pe unable TO get the truth, and rise to right
eousness without a reve ation direct from God
now shall they do 1t later on? Now the truth
IL, tnat the principles upon which both Testa-
ments stand are unchanged. Truth is eternal
us nttings,stagings and settings may change. but
truth never Jewish ceremonies might change;
.hey Were only the preparations for better things;
put the moral law could never change The
len commandments are as true today as they
we're wnen they were introduced into this
world by the peal OF trumpet and fash of light
ming. The ages cannot outgrow them, The
man VINO worships anything but the one true
you IN the nineteenth century Is much al
luoiater as was the brother of Noes who set up
the calf at the base of Sinsi. The man who
graves an Image of God 10 as sacrilegious now as
When the first heather fell before block of
stone. The man who takes the name of God in
vain In this century of light and learning 10 as
profane and as guilty as the first transgressor.
Inc one who now denies 10 God the use of one
seventh OF his time for holy purposes, aud will
not remember the Lords day TO keep IL holy is
not innocent. He who does not honor his father
and his mother oday is as much OF a reproach
as any one who lived 1900 years ago. No
amount OF advanced thought will ever make
stealing. murder, adultery or lying righteous
ANY advance which does not go away from
these things is an advance towards eternal
death. These things remain the same for all
ages Jesus Christ is the center OF ali truth, all
moral principles. And Is the same yesterday
today and forever. The staging is not the tenn
pie Some have seen these going and have
cried out that the church was going. False
temples reared by erroneous hands are not the
dwelling places for the truths of our God The
past is filled with the wrecks OF many such;
many are now standing. the ruinsof which will
mark the future. But the principles which our
SAVIOR gave us are Interchangeable The church
oil christ does not stand on the eyer-ehanging,
eyer-varying corrupt thought of men, it rests
on the solid granite OF eternal truth. When
swiring and eddying vapors rise from
the swamps and marshes OF the low
grounds they do not change the fixed
stars They may make dark night darker and
more drear, but those stars are shining on. The
dust from the battle-fi field and the smoke of burn
Ing cities may rise so thick that the sun is dark
ened. all the sky hung in vast pail; but the
sun is there. aud scatter ing not one less ray OF
light 1t 10 there In the heavens just the same
and not one less world is receiving its efiulgence
OF light II 10 So with the principles upon
which the church rests. The conflicts of the
ages, the smoke of burning cities. the clash of
battles, the dense logs rising from the swamps
of deprsved humanity may cause some shallow
thinkers to imagine that the front of the uni
verse is changing. But ages after these things
shall have gone from the earth and have been
followed by many generations it will be found
that not one star has fallen from this sky of
Gods truth
All such thoughts as these: "The church has
stood for mans only hope of eternal lile," and
that "in the hands of the priests were held the
destinies of men for time and eternity. all
such things must pass away 10 the caricatures
OF uninformed. Such ideas, say, must TO- they
should never have come to cloud the stars of
truth, 10 hang over fal. en- humanity like the
will-o'- tho-wisp over ietd boys, giving no GER
tain light and leading to no better standing
ground. The church of Christ, as set forth in
the New Testament, was never intended to be
the saving power of souls. Itwas never set up
b. prophet or apostle as the worlds hope. You
may think 1t strange that intelligent men should
make such statements, or rather, that men
should make such statements before intelli-
gent audiences when there is not one syllable in
the whole Bible to even intimate such
a thing. No honest and we'll
enlightened age that the church of Christ ever
stood for anything of the kind. Neither can
any intelligent man say in the face of all the
light OF our age that the church which Christ
formed ever ruled the minds and hearts and
destiniss OF men, putting shackles upon them
and holding them slaves are held. If some
other church than that OF Christ did this: If
some government which was very anti Christian
did this and lighted its dark pathway with the
flames OF martyrs to the truth, is not this
age OF advanced thought able to find 1t out and
tell the difference? And do you think that men
who are living so far in past ages, and who are
so far behind the times, and so little informed
as to know these things, do you think, ask,
that such men are entitled TO consideration in
these days OF learning when any man who will
may inform himself? We believe that it is sim
full not to ask questions at this point.
But what does the Bible teach as to the hope
OF man? In the Old Testament scriptures 1t is
taught that God Is the deliverer. Mark that
fact. Not the church; not the prophet; not the
priest, but the Omnipoteat God.
The church has always stood for the results
of divine power: and not that divine power
itself. This is true of the Old Testament, and
il Is true of the New Testament Once more,
with the Bible in our hands, what is the hope of
this world? Every scholar in this broad land,
whose opinion is worth anything, will tell you
that the hope of this world is aud ALWAYS has
neen Jesus christ, the same yestcIGayy anu To-
day. and forever.
Humanity did not ascend out of the monkey;
it fell from paradise. 1t needs help to rise.
What honest man could look out over our world
and deny that what is needed is an uplifting?
reconstruction? A re-making2 Man needs
help that comes from outside of himself. He
needs help what he cannot reach without aid.
suppose that we should admit the assumption
that was made in our city the other night, that
man has been on the earth for 10000 years Sup
pose we should grant what has never been
proved, that man was living in the heart of
China, where he now lives, at the distant age
mentioned. Then suppose we should ask
as TO how much improvement he has
made in all those ages? Well, If he has
made any improvement in that vast
perioi it must have been very little, for you
can hardly think of race much lower than
that nation But the evidence goes to prove
that they have made no improvement. fhen
what an argument this would give you for the
need of our world TO have help that is not OF
itself Look at that 1,000, G00,0c0 of darkened
souls, helpless, and cropping on for 100000 years
and making no Improvement; unable TO rise,
unable TO make anything more OF themselves
than what they were when we found them.
What an argument for he p for them from above.
But suppose that they had not been there more
than 10. 100 years-or put il at half of that time,
5000 years, which is about the correct figure
and think OF them through these fifty centuries
of moral darkness, OF helpless night, and is not
this tremendous argument for help?
What are we to think of the Intelligence OF
those who would tell Us that all they need is TO
Just keep On eultivating the nature that they re-
ceved from the gorilla. ana they will come out
all rightG No, there is al unchanged truth
which We must face. The front OF the universe