The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1892-12-21
THE BELIEVERS CONSOLATION.
1t Is Such That No Other Faith But His
Can Bring.

A short time before his death it is re-
ported that NJ. Renan addressed these
words Of eXhortation to his wife: "Be
calm and resigned We undergo the
laws of that nature of which we are a
manifestation. We perish, we disap-
pear, but Heaven and earth remain, and
the march of time goes on forever"
This has been published far and wide
as a remarkable utterance, and truly is
such. though not precisely in the sense
intended by its admirers. 1t is the best
effort at consoling a mourning wife,
the best balm for sorely wounded
heart that can be found outside of
Christianity. Renan is often called an
iniidel, but he was not an infidel of the
scofiing disappearing, Voltaire- Paine
Ingersoll school Hewas the apostle of
the modern dilettante infdelity, which
speaks of Christ and Christianity with
patronizing and sentimental words, but
rejects His authority and teachings as
decisivcly as the rougher school.
Renan regarded Christianity, and
every other theistc faith, as delu-
sion that has had beneticent and
elevating effect on the development
of humanity and has produced
a wealth of beautiful character and
thought; but man Is now outgrowing
that stage of his development, and will
soon have outgrown it altogether.
The only reality underlying religion is
the fact that the universe reveals to us
an eternal and inscrutable power, one
of whose manifestations we are.
When, therefore, we are called upon
to bid farewell to those who are dear
est to us, this faith has no consolation
to offer. How can it? There is no
place in it for immortality. 1t
is as hopeless as the ancient
paganism, with it's Vale in eter-
mum vale-farewell, farewell, for
ever! 1t is more hopeless than
paganism, for few choice spirits saw
dimly through the veil that hid the fu-
ture from mems eyes until the Sun of
Righteousness pierced through. Men
like Socrates and Cicero had some dim
foreshadowings of the Christian hope of
immortality. The new light that is
offered us is a darkness deeper than
that which overhung the world before
Christ was Graded in the manger The
! hungering heart of man cries out for
bread, and they offer us this stone: "Be
'esigned; you are part of the eternal
order of things. 1t is in vain for you
to beat against the iron bars of fate
When you are gone, and your cries of
agony have died away, and your very
name is forgotten, the universe will go
on, in pitiless and resistless might, asif
you had never been" And they call
that consolation.
| How different the Christians conf
dent trust in an everything God, in q
Christ who has brought light and i'm
mortality to light. To him death bed
does not signify an eternal parting from
those whom he loves as his own soul.
those for whom he would give his own
life. Death to him is only temporary
separation from loved ones - painful.
indeed, like all separations. but not
| hopeless. He can understand, at times,
why Paul wrote that to depart and be
with Christ is far better. He has an
unfailing fountain of consolation in be-
reavement and in the hour of death, in
that he knows whom he has Beloved
The unbelie yer may approach his
grave
Like one that wraps the drapery OF his couch
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams,
but only the believer can die in the
sure and certain hope of resurrec-
ton. A peaceful death is possible to
the unbeliever; joyful and trium-
plant death is assured only to those to
whom God has given the victory over
sin and the grave through our Lord
Jesus Christ IN. Y. Examiner.