The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-06-05
GODS body VISIBLE.
Agnostics and Atheists Re-
CeiVe a Scoring From
Pastor Scudder.

Pastor John L.. Scudder, OF the Tabar-
nacle, last night preached upon the sub
ject OF "Honest Infidelity." He chose
his text from John xvii. 8: IAN this is
eternal life. that they might know Thee.
the only true God. and Jes US Christ,
whom Thou hast sent"
He said in part: "Can God be known
This is one of the living cues lions OF the
day. Herbert Spencer aud his school of
agnostics maintain that God is the n
movable aud beyond the reach of hum an
comprehension. We are told by them that
the simple conception OF ininity is un-
t~hinkabie. How. then. shall we resume
to understand an infinite t1od2 When
we say. for example, that God is a being
without beginning aud without end.
they Interrupt US at the first sentence.
and exclain. Stop, you are getting be-
yond your depth at a single bound.
Eternity itself is too vast an idea for you
to grasp; your MUD cannot run back to
a time when there was no beginning, nor
reach Onward TO a point where there
shall be no end. II eternity then Is in
conceivable, what use to add 20 ir the
equally inconceivable idea of Gods be-
ing?'
AGNosTICs N ATHEISTS.
such is the argument OF agnosticism.
God is unknowabte; too high for us, and
therefore to be let alone. Agnosticism is
not the same as atheism, which denies
existence of God point blank. It is non
commtttal rather than negative in It's as
sertions. Now, over against their modern.
near sighted, faith, or rather this philo-
sopnical lack of faith, | put the words OF
J esus Christ, that man may Know God,
and il Is upon the quality of His kuOWl-
edge / shall offer a rev remarks.
"Agnosticism is right when it says that
man cannot comprehend dsity, for TO
comprehend means to know fully and
entirely, and this sort of knowledge man
never bas had and never will have; some
thing the Christian religion never pro-
fessed to have. we know In plrt. the
wisest of the Apostle has said, ana this
is all we pretend to kn ow.'
Christ claimed that we could appreh end
All knowledge is relative and imperfect.
Every science has its unexplored terri
tory, its particular collection of myster-
les. Theology, or the science of God, is
no exception to the rule. II we cannot
understand the creation surely one can
not be expected to know all about the
Creator. What knowledge of God we do
possess. however, is as certain as any
other kind Of knowledge, and obtained by
similar process of Thought.
"A2other objection. arising from a diff
ferent source aud urged by less thought
full people. gives vent to itself in the fol-
lowing words:-I cannot see God,
know him? This is u common
objection, aud to people OF very practical
turn of min IL is a real difficulty. In
answer 10 1t | have two remarks to make.
First, | affirm that you do see God as
thoroughly and in precisely the sam g way
that you see your n%eighbor.
NOT THE REAL WOMAN.
sfNVhan Vnn Look unnn VO1r vyifn for
example, what do you see? Her spirit or
her body? Her body you reply, of
course. But that body, | answer. is not
the real woman. the soul, the abiding
personality. That body is only the
covering. the house. the temporary
That body is constantly changing
its particles. so that it is q scientific TACT
that the body our wife now has is not
the same body she had half a dozen years
ago. If you have been married twenty
years aud yet believe that the personality
of your wife resides IN her body, you
have been living with at least three diff
ferent women during that period. You
ought to be arrested and put in Jail.
Now, if you persist that you have had
but one wife these twenty years, you
must acknowledge that the person, the
real self is the spirit that in dwells the
changing body. This spirit you
10 DOu SCG AOfCA WI &c.,.
And the same is true Of God. God is a
spirit, aud His essence, His personality.
His real self, is invisible. Henc the
Bible is absolutely correct, when it as
ser5s that no man hath seen God at any
time.
GODS BODY VISIBLE.
'But, on The other hanu, | claim that
everybody has seen Gods body, for this
universe, without any figure of speech. is
til 6 body of God. Your oody is nothing
but energi zed matter, as your soul, pos
sessed of vital force, builds up, occupies
and controls this physical dust. so pre-
cisely the spirit OF God indwells aud ener-
gizes the universe. Matter is dead. but
Gods spirit is force-the one great force
that pervades the whole creation. This
Is a pretty big body you exclaim. Yes
| answer, and we are dealing with a
pretty big God
tine ancient conception of God as a
maD, but a very great a hidden away
somewhere In the sky. where we caunot
see him is narrow and childish ard ON
trary to the teachings Of the New Testa-
ment. Jesus Christ has defined God as
the great spirit of the universe. and
science IS lifting the people up gradually
TO this Christly conception of deity.
Mature is a worg Of God, u most stu
pendous work. Then study nature IT
you want to know God" aud become ac-
Quainted with mis- ways.