Morning journal and courier., 1893-11-09
r.TUnK aND BEINc OF con.

Professor Ladd,s University Lecture in the Course on <sThe Philosophy | of ReIigion,'-Professo Ladd's Def | milton of the Highest Form of the
 Proof of the Being of God.
 Professor Ladd delivered the second lec | ture in his course on "The Philosophy of Religion" yesterday afternoon at o'clock in Osborn hall. His special topic was, sThe Nature and Being of God" He spoke in part as follows:
 "I wish to begin the lecture to-day by making two preliminary remarks. In the first place the doctrine of the being of God is the principal tenet of religion and is true whether it is viewed historically or in a speculative manner. The importance of this central tenet of religion is made plain If we study the history of religion. Idon't think we can find any more characteristic mark of the degree of intellectual and spiritual development which any race or people have attained than the view they take of the being of God. Now my ques- tIon is not how do men come actually to believe in God. If were called to answer this question I should say because we learned 1t from our parents. It is a matter of education and training. My question, however, calls for 8 treatment from rational point of view. What are the rational grounds on which our so called knowledge of God or faith in God may be made to reposea What sort of proof do ws actually find as bearing upon this great, central controlling tenet of re- ligiona The roof of the being of God cannot be rendered strictly demonstrative. The idea of all rational theology has bsen to present set of tenets concerning mans relation to man. and rules for our daily life, in the form of synthetic judgments, a priore-a system corresponding to the Euclidsan geometry. This theology in the middle ages grew up to be an almost pure ly demonstrative science. There is no major premise which we can lay down and draw the conclusion God exists
 '1n the second place I would gay that the proof of the existence of God cannot | be shown by induction, taken strictly in l the customary meaning of the word in the | nature of God more nearly resembles our consciousness of the existence of unob- served entities in the interest of personal relations in our experiences.
 "Now shall ask you rather 8 startling | question. How do you know that you | exista It is only by our experience in in- | terpreting outward signs into terms of our ! own self f-consciousness-int signs ] on which all our intercourse with each other Is dependent.
 "The highest form of proof of the being of God may be said to be an affirmative
 postulate, warmed by conviction on which
 a great variety of lines of evidence con.
 verge, resulting from our attempt tc
 formulate some conception of the meaning
 of the world end of life as shall most com
 pletely satisfy us-intellect, feeling and
 will. This proof of the being of God takes
 us back to the theory of knowledge and
 to metaphysics
 | sI have said that 1t was an affirmative
 postulate-not cold postulate, but warmed
 by conviction. But any postulate-a phys
 icsl postulate-may bs warmed by eonvic
 tion If you attempt to pooh-pooh at it. The
 scientist thinks his luminous ether is g
 postulate of real truth and will defend il
 strongly If you attack 1t. But the proof ot
 the being of God is not one deductive, dem
 onstrstive postulate, but an affirmative
 postulste on which many lines of evidence | converge It Is something of which we art
 convinced firmly and should be not only
 satisfactory to us, but help us to endure
 the burdens and do the duties of our life.
 The next lecture in the course will be de
 livered next Wednesday afternoon at th
 same time and place and on a subject to b.
 announced in the Yale University bulle