Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1893-08-03
7. DIFFERS WITH sTLNo.


bY Steno, wish TO say that a quarter
OF century ago | was a member Of
that neighborhoOd and take some inter
est IN the notes from that place.
A quarter of century has no doubt
made greet change. as | see new
NAMES added to the list and old ones
dropped off, which means that they
have left for other places of abode or
gone to their heavenly home.
Steno seems TO be living in a realm of
Theology and Religious Congresses y
and reader of his article would think
that he was a committee of one to draft
a program. Yet. this can hardly be
so; for. be says. that ''none are exclud-
are inclined TO investigate before believ-
I'M" which, of course, leaves out StenO.
Where does this Steno belong? Is he
an agnoStic? One would think so al
though he says that his Methodist
neighborS swallow alI;" that they are
agr ostic ON some things, that is: they
don't claim To know all. The have not
kept up with Steno in literature, CIV.
clones and the study of the Gods, both
known and unknown. He has gotten
beyond the agnosticism of Herbert
Spencer. for he SAYS: Positive know
ledge does not and never can fill the
whole realm of thought" and again:
1.-The conviction so reached is that hu-
man intelligence is incapable of abso-
Lutte knowledge" and as Steno has ar
rived at so high plane, and is so pure
in his thoughts, and makes use of such
good language, which | commend, we
expect him to bring up the rising gener-
ation to that high plane which he occu-
pies. But ask if Steno has not ''swal-
lowed" some doses prepared for him
by his father? 1t is the same sort of a
gospel his father preached so years ago.
And has il helped the welfare of your
neighoorhoodp have in mind another
teacher, we called her aunt Lizzie. She
taught of known God; of a Saviour for
man; and golden rule to live by. The
children met in her class ON the Sab
bath and the people came up to Eben-
ezer Church to get their spiritual food.
Steno, l find no fault with You in
your agnosticism, that is your right and
for one would not question your hon.
esty in your belief or unbelief, but
please accord the same rights to others
that you claim for yourself You have
no right to say the religious people of
your neighoorhood do not exercise
reason in their religious belief They
can give just as good reason for "the
hope that is within them" rs you can
for your unbelief. That the spiritual
! hunger and thirst after spiritual food is
no more an accident than the natural
hunger is after temporal food.
will quote passage from the late
President of Yale, DR.. Porter, who is
the author of several works that re-
| quIres reason to read them and certain
| ~ it did 10 write them, and his testi-
mony ought to be nearly rs valuable as
the clerks of White School district. He
says:-"This doctrine is destructive of
hope in man, and therefore necessarily
leading to the degradation OF mans ma
ture and the lowering of his life. That
without God there is no well grounded
hope for science" This may seem to
be very daring or very paradoxical
assertion. There is more truth in it
than may appear at first sight. Inas-
much as it is in the name Of science
that ignorance of God is exalted in Su-
preme wisdom, it may be we'll to in
quire what effect upon science it would
have to cast out God from its thinking.
| ask, could it do thisP for it would be
very hard for it to succeed should it try
ever so earnestly.
Our newly fledged agnostics are apt
to forget that all our modern science
has been prosecuted in the broad and
penetrating sunlight of faith in living
and personal God; that not one single
theory has been proposed or experiment
tried in nature except with distinct rec
ignition of the truth that a wise and
loving mind at least may uphold and
direct the movements in nature. The
most passionate atheist cannot deny
that this is the conviction of the living
and breathing men around him. The
most restrained agnostic cannot but
j know and feel that tho theory which he
strives to cherish is rejected by the most
OF the women and children in Christell-
dom who look up in the sky and walk
upon the earth.
The simple teachings of Christian the
ism are capable Of being expanded in
to the grandest conceptions that science
ever attempted to formulate-concep-
tons so grand that human reason IS
overwhelmed with their sublime rela-
tionships and the human Imagination is
dazzled to blindness, when it would
make them real.
1.-The first proposition of the creed
which the infant pronounces with con-
fiding simplicity Il believe in God, the
Father, maker of heaven and earth, is
easily expanded into the conceptions
that man intuitivelv accepts as a back
ground upon which science traces all
IFS formulas and axioms, and by which
it connects its theories and proceeds to
its conclusions" (Dr. Porter on ag-
nosticism.)
Pessimism is the natural result of ag-
Mysticism of which Carlyle said, That
il looked like fine flour which would
make excellent bread, but if one were
fed upon it he found it to be powdered
glass and deadly poison"
| Steno vour obiaction 10 the Rihle is