Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-10-05

of Chicago, and chairman of the gener-
al committee, through whose efforts
the congress has been made such 4
quent words sank deep into the hearts
of all who heard him. One sentiment
he uttered will not soon be forgotten.
This was:
Welcome, most welcome, O, wise
men of the east and west. May the
star which has led you hither be like
unto that luminary which guided the
men of old, and may this meeting by
| the inland sea of new continent be
| blessed of heaven to the redemption of
men from error and from sin and de-
| spair."
| Metaphysical ard scientific papers
were the feature of the first 10 days
! of the parliament CT religions. The
subject for consideration on the second
day was the existence and attributes
of God, and, despite the deep philOsO-
ply that ran through all the papers,
the audience seemed to be profoundly
interested. The presence Of several
Jewish rabbin and the venerable Fred
erick Douglass, made the cosmopolitan
aSSemblage on the platform even more
picturesque than on the first day. One
Of the most thoughtful and suggestive
papers read was by the distinguished
English preacher and teacher, Rev
Alfred w. MOmerie, of London, on
THE Moral Evidence of a Divine Ex-
istence." Summed up, DR.. Momerie's
conclusions were that all knowledge,
whether practical or scientific, in fact,
the cOmmOneSt experience of everyday
life, implies the existence of a mind
which is OmnipreSent and eternal.
Moreover, he said that the tendency
toward Righteousness. which is So I'M
mistakably manifest in the course of
history, together with the response
which this tendency aWakens in our
hearts, combine to prove that the infn-
lite thinker is just and kind and good.
ut must be because He is always With
us that we sometimes imagine that He
is nowhere to be fOund,' added the
eminent preacher.
Another beautiful thought of Dr.
Momerie's was his declaration that the
Creator could not have made world
without pain in it. He said that with
out suffering, the world would not have
been better, but worse one. Even
Christ. said he, became perfect
through long suffering"
If the second day of the congress
was notable for the impressive meta
physical address of DR.. Momerie, it
was also none the less notable for the
promulgatio of new religious doctrines
from representative modern scientist.
DR.. Adolf BrOdbeck, of Hanover, Ger
man, the champion of "Idealism the
New Religion created a sensation i'll
the audience by his pointed declara
tons concerning the old and the new
gospel. He was the representa- tive,
he said, of a new form Of religion that
was spreading rapidly in Germany.
Its name" he declared, lis IdealiSm.
Its cOnfeSsors are called idealists. Its
chief aim is the striving for the ideal,
the perfection in everything for the
ideal of mankind, especially Of each in
dividual further for the ideal of
science and art, of civilization, of all
virtues. Our enemies are the dogmatic
in all forms. We hate hypocrisy in all
its forms, cruelty ard vice and crimes
Of all sorts. We are not in favor of
extremes. We do not profess to have
any certain knowledge of things be-
yond this life. We believe that there
is an absolute power, over which we
have no control The true essence of
this power we do not know. We do
not worship anybody, nor any single
object, nor any product Of human imag-
nation as being God. Prayer for any
thing that is against the natural course
OF things we think unreasonable. We
believe that the ideal, the perfection
of man, is not only a matter Of knowl-
edge, but also of practical good work.
To strive theoretically and practically
in everything for that which is true
am good is the ideal Of man; that is
our firm belief"
Among other notable papers read on
the second day was one by Father Au-
gustine +. Hewitt, of New York, super
iOr of the Community of the PauliStS,
on Rational Demonstration of the Be
ing of God" w. T. Harris, United
States commissioner of Education, also
read a scholarly paper on THE Argu
ment for the Divine Being" A famous
representative of the Lutheran church,
Prof. n. Valentine, discussed 1.-The
Harmonies and Distinctions in the
Theistic Teaching of the Various His
toric Faiths" DR.. Isaac M. Wise, a
well-known scholar, defined the theOlo-
gy Of Judaism. Rev. Maurice Phillips.
Of Madras, discussed 1.-The Ancient
Religion of India and Primitive Revela
ton" The religious belief of the
Hindus was set forth in paper pre-
pared by Manilal Nj Dvivedi, Of Bonn
bay.
Eli.
A deeply significant feature Of the
parliament of religions has been the
prominence therein of representatives
| of the Oriental religions. These wise
men of the cas-! simply made their
| presence known on the first two days
Of the parliament, but Oh the third
day completely captured the audience
by able presentations of their doctrines.
The session of Wednesday,, Sept. ID,
will ever be a memorable one. The
chief addresses of the day were those
of +. C. Mozoomdar, of India; Arch
bishop Latas, of Zante, Greece, and
Pung Quang Yu, of the Chinese lega-