The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1893-02-16
THE GROWING FAITH.
Continued from fourth page. I

Continued from fourth page.
wives in the future, then it will certainly
drive mankind out of religion and Chris
tianity. That would be to defeat the
triumph of Christ, and it cannot be.
believe in the triumph of Jesus, and
therefore believe in the triumph Of g
supremely spiritual religion Mems
| forms and ceremonies perish, traditions
perish, but the eternal verities on which
a spiritual religion is based move on for.
ever. Nature, with resistless tread, hur.
rles on IT, God. History, with busy feet,
PUSHES along the great highway of the
divine, and mans heart keeps music to
them both. So long as there is the pro
| cesslon OF the suns, so long as there Is
this vast procession of history hurrying
toward some great world triumph, so
long as mans heart beats for God, so
long will atheism mean simply bad logic
and bad metaphysics, and triumph be
sure!
Not the questions of form, but the
questions of tps spirit beneath the form,
L saw the other day where a poor mother
was forced to sign away the rights of
her child. She had married man who
had deserted her-she found he had been
married before. So she took up her bur
den OF life and attempted to save her
child. But in the struggle with poverty
there came an offer from wealthy people
to adopt the child if she relinuuished
all claims. So, believing it was for the
chllds best interests, she signed the
bonds. Then finally her life became
better. She moved back to New England
and afterward married in Boston.
Eighteen years afterward she saw a
letter that her child wrote in some pub
LEGATION, and in it there was an infinite
yearnlng for the mothers heart and the
craving that could not be held in for the
mothers face. When the mother saw it.
she said, Il have signed the bonds. /
know, but must have my child." So
she went to Albany the other day and
claimed her. You could not blame ber
1t does not matter about the formulas
OF legal contract-there are great re-
Antics beneath them, great facts that
bind man to man and man to God-the
- A"S-1~A AOCi anu ClliluQOOO-th9f
when all forms have been set aside these
eternal things shall live and assert them
selves. You may sign God away from
the unlverse-it does not matter. Rack
to the great heart of God will come tho
heart OF man. because it came from that
source: it is inevitable.
RELIGION BASED ON REASON.
Third-The religion of the f,1ture will
be rational religion. 1t will be a reli.
g1on that will shine with the primal light
God flashed into man made in his image
Faith has been defined as ''the art of be-
heVlnG to be true what otherwise wa
know to be false" 1t does not mean
with ne intellectual gymnastics of anv
sort Faith means the consent of NV
soul that God shall work in it-sueh an
attitude of recep:irity that the shirt
may move lii me. Superstition is ono
thing. religion another In the process
OF the Development of religion 1 do not
mean to say that man can commas the
INFINITE and eternal. but 1 do mean to say
that truth is truth. and good is good
that God is eternally good and true. and
that finite (and in6nite) does not ann1v
to eternal qualities. God and truth arc
eternal, whether in this world or in the
next When man says it viii be wrong
for me to do this. but right for God he
confuses terms. If / cannot violate an
eternal principle. how can you saw God
can do 1t: Ii it would be brutal for ma
20 murder my child without trial. so n
would be brutal for God to murder his
child without a trial. Good is the same
Yesterday, today and forever.
Ii worship God. he must be God.
refuse to worship the devil. Yon NAV
make up devil and label him God Init
II he is not infinitely true and good and
Just VIII not have him for INV God
Some theories of hell will perish in the
future. Some people gloat over han
ana have heard men preach that a.
almighty nts on his throne In heaven
ana looks over and rejoices In the SMOKE
ana the burning, quivering flesh. LIDO
not believe word of it, or that the A..
lure ! generations viii believe a word ~
q that no future generation. reared in
me great thought of Gods fatherbood
ana love, can worship a devil. II does
pot matter what -you may say abont