The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-05-10
May 8.
DRUMMoND ONCE MORE.

"U Pirates Returns to Defend Natural
Law in the Spiritual World"
DEAR HowARDs-Once again take up
my pen-this time in defense of Drum
mond and Natural Law in the Spiritual
World" although IL. w. H." and How.
ard" have LETT me but little to say.
haven't Natural Law" TO refer to, rs
sent it to my father.a few weeks ago; but
l think 1 understand the author well
enough for the present purpose While |
do not pretend to accept all the theories
that Drummond presents, vet consider
this book as a light held up. by whose
rays many cropping in the darkness may
touch Gods hand"
''Hawkeye." you seem to have fail ed to
see anything in Natural Law" but pre-
destination" of the Calvinistic kind,
and yehemently accuse the author
of trying to bolster up"
Yet l failed to discover anything of the
kind taught in the book And this | af-
firm: II Prof. Drummond meant to teach
such doctrine he utterly failed to &C.
complish his purpose.
But | acquit the author OF Natural
Law" OF making any attempt to teach q
creed or TO defend one. In the verv out
set DTummond states that in tracing the
natural law In tue spiritual world he ig-
nored ell pre-conceived beliefs in order to
be perfectly unbiased in his view of this
experiment, and Afterward found it
necessary to entirely reconstruct his own
creed by the light thus gained. And
what surprised him was the harmony be-
tween the natural law and some OF the
forms of belief taught bv the church,
when it Was farthest from his intention to
try to harmonic them. And his forcible
deiinealon OF parasites-thOse who i'm
bibe all their RELIGION and their conceD-
tions OF the truth from tho church, 4"
without any effort toward a personal
conservation or investigation of truth for
themselves and his urgent appeal TO every
one to investigate and verify doctrines for
themselves. and not accept any form of
truth at second hand, all preclude the idea
that he is accredited with doctrine to
promulgate.
You quote from Natural Law" the fol-
lowing:
THE passage from the natural world TO
the spiritual world is Theoretically sealed
on the natural side. The door from the
inorganic to the organic world is shut; no
mineral can open 1T so the door from the
natural to the spiritual is shut aud no man
can open IT,
I'VE find one great law guarding the
thresholds of both worlds. Securing the
entrance from lower sphere TO the higher
shall only take place by direct regener-
ating act, and that emanating from the
world next in order above il"
And then YOU add:
There is Calvinism baby roasting IN q
form that neither we nor our fathers
were able to bear" But certainly you
have missed the true meaning those pas
saVes were intended to convey.
Somewhere in Natural Law" Drum
mond says that the anology between the
natural world and the spiritual world can
only be imperfectly traced. The extracts
! Just quoted demonstrate this fact There
is this difference between the inorganic
! kingdom and the organic kingdom which
! does not exist between the organic and
! spiritual: The inorganic kingdom is pas
! sive under the influence or touch of the
organic life above it; it can neither hinder
nor help In the transforming process. But
when the spiritual life reaches down and
| touches the hearts of men whatdo we see ?
| Why that men can resist the life and
refuse to be lifted up; or they
can yield TO the living touch and be
transformed into the kingdom above
the kingdom of God. Mark you,
men do not lift themselves up
/ 10 this kingdom THAT were as
/ impossible as for the inorganic to lift itself
/ into the organic kingdom); but men can
/ place themselves in such an attitude that
they can be lifted bv the divine spirit into
that kingdom. And this is the kind OF
"predestination" Natural Law" teaches,
and no other. For further proof in the
chapter on Degeneration" Drummond
gives it when he SAYS: From the very
nature of salvation. therefore, il Is plain
that the only thing necessary to make it of
no effect is to neglect" Now what does
/ this word neglect" imply but that saliva
| ton has been offered and rejected.
; But according to Calvinism the "elect"
; could not reject salvation, and the mon
lect" could not have an opportunity 10 do
/ so. Again, in the same chapter: There
are some men to whom it is true there is
no God. They cannot see God because