The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-02-15

7 truth that he Is so. Man 10 bad because
OF set. or inherent principles, and
no man is inteiigentlv atheist
because Christians do not do their duty,
and ministers also fail in theirs Such
reason rs this for a man 10 give is too
! puerile. too childish. IL atheism had no
more than this To base it's foundation upon,
/ atheism would be no factor 10 contend
with today. | have found that the mo-
ment a man intellIIently lets 20 the idea
of personal God, a God who will in the
| end bring about human welfares and des-
| TIMES Alright, that moment the load Is
shifted all upon mans shoulders in his
| mind, and he ssts TO work some way and
how to get man To rule his own lie Alright
and through this to cause, or compel men
TO be ruled Alright also. There may be
| atheists who are, and think the reverse of
this. but have never known them. All
tbs murderers, adultresses AMI downright
/ mean people ever knew had q stanch
belief in the truth of inspiration, but they
did not live up 10 that belief. Atheism
/ knows that the church and true Christi
anity is one of the greatest civi ling
factors. gives the ministry due regard
/ for the earnest. faithful, manly men who
/ inhabit the pulpit today. Once in a while
+ u may cry ont against the priesliy mar
+ rowness and keeping the peoples
every SCOT it sends 1t gets dozens
/ back IL did not come 10
defend atheism just exactly. [ intended
! TO tax awhile 10 "EIaWkeye' and here |
am almost AZ the end OF the EDITORS pa
thence. Looking over the matter | cannot
I see where the uon-belief in Immortality
+ and "a supreme being can be such q stu
pendous libel That is. now mind, taking
+ such belief outside OF revelation on the
matter, and this is the way one won d
+ have 10 srgueit from the promises Hawk
eve" has assumed. l know there are
many people who SAY, without the bibe
and insDirati n. nature Itself proves there
is a God, a Supreme Maker. / claim this
assertion to he founded upon very super
ticIsl grounds
I cannot see that either a limited or a
/ great knowledge OF creation proves a
maker. We of course see mucn that il
I strange intricate. wonderful. Much that
/ orr j uited knowledge 40 far cannot ex-
plain. And We stralghtwsy set to work
10 say there necessarily must be a maker,
a designer. Why? Just because We
cannot understand of anything being
made that was not created nor designed.
Because We see something that seems 20
hold co relative eXistencs dependent on
something else. Ii must be that way all
L
that outside OF revelation there is no proof
OF a supreme maker, because in arg ring
back We always end with something
. smaller, something more imperfect in the
I line ut creation, instead of ending al
| great starting point. And If we keep
this stv.e of argument up we end AWAY
Just where We begun. for nature is a ring
! We come bang up against place that We
viii have TO concsde was never designed
/ or created and always existed. The scien-
tist leaving revelation out OF the question
finds II just rs easy TO stop at atoms as to
stop at a theory that goes beyond them.
lie knows the atoms exist and be knows
that, in fact he can 60 no farther And
a. far as his evidence will 90. it NAV be
| that u was the atoms that were never de-
signed, never created, always were and al
/ ways Will be instead of God. To his
knowledge they always go an eternal
/ round.
The scientist has his hope Did you
aver know OF a great scientist that was a
very wicked person? The verv knowl-
edge they obtain. The hungering after
more gives them nope of immortality
and a wish 1t exists TO gain
| It. He does not wish TO live
| merely for the selfshness of living
but 10 learn more and more He knows
1
atoms. The earth, the wa OF, the living
plant and animal. from its lowest develop
ment 10 It's hiehest-as vet He knows
| these atoms are IN a constant state of
| change, going passing from the shifting
rock, the decaying vegetation and body, TO
their original state. to reappeaT again in
other forms. This he sees and knows
| But he can find no sure evidence of a per
sonal God back of it. He might claim
nature as God, but he can give il no tan
gible form. lie knows that certain atoms
| com Dining form water. lie knows when
these atoms, even in part withdraw, water
does not and cannot exist, or be.
He finds life dependent much upon
ike reason. The coming together
OF many and certain atoms. But
when diseass or time disintegrates these
atoms, tho life disappears 10 come no
more in that particular form. He knows
nothing Of the soul, does our scientist.
He says that if it exists it exists indie
pendent OF life. He says that atoms never
perish and II the soul is 4 created atom it
too shall never perish. But he cannot put
! his finger upon IL and tel you exactly
where 1t Is. for II has not form, nor leaves
no trace that he has vet solved. But
there is one thing that science will de-
cidedly tell you: That man ia one factor
In this plan OF creation and that If he goes
down TO death at twenty years of
age or seventy he leaves his mark
upon earthly time. Even If immortality
! be- a myth. man no less has lived and has
had HE day, be that for good or evil lie
is no myth, nor are his thoughts illu-
sions. Like the grass, he came for a pur
pose. No matter whether his going be-
into adreamless sleep. as last years grass,
or not. There is nothing by chance. ex-
actlv. in this world. When the right
! time arrives for the atoms to comming'e
/ they do 90. bringing forth other repro.
/ ductive conditions in this comminglin9.
But who knows how many mis-
+ takes, balks and bad beginnings
and endings these atomic conditions may
/ have met with In aons of time back OF us.
think / can trace a few of them myself
I in what little of science / know
We are here; We know that. But we
are no myth no illusion II we 90 down
! TO dTssmless sleep tonight our ihoushts.