The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1894-02-25
The Hest KIND Of religion.

| 'etHS sag Vilto YOU II ye have faith
and doubt not--Matthew, xxi, 81.
IL Is customary with preachers TO ten
their people that faith Ia certain revealed
truths is condition of acceptance with
God in the hereafter. II, however. one be.
lieves Tor the sake OF going to heaven he
is a nereenary creature and does not de-
serve 10 so there, In like manner, II one
obeys the commandments in order 10 avoid
the torments Of another world he Is as FAR
removed fran any true idea of religion MS
me north pole Is from the south. In the
| one case a man Yields to a subtle kind Of
| bribery which promises to give what he
most desires, and in the other he sur
/ renders to threat which he has been
taught 10 dread and would like to avoid
II must be irue that Ia tne plan OF a Just
! God there is no such thing as bribery.
either In the shnpe OF threat or pro-
mise 1t Is not the popularity OF faith that
II IS The coin with which you purchase
heaven, but that 1t SO forms your char
acter that you can not be kept out of
I heaven because you have q right to 80
/ there. And the peculiarly OF hab!tual
doubt Is that the life which Is produced by
IL demoralizes the character and renders
| II spiritually impossible for You 10 cross
/ the threshold OF heaven because you would
not be in the company Of your peers. Every
man here and hereafter llnds his own place
by law Of grayitaticn which Is lnexor-
able. IL IS the same kind Of law which
n physical concerns makes the apple fan
to tho ground and the balloon rise TO the
clouds, We are so constituted. at least the
arge majority OF mankind are, that GER
tain affirmative IDEAS produce largeness
Of soul, while opposite IDEAS produce Op-
posi.e results. To secure the results, there
fore, It is necessary to possess ones self
of the IDEAS which correspond to them.
There is nothing arbitrary about this; 1t
Is simply matter OF logic and law. Re
ligion does not represent the caprice of =
creator. Who for His own pleasure" holds
a damnlng thunderbolt IN one hand and the
promise OF bliss In the other. on the con-
rary, Il represents an omnipotent justice
which has so arranged the tendencies of
human living md thinking that every mau
drifts to tle place he Is best fitted to I'LL,
and can, by ne chance, occupy any other
The value Of faith lies wholly in the fact
that it Just as inevitably develops the
uobless qualities az the apple seed contains
within itsei the possibility OF a tree, a
ol5ssom ana the rich, ripe fruit, The horror
OF doubt lies in the fact that 1t reduces
the soul, OF the character, or the man
whichever you ulease-io a minimum,
checks growth and induces spiritual frost
which nips the bud and renders friitase
unattainahle. l is evident then that a
M an must believe In something IN order
TO become something Ideas make or UNI
make; they are both creative and destruc-
tive. TO believe firmly in virtue is an in
renttve to become virtuous. Your pride In
your honor Will keep You honorable That
law acknowledged, we have a foundation
for re!igion-that Is, q religion OF common
sense An ungavcflng faith in God who
PAGES you here amid all sorts OF obstacles
that you may prepare yourself Tor the
higher existence 10 which He wiz summon
yon by and by; fixed belief mat a pure
life L; worth ali Il may cost, however great
that cost shall he; calm and quiet trust
In a Providence which never deserts you.
and In the possibility OF communicating
nv prayer with the Being who holds al
tbings in the hollow OF HIS hand; Joyful
resignation to the Higher WIZ m the dirH
straits OF anliction aaa bereavement tns
result OF your conviction that lie would
not send such things unless they were
needed. and thai He IS helping you to bear
1p under the necessary burden-sueh
sfata 81 mind and heart IS Just as sure to
saffeu and mellow ard enrich and ennoble
,,o,,r nature as n seed Is sure TO grow
when properly planted The logical eonse-
ouence OF such faith is to widen ana
deepen your character, ana that ipeie ~
irrtaisttble. ON the other hand, to have NJ
f;od M Providence, no future life TO look
forward to; 70 have no belief that the rlgnt
always pays and the wrong always hurts
h denend on chance for what You may
get ont Of life and on your own pluck ana
VIII to bear its sorrows' % love ana g get
eel maj love does not survive, nut thet
he deaa child or wife IS simply. dead
.gernsl v--such state OF mind IL MOI
merely decreasing, It il a powerful cause '.
which VII produce an unhanpy erect
No hand can stay he results which must
logically follow. AS a practical QUESTION
fof practical men TO consider we assert
,bat The difference between low and hign
IDEAS Of duty. Is the difference between 2
cind and Il god Men may have metafnor-
,,,,a.,sa me CHRISTIAN reNeion into some.
tb.nr forbidding and repuIsIye, but such
men have done US great misenaet apa
should not be heeded The Christ OF ne
nteyy 'reatainent IS not the Christ ~ the
oiogy. The rue Christ fills the heart win n
laffv IDEALS. conscious that from them
no.b,nr nut lofts IMPULSES can result
and that Is true religion
True CONSIDERATIONS.
II II. Sears in the Bastrop Advertiser: