The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-08-21


 been effectual. A tree Is known by its fruits. and a church must be judged by its representatives.
 We believe. then. first of all. In the existence of a creator and ruler of the universe. We do not. indeed. believe the Trinitarian riddle about the Deity. for neither the Bible nor reason proves this theory. But both assert the exis- tence of an infinite and external pow CT. whose essence is wisdom and love. hear his whispers in the summer breeze. I kiss his finger tips in the spring flowers. I feel his presence in the mornings glory. My head rests upon his bosom in a knoll of violets and clover-not on 1t. but on Him. Not 1t Is beautiful. but He is beautiful. He Is the being in whom We live and move and have our being-the infinite and external over-Saul. of whom Emerson writes. who Is over all. in all. through all. under all. the power that has evolved Casmor out of chaos. He whose energy throbs through every atom of this great universe. and whose spirit wells up in ourselves under the form of reason and consclence-the liv- ing God. not the dead. dumb idol of traditional theology.
 Secondly, we believe. on rational ground. in the continued existence of the soul after the death of the body. As a brilliant agnostic says: "The Idea of immortality, that, like sea. has ebbed and flowed in the human heart, with its countless waves of hope and fear, beating against the shores born of any book nor of any religion; it was born of human affection. And 1t will continue to ebb and flow. beneath the mists and clouds of doubt and dark ness, as long as love kisses the lips of death.
 Modern skepticism has made vigor- ous attacks on this ancient and univer- sal belief of mankind. But the best phys iology and psychology of the day have demonstrated the radical difference be- tween mind and body, brain and thought, and this gives us scientific basis for belief in the possible exist ence of the soul after the death of the body. But while reason accepts the be- lief in a future life, 1t rejects the bar barous dogma of endless punishment as unscriptural, irrational and incredible. It rejects this dogma not on sentiment tai grounds, but in the name of eter- nal justice! It holds that whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap here and hereafter. If he SOW to the flesh, he shall of the flesh reap corrup- tion; but if he SOW to the spirit, he shall of the spirit reap eternal life and hap piness. AS long as man continues to sin, so long must he suffer, but when- ever he ceases to sin, whether in this life or in that which is to come and ob- serves Gods laws, he will be saved from suffering and welcomed to the Fathers bosom.
 Thirdly we accept the spiritual lead ership of Jesus. A careful study of His history and rational interpretation of the gospels show that myths have been woven around this 'god-like character. There is no evidence that reason can accept to prove that Jesus was God. But He stands at the very head of the prophets of God-afld while the seers and sages of India, China, Persia Greece and Rome were truly inspired yet Jesus of Nazareth ranks above them all. He never has been equalled and the eminent FTfeench sceptic, Renan fhan whom there is no more unbi. assed judge says that He never will be surpassed. He is the highest product of the worlds religious evolution and the ethical and spiritual truths He taught will be immortal. The more fully we realize His ideal, the nearer will we come to the true fulfillment o1 the high destiny of the sons of God. He is not our God, but He has shown us the Father more clearly than any one else We do not and should not pray to him or worship him, but we should worship God as he did, in spirit and in truth and should strive to establish His Kingdom among men.
 Fourthly we accept the Bible as our religious text book. It is not the only inspired or sacred book, but it is the best. "This collection of books" said Theodore Parker, "has taken such a hold on the world as no other. The It. erature of Greece, which goes up like incense from that land of temples and heroic deeds has not half the influence of this book. It goes equally to the cot tage of the plain man and the palace of the king. It is woven into the litera- ture of the scholar and colors the talk of the street.
 Amid the tyrannies of priestcraft (says Dr. Farrar), amid the alterations of theology, amid the doubts and diff ficulties of criticism, the Bible has con- tinued to be the inalienable possession of the Christian church. No attempt to keep the sacred writings as seven sealed book in the bands of the clergy, no insufferable difficulties created by dogmas of inspiration, no false sys- tems of interpretation built upon those dogmas, have been able to snatch the Bible wholly from the hands of that vast unknown multitude whom God has known for His and who have departed from iniquity To them-the simple and the unselfiish and the pure in heart it has ever been and still Is guide to the feet and light to the path-a granary of wholesome food against renowned tradition. Reading the scrip lures not with the eyes of partisan ship, of suspicion or of self-interest, but with the eyes of love and into the souls vernacular, they have found their riches in blessing and consolation. While, therefore, we refuse to exalt the Bible into a fetish-while we must prove all it's statements and hold fast to only those that are rational and good-yet we find in it many true words from God and the ethical and religious t>rtro{11eo uro roo6 fn er1liHa rrc i,, <h ho