The Washington times., 1894-12-31
more effectively spread abroad on the

be more effectively spread abroad on the
earth"
AT THE SOLEMN yEsrER SERVICE
the Rev. DR.. D. J. Stafford, assistant pastor Of
St. Patrick's Church, preached. His subject
was Supernatural religion" He said in
part:
1.-The greatest Of all facts is religion. 1t is
constant universal, invariable. Man has
never been without religion. In times past
and times present; in civilization and say
agery; studying the heavens with sublime in
telligence, observing phenomena and en-
deavoring by intelligent investigation to con-
struct systeUs; elaborate theories which
would account for them or groveling upon
the earth: agitated with fear and trembling
at every manifestation OF nature as at the
anger of God.
"He lost the arts and the sciences and de-
! scended instead of ascending In the scale Of
moral progress but las never lost religion.
He has gone down to e depth where every
trace and lineament of his nature seem to be
/ lost where the light of reason becomes tit
full and uncertain glmmer, but from the
abyss he has looked up, from the depths still
called TO God. Darwin, Lebboek, Tyler, Daw-
son, Miyart, the former admit and the latter
! prove that man is
NOWHERE FOUND WITHOUT RELIGION.
! "But this religion OF man of the human
race has always been supernatural. Man has
/ never appealed to reason as an authority for
! his religion, or to nature as the source OF his
/ morality He has appealed to revelation.
/ Every religion claims to trace itself back to
| prophet, who brought it from heaven--the
I word of God. While the philosopher and the
/ scientist have always appealed to reason and
/ nature the priest surrounds himself with the
{ Of Ca1 nd ofTarr n Oyrr1
/ from the mountain, SAYS: Hear Oh, Israel;
thus saith the Lord God There never has
! been religion of reason. and Plato, the
greatest OF the sages said that ii was neces-
sary for some one to come down from heaven
/ to teach man what he should believe. and
all acquainted with the thought OF to-day
/ know that the religion OF reason means no
! religion.
''But side by side with this revealed word
| we find another institution universal like
the former-sacrament. an outward rite or
observance supposed TO have power to reach
and purify the soul of man. Among the Jews.
the Egyptians the Greeks, the Romans. man
/ appeals on authority above reason for his
doctrine and to source above natural for
his morality and religion; therefore, on the
I side of doctrine as well as on the side OF
practice has always been the supernatural.
I'm our day we have heard OF natural
morality and men in the face of mans con-
your natural inclInations.' And the great
leaders of agnosticism tell US that every
peasurable thing. is good. is yirtuous. but
the most simple knows that this is not
morality. but depravity. for it is not only the
acceptance OF vice, but the justification OF 1t.
/ This idea of the supernatural could not have
come from reason, for in that it Is super
natural it is above reason; nor from i'm
posture, for that at most could have caused
only local error and could not account for
unIyersality. 1t must have come from God
and was completed and made perfect by
| Christ