The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-06-17
CYNICAL YOUNG MEN
NOT RATED HIGHLY BY PRES. BUR-
ROUGHS, IN HIS BACCALAUREATE.
Bishop White breaches the Sermon
40 Indiana University Seniors
commencement News.
Special to The INDIANAPOLIS journal.


ate sermon delivered this morning in Center
Church. by President c. S. Burroughs. He
took for his subject. "True Religion. the
Natural Expression of Life" The following
Is taken from his remarks:
The words Of Jesus, as recorded in the
Gospei or John, eighteenth chapter and
thirty-eighth verse. and also seventh chap
TO this end have | been born, and 10
this end am / come into the world, that i
should bear witness unto the truth. Every
one that is OF the truth heareth my voice.
My teaching is not mine, but His that
sent me- III any man willeth to DO HIS
self
Here are two all important matters,
clearly stated and clearly emphasized
They are these: First. truth is revealed
In life; second, truth is verified in life:
moral and spiritual existence. Here stands
the human race, experimenting, each once
and once only. in that laboratory of per-
must, perforce. make his trial. One only
OF the race satisfied HIMSELF one only has
satisfied his fellows. He testified, with con-
soientious humility, that He had made a
perfect experiment. His fellows in countless
numbers have believed Him. They have
believed Him for two reasons. First, be-
cause the experiment which He made. pho
tographed, even while in the making, on
the minds of truthful and keen-sighted wit
nesses, preserved as a fact of history, and
written down the choicest treasure of
literature. has stood the searching glance
or trpth-seekng minds ever since. But
more important than this These countless
numbers have, in the second place, believed
Him because they have. to certain certain. de-
peated his experiment, by the aid, as they
themselves testify, of a personal power not
their own-yet made their own-which in
them made for righteousness through
mercy.
I'VE seem to hear his, strong. yet tender
voice. rs of old He taught his followers in
Galilee, saying TO each Of sus personally,
.Dost thou believe in life? As each for
himself We try to answer, do, let US
wait while He shall tell us how. after His
pattern and by His power, We may cast self
into the molten stream OK the Ire OF our air
flowing course and direct its way? Let
US wait that we may learn this secret of
believes In life. more accurately speaking,
believes in the Man of Life by his side
experiment in the laboratory of personal
experience. this is to- be religious Jesus
MAS religious My theme. then. is this:
stood IL, or. putting the matter as prop
osition which each may verify, True re-
ligion is the natural expression of life.
JESUS AS HE LIVED
''The life that / would translate is that
of Jesus. the thought into which 1 would
translate it is yours and mine. Acutely.
yet most truly, has it been said. Chris
tianity. as fact, needs translation into the
forms OF modern life greatly the Bible
writings have required translation into our
modern vernacuiar.' But Christianity. as
fact, is simply jesus. mean Jesus as
He lived, Jesus He spoke in life. and
as He spoke out of life. In Jesus is found
this supremely the expression of the end
of life in conduct. This expression is found
in His perfect conformity. in His personal
experience, 10 the laws of normal human
living We therefore say that the life of
Jesus was true religion. 1t will, then. be
at once seen that, when have said that
true religion is the natural expression of
life. / Lave not said that true religion is
the common expression OF life. but the ex-
act opposite. / have said that the natural,
the normal. in religion is the uncommon.
but have insisted that ii is for this -rea-
son none the less natural. Nor have / said
that true religion is the easy expression
of life. but. again. rne direct opposite. 1
have said that the natural, the normal In
moral and spiritual experience, is the diff
in spite of this. it is just as natural. The
only. yet the all-sufficient antidote, to this
insidious poison is the Man of Nazareth,
in life natural. yet without sin. in life "A
victor after struggle. that He may show
us that the natural for US men is only OBJ
tanned through struggle.
Upon none does the play Of false the
DRY Of life bear So heavily ss al UPON p3n the
unconscious of its presence. 1t comes to
him as an atmosphere. breathing itself
about. 1t encompasses h.m-perchance. il
the spirit of boon companio ship; per-
chance, in the conception of life which he
finds IN society as ne S ente sGs,s into to ut, its
ing, discovering themselves in much of our
current literature. as he touches life in let
tiers. 1t comes TO him as a stream of ten
dency. moving with ever increasing strength
until IL has swept him away from his moor
self drifting composites, rudderless on the
dest fact OF ali-finds, himself willing. to
at some OF the types of character thus pro-
duced- They are all about us; we need
not go far to find them. What are some
A
christian expressions of life?
THE CYNIc IN LIFE.
at is first critical. then captious at
length contemptuous. 1t utters itself with
the circum1ex accent from the day when
PLATE turning said, What is truth? down
10 the present hour. It's watchword Is,
who will show us any goodg 1t ceases. at
the outstart. to take hold of life and its
problems with earnest manful grip, and,
then. ceasing to do aught else than play
the spectators part. it hnders as best ii
can. those whom ii ought to help. 1t is the
stumbling block most often in the path of
true advance. II is the most effective OBJ
stacle. We scarce know whether TO pity
IL for its wretched hollowness or TO be an
gere3 because of its conceited superciiious-
ness. Surely II is to be both pitied and
hated. In its view
Life is a bauble and in length a span'
"A waste OF wearisome hours. play
when We are born. we cry that We are
come
To this great stage of FOOLS"
Here is its utterance:
Reason thus with life
If | do lose thee. | 10 lose a thing
That none but fools would keep
strange that this spirit should lay hold
upon young manhood. For young manhood
by nature ia strong TO DO and dare. 1t
yearns TO achieve. 1t believes supremely
in its power 10 better men and 10 bless the
world. Ii counts on long hte-best of all
IL measures days by deeds. When. natur-
ally. life TO young man but walk
Ing shadow What young man, when HIM
self. could say
T love long ife-better than figs
a 4 do not set my life at pins fee.
''rhere can be no question about it, il is
thoroughly unnatural for a young man To
be cynical. Yet. sadly must II be owned.
IL Is not to-day uncommon. Nor does ii
seem to be difficult. Here, then, is de-
mon OF the present which must be exor-
eised- Its powers for destruction cannot
be estimated. Clearly il is an unclean
spirit. walking through dry places. seeking
rest and finding none. There can be no
home life with the spirit of cynicsm
abroad in the land. There can be no true
social progress. no genuine citizenship In
d word. there can be no natural expression
OF life where the spirit OF the cynic dwells.
and. therefore, there can be no true re-
ligion. Where cynieism is. there the life
of Jesus OF Nazareth IL not; there IL cannot
be. To this end have / been born and
10 this end am | come into the world. that
j should bear witness unto the truth Every
that is of the truth heareth my voice.
Is IL strange that the cynic sloes not hear
that voice? j tell you. no. Ii speaks an