The herald., 1895-07-22
YESTERDAY IN THE CHURCHES
Interesting Discourses by Popu-
lar Divines.
THE GOSPEL AS A GUIDE
DR.. Thomson's Sermon at tine unity
Church
THE GOSPEL AS A GUIDE
Mrs. Dorsey's Address on Christ tho Teacher
at the Y. w. G. A. Gospel
Meeting

Tho pastor, J. s. Thomson, delivered
a sermon on The Souls and Bodies of
Thoughts, from the words. "The words
that I speak unto you, they are spirit and
they are life. fe."-John6, So.
Whence come new ideas? How come
they? How do they arise in the mind?
Three theories, or speculations. or beliefs,
have been offered as answers to these
questions. The first is the theory of sug-
gestion. Certain things that we see and
hear suggest other things. or new ideas,
as the falling of an apple suggested the
law OF gravitation to Newton. The sac
ond in inspiration. God sends an idea
directly into IA prophets mind, or the
invisible spirits whisper ideas into our
minds. The third is Platos theory. We
all come from a world of light. beauty
glory. Some souls remem Der better than
Others what they have seen and heard in
that world. These remembered things
are our innate ideas. Christ says: 1.-The
word which ye hear is not mine. but the
Fathers which sent me-" my doctrine
is notYmine. AS / have heard judge"
God taught Christ the doctrines of the
gospel in another world, and sent Him
to declare these doctrines to mankind.
An idea is the germ Of a thought. When
the idea passes through reason, conscience,
heart and spirit it becomes thought.
When it enters tths will and passes into
the nerves and muscles, 1t becomes a
word, form or an action. 1t has body.
All our sciences, industrial arts, fine arts,
PHILOSOPHERS, literatures, forms of govern
ment. religions and systems of ethics are
the bodies OF thoughts OF the race. A
new idea of truth drives out false
thoughts. Travel. books and period icals
are fast banshing the crude and superst.
tious conceptions OF God. man and the
universe, which some OF our paganized
churches cherish and preach as Christian
truths. When the ideas Of Christ's gos-
pei become thoughts in the minds of men
and women. then the pagan elements in
creeds will die out gradually. as they are
now doing everywhere. Words are the
carriers Of thoughts. The thoughts which
the race cherished many thousands of
years ago have come down to our time
in ancient Languages. in symbols and in
traditions. Christ teaches that words are
immortal. Heaven and earth shall pass
away, but my words shall not pass away"
"The words which l speak are spirit and
life" The thoughts Of the world are safe
people heard Christ gladly because He
spoke in words easy to be understood"
and not as the scripes. The fourteenth
chapter of First Corinthians is a fine dis
course upon the use Of simple words.
Except ye utter by the tongue words
easy to be understood. how shall it be
known kwhat is spoken? For ye shall
speak not into the air." The deepest
thoughts of the human minds can be ut
cred IN simple words; and he who knows
his subject thoroughly can teach it to the
common understanding, when he re-
nounCes all pretentious technicalities.
God Is love, wisdom. power; and these
thres factors make Gods word, by which
He created the worlds, vegetables and
animals. Each one Of US is the word
made flesh; and Christ was word Of
God, q part Of that word by which the
heavens and the ;eafths were, created. He
is Gods last and grandest work in morals
and religion. Our characters are the ex-
pressions. OF bodies. of our thoughts.
Our thoughts have made us what we
are; and our characters. not our creeds.
nor scientific theories, will decide our
point of starting in the world to come.
He VINO accepts the Gospel as his guide
book. and who follows Christ's example,
will form a character that will win the
recognition of God, Christ and the angels.