The herald., 1895-05-12

angels among the Jews, yet we speak of
our dear departed as angels and there
has sprung up among Jews-and Christ.
ians as wcll--an angelology, science of
the angels and their doings, wholly use
less for the activity of this aud future
generations. Likewise the demon has
been given place in the sentiments OF
man, introduced from Persia into the
religious sentiment Of the Hebrew.
Again there are various representatio
of tie hereafter. How much of them is
superstition. how much fact? Do not
misunderstood me. | say empha tcally
my conviction is that the providence of
God does not intend life to be cut off
with the suspension OF our nervous force;
| believe in the immortality of the spirit.
amt in the eternity of spiritual life:
yet to localizc the abode OF the spirit is
10 unconsciously do injustice to the
infinite majesty of God VINO is subject to
neither time, space nor condition. Yet
the emotions of man will express them
| selves in the poetry of religion.
| Hades and sheol, primeval attempts to
localize spirit life. have been succeeded
| by Paradise, by Gan Eden of Gehinnom.
and the pureatory of Catholic doctrine.
| THIS tendency to create facts out of
poetry is actually producing and estab-
fishing superstitions. Not that all the
instances demonstrate superstitions. but
they produce fears and shapes which are
| the germs OF superstition; and he who
is supcrstitious walks forever through
life with his fears cinging like barnacles
to his feet; every action is influenced by
| his beliefs, every condition modified by
| them.
| DIR. Voorsanger illustrated this point by
| drawing contrast between the old and
simple belief of the continuity of spirit
the immortality of the soul-and the
present mischievous operations on the
! superstitious tendencies of many people
bx h 10 xvho nhxr
the holiest emotions of mankind are de
ceived by gross imposition and fraud;
and again by the alleged astrological wis
dom with which thousands OF men are
| hoaxcd by those who pretend to know its
| import.
Then as regards religious professions
and practice, the rational worshiper OF
| Deity beholds in the accessories OF wor
| ship the emblems suggested by his poeti
| cal emotions. When such al emblem
serves no purpose to the rational mind.
its continuance IS an expression OF gross
| superstition. When a religious practice
! is no longer the expression Of intelligent
worship of God. its continuance is re-
| ligious superstition. 1t, therefore, seems
dutiful toward the ma jesty of the Gre ator
to eliminate every practice from our wor-
ship that is not founded on reason; or
! should strive to overcome the tendency
to mystify everything around us. and by
BECOMING rational worshipers OF God.
rational in belief, profession. conduct and
practice, nor be subject to the charge OF
barbarity, religious superstitions or pro-
Tossing superstitious religion.
| Our religion is no less God-given be-
cause the thunGers of Sinai resolve them
selves into the fervid epcs of glorious
Ioet God once spoke in miracles; now
! his voice is heard in the truth, and in
| the truth al one wherever grated.
So much tor religious superstition. On
the other hand. supersttious religion is
universally prevalent. The atheist deems
sectarians also have an uncanny fashion
of believing all religions not their own
| as peculiarly superstitious. This indi-
cafes selhsness begotten of narrow
thought and limited investigation.
Truth assumes many guises, is taught
many methods. The quality of supersti-
ton lies not in an Interpretation or mis-
Interpretation of the nature and character
of Deity, but rather in the abuse of re-
ligion as regards the mode of wor-
shiping God ard the practices estab-
All men believe in God. How do they
worship him? Upon that question de-
pends the integrity of every religious sys-
TEN.
Worship is not revealed thing but a
suggestion of reason and human emo
|
should be said to be superstitious because
his doctrine of faith differs from that of
| others. He only becomes superstitious
whose worship betrays irrationality, or
whose practice indicates that he is
swayed by emotions unbecomlng a true
worshiper of God.
The speaker then repeated the funda-
mental truths upon which the Hebrew
and other monotheistic faiths''rest; funda-
mental truths they are no matter how in
| terpreted; and in contrast he instanc ed
the pagans who were superstitious, not
because they believe in multiplicity of
gols, Lut because their worship and
| practice ls jrrational and unbecoming
IRON our standpoint. To us human vir-
tue is a revelation of the divine; they in
verted our methods and gave Gou the
attributes characterizing themselves. The
as varied as the fluctuations of human
| reason.
Then came the conception of typifying
the elements and laws of nature, which
| we hold now are irrational and supersti-
| tious.
ance with their conceptions, not with
their reason. How could the will of God.
eternal and therefore subject to no intiu-
ence from atomic man, be changei by
speech and Offering? When the po Try OF
the imagination is symbolical only. su-
! DeTStlllOn nceu nOt De attributed 10 cNtu
the teachers, but when it becomes crys-
talliZed into fact, and imagination be-
comes concrete. we have superstition in
its most deplorable aspect.
Through the evolution of religion some
of the old leaven has remained in human
ity. The growth of religious truth has
been somewhat onesided; we are mono.
theists holding noble. lofty conceptions of
God. but our worship and practice is not
always in codsonance with the ennobling
teachings we have received. Therein lies
the most dangerous element of supersti.
tious religion in che contrast betwe en- e.
igious truth and its applications in con-
trast between the actual confession of the
unity and many interpretations and prac.
tices still current among us.
If your belief in God is perfect-if you
understand the Jewish idea OF God to be
the noblest exposition of human con.
| sclousness-yOu must carefully avoid do
ing, speaking or practicing anything that
will detract from such a majestic concep-
ton. Your worship must be the garment
of your consciousness, its expression in
consonance with your teachings.
Prayer and alteration are natural to
man; the language and interpreter Of his
emotions. What is their object?
Remember God created the universe
and sustains it according to unaltera BILE
plans and laws. Shall you pray with the
intent of pleasing the Everlasting? Shall
you worship ii i'm with the intent of do
ing Him favor? Will you ask Him to
undo that which in the eternal fiat has
been ordained. or will you influence His