The Irish standard., 1896-03-07
can satisfy us, he ever yearns for the in
defectible good-that alone which can sat

can satisfy us, he ever yearns for the in
defectible good-that alone which can sat
isfy him-God. The everyday occurren-
ces of life whether private Or public or in
nature impel him to admit a Ruler OF
the universe, by whom bad men are some
times punished And in times Of danger
when there is no hope of human help, he
is forced by nature to appeal for aid to a
higher power. Tertullian called attention
to this. and argued that all men, even the
pagans We're naturally Christians, be-
cause in such moments they called on not
the gods, but God.
And even more than this, man knows
that he is bound to make further inquiry
when he begins to think it probable that
there is "A God. For if you admit that
God exists, it is evident to you that you
must honor and worship Him; and So
too, when one attajns to a proba ble reason
for the existence of a Supreme Ruler or tc
a serious doubt lest He may exist, not to
honor whom would be a crime, he at once
perceives the obligation OF diligently IN
quiring further, since otherwise his igno-
rance would be blameworthy.
And it he does this. l. e., if he seriously
and diligently inquiries, any ordinary man
can and must attain to a natural OF moral
certainty that God does exist. One proof
of this is that, as a matter of fact. in all
times known to us and among every peO-
pie there has been q lasting, universal and
| indelible persuasion that a Supreme Being
existed whom men We're bound to honor.
So we learn from the accounts OF histor-
ians, travellers, missionaries, who tell us
that among all tribes, peoples and nations
| erc 6if io;n
fees, festal days, oaths and penalties
against those who despise the gods. The
same is found in what remains of their
monuments or literature. popular songs Or
hymns and oral traditions: irc III heir tenn
pies, statues, pictures, arms and coins and
| in their languages are often found names
to express their deity, the services in, their
honor, etc.
| This persuasion is indelible, not, indeed,
necessarily so absolutely, and in each and
every people at the same time, e. g., among
such as have almost lost the use Of the
reasoning faculty; but it is so in it's uni
versatility, so that no arguments OF athe-
| lists, no human laws or authority have
ever been able to blot it out. Does not
this show that this constant and lasting
! effect, as every other such. sNpposes a
cause equally constant and enduring?
This cause is, we say, the fact that such
a Being exists and the facility with which
knowledge of that fact is acquired.
Oh, no! say the atheists; It is due to
| education. But in all other matters how
varied, how different is educaton How
often among these peoples do we find
none at all? And even were it true---this
explanation which doesn't explain::t
! would remain true that what was un;yer-
sally accepted by the natural reason Of
mankind. But it is due to prejudices
No, foi prejudices are not universal, anil
even # it were so due, it's teachings would
be set aside by the more learned. for pref
udices are judgments formed without suf-
ficient reason whereas, the most celebrat-
ed minds have been theists. the greatest
men have believed in Gods eyistancs.
Nor can it have been due to. llien g pas
sions, foa' his conviction is opposed to all
the passions, since it restraints them at
least by fear. But it is due to external
appearances, by which the senses have
been deceived. No, for in this case there
IS no object Of the senses. This conviction
is due not to direct sensual percapt:on
but to some kind OF reasoning. Nor is it
caused by the fraud OF conspiracy of law
makers, kings Or priests, for we fiGa it
among tribes who, as the Eskimos, so far
as we know, never had a 1awg.ver. And
how could all laWgiyers ce1lspjra to adopt
this means of ruling unless the means be
based On truth? How explain the ccn1-
plete success Of such fraud? Why was
it never detected, even by the wise? His
tory. on the contrary. teaches that the
conviction Of Gods existence prevailed be-
fore lawmakers existed Nor IS it founded
on ignorance; for the more reason is cul-
tivated the more is this conviction
strengthened, SO that among all the most
learned men the world has ever known it
it difficult, nay, almost impossible, to find
one vino was not a the:st. Nor was it due
to fear OF an enraged being who punished
men by lightning, storms, earthquakes,
etc, for it existed more strongly and even
more purely and freer from error after the
natural causes of these phenomena were
discovered.
And, IN fire, must we not say that if
in a matter Of the greatest interest to all
men the whole human race was in error,
and so much so that despite the earnest
and searching inquiry for ages of the most
learned and wise, the error could not be
deposed, and that the whole race con-
stantly and necessarily erred concerning
the most important of all truths--if this
IS true, how can it be said that our reason
is a faculty by which we can attain to
truth?
Therefore, there are no atheists who are
such in good faith. For some Of the COM
mon reasons for believing in Gods exist
ence must present themselves to them at
least as probable. Then they know they
are bound to inquire further, and if they
do, they must come to the certain knoWl-
edge Of the existence Of Supreme Being.
For there are absolutely no arguments to
prove God does not exist. True it is there
may be for a short time what we have
called above positive or dognatic atheists,
i. e., men who seriously aud in their hearts
hold that there is no God, but such men
are not honest.
The kafflr Craze.
The craze for Kaffir stocks, which,
amounted to mild insanity on the part
of those who participated in it, has died
out, leaving many much poorer than they
were before they began. Then the Cripple
Creek craze came, with much the same
result Both were lessons, instances of
the fact that it pays best to pursue a
steady, natural course. This has always
been the policy of the st. Paul & Duluth
Railroad, whose progress has been con-
servative, but sure, until its popular title,