Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-06-23
J. S. MILL ON THEISM.
DIR. HIDEN's CRITICISM OF THE
sCEPTIc's THREE ESSAYS.
AUTHOR IS NOT At ALL CONSISTENT.
He Makes Many Statements Which
the Pastor of Grove-Avcnue Church
shows to He without Foundation,
In Fact.

Hidden. In which ne scores Mr.. John
Stuart Mil for his heresies:
"Of Mr.. Mills Three Essays on Relis-
ion the longest and perhaps, the most
important. is the one on 'rheism.' After
a careful study of this production, can
not wonder that Mr.. Mills friend
Thomas Carlyle, found 1t dihcnit 10
discover in him any trace OF religion
of almost any sort
ION page l3l We are told that tea'
belief in one Creator and Governor
could only become common AFTER
rather long cultivation OF scientihc
thought And yet, as matter OF fac''
we find that the only ancient people
among whom this belief was common
were the Hebrews. They had almost no
thing IN the way OF science, aud they
we're monotheists, while The GREEKS
with all their science. were poiytheises.
ION page 152 the author admits Una,
nothing can consciously produce mihu
hut mind: but he holds that we must
not assume that there cannot be I'M
conscious production. for that is the
very point TO be proved tnihk IL
hardly necessary TO prove that such
III
being as man was not made py piiha
force. Topsy's remark. Don't reckon
was made at all; 'spect l Jes groweu'
can hardly be accepted as the ultimate
philosophy.
THE instance of finding "a watch on an
apparently desolate island, - very
strangely treated on page los. Our au-
thor admits that he would inIer 'hat
! the watch had been left there py a
h. inf
not he from marks of design. but De-
cause already knew by direct expe-
| r,ence that watches are made by men
! Exactly so. But If he had never seen
watch before, and had no experience az
To how IL was made. and the question
| arose How did this thing come into eS-
istence?' is there any human being WIN
out some pet theory to take care Vi,
who would not say that an inteihseh'
designer had constructed II for a pur-
pose? .or,
GODS OMNIPOTENCE.
Mr. Mill seems to have little respec'
! for the omnipotence or Coo VINO USE
means TO accomplish his ends, ana III
arguing the case, he says page 100
"A man does not use machinery TO move
his arms But, as matter OF lac'' ,ns
is precisely what he does use every tiin'
he moves them, and when the machiheis
is disordered. by paralysis, or py rheuiha
tism. he sometimes finds II inpossioi'
to move them ~ INV
again: on the same page we nav
,his rararkable statement: VISION
aud contriyance are shown by over
coming difficulties. and there Is no rooI'
for them in a Being for whom no am
culties exist In other words, penn
wbo &c so wise as 20 be baked py II
| difficulties. cannot show any wlsuoi'
whatever Is this logic? .,r,.
"Once more. on the same page; In
evidences. therefore. of natural theoioss
distinctly imply that the Autnor Vi W
Kosmos worked under lmi'atiohs' ua '
He was obliged to adapt Himsen " .o'
diticns Independent OF His VIII -,
ar uoy does Mr. NH know that IN
Creator did rot Will the conu,.,oh'
Ts,s ia what the Bible says He did.
"At naces 1928 we have the ioiioW
;rs remarkable speculation. when u
ortbor seems to rely upon as IL IL WEI
aol,d fact. Perhaps a knowledge Vi VI
ms ~ nature. on which organic HE u'
| lends not much more perfect than III
i,rouledge which man even no" io'
: sssses Of some other natural laws woui
enable man. II he had the same po"e
= o,,ar the materials and the forces cor
corned which he has over some Oh 'nos
! 80 ,,ortmata nature. to create organize
> beings NOT less wonderful nor les
odanted TO their conditions of eXisteno
tbon those in nature That Is TO sa.
70 man were wise enough and powerf'
enough he could create animals. n
doubt
DARINGLY SCEPTlCAL
"One of the most daring sentences
this daringly sceptical book Is found
pages 1928 1t reads thus: III ma
had not the power. by the exercise
4 his own energies, for the improvemei
e both of himself and of his outward ell
? cumstauces 10 do for himself ana otht
. creatures vastly more than God had
: the first instance done. the Being WI
: called him into existence would deser>
3 something very different from thanks
= his hands Now. Mr.. Mil knew tina
Christian theists hold that these enc
gies and capacities for Improvement al
Gods gifts TO man. He even admits TN
this may be So and he Is arguln
against the omnipotence OF God.
course, he rejects the doctrine OF u
= fall OF man. and assumes that we al
= reduced to the necessity OF behevii
thar God could not create anything be
|
fish savage, but could endow sue
t savage. with the power of raising hin
self into n Newton or a Fenelon.' 4
= | have never known any theist WI
held any such view as this. l think
useless 10 20 into any discussion of II.
ION page 49, the author holds tn
there is no shadow OF justice in u
I, general arrangements OF nature
n Mill then. Il seems. when he lets hin
l. self alone. docs believe In arrangement
|, IN nature. Can he. or any other sal
: man. believe in arrangements that ]
= one made? Did he not unconscious
slip here. and does not his slip invoi
r more than he intended TO admit?
4. "But he further holds that what In
u perfect realization justice obtains
II any human society Ga most imperfe
D.. realization as yeD. Is The work or ms
IS himself struggling upwards. against IL
l. mense natural difficulties. into civiiiz
ton. and making TO himself secoi
y nature far better ana more uhseih'
than ne was created with NOW,
course. all this assumes that the Biblic
writers have given false account
the origin and the character OF primev
= man. Mr. MIL knows that man wi
= not created holy; but that he WI
h created selfish savage; that the ia
e OF man is a myth. and that the rise
:, man from tho barbarism In which u
created him Is the only bright page
human history. How Mr. Mil learn
all this he does not take the trouble
Is tell his readers; nor. 30 far as can SC
- does ne make the slightest attempt
IA prove II. But, passing by all this. 1t mi
ID be seriously questioned whether ma
r under the most splendid forms OF n
torical civilization. is not as selfish
~ the average savage. III 'iuiius Caes
y was NOT highly civilized. then Mr.. NJ