The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-02-01
SO SAYS REV. A. L. HUDSON
IN HIS SERMON AT UNITY HALL
YESTERDAY.
Agnosticism Dangerous Only as It
Becomes Chronic and Seeks to
crystalline Doubt into a Creed
Three Stages of Mental Growth:
Credulity, Doubt and Reasoning
Faith.

days. The name was coined by Prof
Huxley in 1862 Finding himself the only
member OF the London Metaphysical club
VINO did not represent some established
ISM he created a denomination for
himseH by giving a name to 'Agnosti-'
cism.
The name itself. meaning 1.-THE lack OF
knowledge" is new: but the state OF
titfliu II represents is as old as the earliest
e en- OF the human mind to grapple with
Ine ueeper problems of life. The Sophists
were the Greek agDostics. They claimed
i tndt mere is no such thing as truth or
knowledge, that what any man believes al
any Tune IS truth for him at that time
put that there is no basis for common
Ialth IN anything. The book of Job ex-
pres the agnosticism of the Jews. In
the main they have always been ex-
cePlionai Tor their intense and unswerv-
| i1S 1alth in the teachings of their es-
laphshed religion. But in this book we
ma an cutlery against the hopeleSSness of
knowledge. 1t is not history; but it is
a philosophical romance which shows
the effect of the Hebrew mind to solve
| the mystery of evil, to tell why a good
| man is allowed to suffer evil in a world
whose God is powerful, wise and just.
1t states the problem in its varied forms
ana then leaves it unsolved and unsolv-
apie. IL sounds in short a note of dis
pair as to the possibility of comprehend
ing the mystery of human suffering. It's
answer is We do not know. No one
/
age and nation has exhibited some phase
of the agnostic tendencies of thought
In our own time this tendency seems to
predomlnate. In fact upon a superficial
view IL looks like strange anomaly that
a century which has seen such great ad-
vance IN the scope of scientific knowledge
should close WIKI a sort of hopeless wall
at the emptiness and futility of all
knowledge. But studied more closely this
agnostic tendency of our age, like it's
social unrest is sign of healthy mental
growth. 1t is chiefly protest against
the dogmatic certainty of belief which
preceded it and which had been handed
down to US from the middle ages. At
the time when Huxley declared himself
an agnostic the spirit of dogmatiSm pre-
dominated. Evolution was scoffed at and
acclaimed against because it disputed the
nrSt chapter of Genesis. People knew
THINGS 6hi5gs with viii g positiveness which ne, ex-
knew that the earth was created out of
nothing in six days and just how much
of 1t was created each day. They knew
exactly how the first man and the first
woman came into existence. where they
lived, what their names were and that
God walked around with them in the
garden and talked with them like man.
They knew that these two fell into sin
because a serpent tempted the woman
to eat an apple and the woman tempted
the man. They knew that this is the
reason why men have to toll and sweat,
and why boys kill snakes. They knew
all the generations from that time
to the beginning of our era. al
though they might not know the names of
their own great grand parents. They
knew all about God. his nature. attributes
and language, along with the origin and
destiny of man, and taught it to children
in the catechism. They knew everything
of any Importance in the heavens above
and the earth beneath, the present, past
and future.
very natural reaction. Turning away
from the spirit of credulity which ac-
cepted everything upon authority. ii put
everything to the test of skeptical
could know anything. At the outset it
excluded from the realm of knowledge
all statements which could not be es-
tablished by experience of the senses
And then it proceeded to throw doubt
even upon the evidence of the senses
1t said that things as they appear TO
ances. only outward phenomena. The
reality which hides behind appearances,
we do not see or know. All knowledge
therefore becomes relative. The truth
for each man is what appears to him,
and absolute knowledge is unattainable.
All this was very healthy as a cor
receive of the old dogmatism. This at
titude of doubt and inquiry has done
ecclesiastical authority and to give clear
ness and honesty to modern thinking 1t
has forced a rational examination of the
authority of the Bible. and thus led the
way for the results of the higher criti-
cisfn. 1t has asserted the int of in
dividual opinion, and thus has broken
down the binding authority of the old
creeds. In short it has bridged the gulf
between the old dogmatism and the new
faith. This is the value of agnosticism at
all times, that 1t makes the transition
from unthinking credulity to reasoning
belief. 1.-The worlds thought. from gener-
alton to generation, is continually under
going the change from childhood to ma
turity. The child believes everything
without question. The youth turns his
back upon this childish credullty and |
takes revenge upon his former simplicity
by doubling everything Then, as his
mind grows more mature. ne comes to
truth from error, and holds
fast the things that are true
Agncsticism is dangerous only as it be
doubt into creed. Then it makes the |
cropping of youthful intellect an ideal for /
the thinking of mature minds. There are |
three natural stages of mental growth. |
Chronic agnosticism pauses at the second |
stage and accepts as final the passing |
fever of juvenile free thinking.
The value of agnostciSm TO the world |
has been that by challenging the basis of !
belief it has compelled people to think. /
It's distinguishing trait is that 1t has |
demanded absolute intellectual honesty.
1t has denounced mental hypocrisy in /
every form and has refused to be duped. |
But in it's zeal not to be duped by en-
bracing any faith which might prove de-
o IL
II is no worse to be duped by faith than
to be duped by doubt. And the man who
refuses to believe anything for fear of /
falling into some error. misses the truth /
he might have gained by more of faith
L a certain sense il is true that we
cannot know anything For to know
anything perfectly we must know all
Kings perfectly. We are constantly liable
TO error when we attempt 10 reason out
side the region of abstract truth like the
table. Our knowledge is
partial and imperfect. But if We refuse
% take any position touching the deeper
realities of life until we know all things,
We are Sinking the responsibilities OF life.
To formulate doubt into a creed and
'efuse to believe anything Is just as
Gtal TO true progress as to formulate
liked creeds of dogmatic belief and refuse
% believe anything that differs from our
reed. Not faith in our truth. But faith
= some truth. The best truth OF which |
'u.-:c something as true and act upon it
I'LL we gain new and larger truth TO
axe its place. Life is a problem and
20 must meet it as such and solve it
iefs influence our lives. The more
ut ,o-al and true our faith the more
power is given to our lives to be helpful
actors in the progress of society But
lonest error in belief may be better than
hat attitude of hesitation which prevents
Is from taking any part in the religious
movements of the time.
o. the other hand our lives influence
ur beliefs. While clear insight promotes
,ure living it is also true that pure living
promotes clear insight. 1t is the pure in
leart to whom it is promised that they
hall see GOD. These two make the
o,rpleted circle of our Understanding
asth in the best truth our minds can
deals. Centered in such view of the
nion of life and faith our lives will