The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-03-08

yentions, and tell me if you came
whence life comes. Tell me, If you can,
whence comes the finest living thing.
Science will lead us back from the most
complex living being to the simple lit
tie cell, the protoplasm, the first tiny
thing in which'Sthere is life. Science
VIII analyZe it, and will tell you that
IL is made up oftsuch and such Shemi-
cal properties. Very well. Take the
same chemical properties in the same
exact measurement, put them together
and bid your cell to live. Science eX-
claims; Oh that 1 cannot do Precisely,
that you cannot 90. Life demands a
power that is not in this universe. There
IS no law of the whole universe that
VIII transmute something that is sim
ply mineral or plant into a living or
ganlsm For the cause of every organ
ism you must go outside the universe
ana invoke the aid of the supernatural
being. Again you have the supernat-
ufal. 1t was once said that living
organisms begOt themselves in certain
conditions, and this occurrence it was
thought excluded to a certain degree
the need of the supernatural Well,
science. continued it's Investigations,
ana the highest scientists of the age
proclaim that all living beings come
from previous living being, that spon-
taheouS generation for any being is
d mere dream, an absolute impossible
lty. Science was invoked to attack
relglon, to explain all things without
recourse to the supernatural Science
speaks through one of its most eminent
Representatives, Pasteur and says that
SPONTANEOUS generation does not eX-
lst and science everywhere is COM
PEELED to accept Pasteurs conclusions.
whence then is life in its smallest
manifestations? Life comes from out
size this universe, from the supernat-
10 Of l.
lhhdels, Haeckel, eXtOlling evolution
and declaring that one being may be
transmitted into another, one species
INTO another species, suddenly stops
ana says: Give me once the smallest
lNlng organism and ] will produce
from II al species Yes. give him once
the smallest living organism, but that
you nave not from nature; you must
invoke the supernatural. There is in
man that something which thinks and
ft&SOns and forms absGact conceptions
That ditferentiates him absolutely from
the highest nOn-human animal life.
whence reason, whence miL1? Plan as
you like, the transition from the animal
lie to the rational life cannot be eX-
Planned by laws Of. nature. It never
Took pace by natural processes, Here
again science stops. Here again nature
says, l am p0Werless. Here again you
fad the supernatural
NatUralism, which would confine all
things within this universe, c0ntradicts
nature, makes gTature inexplicable.
NatuIallsln stiles the very voice of
nature, which cries cut for the super
natural. Is there now any diff
Guilty in admitting the super
natural as it is. manifested to us in
revealed religion, in miracles, in the
Bible, in divineIy instituted church?
There is beyond this world being,
our God, who made the world, who
shaped it into form, who hreathed upon
it and created life, who said: Let us
make man to our own image and like
ness Why canpotr that being, in the
hollow OF whose dhand this whole uni
verse exists, speak to His chosen child
rem, men, in His own fashion directly
without being limited to the lnanifes-
t2t1on Of himself through the laws of
nature? He, who has given us a voice
has He no voice himself? He, who by
Infinite power created the universe and
impressed upon it those magnificent
laws Of His divine wisdom, must He
fird His power annihiJated the day He
created the universe? Are there limita-
tons put upon Him So that He cannot
sTeak to US in His own manner? Why
canrOt He send to us His special mes
sengers IN human or an@elic form?
Why cannot He tell us truths that eur
own limited reason never dreams of?
Surely the power is there. 1t were alb
surd to deny this power; surely the
truths to be reVealedfare there for will
science in it's pTOudest moments dare
say that we know through our reason
all truth? Revelation then is possible
and revelation is a priOri most prob
able. We know SO little, and especially
we know so little about those great
truths in which we are most interested
Man we'll may say, what is it to me
that know the elements that compose
the air? What is it to me that | learn
much Of the sun and the planets? What
want to know is whittier | am going
What | want to know is what is to
become of me beyond the grave What
[ want to know, because my whole be-
ing impels me to know it, is my des-
tiny, To science | say, thou laushest
me to scorn when thou tellest me of
matter, and dost not tell me of the
things 50 necessary to the life of my
soul, and of those things divine revela-
ton only can bring us knowledge.
If God is to make a revelation if
He is to send to US a messenger, must
He not give credentials to that messen-
ser? And what shall be the creden-
tials of the messenger of the super
natural? Surely nothing that is natu-
raj. If Thou cohest down from the
skies, we say to HiTng do things which
can be done only through power from
the skies. If Thou art the messenger
Of God, do things which no man can
do. Miracles are the credentials of the
divine meSSen ger.C What is a miracle?
1t is simply the action of a super
natural power upon the natural. On,
but miracles would be a disturbance
OF all natural things, would be a con-
tradictiOn of natural laws; miracles are
impossible. | ask do we not ourselves
constantly suspend natural causes? [
throw stone into the air. The law
of nature is that lit will fall, but if I
put out my hand and arrest it's down
ward fall the laws of nature are sus-
pended. 1 bring in one law Of nature
to balance another Cannot the infinite
do as much? Cannot the infinite inter
fere and with His omnipOtent hand di-
rect the elements of nature in other di-
rections from those to which they were
going from their native power? If
there is a being outside of the uni
verse miracles are the logical sequences
of His power. What pride in man to
say to the omnipotent, | must confess
that Thou art there, that in Thee
find the power which created this uni
verse In this way, by denying mira
cleS, do unbelievers., in their Stiffness
and pride. seek to drive the Almighty
outside His creation, bidding Him TO
go far away from His universe and re-
main far away from it.
If there are miracles there are an
swers to prayers. Oh pray not, unbe-
lief says to us, rather study the laws
of nature Yes, of course we shall
study the laws Of nature. God Is
there. for natures laws are His laws.
and they who do not follow His laws
will suffer But when the laws of ma
ture are powerless to assist me, can
reach out my hand to my eternal Faith