The times., 1898-02-07

| Rev. DR.. John Snyder, of the Church
Of the Messiah, st. Louis, preached two
notable sermons yesterday at All Souls
Church, one on the text, ''The fool saith
in his heart there is no God,' and the
other on THE Religious Significance of
Pessimism.'
Dr.. Snyder is one Of the ablest pull
pit orators Of the country. He be-
lieves in the widest liberalism, and
! breaches in the pulpit of Jew and Gen
tile alike. He was asked last night
what he thought would be the result
of the Zola trial, which begins to-day.
DR.. Snyder said that he did not antici-
pate that there would be any mlscar-
riage OF Justice. The principle OF JUS
tice was as Geep-rocted among the
French as among the Anglo Saxon, the
former, however, moving impulsiveiy
and sentimentally, while the latter
reached the same end from sedate and
thoughtful conviction. He thinks that
the sense of fair play viii guarantee to
Zola a consideration which he would
not have if the heart of the people was
reflected in the government, which is
interested only in defending itself Il,
he said, "cendonc all the sins of Zola's
which he has administered to the
French government and its treatment
Of the Dreyfus case, and of the prison
er himself, which was most atrocious."
DIR. Snyder was asked to what he
ascribed the outbreak against the Jews
in France and in other countries. He
said that in general terms whenever
Christian wanted what a Jew had the
latter was prosecuted. DIR. Snyder takes
iCSnn Wit nT Nny1QIy
that the Catholic Church is RESPONSE
BILE for the anti-Semitic movement
That church. he said, has a traditional
. horror of the Jew, but it is not to be
found in the individual Catholic. The
feeling of the church against the Jew
was rather feeling against the Jewish
Church and its doctrines and thus Ii
was a matter between the Jew and
Gentle as TO their doctrine, rather than
to any hostility between the Jew as
a man and the member Of any Chris
tan church as a man and citizen.
DIR. Snyder has been the recipient of
many courtesies since his arrival in
the city He is the guest of Mrs. Walk
ct, the wife OF the Admiral, at No. 1902
Eighteenth street northwest. He dined
yesterday with Secretary Long, of the
Navy, of when he was a college class
mate. He was called on last night by
souri,.
The purpose of his morning sermon
yesterday is TO be found In the text
above quoted, on which he delivered a
philosophical argument az 10 the exist
ence of q deity. The sermon at night
MAS equally thoughtful. The argument
atiVe part of il. which perhaps made
the deepest impression, was that in
which he maintained that no evolu-
TlnniGt pnfi1l he a npsSiniST He
ed that there was force in the pessi-
mistic contention that there were evils
which no human philosophy could ac-
count for, but which they falsely at
tributad to tie Creator as the first and
malevoient cause. Pessimism had, per-
haps, much 10 lead il to the belief that
j just God could not nail man, his own
creation, to n cross, and ii was after
all better than a shallow optimism.
When it asserts, however. the malad-
ministration of the universe, it reasons
illogically. The pessimist in fact pays
the highest tribute to the divine pur-
pose.
When lie speaks Of a universe that
ought TO be ideally perfect whence
does he get the ideal?" asked the doc
tor He forgets that there is nothing,
even if he be an evolutionist. which has
not an antecedent, and the assertion of
the ideal must have an antecedent
That autecedent even in the mind of
the pessimist must b eti1e revelation
of God, because projections and ideals
are not To be found in the universe 80
far as it has been evolved to the pres
ent day. Thus even those who cry out
against an imperfect world. either ma
terial or spiritual, and who yearn for
the ideal, are AT last thrown back on
the text Of St Matthew, BE ye perfect
as God is perfect. .