The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-06-20
LIBERAL TOWARDS ISMS
DIR. MILBURN breaches A SERMON
THAT SURPRISES HIS PEOPLE.
TheOsOphy and Spiritualism Dealt
dress ON Prison Reform.

spiritualism, taxing for his text, Prove
all Things" from IL Thessalonians, ii, 81
His sermon was, in part, as follows: There
are two tendencies, quite opposite in them
selves, that We find in every individual and
the world at large. The one is the tendency
to assent to what is, to the actual, to what
is before him, to what he or his fathers
have believed, to the institutions that en-
viron him, be they domestic, political or re-
ligious. The other is to ask for the reason
for things, of any institution, if it Is wisely
or justly founded, of any belief. if it squares
with the truth of any disposition: tempera-
ment or habit, if it be according to the
eternal fitness and reason of things.
"Of these two tendencies, in nine cases
out of ten perhaps, the tendency to assent
is the stronger; in fact, the controlling
force. Man is more conservative than pro-
gressive, and lives more in the actual than
in the potential, more in the spirit of what
is than what ought to be. He has pred
ELECTION for custom and likes to move in the
old groove, to think the old thoughts and
repeat old experiences; for repetition al
ways makes life easy, smooth and pleasant
THE reason that we are governed by
passion, prejudice and antipathy so much
in our judgments upon dogmas, creeds, in
stand them, because we do not investigate
them. Take, for instance, the new gospel
that we hear so much Of in these days, and
yet not a new gospel, but very old one.
1 refer to the form of religion known as
theosophy. And now, what is the attitude
of the average man or woman toward the
osophy? 1t is one of bitter repugnance, is
it not? Theosophy is almost always spoken
of scornfully and contemporary, and the
theosophist is looked on as one spiritually
aberrent who has gone astray, who is lost
in darkness or wandering hopelessly in the
misty realms OF delusion.
land yet if we had ever stopped to inter-
rogate the truth, if we had ever really fol-
lowed Christs Injunction to seek IL we
would find. or Pauls direction to prove all
things we would have learned that theoso-
ply, in it's pure form, is the root and base
of every vital religion that has ever got
established on this earth. OF course, there
are whims, oddities and excuses in theoso-
ply, just as there are in any other form Oh
religion. There are many thecsophists VINO
do grotesque things and who say foolish
things many who make themselves rlolcu-
lous and put themselves beyond the sympa-
thy of intelligent people. Tnere are many
theosophists, too, who indulge IN a sIeae
deal OF speculation, whose minds dwell on
doctrines, that are alike incapable either OF
demonstration or refutation, as, Tor exam
pie the doctrine of reincarnaton, which Is
a doctrine not religious, but purely specula-
tive and metaphysical. But, on the otner
hand, the Utmost heart of theosophy is re-
ligion, pure and undefiled, Tor what doeS
theosophy mean? If you were to stop ana
ask yourself this question you couloN never
entertain a prejudice against tneoSopny,
YOU could never speak of 1t scornIully nor
refer to it contemporary, for theoSopny
is composed of two words: one Is IneoSs'
God and the other is Sophia WISDOM; anu
a.,
God: il is the eye OF man seeking the ASht
that shineth not on land or sea; IT is the ear
in man listening to the voice tna{ + sp y 1he
soul of the man yearning for the soul or the
Infinite; the spirit in man yearning Tor
the sphere that is boundleSs. Every one
who longs for the infinite is a theosophist,
whether he be a Christian or a Mussel-
man. whether he be a Presbyterian or an
Episcopalian; Unitarian or an Indian Jogl.
Every man that yearns for God is Theos-
ophist a seeker for the wisdom that is
divine. and hence our opposition, our re-
pugnance, our contempt Tor TINS reislou
that is the base of all religions, is rooted
in intellectual darkness, and we condemn
it because we have not interrogated IT, ana
only when we do interrogate 1t snail our
minds open to its truth and see the light
that is in it.
And as with theosophy. so with another
unpopular and intangible belief. Ihere are
those that hold the belief that the spirits
Of the dead are in touch with the spirits
of the living; that the eternal world ana
terlocksd; that the temporal is acting upon
the eternal, and that the angelic and the
human touch each other in some mysterious
way 1t has always been considered part
of orthodoxy to rebuke this speculation, and
a great many ministers of the church think
that they are doing a service to the Lord
when they hold this belief up to the de-
riSion and contumely of the world OF
course there may be many things offensive
to good sense associated with this belief,
that eoncede that spirits of those who have
gone before to be living in touch with the
spirits of those that YET remain to do their
task up this earth. No doubt there may
be a grs many such fatuities and absurd
tiles ass ated with this belief, as there
are with psf beliefs, and yet do not see
why vol and should necessarily be OPP
posed to this belief in the intercommunion
of spirits in its purest form. j don't see
why its great central idea is untenable. 1t
seems to me that if we were to think about
this truth Ii would become very reasonable
to us-a truth most natural, for why should
those who have gone before us not sur
round US as the legion of angels surrounded
and ministered to our Lord after his tempta-
ton. Why should they not in some subtle
way be guiding and leading US? Why should
they not be acting as our monitors, in
to higher life? Why should not the mother
who has gone before be with her earth-wan-
dering child, a light unto that child if God
so willed? And why should not those spirits
that had been an affinity with us here con-
tinue an affinity with us when they have
passed beyond the range of sight and touch?
Ii seems natural enough, does it not?
THE angelic hosts know nothing of space
Heaven is everywhere and all the metes
and bounds or space are blotted out to the
emancipated children of the infinite Why,
then should not the spirits that have loved
each other still be bound together, even aft
er death has wrought a separation of the
spirit from its tabernacle of the body? In
deed, / am sure that if you and 1 were to
interrogate many of these beliefs that our
fellow-men hold, and which we believe to
be notional. foolish and absurd, we would
find them to have their foundation in some
great and beautiful truth; at all events,
let us be accessible; let u.s. holding moth
ing untrue unless it is untrue to us nor
unreasonable unless it is unreasonable to
us. That is what / plead for. l want you
TO be accessible to all light, to prove all
things. no matter what your present an
tipathy TO a belief or dogma may be- still
prove all things. Open your minds, be Just,
candid and fair If there is any truth in
theosophy, make it your own. If there be
any truth in Unitarianism, make it your
own. If there be any truth anywhere in all
the world. in friend opponent. in your
own denomination or in any other open
your minds to ii and make it yours