The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-01-23
FINDS ATHEISM
IN THE PULPIT
Preachers and Laymen With
out a God.
JEFFERSON A MONSTER
REV. DIR. KILGO DENOUNCES THE
GREAT DEMOCRAT.
TAKES A DIG AT THE MODERN SCIENTIST
Human Love Not Enduring, But Controlled b.
Circumstances. A Need Of Preachers
Who Will Preach Personal CID.
Tired of Natural Law.

"A sermon that caused something of
sensation was preached here Sunday
morning at Edenton Street Methodist
church by Rev. DIR. Jno. c. kilgo, presi-
dent of Trinity College.
In the course of the sermon the preach
err denounced Jefferson as "a monster
ridiculed Drummond and lie Conte
''made little" of Darwin and Huxley
and Spencer and Tyndall; declared that
there was more atheism in the church
and pulpit than ever before, and saio
that human love was dependent upon,
and changed with, circumstances.
Naturally these utterances have caused
mulch comment.
The text of the discourse was: Have
Faith in God DR.. Kilgo began by say
ing:
THE personality Of God is the SUI
preme fact in our faith.
Them coming to a discussion of the
Bible and the higher criticism, he said
However much we may discount the
Bible as a scientific treatise or criticise
it as a body of philosophy, it is the
final explanation of the universe; anI
when men come to the last analysis they
vii find it the output of one great PR
sonality. It's philosophy is the sum OF
all human knowledge, and when we have
reached q conclusion by sound philoso-
pllic reasoning We will see that this Is
true. Paul knew it nineteen centuries
ago. and when he wrote down his cos
mogony he said: AT the bottom
of this thing is Jesus Christ. For NY
Him all things are made and without
Him is nothing made"
DIR. Kilgo declared, therefore, TINT the
explanation of the universe is a mora
explanation; that the PHILOSOPHY of life
is a spiritual philosophy. The fnal scien-
tifc explanation must be found he said,
not i'm "a process but in personality. The
last explanation must be personal one;
the essence of that personality must be
Il spiritual one, and its nature a moral
one. SO allsthings go back to God.
1.-The church and the world today is
atheistic TO its very core. The very
best men are unconsciOusly without God.
The pulpit today has less of God in its
ntterances and less of his power about 1t
than it ever had; and unconsciousiv so.
The whole thing Us so insidiOus that the
ordinary IMAM is not likely to discover II.
/ doubt if he would be able to do so even
if he knew of it and tried. \
''This wave of atheism began with the
French Revolution and with the theories
of Rousseau and Voltaire. 1t was in-
troduced into this country by that Mon
ster Thomas Jefferson. Then 1T was
spread through England by .Iume and
Tyndall, Darwin and Huxley and Spen-
Ger. Also it has been helped by our
idea of jurisprudence, substituting civil
authority for the divince. so bad has
it become in these modern days that the
idea that anything can be moved by sll-
pernatural power has passed out OF our
minds. We are trying to reduce every
! thing down to a scientific formula.
Men go about with ethics like these:
Here's a man who pays his debts. He's
a business genius He rs true to his
personal and business obligations. How