The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1901-06-12
QUO WARRANT0 IN THE PULPIT.
What Rev. E. "A. Orr Of the Christian
Church Thinks About the Book.


Rev. E. "A. Orr, pastor Of the
Christian church, IN his morning
sermon took up Rev. II. sGoodacre s
book, Quo Warranto, and it gave.
him occasion for some hard thrusts
at "Old Wives Fables " aud Sci
5ence So-called. e Following are some
of the things he said:
My aim is not to express q liter
AIRY Judgment upon Mr.. Goodacre s
book, but simply to take it as cue
for some practical thoughts on some
untimely and uncanny topics. How
ever, / am glad to be able to most
heartily commend Mr.. Goodacre S
book AS a story it has great liter
airy merit. But its success will de-.
pend upon the timeliness Of his
treatment of always untimely phe-
nomena and upon the strong hand
with which he grasps these uncanny
e
things. The story is well told. It
catches attention at once and holds
it to the end. The treatment Of
these modern pshychic phenomena,
mental therapeutics. is clear, ra-
tional, aud thoroughly up to date.
For those whose ignorance is infal-
|lible it is a dangerous book for it
will tempt them to satanic rage.
But for the young, and those who
are not already spoiled through phi
losophy, it is safe.
What is mysterious is to the SUI
perstitious always the work OF
spirits, and what is inexplicable to
theignorantis always supernatural.
But however ignorant men are there
are those who have their philosophy
Of the most mysterious phenomena.
And this would not be so bad but
for the infallibilitv of ignorance.
Their reasoning is, what we cannot
explain, cannot be explained. What
cannot be explained is supernatural.
1t is the work OF spirits, good or
bad. The miracles of our own
party are signs from God and they
seal the commission of our teachers
and the truth of our tenets. But
1.-The wonders Of the other party are
the works of the devil intended to
prove the elect and to deceive the
reprobate. Thus God is blasphemed
and the devil is loaded down with
crimes of which he never was
guilty.
These psychic phenomena have
| too long been tabooed by the more
| thoughtful as unworthy of their
notice. While the ignorant were
attributing them to supernatural
powers, the thoughtful threw them
aside as mental alterations. Both
were really ignorant and of course
both were wrong. But the last
/. quarter of century has seen 6
!. wholesome change in this respect
and these phenomena have been pu1
!. to the most rigid scientific tests
and with the result that they are
!. proved to be neither the work o
God or Satan, but the work Of men
j They are not miracles but natura
4 phenomena. 1t does not follow tina
i because a thing is not explained tt
the masses it is inexplicable anc
therefore supernatural. Some of tht
i profound laws of nature that arr
Iclearly understood by the initiated
are inexplicable to the ignorant
4 They are not, therefore, the les.
natural. All the wonders claimed
to have been performed by spiritual
| lists, faith healers, Christian sci
| entists, etc, are being performed
i by men who do not ask God for any
help, nor believe any of their silly
| doctrines. They are miracles onl,
to the ignorant. They are perfect,
natural phenomena to those VIII
understand psychic law.
II would call special attention t,
| the character Joe Ransom Whel
| he fell in with Clara Sharp and he
4 father he was not SO weak as to b,
Influenced to adopt spiritualism, O
even to wish it true. Fred Jone:
was easily made to believe in Catho
4 lie miracles and the Catholic church
1 because he was in love with Marie
1 Dryer and he saw that he coule
4 not get her without becoming
/ Catholic. Not SO Joe Ransom. H,
Il ~; ,r,o;t TIA cf,,du all fboc,