The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1901-03-11
SERMON BY DIR. RAINSFORD
PREACHED ON THE IMMORTALITY
OF THE SOUR.
Last Night In Course of Berkeiy sermons
ut Trinity p. e. Church-says Religion
and Faith Are Not to be Proved, nut

| Matter of Intuition.
Rev. william S. Rainsford, d. d.
of New York, preached before large
body of Yale men last night IN thf
course of Berkeley sermons at IrlnltS
p. e. church. The subject was 'The
Immortality of the Soul"
DR. Rainsford took for his text part
of Matthew XIV, %: 30 woman, great II
thy faith be it unto thee as thou VIII
| And her daughter was mace Whole
from that very hour" Jesus taxes IL
| for granted that a plain man can do
wonderful things. The reason OF TINS is
very olain. He believes that mans
| intuitions are always at the call OF ms
/ father God and he appeals to these IN
buttons.
| / want you to remember that 1t IS
wonderful fact that God places within
us an unsatisfiable quality. There Is an
ever unsatlsfiable quality in the ordl-
nary man. There is a yearning toward
| God that cannot be satisfied.
| People say, I am not aware OF a
yearning toward God. In one sense that
is true; 1t is common thing for rellg-
ious people to express In words what
they do not really feel We cannot in
one sense "yearn for God l have
found this in my own experience. We
can't love what we cannot understand
But there Is that within us all that
yearns for better, higher and fuller
life We do years for this, every man.
until we sink into the slough of forget
fulness. The business man and scholar
alike yearns for what Is better Take
the thought Of the ideally beautiful
from you and life has lost for you its
sweetness and light. In yearning for
beauty as an artist I yearn for God, in
yearning for truth as q scholar yearn
for God. This is religion.
In this sense there is no such thing
as scientific knowledge, in religion. We
understand bfologic truth and astro-
nomic science, psychic and mathematic
science, but of this sort Of knowledge
religion hasn't got a trace. Religion is
based on mans intuition, and Is never
based on scientific certainty; it is in an
entirely different sphere. OF course the
basis of our religion is scientifically es-
tablished, the fact that Jesus lived But
the foundation of the Christian religion
Is rooted in mans warnings, his deep
spiritual intentions. This Is true as my
love to my boys. not true as mathe-
NAUTICAL formula.
This woman, of my text, had heard
Of Jesus Christ, and with her yearning
for her daughters health seized hold Of
what was good in Jesus Christ, and
hoped that He would help her cure her
sick daughter. AT first Jesus turned
away and said. 1t is not meet to take
the children's bread and cast 1t to the
dogs. But the woman said with that !
most wonderful reply of faith, True,
Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs
which fall from the Masters table"
And overwhelmed, the Saviour said, 30 |
woman, great is thy faith, be it unto |
thee as thou wilt And her daughter
was made whole from that hour
That is faith. Faith was the human
intuition in the woman triumphing over
appearances No better definition of |
'aith can be given.
Suppose I should undertake to prove
inspirational part of |
t would be gone and 1t would sink into
mere prudential motive You ask me
t | can prove immortality. I cannot,
,ut feel by the intuition of my soul
hat man cannot be satisfied with hui
nan life without the certainty Of a
uller life and more perfect hereafter.