Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1901-04-13
A LOVING GOD.
IL Is Difficult to he nm Atheist at Al
Tines and Under All Cir
cumstanceS


A friend of mine who was at once n
scholar and an atheist, and who crit.
icised with more frankness than good
taste our common faith, once found
himself in the the presence of immi.
nent danger. Almost certain death
stared him in the face and escape
seemed impossible. Oddly enough, in
that supreme moment he cried out:
God help mel"
wondered at the expression com.
ing from such lips. The words were
clearly uttered as a supplication, and
hence my surprise, since he denied the
existence OF the very Being whose HELP
he supplicated. He found it impos.
sible to live up to his creed, and
reJoiced that 1T was so. Thought then
and have thought ever since that what.
ever mans logic may lead him to
declare his soul instinctively turns to
Godin both great joy and great sorrow
We may bliudfold ourselves by proc
ess of reasoning and assert that God
is not visible, just as we may bandage
our eyes and insist that the grass is
not green nor the sky blue. The eyes
when free to act Will take in the beauty
of the landscape, and the soul when
in its normal condition will search for
God until it finds Him.
1t is not enough, however, to tell me
chat this world is not the result of
chance, but that behind the thing ere
ated stands the Creator. At this point
my intellectual curiosity is excited, but
my heart is quite untouched. am con.
scious that there is infinite power
somewhere, everywhere, and imme-
diately become afraid of it. 1t can
crush or it can protect me. try,
therefore, to win its good will and SO
offer in sacrifice lamb or even a hui
man life.
have a very poor sort of religion,
the religion of fear. 1 am not drawn
to this all powerful Being, and 1 can
ask nothing better than to be left to
myself, for the further away am from
Him the more secure feel. do not
quite know why 1 am here, nor with
er am going. 1 only know that my
self and the world in which 1 i've are
| equal mysteries, and can solve them
! no more than the fly on the cathedral
window pane can understand the arch
itecture of the building. grope with.
out clew to guide me.
Even then life is very desirable.
The fields blossom in beauty, the sky
Is full of blazing stars, the roaring
streams make music and furnish us
with food, and the shadowy forests are
temple, in which the soul tries to
worship. There is the domestic cir
Gle to call out the nobler affections.
there are griefs which make us won
der at the meaning of il all, and thou
sand and one experiences which charm,
delight and cheer.
Still we are unsatisfied and long for
more. That there is a God is an in
tensely interesting fact, but il that is
all we can know and rely upon, our
knowledge is of little value. We ask
with pathos which brings tremulous
tears to our eyes: What relation ex-
lists between this infinite Being and
ourselves? Does he see us and care
for us, or is He content with His own
omnipotence, while we, poor creatures
OF an hour, come into the sunlight and
then go hence into the darkness?
Upon the answer to that question
rests the progress of the ages, all NOR
atty, oil inspiration, all self-sacrifice
all religion that is worth the name.
Tell me of infinite power. and
am afraid. Tell me of infinite wisdom.
and l follow the footsteps of Deity
through the ages with increasing awe.
But l am not yet a religious being. /
know not what to do with my life, what
use to make of its joys, sorrows and
struggles. / am an arrested develop.
ment, acting blindly, without distinct
purpose or aim. i am chilled, frozen.
a creature of impulse, caprice, pas
sion.
But assure me that this God is nv
Father, and would have me live with
Him; that / can call and He will answer
and Will send heavenly messengers to
my relief; that sterling honesty, even
though 1T costs n great sacrifice. is
worth the utmost effort; that must
love others, even my enemies. as He
has loved me; that this poor life is
put the short preface to the open
book of the future, and under the in
huence of that revelation L am trans
formed. The clouds part, the glorious
rlpenlng sunshine floods my heart and
my years. That He and L are CLOSELY
related that everything that comes,
whether it brings smile or a tear,
contributes to a well rounded and
perfect character, and that some day
shal go home, to be greeted by those
VINO have disappeared in the mists-
ali this constitutes a religion which en-
mobiles and digniies and develops the
soul We can bear all things and still
be OF good cheer. The days work NAV
be hard, but we shall rest at the set
ting OF the sun. With such a belief
and with Heaven in the near distance
we can be brave and patient, for what
we suffer now is as nothing to the
10y which will result from work done.
George II. Hepworth, in N. Y. Her
aid.
Folly OF TridIn& x.Itk, n-ra