The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1902-03-03
Rev. ASbury E. KrOm in Eloquent
Sermon DiScOurSeS on Science,
Religion, Theology, Ethics
and Education.

the receptive faculty; -, s,a,,
II Is that which In the end, unused, S~naai ~
be taken away from a man The bape
possesses the organs % n speeSn yart 'd is ever
made 10 develop that latent power me
child never speaks and after time me
possibilities OF speech become far re,
moved. Refuse TO exercise a faculty and
after "A time the faculty itself Is taktn
away. This H. truer In the higher realms
than it Is In the lower
SCIENCE VS.. THEOLOGY.
Modern science today points us TO GER
tain rudimentary organs thaf naNs Nsh in
mammoth cave are blind. although ItnJy
have the physical organs OF sight st ~ -
not strange. then. that Che higher possl-
blities of man become lost through lack
of exercise. IL is lust through the laii-
ure TO recognize the truth OF TINS anais
sis that theology has made some OF It's
most fatal blunders. The doctrine OF .,i Ine
fall OF man led naturally ana necessaTiiy
10 the doctrine of mans total depraVlty
| Man possessed no good I'm himself. IL was
| only as God came 10 give man the power
| TO receive the grace. as well as the grace
| itself that man was saved. \,
I'VE are miserable sinners and can 90
nothing ourselves, has been the laIhent
of ages. Such doctrine mas done ,e man man
TO move them TO repentance ana taith' :,
Jesus has no such doctrine Inc IAN
| of man. total depravity. man utterly $50
| lated from God are as foreign from the
the, West; The people ry,inise wh9 mhy lay
| sus Christ He taught that God was
| continually showering His grace upon
men. That every Influence OF Goo deau
| ing TO salvation presupposed IN man
| susceptible moral disposition: Inat tnere
| was in man something divine that was
man who did not use that power had
| taken away from him the power itselt. l0
| refuse TO receive the best that Is the ia,,
| OF man. 1t happens every day ! am
| not interested i'm Adams fall. Tremen-
| dously grieved about ms own.
Total depravity may have som some rum ,,,, ,nl IN
toward I the end OF life. not az the begin,
Gods fault. it's the mans As TO the
future OF such lives. that is with God.
The man who uses his power OF re.
| ceptiveness then receives more. The man
| who does not has taken away the poWSnp
itself But have we reached the tail
truth OF our text? we have nave psen pc The ,o man nam,
his power. his capacity We nave view view
| ed IL from the point OF view OF the nearer
| and not the message heard.
We have been endeavoring TO To- under, ro
| stand what a man possesses we naNe
said II was the power to receive mes, r
| sage. Is II not well 20 ASK now man
possesses the message Itself. ,..,so
| Man is ever dependent on the outside
world. We can study the podE as coy- lSo-
tinually dependent on urisnment IL re-
ceives from the outside TO really ui, ,
study what use II makes OF that nour-
ishnent. how we'll or how poorly II us
A. The mind has within itselt the ,iorlI, u,
| OF knowledge and can be studied aparl
! from tho world. Yet all It's content, ,ule
material OF knowledge comes from Win
out and TO really Know tns rnsrnnse ls tn ex-
! understand how IL ac's III i'Spo"'' W -
We may study man as a religious be-
iipow how he himself receives and as
smiiates religious truth. How he mas ~
how ne holds It. what relation IL mas 'o
70 the man who hath. in the true sense
| he shall keep that and more snail De slNsTI
him. Here y a. man n me Dustnol lnst only goes @
| In his place of business and performs th'
day's task with whole hearted deNouon
! hut he studies his business In the nEn
of Of history and present knowledge H'
IS n banker and he studies the hlstorN
aud theory. Of banking lie becomes CON
| Vprsant with political economy .,
He spends his hours out OF business, "
prepa ring himself for greater Things II
has his heart in his WORK. re tIe IVA make, q
il part df his life. Conseque ntly hl y,
} life Is enlarged. lie has his business u
snd every man knows. who knows tn
world that man who possesses ,hit
I'm this way shall receive more ana nav
! abundance, because he Is larger man.
NATURE OF RECEPTIVE MEN.
, A man devotes himself TO knowledg
| with whole hearted devotion. What n
| learns becomes a part of him. The trutI
| discovered is taken into his nte anu H,eo
! III he learns something OF nature thel
| he adjusts himself better TO nature laN
IL he learns something OF philosophy the
! ne endeavors to verify In some measur
5 ! his own life and understand IL as whole
| such men living the truth theN lear
: have Il i'm such way that II enlarges III
!. | and increases their capacity. Such M
7 | are the receptiVe men:
? | To the man who hath n not In this wa
, | even that knowledge which he has
$ | taken away.
How many mon are there who have n
: interest I'm their business? How man
- ! Young men work I'm places where thel
0 only concern Is to draw their salary
! Some day they are surprised that anoths
{ man has been advanced over their head'
. Why? Because they have made no el
[ fort TO know anything about the wor
D except their small individual part of l
only there except I'm so far as IL wa
{ | necessary.
o Men who study and accumulate vas
quantities OF knowledge yet who do NJ
J, | love truth: who are I'm no true sens
Q scholars: who merely have opinions. W
$ never convictions; IL Is this kind or tru'