West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1903-06-18
''liE THAT BELIEvETH NOT
SHALL BE DAMNED MARK Io,I6

"DarknesS shall eovey ne eayfl, and eyoss
60rkHcSs he people," LIa 6o.S.
The prophet takes his stand at the close
OF the present cosmos and declares that the
gospel offered for belief or rejection alluded
TO In our first text has not enlightened the
world; that gross darkness covers the people,
and therefor according to the popular un-
derstanding of the Scriptures, the vas,
majority of the human race will be con-
demued to fate (which humanity cannot
conceive without terror, nor contemplate
without dismay."
The church's exposition of the Bible ha.
drawn the intelligent world away from its
revelations and is become the chief factor
In producing the darkness which the prophet
foretels. Even those who still profess
belief In the Bible are fast accepting the
theory of evolution and joining the ranks Of
the secularisi who relies only upon truths
that are demonstrated by material process,
and thinks he sees In the theory of evolution
n sufiioiency of natural forces to achieve all
that is OF can he known Of the phenomena
of existence.
Secularism concludes that nature is the
mother of all, that from her bosom is
derived the susteuanee Of life. "'rhe
psnaoea Of woes aud wrongs, and n solace
for the misery and despair that too fre-
qucntly crush the hopes of mau and rob
humanity Of It's highest glory and noblest
service" We have no argument with the
logic Of The secularist nor yet against
his conclusions If we could admi, his
premites. I, IS in these he e,rs and is
led into the darkness.
Ills position with regard to a future life
is that 'If there be a just God before
whom @e are 10 appear TO be judged, lie
will never punish those TO whom lie h7s
no, vouchsafed the faculty Of seeing beyond
the gave because they honestly ayowed
that their mental vision was limited to this
side Of the tomb" The premises Of
''punishmeut" is assumed 10 be taught in
ouf text "IIe that belieyeih not shall be
damned"
The sseulaiis, dare not admit "hrst
man, hence he reads on The stony leaves
Of eaf'h's strata tie wonders that Nature
drought forth" in obedience to the
Creators command and attributes TO Nature
all the dignity and potency lie passes
over the Scientific fact of a general law in
history Of species, that they all have their
term OF years--usually long one--and
pass away TO give place to wholly different
types of life, and, as science can teach or
deny the probability is that man is not the
ultimate OF organic life, nor the present
existing species the highest development Of
their type Hence, the science proves
nothing and life is still an unsolved mystery.
The Science vs.. the Bible, the results un-
belief, darkness and the sentence shall be
damned A"
The seeuarisi can take no consolation
from an ideal STATE Of society Of purity and
happiness, for his present knowledge teaches
that such hopes are only poeticsl From
oui the obscufity he asks, ''Why. II God be
all powerful, did he not 50 plan Il a. FIRST
and perfeo, his work
Our space permits only suggestive propo-
siiions and leave Il to the intelligent reader
to arrive st The irus conclusions.
There can be no government without law
and no stable condition Of society without
character. God could not create character
without being responsible for lis conduct
The building Of character must be the work
Of each individuai--'fhc FIRST man was
created in the image Of God IN intellectual
capacity with the implanted consciousness
Of right and wrong; in ali else his mind
was blank, just as by the same Law Of life
all his posierity are born into the cosmos,
bu, these are handicapped by hereditary
tendency towards evil which Adam had
not. The covenant Of life was made with
him, and the injunction was entirely within
his ability; ii would have dissolved naturally
as The necessity for Il ceased. Under Gods
leadings be would have formed the perfect
character which alone can have ever lasting
life.
The laws of life arc the laws Of nature.
the same in all the domains Of creation.
ignorance Of them does not render them