The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1903-06-19

r
| lance II / do not know that I exist this
| o. practical humiliation, and this does not
nt All meet Oh satisfy the longing of my ma.
| turc This is q theistic substitute. Now
let me mention some atheistic substitutes
substitutes That leave out God altogether.
One OF lhosc proposes the idea Of alb
sorption into the universe The particlei
OF matter of which we are composed viii
mnglo with earth and air and sea and sky
and live eternally amid their ever vary
Ing changes and combinations All THIS
| sounds well, but think of what It means.
Life ~ always dying out and death alone
persists and cOnquers, according 10 this Inc
depreciation. Materalists attempt 10 daz-
zie AS with an infinite panorama of whirl-
ing suns, evolving planets and astronomical
wonders, but without the sclf-conscious
soul life is nothing, a series Of sepulchers,
earth, ashes dust There Is nothing in
prospect TO comfort the sorrowing heart.
Still another substitute is absorption
into the race. Immortality OF fame. The
great man, it is said, will survive in the
| memory of his fellows. Beautiful books,
useful inventions and instructive examples
these will insure the plaudits of poster
itv Napoleon is said to have remarked:
My soul will pass into history and the
dcathess memories OF mankind, ard thus
in glory ] shall be immortal" The objec-
ton to this theory Is that 1t makes MINOR
tadty the privilege of the few. The Alex
anders, the Caesars, the Augustines, the
! Washngtons, the geniuses are all happily
| provided for, but what of the many who
! have written no beautiful books, who have
| performed no heroic deeds, who have left
| no inspiring examples Are they to be
| blotted out, punished for not having what
was never given them for not having what
| they could not possibly get! is lmmor-
| tality thus a reward only for the distin-
| guished, the gifted Jew? No, it is a false
| theory. 1t is pathetic and surprising that
men of parts should have stopped to con-
| sole and fatter themselves in this fashion.
/ Fame alone, be it as great as that of Peri
/ Giles or Luther, Is not by itself a sufficient
/ and satisfying return for the labor its win
ming entails; it certainly is not pay enough
| for mans extinction Fame IS something
| lett behind anyway, and those Of us who
! have no fame are like the drop of water
| that dries up after it has fallen. This sub
! stltute is puerile, wanting in dignity.
The desire for Immortality is too appar-
/ ent to be open to dispute. The savage and
| the civilized, the illiterate peasant and the
! profoundest thinker alike want it to be so.
! Even when some have lost hope they desire
it fondly as ever Even when a man has
lost all hope Of living again he cannot rid
! himself of desire for it. That is ineradlca-
bio Now here is the sound and legitimate
conclusion. A desire so universal and per-
sstent is the planting of the creative power
! responsible for our existence. 1t Is a man
ifest prophecy of what shall be- The ex-
istencc of an organ implies the existence of
a field for its operation-this Is an axiom
of science. There would be no fins If there
were no water to swim in, no wings If
there were no air to ny IN, no teeU II there
were no earth to walk on. Now here is
another sound and legitimate conclusion
! what God promises He performs. His char
acter is perfect To hold any other
idea of Him would be blasphemous or pre-
sumptuous To implant this desire and
provide no means for its qualification would
be a cruel deception. To make this prom
Use and not carry 1t out would be breach
Of trust as base as the squandering on sell
fish pleasure Of the property the widow or
the orphan contidcs to an attorneys man
agement. God has not dealt so in any
other case. He is the FeWarder OF those
who put their trust in Him.
If a man die, shall he live again? As a
Christian / answer yes. Do you ask why?
Because he has a right to do so. Because
God is Just. Righteous art Thou in all
Thy way, the psalmist sings. Some incline
to the view that as regards Gods dealings
with man, the latter can have no right,
that man is in the position Of a beggar,
legitimate claim. He must call upon God,
not because of any virtue in His character,
but because he is all powerful. He made
US, we are His creatures; therefore, lie
NAV act toward us and do with us as He
pleases. We are duty bound to obey Him,
to be kindly disposed toward Him, but He
is under no sort of obligation to deal gen
erousy or justly toward US All such the
cries and interpretations are mlsrepreSen-
tations of the divine character, actual
SANDERS upon Gods goodness. God is a
father, and no father is at liberty to neg
ect, i'll treat, degrade a child simply be-
cause he is his own. Indeed this very
fact is the strongest sort of reason that
he will do just the reverse. We all recog-
nize and respect the obligations of parent
blood. To care for the child's body. to
train its mind, to instill moral principle
into its nature is incumbent upon every
parent. Some deny themselves the high
privilege for fear Of an inheritance of
weakness or disease, and thereby making
the life of a loved one miserable. 1t is the
veriest sophistry, it is cruel misrepresenta-
tion to my mind it is unthinkable, that
imperfect man is of kindlier nature toward
his child than the perfect God toward His,
that the finite is under compulsion to do
right, but the Infinite Is not. On the con-
trary, every rise in the scale of being de-
mands corresponding rise in the scale
of obligation The wiser, the greater, the
better off the parent, the happier his child
is expected to be. The greater his ability
to do, the more IL ought to do. This is
the lesson of the parable of the talents.
10 one FIVE, to another two, to another
one, to every man according to his several
abilities. In proportion to the gift so
ought the return to be- He who has little
of him little is demanded He who has
much of him much is required. This is
an immutable law of universal application.
We are not mere obiects-stones, sticks,
shells-but animate, intelligent beings, into
whom God breathes and builds something
that Identifies us with Him and His nature
The difference between God and man is