The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1904-12-22
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE ENTITLED
::'KNoWlNc THE TRUTH"
The Rev. Cornelius Woelfkin Dwe}1s on
the Condition Of Learning Spiritual
Truth rs Laid Down by Jesus-Open-
Miudedncss is the First Qualification

Truth as Laid Down by Jesus-open-
Mindedness is the First Qualification
BROOKLYN, N. Yin the Greene Ave
nue. Baptist Church Sunday morning the
minister, the Rev. Cornelius Woei1kln,
preached the sermon. Mr., Woeiiklns text
was from Deuteronomy XAiX:29: The Sc
cret things belong unto the Lord, our God,
but the things that are revealed belong un-
to rs and to our children, that we may do
all the words of this law He said:
A noted astronomer once said: Il have
searched the stars, but find no God" A
noted philosopher said, If there is an inti.
mite, personal God, He is unknowah.e:,
Aaterialistic science and rational phil
osophy have formulated the creed OF az.
Mysticism, viz: that God is unknown and
unknowable It sounds conservative, mod
est and wise. But it is not really new.
One of the ancients wrote in the long ago,
''Canst thou, by searching, find out God:
Canst thou know the Almighty unto per-
lection? Zophar, the Naamathite, was a
clever agnostic The Hebrew. iawglver
writes, The secret things belong unto
the Lord our God
II God be the Infinite. Eternal and Alb.
solute, it is impossible to comprehend ana
explain Him. There must always be dl'
mensions of mystery unknown and I'M.
movable in Him. The astronomer never
expects to find the walls OF the universe:
There is always the unknown beyond. II
space and time stagger the Inauguration;
can we ever hope to bring the eternal God
completely within the range of human
conception? We are all agnostics. Even
Christians worship at the altar OF the SUI
per movable. God. It Is no discredlt to
the theist that he cannot tell the day OF
Gods birth. We need not distress our,
selves because we cannot walk about God
and know His diameter and circumference.
lie is unknowable. =, :,
But because we cannot know all, shall
we rest content to know nothing: 1he
scientist is aware that he can never know
it all. Does he therefore break his instru-
Hents and content himself to abide In lg,
norance? He knows IN part. He VIII
know more, though he never knows 1t all.
So. concerning God, there are things that
may be known. The myste OF the ~ Mn-
known Is the very charm OF eternity; Inc
ages will ever c!othe themselves wlth new
garments Of mystery.
spirit and must be spiritually known. j ohm
Fiske, speaking of the spectrossope,, calls
It IAN addition to our senses" All our
inventions are extensions to our senses.
8 There is auto-seeing, aute-hearing, auto.
feeling. Tyndale said, '"The silence OF
the forest at MONDAY is agitated with
sound, if we could only hear IT.. There
are some things telescopicaily discerned1,
others, microscopical,y and spectroscopi-
eaEy. Without these they are not dls-
eerned at all. Why does one man only
snother viii Study it by the hour: Why
will some people leave the music hall,
while Others are held spellbound by the
syrphony? Because some things are art
SHeauy discerned and otEcrs aus.eally.
There must be the subjective faculty to
appreciate objective genius.
Why do some men 60 through hfe with,
out any sense Of reverence, worship anu
urayer, while others bow in humility and
alteration to one whom they call God! !, be
cause God is spiritually dlscerned. Inc
natural man receiveth not the things OF
God, neither can he know them. he is
lscging the souls telescope, mleroscops, y,
spectroscope, etc. Natural oeVlces canao0
discover a spiritual God.
The study of man himself presents
faints analogy of this truth. Science stud
les the human body; articulates the skeie-
ten; knows the nervous system; explains
organization. But does the anatomist das-
cover the ~oie man? Does he find that
sovereisn-the will, the magistrate-the
conscience, the artist-the imagination, the
orehestra--the emotions, the hbrarlan-tne
memory? They are all there. but the IN.
struments OF physical dissection 90 90 9oe 9S
discover them. They are mentally dis
eerned., When; spiritual men, as such,
nroaonnce upon physical science. they be-
como fools. And when materlaiists. as
such, pronounce upon spiritual things
they likewise turn out folly. One Quaiiil-
cation cannot coastitut> authority upon
al things.
It is sometimes said that religion speaks
in a language OF its owr-a foreign tongue.
This must be so in the nature Of the case.
Every new idea demands the garment OF
new word OF phrase. Everv science ere.
ates its own nomenc.ature. we might
find a hundred volumes written II our ma
tive tongue ard yet not understand what
is written. Spiritual realities must eH-
press themselves in spiritual TECHNOLOGY.
Instead of auarreiing with the lntroduc-
ton Of rev terms, we should as true stu
dents learn their meaning and so widen
our apprehensicns. =,
The condition OF learning spiritual truth
is laid down by Jesus. He that wllieth TO
do His win shall know the teaching
There must be right attitude first. and
then the experiment Of action. Open
n,indedness is the first qualification for
apprehension. Prejudice 9isto:ts and
= EilndS the JuogalenS. II IS tNS cuie1 1acIoi
in our limitations. It is the handicap
upon honest examination and experiment.
Prejudice shut tne t,eoiogians ont of nat
ural science for years. Prejudice IS shut
ting the materialists cut Of religious science
to-day. The whole universe is governed
by law. Let man obey the laws Of ma
tara and nature viii unfold its mysteries
to him. LIE. man put himself i'll align
1,cnt with spiritual realities. ard the
sn;ritual world will discover itself to him.
He that comsth to God must believe that
Ee is. and that He is the rewacder OF them
that diligently seek Him"
There must be action, the test OF expert
aent. Here is q stumbling b.ock. Men
havs their own wills and hesitate and hat
at doing the viii Of God. The CHIEF diff
caities concerning religion DO not rise. out
ef intellectual embarrassment so much as
failure in attitude and action. Iet with
oat these men cannot know.
The means Of knowing are twofo.d. St.
John says, THAT which we have heard,
that which We have ssen and handled with
our hands declare We unto you" There IS
first the message Of tredition-that which
we have heard. There is tradition in
science Some things have been worked
o.,t. tested and proven. They are accepted