Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1904-12-22
KNOWING THE TRUTH
A Brilliant Sunday Sermon By Rev.
Cornelius Woelfkin.
Ovells On the Condition Of Learning Spiritual
Truth as Laid Down By Jesus.

cret things belong unto the Lord, our God,
but the things that are revealed belong un
to us and to our children, that we may DO
all the words OF this law tie SAID:
A noted astronomer once SAID: nave
searched the stars. but find no God a
noted philosopher said IF there Is an mn.
mite. personal God, He is unknowable:
Materialistc science aud rational phil
osopby have formulated the creed OF az.
! Mysticism. viz: that God is unknown anu
unknowablc. 1t sounds conservative, mod
! est and wise. But it Is not really new.
, One OF the ancenls wrote III the long ago,
"Canst thou, by searching. find out God!
! Capst thou know the Almighty unto per-
! lection! Zophar,' the Naamathte, was
clever agnostic The Hebrew lawglver
writes, The secret things belong unto
| the Lord our God
Ii God be the Infinite. Eternal and Alb,
soute. it is impossible to comprehend ana
explain Him. There must always be d'-
mansions OF mystery unknown and un-
expects to find the walls of the universe:
There is always the unknown beyond. Ii
snace and tilae stagger the imagination;
can we ever hope to bring the eternal Goa
completely within the range oil human
conception? We are all agnostlcs. Even
Christians worship at the altar OF the SUI
per movable God. IL Is no dscredt TO
/
Gods birth. We need not distress our,
selves because we cannot walk about God
and know His diameter and circumference.
De is unlinowable. IN
But because we capnot know all, shall
we rest content to snow nothing: The
scientist is aware that he can never know
it all. Does he therefore break his lnstrn'
mcnts and content himself to abide IN is,
porance? lie knows IN part he Will
ha knows II,
So. concerning Cod. there are things that
may be known The mystt ! OF the I'M
known is the vel. charm OF eternity: lhc
ages will ever clothe themselves with new
garments Of mystery
How NAV we know God? God IS
spirit and must be spiritu ly known. John
Fiske, speaking of the g stro;,,copesi, calls
it IAN addition 10 our stlses All our
inventions are extensions to our senses
There is auto seeing auto hearing, auto.
feeling Tyndae said, The silence OF
the forest at MONDAY Is agItated WIN
sound ii we could only hear IT.. mere
are some things teescoplculy discerhea,
others, mcroscopicaly and spectroacop''
caliv. Without these they are not as
cerned at all Why does one man only
glance at picture, and pass on, W WI,
mother will study 1t by the hour? why
Will some pcope leave the music hati'
while others are held speIbound by the
SYMPHONY Because some things are art
jSticaly diScerncd and others muslcaliy.
There must he the subjective faculty to
appreciate objective genius.
Why do some men go through nic with,
ont any sense of reverence, worship anu
PRAYER. while others bow IN humihly anu
alteration to one whom they call God! DC
cause God is spiritually discerned. The
natural man recelveth not the things OF
God, neither can he know them. lie Is
lacking the souls telescope, microscope,
spectroscope, etc. Natural devices cannot
discover a spiritual God.
The study of man himself presents a
fants analogy of this truth. Science STUD
les the human body; artcuates the skee-
ton; knows the nervous system; cNpiaihs
organization. But does the anatomlSL dis.
cover the ole man. Does he find that
sovereign will, the magl,tlate-ihe
conscience the artIst-thc IMAGINATION, the
orchestra, ne emotions, the hbraman-the
memory: They are all there, but the m
strumcnts OF physical dissection do not
discover them. They are mentally dis
ccrncd. When sptItua! men, as such,
pronounce upon physical science, tncy be'
come fools. An. when materlalistS. as
such. pronounce upon spiritual things
they Likewise turn out folly. One quaIlil'
cation cannot constltut. authority upon
all things.
It Is sometimes SAID that religion speaks
in Il language OF its oWn--a foreign tongue.
This must be so III the nature OF the case.
Every new idea demands tho garment OF
new word or phrase. Every science ere.
atrs lis own noncnH ,atur". We might
find a hundred volumes written IN our ma.
tive tongue and yet no. understand what
Is written. spiritual realities must cN'
press themselves III spiritual termtnoIogN.
Instead OF QuarrClng with the ntroduc-
ton OF new terms, We should as true stu
dents learn their meaning and SO WIDEN
cur apprehenSons.
The condition vi learning spiritual truth
is laid down by Jesus. He that wilcth TO
do His will shall know the teaching
Thee must be right attitude first, AMI
then the experiment of action. Open
mndedneSs is the first qualification for
apprehension. Prejudice dstorts and
blinds the Judgment 1T Is the chirf factor
il our limitations. II Is the handlcap
upon honest examination and experiment
Prejudice shut The thco,o.IauS ont of nat.
ulal science ior years. Prejudice is shut,
ting the materIalists out OF religious science
today The whole universe is governed
by law. Let man obey the laws OF ma
ture and nature will untold ITS mysteries
20 HIM. Let man put himself IN ahGn'
mcnt with spiritual realities. and the
spiritual world viii discover itself to hlm.
OH, ,L,t ,,,uotL tn Cad rnISt bclievc that
~ ~ '"" ,,l ,hn, IIo >. ,ha ,nn',der If Them
t No. -. ii ii,.' Mo- .nn Uo
n,''., II" ,"tinm l,a tost nj o,er,.
,,, lInrn stnm,hr;no hIoI, Mon
i, ,,'; n,,., ,,i;, and hassitoio and hait
at doing the viii of God. The chief diff.
'H';,vH , Iu",'' ',"s ,,7' ~" ,b a.,
Vi nt,,' t"n' MIA ~
,'!IiIe III a, ','u ''' "p" a, '''" WIN
Guy tnes' ,nV" ,',','o, """" ,,,or,lI (.
ne ii''""s ~ t'oT'"I az "o ho,rJ
""l" II,I' t,'v "m,n" VIZ ndo T, n;,h
1n"' WIZ" I'VE "nNr a'u,' ""u r','' rE"o -,
our Mus "o.,,e W ""lp w" "h;ch
W, have heard. There is tradition in
science. Some things have been worked