The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-04-24

40 far as taking cure oil the families OF
deceased heroes Is concerned ! the scheme
is well enough. But MIR. Carnegie pro-
poses also to give money and medals
to heroes and horollles Gus the commits
sion may Think advisable" We believe
that to offer such a reward is to put
premium upon recklessness and to create
n number Of mock heroes. I'll
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"The Difficulties Of Disbelief"
(5clectod for Tho rlmes-Dispntch)
Lord, to whom shall we go st. John,
vi6s. !,
You know too we'll that we are all
tcmpted-sometimcs tempted severely.
to give UP our faith and Christian hope"
The hand which grasps religious treas
ures Is not always strong.
Suppose We give up the Christian faith,
what shall we have instead? Wise men
arc bound to look at consequences. We
must Judge the value OF results.
II man were to ask you to givo up
your house, would you not INQUIRE what
YOU should do2 EVENT. the hdise was
not all that YOU could wish it to be, you
would still desire TO know what you were
to hnvo In exchange. Are we to be loss
careful about our faith than about o
dwelling place Are we to concern our,
selves about a house for the body, and
leave tho soul without a shelter? DO be
as sensible in the higher region as you
arc in tho lower!
1T is far more easy to ask question
than to answer 1t. IT Is cnsiersto pull
down thanto build up. This is one Of the
earliest lessons Which; tho earnest stu.
dent must learn. Never forget 1t. This
| rule applies to every department of life,
| but bears with espccul force upon the
| highest questions that engage the mind
| Is it not easier to waste money than
to earn 1t? Can you not spoil a picture
| moro quickly than YOU paint one?
| You can pluck a flower from it's stem,
but can YOU put 1t on again? With the
| rudest hammer you can injure tho sculp-t
! tured marble, but can you shape any
| stone into beauty?
These are matters which any child may
| know, and which might or might not
prove Of Importance But It is also true
Lin the higher affairs Of llfe-lamentaby
! true--that 1t Is far moro easy to tempt
Il man than to- save HIM; easier to ruin
a life than to train it for heaven!
There are men Of vigorous, but Ill
trained ability, who give themselves up
| to the work Of unsettllng tho human
| mind upon every subject They have a
genius for destruction and they would
be unhappy If there was nothing they
could break. If you listen to them you
will find that they quarrel with eyery-
thlng;3the. lay no foundations; they teach
no distinct truth; they give the lie to
all faith, and throw dstrust upon all
experience. How easy is their task COM
pared With the duty OF Christian
teacher! A malicious man can do more
mischief in one hour than a man of
genius can repair IN lifetirne! So with
tho infidels in their little world. They
leave the mark of the serpent wherever
they so, and their course may be tracked
by tho desolation which follows In their
wake.
To all such men we put the practical
question, found In the text-lf we go
away from Christ, to whom shall we go?
That is tho question l would press upon
you. Give up religion. and what then?
AS reasonable creatures. we are COM
PEELED to look at the result.
The tempter asks you to give UP Cod
we'll, what then? Remember, you refuse
to give up the humblest cottage until YOU
know where you are to so, and you Will
not throw away the poorest covering in
winter until you know what you will get
In return. You will not, on dark. strange
road, put out the dimmest lantern until
you are sure of having q better light In
its place, Will you, then, recklessly give
up God at the bidding OF any man--tho
faith In tho living. loving, personal God.
ruling over all-without asking. "ro
whom shall go?"
You can put away the mystery Of God.
but you get in return the greater mys-
cry of godlessness. Listen to what they
say: A chair would not have made itself,
but tho sun Is self-crea ted. Your coat
had maker, but your soul had none,
The wax flower is made, but the roses
in your garden grew there by chance.
The brass instrument was fashioned by
some skilled hand, but the voice of man,
the grandest and most complex of all
organs, just "happcned So" The figure
head on the ship was carved but the
face OF the carver became face by
chance, without design and without law!
Wo cannot thus believe.
claim for the roverent and earnest
believer in God the highest common
sense. 1t is the only rational creed
Without doubt as a religious man. he is
surrounded by a great mystery. but lie
glories IN Il!
The great must always be mystery
to the little; the arch must always be a
mystery to the column; God must always
no n mystery to His creatures, IT we |