The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1904-01-06
sure METHOD WITH DOUBT
A BriiIiast Sunday 1svnes By Rev.
Dr.. G. 7. OoodsIl.



Sure Method With Doubt" The text was
taken from Daniel v: i6, Ard have
heard of thee that thou capst make inter
pretatoBs and dissolve doubts" Dr
Goodell said:
II Daniel were alive 10 dav. with hi,
ability to dissolve doubts unimraired and
unimpeached, he would he the busiest
man of his time. And vet surs is ne
more au age OF doubt thas any other
which preceded it, There wss infdelity
a hundred years ago II eur universities
and hippant skepticsn vmong educat
ed people which IL now quite outgrown.
but it will ALWAYS remain true that every
generation must settle It's sws doubts.
The genera ton is made up of the indi.
vidual and The great questions of the soul
arc personal questions. They must bu
wrought out Tor the most part by indi'
vidual stress aud struggle There are
phases of doubt that receive greater Nm.
pliasis than others al gives time In ons
generation Il deistc Dhi,oSophv seems to
triumph in another asnostieism is at the
fore, The generation now passing has
foughs out the great battles ~ evolution
and we may fairly say that its theory il
in no WAY menace 10 The Christian faith
There have been hot bnttles on the field
OF biblical criticism Positions once Ned
by the two great forces have been uroven
untenable and the orthodox rarty by Civ.
ing up what could not he defended has
made its position stronger thsa ever be.
fore.
The doubts To which | wish {, refer and
which | would be glad to scatter as spec.
ters OF the night are not 40 much Of the
theoretical as of the practical sort. They
are the kind which make stout men weak
which paralyze great upward movements
IN society, and cut the nerve Of personal
de~oton.
1t ls rot strange or unreasonable that
we should hsve doubts. We begin life
knowing nothing. We journey in the
land ef tho 1nknewu Mt every rtep. We
Little hv little with material brought from
the unknown We build the structure
which we call knowledge. and in doing
this we form habit which mnstPrs us. II
will not let us rest Life has beroms q
great interrogation point. ard our jour
ney voysge. OF discovery. We sail into
every heckoning bay. One j. 4 fair bar-
Dor and NOTHING bevord: another a .tretch
OF snrdhar and shoal and We are fortu-
nate IL we are able to nut aenin 10 sea- while
another proves te he the mouth OF
~reat river up whose tide We no to ger-
ions discoveries in delectah'e country.
The man who thinks sannst stop HE
thinking. Often he is n1ockeH bv IL and
pitilesslv punished. Ike SOW. adventurous
mountain climber. but climb he must
though he fail in his quest.
'Tbat low man seeks little thing DO,
Sees it and does IL:
This high man with great thing to
pursue
Dies ere he knows IT,"
It is no wonder. then, thnt We arc driv.
en- to doubt, for life is too short 10 know
ALL
It Is not to be wondered at ttst our
doubts concern themselves chiefly with
religious truth. In the very nature oil
things religious truth is supernatural. It
Is not go much contrary to, as hevond. our
senses. It's princinles are not like the Az
iops OF mathematics. The whole field Of
religion is beyond the realm of the senses
and OF scientific ruce; therefore. il ia to
be wondered at least OF NIL when we find
that in this field speculation and doubt
run riot.
There is another fact to be considered
which Horace Bushnell states admirably:
"Our faculty is itself in disorder. A hrok-
en- or bent telescone will not see anything
rightly. So a mind wrenched from it's trna
lines OF action. discolored and smirched
bv evil, will not see truly, but will pnt
blurred, missbapen look on everything.
Truths will only be rs good as errors and
doubts as natural as they"
In view of oil this. let rs have done
with abusing those who doubt. Doubt
rroperly pursued is only knowledge in the
raw. and DR.. Parks was right when he
said: 'Inhdelity is the ultimate result OF
checking the desire for expanded knowl.
edge" Let us frankly tell our young pso.
ME that doubt ia not final condition save
to a dishonest mind. THROUGH the doubt
Of to-day they will come to the knowledge
of tomorrow, and let us also remind them
that what they hold as the truth .to-mor-
row should have great expsnsive power.
80 that coming days will give more light
and add to the proportions OF the truth
81 have heard OF thee that thon cnnst
make interpretations and dissolve doubts"
was the Kings greeting to the Hebrew.
The same Daniel bad stood before tho
King,,s & father when be, TOO ;S was 40 sore bur, bur
for his own unsided wisdom the power
to settle doubts, but stout.y and honestly
owned the source Of his power, saying:
"rhere is q God in heaven that revealeth
secrets" 1t may be said truthfully thar
the only sure method for the solution
Of 6fe's problems and the diesolvinz OF it,
doubts is by entering into right relationa
with Him. II it is objected that one oi
the great doubts OF lie relates 10 Bs
very existence the answer is. Every man
is conscious of tie great ethical impera
great law, and hence to some great law
Eiver. 1t would not seem to be q very
exalted prayer, "Oh God, il there be
God, enlighten my soul, il ! have y soul"
and yet even a prayer like that, with az
honert purpose to follow each faintest ray
In the matter OF dissoving religious
doubts, the ultimate purpose is everything
No man ever comes to the truth by being
simply curious. Speculation for specu'
lation's sake leads nowhere. The mind IL
hiled with conflicting arguments. 1t is
poor cause which has not something plans
he about it. and so the mind ehases it.
se.f from sophistry TO sophstry, from con
troyersy to controversy, darkening coun.
sci and coming out nowhere.
The first thing for an honest seeker az
ter truth to do 10 to pledge himself 10
abide by the truth as he finds it. To pay
fast and loose with ones convictions is tho
first and second death. To fail to uss
the light we have 70 refuse to live up t.
hat we know is right. is 10 put ones
self into the darkness OF sternai doubt
Plato was right when he said: ".Atheis
Ia disease OF the soul before II become
an error OF the understanding" Rrrncl
atheism was q foregone conclusion whei
one considers the condition Of French n'or
ais. Why should a man believe in t'ut
when his life was one long rebeliins
against Him? Why should he not cry
latter US the deluge" when conscious tha
nothing but an unfathomable nea cou'd
cover the putrefaetion Of his life! Whes
n man has made up his mind to give him
self to the sensual and the material, II il
hollow mockery for him to profess de-
sire to know the truth The truth abides
with no man who will not use it. and. on
the other hand. II he be. like Romanes.
pure OF heart and purpose, he will think
III, way out OF the darkness into the ful,
6aht Of revealed religion and pillow his
diving head upon certain faith. Know.
ine the life of Shelly we would expect him
10 be proud to write himself down IAN