The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1904-01-08
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
4 estuTFUl DISCOURSE BY THE ssv.
DR. c. !. cCooElL.
snlJ-et sure Method With ponht-pe
Not he Impatient With It, OIL, CON.
'inus to Move rowsri the Light Nou
DO see-Truth Will fres You.

III Nnarles l.. Goodell preached on ".
sure Method With Doubt" The text W.
'aAtn nom Daniel Y. l6. And ! nav
heard OF Thee that thou canst make inter
nre'9uons and dissolve doubts y!
| Goodsll SAID
II Daniel were alive today. with "a,
ooihiN "a dissolve doubts unimpaired am
uu'mpeaehed, he would be the busies
man ot hls time, Aud vet ours N
more an age OF doubt than anv o,he
winch preceded Il. There was in6deht
hundred years ago M our unl,erstie
ana uippant skcptlclsm smong educai
- peop.e which y now quite outgrown
but Il Will ALWAYS remain true that ever,
generation must settle its own doubts
Inc generation - made no OF the ,udi
Ndaal and the great questions OF the sou
/ are personal questions. They must b,
wrought out ior the most part hv nd
| Nluual stress and struggle There AT,
phases oi doubt that receive greater en-
| phass than Others at a gwen time. lr on,
| generation delstlc philosophy seems I,
! li1uhph m another aguostioism Is at tn,
1 lore. ne generation now passing ha,
fought ont the great battles ot evolution
! ana we may fairly say that its theory 1,
! ln no way menace 90 the Christian ialth
! mere baNe been hot battles on the field
/ # biblical criticism. Positions once held
! bN the two great forces have been urover
/ hhtenable and the orthodox party by CIV
mace ats position stronger than ever be.
| l,Ie.
, The doubts 10 which 7 wish TO refer and
! which | would be glad TO scatter as spec.
/ itrs OF the night are not SO much Of the
| theoretical as of the practical sort. They
are the KIND which make stout hien weak
winch pataly2c great upward movements
n society, and cut the nerve OF personal
devotion.
IL ~ not strange or unreasonable that
We should have doubts We begin life
knowing nothing We journey IN the
land of the unknown at every step. We
investigate and experiment and question.
Little by little with material brought from
the unknown we build the structure
which we call KNOWLEDGE. aud ia doing
tins we form a habit which masters Us II
viii not let as rest. Lie has become q
great interrogation point. and our Jour
utY voyage of discovery. We sah into
every heckoning bay. One is a far har
Tor and nothing beyond, austher a stretch
OF sandbar and shoal and we are fortu.
late Il we are able 10 put again 10 sea; while
another proves TO be the mouth OF a
-rcat river up whose tide we 20 10 clor.
lous discoveries IN a dolectab,e country.
ne man who thinks cannot Etop his
thinking. Often he is mocked by ID and
pitllesslv punished like some adventurous
mountain climber. but climb he mutt
though he fan in his quest.
That low man seeks a little thing 70 do,
Sees u and does II:
TINS high man with a great thing to
Dies ere he knows it,"
Il is no wonder. then. that we are drv.
IN to doubt, for life is too short 70 know
II is not 90 be wondered at that our
doubts concern themselves chiefly with
religious truth ln the very nature OF
things religious truth rs supernatural. II
s not SO much contrary TO. as beyond, our
senses. It's principles are not like the ak
loms OF mathematics. The whole field Of
religion rs beyond the realm OF the senses
and OF scientific rules, therefore IL Is to
tc wondered at least Of all when We find
that ~ tins field speculation and doubt
ron riot.
There is another fact to he considered
which Horace Bushnell states admirably
Our faculty ie itself IN disorder. A brok- |
cn or bent telescope VIII not see anything |
rightly. So a mind wrenched from It's true
nuos OF action. discolored and enriched |
py ovll, viii not see truly, but VIII pnt a
blurred, misshapcn look on everything |
Truths will only be as good as crrcrs and |
doubts as natural as they
In view Of all this let us have done |
with abusing those who doubt Doubt |
properly pursued rs only knowledge IN the |
raw, and DR.. Parks was right when he
taid: 'Inhdeliiy IS the ultimate result Of |
checking the desire for expanded knowl- |
edge Let US frankly tell our young peo-
ule that doubt is not Gnal condition save
70 a dishonest mind Through the doubt |
81 to-day they will come 20 the knowledge
of tomorrow, and let ts also remind them
that what they hold az the truth to-mor.
row should have great expansive power.
80 that coming days viii give more light
and add TO the proportions OF the truth
Il have heard Of thee that thou CanSt
make interpretations and dissolve doubts,
was the Kings greeting TO the Hebrew.
Inis same Daniel had stood before the
Kings father when he, too, was sore bur
dCned with mystery. He did not claim
for his own unaided wisdom the power
20 settle doubts, but ctOutiy and honestly
owned the source OF his power, saying
There Is a God IN heaven that revoalcth
secrets" Il may be eaid truthfuly that
the only sure method for the solution
lf liie'E problems and the diss1lying of its
doubts Is by entering INTO night relations
with Him. II 10 ~ objected that one oi
he great doubts OF life relates 20 IIIs
very existence the answer ~. Every man
s conscious Of the great ethical lmpcra-
i've, ought. Tins rettcs him 10 some
great law, and hence "a some great law
over. IL would not seem 90 be a very
xalted prayer, "Oh God, ii there be a
sod cnhghten my soul, II ! have soul"
md yet even a PRAYER like that with an
lonest purpose TO follow each iantest ray
q light, would not be unavailing.
In the matter Of disso.vIng religion.
ioubtg, the ultimate purpose is everything.
No man ever comes % the truth by beng
IMPLY curious. Speculation for specu.
ation's sake leads nowhere. The mind ~
lled with conflicting arguments. It is a
Ioor cause which has not something pl.us-
be about u, and 90 the mind ohases IT. ,
ELF from sophstry 20 sophlstry, from con .
rOversy 70 controversy. darkenIng cOuu- /
u and coming out nowhere.
The first thing for an honest seeker az ,
Or truth 20 do ~ 90 pledge himself 20 !
bide By the truth as he finds 10. To play r
asst and loose with ones convictions - the ,
ret and second death. 10 fail % use
be light we have to refuse 20 1--we up 10 Z
hat we know ~ night, o. 20 put ones .
eli into the darkness Of eternal doubt. !
'ldto was right when be SAID Atheism !
a disease Of the soul before DO becomes ,
n error Of the understanding French A..
thelsm was a iorcgOne conclusion when ! .
ne considers the condition of French NOR.
ls. Why should a man believe IN God /
gainst Him. Why should hf not cry ,
after us the deluge" when conscious tha' ,
othIng but an unfathOmab.e sea could
over the putreiactiOn Of hF I''' When
man has made W his mind 90 give him
III 90 the sensual and the material, u Is f,
olIow mockery for him 20 profess a de- =
re 90 know the truth The truth sDides y
lth no man who viii not use I' and. on =
be- other hand. II be be- like Romanes. 7
lre q heart and purpose. b. Hil! think y
~ way out Of the darkness into the full =
got of revealed religion and pillow his f
yIug head upon certain faith. Know .
g the life Of Shelly We would expect him y
a