The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1905-05-20
.B|CELOW breaches ON
THE REVOLUTION Of GOD
Holds There is Vast Difference
Between God of Genesis
and Today.
Mans Idea Of God Changes With
the Times-Men Have Bet
ter Thoughts.

CINCINNATI, Ohio, May 1S.-At the
Vine Street Congregational church, the
pastor, Herbert S. Bigelow, chose a
text from Genesis: 1.-The Lord God,
walking in the garden in the cool of the
day." MIR. Bigelow said in part:
1T is said that God is the same yes
terday, today, and forever. Yet there
Is a vast difference between the God
of Genesis and the God of today. The
Gods Of old felt hunger and fatigue
and cold, received wounds and suffer-
ed disease like the puniest Of mortals.
They had their exploits, their wars and
defeats, after the manner Of men. 1t
appears that the Lord God of Genesis
was not insensible to the heat of the
sun and preferred to walk in the gar
den in the cool of the day.
God Never the Same.
-ecA Today who would think of -pictur-
ing God with fan and a parasol ?
Our God is in no danger from sun
stroke. God is a spirit He may be
eternally the same, yet mans con-
ception of him from age to age chang
es as man changes, so that God, mans
God, is never the same. Mans last
thought is probably nearest the truth.
Not a City Hall Politician.
Since our idea of God has changed.
our idea Of prayer has necessarily been
modified. If we pray for success in
business or for the restoration of a
sick child, or for victory in battle, or
for deliverance from the storm, we
are conscious Of inconsistency. God is
not city hall politician. Let us not
seek to cajole or fatter him into grant
ing us special favors. Prayers is not
a pious pull. We must treat the ruler
of the universe with respect. We must
assume that he means to give equal and
exact justice to all. We must take the
universe as we find it and, instead Of
praying for immunity from it's laws,
we must seek to know and obey those
laws, that we may find life a blessing
and not a curse.
Not Fond Of AduIation.
Our idea Of worship is being modi-
fed by better thought of Cod A
father who had suffered reverses in
business recently reproached his daugh-
ter for not being more faithful in her
attendance at church. He thought this
explained their failure He evidently
thought God was excessively fond Of
adulati0n and likely to grow resentful
if men did not come together in a GER
tain place on stated occasions and sing
songs to him. and tell him how much
they love him.
Not MonopoIized by Any People.
AS a better thought of God takes
hold of us, our missionary zeal must
take a different direction. Is it after
all so very important to convert the
followers of Buddha and Confucius to
the doctrines of John Calvin? God
is the father of all. Conscience is his
voice in man. He is the willing guest
of each human heart. Wherever there
is love, wherever there is true aspira-
tion, there is God. He has left no peo-
pie without witness to him. It is
monstrous to think that he would give
to any monopoly Of his favor. All
the prophets of good are his accredit-
ed ministers, and the evangel of unity
and brotherhood is the true missionary
to the nations.
Not Lost With the Creeds.
We call the nations to the worship
of God who dwells in each human
heart, holds the world in the lap of
imrnutable laws, and delights in the
innocent happiness and the loving jus
tice of all his children. Has religion
lost anything in the wreck of the
creeds? If men have driven God out
of the Hebrew bible, has it not been to
find him again in all bibles? II they
have driven him out of the church, has
it not been to find him again in the
fields and the woods? II they have
driven him out Of the Sabbath day, has
it not been to find him again in all
days? If they have lost faith in mir
acles. have they not gained faith in
law. and If they revere the laws of
God and seek to obey them, is not that
better than prayers that are uttered in
ignorance Of those laws?