The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-04-23
.I AM THE RESURRECTION
 AND THE LIFE"
BY CHARLES WAGNER. fcopyright. 1905. by Mcclure. Phillips co)

times seemed to become eclipsed' tnis is. in the first place, due to the aouse that has been made Of It. Every one knows that 1t has had its exploiters. Shameful speculations on the mines of beyond-the-grave have thrown ois- credit on all that appertains 70 u when some, who are skeptics at neart' seiI heaven. and when others try to purcbase it; when the hope or tuture reward or the fear of punishment re- places in the heart the love or Goo and of men, 1t must not be wondered at that the edifice should become worm -eaten and cracked on all sides.
 The coarse materialism of certain pe- liefs. their form that is too intimately bound up with intellectual conceptions that have vanished, are frequently the means of compromising faith itself. I hasten to say that, in this instance we must distinguish carefully between unhealthy superstitions and the sim ple and childish representations or eternal hope. The most ehildlsn nope ia worth more and is nearer to reality than is the apparently reasonable ne gation. In the main, any form HI which man clothes his faith IS as rag iIe as himself, and there is not much difference between what we call the most spiritual religion and that or the humble and of the young. The value of either can only be measured py their sincerity and by the goodness of the Father, who alone knows now to appreciate them. This said, we must be very careful not to confuse taltn with what we used to clothe 1t in, II we wish to avoid falling into the fam aticism that despises the faith of oth- CTS. and if we wish to retain our con yictions in the midst of the changes CT thought and of human knowledge.
 Another cause for the decrease Of eternal hope Is the weariness of liV- ing that takes hold of many or our contemporaries. Life to them is only A burden: they bear with 1t as with a suffering. How can we ardently hone for and desire the continuation of that which wearies us or fills $ with horror? Our only wish. in that case, is that 1t should end speedily and forever, and that an eternal dreamless sleep should compensate us for the nightmare of life. There are some men to whom you would valnly give the power of awakening the dead for they would reply to you; Let them sleep; is Is far better thus"
 What does this prove, if 1t is not that such living beings suffer from the radical disease that consists in being on bad terms with the source from which life has sprung? Their ill-df- rected belief, their longing for obl!v- ion, is a proof of the artificial, ab- normal life that we live. Such life disgusts one with life, and 1t deserves to disappear.
 All these reasons for the weakening
 of eternal hope are not to be com pared in importance with that which results from the lowering of our moral life, from the fall of our inner level. Faith has an obscure basis, which 1t cannot develop. Purity of life, sim plicity of heart. a certain atmosphere and certain light are necessary to 1t. What we are and the way in which we live is reflected In what we believe. The one who buries himself beneath dust ends by only believing in dust. You have heard of some creatures who have lost their sight and engendered blind descendants through living in the gloom of caverns. It Is impossible to imagine the quality of air and light in which vegetate those whom living means a capability of eating. of drink ing, of enjoying pleasure and working with their hands or brains to procure clothing, food, enjoyment or some am bilious satisfaction. Is 1t astonishing if these troglodytes of the mind end by forgetting the light of day? They only go from one tomb to another on the day when you follow them to the cemetery, and the belief in eternal life cannot germ or grow in their souls.
 Alas! Why do so many Christians resemble them? For we must make no mistake about it. Words and for mulas are of no importance in this case-it is the thing itself that mat ters.
 Do you believe in eternal life? You answer Yes" and you even speak of