The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-06-18

wider reaches the territory of our own best character-good; strengthening our bodies, developing our minds. purifying our hearts to better loving stimulating our souls to better aspiring, raising our selves up out of the murk and mire of things not excellent. glorifying ourselves every way as we glorify the God Of our selves-working, fighting loving. suffering, dying, rejoicing, ever forward and ever upward, toward the heights of destiny that through all the ages have been waiting for achievement by the sons of men who are the sons of God.
 Is Religion Reasonable?
 Is religion reasonable? Then, inevitably. must all It's duties and responsibilities all it's wants, and fears and hopes, stand the test of excellence, for that is reason s test To go outside the realm of excel lence is to go outside the realm of reason. Their boundaries coincide.
 So, then, whatever I am told to be- lieve in the matter of religion, I must be told to believe it because It is excellent. Whatever I am told to do, or to leave undone, in the name of religion the doing in the one case, the not doing In the other, must make for excellence. It may well be that, brought to this test. a great many popular religious opinions and practices would have to be given up and cast aside. as palpably unfit to meet if But. if they would be. what reason- able soul should grieve at their out casting? Opinions that can not stand the test of excellence-practices that can not stand the test of excellence, senti- ments and ideals that can not stand the test of excellence applied fin the best light of knowledge and judgment in this and fnaD-wbV EhOuld we want them, what can we want with them in our holiest realm? Why should we not want them out of 1t? For In 1t they are out of place, and out of place they can not be doing good, out of place they must be doing harm.
 And the harm they are doing Is this: they are hoarsening and muffling the appeal of true religion for thousands of the religious as well as for thousands of the unreligous. They are forbidding to human minds the consciousness of high freedom that true religion ought 10 give them: to human hearts the deep, wide. chrjst-like affections that true religion ought to create within them; to human souls the fearless. heroic Christ-like hopes that true religion ought to bestow upon them.
 Consider the multitude of men and women who will not cultivate the minds God gave them, freely. as minds only can be cultivated, lest they lose some what of the thing they call their religion. Consider the multitude who could not be induced to read any book, no matter how true and wonderful. if they had the slightest intimation that 1t casts new light on certain things, altering marks and features they are accustomed to In inc dim glow of tradition!
 o,ofe m IndaY EYpIIr- gatorious or rather we think we have, for perhaps we have the things without the name At any rate. there Is many q true and wonderful book under the ban in the homes of good protestants. on the same principle that Is responsible for the Roman Index the principle that nothing ought to be read which casts new light on old convictions and old opin- ions; the principle, in essence that Cailiph Omar acted when he burned the great Alexandrian library. declaring that if the books taught what was In the Koran they were useless. and that if they taught what was not in the Koran they were false.
 Consider, again. the people-there are many of them-who decline to give utter ance and exercise to the best. the most Christ-like, sentiments and emotions, of the human heart, for fear of going con- trary to the teachings and standards of their reliigon. They withhold sympathy where they ought to give 1t; they seal up the spring of pity. when they ought to let them flow free; they speak the word that hurts when they ought to speak the word that heals. because they dare not be more forgiving. moro ten der. more merciful than their religion
 
 (Contlnued on Eighth Paas)