The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-11-07
THk PULPIT.
3 BRILLIANT SUNDAY SERMON BY
DR. JAMES w. LEE.
Subject: How We Know God.

Brooklyn, N. Y.-For a month the
Rev. DR.. James W. Lee, pastor of
Trinity M. E. Church, South Atlanta,
Ga, acted as pastor of three Brook
lyn churches, Bethany Dutch Re-
formed, Simpson M. E. and Central
Baptist. These churches united their
congregations into one, and invited
DR.. Lee to serve them. The sermon
last Sunday was at Simpson Church.
The subject was How to Know
God," and the text Hosea vi:3: Then
shall We know, If we follow on to
know the Lord" DR.. Lee said:
For all our knowledge we are in
debted to three forms of mental ac-
tivity which are known as intuition,
reflection and recollection, or to use
different forms for the same things.
we can call them perception, by
means of which we recognize single
things; conception. by which we de-
duce general terms from single
things; and recollection, by which
we recall previous perceptions and
recollections. That is, the human
mind can know the natural world.
the human world and the spiritual
world, by the activity of the intuitive,
conceptive and recollective powers.
From intuitions man generalizes con-
ceptions or ideas of greater compre-
hensiveness, and he can call back
past perceptions and conceptions
through his powers of recollection.
Man has three great intellectual en-
dowments: he can perceive, he can
conceive, he can remember.
Our intuitions, our perceptions,
may be divided into three classes.
We have intuitions of the world;
these are sense perceptions; we have
intuitions of ourselves; these are
self-perceptions; and we have intui-
tions of the spiritual world; these
are religious perceptions.
1t must be understood, however,
that we can have no cognitions or
perceptions of either nature, man or
God, unless nature, man and God
come before the mind. In every per-
ception there must be perceiver.
something perceived, and an act of
perception. No world can be seen,
unless there is a world before the
mind; no man can be seen unless
there is a man before the mind. No
man can create perceptions either of
nature. man or God, out of nothing.
For all his perceptions of nature,
man or God, he is shut up to the OBJ
jects which produce them. He could
no more have religious perceptions
without God than he could have self
perceptions without man, or sense
perceptions without a world. Spirit
n O n HI,h l.
dences Of the presence of God, as
sense intuitions are of the presence
of the material world, or as self-in-
tuitions are of the presence OF man.
If religious intuitions do not imply
God, as sense-perceptions imply ma
ture, and self-cognitions imply man.
then civilization is an unsubstantial
dream. When a person obiectifies
himself into some one else and comes
at length to believe himself ruler
Of nation when every one OF his
friends knows he is only John Smith,
jury is called to pass on his sanity.
II man continues to talk into one
end of a telephone and to get an
swers back when there is no one at
the other end Of it, jury is called to
inquire into the state Of his mind.
Now, if for thousands of years the
human race has been perceiVing God
In nature, in conscience, in history,
and answering back through prayer
and reverence and song and liturgy
and doctrine and temple, when in
fact no God has been perceived, then
1t is evident that human nature is
constitutionally deranged. 1t is re-
markable, however, that man should
find himself led astray at none Of the
gateways through which he holds
commerce with outside reality except
the religious. The gateway OF vision
opens out directly into the kingdom
of light. The gateway Of sound ex-
The intellect borders on the realm
Of truth. The universe fits closely
about and meets and matches every
human sense except the religious. If
man would breathe, there Is the air;
If he would satisfy his hunger, there
Is food; if he would slake his thirst,
there is water; if he would talk there
are vibrations to carry his words.
Every door of the soul and body Is
an open port through which there is
constant exchange Of inside and out
side merchandise, except the one
opening into the religious regions.
When through the spiritual sense he
apprehends what he takes to be d.
vine reality, he finds only the phan-
tasmal forms of his own soul filling
the horizon in front of him.
If we can know God by exactly the
nfh
world and man, what becomes of
faith? In reply, it may be answered
that we have no knowledge Of any
grade of reality whatsoever without
faith. For knowledge of things ma
terial we need sense-faith; for knowl-
edge of things human we need self
faith; for knowledge Of God we need
religious faith. Faith does not come
at the end of intellectual processes
by means of which perceptions are
worked up into conceptions and laws
and general ideas. Faith stands at
the outer door of the mind and all
fntuitions, whether Of nature, man or
God, must receive its approval before
they can be initiated into the differ
ent degrees of knowledge.
Before we can reason about gravi-
tation, force, atoms, and ether we
must accept their existence by faith.
Faith goes before proof. We cannot
store up an item of knowledge of the
tangible world even without making
assumptions that no one can possibly
prove. Those scientists who deride
faith and take JUNCTION to themselves
upon believing nothing without evil
dence, should remember that before
there can be any experience of any
thing Or any demonstration of any