New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-02-11
CONCEPTIONS OF GOD.
IDEAS OF DEITY TESTED.
Columbia Glass Ans1Cers Questions
of Bryn Mazcr Psychologist.

different people have of God psychologist of Bryn
| Mawr College has recently submitted the follow
ing questions a large number of people IN dif-
| ferent walks of life:
| DO you conceive of God impersona or a
| personal being?
o, What difference do you make between personal
Under what image or images do you think of God ?
make in your daily life?
Recently these questions were submitted to a
class in psychology at Columbia University, and
forty-two of forty-fve students returned answers
OF the fortytwo persons, twenty-five said that they
regarded God an impersonal being, sixteen
garded Him personal. while four expressed
greater less degrees of doubt to His existence
The conceptions which they had of personal
being differed. Some thought that personal being
must have the form of a man; other said that the
! qualities that a man embodied made up personal
being. One man defined personal being as a
force that had in itself the of directing 1t
self. while he considered the impersonal a force
which could not govern its own actions. This man
! said he had personal conception of God.
OF the men who submitted answers. thirteen said
! that the non-existence of God would make diff
ference in their daily lives. All the others thought
/ IT would make difference but how wide the
variance of opinion was as to what the difference
! would be may be seen by the following answer:
cep6 n od as Pan o being p but my cG f
pogsessfon Of ny pysos dc not
! image God at all. If I did not believe in the
conduct.
! This written by a senior in Columbia who is
expecting to study theology, and who has already
! looked into the subject somewhat More sweeping
than the idea of this senior is this expression OF
/ juniors view of the subject:
I cannot conceive of the non-existence of God as
possible. since He is the universe itself and there
imal part
Another opinion much like this is the idea of an
| other senior:
an image Of the world and those thing associated
| mean a stopping of the universe.
! Some of the expressions are decidedly personal,
and show the influence of early training. such as
| the following by junior
| think of God an old man. with white hair
ence would be accompanied BY a terrible feeling OF
| loneliness It would make no difference in my
! course OF conduct.
And the following by member OF the same class
AS a small boy I thought of God as being large
white robe flung over His shoulders nov that am
| older am not sure how think or Coo. feel
that He is not simply a man; but l think of Him
lstence of God makes great difference in my daily
| life I sure that l would not act exactly as
! ferent person from what / am If He did not exist.
This was the opinion of a Japanese who is a
graduate student in the School Of Philosophy:
believe in the personality of God. By the, per
5er and Of G2a S6 S has
relation in our CONSEQUENCES and its intelligent
image in which We can image what sort of God
no hope so no Joy no certainty so full of anxiety
In the darkness without light.
| A Hebrew a Junior In the college. had this to
| say;
| God is an impersonal being who exists in nature,
is nature itself / cannot conceive OF Him as an
to me- as believe in the golden rule and 1T IS
a fear Of hereafter that keeps me from doing evil
| Some men conceived of God simply nature it
self Two typical conceptions Of this kind folowi
| think of God under the image OF the sky.
| The word God l associate with out Of doors-the
| wind the storm and in fact. all nature. With the
cry The things we now enjoy are enjoyed because
We believe IN the greater logs ana to15I 90 here
| would be destroyed.
Some of those who did not conceive of God be-
lieved in the teachings Of some human philosophers
expressing the highest type of idealism IN life
! senior, eighteen years old, wrote as folloWsi
believe mans highest ideal is Aristotelian. to be
true to himself think that d the go9q m ma sc9
atheistic 1t is a higher ideal to be right for the
| sake of right than to do so on account of some
iieve in Immortality without God unless it were Of
! a Fichtean kind, but, as cannot convince myself
of Immortality, 1t would make no difference to me-
Another similar expression is this;
God is decidedly impersonal. I think of God under
no image. I dislike the term, as It has to me an
| orthodox fixed meaning born or q popular con-
ception which has been fostered by creed worship.
| I have built for myself system of morals which
| deal more from experience IN my environment.
| This system is sufficient to keep me respectable
member Of society.
An expression somewhat at variance with the
| Others in that the non-existence OF God would
| make the writer feel instead of less re-
sponsble is this:
| have no image except the word God. IT
| God aid not exist I should feel much greater
| l would have a greater fear of doing wrong.
Two people thought of God under the image of
| Christ One said:
think of God as person under two images:
! First as Christ the perfect man and shepherd
Tie other image is less definite 1t is rather of
being sitting at the top OF an enormous arc ana
looking over the universe.
Another. who shows the influence of his art
studies, says:
image al all If try to form an image, it always
| takes the form of the Christ as portrayed by the
great masters. and immediately becomes picture
| and not an image or God.
A sophomore answered:
think that If 1 did not believe in God I would
probably believe in something or some one else
If a0 we're re NOT 6e aa qe ca Hence as
would still be guided by some belief 1t would not
make any material difference In my actions
People outside Of college varied in their opln-
ions as widely as did the students. One well edu-
Gated woman said that. curious as it might seem,
she had the same conception of God as she did
long white bearded, white haired man, towering
in stature and seated on high throne
The questions have also been submitted to chill
dren. Their ideas have been found to vary, de-
pending entirely on the previous teaching which !!
giants of warriors, of old men, and even of small
children
MONTANA TO HAVE PACKING PLANT.
1,u..o Mont Eeb IN (SneciaD-PIans are on foot