Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-06-23
RELIGION AND REVELATION.

marks of the Descret News iu references
10 his sermon denying the authenticity
of the Bible as containing revelations
from God. and promugatIng the uouoh
thar all religion originated ln tie nina
Of man. ln his letter TO the Doseret
News he complacently announces bis
view Of religion as "rtionuisiic ana
common sense" and thus by Inference
contrasts the opposite doctrine as IT.
rational and contrary 90 common sense.
That may be an illustration ~ what
ne calls the undivided middle" in for
mai logic, but win not strike the ave-
erage reader as either excessively mod
est or far removed from the kind u
sweeping assertion that De essays 20
decry.
Az 10 the terrible charge that Or. Ed
dy fires at MS. namely that 10 om
reasoning We commit fallacy against
the undivided middle we are In doubt.
Il is not clear whether be adjudges us
guilty OF sophism or paralogism. His
use " the term undivided middle Is
somewhat confusing. Although We have
distinct recollection Of dissertations
on different kinds ~ fallacies. slrug-
gled with in schoolboy days as given Ne
Archbishop whatelys excellent trea-
tise on logic We are unable 10 place the
fallacy against the undivided mid
die" even n It be as common as we
are told It H. We may know something
about "petltio princIph,' "argumenum
ad hominem. "fallacyof equlyocation,"
"of figure Of speech ~ "homonymy'
the "fallacy Of no middle" Of unreal
middle" and even Of the "falhcy %
undistrlbuted middle" and others II,
seems 10 us that our critic, in his ar
gumont has committed" the error
known as "fallacy Of an Illicit process ~
When he argues zone may say Of a
man who docs something apparently
lacking judgment, that he Is either a
fool or a knaye. and we would hardly
ever be right. lie may have been part
iy foolish and partly knayish, or no
may have been either foolish or knav.
ish In one instance yet would not be
either a fool or a knaye in toto" no
certainly introduces IN the conclusion
an addition. "ln toto" which gives 10
the term "knave or fool" used In the
premises au entirely different "dlsth-
button" This IS also a very common
error
But. technicalltics aside. when a man
says he has seen God, be either speaks
the truth. or he does not speak tho
truth. II Moses claimed that God had
spoken TO him. that claim is either true
or false. There IL no third alternative.
n Mr. Eddy disbelieves IN the eY-
isleucc Of Moses. or looks upon him
as a "nebulous hero" az more q myth
than a man." he merely shifts the
ground of the argument as TO tho
truth or falslty OF tho statements about
Moses and the tables ~ stone The in-
dividual who nrst told the story con-
corning the celebrated Hebrew law
giyer either lied or told the truth.
There s. no room IN the historical ac-
count Of this matter Tor any middle
position. either undivided" indivisihle
or cxcusable. Just The same as 70
ihe different prophets who figure en-
Bible annals who claimed 20 have held
personal converse with God or with
angels Either they told the truth. or
they WIRE frauds And II they said
nothing AS 10 these occurrences, then
the alleged historians who told the
tales attributed to them we're "charla-
tans knavos and fTauds." or they mar
rated actual facts n Joseph Smith,
the prophet NJ the nineteenth century
ga not receive the metallic plates
which h. claimed Co have and from
which he translated the Book Of Nor.
mon, engaging an the work day by dag
Cor a long period, De IS 10 be- cIaset
IN the same category and there is nd
plcao On "logic" or in common sense
for any other rational view n the mat,
Ter.
Mr Eddy nUaf- of revelation al
Interference of the natural order
How does he knoN that revelation
from God go chosen men ls not e.
"the natural orlort" May g. not b.
Just a. natural a process as the trans
mission of intelligence By means %
wireless teiCgaphy 90 say nothing
81 Ordinary Geographic and tolephonI
communication These 90 gn uulD
formed mind might De- cits.ed as On
references With me natural order
Cmyiiauon. So called. o. The uatura
order ln material Things on THIS globt
A person who knew nothing abou
aerial navigation micht as REASONABLE
say that O. balloon ascension was an iu
reference with thc natural order. S
with seeiuc water run up hil %
force dirccuug IL being unseen 0r ODD
understood. 10 there isa personal GO
ard divine revelation is pred.cated o
Ills existence. why would Sc Do ul
natural Tor Deity to reveal Himsa
or some great truths io humauitv9
II requires prepared and sensitive Or
strumonts 90 receive q message b
means Of electricity and suhsanc.
or contriyauces not go c1udiu0ne
would not respond to Che electric cui
rent why should 90 be- considered a
Interference with the natural ord,
II chosen human Instruments Cite
Tor the purpose. receive divine con
nunicaions while ordinary mor;a
might not be ~ impressed and ei
hghtened7