Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1907-01-13

religion l. supertiuity.
 The Weakness of Atheism and Ethical Culture
 l Now il there is anv validity in }he attempt We made to prove tn tt
 Religion has even been funda-
 mental necessity for human nature,
 then evidently the theory of the
 atheist and the other types of this
 sfolp are contrary to the facts of
 hho"ledSe. How it happens that
 they are devoid of this religious
 sentiment when ii has been the
 universal possession of men in al ages and ellmes. may, or may not
 lend itself to explanation. The
 hol-fellS Ous man may be abnormal
 in this respect, a freak of nature.
 as it Were, in that the religious san-
 timent in him is either entirely
 missing or else stnnted and unde-
 veloped. just as occasionally a hn- 1 man being is found devoid of a cer-
 tain limb or feature or dWarfed 1 ln the development of the same.
 To that extent the atheist and
 ethical culturist and their com 1 panlons in principle are defective in nature. There are human beings 1 that are color blind. There are f,, l and there are still others that have ] no eye for the beautiful As these latter are defective in their phys.- l cal, or esthetic sense so are there others unendowed with a religious sense. The first violin is missing Ill their symphony of existence. Because of some defect in their fun ] aamental. perceptions, they cannot distinguish the call of God.
 The philosophy of the non-religious group is not only contrary to normal
 facts of former and contemporary human nature, but is furthermore in- adequate, insufficient to explain all the problems of existence. Science ahd reason cannot yet and perhaps never will be able to explain satisfac torlly the sub-conscious life, the realm Of dreams and hopes; the spiritual cravings; the working of the emotions R-the compelling power of fame, for instance, than which there is nothing more real on earth, It is inconceiv- able that the intellect of man will ever discover the true secrets of birth and death. The leading scientists of he day, having calmed themselves rom the eXhiliration and overconfi- lence that took possession of them fty years ago when the bold and ir- esistible theory of evolution was ad- anced by science, now frankly sknowledge that science, the sum to- l of human knowledge, is incom- tent in the territory where facts d objects play but a secondary part, chief material being states of ] nd, munitions of the heart. and 5 wings of the soul There are 5 re things in heaven and earth, Ho- : 10, than are dreamt of in our phil l phy.'
 > nd there is still another criticism r make against the non-religlous cs. A code of morals or a system l o'hilosophy, without any religion aae crown and culmination there
 os too cold, too frigidly cold. for
 lns use. If man is to be good be-
 ca it pays to be good; if he is to be '.
 rla0us because such conduct serves
 oehe welfare of the greatest num- T
 oeand these in substance are the
 us arguments advanced by ethi-
 cls-his rule of life is at best a
 cohalculating plan, devoid of emo- ! tlond fire. Morality and religion afeterent not only in the fact that I
 theter reckons with a Divine Pow S
 CT the former does not, but also '
 Tn fact that the latter is distin- I = suis,by enthusiasm as over against (
 the mer. So the English writer r
 and nker, Matthew Arnold, point t 6 cd dn his book, "Literature and t c Dog1 some twenty-five years ago. ( 2 Ihlstinction has found favor with Il i. the thinkers, among them Will c
 liam les, who says on this subject: Nor pure and simple accepts the r C law te whole which it finds reign c c lng' ST as to acknowledge and obey n
 II, buAmay obey it with the heay- g
 lest aoldest heart and never cease {,
 10 feeas a yoke. But for religion |
 ln ltsng and fully developed man. ?
 lfesta. the service of the high d
 est neis felt as yoke Dull sub Ii
 mlssio left far behind, and mood
 Is s.1