The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1907-05-16
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Subject: The Religious Life.

S:3, Man doth notliye by bread only,
but by everything that proceedeth
out of the mouth of the Lord doth
man live" He said:
The one thing most necessary in
the life of the Individual and of So
ciety Is religion. A man may exist
in the possession of all the temporal
and material aids to comfort and to
the satisfaction of the natural man.
but he never begins really to live
until he Is conscious of the divine
personality and recognizes the valid
ity of the divine control A man may
exist without a thoroughgoing sense
of the reality and the control of "the
Divinity that shapes our ends" but
he only is alive when he gains a con-
seriousness Of God and of his account
ability and Infinite Indebtedness to
Him
In our day too many men are drift
Ing from the religious life, too many
are ondeavoring to live without a
controlling sense of the reality Of
God, too many are endeavoring to
live as though God were non-exist-
ant and as though He were entitled
to no authority over their lives Many
good men, confusing ecclesiasticism
with religion, and uncomprehending
OF the vast difference that there often
is, thoagh to be sure there should not
be, between church membership and
the Christian life have turned and
are turning. altogether too commonly
for the peace of mind OF the church
of the living God, away from organ
lied religious systems primarily and
from any sort of religious observ-
rncs at all. Gazing upon the hope
less insincerity of many Christians
nd the stupid Indifference of many
churches to the needs of society and
the den ands of the times, as con-
lrasted with the beauty and the uni
versal interest Of the Goldman and
His Gospel, upon whose character and
truth the Church is founded. men
have misjudged Christianity by its
misrepTesenting fruitage. and, in
numbers that annoy US, have turned
from religion entirely. Contemplate
ing the sins of individuals in the
church, they have permitted their
eyes to be withholden from the dis
cernment Of the truth that the per-
sonality and the pronunciamentoes of
Jesus Christ as the oracle of God are
the leaven that most surely could
transform their own lives and effect
transformation in the social order
OF which they are part. Many bad
men, with the determination not to
know or to serve God under any con-
ditions, utterly are neglectful of the
claims of the religious life upon
their higher natures. They turn from
religion because they are willfully
desirous to be the followers of the
devil rather than the servants of
God.
Many mon have turned from or
ganiZed religion because of intel
lectual difficulties. Some of these
have gone out of the church to fol-
low the bent of their peculiar and
personal religious conceptions and
convictions some have turned to
philosophy and have deiied man as
sufficient unto himself; still others
have TO their entire satisfaction
eliminated God from the scheme of
things.
In spite of the attitude of host of
men. however, a true religious life is
as necessary to the welfare OF human
ity as are fresh air aud pure food
and the creature comforts that we
desire, need and strive so persistent
ly to secure. No man is well round
ed, no man has realized the possibih-
ties OF manhood; no man is COM
plete; no man is really alive until
he is alive unto God And no man
has sounded the limits of the capaci-
ties OF his own being until he has en-
joyed knowledge of the highest rev.
elation of the character of God that is
in the world to-day
A true religious life ought to ap-
peal to every man first, because it is
reasonable; secondly. because it is
spiritually real; thirdly, because 1t is
ethically influential
The true religious life is reason
able. 1t does no damage to our good
sense, and il commends itself to our
judgment. 1t does not shock our
ideas of the fitness of things. 1t sat
isles our intellects. Man, in the wis
dom of God, is an intelligent being;
he possesses mental qualities that are
fundamental in his makeup. Men
must be convinced of the reasonable
ness of things before they can have
any lasting hold upon them. That
which is Intellectually unsatisfying
or that will not stand the tests ap-
piled by the minds OF men, they re-
ject. Man does nor demand that
he shall be able to exhaust
every subject which comes under the
province OF his intellect, but he does
demand that. whether or no he is
able to explain all the things in
which. as a rational being, he holds
an interest. he shall at least be able
to discern in them the evidences of
reasonableness Religion appeals to
the mind of man. Not because he is
able to sound all the depths of relig-
ious philosophy or of religious truth
or to explain all the manifold won
ders OF religious experience, but be-
cause there is in religion that which
is Intellectually reasonable and salts
Tying. No religious system that is
worthy OF attention holds the respect
of humanity for long unless It be first
of all OF no damage to our sense OF
the fitness Of things. The true relig.
ious life commends itself to our best
judgment and in the recognition oil
its imperatives we find rest and Joy
The true religious life is transcend
antly and delightfully."- real. II Is no
susceptible, perhaps, TO arithmetica
or geometrlcal demonstration. WI
are not able to prove 1t in its specu
latiy0 and abstract phases by the ter
mino,ogy or the experiences OF tn
senses altogether, but It Is none tn
lexs real. Laying hold as it doe
upon the divine, It is simply inexpllc
able in all It's outreachings through
the medium OF finite speech AS trui
Il Is chat tongue cannot tell of tn
eIorions realities OF the spiritual ~
as Il Is that the tongue has not We