Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1907-01-31
Caln,age
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talnaae, d. d.

happiness here and hereafter If men
would cease to strive and quarrel over
Biblical interpretations and hair
breadth differences in creeds and cere-
monies and with simple Christian faith
unite in fraternal efforts for the com
mon good. The text ia Titus iii, 8,
"But avoid foolish questions"
Have you fathom lneI Then drop
II into the seas. Have you telescope?
Then cleanse its lens and focus it
upon the stars. Have you q crowbar?
Then with It pry open the Theoretically
sealed doors of the geological libraries
and finger the leaves of rock and read
cies. Have You microscope? Then
with the psychologists roam through
the corridors OF the inllnitesimal and
find an aquarium in drop of water
and exquisite beauty in the end of a
fy's wing God would not have placed
and the wonders of the deep beneath
us and the wonders of the land about
us if he had not meant MS to explore
them and to try to make the works of
his fingers part Of our lives.
You never vet met an intelligent
man or woman who was not continual
~ asking questions and striving TO I'M
derstand the unknown. The indisposi-
ton to investigate and the unwilling
ness to attempt the solution of the
problems of life about us are always
the signs /of an intellectual weakling.
In the spiritual life, as we'll as in the
political and the mechanical and the
philosophica world, the one word
which should be most often spoken by
the human lips Is "Why?" We should
he continually asking why this?" and
"Why that" and "Why the other
thincY" The human mind and soul
cannot mark time. The mind must
either broaden out or shrivel mp. The
Interrogation point is Il golden key
with which we should try to unlock
| the manifold mysteries OF the ami
verse.
But there is IN intelligent way Of
pushing that word why" and n very
| foolish way. There is q way of asking
| "Why?" which proves to ;he world that
you are sincerely DESTROYS 10 obtain
! knowledge Then there Is a way Of
asking why" which proves to the
world that YOU do not wish to learn.
but arc moved by curiosity only or by
n desire to unsettle fundamental ques-
tons. There never was a foreigner
who came to America who asked more
| questions than Ii Hung Chang. But
| the questions which he asked were gen
orally frivolous and to our ideas imper-
| tinent. He would ask aged maiden
| ladies why they never married and
how old they were. lie would ask PEG
| pie Why they wore false teeth. He
would ask this quest ton and that and
the other question until he made every
one around him uncomfortable. Thus
some people push that word "Why?' in
! most ridiculous way. BY the So
! cratic method they try to argue God
and Christ and the Bible out Of the
minds and hearts of their friends.
| With the interrogation point they
would advertise to the world their
! transcendental reasoning powers when
they are only advertising their trans
cendental curiosity.
| ST. Pau's Advice.
Paul In his epistle to young Titus
advises him to beware of such frivo-
lous curiosity. When he tells him to
! avoid foolish questions he is not cir
cumscribing the intellect of this young
man by telling him not to think and
not to investigate. He Is laying down
would do well to heed when he said
avoid foolish questions and genealo-
giles and contentious and strivngs
about the law, for they are unprotita-
| BILE and vain" In other words, avoid
those foolish questions and contentious
home the great purposes of the gospel
Live only for those divine truths and
self evident facts which will draw us
nearer and nearer 10 the cross of Jesus
Christ. The poet expressed my inter
probation of Paul's meaning when he
wrote;
Some read the blessed book-they dom
know why
1t somehow happens in their way to lie.
| While others read It with uncommon
care,
| But all to ind some contradictions there.
Some read to bring themselves into reput,
BY showing others how they can dispute
While others read because their neigh
bors do.
To sec how long twill take to read Il
through.
Some read to prove preadopted creed,
Thus understand but little what the,
read,
And every passage of the book they bend
To make it suit that all important end.
Some people read. as l have OTTER
thought,
To teach the book instead Of beini
taught.
Paul is saying. Titus, my son, study
the spirit of the Scripture instead OF
the letter of the law We should moi
be among those Bible students who are
spiritually nearsighted and hold then
eyes so close to the sacred pages thai
they tan only see sentence or n wore
at a time, and they do not realize thai
some of the passages of Scripture had
special and exclusive reference to the
times in which they were written and
to the geographical conditions OF the
writer's That would be very made
quate description of the beauties o.
Shadyside. which was limited to ar