The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-02-03

DIR. TALMAGE'S SERMON
.G'C"0scs0.O.0s0"o
BY THE REV. FRANK DE WITT TALMAGE, D. o.

7 Is ANGELES. Cal. January 27.-In
this sermon the preacher shows Us
- how greatly it would conduce to the
benefit of the world at large and to human
happiness here and hereafter if men
would cease to strive and quarrel over
Biblical interpreta atoms and hair-breadth
differences in ereeds and ceremonies ana
with simple Christian faith unite In ira
ternal efforts for the common good The
text is Titus iii, 3, But avoid foolish
questions"
Have you a fathom line? Then drop 1t
into the seas. Have you telescope :
Then cleanse its lens and focus 1t upon
the stars. Have you a erowbar? Tnelt
with it pry open the Theoretically sealed
doors of the geological libraries ana
finger the leaves of rock and reau the
genealogical histories of the species
Have you microscope? Then with the
bact eriologists roam through the corrl-
doris of the infiniteslmal and lind an
aquarium in a drop of water and eN-
quisite beauty in the end of fly IS WING
God would not have placed the wohuei b
of the heavens above us and the Won
ders of the deep beneath us ana the
wonders of the land about us If he mad
not meant us to explore them and to try
to make the works of his fingers part OF
our lives.
You never yet met an intelligent man
or woman who was not continually ASH
ing questions and striving to understand
the unknown. The indispostion TO lhNss-
tigate and the unwillngness to attempt
the solution Of the problems OF lie
about us are always the signs OF an m
tellectual weaklng. In the spiritual ne
as well as in the political and the me-
chanical and the philosophical World the
one word which should be most oltS Gu
spoken by the human lips is w ny
We should be continually asking, w ny
this?' and why that?'' and why tue
other thing?" The human mind ana so'il
cannot mark time. The mind must ellhct
broaden out or shrivel up The mterro-
CATION point is a golden key with Whlch
we should Il to unlock the manliold my >
teries of the universe.
But there is an intelligent way OF
pushing that word "Why?" and very
foolish way There is way of asking
"Why?" which proves to the world mat
you are sincerely DESTROYS to OBTAIN
knowledge Then there is way OF ASK
ing ..Why?" which proves to the world
that you do not wish to learn but arc
moved by curiosity only or by desire
to unsettle fundamental questions. Ihere
never was a foreigner who came to Amer
lea who asked more questions that Ii
Hung Chang. But the questions which
he asked were generally frivolous ana 10
Gus ideas mpertnent He would ask
aged maiden ladies why they never mar
ried and how old they were He would
ask people why they wore false teeth.
He would ask this question and that and
the other question until he made every
one around him uncomfortable Thus
some people push that word "Why?' in
a most ridiculous way, BY the Socratic
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
transeendental curiosity.
St. Paurs Advice.
Paul In his epistle to young Titus adj
vises him to beware of such frivolous
curiosity. When he tells him to avoid
foolish questions he is not cireumscribing
the intellect of this young man by telling
MIN not to think and not to investigate.
lie is laying down the broad principle
which you and I would do well to heed
when he said, avoid foolish questions
and geneaologles and contentious and
strivings about the law, for they are UNI
profitable and vain" In other words,
avoid those foolish questions and conten-
tons which have nothing to do with
pressing home the great purposes of the
gospel Live only for those divine truths
and self evident facts which will draw us
nearer and nearer to the cross of Jesus
Christ The poet expressed my inter-
probation of PaIrs meaning when he
wrote:
know why
1t somehow happens in their way to lie.
While others read 1t with uncommon
care,
But all to find some contradictions there
Some read to bring themselves into reputc
BY showing others how they can dispute,
While others read because their neigh
bors do,
To sec how long twill take to read 1t
through.
Some read to prove a preadopted creed.
Thus understand but little whst they
read.
And every passage of the book they bend
To make II suit that all important end
Some people read, as I have often
thought
To teach the book instead OF being
taught.
Paul is saving Titus my son. study
the spirit of the Scripture instead OF
the letter of the law" We should not
be among those Bible students who are
spiritually nearsfghted and hold their
eyes so close to the sacred pages that
they can only see a sentence or a word
at time and they do not realize that
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
writers. That would be a very made
duate dissertation of the beauties of
Shadyside. which limited to an
architects specification of the details
of the home of the father of American
letters It might be absolutely correct
and its measurements unimpeachable