Milford chronicle., 1907-08-02

of man, if you believe that man is i'm.
mortal, then it is not absurd for US to
suppose that God would create this
beautiful world to fit man for his
celestial residence. Will you today
argue against the immortality of the
r~uI9
Another objeetor.
"Well," says another man, Il am not
an atheist I believe in God. l also
believe in the immortality of the soul
But cannot believe in the incarnation
of God in the person of Jesus Christ.
I cannot believe in the conception of
Jesus or that Christ could be born of
the Virgin Mary and of the Holy
Spirit Neither do I believe that Jesus
Christ was resurrected after his cruel
fixion. I am willing to say with Renan
that he was the best man that ever
lived. But I am not willing to say
Christ was divine and the Son Of God
unless at the same time you grant that
we are divine" Is that your position?
Well, my brother. it seems to me to be
the most illogical position, and for two
reasons.
Reason the first: You say Christ is
the best man that ever lived. You say
that the words which he spake offer
the best system of morals. But, tell
me. why do you accept certain state
ments which Christ made and reject
the rest? How can Jesus be a good
man and yet be a liar and a falsifer?
How can he be a good man and yet be
a hypOcrite? Jesus Christ is either di-
vine and miracle worker and the Son
Of God or else he is the most blatant
pretender that ever lived.
SuppOsing some young American |
should leave the mountains Of South |
Carolina and cross the seas and go to |
Paris and there lay claim to an estate |
which Michel Ney possessed when he /
died; supposing that this young man
should claim, as some do claim, that
Michel Ney was not shot after the de.
feat of Napoleon at Waterloo by the
order Of the legislature of France. but
hat he escaped to America and lived
lere; then if, further, this young man
claimed that NJ. Ney married while in
America and that he, the young man.
vas the direct descendant of Michel
Ney's oldest son and, continuing his
'lea, he says, Because l am that de-
cendant I claim that l am the right
ul heir to the title Of Prince of Mosk-
a, which once belonged to Michel
'ey;' then suppOsing you go to the
fountains of South Carolina and prove
hat this young man was the descend
Mt of Irish peasants, what would
on think? What would France think?
10 matter what that young man might
aim to be, the people would stigma
re this false pretender for the estate
Michel Ney as a liar and a fraud.
ow, my friend, by the same law Of
sasoning it is absolutely illogical to
aim that Christ is a good man and
ct not divine. Either Christ is all
lat he claims or else he is a pretender
ld a fraud. It is logical to reject
hrist as a deceiver, or it is logical to !
,cept him as the Son of God, but it is
1t logical to regard him as a good !,
an and yet not divine.
Not Logical.
There is another reason why l take 9
.ceptiOn to your position that you -
Ill not accept Christ as divine. You ~
Y you are deist. You claim that e
ere are immortality and eternal COM
with God. Now, If God
going to fit you for eternal compan- Il
lship with him, what is more ra- II
nal than to suppose that the Heaven
Father would give you a divine ex-
lple by which you can understand S
love and follow after his teachings ~
n other words, that God would give
u a divine love in human form and
i that divine love Jesus Christ; as 6
Bible says, Leaving you an ex- II
lple by which you can understand
a human parent you can readily "a
this law. q
Iere, for instance, one Of my little ~
ldren comes to me and says, Papa,
at do the words United States gov
lment mean? Now, l do not 90 *
my library and take down James
7ce's "The American Common
llth," and say, 'Here, my boy,
d that" Nor I do not go and find *
him a constitution Of the United ~.
tes and say, "Here, child, read
t." Why, I might as well hand my S'
e boy a book printed in Hebrew Rt
say, "Read that" The boys mind ~
My the mind of a child. What do ~
Why, take that boy upon my AS
and begin to talk to him on his sS&
ltal level. In the language Of a ~
d I explain to him what the gov N)
ment Of the home means. Then I ~
him on in the language Of the 3{
d and show him how people have ~
ded themselves together in a city A)
ernment, so that policemen will AZ
rd us, and letter carriers will bring %
mail, and street inspectors will ~
, our streets clean, and water will u
Drought to our homes. Then in the S9
'uage Of the child show him how 8f
aren't cities unffa in fha saua NAV ~ !