The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1907-03-29

The foundation of religion is in hu
man experience. To the conscious
ness of the human spirit, religion
makes her final appeal; men hold VI
the church to us and ask us to taxi
the truth on the authority of th'
church. While errors and sins have
darkened the history of the church
It is yet true that in the darkest per
iod Of her history she was the hope
of the world But the only way truth
ever entered the church was
through the human spirit. When
experimental religion dies out of a
church that church becomes infidel
as Henry Drummond has said.
Men hold up the Bible to US and
call upon us to accept the truth in the
form of book. There is no book like
the Bible 1t holds its place not on
any theory Of inspiration, but as the
sun shines in the heavens.
The sun shines independent Of any
astronomy and all the astronomers.
The Bible speaks to the heart of man.
But the Bible came out of human ex-
perience. The truths that glow in its
pages first dewitt and burned in the
souls of men, Men had religion before
a line of the Bible was written. God
put the truth into the souls Of good
men before men wrote it down inl
books we call the Bible. The human
spirit of Jesus communed with the
God who dwelt In Him and thus OBJ
tanned the truth He taught.
Are we to believe that God spoke
to Moses, to Isaiah, to Paul, and that
he will refuse to speak to us? Would
a kind and loving father talk
freely with the bright and
good and attractive children
and never say a word to the child
who is ignorant and stupid and way
ward? That man is ignorant and
simple would appeal to the heart of
God were it not that no appeal is need
ed.
Man believes in the existence of a
God But he is not left, to be sus-
tanned and cheered in life and death
with this belief alone. The apostle
declared, II know Him whom have
believed" And through this knowl
edge the character of God had been re-
vealed to him, and because of this
personal knowledge of the character
Of God, he was enabled to write, And
| am persuaded that he is able to keep
that which have committed unto /
Him against that day" I
This knowledge may be ours. The =,
little child in the family is weak and I
dependent, but he knows or may come {
o know his father. \
Again, man knows he is endowed G
With freedom. He can raise his hand /
,r let it fall. He can strike down his y
ellowman or refrain from striking S
And yet man finds himself the slave 2
# evil habits A bad act repeated re-, a
ults in a bad habit, which the soul S
years like fetter on a chain. But h
While Jesus taught that He who COM Ii
niteth sin is the bond-slave Of sin" z
lie also declared IF the Son make Il
on free, We shall be free indeed" n
fan may not only be free, but he may e
ejoice in freedom. His conscious Il
ess may bear joyful and triumphant it
fitness to the fact that he has been O.
edeemed from bondage. W
Man believes in immortality. NJ
A solemn mourner of the soul al
Tells of a life to be, te
S travellers hear the pillows roll te
Before they reach the sea-" W
Is man to wither like the grass, and be-
,rish like the beast?
Whence this fond desire, this pleas it
ing hope, tn
his longing after immortality" XII
But the apostle had more than this ju
sustain him. To the human spirit -
thing can be more convincing than ns
e voice OF its own consciousness. 8
lul knew God and the assurance OF 81
mortality was given to him by an 8
ward witness. He knew he would B
e forever. There is for the soul OF 81
good man a spiritual form which can 8
yer perish. Paul's consciousness q
sured him that II the tent Of the q
rthly body be taken down, there is 81
. the Christian, "A building OF God, 81
house not made with hands, eternal q
the heavens" There is height In ~
} divine life TO which II man at