Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1907-08-02


and not q delst believe life always
has existed and always will exist and
God has nothing TO do with it,
But I do not see how you have an.
swered my question. You may push
the beginning OF creation back ten
thousand million years, but you must
still have some intelligent Being to
create the first germ from which all
others have been developed, and you
must also have Creator who has
made the natural laws by which these
various forms of life have been pro-
duced. What difference does it make
whether st. Peters cathedral at Rome
had TO have four generations for
building? Some one first had to con-
ceiTG how its dome was to be erected
Believe In your evolutionist's theory
If you Will, but still the fact remains
tnat the only way to produce this
world is 10 have one master mind gov
erning all. rs 1t more unphilosophical
TO believe In personal God omnipo-
tent" wrote Benjamin Disraeli, than
In natural forces unconscious and r.
resistible?" Is II unphilosophical to
combine power with intelligence
Goethe, Spinozist who did not believe
In Spinoza, said that he could bring his
mind to the conception that In the CEN
ter OF space we might meet with n
monad of pure intelligence. What may
be the center OF space leave to the
Imagination of the author of Faust"
but a monad of pure intelligence-is
that more philosophical than the truth
that Col nlnAn In 1t
age? Where did the great cosmos
come from, anyway, unless there was
master mind producing all these har-
monies Of natures laws?
A Mighty Army.
When / look upon the world II ND
pears TO me like n mighty army upon
the march. Where are you going, sol
diersT' cry. They shake their heads.
They do not know. They answer, "The
general knows: we do not" Then as l
follow those men find they have great
commissary trains near by filed with
food. Then 1 find the surgeons there,
and the scouts there, and the nipple
ments of war there. Then l find all
this vast host wheeling and marching
and halting and fighting and retreat
Ing because they are under the COM
nand of one mind. Thus with natures
laws. l find the grass growing. the
rain falling, life reproducing life.
find all these forces not in conflict but
In harmony. Who created these forces?
Who rules them today? Call IL q mo-
mad IL YOU please. l call that individual
power God. You cannot if you would,
unless you eschew your common sense.
deny being deist Will you plead to-
day for the Baal OF atheism?
well, answers another man. 81 am
not an atheist. am deist, but to be-
lieve in an Overruling Providence does
not necessarily mean that one believes
In personal God who cares for us.
believe in God, but also believe that
L am mortal and when l die that is
the end OF me. Why should God care
for me any more than should care for
n little ant In the country road or for a
mosquito that alights upon my cheek?
Why should l be conceited enough TO
think that God would let me live for
ever and ever? / am no more impor-
tant I'm Gods sight that fiy's life is
important in my sight" You say you
are deist and yet do not believe in
the Immortality OF the soul. Then. my
brother, as an intelligent being. how
can you account for the purpose of the
creation at all: III God is n wise being
and an intelligent being, he certainly
created this world for something. Now.
Tor what did he create the world?
Everything Has Purpose.
Everything has to be done with "a
tional purpose or else the creation Is
not rational. Supposing you are
wealthy landowner and some day YOU
decide TO build magnificent mansion
about mile from your own palace.
You begin to erect that palace of pur-
est marble and hang fits windows with
the choicest OF tapestries and cover its
floors with the richest of Damascus
rugs. Then You will fill its halls with
beautiful statuary and cover it's walls
with the most exquisite OF pictures.
Then III next year should enter this
magnificent palace and find IL unten-
anted, save by a few cats and dogs
and beetles and bugs and flies and
frogs, should | not reasonably say to
you: WHAT Did you not build this
palace for any other purpose than to
house few animals and bugs?" And
you should answer: "Yes. I am a hu-
manitarian. want to let these ami
mails and crawling creatures have lust
as good house as I live In" What
do you suppose would think of you?
/ would say you are ont OF your mind.
because you do something with no ra-
aonal purpose. Did God, the Creator.
make this world for no other pur-
pose than to house bugs and beetles
and animals. OF which man is one? or
course II you grant that man is immor-
tai and that this earth is preparatory
place where man Is to be fitted for d.
vine companionship with God forever
then 1 can see rational purpose for
the creation. Otherwise there is no
rational explanation why this beautiful
world was formed.
Then alongside OF this idea / want
you TO place the fact that there is an
Innate universal idea In every mans
life that he is immortal. Man looks
upon the dog and says, THAT dog may
Ole, but not man." He looks upon the
bird flying through the heavens and
says, THAT bird may die, but not
man." He looks upon the turtle. the
longest lived creature upon the face of
the earth, and says, THAT hard shelled
creature may die, but not man." And
wherever you go, no matter where It
may be, the white or the yellow or
the black or brown skinned men all
cry, Il shall live; shall live" II Won
are willing to believe the innate beliefs
or man, If you believe that man 10 i'm