The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1908-04-27
a.

|
To the Edtor-The writer has pes
rused with much interest and adnIra-.
| ton the essays contributed by Rev An
| dreas Bard to one of Walla Walla's
daily papers. each Saturday, covering
| the past two or three months. These
| ESSAYS bear witness to the erudltlOn
and literary genius of their gifted au-
thor. They are the eloquent outpourlngs
of a broad minded, logical man, who
passes by the citadel of Faith to bow
before the shrine of Reason. Yet the
unresisting sweep of ratiOnallsm that
prevails throughout these iconoclastic
utterances fails to hide the deep re-
IieiOus subcurrent that discovers Itself
! in nearly every paragraph. In employ
ing the word religious 7 have no ref
erence to creed, sect or church. True
religion exhibits itself in benevolence,
kindness, sympathy and a reverence
for the creative principle. 1t is not
necessary TO be 4 Jew, Christian, Mo-
hammedan or Buddhist in order to be
religious.
Excepting in his essay of April IL,
Rev. Bard writes himself down an
Agnostjc pure and simple. All his bril-
liant scintiIlations. figures OF Speech
epigramatic gems. while embracing
lofty conceptions of Deity, life and its
purposes; while music to the pOeti,
ear and meat and bread to the rational
man, are yet but small comfort to the
| soul hungering for spiritual food; to
| the bereaved heart sitting at the door
of the sepulcher; to the mariner on
life's ocean. buffeted by wave and tenn
| pest, whose weary eye is ever search
| ing the blackened heavens for a star,
or the watery horizon for beacon to
mark his course.
With courage but rarely seen in
/ ministerial knight, Mr.. Bard has bonn
harded many Of the citadels of myth
| and dogma and left yawning breaches
! in their ivy-covered battlements. For
such inestimable service he merits the
gratitude of all searchers for truth. Yet
soil unseeded can bring forth no har-
vest When the huSbandman has
cleared the land of useless vegetation
his work is but half accomplished.
! Lett to itself the earth will soon bring
forth another crop of error and super
stition. Whoever would lead mankind
to higher levels must minister TO his
spiritual needs
! Humanity clogs on the vague prom
Uses of ancient myths. Unfounded faith
and dogma are but husks. at their pest.
| Twentieth century civilization de-
mands a positive answer to the quCs-
ton of al the ages-"If man die shall
he live again." The spiritual cravings
of the present demand as Il foundation
for faith. knowledge bottomed on facts.
That Rev. Bard is in harmony with
this view was made manifest in his
contribution of April II. wherein ne
strikes n note that must awaken an
echo in every soul searching for spirit
ual light He concludes there is but one
way to gain a knowledge of the other
side" of life and that is through
scientific demonstration. And he fur
Their recognizes the fact, in the article
! n question that such demonstration IS
actually following present-day scien-
tific investigation.
Rev. Bard has arrived at the newt
able goal reached by all religious. in
quiring. logical souls who divest them
selves of prejudice and superstition in
their search for spiritual truth The
Only ones who can furnish US with re-
liable Information regarding the re-
ality and peculiarities of the spirit
spheres are those Who having raised
through the portal of death and eX-
plored the promised land return laden
with tn golden fruitage thereof to as
sure purblind humanity of its actually.
Discarnate human beings-spirits- fur
nlsh US with positive evidence of the
continuity of life This has nver haan
the case. Throughout all the ages OF
man, hewlett the communicating intel
hSences have generally been regarded
through the smoked glass of supersti-
tion and classed among the supernat-
u:al.
Jesus appeared to his disciples as a
y. demonstration of the continuity of life,