The Elbert County tribune., 1908-02-06

spinal cord. or medulla oblongata, or
the solar plexus; the intuition, a soul
faculty.
God breathed into his nostrils IMAM
the breath of life and he became a
living SOUL Whether you accept this
statement or not, the fact remains
that man is either an evolved brute
or an involuted spirit.
The New Thought people are of the
opinion that the soul is located in the
solar plexus. / fear they are very apt
to judge from physical symptoms.
and. thereby. get the solar plexus and
pneumogastric nerve slightly mixed.
If the soul has a local habitation-
fixed habitation-in the human
body. would prefer giving Ii a room
righer up than the so-called abdom-
inal brain.
AS God cannot be located in any
particular place in the universe, but is
omnipresent, so the soul of man "a
spark of the Divine) is not located in
any particular part of the body. but
permeates the entire being.
Is God a personality? l think so.
But you should not confound the
Our friends know us individually but
few. If any. know us personally. We
may sense ones personality (by the
sixth sense). but 1t cannot be cog
inzed by the ordinary senses. Person
ality is felt; individuality is seen. We
may feel Gods presence. we cannot
see it. We speak of ones strong
personality" also. of having "a per-
sonal acquaintance etc. These
terms signify much more than "indi-
vlduality' and individual acquaint-
ance."
Is man made In Gods image? That
depends upon your view point. An
thropologically? No. Psychological
ly? Yes.
God is mans inspiration. Man is
Gods expression. AS the soul is i'm
manent Qndwelling) in the body but
does not depend upon the body for its
existence; in like manner God is i'm
manent in the universe. but does not
depend upon the universe for his ex-
istence. The universe is not God
| Chat is Pantheism) but part of, or
an expression of God. We are not
God THAT is new thought) but part
of God. Therefore, in the words of
the late Dr. Hudson: THE Deity is a
divine immanence without pantheism,
and a personality without anthro-
pomorphism.'
AS regards the tendency to substi-
tute nature for God. would say, in
stead, that God works through nature,
and nature is the spirit Of God at
| work.
VIII not the study of psychology In
terfere with ones religious beliefs?
That depends. As for myself l can
truly say that nothing else has ever
given me so true an insight into the
character and teachings of Christ, 1. e..
as he taught them and as he lived
them; but we must recognize the fact
that there Is wide difference in
terminology. Theology is not neces-
sarily Christology, nor is churchianity
necessarily Christianity.
When Nathaniel asked: Can any
good come out of liazareth?" he little
thought that from that hamlet should
come one whose teachings would In
huence the minds of men for all time,
and whose code of ethics would abide
with man and become the moving pow
n
er of civilization.
l am frank to admit that the study
of psychology has caused me to
change some of my earlier religious
beliefs, but at the same time 1t has
increased my religious faith IN the
Fatherhood of God and the brother
hood of man.
"a mans belief" said the late
John Fiske, is a part of the man.
Take it away by force and he will
bleed to death; but If the time comes
that he no longer needs 1t, he will
either slough 1t, or convert 1t into
something more useful"
What we really need Is more ration
al thinking. Rational thinking. how
ever has different effect upon diff
ferent temperaments. Rational think
ing may lead to belief that we are
developing into an amalgamation of
forces that will be called God; or that
we are atoms of a central force called
God, from which we have emanated,
and to which we shall return: or that
there is no force that can properly be
called God.
1t is, however, of the first impor-
tance that rational thinking should
lead to rational living-lead to the
moral and intellectual heights where
the heart of kindness and the mind
OF reason rule the conduct Ration
alism is undogmatic and regards all
religious questions as open.
Not until the brain of mankind has
been cleared of the theological weeds
and tangled undergrowths can the
higher ideals-natural happiness and
universal loye-be realized.
Copyright. by Joseph B. Bowles)
|.