Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-01
MANY ENTRANCES TO HEAVEN, SAYS MINISTER.

Anu they all come in. On the east
three gates; on the west three gates; on
the north three gates. and on the south
three gates; gates that are always open,
never closed. that any man, woman or
Child that wishes to enter into the city
OF perfected human nature may do 1T on
that side of his nature which lies most
open.
See, in the first place. what a refresh
ing sense of variety this gives to the re-
iisious life For we are always in danger
of supposing that in order to become re-
lisious, one must somehow be nodded
into a certain fashion; that his tempera-
ment must be remade; that his conStitu-
ton must be radically changed. SO that
TO be converted means almost to be per-
verified. Think Of this refreshing va
riety of men and women who approach
the religious life from these four avenues.
coming in through these four gates, no
one calling the other better, or thinking
of another as less worthy, but all busy
and striving to come in! Think what a
new appreciation of human nature 1t gives
to us, when we discover that the same
Luther who nails his thesis to the church
door, as II that were the north gate he
would batter down. how after he has
done it, out of the same hand which
held the hammer.he takes bread crumbs
from his table to feed the birds from
his window There is his south gate.
Think of a man like Thomas Carlyle who
thunders and surses like great intel
lectual storm in his French Revolution.
Yet turn to his Natural Supernatural
ism in his 'Sartor Resartus' and hear him
sing in the choir, one would not think
that such voice could modulate itself
sufficiently to do this So Emerson is
RICH. in calling him "a triphammer with
an aeOlian attachment.
One of the German ships coming back
from the other side a little while ago
reports that 1t saw an iceberg floating in
mid-ocean with a flower garden thriving
on it. Not an impossible thing by any
means. And that is precisely the thing
that we find in human nature. Men like
Huxley. Tyndall, seem to outsiders sc
cold. so impenetrable, SO frigid. and yet
when we penetrate to the warmth of their
nature there we find exactly as the Mas
ter says: The birds of heaven make
their nests
"Or, observe again. that this is the guar
antee of the permanence of religion. Let
us think for a moment that religion Is q
mere makeshirt, that 1t is temporary
medicine which the soul is to receive un-
til 1t is well. 1t is not a crutch for the
lame soul; it is food for the hungry soul.
1t is not a hospital, but school; not
penance, but self-eXpression and develop
ment And SO long as human nature is
human nature, so long as 1t has within it
self the seed of perfection, so long religion
as an institution in some form will minis
ter to this craving of the human heart.
Such is the business of religion. and
when we recognize that nationalist, senti-
mentalist, mystic and practical man alike
may enter into pursuit of this life. we
have already assured ourselves of the
permanence of religion.
Churches may come and go, but the
church abides Theology may wax and
wane, but religion. which is the SUBJ
stance of which theology is the changing
shadow, will remain. Heaven and earth
may pass away says the great Teacher,
but my word shall not pass away
IF we could only realize what a joy
this puts into our life. If we walk our
streets and see our friends going to other
churches, if we find men and women get
ting an impulse to the new life in ways
which do not appeal to us, 1t is refresh
ing to realize that these people are not
our interiors. They are our fellow-citi-
zens in the kingdom of God. They are
entering the city by the gate which lies
nearest to them.