The morning journal-courier., 1908-01-09
TIMES SOLUTION
How It Disposes of Mooted Questions in Religion
 and Science.
HISTORIES MANY INSTANCES
The Night May Be Dark But the Sun Will Surely Rise
 Tomorrow.

But times solutions exhibit them- selves over other, wider areas than those of our personal life. History is full of them, and not least the history of religion. If we take up the study of Christian theology, we find there is scarcely one of its questions in the determination of which time has not proved decisive factor. It is impos- sible here to show this in complete detail but we may take one or two points. The early church, for in- stance, was convinced that the second coming of Christ, in sudden catastro- phic manner, would take place in. its own age. The years proved them wrong. But the expectation of an i'm mediate appearing still survived. Each generation believed 1t would be the last Nothing is more striking than the testimony of the early Christian literature on this point. At times the belief became an obsession. and people in crowds gave up business, forsook their homes, and fled into the wilder ness to be in readiness for the great event. To-day when science has opened to us the true relationJ of time to our planet, of it's immedsura- ble past and of its probable future de- situation, the reaction on theology has been as inevitable as it is profound. The time lesson here has been a mo- mentous one. It has shown us that primitive apostolic Christianity, with with all its glorious and heavenly in spiration, was nevertheless capable, of making great mistakes on. most im- portant themes. A hard lesson, in deed, and, be it said. of farther reach than we have all of us realized, and the bearing of which on some other theologic positions has not been fully so far determined.
 This question of an indefinite dura- tion of ou" planet, and of man upon il raises further difficulty which no se- rious mind can help pondering. If the Pithecanthropus herald of the human race was living in pleiocene period some 300,00 yeras ago, what reason Is there for believing that our race, ever developing, will not be here 100000 years hence? But how in that far-off time will it have fared with tury from its origin, and we trouble enough. fc. that brief span, in getting right views of its origin and history How will it appear to our descendants who are 5000 centuries from it? Yet the question though intrusive, is nev- ertheless, in a way, an idle one. Fol the previous history of religion makes us quite sure that time, which here creates our difficulty, will be itself the solver of it. Each generation ir matters spiritual obtains it's own ad. justment. The future, we may be sure will not contradict the past. The world order is planned one. and though the scheme is on too vast g scale for our full comprehension, we can see at least that everything in il fits everything else. There has been no waste in history any more than in physics. The Christian gospel came in its time and will accomplish it's re- suit The ideas and forces it repre- sents are divine and eternal, and. in ever varying forms, will go on devel- oping themselves through all the ages to come.
 There are wide stretches of this theme, opening in other directions which. tempt us were fhere time left to follow them. One might for in- stance, show how doctrinal disputes which have fiercely divided the church and where neither side convince the other, have had time as their final arbiter. Where, to-day is the Quar- to-deciman, where the Quinquarticu- lar controversy? The years have roll ed, new perspectives have opened. new interests emerged; and the once burn | ing questions have been settled by being forgotten.
 We come back, however, from these