The morning journal-courier. (New Haven, Conn.) 1907-1913, 1908-03-12

Christ's claim. He speaks with the
of serene conviction. |
am the light of the world, He that fol- /
loweth me shall not walk In darkness, |
but shall have the light of life. Can
we have any like certainty of convic-
ton that He is the truth of God for
u.s."
| answer yes-a certainty as certain I
as the certainty of your own self
But you must look for
1t. where Christ sent those willy chief
priests and scribes to look for it. You
will not find it in any form of author
ity external to yourself. You may find
indisputable evidence that Jesus
Christ was a real historic character
and that the facts of His life were
as given in the new Testament story.
Within my recollection, 1t was possible
to maintain that He was a mythical
character. Nov every document that is
necessary to show the actually of
Christs person and the spirit and sub
stance Of His teaching is proved gem
une and the undoubted product of the
first century. But the documentary
evidence cannot make you certain that
what He claimed to be He was. II
only proves that one lived who claim
ed to speak from Heaven.
You cannot verify that claim by the
methods OF science because It begins
with the assumption that God Is and
may be spiritually known God and
spirit are not subjects for physical de-
monstration. II there IS anything be-
yond or within that which may be
perceived by the bodily senses II must
be spiritually discerned and find It's
verificaton within realm unknown
and unreal to many-the realm of
spiritual experience.
Let us think back for a moment into
this soul of things-this strange UNI
seen mystery Of the personal consci-
BUSINESS The Christ sends us for our
answers to the question Of His author
ity directly to His inner sphere OF the
self.
am speaking in II and YOU are list"
ening. II not thinking In 1t. We are
I'm unseen certanties more certain than
the things we see with our eye for
they often deceive US.
am certain that am; that | think,
and that | am speaking out Of my
personal consciousness, to you.
| am certain also that you, my hear
ers. are something more than bodies !
see only bodies, but I know by the
motion and the light In the eyes that
they are living bodies. II I could not
assume that | might as well be talk
ing 10 the stone walls and wooden
pews. But / assume more. | know In
fact that my voice to YOU is not mere
ly sound but that II conveys lat least
! I hone II does) something ineligible
IN a consciousness within you. You
translate sound into ideas, and one
capable Of assimllating them and just
| in the degree that you do work ideas
| into your unseen being, and assimilate
and apply them do YOU become Intel
lectual and rise IN the scale of being
We are certain Of the animality and
the intellectually.
But we know more. We are certain
that there Is a moral sensitiveness like
the nervous system infibred through
all our being. It instantly detects 8
moral discord. IF I should argue n
favor Of killing. Icing and stealint
Won would be shocked. Proposition
Of that kind, or any suggestions u
tore with them, would he rejected a
once as false They would he discard
ant notes Earring upon our moral sen
sihiljties The man or woman VIII
does not perceive and feel the pres
once of goodness as the eye sees AM
feels beauty. or know and feel III
mower of right In his conscience. q
Tho oar detects and discriminate
sounds-has sunk to the lowest depth
of degradation. No cause political o
otherwise makes Roadway which Of
fends the moral sense. 1t must justl
fv itself as In some sort right, to D
tolerable or tolerated.
Here then within these bodies OF our
is the real supreme court where au
,hority is determined. We are not lin
tied 10 truths which may be see'
with the eyes and tested i'm our labora
tories The thinker himself must b
reckoned with in this court and he
the greatest mystery of all. He is ap
10 forget himself in the study @
,bings There are certain eternal veri
tics which he has to assume as the be
g,npings of all thought. His own he
inc space, time, numbers. causatio
and mind corresponding to his ow
wi,hin all the phenomena of the uni
,-orse There is no better definition {
our complex being than the old one
bodv. mind and spirit When we ope
our whole being to the deep inf1nity
nth which overarches us, like til
nine sky we know that beyond ii
! Truths which may be proved 10 Il
: senses and reasoned to the intellec
: ,bera are truths, real objects of know
eage which may be felt-the trutf
.bicb we trust as instinctively as Il
I ch,id prasps with confidence the pa
: ent.s hand or friend grows to frier
18th an instructive sympathy TIL
ming 10 truth because We feel
y lie hal