Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1908-09-18

I offer no apology for speaking upon
a religious theme, for 1t is the most
universal of all themes. If addressed
YOU upon the subject of law l might
interest the lawyers. If discussed
the science of medicine l might inter-
est the physicians. In like manner
merchants might be interested In
talk on commerce and farmers In
discussion of agriculture. But none OF
these subjects appeals to all. Even the
science of government, though broader
than any profession or occupation
does not embrace the whole sum OF
life, and those who think upon it diner
so among themselves that ! could not
speak upon the subject so asSo please
a part without offending others. WINE
to me the science Of government is IN
tensely absorbing, I recognize that the
most important things in life lie OUT
side Of the realm of government and
that more depends upon what the In
diyidual does for himself than upon
what the government does or can 90
for him. Men can be miserable under
the best government, and they can be
happy under the worst government.
Government affects but part OF the
life which we live here and does not
touch at all the life beyond, while reli-
gion touches the infinite circle OF ex'
istence as well as the small arc Of that
circle which we spend on earth. NO
greater theme, therefore, can engage
our attention.
Man is q religious being. The heart
instinctively seeks for God. Man Is
essentially devout.
There are honest doubters whose
sincerity we recognize and respect, but
occasionally I find young men who
think it smart to be skeptical. They
talk as If it were an evidence Of larger
intelligence to scott at creeds and re-
fuse to connect themselves with
churches. They call themselves lib
eral," as If Christian were narrow
minded. To these young men / desire
to address myself.
Religion the Basis Of Morality.
Even some older people profess to
regard religion as q superstition, par
dOnable in the ignorant, but unworthy
Of the educated, a mental state which
one can and should outgrow. Those
who hold this view look down with
mild contempt upon such as give to
religion definite place In their
thoughts and lives. They assume an
intellectual superiority and often take
little pains to conceal the assumption.
Religion has been defined as the re-
lation which man fixes between him.
self and his God and morality as the
outward manifestation of this relation.
Every one by the time he reaches ma
turity has fixed some relation between
himself and God, and no material
change in this relation can take place
without a revolution in the man, for
this relation is the most potent infiu-
ence that acts upon human life.
Religion is the basis Of morality In
the individual and in the group OF in
dividuals. Materialists have attempted
to build up a system of morality upon
the basis Of enlightened self interest.
They would have man figure out by
mathematics that it pays him to alb
stain from wrongdoing; they would
even inject an element of selfishness
into altruism. But the moral system
elaborated by the materialists has sew
eral defects. First, its virtues are bor-
rowed from moral systems based upon
religion. Second, as it rests upon argu-
ment rather than upon authority 1t
does not appeal to the young, and by
the time the young are able to follow
their reason they have already become
set in their ways. Our laws do not
permit a young man to dispose OF real
estate until he Is twenty-one. Why
this restraint? Because his reason Is
not mature. And yet mans life is
largely nodded by the environment
Of his youth. Third, one never knows
Just how much of his decision Is due
to reason and how much is due to
passion or to selfish interest. We rec
ognize the bias of self interest when
we exclude from the jury every man,
no matter how reasonable or upright
he may be, who has pecuniary inter-
est in the result Of the trial. And,
fourth, one whose mortality Is based
upon a nice calculation Of benefits to
be secured spends time figuring that
he should spend in action.
Morality is the power Of endurance
In man, and a religion which teaches
personal responsibility to God gives
strength to morality. There is pow
erful restraining influence In the be-
lief that an all seeing eye scrutinizes
every thought and word and act of the
individual.
There are difficulties to be encoun-
tered in religion, but there are diff
culties to be encountered everywhere.
/ passed through period OF skep-
ticism when I was in college, and l
have been glad ever since that I be-
came a member of the church before
I left home for college, for it helped
me during those trying days. The
college days cover the dangerous
period in the young mans life. 1t is
when he is just come into possession
of his powers, when he feels stronger
than he ever feels afterward and
thinks he knows more than he ever
Aces know.
1t was at this period that I was con-