Los Angeles herald., 1908-11-01

ending all, Tor lie Is lull anu AcPS -
strong, but preach not TINS doetrlne " ~
fine 1notber who stands by the dCathbed
of her babe. or to one who is WITHIN
the shadow of a great afflict1on. When
l was a young man 1 wrcte to Coionel
Ingersoll and asked him for his views
on God and Immortality His secretary
answered that the great infidel was
not at home, but inclosed copy or a
speech which covered my question !
scanned 1t with eagerness and found
that he had expressed himself about as
follows: "I do not say there is no
God; I simply say I do not know.
I do not say there is no life
beyond the grave; simply say do not
know" And from that day to this /
have not been able to understand now
anyone could find pleasure in taking
from any human heart living taltn
and substituting therefor the cold and
cheerless doctrine, 81 do not know"
Christ Gave Proof of Immortality
Christ gave us proof of immortality,
and yet it would hardly seem neces-
sary that one should rise fror1 the dead
to convince us that the grave Is not
the end. To every created thing GOD
has given a tongue that proclaims
resurrection.
If the Father deigns to touch with
divine power the cold and pulseless
heart of the buried acorn and to make
ii burst forth from its prison walls,
will He leave neglected in the earth
the soul of man, made in the image OF
his Creator? If He stoops to give to
the rose bush, whose withered blossoms
float upon the autumn breeze, the
sweet assurance of another spring
TIME, will He refuse the words of hope
to the sons of men when the frosts or
winter come? If matter, mute and In
animate, though changed by the forces
of nature into a multitude of forms,
can never die, will the spirit of man
suffer annihilation when 1t has paid
a brief visit like a royal guest to this
tenement of clay? No; 1 am as sure
I live today!
In Cairo 1 secured a few grains OF
wheat that had slumbered for more
than 5000 years in an Egyptian tomb.
AS looked at them this thought came
into my mind: If one of those grains
had been planted on the banks of the
Nile the year after it grew and all its
lineal descendants planted and re-
planted from that time until now, its
progeny would today be sufficiently
numerous to feed the teeming millions
of the world. There is in the grain of
wheat an invisible something which
has power to discard the body that we
see, and from earth and air fashion a
new body so much like the old one
that we cannot tell the one from the
other. If this invisible germ of life
in the grain of wheat can thus pass
unimpaired through 5000 resurrections
shall not doubt that my soul has
power to clothe itself with a body
suited to its new existence when this
earthly frame has crumbled into dust
A haliof in tr1T a ItfU mn nnlU
consoles the individual but 1t exerts
O. powerful influence in bringing peace
between individuals. If one really
thinks that man dies as the brute dies,
he may yield to the temptation to do
injustice to his neighbor when the cir
cumstances are such as to promise
security from detection. But If one
really expects to meet again and live
eternally with those whom he knows
today he is restrained from evil deeds
by the fear Of endless remorse. We
do not know what rewards are in store
for us or what punishments may be
reserved, but If there were no other
punishment 1t would be enough for
one who deliberately and consciously
wrongs another to have to live for
ever in the company of the person
wronged and have his 1ittleness and
selfishness laid bare. repeat, a belief
in Immortality must exert powerful
influence in establishing justice be-
tween men and thus laying the foun-
dation for peace.
Again, Christ deserves to be called
the Prince of Peace because he has
given us a measure of greatness which
promotes peace. When his disciples
disputed among themselves as to which
should be greatest in the kingdom of
heaven, he rebuked them and said;
LET him who would be chiefest among
you be the servant of ALL" Service is
the measure of greatness; 1t always
has been true; it is true today and it
always will be true, that he is great
est who does the most of good. And
yet, what a revolution it will work in
this old world when this standard be-
comes the standard of life. Nearly all
of our controversies and combats arise
from the fact that we are trying to
get something from each other-there
Will be peace when our aim is to do
something for each other. Our en-
mites and animosities arise from our
efforts to get as much as possible out
of the world-there will be peace when
our endeaVor is to put as much as
possible into the world. Society will
take an immeasurable step toward
peace when it estimates a citizen by
his output rather than by his income
and gives the crown OF its approval to
the one who makes the largest con-
tribution to the welfare Of all. 1t is
the glory of the Christian ideal that
while it is within sight of the weakest
and the lowliest, it is yet so high that
the best and the noblest are kept with
their faces turned ever upward.
Christ has also led the way to peace
by giving us formula for the propa-
cation of good. Not all of those who
have really desired to do good have
employed the Christian method-not
all Christians even. In all the history
of the human race but two methods
have been employed. The first is the
forcible method. A man has an idea
which he thinks is good; he tells his
neighbors about it, and they do not
like it. This makes him angry, and,
seizing a club, he attempts to make
them like it, One trouble about this
rule is that 1t works both ways; when
bors to think as he does, he generally
finds them willing to accept the chal-
lenge and they spend so much time in
trying to coerce each other that they
have no time left to be of service to
each other
The other is the Bible plan-be not
overcome of evil, but overcome evil
with good. And there is no other way
of overcoming evil. / am not much of
a farmer-I get more credit for my
farming than 1 deserve, and my little
farm receives more advertising than 1t
is entitled to. But I am farmer
enough to know that If 1 cut down
weeds they will spring up again, and
I know that If plant something there
which has more vitality than the weeds
shall nof nnlv eat rid Of tho pan-