Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1910-01-27
\ New Day
n Religion
make all things new.-Rev
, REV. JOSEPH NEWTON

IL
. VERY day Is a new day. as
~ Nature fills her blue urn
OF the sky" and pours out
W her food of light. Each
- morning. full OF wonder and
surprise. makes all things
Let his be for us a parable OF
STORY Of faith. in which there
been many cloudy sunsets and
golden dawns. Happy are we
We in the morning radiance Of
day OF faith. for the life Of the
Is as chansefui ~ the sky and
liable as the sea.
y have thought that religion
finally fade out Of the heart OF
But they forget a fundamental
fact. No reality Is more deep
he'd in the nature Of man. and.
Is sometimes assumed forms al
terrible and fantastic, one who
byer the long past knows that II
ps every year more lovely and
1t is the life Of God In the
man. an Unsuitable hunger for
b. an unquenchable aspiration
perfect. and 1t is by such bread
kan lives. Little acquaintance
tstory is necessary to show that
religion Is one. its shapes are
The very fact that 1t is a life
es variety OF form. for in same
here Is death. II IL not a stag.
ool, but a flowing stream.
BIZ tells us IN his poem in Am.
how the good saint learned this
Walking along a brook st.
be was Joined by an angel, who,
up a shell. dipped 1t into the
and filled it with water. He
out to the holy man the fac,
e water assumed the shape of
fll. and at the same time that
ell did not contain all the wa
the brook. Even so the good
nrned that heavenly truth flows
e intellectual forms OF each
u that those forms however
nd well wrought. do not exhaust
Fam OF truth. Should an angel
on such an errand now, he
quote the lines of Tennysou
report the brook saying. with
er voice:
may come. and men may r.
20 on forever.
lge is distinctly practical. II no,
tie. Its passion for reality Is
eligious. It has learned from
TO be at once critical ard
|le. to sit reverently at the fee;
and learn its secrets. In IN
the inquiry as to whether relt
Declining. the reply Of Sir Con
e Is typical Of his age. coming
es from a man Of letters and a
the vorid-though not from
ly man He asserts 1hat fx
|brd no data as to the real mind
bge, or its faith He says:
pr yet have I known q person
Is good because he xent tc
or evil because he did not
such practices are taken as
neither religion Is waning o,
ing. The real tests OF the prog
religion must be sought else
Is there a kinder and broader
such subjects. enabling mer
reeds TO live In amity and char
Ire the criminal statistics bet
Are the drink returns better
that man Is acquiring create,
self-control? Is there mors
showing that the mind is gain
pm the body? Are the savings
eports better. showing thrift
f-denial? Are the trade re
letter. showing greater indus
better efficiency. Are thers
nman institutions. and does mar
pore clearly his sense Of duty
the lower animalsy
20 one think that the large ant
ns tolerance Of our time Is onl,
-natured indinerence-that in
Ice which is at heart skepti
citing error be as good as truth
ground that inasmuch as no one
ow anything about such things
: room In the infinite for eacl
fashion his own romance. Fal
1t has its basis In the insigh
ices that In every form Of faiti
some truth which can be seer
Q otter angle. and the wish Il
pat truth Its own. II also know.
e truth is larger than all thes,
Us. No one has stated the feel
pur day better than the half-hu
nalf-tender and always wis,
pher who wrote the story o
Baltimore?"
ever and forever the huma,
aches out its hands and shape.
stem. some creed. and declare,
the final thing. and 10 and be
'omething flowing and eterna
race itself presently splits tina
nil to pieces Truth Is q mar
thing. We feel II, 1t can al
es with tears. our hearts witt
can make Us die for It; bu
ar human lips attempt to formu
90 thus to imprison it, It be
a lie and eludes us. You can
VI up the truth in any form o
mo quite naturally SO. the wor,
an Is comprehensive word il
y, including many who wer,
"a In a former time. Lincoln di,
press that it included him, bu
who looked at the life O
rather than at his absence o
views. spoke Of him the othe
Christ in miniature" Ii
'ery minister in his city. excep
voted against Lincoln on tn,
tnat he was not a Christian
men feel that II the quality o
yer seen in such men as Lincoll
nerson is not to be reckone,
isuan. then there Ii not mucl
at Is worth while. More or les
ne feeling seems to be in mos
len. no matter what their view
All now see that 1t is the spiri
attests itself in good and use
uS, In active and hfUb moral ex