Lower coast gazette., 1910-01-15

Any man who receives part OF the
Bible because it pleases him and re-
1ects the other part because it does
not coincide with his opinion Is a
fool, because the authority for that
which he rejects is as good as the au'
thority for that which he receives. 10
lieve in an eternal heaven OF bliss and
reject an eternal hell Of torment,
while the same word in Scripture de-
scribes both, is folly.
The atheistic fool has his portrait
taken in Psalms xiv: /; "The fool
hath said in his heart, There Is no
God" This is the logical fool. He Is
a man who cannot or will not believe
in an intelligent cause when he sees
an intelligent result, and can imagine
a design without a designer, an evo'
luton without an ~evolver. a creation
without a creator.
Athanasius Kircher, the great as
tronomer, had a friend who was an
atheist. This friend came one day IN
to the studio of Athanasius and, while
the astronomer was busy interested
himself in the objects about the room.
among which was a large celestial
globe Of recent make. "Who made
this?" asked the atheist. Nobody
replied Kircher. Where did it come
FROM" continued the atheist. From
nowhere" answered Kircher. What
do YOU mean?" asked the atheist,
abruptly. 81 mean" replied the as
tronomer, that you are not willing to
believe that this poor little globe can
make itself, while you pretend to be-
lieve that the stars and all matter
have made themselves
Robert Hall declared that a genuine
atheist was an intellectual impossi-
bility. No man with reason can study
nature and really believe there Is no
God. But he may say: Il do not
know" Then he is not a fool for lack
Of sense, but because he will not
learn. There was in n of my classes
Z at college a genuine agnostic. He
r never knew his lessons. He profes
t sor asked him many questions, te
. which he always replied: Il do MOI
know" He answered but n ques
ton correctly during the whole term
. What was the cause of his agnostic
" ism? 1t was easily explained. HI
never studied the textbook which ha'
10 in it all the knowledge required, bu
IN he chose to lounge about and do othe
things than study.
e.. Such is the agnostic of to-day. H
stares at the stars, peers into tn
ground, looks through the microscop
,e. at the flowers and says, 9" don't kno'
or whether there is a God or not" Whs
lily is the u of his agnosticism? Th
Is same precisely as with my friend
college. He will not learn of God.
There is a textbook in heaven
university course, and in its first Sc
NJ tence I read: I'm the beginning God
Any man who will learn may kno
that there is a God, because God HI
old revealed himself in the Scripture
lis An agnostic, therefore, is a logic
~; ~, fool, which means either a TOOL
the lack Of sense or q negligent TO-
which means a fool that will not lea
est though the knowledge is offered hi
out But the atheist is also an experime
Tor tai fool; he has said in his heart, q
Cod" The seat Of infdelity Is not
-. the mind. "Out of the heart proce
Io evil thoughts" When a mans he'
is right, his thinking will be rig
Vicious blood in the heart will 60
ma. the brain and every other part of
Will hodv. so evil in the heart will viii
the whole being.
A man who refuses to believe a
r to thing Is not a greater fool than
other man who believes IN the Wrt
thing. God tells us in Proverbs XIV
26. He that trusteth in his G
e sa is heart is a fool" and the reason of t
assertion is plain. 1.-The heart
20. deceitful above all things and
nerately wicked" Will you trus
man whom you know to be a deceiy
- II 40. YOU are a fool. Now, the h
ia lust such a deceiver; and a !
al who trusts in his heart rather thai
SN Gods truth has good credentials
folly.
= His picture is portrayed in l San
III XVI: FL. Saul had disobeyed.
who had declared that he should
@ no longer king, but Saul made up
Nl mind that the decree OF God sh
not be carried out. He would G
!: David to the death, he would
: Israel in spite of God; but the
& of this course Saul himself was I
: tn see when he said Il have pl
. the fool"
: So every man who fights ag
e God is a fool; so is every man
= thinks that by his own strengt
ran recover himself from the Ell
a of sin and thus set aside the d
- of God. The soul that sinnet
shall die" If Saul had confesse'
sin and begged forgiveness he '
have been restored: but he conf
- It only that he might be honor
~ the eyes of the people; and any
~ who labors for public favor
Gods Judgment rests upon him,
49,. he,rg tudo. i. a foo,
but l nllnse'A '
wy Liberty.