The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-22
How We Know God; An Appreciation
BY REV. RAIMU NDO DE OWES

A series of books written by our towns man, the Rev. J.J. Lanier, recalls the
 debt of gratitude and honor the south
 owes to his distinguished kinsman. the poet, Sidney Lanier; and it seems that
 the south is again destined to receive the focus of a widening attention through
 this really wonderful set of books recent ly published by the rector of one of
 our city churches.
 So much is said and heard of Modern ism in these days-and in such a spirit of controversy-that I hesitate to apply the term without clear definition of what modernism really means.
 Modernism, in the broad sense,' says | the Rev. W. H. Carnegie, rector and canon of Birmingham cathedral, England. 1 'is the present-day expression or men who want to relate all their religious belief and experiences to all their other mental and practical experiences. In the same sense of the above dennition MT I Lanier is a modernlst He has an abund-
 ance of facts of an interesting nature l but, unlike 'only too many of our mod l ern apoloeists, he does not destroy the interest in his treatment Of the facts. To any appetite. jaded with the plethora or either destructive or merely vague desui- | tory idealistio writing, let me recommend this stimulating, strong constructive se- ries of applied faith!
 Science confines herself, wisely, to | telling us how things come about-the processes: because she cannot tell us why. We know how tree grows from the seed, but nobody knows why It grows. Why does electricity flash with incredible swiftness across length of copper wire and stop abruptly be- fore a thin sheet of glass? It is not within the province of science to an- swer. She does tell us that copper is a conductor of electricity and that glass Is a nonconductor; but why? It Is sufficient to make motors hum with speed and lights which rival the sun to tell us how-but why bother with the ultimate req son? If her theory can become a workable hypothesis and hey working hypothesis law, then the law makes reasonable the holding of the theory. Science does not attempt to prove the theory-she is satisfied to discover the law; and all that she asks of a theory is that it shall be tenable, reasonable.
 So it is with religion. the queen of sciences as an old writer expressed himself. If we might understand and explain God He would cease to be God. But we may all know GodEmany peo- pie do. We know our friends; but who tn oroughly understands a single friend any, who understands even his wife, or his child.
 How we know God is then scien- tific and modern in the truest sense of
 keeping within the legitimate prov ince of the subject and therefore prac- tical to the extent that 1t R applicable. If science Is applied Knowledge of mat ter, religion should be applied knowl- edge of God.
 MT. Lanier is master of illustration and analogy. There IS a reasonableness about all that he says, an interest that makes every page sparkle with life, a
 practical helpfulness and definite ob- | jective In the whole scheme of the se- | ries that should strongly recommend the books to the earnest attention of | readers.
 l His treatment of the Trinity is il- luminating The following is only one | illustration and analogy among many, | end 1t, will serve to convey something