East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1911-11-13

Is the soul-faculty by which We per-
ceive the invisible relatives of the
spiritual universe. 1t enables us to
apprehend things beyond the horizon
Of the physical senses. We have a
sight faculty, the eye, by which we
apprehend the form, color. and bulk
OF the material objects about us. We
have sound faculty, the ear. by
which we apprehend harmony and
discord. We have the touch faculty
by which we apprehend the tempera-
ture, weight, and surface finish of
things. We apprehend physical
things through physical faculties.
Likewise we learn of spiritual things
through spiritual faculties. Each
faculty performs its own functions
and only its own. We cannot hear
painting or see the melodies of music
or experience the fragrance of rose
by logic. We do not test a chemical
substance by a political principle We
Go not observe minute objects with
S telescope or distant stars with a
microscope. Neither can we observe
spiritual realities with physical in
StrumentS, or with processes of logic
Of mathematics. Love, joy and hope
are as much part of my life as the
food I eat, yet l cannot see them or
hear them or handle them. SO the
heavenly realities are a part of my
life. yet "eye hath not seen nor ear
heard, neither hath it entered into
the heart of man the things that God
hath prepared for them that love
Him. But just as trust the report
which my physical senses give me of
the material world, and act upon il.
so l trust the report which my spiri-
tual sense gives me of the spiritual
world and act upon it, Indeed, my
soul-faculty. being the deepest, is the
most trustworthy of them all. l can
not always believe what hear and l
frequently cannot trust my eyes My
eye tells me that a straight stick in
serted in glass of water is broken
at the surface of the water. My eye
deceives me. But faith, like charity,
never faileth. Through faith | be-
come aware of the person and pres
ence of Jesus. My faith looks up to
Thee, Thou lamb of calvary" and like
Moses, l endure "as seeing Him who
is invisible
8ut more than the power of achie-
vement or the soul-faculty of percep-
ton, faith is the foundation Of all
other virtues and faculties. 1t is the
corner stone upon which rests the
whole temple of character. Add to
your faith virtue and to your virtue
knowledge" Certainly faith is the
oasis of most of our knowledge. The
information We attain through per-
scnal observation is insignificant
compared with that which we attain
through faith. We believe the testi-
mony of other men. This is the
source of most of our knowledge of
history and very much of science.
Likewise faith is the basis of our
judgment. When I hear a speech l
Judge its arguments by the standard
IN which 1 have been trained and
educated to believe. A socialist could
scarcely see much merit in the logic
OF stand-pat republican because his
! Judgment is controlled by his political
faith. Moreover. faith is the basis of
conscience. The heather mother
throws her babe into the Ganges as
/ a sacrifice to her gods conscienti-
/ ousIy because her faith controls her
! conscience. Faith, then, is the basis
| or my intellect, judgment and consci-
ence. Indeed, when Jesus demand
/ ed faith as the prime requisite of
character, he pressed the master ell
ectric button which Illuminated every
moral AMI intellectual light of the
temple of mans whole personality.
! But, it is objected Jesus com
mands us to believe, while belief is
Involuntary and cannot be com
manded. He should give US the evil
! dence and then belief would be ine-
vitable. But, belief not being under
! the control of the will, cannot be pro-
/ duced by order. To meet this OBJ
lection, we again appeal to definiti-
! on. The revised translation of the
! Bible says that faith is the giving
| Of substance to things hoped for" Can
| hope to become a Christian man?
! Certainly Can 1 in a greater or less
| degree give substance to that hope 4?
! Equally so. These two elements of
faith, hope and action, are certainly
under control of my will. Every man
who hopes and strives to give sub
stance to that hope, is man of faith,
! according to the definition. Hence
faith is a reasonable demand. This
! Is not the theory of merely a senti-
! mentalist. The greatest psychologist
Of modern times, the late Prof. James
| Of Harvard, places the approval of
science upon this reasoning in his