The San Mateo item. (San Mateo City, Putnam County, Fla) 189?-19??, 1911-03-18
Is Life Worth
Living?
By REV. ?. N. HUBBELL
Pastor % Congregational Church
Mayvills. N. u.


AZ one time Job. with large happy
family. had lived In comfort surround.
ed by nocks and herds and great abun
dance. But calamity after calamity
fell upon him. The Sabeans carried
on his oxen; the lightning fell upon
his sheep; the Chaldeans took away
his camels; storm buried his sons
under a fallen building; he himself
was smitten from head to foot with
ioathsome sores. And Job began to
wish that he was dead-perhaps he
even thought Of committing suicide.
But calamity stricken Job is only
one OF vast multitude who, crushed
to earth by the relentless weight OF
adversely, have eked out a miserable
existence. while perhaps the mind has
been crowded with thoughts OF self
destruction. We are moved therefore
to ask, with Job Of old and with the
poor wretch. the tragical ending Of
whose life Is noted In last nights pa
per.
Now ones answer to this question
depends, not SO much upon the expe-
riences. painful and pleasurable,
through which he passes, as upon the
Significance which he attaches to those
experiences. This Is conclusively
shown from the fact that from no
quarter are the answers uniform.
Out OF similar conditions one be-
walls existence while another rejoices
In It. From the fires OF persecution
there comes back to our question, now
a positive negative, now as possible
an affirmative, and again a mere ques-
ton point. Such different estimates
OF life grow out OF a mans funda-
mental beliefs-they seem often to de-
pend absolutely upon his experiences
the experiences often affect the be-
iiefs; but mans philosophy of life
10 the determining factor.
One man declares there is no God;
another believes In the Christ reve.
lation of God-and they reach differ
ent conclusions as TO whether life is
worth living.
Take the first man who denies the
existence of a personal God. Then. for
him. there's no conscious, intelligent
Volitional cause for his existence His
own mental and heart powers are sim.
ply unique products of such materials
and forces as food, water, light, air,
heat and electricity. He is but crea.
ture OF circumstances, developed from |
a material thing-call It a protoplas
mic germ-into a sentient being that !
burgers and thirsts, suffers physical
pain, writhes in mental agony.
Moral responsibility is excluded; |
there's no moral source for it-no |
higher moral to be held responsible to.
TLen there's no obligation resting up
on the strong to regard the weak; the
midnight rufnan Is as innocent as the /
babe he murders, groVeling millions
must suffer TO no purpose, for no d.
recting God means no directing pur.
pose. To endure for a time Is of no
avail, for Immortality has no mean.
The soul is but figment OF the imag-
nation; imagination Is but a bubble
oozing out OF brain tissue; human
ove merely the efferYescence which
passes on from chemical reaction.
The bald pessiminism OF Won Hart
nan and Schopenhauer is a widely &C.
,epted doctrine OF life today Won
Hartman finds no purpose In history;
progress simply increases mans con.
'ciousness Of the vanity OF life. SchoD.
'nhauer says: ITO live is to desire,
o desire is to want. to want Is To sui.
er; hence, TO live 10 10 suffer.
But the average man cannot escape
ne conviction that God lives and
eigns. What answer. then. does the
nan make who knows only the stern.
elentless God discoverable from ma.
uTeg This man admits controlling
purpose. The apparent inVariablsnssa