East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1911-12-25
THE MOST EMINENT
WILL MAKE BLUNDERS
(By Rev. F. ]. Milnes, Presbyterian
Minister.)
The Deity of Jesus-a Christmas

| (By Rev. F. j. Milnes Presbyterian
Minister.)
The Deity of Jesus-a Christmas
Suggestion.
Again we are reminded of the Oft
repeated blunder of the eminent, the
6lunder of supposing that mastery or
skill in one phere of thought neces-
sarily entities man to speak with
authority in every other sphere. There
| is no merit of originally about this
b.under. 1t repeats itself several
times in every generation. For ex-
ample, here is great president who,
d zzied by the buoyancy of his own
success, bewildered by an almost un-
raralleled popularity, unpoised by the
impetuous sincerity of his own ire
sistible intentions, becomes misguid-
ed into the absurd presumption that
he is qualified thereby to speak with
authority on every conceivable sub
Ject, from debating to our women
how many babies they shall raise to
advising the lords of England how
they shall conduct the affairs of the
British parliament. Much, therefore,
as we admire this eminent character
in many ways, his life illustrates the
pitiable inadequateness of success in
one sphere as a guarantee of pro-
ficiency in another,
Or, lest we abuse somebody's pet
and entangle them in the mesh of
prejudice, shall we illu ;trate the prin-
ciple from an entirely different
sphere? Here is great scientist who
has concentrated his thought and life
upon the study of electricity and the
application of its power to all man
ner of mechanical devices suddenly
stepping aside from his life's calling
and announcing with tone of final
ity that the soul is not immortal.
From world Of atoms and molecules
in which he has buried himself all his
life he suddenly leaps over-into the
world of spirit and, without studying
| even the rudiments of its long history
of specific thinking and inspiration,
he shakes our confidence in his men,
tai balance by the unmeditated as
sertion that the philosophy of the
ages in this department is worthless
and mistaken. Is there in all history
more specific example of unalloy-
ed absurdity?
But just to think that our genera
| tons most illustrious literary exam
pie of this same blunder has scarcely
had time to pass from our memory.
I mean that preposterous melagoma-
MAC, who, with his gluttony for ad-
miration, had not yet learned up to
the very close of his career that as
| tt1t nh h.
tuse thought any more than long
hair can expiate the folly of an inn
moral life. To think, / say. that the
public has only SO recently buried Ell
bert Hubbard and laid his "Philis-
tineH away to rest in kind oblivion
and generous forgetfulness. Uf the
gentleman in question should be sc
impertinent as to deny what is i'm
piled here and openly avow that hi
is not yet dead, would reply that the
testimony of so notorious a liar car
not be credited on a subject of sucf
serious consequence to public endur
ance.) When, 10, another appeari
suffering from this same dread NAL
ady, a tympanitic tumefaction of th'
organ of self-esteem, Turing its vic
tim into the delirious fancy that liter
ary cleverness is q diploma from ever.
! department in the curriculum of hu
man thought. This latest case t
, which I refer here, is that of Lincoll
Steffens. The editor of "Everybody's
says that Steffens' letter in the De
| cember is "the most remarkabl
Christmas contribution that 1 hav
= ever read" How he must suffe
from regret! Why, the article has nc
one merit, except literary clevernes'
Here is a sample of its ethics: 1T
1 all right to do wrong occasionally
fit of temper" Here in his the
ology: Jesus did wrong, in brie
Jesus sinned." Here is his modest,
'T defended this thesis in publ