The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1911-07-08
ASATURDAY
1ER NIGHT
4 SERMONS
BY
s. ExSaisuElW .puRvsln
A FRANK TALK WITH AN HONEST
SKEPriC.

We, yet not to doubtful dsputation."
Rom. xiv, /.
There's no harm asking questions.
The world has gone forward because
Of healthful curiosity Drop your
fathom line in the sea Turn your tele-
scope toward the stars. Focus your
microscope over the drop of water
Take your bar and pry open the rock
You may open new world to human
eyes. Remember Minister Wu's orien
tai curiosity? He asked the girls how
old they were. old maids why ley
never married, men how much salary
they earned questions impertinent,
none of his business. To ask concern
ing God and man. time and eternity,
whence and whittier. indicates de-
veloping mind. The way and manner
of the question indicate much too. The
snarl of the cynic, the sneer of the
shallow. the vanity of the bumptious.
get no answer. Notice men coming
to Christ. To the earnest seeker ait.
er truth frequently come revelations
Wise men come from the east scholar
~ Greeks from the west Me demus,
the scribes and lawyers of the Jews
hang on his answers. He never seems
puzzled. The troubled look of perp'eH
ity never gathers on his face. Fl" ~
err says: THE problem is new. | mus;
consider Come back tomo;. -". H.
has the steady gaze of en- iefore
VII hn' n Grid
truth lies open When he Is before the
high priests and PLATE and llarod he
refuses to answer Bold. lepring wick
| edness gets no response Let them
| live the plainest laws of God first.
| They couldn't deceive him. He per-
ceived their craftiness. He darts
swift interrogation into their inner
souls: 81 also will ask of you one ques-
ton" To the sincere he sits down by
| their side as mother with her child
and makes all things plain. He even
gave private interviews to frank. hon
est seekers. Even Nature won't re-
spond to the snarling. the sneering
the supercilious. but opens up her In
| ner treasures to the nature lover
| The Sun Do Move"
Still we think If we could Just now
raise our eyes from this newspaper
and see God as plainly as we see that
chair or table we'd feel satisfied. If
we were as sure of him as we are of
physical things-but we cannot with
the physical senses You cannot smell
! the fragrance of spray of heliotrope
with your eyes. nor can you tell much
of the beauty of a painting with the
end of your thumb Each experience
Is registered through its own sense.
physical through physical. psychic
through psychic. spiritual through spir-
itual God is spirit and is known only
through spiritual sense. Prove to
me-" says my doubling friend, like
you'd prove that two and two are four
that there Is a God" "All right. Prove
to me likewise that this room is warm
ror you, comfortable to me-" Go to a
man who never heard of Newton, Co
pernicus or solar system. Tell him the
earth moves upon its axis and around
the sun. He'll tell you he believes his
own eyesight more than your learning,
for ii tells him the sun moves round
the earth. He drives a stick in the
ground and proves in FIVE minutes that
the sun has moved. As to the earth
turning on its axis, last night he left
pail of water brim full at the kitchen
door This morning it was there un-
spilled. Had the earth turned over
the water But, pshaw, he walks off
laughing. Call to him that he cannot
always believe even his own eyes and
the laugh will turn to guffaw or jeer
Hc~ Can We know7
Some knowledge comes by observa-
ton, some by reasoning some by in
ference, some by intuition. some you
must just accept by faith If one is
hungry-mind you. | said hungry-for
spiritual truth. that hunger will be a
sixth sense If want to learn the Sc
crets Of birds | am up betimes looking
after robins and wrens. They'll eat
out Of my hand before long. won't
learn much If | go with a gun. The
4 kingdom of birds isn't understand
able that way nor the kingdom Of God
either My friend the bird lover took
me by the hand one morning to learn
birds Twas great day! Let me
take your hand moment, my trou-
bled. inquiring friends. WHAT'S the
difficulty? The Bible? It's Il book of
revelation and morals, not science;
points out the weakness of good men
as well as bad ones. Not certain about
| God? He's the Creator. See that lamp
/ on. the table? Some one placed II
there. Take out your watch Open