Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1911-08-12

gld, Nv hither
" shall fee from
~ Thy presence? II
IlRiST0R RUSSELll | ascend up into
-'------ heaven, Thou art
there; II mike my bed In hell, be-
hold. Thou art there" psalm cxxxix,
2. 81 lie said;
We are living in day when money,
pleasure and pain seem to be the as
spfs of the masses The Evolution
theGry and Higher Criticism Of the
Bible have fosterad unbellef to such
an extent that everything intangible
IS Coubted Beginning with the col.
lege professor aud the majority Of the
educated ministers this skeptlcsm has
embraced the wealthy, who are sa'
tiated with the blessings Of prosperi-
ty. To these henyen ana heavenly
things seem yagnries as compared
with present enjOyments and hopes.
Not for a long time have these be.
lieyed in and feared eternal torment
And their present attitude Is one Of
doubt respecting everything connected
with the Bible They well know that
outside the Bible there Is nothing but
guess work, and they prefer their own
guesses to those Of other people.
Very many Of them speak candidly
and tell that they are 0gnostlcs, that
they are uncertain and would like to
be informed respecting the future.
A very similar condition Growlngly
prevails amongst the poorer classes
and the uneducated. who say We be.
lleved the scholars when they told us
the Bible was inspired why should
we not believe them now when they
declare that Il IS fraud? As the
wealthy doubt that God will special.
ly favor them. so the poor doubt
whether God will specially disfnvor
them. Both classes are renchlng the
conclusion thnt fortune or disaster
rests, not with the Lord, but with
themselves.
The Worlds Nesd--a God.
The effect Of all this loss OF faith In
an Almighty God Is seen on every
hand and Is felt by many. One Of the
consequences Is that the religious ele-
ment Of mans nature is becoming
numb and the masses, rich and poor,
are seeking a substitute In pleasure;
as the Apostles words foretold, they
are "loyers OF pleasure more than lov.
ers Of Cod" Additionally, many of
the wealthy cnrry on kind Of brlgand-
age along commercial lines. Desir-
GUS of initiating them, but unable so
70 do, others nre filling the world with
violence TO an extent that is alarming
to everybody, Were It not for our
elaborate and costly police protection
life and property would be far less SO.
cure In civilized lands thnn amongst
the heather. With all the protection
afforded by telephone, telegraph. po-
lice, etc, etc, our rulers and officials
tell us that they are often bewlldered
in their attempts to preserve law and
order.
Many learned men believe that there
Is no other God than Nature, and
mnny OF the unle0ncd are following
their lead. They reason that Nature
served them as both father and moth.
er, that Nature Is pltiless, unsympa.
thetic, cruel. Indeed, this Is one OF
their special arguments against per.
sonal God, for they say that such II
God would not permit the sufferlngs
we witness on every hand and the still
more terrible sut'erings which the
creeds OF Chrlstendom have taught
them are In store for all except tho
sanity few,
II Is time that we return to the Bible
proposition and see the truth OF the
statement, "rhe fool hath said In his
heart, There IL no God" Surely there
Is something wrong with the brain
which, after noting the wonders OF ma.
ture, seen In the surrounding worlds
and systems and attested In all mat,
tiers earthly, sees not an intelligent
'Cma'Nr The wonderful ndaplahllity Of
our own bodies tells ot n wise Creator.
n we compare the human eye. adapt
e., 10 It's purposes and conditions. with
TIE eve uf 0sh, adapted to It's differ.
ct conditions and With the eve OF n
beetle. adapted 10 stlll different condi
tAas, we sce the most nduhitable
proofs oi profoundest wisdom and su,
herhuman skill when we think OF
mans wonderful powers and OF his
great achievements IN the world and
then consider his inability To make q
single living thing, from microhe Ia
an elephant, from tiny seed to tree.
surely We should conccde that the One
who ordered nature In the production
Of these wonderful variations, and ere
ated man himself, must be an Al.
mighty. Intelligent God. Surely "Day
unto day uttereth speech and night
RECAJTSE SHE WAS DRINK