The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1912-08-20

the true teachings OF the Bible the
greater will be our blessing and joy,
both individually and nationally.
have chosen for my topic on this
occasion what l believe Is an impor-
tant, yea, vital question Of deep in
terest to all humanity: What is Many'
This great question the Bible alone an
swers distinctly and satisfactorily, as
/ hope l shall be able to demonstrate.
The answer Of Science to our query is
at least In one respect right and in full
accord with the Bible. Science tells US
that man is an animal of the highest
order-genus homo. The Bible agrees
with this and declares man distinctly
different from the lower animals, and
also distinctly separate from angels
and spirit beings He Is terrestrial, "Of
the earth earthly he is not spiritual,
not celestial or heavenly. The earth.
not heaven, was made for his home.
The Bible does tell of mans fall from
Divine favor and Of his Divine condem-
nation, but his fall was not from a
heavenly condition to an earthly con-
ditton, but from an earthly condition
of perfection to a dying condition of
imperfection. The Bible teaches that
If man had not sinned his life would
have been everlasting. in earthly per-
lection, and that his home would have
been an earthly Paradise in which he
would have enjoyed the blessing and
fellowship of his Maker
The death sentence did not alter or
change his nature, but merely forfeited
his life and all of his blessings and
rights which were dependent upon his
life. The penalty was not, ITO eternal
torment shalt thou go, to suffer eternal
| ly at the hands of demons" but, 'Dy-
ing, thou shalt die" ''Thorns and this
! ties shall the earth bring forth unto
thee" "In the sweat Of thy face shalt
thou eat bread until thou return unto
| the ground; for out Of 1t vast thou
taken, for dust thou art, and unto dust
shalt thou return And Of the faith
full execution Of this Divine penalty
| against the sinner we are all witnesses.
And Yet How Grand 10 Mani
| As 1 stood by the ruins Of ancient
Memphis, where Joseph rose from be-
| ing a slave to being the Governor, next
to King Pharaoh, was impressed with
some Of the mighty monuments which
persist despite the ravaging hand Of
time. l said to myself, What is man
What a king Of earth he is, and has
been, Notwithstanding his deteriora-
ton through sin and the fall! AS i
noted the sculptures of thirty-flve hun
dred years ago l said, Truly the Bible
Is right when it declares that God
made man in His own image-that to
man, the highest earthly creature, the
great Creator, Himself a Spirit, i'm
parted an impress of His own charac-
ter and a measure of His own power,
SO that man really was created god
Of earth toward the lower creatures
which were put under his care, as his
Creator is the God of the Universe.
My admiration for our race and its
skill was greatly enhanced as 1 thus
eogitated The pyramids, and espe-
cialIy the Great Pyramid of Gizeh,
near Cairo, impressed me similarly
When 1 considered the wonderful ac-
complishments of that long-ago period
and reflected that we could scarcely do
more today with our most improved
machinery, my appreciation of our an
cestors was enhanced; and / said, II
would be very difficult for many to &C
cept the modern scientific theory that
| htrf oh
| were cousins to the ape.
Some of the temples Of India and
China similarly impressed me. Athens
too, with its museums Of ancient struc-
ture, similarly said to me, Truly man
In his original perfection must have
been created In the image Of his Crea
tor. My visits to Rome impressed upon
me the fact that although the work
of death has progressed in our race,
nevertheless, In q measure the decay
of the masses has by Divine provi-
dence found compensation; for al
| though we have no Michael Angeles
today we have legions who are inspir.
ed by his example, and who have
copied him with wonderful success, SC
that today our treasures of art are
not only multitudinous but grand be-
yond those Of any previous day.
The great st. Peters at Rome is It
self treasury of art such as never be-
fore was known In the world, besides
which all the great capitals Of Europe
abound with art galleries which illus
trate the power of the human mind
and the skill of the human hand in the
appreciation and execution of the beau
tiful. And In this connection / must
not forget the similar treasures of my
home land, America.
Utilitiss Of Our Day.
But, my dear friends, yos and are
living in a specially unitarian Age,
and for one am glad Of 1t. The skill
| of humanity has during the last cen
| fury been turned ln-o a new channel,
which is making for US a new world.
Instead Of the narrow streets and lanes
OF century ago, We have broad as
phalt avenues and boulevards; instead
| of ordinary houses of q century ago,
our cities are replete with handsome
and commodious residences that In
comparison are palaces. Beautiful,
graceful bridges span our great rivers
and serve to consolidate our interests.
Wonderful tunnels pierce our noun
| tains and facilitate the movement Of
luxurious railway coaches. Palatial
steamers with regularity connect port
| to port
Often Of late have found myself ad.
miring some Of our grand hotels and
palatial capitols and engineering feats
of bridge work and tunnels, saying to
myself the while, What Is mani And
then l reflect, II man in his fallen con-
dition has learned gradually to accom-
plish SO much, what may we reason
ably expect would have been the ulti-
mate capacity Of perfect man had sin
not entered into the world. and had the
experience of centuries been accumu-
iattng in many brains! BY now how
wonderful being Father Adam might
have been!
Times of Restitution.
Then my mind reverted to the great
Creator and the Message He has given
US in His wonderful Book, the Bible.
remembered the inspired Message Of
consolation, that God looked down in
pity on us as a race In our fallen con-
dition and that He planned even before
our fall for our recovery as a race from
the curse, from sin, from death.
hearkened to st. Peters words of en-
couragement respecting the glorious
blessings to be ushered in by the great
Redeemer when at His second advent
He shall take unto Himself His great
power and begin His MessiAnic reign