The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1912-04-05

ing. God is a Spirit Notonly that
but it must be possessed of the essen
tally personal attributes, power, vii
and intellect, in their complete or highesr
possible state Of Development or exist.
ence. Therefore, the absolute must be
a personal spiritual being Of infinite
power. wisdom and will.
As we can have no immediate knowl-
edge Of the infinite through our reason
or sense perception, we cannot positive
ly know that the above conclusions are
iniallibly correct. but evidently they are
conclusions from which there is no APP
peal, and Of which there can be no
logical REPUTATION. According to the
rules of rational reasoning, therefore,
they must be accepted as the most nearly
correct OF any that are capable Of form
ing of the absolute cause. Mr.. Spencer
is unnecessarily alarmed, however, lest
such real, or, as he thinks, protested
knowledge of the nature Of the absolute
should in our minds destroy its in
scrutability and unfamiliar remotenessI
lit is for that reason almost profape.
But professed and real nescience, he
believes is, requisite to the truest humili-
ty and religion. But what kind of
reverence or devotion could anyone feel
for being about which he knows, and
believes that he can know, nothing at
all, except that it merely exists? How
would one know whether he was wor-
Shipping divine or diabolic beingY
Entire nescience respecting the God
would and must mean entire indifference
Of or, perhaps, ever contempt for him.
Without knowledge, either real or sup
posed, most emphatically there could be
no religion. Spencer is, therefore, not
only inconsistent, but almost ridiculous,
in attempting to exalt religion, through
entire nescience, or agnosticism. A
Of the absolute, or Gods
nature, is entirely necessary to inspire us
with confidence and trust in him. In
all good reason, therefore, did Christ
declare; And this is life eternal, that
they might know thee the only true
God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast
sent. .
Now, the absolute Is, and indeed must |
always be, a profound and inscrutable (
mystery in special but not in an abb
solute sense. 1t is inscrutable, not be- !
cause it is or must be essentially and i
entirely different FROM all we know,
bit because it is infinitely superior to all |
We know The informed man may we'll
stand in awe before the emensity, wonder
md mystery Of the created; how much
more then must he stand in awe before
he infinity and mystery Of the creative i
ause2 The more we learn Of the uni 7
erse through scientific research, the S
more stupendous and marvellous does it
ecome. The man OF science stands j
ace to face with more awful and s
creation than does the I'M
utored rustic. If tits so with the finite, t
is even moresso with the infinite. The e
nore we learn of the infinite Creator, t,
he more is he lifted above us in power b
nd majesty; the more awful and mi 4
aculous does he become, because of his 7
cry infinity, his inscrutable greatness. I
ignorance Of God, as / have shown, II
hight give us contempt for him, might, 3
nd evidently would, cause us to under a
lte him. The pagans always Worship p
petty and finite gods. But knowl- Il
ige Of the absolute God only inspires W
ithin us feeling Of our own insignifi- W
snce and ignorance before him, and of s;
rofound wonder at his incomprehensi- n
Ie greatness and majesty OF being. fc
OF an infinite something, by
,vealing the fact that we can never W
lily comprehend it, only heightens in sc
1r minds its essential wonder and q
Iystety. Spencer, therefore, is wrong b
supposing that any obtainable or real G
nowledge OF the attributes OF the first OF
ID infinite cause could lessen its mar al
,lousness or mystery. We know the VI
the personal God, and m
It we know full well that we can never pc
now him. How wonderful then does at
} becomel al
An intelligent creator must be pro-
undly interested in his own extensive tn
cation, else he would not put himself dc
the trouble Of creating it-he must is
sire il to be high success. Especial ha
must be so respecting his chief crea- wi
res. Therefore, we may reasonably or
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