Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1913-09-01

can we be otherwise than indignant
and jealous for the honor Of our God
and for the influence of His Truth
amongst our fellowmen.
The Pastors Personal Experience.
l speak from experience, Not that
1 have mad the experience Of being an
alien, Il stranger from God but have
had the experience of losing my God.
The child o. believing parents, and in
doctrinated along Calyinistic lines to
believe that only the Elect, handful,
would ever reach glory. and that all
the remaining non-elect would reach
a perdltion of torment, l was accus-
toned to thinking Of myself as one
of the Elect, and appreciating the Love
of God. which had provided for the
salvation of the Elect,
AS boy of seventeen, a member Of
the Y. NJ. c. A., engaged, as did other
members at that time. in what we call
ed Gospel preaching realizing the
meaning of the word Gospel-that 1t
signifies good. tidings Of great joy,
which shall beTo all people" Like the
others, | exhorted and threatened, pic
tured Hell, and shook my hearers over
it. Then came sober thought Rea-
son began to assert itself over super
stitlon. inquired of myself, Where
is this Hell which you preach? And
what do you really know about it?
Confessing my own ignorance on the
subject, l went to my teachers and
elders, and was amazed to find that
they knew no more about it than my
self. | stopped preaching and began
to think and to examine the creeds, ]
found that the differences between
them were trivial; they all had the
one foundation Of Heavenly salvation
for the sanity few, and eternal torture
for the thousands of millions in heath
en- and in Christian lands. The more
| investigated, the more | felt sure a
great mistake had been made; that a
real God could not have such plan;
such an arrangement as our creeds
declared. threw them all away; and
thinking the Bible the basis for them
all, threw It after the creeds.
soul-Hunser For God,
Having once known God as my
Heavenly Father, could find no sou
rest without Him My soul hungeret
for His love and care | still held tC
the great fact that our Universe has
an intelligent, personal Creator His
Wisdom and Power were before me or
every starry night. My studies II
anatomy convinced me that | myself
all humanity, yea, every creature, 4
fearfully and wonderfully made, Tht
more studied, the more became con
vinced that the eye could never hay,
come by chance, could not have beel
evolved by nature god and so will
every other function Of my body-th
muscles, the nerves, and the power T.
move In response to the mere thinking
willing / worshipped the God Of Wis
dom and Power, and sought to knoy
more Of Lin, confident that woul
find Him good.
Left to the resources Of my ow
. brain. asked, Could others and my
self possess, as gifts Of our Creator
! the qualities Of Justice and Love
which we esteem the very highes
' and yet that Creator Himself be de-
! titute Of these? The answer Of m
mind was, Surely, as He that forme
the eye can see, He that gave hi
manity the qualities of Justice an
Love, must possess these qualities
infinite measure.
. Thus behed with the eyes Of m
> understanding the great God Of tn
. Universe, infinite In His Wisdom,
y His Power, in His Justice, in III
. Love. | worshlped again, rejoiced this
II could have confidence In my Go,
d and realize that He had made neithC
J. the world nor our race In vain-tht
% He had some wise, just, loving purpo'
> In connection with our creation.
Intelligent Peoples Most Thorough
Seduoed.
., My next thought was, Would not
a, just and loving God be pleased to NAL
~ known His purposes to His creatur,
% who desired 10 know and do His will
y The answer Of my mind was, that
~ might confidently seek Gods Messag
~ Thinking that had already suiflcier
=, ly examined the Bible, | turned my O
~ tentlon to heathen religions, only
a. find them less rational In some respec
% than my own, Evidently the most
to telligent peoples Of the world ha'
been the most thoroughly seduced
"a Satan and his doctrines Of demons
no into believing the most horrible thin
u respecting the Creator and His purpo
NV toward His human creatures.
ht Finally. I resolved ON a fresh stul
" Of the Bible, assuring myself first tn
es my colored spectacles and those Of u
"a friends were thoroughly broken, a
Wv my mind entirely untrammeled. n
~ without stumblings and difficulties 4
IN the Lord gradually lead me to clear
nd and yet clearer light upon His woi
ss' until found that the basis of all d
rl. 6Culty lay In our following Satan's
~. "Ye shall not surely die"
,n From that time the entire Bil
ro gradually became Illuminated, bear
,or ful. grand. harmoniousl Now, beloy
nm hearers, It stands pre-eminent bef'
my mind ns the Word OF God, Real
Ing this, ! use my reason freely will
~ the limits Of It's declarations, but ne'
outside OF It's authority.
Js Mankind Need to Be Eneourasod--r