The Penn's Grove record., 1914-02-27
MOTOR HUMAN EYE
Insight Into the Mysteries Of
Gods Plans Concealed From
His Children.

8
and experience which lead t atheism.
but none perhaps which is more fire.
quently travelled than that of the In
ability of the human soul to interpret
nationally and morally the workings
Of the universe. Again and again we
find ourselves standing dumb and
helpless before the inexplicable mys-
teries Of earth. How to explain the
~stupendous cataclysms of nature. the
universal horror OF the struggle for ex-
istence, the innumerable agonies of
animal life, mans inhumanity to man.
the ravages Of disease, the barbarisms
Of war, the sorrows Of death-how to
reconcile the hard facts OF evil with
the conception OF an all wise, ali just
and all powerful God-this is a Ques-
ton which we cannot seem to answer.
And, failing to answer, we jump at
once to the sweeping conclusion that
these things being true, there Is no
God. Il cannot understand the uni
verse;" is the line Of argument, ~and
therefore / cannot believe in God"
lnfidellty Not Logical.
Now, that we should find it dificult
to understand the world of nature and
Of man is not a thing to be wondered
at The further we penetrate into the
great world of being the deeper be-
comes the mystery in which we find
ourselves involved. But that we should
immediately assume. because of the
inc hi1ifw ~ or.r I{ffIo rnfrda IN Rafhorr
every depth and scale every height
that God is a sheer Pigment Of the
imagination is certainly q thing to be
wondered at to the very end of time.
For when has failure to understand
eve before been taken to be bona hde
evidence that there is nothing to un-
derstand7 The schoolboy is undoubt
eddy unable to work out the nsw TO
his algebra problem. but what right
has he to throw down his pencil and
shout that the problem has no answer?
/ certainly fail In miserable fashion to
decipher the inscription on this broken
tablet from the Egyptian DESERT but
this does not prove that the letters
have nc meaning.
Not Given us to Understand.
For countless ages men cav nothing
but conflict and disorder in the world
Of natural forces, but this demonstrate
ed not that the universe was chaotic
but that the human reason was not
yet acute enough in observation and
daring enough In imagination to be-
hold the law and order which has
since been unveiled. And so with the
great question OF God. 1t may be true
that | cannot see any evidence of d.
vine goodness and wisdom in the
world. It may be true that ] cannot
understand the place of food and pes
thence and sudden death in a world
created and ruled by a ~beneicent
Deity. It may be true that / can work
out no answer to this tangled problem
Of existence. But who am /, pray, that
I should expect to do this thing? And
why should my failure be taken as In
any sense proof positive that it is not
to be done at all? Where is the logic
Of such a conclusion from such a
premise? Is it not mora logical to
argue that my failure to understand is
perhaps a reflection upon my powers
of understanding, rather than a re1ec-
ton upon the understandable charac-
ter of the problem itself? Is it not at
least possible that the answer is there.
wen though l cannot see il, and that
some day a mightier understanding
than mine will make il plain?
So at least l try to think It Is my
faith that God lives and that his reign
is at once wise and good, even though
! fail to understand. Il believe; help
thou mine unbeIief. Rev. John
Haynes Holmes.