The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1914-05-29

existence OF God,
in fact, they do so
in ignoring him. In an editorial In
a reputable daily newspaper, entitled,
! God Not to Blame" commendation
was given to Unitarian minister who,
/ in speaking of the recent burning of a
club house In st. Louis, where more
than thirty persons lost their lives,
/ said that the disaster was to be attrib-
uted To criminal stupidity and obsti-
/ macy" Commendation was also given
TO another minister, who said that the
disaster was an evidence of the shall
! low fashion in which men accept So
cial responsibility" In connection
with these concentrations this was
said: 1T used to be the fashion to
| blame God for such disasters, or at
least to speak of them as mysterious
dispensations of his providence. We
! have outgrown that cowardly and un-
intelligent viewpoint" The question
arises In connection with this edito-
rial, Was God asleep when the club
house burned, or was he so far away
that he could not get information Of
the event? Such questions seem ridic-
ulous, even blasphemous, for God was
awake and everywhere immanent.
Granting that as TO human RESPONSE
bility the remarks OF both the min
listers referred to were correct, does
that rule God out? God may work
through men or events for the accom-
plishment OF his mysterious provi-
dence, as he may work without them.
How could the destruction of Pompeii
and Herculaneum, Of ST. Pierre, Of
Galveston, or of San Francisco be con-
nected with criminal stupidity and OBJ
stinacy? AS far as men can see, man
could have nothing to do with those
! occurrences, and yet they were disas-
ters greater than that in st. Louis.
Had God anything to do with them?
! How God is in such events we are not
able to explain, and so short-sighted
are we IN the face OF disaster that
cannot be charged to human stupidity
and obstinacy that all we can do Is
to acknowledge that we cannot under
stand, and to say, For so 1t seemed
good In thy sight.
In the text there are three things
to be noticed. God claims TO be Lord,
! in the words, IL am Jehovah and there
! Is none else." That Is to say, In all
the great universe, l am the supreme
God, l created the universe, l made
the laws to control 1t, and nothing
transpires within 1t without my knowl-
edge" II we concede the knowledge
of God, logic compels us to say that
everything is according to his pur-
pose, however we fail to reconcile
some things with the character Of
God as loving and mefciful.
God says to Cyrus. will grid thee.
which means, | will strengthen thee.
AS the armies of Cyrus swept over
Asia, and kingdom after kingdom fell
before him, as the great walls of Bah
ylon. presumably impregnable, were
no barrier to his entrance into the
city, doubtless Cyrus would be tempt
ed to think of himself as a great world
conqueror, in the style of ancient days,
although we do not have record to that
effect God had \ great work for Cy-
rus TO do, and, TO impress this upon
him, tells him that the strength that
he would show In his military success
was simply Gods strength. In mod
ern times great political, social and
military movements are made. and
those making them largely ignore God,
but God Is In all OF them. God was
moving In the Russo-Japanese war. In
the Chinese revolution. In the war In
the Balkan states, and he Is now NOV
ing In Great Britain in connection with
the Irish question, and In Mexico in
connection with the civil war. In all
the great movements of modern times,
In the great inventions. and all accom-
plishments OF men that are the won
der of an unlocking world. God is
moving.
TIE charge OF God against Cyrus
was that as yet he was not recogniz'
ing God. That is precisely what we
believe that editorial failed to do in
connection with the St Louis disaster
God was not ignorant OF that disaster
nor OF the burning OF the steamer
Slocum, nor OF the sinking OF the Tt
tanic. although in connection with all
these events man was criminally stu
pid and obstinate.
AS the president OF the United
States is watchfully waiting the issue
OF the struggle in Mexico, so ought
man to watchfully wait as he sees
God working in the world. Shake
speare was not wrong when he said
There is a divinity that shapes our
ends. rough hew them how we may.