Abbeville progress. (Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, La.) 1913-1944, 1914-05-30

Ezs&nn retically deny tne
- &6S1kssz2ssee- existence OF Coo,
i'm fact, they do so .
in ignoring him. In an edltorlai III
a reputable daily newspaper, entitled .
God Not to Blame" commentator
was given to a Unitarian minister "ho'
in speaking of the recent burning OF
club house In St Louis, where more
than thirty persons lost their hVes'
said that the disaster was TO be attrlD-
uted to criminal stupidity and oDstl-
macy" Commentator was also given
to another minister, who said that the
disaster was an evidence or the shai-
low fashion In which men accept so
cial responsibility" In connection
with these concentrations this was
said: ut used to be the fashion 10
blame God for such disasters, or al
least to speak of them as mysterious
dispensations of his providence. We
have outgrown that cowardly and I'M
intelligent viewpoint" The question
arises In connection with this edlto-
rial, Was God asleep when the clup
house burned, or was he so Tar away
that he could not get Information OF
the event? Such questions seem rldlc-
ulous. even blasphemous, for God was
awake and everywhere immanenI
Granting that as to human RESPONSE
bility the remarks of both the MIN
listers referred to we're 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 Pompeil
/ 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-
tiers 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
! etduu, anu " ooys ~ ~ -
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, am the supreme
God, created the universe. l made
the laws to control 1t, and nothing
transpires within it without my knowl
edge" II we concede the knowledge
of God, logic compels US to say thai
everything is according to his pur
pose. however we fail to reconcile
some things with the character o
, God as loving and merciful.
God says to Cyrus, will grid thee
| which means, | will strengthen thee
As the armies of Cyrus swept owe
Asia, and kingdom after kingdom fel
, before him, as the great walls of Bah
! ylon. presumably impregnable, wer'
no barrier to his entrance into tn
! city. doubtless Cyrus would be tempt
ed to think Of himself as a great worl
a conoueror, in the style of ancient days
although we do not have record to tina
. effect God had a great work for Cy
r rus to do, and, to impress this upo
, him. tells him that the strength tina
, he would show in his military success
. was simply Gods strength. In MOI
. ern times great political, social an
|, military movements are made, an
!. those making them largely ignore Coz
l. H., ~ than Cod wa
: moving In the Russo-Japanese war.
the Chinese revolution. in the war
the Balkan states, and he Is now mo
ing I'm Great Britain In connection wit
the Irish question. and In Mexico
connection with the evil war. In a
: the great movements of modern time
+ In the great inventions. and all accor
s. plishments of men that are the wo
l. der of an Unlocking world, God
. moving.
;. The charge of God against Cyr'
- was that as yet he was not recogni
ing God. That is precisely what
&c believe that editorial failed to do
% connection with the ST Louis disaste
10 God was not ignorant Of that disaste
y nor OF the burning Of the steam
Slocum, nor of the sinking of the
tanic, although In connection with 6
these evants man was criminally st
pid and obstinate.
~ AS the president of the Unit
ie States is watchfully waiting the ise
of the struggle in Mexico, so Dug
al man to watchfully wait as he Sc
II God working in the world. Shah
ne speare was not wrong when he sal
There is a divinity that shapes o
ny ends, rough hew them how We may
The editorial referred to would CT
such teaching theological sentime
tality, the suppression Of which wou
pi- be a wholesome and hopeful sign
n the times, but 1t Is the truth, and
er sustained by history, philosophy, exl
Sc rience and the word of God, and m
re would profit if they would heed it