South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-03-30
RELIGION COMES
FIRST WITH MAN

At the St. Pauls Methodist Episco-
pal church last night Rev. James L.
Gardiner spoke on the subject "A
Soul Quest for Religious Certainties.'
which theme was enforced by Alfred
Tennyson's great poem, I'm Memo
RAM"
The speaker said. Religion is the
deepest thing in human life Man at
his highest and best IS a worshipful
being. The fact Of religion perhaps
is one Of the universal facts Of human
experience.
Now the fundamental question in
religion is, what is mans relation to
God? And mark you the question is
not, what tradition or what the creeds
may say about this relationship; il is
what does man know by personal ex-
perience of God?
"A religion that is worth anything
is more than creed. 1t is more than
an intellectual conclusion about God.
Religion is the life of God in the soul.
Religion is the experience of the truth
expressed by Jesus Christ and set
forth in the various creeds OF the
church. It Is an experience Of what
Christ called the life more abundant
only such an experience Will salts
fy when the testing day comes. on
ly religion that can say with positive
assurance L know whom L have be-
lieved' is worth while in the stress and
strain of human life.
Take the experience of Job. Job
was one OF eavens saints who lived
in the early Wight of Gods revelation
TO men. He was sorely troubled. He
was wealthy, but he lost his wealth.
Il U..rN
his health. He was the head Of q
large family. but he lost his children,
one by one. He was a man who en-
joyed the sympathy OF his wife and
friends, but he lost their sympathy.
Yet with his wealth, and health and
children and with human sympathy
gone, he did not lose his faith in God.
He said. Though He slay me yet will
! | trust in Him. His religion was re-
ligion that stood the test because it
was an experience Of God within his
soul
This was also true of Paul. He
says, We are. troubled on every side
yet not distressed: we are perplexed
but not in despair, prosecuted but not
forsaken.' And why? Because his
trust was in God. L know said he
whom l have believed
How vastly different was the eX-
perience of Alfred Tennyson during
those first days after he lost his friend
Arthur Hallam. In youth Tennyson
| rested in n merely traditional faith.
He knew God according to the creeds
| but not by personal experience.
| Hence his religion was not such at first
! that could stand the test.
THE death of Hallam led Tennyson
TO ask himself two questions: First.
is there a God who is good and who
cares for folks second is there a life
| beyond the present, where Arthur Hal
lam and 1 shall meet again ?? The poem
| I'm MemOriam" is the record of
souls search for certainty concerning
the great truths of God and immor-
| tally
What Tennyson says of his hero,
He fought his doubts and gathered
strength, may be truly said of the
poet himself. When Tennyson began
this poem at the age OF % his relig-
ion consisted in a mere intellectual as
sent to the orthodox creeds; when he
finished the poem seventeen years
later his religion consisted in a posi-
tive knowledge Of God through eX-
perience. He was also positively con-
WINGED from the character of God and
of man, of the great fact of immor-
| tality."