The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1914-06-19

- - ness unto MIN;
neither can he
know them because they are spiritual.
ly discerned." U Cor. 2:14.
Furthermore, the truth as 1t is In
for the sinner, and no one enjoys re-
proof or rebuke AS the lawyer, will.
ing to justify himself, said: who is
my neighbour" so the natural heart
questions the authority Of the Bible,
and even the existence of God, rather
than confess its sin. Add to this the
fact that the devil who first injected
doubt into the mind of man, and who
is rightly called by our Savior the
father of lies, is ever seeking to preju.
dice the creature against the Creator,
and 1t Is not strange that all thinking
people pass through a period Of doubt
as to the fundamentals of religion,
and some are so completely blinded
that they never come out of their
spiritual darkness.
In dealing with doubters 1t is I'm.
portant to ascertain their real posi-
ton. Some skeptics are mere trifers
who are too indolent to grapple with
the truth in a resolute way, and so
find it easier to doubt and drift with
the current Of their natural inclina
tions. Others use their skepticism as
a cover for an ungodly life. You can
say to such when they question the
inspiration of the Bible that one proof
OF ito Iixtin ioin fo hn 70 no
describes their condition so complete.
ly, and tells how they came into that
condition.
Remind them that to doubt the
Bible does not alter the facts which Ii
reveals, but it does subject them to
the charge OF making God liar q
John 5:10), and 1t puts them under
condemnation. 'He that believeth not
is condemned already, because he hath
not believed in the name Of the only
begotten son of God. And this Is the
condemnation, that light Is come into
the world, and men loved darkness
rather than light, because their deeds
were evil" John 3:1S, 19).
1t is said that vessel once sighted
an enemy just at sundown, and kept
up a cannonade until the darkness
put stop to it. When the sun arose
the next morning, they were cha
grined to find that the supposed enemy
was an immense rock, which still re-
NAMED intact after many hours Of
bombarding. So In all ages men have
been demolishing the Bible as the
enemy of the human race, but the old
Book still stands, silent, but solid as
the Rock OF Ages. For trifling skep-
tics John S:21, "a is very good as
showing the consequences Of unbelief,
while John $40 discloses the origin
of their skepticism. "Ye will not
come to me that ye might have life"
There is another class of doubters
who are really desirous of knowing
the truth. AS some one has ex-
pressed it, HE wishes there was a
God to whom he could come as a
child to his father, but he does not
know whether there is or not, and he
wants to know. He wishes he were
an immortal spirit: but he is not posi-
tive that he Is anything more than
an animated machine, and he seeks
for evidence. He would be glad to
believe that this unknown God has
provided for this unknown soul some
way by which IL could know both It's
father and itself. He does not dis
believe in God or Christ, but he does
not know, and he wants to know"
For such people there are two paths
to the light, the intellectual and the
moral The first begins with the
known and argues Its way to the un-
known. The creation proves a crea-
tor. Intelligent and moral beings
imply a creator capable OF producing
such. The scientific method results
only in high degree OF probability.
Il is true, but then we act every day
on just such probabilities, and we
ought TO act upon them in religion.
The other method starts with the
distinction between right and wrong
which we all know, and which no
| moral man can doubt. Into this world
has come Jesus OF Nazareth. He
meets our ideals. he commends him
self to our consciousness. he com.
mands our will. IL we take his life
and follow II. his teachings and obey
them, we will soon find our way into
the light. Il am the light Of the
world he that followeth me shall not
walk I'm darkness. but shall have the
light of life" (John SID. II any man
will do his will, he shall know ol
the doctrine. whether II be of God
or whether speak Of myself (Johr