The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-08-09
FALSE GODS SUBJECT .OF REV. s. I. SLATON Breaches Regular Sermon at
 NOrwO0d Methodist  SCORES SUPERSTITION Declares Most Modern Day Supersti- ton Is Merely Silly-Names
 Different Kinds of Man.
 ufactured Gods
SUPERSTITION

Different Kinds of Man. ufactured Gods
 Manufactured Gods in Religion was the topic of the sermon of the Rev. s. T. Slaton of the Norwood Methodist church yesterday morning before a crowded con gresation. The Rev Slaton took his text from Isaiah 44:17, %. dwelling upon the fact that the people living now are doing the same as in olden days when they had numerous gods.
 He said that superstitution held large part of the peoples mind Culture and social service have done much for the understanding of welfare agencies and the progress of mankind, but many of us make a god out of this good material, ' he said. ITO ascend life's ladder, we must use our usefulness and service to God and our day and generation"
 Mir. Slaton took his text from Isaiah AIT. 20: "Of the residue thereof he maketh a god He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside that he cannot deliver his soul. nor say is there not lie in my right hand?" He said in part:
 | Primitive peoples sought communlca- ton and fellowship with the unseen forces of the world by fashoning material ob- jects of wood, stone and metal into forms that symbolized their conception of their gods These gods shared in the life of the tribe, and were interested in all the experiences of the people. They went to war with them, and the results of the battle were ascrbed to the strength and i help of the god, in case of victory and 1 Ia vrpa pf a pod in ca ca of de- l feat
 ! '"rhe Assyrians of the north had defea ted Israel and Jehovah. their national Deity had been brought into disrepute in the minds of the weak and vacilating. And the Prophet Isaiah pictures these weak hearted lsra elites falling away from their devotion to Jehovah and going out on the hillside and felling a tree with a part of which they cooked their meat, with an- other part they cooked their bread, with a third part they warmed themselves and with the remainder they made a god.
 Gods of Wood
 Few civilized peoples today turn their hands and hearts to making gods of wood. metal and stone. and disclaim any inelina- tions that way. And yet chance and luck are often esteemed very highly in our thoughts, and billilkins blink at us from shelf, mantle and table of many homes anu HidStOlS arc lINluhtu III tht itinerary of the ball team, and we po- ltely explain the presence of 13 at the table. and knock on wood when we speak of the good health of ourselves and of our family. This is not idolatry, it Is just silly
 And yet trust in these things is a confession that we do not believe the world is rationally ordered, and hence we set up a court or standard of final appeal in matters of morals and conduct
 which rules God out of our lives ant } amounts to idolatry.
 } "This may be done with things of grea value Business may be elevated to tn, place of god. and we may measure b, 5 and refer to business demands, everything : of personal. family or social nature He may forget the Sabbath demands o rest. recreation. fellowship and worship } for himself and his fellows in his devotion, to business calls. He may make a god of dividends or of dearly bought success } and forget the matters of safety of life limb and the happiness of the workmer and those with whom he labors. I Price of Life
 1 An Eastland may be the price of If, to pay. and yet business Is the bach bone of material existence, and has giver us our ships. railroads, warehouses, sky
 scrapers, capitols and cathedrals for th
 comfort and progress of man. We ar, . considering not so much the use as tn,
 abuse
 Social convention may be erected into | god. And yet convention tells us when t,
 call, how many cards to ,eave hoy 7 far we should go in conversng witl 9 strangers. questions of manners at tabl 3 and such matters. And, in fact, custom t is the lubricant of our social machinery l And yet men and women may bow at tn, 1 shrine of convention. and forget thei l finaicia obligations, ignore moral decen 1 cies and desert their religious duties ant privileges to the measure of the most rep rehensible social idolatry
 , Culture is a most desirable gift ' Culture enables us to distinguish music from ragtime, pictures from comi l. supplements. the hopeful, helpful messa ge . of literature from the emptiness of mucl ' of the popular fiction. Culture gives II
 fellowship with the true, the beautiful an, s the good. And yet our honor of cultur : may spring from a distrust of spiritua Q standards. Interest in culture may b. 8 substituted for interest in moral life. an' e you may erect a standard of culture fo s permission to do that which is contrar. s to the, standard of Jesus Christ-cultur . idolatry
 | Social Service
 j Social service has done much for the un dersta nding of welfare agencies and tn
 
 = god of this good material, and substitut social service programmes and platform T for Jehovah and his law of righteousness 5 and spiritual redemption through Jesu T Christ If we are going 70 rIrt the worl, ' we need great God to help us with tn = task. We feed on ashes when we rel. - upon any of these idols to answer tn
 call of the depths of our souls, when W
 crave strength in weakness, comfort fl ' sorrow, help in trouble and light in tn r dark ordeas of life's experiences > He who created man in His own i'm = age and gave him his high place of rul E and dominion in time, and the promis y of exaltation in eternity values the rela }, tfon between man and Himself too highl y to relinquish His place in our hearts [ idols of wood stone, gold, precious gems
 customs or ideas. And ashes of emptines
 and bitter regret will be the penalty 0 o such desertion from our divine mlssio !: and destiny. In fellowship with God a n these agencies contribute their wealth s the growing spirit within in it's effort
 to ascend the rungs of lfe's ladder in use e fulness and service to God and our da e and generation"
 
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