Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1915-01-31
STURGIS ON THE
Big PERSONALITY
Salisaw Minister Gives His
View of the
Christ.
INFALLIBLE LEADER
Attempt to Rule Human
Affairs Without Christ
a Failure, He Says.

a success that has won him no slight
popularity with the readers OF the
Daily World, in which a number Of
his sermons have appeared during
the past two years. His present series
Of Sunday night sermons under the
general head of "The Gospel of a
Broader Vision" In which he deals
with q portrayal Of those virtues
which count in the stirring life of
today with its struggles between the
Ideals OF selfishness and altruism,
sermons wonderfully alive to the spir-
itual needs of modern life, will be
found exceedingly helpful and GER
tainly read with pleasure by those
who enjoy lucid interpretations Of
religious truth.
His message today, the first in the
series, bears the title, "Chrlst-the
Supreme Personality Among Men," in
which DR.. Sturgis shows the possibil-
ity Of overcoming and surviving the
autocratic spirit of the age by faith
in a living fellowship with the eternal
God. Taking as his textual thought
the words Of Simon Peter, Thou art
the Christ, the Son Of the living Cod
the speaker said:
No intelligent person today, alive to
historic truth doubts that such a per
son as Jeaus Christ was in Palestine,
lived, taught and was crucified there.
The evidence cannot be overthrown.
The difficulty with such persons as
seek to avoid Christ is in their own
attitude toward Him, a personal mat
ter with all that this attitude involves
with individuals and the human race.
They do not deny the excellence of
His teaching, the nobility of His char
acter, and the fine ideals He held
before mankind of life, character and
service, and the marvellous moral and
spiritual power that He exerted on
those who were close to Him, and on
His followers ever since, with the
fine and undying loyalty and devo-
ton to Himself that He has never
ceased to inspire In His followers.
Behind these facts is a Person Of
supreme excellence, man without a
peer, with q character above criti-
cism.
1t cannot be truthfully said that
Jesus was an Impractical ideaiist,
teaching ideals that man, constituted
as he Is, cannot follow. Some who
have been caught in the scientific
movement have said that religion is so
mysterious and transcendental that 1t
cannot be known by anyone, or, that
religion is so personal and sacred that
it cannot be brought into ordinary
not a particular matter of knowledge;
that all that we can know is that
which Is in nature and of this world.
Why trouble about another that can
not be known?
Those who take such an attitude
toward Jesus Christ and toward re-
ligion, are not so irrational about
other persons or things, nor do they
refuse to shape their conduct ac-
cording to unseen and unknowable
things Of other kinds. Tomorrow is
Just as unknown as any number of
tomorrows. The next hour is as un-
known as is eternity. Only what has
come to be can be known. We may
hope and trust with regard to the next
hour tomorrow and forever. All our
hopes and expectations are built on
faith, all our calculations on the fu-
ture. Even those who profess no faith
in Christ, but take negative attitude
towards Him, and religion and con-
science, and moral responsibility, plan
about tomorrow; having faith in
many things that experience has al
ways shown to be liable to prove un-
certain and beyond our insight Man
Is inconsistent even when he pretends
to believe in science. He seeks to
penetrate beyond the veil Of sense in
many things, and thinks himself
scientific, and yet, inconsistently
speaks with contempt Of any possible
knowledge Of the unseen, the spirit
ual, the eternal, the divine. He uses
faith, while denying the ground Of
faith!
Faith "a Better Basis OF Calculation
Than Intellect.
At the basis OF all scientific in
quiry is possibility, 30 far as our at
titude is concerned We cannot know
what has not yet come to pass. We
can only have faith, conviction of
things not yet seen, assurance Of
things hoped for. Here is seen the
limitation of knowledge. Faith-base
less as it may seem to those whose
attitude toward Christ is negative
opens the person who uses it to the
possibilities of experience and power,
and proves true what doubt has kept
out Of sight; makes real what would
otherwise be impossible.
Is there no certainty about the flu
ture7 you ask. No way to perceive
reality, and 30 to base our action on
foundation that the passage OF
time, and the development of events
may prove that we were right in ouf
convictions and anticipations-our
faith? Cannot we have a better cal
tellect that knows only what has come
to pass, is already accomplished?
Fortunately, yes. There is more
than one knowledge, more than one
conviction, moro than one basis of ac-
ton, more than one perception of
reality, and more than one reality to
be perceived. There is the moral and
spiritual perception, knowledge and
action. There is n world beyond that
which doubters OF Christ consider all.
In that world Jesus Christ was at
home, and dwelt, and sought to en-
able all to dwell and work. Even II
II could be proved that the intellect
cannot know the transcendent truth
of the spiritual order, that would not
warrant ones refusal to accept on any
ground Of knowledge what may be
revealed in his experience, and to
base his action on the truth of the
moral spirit order. "The psychic man
does not receive the things of the
Spirit Of God, for they are foolishness
to him, and he is not able to know
them" declared Paul. TO whom the
spiritual was more real and trust
worthy than the outward order OF
things.
There is a touch, an experience, a
new birth, that brings a man up
ward, out of the psychic into the spir-
itual, an experience as real as Is his