Omaha daily bee., 1918-11-18
BISHOP HUGHES
OF OREGON IN
OMAHA PULPIT
Says 1t Takes Much More
Courage to Be a Firm Be.
lever Than a HALF
Hearted Doubter.

THE time has come when even
members of the christian church
lay emphasis rather on what they
do not believe, than upon what they
do believe" declared Bishop Mat
thew S. Hughes of Portland, Ore,
who occupied t." pulpit in the First
Methodist church Sunday morning.
Bishop Hughes took for his text,
the 18th verse of the 18th chapter of
the book Of Matthew: And when
they saw Him they worshipped Him
but some doubted" In an eloquent
and forceful sermon he deplored
the fact that modern progress and
modern doubt" were tending to
draw people away from the simple
faith in the scriptures that was held
by our fathers.
Courage to be Christian
"The time has actually come
when some of our half baked theo-
logians from some of our seminaries
will tell you that there are some
hymns that they do not give out to
their congregations" said the bis
hop. I'VE are living at time when
it takes ten times as much more
courage to be thorough-going be-
lever than it does to be half heart
ed doubter; at time when doubt
er has unique position. Some have
even gone to the far extreme of
doubling the existence of the doubt,
and | have boy who is versed in
modern slang who would probably
say that is going some The element
of doubt is taught in our schools and
sometimes it is preached in our
pulpits."
He told his congregation that
progress and doubt could no, go
hand in hand, one must perish the
other prevail, that it is merely a
problem i'll cause and effect so
thoroughly demonstrated by the
events of the last four years, and
added: Some think that the great
war which is just ending was
caused by a comet. but let me tell
you a comet doesn't talk German
or wear a steel helmet
No Doubt in Science
1--WE talk about the progress of
science. My friends, do you know
that the progress of science is al
ways away from doubt and always
towards the things we most need.
Modern doubt has had an alliance
with the conceit of human nature
and if am not mistaken this has
been its greatest help. We have
great many grown up people who
think they are as they describe
themselves (skepticaD due to their
intellectual superiority and that
their skepticism is the penalty they
pay for their superior to other
people. They pay the penalty with
great deal more enthusiasm than
they do their income tax.
when any one is proud of his
doubts and regards the skeptical
tendencies of his mind as due to
intellectual superiority it will be a
good thing for him to realize that
he might just as we'll be proud of a
harelip or a club foot. Whenever
you have doubt it is not due to in
tellectual superiority, but it is sure
evidence that your mind has tackled
a problem to which it was not
equal"
Bishop Hughes, by a simple and
wonderful delivery, has the faculty
of holding his hearers with marked
attention, and the First Methodist
church felt fortunate in having him
stop in Omaha while enroute from
New York to his home in Portland,
Ore, where he is in charge of the
Pacific Northwest district of his
church.
He also occupied the same pulpit
in the evening where Victory SER
vice was held in which the other
Methodist churches of the city par
ticipated, and at which the congre-
cation sang the soldier songs that
the boys sing lover there"