The Washington herald., 1921-09-23
Explains Origin of Evil.

To the Editor, The Washington Herald:
feel that the reply of the writer
to whom Will U. Reason addressed
his remarks is not quite satisfac-
tory. Like many Christians. this
lady is SO full of her subject. and
SO well informed upon the self
witness of 1t. that she forgets that
outsiders do not realize her base
and fail to see how her second ar
ticle is hardly more than assertion
without proof. In a rense, what
she says is proved. In another
sense. il isn't. l believe that what
the lady says Is fundamentally
true. but she fails to produce the
evidence demanded by VIII L. Rea-
son.
That evil originated In the way ex-
planned by her Is in keeping with
both Scripture and reason. The ex-
stence Of two contending forces in the
world-good and evils. of course,
inconsistent with the supposition that
there Is only one being in control.
Since God is good, he cannot
be the author of evil. The argu-
ment for the existence of the devil is,
therefore, as conclusive as Is that for
the existence of God. That the devil
was once an angel of light is In keep
ing with both Scripture and reason,
otherwise. God, the Creator of the
being now known as the devil. would
be made the author of evil. II IL be
said that the evil We know originates
In our own hearts, one is hard put to
account for the tremendous impulse
OF it-an impulse for which humans
are not and cannot be justly consid-
cred entirely accountable. Look at it,
however We will. man is only the
secondary. and not the primary, cause
OF his own depravity. Every one
knows how manfully the most hard
ened sinners exclaim, well, who put
me 'here?-who is to blame?'' There
Is somewhat Of Justice In that cry.
Can 1t be answered that God Is to
blame for this depraved state? Ger
tainly not. IL God be considered a
Being OF just parts. There is only one
answer for 1.-THE devil
All these matters would neces-
sarily remain nebuluous and theo-
reticai, of course, were there no
better demonstration than logic.
And mere assertion. even though
1t be backed up by all the texts
Of the Bible, Is not convincing un-
less we go a step further and show
something Ito a doubtful mind
that seems to demonstrate the au-
thority of the Bible. As stated.
1t seems to be the tendency of
Christians to take II for granted
that everybody shinks the Bible
Is true. / think II Is the least
popularity accepted authority now
In existence, though many (and I
among them) believe II Is true.
Once this belief is settled, all its
statements, properly interpreted,
must be accepted. No proper and
impartial Interpretation has ever,
Il believe, varied far from the
truths as set down in the article
to which Will U. Reason objected.
The trouble. opine. is that VIII
U. Reason doesn't believe the Bible
VIII ask him one question: How
do you account for the origin of
the earl yChristian church and for
the motives of those who founded
1t and for the sublimity and purity
OF the story they relate and for
the rapid spread, against the fires
OF persecution. Of what they taught,
except upon the theory that they
believed (mind, 1 say believ.d)
that Christ rose from the dead?
will ask another question; II
they believed 1t to be true, how
could they have been mistaken?
II these questions do not fit Will
U. Reasons frame of mind, perhaps
they may Mt the minds Of Others.
il the answers to them may be as
useful in clarifying and steadying
and convincing some one as they
have been In convincing me, this
letter will not have been written in
vain. With the answers to these
questions stands or falls the whole
Bible story. 1t 10 q pity that those
who wish to deny the resurrection.
and with II the Bible, do not come
out In the open and say what they
mean, and produce their evidence to
show the imposture.
II 10 believed that any impartial
mind which. at the same time is well
read In human history and well
versed In the philosophy of human
impulses. will agree that the resur-
rection cannot be eliminated from
the facts of the record, and IL not.
He who demonstrated this power is
sumcient authority for anything
He sanctioned. and He certainly
a - - Il