Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-09
Religious Questions
DISCUSSED BY
DR.. S. Parkes Cadman.

| @. What is the meaning of the seven
pillars mentioned In Proverbs. Xxi?
| A. This paragraph contains beauti-
| full description of the palace which per-
sonifled Wisdom is building for herself
and into which she invites her chosen
guests. The symbolic use of pillars, as
| indicative of strength, was common to
| the writer's of the period in their de-
| scription of imposing mansions, and as
seven was for them the sacred number
complete and perfect. Wisdom's stately
| halls had to contain seven pillars, no
more and no less. The idealization of
pillars and numbers persists until now,
and is constantly expressed III diversi-
fed ways.
@. st. John, xvi33, reads: "These
things have / spoken unto you that in
my name We may have peace. In the
world We have tribulation; but be OF
good cheer, have overcome the world"
Does this passage imply that the great
majority of men must labor by the
sweat of their broWs to satisfy even the
primary economic wants of food, shelter
and clothing for themselves and their
families, and is it not true that much
unrest today is primarily due to the
realization of present and future imam
cial insecurity?
A. To give these words of Jesus a
purely social or economic emphasis Sc
verely limits their application. To be
sure, some fluctuations which believers
and non-believers alike must encounter
arise from the necessity of earning our
daily bread. And the Great Teacher may
very well have had in mind the hard
and bitter struggle for bare existence
which is Waged by countless millions OF
unprivileged people.
Moreover, the completely of modern
life accentuates that struggle for those
who are caught in its terrific grind.
Think, for instance, of the condition Of
British miners, Armenian peasants Chi
nese famine sufferers and of the bur-
dcns and anxieties they must sustain.
Sorrow and hunger, Swallowed by de-
spair, are often multiplied not because
men and women have to earn liveli-
hood by the sweat of their brow, but
because willing hands have no work
to do.
Yet could the envy, jealousy and hate
that deflle humanity be eXterminated,
much tribulation would vanish with
them. If disease and i'll health were
more completely controlled by scientific
diagnosis and treatment, another large
group of preventable ills would dis
appear.
Nevertheless, were an Elysium which
would satisfy H. G. Wells achieved to-
morrow, its outward benefits could not
soothe the anguish created by tempta-
ton, tranSgresSion and rebelliouS tenn
permanent. To meet these inevitable
trials We need the sustaining and con-
soling presence of superior power
which is in us, with us, yet above us.
Such power is transmitted by the in
dwelling Christ. He vouchsafes the calm
lf-possession, the tranquil courage,
the invincible trust which light the
dreariest lot and remind us that beyond
the darkest night there is perfect day.
@. How did the ancient writer's of
the Old Testament attain to their idea
of the one God, supreme over all, and
forever holy?
A. BY the covenant relations which
pledged their nation to His worship and
service. A sort of monolatry prevailed
at first, which insures Israel's loyalty to
Jehovah, even when other gods were
recognized.
Then came the illustrious prophets of
the eighth century B.C.-Amos, Hosea
and the two Isaiahs-who emphasized
the divine Righteousness and love. Read
also those unsurpassed pages in which
Isaiah sees Jehovah in His majestic
and radiant holiness. jeremiah, who
was in some respects the greatest of the
choir, spiritualiZed the messages of his
predecessors and transformed the basic
conceptions Of religion. Absolute mono