Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-06

luton and also in Christianity, I should
like to know at what point In the proc
ess Of evolution mans soul material
lied. -
A.-Man's soul goes with the body.
It reasonably follows, therefore, that
when God produced q human BODY He
also produced for it human soul.
There is q life element in the lower
animals which corresponds exactly with
their physical organisms. Likewise the
life element, principle or soul in man
harmonizeS with his physical organism.
Evolution and psychology agree In
this and their agreement goes far to
show that transmigration Of souls is inn
possible, because a given soul Is the
concomitant Of given body. WhaC
has been said, however, does not ad-
vance the answer to your question. IL
amounts, as 7 see 1t, to this, that the
first human soul emerged into personal
being when the first human body was
evolved. Here we are only playing one
end Of the problem against the other.
But that is about all we can do.
If we knew exactly all the Creators
methods In creation, we should be able
to allocate the time when and describe
the process by which the non-human
became the human. But this stupen-
dous miracle is one Of Gods secrets.
Q.-You recently said in radio adj
dress that the Old Testament Psalter
was q unique book and that we had
nothing like it in the New Testament.
What about the hymns IN the Gospels!
A.-The three great lyrics OF the new
Testament are the Magnificent, the
Benedictus and the Nunc Dimittis. The
Magnificent is charged with personal
feeling: the Benedictus with national
aspirations, and the Nunc Dimittis with
hope for the world Each Is a gem OF
purest ray serene, shining in the diadem
of divine love expressed by the 1ncarna-
ton.
begins with the individual. my soul"
is the opening note, but it extends 10
the nation and is patriotism's no6leSt
form. BLESSED be the Lord God OF
inmates in all mankind. IA light to
enliQhten the nations" is the cry OF its
gospel. Note the order Of these three
anthems. The Magnificent precedes the
BenedictuS, and the Nunc Dimittls con-
cludes the triology Of sacred praise.
Those who sang its three numbers
separately, yet tremendously, were OF
the Jewish race. The PSalter was their
ancestral Ilymnal indispensable, treas
ured, the flower Of Hebrew spirituality:
Were q vote taken on the favorite Old
Testament book, who doubts that tne
Psalter would win? 1t is the strongest
devotional tie between Jews and Chris
tians.
@. You appear to hold out a hope OF
salvation for religions outside the Chris
tian belief. Then why did st. Peter, IN
Acts iv:12, say, referring. to Christ:
Neither is there salvation In any
other?
men are not doomed to destruction
hereafter because they accept some re-
ligion other than the Christian religion.
R,It this does not prevent me from
BELIEVING that the full meaning Of mans
salvation is to be found only in Chris
tianity. There is vast difference be-
tween being 'lost" and being com
pletely saved" AS a matter OF fact, the
majority Of us are in the heart OF the
process of being saved" as the New
Testament puts it.
we have not yet attained "the meas
ure Of the stature Of the fullneSs OF
Christ" Saving" a soul Is divine lyme
task, which requires infinitely more than
this life affords to accomplish It's 1un
intent and purpose.
AS see it, Buddhist or Moslem
is not condemned to eternal darkness
for the sole reason that he was loyal to
his ancestral faith. Neither does his
loyalty entitle him to the spiritual SOW
ereignty which Christ's redemptive work
secures for man. He has still to face
the revelation of God in Christ and ne
must see himself and his Creator with
the ewes of Christ before he can obtain
the universal blessednesS Christianity
is designed to give.
Let, closely considered, is not this
your condition and mine? When we
compare ourselves with the Master, the
difference between us and the So-called
heather Is not as impressive as 1t
might be. The spectacle which Chris
tian men and Christian states present.
ed to the nom Christian world from
1914 to 1918 was not very commenda-
tory Of their religion. Study that spec
tacle and with it the needs OF your
own spirit, and leave the fate Of non
Christian peoples to Him who will ex-
ecute absolute justice, tempered by
everlasting mercy.
@. How did the Catholic and Re-
formed churches handle the divorce
problem in the sixteenth century?
A. Prior to the Reformation, divorce
was forbidden in all Catholic countries.
But separations were common. After
the Reformation the courts Of Protes-
tant nations held that divorce for
adultery was part Of the common
law, and the Protestant churches sus-
tanned this ruling. In Scotland, how
ever, divorce for desertion was enacted
by parliament in 1878. The measure
provides that IL spouse wilfully de-
serts the society Of his or her mate and
remains in deSertion for four years the
~ V-rio RON then ho Dissolved
You may be interested to know that
secular legislation forbidding divorce
for any cause, and based on text of
the New Testament, did not obtain until
about five centuries after the Christian
era began. The Eastern Church has
always permitted divorce. The West
ern Church maintained the strict view
Of the indissolubility Of the marriage
vow until the Reformation, and the
Roman Catholic Church still maintains
it.
@. We read that Jesus taught His
disciples in secret. It Is not fair to
assume that through such instructions
these chosen men were given the keys
to a scientific, constructive, spiritual
far exceeding that Of ordi-
nary persons? II SO, what has become
of this esoteric formula for a select and
initiated few?
A. There never were any esoteric
formulas in original Christianity or
Judaism. Many attempts were made
to inject them into these religions, but
the jealous guardians Of their purity
rendered these efforts abortive. Doubt
less our Lord trained the IL apostles
and they in turn transmitted His teach
ings to the infant Church Of the Greco
Roman Empire.
But the instructions He gave were
made as open as the day. How could
it be otherwise when that which Jesus
communicated in secret was afterNard