,,what ,,and ,,where ,,is ,,god8 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,macmillan ,,company ,,new ,,york 4 ,,boston 4 ,,chicago 4 ,,dallas ,,atlanta 4 ,,san ,,francisco ,,macmillan ,,co41 ,,limited ,,london 4 ,,bombay 4 ,,calcutta ,,melbourne ,,the ,,macmillan ,,co4 ,,of ,,canada1 ,,ltd4 ,,toronto 99 99 99 99 99 ,,what ,,and ,,where ,,is ,,god8 ,a ,human ,answer to the ,deep ,religious ,cry of the ,modern ,soul by ,,richard ,,larue ,,swain1 ,,ph4,d4 ,new ,york ,the ,macmillan ,company #aibj ,all rights reserved ,copyright1 #aibj1 ,by the ,macmillan ,company ,set up and electrotyped4 ,published1 ,october1 #aibj ,,to ,,the ,,loved ,,ones ,,of ,,my ,,father',s ,,family ,,and ,,to ,,the ,,dear ,,ones ,,of ,,my ,,own ,,family ,,so ,,truly ,a ,,part ,,of ,,these ,,pages ,i ,,gratefully ,,dedicate ,,this ,,book ,,preface ,the foreground of this book has largely to do with the answering of vital questions that have sprung from the suffering souls of men and women with whom the author has been sympathetically associated4 ,considerable attention has been given to the natural sequence of these questions in order that the answers might form a more or less orderly line of discussion4 ,while the method of answering a particular set of questions does not permit of a strictly logical treatment of the themes1 yet in the background there is a definite and concrete picture of ,god1 of the universe1 and of man as he is enfolded in ,god's world4 ,the chapters on immortality contain a further discussion of ,god1 man1 and the universe as they move on in endless time4 ,to know what and where ,god is1 it is necessary to understand how man and the universe exist in ,god1 and what ,god purposes to achieve through them4 ,if we are to reach people's minds1 their questions are of supreme importance because they show where the mind is focused4 ,the average person can1 as a rule1 proceed no farther with a subject until his main difficulty is removed4 ,therefore1 we have preferred the question to the natural division of the subject1 believing that the reader would be able to see the logic that is beneath it all4 ,the chapters on the ,bible are not closely related to the rest of the book1 but as the ,scriptures contain the specifications and blue-prints from ,god1 it seemed important to include a description of how we must approach them if we are not to misread their spiritual content4 ,though the material of this volume has been given in extemporaneous addresses1 yet no part of it has been reduced to writing until now4 ,its appearance in book form is in response to many requests4 ,especially helpful has been the encouragement of ,professor ,douglas ,clyde ,macintosh of ,yale ,university who has kindly read the manuscript and made valuable suggestions4 ,r4 ,l4 ,s4 #cjf ,golden ,hill1 ,bridgeport1 ,conn4 ,,contents ,,chapter ,i ,,page ,,losing ,,god1 ,,or ,,the ,,honest ,,atheist #a ,this chapter is a case study showing how false experiences of religion and erroneous conceptions of ,god may result in agnosticism or atheism4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,how ,,science ,,saves ,,religion1 ,,or ,,modern ,,knowledge ,,and ,,religion #ci ,introduction #ci #a4 ,what is ,god8 #dc #b4 ,who is ,god8 #dh #c4 ,where is ,god8 #ec #d4 ,what does ,god do8 #fb #e4 ,if the ,ancients made their gods1 how do we know that we are not making our ,god8 #ga #f4 ,may we not be communing with a mere idea8 #gc ,,chapter ,,iii ,,does ,,man ,,have ,a ,,soul1 ,,and ,,what ,,is ,,his ,,place ,,in ,,the ,,universe8 #ge #a4 ,what is man8 #ge #b4 ,who is man8 #gg #c4 ,would the absence of man cripple ,god8 #hd #d4 ,what could an infinite ,god care for such a little speck8 #hg #e4 ,is not socialism the best religion there is8 #ij ,,chapter ,,iv ,,does ,,god ,,have ,a ,,body1 ,,and ,,could ,,he ,,become ,a ,,man8 #ajd #a4 ,introductory statement #ajd #b4 ,the idea of the ,trinity and how it came about #ajf #c4 ,was ,jesus ,god or a good man only8 #aac #d4 ,can modern psychology any longer believe in the ,deity of ,jesus8 #aaf #e4 ,where does ,jesus belong in the religious1 social and thought worlds8 #acb #f4 ,can ,god die8 #ace ,,chapter ,v ,,losing ,,the ,,sense ,,of ,,immortality #adb ,a general statement #adb #a4 ,the contagion of doubt #add #b4 ,the inability to make a religious use of modern knowledge #adf #c4 ,the loss of a satisfying conception of the future life #adg #d4 ,the growing habit of classifying the future with things unknown and unknowable #adh #e4 ,an inadequate conception of the kingdom of ,god #aej #f4 ,we automatically lose the assurance of the future when we lose the reality of the present #aec ,,chapter ,,vi ,,finding ,,the ,,sense ,,of ,,immortality #aeg ,how shall we find the assurance of immortality8 #aeg #a4 ,we automatically find the assurance of the future when we find the reality of the present #aeg ,some reasons why the quest for reality is not more frequently and earnestly undertaken4 a4 ,the moral failure of ,christians #aeh b4 ,because the average ,christian cannot answer technical questions #aei c4 ,antiquated forms irritating to sceptics #afb d4 ,the provincialism of sceptics #afd #b4 ,equal striving for spiritual and material things is necessary #aff #c4 ,the final step in the effort to know ,god #agc #d4 ,conscious of the existence of ,god1 we become certain of immortality #agf ,,chapter ,,vii ,,what ,,difference ,,does ,,it ,,make ,,whether ,,we ,,believe ,,in ,,immortality ,,if ,,we ,,live ,,as ,,we ,,should ,,in ,,this ,,life8 #ahb #a4 ,how can one live as he should8 #ahb #b4 ,the difference in social service #ahc #c4 ,the difference in personal preparation #ahf ,,chapter ,,viii ,,how ,,shall ,,we ,,conceive ,,of ,,the ,,future ,,life8 #aic #a4 ,its relation to the present constitution of things #aic #b4 ,where is heaven8 #aif #c4 ,will there be a ,holy ,city8 #aih #d4 ,will there be music8 #bja #e4 ,shall we meet our loved ones8 #bja #f4 ,shall we see ,god8 #bjd #g4 ,will there be burdens to bear in heaven8 #bje ,,chapter ,,ix ,,losing ,,the ,,bible ,,to ,,find ,,it #bjg ,if the ,bible contains errors1 how do we know that any of it is true8 #bjg ,a general statement #bjg ,the ,method of ,finding ,god's ,word #a4 ,the story of ,creation #bab #b4 ,the story of the ,garden #bbj #c4 ,the ,bible stories in general #bbc #d4 ,the laws of ,israel--moral and ceremonial #bbd #e4 ,the ,book of ,job #bbf ,,chapter ,x ,,losing ,,the ,,bible ,,to ,,find ,,it 7,continued7 #bcb ,the method of finding ,god's ,word 7,continued7 #a4 ,the ,psalms #bcb #b4 ,the prophets in general #bce #c4 ,jonah #bda #d4 ,the ,new ,testament in general #bdg #e4 ,the ,book of ,revelation #bej ,,what ,,and ,,where ,,is ,,god8 ,,chapter ,i ,,losing ,,god1 ,,or ,,the ,,honest ,,atheist ,why does ,god leave ,his very existence in doubt by forever hiding ,himself8 ,if there were a ,god would ,he not make ,himself known in such a way that no one could possibly doubt ,his existence8 ,why should we be expected to love and obey a ,god whose existence is still a subject of discussion8 ,could a righteous and loving ,father leave any of ,his children in doubt of ,his existence8 ,while ,i was dining one day with a young minister and his wife1 the latter disclosed to me her religious state of mind4 ,said she3 ,i have no ,god6 ,they have taken ,him away and ,i do not know where to find ,him4 ,my childhood conception of a ,man-,god on a throne in heaven is gone--and ,i think rightly gone2 but ,i have nothing to take its place4 ,i hear them speak of an immanent ,god2 of a ,god who fills all nature4 ,and ,i have no objection to this except that it brings no relief4 ,nature is so inexpressibly vast and complex that1 to my mind1 a ,god who fills all nature is so infinitely big and spread out that ,i can neither know ,him nor love ,him4 ,he is altogether too attenuated for me2 besides1 this makes ,him so much everywhere that ,he seems to be nowhere4 ,here ,i am1 without a ,god1 working myself nearly to death in a great ,church2 and my heart is breaking for a ,father to whom ,i can go1 as ,i once did1 with all my hopes and fears4 ,moreover1 all my young women friends feel as ,i do4 ,we often speak of this among ourselves without knowing where to turn for relief4 ,the distressing experience of this minister's wife is more common than many think4 ,with her type of mind it was inevitable that she should experience doubt while passing from the crude to the mature4 ,being bright1 consecrated1 and sincere she had simply hastened the crisis4 ,that the ,church is not always present to take care of its own passengers when they arrive at these way-stations is the greater pity2 because representatives of various spiritual inns will be sure to meet every incoming train4 ,and if the ,church is neglectful of its spiritual pilgrims1 it compels them to spend their night of doubt in the depot or on a bench in the park exposed to the tender mercy of religious fakers4 ,were the difficulties of this minister's wife met1 it would be a great blessing to her and to thousands of other troubled souls2 and at the same time it would immeasurably enrich our common ,christian life4 ,because of our newly acquired knowledge of the physical universe multitudes1 both without and within the ,church1 are asking what ,god is and where ,he is that they may find ,him4 ,the poverty of faith and confusion of ideas concerning ,god were recently brought to light by ,professor ,leuba in his questionnaire4 ,many seem to think there is no place for ,god in their conception of the universe4 ,having no longer a satisfying idea of ,god1 the thought of ,him is fading from their minds4 ,and while some rejoice in their scepticism1 others deeply regret a waning faith4 ,all this only proves that the world is over-ripe for a finer conception of ,god and ,his universe2 and that a better and more definite idea must be obtained1 or doubt will run into positive unbelief4 ,modern learning is thought by many to be particularly hard on faith4 ,some of us1 however1 have found the world of modern knowledge more congenial to faith and much superior to the old unscientific world as a place in which to live the simple ,christian life4 ,this better vision should be given to the people with all possible speed4 ,they should be taught to see that as boulevards and steel bridges are superior to mud roads and dangerous fords1 so the new ,christian highway is better than the old4 ,nevertheless1 new knowledge in certain directions does present grave difficulties for those who retain crude conceptions of ,god and erroneous views of ,his relation to the forces of nature that envelop us4 ,until we do the work that our times demand of us1 even ,christians may not hope to remain immune from the devastating influences of doubt4 ,there is a deep cry in the modern soul that must be met4 ,while our hope of knowing ,god rests on ,his immanence yet the idea of immanence has not been sufficiently clarified to meet our practical demands4 ,if we continue to teach the beautiful doctrine that ,god is everywhere1 in the vague way that is now so prevalent1 an ever increasing number will surely come to believe that ,he is nowhere4 ,lovingly and faithfully our mothers taught us that ,god was everywhere in all majesty and power4 ,but it was different4 ,they believed that ,god had a form1 or nucleus1 in heaven1 and that ,his spirit radiated from this form to the remotest particles of matter in the universe4 ,they also believed that when transported at death to ,his central abode they should look with rapture upon ,his ineffable being4 ,they expected to see the glorious presence of the ,father distinct from the glorified body of ,jesus4 ,in their thought1 the visible ,jesus was literally on the right hand of a visible ,father4 ,however1 this conception of a visible and localized ,god in heaven is either gone or going2 and for the average mind there remains a ,deity1 if any1 as attenuated as stellar ether1 and scarcely more personal than the forces of nature4 ,no one ever made a more rational demand than the minister's wife when she asked for a particular ,god to supplement a universal ,god4 ,we must get on common ground with our fellows1 if we really wish to help1 and sow our seed in the soil of living minds4 ,the supreme need of the hour is for someone to help the masses to move out of the old shack of an unscientific world into ,god's beautiful1 expanding palace4 ,though some new frames are needed for the old pictures1 yet no treasure should be left to perish in the old shack2 because the ampler world of modern knowledge will never be home until the pictures of our childhood hang on the wall and the fire burns in the furnace4 ,the larger abode of a scientific universe is a veritable prison when we have cast out the ,god of our fathers4 ,but whether we would or not1 we must learn to do business in the new world2 and sooner or later we shall learn that we can not do business in one kind of a universe and foster religion in another4 ,religion must thrive in the new world or perish4 ,neither is it enough for a few scholars to see their way in the new order2 they must show others how to be religious without stultifying their intellects4 ,in other words1 men must see before a religious appeal can reach their conscience4 ,there are as many ways of becoming a sceptic as there are of becoming a ,christian4 ,we must admit1 however1 that careless living has multiplied the difficulties of faith for every one of us4 ,and yet1 a sincere effort to make religion real in one's own personal experience often hastens unbelief4 ,those who think that no one honestly doubts the existence of ,god have a poor knowledge of the facts2 because1 in many minds1 this is the only serious doubt4 ,if only they could make this point secure1 everything else would fall in line as a matter of course4 ,to a singular degree this has been true in my own case4 ,the one word ,god is a creed large enough to burst all little worlds1 if the word stands for a fact which has any worthy meaning4 ,some people1 always wondering whether ,god is good to them1 or whether ,he really thinks of them at all1 are greatly shocked if some one else doubts ,god's existence4 ,whereas1 to believe in ,christ's ,god and at the same time doubt ,his goodness is a flat contradiction4 ,for many of us this would be impossible4 ,following the advice of friends--whose judgment ,i trust--,i venture to give a simple history of my own early religious life4 ,this is for the sake of finding a point of contact with those who have little or no faith2 and with the hope of stating some of the real problems4 ,some may think this a dangerous thing to do4 ,but unless we know the problems of suffering souls1 how are we to solve them8 ,besides1 the knowledge of another's difficulty with its solution1 should enrich the faith of one having no serious difficulties of his own2 and certainly it would make him more useful among people differently constituted from himself4 ,my father became a ,protestant at twenty years of age to the great distress of his ,roman ,catholic mother4 ,at twenty-two he married ,sarah ,elizabeth ,carr of ,great ,dalby1 ,england4 ,they were married in the quaint old church of the town by the ,episcopal rector4 ,later1 my father preached in ,england for the ,wesleyans4 ,however1 on coming to ,america in #aheg he identified himself with the ,united ,brethren and remained with them until his death4 ,as he located in what was then the frontier of this country1 ,i can duplicate out of my own life much that is to be found in ,black ,rock and ,sky ,pilot4 ,in the midst of much irreligion1 my parents put vital religion into the very marrow of my bones4 ,going far and near to preach in little schoolhouses1 my father left us much alone in the old log cabin of one room2 especially in the winter season when he preached nearly every night4 ,his home-coming about once a month was a great event4 ,in the summertime he would ride thirty miles on ,sunday1 preach three times1 and be back home ,monday by one o'clock to delve into every kind of rough work as a true frontiersman4 ,i pity the little boy who has never had the privilege of rifling a pair of saddlebags on the return of his father4 ,sometimes my father was detained on his way home by overflowing rivers that were too mad for the horse to swim4 ,and once he was detained by watching all night to prevent a rough gang from hanging one of his dearest friends4 ,the long1 long ,sundays that ,i spent alone with my mother in the old cabin are indelibly stamped on my memory4 ,sometimes ,i thought ,i should die with loneliness4 ,at such times my mother would try to comfort me with stories1 or with letters from her invalid mother across the sea2 and then we both would cry4 ,once when ,i refused to be comforted1 and bitterly complained because my father left us alone1 my mother explained to me in a simple1 awe-inspiring manner the tragedy of the ,world's sin and sorrow together with the suffering love of ,god4 ,how my father was going forth in ,god's compelling love to help ,him save ,his children from the impending doom of sin1 she pictured so vividly that ,i felt glad to live and suffer in such a cause4 ,this was1 probably1 the most effective sermon to which ,i ever listened4 ,and then my mother gathered me into her arms and made me conscious of the greatest thing in the world2 a love that is infinitely deeper than words2 something so like ,god that we need look no farther for a fitting symbol of ,him4 ,as a child ,i was very susceptible to fear4 ,i remember one bitter cold night when the winds howled and the thieves prowled4 ,every nerve in me ached with fear4 ,that night my mother kneeling by her bed1 with her little children at her side1 prayed in a low tremulous voice1 and with a sweet ,english accent1 until ,god seemed nearer than the raging winds1 and more powerful than the evil forces that were abroad to do us harm4 ,how happy ,i was the next morning to find that the wind had subsided1 and that the horses were not stolen1 and that no evil had befallen us6 ,when a little child1 religion was as real to me as my parents1 or the atmosphere ,i breathed1 or the food ,i ate4 ,i am not certain of ever having been in a church until ,i was almost grown4 ,but when ,i was probably five years old1 ,i accompanied my mother to a revival meeting in an old schoolhouse4 ,this schoolhouse1 even to the lathing1 was made of black walnut that was sawed at a local mill4 ,which of the many denominations was conducting the services ,i do not know4 ,but one night there were probably ten people kneeling at what they called the mourner's bench4 ,during the evening such a psychic wave passed over those at the altar that the packed congregation1 to see what was happening1 rose as one person4 ,at this point1 my mother lifted me onto the desk before her which afforded me a plain view of all those who were kneeling at the front4 ,a young woman with head thrown back and hair disheveled1 was wringing her hands and crying in piercing tones1 ,o ,god1 save my poor soul from hell6 ,just beyond1 a man lay in a trance4 ,and then another woman1 with perfectly rapturous face1 throwing her head back1 clapped her hands and shouted glory4 ,other seekers were groaning and pleading with tremulous voices4 ,the ,christians who were assisting the seekers alternated their groanings of intercession with amens and shouts of praise4 ,as it appeared to me the realms of the blessed and the realms of the damned were mingling their voices in that tumultuous scene4 ,heaven and hell seemed veritable realities before my eyes1 and the picture was burned into my soul4 ,the religion of my parents was simple1 loving1 and thoroughly ethical4 ,these meetings were not criticized by them except that my father sometimes remarked at home that he liked the quiet meetings best4 ,much of the time there were no meetings in the community4 ,yet betimes services were conducted by all kinds of ministers1 descript and non-descript4 ,it was not uncommon to hear these ministers say that no one ever got to heaven except by way of the mourner's bench4 ,one minister remarked that there was not a converted person in the ,presbyterian ,church except a few individuals who were converted outside at such meetings as he was conducting4 ,never having seen any of them1 ,i took his word for it that the ,presbyterians were an ungodly set4 ,altogether it became a fixed thought in my mind that ,i should need to get old people's religion or be lost4 ,indeed1 that belief was very common throughout ,america when ,i was a child4 ,even the ,presbyterians believed it1 though they kept their mourner's bench out of sight4 ,accordingly1 when ,i was fifteen years old1 and getting to be a big boy1 the crisis came2 because temptations were coming in thick and fast4 ,going to a revival one night in the schoolhouse and finding the seats all full1 ,i took a board from under the stove and placed it on the coal pail for a seat4 ,as ,i sat there the thought came to me1 ,when are you going to get religion8 ,this was followed by another1 ,wouldn't it be strange if ,i went to the mourner's bench to-night8 ,not for five years yet1 my heart quickly responded4 ,not until ,i am twenty years old4 ,being a bashful boy ,i felt terrified at the mere thought of taking such a step before that crowd of rowdies who were openly scoffing4 ,but1 my mind said1 if you make a start in five years it will again be now4 ,it seemed plain to me that one now would be about as embarrassing as another4 ,wouldn't it be strange if ,i just went forward to-night without any regard to my feelings8 was a question that kept asserting itself4 ,my mind swayed and tipped first one way and then the other until finally it literally fell on the side of a decision4 ,it is to-night4 ,to me this seemed deeper than any other decision ,i had ever made1--than which no firmer decision could be made4 ,being thoroughly aware of its ethical significance1 my heart involuntarily said1 ,you see1 ,o ,god1 what ,i have done4 ,not to have regarded myself a bound person from that time forth would have meant the perjuring of my deepest soul4 ,it was an awe-inspiring decision at a time when ,god was to get either a great deal more or a great deal less of my life as the days went by4 ,it would have been an irreparable loss to me if this great decision had not been made at that time4 ,even now1 ,i thank ,god with a growing gratitude for helping me to make that decision4 ,so far1 the experience was perfectly normal for a ,christian boy in the adolescent period1--though at that time ,i had never known a ,christian boy4 ,this experience of an unconditional surrender to the will of ,god should have brought me peace and strength2 but it did not1 because ,i utterly discredited my previous religious life as being no more than moral development4 ,real religion1 in my thinking1 would not begin until ,i had experienced the miracle of regeneration at the mourner's bench4 ,the die had been cast4 ,and now the great miracle must be achieved6 ,so ,i went forward4 ,the knowledge that ,i was observed by mocking eyes hurt like the thongs of a whip on a bare back4 ,for a few moments ,i could think of nothing else4 ,then ,i tried to feel sorry for my sins2 and not succeeding in that1 ,i tried to feel sorry because ,i was not sorry4 ,those kneeling with me asked whether ,i believed in ,god4 ,no one could have believed it more fully than ,i did4 ,then they asked me if ,i believed that ,he sent ,his ,son into the world to save sinners4 ,this ,i believed without question4 ,did ,i believe that ,he came to save me1 and that ,he wanted to save me now8 ,this1 too1 ,i believed4 ,do you feel that ,he saves you now8 ,i did not know4 ,well1 they said1 you will know when ,he saves you1--so you must make no mistake there4 ,and thus we went the rounds1 over and over again4 ,while ,i believed everything1 yet ,i did not experience the miracle4 ,things seemed to grow worse and more confused as time went by4 ,as they pleaded1 first with ,god to save me1 and then with me to surrender all to ,god and believe1 ,i became utterly bewildered and hardened4 ,there seemed to be no reality in anything4 ,the groans and sighs1 the pressure of the hand1 the pats on the back1 the rhythmic music1 the loud and fervent prayers1 became a meaningless jargon4 ,i was heartily glad when the hour was over so that ,i could be alone4 ,once being alone1 ,i did pray earnestly and continuously for ,god to save me1 and felt a great depression of spirits without further results4 ,the next night ,i repeated the experience of the previous evening with like sad consequences4 ,the next day ,i was greatly depressed1 but made up my mind that ,i would get religion or break a blood vessel in the attempt2--and ,i nearly broke the blood vessel4 ,in the afternoon while carrying a heavy load of corn on my back1 ,i stumbled over something which caused me to say ,oh6 and as ,i added the word ,god1 it sounded like profanity4 ,but it was not1 for prayer had become automatic4 ,this incident caused me to smile1--the first time1 ,i believe1 in two days4 ,as ,i continued to pray without ceasing1 there came to me after awhile a little suggestion of gladness which caused me to exclaim1 ,oh1 ,i believe ,i am getting religion6 ,though the burden seemed to be lifting1 yet it was some minutes before another feeling of gladness came4 ,during the supper hour it seemed almost certain that ,i was getting religion4 ,nothing1 however1 was said about it as ,i wanted to be perfectly sure4 ,after supper ,i started for the schoolhouse across the dark fields4 ,during that journey of over a mile1 the psychic lights came on making all things beautiful4 ,at the same time ,i was made inexpressibly glad4 ,the great change appeared to be in the universe rather than in myself4 ,i laughed and cried for joy4 ,recalling the ,psalm1 ,for 444 by my ,god have ,i leaped over a wall1 that1 ,i thought1 would be an easy thing to do if a wall were there4 ,what with laughing1 making speeches1 and thanking ,god1 ,i soon completed the journey4 ,as the schoolhouse was seated to face the door1 on arriving late1 ,i confronted the whole congregation4 ,this arrangement of seats made it unnecessary for the people to turn and strain their necks to see each one who entered4 ,in pioneer days it was customary to take a candle with you to church4 ,on arriving at the schoolhouse you would take your penknife1 push the small blade through the candle1 stick the protruding blade into the window sash1 and there you were1 as nice as could be4 ,or else you would stand the candle on the desk in some melted tallow4 ,though the schoolhouse was but dimly lighted1 and the people whom ,i faced that night were an ordinary crowd1 yet in my psychic state ,i saw the people as angel figures under limelight4 ,and as the only vacant seats were in the ,amen corner1 ,i sat facing the congregation during the entire service4 ,the sermon was wonderful to me beyond words to express2 and yet ,i seemed able to understand it and to see all around it4 ,after the sermon an invitation was given to mourners4 ,as none went forward1 the minister then came to me to inquire of my condition4 ,when with great joy ,i told him that ,i was converted1 ,i was asked to relate my experience4 ,this unexpected request shattered my beautiful world as completely as a hammer stroke would have shattered a piece of crystal4 ,such a stage fright seized me that ,i could neither move nor speak before they were compelled to go on with the service4 ,this embarrassing experience sent me from the highest state of bliss to the deepest state of gloom4 ,peter's denial seemed trivial in comparison with mine2 he had denied the ,lord under trying circumstances1 but ,i had denied ,him while sitting in glory4 ,a little later1 when the minister rose and stated that they would open the doors of the ,church for any who desired to join1 there ensued a terrible struggle within me4 ,during the few minutes of exhortation that followed ,i seriously questioned my heart4 ,i knew that candidates were expected to answer the question1 ,have you found ,god in the pardon of your sins1 and do you now have peace with ,god8 ,but being in a state of torment1 how could ,i claim peace with ,god8 ,though my conversion still seemed like a miracle1 yet never before had ,i been in such a humiliated or distressed state of mind4 ,before ever ,i tried to get religion1 ,i had plighted my soul and honor that ,i would follow ,god from that time forward4 ,even now ,i knew that ,i should follow ,him1 but how could ,i say that ,i had peace with ,god when my burden remained in spite of my earnest prayer to be forgiven8 ,had ,i in that act of denial become a backslider1 and was it necessary for me to be converted again8 ,as a large percentage of the ,christians present had been converted two or more times to my knowledge1 a second conversion was not strange to me4 ,never doubting that ,i had been converted1 and knowing why ,i was in despair1 and believing that my suffering was wholly deserved1 ,i dismissed the thought of a second conversion4 ,how can a person know beforehand1 ,i reasoned1 that he will feel at peace with ,god at the moment the question is asked8 ,by now do they not mean something more general2 to-night1 for example8 ,deciding that there must be some latitude to the word now and that ,god would understand my honesty of purpose1 ,i went forward and united with the ,church4 ,as ,i look back upon it1 it still seems a most wise decision4 ,though fully expecting to be happy again after joining the ,church1 yet my misery only increased4 ,this was inevitable4 ,i had identified religion with an abnormal psychic state4 ,and such a state would not return without another terrific effort4 ,the next night1 with an embarrassment that caused my cheeks to burn like fire1 ,i rose before the scoffers and told them that ,god had converted me4 ,again ,i expected to feel happy4 ,but1 naturally1 my sorrow only deepened as the abnormal state did not return4 ,for the next two weeks ,i tried with all my original earnestness to get back my happiness2 but without success4 ,one day while in a valley far from any human being1 where the woods covered the hill before me1 ,i was looking up into the sky and still pleading with ,god to restore my happy state of mind4 ,then the thought occurred to me1 ,where is ,god8 ,at that time ,i was so ignorant of the universe that ,i thought the earth had a ceiling1 and that the ceiling of the earth was the floor of heaven4 ,it seemed to be about three rifle shots away4 ,i thought that if one could get through the ceiling of the earth he would be in heaven1 and there would be ,god4 ,as ,i stood there gazing into the sky my mind said1 ,why does ,god not show ,himself8 ,that ,he could part the clouds and show ,his face seemed the most natural and reasonable thing in the world4 ,why1 then1 did ,he not do so8 ,since ,he neither blesses me in answer to my prayers1 nor shows ,himself1 possibly ,he does not exist4 ,my wonderful experience may have been nothing but a highly wrought state of feelings4 ,i then recalled that ministers based their belief in the existence of ,god on certain arguments4 ,but suddenly this seemed the strangest procedure imaginable4 ,why had ,god left us to argue and reason about ,his existence8 ,should ,he not settle so great a question beyond all argument8 ,how strange it would be if my earthly father should stay away from us until we did not know whether he was dead or alive6 ,we had the satisfaction of loving and obeying our father without ever a chance to doubt his existence4 ,if our ,heavenly ,father would make me equally certain of ,his existence ,i should follow ,him through flood and fire4 ,then why does ,god not show ,himself8 ,isn't it strange that ,he has hidden forever and forever6 ,here ,i remembered the ,scripture which says1 ,no man can see ,god and live4 ,but my heart quickly responded1 ,it is one thing to come near enough to kill us1 and quite another to come near enough to convince us4 ,oh1 isn't it strange that ,he hides forever8 ,then ,i thought of ,jesus4 ,but my heart replied1 ,maybe ,jesus was mistaken4 ,if ,he had a rapturous feeling like mine1 and was able to sustain it1 ,he would continue to believe in ,god even if ,he did not exist4 ,nothing short of ,god's personal appearance1 it seemed to me1 could settle the question4 ,then why does ,god not show ,himself8 ,there is no sense in hiding2 and if no sense in it1 then it is wrong2 and if wrong1 then there is no ,god4 ,because ,god1 if ,he exists1 must be good and sensible4 ,therefore1 when my reasoning led me to say1 ,there can't be a ,god1 ,i found that unbelief had entered the marrow of my being4 ,i felt that ,god could not possibly do such a foolish and wicked thing as to hide from ,his children4 ,having reached this conclusion1 ,i felt alarmed at my wicked thoughts4 ,they were not1 however1 to be driven away4 ,from that day forward the sky became more gray1 and cold1 and ,godless4 ,an awful crisis had come into my life4 ,it seemed an irreparable loss if there were no ,god4 ,my life1 also1 would go out in eternal night4 ,if there was a ,god1 and ,i gave up faith1 then ,i should go to an endless hell of inexpressible torment4 ,there was no comfort in either alternative4 ,the problem was no longer the problem of the ,church2 it was my personal problem4 ,and the battle had to be fought to a decisive issue4 ,being impaled on the two horns of the dilemma1 ,i found it increasingly difficult to reproduce the exalted state of feeling on which ,i still relied for assurance4 ,never having met a college graduate1 of course ,i had not heard one preach4 ,it was in the college chapel1 four years later1 that ,i first listened to a sermon by a college man4 ,my impression was that he made neither noise nor light4 ,that he made but little noise ,i knew4 ,but ,i am now willing to admit that he may have shed more light than ,i saw4 ,preaching often fails to make any connection with the fundamental ideas and difficulties of doubting minds4 ,in my new state of doubt1 the first impulse was to confide in my father and ,christian friends4 ,but then ,i realized that ,i knew all the stock phrases1 and that none of them met my case4 ,if confronted with the old phrases would ,i not argue1 and might ,i not confirm myself in a possible error8 ,was it not safer to fight it out with ,god1 if ,he existed1 than to argue with those who could not feel what ,i had felt8 ,the insistence of these questions caused me to keep my secret wholly to myself1 and to go on with the struggle4 ,twenty-two years later during the last visit with my father1 as we rode together over the hills1 ,i told him this story4 ,with a look of tenderness ,i shall never forget1 he replied1 ,i believe the story because you tell me1 but ,i am glad you did not tell me at the time4 ,i could not have helped you4 ,said he1 ,i do not recall ever in my life doubting the inspiration of the ,scriptures1 or the existence of ,god4 ,i have often doubted my worthiness and acceptance1 but nothing more4 ,still believing that ,i did the wise thing under the circumstances1 ,i was glad to have his approval4 ,if an honest doubter asks for bread1 he is not infrequently given a stone by well-meaning ,christians1--and neither can understand the other4 ,as this is a case study1 it should be said that my first mistake was in discrediting my early religious experience4 ,my second mistake was in identifying religion with an extreme psychic state4 ,and when my psychic state failed me1 then my utterly false images of ,god and the universe completed the destruction of my faith4 ,if ,i could have reproduced the psychic state readily1 my false images of ,god and the universe would not have troubled me for many years4 ,the ministers who created these false impressions in my mind were not deserving of censure1 because they did not understand the forces with which they were dealing--and the community was in great need of something4 ,even for me1 it was best that ,i did what we thought was right regardless of what followed4 ,having entered upon the vigorous adolescent period1 ,i greatly needed to take my stand as an adult ,christian4 ,i needed to realize such a new influence as a thorough commitment of myself would bring4 ,this1 however1 no one in the community understood4 ,we now know that one may be genuinely converted and hypnotized at the same time4 ,that is1 he may enter ,god's service with the noblest spirit of loyalty1 and at the same time submit himself to a process that will induce the hypnotic state4 ,likewise1 it is possible for one to be hypnotized under religious influences without being converted4 ,this is the case with those who wish religion only if it will give them more pleasure than their sins4 ,though they may not deeply analyze it1 yet their conversion is an experiment to see which they like the better2 and when their hypnotic happiness leaves them1 they return to their greater pleasure in sin4 ,or1 when the idea and method are rational1 one may be converted without being hypnotized4 ,in this case a complete dedication of self to the will of ,god is trusted to bring its own rich reward in noble enthusiasm and fine appreciation4 ,since ,i had always been a ,christian1 it was not conversion that ,i needed1 but a deeper commitment of myself to the will and work of ,god4 ,and as ,i have already explained1 this ,i did before trying to get religion4 ,the moral will is the spiritual spine4 ,if it stands erect in its duties toward ,god and men1 the whole spiritual life will come into normal feeling and action4 ,my unconditional submission to the will of ,god was normal1 beautiful1 and necessary4 ,but the experience which came two days later should be characterized as a super-normal psychic state1 self-induced4 ,while the psychic state lasted my true religious feelings cooeperated vigorously2 but when it subsided1 as it was bound to do1 my true religious emotions likewise disappeared4 ,for years1 all references to spirituality were understood by me to mean an exciting1 nervous thrill2 such a thrill as ,i had once felt4 ,this led me to study the feelings1 a few years later1 to see if ,i could determine their value4 ,i found that ,i was able to hypnotize a man so that he thought he saw ,god2 and then ,i could cause him to fall down in adoration before his imaginary deity4 ,or1 by taking ether1 ,i could reproduce the glory world of my own so-called conversion4 ,feelings alone are not to be trusted1 for the objects which they often create do not exist4 ,on the other hand1 real objects1 valid and knowable1 produce appropriate feelings when we are rightly related to them4 ,never have ,i been in such a state of pain or dejection but that ,i knew that ,i loved my children if my attention was called to it4 ,i still demand1 therefore1 an objective1 knowable ,god before ,i can love ,him4 ,while greatly deploring such religious exercises as are calculated to produce extreme psychic states1 yet ,i bring an indictment against the average ,church of this generation because its religious feelings are sub-normal4 ,the latter condition is probably as dangerous as the former4 ,even our physical temperature must be allowed to run neither too high nor too low4 ,if in everything but religion we feel warmth and enthusiasm1 we reveal a deplorable religious condition4 ,for if one intelligently and fully commits himself to the will and service of ,god1 appropriate feelings will come to him as surely as color comes to ripening fruit4 ,when prayer availed me nothing in bringing back the spirit of ,god--as ,i conceived of it--,i first questioned my own heart4 ,and when it no longer condemned me1 ,i then questioned ,god4 ,as ,i understood it1 to produce a rapturous feeling was ,god's part4 ,my part was to believe and obey4 ,if only the hand of faith could succeed in laying hold of ,god the spiritual current would come on with a thrill4 ,a great deal of this sensational religion still exists4 ,it is to be found in all our great cities as well as in rural communities4 ,let two errors like false experiences and false images of ,god unite and they will bring forth a whole brood of errors4 ,so far as ,i am able to analyze1 ,i always had a perfect sense of ,god's character4 ,if ,he existed at all1 ,he was infinitely great and wise and good4 ,but these characteristics simply meant the quality of ,god and not ,god ,himself4 ,character without being was like a smile without a face4 ,it was this ,god behind the character that ,i utterly misapprehended4 ,my false picture of ,god's being1 of the universe1 and the relation between the two was the cause of my religious vexation4 ,if we add to these the fickleness of a sensational experience--labeled1 true spiritual religion--we may begin to understand my religious undoing4 ,i dare say that the subject of extreme religious experience will not trouble many of my readers1 but half the population is vexed by false images of ,god and the universe4 ,these false images are so prevalent that one trembles for the future of religion in a scientific age4 ,as to certain aspects of ,god's existence1 the confusion is becoming greater every day1--and there are good reasons for it4 ,since the masses are coming to have a fairly accurate conception of the main outlines of the universe1 their false images of ,god's being are faring badly in this new world4 ,many are casting out their unsatisfactory image of ,god without anything to take its place4 ,some claim that we are much better off to think of ,god's character without trying to form any conception of ,his being4 ,generally1 however1 when ,his image goes ,god goes with it4 ,those who have been steeped in religion from their youth1 may continue to worship ,god after ,he has almost disappeared2 but succeeding generations will have little interest in such an evasive ,god4 ,they will wish to know that ,god is before they attribute character to ,him4 ,the various psychic cults are trying to find a more satisfying idea of ,god2 but they are simply making a bad matter worse4 ,over against this1 however1 is the popular phrase of the day1 ,no one can possibly conceive of what ,god is like6 ,so do not advertise your ignorance by trying4 ,this1 probably1 is the saddest of all4 ,the religious dynamo is in the heart1 or moral feelings1 while the circuit is in the head1 or formal ideas4 ,if the circuit is broken the light goes out4 ,as long as one's ideas are not discredited by himself1 he may get some light with a very poor circuit4 ,but once let him thoroughly discredit his own mental images1 and the light will cease to shine4 ,the dynamo may be run long after the circuit is broken1 and the light has gone out4 ,i ran mine for many years4 ,the minister's wife previously referred to was doing the same thing4 ,many students reported to ,professor ,leuba that they continued to pray1 through habit or sentiment1 but that ,god had so faded from their minds that prayer no longer meant anything to them4 ,many learned scientists revealed the broken circuit of their thoughts by giving their crude conceptions or no conceptions of ,god4 ,these men have long since ceased to run their religious dynamo4 ,if the lights refuse to come on1 after a while one grows tired of stoking the furnace merely to keep the dynamo running4 ,therefore1 in the succeeding chapters my aim will be to show how ,i mended my circuit4 ,after continuing my fruitless struggle for two years ,i became desperate4 ,for one thing1 ,i had no religious young people with whom to associate4 ,when not alone1 ,i worked with vile men who never allowed much time to elapse without indulging in obscene conversation4 ,living in a community where we had never seen a railroad1 or a piano1 or an organ1 ,i found little to entertain or comfort me4 ,and my religion added greatly to my burden4 ,there was just work and privations and fruitless prayers4 ,so it is not strange that at the end of two years ,i wished that ,i might die4 ,this feeling came to me with such force one day1 when ,i was working in a distant1 lonely place1 that ,i gave audible expression to the wish4 ,not that ,i wanted to die on that particular day6 ,i have never seen the time when ,i wanted to die to-day4 ,but hoping that ,i might die in ten years1 ,i resolved anew that ,i would just stiffen my neck1 and grit my teeth1 and pray on until the end came--which ,i hoped would not be too distant4 ,during these two years ,i was very faithful to every known ,christian duty4 ,once ,i even tried to pray in prayer meeting1 but broke down with fright in the middle of the first sentence4 ,i regularly bore testimony1 however1 to my determination to go forward in the ,christian life4 ,soon after the time of my deep depression it was announced that a series of revival meetings was to be held in the community4 ,an uneducated old minister1 rather feeble in body1 was to conduct the meetings4 ,as there were but few ,christians to help him1 it looked like a great undertaking4 ,this question rose in my mind1 ,would it be wrong for me to take an active part in persuading others to become ,christians while ,i myself am in doubt of ,god's existence8 ,i had not then heard of people doing ,church work to gain social standing4 ,and if ,i had1 it could not have been a motive because socially ,i already belonged to the four hundred4 ,some men were reported to have joined the ,church to beat a neighbor in a horse trade or an ox trade--and this ,i knew to be very wicked4 ,but as ,i had neither horses nor oxen to trade there were but two motives that compelled me to go forward4 ,the first motive was the hope that in this way ,i might find ,god4 ,the second was that ,i might help someone else to be religious1--since other people appeared to have more faith4 ,i decided that the proposed course was justifiable because if ,god did not exist it could make but little difference1 and if ,he did it was very important that people should be brought to ,him4 ,consequently1 ,i selected a young man of my own age4 ,he was on his way to the schoolhouse with a band of hilarious young people when ,i called him aside4 ,we were very late in reaching the services because out in the dark ,i labored long and hard with my friend and used every art of persuasion that ,i could command before ,i brought him to a decision4 ,finally1 however1 he promised to go to the mourner's bench if ,i would go with him4 ,then we entered the schoolhouse1 and each one kept his promise4 ,my friend became so desperately wrought up at the altar that his parents1 who were not ,christians1 did not know what to do with him when the services were over4 ,they therefore asked me to take him home with me for the night4 ,my friend continued to weep all the way home1 and frequently requested that we stop to pray4 ,that journey of a mile and a quarter across the fields ,i shall never forget4 ,but before we went to sleep1 suddenly clasping my hand1 he exclaimed1 ,oh1 ,i am converted4 ,knowing how he felt ,i was very glad for him1 but at the same time my heart cried within me1 ,i do wonder if there is anything in it6 ,it is wonderful to him now1 ,i know1 but how will he feel to-morrow1 or next week1 or in six months8 ,however1 ,i next persuaded his parents to go forward1 and the minister asked me to pray for them at the altar--which ,i did4 ,they1 too1 were converted1 but no blessing came to me4 ,during the two weeks1 ,i led eleven people to the altar1 and was asked by the minister each night to offer prayer for the seekers4 ,on the last night of the series1 near the close1 the minister said3 ,now there is a little business to be attended to1 and will ,brother ,richard ,swain please withdraw from the room8 ,i was so surprised and excited that ,i arose and went out into a temperature below zero without either overcoat or hat4 ,leaving the reader to judge of my ethics and manners1 ,i will confess that ,i put my ear up to the wall and listened with all my might4 ,the minister said3 ,some of us have been considering the matter1 and we are convinced that ,brother ,richard ,swain has a decided call to the ministry4 ,we want you1 therefore1 if you think it is wise1 to recommend him to the conference for license to preach4 ,this was such a shock to me that a little cry went up from my heart1--,and ,i don't even know that there is a ,god6 ,as there was no dissenting vote the minister said1 ,you may now call him in4 ,if only my coat and hat had been with me ,i should not have been present when the door opened4 ,however1 with the temperature below zero1 and neither overcoat nor hat1 even a young candidate for the ministry could not refuse to enter4 ,but it would have been more to his comfort if the congregation had not been seated to face the door4 ,through this vote of the ,church ,i was compelled to grapple with a new question of ethics4 ,would it be right for me under the circumstances to appear for examination8 ,i had not asked for license to preach4 ,the matter had been thrust upon me without my knowledge and consent4 ,how could ,i know but this was the road over which ,i was being led to the light8 ,besides1 eleven people had responded to my appeal4 ,would ,i care to be a minister8 ,it seemed to me that there was nothing in the world ,i should so much like to be as a minister if only ,i could know there was a ,god4 ,this feeling decided me to accept the invitation and appear for examination4 ,while my education had not gone beyond that of the common country schools1 and while ,i was but seventeen years of age1 yet the average minister of the community had even less education4 ,not until three years after ,i was licensed to preach did ,i learn that there was such an institution in the world as a ,theological ,seminary4 ,however1 in those pioneer days all the ministers1 missionaries1 ,irish pack-peddlers1 and horse thieves who passed through put up at my father's house for the night without ever being charged a cent4 ,they more than paid their way1 though1 ,i can assure you1 by having to talk religion and theology until midnight with my father who was a born theologian4 ,though my father was not an educated man1 yet he had picked up an immense amount of knowledge along certain lines1 and always enjoyed a friendly debate more than a good dinner4 ,at such times1 from early childhood1 ,i had been allowed to sit in the chimney corner and listen until the last word was said4 ,it was my motion-picture show4 ,and no child ever had more pleasure than came to me when ,i saw that my father had wound up his man in the argument4 ,then1 with the greatest cordiality1 my father would show the guest to bed4 ,as there was but one great room1 and beds none too many1 ,i usually slept with the guest4 ,and according to the guest's report in the morning1 ,i had given him the completest kicking he ever had in his life4 ,with such training1 and in such a community1 it is not strange that my biblical and doctrinal examination was pronounced entirely satisfactory4 ,after ,i had gone to school for ten years it1 probably1 would not have been so satisfactory4 ,indeed1 ,i was strongly advised not to go to college1 as it was likely to rob me of my spirituality2 and besides1 many souls would be lost while ,i was getting an education4 ,though ,i continued for a time on the farm or in the coal mines1 yet ,i was told to go out and preach somewhere on ,sundays4 ,accordingly1 ,i would ride ten or twenty miles on ,sunday to preach in different schoolhouses4 ,putting the rein over the horn of the saddle1 ,i would plead before the cold gray sky for an unknown ,god to renew my happy feelings as a token of ,his existence4 ,but no happiness1 or assurance1 came to me4 ,when the time came to preach1 ,i felt the importance of not throwing our lives away in sinful living1 and so was able to give them some very earnest advice4 ,then on the return trip ,i would continue to pray to an unsympathetic sky4 ,nothing1 however1 ever came of it except a deeper depression of spirits4 ,though the dynamo was running at a terrific rate1 yet the circuit of my thoughts was broken beyond my ability to repair4 ,so ,i decided to go to college at any sacrifice4 ,boarding a train for the first time1 ,i went two hundred miles for my preparatory course in connection with the college where ,i expected to graduate4 ,but no religious experience came to me until the middle of my sophomore year4 ,then while studying ,mark ,hopkins' little book1 ,the ,law of ,love1 and ,love as a ,law1 ,i got a new insight into the human soul4 ,i could see that if one would bring all his powers into harmony1 and then relate them to the beautiful enfolding universe1 all things must work together for his good1--if by his good one meant the perfect unfolding of his life4 ,instantly there came a great joy in living4 ,it took shape in the thought1 ,all things work together for good to them that love ,god4 ,i felt that no proposition in geometry was more capable of proof4 ,a life with its powers united in the will of ,god must unfold to match the harmony without1 even as the rose unfolds to the light and warmth of the sun4 ,besides1 ,i now had entertainment and beautiful friends4 ,almost any good thing seemed possible4 ,this1 ,i said1 must be what intelligent people mean by ,christian experience4 ,the only remaining question was the old one1 ,is there a ,god8 ,is ,god ,the ,allness of things about us8 ,this1 however1 seemed too pantheistic4 ,and the personal ,god still evaded me4 ,so ,i decided that the question of ,god was too much for me1 and that ,i would just wait until ,i should meet the wise men who knew4 ,in the meantime ,i would assume that there was a ,god2 for the college president believed that there was1 and prayed to ,him every day at chapel4 ,as the happy unfolding of my life continued ,i tried to commit all to ,god whose will1 if ,he existed1 ,i very well knew4 ,at any rate there was something in the universe that matched my need4 ,i would just call it ,god until ,i met the wise men in further courses of study which by this time ,i had fully resolved upon4 ,so the last two and a half years of my college course were very beautiful2 they constantly increased my joy in living4 ,no small part of this better experience was due to the influence of the ,christian gentleman and fascinating preacher who became our new college pastor4 ,here it becomes necessary to relate something more delicate than anything that has gone before4 ,while ,i was in college my younger and only brother passed through a great moral crisis4 ,as ,i dearly loved him he was much in my mind4 ,during my senior year ,i dreamed night after night that he was killed4 ,in these dreams ,i was always with my two older sisters hunting our brother in the woods4 ,feeling certain that we should find him dead1 we usually came upon him by an old log cabin where he lay dead and mangled4 ,i have no theories about the dreams1 but the impression made upon my mind was so deep that when ,i went home1 after graduating from college1 ,i felt that ,i must do something to help him4 ,accordingly it was planned that ,i should spend three or four days with him in the harvest field where he was running a heading machine4 ,there ,i hoped we should have a pleasant time1 and find an opportunity to shed some light on the deeper meanings of life4 ,then some evening we would have a quiet little talk when ,i might persuade him to be a ,christian4 ,as ,i was going a long distance to a theological school1 and did not expect to see him again for three years1 ,i hoped to accomplish my purpose during the week at my disposal4 ,for two and a half days we worked together with many pleasant little chats4 ,it then being ,saturday noon1 my father wanted me to drive fourteen miles with him and preach for him the next day4 ,i could return ,monday and be with my brother one or two days before the long journey4 ,but ,saturday afternoon a great storm arose1 and at midnight my host awakened me saying1 ,your brother is killed by lightning4 ,though we started home immediately1 the mud was so deep and sticky that it required till daylight to make the journey4 ,there had been a cloudburst1 and such an electric storm as is seldom seen4 ,from midnight till dawn we dragged through the mud under an indescribable electrical display4 ,forked lightning splitting the sky in every direction made the whole heavens lurid with light1 while the low thunder like distant artillery scarcely ceased to roll4 ,no pen can describe that journey4 ,nature seemed omnipotent and awe-inspiring4 ,at first my heart was dazed and dumb4 ,then it cried1 ,why did ,god kill my brother at this little nick of time when ,i was hoping to bring him to ,christ8 ,was there ever anything like this8 ,why did ,he take him8 ,then while ,i was fixedly watching the omnipotent display before me my mind asked3 ,did ,god kill him or did the great and terrible machine1 called the world1 kill him8 ,what is the world1 and what is ,god8 ,when does ,god act1 and when does the universe act8 ,would they not be squarely in each other's way much of the time8 ,the world ,i know1 and its activities ,i behold1 but where is ,god8 ,does ,he have an abode1 or is ,he a sort of spiritual ether that pervades the universe8 ,and my heart responded1 ,oh1 you have never yet settled the question of whether there is a ,god6 ,so once more ,god faded into a dream1 or a guess1 while the elements continued to display their terrifying power4 ,at daylight ,i stood with a broken heart beside my dead brother1 believing either that there was no ,god1 or else that my brother had gone to endless torment4 ,a few moments later ,i saw my father kneel by his side1 and heard him say1 ,oh1 my son1 my son1 would to ,god ,i had died for thee6 ,in a short time we were invited to breakfast1 and my father being unable to speak motioned to me to say grace4 ,however ,i managed ,i do not know1 but out of a choking throat ,i said grace to as empty and ,godless a world as any human being ever faced4 ,two weeks after my brother's death ,i entered the theological seminary4 ,the deep1 vast1 and unshakable verities from which ,i could not escape were sorrow and love4 ,all else was chaos4 ,as a hungry man seeks for food1 so ,i sought for light4 ,much of the theology in the books which ,i read irritated me so that ,i could scarcely eat my food at mealtimes4 ,yet it was important that ,i should learn the history of human thought4 ,all of my professors ,i truly loved and respected1 but the attitude of theological schools more than thirty years ago was not wholly suited to the needs of one on the border of a new world-awakening whose faith had suffered so much and so long4 ,the theological world was not quite ready to give the help that it now gives to many suffering minds4 ,during my first year in the seminary ,i frequently dreamed of seeing my brother in torment4 ,sometimes ,i would wake trembling1 and even when ,i could throw off the thought and go to sleep1 ,i was liable to repeat the dream in some new form4 ,once when ,i was walking with one of the professors1 as true a ,christian man as ever ,i knew1 ,i told him of the circumstances of my brother's death4 ,he asked me if my parents were ,christians4 ,i told him that they were very good ,christians4 ,then he counseled me not to go off into any heresies1 but to feel comforted concerning my brother2 for ,the promises were to the parents and to their children unto the third and fourth generation4 ,while ,i listened to this in silence1 yet the following thoughts went through my mind3 ,then ,god would save my brother who had not improved his privileges1 while ,he would consign to endless torment our poor play-fellows who were not blessed with the good influence of ,christian parents4 ,my mind instinctively felt what ,i had discretion not to say3 ,i should despise a ,god who had no more ethical sense than that4 ,god should be harder on my brother than on them4 ,much of my philosophy and theology was worked out during my seminary course2 but there were gaps that ,i could not fill4 ,so ,i next went to ,yale to study philosophy4 ,in postgraduate work1 through the guidance of professors1 ,i expected to find the wise men for whom ,i had waited so long4 ,however1 these wise men are not readily understood in a few weeks4 ,they have a poor faculty for making connection with all the ideas that still linger in the mind of callow youth4 ,at any rate it soon dawned upon me that there was no such ,god as ,i was looking for or else these men were unable to give ,him to me4 ,when this conviction came to me ,i went out from a recitation one night into the dark and once more fought the old battle4 ,standing on the ,new ,haven ,green and looking up into the pelting sleet ,i said3 ,now ,i have met the 'wise men1' and still ,i do not know whether there is an inspired ,bible1 or a heaven1 or a ,god4 ,but ,i exclaimed1 ,o ,god1 if you are1 and if ,i should ever meet you anywhere in eternity1 ,i would run to you as a little child runs to a father4 ,i would tell you how weak and sinful and ignorant ,i am1 and ,i know you would love me4 ,that night on the old ,green1 while in the dark and pelted with sleet1 ,i went out onto the last crag where any human soul can go1 and cried into the infinite depths1 ,o ,god1 if you are there1 some day ,i shall know you and love you4 ,in that act ,i passed beyond all men and all institutions1 and took my stand with the final reality1 whatever it might be1 and at least ,i was free and not afraid4 ,though thoroughly agnostic still1 yet ,i could quietly work and wait4 ,returning to my studies and resolving to appropriate whatever ,i could understand1 ,i was surprised to find how much of the teaching ministered to my needs4 ,before long ,i came to see that ,god did not have a central nucleus1 or ghost form in heaven2 neither did ,he resemble a refined substance like ether4 ,spirit was something quite different from what ,i had supposed4 ,my mind was hitting the trail4 ,then ,i understood that ,god had not revealed ,himself to the world according to my demand1 because no such ,god existed in heaven or earth4 ,so one day in class ,i asked a professor1 who is now dead1 if he thought we should see ,god in heaven as we see men and trees here4 ,at the same time ,i assured him that ,i did not4 ,his answer was1 ,i think your position would be a very dangerous doctrine to teach4 ,but my own conviction was that it was becoming a very dangerous doctrine not to teach4 ,time has proved that ,i was right4 ,millions of people are suffering to-day from false images of ,god or from no image of ,god4 ,not long ago when ,i related this class incident to a ,yale man1 he remarked1 ,well1 ,professor ---- made great growth before he died4 ,my categorical answers to the four questions at the head of this chapter are3 ,when we have rational ideas of ,god and the universe we shall see that ,he is leaving nothing undone to reveal ,himself4 ,to an enlightened understanding it does not seem possible that ,god could reveal ,himself so that no one could doubt ,his existence4 ,though the existence of ,god is a question of doubt and discussion with many1 yet we may achieve deep and satisfying assurance if we go about it in the right way4 ,i think it would be morally wrong for ,god to leave ,his children in doubt of ,his existence if ,he were able to reveal ,himself4 ,this chapter is largely excavation4 ,we have dug the hole deep so that we may commence in the next chapter to lay the foundation on solid bottom4 ,and this was necessary if our proposed structure is to stand4 ,allow me this closing word4 ,when ,i began to get on my religious feet at ,yale1 ,i unexpectedly received a call to a college pastorate4 ,and though the usual number of sceptics were found among the students1 yet in many respects they were the most savable men in college4 ,usually1 if you could hit the keys of their souls they would ring back and ring true4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,how ,,science ,,saves ,,religion1 ,,or ,,modern ,,knowledge ,,and ,,religion ,what is ,god8 ,who is ,god8 ,where is ,god8 ,what does ,god do8 ,if the ancients made their gods1 how do we know that we are not making our ,god8 ,may we not be communing with a mere idea8 ,,modern ,,knowledge ,,and ,,religion ,christian character1 the ,christian college1 and ,christian civilization have been very important factors in the discovery and development of modern learning4 ,expecting to derive much benefit from the sciences1 ,christian people with fine enthusiasm strove to promote them4 ,nevertheless1 there came a time when the allied sciences threatened to turn upon and destroy the religion that had so carefully nurtured them4 ,when the scientific imagery of the ,bible began to clash with the clearly ascertained facts of science1 many people concluded that science and religion were contradictory2 however1 the crude conceptions of the material universe found in the ,bible are no integral part of religion4 ,that religion may discard its wornout clothes for new and better ones has not been an easy lesson for believers1 or unbelievers1 to learn4 ,thinking that religion must stand or fall with the scientific accuracy of the ,bible1 some drew back from modern science preferring religion2 others clung to the new learning forsaking religion4 ,for a time1 therefore1 it was inevitable that religion and her foster daughter1 modern science1 should not be on the best of terms2 because the daughter could not approve of the mother's dress1 and the mother thought the daughter utterly lacking in becoming reverence4 ,however1 with their great need of each other1 let us believe that they are now settling down to a lasting friendship of mutual helpfulness4 ,unfortunately1 the opinion is gaining considerable credence that modern ,christians are believing less and less1 and that finally they will cease to believe in religion altogether4 ,but this is the very opposite of the truth1 for they are still believing the old religion1 though in a vastly bigger and better way4 ,for1 at the present time1 where its help is welcome1 modern learning is rendering a beautiful service to ,christian faith4 ,and this is the grateful testimony of thousands of intelligent1 consecrated people4 ,no well-informed person1 however1 would deny that science has injured1 and will increasingly weaken1 the faith of those who do not know how to make a religious use of modern learning4 ,while religion and science have distinctive fields to cultivate1 yet neither may disregard the claims of the other with impunity4 ,nevertheless1 we do rejoice to see science tearing down the old cabin of an unscientific world in which the ,church has lived too long4 ,but when it proposes to shut ,god out of the new mansion of a scientific universe1 those who know and love ,him will seriously object1--especially since the new knowledge makes ,god better understood1 and more needed than ever4 ,it is likewise pleasant to see religion standing for spiritual verities and duties1 but when it demands that the ,christian shall live in a world that is crude and half false1 the modern man resents it4 ,he simply cannot do it4 ,yet1 to-day and always1 religion should be a simple story that anyone may understand2 but it should not be clothed in such crude and antiquated forms as to antagonize the man of modern knowledge4 ,during these introductory statements1 we may as well admit that the average scientist appears to have as poor a knowledge of religion as the average ,christian has of science4 ,too often he is still resisting religious conceptions that all intelligent ,christians have long since outgrown1 or else he is adopting philosophical theories that are only half thought through4 ,this is amazingly true of some men who are superb in their own chosen lines of research4 ,no one is hit by this statement unless he is standing in the line of the shot4 ,whether or not the reader is hit1 ,i beg of him to keep friendly with me until he has heard my simple story of ,god in ,his world4 ,could we but free the religion of ,jesus from the crude psychology and the antiquated science of other days1 and see it at home in the fairer world of to-day1 it would shine with new luster2 and at the same time give a rich1 new meaning to the world itself1--such as it can never have apart from religion4 ,science1 and not religion1 was responsible for crude science4--,religion will be responsible if it retains a science that has become antiquated4 ,taking our stand then in the midst of modern knowledge1 ,i shall endeavor to picture religion both at home and happy in the new world4 ,i shall not have much to say directly about scientific subjects1 but shall constantly try to keep in mind the man with modern information4 ,the nearer ,i can make this book resemble a primer1 the better satisfied ,i shall be4 ,if one could so write that the learned would approve1 and the ignorant understand1 his joy should be full4 ,to give a simple description of ,god in ,his world congenial to the scholar1 while comprehensible and acceptable to common busy people1 would be the highest possible service one could wish to render4 ,in these days there is great need of a clear presentation of ,god2 a presentation that is free from the entanglements of technical learning1 and at the same time consonant with the known facts of life4 ,practical men would like to see the mended circuit of our religious thoughts1 since their circuits1 in many cases at least1 seem broken beyond repair4 ,they are asking for a simple and satisfying gospel that is cognizant of the facts and forces among which they live and toil4 ,we shall begin1 therefore1 at the very beginning4 #a4 ,what is ,god8 ,the discussion which immediately follows does not concern itself with why we believe in ,god1 but aims to give a definite idea of how we conceive of ,him4 ,for those who have a natural sense of ,god1 or a religious nature1 a satisfying conception of ,him will be ample for their spiritual needs4 ,and1 furthermore1 those who doubt ,god's existence need first of all a definite idea of what we mean by the term ,deity4 ,it is a pleasure1 therefore1 to answer in the words of ,jesus1 ,god is a spirit4 ,this might very well be regarded as a final answer but for the fact that spirit means all sorts of things to different minds4 ,when ,i once asked a company of intelligent people if ,i were a spirit1 they promptly answered no1 but supposed ,i should be when ,i died4 ,they seemed to think of spirit as a ghost1 as something that might appear or disappear through locked doors4 ,the same idea apparently obtained universally in times past1 and that doubtless accounts for the fact that the ,greek word1 meaning spirit1 was translated ,ghost in the ,scriptures and ,apostles' ,creed4 ,but the idea of a visible spirit should perish4 ,spirits are neither evil ghosts nor ,holy ,ghosts4 ,even if there were a ghost1 that which appeared could be no more than the instrument of the spirit1 and not the spirit itself4 ,however refined and ghostly the form1 the spirit would remain as invisible as when it had a gross human body4 ,as further evidence of confusion on this subject1 a young man from one of our good colleges seeking membership in my ,church1 informed me that he had peculiar views4 ,spirit1 whether applied to ,god or man1 had no meaning for him4 ,he wanted to join the ,church because in that way he believed he could render a better social service4 ,in his thought1 ,god was neither a person nor a spirit1 but a force4 ,having no satisfactory idea of spirits he had banished the thought of them entirely from his mind4 ,all through my own period of doubt ,i conceived of ,god's spirit on earth as something emanating from a glorious spiritual form in heaven4 ,thinking that this form in heaven was a spirit made it only the easier to believe that ,god himself could appear to men if ,he cared to do so4 ,that ,he did not care to appear to ,his children and thereby settle the question of ,his existence beyond all doubt seemed preposterous4 ,and it would still seem so to my moral sense1 if ,i retained my former conception of spirit4 ,of course ,he should not come near enough to consume us1 but ,he might come near enough to convince us4 ,the ,new ,thought people1 struggling with the meaning of spirit1 have arrived at the conclusion that there is just ,one universal substance called spirit4 ,so1 ,god is not to them a spirit1 but simply spirit1 a universal substance4 ,two or three other cults believe that man's spirit is simply his physical breath4 ,to say that ,god is a spirit1 then1 with any of these gross conceptions in mind1 is sadly to misconceive ,him4 ,whether we say ,god is a ,spirit1 a ,soul1 or a ,person1 our meaning is the same4 ,of these three expressions1 however1 the word ,person is the best because1 being the scholar's term1 it is clearly defined4 ,so when we have learned the signification of the word ,person1 we shall attribute the same meaning to all three words1 using them interchangeably4 ,in speaking of ,god as a person the scholar never has in mind either form or substance1 however rarefied4 ,he does not know even that there is material substance1 much less spiritual substance4 ,he knows very well what personality is as experience1 but beyond that he knows nothing about it4 ,personality1 to him1 means a ,will that knows itself1 and then knows ,other ,wills4 ,when we say that ,god is a ,spirit1 or ,person1 we should mean that ,he is a ,loving ,intelligent ,will4 ,in speaking of ,god as the ,soul of the universe we should have in mind the same idea4 ,there is no harm in thinking of ,god as a force if the force is intelligent1 and knows itself2 but a force that does not know that it is a force1 is not ,god4 ,a progressive ,jewish rabbi expressed the wish that we could get rid of the word ,god altogether1 and substitute some such word as ,cosmos4 ,when asked if the ,cosmos knew that it was a cosmos1 or that we were talking about it1 he replied that he did not think so4 ,then ,i would rather worship you1 ,i said1 than your cosmos1 for you would at least know that ,i reverenced you4 ,an intelligent lawyer friend of mine once said to me1 ,of course ,i do not believe in a personal ,god4 ,i asked him if he meant that he did not believe in a ,god who has a form in heaven4 ,but he answered3 ,oh1 no1 no1 ,i have been beyond that for twenty-five years6 ,god1 if ,he means anything1 means the infinite1 while a person means the limited4 ,now1 who ever heard of such a childish thing as a limited infinite8 ,no1 pig-iron1 as much as anything1 is ,god4 ,i replied1 ,with all your intelligence1 you haven't the remotest idea of what constitutes personality4 ,you are not aware that by personality we mean a certain type of experience1 and not a substance4 ,personality is realized only as the experience of self-knowledge is achieved4 ,you are not as yet much of a personality1 you are hardly more than a candidate for the office1 but by making a good campaign you may get elected4 ,you are not very personal because you are not very self-knowing1 and if you should drop the plummet into the depths of your experience to sound yourself1 by that very act you would acquire new depth1 and would need to try again to fathom yourself4 ,so at best1 you are only becoming personal4 ,none but the ,infinite ,experience can know itself perfectly1 and therefore1 ,god alone is completely personal4 ,my friend had no idea either of ,god's personality or his own1 and his philosophical conception of nature was only a little less crude4 ,it was a long step in the right direction when ,i came to realize that ,i had never seen my mother1 with whom ,i lived for so many happy years4 ,yet there was one thing that ,i felt sure ,i knew--absolutely1 as ,i knew nothing else--and that was my mother4 ,not her face1 not her voice1 not her attitudes nor her actions1 though all these ,i knew too and loved4 ,but back of all these there was a real mother1 of whom these were only manifestations4 ,and this real mother1 that ,i knew as ,i knew nothing else1 was silent1 and invisible4 ,and then ,i found that ,i knew myself too--hardly as well as ,i knew my mother1 but in the same way1 and ,i knew myself also to be invisible and silent4 ,my spirit1 or personality1 is as invisible and silent as ,god4 ,i have no more seen myself than ,i have seen ,him4 ,neither has my naked soul ever made a sound4 ,all the words that my soul desires expressed are produced by a sort of animated phonograph which we call the mouth4 ,at the wish of my invisible self the physical organs of speech set the air vibrating1 but my self-conscious ,will is eternally silent4 ,there is much to be said about the relation of ,personalities to their instruments1 but this must be left until a little later4 ,it will avoid confusion if we try to take but one step at a time4 ,great scholars may think that such ideas as ,i have endeavored to illustrate are too simple to require statement1 nevertheless the recognition of these simple facts concerning my mother and myself unlocked my prison door4 ,it revolutionized everything within me1 and without me4 ,during the thirty years of my active ministry1 it has been the moulding thought of my life4 ,once realizing that ,god was a ,loving ,intelligent ,will1 ,i no longer thought of ,him as sitting on a throne1 or showing ,his face through parted clouds4 ,this conception of spirit gave to everything new shape and color4 ,it was the idea around which a new heaven and a new earth took form4 ,the rest of this book must further explain what it then meant1 and still means1 to me4 ,as the result of a better conception of spirit1 my world was relieved of intolerable intellectual burdens4 ,simply to get the idea1 however1 is not enough2 one must follow it out logically to see where it will lead him4 ,to the question1 ,what is ,god8 ,i once more answer that ,he is a ,loving ,intelligent ,will4 ,and1 apart from ,his instruments1 ,he is silent and invisible1 here and everywhere1 now and always4 #b4 ,who is ,god8 ,first1 allow me to say that ,he is not the ,father of our bodies1 though ,he is the ,creator of them4 ,god created trees1 but ,he is not the ,father of trees4 ,fatherhood1 in addition to creation1 implies likeness so close that father and child classify as members of the same family4 ,our bodies were not made in the image of ,god4 ,while passing through my ,sunday school where a college woman was giving some supplementary work1 ,i heard her teaching the young people that we were made in the image of ,god because we had two legs instead of four1 and stood on end4 ,why in the name of conscience1 ,i thought1 do we permit anyone in our churches to retain such detrimental and absurd ideas8 ,this woman was what the young men and women called a crackerjack in her college line4 ,so ,i was amazed at her crude conceptions1 until ,i realized that she had never heard an exposition of the primitive story in ,genesis4 ,i also remembered that ,i had heard it preached from a pulpit1 that man was in the image of ,god because he had a face1 and walked upright instead of going on all fours4 ,those churches that believe man has no spirit except his breath are necessarily confined to this monstrous idea2 while many in our regular churches are in a maze of tangled thoughts4 ,according to ,scriptures1 ,god is the ,father of spirits4 ,the ,loving ,intelligent ,will is the ,father of other loving intelligent wills4 ,this makes every created spirit a ,god-child1 or a child of ,god4 ,these terms must be interchangeable1 unless we are playing at make-believe1 when we say that a spirit is a child of ,god4 ,were not all spirits members of the ,god family1 it would be useless to teach them about ,god2 for1 being of a different order1 they would not understand4 ,it is impossible to teach a horse the things of a man1 because he has not the spirit of a man4 ,i believe in an anthropomorphic ,god1 simply because ,i believe in a ,theomorphic man4 ,god must be in man's image1 because man is in ,god's image4 ,but it is not the animal man in whose image ,god is4 ,i should never believe in a religion that ,i was incapable of experiencing4 ,neither could ,i experience a religion that was contrary to my reason4 ,nevertheless1 mine is not a private religion1 because ,i am an infinite debtor to the world's best thought1 and to the world's best experience4 ,without the help of the ages ,i never could have thought or felt that which ,i cannot avoid thinking and feeling at the present time4 ,this is not an effort to prove anything1 but simply an attempt to picture what ,i see and feel1 with the hope that someone else may see and feel in the same way4 ,the great pity of it all is that so many people have never known the world's best religious thought and experience4 ,there are those1 a thousand years behind their age1 who are launching new religions or fostering old ones1 who are utterly oblivious to the strata upon strata of human achievement above them4 ,yes1 ,god is the ,father of all spirits1 whether they reside on earth1 or in heaven1 or in hell4 ,when once the meaning of spirit1 or personality1 is realized there is no dodging the issue4 ,if a horse goes down the street keeping company with himself after this manner1 ,now ,i am an old horse1 and ,i ought to be a good old horse1 and ,i wonder what the end will be1 then he too is a son of ,god and our brother1 though he has four1 instead of two legs4 ,i do not think a horse so keeps company with himself1 but if he does1 then we must own him and hope for the time when our brother will have something better than a quadruped for an instrument4 ,i am often asked what angels are like4 ,that is an easy question4 ,an angel is very much like my wife4 ,for they both are spirits1 and children of ,god4 ,my wife is a sister of all the angels1 and if ,milton's great1 classical devil exists1 he also is our brother1 and a child of ,god4 ,all spirits are children of ,god1 whether good or bad1 just because they are spirits4 ,in speaking of sons1 the ,bible usually means the good children of ,god2 yet it clearly teaches that prodigals are likewise sons4 ,earthly parents are our older brothers and sisters1 honored and much beloved2 but only ,god is the ,father of our spirits4 ,no one need fear that natural sonship to ,god makes it less imperative that we should become good sons4 ,to be a bad son of ,god is a most wretched and deplorable thing in itself1 and leads inevitably to all deserved punishment4 ,a good ,father will not be slack in discipline4 ,and furthermore1 the rebellious sons of ,god are not slow to make hell in this life1 and that they will make no more hell after death we may not dare to believe4 ,if the truth about the ,fatherhood of ,god and the brotherhood of all spirits could enter the minds of the people with all that it involves1 it would break the heart of the ,church1 and1 we may believe1 the heart of the world as well4 ,as yet1 however1 this truth is but dimly realized4 ,i once had a dear old friend1 a saint1 whom ,i greatly appreciated4 ,with her white hair and charming accent she was beautiful4 ,her mind was richly stored with beautiful poetry1 and her apt quotations often touched me deeply4 ,loving all the saints1 she was equally loved by them4 ,but one day ,i learned that my dear old saint was a saint only in spots--yet she was a saint4 ,the discovery came about in this way2 ,i asked her if she knew of the family with four children across the way1 who had lately come to her neighborhood1 suggesting that she might be useful to them4 ,now1 what do you think my dear old saint said8 ,with a spasmodic jerk of the elbow1 and a toss of the head1 she replied1 ,no6 ,i don't want to know such folks6 ,this was a case in which caution was unnecessary1 and where real service might have been rendered4 ,for the time being my friend had completely forgotten that her neighbors were ,god's little ones and her own brothers and sisters4 ,she had forgotten that her ,father was over there struggling and suffering to save ,his children from sin and harm1 and that ,he sorely needed ,his older daughter over the way to help ,him4 ,my dear old saint would not go across the street to help her ,father whom she thought she loved so dearly4 ,she did not realize that ,god was the ,father of all spirits1 and that all they were members of one family4 ,my dear old friend has long since gone to her home beyond1 and has learned how sadly she failed to comprehend the ,fatherhood of ,god and the brotherhood of man4 ,this knowledge doubtless gives her many a heartache1 and drives her forward with new zeal to learn the lesson that ,god is the ,father of all spirits4 ,we may be proud of our family name and social standing2 we may think that we are different and apart1 but we should remember that no one ever had more disreputable children than ,god4 ,all the bad people are ,his sons and daughters4 ,true1 they have dishonored ,his name1 and grieved ,his heart1 yet ,he does not disown them2 rather ,he follows them into all the dens and haunts of vice asking them to return home4 ,and as fast as we become good sons1 we join the ,father in ,his love quest for ,his prodigal sons1 who are our brothers4 ,possibly ,i am a direct descendant of ,king ,swain of ,denmark who conquered ,england in the tenth century4 ,there is no evidence to that effect1 but he is the first ,swain of whom ,i know in history4 ,however this may be1 with every other self-conscious being ,i can lift my head and say with justifiable pride and gladness of heart1 ,god1 who makes the world1 is my ,father4 ,how wonderful you are1 ,o ,god-child6 and what a pity it would be if anything should drag you down from your divine possibilities6 #c4 ,where is ,god8 ,when ,i once asked a company of young people where my spirit was they promptly answered1 ,in your body4 ,i inquired1 ,in a part of my body1 or in all of it8 ,am ,i to understand that my spirit is just the shape and size of my body1 and that when ,i am thin of flesh my spirit is not as large as when ,i am fleshy8 ,no1 said they1 we do not like that4 ,oh6 your spirit is in your brain1 remarked one young fellow4 ,now1 then1 ,i have it1 said ,i1 my spirit is just the shape and size of the cavity in my skull4 ,no1 he replied1 we don't know how it is4 ,and they did not know1 because no one had explained it to them4 ,this is what ,i told them3 ,the spirit is not in the body as a hand is in a glove1 for that is one thing inside another thing4 ,spirit has no dimensions4 ,if any boy has a rule in his pocket let him measure my 'conscious will1' and tell me how long it is4 ,they promptly replied that it could not be done4 ,so ,i continued3 ,if my self-conscious will occupies no space1 then ,i1 the spirit1 am neither in my body nor out of my body4 ,i am nowhere4 ',where' applies to things and not to spirit4 ,the book is in the room because it occupies a definite space4 ,when we say that our spirits are in our bodies we simply mean that our wills are capable of commanding our bodies and making them act4 ,while our spirits are nowhere1 yet they do get expressed somewhere4 ,for all practical purposes1 spirits are where their instruments express them in time and space4 ,at this point in my remarks1 ,i turned aside1 and poked sharply with my forefinger a friend who stood near4 ,in reply to his inquiring look ,i said3 ,i did not poke you4 ,it was this finger4 7,then to the boys7 ,did ,i poke him8 ,my finger touched him because ,i wished it4 ,my will got expressed right at the end of the finger1 and therefore that is where my spirit seemed to be4 ,again ,i punched my friend1 but this time with a long stick1 and when he turned sharply about1 ,i said3 ,i did not jab you1 it was the stick4 ,but the stick1 ,i explained1 had become the instrument of my will2 therefore my will got expressed at a greater distance from my body4 ,the stick was really the lengthening of my finger4 ,i then told them of the man in ,virginia who was talking by wireless telephone4 ,it is reported that when he spoke1 one man in ,paris1 and another in ,honolulu1 replied at the same time1 as if he were in both places3 ,hello1 ,jake1 is that you8 ,had there been a million receivers in the encircling space with people listening1 it would have seemed to every one of them that he was present4 ,though expressed in a million remote places at one time1 he would not have been divided into a million persons2 neither would he have been spread out to reach all the places occupied by his listeners4 ,his instruments would have been spread out1 but not his soul4 ,his soul would still have remained sharply self-conscious4 ,that concentrated1 self-conscious will is what we mean by the soul4 ,the soul is always a definite1 personal will1 to itself and to the one or the many with whom it is communicating1 however short or extended its instruments4 ,that the young people grasped this conception of spirit1 was made evident in a subsequent review4 ,so to the question1 ,where is ,god8 we must answer that1 as naked spirit1 ,he is not anywhere1 but that ,his instruments may express ,him everywhere4 ,where ,his instruments end1 or whether nature ends at all1 no scientist knows4 ,the ,divine ,spirit is no larger than the human spirit1 for neither of them has any largeness at all4 ,god is simply more conscious1 more loving1 and more intelligent than we2 and ,his instruments are infinitely more vast than ours4 ,developing a soul is not making it larger1 but making it more loving1 intelligent1 and purposeful4 ,however1 the development of the soul does require the enlargement of its instruments4 ,an undeveloped person may be very conscious of his body and its wants and scarcely at all aware of his soul and its needs4 ,to be infinitely self-knowing1 like ,god1 is the most concentrated and intensified reality conceivable4 ,so the minister's wife of whom we have spoken1 was mistaken in thinking ,god a rarified substance like ether1 spread out to fill all nature4 ,with her materialistic conception of ,god1 she thought ,him so spacially big that she could neither know ,him nor love ,him1 whereas ,he is no more spread out than the mathematical point that has no dimensions4 ,to give complete satisfaction to our friend1 it will be necessary to show her the various ways of approaching this ,loving ,will1 the ,father of her own invisible self2 but for this we are not yet ready4 ,dr4 ,lyman ,abbott tells of sitting at the table one day with his little grandson when the latter said1 ',grandfather1 how can ,god be in ,cornwall and in ,newburgh at the same time8' ,i touched him on the forehead and said1 ',are you there8' ',yes4' ,i touched him on the shoulder1 ',are you there8' ',yes4' ,i touched him on the knee1 ',are you there8' ',yes4' ',that is the way1' ,i replied1 ',god can be in ,cornwall and in ,newburgh at the same time4' ,he considered a moment1 and shyly smiled his assent4 ,i am well aware that we have not said enough about ,god to make ,him satisfyingly near and personal to our love2 but it is a start1 and we still have the pleasure of traveling together over a beautiful road until we shall stand face to face with ,him whom our souls seek4 ,we should reach this desired goal in the fourth chapter4 ,but if we become impatient1 we shall spoil the journey1 for we are traveling as fast as we can go without having a wreck4 ,here1 a little incident from actual experience may be helpful4 ,my eldest son1 when a little child1 would not say a prayer4 ,this1 beyond doubt1 was abnormal1 because most little children are willing to pray4 ,as my own religious life had given me so much trouble1 ,i concluded that he had inherited my frailties1 and not his mother's virtues4 ,being perplexed by his attitude ,i would sometimes take him out to see the stars1 when ,i would speak of the greatness and goodness of ,god4 ,then1 once in awhile1 though not often1 ,i could get him to pray4 ,we did not wish him to be unduly serious1 certainly not solemn1 but it did puzzle us to know why he would not say a prayer4 ,so one day when he came into my study ,i thought1 ,now is my chance4 ,taking him up1 ,i set him on the desk before me1 which permitted him to look out of the window upon the apple trees that were a bower of beauty in their spring blossoms4 ,isn't this a beautiful world8 ,i said4 ,yes1 was his reply4 ,who made it8 ,god4 ,well1 wouldn't it be nice to pray a little8 ,i asked4 ,oh1 with a tone of aversion1 ,i don't want to pray6 ,you don't like to talk to ,god8 ,huh6 scornfully4 ,i can't talk to ,god1 ,he's up in heaven4 ,no1 ,god is in your heart4 ,at that he rose to his knees and said1 with an incredulous look on his face3 ,well1 ,i guess ,i can't jump into my mouth6 ,this made me feel that he was born a little pagan1 but at the same time it gave me one clue to the difficulty4 ,he made a difference between talking and praying4 ,that he liked to talk1 ,i knew1 but now it appeared that1 to his mind1 offering prayers to some one so far away was quite a different thing4 ,then ,i asked him if he thought ,i loved him4 ,yes1 ,i know you love me1 he said1 putting his arms about my neck1 and giving me a squeeze4 ,well1 ,i asked1 can you see my love8 ,yes4 ,are you sure you can see it8 ,why1 of course4 ,well1 then1 put your hand on it4 ,i can't see your love1 but1--,i know you love me1 though6 ,yes1 you do know that ,i love you1 but you can't see my love1 neither can you see me4 ,yes1 ,i can6--and his hand literally flew to my cheek4 ,oh1 no1 that is not papa2 that is flesh4 ,you didn't think ,i was flesh1 did you8 ,no1 you can't see me because ,i am love1 or spirit4 ,here ,i carefully felt of his head1 saying1 ,now1 that is a bone box1 but ,i don't talk to a bone box when ,i talk to you4 ,next1 feeling of his ear1 ,i remarked1 ,isn't that a funny little thing1 a piece of gristle6--but ,i don't talk to gristle when ,i speak to you4 ,bringing my hand down over his face1 ,i continued1 ,here is some flesh with bones under it1 but ,i don't talk to flesh and bones when ,i talk to you4 ,no1 ,i can't see you4 ,yet1 my love knows your love1 and your love knows my love4 ,when my love feels your love1 then we say you are in my heart2 and when our love feels ,god's love1 then ,he is in our hearts4 ,isn't it beautiful1 that my love knows and likes to talk to your love1 and your love knows and likes to talk to my love1 and that we like to talk to ,god's love8 ,he didn't wait for me to ask him to pray1 but at once began in a loud whisper1 saying3 ,o ,god1 help me to be a good boy1 and to love papa and mamma1 and everybody1 and to do everything that is good4 ,then looking up with a smile1 he asked1 ,do you know what ,i was doing8 ,i said3 ,i think you were talking to the ,lord4 ,with evident satisfaction he admitted that he was4 ,two days after this he came into my study while ,i was reading a book and put his hand on my knee4 ,giving my knee a hard shove1 he said3 ,this isn't papa1 is it8 ,this is papa's body4 ,my book went out of the way in a hurry1 ,i can assure you1 and there was a dear little upturned face smiling1 which said1 ,we are spirits1 aren't we1 papa8 ,never after that did he refuse to pray4 ,some years ago a successful minister1 about forty-five years of age1 consecrated1 eloquent1 and revered by his people1 asked me how ,i conceived of ,god when ,i prayed4 ,the conversation revealed the fact that he was struggling with all the questions that troubled the little boy4 ,this unhappy condition was due to the fact that theology begins too far down the stream1 leaving unanswered and unconsidered the best questions of all1 the questions of children and fools4 ,once1 when a little child1 ,i was told by my mother that ,god saw all my naughty thoughts4 ,immediately1 ,i asked1 ,where is ,god8 ,she answered1 ,everywhere4 ,in the sky8 ,yes4 ,in this house8 ,yes4 ,in the logs of the walls8 ,yes4 ,in the table leg8 ,yes4 ,if ,i were to saw the table leg off1 would ,i hurt ,god8 ,sh-h1 be careful what you say about ,god4 ,that last question was as legitimate as the previous ones1 and was asked with equal sincerity4 ,it clearly revealed my materialistic conceptions of ,god4 ,my present opinion is that it would not give ,him pain to saw off the leg of a table1 but that it would give ,him pain to amputate a human leg4 ,god knows the thrill of a nerve better than we do1 or else ,he has much to learn4 ,a relative1 visiting in my home1 remarked that she was utterly confused about ,god2 and that she had been reading some of the new cults of the day with the hope of finding something satisfying4 ,consequently1 a little conversation followed on how ,god was immanent in all nature4 ,so1 when she put her little boy to bed that night1 she told him that ,god was not away off in heaven but near1 and in everything that was good4 ,to this the little fellow replied1 ,oh1 gee6 then ,he is in strawberry shortcake1 isn't ,he8 ,the poor mother was at the end of her wits1 and felt that the devotion which followed was not very successful4 ,we teach that ,god is in everything1 without comprehending how ,he is in anything1 and herein lies the difficulty4 ,the question of how ,god is in nature was again before us4 ,some one suggested1 ,if ,he is in strawberry shortcake1 is ,he likewise in the garbage can8 ,horrors6 exclaimed another4 ,a third voice1 ,now where are we6--do we believe1 or do we not believe that ,god is in all nature8 ,a garbage can may be most repulsive if allowed to breed life2 yet chemically and biologically viewed1 its contents are more beautiful than any fairyland ever described4 ,the odor and sight are repugnant to us1 because the refuse is not wholesome food for human beings2 but to some other animals it is more delicate than a perfume bottle4 ,the other animals would probably think the perfume horrid stuff4 ,the ,loving ,intelligent ,will is not in nature in the same way that strawberries are in shortcake4 ,after that manner ,god is neither in nor out of anything4 ,this1 however1 will be made more plain in the consideration of the next question4 ,whether or not the reader likes these illustrations1 at least they are out of the raw experience of life1 and reveal the crude conceptions that linger concerning ,god and ,his relations to the universe4 ,a child can ask many of the vital questions concerning religion and life before he can count ten2 and if his questions are answered1 he will ask almost all the religious questions before he has learned the multiplication table4 ,this is because nothing else is so near to him as life and religion4 ,the mathematical faculty is a later development4 ,i should never crowd a child in his acquisition of religious knowledge2 but when he wants to know1 if we ourselves know the way1 it is much better to start him on the right track4 #d4 ,what does ,god do8 ,what does ,god do all day8 asked a little boy of his mother4 ,we used to think that ,he made the universe in a week1 and that ever since ,he had been keeping ,sunday4 ,during this long ,sabbath we believed ,him to be engaged in religious work2 though ,he may have regulated the universe a bit now and then4 ,now1 however1 we see that nothing is finished4 ,even new worlds are being formed1 and the old ones are constantly being changed4 ,it is deeper truth to recognize ,god as making the universe all the time1 to think of nature as ,god at work4 ,for1 should ,god cease working there would be no world4 ,we used to say1 and rightly1 too1 that the world is crammed so full of meaning and purpose that it must have had a wise ,creator2 that there never could have been such a world without a ,god4 ,with equal propriety1 we may now say that there could no more be a ,god without a world than a world without a ,god2 because a ,god who was so indolent and purposeless as to think nothing1 and feel nothing1 and project nothing1 would not be worthy of a second thought4 ,at last we have come to the point where we can see how science1 in a peculiar way1 has saved religion4 ,men have always been pondering over ,god's relation to the wonderful forces of nature that envelop us4 ,they could get along pretty well with either a ,god or a world1 but found it difficult to harmonize both thoughts4 ,there appeared to be a spirit world over against the great lump of a dirt world4 ,the bulk of things often seemed such a hindrance that men dreamed of deliverance by ultimately getting rid of the material universe altogether4 ,even ,god1 it was thought by some philosophers1 did the best ,he could with the stubborn clay at ,his disposal4 ,when my brother was killed1 ,i could not decide whether ,god or the great machine world killed him4 ,just when the world acted1 or just when ,god acted1 was to me a profound mystery4 ,for1 in my thought1 the world was a great automatic machine1 that ran entirely by itself1 except when ,god occasionally interfered4 ,whether ,he was a sort of spiritual ether penetrating all things1 or what1 ,i could not at all decide4 ,but like the ,yale professor1 ,i still believed that if ,he existed1 ,he must have a visible nucleus all ,his own in heaven4 ,god1 at the center1 was a ghost1 whom ,his ghost children would find only after death4 ,according to the common teaching1 ,jesus had left ,his ,father and happy home in heaven1 having come to this sinful earth to be clothed with a physical body4 ,of course1 the ,father's spirit was represented as being with ,jesus1 but the ,father ,himself had remained in ,his far-away home4 ,so my confusion was worse confounded by thinking4 ,during many centuries1 scholars were grappling with the thought of spirit2 and they did some good thinking in spite of their mistakes4 ,spirit was being more and more clearly defined4 ,it increasingly appeared to be a self-conscious will1 but how this ,infinite ,will was related to the great lump of nature1 was the supreme difficulty4 ,finally the scientists took the lump into the laboratories1 when behold6 it melted as quickly as a lump of sugar melts in the mouth of a boy4 ,they discovered that nature was no lump at all1 but a bundle of beautiful1 complex energies4 ,nature as substance scientists have driven to the vanishing point2 so much so that no great physicist would dare to say that there is any substance4 ,yet nature was never so potent in the lives of men as since it has been reduced to invisible energies4 ,the knowledge of these invisible forces and the power to manipulate them make men almost like gods in their achievements4 ,the present situation1 then1 is a little like that of putting the tunnel under the ,hudson4 ,one gang beginning on the ,jersey side1 and another on the ,new ,york side1 they bored down and onward1 sometimes going far below the water2 but when the workers came together under the ,hudson1 they had varied from each other only by the least fraction of an inch4 ,just so the philosophers and theologians began on the spirit side1 reducing spirit to purposeful energy2 while the scientists began on the nature side reducing it to purposeful energy2 and when the two sets of workers broke through1 they were apparently at the same point4 ,the ,christian scholar looked up with joy and amazement1 saying1 ,why1 this invisible1 purposeful energy of nature is simply what ,god is thinking1 and feeling1 and willing4 ,whether there is any substance we do not know1 but whether there is1 or is not1 nature is ,will in action4 ,god continually purposes all these energies and they go forth4 ,light-energy1 and all other beautiful forces constituting nature1 are the modes of ,god's continuous will4 ,what does ,god do all day8 ,why1 everything that is being done in the universe1 except that which other wills are doing4 ,and the child will is only combining his ,father's energies and thinking his ,father's thoughts4 ,the child never works apart from his ,father's enfolding powers4 ,if we could comprehend all the dynamics of the universe1 we should know what ,god is doing on that plane of ,his activities4 ,or1 if we could know all ,his loving thoughts and higher purposes concerning ,his children1 who are striving and building in the midst of these simple1 enfolding energies1 we should know what ,god is doing in the moral realm4 ,the wall of partition is broken down1 the veil is rent in twain2 we live in the ,holy ,presence1 since there is no other place to live4 ,with ,browning1 we feel that the atmosphere ,is the clear1 dear breath of ,god who loveth us4 ,the pavement on which we walk is the power of the ,great ,will bearing us up4 ,likewise1 the buildings along the street are more of ,his beneficent energies1 providing shelter and rest for ,his loved ones4 ,our bodies are also ,his energies1 highly sensitized1 through which we become beautifully aware of our surroundings4 ,all the vitality in the quivering beams of ships1 and all the propelling force in their engines1 is but the power of a ,will1 and that ,will is the ,father of our spirits4 ,leaving out of mind for the present the thought of the vast universe1 measure1 if you can1 the ocean in its breadth and depth1 which in its ceaseless rising and falling raises and lowers ship-cities as if they were snowflakes2 and then remember that1 if rightly applied1 there is power enough in each cup full of water to destroy a ship1 and that all the energy of the boundless worlds is but the will of ,him in whom we live and move and have our being4 ,having done this1 if you are not something less than a man1 you will fall down and adore in wonder1 love and praise4 ,to be brought face to face with ,god in the beauty and awfulness of nature is the only cure for the irreverence of this generation4 ,but some one says1 ,this makes ,god too great4 ,have you looked1 and staggered before the limitless heavens8 ,yes1 but is it not claimed that ,god is ,infinite8--and we have not yet found the equal of infinity4 ,with all our insistence upon the infinitude of ,god1 perhaps it offends some to think of ,him as being equal to ,his universe1--or even to the little part of it that we can imagine4 ,however1 ,god must be greater than all ,his works4 ,this is pantheism1 says another4 ,no1 pantheism though containing many beautiful truths is1 nevertheless1 a golden mist4 ,its advocates have eliminated personality1 they have broken the mast of their ship1 and all the riggings have fallen down with it4 ,being the perpetual cause of all things1 ,self-conscious ,will is the greatest fact in the universe4 ,there is a clear distinction between ,god and ,his deeds1 even as there is a distinction between myself and what ,i am now thinking and doing4 ,this ,creative ,will is what the intelligent ,christian means by the term ,god4 ,he conceives of this ,will of the universe as being the ,father of all other wills4 ,we are not to think of ,god as making a dirt planet which ,he has tossed off into space as something separate from ,his will4 ,he never put ,his children on such an isolated ,earth as that would be1 to roam about and care for themselves as best they might4 ,the world is the complex energy of ,his will never-ceasing1 with which ,he enfolds ,his children4 ,he carries them in ,his loving powers and will not let them go4 ,this is ,his cosmic relation to us2 but it is by no means the only relation which ,he sustains to ,his children4 ,his more personal relationship is equally beautiful and necessary4 ,something like this twofold relationship exists between man and man4 ,we know that it is best for us to build railroads1 though many are sure to be killed by them however careful we may be4 ,yet we should be something more than railroad operators2 we should be personal friends and1 if occasion should arise1 minister to the wants of those who are injured by our railroads4 ,so ,god must either will a cosmos1 or not will it4 ,he cannot obliterate a part of the world1 every time one of ,his wilful or ignorant children gets in the way4 ,it is not even best for ,his children that ,he should do so4 ,it is far better to have a definite and orderly world1 though it may hurt many4 ,yet ,god never forsakes ,his injured children1 but leads them out of their injuries into something better1 if they are willing4 ,comforting as these thoughts are1 we must yet travel a long way before we come to a completely satisfying idea of ,god4 ,however1 this is not discouraging1 because we like to travel when the prospect grows more pleasing at each stage of the journey4 ,some think there must be a dirt world because they see it4 ,in a way ,i seem to see my wife when ,i look at her picture2 yet ,i only see a bit of paper irregularly faded4 ,likewise a shining light appears to be a complete thing in itself1 whereas the sun1 doubtless1 is as dark as blackness4 ,the light which the scientist studies is waves of energy1 traveling at the rate of one hundred and eighty-six thousand miles per second1 but that is not the sweet something that we experience as light4 ,the light coming from the sun is not shiny until our sensations are added4 ,and even then1 it is our feelings that are brilliant because our nerves were struck by these rapid waves of energy4 ,when we think we see a real face1 it is only a shadow on the retina of the eye2 which eye is only another bundle of energies1 and not the substance that it appears to be4 ,we live in a picture world1 produced by ,god's energies beating upon other energies which ,he has intimately associated with our wills4 ,we thank ,god for these pictures because they are the visible language of loving intelligent wills1 wills that in themselves are silent and invisible4 ,yet these wills are known in consciousness as a bit of final reality4 ,they are like unto ,god who causes the vital energies that result in the pictures of a living1 rational experience4 ,experience1 therefore1 with its inner consciousness and its outer symbol1 or picture1 is all we know4 ,so when they would take us out of personal experience into a universal substance called spirit1 they are offering to take us out of the known into the unknown2 for they do not know whether there is any substance4 ,why1 then1 some may ask1 does ,god combine ,his energies to form a poisonous rattlesnake8 ,god has expressed everything imaginable2 the beautiful and ugly1 the safe and harmful1 the pleasant and painful1 the gentle and terrible1 and all these are but the alphabet of a soul4 ,if ,he had given us nothing but abstract definitions1 we never should have learned the meaning of anything2 and scarcely more1 if ,he had given us only the beautiful and pleasant without their opposites4 ,but ,he has made us feel the meaning1 so that it may be real to us4 ,from this marvelous alphabet which ,he has provided1 we learn to spell1 then to read1 and finally to live4 ,when we have learned the meaning of poison and its opposite1 we may kill the rattlesnake1 or cause its energies to dissolve and pass into something more beautiful and safe4 ,thus we become more and more immune from all that is ugly and harmful1 and more appreciatively attached to all that is beautiful and good4 ,the ugly and harmful were desirable things to know in contrast with the beautiful and good1 that we might reject the one1 and cleave to the other4 ,the deeper meaning of things thus learned will give significance to our beautiful world long after we have passed beyond the evil which we have come to loathe4 ,i am entirely convinced that this so-called evil world with its epidemics1 earthquakes1 and cyclones is the best conceivable place in which to begin a soul2 not the best possible world as yet1 for it is our business to help make it better4 ,neither should we forget that the terrible is often the overture to us of some mighty1 beneficent energy which we have not yet learned to use4 ,again we affirm that ,god is doing everything that occurs in the universe1 except those things which are being done by ,his children4 ,nothing ever occurs that is not directly or indirectly the act of some will4 #e4 ,if the ,ancients made their gods1 how do we know that we are not making our ,god8 ,doubtless1 the great fallacy in this question is the supposition that the ,ancients made their gods4 ,no one ever made his ,god or his gods2 for all men have the same identical ,god1 living and moving and having their being in ,him4 ,they have ,him regardless of whether they know either ,his name or ,his character4 ,since there is no other ,god or thing to have1 all must have ,him4 ,neither can they avoid being conscious of ,him1 nor escape having opinions concerning ,him4 ,all religious opinions1 however sane or grotesque1 are about the same ,god4 ,the ,ancients1 being conscious of our ,god and their ,god1 were sometimes comforted by ,his presence1 while at other times they were greatly frightened4 ,as they could not escape ,him they tried to explain ,him2 and in the act of explaining1 they made a theology and not a god4 ,whoever expresses a religious opinion is guilty of starting a theology4 ,even the ,ancients were moved by an objective reality1 and not by a mere idea4 ,though their idea often failed to describe the reality with accuracy1 yet if the reality had disappeared1 the idea would have perished from among them4 ,it seemed to them that there was a god of thunder and1 according to our interpretation of the universe1 there was2 for if our ,god had not been there thundering1 they never would have thought of a god of thunder4 ,neither were they mistaken when they thought there was a god of harvest2 because our ,god was there making their harvests grow as ,he does ours1 and was feeding them as ,he feeds us4 ,we all make worse mistakes than that4 ,these crude men may be excused for thinking that a crashing thunderstorm was a big enough task for one god2 or that the fructifying of all vegetation was ample employment for another4 ,those early men worshiped our ,god in divided form simply because they could not think of a ,god great enough to carry on all the diverse activities which they beheld4 ,another reason why these crude children conceived of ,him as many gods was that they could not understand how one person could be so gentle and terrible at the same time4 ,nevertheless1 they would not have had gentle and terrible gods if our ,god had not been both gentle and terrible4 ,they1 therefore1 no more made their gods than they made their stars4 ,their gods were our ,god1 and their stars were our stars4 ,we call their theology mythology1 and their astronomy astrology4 ,yet mythology is crude theology1 and astrology is unscientific astronomy4 ,astrology arose because men were influenced by real stars1 and were impelled to offer such explanations as they were able4 ,without astrology we never would have had astronomy4 ,in like manner men were disquieted by the same ,infinite ,power that disturbs us to-day1 and were moved by that ,power to offer their best interpretation4 ,but without their mythology we never would have had our theology4 ,the development of astronomy will never cease while there are intelligent men for stars to shine upon4 ,nor will the idea of ,god cease to expand while men are enfolded in the vast purposeful energy called the universe4 ,our early brothers were trying to comprehend and interpret our ,god who was as present to them as ,he is to us4 ,and here we are in the year nineteen hundred and twenty1 ,a4 ,d41 still trying to expound ,him2 because the need is not less now than then4 ,those who know most about ,god best realize the need of knowing more4 ,when we no longer try to increase our knowledge of ,god1 we shall cease to love ,him4 #f4 ,may we not be communing with a mere idea8 ,no1 that is impossible4 ,because1 whatever it is1 it is at least an objective reality4 ,its grip is that of the universe4 ,we can not let it go because it will not let us go4 ,we are worshiping more than an idea2 we are worshiping what we live in2 we call it ,god2 we think it is ,loving ,intelligent ,will4 ,we believe that the power that enfolds us knows itself and us4 ,and that we are not mistaken in this1 our assurance deepens as our knowledge increases4 ,we find that if we do not neglect or stultify any portion of our nature1 our insight grows4 ,if we invest our all on the conception of a spiritual universe we get astonishing results to the individual and to society4 ,then follows more insight and the incentive to invest again our talents that have doubled in the using of them4 ,of this1 however1 we shall have more to say later4 ,for the present suffice it to say1 the object of my worship is the great reality2 all the reality there is1 except my will and the other wills whom ,i call brothers4 ,to state clearly what we mean1 before trying to tell why we believe it1 is of the utmost importance4 ,with an experimental knowledge of ,god1 and with ideas of the universe that harmonize therewith1 our heads and hearts are thoroughly anchored in ,him4 ,if our every line of vision converges to this end1 our insight gives us ,god as the great enfolding reality4 ,our further task is to make the idea of ,god clear and to show how the lines of vision converge4 ,in this task1 modern knowledge is the ,christian's best ally4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,does ,,man ,,have ,a ,,soul1 ,,and ,,what ,,is ,,his ,,place ,,in ,,the ,,universe8 ,what is man8 ,who is man8 ,would the absence of man cripple ,god8 ,what could an infinite ,god care for such a little speck8 ,is not socialism the best religion there is8 #a4 ,what is man8 ,we do not fully know what and where ,god is until we know what man is1 and how ,god and man are working through each other4 ,our knowledge of ,god grows with our knowledge of man4 ,we can understand neither without knowing both4 ,at every stage of the discussion our subject is made complex by the intertwining of the human and the ,divine4 ,hence1 this chapter--while introducing man--takes us deeper into the life of ,god4 ,man does not have a soul4 ,neither does the sun set4 ,though we know better1 yet for convenience1 we continue to speak of the sun as setting4 ,for the same reason we still say that man has a soul when we mean that he is a soul4 ,soul is person1 body is instrument4 ,the instrument does not have the person1 the person has the instrument4 ,the soul is the child of ,god4 ,how strangely1 therefore1 it would sound to ask3 ,does a man have a child of ,god8 ,the reverse question1 however1 is perfectly fitting3 ,does a child of ,god have a body8 ,man is a spirit1 a soul1 or a person4 ,all men are alike in that which constitutes them personalities1 or self-conscious wills4 ,it is in their individuality that men differ4 ,in the first place1 some are more developed than others2 and then they have different tastes1 different knowledge1 different temperaments1 and different occupations4 ,this diversity of individuality clearly distinguishes one man from another1 and at the same time greatly enriches society4 ,like his ,father1 man is a loving intelligent will4 ,like ,him1 too1 he is always silent and invisible1 save as his instruments express his thought and wish in time and space4 ,so far1 ,father and child should be defined in the same terms2 for however they may differ in other respects1 they are alike in being self-conscious4 ,if either is below self-conscious will1 he is something less than a person4 ,though man1 as we find him1 is not always so very loving1 nor so very intelligent1 yet that is what he is in his best estate4 ,so far as we can understand1 the sinless man soul lifted to the infinite power would be the same as ,god4 ,this spiritual definition does not imply that either ,god or man exists1 or could exist1 without form and outward expression4 #b4 ,who is man8 ,we think of ,man1 the soul1 as a child of ,god1 or a god-child4 ,therefore1 he is worthy of his brother's highest esteem1 and his ,father's tenderest affection4 ,he is a very son of the infinite ,god2 and all created spirits1 being his brothers1 are members of one family4 ,again we say1 ,o god-child1 how wonderful you are1 and what a pity it would be if you failed to recognize your divinity1 or allowed anything to drag you down from your divine possibilities6 ,man must know himself if he would attain unto the goal of life4 ,though man is a soul1 yet without the body he cannot so much as come to self-consciousness4 ,just how or when a soul begins1 we do not know2 but it does not appear until some time after the body is born4 ,a new-born babe can neither see1 feel1 nor hear1 with any intelligent meaning of the words4 ,it will stare into the most glaring light without intelligence enough to shut its eyes4 ,it does not recognize objects for some time1 and when it does1 misses the object for which it reaches4 ,the infant is likewise slow in distinguishing sounds or names4 ,if the soul exists when the body is born1 it is only a latent personality which has not yet come to self-realization4 ,personality is self-conscious will1 and this the child has not yet achieved4 ,let us here consider the relation of a new-born body to ,god and the universe4 ,god begins ,his creative activities in what the scientists call stellar ether1 where ,his energies combine and recombine in a more and more complex world1 until the solar system appears with planets in the condition of our earth4 ,after more combinations and recombinations1 out on the surface of all things ,his activities blossom in the finest bit of organism1 the sensitized thing which we call the human body4 ,this body1 the flower of all ,god's activities in nature1 requires all nature for its support4 ,furthermore1 the chemical energies constituting the body itself are what ,god is thinking1 and feeling1 and doing4 ,strictly speaking1 it is ,his body1 the first instrument in the whole order of development1 the only body on earth capable of articulate speech and loving deed4 ,if ,god did not continually will the body and all the supporting energies of the universe1 the body would cease to be4 ,before the man soul appears at all1 we have ,god's world culminating in what we call the human body4 ,when a man soul awakes1 it is in ,god's own bosom1 in ,his own body4 ,man awakens in ,god's enfolding energies1 and not outside them2 for outside of ,god he could not exist4 ,it is amusing to hear a little boy speak of his father's automobile as my car2 but it isn't his1 even though the father is pleased to see the little fellow spread himself in it and claim ownership4 ,yet it is his too1 in the sense that the father gladly shares it with him4 ,and some day when the child is too big to be a little boy1 and too little to be a big boy1 he may take his father's car and run it into the ditch4 ,but even the wreck is his father's wreck4 ,in the same way1 if we live at all it is in our ,father's enfolding instrument4 ,his body is ours because ,he gladly shares it with us4 ,however1 if we do not use it in harmony with ,his will1 we wreck it in the ditch4 ,god wakes ,his child to consciousness in ,his own body1 by making all kinds of impressions upon the sense organs4 ,there are many rappings on the door1 and flashes of light through the windows until the soul wakes4 ,and when the soul becomes conscious1 ,god may not cease beating upon the instrument with myriad forces1 lest ,his child fall asleep4 ,some morning when a loved form bends over the infant body1 the baby smiles1 and the soul begins to appear4 ,that is a wonderful day when the baby gives its first smile4 ,little by little the child becomes aware of itself and of its mother4 ,should the baby be fortunate enough to have two or three brothers and sisters1 he will learn some day1 when he is a little older1 that they all want the same thing at the same time4 ,then he will be very conscious of other wills4 ,we know that other wills exist because they live in our enveloping world1 and constantly use it in a way that we approve or resent4 ,if they did not know and disturb our world1 we should not be aware of them even if they existed4 ,we know that other wills exist because they sell us coats that they have made1 and cut down trees in our forests1 and shape them into things that have meaning for us and them4 ,they modulate the atmosphere in which we live1 producing sounds that stand for objects with which we are familiar4 ,they learn our words and facial expressions1 and use them to make us feel happy or uncomfortable4 ,nature is the common instrument of all wills4 ,as we cannot come to the consciousness of ourselves1 nor of other wills1 except through the body and its environments1 neither can we develop the soul without cultivating the physical instrument and that which surrounds it4 ,there is always a corresponding development between soul and body4 ,as ,browning says1 ,we know not whether soul helps body more than body helps soul4 ,we simply know that soul and body develop together1 and that if either is injured the other is harmed4 ,a physical change in our bodies takes place with every thought4 ,we cannot silently love without disturbing the gray matter4 ,we make paths through our nervous system with every thought and deed4 ,if we had a means of photographing all the muscular and nervous conditions wrought in our bodies by our thoughts and actions1 they would correspond to every growth of spirit4 ,the face becomes beautiful with a beautiful soul1 and the body becomes refined by every improvement of the spirit4 ,i once shook hands with the great ,french organist1 ,guilmant4 ,when ,i clasped his hand ,i forgot everything else2 the hand was so soft1 and yet so firm6 ,all the inspiration and purpose of his soul had been registered in his body4 ,and what a hand it was6 ,i shall never forget that touch4 ,it gave new meaning to ,tennyson's beautiful line1 ,oh for the touch of a vanished hand6 ,our looks1 smiles1 accents1 and very gait become the expression of the soul4 ,we once had a maid who came home in the dejected state following intoxication4 ,when ,i appeared she said3 ,i has me faults the same as others1 but me heart is all right4 ,now1 could her heart be right and her body wrong8 ,can we have a pure soul and an unclean body8 ,can we have an honest heart and a pilfering hand8 ,certainly not4 ,for as the pure soul cleanses the body1 so the degraded body pollutes the soul4 ,soul and body must grow together1--and alike4 ,sometimes we speak of a purely spiritual experience apart from all physical excitability2 but such a thing is impossible1 because every spiritual thought has its beautiful1 physical accompaniment4 ,the physical may run riot1 as with some musicians who are principally noise and bluster2 but the fact still remains that the most bilious and cold philosopher enjoys his gentle nervous thrill4 ,all worthy education means the spiritualizing of the body4 ,both before death1 and after1 the good man has a spiritual body4 ,not a spirit body1 but a spiritual1 a refined and sensitive instrument of the spirit4 ,throughout eternity man will be spiritualizing his body1 or else degrading it4 ,we soon outgrow our immediate bodies1 and find it necessary to augment them with all the forces of nature4 ,these enlarged bodies must likewise be spiritualized or they will pervert the soul1--as is proved by every degraded form of institutional life4 ,the early man dimly realized that if he could get a larger hand1 he would be a greater man4 ,so1 augmenting his hand with a club1 he achieved a new growth in mind and character4 ,finding himself a greater man1 he tried once more to increase his hand4 ,next1 finding a sharp stone with which he could hack down small trees1 he created a new mental and moral demand for a still finer instrument of his spirit4 ,then1 in turn1 he augmented his hand with bronze and iron until all great thundering mills and all cunning tools appeared as the mighty hand of the human will4 ,this required an enormous soul growth in knowledge and character1 and a corresponding growth in social consciousness and self-consciousness4 ,to further our soul growth there is still a pressing demand for enlarged instruments4 ,so it must ever be an even race between soul growth and hand growth4 ,in the same way1 man developed soul and legs4 ,it became necessary to make swifter legs or suffer a dwarfing of his soul4 ,consequently1 he increased his speed with camels and horses2 but even these became inadequate for his soul's growth4 ,then ensued a race of soul and legs1 until to-day automobiles1 steam cars1 and every means of swift locomotion are but the augmented legs of man4 ,the growing man soul is still in quest of swifter means of locomotion1 and as these appear society is changed to its very foundations4 ,new trades1 new mental powers1 new moral conditions confront him everywhere2 and still he is speeding up4 ,when man made for himself far-seeing eyes in the telescope1 the heavens opened2 and what he saw in the heavens made for him a new earth4 ,then making for himself a short-seeing eye in the microscope1 he discovered within and beneath things a new world1 which in turn was a vast commentary on the heavens above4 ,likewise it may be truthfully said that soul and eyes have made an even race in their development4 ,the same is true of soul and ears4 ,said a great building contractor of ,chicago thirty-five years ago1 ,no man in the past ever dreamed of such a business as we are conducting1 for it would have been impossible without the telephone4 ,the telephone is but the enlargement of man's ears and mouth4 ,this contractor moved men and materials1 at will1 over a radius of a hundred miles4 ,even the musical soul found a new incentive when the mouth was enlarged by piano1 pipe organ1 and orchestra4 ,every enlargement of the mouth calls for new musical skill in complex technique1 and in finer inspiration and fuller elaboration4 ,in short1 every man soul is in quest of omnipresence4 ,living as he does in his ,father's enfolding energies1 he can know himself1 and grow himself1 only so far as he makes the instruments of his ,father's will the instruments of his own will4 ,the man soul is in the process of taking on the whole universe as his enlarged body4 ,two hundred pounds is quite large enough for the little body which he ever carries1 and cares for1 but to be a growing son of ,god he must progressively make the universe his augmented body4 ,at night he may lay off his big body and rest2 but in the morning he must put on his larger body1 the universe1 as he puts on his clothes and his boots1 and go forth to live and work with ,god1 his ,father4 #c4 ,would the absence of man cripple ,god8 ,yes1 the absence of man would thoroughly cripple ,god4 ,without the possibility of a family1 ,god would just as well never have been4 ,this is not an unbecoming or irreverent remark1 but a statement that is very pleasing to ,god2 it vindicates everything that is highest in ,his ,holy ,nature4 ,his wisdom1 character1 and love are all involved in ,his purpose to have a family4 ,if we eliminate the thought of ,his family1 what wisdom is there in anything ,god has made8 ,the production of coal is a wonderful display of wisdom1 love1 and power2 but apart from the thought of children who would discover the coal and put it to all its marvelous uses1 what motive could there have been in such an act8 ,god1 as a solitary will in the universe1 never intended to mine coal1 warm houses1 cook food1 or fire engines4 ,all the marvelous by-products of coal could have no value or meaning apart from a complex society2 but with a family in mind the production of coal becomes a sacrament worthy of a ,god1 and lays the foundation of a kingdom1 all glorious in wisdom1 love1 and power4 ,iron1 likewise1 has a rational1 moral1 and social significance beyond all power to express4 ,its uses1 all the way from steel bridges and engines to the hair springs of watches1 suggest the imagination of a mind infinite and loving4 ,the human family never could have climbed to glory except on an iron stair2 but take away the family1 and iron means nothing4 ,the large part that wood has supplied in the development and happiness of the race is beyond the imagination of any but an infinite mind4 ,to what infinite uses it has been and may yet be put1 from the homeliest utilities to organs and violins6 ,soft woods1 hard woods1 and precious woods have entered into the very warp and woof of human life4 ,wood is a miracle1 robbed of its wonder because the gift is so lavish4 ,yet what sense would there be in creating wood in all its varieties1 with no one to put it to any of its sacred uses8 ,these same thoughts would equally apply to all the precious metals4 ,why should ,god create a chemical world unless ,he had chemists in mind8 ,what would it amount to if there were not those who could take nature apart and recombine it to infinity for ,his glory and their happiness8 ,but there is no end to questions of this kind that might be asked concerning ,god and ,his works4 ,in short1 a depopulated universe is robbed of all its meaning and glory4 ,without a family1 ,god would be reduced to a child god playing with a toy world4 ,and being alone1 ,he could not so much as complete ,his toy4 ,at best the universe is but raw material until ,his children have turned it into a finished product4 ,when ,god and ,his children begin turning nature into finished products the highest creation is just begun4 ,by transforming nature into a social institution that reflects ,god's wisdom and love1 common nature is glorified4 ,without a family there is no sense in anything1 and ,god ,himself would be without moral worth or meaning4 ,to be sure1 ,he could get along without a few of us if we should utterly refuse to cooeperate with ,him2 but without a loving family1 ,god would be completely defeated4 ,he ,so loved the world1 and with equal propriety it might be said ,he so needed the world1 that ,he gave ,his only begotten ,son4 ,before ,god's family arrived ,he was simply getting ready to do the supreme thing4 ,but with ,his children about ,him1 loving and alert1 the meaning of all things from the beginning commences to appear1 and the glorious end is dimly discerned4 ,no greater travesty on the nature of ,god could be conceived than that which makes ,him independent of ,his children4 ,and to think that ,god's desire for mere adoration is ,his chief need of man is but slightly less a travesty4 ,god yearns for the love and adoration of ,his children1 and with no less desire1 ,he calls upon them to help ,him carry forward ,his work of creation4 ,love without work and achievement is first insipid1 and then stale4 ,god can no more fulfill ,himself without children than men can fulfill themselves without ,him4 ,if ,god's highest works fail ,him1 then ,god ,himself has failed4 ,the permanent absence of children would stultify ,god's reason and character by rendering useless all that ,he is and all that ,he has made4 #d4 ,what could an infinite ,god care for such a little speck8 ,it would be interesting to know who originated this question1 for he should wear the badge of his own ignorance4 ,in his mind1 the little speck probably signified the human body4 ,but as we have already seen1 that is not man2 it is only his instrument4 ,and besides1 man may progressively augment his little body1 causing it to articulate with the whole body of nature4 ,moreover1 the human body is primarily ,god's1 the flower of all ,his works in the vast unfolding universe4 ,does ,god care for these myriad blossoms of his universe8 ,one might as well ask1 ,what could a horticulturist care for the little blossoms on his apple trees8 ,let the insects sting them1 or the frosts bite them1 he has big trees to absorb his attention6 ,unless ,god's world could blossom into myriad1 delicate forms1 as homes for man souls1 the universe would be as useless as a barren apple tree4 ,the little flower is not something apart1 its production taxes the entire strength and purpose of the tree4 ,neither is the human body something apart1 its production taxes the entire strength and purpose of the universe4 ,as the flower is the tree's glory and promise of fruit1 so the human body is nature's glory and promise of souls4 ,if1 however1 the speck refers to the real man1 the spirit1 then the question is equally foolish4 ,an intelligent will is neither a speck1 nor something spread out like ether4 ,furthermore1 that which can be so deeply impressed by the vastness of the universe is not insignificant in itself4 ,a mastodon would not be overwhelmed by the vastness of the universe4 ,neither is the great universe overwhelmed by a sense of its own magnitude4 ,in his sense of awe1 the foolish man who asked the question transcends the great universe itself4 ,to be overwhelmed with our inability to know the universe is partly knowing it1 or else we should not be so completely overwhelmed4 ,that is not insignificant which can measure the distance to the stars1 and weigh the planets1 and mark out the shape and size of their orbits4 ,that is not insignificant which can discover the very elements of which the sun is composed4 ,man's primary body may be relatively small1 but it is so highly organized that he can augment it until his instrument reaches the stars4 ,though the sun is approximately ninety-three million miles from our earth1 yet the intelligent mind of man discovered helium in the sun before he discovered it upon the earth4 ,this feat of ,his child must have given the ,father keen delight4 ,man's body is potentially as great as the universe because1 being so delicately organized1 it can articulate with the world elements to the farthest sun that twinkles in the blue4 ,the ,luther ,burbanks are revealing our supremacy over the vegetable kingdom4 ,the animal kingdom is known to be equally plastic under our shaping hand2 for juggling with animal life is one of man's pastimes4 ,by using pressure1 he has taken a single cell life and divided it into twins4 ,he has taken two separate cells and formed them into a giant4 ,taking off the head and tail of some lower forms of life1 he has made the head grow where the tail was1 and vice versa4 ,no one mind can find time to learn of all the wonders achieved by the human family in the realms of nature and of social well-being4 ,a simple statement of man's achievements in the twenty or thirty allied sciences is more thrilling than all the romances ever written4 ,man's power for good or evil is stupendous and overwhelming4 ,it is in the realm of human life that ,god ,himself will be victorious1 or else defeated4 ,all creation will fail if man fails4 ,i here speak of man in the sense of ,god's children1 wherever they may be in the universe4 ,the people on this earth might fail without bringing universal disaster2 but if ,god's children throughout the universe should fail ,him1 then all is lost4 ,if ,god did not care for ,his children1 it would be the same as not caring for ,himself1 since all ,his aims and purposes culminate in ,his family4 ,god has crowned man with glory and honor1 by putting all things under his feet4 ,the world is as ignorant of man as it is of ,god2 and the prevailing idea of either is a caricature4 ,it is doubtful whether a self-conscious moral will could be awakened outside of a body1 or inside of one if it were less highly organized than the human body4 ,the higher animals share our sensations of pain and pleasure1 but it is extremely doubtful whether any of them share in our self-conscious1 moral purposes4 ,possibly a soul must appear in any such highly organized form of ,god's energies as a human body1 and cannot appear where the organization of ,his energies falls short of this high standard4 ,if we believe the body to be the integration of ,god's own energies it would not be strange if the body proved to be the incipient soul4 ,we have not yet sounded the depths of ,god's creative wisdom either in the soul or the body2 we only know that soul and body are bound together1 and that ,god's highest achievement and deepest interest center in them4 ,how infinitely precious in the sight of ,god are ,his children1 the crown and glory of all ,his wisdom1 love1 and power6 #e4 ,is not socialism the best religion there is8 ,when socialism means the ,kingdom of ,god1 it is the best religion conceivable4 ,and it is a pity that either religion or socialism should ever mean anything less than the ,kingdom of ,god2 for when they drop below that standard1 the one is spurious religion while the other is counterfeit socialism2 the former discarding society1 and the latter eliminating ,god1 both alike become a menace4 ,last summer in ,madison ,square1 ,new ,york1 ,i listened to a socialist who was ridiculing the very idea of ,god4 ,exhorting his listeners to have a little sense1 he advised them to get rid of ,god1 priests1 ministers1 churches1 and ,king ,capital4 ,he said3 ,you have but one life to live1 and it is short2 if ever you get anything1 you must get it now4 ,this type of socialism is a scourge1 a pest1 a bubonic plague4 ,nevertheless we would not minimize the crime of withholding from men their rights in this life4 ,another socialist speaking at a park in my own city said3 ,in the past1 the capitalist has taken it all1 leaving the working man only enough for the food necessary to do his work1--and not always that4 ,but we do not blame him1 he had a right to take it because he could2--we should have done the same if we had been in his place4 ,that is what life means2 'the race is to the swift1 and the battle to the strong4' ,only the fittest have a right to live4 ,but our turn is soon coming when we shall be able to take it all1--and we will4 ,now1 whoever teaches a theory like that1 or acts upon it1 is a cancer in the social body4 ,it makes no difference whether or not he is a church member1 whether business man1 or laborer2 such a man is a malignant growth in the body of humanity4 ,it is just because socialism means anything from the religion of ,jesus to this putrid stuff1 that the average well-meaning person is cautious about identifying himself with any movement bearing the name of socialism4 ,yet any religion that stands aloof from social well-being is doomed1--as it ought to be4 ,no man can love ,god while hating his brother2 and whether he loves his brother is proved more by his actions than by his words4 ,to love our brother1 as we shall see1 is enlightened selfishness as well as altruism4 ,god in the soul has been rather a popular definition of religion4 ,to many minds this definition conveys a rich and ample meaning4 ,to others it conveys gross error1 for religious hysteria is often thought to be ,god in the soul4 ,a mere psychic state1 a religious opiate1 a mental disease1 may be so interpreted4 ,it is a question whether any definition of religion is safe4 ,a description of religion is far preferable to a definition1 and has the advantage of being an easier task4 ,when we identify religion with the ,kingdom of ,god1 we have a perfectly clear idea4 ,the ,kingdom of ,god is a loving1 intelligent family organised around the ,father's good-will1 living in the universe as ,his home1 using the forces of nature as the instruments of ,his will1 and making all things vocal with ,his wisdom1 love1 and power4 ,this is true religion2 this is a desirable socialism2 this is right life4 ,for such an end ,god1 man1 and the enveloping powers of nature exist4 ,any loss of this vision1 any lack of warmth or enthusiasm for its realization1 spells degeneration4 ,such a state of mind means the perversion of nature1 the engendering of rebellion in the ,kingdom of ,god1 and the making of prodigals4 ,religious experience does not mean just any kind of comfortable1 private feeling1 but a conscious love for the family of ,god1 and conscious interest in the work that ,god and ,his children are trying to accomplish in the midst of nature's forces4 ,religious experience means an active desire to brighten the great world home1 and to gladden the great world family4 ,the idea is so simple that a child can understand it2 and a child's heart may glow with happiness while helping to brighten the world4 ,to take one's place in the family of ,god as a member1 loving1 and beloved1 is something infinitely better than cold ethics4 ,character that does not root itself in friendship is poor character2 it bears not the fruit of righteousness1 love1 and joy4 ,our debt of friendship to all men is no less binding than our financial obligations4 ,friendship is the great power for good in the world4 ,i have called you friends1 and such you are4 ,and because they were friends1 ,jesus revealed to ,his disciples all the secrets of ,his soul1 and threw over them the spell of ,his life4 ,by interweaving their lives in some great purpose1 or by promoting a common enterprise1 friends lift each other into the finest vision4 ,simple1 hearty1 and unfeigned friendship for ,god and men1 is religion pure and undefiled4 ,a wise man does not defer friendship until he is perfect1 but seeks friendship first to learn what perfection is1 that through friendship he may receive strength to be perfect4 ,the new truths clearly manifest concerning ,god1 man1 and nature cause a new heaven to dawn1 and a new hell to yawn4 ,heaven is brighter1 and hell is hotter1 than we had been thinking4 ,the relation that exists between ,god1 man1 and the universe makes it perfectly plain that ,god does not go ahead of ,his children to make either heaven or hell4 ,there is no heaven on either side the grave1 except that which is made by the cooeperation of ,god and ,his children4 ,though there are plenty of heavenly sites in the universe1 yet the building of a ,holy ,city is never begun until some of ,god's children have arrived on the scene4 ,they who organize around the good will of ,god build a heaven in time and place2 out of ,god's energies in which they live1 they make a beautiful home4 ,heaven is doubtless a place as well as a state1 for souls that are in a right state will make a right place in which to live4 ,more than likely there are many heavens in the universe4 ,in my city heaven may be on one floor and hell on another1 while the character of the third floor is uncertain4 ,souls cannot live outside of ,god's enfolding energies1 and therefore they cannot avoid making either heaven or hell out of ,his infinite powers4 ,citizens of the ,kingdom1 under the guiding wisdom of ,god1 make heaven4 ,those who refuse citizenship1 preferring their own way1 make hell2 but they make it out of the same mighty forces of which heaven is made4 ,the idea that ,god1 independent of ,his children1 made a pretty place called heaven1 and an ugly place called hell1 in order that ,he might put good little people in the one1 and push naughty little people off into the other1 is the idea of a fool's heaven and a fool's hell2--the facts are much more glorious and awful4 ,there will be just as good a heaven as the ,kingdom of ,god builds1 and no better4 ,likewise there will be just as bad a hell as ,god's disloyal sons make1 and no worse4 ,no dream can picture the paradise that ,god may make in this universe with the help of ,his good children4 ,and the hell that ,his rebellious sons may create is something appalling4 ,since heaven or hell is simply the shape we give to ,god's enfolding energies1 all of us are unavoidably engaged in constructing the one or the other1 and we have been so engaged every moment since our conscious life began4 ,no one dare think that all his work is heaven-building4 ,altogether1 through vice or greed1 we have managed to produce of late the hottest ,gehenna ever witnessed on earth4 ,it has taken longer to make this sad condition than most of us realize2 and many who little suspect their responsibility and guilt have been active agents in creating the fires of war and other fires in which there has been of late so much writhing and gnashing of teeth4 ,and at the moment of the world's greatest anguish1 there were those who were trying to get rich out of the state of sorrow into which they had helped to plunge humanity4 ,i refer to all profiteers and crooked dealers1 whether they were laborers or capitalists2 to those who were willing that additional hundreds of thousands of our boys should go down into the lake of fire1 if only they could fill their coffers4 ,these were the devils who stood round the boiling caldron with their flesh hooks1 to tear the flesh of innocent boys if they rose to the surface of the boiling liquid4 ,some of these flesh-hook devils1 having refined manners1 posed as gentlemen4 ,others were lewd fellows of various sorts4 ,but the flames which they fed were not hot enough for them4 ,they were getting ready for a fire that will burn much deeper1 and they will be sure to find it4 ,during the war1 many found their faith in ,god staggering before a perdition created by human beings4 ,but their faith should not have been unsettled1 because this war was as sure to follow the way the world was living as the wheels of the cart are certain to follow the tread of the ox4 ,some had the blindness and audacity to blame ,god for what we have done4 ,god gave us the raw material with which to build a heaven1 and we constructed a hell4 ,through ,his many prophets and seers ,god told us what we were doing1 but we would not believe ,him4 ,thinking ourselves wise we became fools1 and turned ,his good gifts into instruments of torture4 ,the majority of the people1 believing that they could get along without giving much heed to ,god1 took ,his limitless gifts and made a grand holiday instead of a ,holy ,day1 and then rode in automobiles and yachts to their doom4 ,when a world is bad enough to make war1 it needs war4 ,though ,i had three sons between my heart and ,germany's steel1 yet ,i realized that ,america had to be hurt for her own salvation1 for the salvation of ,germany1 for the safety of the world1 and for the utter destruction of the ,german intriguers4 ,if the people of the allied nations1 however1 had been shaping the instruments of their spirits into clean bodies1 happy homes1 honest business1 and good governments1 and all of these into the ,kingdom of ,god on earth1 ,prussia could not have dreamed her dream of world dominance1 nor would she have dared to throw down the gauntlet before the world4 ,but seeing our weakness1 she scorned our threats4 ,being under tutorship to the god of power1 in spite of her vices1 which were equal to those of other nations1 ,prussia became shrewder and stronger than the nations that were too largely feasting under a bacchanalian god1 or softly enjoying themselves under a ,santa ,claus deity1 or were piling up unrighteous gains under no god1 or under one that was capable of wicked favoritism4 ,it was clear to the prophets of the ,most ,high that something was due1--and it came4 ,bad as war is1 that state of society which makes war possible is even worse4 ,when society grows its body into a monster1 the corrective influence of hell1 in some form1 is the last hope4 ,this does not1 however1 exonerate ,germany from the crime of launching a ruthless war to gratify her lust for world domination4 ,god surely could not help it1 since the human family shaped its body as it did against light and conscience2 but if there were no retribution for sin and ignorance ,he would lose ,his family utterly4 ,hell inevitably came when the tools were forged and the devils were trained2 but ,god neither forged the tools nor trained the devils4 ,i am advocating no moral prudery1 nor religious bigotry4 ,neither do ,i wish to imply that heaven has not been built up side by side with hell during the last fifty years1--for it has4 ,those who have profited intellectually and spiritually by the revelations of modern learning1 and by the new influx of power1 and by the new social opportunities1 have made the last fifty years the grandest in human history4 ,of these noble sons and daughters it should be said3 their growth in the knowledge of ,god1 their success in the discovery of man1 their achievements in wresting from nature its deepest secrets1 their grasp on the meaning of ,god's ,kingdom1 their accomplishments in the practical launching of everything pertaining to a new era and a finer world order have made this the golden age for all who have seen the vision and shared in the work4 ,yet over against this kingdom of light and love1 there has grown up a kingdom of darkness and hate4 ,these two kingdoms have grown up side by side in every civilized country4 ,and finally the kingdom of darkness embroiled all the nations in a deadly conflict4 ,seeing all1 and feeling all1 ,god was the greatest sufferer in the awful carnage of the contending armies4 ,in ,him we live1 and move1 and have our being2 and therefore armies live1 and fight their battles in ,god4 ,they fight their battles with ,god's own powers1 and make gaping wounds in ,his own body4 ,and yet1 some will ask1 ,where was ,god8 ,not only was ,he in the thick of the fight1 but the thick of the fight was in ,his beautiful1 enfolding energies4 ,we shall make heaven out of the selfsame energies when we are done making hell out of them4 ,and then1 as now1 ,god will be in our midst2 but ,he will be in our midst as a joyous1 and not a suffering ,god4 ,it would have been a pity if this war had ended before the nations opened their eyes to the higher purposes of ,god for future civilization1 or before their consciences had been cleansed for the work of advancing the ,kingdom4 ,god will come to our help with mighty power when we come to ,his help with mighty obedience4 ,general ,sherman said1 ,war is hell4 ,this has generally been taken to mean that war is as terrible as hell2 but it is more than that1 it is hell literally1 because hell is never anything but war4 ,if there were no war of any kind there would be no hell4 ,this is equally true either side the grave4 ,if there were no individuals in the universe to oppose ,god's will and so misuse ,his enfolding energies as to harm one another1 hell would cease to be4 ,the beginning of hell is very pleasurable1 and that is why men begin it4 ,but it always grows more and more terrible until it becomes a lake of fire4 ,it is worse than brimstone1 because men have found hotter materials to use4 ,it is curtains of fire1 poisonous gases1 shrapnel1 bombs1 machine guns1 and mud mixed with blood4 ,war begins in selfish desire1 and continues in the misuse of ,god's good gifts4 ,intensified desire diverts to its own use that which does not belong to it2 and becoming powerful1 arrogant1 and oppressive1 it brews hell without knowing it4 ,thinking that it knows all1 it refuses instruction4 ,to the perverted mind1 imprisoned in a distorted body1 ,jesus looks weak1 while ,god seems a myth1 or mere brute force4 ,finally hell breaks loose in all its fury4 ,the most pathetic thing in this whole affair is that the good have to go to hell with the bad1--at least in this life4 ,but it was ever so4 ,jesus truly descended into hell1 only it was before ,he died4 ,the same is true of ,god and all ,his good sons4 ,there is no other way to save the situation4 ,gehenna1 as well as heaven1 begins here and now4 ,it may be that the rebellious sons of ,god have created a worse hell on the other side of the grave1 but if they have1 it is exactly the same in kind as that which they have made here4 ,every immoral and painful condition in the universe is wrought in ,god4 ,god was as closely related to the recent war as a man is related to the abscess on his finger2 and ,he is so related to all hells1 in all worlds4 ,for hell is never anything but a painful disturbance wrought in ,god's body by the sons whom ,he has enfolded in ,his bosom4 ,and since there are so many discordant and vicious elements throughout all the world1 it is to be hoped that the nations are being purged by the awful fires through which they are passing4 ,has the earth had its last war8 ,that is not at all likely4 ,there is plenty of discord in society even now that the main war is over4 ,many wrongs must be righted and many problems solved or terror will break out somewhere4 ,human society and human institutions have grown about as large and complex as is possible1 unless they can be dominated by a larger ideal and a more ,christlike spirit4 ,while ,i sympathize with all the hopes and aspirations of the noble men and women of our day for a more peaceful earth1 yet ,i do so only on the condition that men will learn to know and obey the truth4 ,nothing should be left undone that will hasten the day of righteousness and peace4 ,god has two hands with which ,he is trying to save the world4 ,the one is a crucified hand1 and the other is a great steel hand4 ,the crucified hand1 which is the pledge of forgiveness and good will1 is both logically and chronologically first4 ,for nearly two thousand years ,god has been extending this hand4 ,millions have accepted it and lived2 but many more have refused it1 preferring the strife of the world4 ,it is perfectly plain that society will not be saved by this means alone4 ,without minimizing the worth of the crucified hand1 or withdrawing it1 ,god is at last employing a hand of steel1 as vast as the machinery of the world1 and identical with it4 ,god is placing ,his great steel fingers around men and drawing them together4 ,no longer may men live apart1 for under this new pressure nothing has value in isolation4 ,capital has no value without labor1 neither has labor any value without capital2 and these may no longer work successfully together without uplifting the weak nations of the earth4 ,the masses and classes can no longer escape each other4 ,bound together by bands of steel1 they may do one of two things--kill each other or love one another4 ,there is no third alternative4 ,i have faith that when men see themselves in the grip of the steel hand1 they will choose the better alternative and1 by clasping ,god's crucified hand1 become brothers4 ,as things have been going1 scores of peoples on our little earth have lived in darkness and under the hand of awful oppression2 they could have suffered and rotted for millenniums without the prosperous nations knowing or caring4 ,at last1 however1 we know1 and our own salvation now clearly rests on our caring4 ,the articulate body of humanity has become as great as the nations of the earth1 and that body is made up of the infinite energies of ,god4 ,we now have the privilege of making this mighty body express more fully than ever before the thought and love of ,god1 or else we shall be compelled to shape it into the most gigantic monster that ever stalked forth to do the foul deeds of hell4 ,were there a legion of leering and jeering devils1 plotting evil against our earth1 the comprehending mind could hear them say1 ,we wish for no more awful instruments of torture than these energies of the ,infinite with which ,his children clothe themselves4 ,only let us lead them to fall out by the way1 and they will damn each other by smiting with the infinite powers of their ,god4 ,men1--individuals and nations6--do we see it1 do we know the simple rudiments of life1 is it not clearly manifest that we must strive for the ,christ life or socially commit suicide and murder8 ,men have made such great mental and material growth that unlimited power is placed at their disposal4 ,that fact makes this the greatest day in human history4 ,i have already said that the man soul is in quest of omnipresence by progressively making the universe the instrument of his will4 ,the hour has struck for his supreme effort in that direction2 though simply creeping in the past1 he may now run if only he will obey the divine law4 ,however1 if he will not obey1 the hour for disintegration has arrived2 and once more nations and empires must burn to the ground1 and upon the ashes of the conflagration1 the noble remnant must again begin to rebuild slowly and painfully the temple of ,god on earth4 ,if our old men are dreaming dreams1 and our young men are seeing visions1 let them come forth in this crisis4 ,but thank ,god1 they are coming6 ,millions are coming6 ,we believe there will be enough to save the day4 ,and what a day it will be if1 after all this dreadful upheaval1 we can reconstruct the world on such broad principles of righteousness and love that the race shall start upon a new era of peace and good will6 ,we must not on account of ignorance or selfishness throw away this golden opportunity4 ,get ye up upon the mountains1 ,o ,israel1 ,o ,church of ,god1 and look for the day6 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,does ,,god ,,have ,a ,,body1 ,,and ,,could ,,he ,,become ,a ,,man8 ,was ,jesus ,god or a good man only8 ,can modern psychology any longer believe in the ,deity of ,jesus8 ,where does ,jesus belong in the religious1 social1 and thought world8 #a4 ,introductory statement ,thus far our discussion of ,god has been largely in relation to physics4 ,at last1 however1 we are ready to consider ,him on a higher plane4 ,our knowledge of both ,god and man is incomplete until we see their oneness in ,jesus and in the kingdom which ,jesus proclaimed4 ,in the life of ,jesus1 ,god and man are viewed from a higher spiritual level4 ,the world lies broken into fragments until these fragments become united in the ,christ type of life4 ,then the body1 the human mind1 ,god1 and the whole material universe coordinate to make one beautiful whole4 ,starting with the ,scriptural idea that all things proceed from ,wisdom1 or ,god1 then strictly speaking1 ,god is the only person in the universe who has a body of ,his own4 ,all other spirits live in ,his bodies4 ,this is necessarily so if all the way from its simplest elements to its most highly organized forms1 nature is but the expression of the divine ,will4 ,as we have already shown1 the human body is but a part of universal nature1--the finest part1 the blossom4 ,therefore1 what we call the human organism is primarily ,god's4 ,not only is it the very finest bit of ,his workmanship1 but it is ,his to use1 unless ,his child1 the man soul1 robs ,him of ,his own4 ,in these highly specialized parts of nature ,god has not merely one1 but billions of bodies1--all the bodies there are4 ,the ,infinite ,mind would find one such body utterly inadequate4 ,with but one bodily form ,he would be incomparably worse off than an organist with but one finger4 ,if ,god could come to articulate speech and deed through but one physical instrument1 ,he and all ,his family might well despair4 ,if as the ,scriptures teach1 however1 each and every physical body is ,his very own1 in which and through which ,he may live1 then every condition is provided for a ,god humanly personal and infinitely satisfying4 ,he may be as local and personal as our parents or neighbors4 ,though greater than all1 ,he is yet in all and through all1 ,center and soul of every sphere1 ,yet to each loving heart how near6 ,not only is ,god lovingly present to every ,christian heart1 but at the same time ,he is personally revealed by every human form through which ,he is permitted to live and love and serve4 ,the pity of it all is that we so often prevent ,god from using ,his own body1 in which we too live1 by causing it to express in word and deed that which is contrary to ,his thought and love4 ,before we take up the subject of the ,incarnation1 it may be well to consider what is meant by the trinity4 #b4 ,the idea of the trinity and how it came about ,when we say that ,god is a trinity we do not mean that there are three ,gods4 ,there is just one ,god who1 as we have repeatedly said1 is a ,loving ,intelligent ,will4 ,the idea of the trinity came about in this way3 ,the early ,christians were so deeply impressed by ,jesus1 and so warmly attached to their ,master1 that they instinctively adored and worshiped ,him2 for1 somehow1 ,he brought ,god to them even as ,he brought them to ,god4 ,yet the ,christians1 like the ,jews1 strenuously opposed the worship of more than one ,divinity4 ,their stout opposition to ,polytheism provoked the retort from their heathen neighbors that ,christians should not be so particular about the number of ,gods1 because they worshiped at least two1 a ,father ,god and a ,son ,god1--and three1 if they added a ,holy ,spirit ,god4 ,so it is not strange that the ,christians1 to justify their own conduct1 were driven to a profound study of ,deity4 ,and though they made some grave mistakes1 nevertheless they discovered some vital truths concerning the nature of personality which greatly enlarged and enriched their conception of ,god4 ,it must be remembered that in the early ,christian centuries many thought of ,god as something very remote and placid1 like a sea of bliss2 being infinitely happy and self-contained1 ,he was at perfect rest4 ,such a ,one would not contaminate ,himself by being identified with nature or man4 ,to the ,christian ,gnostics and ,jews1 the idea that ,god became incarnate and suffered death on the cross was repugnant4 ,some believed that it was beneath ,god even to create a world like ours4 ,they1 therefore1 attributed creation to lesser divinities4 ,however1 in the third century ,origen stoutly maintained that ,god must have created the world4 ,yet so eminent a man as ,origen believed that ,he created it for tainted souls4 ,after much study1 the ,church ,fathers arrived at the conclusion that ,god was somehow ,three in ,one1 a sort of society within ,himself1--and they were right4 ,for without something like a social experience in one's self1 it is impossible to be a person at all4 ,this is equally true of ,god or man4 ,to be a person one must know himself1 and this he could not do if he were not able to keep company with himself4 ,the pen with which ,i am writing is not a person because it has no capacity for self-communion4 ,but because ,i hold fellowship with myself ,i am a person4 ,since every human being keeps company with himself more than he does with all other persons put together1 may ,god have mercy on him if he is bad company1 if he is not safe to be left alone with himself4 ,a tree may stand alone in infinite solitude1 companionless2 but for better1 for worse1 a man must forever remain in his own company1 hearing praise or condemnation from his own heart4 ,how is this possible1 unless there is something in a man's individual experience that resembles society8 ,in self-knowledge1 as in all knowledge1 there are the knower and the known4 ,when we commune with ourselves we are1 at the same moment1 the subject and the object of our own experience4 ,the self that sees may fittingly be called the father of our personality1 and with equal propriety the self that we see may be called the begotten of our personality4 ,thus something resembling father and son is experienced in our first step toward self-knowledge4 ,whether the capacity to be our own subject and object amounts to much or little1 it was this that the ,fathers saw and rightly attributed to ,god4 ,furthermore1 there is yet another step to be taken in the act of coming to true self-knowledge4 ,by what power does one determine that the person with whom he communes is himself8 ,there is something in our experience resembling a third person1 one who recognizes both subject and object and bears witness that they are one4 ,the reader may say1 ,i can see the first and the second1 but ,i cannot see the third4 ,the self that sees the first and the second is the third4 ,this power by which we complete the unity of our being is by no means trivial1 as some may think4 ,there are abnormal personalities who successfully achieve the subjective and objective in their experience and keep up an abnormal communion with themselves from morning till night1 who cannot witness true4 ,so they insist that they are ,general ,jacksons or ,jesus ,christs or great railroad magnates4 ,their personalities have broken down1 not because they lack self-consciousness1 but because they lack the power of coming to unity4 ,a perfectly sane person1 therefore1 is subject1 object1 and witnesser all in one4 ,if ,god were not this kind of trinity ,he would not be a person at all4 ,to grasp so clearly the significance of personality was a great spiritual achievement4 ,the ,church ,fathers did more than they realized2 they described the elements inherent in all personalities4 ,they saved ,god to the intellect and to the affections by bringing ,him out of remote obscurity into the blazing light of moral and spiritual personality4 ,god is personal because ,he is triune2 that is1 because ,he is complex enough to keep company with ,himself and to know ,himself4 ,if the reader asks ,what does all this amount to for us8 my answer is1 ,it amounts to the difference between a personal ,god and the deity who is an 'immobile placid sea of bliss4' ,in the second place it shows the difference between the ,god who is a ,loving ,intelligent ,will and the materialist's god who is no more than a blind ,samson4 ,it also discloses the essential likeness between all personalities1 however much they may differ in development4 ,if ,i were asked to put my finger on the greatest weakness in present-day thought ,i should unhesitatingly point out the subject of personality4 ,men are falling down like ten-pins before the intellectual difficulties of believing in a personal ,god2 and many of them are even doubting the spiritual personality of man4 ,and this is largely due to the fact that they are unable to form any mental picture of personality4 ,one of the beautiful surprises for this generation is that the ,fathers in working out the personality of ,god found the only conception of personality that is true to universal experience4 ,they did not realize that they were analyzing the human spirit as well as ,god1 because their thought was wholly on ,him4 ,but they saw ,god through their own personalities1 and if they had not borne ,god's image they never could have analyzed the personality of ,god4 ,in this generation we turn their analysis of ,god upon ourselves and find that it tallies perfectly with our experience4 ,we at last see that the triune1 or personal1 man soul is the child of the triune1 or personal1 ,god ,soul2 and thus a deeper bond is established between the ,father and ,his child4 ,the use to which the ,church ,fathers put this analysis of ,god's personality was both fortunate and unfortunate4 ,it was fortunate because it enabled them to continue their belief in the deity of ,jesus and1 at the same time1 their belief in the oneness of ,god4 ,they were still able to oppose polytheism1 and yet come to ,jesus as the fountain of divine blessing4 ,they worshiped ,god in the face of ,jesus4 ,in other words1 they believed in a genuine ,incarnation4 ,this was fortunate beyond all calculation4 ,just how fortunate it was we shall have to illustrate to the best of our ability when we come to the subject of ,incarnation4 ,thus far ,i have not discussed the ,incarnation1 neither have ,i had ,jesus in mind while considering the trinity4 ,for in whatever sense ,god is a trinity1 ,he was such before ,jesus was born4 ,before discussing the divinity of ,jesus we must briefly call attention to the unfortunate use which the ,fathers made of their analysis of the personality of ,god4 ,they thought they had solved the question of ,christ's divinity when they took this objective element in the experience of ,god and clothed it with flesh4 ,though they denied that these distinctions in ,god were properly named by the word person1 yet they admitted their inability to think of a better term4 ,then they so wrenched ,god's personality apart as to send ,his objective self1 which was simply an element in ,his experience of self-consciousness1 into the world to be the ,messiah4 ,and though they stoutly maintained that these three elements in ,god were indivisible1 yet ,god's subjective self could stay far away in heaven while ,his objective self could go to earth as a man4 ,at the same time each of the three elements in ,god's experience of self-hood could perform all the functions of a full personality4 ,this was doing the worst possible violence to the personality of ,god2 and it has wrought confusion from that day to this4 ,as we have already seen1 it takes these three elements in ,god's experience to make ,him any person at all4 ,the common use made of the subjective1 objective1 and witnessing elements in the personality of ,god is pure ,tri-,theism1 regardless of how they are united4 ,god does not have three personalities that can be scattered about in the universe4 ,the idea that ,god's objective experience can go off on a journey1 or that it can return to heaven while ,his witnessing experience in turn goes to earth1 leaving the subjective and objective in heaven1 is religious illiteracy4 ,neither ,god nor any part of ,god ever goes or comes4 ,the triune1 or personal ,god1 is never far enough off to come anywhere4 ,there is no place in the universe where for a moment ,he is not4 ,he is always the ,father1 and ,creator1 and ,intelligent ,will in whom all creation lives1 and moves1 and has its being4 ,the second element in ,god's own act of consciousness did not become incarnate in ,jesus2 the conscious ,god ,himself entered the life of man4 ,the baptismal formula1 ,in the name of ,god the ,father1 the ,son1 and the ,holy ,spirit1 has no reference to the triple element in ,god's self-consciousness4 ,it beautifully represents the three ways that we are to look at ,god1 if we are to see ,him in the fulness of ,his glory4 ,first1 we think of ,god as ,he is in ,himself1 and as ,he must be to ,his own infinite thought4 ,second1 we think of ,him as ,he has expressed ,himself in nature1 in humanity and1 best of all1 as ,he has revealed ,himself in ,his obedient ,son ,jesus4 ,third1 we think of ,god as the still small voice within1 the ,soul of our souls1 the ,one to whom we speak when we have shut the door2 the one to whom we whisper our deepest secrets1 and ask ,him if ,he loves and forgives us4 ,beyond the fact that the trinity constitutes ,god a person1 it has nothing to do with the deity of ,jesus4 ,how ,god became incarnate is another question2 a question to which we now gladly address ourselves4 #c4 ,was ,jesus ,god or a good man only8 ,at a meeting of city ministers1 addressed by one of their own number1 the speaker took from ,jesus the last shred of divinity4 ,according to this minister1 ,jesus was a prophet sent from ,god1 and the best of men1 but nothing more4 ,a progressive ,jewish rabbi asked if this were not the present attitude of all intelligent ministers1 and whether they did not1 for the sake of expediency1 leave the pew in ignorance of their real belief4 ,in the opinion of the rabbi1 ,jesus was one of the greatest of ,jewish reformers1 but not the founder of ,christian religion4 ,his contention was that ,paul founded the ,christian ,church on a peculiar1 psychic experience which came to him on his way to ,damascus4 ,the ,divinity of ,jesus was then assigned to me as a topic for the next meeting4 ,naturally1 ,i turned to the ,scriptures to see what they had to say concerning the relation of ,god to man4 ,though expecting to find on this subject a marked degree of difference between the ,old and ,new ,testaments1 yet ,i was wholly unprepared for the facts as they appeared4 ,before presenting my findings1 ,i asked the rabbi to consider whether ,jesus was a ,jewish reformer1 or a ,jewish fulfiller1--it being my conviction that ,he was the latter4 ,i then stated that1 having examined the ,old ,testament on the relation existing between ,god and man1 ,i failed to find a single passage recognizing ,god within the human life2 and that no greater surprise than this had come to me in my recent study of the ,scriptures4 ,in the ,old ,testament1 the nearest approach to the immanence of ,god in the soul was the following3 ,i will pour out my spirit upon all flesh1 and ,is not my dwelling with the humble in heart8 ,but even here the divine ,spirit was only upon them or with them4 ,never1 so far as ,i could discover1 did ,he dwell in them4 ,in some twenty-four hundred verses1 ,god was represented as sustaining many beautiful and terrible relations to men4 ,this relationship was symbolized by birds1 beasts1 and natural elements1 to the very limit of the imagination4 ,after the most solemn warnings and attractive promises1 ,god would depart from ,his people for a season and then return with rewards and punishments according to their faithfulness4 ,he scrutinized their inmost thoughts2 in fact1 ,he did everything except enter their lives4 ,on turning to the ,new ,testament1 however1 ,i found a startling contrast4 ,god dwelt not only in the hearts but in the bodies of men4 ,for know ye not that ye are the temple of ,god1 and that the ,spirit of ,god dwelleth in you8 ,yea1 ye are the temple of the living ,god4 ,know ye not that your bodies are temples of the ,holy ,spirit8 ,walk in the ,spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh4 ,jesus said1 ,he that hath seen me hath seen the ,father2 how sayest thou1 show us the ,father8 ,believest thou not that ,i am in the ,father1 and the ,father in me8 ,the ,father abiding in me doeth ,his works4 ,in that day ye shall know that ,i am in the ,father and ye in me1 and ,i in you4 ,if a man love me he will keep my word3 and my ,father will love him1 and we will come unto him1 and make our abode with him4 ,as a prospector seeks for gold1 ,i sought in the ,old ,testament for ,god in the life of man and did not find ,him2 but no sooner had ,i reached the ,new ,testament than all was changed4 ,here was a new country4 ,the prospector was in the midst of that for which he sought4 ,no mountain was ever as rich in gold as the human heart1 according to the ,new ,testament1 was rich with the indwelling ,god4 ,the religion of ,jesus in contrast with that of the prophets is like a tree1 which ,luther ,burbank has transformed into a new variety bearing strange and luscious fruit4 ,i wondered that ,i had overlooked for so long a time the complete cleavage between the two parts of our ,bible on this subject4 ,jesus was truly a ,jewish reformer1 but to a much greater degree ,he was a ,jewish fulfiller4 ,in revealing ,god's true oneness with man ,he completed the prophet's imperfect religious vision1 and best of all1 made the vision a fact in ,his own experience4 ,at the same time ,he began making it a reality in the experience of ,his disciples4 ,i told the friend who in a previous meeting had stripped ,jesus of all ,his divinity1 that he had very successfully demolished some antiquated psychology1 but strange to say had completely overlooked the new psychology which1 in my opinion1 fully restored ,christ's divinity4 ,as to his statement that ,jesus was a good man only1 ,i reminded him that there is no such being4 ,for1 each one of us1 in so far as he is only1 is a bad man4 ,it requires the oneness of ,god and man to make a good man4 ,when a human soul is separated from ,god1 he ceases to be a complete person4 ,god and the true self always come or go together2 in order to be a human soul1 in any worthy sense1 one must be both ,god and man in one4 ,a man severed from ,god is but the fragment of a man1 a limb broken from the tree1 a lifeless branch4 ,to touch the living branch of a tree is to touch the tree4 ,the fruit of the branch is likewise the fruit of the tree4 ,that any person can be a good man only1 is an idea contrary to the ,new ,testament and modern psychology4 #d4 ,can modern psychology any longer believe in the ,deity of ,jesus8 ,the ,scriptures certainly do not teach that ,jesus was ,god only2 neither do they teach that ,he was man only4 ,it is my own deepest conviction that ,jesus was very ,god and very man4 ,furthermore1 ,i believe this to be the teaching of the ,scriptures1 and the idea that best conforms to modern psychology4 ,to come to ,jesus is to come to ,god2 likewise to come to ,god is to come to ,jesus4 ,he is at once ,god in man1 and man in ,god4 ,i believe in the ,god of ,jesus1 and ,i believe in the ,jesus of ,god4 ,how modern psychology can avoid believing in both the deity and humanity of ,jesus1 ,i do not see4 ,some who believe in ,christ's divinity do not believe in ,his deity4 ,they say1 ,yes1 ,he is divine1 ,he is incomparable1 ,he is altogether lovely2 but ,he is not ,deity1 because ,deity is ,god ,himself4 ,but my thesis is that ,jesus was very ,god and very man4 ,to picture this truth to our minds will be our next task4 ,an old-time friend1 while reporting to me the installation of a minister whom ,i knew1 said3 ,would you believe it6 ,mr4 ,g4 told the council that he not only believed in the divinity1 but that he believed in the ,deity of ,jesus4 ,here my friend threw his head back and laughed heartily1 expecting me to laugh with him4 ,when he had finished laughing1 ,i told him that ,i also believed in the deity as well as in the humanity of ,jesus2 and that if ,i did not believe in ,his deity ,i did not think ,i should believe in any religion at all4 ,this proved to be quite a surprise to my friend4 ,so to his puzzled look of inquiry ,i replied3 ,and ,i could make you believe it4 ,as his curiosity deepened at this remark1 ,i asked him1 ,do you know where ,i first met ,god--not an emanation from ,him1 but ,god2 the ,will that formed the worlds1--all the ,god there is8 ,no1 was his reply4 ,fortunately1 ,i answered1 ,i do4 ,it was in my mother4 ,when ,i was a little boy the great ,god at times enfolded me in human arms1 and looked into my face through benignant1 human eyes1 and spoke tender words with a sweet accent4 ,my silent and invisible mother was often so closely identified with ,god that they would be thinking and feeling the same thing concerning me4 ,at such times the human form expressed their common thought and love2 my heavenly ,father1 no less than my invisible mother1 enfolded me with ,his arms4 ,if in these supreme moments ,god was not in my mother1 then it is useless to look for ,him anywhere in the ,universe4 ,my mother was different from the non-,christian mothers in our rough frontier4 ,many times she so loved me in ,god1 and with ,god1 that she became a channel through which ,god ,himself had personal access to me through all the human modes of approach4 ,i then told my friend of an experience with my mother at church in the little frontier schoolhouse4 ,i was lying on the seat with my head in her lap1 tickling my nose with her boa4 ,when the time came for prayers1 my mother bowed her head to the desk in front of her4 ,while her lips moved in prayer1 ,i observed that her dear face was troubled4 ,as she was unconscious of my gaze1 ,i continued to look into her sorrowful face4 ,though but a little child1 ,i fully understood what she was doing1 and was able to mark the stages of her progress4 ,my invisible mother was talking with our invisible ,father1 and the face gradually changed until finally ,i could tell that her will had merged completely with ,his will2 and then her face1 which was primarily ,his face1 became radiant with spiritual beauty4 ,i had seen the dear human face of ,god1 and at the same time it was the face of my mother4 ,i called my friend's attention to the fact that once upon a time the invisible ,god said to the invisible ,clara ,barton3 ,clara1 let us go out onto the battle-field where the poor soldier boys languish and die2 and ,clara responded to ,his thought and love4 ,then the invisible ,god and the invisible ,clara ,barton went to the battle-field in ,god's body1 because ,clara had no body exclusively her own4 ,so1 when that form bending over the soldier boy wiped away the dust and blood and pain1 while whispering of home1 of mother1 and of ,god1 it was the ,father1 as much as it was ,clara ,barton1 who was performing the deed2 and ,he1 not less than she1 was visibly and humanly present4 ,the ministering hand was as truly ,his instrument as it was hers2 while the stronger will and deeper love were the ,father's4 ,before ,clara ,barton thought of it1 the ,father1 knowing all and feeling all1 suggested to her the kindly deed2 nor did ,he stop loving the soldier boy when she began4 ,again addressing my friend1 ,i said3 ,it is impossible for me to understand you4 ,you have always believed ,god to be immanent in all nature2 you have seen ,him in sticks and stones and stars2 but you now fail to recognize ,him in ,his highest1 ,his only instrument through which ,he is capable of coming to articulate speech and deed4 ,how ,i pity your poor helpless ,god who is buried fathoms and fathoms out of sight4 ,he can neither see1 nor hear1 nor breathe2 nor can ,he walk or talk4 ,but you see1 my ,god can get clear to the surface in audible word1 and visible deed4 ,when my ,god finds a good1 clean ,frenchman1 ,he begins talking and writing ,french4 ,if you doubt this1 either you are not familiar with ,french literature1 or else you do not know ,god4 ,under similar conditions ,god speaks all the languages4 ,how beautifully and abundantly ,he has spoken through the ,german and ,english tongues6 ,while in ,greek and ,hebrew1 ,god has uttered mighty words of wisdom1 and has filled the earth with ,his glorious paeans4 ,human wisdom alone could never have spoken thus4 ,if we but have eyes to see and hearts to feel we shall realize that all about us ,god is getting to the surface through devoted ,christians4 ,when the true preacher lifts the souls before him into the will of ,god1 he sees a divine expression upon their faces2 and if he is spiritually wise1 he will realize that for the time being these are the dear human instruments of ,god1 as truly as they are the faces of human spirits2 and when he has poured out his soul in behalf of some great cause of ,god for which he would be willing to die1 he will find someone with outstretched hand ready to meet him and willing to cooeperate1 if need be1 even unto death1 and then it is his privilege to know that1 while shaking hands with a brother spirit1 he was at the same time shaking hands with the infinite ,god4 ,in these rare experiences of ours1 the invisible ,god no less than the invisible man has come to outward expression1 and this ,he would always do1 if our wills were not contrary to ,his will4 ,our feeble and infrequent inspiration is but intermittent incarnation1 while full incarnation is permanent inspiration4 ,why1 ,i asked1 should you hesitate to think of ,jesus as ,god and man8 ,if the ,father-,spirit and the child-spirit were thinking and willing the same thing1 which one came to expression through the words and acts of the body8 ,if ,a and ,b were lifting an object1 would it be truthful to say that ,a was lifting it8 ,the visible form that lived and taught by the shores of ,galilee was as truly ,god as it was man1 unless the child-spirit did not know and do the ,father-,spirit's will4 ,sometimes a whole congregation of wills express themselves joyfully and forcefully through one written resolution4 ,god never speaks an audible word1 except through one of ,his bodies in which ,he has enfolded a child-spirit4 ,when1 however1 the child-spirit rebels against the ,father1 and causes the instrument to speak or act vile things1 the ,father is dumb4 ,his child has robbed ,him of ,his body4 ,we have grown so accustomed to this form of robbery that we naturally think of human spirits as having bodies all their own1 while we conceive of ,god as a vague1 disembodied influence4 ,we speak of ,god as sending men1 forgetting that ,he never sends a man anywhere without sending him in ,his own body and accompanying him with ,his own spiritual ,presence4 ,and that which the messenger says is not worth hearing if it fails to express the ,father's thought and will4 ,the ,god who1 through beautiful chemical energies1 makes the ear1 hears2 and the ,god who makes the eye1 sees2 and ,he who makes the lips1 speaks4 ,either ,god knows the thrill of nerves1 or else ,he has an infinite amount to learn4 ,why then should we say that ,jesus was only a good man1 when the body was ,god's very own1 and the guiding will was that of the ,father8 ,a man is all ,god except the invisible human spirit2 and in the case of ,jesus1 even the human spirit rendered such filial obedience that the ,father1 for once in human history1 got to the surface through ,his own instrument in a steady flow of luminous words and loving deeds4 ,if the composite life of ,jesus were named after its major elements1 then ,jesus should be called ,god4 ,however1 as that would be both confusing and false1 we state the truth as it is1 and say that ,jesus was both ,god and man1 that is1 a ,god-filled man1 or a ,god-man4 ,oh well1 said my friend1 if you mean it that way6 ,did ,i not tell you1 ,i replied1 that you would believe it8 ,the trouble with you is that you forget it4 ,you should be proclaiming it from the housetop that ,god has got clear to the surface in human form1 and that men have clasped ,his hand1 and heard ,his voice1 and seen ,his face4 ,in the life of ,jesus1 religion reached a new and distinct stage of development4 ,it was in ,him that the essential oneness of ,deity and humanity first became clearly manifest4 ,to the friends of ,jesus1 ,god was no longer a disembodied spirit4 ,the ,christian's ,god is clearly the ,god of ,israel1 but ,he is the ,god of ,israel become human and visible4 ,the world has been slow to grasp the meaning of ,christ's life and teachings4 ,to maintain the uniqueness of ,jesus1 it has denied the universality of the truth which ,he proclaimed3 namely1 the organic and moral oneness of ,god and man4 ,if the union of ,god and man as realized in ,jesus was so beautiful1 a similar union between ,god and all men would be equally beautiful4 ,that ,god desires such a union with all ,his children there can be no doubt2 and that ,he is inspiring ,his disciples with the glorious hope of its accomplishment is equally certain4 ,yet for the present1 even the most devoted followers have not nearly attained unto the fulness of the stature of ,jesus2 but some glad day they shall be wholly like ,him whose image they already unmistakably bear4 ,this is the ,christian's noblest hope4 ,if ,god has ever united ,his personality with that of even one man1 then there is a way of doing it4 ,and if there is a way1 what finer goal is possible1 than that such a union between ,god and every man be consummated8 ,really1 that is what the ,christian ,religion is about4 ,not only may ,god and every man be similarly united1 but the sin of man alone can prevent such a union from taking place4 ,if there were no sin or rebellion in a man's heart1 he would instantly become a ,god-man on the plane of his present human development2 and as he ,advanced in wisdom and stature1 and in favor with ,god and men1 he would be a ,god-man on a higher level4 ,if the human side of the ,christ has continued thus to grow for more than nineteen hundred years1 on what altitudes of knowledge ,he is a ,god-man by this time1 we can but faintly surmise4 ,and with the possibility of a complete purging from sin1 and the possibility of an infinite growth in wisdom1 we1 too1 may yet be ,god-men on what would now seem to us dizzying heights2 we shall ever be attaining ,unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of ,christ4 ,no matter what one's conception of the trinity in ,god's personality may be1 ,god is capable of uniting with every man in the same way that ,he united with the man ,jesus4 ,if we prefer to believe that ,god had an ,eternal ,son who came to clothe himself in a man1 the problem of union would in nowise be changed4 ,a ,son-,god1 if ,he existed either in the ,father or out of the ,father1 could not be less than a person1 and the manner of uniting ,himself with a man would be the same4 ,my interest in the metaphysics of the trinity is that it gives us a firm grasp on the personality of ,god and the personality of man4 ,i rest on the fact that the ,personal ,god became incarnate and still seeks the souls of men for his dwelling-place4 ,i further believe that when we do not read a later metaphysics into the ,bible1 the ,scriptures wholly support the more modern conception4 ,in the beginning was the ,logos1 ,word1 or ,wisdom4 ,wisdom was with ,god from the beginning2 that is1 ,god was always ,wisdom1 and not a material thing4 ,all things were made by ,wisdom1 or ,god4 ,life was in ,god1 and ,god's life was the light of men2 and though it was shining into the darkness the darkness apprehended it not4 ,the ,god who is wisdom1 and not matter1 was in the world1 and the world was made by ,him1 but it knew ,him not4 ,finally ,wisdom1 or ,god1 became flesh1 and tabernacled among us1 and we discerned ,his glory1 a glory as of an only-begotten with a father1 full of grace and truth4 ,the author seems to me to believe that the ,personal ,god became incarnate1 and that the one in whom ,he dwelt1 in contrast with other men1 looked like an only son of a father4 ,notwithstanding this glorious possibility1 there is always a tendency for religion to revert to a lower type2 and this tendency is particularly noticeable just now4 ,not being able to believe in the divinity of ,jesus according to the old metaphysics1 multitudes are ceasing to believe in ,him as ,emmanuel1--or ,god with us4 ,at a time like this1 when a forward movement is the only hope of saving our great material structure from becoming another ,tower of ,babel1 a retrograde movement is lamentable4 ,what we especially need is a new interpretation of ,jesus1 followed by a finer devotion to ,him1 and a whole-hearted commitment of ourselves to ,his ever-widening program4 ,god is becoming altogether too hazy and inarticulate1 at a time when the consciousness of ,his holy ,presence is especially needed1 if we are to shape and sustain a civilization that is quadrupling itself in weight and extent by reason of the growth and application of material knowledge4 ,any quickening of ,god that is to be highly beneficial must result in ,his further advent into human lives and human institutions after the pattern of ,jesus4 ,that a mere ,god of nature is insufficient was forcibly brought home to me while ,i was watching a circus performer throw daggers and toss balls4 ,the performer1 placing a man against a wide board1 some ten feet distant1 hurled a bunch of daggers into the board on either side of the man1 each time missing him by only one or two inches4 ,then he began tossing balls until the air seemed full of them1 and not one ball fell to the ground4 ,having witnessed with amazement his great dexterity1 these thoughts occurred to me3 ,i wonder what he is like when he talks8 ,if he is married what does his wife think of him8 ,if he has children how do they feel toward him8 ,or if he is a single man1 what would ,i think if he should wish to marry my daughter8 ,i then realized that ,i knew absolutely nothing about him except that he was a dexterous machine4 ,then falling into a homiletical mood ,i thought of the great skill of ,god4 ,how wonderfully ,he can toss balls1 and strew the milky way1 and hurl ,pleiades and ,orion6 ,before such infinite skill the performance which ,i have just witnessed is ridiculous4 ,then the thought forced itself upon me1 ,what would ,god be like if ,he were to talk8 ,what kind of a person should we find ,him to be if ,he walked our streets1 and engaged in business1 and sat at the table as one of the family circle8 ,i then realized that if ,god could only toss balls and direct atoms we should really know nothing whatever of ,his character4 ,if ,he were no more than the uniform power of nature's laws ,he would too closely resemble gravity1 or electricity1 to be satisfying to ,his children4 ,the human heart demands that1 in addition to all this1 ,god be individual1 and spontaneous1 like other persons whom we know1 and with whom we hold fellowship4 ,we enjoy seeing our friends run machines1 but what an awful life it would be if every person in the world gave no heed to anyone or anything except the machine which he uniformly and incessantly operated6 ,what a monstrous and oppressive idea it is to think of ,god1 silent as a sphinx1 spending an eternity with ,his mind so riveted upon the operation of ,his machine-world that ,he has neither time nor capacity for anything else4 ,if such a ,god had time to think of it1 ,he surely would envy the little child who can prattle1 and laugh1 and sing4 ,fortunately this higher demand upon ,god is fully met in the religion of ,jesus4 ,for while our ,father is a wonder-worker and a world builder1 at the same time ,he has myriads of human bodies through which ,he can live a thoroughly social life4 ,he is the most social ,being in the universe2 ,his desire and capacity for social relations are unlimited4 ,he does not willingly leave one individual outside the circle of ,his friends4 ,all ,his work in nature is for the purpose of providing instruments and conditions for a family of free children1 among whom ,he may live as the free and adorable ,father4 ,it is no wonder that men cease to pray1 when in their thought ,god is divorced from everything individual and social4 ,when men conceive of ,god as the mere operator of the cosmos1 their highest concern is to keep out of the way of the machine4 ,it never occurs to such men that ,god is able to treat them as sons1 after the most personal and human manner4 ,it is only in the laws of nature that ,his actions are mechanically uniform4 ,in social relations ,his moods and actions change to suit the feelings and conduct of ,his sons and daughters4 ,in nature ,god sends the rain and sunshine on the just and the unjust alike1 but in human-nature ,he smiles or frowns according to each individual's deserts4 ,in ,jesus1 ,god might say1 ,come unto me1 or ,he might make a whip of cords and drive the people out of the temple4 ,prayer does not cause ,god to change ,his wise and loving purpose1 but it does determine how ,he shall execute ,his holy will4 ,if the conduct of a child does not change the father's actions toward him1 then the father is both foolish and immoral4 ,men should learn that ,god is even greater in humanity than ,he is in nature4 ,for in the one1 ,he is uniform power1 while in the other1 ,he is ,father1 ,redeemer1 and ,friend4 ,in the world of wills1 ,god is individual and human4 ,and ,his inner communion with us is greatly intensified and clarified when there is added to it ,his audible voice from without4 ,the voice of ,god speaking to us through human lips awakens the voice of ,god within us4 ,how wonderfully clear was the ,divine ,voice in men's hearts when ,god spoke to them through ,jesus6 ,likewise when the apostle ,paul went to a new community1 it seemed to receptive minds that ,god had come to town2 and they were wholly justified in thinking so1 for though ,god had been there all the time1 powerfully through nature's laws and feebly in their darkened hearts1 yet for the first time ,god was within their city in clear articulate speech1 wooing them to ,himself4 ,this not only made ,god seem real to them1 but it made it easy for them to believe and be baptized4 ,though able to rejoice for a time1 yet heaviness soon came upon them after ,paul's departure1 because ,god too seemed to have departed from their midst4 ,neither were they mistaken in this1 for ,god had no instrument remaining through which ,he could make ,himself so humanly real to them1 after ,his devoted and tried servant had gone away4 ,as a result of ,paul's early departure there would follow unbelief and conduct unworthy of ,christians4 ,to meet this sad state of affairs in the mission churches1 ,god would write them a letter1 or better still1 make them another visit in ,paul4 ,once there was brought home to me in a very beautiful and unexpected manner the ,christian truth about ,god's essential oneness with humanity4 ,weary from my afternoon calls1 ,i had just returned home4 ,entering the side hall that was already dark1 ,i saw through the door slightly ajar my little son and daughter at play4 ,philip1 eight years old1 was building up blocks on the floor1 while ,esther1 two years younger1 was standing under the electric light with both arms raised as high as she could stretch them over her head4 ,seeing her dramatic position1 and the unusual look on her face1 ,i remained silent in the hall knowing that something was coming4 ,with intense feeling she said3 ,oh1 ,philip6 of course we would kiss ,god6 ,to which ,philip replied3 ,oh1 you couldn't kiss ,god4 ,he is a spirit4 ,why1 ,god is in you1--and in me4 ,still standing in her dramatic position with the light shining full on her face1 she began lowering her arms slowly1 and as her expression of comprehension deepened she said3 ,oh well then1 ,philip1 if ,god is in you and in me1 if we were to kiss each other we would kiss ,god4 ,yes1 that is right1 you would1 was his response4 ,then said she3 ,let us kiss ,god4 ,he arose promptly1 and the children1 throwing their arms tightly around each other1 kissed ,god4 ,if ever there was a glad father ,i was one4 ,standing there in the dark hall ,i thought3 ,god bless the dear children1 they have the evangel4 ,that is the very essence of the ,christian religion1 ',inasmuch as ye did it unto the least of these ye did it unto me4' ,of course we all realize that there are certain proprieties which adults must observe1 but what could be more beautiful than for a little brother and sister so to recognize ,god in each other as to be able to kiss ,him8 ,the idea here involved1 if carried out in every relation of life1 would be the ,kingdom of ,god realized4 ,furthermore1 there is no other way of making the ,kingdom of ,god a reality1 either on earth or in the life beyond4 ,doubtless ,god never will be seen outside the bodies which ,he provides for ,himself and ,his children to use in common4 ,however1 we shall have more to say about that later4 ,a ,christian woman has beautifully related an incident which brought to her ,christ's idea and experience of religion4 ,said she3 ,it was my custom to retire each day to my own room for devotion4 ,on one occasion when my heart was deeply oppressed my prayers seemed all in vain4 ,nevertheless1 ,i continued to plead1 ',o ,lord ,jesus1 reveal thyself to me4' ,after awhile there came a rap at my door4 ,it was the maid seeking comfort4 ,she had broken a choice piece of china4 ,but ,i drove her away rather harshly1 saying1 ',you know you are not to bother me at this hour4' ,then ,i continued1 ',o ,lord ,jesus1 reveal thyself4' ,after more fruitless prayer1 my little girl came sobbing for comfort as she had broken her first doll4 ,i even drove her away saying1 ',my child1 you must not disturb your mother now4' ,after resuming what seemed to be a useless petition1 there came to me a suggestion as distinct and forceful as if spoken4 ',inasmuch as ye did it not unto the least of these ye did it not unto me4' ,i arose from my knees1 unlocked the door1 and went out4 ,in the kitchen ,i found the maid sullen and angry1 to whom ,i spoke comforting words4 ,seeing the light come to her face1 ,i went on to find my little daughter4 ,from under the grapevine where she had already cried herself to sleep1 ,i picked her up2 and after kissing her and wiping the tear stains from her cheeks1 ,i told her that ,i would get her another dollie1--one ever so much nicer than the first4 ,having comforted others for ,his sake1 and for their own sake1 my soul was filled with inexpressible peace6 ,and once more something spoke to my innermost being1 ',inasmuch as ye did it unto the least of these ye did it unto me4' ,let no one draw the conclusion that her habit of devotion was worthless1 for it is not very likely that all this peace and revelation would have come to her if she had been less inclined to pray4 ,the intense desire of her prayer1 coupled with the unpleasant incidents of the day1 brought to her the fuller truth4 ,though a minister may not neglect his sermons1 yet there have been times when ,i have grown so desperate in my effort to prepare a vital message that ,i have thrown down my insipid and stupid manuscript to go out and find some needy1 suffering person whom ,i could bless in ,his name4 ,whenever ,i have done this ,i have found ,god and my soul and a sermon4 #e4 ,where does ,jesus belong in the religious1 social and thought worlds8 ,when the ,god ,soul and the man soul unite1 they so lift nature's forces up into personal life that the universe no longer lies in broken and confused fragments4 ,jesus is at the center of all things because all things center in pure personal life4 ,in ,him1 the ,father-spirit1 the child-spirit1 and nature's forces were so correlated as to be newly manifest2 the child was completing himself in the ,father1 and the ,father was fulfilling ,himself in the child1 while nature was serving as the common instrument of both4 ,separate the ,god ,soul1 the man soul1 and nature's forces1 and no one of them is revealed4 ,unite them as they were in ,jesus and the meaning of all three appears4 ,christ's type of life brings all reality into accord because it combines everything into a composite1 personal life4 ,if you wish to know ,god in the most perfect way1 go to ,jesus2 if you care to know man as he should be1 go to ,jesus2 if you would look upon ,god1 man1 and nature's forces in one radiant1 wooing personality1 go to ,jesus4 ,if it is the purpose of religionists1 sociologists1 and philosophers to trace reality to its highest form of expression1 let them go to ,jesus4 ,yes1 let all men go to ,jesus with their wealth of technical knowledge which they have gained in the wide fields of research2 and in ,his presence1 their treasures1 like precious gems1 will scintillate with a divine light4 ,this conjunction in ,jesus of all streams of reality makes ,him the light of the world4 ,in the same way1 and for the same reason1 every person would be the light of the world if the child-spirit rendered an obedience to the ,father equally loving and intelligent4 ,but this is the tragedy1--who has rendered such obedience6 ,it is the belief of many of us that ,jesus was never disobedient1 even as a little child4 ,though it were admitted that this could not be proved1 still it would remain a fact that as ,jesus ,increased in wisdom and stature1 and in favor with ,god and man1 ,his filial obedience identified ,him with the ,father4 ,the oneness of ,deity and humanity was so certainly achieved in ,jesus that no one can rob him of ,his glory nor of ,his place as the ,messiah4 ,he was the first to open wide the door to ,god2 yea more1 ,he was the door4 ,in ,jesus1 we come face to face with the personal ,god and with our ,elder ,brother who lived in ,god4 ,in ,him1 the perfect ,god was living in man1 and the perfect man was living in ,god1 while unitedly they were living among men as a visible member of society4 ,taking the world as it is1 the presence of ,god in humanity could but bring both peace and trouble2 it brought joy to the pure in heart1 and bitter hatred and strife to those who loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil4 ,the weary and the noble were attracted to ,jesus1 while the vicious and the self-willed hurled themselves against ,him with mad fury2 but it was ever so1 from the beginning of human history until the present hour4 ,whenever ,god has made ,his approach in human life1 the evil-in-heart have opposed ,him2 they have killed the prophets1 and stoned ,god when ,he came unto them4 ,in our own day1 many who speak beautifully of ,god in nature1 are fiercely angry with ,him when ,he appears among them in a good man2 they are willing to believe that ,god is in that part of nature which soothes their senses1 but they are not willing to believe that ,he is in the man who irritates them by opposing their wicked ways1 or by hindering them in their pursuit of ill-gotten gains and illicit pleasures4 ,therefore1 when ,god in ,jesus so fully and perfectly entered society1 it is not strange that they put ,him to death4 ,however1 in killing ,jesus they unwittingly exalted ,him2 in this act they brought to light the heinousness of sin1 the inexpressible love of ,god1 and the compassion of the child ,jesus for his sinful brothers4 ,it is before the cross1 if anywhere1 that men are led to repentance2 it is there1 if anywhere1 that the heart is both broken and healed4 ,before such wondrous love the world may well pause and sing3 ,in the cross of ,christ ,i glory1 towering o'er the wrecks of time1 ,all the light of sacred story gathers round its head sublime4 #f4 ,can ,god die8 ,yes1 ,god can die4 ,three years ago after the ,sunday morning service ,i received a telegram saying1 ,mother died this morning at six-thirty4 ,come6 ,now1 what did my sisters mean by this information2 did they intend to convey the idea that our mother had become extinct8 ,not at all1 they only meant that she had lost the dear old instrument that we had known for so many years in this earthly home4 ,death never signifies more than this to the ,christian4 ,though we said she was dead1 we believed our mother to be more alive than ever4 ,if death is simply the loss of our instrument1 the body1 then ,god too can die1 for ,he may lose ,his body4 ,god died on the cross with ,his child1 because the ,father-spirit1 no less than the child-spirit1 lost ,his beautiful instrument in which ,he had walked by the shores of ,galilee1 teaching and comforting the people4 ,if ,jesus would not forsake the ,father in the agony of the ,garden1 we may be sure that the ,father did not forsake ,his child on the cross4 ,as they were united in life they were undivided in death4 ,to think that ,jesus any more than the ,father was conscious of the pain1 is to make ,jesus greater than ,god4 ,the ,god who creates the body1 moment by moment1 must know the thrill of every nerve1 since they are ,his own nerves which ,he shares with ,his child4 ,yet it is not the pain nor the indignity heaped upon the ,father and ,his ,holy ,child that we are here emphasizing1 but the fact that ,he lost the instrument by means of which ,he had been a living person among men4 ,the disciples scattered in sorrow and bewilderment1 when ,god and ,his ,child ,jesus died on the cross4 ,the ,father had no form left on earth through which ,he could continue to speak unerring words of wisdom and love4 ,one year before my mother died she enfolded me once more in her arms and blessed me1 saying1 ,my son1 ,i shall never see you again on earth4 ,hastening home at the summons of my sisters ,i looked again on the dear old instrument1 but the hand of welcome was not extended1 and the lips did not speak4 ,in like manner when the limp body of ,jesus was taken from the cross1 the lips no longer said1 ,i and the ,father are one1 ,he that hath seen me hath seen the ,father4 ,those lifeless hands were no longer outstretched1 and pleading1 ,come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and ,i will give you rest4 ,yes1 ,god can die2 ,he can lose ,his human instruments on earth4 ,he can likewise die to society by being robbed of ,his highest instruments4 ,if no man1 woman1 or child in my city would let ,god come to articulate speech or deed through his body1 ,god would be stone dead in ,bridgeport2 ,he would be as dead as the spirits whose bodies lie in our cemeteries4 ,as already indicated1 ,i do not mean1 even in that sad event1 that ,god would not still be in ,bridgeport as the power of the all-pervading atmosphere1 or as the mighty force of the waves that lash our shores4 ,his energy would still be scintillating in the lamps of the white way1 and shedding a soft light in the smaller lamps that brighten our homes2 ,his would still be the energy propelling all the thundering mills of industry1 and the power sustaining the nerves and muscles that operate the machinery2 ,he would still be present in the blazing sun by day and in the twinkling stars by night2 ,he would still wrap us round1 and enfolding us in ,his great universe ,he would watch over us by day and brood over us by night2 and yet for all this1 if we entirely robbed ,him of all ,his human bodies ,he1 as a member of society1 would be completely dead in ,bridgeport4 ,if in his own life every one killed ,god1 men would then devour one another4 ,as it is1 ,god is partly dead and partly alive in my city1 as in all cities2 and hence we are sometimes a blessing and sometimes a curse to one another4 ,god may be manifestly alive in one person1 and nearly dead in the same man's nearest neighbor2 and ,he is more or less dead and alive in the best of us4 ,when ,god can no longer get to the surface through men's souls1 and bodies1 and institutions1 ,he is dead in that locality4 ,and when ,god is dead through the loss of men1 society is spiritually dead through the loss of ,god4 ,the living ,god is not one who is driven out of ,his kingdom and reduced to a mere operator of the cosmos4 ,the living ,god is not one who is persecuted by ,his children and driven from home while ,his business is going to rack and ruin4 ,a living ,god must be active in ,his universe from center to circumference4 ,until our bodies are ,god's obedient instruments there is no kingdom of ,god4 ,there is not the slightest reason for thinking there is a kingdom of ,god anywhere in the universe unless ,god has children somewhere who are permitting ,him to live through the instruments with which ,he enfolds them4 ,until ,god is permitted to live in ,his own bodies1 ,he is dead and ,his children are languishing4 ,if the ,christian religion were understood and believed and practiced1 what a transformation it would work6 ,for instance1 if every man1 woman1 and child in my city rendered perfect obedience to ,god1 then every human body in ,bridgeport would become ,his very own to use1 and ,god ,himself would throng our streets4 ,we should meet ,him face to face in individuals and crowds4 ,it would be ,emmanuel1 or ,god-with-us everywhere4 ,all faces would be bright with the wisdom and goodness of ,god4 ,every individual would be our ,infinite ,father and our brother in one4 ,what a rapid human growth would ensue6 ,every living person would be a window through which the light of ,god would shine4 ,there would be young minds like the child ,jesus in the temple1 just waking to the mind of ,god1 and ripe saints and sages flooding the community with ,god's vaster wisdom and profounder love4 ,not only would our immediate bodies be cleansed and transformed1 but our augmented bodies would be brought into harmony with the divine ,will4 ,our city would become a heavenly abode1 and our industries would become the instruments of love and righteousness4 ,we should tap a thousand sources of power that now remain idle1 and finding unlimited resources within ourselves and our environments1 we would work wonders4 ,while making ,god's energies our enlarged and purified bodies1 we should at the same time turn them into instruments of ,god's love4 ,if ,god were permitted to come to the surface perfectly in all our lives1 and in all with which we have to do1 three years would not pass until people would be making pilgrimages from the ends of the earth to see the city where ,god lives4 ,in a previous chapter ,i said that ,god1 as a solitary person in the universe1 would not mine coal1 and run steam engines2 but now allow me to say that if there is anything ,god wants to do it is to get into the railroad business2 and if ,he does not1 it will be because men vote ,him out4 ,but in shutting ,god out of railroad corporations1 what are we doing8 ,though not fully aware of it1 yet we are really saying1 ,o ,god1 you may be the energy in the steel rails1 you may be the power in the wheels1 you may be the expansive force of the steam1 you may manage the chemical combinations of the wheat or other cargo1 you may furnish us with our bodies1 you may do everything but dictate terms of business4 ,if1 however1 you want to sit at the desk as the senior partner then our answer is1 ',get down and out1 ,o ,god4' ,we are glad to have you as our slave and lackey1 we are delighted to use you and exploit you1 but woe to the man or men who plead your cause in connection with our private business4 ,such is the enormity of our sin1 and the denseness of our ignorance when we shut ,god out of our business affairs4 ,if ,god may not be in our daily enterprises ,he will not deign to be in our prayer meetings4 ,this is the message of ,jesus to all men1 to employers and employees alike2 this is the will of ,god1 that in and through ,his children ,he may make all things vocal with ,his wisdom1 and beautiful with ,his love4 ,scholars may look into nerves and brain1 but the spirit is fully revealed before the face and not back of it4 ,so the infinite ,god and ,father of our spirits is fully revealed1 if at all1 in benignant eyes1 friendly hands1 willing feet1 and gracious words4 ,it is the way we grow our bodies1 and shape our institutions1 and manipulate all the forces of nature that we reveal what manner of spirits we are4 ,if our spirits are evil1 then ,god is denied bodily expression4 ,there is no use saying ,lord1 ,lord1 if we do not the things which ,he tells us4 ,,chapter ,v ,,losing ,,the ,,sense ,,of ,,immortality ,a general statement ,the what and where of ,god is still incomplete so long as we confine our thought to the mere fragment of time measured by this earth life4 ,though we have found the unity of all parts in the ,christ life1 yet that unity is and can be but imperfectly realized by society on earth4 ,a longer time and a wider sphere must be considered if we are really to know what ,god and man is4 ,therefore1 ,god1 man1 and the universe must be viewed in the light of endless time4 ,if in certain respects this generation is conspicuous for its lack of faith1 in other respects it is notable for its abundance of faith4 ,the new knowledge acquired along many lines instead of destroying our belief in immortality is going to enrich it immeasurably when we have thoroughly digested the facts4 ,in the meantime some minds are bound to be disquieted4 ,it is most fortunate that the majority of people seem able to accept the fact of a future life as something altogether natural and inevitable4 ,those who are not able to do so1 however1 appear to be increasing in number4 ,yet we may rest assured that whatever will save the faith of the doubting ones will enrich the faith of those who find it easy to believe4 ,and if those who doubt are not as numerous as sometimes appears1 so much the better4 ,whatever the real situation may be1 it is our privilege and duty to deepen and enrich our faith to the extent of our ability4 ,that so many express doubts on the subject of immortality is something to be deplored and1 if possible1 remedied4 ,an old man1 highly esteemed1 despondingly said to me after the funeral of his friend3 ,we hope there is something beyond1 but we do not know4 ,in response to my word of assurance1 he grew even more pensive and added1 ,no one has ever returned4 ,to say the least this life-long member of the ,church saw nothing in future prospects to cheer his declining years4 ,as ,i gave his feeble hand a warm clasp1 ,i painfully realized that the light was fading from his soul as well as from his eyes4 ,on my first visit after the funeral of a senior deacon1 his widow plaintively repeated the words of the old man3 ,we hope there is something beyond1 but we do not know4 ,my prompt response was immediately checked by a languid wave of the hand1 and an emphatic1 ,no one can know4 ,this uncertain state of mind is in striking contrast with that of the saints and martyrs2 it cannot say1 ,to me1 to live is ,christ and to die is gain4 ,some highly honorable people tell me that they have no desire to live again1 and express wonder that anyone has such a desire4 ,the good influence we may leave behind us1 they think1 is immortality enough4 ,a general loss of faith in immortality1 ,i am confident1 would work irreparable harm to society4 ,it would completely destroy religion4 ,the ,church1 therefore1 should do its utmost to keep alive a rational and heartfelt assurance of immortality4 ,this1 ,i am sure1 can be done without1 in any way1 stultifying the intellect4 ,in fact1 the intellect must be made our ally if we are to succeed4 ,at this point the remark of a woman ninety years old is very significant and reassuring4 ,after reading a popular book of the day on immortality1 she said3 ,i did not like it4 ,i do not want anyone to try to prove immortality by science1 because he cannot do it4 ,i grasp the reality of a future life with my whole being4 ,why are so many people losing their assurance of immortality8 #a4 ,the contagion of doubt ,there is a contagion of doubt as well as a contagion of faith4 ,with facts still favorable to a victory1 an army may lose morale4 ,when the general and all his officers keep hopeful1 their confidence works its way down to the enlisted men4 ,if the hopeful word is on many lips the morale is saved1 and the whole army is confident of victory4 ,witnessing to any belief has a tremendous psychic influence for good or evil4 ,the facts concerning any great subject are never deeply analyzed by the masses2 yet the people possess a rare power for sensing the spirit of their times4 ,in the fight for ,eternal ,life the morale of the ,church is too low4 ,the confidence at the top is not always as rugged and commanding as it might be4 ,too many college men are confused in a jumble of ideas1 and some of them1 unfortunately1 give their testimony on the side of doubt4 ,no one should give an insincere testimony for the sake of helping out a weak cause4 ,yet many college men are greatly remiss in not giving more careful consideration to a theme that vitally affects all human interests4 ,at all events1 the masses hear many expressions of doubt1 and are not slow to pass them on4 ,a large number of people who stand aloof from the ,churches hear a dozen denials to one affirmation of belief in immortality4 ,many radical socialists carry on a determined propaganda against belief in immortality for political and economic reasons4 ,they say to the restless crowds3 ,the ,church is fooling you with the hope that the wrongs of this life will be righted in another2 but there is no other4 ,if ever you get your share of good things you must get it soon1 for your life is short4 ,therefore1 down with the ,church and king capital6 ,i am not fearful for the grounds on which the assurance of this great ,christian belief rests1 but ,i am disturbed over the prevalent ignorance and indifference manifested4 #b4 ,the inability to make a religious use of modern knowledge ,the ,christian view of life in its relation to the whole body of modern information has not been adequately given to the people4 ,and they are seriously affected in consequence of this neglect4 ,that irreligion does not tend toward assurance of immortality ,i regard as an incontrovertible position4 ,yet to say that all doubt is due to a lack of ,christian devotion is not true4 ,many good ,christians are confused1 and seek help to regain the comforting belief that death does not end all4 ,all clearly ascertained truth about the universe should prove a help to faith1 but until people know what to do with so many new facts1 they prove a decided hindrance4 ,take for example just one popular subject of the day1 physiological psychology3 ,when taught by men who have never grasped the ,christian philosophy of life1 it affords the shortest possible road to atheism and the denial of the human soul4 ,this modern branch of learning1 though the finest of servants1 is the meanest of masters4 ,it has slain its thousands4 ,physiological psychology has its own field of investigation1 but it is never safe when it parts company with sound philosophy4 #c4 ,the loss of a satisfying conception of the future life ,in sharp contrast with former times1 this generation has no satisfying conception of the future life4 ,and naturally an indefinite and hazy future makes but slight appeal4 ,many instinctively turn from such a future to save their peace of mind4 ,they prefer something that is definite and interesting4 ,it is a matter of common experience that the heart will not glow if there is no picture on the canvas4 ,unless we can so adjust the lens of our minds as to project something more than confused colors1 we shall never bring back the former interest in a future life4 ,unfortunately1 there has not been much striving on the part of the ,church to construct a future that will harmonize with the newly discovered constitution of the universe4 ,and without this end in view all striving would be in vain2 nothing will avail that does not relate the future to the divine framework of ,god's present ,universe4 ,the common conception of heaven has been of something quite apart from the existing world as we know it4 ,among all with whom ,i have conversed1 ,i have not found one who expects to have a physical body in the future life4 ,they have erroneously interpreted a spiritual body to mean a spirit body4 ,this crude idea of a spirit body is a fair sample of a hundred other fancies and misconceptions4 ,when the commonly accepted idea of heaven became as distasteful to the minister as it was to many of his congregation1 he stopped preaching about it4 ,the laity may no longer be seen enjoying a rapturous contemplation of future bliss4 ,instead1 they accuse persons so inclined of other-worldliness1 and point out to them that they are not as good as they might be here and now4 ,so1 for one reason or another we seldom give more than a furtive glance at that which lies beyond the grave4 ,in proportion as the vision has gone from the mind1 the sense has faded from the soul4 ,the old picture of heaven has become altogether inadequate1 and no other has been put in its place4 ,considering the sudden transition through which the world has been passing1 possibly this stage of affairs was inevitable4 #d4 ,the growing habit of classifying the future with things unknown and unknowable ,at last there has arisen in the ,church a considerable class that strives to discourage any effort to inquire into the future life4 ,one world at a time is their motto4 ,the future is classed among things unknown and unknowable4 ,this type of mind is trying to arouse interest in the present by drawing attention from the future4 ,said a woman professor to a student3 ,if ministers would talk less of things about which they can know nothing and do more to help those about them1 they would show more sense and accomplish a great deal more good4 ,i think ,i know some ministers who might do more for their environments1 but ,i happen to know of none who talk much about the future4 ,this teacher so enthusiastic over a fragment of the truth has never suspected how meager and one-sided her education is4 ,she has not grasped the thought of our age which recognizes1 above everything else1 the unity and solidarity of things4 ,so she protests against any rounded-out conception of life4 ,it is not strange1 therefore1 that immortality is to her a disagreeable theme that she would like to see tabooed4 ,a professional man once said to me3 ,when you came on the train the other day our mutual friend1 ,mr4 ,a4 said1 ',there is the ,parson1' and then nudging me remarked1 ',say1 he knows no more about the other world than we do1 does he8' ,so that is what you were talking about1 ,i replied4 ,well1 ,i am surprised4 ,i thought you were modern men1 and knew that there is no other world4 ,science1 philosophy1 religion1 and common sense1 teach us that there is but one world1 a uni-verse4 ,we now live in all the world there is4 ,but since we have not penetrated it very deeply1 if your friend had remarked that the minister was no more developed than you1 or that he had gone no deeper into the meaning of the universe than you1 he would at least have been on debatable ground4 ,when1 however1 two men of your opportunities could sit there and talk about another world1 ,i am ashamed of you4 ,the universe is as much one as my watch is one4 ,every particle of it enfolds us continually and never ceases to pour its energies through us4 ,every part of the universe is beating upon us to waken us1 if possible1 to its meaning4 ,if ,i live for an eternity1 ,i shall be in the same world as now1 and what ,i truthfully know about it now will still be true after my body has decayed4 ,god's one-world is the only world4 ,no wonder that people become confused and mixed up with their plural worlds1 and broken fragments of worlds4 #e4 ,an inadequate conception of the ,kingdom of ,god ,more than a generation ago it came to us like a new discovery that while ,jesus rarely spoke of heaven1 the expression1 ,kingdom of ,heaven1 was continually on ,his lips4 ,this discovery turned the whole tide4 ,and since then1 ,the ,kingdom of ,god on ,earth has been the theme of the ,church4 ,while heartily agreeing with this discovery1 and sympathizing with the new aim1 ,i still seriously doubt whether we have seen the kingdom of heaven in any such full-orbed sense as ,jesus intended we should4 ,too often we unwittingly preach a kingdom of earth on earth2 we leave something out4 ,that which ,jesus preached was somehow more religious4 ,surely it is an inadequate kingdom of ,god when it1 as so often happens1 degenerates into a mere scientific cooking-school1 or a mere scientific system of sanitation1 or a mere several other things lacking in ,god motive and ,god consciousness4 ,the ,kingdom of ,god is more than a program of social service2 it is a ,god-filled and ,god-ruled society4 ,a genuine ,kingdom of ,god on earth will be pervaded by a heavenly atmosphere4 ,even a social religion may become so unsocial as to eliminate the ,head of society2 it may consign ,him to the oblivion of forgetfulness4 ,no woman1 whose duty it is to be a cook1 can be a perfect ,christian while she is careless about the preparation of food for her family4 ,yet one may be a scientific cook without being a ,christian4 ,it requires more than beautiful1 material conditions to make the kingdom of ,god on earth4 ,i know families with beautiful mahogany dining rooms and all that goes with them1 whose good food is so well cooked that it almost melts in their mouths1 and yet they give ,god no thanks4 ,indeed1 there are those thus situated who think nothing about ,god4 ,this is not meant to imply that the conditions of poverty and ignorance are any more favorable to a ,christian life4 ,coming one day from a poor family's home across the street1 my little son said3 ,papa1 does ,mr4 ,r4 love the ,lord8 ,when ,i told him that ,i did not know1 ,well1 he replied1 ,i don't believe he does1 because he sat down at the table to-day with his coat off and never thanked the ,lord for his food4 ,he just looked around and said1 ',pass the taters1' and that is all he said4 ,from what ,i knew of this poor man1 he was probably neither more nor less a pagan than the man with a mahogany dining room4 ,the doctrine of the kingdom of ,god on earth1 with but little consciousness of ,god1 is surely increasing among rich and poor1 both in the ,church and out of the ,church4 ,and as personal acquaintance with ,god goes1 the assurance of immortality invariably fades4 ,many women1 of varying degrees of intelligence and social standing1 are doing commendable social work for the love of humanity with but dim consciousness of ,god4 ,it has come to pass that fine women may whisk about in silks and limousines visiting day-nurseries and the like without bending the knee to the ,father or remembering that the babies are ,god's little ones4 ,yet no right-minded person wishes to diminish the social service of this day by whomsoever rendered4 ,on the contrary1 he feels that the ,church which overlooks the poor babies should have a millstone hanged about its neck and be cast into the sea4 ,nevertheless1 a kingdom without the consciousness of ,god in the hearts of its subjects will never succeed in saving the assurance of immortality4 ,the old religion could not succeed without a bottom1 and the new religion will not succeed without a top4 ,this topless kingdom1 spreading far beyond the ,church1 is making many feel that they are better off without the ,church4 ,some of these are sincere and substantial men and women1 while others of them are extremely superficial4 ,many of the latter class will tell you with real self-appreciation that they look after poor stray kitties1 and feed the birdies in cold weather1 and in fact befriend all the animals4 ,really1 they are too busy with good works among animals and needy people to go to church and1 as one of them told me1 they are not among the narrow-minded people anyway ,who believe in hell4 ,this generation needs to learn the necessity1 and the sane psychology1 of ,christian experience4 ,to put it plainly1 it should be converted to ,god4 ,with ,god in our thoughts and affections we can hardly be too careful about the material side of ,his kingdom2 for the religion of ,jesus means the spiritualizing of the material1 all the way from our bodies to the end of the material forces that are at our command4 ,though ever so many cups of cold water be given1 if they are not given in ,his name or with a consciousness of ,his share in the gift1 the kindly deed will not impart to us ,christ's assurance of life eternal4 #f4 ,we automatically lose the assurance of the future when we lose the reality of the present ,because he has nothing in his ice-bound world1 the ,eskimo hopes for nothing4 ,there is nothing within his present grasp that suggests great things to come4 ,whereas1 the civilized man hopes for a glorious future not yet attained because he sees that the present warrants such a hope4 ,no one can reasonably hope for that which the present does not justify4 ,only let him be sure that he knows the present4 ,men who miscalculate the future usually do so because they fail to apprehend the present facts4 ,we cannot judge what the fruit will be unless we know the particular variety of tree4 ,the future history of the universe depends upon whether there is a ,god now4 ,either there is or there is not a ,god4 ,if there is1 the one not knowing ,him has a very superficial knowledge of the world that now is4 ,a ,god-projected and a ,god-filled world will have a very different future from a world of mindless ether and mindless electrons4 ,the discovery of electricity and some knowledge of its behavior were necessary before men could dream of electric cars and electric lights4 ,when electricity and some of the laws were known1 however1 the dream was unavoidable1 and like many another rational prediction it has come true4 ,when the thought of ,god fades1 ,christian hope dies4 ,if one is only agnostic with reference to the existence of ,god1 he is simply agnostic on the subject of immortality4 ,in exact proportion as we lose connection with the deeper realities of the present1 we forfeit insight into the future4 ,as one who is entirely ignorant of chemistry has no criteria by which to judge the future of chemistry1 so the one having no personal consciousness of ,god1 nor clear vision of the deeper meanings of life1 has no data for a rational prediction of the future4 ,paul said that the rulers of his day did not know spiritual things1 or they ,would not have crucified the ,lord of glory4 ,not knowing ,god1 naturally they did not recognize ,his purpose when they met it in the character and teachings of ,jesus2 so they ignorantly put ,jesus to death4 ,things which their eyes saw not and their ears heard not1 were recognized by those who knew ,god4 ,for who among men knoweth the things of a man1 save the spirit of the man1 which is in him8 ,even so the things of ,god none knoweth1 save the ,spirit of ,god4 ,but we received the spirit which is from ,god2 that we might know4 ,our expectations for the future always rise spontaneously out of our vision of the present4 ,whether it will rain within the next forty-eight hours ,i can but imperfectly predict because ,i recognize but a few vague weather conditions4 ,the weather bureau1 however1 with many more present facts at its command may predict with far greater certainty4 ,the man who knows nothing but a material universe cannot believe in immortality4 ,any effort to convince him is but a waste of breath4 ,if he is right in thinking that the universe has no soul1 then he is right in believing that there is no future life4 ,the ,soul--granting that it has a ,soul--is the best part of the universe4 ,to have lost ,god1 therefore1 is to have lost the best part of reality4 ,and the loss does not end here1 for1 in the best sense1 we have lost the world also4 ,though its chemistry and physics remain the same1 its higher meaning and finer uses no longer exist1 for us1 when ,god is eliminated4 ,to comprehend the universe we must know it philosophically1 poetically1 and religiously1 as well as scientifically4 ,some unwisely think that to know it scientifically and poetically is enough4 ,if the forces of nature are energies proceeding from an ,infinite ,mind1 and if we might so use these forces as to express ,his wisdom and love in all human relations1 then the universe is fundamentally different from the atheist's world4 ,the one who does not recognize an infinite ,mind of love and righteousness1 must prostitute the world to uses lower than the highest4 ,and as soon as he does this he has not only lost the ,soul of the universe1 but in the very finest sense he has lost the body of the universe as well4 ,on such a poor foundation1 his common sense saves him from the folly of trying to build a temple that pierces the skies4 ,he may still remain a gentleman1 and have a most kindly and unselfish disposition within certain limits1 but at a thousand points he will find his will at right angles with the one who lives in a different world1--in a world that warrants the long look4 ,i have experienced the world from both points of view4 ,and though my common conduct did not vary greatly1 yet when ,i was deeply conscious of ,god1 and saw the universe all vibrant with ,his thought and love1 my life in its inner meaning and quality was different from center to circumference4 ,here1 then1 is the crux of the whole matter4 ,in so far as we have lost the assurance of a future life1 it is because we have lost so much of the present that what remains of it is not sufficient to arouse a lively anticipation of immortality4 ,true1 our sense of reality is oppressively intense in the physical realm2 we clutch1 with death-like grip1 that from which the ,soul has escaped4 ,but the husk will not support spiritual life nor give assurance of the life to come4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,finding ,,the ,,sense ,,of ,,immortality ,how shall we find the assurance of immortality8 #a4 ,we automatically find the assurance of the future when we find the reality of the present4 ,naturally1 assurance will be found1 if at all1 where it was lost4 ,we shall automatically find the assurance of the future when we find the reality of the present4 ,it is not claimed that all professing ,christians have a firm grasp on reality2 for when religion is no more than a superficial formality1 its credulous devotees experience neither truth nor doubt2 they are religious automatons4 ,but if we do not allow such ,christians to attract us to heaven1 neither should we permit them to drive us to perdition4 ,if one succeeds in finding ,god1 if he learns to grasp the religious significance of the universe1 and if he achieves a personal experience of the kingdom of ,god1 assurance of the future will come unbidden and unsought4 ,these great and present realities are the gateway to life and the guarantee of good things to come4 ,only let one find1 assimilate1 and build upon this three-fold present1 and the soul will blossom into hope4 ,some reasons why the quest for reality is not more frequently and earnestly undertaken4 a4 ,the moral failure of ,christians ,some refrain from any effort to make religious attainments because of the moral failures among professing ,christians4 ,but there are many failures in business1 education1 citizenship1 and every other line of human endeavor that is worth while4 ,on that basis a person would refuse to live at all4 ,we all know there are some religious sceptics who are much more upright than some believers4 ,from a ,christian civilization they have inherited strong wills1 a deep moral sense1 and physical bodies with no marked weakness4 ,many of them have kindly dispositions and charming graces4 ,among their most helpful friends and favorite authors they count many of the best religious people4 ,they themselves are one of the best by-products of ,christianity4 ,if they did not live in a ,christian civilization they would not be what they are4 ,many such are doubters simply because they have not found their religious teachers4 ,they have probably encountered that which1 for their type of mind1 was a very unfortunate religious environment4 ,it would have been better for some people if they had had different parents1 or a different ,church1 or both4 ,however1 it is a simple matter of observation that a large percentage of humanity is weak whether believing or sceptical1 whether it goes to ,church or does not go to ,church4 ,a man who has a real saint in him may at the same time have seven devils in himself to fight4 ,with no patriotic ideals or emotions some men can keep morally straight1 while some noble self-sacrificing patriot may1 if he is not very careful1 fall into the ditch4 ,it is fortunate that some doubters are so good1 and a pity that some ,christians are so bad2 but regardless of just how good or bad any of us is1 if this universe has a ,soul it is of the greatest importance that we make ,his personal acquaintance and learn ,his plans2 and if in anything we have deviated from ,his plans we should humbly repent and get in line with the ,power that must ultimately break us if it cannot make us4 ,if one is strong enough to perform ordinary duties without the conscious help of ,god1 that is no reason why he should run away from his ,father and treat ,him with silent contempt4 ,the ,father desires the company of ,his son1 and in a thousand ways great and small needs ,his son's help4 b4 ,because the average ,christian cannot answer technical questions ,others regard the religious verities lightly because the average ,christian cannot answer technical questions pertaining to his faith4 ,yet there is not one cultivated person in a thousand that can answer technical questions concerning the material universe in which we all live4 ,the most highly civilized and prosperous community succeeds simply because it relies on the technical knowledge of the few4 ,most of us know electricity neither practically nor theoretically4 ,even among practical electricians1 how many could answer more than the simplest questions8 ,it requires no profound knowledge of the subject to wire a house and give its occupants light and comfort4 ,yet the practical electrician knows as well as the expert that he is dealing with a real force1 and may be able to wire the house better than the theoretical electrician himself could do4 ,how many good cooks are there who could chemically analyze the food which they have prepared for their families8 ,it is absurd to expect the average ,christian to go into all the psychology and philosophy of his religion2 as it is absurd to deny the reality of his experience because a full analysis is not forthcoming4 ,the large majority of people have neither time nor qualifications to go into an exhaustive and technical examination of the philosophy and science of religion1 any more than they have to go into the philosophy and science of the material world4 ,fortunately1 a more practical way stands wide open to them4 ,because men are men1 they may possess the great realities before they can adequately explain them4 ,they know the stars before they are astronomers4 ,they have an implicit knowledge of ,god which under right conditions becomes explicit4 ,they have intuitions and common sense1 the foundation of all knowledge4 ,it is their privilege1 likewise1 to put things to the severe test of use4 ,in the material world men risk their lives and fortunes on the truth of sciences of which1 at first hand1 they are totally ignorant4 ,but by so doing they find themselves the richer and the wiser4 ,likewise1 the ,christian multitudes who take the spiritual world practically1 find themselves the recipients of untold blessings4 ,their knowledge1 to be sure1 is only practical1 but it is their knowledge1 and they would be willing to die for it if necessary4 ,one may have the reality without the analysis1 or he may have the analysis without the reality1 or1 unfortunately1 he may have neither4 ,the happiest possible situation is where he has both4 ,a man may be justified in giving money and labor for the support and extension of religion without himself being a psychologist or a theologian4 ,just as the men who have given the most money for the advancement of the sciences do not know enough about these sciences to teach them4 ,yet we do not call them fools2 we highly esteem them as philanthropists and benefactors4 ,they are often as intellectual in the practical world as the scholars are in the scientific world4 ,the practical and theoretical everywhere supplement each other4 ,there should be experts1 by all means1 who know religion technically as well as practically4 ,and to these many inquiring troubled minds should go for help1 just as the business man goes to the experts for knowledge that lies beyond him4 ,some sceptics take special delight in perplexing common ,christians with the deepest philosophical aspects of their faith4 ,why do they not go to the experts8 ,many religious doubters never go to any one with their problems2 while others of a more superficial character go to the religious quacks1 and thenceforward help to swell the ranks of some ridiculous or fanatical religion4 ,it is doubtless true that almost every one could find his religious teacher if only he would look for him2 one who could interpret religion in such a way as to satisfy his reason and meet his deepest need4 ,if there is any possible way of bringing honest doubters and religious experts together it should be done for their mutual benefit4 ,but here is one of the gravest practical difficulties that we have to face4 c4 ,antiquated forms irritating to sceptics ,crude ideas still cling to the popular statements of religion as barnacles cling to a ship4 ,this unfortunate and unnecessary fact drives away from the ,church many conscientious minds4 ,though not many of us are scientists1 yet we all live in a fairly well reconstructed material universe4 ,without knowing any mathematical astronomy our general notion of the heavens is fairly correct4 ,ignorant as we are of physics and chemistry1 yet we have in our minds a moderately fair picture of a world that is compounded from the gases4 ,the old picture of the material world has given place to the new1 even among the uneducated masses4 ,but1 sad to say1 the simple1 complete picture of the reconstructed religious world has never been given to the masses4 ,sometimes we lug in a little of the dry and technical science that lies back of the new picture1 but rarely do we give the picture concrete and whole1 unburdened and untrammeled by the technical substratum4 ,as a result only a handful of ,christians have the simple1 modern conception of religion in anything like complete form4 ,yet no task should be easier or more delightful than just this work of giving the people a complete picture of the religious world in which we live4 ,recently ,i met a man who is a good worker in one of the most prominent churches in ,america1 and ,i was surprised to find that his ideas of religion compare with those of his renowned minister as the ,ptolemaic astronomy compares with the ,copernican1--and yet he has no realization of the discrepancy4 ,his capable minister should draw the picture for him4 ,a great many sincere and genuine churches greatly irritate the sceptical mind because of the forms in which their religious ideas are clothed4 ,like a grapevine that is never trimmed1 their faith is free and easy and of luxurious growth4 ,to the critical doubter the suffocating atmosphere of the ,church seems unreasoning and unreasonable4 ,it is not that he wants something learned1 but something that does not rough his mind into a state of irritation4 ,the mischief done is great4 ,it is the imperative duty of some people to go to another ,church2 and in some cases to another denomination4 ,though the fault is on both sides1 yet they will never be able to make a harmonious adjustment4 ,instead of finding a church1 or some specialist1 that could teach him1 unfortunately and untruthfully the sceptic usually decides that it is impossible for him to be a ,christian4 ,so he resolves to be what he regards as an upright man and lets it go at that4 ,but he does not find the great realities1 except in a most vague and attenuated form4 d4 ,the provincialism of sceptics ,the most hopeless situation of all is where sceptics consort almost wholly with sceptics4 ,they can soon kill the last remnant of religion that lingers in their hearts4 ,the provincialism of doubt may be even greater than the provincialism of a bigoted faith4 ,in their hearts1 sceptics often try and condemn intelligent ,christians with but slight knowledge of what the ,christians believe and with even less knowledge of why they believe it4 ,many doubting minds take it for granted that all ,christians conceive of religion as they themselves did when they were children in ,sunday school1 or boys and girls in a ,junior ,endeavor society4 ,they think that a little scientific knowledge of the material universe makes anything more than agnosticism impossible4 ,if their knowledge of religion and their philosophical knowledge of the universe were all that is known1 they would be right4 ,by learning a little more of religion1 and by acquiring a better philosophical as well as scientific knowledge of the material universe many have regained their grasp on ,god4 ,for such as have come to see ,god as the center and ,soul of all things1 natural science1 instead of being a hindrance to1 has become one illuminating phase of theology4 ,as a ,christian believer1 ,i find myself continually going to expert scientists to ascertain their latest findings4 ,and ,i can truthfully say that1 from a religious point of view1 their verifiable report is always interesting4 ,it is good news4 ,it lifts me to higher levels of thought1 to nobler planes of social conduct1 and to loftier heights of fellowship with ,god and men4 ,god's blessings on any man that discovers anything new in ,god's world and reports it correctly6 ,a friend once said to me3 ,i do not know whether there is a ,god or not1 and ,i am not going to bother my head about it2 ,i am just going to wait and see4 ,if1 however1 he finds himself alive after the death of his body1 ,i venture to assert that the old problem of finding ,god will still confront him4 ,we may rest assured that there is no ghost-,god to be seen after death4 ,this man has utterly misconceived of ,god and of the method of finding ,him4 ,death will not be a substitute for spiritual development4 ,if ever he finds ,god it will be as a ,loving ,intelligent ,will1 and not as a glorious ghost on which his physical eyes may look4 ,god is a spirit1 and they that worship ,him must worship ,him in spirit and in truth4 ,if we would know ,god we must seek ,him as ,he is1 and not as something which ,he is not4 ,let the sceptic consider well this statement3 ,so far as we can see1 everything would necessarily appear just as it does if there were a ,god4 ,i have never interrogated any one who could suggest anything to the contrary4 ,if ,god actually exists1 we shall never know ,him as we know man with local form and articulate speech1 unless we come to recognize ,him in man4 ,i dare say we shall never become acquainted with ,god save as we learn to know ,him in our own souls1 in other people1 and in nature4 ,so if we ever expect to know ,him we would as well put forth the effort to know ,him now4 ,if it could be proved that there is a ,god we should still need to find ,him4 ,but if we find him we have no need of further proof4 ,our problem then is not one of proving1 but of finding4 #b4 ,equal striving for spiritual and material things is necessary ,all normal people have senses which give them physical objects4 ,without these1 we could not commence to live a rational life4 ,but we must acquire some sense to make our senses of value4 ,most of our seeing1 in the physical as well as in the spiritual1 is with our sense and not alone with our senses4 ,to achieve insight in any line requires effort4 ,the man who has senses only1 lacks the insight of the man who has both sense and senses4 ,therefore we must earn not only our bread by the sweat of our brow1 but everything else which has priceless worth4 ,how covetous we all are for the material side of things6 ,that we may truthfully know and really possess the material side of the universe1 we put forth prolonged and painful effort4 ,our striving1 however1 to know and to possess the ,soul of the universe is pitifully meager4 ,if we strove no harder for the former than we do for the latter we should be ignorant and poor beyond recognition4 ,having long neglected the ,soul of the universe we look up1 occasionally1 and demand proof that the world has a ,soul4 ,however1 it is not proof that we need1 but religious insight4 ,if ,i ask proof that classical music is beautiful1 ,i must either take other people's word for it or else acquire musical sense by living with classical music and classical musicians4 ,the senses of the average man pronounce classical music very ugly4 ,mathematical or business ability will not suffice2 it will more likely hinder1 because as a rule it has been acquired at the expense of musical development4 ,there are those who actually make fun of classical music without any realization of their personal defect which they are advertising4 ,charles ,darwin was probably never surpassed in the amount of data gathered for scientific observations4 ,and yet1 there are persons in every civilized village in the world who are better judges of music2 and ,paul1 to say nothing of ,jesus1 was so far ahead of him in religious insight that the contrast is painful4 ,in every realm of knowledge known to man1 so-called proof is but seeing and understanding and appreciating4 ,logic does not prove anything4 ,if for our major premise we say all normal men are rational1 we rest our belief on observation4 ,if for our minor premise we affirm that here is a normal man1 we do so on the ground of observation4 ,if both observations are correct1 then we need no proof that the man of the minor premise is rational because it is self-evident4 ,logic is often a convenient method of seeing1 but it is never a proof4 ,even in mathematics we do not prove1 we see4 ,not a single proposition in mathematics is proved2 its truth is only perceived4 ,the so-called proof is but a method of separating the elements of a condensed proposition so that these elements1 one by one1 may be recognized4 ,the certainty began with one or more axioms1 and proceeded with rules built upon observation1 and the certainty at every step to the finish rested on something self-evident4 ,a prominent man assured me that he could prove that two and two were four4 ,however1 the first thing ,i learned in ,geometry was that an axiom was too self-evident to be capable of proof4 ,the highly complex methods which we have devised for reducing intricate mathematical statements of their axiomatic verities we call proof1 but the term proof can only be used in this accommodated sense1 for fundamentally we have proved nothing2 we have simply increased our intelligence by using a speedy and ingenious method of looking4 ,when it is said that one does not know how to prove a proposition1 it only means that he does not know how to separate and arrange the elements in such a manner that the mind can see them4 ,fundamentally1 nothing in the world is proved4 ,when we clearly see1 doubt flees and certainty comes4 ,if in anything a person insists that he can not see1 all we can do is to ask him to look again2 or perhaps we may try holding the truth at different angles1 or we may present its elements in some new order4 ,if1 however1 nothing enables him to see1 then in respect to that particular thing he is damned4 ,i had a very intelligent friend who was dismissed from an important position because he was color-blind4 ,while some have much stronger religious intuitions than others1 yet ,i think there is no normal person who may not1 if he goes about it in the right way1 achieve religious insight4 ,it takes a great deal of maneuvering to get some people to see mathematics4 ,and the average sceptic has not put forth the effort to see religious truth that the average pupil has to see mathematical truth4 ,but ,i know sceptics who have put forth such effort1 and they have succeeded4 ,when a sceptic wins a faith1 in the nature of the case it is vital4 ,saving faith in religion1 as in everything else1 is the feeling of certainty that follows clear insight4 ,and clear insight into any subject depends upon intelligent study and faithful practice4 ,while there are many things that we positively know1 and many more that we may come to know1 yet it is through rational experience1 and not so-called proof1 that we come to know them4 ,as hungry cannibals feed upon the body of a civilized man with never a thought that his trained mind would be worth more to them than his body1 so multitudes feed upon the body of the universe with no thought of what its animating ,will might be to them4 ,to all who sustain such an attitude toward the universe1 its body looms large while its ,soul fades4 ,as the cannibal missed the wealth and civilization which the larger mind of his victim could have brought1 so the mere world-consumers miss that which the ,soul of the universe could abundantly give4 ,if it were divinely conceived of and divinely used1 the physical universe and the social relations therein would be infinitely enriched4 ,but when the ,soul of the universe is lost1 and the body of the universe is narrowed down to the temporal uses of the materialistic mind1 we have lost the best part of reality4 ,but if we know what ,god and the world are to-day1 we have a solid basis for knowing what they will be to-morrow4 ,the future is not a new life and a new universe and a new ,god1 but the present life and the present universe and the present ,god to-morrow4 ,the remedy for a hazy future is a luminous present4 ,since ,god carries all men1 good and bad1 in ,his bosom1 what a pity it is that we allow sloth and selfishness to deprive us of ,his acquaintance and fellowship4 ,a little play-fellow once refused to speak to me in the presence of his newly arrived cousin4 ,finally he said to his cousin with a sneer1 ,dick spoke to me three times1 and ,i never let on that ,i heard him4 ,this cut me deeply4 ,but ,i now confess with sorrow and shame that the ,god who carries me in ,his own life has spoken a thousand times to me when ,i never let on that ,i heard ,him4 ,i have often tried to forget ,him that ,i might enjoy pleasures of which ,he could not approve4 ,all souls are in touch with ,god1 and in that sense know ,him1 even when they do not recognize who or what it is that touches them2 they are like the fishes that know the water but can not find the sea4 ,at last it has come to this3 ,i have simply learned to see the universe that enfolds me1 as the present energy of an intelligent ,will4 ,i see that ,will coming to human expression in me1 in my ,christian friends1 and in a social kingdom of infinite possibilities4 ,that which ,i see works1 and cooerdinates with all that ,i know1 making me more glad and more strong as the years go by4 ,god seems to live in me and about me and through me4 ,that in which ,i live and from which ,i cannot escape for a single moment of my existence1 ,i do not try to prove4 ,my task is to see it more intelligently and to adjust myself to it more perfectly4 ,i can testify that the more ,i learn and the better ,i live the more clearly do ,i see that that in which ,i live has sense as well as chemical energies2 and that its deeper meaning and purpose may get to the surface through my life4 ,i no longer live in a dirt world1 but in a mind world4 ,i believe neither in a muck world1 nor in a ghost-,god who is somewhere in hiding4 ,my universe has come to be a ,will in action1 a ,will that enfolds me with its energies and does not let me go4 ,when the universe is otherwise conceived ,i do not like it4 ,my intellect and instincts rebel against a universe materially conceived and materially explained4 ,it is too twisted and dwarfed for all the facts4 ,i am rationally convinced that ,i see a larger and better world4 ,to me1 worship is the deeper penetration into that ,will in whose enfolding energies ,i live and move and have my being4 ,my world has become an oratorio with both peaceful and dramatic passages4 ,i get nerve thrills from its music2 and more1 since its text is written in plain ,english1 and not in an unknown tongue1 ,i see the majestic pageant of a well-ordered creation4 ,i understand what the music is about1 and experience a joy infinitely beyond what ,i should if the music were without words4 ,and though ,i meet some severe hardships1 yet ,i am convinced that this is the best conceivable world in which to begin a life that is to live forever4 ,history helps me1 science helps me2 and ,i feel myself borne along by a union of forces toward a glorious goal4 ,god becomes more and more articulate in me and in all men and in all nature as we learn to will ,his will and to use nature's forces as the instruments of our enlightened and purified spirits4 ,i also find that this vision will not leave me unless ,i live beneath my best4 ,if1 therefore1 my best life and best vision go together1 it would be folly to do anything that would break the harmony4 ,some may say1 this is nothing but the way you see things1 why not give us something more8 ,no one has anything to give beyond what he sees1 unless he gives what some one else has seen2 and that is entirely uncalled for if he can not tell it better than the other man has done4 ,the only justification for the appearance of another book is that the author thinks his vision is sufficiently like what others see1 and at the same time enough different to make it useful4 ,but ,i can't see it your way1 some reader may retort4 ,well1 ,i am sorry4 ,obviously1 if we are sincere1 it is for us to go on living and preaching the gospel with the hope that some day he may come to see4 ,the ,master ,himself was shut up within the same circumscribed method4 ,however1 my contention is that if we have pure hearts1 and are not unnecessarily confused in thought1 or possessed of erroneous thoughts1 we know ,god here and now4 ,this is the luminous present that clarifies the hazy future4 ,not all men know ,god1 but in my opinion all may know ,him if they go about it in the right way4 ,every human being1 consciously or unconsciously1 must submit to having his life moulded by a world with a ,god or by a world without a ,god1 and the finished life will be as different as the two worlds4 #c4 ,the final step in the effort to know ,god ,to know ,god and to win the hope of immortality one must do more than formulate a set of correct ideas4 ,correct ideas will greatly aid1 yet alone they are utterly inadequate4 ,when the scientist gets his idea1 he proceeds to experiment with it4 ,if he does not at first get the hoped-for results1 when the idea is clear and impelling1 he performs his experiments over and over again in the most painstaking manner4 ,in religion1 however1 many will never go beyond the idea4 ,they wish to have the idea fully established without experiment or application4 ,the reason for this difference is that1 in religion1 the experiment can not be made on carbon and zinc1 but it must be made on the man's own soul4 ,the experiment cuts right into his moral1 emotional1 and sentimental nature4 ,how often a man will admit1 ,i can see no flaw in your idea1 but ,i am not convinced that you are right4 ,when the scientist gets his idea1 whether it is true or not1 he acts as if it were true until he has tried his experiments1 and does not always abandon the idea when his tests fail2 he realizes that the fault may have been in the experiment4 ,many of the greatest facts in science have long been baffled by faulty experiments4 ,like consequences occur in religion4 ,if instead of going on to the experiment and application one keeps repeating forever the question1 ,i wonder if the idea is true1 he will never get anywhere except into a deeper state of doubt4 ,a wise person while putting his best idea to the test will say1 ,i am hopeful that it will turn out favorably because it is such an attractive1 promising idea4 ,religious ideas must be planted in the soul as seeds are put into the ground1 and allowed to remain undisturbed long enough to germinate4 ,it is most fortunate when children1 through experimental knowledge1 have been taught to love good types of religion and music2 and this while they are receptive1 and before they are ensnared by a thousand other influences4 ,yet no one1 at any age1 dare neglect his religious duties and privileges if he wishes religion to be an impelling power in his soul4 ,in my youth1 mathematics was a great inspiration to me1 but through neglect my mathematical lamp burns low4 ,to keep mathematics interesting and alive one must work problems applied to constructive business4 ,for an example of a man who attained unto great religious certainty1 take ,paul4 ,he experienced a radical revision of his religious ideas1 but his improved ideas were not enough4 ,to test their validity he hurled himself upon the ,christian verities with all the force of his being2 and in consequence1 found a life of intimate friendship with ,god4 ,thenceforward ,paul had great things to tell and magnificent things to achieve4 ,i can do all things in ,him that strengthened me4 ,he felt that nothing could break this new bond4 ,for ,i am persuaded1 that neither death1 nor life1 nor angels1 nor principalities1 nor things present1 nor things to come1 nor powers1 nor height1 nor depth1 nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of ,god1 which is in ,christ ,jesus our ,lord4 ,his friendship with ,god gave him a new conception of1 as well as a new interest in1 society4 ,so we1 who are many1 are one body in ,christ1 and severally members one of another4 ,god the ,father ,is over all1 and through all1 and in all4 ,paul's insight broke all former bounds2 it elevated him to a boundless and timeless world2 his insight gave him a deep sense of ,god and became the evidence of many things not yet achieved4 ,here was personal assurance of ,god and immortality deep1 strong1 and jubilant4 ,whence came it8 ,such assurance is inherent in a life spiritually nourished and divinely employed4 ,hope simply comes to such a soul1 like color to the ripening apple4 ,this generation1 though engaged in many noble charities1 shows marked signs of under-nourishment2 its mind is active in the acquisition of material knowledge1 and its body is overworked in the effort to accumulate wealth1 yet its soul languishes4 ,and there is a near likeness between a starved soul and a starved body4 ,without hope or courage1 a little girl sits staring out of great innocent eyes because she is under-nourished4 ,this poor fading flower is in striking contrast with the little apple-cheeked girl in bloomers who believeth all things and hopeth all things and 7as her brother knows7 can do pretty much all things4 ,this startling difference requires no lengthy explanation2 nourishment and exercise tell the whole story4 ,so in our day many languid souls ask1 ,where is thy ,god1 and who knows whether there is a life beyond8 ,for an instructive contrast1 place beside such a life the life of ,jesus4 ,living in the bosom of the ,father1 doing the ,father's will day by day1 seeing life in the light of divine love1 and witnessing the effect upon those whom he won to a life of love and service1 made it impossible for ,jesus to lose faith in immortality4 ,while enduring the pain of the cross ,he could say to the malefactor1 ,to-day shalt thou be with me in ,paradise4 ,the abundant1 buoyant life nourished in the life of ,god and exercised in the service of ,god and man1 is the source of hope for the life that is yet to be4 #d4 ,conscious of the existence of ,god1 we become certain of immortality ,it is clear as daylight that ,god ,himself will be defeated if ,he loses ,his family4 ,attention has already been called to the fact that1 with the loss of ,his family1 ,god would be reduced to a child-god playing with a toy world2 and that without the cooeperation of other wills ,he could not finish ,his toy4 ,he would be in the position of having a world full of raw material1 material capable of infinite1 spiritual and social uses1 only ,he would be destitute of any such help as would enable ,him to turn the universe to any account whatsoever4 ,if ,he were left solitary in the world1 all ,god's labors in creation would lead directly to shameful defeat4 ,without other inhabitants than ,himself1 the universe would become one colossal piece of junk4 ,yes1 it would be worse than that2 even junk has value where there are people4 ,without intelligent souls to inhabit the universe1 an appalling night would settle over all creation4 ,love1 truth1 wisdom1 righteousness1 and the last semblance of a kingdom would be gone2 and ,god ,himself would as well die with ,his children2 ,he would be destitute of character1 and incapable of completing that which ,he began on such a magnificent scale4 ,having a universe like the present on ,his hands1 with no one to use it1 nor to inhabit it1 ,god would be an object worthy of ridicule4 ,the idea that ,god could murder ,his children1 or carelessly allow them to perish1 and then spend an eternity in an unfinished and depopulated world shatters reason itself2 such a thought is too appalling and abhorrent to be entertained for a moment4 ,just as sure as there is a ,god1 we shall continue to live4 ,anyone who believes in ,god and does not believe in immortality surely never gave two consecutive logical thoughts to the subject4 7#a7 ,ultimately ,god will have no children at all1 7#b7 or ,he will have an endless succession of short-lived children1 7#c7 or ,he will have children that survive all changes4 ,the first obnoxious idea we regard as impossible and unthinkable4 ,a being that could live in perpetual and absolute solitude1 with no more reason and character than such a position would warrant1 is not a person that we should call ,god anyway4 ,the second thought of ,god having an endless succession of short-lived children is in some respects worse4 ,in the autumn of nineteen hundred and fourteen1 a friend said to me3 ,what is there1 ,i should like to know1 in ,christianity8 ,here we've had the ,christian religion for more than nineteen hundred years--and now this war4 ,oh1 there is nothing in it6 ,no1 ,i answered1 we have had ,christianity about thirty-three years2 that is1 a few people have had it4 ,when asked what ,i meant by such a statement1 ,i told her that the earth was inhabited only by children2 that the average age of all living people was only about thirty-three years2 and that they would scarcely get beyond the spanking period until their places would be taken by another set of babies2 and that these new babies would scratch and bite1 and be tempted to lie and steal just as all the babies before them had done2 and that these in turn would soon give way to another set of babies4 ,i told her that all the knowledge and character on earth would1 in a few days1 need to be transferred to the minds of babies not yet born1 or it would entirely disappear from the earth4 ,moreover1 ,i said1 how do you know what ,christianity has accomplished8 ,you have never been where the ,christians have gone8 ,what do you suppose the ,apostles and all the ,christians who are nineteen hundred years old have been doing2 and the multitudes who are eighteen hundred years old1 and so on down through all the centuries8 ,you have seen only a succession of kindergarten classes4 ,though progress on earth rests exclusively upon successive groups of children1 yet we gladly recognize the social achievements that have been made during human history4 ,we keenly realize also the sin we all share in not having produced better social conditions than now exist4 ,nevertheless1 ,i am absolutely certain that no succession of infants will ever be able to put this universe to its highest possible uses4 ,god will never get far with ,his great cosmic enterprise if ,he employs only ignorant little children2 and that is clearly what ,he is doing if death ends all4 ,what a pity and shame it would be to throw away such a universe2 a universe of infinite intellectual1 spiritual1 and social possibilities4 ,and what a crime it would be to destroy the intelligent beings who could turn the universe to full account if only they were allowed ample time4 ,that ,god will not do anything so foolish and wicked we may safely rest assured4 ,at the close of one of my services a man came forward and spoke to me1 saying3 ,if everybody were good1 your job would be done4 ,now ,i must scrap with you1 ,i said4 ,if all were good1 ,i should have a larger and a better job4 ,the good people1 and not the bad people1 have the greatest desire for ,church4 ,why is the engine put on the track at all unless it is to go somewhere8 ,for what purpose does anyone become a ,christian1 except to learn more about ,god and ,his plans in order that he may embody them in a kingdom of love and righteousness8 ,i am too young and ignorant to preach you a very good sermon now1 but if you will come around where ,i am a thousand years from now1 ,i will preach you a sermon that will make you sit up and take notice4 ,something must be left out of the mental structure of one who can make such a statement as this man made to me4 ,in the face of such conceptions of life one wonders that religion commands the respect that it does4 ,there is no doubt concerning the unlimited possibilities of the universe1 nor of the limitless possibilities of the human spirit if it is given a chance4 ,standing as many of us do on the threshold of these greater possibilities1 who but a devil could shut the door in our faces8 ,if ,god wanted us when we were ignorant and sinful1 ,he wants us even more now that we are a little wiser and a little better4 ,if ,he intended to crush us before we were fairly started why did ,he ever raise us to such hope by allowing us to see the infinite possibilities8 ,as to our ability to survive the shock of physical death1 if ,god made us live in the first place1 ,he can make us live on through all changes4 ,if1 however1 ,god alone survives ,he will be quite worse off than ,his dead children2 they will simply be extinct1 while ,he will go to the gloomiest sort of hell4 ,who could wish to be a mad god living alone through eternity in a graveyard8 ,with everybody dead1 and all kingdoms gone1 and all work at an end1 the universe would be one vast--desolate--hell2 such as a bad ,god would deserve4 ,how can any one believe in ,god and not believe in immortality8 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,what ,,difference ,,does ,,it ,,make ,,whether ,,we ,,believe ,,in ,,immortality ,,if ,,we ,,live ,,as ,,we ,,should ,,in ,,this ,,life8 #a4 ,how can one live as he should8 ,some say1 ,what difference does it make whether we believe in immortality1 if we live as we should in this life8 ,we also would ask a question4 ,how can one live as he should if he eliminates ,god and ,his plans8 ,god planned a whole or ,he planned nothing4 ,we willingly admit that some honest doubters have a larger share in ,god's life than they realize4 ,they have heard the message of truth and love1 and though confused as to its origin1 they accept much of it as binding upon their lives4 ,in many things they conscientiously do ,god's will without recognizing it as such4 ,no one is so bad but that he sometimes obeys ,god4 ,the meanest man thinks some of ,god's thoughts after ,him1 and makes some voluntary sacrifices4 ,it may never occur to him1 however1 that ,god has any part in the matter4 ,yet no one lives as he should until he lives the highest type of life of which he is capable4 ,it is easily possible to be doing good in one direction while exerting a baneful influence in another direction2 and easier still to be overlooking something of grave importance4 ,many well-meaning persons pursue courses of action that work great harm to themselves and to others in the long run4 ,no one should flatter himself with the thought that he has lived as well as he should1 until he has lived as well as he could4 ,no man on the outside of a business can do what he would if he were on the inside4 ,a really good man must try to know ,god and the plans of ,his kingdom from within2 he must take daily orders2 he should be strictly honest toward ,god2 he should feel the joy and enthusiasm that come from partnership with ,god in a great enterprise4 ,but this type of good man will most likely feel sure of immortality4 ,a lack of assurance is a practical proof that something has gone wrong in the life2 it may be confusion or indifference1 but more likely it is both4 #b4 ,the difference in social service ,unless we know what the superstructure is to be1 it is impossible to lay the right kind of a foundation4 ,a good foundation for a bungalow would not answer for a fifty-story skyscraper4 ,and to put a skyscraper foundation under a bungalow would be the most foolish waste of time and money4 ,paul gave up everything that the average good citizen holds dear1 and spent his entire life in laying the nobler foundation4 ,he believed that the superstructure would be stupendous1 and of eternal duration4 ,no sane person would live the life ,paul lived unless he believed in immortality4 ,the same is true of ,jesus4 ,here is a clear-cut and portentous cleavage between good people who are ,christians and good people who are not ,christians4 ,i do not mean to intimate that a patriotic agnostic would be any more reluctant than a believer to die for his country4 ,it is largely a question of what he considers is worth while4 ,a good sceptic is willing to help educate and civilize in a general way1 but he will put forth no effort to evangelize4 ,he does not realize the impossibility of civilizing a non-religious world4 ,he would permit the whole race to be non-religious like himself4 ,he would send all the billions yet to be born into the future life without any knowledge of ,god or any spiritual achievement4 ,his attitude would so over-populate the future country with dwarfed and degraded people that our missionary work in a future state1 if we are permitted to undertake it1 would stagger a ,st4 ,paul4 ,when we see the number and quality of our neighbors over there we shall realize the enormity of our mistake4 ,and still they will come1 the uncivilized and unchristianized descendants of ancestors whom we neglected4 ,almost every civilized community in the ,christian world had its foundations laid by missionary effort2 and it has been kept civilized by a work very similar to that of missions4 ,the firmest ground of hope for the civilization of the race is in the combined educational and religious work of missions4 ,darkness cannot come to the light1 but light may go to the darkness4 ,the longer missionary work is neglected the more of it will there be to do2 and that which we leave undone here will be accumulating for us over there4 ,with what amazement non-missionary ,christians will face their accumulated missionary tasks in the future life6 ,it is my impression that fifty per cent of the ,church members do not believe in missions2 that is to say1 they do not believe in extending the religion of ,jesus if it involves any work or expense for them4 ,they themselves will first need to be saved1 if they are to be like their ,master and share any of ,his vision and compassion4 ,then there is probably another twenty-five per cent of professing ,christians who believe but little in the extension of the gospel4 ,so between the agnostics and the half-,christians1 we are not doing a very good piece of social work throughout the world4 ,and this is true whether we have in mind the future history of society on earth1 or of society as it shall migrate to our future home4 ,whether or not we have ,christian assurance of ,god and the future life makes a tremendous social difference both for this life and for the life to come4 ,unless we are active and aggressive in the work of extending the kingdom1 every form of vice will thrive and multiply in our most cultivated and civilized communities4 ,what hope then is there for benighted peoples where there is neither salt nor leaven8 ,my experience of thirty years in the ministry convinces me that those who have their eyes on the whole earth1 do several times as much work for their home communities as do those who believe exclusively in home missions4 ,it is astonishing what narrow service so-called broad-minded people can render1 and what wide achievements can be accomplished by so-called narrow-minded people4 ,observation will show that it makes a vast difference in the kind and extent of social service rendered if one believes in ,god and immortality4 #c4 ,the difference in personal preparation ,we tell our young people entering high school that they should decide at the outset whether they are going to college2 and if possible which college1 as the entrance requirements of colleges differ4 ,what should we think of one who would ask1 ,why need ,i bother my mind about a possible college course in the future if ,i keep busy and learn something well8 ,what difference can it make8 ,yet we grow weary with hearing the question1 ,what difference does it make whether there is a future existence if we live as we should in this life8 ,do they suppose that it is easier to make the freshman class in heaven than it is to make the freshman class in college8 ,i dare say the requirements are different1 but if heaven is worth going to the requirements can hardly be less specific or exacting4 ,many people who never went to college are far advanced in things pertaining to ,god and ,his kingdom1 while some college people do not know the a1 b1 c of religion4 ,their standing in a future life cannot possibly be the same4 ,like many others1 ,i was brought up to be honest and hard-working from the beginning4 ,according to ordinary standards1 ,i was living as ,i should4 ,yet when ,i heard of college1 and had hopes of going to one1 a subtle change came over my whole life4 ,while the old duties were performed in the old way1 at the same time a complete revolution was taking place within me4 ,the imagination and will readjusted everything to the new and larger sphere for which ,i hoped4 ,since no one thus far had gone to college from our frontier community1 some of the neighbors thought me to be a foolish dreamer4 ,what good would it do me anyway1 was what they wanted to know1 since ,i was already good in figgers8 ,when ,i was probably fourteen years old1 a young man told me of some one in another township who was going to study ,algebra4 ,what is that8 ,i asked4 ,well1 he said1 it is something like ,arithmetic1 only they use letters instead of figures4 ,now that1 ,i promptly told him1 sounds foolish4 ,why aren't figures good enough8 ,ah1 said the young man's father1 ,algebra is a mighty fine study6 ,you have noticed that merchants mark the price of their goods with letters4 ,now if you know ,algebra they can't cheat you4 ,so ,i made up my mind then and there that ,i would study ,algebra4 ,my first experience with college catalogues1 which came a little later1 was both interesting and amusing4 ,i had often wondered what there could possibly be to study beyond history1 geography1 and the three ,r's4 ,but at last with a college catalogue in my hands here it was3 ,de ,amicitia1 ,de ,corona1 ,trigonometry1 etc4 ,after reading pages of unheard-of and unpronounceable words1 ,i scarcely knew whether it was about something to eat or something to wear4 ,theological terms seemed plain ,english by comparison4 ,in those primitive days it took one more year of preparation to enter the classical course than it did the scientific4 ,for that reason alone ,i promptly decided to take the classical4 ,although ,i knew nothing of what either course was really about or what it was good for1 yet ,i did not want to bear the stigma of any short cut4 ,i wanted to learn it all4 ,though it did not take long to learn what the college course was about1 yet it did take some good faithful application to prepare for entrance examinations4 ,many people take their religion as some lazy boys--found in every high school--take their education4 ,these boys have a very light regard for college requirements4 ,john is certain that he is as good a student as ,charles or a half dozen other fellows4 ,he emphasizes the fact that a grind like ,james is the most unpopular fellow in school4 ,all suggestions of future trouble fall on deaf ears4 ,every year train loads of these fellows go to take their entrance exams4 ,yes1 they arrive at heaven1 or college1 and may chance to see the lord of the institution4 ,but some one calls them in to test their ,latin eyesight1 and another to determine their mathematical vision1 and if their power of penetration is not sufficient for college subjects1 back they go4 ,this is a tragic experience for the lads1 to be sure1 yet they must learn that promotion means fitness4 ,i have known of young men entering the academy of the college town because they were ashamed to go back home4 ,they were good fellows1 but they lacked college fitness4 ,think of a good sensible fellow who has never studied arithmetic going to college6 ,and then think of a good sort of person going to heaven who has never acquired the spiritual insight to know ,god6 ,a man in college who is mathematically blind1 and a man in heaven who is ,god blind6 ,if one thinks of ,god as a visible ,ghost in heaven1 he will overlook many of the essentials until the pitiful disillusionment comes4 ,and if he thinks of the future home as a doll's heaven1 he will make no thorough preparation for entrance4 ,when a young girl was once lured to a very superstitious church1 a friend said to me3 ,well1 what difference does it make--we are all going to the same place4 ,but when ,i asked her if she would be willing to send her daughter to a poor day school or to some wretched music teacher1 she had never thought but what that was different4 ,everything but religion must be properly taught2 how that is taught does not matter1 because we all are going to the same place4 ,on that basis1 if all were going to live in ,new ,york ,city1 ,i suppose it would make no difference what kind of superstition they were taught4 ,the expectation of joining a higher and holier society after this life cuts as deeply into my present life plans and purposes as did the expectation of going to college when ,i was a frontier lad4 ,no matter how upright and industrious one is in the ordinary affairs of life1 take away the hope of college or the hope of a future life1 and it makes a difference at a thousand vital points4 ,i once intercepted a stone mason who was building a wall where the specifications called for a window4 ,he was not at all inclined to be convinced of his error4 ,after reading the specifications again he said1 ,i am right4 ,but1 ,i replied1 you are confused as to directions4 ,then he appealed to a weather vane on a near-by steeple4 ,when ,i informed him that the church had been moved and that the points of the compass were entirely wrong1 he pulled down the wall that he had so perfectly built4 ,he did not ask what difference it made so long as he was doing a good piece of masonry4 ,he was glad to get the wall down before the superintendent saw it4 ,if1 now1 we go on the assumption that ,god has no plans in what ,he is building1 then we must conclude that ,he is the most ridiculous person that ever went into the construction business4 ,the shock of disillusionment when it comes1 as it is bound to do1 will be tremendous4 ,it is one of my greatest sorrows that so many of my friends are building solid masonry in their lives where ,god's specifications call for windows2 and windows where there should be solid masonry4 ,the windows in the life of ,jesus all looked out on the side of love and eternity4 ,the light of a heavenly kingdom was always streaming into ,his soul4 ,we make the same mistake in building our cities and social institutions4 ,they but vaguely represent the human temple called for in ,god's specifications4 ,and the farther we depart from the plan the more difficult it will be to return to it4 ,paul told some of the people of his day that they might escape with their lives as from a burning building1 but that what they had built contrary to the divine pattern would be reduced to ashes4 ,i once knew a merchant who had twenty acres of new land broken and planted with onion sets4 ,a temporary house was built to care for a dozen or more workmen4 ,the ground was pulverized to ashes1 the onions were planted1 and the weeds were kept down so that none ever appeared from the road4 ,it was a fine piece of work4 ,the men toiled1 the onions grew and finally blossomed1 and the field presented an attractive sight4 ,but alas6 the merchant had purchased winter-onion sets1 and in all that field there was not one bulb to reward him for his pains4 ,what difference did it make--he and his men surely did some good work8 ,many there are who flourish like that field during the days of their strength2 but when they ripen there is no bulb1 nothing to garner4 ,one of these men with the meaning of life exhausted at sixty remarked to me that one was too old when he had passed forty4 ,a short time before his death ,washington ,gladden was a guest in my home4 ,as he sat in an easy chair after dinner speaking of other days1 and especially as he spoke of his sainted wife1 ,i noticed how old he had grown4 ,though his body had about run its course1 yet the light of his soul had not been dimmed4 ,in my heart ,i said1 ,what a dear old man you are1 ,dr4 ,gladden4 ,you are nearly all soul6 ,he had kept the faith4 ,and it had made a difference2 for him1 for me1 and for all the world4 ,while the old man sat there and conversed with the family1 the light of his soul sent a shining ray ,far down the future's broadening way4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,how ,,shall ,,we ,,conceive ,,of ,,the ,,future ,,life8 #a4 ,its relation to the present constitution of things ,granting that there is a future existence1 are we not wholly in the dark as to what it is like8 ,is it possible to form any conception of heaven that is not offensive to the intelligent mind8 ,professor ,leuba says3 ,as soon as1 no longer satisfied with a general assurance of unruffled peace and unalloyed enjoyment1 we demand specifications1 we find ourselves in the presence of ideas and pictures1 either absurd or repulsive1 or void of real attractiveness4 ,the best gifted religious seers succeed in this descriptive task no better than the cleverest mediums4 ,have we1 then1 no facts on which to build a rational conception of the future state8 ,i believe that a satisfying view is a possible achievement1 because we have some very important and fundamental facts from which to construct a picture4 ,the minor details1 of course1 are unknown to us1 but the main outline1 which principally matters1 may be very clearly conceived4 ,as we have previously shown1 the future does not have to do with a new ,god and a new universe and a new soul2 but with the present ,god1 the present universe1 and the present soul to-morrow4 ,the future is not some new thing2 it is the old realities a little later1 and a little more fully developed4 ,that ,god will remain a stable factor in the equation1 we may rest assured4 ,and we can read nature well enough in this scientific age to understand that it is no sudden and fickle movement void of law and order4 ,neither are we entirely ignorant of our own rational souls that organize themselves into civilized communities by combining and giving shape to the forces of nature in which we live4 ,we have plainly seen that neither ,god1 nature1 nor man has any worth or significance when separated from each other4 ,in the future life1 therefore1 there is but one factor that is different from those found in the present constitution of things1 and that is the loss of the present human body4 ,and even this difference between the present and the future will be largely rectified1 according to the ,scriptures1 by our receiving new bodies4 ,for too long we have foolishly tried to show that the soul could live without a body2 and this in the face of the ,scriptural teaching1 that ,god will give us new bodies4 ,in our effort to show that the soul is able to live independent of a body1 we have likewise run counter to experimental psychology and philosophy4 ,scriptures say we shall have new bodies4 ,psychology shows that the souls with which we are acquainted are dependent upon the body for consciousness and every intellectual achievement4 ,philosophy likewise teaches that man can not exist outside of ,god4 ,therefore when these bodies with which ,god now enfolds us die1 ,he must again enfold us or we shall perish4 ,there is no reason for thinking that a soul can live if disconnected from ,god1 and the universe of ,god1 in which it lives4 ,if ,god again enfolds a soul1 that new enfoldment will be its new body4 ,and it will not be a spirit body because that is a contradiction of terms4 ,as the ,scriptures teach1 it will be a spiritual body2 that is1 it will be a highly refined and delicate instrument of the spirit--yet a real body4 ,this new body1 as was the case with the old1 must be our first point of contact with the universe of ,god4 ,and in the future life1 as here1 the whole universe will be our augmented body as we progressively become articulated with it4 ,so all the old conditions of the present life will be restored on a higher plane4 ,whether the new and refined body will closely resemble the old1 is a matter of speculation4 ,however1 it must be the instrument of the spirit2 and therefore it will have functions similar to the higher intellectual and spiritual uses of our present body4 ,we shall be conscious in it and think with it1 and through it we shall manipulate the forces of the universe4 ,if we can keep well1 and work without friction1 and all pull together ,i see no reason why we should not accomplish marvelous things in this universe1 and at the same time derive a very dignified satisfaction from it all4 ,however much advanced the new life may be1 we shall still be the same persons living in the same ,god and in the same universe as now4 ,we shall still be living for the same social and righteous ideals as now1 and our motive will be the same old motive of love and good will4 ,god is not a naked spirit hiding behind nature4 ,he is a ,loving ,intelligent ,will revealing ,himself by ,his outgoing energies which we call nature4 ,in the future life1 the same as here1 ,god will be trying to come to the surface through the bodies which he provides for ,himself and ,his children4 ,and ,he will be striving1 likewise1 for a full expression of ,himself through all the institutions that ,his children will be organizing out of ,his beautiful and boundless energies4 ,nature is not the gross1 crude thing that ignorant people take it to be4 ,neither is it something apart from ,god4 ,with the little intelligence that a few have acquired on this kindergarten earth1 we begin to see what a divine thing nature is4 ,when it is better known and more wisely and lovingly used by ,god's children1 all nature will be vocal with ,god's wisdom and love4 #b4 ,where is heaven8 ,heaven is some place1 or many places1 in our present universe4 ,god will never leave ,his beautiful universe that is so infinite in its complexness1 so vast in its dimensions1 and so rich in its millenniums of development1 and go off into nothingness to build some sort of mystical and ethereal heaven4 ,heaven will be as much a part of the universe as is this earth4 ,and this earth is infinitely closer in its relation to the whole than we are now able to comprehend4 ,almost daily1 scientists are discovering new bonds between the earth and the rest of the universe4 ,the inhabitants of heaven will not be less closely connected1 but much more vitally and intelligently related to nature than are we4 ,there are doubtless many spheres in this universe that would make good sites for a heaven4 ,and it would be interesting to know how many of them are already so utilized4 ,in my ,father's house are many mansions4 ,when we speak of mansions in the skies it would be well to remember that the earth is a pretty good mansion in the skies4 ,the trouble is1 being such poor ,christians1 we have not built upon it a very good heaven4 ,while we have not been wholly recreant in building a heaven on earth1 yet we have often cursed this mansion by constructing many hells of smaller or larger proportions4 ,another reason for believing that ,god does not plan for a heaven outside the objective universe1 is the deep desire of man to make his richest ideals tangible and objective in a book1 a piece of art1 a musical composition1 a noble building1 or some splendid institution4 ,life without expression and achievement1 as we know it1 is both unsatisfactory and dangerous4 ,the same must be true in relation to ,god1 as evidenced by ,his vast and beautiful works that have come forth unfolding out of the infinite past and now promise to expand and differentiate into the infinite future4 ,even in the sphere of human lives ,he has impelled men to express ,his wisdom1 beauty1 and purpose according to human modes of expression4 ,it evidently is not ,god's design to abandon ,his works of nature and draw back into ,his own thoughts and spend eternity in self-contemplation4 ,he rather intends to utilize the unlimited capacity of nature1 and the unbounded ability of ,his children1 to give the fullest possible expression both of ,his children and of ,himself in a kingdom which has form as well as soul4 ,in ,chapter ,,iii ,i gave a description of the kingdom of ,god on earth4 ,i shall now repeat that statement as an equally good description of the kingdom of ,god in heaven3 ,the kingdom of ,god is a loving intelligent family1 organized around the ,father's good will1 living in the universe as ,his home1 using the forces of nature as the instruments of ,his will1 and making all things vocal with ,his wisdom1 love1 and power4 ,so little has the kingdom of ,god been realized on earth that it is like a kingdom on paper in comparison with what has doubtless been realized elsewhere in the universe4 #c4 ,will there be a ,holy ,city8 ,there will doubtless be many holy cities and plenty of country too4 ,the ,holy ,city described in the book of ,revelation was1 in the thought of the writer1 to be located on earth4 ,while it should be our aim to build an ideal city on earth1 yet like most of our aims it will probably fall short4 ,if in some respects the ,city of ,revelation does not appear to be the most desirable kind of place in which to live1 nevertheless1 as a thing of symmetry and beauty it is a marvelous picture4 ,a perfect city is a wonderfully attractive thought2 and none the less so because one enjoys a vacation in the country4 ,if there is no ideal city in this universe1 there should be4 ,new ,york1 ,london1 and ,paris1 in spite of the ugliness1 squalor1 crime1 and disease which they contain1 are very fascinating4 ,they bring together so much knowledge1 wealth1 and power that one feels the mighty impact of it all upon his soul4 ,if one lives under the most favorable conditions in a great city1 his consciousness so blends with the whole that the city seems to be but his larger self4 ,this is simply the fuller experience of that law of consciousness which makes a man feel larger when he puts on a fur coat1 or taller when he wears a silk hat1 and causes a woman to feel like her silks and plumes and fluffy garments4 ,a city without crime1 disease1 poverty1 or ugliness2 a ,holy ,city filled with art1 music1 knowledge1 love1 and every kind of fascinating employment2 such a city would lift one into a sense of joy and greatness beyond words to express4 ,from our present meager knowledge of the universe1 what kind of a city would be possible if all the laws and resources of nature were fully utilized8 ,considering1 then1 the millions of people who have grown rich in wisdom and character through millenniums of experience in the congenial company of their fellow citizens of a heavenly kingdom1 what is it reasonable to suppose they have done in the way of realizing these possibilities8 ,even with our limited knowledge of nature's resources1 we know they could have built a city that would make the one pictured in ,revelation look like a beautiful ,christmas toy4 ,and if the departed are living in our universe and not in a vacuum1 what could have prevented them from achieving such a glorious result8 ,for thee1 ,o dear1 dear country1 ,mine eyes their vigil keep4 ,every one is justified in viewing his life in the light of this larger perspective4 ,for by so doing he not only prepares himself for better citizenship in the life beyond1 but at the same time accomplishes a larger and better piece of work on earth4 ,when we break our lives and the universe up into fragments1 as so many do1 we are like children playing with broken pieces of china4 ,for each of us there is one life1 in one universe1 under one leader4 ,beginning in weakness1 life grows into strength2 beginning in ignorance1 it develops into wisdom2 beginning in selfishness1 life expands into a kingdom of love and righteousness4 ,at first we are submerged in the material2 but finally we discover that the material is of spiritual origin1 and that it can be turned to spiritual ends4 ,like true artists1 we no longer scorn the material forces1 but see in them all the latent image of the divine4 ,whether the image that finally appears shall be a devil or a ,god will depend upon the hands that shape the material4 #d4 ,will there be music8 ,though we may laugh at ,mark ,twain's caricature of the saint with his golden harp1 yet music is not to be laughed out of this universe4 ,there will be music1 of course2 though heaven will not run all to music1 yet there will be plenty of it and it will be of the right quality4 ,we know perfectly well that this vibrant universe has unlimited musical possibilities1 and that we have scarcely begun to utilize these possibilities either in the way of music or instruments4 ,with the instruments improved a thousand fold and multiplied a million fold1 they would call for such noble music as has never yet been written4 ,with the technique possible to more highly refined bodies1 with time to outgrow all amateur execution1 with the leadership of all the musical geniuses of the ages1 and with an unlimited number of voices and performers to select from1 the music of a heavenly city should surpass our wildest dreams4 ,and there is no sensible reason for thinking that there would be music without sound or that there would be musicians without instruments4 ,we have no right to think well of ,god1 and at the same time think ill of ,his forces with which ,he enfolds us4 #e4 ,shall we meet our loved ones8 ,i see no difficulty in the way of meeting our loved ones in a future state4 ,of course1 ,i could not abide permanently with my parents1 and they with theirs1 and so on clear back to ,adam4 ,the great population would1 of necessity1 be scattered over a wide area4 ,after reaching maturity we do not1 as a rule1 live with our parents here on earth4 ,the connection is kept up by the different modes of communication and by an occasional visit4 ,and though the distances there would1 doubtless1 be much greater than here1 yet the means of communication and of travel would much more than rectify the difference in distance4 ,in heaven1 as here1 we should probably have some friends near by and others remote from us4 ,however1 we have already overcome space to a marvelous degree on earth2 and have scarcely commenced to use the resources of which we are aware4 ,we not only have the omnipresent mail system1 the telegraph1 and the telephone1 but we have made some use of the electrical pen1 and are rapidly developing the wireless telephone4 ,scientifically it would be possible1 even now1 so to develop the wireless telephone that a speaker could be heard by every one in the ,united ,states at the same time4 ,if we could project the images of those speaking1 as we are hoping to do1 we should have a very good hint of the possibilities of communication in a future state4 ,with finer bodies1 and finer instruments1 and a better knowledge of nature's forces1 it seems credible that we could see and hear our friends with but little regard to distance4 ,there is no reason for putting limitations on the possibilities of nature1 even here on earth2 and much less reason for doing so in connection with the future state of existence4 ,all the suggestions are in the opposite direction4 ,the ,x-,ray enables us to see through solid bodies4 ,radium1 which has no appearance of light1 will affect a photographic plate through a foot of iron4 ,actinium1 one of the radioactive substances1 is said to have a chemical activity which is about a thousand million times swifter than that of radium4 ,and the discovery of new rays is getting to be a common occurrence4 ,everywhere1 nature is suggesting heretofore unheard of possibilities2 it is apparently vindicating what we have been saying1 that nature is of ,god1 and that we are enfolded in ,his energies for the purpose of using them4 ,nature1 that proceeds from ,god1 is doubtless as exhaustless as ,god ,himself4 ,there are no indications that it will ever fail ,his children as they move on and out into largeness of life and richness of experience4 ,we little children on earth1 as previously illustrated1 are in quest of omnipresence2 and we are slowly achieving it by progressively taking on the universe as our augmented bodies4 ,then how much more rapidly may we realize this process of enlargement under the new conditions to which we are going8 ,not only shall we have finer bodies1 but we shall be in company with those who for thousands of years have been learning the secrets of ,god and ,his universe4 ,our increased knowledge of the world in which we live does not raise new barriers between citizens of heaven1 but suggests a thousand rational modes of contact inconceivable a hundred years ago4 ,every day ,i am more amazed at the way the natural sciences assist ,christian faith4 ,yet this is as it should be if all things come from ,god4 #f4 ,shall we see ,god8 ,certainly not as a ghost2 but we shall see ,him in the face of ,jesus4 ,we shall likewise see ,him in our loved ones4 ,since all bodies are primarily ,god's1 we shall see ,him in every face1 when the purified souls of ,his children permit ,him to come into possession of ,his own4 ,one glorious evening in the springtime1 ,i sat in the gloaming with my father by the roadside4 ,from an exceedingly hard day's work we were dead tired4 ,yet for our healing1 the air was filled with the scent of newly turned turf and the fragrance of blossoms4 ,a large drove of swine was crunching the corn which we had just provided them4 ,the woods1 beginning at the other side of the road from which we sat1 extended into the deep valley4 ,from the dark shadow of the woods rose the incessant din of the whippoorwills4 ,as we sat there1 feeling a thousand influences from the sweet mystery of it all1 my father turned to me and said3 ,i know you are very tired2 we have really worked too hard1 but the debts must be paid4 ,i want you to know that ,i appreciate what you are doing4 ,you have been a good boy1 and ,i have confidence in you4 ,it will not be long until ,i am gone4 ,but what a satisfaction it is to feel that you will be a good ,christian man accomplishing in the world1 when ,i am gone1 things which ,i have not been able to do4 ,as the golden glow of a late evening sky fell across his face1 it mingled with the light from his soul and clearly revealed the ,eternal4 ,god had looked into my soul through that face1 and ,i had looked into the heart of ,god no less than into the heart of my father4 ,yes1 he has been gone many years1 and ,i am here fighting the good fight1 but oh my heart1 what shall ,i see when next ,i look upon his face6 ,we may depend upon it1 the invisible soul of ,god and the invisible souls of ,his children shall become visible through their bodies1 through their activities1 and through their institutions which are in common4 ,their spirits shall likewise become audible through music and speech4 ,our ,father in heaven differs from our ,god on earth only in this3 ,on earth there is so little to express ,him1 while in heaven there is so much4 ,god truly has a throne in heaven1 but the great white throne is the pure and loyal hearts of ,his children4 #g4 ,will there be burdens to bear in heaven8 ,heaven will not be too soft for our good4 ,there is much bad work to be righted1 and unfinished work to be completed4 ,we shall have glorious tasks to perform1 and splendid problems with which to grapple4 ,sharing ,god's purposes as well as ,his joys1 we shall still be discovering the mind of ,god1 and getting a firmer grasp upon ,his laws and forces2 we shall still be organizing nature and society into a more glorious kingdom of love1 beauty and power4 ,we shall be making the ideal real1 and the unseen visible4 ,we shall accept ,god's will in our souls4 ,we shall accept ,his will in the forces of nature1 and make ,his instruments more vocal and more radiant as time rolls on in eternity4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,losing ,,the ,,bible ,,to ,,find ,,it ,if the ,bible contains errors1 how do we know that any of it is true8 ,a ,,general ,,statement ,as this volume is designed to be a simple guide in the deeper and more perplexing problems of religion1 it would be incomplete without a brief consideration of how ,god has revealed ,himself through the ,scriptures4 ,in the selection of material and in the method pursued1 the author has been guided solely by what he considers the safest approach to the ,scriptures and the best first aid for wounded ,christians4 ,in my opinion1 the ,bible is just about one-half true4 ,this was the quiet and serious remark of a young woman who had recently taken a ,bible course in college4 ,like many others1 she was judging the ,bible simply as a work of history1 literature1 and science4 ,its progressive revelation of religion she had largely overlooked4 ,the ,bible is not properly appreciated1 even as literature1 without taking into account its main purpose2 namely1 to teach religion1 and not to write infallible history nor infallible science4 ,the biblical writers undertook to set forth1 in a perfectly human way1 the religious ideas and sentiments that ,god awakened in their souls4 ,through succeeding centuries these truths grew clearer and more comprehensive until they culminated in the life and teachings of ,jesus4 ,the most elevated religious ideas and ideals found in the ,scriptures constitute1 in my opinion1 the absolute and universal religion4 ,ideas and ideals superior to these are not known to man4 ,that anything could surpass them1 ,i cannot conceive4 ,to convey these inspired truths to the world1 the writers wisely made use of poetry1 fiction1 tradition1 history1 and physical phenomena2 they conveyed the divine treasure to us in earthen vessels2 and though the vessels are beautiful1 yet they bear the marks of human imperfection4 ,we all know that an illustration may clearly illustrate without its own truth being verified4 ,our young college friend had lost the ,bible of her childhood but1 unfortunately1 had not found the larger and better ,bible easily within her reach if only she had known4 ,as already intimated1 even the religion of the ,bible was not fully revealed at once4 ,certain crude ideas lingered until they were pushed aside by a fuller revelation4 ,to be able to follow the inspired truths from their beginnings in the ,scriptures until they appear full-orbed in ,jesus is of very great value4 ,their full worth first appears when we know all the vicissitudes through which they passed while struggling for a place in the sinful1 stupid lives of men4 ,the history of a truth is just as important as the history of a man2 and fortunately the ,bible furnishes a fair human history of every great religious truth4 ,as the streaks of morning light grow brighter and brighter unto the rising of the sun1 so the rays of ,god's light shine through the ,scriptures more and more until the ,christ appears4 ,as a progressive1 trustworthy1 and indispensable revelation of religion1 the ,old and ,new ,testaments cannot be too highly appraised2 but as books of science and history1 they are sometimes overestimated4 ,to believe that its religious value is destroyed if the ,bible contains errors in history and science1 is a position as dangerous as it is false4 ,we theorize about the ,scriptures more than we study them4 ,even in ministers' meetings1 ,i have listened without profit to many heated discussions on the subject of inspiration4 ,the discussions were worthless because they had nothing to do with the facts of the ,bible4 ,we might as well claim that the casket is a jewel because it contains a jewel1 as to claim that the literary forms of the ,bible are a revelation because they contain a revelation4 ,it would be as sensible to affirm that the whole mountain is gold1 as to declare that the human element of the ,bible is infallible4 ,yet no one turns away from a rich goldmine because the whole mountain is not gold2 neither does he fear that the precious metal may not be distinguishable from the rocks1--else it would be of no more value than the rocks4 ,if ,god had made one mountain of pure gold1 it would have saved much trouble in mining2 but ,he did not give us gold in that way4 ,he mixed the precious metal with common elements1 and ,he mingled ,his truth with human thoughts and human institutions4 ,all things considered1 both religious truth and gold are more valuable for having been given in the manner they were4 ,to deny the facts1 or to quarrel with them1 does no good4 ,the sensible thing for us to do is to seek the gold and the truth with all our might2 for if we seek we shall find4 ,if one is careless1 he may mistake fools' gold for the real4 ,but1 fortunately1 there are ample means for testing both gold and religion4 ,how shall we find the treasure that is in the ,bible8 ,in the same way that we find the treasure in the mountain2 by using our intelligence and strength in company with those who know most about it4 ,our prospects for finding ,god's word are good2 because ,his word will find us if we are entirely sincere4 ,if a person studies his ,bible with the help of competent teachers1 and at the same time keeps his heart wide open toward ,god1 the great verities of the ,scriptures will surely find him2 and they will find him deeply2 they will find him so deeply that he will be thrown into the dust of humility and1 at the same time1 lifted to the sky of hope4 ,yet who pretends to have found all the truth there is in the ,bible8 ,we can only find that which finds us4 ,if we wish the ,word of ,god to find us more deeply we must give it a better chance4 ,then the ,bible is only for the learned1 someone will say4 ,no1 the least educated mind can readily grasp the most essential facts of religion as set forth in the ,scriptures1 and as expounded by a consecrated ministry4 ,he can likewise hold to these facts with deep feeling and true devotion4 ,if one is ignorant of science he is not troubled by unscientific statements4 ,whereas1 the educated man is greatly distressed if told that he must either believe statements which he knows are not true1 or else throw all religion overboard4 ,if the ,church tries to carry all the ignorance and all the trumpery of the ages as a part of her precious message she will break down under the load4 ,multitudes will turn from her with scorn4 ,it is a sin against ,god and the human soul to make claims for the ,bible that are manifestly not true4 ,the ,bible is so good that we do not need to lie for it2 the light that shines through the ,scriptures is able to make wise unto salvation4 ,having found the great pearl that is in the ,scriptures1 one will experience the joy of being rich2 and when he is once rich1 he will not readily part with his wealth4 ,besides1 other rich souls will bear testimony to the intrinsic value of his treasure2 and best of all1 ,god will bear witness with his spirit that he is not deceived4 ,the reader may ask1 ,is it possible to find in the ,bible that which nothing could induce us to relinquish1--something more precious than life itself8 ,it is my testimony that we can4 ,the religious truth of the ,bible1 having completely conquered my reason1 commands my conscience4 ,its supreme message fits my soul as a glove fits a hand4 ,the best that the ,scriptures teach1 ,i find myself thinking4 ,and ,i cannot avoid thinking the same without being a traitor to my own soul4 ,though ,i cannot believe every statement in the ,bible1 yet ,i think ,i should be committing mental and moral suicide if ,i did not believe and practice the essential teachings of the ,scriptures2 especially the matchless teachings of ,jesus4 ,moreover1 if one believes and practices the best there is in the ,bible he will be a ,christian whom the ,master delights to own4 ,important as our discussion thus far may be1 it is not the main thing2 it is simply our attitude toward the ,scriptures1 and not the truth which they proclaim4 ,it is one more appeal for a rational religion without stating what the rational religion is4 ,this generation has had altogether too much of that kind of exhortation4 ,if we would but tell the good ,christian people what the rational religion is1 possibly we should not need to exhort them to accept it4 ,how may one find the ,word of ,god1 contained in the ,scriptures8 ,the method illustrated #a4 ,the story of ,creation ,what message of permanent religious value is there in the story of creation8 ,in the story of creation1 one thing stands out clear and distinct4 ,the universe is ,god's loving wish4 ,creation is ,god's will going forth4 ,god simply said1 ,let it be1 and it was4 ,so far as ,christian scholarship has yet advanced1 it does not realize how a thought more fundamental1 spiritual1 and moulding could enter the mind of man4 ,that a loving ,god wills the universe1 is the great diapason note in the hymn of creation4 ,and the next great note is that of ,divine appreciation1--,god saw that it was good4 ,then follows the note of blessing4 ,and1 finally1 the child bearing ,god's image is made lord over all4 ,these four epoch-making truths constitute the imperishable word of ,god4 ,these four truths represent the sum and substance of all ,i have been trying to elucidate throughout this book4 ,slowly1 but surely1 modern philosophy and science are helping us to understand this superb affirmation of ,genesis1 uttered thousands of years ago4 ,not that physical science knows anything about ,god1 but that the discoveries of science make it easier for the intelligent ,christian to believe that ,god willed1 and continues to will1 the universe4 ,this idea of one good ,god causing and sustaining the universe by the mere fiat of ,his will1 did for religion what the ,copernican theory did for astronomy4 ,as the ,copernican theory made modern astronomy inevitable1 so this view of ,god and ,his universe led unerringly to the ,christian religion4 ,and the ,kingdom of ,god1 in its vast sweep through eternity1 will rest upon these fundamental facts so beautifully expressed in the first chapter of ,genesis4 ,that they were uttered so long ago1 in a world of polytheism and low morals1 fills the mind with wonder and praise4 ,the writer of this story1 however1 did not have a scientific knowledge of the universe which1 religiously and philosophically1 he so perfectly related to ,god4 ,but the religious value of the story is not injured in the least by the author's manifestly crude knowledge of astronomy and geology4 ,in spite of all our advancement in science1 since ,bible times1 our knowledge of the universe is still very crude4 ,to learn all about nature scientifically will require eternity4 ,it was the poetical1 philosophical1 and religious significance of the universe that the inspired writer discovered2 science could abide its time4 ,the writer of ,genesis1 like his contemporaries1 regarded the earth as the center and main bulk of the universe4 ,his universe was the child's universe1 the universe of the unaided senses4 ,on a very large scale the world1 in his thought1 was something like the old-fashioned cheese dish with a glass hemisphere over it4 ,this huge covered dish floated in a universal sea4 ,the glass cover1 or firmament1 kept the upper sea out except when its windows were opened to let the sea through in the form of rain4 ,the dish1 or earth1 kept the lower sea out except in time of great floods when1 as they supposed1 the sea worked its way up through crevices in the earth4 ,the sun1 moon1 and stars were supposed to be inside the vault4 ,this ancient conception of the universe pervades the ,scriptures4 ,in the twenty-fourth ,psalm we read1 ,the earth is the ,lord's and the fulness thereof3 for ,thou hast founded it upon the seas and established it upon the floods4 ,religiously this is superb1 but scientifically it is incorrect2 the earth does not rest on a sea4 ,the earth is the ,lord's and the fulness thereof3 for ,thou hast hurled it into space and lovingly marked out the way that it should go4 ,the ,babylonian bible1 which is many centuries older than the ,old ,testament1 says that ,apsu and ,tiamit first created the gods of order1 or light4 ,this corresponds to the first day in ,genesis4 ,but our author discards all these gods and goddesses when he tells us that ,god said1 ,let there be light1 and there was light4 ,whether light was the first act of creation or not1 the best modern philosophy would confirm the statement that light was the result of ,god's wish4 ,light energy is a mode of the divine ,will4 ,the ,babylonian bible tells us that after ,marduk had slain ,tiamit in a great battle1 he took his sword and cleaved her in two as you would a fish4 ,with one half of her he made the firmament and fastened it to keep out the upper sea4 ,this corresponds to the second day in ,genesis4 ,while the biblical writer does not change the ,babylonian day1 yet he has no use for the monstrous idea that the firmament was made out of one half of a goddess4 ,according to our ,bible1 ,god said1 ,let there be a firmament1 and it was so4 ,our author1 as the narrative shows1 in keeping with the crude science of his times1 thought that the firmament separated the sea that was above the firmament from the sea that was below the firmament2 and that the sea under the firmament covered all the earth until ,god gathered the waters under the firmament unto one place and caused the dry land to appear4 ,but if we know anything at all1 we know that there is no firmament4 ,god could not have made a firmament1 for there is none4 ,he could not have made space on the second day because space is nothing4 ,and according to the story itself1 ,he made the sun1 moon1 and stars on the fourth day1--the day after ,he had made grass and fruit trees4 ,when1 as a child1 ,i thought that the apparent ceiling of the earth was the floor of heaven1 my scientific ideas were no more crude than those of the writer who thought ,god made a firmament4 ,but if there had been a firmament1 as it appeared to the untrained senses1 then it would have been made exactly as our inspired writer affirmed2 and not after the ridiculous manner of the ,babylonian bible4 ,our author's philosophy and religion in this case were perfect1 but his science was wrong4 ,so what is the use of trying to make out that the ,bible always harmonizes with science1 when it is absolutely certain that it does not8 ,when in college ,i asked my professor in geology how the earth could exist and grow grass and fruit trees bearing fruit before the sun was made4 ,he replied that the sun1 of course1 was made previously1 but that it did not appear until the fourth day when the vapor had settled by virtue of the earth's cooling4 ,however1 that would leave no creation for the fourth day2 and besides1 the second chapter of ,genesis tells us that there was no vegetation yet because the ,lord ,god had not caused it to rain4 ,according to my professor's explanation it was too wet to see the sun1 and according to the second chapter of ,genesis it was too dry to grow grass4 ,the biblical writers were not inspired to write science1 but religion4 ,and it is just as certain that they did not know much science as it is certain that they did know much religion4 ,in this story of creation the writer took his crude1 yet beautiful1 little world and lifted it up into such perfect relation to the ,infinite ,creative ,will that no one has ever been able to improve upon it2 and the more we learn1 the more certain it appears that we never shall be able to revise his statement of how the world is related to the ,divine ,will4 ,besides1 the thought is so precious and so fruitful that we have no desire to change it4 ,a message may be perfectly true while the material used to convey the message may be mixed with error4 ,for instance1 ,i once used an illustration in electricity to make plain a deep spiritual truth1 and the evidences were unmistakable that my purpose was realized4 ,however1 on the way home my little son said1 ,oh1 papa1 ,i was awfully ashamed of you to-day1 you made a mistake in your electricity4 ,convinced that ,i was wrong ,i said1 ,it is too bad4 ,then he tried to comfort me by saying1 ,oh1 well1 ,i don't suppose that more than two-thirds of the people knew the difference4 ,nothing could have been more true than the religious idea ,i was trying to elucidate4 ,those who did not notice my error in my electricity1 in addition to getting the idea1 thought the illustration a good one4 ,and while those who did recognize the mistake may have inwardly smiled1 yet they too grasped my meaning equally well4 ,every one present knew that ,i was not trying to teach electricity1 but religion4 ,in like manner1 while recognizing the crude science in the story of creation1 we may adore the matchless revelation of ,god in ,his relation to the universe4 ,it is as if ,i had made something beautiful and ingenious for the people of darkest ,africa4 ,at first1 they would be afraid of it4 ,not until they were persuaded that it was made in love would they come forward and cautiously lay their hands upon it4 ,then as their fear subsided and their appreciation increased they would exclaim1 ,and devils didn't make it1 and it won't hurt us1 and you made it for our good6 ,but after their first curiosity had been sufficiently satisfied1 ,i would touch a spring and awaken new wonder by showing the invention to be different from what they had thought1 and ten times more wonderful4 ,and thus1 at every new revelation of the gift1 their mistaken views would be corrected1 and their admiration and love for me would be increased4 ,so1 in the story of creation1 ,god presented the world to ,his children by first telling them that devils did not make it1 and that vicious gods do not infest it2 but that it all proceeded from ,his will as a loving gift to them4 ,though they still thought the universe like that which their unaided senses reported to them1 yet the thing of supreme importance was that the loving gift came from a good ,god who rules over all4 ,than this revelation1 nothing could be truer1 nor more calculated to put their hearts at rest from fear4 ,it marked a complete transition from a polytheistic and immoral conception of the universe to a theistic and ethical conception4 ,through all the centuries that have followed1 this new revelation of ,god in ,his relation to the universe has been arousing the noble ambition and commanding the loving obedience of men4 ,as men have studied their good gift from ,god1 a growing scientific knowledge has enabled them from time to time to unlock the mysteries of nature2 and behold1 their good gift was not a snug little world floating in a sea1 as they had thought1 but a magnificent solar system flying through space1 and pulsating in an infinite sea of ether2 and the supposed firmament was but a light effect on particles of dust in the atmosphere1 caused by the light as it makes its journey of ninety-three million miles from the sun4 ,and once more devout men exclaimed with awe1 ,is this what the good ,god made for us by the mere fiat of ,his will8 ,that ,god said1 ,let there be light3 and there was light1 was the affirmation of an inspired man who little realized that light travels the distance of eight times around the earth in one second1 and yet requires more than four years at that speed to come from the nearest star4 ,thus science may forever change our conception of the world1 and our sense of the ,creator's majesty4 ,someone may say1 ,is not this upsetting our old ,bible8 ,i think it is4 ,but when a friend expostulated1 ,pat1 don't you know that your stone wall will upset if you build it on that swampy ground8 ,pat's reply was1 ,faith1 it is two feet high and three feet wide1 and if it upsets it will be a foot higher than it was before4 ,it is but truth to say that our old ,bible is two or three times higher than it was before modern learning upset it2 and may scholars keep on upsetting it as long as they can make ,god's word stand out clear and strong above all human learning and bigotry and superstition4 #b4 ,the story of the garden ,when ,i was a boy1 nearly every one grew gourds on his picket fence4 ,and at almost every well there hung a gourd dipper4 ,how many cool and refreshing draughts of water ,i have taken from gourd dippers ,i dare not say2 but the memory is precious1 and ,i should be delighted to repeat the experience now4 ,no one1 however1 was ever foolish enough to tell us that after drinking the water we must eat the gourd4 ,now1 the ,bible is just full of gourd dippers from one end to the other1--and for this ,i am pleased4 ,let me present one of these gourd dippers4 ,it is the story of the ,garden4 ,here is refreshing and life-sustaining water4 ,it is not in a well1 but in a spring that bubbles clear up to the surface4 ,you need neither rope nor bucket1--nothing but the gourd2 and a child may help himself4 ,this story is a bit of inspired genius1 if ever there was any4 ,my library contains great fat books on ethics1 yet ,i never knew half a dozen men or women in my parishes who had the grit or grace to read one of them through4 ,the mental discipline in reading them is good for ministers1 though the conclusions arrived at in these books are identical with the teachings in this simple story4 ,if the methods of these writers on ethics had been adopted by the biblical writers1 very few people would be any the wiser for the ,bible4 ,but1 from the dear old gourd a child may drink with ease and satisfaction4 ,this beautiful allegory was true to fact when it put ,adam and ,eve in a garden4 ,human beings can live only in a garden2 they must have a base of supply in the products of the soil4 ,but what about the forbidden fruit8 ,as a child1 ,i did think it too bad that the ,lord put the forbidden fruit in the garden when ,he must have known that it would cause no end of trouble4 ,however1 when ,i became a man ,i realized that even ,god could not make a garden that was fit to live in1 without its having forbidden fruit in it4 ,the grave is the only place where there is no forbidden fruit4 ,recently ,i spent ten days in our ,capital ,city4 ,and it is a beautiful garden1 with many things good for food and pleasant to the eyes4 ,during the ten days1 ,washington was my garden2 and the other occupants there made me feel that ,i was very welcome4 ,but did not they and ,i know that there were at least a dozen kinds of forbidden fruit that ,i might not partake of without running the risk of being tarred and feathered8 ,forbidden fruit is not bad fruit1 it is fruit that belongs to some one else1 or to us at some future time4 ,it is all ours now1 in a way2 the wealth1 the beauty1 and the people are ours within certain limits2 and it is this that makes our lives worth living4 ,when1 however1 we begin to break up families1 or to take anything that belongs exclusively to others1 we have eaten the forbidden fruit1--and the curse is upon us4 ,in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die4 ,this is the infallible word of ,god1 spoken to our first parents1 to us1 and to all mankind4 ,instead of haggling over the question of swallowing the gourd1 we should preach this truth about forbidden fruit until offenders feel their hearts filled with holy fear and wholesome disgust4 ,though the story of the forbidden fruit is truly wonderful1 yet it is no more wonderful than that which makes the serpent the symbol of temptation4 ,the serpent does not chase its prey like some bellowing hound1 but silently awaits the victim's coming4 ,as the serpent lies coiled in the midst of your flowers1 so temptation lurks in the heart of some pleasant situation4 ,you may be looking with legitimate pleasure upon some beautiful thing that belongs to your neighbor1 and1 before you are aware of it1 the serpent of covetousness has struck its fangs into you4 ,if1 however1 the temptation is seen before you are bitten by it1 like a serpent1 it makes strange circuitous routes as if it were coming and going from every side4 ,it stops to parley4 ,and if it succeeds in entwining itself about you1 it crushes you with every part of its sinuous length4 ,in countries that are infested with serpents1 the reptiles go everywhere2 they even hang from the rafters of dwellings4 ,just so1 temptation may appear anywhere to surprise or to charm you4 ,if you are as good as the ,master1 temptations will assail you4 ,if like ,lincoln you should climb from a hut to the ,white ,house1 even there you will be confronted by serpents of monstrous size striving in every possible way to beguile you4 ,he who advocates a walking and a talking snake1 does so to the great detriment of ,god's word4 ,we are in no danger from talking serpents2 but we all are in great danger from serpent-like temptations4 ,this parable and fable of the garden is meant for our edification and safety4 ,as an analysis of temptation1 sin1 and punishment1 for all people and for all times1 nothing can surpass this story of the garden4 ,seeing that it contains such vital thrilling truth1 it is a great pity that it has fallen into almost universal neglect4 ,the story has been killed by the credulity of its friends4 #c4 ,the ,bible stories in general ,i now call your attention to the interesting stories scattered all through the ,bible4 ,the story of the ,flood is an example4 ,in a very simple form these stories were told long before they appeared in the ,scriptures4 ,and1 doubtless1 there was a nucleus of truth in them or they never would have been started on their rounds4 ,as they were repeated about the campfires to children and illiterate slaves for generation after generation1 everything that failed to interest1 naturally1 was forgotten4 ,this made them the most tried and interesting of stories4 ,in nothing did the inspired writers show greater wisdom than in making wings of these interesting tales to bear their spiritual messages afar4 ,if the modern ,church could learn the spiritual utility of a folk-story1 the ,bible would start on a new mission of service2 and much of the ,bible now neglected could be used with new power4 ,the value of the lessons thus heralded in no wise rests upon the historic accuracy of the stories4 ,it is perfectly evident that the story of the ,flood involves the same crude conception of the earth as that which we have already described as the ancient and unscientific conception4 ,if we contend for the literalness of this story we shall make its invaluable lessons of no effect for many people4 ,the ,tower of ,babel is a like case4 ,as a parable1 it is a most accurate description of the folly this generation is in great danger of committing4 ,germany really built her ,tower of ,babel1 and is to-day suffering from a confusion of tongues4 #d4 ,the laws of ,israel--moral and ceremonial ,if we now turn to the laws of ,israel1 we shall find the same blending of the crude with the sublime4 ,the ten commandments are the noblest possible prohibitions2 and they are still needed for many people in the old prohibitive form4 ,yet ,jesus takes even these and transforms them into spiritual affirmations4 ,he shows righteousness to be an inner principle1--a state of heart4 ,on love hangs all the law and the prophets2 motive is the soul of conduct4 ,by carefully comparing the ,old with the ,new ,testament we see that the law1 moral and ceremonial1 was a strong movement in the direction of ,christ2 but that1 from the morals of ,abraham and ,moses to the morals of ,jesus1 the way was long and steep4 ,we also see that the journey often deviates from a straight line1 and that the road at times is almost obliterated by the drifting sands4 ,it is1 therefore1 evident that one cannot select just any verse of the ,bible and say behold6 the perfect word of ,god4 ,when ,jacob reports to his wives that he has been able to cheat the father out of his flocks because the ,god of his father has been with him1 neither ,jesus nor the ,christian conscience of to-day believes it4 ,in the ,old ,testament times ,god was giving ,his chosen people as much of ,his law as they could understand4 ,sometimes the divine truth flashed out with great brightness2 at other times1 it was much beclouded by ignorance and passion4 ,however1 all the light that shines so brightly in the life of ,jesus1 began shining1 with varying degrees of luster1 through the prophets and teachers of ,israel4 ,it is just because the ,scriptures enable us to see the growth and the vicissitudes of ,god's advancing light in the souls of men that they are so valuable to us4 ,for this reason we should study all the ,scriptures more faithfully1 and more intelligently4 ,the ceremonial law of ,israel was their method of teaching reverence and purity4 ,though it strongly resembled the ceremonial law of their ,semitic neighbors1 yet it was a more useful method of worship for ,israel1 at that time1 than if it had been farther removed from the customary worship of the day4 ,when the ,israelites fell into idolatry1 they worshiped the other gods in much the same way that they worshiped ,jehovah2 and not essentially different from the manner in which the ,canaanites worshiped their gods4 ,but for enlightened peoples1 this has long since ceased to be a useful method of worship4 ,slowly we are learning better methods2 but we still have much to learn in the divine art of lifting men's souls to ,god4 #e4 ,the book of ,job ,passing by a number of historical books we shall next make a brief study of ,job4 ,i once had an interesting conversation with a middle-aged minister who1 though uneducated1 was a perfect gentleman4 ,his mind was filled with an elaborate and ingenious scheme of religion falsely drawn from ,job1 ,daniel1 ,ezekiel1 and ,revelation4 ,tons of brain power had been consumed by those who developed the system4 ,yet a moderate amount of general information would have caused the entire system to fall in ashes4 ,ministers and ,bible workers of this type still abound in astonishing numbers4 ,in the conversation just referred to1 the minister was wildly quoting from ,job4 ,at one point ,i remarked1 ,but what you are now quoting is not true4 ,what1 said he1 don't you believe the ,bible8 ,yes1 ,i replied1 but ,i do not believe that because1 at the end of the book1 ,god ,himself says it is not true4 ,your motive is good1 but it is a mistake to think that you can dive into the ,scriptures at random like that1 and find ,god's word4 ,we must remember that the book of ,job is a dramatic poem1 cast in the form of a dialogue4 ,whether or no suffering is a proof of guilt is the bone of contention between ,job and his friends2 and both positions cannot be true4 ,the author staged this dialogue on the ,ash-,mound1 outside the village4 ,after the loss of property and children1 ,job1 all covered with boils1 takes a potsherd with which to scrape himself and sits down upon the ,ash-,mound4 ,when the news of his misfortune reaches his three friends1 they proceed forthwith to visit him4 ,as these old sheiks approach ,job1 and find him changed beyond recognition1 they lift up their voices and weep4 ,they also tear off their mantles and sprinkle dust upon their heads4 ,seeing that ,job is in deep distress1 they seat themselves near him and remain there seven solid days and nights without ever speaking a word4 ,finally1 ,job opens his mouth and curses the day of his birth1 in one of the most pessimistic poems ever recited4 ,even the comforters can scarcely believe their ears1 so shocked are they at ,job's blasphemy4 ,still1 they retain a measure of sympathy1 for ,eliphaz asks with great delicacy3 ,if one assays to commune with thee1 wilt thou be grieved8 ,but who can withhold himself from speaking8 ,you remember1 ,job1 how you instructed others when they were weak and afflicted4 ,recall1 ,i pray thee1 who ever perished1 being innocent8 ,now be a man1 take your own medicine1 repent of your sins1 and ,god will return your prosperity4 ,but ,job only pours out his grief in fresh torrents4 ,this causes ,bildad to respond with alacrity3 ,how long wilt thou speak these things8 ,and how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a mighty wind8 ,nevertheless1 in spite of ,bildad's lengthy rebuke1 ,job continues to pour out his complaint until ,zophar can stand it no longer4 ,should not the multitude of words be answered8 ,you are too full of talk for a righteous man4 ,your boasting will not silence us4 ,for your mockery we shall make you ashamed4 ,and when ,zophar had finished his vehement reproach1 ,job was mad4 ,no doubt but ye are the people1 ,and wisdom shall die with you4 ,thus the argument went back and forth with criminations and recriminations1 until ,job and his friends were exhausted4 ,while the discussion was raging1 there came along a young theologian who1 being attracted by the discussion1 remained to hear it through4 ,it turned out that the speeches of both ,job and his friends were to him equally disgusting4 ,so he decided to wait and set them all right by his superior wisdom4 ,though this young man was filled with wrath at what he heard1 yet he respectfully waited until the old men had finished4 ,then he reminded them that it was his respect for age that had kept him still until now4 ,having expressed his surprise at not finding wisdom associated with years1 he takes thirty-three lines to tell them how smart he is2 and assures them that they shall hear something worth while when he gets to speaking4 ,some years ago while reading this with my wife1 ,i could scarcely wait until young ,elihu got through boasting2 ,i was thrilled with a desire to hear his new position4 ,at last he began his argument4 ,but1 to my great surprise1 ,i could see no difference between his position and that of ,job's opponents2 and as my wife could see no difference1 ,i was convinced that there was none4 ,like ,job's antagonists1 he argued at great length and with much beauty that misfortune is a proof of guilt4 ,finally1 however1 he did add a suggestion4 ,misfortune is a warning not to sin more1 lest you suffer more4 ,of course none of the older men deigned to answer this young upstart by so much as a word4 ,the argument from all sources now being in1 it was time for the artist to prepare a fitting scene for the approach of the ,almighty4 ,consequently1 the storm clouds gather and begin to drop rain4 ,the lightning suddenly flashes to the ends of the earth4 ,the quick crash of thunder makes the heart quake4 ,it is such a time as when old leviathan churns the deep into white foam4 ,and at last out of the awful whirlwind ,god speaks3 ,who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge8 ,stand up1 ,job1 and ,i will speak with you4 ,where were you when ,i laid the foundations of the earth8 ,have you walked in the recesses of the deep1 have you seen the gates of death1 does the morning come at your bidding1 do you know the way of the lightning1 do you cause the east wind to scatter over the earth8 ,with all your wisdom1 surely1 you can answer4 ,job1 ,canst thou bind the cluster of ,pleiades1 or loose the bands of ,orion8 ,can you thunder1 ,job8 ,can you send forth the lightning1 can you draw out old leviathan with a fish hook8 ,gird up your loins like a man and answer me4 ,very meekly ,job replies1 ,lord1 ,i have heard of you before with the hearing of the ears1 but now that ,i see you with my eyes1 ,i abhor myself in dust and ashes4 ,he frankly admits that he has spoken concerning things too wonderful for him4 ,that ,job has talked like a fool1 ,god concedes4 ,yet ,he assures ,job that in his main contention1 he is right4 ,suffering is not a proof of guilt4 ,then turning to ,job's miserable comforters1 ,god informs them that ,he is angry because of all the falsehoods they have spoken4 ,go1 therefore1 and take seven bullocks and seven rams and offer a sacrifice1 and my servant ,job shall pray for you4 ,and look sharp1 that ,i deal not with you after your folly2 for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right1 as my servant ,job hath4 ,after all this1 how pitiful it was to see my old friend1 the minister1 building up a weird religion on hit-or-miss passages from ,job4 ,we all know that the wicked must suffer sooner or later1 but the lesson of ,job is that the innocent may suffer also4 ,from this beautiful dramatic poem we learn that when the cause of suffering lies too deep for our knowledge1 we should trust the goodness of ,him who is ,all-wise4 ,the false belief1 argued so vehemently by ,job's comforters1 still persisted in the days of ,jesus2 because they asked ,him1 ,who did sin1 this man or his parents1 that he was born blind8 ,and ,jesus vindicated the position of ,job by saying1 ,neither did this man nor his parents sin4 ,the greater pity is1 that this false belief still persists to crush the hearts of many innocent sufferers4 ,a saintly parishioner of mine once said to me while wringing her hands3 ,oh1 what awful thing can ,i have done1 that ,god has brought this affliction upon me8 ,i told her that she had done nothing1 that she was a ,dorcas among us1 and that ,god loved her as we all did4 ,and thus ,i comforted her from the teachings of ,job1 and from the words of ,jesus4 ,for three months1 until she went home1 she lay on a bed of pain in peace and trust4 ,,chapter ,x ,,losing ,,the ,,bible ,,to ,,find ,,it 7continued7 ,the method of finding ,god's ,word in the ,scriptures illustrated4 #a4 ,the ,psalms ,for richness of spiritual content1 for loftiness of expression1 and for intimacy of communion with ,god1 no other book in the world equals the ,psalms4 ,all devout souls have found the fullest expression of their inmost being in these inspired hymns4 ,like all true poetry the ,psalms deal with the timeless4 ,eternal truths and deathless passions flow through these beautiful1 rhythmic lines like a majestic river4 ,the world is infinitely richer for the ,psalms4 ,and though they often reveal mistaken ideas in astronomy1 yet religiously and poetically the ,psalms contain the finest possible conceptions of the material universe4 ,even the imprecatory utterances are not wholly immoral1 nor altogether contrary to the teachings of ,jesus2 for when they were deserved1 ,he said things dreadfully severe4 ,but when a ,psalmist goes so far as to say of his enemy1 ,neither let there be any to have pity on his fatherless children1 or ,happy shall he be1 that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the rock1 he clearly manifests an evil spirit2 a spirit that is at once contrary to his own religion1 and utterly condemned by ,jesus4 ,however1 when we consider the ruthless exploitation to which ,israel was so long exposed1 it is most remarkable that the ,psalms contain so little of this evil note4 ,whoever approaches the ,psalms in the spirit of the ,master will find them fat with spiritual meat4 ,notwithstanding all1 it is an indisputable fact that the best ,christian hymns are superior to the poorest ,hebrew ,psalms4 ,take for example ,dr4 ,gladden's hymn3 ,o ,master1 let me walk with ,thee ,in lowly paths of service free2 ,tell me ,thy secret1 help me bear ,the strain of toil1 the fret of care4 ,help me the slow of heart to move ,by some clear1 winning word of love2 ,teach me the wayward feet to stay1 ,and guide them in the homeward way4 ,teach me ,thy patience2 still with ,thee ,in closer1 dearer company1 ,in work that keeps faith sweet and strong1 ,in trust that triumphs over wrong1 ,in hope that sends a shining ray ,far down the future's broadening way1 ,in peace that only ,thou canst give1 ,with ,thee1 ,o ,master1 let me live4 ,now1 if any one should say that this hymn is inferior to the poorest ,psalm1 he would simply reveal a biased mind4 ,and yet1 a hundred ,dr4 ,gladdens could not have produced the book of ,psalms4 ,the ,psalms were not made to order but1 like his hymn1 grew out of peculiar experiences4 ,the ,hebrew ,psalms were lived out1 and suffered out1 through the life of a people that had looked with straining eyes from many a ,mount ,pisgah1 and had lifted a pitiful cry from many a valley of ,hinnom4 ,such experiences get to the heart of things2 they offer the great prophetic opportunity for the noble souls through whom ,god determines the destiny of a people4 ,what oratorical genius could invent a ,gettysburg speech8 ,the necessary conditions for such a pronouncement were four years of national anguish1 a soil watered by the blood of her noblest sons1 and a president bowed down with grief4 ,then1 and only then1 could a ,mr4 ,lincoln rise in the midst of our hallowed dead and1 all unconsciously1 speak words immortal4 ,in the long ago1 our western prairies lifted by mighty volcanic forces were shattered1 and twisted1 and left with great frowning peaks and deep yawning chasms4 ,as a result1 great pockets of gold were deposited in their bosom for the enrichment of the world4 ,in like manner1 ,israel passed through great national upheavals that resulted in many a precious deposit4 ,and among these deposits were the ,psalms that have never ceased to enrich human experience4 ,what the earth's crust is to the student of nature's forces1 that the ,scriptures are to the student of spiritual forces4 #b4 ,the ,prophets in general ,if we now turn to the books of the prophets1 we shall find a new type of ,scripture4 ,these spiritual giants were preeminently men of their own times1 with a message for all times4 ,before the first of the prophets now under consideration appeared1 ,israel had already passed through many centuries of deep and varied experience4 ,first the ,northern and then the ,southern ,kingdom became grossly idolatrous and wretchedly corrupt4 ,their ideals had degenerated into a mere cult1 and their social institutions into a rigid system of oppression4 ,through dishonesty1 oppression1 and irreligion1 the national life had so weakened that its destruction was imminent from inward decay and outward attack4 ,israel was clearly missing her destiny by forsaking ,god1 oppressing the poor1 and by trampling underfoot her most sacred ideals4 ,she was inviting the judgments of ,god by truly meriting them4 ,out of this deepening gloom1 the lightning of ,god's wrath and the thunder of ,his purpose awakened certain sensitive souls to be prophets and seers in ,israel4 ,the realization of the nation's crime and danger transformed these prophets into the most fearless reformers the world had ever seen4 ,as couriers with an important message from ,god1 they went in hot haste to a rebellious and foolish people4 ,because of the real and immediate danger these preachers were exceedingly intense4 ,to save the day1 they strove valiantly4 ,if they were to be successful in their mission1 both vision and oratorical gift were necessary qualifications4 ,their keen knowledge of ,israel's present made her future inevitable unless she repented of her sins4 ,the prophets were not sent to proclaim any new religious truths in particular1 but to be preachers and reformers of the highest order4 ,now1 how different all this is from what ,i used to think4 ,i once supposed that a prophecy was a pure miracle1 a case in which ,god told the prophet1 without any insight on the prophet's part1 just what the future would be4 ,it did not occur to me that the prophet had the slightest means of knowing the future which he predicted1 except as ,god miraculously informed him4 ,i also thought that ,god told the prophets what should be1 so that1 when it came to pass1 it would prove the existence of ,god and the truth of revealed religion4 ,to my understanding1 prophecy was divine fortune-telling1 designed to convince religious sceptics of a later day1 rather than preaching1 designed to save the sinners of that day4 ,i did not realize that the predictions were concerning events inevitable1 for the most part1 to any one not blinded by sin or ignorance4 ,nor did ,i realize that most of their thrilling prophecies were made with the hope of bringing the people to repentance1--in which happy event the predictions would not come true4 ,a ,hebrew prophet rarely used an if4 ,that was understood4 ,he always hoped that his predictions of evil would not come true1 because of the emphatic manner in which he declared they would4 ,all orientals understood this1 and it would greatly enhance the worth of ,scriptures if we understood it equally well4 ,too often1 however1 the evil prophecies did come to pass1 because sinful ,israel refused to hear4 ,and for the same reason predictions of good often failed4 ,like true preachers and reformers1 the prophets dealt largely in warnings and encouragements2 hoping1 thereby1 to lead the people back to ,him who loved them with an ever-lasting love4 ,do you think this war is a fulfillment of ,bible prophecy8 ,yes1 this war and every other war is a fulfillment of ,bible prophecies4 ,any prophecy that is true to fundamental principles1 and true to human nature1 goes right on being fulfilled over and over again4 ,the dark prophecies recorded in the ,scriptures will never cease being fulfilled until men no longer sin against ,god and one another4 ,and when men cease sinning against ,god and their neighbors1 the ,bible prophecies of good will be repeatedly fulfilled throughout all the expanding growth of society4 ,but the fanatical uses made of ,bible prophecy in our day1 by some well-meaning people1 are enough to make angels weep4 ,the great prophets had their hearts wide open toward the ,god they adored1 toward the nation they loved1 and toward the times they feared4 ,they were tremendously inspired of ,god1 and regarded their lives of no account if only they could bring ,israel back to ,god and save her from her enemies without1 and her foes within4 ,they were statesmen1 seers1 and lovers of ,god and men4 ,their souls burned with an unquenchable fire4 ,they were the greatest preachers that the world has ever seen4 ,to learn the historical setting is to enhance the value of their sermons many fold4 ,and to study the prophet's method of impressing truth upon the oriental mind is a marvelous lesson in the art of persuasion4 ,in their effort to save ,israel1 the prophets partly succeeded and partly failed4 ,but their messages will live forever1 and in this they succeeded beyond all precedent4 ,they were firebrands to punish sin1 and torches to enlighten the world4 ,their messages were simple3 ,god is infinitely great and good4 ,he loves you with a boundless passion1 and pities you with an infinite compassion4 ,but you have trampled on ,his mercies1 you have spurned ,his approaches1 you have jilted ,him as a lover1 and you show only contempt for ,his word4 ,you tread down ,his poor1 you rob widows and orphans1 you take bribes1 you pervert justice1 you wallow in vice1 you pamper yourselves with stolen delicacies1 you mingle freely with the heathen1 you copy their vices1 you worship their vile gods1 and make the land a stench4 ,as a result1 ,israel languisheth3 her poor cry for bread1 her young men fall into the vices of their fathers1 law and order are forgotten1 and a loathsome decay is eating the very heart out of the nation4 ,your enemies are quick to see your nakedness and your weakness4 ,already1 they are planning to move against you4 ,and ,jehovah is so weary and discouraged with you that ,he has about decided to use your mighty enemies as a scourge4 ,he loves you so much that ,he must save you1 at least a remnant of you1 even if ,he has to use your cruel enemies to bring you back to your senses4 ,anyone who looks can see what is about to happen4 ,if he listens he can hear the tramping of horses' feet and the rumbling of chariot wheels4 ,in true oriental imagery1 these majestic prophets appealed to ,israel's fear and pride and honor4 ,there was no human passion overlooked1 and no fundamental fact forgotten4 ,they scolded1 and wooed4 ,they promised abundant good1 or abundant evil4 ,their fund of illustrations was inexhaustible and1 for the most part1 exceedingly effective with the people of their day2 and many of their illustrations are still unsurpassed for beauty and power4 ,nevertheless1 they sometimes allowed their imagination to run riot while devising1 or adapting imagery that would attract the attention1 and arouse the hopes and the fears of their hearers4 ,a notable instance is that of the captive ,ezekiel1 when he tries to portray the glory and majesty of ,jehovah by means of a monstrous flying machine4 ,while ,ezekiel's motive was good1 his method was crude4 ,he pictured a great cloud flashing fire as it rolled out of the north with a stormy wind4 ,in the fiery cloud were living creatures1 and each one had four faces and four wings4 ,they also had calves' feet that sparkled like brass4 ,besides having human hands under their wings these strange objects had a man's face1 a lion's face1 an eagle's face1 and the face of an ox4 ,their general appearance was that of burning coals and flaming torches4 ,connected1 somehow1 with the cloud and these monstrous creatures were wheels resembling precious stones1 and wheels within wheels4 ,and the rims of the wheels were covered with eyes4 ,the movement of this startling apparition was direct1 and very terrible2 the noise of its wings was like great waters and the voice of the ,almighty4 ,above this flying wonder was a canopy1 and above the canopy a throne1 from whence there proceeded a voice4 ,then he saw1 as it were1 glowing metal and the appearance of a rainbow4 ,this appalling chariot of ,jehovah1 and the awful majesty of ,god1 threw ,ezekiel upon his face4 ,then ,jehovah said unto ,ezekiel1 ,son of man1 stand upon thy feet and ,i will speak with thee4 ,now1 we may be sure that the majesty of ,jehovah is not less1 but infinitely greater than this flying wonder4 ,his glory1 however1 is decidedly different from this vision4 ,reverence and awe for the ,almighty are sorely needed in every generation1 and the effort to inspire them is a most worthy aim4 ,there is no denying but this illustration is an awful picture2 one that would thoroughly stupefy a child4 ,but what should we think of a minister to-day who began his sermon with a similar description of the majesty and glory of ,god8 ,however useful such imagery may have been to exiles in ,babylonia more than two thousand years ago1 it would be positively harmful to a modern congregation4 ,though this vision of ,ezekiel is crude and very extreme1 even for an ancient prophet of ,israel1 yet we have people to-day who invest these wheels1 and eyes1 and heads with symbolic meanings to bolster up a monstrous religion that is contrary to pretty much everything that ,jesus taught4 ,out of the books of ,ezekiel1 ,daniel1 and ,revelation1 some well meaning but untaught souls can invent fifty-seven varieties of religion4 ,but they can learn neither the lesson nor the danger of an undisciplined imagination4 #c4 ,jonah ,as ,i am simply giving a bird's-eye view of the ,scriptures1 and the method of approaching them1 possibly a few words should be said concerning ,jonah4 ,as a great missionary book for a people who were very unmissionary in spirit1 ,jonah is unique4 ,it breathes the spirit of ,christian missions in this twentieth century4 ,the friends of the ,bible have unwittingly made this great book a jest and a byword by their wretched interpretation of it4 ,even as a little boy1 ,i used to feel ashamed of certain portions of ,jonah when read at family prayers4 ,for1 as ,i understood it1 there was something about the story uncanny and unreal4 ,i knew that some people scoffed at the fish story4 ,but that did not trouble me because ,i believed in miracles1 and was much pleased that ,god did not let poor ,jonah drown4 ,it was the unnaturalness of ,jonah himself that troubled me4 ,and when it came to his experience with the gourd1 ,i almost lost faith4 ,when ,jonah felt so angry and sorry that he wanted to die because a worm bit the gourd1 my common sense revolted completely4 ,i meditated over this incident a long time1 and finally concluded that no little boy was ever such a fool as that4 ,i had felt faint in the hot sun many times myself and had seen chinch bugs eat up whole fields of wheat1 and yet ,i did not want to die4 ,that a big man1 and prophet of ,god1 could give way to such hysterical feelings over a withering gourd was more than ,i could believe4 ,this incident was a much greater shock to my faith than the fish story4 ,though ,i felt very wicked for doubting the ,bible1 yet ,i was heartily glad that a certain sceptical neighbor was not present to hear it1 for ,i knew he would make fun of such a story4 ,what a pity it is that a little boy should be compelled to experience such feelings about the ,bible at family prayers1 when a little rational explanation would make this book charming to him beyond expression4 ,though the book of ,jonah is written in a curious oriental style that no man of to-day would wish to imitate1 yet its spirit1 purpose1 and subject matter would be very difficult to surpass4 ,as a parable1 it is true to the general history of ,israel and to the spirit of ,christian missions4 ,it contains the vision of a missionary statesman1 and was meant to sting ,israel to the quick for her bigotry and hardness of heart4 ,very briefly stated1 it is something like this3 ,the whining and almost contemptible prophet ,jonah is ,israel itself4 ,jonah is a caricature of ,israel1 and that is what made him seem unreal to me4 ,israel wanted the heathen killed1 and not converted4 ,and though she did not dare to disobey ,god outright1 yet she gave ,god the slip at the first corner and embarked on the sea of politics4 ,for a long time ,israel had been as anxious to get into politics and form international relations as she had been determined not to be a missionary nation to her despised neighbors4 ,so in this parable1 ,israel had not been long on the sea of politics when a great storm arose1--it is ever so4 ,and1 as usual in politics1 someone is thrown overboard4 ,the great fish that swallowed ,jonah was ,assyria4 ,therefore it is not strange that ,israel offered a long and beautiful prayer in that kind of a fish's belly4 ,proud ,israel1 ,god's darling1 in exile for her rebellion against ,jehovah1 could do no otherwise than offer up a prayer4 ,out of the belly of ,sheol cried ,i1 ,and thou heardest my voice4 ,for thou didst cast me into the depth1 in the heart of the seas1 ,and the flood was round about me2 ,all thy waves and thy billows passed over me4 ,and ,i said ,i am cast out before thine eyes2 ,yet ,i will look again toward thy holy temple4 ,the waters compassed me about1 even to the soul2 ,the weeds were wrapped about my head4 ,and ,jehovah spake unto the fish1 7,assyria7 and it vomited out ,jonah upon the dry land4 ,and ,israel returned from captivity4 ,israel still showed an aversion for missionary work after her exile1 but when ,god said ,go a second time1 ,israel went4 ,that is1 she went in the parable4 ,it is clear1 from the sarcasm of the story1 that ,jonah enjoyed his message when he began crying1 ,yet forty days1 and ,nineveh shall be overthrown4 ,the parable reveals the faith of the author4 ,he wished to convey the idea that the wicked heathen would repent more quickly than ,israel if they had a herald to proclaim ,god's truth4 ,of course1 a prophecy of destruction would not come true if the heathen repented4 ,so ,god decided not to do what ,he said ,he would4 ,but it displeased ,jonah exceedingly1 and he was angry4 ,when ,jonah1 the typical ,israelite1 saw that his preaching had converted the heathen he was so mad that he wanted to die4 ,i knew how kind-hearted you were toward repentant sinners1 and that is the reason ,i tried to run off the first time4 ,now1 ,god1 just kill me2 for it is better for me to die than to live4 ,is this history8 ,yes1 it is history in stinging sarcasm4 ,how the ,israelites must have writhed under such a portrayal of their faithless and godless hearts4 ,but the author knew that it would take more than this to break their stubborn wills4 ,so he proceeds with a few more sledge-hammer blows4 ,and ,jehovah said1 ,doest thou well to be angry8 ,now this gave ,jonah a little hope that ,god might kill his despised neighbors even if they had bitterly repented and turned to the ,lord for forgiveness4 ,accordingly1 ,jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side where he could see and gloat over the destruction of his converts1 in case the ,lord did intend to destroy them after all4 ,in the meantime1 ,jonah made himself just as comfortable as possible by constructing a booth where he could sit in the shade4 ,and our satirist causes ,god to add a little touch of comfort by causing a gourd to come up over ,his darling1 ,jonah1 that it might be a shade over his head1 to deliver him from his evil case4 ,now1 the contemptible ,jonah had no business being there in the sun2 he should have been at home helping his wife1 if he had nothing else to do4 ,but better still1 he should have been in ,nineveh rejoicing with the converts who had been redeemed from destruction by his preaching4 ,note the fine sarcasm of our author1 ,so ,jonah was exceedingly glad of the gourd4 ,however1 when the gourd was smitten by a worm1 and the sultry wind blew1 and the sun shone hot upon his head1 our mean little ,jonah again asked ,god to kill him4 ,now ,jonah1 ,doest thou well to be angry for the gourd8 ,yes1 ,i do well to be angry even unto death4 ,were ever such words of irony spoken6 ,o ,israel1 you are smitten with grief because of your poor little gourds1 but don't you think you might have a little pity for all those innocent people who were so untaught morally that they did not know their right hand from their left8 ,it would be well for us to remember that we1 as well as ancient ,israel1 fret and fume over a lot of little nothings4 ,little griefs and little deprivations vex us sorely4 ,but while our brothers and sisters over much of the earth go naked and starved and diseased1 we feel no pity4 ,we are very tender-hearted over little things1 we are deeply moved over some fictitious story2 but for the appalling tragedies of dark continents and exploited peoples1 our hearts are flint4 ,obviously1 ,israel understood only too well the biting sarcasm and bitter irony of ,jonah's ringing satire4 ,if the author of this parable could know that a generation has since risen1 with so little historical and literary acumen as to believe that ,jonah is literal history1 ,i think his body would turn over in its grave4 ,if he knew that he had set people to wrangling over the question of whether a fish could swallow a man1 instead of sending them out as missionaries to all the ,ninevehs of the earth1 he would feel sorry that he ever wrote the book4 ,when intelligently understood1 there is no other literature extant that makes such a strong moral and religious appeal for social justice and political righteousness as the prophets4 ,the writings of the great prophets of ,israel constitute a practical sociology1 founded on the ,fatherhood of ,god and the brotherhood of man2 a sociology so enriched by a wealth of historical materials as to make it a treasure-house for all workers in social betterment4 ,to save the ordinary ,bible reader from confusion1 ,i have purposely avoided all questions of origin and composite character1 along with many other interesting and useful facts concerning the ,scriptures4 ,this simple approach to the ,scriptures is for the purpose of helping the average person to find the soul of the ,bible4 ,for it is the soul of the ,bible1 and not its incidental features1 that enriches the soul of the reader4 #d4 ,the ,new ,testament in general ,in the ,new1 as well as in the ,old ,testament1 the letter kills while the spirit makes alive4 ,as the historical and literary methods of study have imparted a new beauty and a new significance to the messages of the ,old ,testament1 the same methods will1 in like manner1 affect the messages of the ,new ,testament4 ,the personal ,christ is the soul of the ,new ,testament4 ,in ,jesus1 righteousness is more than a decalogue or a catalogue to be followed2 it is a character to be possessed4 ,in ,jesus1 ,god is more than a ,divinity to be obeyed2 the ,infinite ,will is an indwelling ,spirit1--the soul of man's soul4 ,while the ,old ,testament never recognizes ,god as dwelling in man1 the ,new ,testament takes the ,god of ,israel and the righteousness of ,israel and places them in human life2 not as a theory1 but as personal experience4 ,this is the old righteousness and the old religion made new4 ,when we say that ,jesus is the soul of the ,new ,testament1 we have no reference to perplexing questions about how ,he came or how ,he went4 ,we mean that the ,god-filled ,jesus is the soul of all the ,new ,testament teachings4 ,the pure1 strong ,son of ,god is the lodestone of the ,gospels and the ,epistles4 ,it is ,he that draws honest souls into divine fellowship with the ,father and ,his family4 ,to see the character of ,jesus in its most lovely aspects1 and to feel ,his love that heals and transforms1 is to receive the very best that the ,new ,testament has to give4 ,the perplexing questions of psychology1 of tradition1 of manuscripts1 and of miracles are interesting enough for those who are equipped to study them2 but all these are much less than the one essential thing4 ,to know ,him1 and to feel the power that ,he can exercise over all that are attached to ,him in love and service1 is life eternal4 ,granting that the miracles are true1 yet it is infinitely more difficult to be certain of the truth of a miracle than it is to be certain of the truth of the ,christian religion4 ,the ,christian religion may be tested at first hand4 ,we can taste and see that the ,lord is good4 ,by keeping company with ,jesus1 and walking in ,his foot-steps1 we are able to decide for ourselves whether we care for ,him and ,his way of living4 ,though one were in utter doubt concerning everything else1 if he saw in ,jesus something so much to be desired that he was willing to forsake all and follow ,him1 he would find himself in loving fellowship with the ,father4 ,whosoever will1 let him come4 ,and1 ,whosoever cometh unto me1 ,i will in no wise cast out4 ,though in doubt about every question of scholarship1 the one who personally tests the life and teachings of ,jesus from day to day is able to answer1 ,one thing ,i know1 whereas ,i was blind1 now ,i see4 ,to find one's self sitting at the feet of ,jesus1 clothed and in his right mind1 after living among the tombs as one mad for wealth or pleasure or popularity1 is the last word in religion4 ,having thus blazed the straight path to ,god1 let me urge it upon my readers that they take up the broader and deeper study of the ,new ,testament literature as they have opportunity4 ,for1 in so doing they will broaden and deepen their lives1 and better fit themselves to live in society as those who helpfully and intelligently serve4 ,but some may say1 ,how are we to know that our religion is true unless we have some ancient1 miraculous proof6 ,my answer is that in nothing does ,god so much delight1 as in making ,himself known to those who intelligently receive ,him in pure hearts4 ,when ,god is here1 even if it were possible1 we do not need to prove ,his existence2 we simply need to get acquainted with ,him4 ,miracles may have been necessary in times past2 if so1 they served their purpose when they were needed4 ,since it is harder to verify an ancient miracle than it is to verify the presence of ,god in our own hearts1 we cling to the greater certainty without being too dogmatic concerning the wonders reported in a primitive age4 ,if one believes in miracles1 no one can prove that he is wrong4 ,if he is so constituted that he cannot believe in them1 ,god will not turn him away if he follows the ,master with his whole heart4 ,if any one desires a richer assurance of ,god and ,his forgiveness1 let him be a more intelligent and a better ,christian2 let him make a larger investment of himself in the service of ,god4 ,i have nothing to say against miracles2 but ,i should like to testify that it has been possible to lead many to ,christ by getting them to become ,his disciples first1 and then letting them have plenty of time to settle the question of miracles as best they were able4 ,though ,i bring an indictment against myself1 ,i must say1 what we most need is a ministry with ,apostolic faith and fervor4 ,we need ,st4 ,pauls and ,st4 ,johns4 ,we need leaders who can make ,god real and sin hateful4 #e4 ,the book of ,revelation ,seeing that so many good ,christians are perplexed by the apocalypses1 we shall close this chapter with a brief study of the book of ,revelation4 ,the mystery that once shrouded the book of ,revelation is gone4 ,as ,professor ,porter says1 ,the historical method has1 it is not too much to say1 broken the seals4 ,to the historical student these apocalypses have become1 in their general character and chief messages1 among the best instead of quite the least understood books of the canon4 ,and their importance has grown with their understanding4 ,the book of ,revelation throws more light on the past than on the future4 ,it has to do largely with a crisis in the early ,christian ,church1 and not with the end of the world and the constitution of the unseen universe4 ,the probable date of the book is about ninety-three ,a4 ,d4 ,the great ,christian leaders were gone1 the heathen elements were entering the ,church with their traditions and rites1 and the ,roman government was setting up emperor worship to strengthen the loyalty of diverse populations4 ,the mandate that all should enter the temples of the emperor and worship him as divine was particularly hard on ,jews and ,christians who refused to worship any but the one true ,god4 ,the persecutions that followed a refusal to worship the emperor1 with all the other devitalizing influences mentioned1 threatened the very existence of the ,christian ,church4 ,it was to meet this crisis that the book of ,revelation was written4 ,and this accounts for the poetical and visionary style adopted by the author4 ,strong language was needed2 something that would quicken the imagination and revive the fainting hearts of those who were growing cold and indifferent4 ,dynamite was needed4 ,no gentle utterance would suffice4 ,the writer realizes the awful conflict that is about to ensue between the gentle ,lamb and ,his humble followers on the one side1 and the great dragon1 ,rome1 and his vile cohorts on the other4 ,somehow1 the ,christians must be convinced that the ,lamb will finally triumph over the beast1 or all is lost4 ,after the sweet1 simple letters of admonition and praise to the ,churches1 in which he pictures ,christ among the candlesticks1 the task of reassuring the persecuted followers of ,jesus must somehow be achieved4 ,so he goes to his task as a fireman goes to the work of saving a building that is on fire4 ,ordinary means will utterly fail4 ,he first looks to the heavens1 and then to the most striking imagery of the ,old ,testament1 and never refuses a striking figure from any source that promises to serve his purpose4 ,he gathers from far and near anything that will startle and encourage4 ,as the winds drive the clouds until their blackness terrifies1 so he gives free rein to his own imagination while marshaling his material4 ,he commands the heavenly trumpeters1 and brings forth appalling horsemen riding in the heavens4 ,he sees one-third of the sun1 moon1 and stars1 smitten after the blast of a heavenly trumpet4 ,he sees an angel open a pit from which belches forth smoke that darkens the whole heavens4 ,out of the smoke come forth locusts that look like horses prepared for war4 ,they have golden crowns on their heads1 and men's faces1 and women's hair1 and lion's teeth1 and breastplates of iron4 ,their wings sound like chariots and many horses rushing to war4 ,and they have scorpions' tails with stings1 to sting the men that have not the seal of ,god on their foreheads4 ,he assures the poor sufferers that sealed mysteries1 and distresses1 and woes await them2 but that ,christ shall be able to solve all mysteries1 and that he will command all powers in heaven and earth to fight on their side until the old dragon1 whose earthly embodiment is ,rome1 shall be cast into the sulphurous pit and sealed4 ,finally1 in the most beautiful and poetical fashion he declares that the battle shall be won1 the clash of arms and the blare of trumpets shall cease1 heaven and earth shall be cleared of their fierce combatants1 and in that happy and peaceful hour the reward of the faithful shall appear4 ,heaven shall descend on a new earth that is redeemed4 ,the ,lamb and ,his bride1 the faithful ,church1 shall again be united4 ,and this new heaven on earth shall be inexpressibly beautiful2 the architecture shall be symmetrical1 and richly adorned4 ,the gates of the city shall be pearls1 and the streets gold4 ,the city shall not1 as the old ,jerusalem1 be built of common stone2 even the foundations shall be adorned with jasper1 and sapphire1 and chalcedony1 and emerald1 and sardonyx1 and sardius1 and chrysolite1 and beryl1 and topaz1 and chrysoprase1 the jacinth1 and amethyst4 ,there shall be a river1 and trees bearing fruit for food and leaves for healing4 ,all these things the writer assures them shall soon come to pass4 ,in the great day of victory throngs of people shall be there1 arrayed in white2 all1 both the living and the dead1 who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the ,lamb1 shall be present4 ,they shall be invited to the marriage of the ,lamb1 and to the wonderful feast that will follow4 ,we are justified in believing that this poetical and highly imaginative portrayal of the conflict was very effective with the humble1 illiterate1 and sorely persecuted people who constituted the ,christian ,church at that time4 ,they revived from their coldness1 they turned their backs upon the insidious temptations and allurements of the heathen world1 and went in armies to the martyr's death4 ,rome was conquered1 but not in the way the author expected4 ,rome was conquered by being made ,christian1 at least nominally and politically4 ,the histories that record the conflict between the ,christians and ,rome are not less blood-curdling than the book of ,revelation4 ,the conflict was frightful1 only it was in terms of blood1 and fire1 and dungeon4 ,if the ingenious and infernal methods of torture1 invented by ,rome1 present a picture difficult to read1 what must the reality have been to bear8 ,we should never cease to thank ,god that these humble ,christians were nerved for the conflict4 ,the modern world owes these martyrs a debt of gratitude as high as the heavens and as deep as the seas4 ,when we consider the people1 the times1 and the crisis1 the book of ,revelation was a means well suited to a noble end4 ,who can look upon such a scene1 and witness such heroism1 and read such desperate utterances rising out of the conflict as are recorded by the author of ,revelation without wishing to be a better man1 and a more loyal follower of the one who still stands among the candlesticks1--,his ,churches4 ,sabatier has wisely said1 ,apocalypses do not reveal to us the secrets of the divine providence1 but do reveal the optimistic believing nature of the soul4 ,during the recent war1 many portions of our country were burnt over with the fanaticism that has sprung from a false and unhistorical interpretation of ,revelation and other apocalyptic writings4 ,the following extract from ,professor ,porter's book1 ,daniel and ,revelation1 is of special interest3 ,the more theoretical or theological messages of the apocalypses it is evidently impossible for us to accept in any literal way as a message for our day4 ,that which they claimed to do1 namely1 to unveil the heavenly world and the future age1 they really did not do4 ,we cannot accept their descriptions of heaven1 of ,god's throne1 or of the angels1 their names and functions1 as a revelation of hidden realities4 ,they are at most figurative and imaginative representations or symbols of faith in ,god and a spiritual realm4 ,we are interested in these things only1 on the one side1 for the imperishable faith and hope behind them1 and on the other for their place in the history of human speculation and fancy4444 ,although we cannot receive their theoretical message1 yet their practical message for their own time is a true message for all like times1 and in a measure for all times alike4 ,religious faith in times of a dominating1 aggressive1 or insinuating worldliness needs to maintain itself by the assurance of the real dominion of the unseen world over the world of sense1 and by the hope of some approaching manifestation of ,god1 some open demonstration of the rule of justice and goodness4 ,the apocalyptical temper is needed when religion is assailed and in danger2 and in all times the religious life needs to maintain its purity and strength by some sort of protest against the world1 some defiance of ruling ideals and customs1 some faith in realities above those of sense1 and in truths contrary to appearances4 ,the greater apocalypses were inspired by a living faith in the ideal and an eager expectation of its coming into reality2 and faith in ideals which the world contradicts is too rare and precious a thing to be despised because its form is strange4