Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE LECTURE OF Wrv BEEN READ Al WORLE FULL OF BEAU! THE SOUND DOCTRI> NO GROUNDS F< (Address delivered by William J. llryan at numerous Chautauquas and Y. M. C. A. and other rollglous bodies in we United States, and nt Tokio, M?>U)IIa, Bombay, Cairo, Jerusalem, Montreal and Toronto.) I offer no apology for speaking upon a religious theme, for lt ls tho most universal of all themes. If I addressed you upon tho subject of law, 1 might Interest tho lawyers; if .1 discussed the science of medicine, I might interest tho physicians; in like manner merchants might be in terested in a talk on commerce; and farmers in a discussion of agricul ture, but none, of these subjects ap peal to all. F-vcn the science of gov ernment, though broader than any profession or occupation, does not embrace the wiiolo sum of life, and those who think upon it differ so among themselves that I could not ??peak upon the subject so as to please a part without offending od ors. While to me the science of gov ernment ls Intensely absorbing, I recognize that the most Important things In life lie outside of tho realm of government; that more depends upon what the individual does for himself than upon what the govern ment does or can do for him. Men cnn be miserable under the best gov ernment, and they can be happy un der the worst government. Government affects but a part of the life which we live here, and does not touch at all the life beyond,while rollglon touches the Infinite circle of existence as well as the small arc of that circle which we spend on earth. No greater theme, thcrofore, cnn en gage our attention. Man is a Hellgious Being. Man is a religious belgn; Ibo heart Instinctively seeks for a God. Whe ther he worships on the banks of the Ganges, prays with his face upturned to the sun, kneels toward Mecca, or, regarding all space as a temple, com munes with tho Heavenly Father ac cording to the Christian creed, man Is essentially devout. There are honest doubters whose sincerity we recognize and respect, hut occasionally I find young men, who think lt smart to bc skeptical; they talk as If it were an evidence of iarger intelligence to scoff at creeds and refuse to connect them selves with churches. They call themselves "liberal," as if a Chris tian were narrow-minded. To these young men 1 desire to address my self. Even some older people profess to regard religions as a superstition, pardonable In the Ignorant, but un worthy of the educated-a mental slate which one can and should out grow. Those who hold this view look down with mild contempt upon ?neb as give to religion a definite place In their thoughts and lives. They assume an intellectual superior ity and often take little pains to conceal the assumption. Tolstoy ad ministers to the "cultured crowd" (the words quoted are his) a severe rebuke when ho declares that the religious sentiment rests not upon a superstitious fear of the Invisible force of nature, but upon man's con sciousness of his finiteness amid an infinite universe and of his sinfulness, ii nd this consciousness, the great phi losopher ndds, man can never out grow. Tolstoy ls right; man recog nizes how limited are his own pow ers and how vast is the universe, and he leans upon the arm that ls strong er than his. Man feels the weight of his sins and looks for One who is .sinless. Religion and Morality. Religion has been defined as thc relation which man fixes between himself and his God, and morality as the outward manlfetsatlon of this re lation. Every one, by the time he reaches maturity, has fixed some re lation between himself and God, and no material change In this relation can take place without a revolution in the man, for this relation is tho most potent Influence that acts upon a human life. . Religion ls the basis of morality in the Individual and In the group of individuals. Materialists have at tempted to build up a system of mor ality upon the basis of enlightened self-interest. They would have man figure out by mathematics that lt pays him to abstain from wrong do ing; they would even Inject an ele ment of selfishness Into altruism, but the moral sy. tem elaborated by the materialists has several defects. First. Its vir.ues are borrowed from moral systems based upon religion. Second, as lt rests upon argument rathor than upon authority, it does not appeal lo tho young, and by the time the young are able to fol low iholr reason they have already become set in their ways. Our laws ?lo not permit a young man to dis pose of real estate until he Is L* 1. Why this restraint? Because his rea son is not mature; and yet a man's life ls largely moulded by the envi ronment of his youth. Third, one ?over knows just how much of his decision ls due lo reason and how much ls due to passion or selfish lu lu vest. We recognize the blas of -self interest when we exclude from the jury every man, no matter how reasonable or upright he may be, who has a pecuniary interest in the result of tho trial. And. fourth, ono whose morality ls based upon a nico calcu lation of benefits to be secured, spends some time figuring that he Should spend in action. Those who keep a book account of their good deeds seldom do enough good to justify keeping '>ooks. Morality ls thu , ower of endurance In man; and a religion -vi.ich teaches personal responsibility to God gives strength to morality. There is a E OF PEACE." L J. BRYAN THAT HAS sID HEARD THE > OVER. , *Y AND TRUTH. IE OF CHRISTIANITY. DR THE INFIDEL. powerful restraining Influence in the belief that an all Kening eye scruti nizes every thought and word and act ' ' tho individual. '. nero ls a wide difference between ihe man who is trying to conform to a standurd of morality about him and the man who is endeavoring to make hts life approximate to a di vine standard. The former attempts to live up to thc standard if it is above him and duwn to it if lt is below him-and if bo is doing right only when others aro looking, hw is sure to find n timo when he thinks he Is unobserved, and then needs the Inner strength which comes with the conscious presence of a personal God. If those who are thus fortified some times yield to temptation, how help less and hopeless must those bo who rely upon their own strong th alone! Difficulties in Iteligion. There are difficulties to be encoun tered in religion, but there arc diffi culties to be encountered everywhere. I passed through a period of skepti cism when 1 was in college, and I have been glad ever since that I be came a member of tho church before I loft homo for college, for lt helped me during those trying days. The college days cover the dangerous pe riod In the young man's lifo; lt ls when he ls just coming Into posses sion of his powers-when he feels stronger than bc over feels after ward and thinks he knows more than he ever does know. It' was at this period that I was confused by the different theories of creation. Dut I examined these theo ries and found that they all assumed something to begin with. The nebu lar hypothesis, for Instance, assumes that matter and force existed-mat ter In particles Infinitely Ano and each particle separated from every other particle by space infinitely grent. Ileginning with this assump tion, force working on matter-ac cording to this hypothesis-creates a universe. Well, 1 have a right to assume, and I prefer to assume, a designer back of this design-a crea tor back of creation; and no matter how loi.g you draw out the process of creation; so long ns tJod stands back of lt you cannot shake my faith in Jehovah. In Genesis lt is written that, lu the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and 1 cannot stand on that proposition un til I find some theory of creation that goes farther back than "the begin ning." IVfan not ii Monkey. I do not carry tho doctrine of evo lution as far as some do; I have not yet been able to convince myself that man is a lineal descendant of the lower animals. 1 do not mean to find fault with you if you want to accept it; all I mean to say is that while you may trace your ancestry back to the monkey, If you find pleasure or pride In doing so, you shall not con nect me with your family tree with out more evidence than has yet been produced. lt ls true that man, In some physical qualities, resembles the beast, but man has a mind as well as a body, and a soul as well as a mind. Tho mind ls greater than the body, and tho soul is greater than tho mind, and I object to hav ing man's pedigree traced on one third of him only-and that the low est third. Fairbairn lays down a propostlon when he says that lt ls not sufficient to explain man as an animal; lt ia necessary to explian man in history-and the Darwinian theory does not do this. The ape. according to this theory, ls older than man, and yet he ls still an ape, while man ls the author of the mar velous civilization which we see about us. One does not escape from mystery, however, by accepting this theory, for it does not explain the origin of life. When tho follower of Darwin has traced the germ of life back to the lowest form In which it. appears -and to follow him one must exer cise more faith than religion calls for he finds that scientists differ. Some believe that the first germ of life came from another planet, and oth ers hold that lt was the result of spontaneous generation. If I were compelled to accept one of these theories, I would prefer the first, for if we can chase the germ of lifo off this planet and get it out into space, we can guess the rest of the way, and no one can contradict us; but if we accept the doctrine of spon taneous generation, we cannot ex plain why spontaneous generation ?.cased to act after the first gonn was created. Go back as far as you may, wo cannot escape from the creative act, and it is just as easy for me to be lieve that God created man as he ls as to believe that millions of years ago He created tho germ of life and endowed it with power to develop Into all that we soo to-day. But I object to the Darwinian theory until moro conclusive proof is produced because I fear we shall lose tho con sciousness of God's presence in our (lally life, If we must assume that through all the ages no spiritual force has touched the life of man or shaped the destiny of nations. Hut there is another objection. The Dar winian theory represents man as reaching his present perfection hy the operation of the law of hate - tho merciless law by which tho strone crowd out and kill off the weak. If this ls the law of our development, then, if there ls any logic that cnn bind the human mind we shal' turn backward toward the boast In propor tion as wo iv.bstitute the hw of love How can hatored ho tho law jf de velopment when nations have ad ?vanced in proportion as t hey have departed from that law and adopte** the law of love? But while I do not accept the Dar winian tbeory, I shall not quarrel with you about it; I only refer to il to remind you that lt does not solve the mystery of life or explain human progress. I fear that some have ac cepted lt in the hope of escaping from the miracle, bu* why should tho miracle frighten us? It bothered me once, but I am In clined to think that it is one of the test questions with the Christian. The Miraculous in Itel igloo. Christ cannot bo separated from the miraculous; Ills birth, his minis trations and His resurrection all in volve tho miraculous and the change which His religion works In tl;? hu man heart Is a continuing miracle lOllmlnato the miracle, and Christ be comes merely n human being and His gospel ls stripped of divine authority. The miracle taises two questions: "Can God perform a miracle?" and "Would He want to?" The first ls easy to naswer. A God who can make a world can do anything Ho wants to do with it. The power to perform miracles ls necessarily implied In thc power to create. But would God want to perform a miracle? This is the question which has given most of tho trouble. The moro I havo consid ered it, the less inclined I am to an swer in the negative. To say that God would not perform a miracle is to assume a more intimate knowledge of Cod's plans and purposes than I claim to have. 1 will not deny that God does perform a ndracle, or may perform one, merely because I do not know how or why Ile does lt. The fact that we aro constantly learning of the existence of new forces sug gests tho possibility that God may operate through forces yet unknown to us, and the mysteries with which we deal every ?lay warn mo that faith ls as necessary as sight. Who would have credited a century ago the stories that are now told of the wonder working electricity? For ages man had known the lightning, but o,:ly to fear lt; now this invisi ble current ls generated by a man made machine, Imprisoned In a man made wire, and made to do the bid ding of man. We are even able to dispense with the wire and hurl wjrds through space, and the X-ray has enabled us to look through sub stances which were supposed, until recent'y, to exclude all light. The miracle ls not more mysterious than many of the things with which man now deals-lt is simply different. The Immaculate conception is not more mysterious than the other myr iad resurrections which mark each annual seed-time. It ls sometimes said that God could not suspend one of His laws without stopping the universe, but do we not suspend or overcome the law of gravi tation every day? Every time we move a foot or lift a weight, we tem porarily Interfere with the operation of the most universal of natural laws and yet the world ls not disturbed. The Mystery of Life. Science has taught us so many things that, we are tempted to con elude that we know everything, lint there ls really a gi eat. unknown which ls still unexplored, and that which we have learned ought to increase our reverence rather than our egotism. Science has disclosed some of the ma chinery of the universe, but science has not yet revealed to us the great secret-the secret of life. It ls to be found in every blade of grass, In every insect, In every bird, and In every animal as well as In man. Six thousand years of recorded history and yet we know no more about the secret of life than they knew In the beginning. We live, we plan; we have our hopes, our fears; and yet In a moment a change may come over nay one of us and this body will be come a mass of lifeless clay. What ls it that, having, we live, and, hav ing not, we are as the clod: We know not, and yet the progress of the race and the civilization which we now behold are the work of men and women wno have not solved the mys tery of their own lives. And our food, must we understand lt before we eat lt? If we refused to eat anything until we could under stand the mystery of Its growth, we would die of starvation. But mys tery does not bother us in the din ing room! It ls only In the church that it ts an obstacle. I was eating a piece of watermelon some months ago and was struck wilh Its beauty. 1 took some of the seed and dried them and weighed them and found that lt would re quire some five thousand seed to weigh a pound. And then I applied mathematics to that forty-pound melon. One of these seeds, put into the ground, when warmed by the sun and moistened by the rain, goes to work; lt gathers from somewhere two hundred thousand times its own weight, and, forcing this raw mate rial through a tiny stem, constructs a watermelon. It covers the outside with a coating of green; inside of the green it puts a layer of white, and within the white a core of red, and all through the red lt scatters seeds, each one capable of continuing the work of reproduction. Where did that little seed get Its tremendous power? Where did lt find Its color ing matter? How did lt collect Its lia voling extract? How did it build n watermelon? Until you can ex plain a watermelon, do not be too sure that you can set limits to the power of the Almighty, or say just what He would do or how He would ?lo it. I cannot explain the water melon, but I eat it and en toy it. Everything that grows tells a like story of Infinite power. Why should I deny that a divine hand fed a multi tude with a few loaves and fishes when I see hundreds of millions fed every year by a hand which converfa the seeds scattered over I lie Held lirio all abundant harvest? We know thin food can be mull i plied in a few months' time; shall we deny thc power of the Creator to eliminate tho element of time, when we have gone so far in eliminating the element ol spa e. A Converted Soul a Great Mystery. Hut there is sound hing even niorr wondon,.1 still-the mysterious change that lakes place In the human heart when the man begins to hate the things he loved, and to love thc things he hated-the marvelous trans formation that takes place In thc roan who, before the change, would have sacrificed the world for hi? own advancement, but who, after the change, would give his life for a prin ciple, and esteem lt a privilege to make the sacrifice for his convictions. What greater miracle than this that converts a selfish, self-centered,human beisg into a center from which good Influences flow out in every direc tion? And yet this miracle has been wrought In the heart of each one ot us-or may be wrought-and we have seen lt wrought lu the hearts of those about us. No, living in the midst of mystery and miracles, I shall not allow either to deprive me of the benefits of the Christian relig ion. Vicarious Suffering Cum . al. Some of those who question the miracle also question the theory of atonement; they assert that lt does not accord with their idea of Justice for ono to die for another. Let each bear his own sins and the punishment due for them, they say. The doctrine of vicarious suffcriug is not a new oue; it ls as old as the race. That one should suffer for others is one of the most familiar of principles, and we seo the principio illustrated every day of our lives. Take the family, for instance; from the day the mother's first child ls boru, for twenty-five or thirty years they are scarcely out of her waking thoughts. She sacrifices for them, she surrend ers herself to them. Is it because she expects them to pay her back? Fortunate for the parent and fortu nate for the child, If the latter has an opportunity to ropay in part the debt it owes. But no child can com pensate a parent for a parent's caro. In the course of nature, the debt is paid, not to the parent, but to the next generation, each generation suf fering and sacrificing for the one fol lowing. Nor ls this confined to the family. Every step In advance has been made possible by those who have been will ing to sacrifice for posterity. Free dom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of conscience, and free gov ernment have all been won for the world by those who wore willing to make sacrifices for their fellows. So well established is this docti?ne that we do not regard any one as great unless he recognizes how unimport ant his life ls In comparison with t!ie problems with which ho deals. I find proof that man was made in the Image of his Creator in the fact, that, throughout the centuries, man has been willing to die that blessings denied to him might be enjoyed by his children, his children's children, and the world. The seeming paradox, "He that savoth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find lt," has an application wldor than that usually given to lt; lt ls an epitomo of history. Those who live only for themselves live little lives, but those who give themselves for the advancement of things greater than themselves find a larger life than the one surrendered. Wendell Phillips gave expression to the same Idea when he said, "How prudently ? most men sink into nameless graves, Gentlemc You are cordially i the 1909 Models are not ready to Boys' and Children's Suits at prices from $1 to $10, in Blumer or Straight Pants, Stylish, well-hanging Clothes com mand attention There is just as much difference in Clothing as there ls In poeple Some are expressive in their gene ral appearance-they have character. Distinctive Clothes for Men and Young Men Cost no more than the ordinary FURNISH INGS. EVERYTHING FOI HOV-NEW CO DESIGNS IN FA Ll SH I HTS-UNDEHU FTC. Just a word about good and wants the best that money For ten years we have Men's, Women's and Children' former years. Everybody is invited to prices and qualities you are not us. NO RISK TO RUN, S/ LA DIES' FINE SHOES in Patent Leather, lace or button. In Vlei, lace or button. In Tans and Gunmetal; all styles. Brices from $1.25 to $4. Women's Heavy Work Shoes, for every day wear, In Glove Grain, Oil Grain, Box Calf; all toes and heels; all sizes-from lu's clown. Prices from $1.25 to $2. MEN'S FINE SHOES, lu Patent Leathers, Tans and Vlei, BUSKIN ANDERSON while now and then a few forget themselves Into immorality." Instead of being an unnatural plan, the plan of salvation ls in perfect har mony with human nature as we un derstand it. Sacrifice is the language of love, and Christ, in suffering for the world, adopted the only means of reaching the heart, and this can be demonstrated, not only by theory, but by experience, for the story of His life, His teachings, His sufferings and His death, has been translated into every language and everywhere it iris touched the heart. Tile Fact of Christ. But If I were going to present an argument in favor of the divinity of Christ, I would not begin with mira cles or mystery rv theory of atone ment. I would begin RS Carnegie Simpson begins In his book, entitled "The*Fact pt Christ." Commencing with the fact that Christ lived, he points out that one cannot contem plate this undisputed fact without feeling that in some way this fact is related to those pow living. He says that one can read of Alexander, of Caesar, or of Napoleon, and not feel Hutt ii is a matter of personal con cern; but when one reads that Christ lived, and how Ho lived, and how He died, he feels that somehow there ls a chord that stretches from that life to his. AK he studies the character of Christ no becomes conscious of certain virtues which stand out In bold relief-purity, humility, a for giving spirit, and an unfathomable love. The author is correct. Christ presents an example of purity In thought and life, and man, conscious of his own Imperfections, and grieved over his shortcomings, finds ins,<?' i tion In one who was tempted in ail points like as we are, and yet with out sin. I am not sure but that we can find Just here a way of determin ing whether one possesses the truo spirit of a Christian. If he finds In the sinlessness of Christ an Inspira tion and a stimulus to greater effort and higher living, he ls Indeed a fol lower: if. on tb? other hand, he re sents the reproof which the purity of Christ offers, he ls likely to question thc divinity of Christ In order to ex cuse himself for not. being a fol lower. Humility is a rare virtue. If one ls rich, he is apt to be proud of his riches; if he has a distinguished an cestry, he ls apt to be proud of his lineage; If he ls well educated, he is apt to be proud of his learning. Some one has suggested that If one be comes humble, he soon becomes proud of his humility. Christ, how ever, possessed of all power, was the very personification of humility. Iiove as Boundless as the Son. The most difficult of all the virtues to cultivate ls the forgiving spirit. Revenge seems to bo natural to the human heart; to want to get even with an enemy ls a common sin. It has been even popular to boast of vin dictiveness; lt wa? once Inscribed on a monument to a hero that he had paid both friends and enemies more than bc had received. This was not the spirit of Christ. Ile taught for giveness, and in that Incomparable in's Corr Slothes twited to see our h; -'tis worth your \ purchase. You an kind-'tis simply In the judgment of selecting. TP E STYLE, DKSIGN, FINISH, WORKMANSHIP all contribute to the desired effect. Clothes Speak Volumes-why not get the best ? Our Clothes possess an Indescriba ble SOMETHING which stamps them as "high-class." lt is the result of Tailoring Art-applied by tailoring brains-to the best tailoring mate rials-they are designed and made by the Celebrated Wholesale Tailors lt THE MAN OH LORINCJS-NEW \i NECKWEAR FEAR, HOSIERY, RAIN COATS, Shoes and Stockings-somethir. will buy. been giving the best values ai s Shoes ana. Stockings, and thi inspect our Shoes and Hosier) expected to buy. Try buying OlSFACTION OR MONEY Box Calf, Gunmetal and Old-Faah loned ('alf Skin-In lace, button or congress. All styles. Prices $1.50 to $5. MEN'S HEAVY WORK SHOES. Something to keep your feet dry and warm and will wear from six ?months to two yoars constant wear. Prices from $1.50 to $5. I CHILDREN'S AND INFANTS' SHOES. Children's and Infants' Shoes-all \ prayer which He left a? a model for our p?tition?. He made our willing- x ness to forgive the measure hy which A we may claim forgiveness. He not ^ only taught forgiveness, but He ex emplified his teachings In His life. When those who persecuted Him brought Him to the most disgraceful of all deaths. His spirit of forgive ness rose above His sufferings, and He prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they kuow not what they do!" Hut lovo Is the foundation of Christ's creed. The world had known love before; parents had loved chil dren and children, parents; husband had loved wife, and wife, husband; and friend had loved friend; but Jesus gave a new definition of love. Ills love was ns boundless ad tho sea: , Its limits were so far-Hung that even an enemy could not travel beyond it. Other teachers sought to regulate the lives of their followers by rule and *J foi paula, but Christ's plan was, first to purify the heart, and then to leave love direct the footsteps. What Think Ye of Christ? What conclusion la to be drawn from the life, the teachings, and the death of this historic figure? Reared in a carpenter Bhop; with no knowl edge of literature, save Bible litera ture; with no acquaintance with phi losophers living, or with the writings of sages dead, this young man gath ered disciples about Him, promulgat ed a higher code of morals than the world had ever known before, and proclaimed himself the Messiah. He taught and performed miracles for a few brief months, and then was cru cified; His disciples were scattered, and many of them put to doalh; His claims were disputed, His resurrec tion denied, and Ills followers perse cuted, and yet from this beginning His religion-has spread until millions take His name with reverence upon their lips, and thousands have been willing to die rather than surresder tho faith which He put Into their hearts. How shall we account for Him? "What think ye of Christ?" \ J lt ls easier to believe Him divine " than to explain In any other way what He said and did and was. And I have greater faith than ever before since 1 have visited the Orient, and witnessed the successful contest which Christianity is waging against the religion and philosophies of the East. I was thinking a few years ago of the Christmas which was then ap proaching, and of Him in whose hon or the day is celebrated. I recalled the message, "Peace on earth, good will to men, ' and then my thoughts ran back to the prophecy uttered cen turies before his birth, In which He was described as the Prince of Peace. To reinforce my memory I i^read the prophecy, and found immediately fol lowing a verse which I had forgotten -a verse which declares that of the Increase of Ills peace and govern ment there shall be no end, for, adds Isaiah, "He shall judge His neople with justice and Judgment." Think ing of the prophecy, I have selected this theme, that. I mr,y present some of the reasons which lead me to be lieve that Christ has fully earned the title "the Prince of Peace," and that ed Fashion. andsome display of vhile-even if you i welcome. SCHLOSS BROS. & CO., of Baltimore and New York. The economy of Good Clothes lies in their longer service and superior appearance-and there are untold advantages In always looking your best. Overcoats, in all the latest cuts and styles. 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