O
Dealing with Doubt.
existence of God—no m an can obstinate fellow who won’t believe knowledge: the one reason, the <,•
prove by reason. The ordinary what he ca n ’t believe.
er obedience.”
BY D. PRIESTLEY.
proof, for the existence of God.
Again, “ But for the intellectual
The organ o f reason is the bra hi
This is the title of one of Dr. involves either assum ption, argil- questionings of Thomas and P hillip In what p a rt of the anatom y j8 t; e
H enry
D rum m ond’s addresses. rnent in a circle, o ra contradiction.” and Nicodemus, and m any others other organ located? W hoso-ur
u j i/ruuiujuiiu
wa* tt a i fellow
c iv w
ui
T h at is the p o rtio n of the Ag- who came to him to have their renders his brain to the church will
H enry
D rum m ond was
of
nosdc- Ingersoll is lecturing up- great problems solved, he was re- himself be an organ, or some other
the Royal society of E dinburgh and
he Geological society. He was on “ Whv 1 Am An A£nf* tie ” and speciful and generous and to leran t.” in stru m en t—m ost likely a Ivre.
of the
ientist, who
theory
Drum m ond was trying to tell wi.y. Thom as had no intellectual dif-1 “ And now tell him,” as he has
a scientist,
who accepted
accepted the
the theory
of Evolution, and could explain it an Agnostic should be a C hristian, ficulties. Ten of the desciples told tried the first [reason] and found
D ru m m o n d c o n tin u e s; “ W hat
°f a m aterialization seance, little in it, just for a moment or
lucidly.
He completed v. ...o
his . educa
tion in G erm any and was fa m ilia r' does this brief account of th ° origin a ,,d being well acquainted with two to join you in try in g the sec-
with the H igher Criticism. He <>f doubt teach us? It teaches us them , he regarded w hat they told ond. And when he asks you who
was a U niversity professor, and great intellectual hum ility.
It him as idle tales. 1 hen they got he is to obey, you tell him there is
also a clergym an of the Free Kirk teaches us sym pathy and toleration UP another seance and he was con- but or.e, and lead him to the great
of Scotland. He was an evangelist with all men who venture upon the v’nC(‘d w ithout ever looking inside historical figure who calls all men
and a desciple and helper of D. L. j ocean of tru th to find out a path the cabinet. Nicodemus wanted to unto him .”
Moody. A m a n , who was a des- through it for them selves.”
know’ about being born again, and
But th e doubter, who keeps his
ciple of Darwin and Moody at the
Dr. Drum m ond says that is what Je8US explained it to him this way. brains, will tell him there is no
same time, is worth listening to, it should teach, hut he adm its th a t “ 1 he wind bIowe,h " here it listeth I such character.
There can be no
when he undertakes to tell the th at has not been the effect
upon an<1 thoU bearest
soun(1 thereof, n atu ral history of the supernatural.
hut knowest not whence it cometh There m ight have been an historic-
C hristian how to persuade the C hristians generally.
or w hither it goeth; so is every one al .Jesus, but there is not. To ac­
modern doubter to become a fol­
He continues: “ W hat has been
lower of Jesus and .John Calvin. the church’s treatm ent of doubt in who is born of the sp irit.”
cept Christ in his sense, is to accept
lh a t is strictly correct. They the whole creed which he told usto
W hat follows will be mostly quota­ the past? It has been very simple.
tions from the address of Dr. D rum ­ ‘There is a heretic. Burn him.” are like the wind. You ca n ’t de­ lay aside: but then if be can j er-
m ond, but it seems to me it is T h at is all. ‘There is a man who pend on them. You hear a big suade the doubter to abandon hjg
w hat H orace Greeley used to call has gone off the road. Bring him noise but never can tell “ where they brains and experim ent with the or­
igan of “ obedience” be will not
“ M ighty in te re stin ’ readin’.” The • back and to rtu re him , We hi|ye are a t.”
address begins with this:
got past tb a t pllvaiealIy; have „ „
These are the prelim inaries:
think of th at.
S aint Augustine
“There is a subject which I j got pas( ; t moPa|,y? w b a t doPa
“ Now how are we ourselves to said th at he preached to a nation
th in k , we as workers am ong young t j,e m odern church say to a man deal with our fellow students who °* n,enj in northern Africa, who did
men, cannot afford to keep out of who is skeptical? N o t‘burn him ,’ are ¡n intellectual difficulties? In not have any heads. It seems that
T I . 1 n
_ I I lYiaan
. .
- • . .
i
sight—
mean tlin
the Lnhinnt
subject of iD^nk*
Doubt. . hut
‘brand him —call him a Iwird tbe drst place, I th in k , we m ust D rum m ond and Moody did the
We are forced to face th a t subject. name. » »
m ake all th e con cessio n s to them same.
I would ra th e r let it alone: but i c, .
.
But finally Dr. D rum m ond gives
. . . . .
A
bo far, then, we have found th at th at wo can. When a doubter first
every day of my life 1 lneet men j thpre ig no jogicai proof of C hris. encounters you he pours out a de­ his method of dealing with specific
who doubt.
Now7 it bc-
doubt: “ I he commonest thing we
-
.
4. , i tian ity , or any p a rt of it; and th a t luge of abuse of churches and m in­
comes a m atter of great practical
.
, .
,
* .
its effect has been to make its vic- isters and creeds and C hristians. hear said now adays by young men
lm portance th a t we should know ..
. a
.
..
tim s bate and persecute their fel- Nine-tenth? of w hat he says is is, ‘W hat of evolution? How am I
how to deal wisely with these men. i.
, ,
, .
rT
low men, and he adm its th a t it probably true. Agree with him .” io reconcile my religion, or any re­
Upon the whole, I think these a r e 1 .... ,
.
1
stil has th a t effect.
Dr. Drum m ond seemed to think ligion, with evolution?’ T hat up­
the best men in the country.
sets more men than perhaps any­
He says: “ T h at has been the it was abusive to tell the tru th
They are men of intellectual hon­
I would
about the Church.
N ine-tenths thing else at Ibis hour.
ch
u
rch
’s
treatm
ent
of
doubt,
and
esty,
to »
a young man th at
a t Cl
Christian-
to be and
put cannot
to rest allow
bv « them
□ s selves
a id
8°"» '
trUe' The
e la te s to " say
7 ,to
. - - : the treatm ent which We ourcelves
phrases, or trad itions or theologies,
but m ust get to the bottom of are i,,cl»ned to give to men, who
cannot see the tru th s of Christian-
things them selves.”
C ontrast
One would think th a t if the ity as we see them.
doubters, the men of intellectual C h rist’s treatm ent of doubt.”
th e other ten th ; and yet he goes on 1 > 18 a urthcr evolution.
But if the young m an asked him
as cheerfully to assum e th a t the
church is right in regard to the tO prove
a11 he could do would
otber ten th > as
the church had be to rem ind him th a t he had giv­
not a ^vays and invariably been in en up the organ of reason and was
now running w hat he supposed to
the wrong.
be his m ind with the organ of “obe­
'
8ay8> “ This is the great point,
dience”.
Purn away b-oni the reason, and go
“ The next com m onest question is
into the m an ’s moral life'”
the question of m iracles.
That
Here again we leave the m an
question is throw n at my head
We fail to see the contrast.
integrity, were already the best
men in th e country, a good way Jesus said, “ He that helieveth not
would be to let them doubt, e s - , shall be dam ned.” He told people
pecially if, after taking a careful fr»
to f°rgive tiioir.
tf'O r enemies, i...*
but v he .. —
pro­
in v en to ry of th e resources of Chris- P”Hes t° roast his.
He told them
tian
ity , there was found
to he -----j
only to “ Depart
me ye
cursed
into andeneoudter th e priest. The first! every other d
------------------------------
---------
• »i from
..............
............
-Why do you
«
«
_ x.
. I
t r
11«.
“ words and phrases, traditions and «denial fire.
He called those who thing he w ants the m an to do is to believe in m iracles?’ Isay b e c a u « -
theologies” to otter them
disagreed with
im liv
n n r-rito a a abandon
b a n d o n r reason.
easo n
T The
l,p n next
p v t tl-iinrr
disagreed
with h him
hypocrites,
thing £ ■ j a
°
’
i- i ,
J
® i nave
seen them .
He says
D rum m ond says, “ Respect doubt whited sepulchres, fools, and “off-j he takes him to a private confes- ‘W hen?’ I say esterda
for its origin. I t is an in e v ita b le ' spring
vipers.” Think of th at, sional. If the doubter retains his „„... u r i ,,
? ' e s j ;r a- ‘
priests and preachers have m ade
him —the m an who has been born
again. Clifford gives a different
account of him after the change,
H e says, “ The superstitious m an
G nspnng of vipers! I)r. Drum- reason, he will ask the preacher
j gaw a n ri,j vvi o vv.,
” >«>»d could not
only have given “ W hy should I confess to you d ru n k a rd redeem ed bv ti e
pointers in
gentlem anly dis- more than you to me?”
Religion
an Uhset.-• Chri t ” '
"
cussion, but could have told him is not for a reasonable man.
^ a l there is nothing in the Dar- Reason m ust he surrendered as the
an a nian be serious in ottering
"’¡nian theory
to justify such a first step toward entering th e king- * iat ?r a rn’ra(^e ^ Keely in a
abatement. The ophidians are not dom. , Is heaven to be the paradise * a gazir,e article claim ed th at hi-
in <>ur line of ancestors a t all.
of fools?
go cure rest°red ninety-five p» r
cent of inebriates.
Jesus made
Dr. Drum m ond says: “ C hrist
Drum m ond says, “ It is a good
wine for his first m iracle and gave
never failed to distinguish between thing to th in k ; it is a better thing
wine to his apostles at the last
doubt and unbelief.
Doubt is to work—it is a better thing to do
supper; and are we to believe that
can’t believe: unbelief is won’t be- good.”
of grace’
grace, ne
he is
lieve.”
How is ti,at? It is a nood thim r at this late day 01
is father of the bar and the cheat.”
Here we come lo the preacher to think; it is a better thing to be a and there” ^ i ^ l U e t T o n T o M h e
thing. It is a p art of m an as God
m ade him . H eresy is tru th in the
m aking and doubt is the prelude to
knowledge.”
The doubter, according to Drum-
rnond, is the m an as God made
him, and the m an of faith and
superstition is the man as the
m ond eays
“ AU r e l i X s
m nd .ays. All rtb g m o s tru th s
are doubtable. There is no ab-
pOl" te ,HtrUfth I'" r H:iy, ° f , ,b T
Even the fundam ental t r u t h - t h e .
No doubt C hrist wasl« g re at C hristian. W hoever believes th a t,
lo g ,c a n . F .rst we are told th a t let him surrender lus th in k er to
there is no proof. The doubter is the church.
° ,,e Wl,° Can,t be,ieve Wi,ho,lt
Again, “ You have to tell him , in
proof. Hence the unbeliever i . an I fact, th at there are two organs of
victim s of his own exam ple?
In
, rying t0 (urnisll
D ‘ Drum .
a mond
r.g h t acknowledged
to a pre lh a t we have
a right to a present up-to-date
m iracle. We need
one th a t is first