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Show Christianity Sokes Doubts. THE BOAST OF THE AGE is intel-ectual intel-ectual progress, which is in a great measure true. Next comes material prosperity, but this is local, and as applied to nations it is confined con-fined to individuals who are a very small minority. But truth, goodness and the object of man's existence are ignored; and notwithstanding the pretensions pre-tensions of man's vanity, he stands in the same relation to trvth as he does in regard to goodness and his future destiny. The intellectual vision is impaired im-paired just as badly as the will power. This intellectual weakness attests man's fallen greatness, which he vainly vain-ly tries to reconquer, and which he cannot possibly forget. Do what he may, the yearnings of all his faculties impose upon him the feeling that all does not end with death, that a some thing supernatural envelopes his destiny, des-tiny, yet when depending on the light of reason, his limited knowledge is unable un-able to penetrate the future and investigate in-vestigate what is in store for him. He cannot know all, neither can he ignore ig-nore all. In the ney-day of life he may forget, but the human mind attracted by truth and repelled back by doubt finds no rest in the "I do not know" of the agnostic. After man's greatest mental struggle, the only thing he is sure of is that he knows nothing of the future. His reason is constantly distanced dis-tanced by his instinct. Hence the determined de-termined effort of the soul, knowing Us fallen state, either through sentiment or instinct, to find out those things beyond be-yond its sphere of knowledge, so as to impress upon it the loftiness of its destiny. des-tiny. There are but few objects which man's reason can claim and grasp. Beyond Be-yond these few objects, which .are knowable, a vast space spreads itself out before the imagination where the naked eye of the intellect cannot penetrate. pene-trate. Face to face with this, man feels and is instinctively convinced that great and important events are enacted. en-acted. Although reason cannot penetrate pene-trate far enough with the eyes of the intellect to gain inormation, yet it will not turn away from that unknown infinite, in-finite, because some great destiny is involved in-volved therein. This region unexplor-able unexplor-able to reason alone, this abyss, which it is impossible to scrutinize and,fath-om and,fath-om If left to man's own resources of knowledge, is what constitutes for all humanity alike the province of mystery. mys-tery. It is from this province of mystery that so many religious superstitions and extravagances have sprung. From that source, too, at times, self-composed and serious souls have experienced experi-enced doubts and uncertainties that deeply chilling "perhaps," wnen there is question of rewards and punishments and of life beyond the grave. For if It be impossible for reason, on the one hand, to converse with the world of mystery, it is equally so on the other hand to remain entirely unconcerned; for that unknown is like a volcano dormant at times, yet constantly threatening danger. Admitting the fact that man starts from the point where natural knowledge ceases, and extends infinitely towards horizons where he feels himself carried by intuition, in-tuition, a space mysterious and unknown un-known exists, he is drawn towards it by a corresponding faculty or appetite, which must be satisfied by rational belief be-lief or superstition. It was to satisfy this vast craving of the soul to understand the mysterious that the Christian religion was instituted. insti-tuted. Christianity has bridged over : the abyss by means of its dogmatic teaching. It assumed its mission twenty centuries ago, and it professes to hold it forever. When expounded with unerring certainty it leaves no room to speculate, nor any field for! curiosity. It leads the soul through the darkness of mystery by the light of dogma. Its basic truths, tested by the light of reason, have withstood the most rigid scrutiny for 1,900 years. Its fundamental principles, which solves the problem of life, should be examined on their merits, and if found worthy of credence their authorative application applica-tion to the mysterious will set the soul aright, and remove all doubt regarding the future. |