The child should be taught to restrain his anger; but he can not restrain it if he has not got it. Anger is like fire — a good servant and a terrible master. Without capacity for anger Luther could not have fought the battle of the Reformation; nor our fathers the war of the Revolution; nor our reformers the war of Emancipation. — LYMAN ABBOTT.
Righteous Anger
The spirit which flushes with resentment at an oath is infinitely better than the spirit which listens with indifference, or which laughs with pleasure.
"Abhor that which is evil," says the Divine command; no man is safe unless he does. — LYMAN ABBOTT.
Anger at Sin a Duty
Every great sin ought to arouse a great anger. Mob law is better than no law at all. A community which rises in its wrath to punish with misdirected anger a great wrong is in a healthier moral condition than a community Which looks upon its perpetration with apathy and unconcern. — LYMAN ABBOTT.
Showing posts with label divine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label divine. Show all posts
Friday, April 18, 2008
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Value of Science on Modern Faith
California, 1922
Miracles are not in keeping with the scientific interpretation of life and the universe. Human ignorance, carelessness, vice and greed are the causes of most disease. The rules of sanitation are not observed and scores of innocent persons die. Supernatural belief, which may bar the use of simple medicine, is responsible for the death of many more. Physicians and surgeons are among the greatest benefactors of mankind.
These statements were made by Rev. Clarence Reed, pastor of the First Unitarian church, in a sermon on "Prayer Cures vs. Medical Cures," delivered yesterday morning.
"It was perfectly natural for primitive man to believe that the different diseases from which he suffered were imparted to him by evil spirits," Rev. Reed said. "He beheld from day to day what seemed to him to be miracles of cure, because he did not understand the laws of the universe.
"If a person accepts the literal interpretation of the Bible, it is natural for him to believe in the possibility of prayer and faith cures. But the person who accepts the scientific interpretation of life and the universe does not believe in miracles. If Christ and His apostles performed miracles there is no reason devout Christians cannot perform them today.
"Auto-suggestion has great value in the treatment of certain diseases. No matter what a person's belief or theory may be in regard to prayer or faith healing, most people have sense enough to send for a physician in case of serious sickness.
"Prayer has been valued in the past as a means to obtain material prosperity and health. The aim of prayer should be to help man develop himself by treasuring the highest ideals in his mind, and seeking the uplift of mankind."
—Oakland Tribune, Oakland, CA, Aug. 21, 1922, p. 8.
Miracles are not in keeping with the scientific interpretation of life and the universe. Human ignorance, carelessness, vice and greed are the causes of most disease. The rules of sanitation are not observed and scores of innocent persons die. Supernatural belief, which may bar the use of simple medicine, is responsible for the death of many more. Physicians and surgeons are among the greatest benefactors of mankind.
These statements were made by Rev. Clarence Reed, pastor of the First Unitarian church, in a sermon on "Prayer Cures vs. Medical Cures," delivered yesterday morning.
"It was perfectly natural for primitive man to believe that the different diseases from which he suffered were imparted to him by evil spirits," Rev. Reed said. "He beheld from day to day what seemed to him to be miracles of cure, because he did not understand the laws of the universe.
"If a person accepts the literal interpretation of the Bible, it is natural for him to believe in the possibility of prayer and faith cures. But the person who accepts the scientific interpretation of life and the universe does not believe in miracles. If Christ and His apostles performed miracles there is no reason devout Christians cannot perform them today.
"Auto-suggestion has great value in the treatment of certain diseases. No matter what a person's belief or theory may be in regard to prayer or faith healing, most people have sense enough to send for a physician in case of serious sickness.
"Prayer has been valued in the past as a means to obtain material prosperity and health. The aim of prayer should be to help man develop himself by treasuring the highest ideals in his mind, and seeking the uplift of mankind."
—Oakland Tribune, Oakland, CA, Aug. 21, 1922, p. 8.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Claim Gift of Tongues
1906
Members of New Sect Suddenly Endowed With Ability to Speak Chinese and Greek
Power to heal the sick, to prophesy, and the gift of tongues like that which enabled the first apostles to preach the gospel in strange lands, are all claimed by the members of the Church of the Full Gospel, a new religious sect which in the past three years has sprung up in Colorado and grown with remarkable rapidity.
In an old church on the corner of Nineteenth and Welton street, the congregation in Denver, which now numbers 800, holds its meetings on Sunday for regular service. Every Wednesday afternoon a meeting is held at which it is claimed the power of Divine healing has been again and again manifested. The Rev. G. F. Fink is founder of the new sect. The pastor of the Denver congregation is the Rev. S. A. Brelesford. Fifteen young men are now preparing themselves to become missionaries in foreign fields. Most of them understand no foreign language, but they will leave in the faith that this difficulty will be overcome through divine aid.
The claim is made that in the presence of many people members of the church have already been gifted with tongues they never heard before. Ethel Brelesford, the 12-year-old daughter of Pastor Brelesford, is said to have recently spoken in Chinese. James Diltz, assistant roadmaster of the Rock Island, recently resigned to become a missionary. He, too, they say, can speak Chinese. Others have spoken in German and Spanish, and two were gifted with the Greek language.
Members of New Sect Suddenly Endowed With Ability to Speak Chinese and Greek
Power to heal the sick, to prophesy, and the gift of tongues like that which enabled the first apostles to preach the gospel in strange lands, are all claimed by the members of the Church of the Full Gospel, a new religious sect which in the past three years has sprung up in Colorado and grown with remarkable rapidity.
In an old church on the corner of Nineteenth and Welton street, the congregation in Denver, which now numbers 800, holds its meetings on Sunday for regular service. Every Wednesday afternoon a meeting is held at which it is claimed the power of Divine healing has been again and again manifested. The Rev. G. F. Fink is founder of the new sect. The pastor of the Denver congregation is the Rev. S. A. Brelesford. Fifteen young men are now preparing themselves to become missionaries in foreign fields. Most of them understand no foreign language, but they will leave in the faith that this difficulty will be overcome through divine aid.
The claim is made that in the presence of many people members of the church have already been gifted with tongues they never heard before. Ethel Brelesford, the 12-year-old daughter of Pastor Brelesford, is said to have recently spoken in Chinese. James Diltz, assistant roadmaster of the Rock Island, recently resigned to become a missionary. He, too, they say, can speak Chinese. Others have spoken in German and Spanish, and two were gifted with the Greek language.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Tricks of the Medicine Men
1910
Secrets Are Revealed to Them In Dreams
A young Indian, who is ambitious to become a doctor, and finally a prophet, learns from his father or other members of his tribe, the name and medicinal properties of some herb, says a writer in the Denver Field and Farm. He can also, by presenting a sufficient number of ponies to a medicine man, prevail upon the doctor to impart the secret of the herbs to him. Frequently Indians allege that the secret is revealed to them in a dream, or by a bird or an animal. After procuring it, the novice is prepared to begin the practice of medicine. Success in their opinion is only possible with the aid of the Great Spirit, and in order to invoke the help of the supernatural they resort to various sacrifices.
For instance, there is the practice of ascending a butte or other elevation and lying with the face to the ground for several days without food or until they are completely exhausted. During this period they profess to have been taught some song or the Great Spirit conversed with them through a bird, wild animal or reptile. They frequently allege that wolves come to them and howl and that they understand what the animals say. While treating a patient they place tobacco in little pouches which they tie with sinew. These are painted brilliant colors and fastened to willow sticks about the size of the shaft of an arrow, but somewhat longer.
The Earliest Religion
Religion was at first purely dogmatic, an affair of the family, pure and simple. The gods were the dead ancestors, and the worship consisted of the perpetual care of the hearth fire and the graves of the departed relatives. It was the ancient belief (the most ancient, so far as we know) that the departed ancestors continued to live in or about the tomb, and that their peace and happiness depended absolutely upon the care with which their posterity looked after their worship. If the hearth fire was allowed to die down, or the tomb was neglected, or the food and drink were not faithfully taken to the tomb, their existence became a wretched one; whereas, if these things were carefully attended to, all was serene with them. There is much to show that this domestic belief obtained for a long time before the belief in God and a future life came in. — Chicago American.
Secrets Are Revealed to Them In Dreams
A young Indian, who is ambitious to become a doctor, and finally a prophet, learns from his father or other members of his tribe, the name and medicinal properties of some herb, says a writer in the Denver Field and Farm. He can also, by presenting a sufficient number of ponies to a medicine man, prevail upon the doctor to impart the secret of the herbs to him. Frequently Indians allege that the secret is revealed to them in a dream, or by a bird or an animal. After procuring it, the novice is prepared to begin the practice of medicine. Success in their opinion is only possible with the aid of the Great Spirit, and in order to invoke the help of the supernatural they resort to various sacrifices.
For instance, there is the practice of ascending a butte or other elevation and lying with the face to the ground for several days without food or until they are completely exhausted. During this period they profess to have been taught some song or the Great Spirit conversed with them through a bird, wild animal or reptile. They frequently allege that wolves come to them and howl and that they understand what the animals say. While treating a patient they place tobacco in little pouches which they tie with sinew. These are painted brilliant colors and fastened to willow sticks about the size of the shaft of an arrow, but somewhat longer.
The Earliest Religion
Religion was at first purely dogmatic, an affair of the family, pure and simple. The gods were the dead ancestors, and the worship consisted of the perpetual care of the hearth fire and the graves of the departed relatives. It was the ancient belief (the most ancient, so far as we know) that the departed ancestors continued to live in or about the tomb, and that their peace and happiness depended absolutely upon the care with which their posterity looked after their worship. If the hearth fire was allowed to die down, or the tomb was neglected, or the food and drink were not faithfully taken to the tomb, their existence became a wretched one; whereas, if these things were carefully attended to, all was serene with them. There is much to show that this domestic belief obtained for a long time before the belief in God and a future life came in. — Chicago American.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Father and Healer Held After Child's Death
1906
FATHER AND HEALER ARE HELD
Death of Philadelphia Child Without Medical Aid Causes Arrests
Philadelphia, Feb. 24. — At the conclusion today of the coroner's inquest into the death of Grace Bates, 3 years old, Daniel Bates, the child's father, and Rev. Ambrose Clark, assistant pastor of Faith Tabernacle, were committed without bail for trial. The father is charged with criminal neglect and the clergyman is held as an accessory. The defendants are members of the Church of Christ and both testified that they endeavored to accomplish the recovery of the girl through prayer and that medical attention was not provided for the child, who died of typhoid fever.
FATHER AND HEALER ARE HELD
Death of Philadelphia Child Without Medical Aid Causes Arrests
Philadelphia, Feb. 24. — At the conclusion today of the coroner's inquest into the death of Grace Bates, 3 years old, Daniel Bates, the child's father, and Rev. Ambrose Clark, assistant pastor of Faith Tabernacle, were committed without bail for trial. The father is charged with criminal neglect and the clergyman is held as an accessory. The defendants are members of the Church of Christ and both testified that they endeavored to accomplish the recovery of the girl through prayer and that medical attention was not provided for the child, who died of typhoid fever.
The Healing Art — A Discussion of Faith, Divine Healing
1903
The Occult in the Healing Art:
A Discussion of Faith, or Divine Healing, and Cognate Questions.
The following is a synopsis of a paper read before the Medical Society, convened at Shelby, Ohio, December 22, 1899, by Rev. John V. Potts:
The most complicated of all the sciences is that of The Healing Art. It comprehends all the forces of physical nature, enters the domain of the mind and concerns itself with the spiritual forces of the universe. It has been known in all historic ages and among all peoples, but has made the most marvelous advances among civilized nations in the last century. The deepest research and the most comprehensive, cultured and practical minds have been given to the development of the science of medicine. It has impelled the most earnest study of physical nature in its normal and in its abnormal states. Diseases are being traced to their sources as never before. The laboratory of nature is being assiduously opened and compelled to yield its curative elements for the help of man and beast. The hidden recesses of forest, field, rock, ocean and air are searched with the most scrutinizing care, in order that they may pay tribute to the life, longevity and happiness of man.
But in no historic age has charlatanism, quackery, deceit, fraud and imposition been so rampant as in this century. Empiricism is found in every school of medicine. The pretenders to medical skill are flooding the country with patent nostrums of the most infamous character. Conscienceless greed with the most acute use of chemistry is adulterating food, drink and medicines by wholesale and retail. If any one doubts this let him read the report of the dairy and food commissioner of Ohio. The same conditions prevail all over the United States. But the most dangerous of all these frauds now sweeping over the country is the occult delusion of "Faith Healing," "Divine Healing," healing by prayer, faith and the laying on of the hands, clairvoyance, magnetism, etc. It is the more dangerous because it appeals to the cupidity of man and to the religious element in his nature as well as the overmastering desire in every one to enjoy the blessing of good health. This artful deception has entered the pulpit and men in the garb of the sacred calling boldly and defiantly assert that the practice of medicine is a fraud, a denial of Divine power, that medicines should be thrown to the dogs and that drugs, doctors and devils are not only an alliteration in expression, but that they are equally from the same Satanic source.
The time was when the medical profession and the ministry looked on this movement with indifference, or viewed it with a quizzical eye. But with Mrs. Eddy, Dr. Dowie, Schlatter and a host of minor lights with their literature in the field, it has become too serious a question to be disposed of in that nonchalant manner.
The more serious inquiry is, how to successfully meet the issue? We have in this paper, a review or abstract of a recent work in manuscript, read with approval before the Medical Association of Crawford County, O., over one year ago, and by them thought worthy of publication. It seeks to thoroughly dispose of a whole brood of errors in a new medico-theological way, upon a scientific basis. The central point of attack and amplification are original and the monograph is full of statements, logically argued to a convincing conclusion. The author is a scientific theocrat and seems to have made a wide study of the subject from all points of view.
He states, for illustration, that all healing in its ultimatum is divine in its nature and character, but that the means to the end intervene. He makes concessions, but they only open the way for him to sweep away the foundations of the sophist on the so-called Divine Healing. Take the following paragraph: "There are five things necessary to Faith Healing. These are: 1. Knowledge. 2 Faith. 3. Obedience. 4. Humane remedial agents and agencies. 5. Occult contact, in order to the influx of life." Then he essays to amplify, illustrate and establish these points beyond successful controversy.
Two views of faith exist. One is that faith is the assent of the mind to a dogmatic statement. The other is that faith is the conviction of the mind arising from the presentation of the truth in such manner and in such measure as to gain the rational and willing assent of the human understanding. Our author asserts and demonstrates the latter view.
He disposes of the miracles of Christ after this fashion: "No Christian is disposed to deny the miracles of the Master. But it is manifest that He used remedial agents in every instance. In ignorance He taught the truth; in despair He imparted hope; in hunger He gave food; in paralysis He restored the wasted physical power; in blindness He removed the physical obstruction, and restored the optic nerve, and made the eye physically whole. For the deaf ear He removed the physical defect. The palsied limb was restored whole like as the other. He brought back the physical life to those He raised from the dead. He did not practice a pretense. To some He said, Go wash." This was hydropathy. For another, He made clay of earth and spittle. With this salve He anointed the eyes of the blind man. This was terrapathy. The woman touched the hem of His garment. Virtue or medicine went out of Him. This was magnetism. He had divine powers. All curative elements were at His command. He used them as they were needed. To mental diseases He applied mental remedies, to spiritual ailments He applied spiritual remedies, and to physical disorders He applied physical remedies.
God is consistent with Himself. He made nothing to ignore it. Everything in its own order and after its kind. James says, "Anoint with oil and pray." Both are enjoined. "Oil" is a synonym for "the proper remedy" in any given case. "Oil" here means medicine. Timothy was to take "a little wine for the stomach's sake." Luke was a physician and his calling was never interdicted.
Beyond the Pentecost and Paul, no evidence exists that miraculous powers were even perpetuated. He who would speak with tongues must study the languages. Those gifted in this direction become proficient in the mastery of language. Those who would understand theology must "study to show themselves approved of God," must "give attendance to reading," must "search the scriptures." Those who would have abundance of food must sow and cultivate and reap and garner, and not depend upon miraculous dispensations for food. Those who would have water must smite the earth with the spade, mattock and drill, or put the vessels in the rain to catch the falling showers, or find the rivers or the springs.
Those who would avoid disease must obey the mental, moral and physical laws; and the sick who would recover must use the means, the medicines, the appliances, the elements, be they mental, physical or spiritual, lying in the line of true faith healing.
The miracles simply foretoken the wonderful developments of scientific discovery and the unobstructed contact and intercommunion with the occult sphere. What Christ did by His mandate we must do by mastering and conforming to the forces of nature. What He did by His fiat in calling the curative elements from earth, air, water, animal, chemical and vegetable nature we must do in the laboratory and in true medical practice.
The object of the brochure is to carry conviction to the masses and save them from all these delusions; and to show that agriculture, commerce, law, medicine, pedagogics and theology are alike divine callings. These all have their commercial side, which should be subordinated, not to selfishness and greed of gain, but to the promotion of the best interests of the human races. The work is in short chapters, forcible and epigrammatic in style.
[The author is soliciting funds in this county to assist in the publication of this work. Prices: $1.50 and $1.00.]
—Bedford Gazette, Bedford, Pennsylvania, Feb. 6, 1903, p. 2.
The Occult in the Healing Art:
A Discussion of Faith, or Divine Healing, and Cognate Questions.
The following is a synopsis of a paper read before the Medical Society, convened at Shelby, Ohio, December 22, 1899, by Rev. John V. Potts:
The most complicated of all the sciences is that of The Healing Art. It comprehends all the forces of physical nature, enters the domain of the mind and concerns itself with the spiritual forces of the universe. It has been known in all historic ages and among all peoples, but has made the most marvelous advances among civilized nations in the last century. The deepest research and the most comprehensive, cultured and practical minds have been given to the development of the science of medicine. It has impelled the most earnest study of physical nature in its normal and in its abnormal states. Diseases are being traced to their sources as never before. The laboratory of nature is being assiduously opened and compelled to yield its curative elements for the help of man and beast. The hidden recesses of forest, field, rock, ocean and air are searched with the most scrutinizing care, in order that they may pay tribute to the life, longevity and happiness of man.
But in no historic age has charlatanism, quackery, deceit, fraud and imposition been so rampant as in this century. Empiricism is found in every school of medicine. The pretenders to medical skill are flooding the country with patent nostrums of the most infamous character. Conscienceless greed with the most acute use of chemistry is adulterating food, drink and medicines by wholesale and retail. If any one doubts this let him read the report of the dairy and food commissioner of Ohio. The same conditions prevail all over the United States. But the most dangerous of all these frauds now sweeping over the country is the occult delusion of "Faith Healing," "Divine Healing," healing by prayer, faith and the laying on of the hands, clairvoyance, magnetism, etc. It is the more dangerous because it appeals to the cupidity of man and to the religious element in his nature as well as the overmastering desire in every one to enjoy the blessing of good health. This artful deception has entered the pulpit and men in the garb of the sacred calling boldly and defiantly assert that the practice of medicine is a fraud, a denial of Divine power, that medicines should be thrown to the dogs and that drugs, doctors and devils are not only an alliteration in expression, but that they are equally from the same Satanic source.
The time was when the medical profession and the ministry looked on this movement with indifference, or viewed it with a quizzical eye. But with Mrs. Eddy, Dr. Dowie, Schlatter and a host of minor lights with their literature in the field, it has become too serious a question to be disposed of in that nonchalant manner.
The more serious inquiry is, how to successfully meet the issue? We have in this paper, a review or abstract of a recent work in manuscript, read with approval before the Medical Association of Crawford County, O., over one year ago, and by them thought worthy of publication. It seeks to thoroughly dispose of a whole brood of errors in a new medico-theological way, upon a scientific basis. The central point of attack and amplification are original and the monograph is full of statements, logically argued to a convincing conclusion. The author is a scientific theocrat and seems to have made a wide study of the subject from all points of view.
He states, for illustration, that all healing in its ultimatum is divine in its nature and character, but that the means to the end intervene. He makes concessions, but they only open the way for him to sweep away the foundations of the sophist on the so-called Divine Healing. Take the following paragraph: "There are five things necessary to Faith Healing. These are: 1. Knowledge. 2 Faith. 3. Obedience. 4. Humane remedial agents and agencies. 5. Occult contact, in order to the influx of life." Then he essays to amplify, illustrate and establish these points beyond successful controversy.
Two views of faith exist. One is that faith is the assent of the mind to a dogmatic statement. The other is that faith is the conviction of the mind arising from the presentation of the truth in such manner and in such measure as to gain the rational and willing assent of the human understanding. Our author asserts and demonstrates the latter view.
He disposes of the miracles of Christ after this fashion: "No Christian is disposed to deny the miracles of the Master. But it is manifest that He used remedial agents in every instance. In ignorance He taught the truth; in despair He imparted hope; in hunger He gave food; in paralysis He restored the wasted physical power; in blindness He removed the physical obstruction, and restored the optic nerve, and made the eye physically whole. For the deaf ear He removed the physical defect. The palsied limb was restored whole like as the other. He brought back the physical life to those He raised from the dead. He did not practice a pretense. To some He said, Go wash." This was hydropathy. For another, He made clay of earth and spittle. With this salve He anointed the eyes of the blind man. This was terrapathy. The woman touched the hem of His garment. Virtue or medicine went out of Him. This was magnetism. He had divine powers. All curative elements were at His command. He used them as they were needed. To mental diseases He applied mental remedies, to spiritual ailments He applied spiritual remedies, and to physical disorders He applied physical remedies.
God is consistent with Himself. He made nothing to ignore it. Everything in its own order and after its kind. James says, "Anoint with oil and pray." Both are enjoined. "Oil" is a synonym for "the proper remedy" in any given case. "Oil" here means medicine. Timothy was to take "a little wine for the stomach's sake." Luke was a physician and his calling was never interdicted.
Beyond the Pentecost and Paul, no evidence exists that miraculous powers were even perpetuated. He who would speak with tongues must study the languages. Those gifted in this direction become proficient in the mastery of language. Those who would understand theology must "study to show themselves approved of God," must "give attendance to reading," must "search the scriptures." Those who would have abundance of food must sow and cultivate and reap and garner, and not depend upon miraculous dispensations for food. Those who would have water must smite the earth with the spade, mattock and drill, or put the vessels in the rain to catch the falling showers, or find the rivers or the springs.
Those who would avoid disease must obey the mental, moral and physical laws; and the sick who would recover must use the means, the medicines, the appliances, the elements, be they mental, physical or spiritual, lying in the line of true faith healing.
The miracles simply foretoken the wonderful developments of scientific discovery and the unobstructed contact and intercommunion with the occult sphere. What Christ did by His mandate we must do by mastering and conforming to the forces of nature. What He did by His fiat in calling the curative elements from earth, air, water, animal, chemical and vegetable nature we must do in the laboratory and in true medical practice.
The object of the brochure is to carry conviction to the masses and save them from all these delusions; and to show that agriculture, commerce, law, medicine, pedagogics and theology are alike divine callings. These all have their commercial side, which should be subordinated, not to selfishness and greed of gain, but to the promotion of the best interests of the human races. The work is in short chapters, forcible and epigrammatic in style.
[The author is soliciting funds in this county to assist in the publication of this work. Prices: $1.50 and $1.00.]
—Bedford Gazette, Bedford, Pennsylvania, Feb. 6, 1903, p. 2.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Holiness Healing Reported at Marion
Indiana, 1905
An Aged Man Cured of Palsy as He Knelt at the Altar in a Holiness Tent
Marion, Ind., Aug. 18. — A remarkable case of healing is reported from the tent meeting of Levi Lupton, of the Holiness society, which is now holding its third annual meeting in the grove near the old normal building on Thirty-eighth street. A few weeks ago Mr. Lupton arrived in his private gospel car, which was sidetracked at a convenient point on the belt line, and he proceeded to arouse great spiritual interest in the vicinity of the tents at the scene of the camp meeting.
Wednesday was announced by Lupton as a time for divine healing. Among those who attended the meetings was Aaron Sims, a palsied man of near Fairmont. Sims was 77 years of age, and in addition to his palsy was crippled with rheumatism to the extent that he had to use a cane in walking. His afflictions had rested on him for many years.
When the invitation was extended to those assembled to come to the altar and be healed of their afflictions, Sims was one to go forward. For a long time he sat on the altar rail before kneeling to ask in prayer that his infirmities be taken away from him. He finally knelt, and in the midst of the shouting and exhortations going on all about him he quickly arose, threw away the cane on which he had leaned for many years, and ran and skipped like a boy, proclaiming that he was cured of his afflictions.
Those who had known Sims a long time could scarcely believe their eyes at the sight of him in activity. He apparently had no palsy or rheumatism. It was in the morning that the healing occurred and Aaron Sims remained about the tents all day uttering praises for his deliverance. Before leaving in the evening he presented Mr. Lupton his cane, stating that he was a poor man and had little else to give him.
—The Fort Wayne Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Aug. 18, 1905, p. 8.
An Aged Man Cured of Palsy as He Knelt at the Altar in a Holiness Tent
Marion, Ind., Aug. 18. — A remarkable case of healing is reported from the tent meeting of Levi Lupton, of the Holiness society, which is now holding its third annual meeting in the grove near the old normal building on Thirty-eighth street. A few weeks ago Mr. Lupton arrived in his private gospel car, which was sidetracked at a convenient point on the belt line, and he proceeded to arouse great spiritual interest in the vicinity of the tents at the scene of the camp meeting.
Wednesday was announced by Lupton as a time for divine healing. Among those who attended the meetings was Aaron Sims, a palsied man of near Fairmont. Sims was 77 years of age, and in addition to his palsy was crippled with rheumatism to the extent that he had to use a cane in walking. His afflictions had rested on him for many years.
When the invitation was extended to those assembled to come to the altar and be healed of their afflictions, Sims was one to go forward. For a long time he sat on the altar rail before kneeling to ask in prayer that his infirmities be taken away from him. He finally knelt, and in the midst of the shouting and exhortations going on all about him he quickly arose, threw away the cane on which he had leaned for many years, and ran and skipped like a boy, proclaiming that he was cured of his afflictions.
Those who had known Sims a long time could scarcely believe their eyes at the sight of him in activity. He apparently had no palsy or rheumatism. It was in the morning that the healing occurred and Aaron Sims remained about the tents all day uttering praises for his deliverance. Before leaving in the evening he presented Mr. Lupton his cane, stating that he was a poor man and had little else to give him.
—The Fort Wayne Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Aug. 18, 1905, p. 8.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Prayed for Their Guardian Angel — And the Angel Came!
1921
A British Clergyman and His Wife Tell About a Most Remarkable Visitation — and All England Marvels at the Story and Its "Corroboration."
LONDON, Dec. 20. — Rev. Maurice Elliott, vicar in the village of Snitterby, Lincolnshire, believes in his guardian angel with the same certainty that he believes in the existence of his village grocer. For the clergyman, according to his sworn testimony, has seen this angel with his own eyes, has heard the sound of his voice, has touched his glistening robe. The angel came at a crisis in the clergyman's life and by his good counsel enabled him and his wife to meet the situation without disaster.
The revelation of Mr. Elliott created considerable talk all over England, but a sensation was caused when it became known that many of the facts of his visitation had been corroborated by a celebrated London physician. Since that time a number of other physicians declare that they have met with similar cases and believe Mr. Elliott's story implicitly. There is as much reason to believe that a person has a guardian angel, they say, as it is to believe any of the commonly accepted physical facts of life. They contend, that such a belief is as provable, by resort to the ordinary senses, as, for instance, the law of specific gravity.
Dr. Elliott is a popular member of the clergy and is highly regarded as a thinker. His interview with his guardian angel came at a time, he said, when his wife was about to have a child and her life was in serious danger.
He was very fearful regarding her condition and sought the advice of a London specialist. The specialist advised an immediate operation, but admitted that such an operation would involve a dangerous risk.
"My wife and I," said Dr. Elliott, "prayed with all our hearts for guidance in this troubled hour. We prayed that if there was an angel specially appointed to protect and guide me and mine — that he appear to us and counsel us. And the evening before my wife was to go into a nursing home he did appear.
"The angel was a male. His figure was more majestic than that of men on earth. His eyes were extraordinary in their beauty and brightness. Ha spoke with a voice that was bell-like. He came to us in our room and at his appearance we felt not the slightest sense of terror — only a feeling of complete calm. He spoke in everyday language. It was as if a link between us and heaven had been established.
"We asked him what we must do about the specialist's advice. He replied that the specialist was wrong in advising an operation and that such a course would be fatal. 'Don't have it,' he told us. 'The physician's diagnosis is wrong.'
"The angel's visit decided us. When the physician came the next day to see us about the removal of my wife to the nursing home, we told him what had happened and that Mrs. Elliott had made up her mind to forgo the operation.
"Naturally, the doctor was astonished beyond measure, but did not argue the matter with us. I might add that he has, himself, taken a keen interest in the case ever since.
"A few days later we again asked Divine guidance. We wanted the angel to direct us to a medical man who would confirm the angel's statement. Again our prayers were answered. The angel appeared to us as he had on his first visit and told us to go to Brighton where we could meet the doctor we so much desired to see.
"Following these instructions we packed our bags and left the next day for Brighton. Before we arrived at the station the angel came to us in our compartment I do not imagine anyone else in the coach saw him, for nothing was said of it. The angel walked with us through the town and guided us to a hotel. He walked normally. There was no gliding or passing through substances. I noticed that he wore sandals. He conversed with us a good part of the time.
"After giving us full instructions as to the doctor we would meet there, what the doctor would look like and when we should approach him, the angel dematerialized and since then has not appeared to us."
The second day at the hotel, Dr. Elliott says, he recognized the physician from the angel's description as the man passed down the corridor into the drawing-room. Dr. Elliott followed him into the drawing-room and stated his case without asking him if he were a physician, so sure was he that the angel was correct,
The physician was naturally much astonished at being approached by a man who didn't even know his name, but though he had come to Brighton for a rest, finally consented to make an examination of Mrs, Elliott and a diagnosis of her case. He did not think an operation was necessary — in fact, he advised strongly against it.
The child born after this remarkable experience is a strong, healthy girl. Dr. Elliott says that when the baby was christened in Winchester Cathedral a company of angels was plainly manifest to himself and his wife.
A Vision of the Savior
For reasons of medical ethics, the physician who attended Mrs. Elliott would not permit the use of his name, but he confirmed the Brighton occurrence in detail.
Having a large practice the physician said he had gone to Brighton for a few weeks' rest. He did not register as a medical man and nobody connected with the hotel or in the town knew him as such.
"Being on a holiday which I much needed," he said, "I naturally did not care to accept any cases. But when I asked Dr. Elliott how he knew I was a physician he told me his remarkable story. It interested me so much that I agreed to see his wife. I examined her and my own diagnosis of the case accorded exactly with what the angel had told them. They appeared much relieved when I gave them my opinion.
"While I have had no experience with spiritualism, in fact, I know scarcely nothing about it, I believe that with God all things are possible."
Concurrent with the Elliott case is that which is vouched for by Rev. W. J. L. Sheppard, who has been preaching at Braintree parish church, fifty miles out of London. A member of the congregation, a business man who had been associated in no way with spiritualism, told the pastor that he had seen a vision of Christ on the cross behind the chancel rail, during the progress of the service.
Rev. Dr. Sheppard recently announced the vision from the pulpit, saying to his startled congregation:
"During the evening service last Sunday a well known Braintree business man in the congregation saw a vision of the crucified Savior in the chancel of this church. He said he first saw the vision while kneeling in prayer. A bright light from a halo on the head of the crucified Christ filled the whole chancel and blotted out every other object. This is not a case of an emotional woman seeing a vision, but of a hard-headed man. The vision must be "taken as a divine revelation."
The business man told Mr. Sheppard that when he first saw the vision he bowed his head to collect his thoughts. He thought at first that it might be an optical illusion. When he looked up again the vision of the crucified Christ still filled the chancel. He looked at it about four minutes the second time. The vision did not speak or beckon to him, but looked with pleading eyes. Finally, the light from the halo faded gradually away and the vision disappeared. The man became quite ill and broke into a violent perspiration.
—Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Jan. 1, 1922, section 4, page 2.
A British Clergyman and His Wife Tell About a Most Remarkable Visitation — and All England Marvels at the Story and Its "Corroboration."
LONDON, Dec. 20. — Rev. Maurice Elliott, vicar in the village of Snitterby, Lincolnshire, believes in his guardian angel with the same certainty that he believes in the existence of his village grocer. For the clergyman, according to his sworn testimony, has seen this angel with his own eyes, has heard the sound of his voice, has touched his glistening robe. The angel came at a crisis in the clergyman's life and by his good counsel enabled him and his wife to meet the situation without disaster.
The revelation of Mr. Elliott created considerable talk all over England, but a sensation was caused when it became known that many of the facts of his visitation had been corroborated by a celebrated London physician. Since that time a number of other physicians declare that they have met with similar cases and believe Mr. Elliott's story implicitly. There is as much reason to believe that a person has a guardian angel, they say, as it is to believe any of the commonly accepted physical facts of life. They contend, that such a belief is as provable, by resort to the ordinary senses, as, for instance, the law of specific gravity.
Dr. Elliott is a popular member of the clergy and is highly regarded as a thinker. His interview with his guardian angel came at a time, he said, when his wife was about to have a child and her life was in serious danger.
He was very fearful regarding her condition and sought the advice of a London specialist. The specialist advised an immediate operation, but admitted that such an operation would involve a dangerous risk.
"My wife and I," said Dr. Elliott, "prayed with all our hearts for guidance in this troubled hour. We prayed that if there was an angel specially appointed to protect and guide me and mine — that he appear to us and counsel us. And the evening before my wife was to go into a nursing home he did appear.
"The angel was a male. His figure was more majestic than that of men on earth. His eyes were extraordinary in their beauty and brightness. Ha spoke with a voice that was bell-like. He came to us in our room and at his appearance we felt not the slightest sense of terror — only a feeling of complete calm. He spoke in everyday language. It was as if a link between us and heaven had been established.
"We asked him what we must do about the specialist's advice. He replied that the specialist was wrong in advising an operation and that such a course would be fatal. 'Don't have it,' he told us. 'The physician's diagnosis is wrong.'
"The angel's visit decided us. When the physician came the next day to see us about the removal of my wife to the nursing home, we told him what had happened and that Mrs. Elliott had made up her mind to forgo the operation.
"Naturally, the doctor was astonished beyond measure, but did not argue the matter with us. I might add that he has, himself, taken a keen interest in the case ever since.
"A few days later we again asked Divine guidance. We wanted the angel to direct us to a medical man who would confirm the angel's statement. Again our prayers were answered. The angel appeared to us as he had on his first visit and told us to go to Brighton where we could meet the doctor we so much desired to see.
"Following these instructions we packed our bags and left the next day for Brighton. Before we arrived at the station the angel came to us in our compartment I do not imagine anyone else in the coach saw him, for nothing was said of it. The angel walked with us through the town and guided us to a hotel. He walked normally. There was no gliding or passing through substances. I noticed that he wore sandals. He conversed with us a good part of the time.
"After giving us full instructions as to the doctor we would meet there, what the doctor would look like and when we should approach him, the angel dematerialized and since then has not appeared to us."
The second day at the hotel, Dr. Elliott says, he recognized the physician from the angel's description as the man passed down the corridor into the drawing-room. Dr. Elliott followed him into the drawing-room and stated his case without asking him if he were a physician, so sure was he that the angel was correct,
The physician was naturally much astonished at being approached by a man who didn't even know his name, but though he had come to Brighton for a rest, finally consented to make an examination of Mrs, Elliott and a diagnosis of her case. He did not think an operation was necessary — in fact, he advised strongly against it.
The child born after this remarkable experience is a strong, healthy girl. Dr. Elliott says that when the baby was christened in Winchester Cathedral a company of angels was plainly manifest to himself and his wife.
A Vision of the Savior
For reasons of medical ethics, the physician who attended Mrs. Elliott would not permit the use of his name, but he confirmed the Brighton occurrence in detail.
Having a large practice the physician said he had gone to Brighton for a few weeks' rest. He did not register as a medical man and nobody connected with the hotel or in the town knew him as such.
"Being on a holiday which I much needed," he said, "I naturally did not care to accept any cases. But when I asked Dr. Elliott how he knew I was a physician he told me his remarkable story. It interested me so much that I agreed to see his wife. I examined her and my own diagnosis of the case accorded exactly with what the angel had told them. They appeared much relieved when I gave them my opinion.
"While I have had no experience with spiritualism, in fact, I know scarcely nothing about it, I believe that with God all things are possible."
Concurrent with the Elliott case is that which is vouched for by Rev. W. J. L. Sheppard, who has been preaching at Braintree parish church, fifty miles out of London. A member of the congregation, a business man who had been associated in no way with spiritualism, told the pastor that he had seen a vision of Christ on the cross behind the chancel rail, during the progress of the service.
Rev. Dr. Sheppard recently announced the vision from the pulpit, saying to his startled congregation:
"During the evening service last Sunday a well known Braintree business man in the congregation saw a vision of the crucified Savior in the chancel of this church. He said he first saw the vision while kneeling in prayer. A bright light from a halo on the head of the crucified Christ filled the whole chancel and blotted out every other object. This is not a case of an emotional woman seeing a vision, but of a hard-headed man. The vision must be "taken as a divine revelation."
The business man told Mr. Sheppard that when he first saw the vision he bowed his head to collect his thoughts. He thought at first that it might be an optical illusion. When he looked up again the vision of the crucified Christ still filled the chancel. He looked at it about four minutes the second time. The vision did not speak or beckon to him, but looked with pleading eyes. Finally, the light from the halo faded gradually away and the vision disappeared. The man became quite ill and broke into a violent perspiration.
—Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Jan. 1, 1922, section 4, page 2.
Sunday, May 6, 2007
New Cathedral Will Be Finished in 2007
1907
NEW YORK, Jan 31 — At the present rate of progress it is estimated it will take about one hundred years to complete the Cathedral of St John the Divine. This it is said will be a rather short time considering the years spent in the construction of the really great cathedrals of the Old World.
At a meeting of the trustees yesterday a gift of $50,000 was announced from H. C. Fahnestock. The contribution is to be applied to the construction of the crossing as the intersection of the two great aisles is termed. The donor was for years identified with the First National Bank of this city.
The trustees hope that further gifts may be received which will make it possible to finish the cathedral before the year 2007.
—Oakland Tribune, Oakland, CA, Jan. 31, 1907, p. 4.
NEW YORK, Jan 31 — At the present rate of progress it is estimated it will take about one hundred years to complete the Cathedral of St John the Divine. This it is said will be a rather short time considering the years spent in the construction of the really great cathedrals of the Old World.
At a meeting of the trustees yesterday a gift of $50,000 was announced from H. C. Fahnestock. The contribution is to be applied to the construction of the crossing as the intersection of the two great aisles is termed. The donor was for years identified with the First National Bank of this city.
The trustees hope that further gifts may be received which will make it possible to finish the cathedral before the year 2007.
—Oakland Tribune, Oakland, CA, Jan. 31, 1907, p. 4.
Universalist Preacher Takes up the Origin of Religion
Cedar Rapids, IA, 1897
OF ITS ORIGIN
Rev. Pratt's Splendid Sermon at Universalist Church.
Takes up the Origin of Religion and Pleases a Large Audience of Former Parishioners and Old Friends by His Strong Philosophy — The Evening Service.
The services at the Universalist church yesterday morning were exceptionally interesting, the parishioners and old friends of Rev. Pratt assembling in large numbers of hear their former pastor. The church was beautifully and tastefully decorated with flowers and the greeting accorded the speaker was cordial and sincere. Rev. Pratt spoke extemporaneously for forty minutes, holding his audience attentively. The following is a brief synopsis of the address:
REV. PRATT'S SERMON.
"Where Did Religion Come From?" was the question considered by Mr. Pratt. Paul's words, "The spirit beareth witness with our spirits that we are the children of God," was used as a text. There is a system of interpretation which limits the application of the text to those who are members of the visible church on earth; those who have accepted, "using the language common in the religious world," Christ and his salvation. They only have the witness of the spirit.
The same rule of interpretation is applied to that magnificent outburst of Paul wherein he speaks of the enduring nature of the Divine Love.
"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
This it is said applies only to those who are members of the visible church. Nor can any others claim the promise or assurance "We know that if the earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved we have a building of God, an house not made with hands eternal in the heavens."
Did Paul mean to thus limit the divine love and that dearest of all hopes, the hope of immortality? One can hardly think it, when it is remembered that Paul was the apostle who gave to Christianity its universalistic trend, saving it from degenerating into a narrow Judaism which would surely have been its fate, had Peter's influence and spirit molded it and given to it a final form.
If the apostle did thus limit the divine love and the immortal hone we cannot follow him for we know that all men are children of a common father, and heirs of a glorious immortality.
Strike the religious history of the world where you will and you will find evidence of the religious sentiment.
The crude form and right of savage tribes, the temples now in ruins in the civilizations that greet us at the dawn of history, the mystic's dream, the Quakers' silent devotion, the worship and practical benevolence of the nineteenth century all declare that religion is an imperishable sentiment, and that man has ever had a dim realization of the relation he sustained to the eternal power that makes for righteousness.
Facts unmistakable unite to affirm that man has ever been a child of God and believing as we do that the aegis of his protective love is over all worlds it is the language of faith to declare that man will be forever a child of God and the object of his mercy.
Where did this universal religious sentiment come from? An answer quite commonly given the question would be something like this: "Religion is in the world." Religion is in the world because the church is in the world. Religion is in the world because there is a sacrificing priesthood ordained of heaven and the critics of Lyman Abbott would declare that religion is in the world because God has given us a revelation and confirmed it by such wonderful marvels as the swallowing of Jonah by the whale. We are told that we must believe that or we cannot believe the Old Testament. If we cannot accept the Old Testament we cannot accept the New. If we do not believe the New Testament we do not believe in Christ and if we cannot believe in Him we cannot believe in anything.
Upon the acceptance of Jonah's experience as literal history, Christ's law of love ultimately rests and religion stands on the divine foundations.
Foolishness can go no further. Lyman Abbott's critics seem to need some kindergarten lessons in common sense. Religion is not in the world because of the Bible, the church, or the priesthood. Say rather that these are in the world because man is a religious being and they are the outward expression of his religious nature and life.
Where did religion come from? Max Muller and his school would answer, "It was born in the nature myths so common in the childhood of the world." Man gave to nature's forces a personality, the nature myth became the hero myth, and in a later development was given a moral significance. Thus religion was born.
Where did religion come from? It was born, says Darwin and Lubbock, in superstition. It came with ancestor worship out of the belief of early tribes in ghosts and spirits. In this field you search will be rewarded if you seek to find where religion originated.
These theories are all inadequate. Religion is in the world because man is a child of God. It is the development of his spiritual nature.
Growth and change then are its law and method. Like all life, philosophy, and science it comes under the sway of the law of evolution. There is a fiction current in some organizations of Christendom that the church possesses a fixed theology. The only way to have a fixed theology is to deprive man of the power of thought. The century that makes the assertion of a fixed theology furnishes the refutation of the claim. Consider it only on the dogmatic side.
What a softening down of religious dogmas there has been in the past one hundred years. What has become of the good old doctrine of election? Oliver Wendell Holmes says that when he was a boy it was preached in New England that only one in two thousand were to be saved, and that a serious dispute arose in the town of Medford, which had at that time about 2,000 inhabitants, as to whether the deacon or the minister stood the best chance of receiving at last the favor of heaven.
The Calvinists seem to realize now that to ask men to enter upon the Christian life and be loyal to high ideals, when it is ordained from all eternity as a decree of high heaven that they shall go the other way, is as Father Taylor once said, "A good deal like inviting the gravestones home to dinner; it is impossible for them to come." Realizing this, Calvinism has quietly taken a position on Arminian or Methodist ground, and declares that "whosoever will may come." The change which has come over the spirit and dream of theology is evidenced by the changed nature of the hymns in modern worship. What lurid hymns our fathers sung:
"My thoughts on awful subjects roll,
Damnation and the dead;
What horrors seize the guilty soul
Upon the dying bed."
Or again:
"And are we sinners yet alive;
And do we yet rebel?
'Tis wondrous, 'Tis amazing grace,
That we are out of hell."
In the place of these lurid hymns of the olden time we sing:
"Yes for me, for me, he careth,
With a Father's tender care;
Yes with me, with me, he shareth,
Every burden, every fear."
Mr. Pratt then traced at length the development of religion through Animism, Polytheism, Monotheism, Cosmic Theism, to the final thought of the fatherhood of God, and asked the question whether it would pass away.
Evolution to him but established more firmly the fact of the imperishable nature of religion. Religion had nothing to fear from it, but it sounded the death knell of the old Latin theology.
It abolished the line that had been drawn between the natural and the supernatural, so that in this beautiful world we now had a vision of the "fullness of the Godhead bodily." The universe was not dirt. All matter was resolvable into force and will, and force and will are spiritual.
The final words were unity and love. "And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love." He closed with relating an incident in the life of Gounod, the composer, which illustrated the noble unselfishness of the man, an unselfishness and kindness that made him even more worthy of admiration than his art. This love illustrated in his life and in all who mediate the divine love to humanity is the grandest, greatest thing in this world or any world. It is the power that holds society together and if all were obedient to its law, our earth would become more beautiful than that mythological Eden with which it is affirmed that man began his terrestrial journey. Love is the golden ladder by which man ascends the heavenly heights.
—The Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, May 24, 1897, p. 5.
OF ITS ORIGIN
Rev. Pratt's Splendid Sermon at Universalist Church.
Takes up the Origin of Religion and Pleases a Large Audience of Former Parishioners and Old Friends by His Strong Philosophy — The Evening Service.
The services at the Universalist church yesterday morning were exceptionally interesting, the parishioners and old friends of Rev. Pratt assembling in large numbers of hear their former pastor. The church was beautifully and tastefully decorated with flowers and the greeting accorded the speaker was cordial and sincere. Rev. Pratt spoke extemporaneously for forty minutes, holding his audience attentively. The following is a brief synopsis of the address:
REV. PRATT'S SERMON.
"Where Did Religion Come From?" was the question considered by Mr. Pratt. Paul's words, "The spirit beareth witness with our spirits that we are the children of God," was used as a text. There is a system of interpretation which limits the application of the text to those who are members of the visible church on earth; those who have accepted, "using the language common in the religious world," Christ and his salvation. They only have the witness of the spirit.
The same rule of interpretation is applied to that magnificent outburst of Paul wherein he speaks of the enduring nature of the Divine Love.
"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
This it is said applies only to those who are members of the visible church. Nor can any others claim the promise or assurance "We know that if the earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved we have a building of God, an house not made with hands eternal in the heavens."
Did Paul mean to thus limit the divine love and that dearest of all hopes, the hope of immortality? One can hardly think it, when it is remembered that Paul was the apostle who gave to Christianity its universalistic trend, saving it from degenerating into a narrow Judaism which would surely have been its fate, had Peter's influence and spirit molded it and given to it a final form.
If the apostle did thus limit the divine love and the immortal hone we cannot follow him for we know that all men are children of a common father, and heirs of a glorious immortality.
Strike the religious history of the world where you will and you will find evidence of the religious sentiment.
The crude form and right of savage tribes, the temples now in ruins in the civilizations that greet us at the dawn of history, the mystic's dream, the Quakers' silent devotion, the worship and practical benevolence of the nineteenth century all declare that religion is an imperishable sentiment, and that man has ever had a dim realization of the relation he sustained to the eternal power that makes for righteousness.
Facts unmistakable unite to affirm that man has ever been a child of God and believing as we do that the aegis of his protective love is over all worlds it is the language of faith to declare that man will be forever a child of God and the object of his mercy.
Where did this universal religious sentiment come from? An answer quite commonly given the question would be something like this: "Religion is in the world." Religion is in the world because the church is in the world. Religion is in the world because there is a sacrificing priesthood ordained of heaven and the critics of Lyman Abbott would declare that religion is in the world because God has given us a revelation and confirmed it by such wonderful marvels as the swallowing of Jonah by the whale. We are told that we must believe that or we cannot believe the Old Testament. If we cannot accept the Old Testament we cannot accept the New. If we do not believe the New Testament we do not believe in Christ and if we cannot believe in Him we cannot believe in anything.
Upon the acceptance of Jonah's experience as literal history, Christ's law of love ultimately rests and religion stands on the divine foundations.
Foolishness can go no further. Lyman Abbott's critics seem to need some kindergarten lessons in common sense. Religion is not in the world because of the Bible, the church, or the priesthood. Say rather that these are in the world because man is a religious being and they are the outward expression of his religious nature and life.
Where did religion come from? Max Muller and his school would answer, "It was born in the nature myths so common in the childhood of the world." Man gave to nature's forces a personality, the nature myth became the hero myth, and in a later development was given a moral significance. Thus religion was born.
Where did religion come from? It was born, says Darwin and Lubbock, in superstition. It came with ancestor worship out of the belief of early tribes in ghosts and spirits. In this field you search will be rewarded if you seek to find where religion originated.
These theories are all inadequate. Religion is in the world because man is a child of God. It is the development of his spiritual nature.
Growth and change then are its law and method. Like all life, philosophy, and science it comes under the sway of the law of evolution. There is a fiction current in some organizations of Christendom that the church possesses a fixed theology. The only way to have a fixed theology is to deprive man of the power of thought. The century that makes the assertion of a fixed theology furnishes the refutation of the claim. Consider it only on the dogmatic side.
What a softening down of religious dogmas there has been in the past one hundred years. What has become of the good old doctrine of election? Oliver Wendell Holmes says that when he was a boy it was preached in New England that only one in two thousand were to be saved, and that a serious dispute arose in the town of Medford, which had at that time about 2,000 inhabitants, as to whether the deacon or the minister stood the best chance of receiving at last the favor of heaven.
The Calvinists seem to realize now that to ask men to enter upon the Christian life and be loyal to high ideals, when it is ordained from all eternity as a decree of high heaven that they shall go the other way, is as Father Taylor once said, "A good deal like inviting the gravestones home to dinner; it is impossible for them to come." Realizing this, Calvinism has quietly taken a position on Arminian or Methodist ground, and declares that "whosoever will may come." The change which has come over the spirit and dream of theology is evidenced by the changed nature of the hymns in modern worship. What lurid hymns our fathers sung:
"My thoughts on awful subjects roll,
Damnation and the dead;
What horrors seize the guilty soul
Upon the dying bed."
Or again:
"And are we sinners yet alive;
And do we yet rebel?
'Tis wondrous, 'Tis amazing grace,
That we are out of hell."
In the place of these lurid hymns of the olden time we sing:
"Yes for me, for me, he careth,
With a Father's tender care;
Yes with me, with me, he shareth,
Every burden, every fear."
Mr. Pratt then traced at length the development of religion through Animism, Polytheism, Monotheism, Cosmic Theism, to the final thought of the fatherhood of God, and asked the question whether it would pass away.
Evolution to him but established more firmly the fact of the imperishable nature of religion. Religion had nothing to fear from it, but it sounded the death knell of the old Latin theology.
It abolished the line that had been drawn between the natural and the supernatural, so that in this beautiful world we now had a vision of the "fullness of the Godhead bodily." The universe was not dirt. All matter was resolvable into force and will, and force and will are spiritual.
The final words were unity and love. "And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love." He closed with relating an incident in the life of Gounod, the composer, which illustrated the noble unselfishness of the man, an unselfishness and kindness that made him even more worthy of admiration than his art. This love illustrated in his life and in all who mediate the divine love to humanity is the grandest, greatest thing in this world or any world. It is the power that holds society together and if all were obedient to its law, our earth would become more beautiful than that mythological Eden with which it is affirmed that man began his terrestrial journey. Love is the golden ladder by which man ascends the heavenly heights.
—The Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, May 24, 1897, p. 5.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Theosophy in Butte
Montana, 1902Theosophy and its revival of occultism is establishing a firm footing in the philosophy and religion of the western world. Its teachings have been the recent occasion of extended newspaper discussion and very serious attention from the pulpit. The church is almost a unit against it, while writers are divided in opinion as to whether its influence is good or baneful. Even in Butte, where the society has one of its most active branches, theosophy has been the subject of sermons and public discussions. The advocates of the cult claim that those who attack it are actuated by a misconception of its doctrine and purpose, and by a mistaken idea that it is a new religion and antagonistic to Christianity, when in fact it is neither. Wide public attention has been called to the growth of the society by the extended reviews and notice given the new book, "Esoteric Christianity," by Annie Besant, the society's most prolific writer, in which she antagonizes the church by the declaration that there is a hidden side to religion, and that religion in its fullness is not free to all, but that it is handed out in measures as it can be received, or as man is prepared for its understanding and comprehension.
The Theosophical society now girdles the earth, and branches have been established in every country. Its headquarters are at Adyar, India, while the head of the American section is in New York, Alexander Fullerton, formerly an Episcopal clergyman, being its secretary.
Some Eminent Theosophists.
The society counts its membership among all races and in all countries, some very noted men and women being among its leaders. Camille Flammarion, the great French astronomer, is one of them. Thomas A. Edison and Professor Crookes, the eminent chemist of London, are ardent theosophists, and so was Max Mueller during his lifetime. J. C. Chattopadhyaya, a high caste Brahmin of India, is one of the converts to theosophy, and spent some time in the United States, where he delivered lectures on the subject. Annie Besant, the authoress, is a sister-in-law of the late Walter Besant, and her husband was a dean of the English church; A. P. Sinnett was for years on the editorial staff of the London Times until he received a commission in the army in India, where he met Madame Blavatsky, one of the founders of the modern society. C. W. Leadbeater, another prominent teacher and writer, was formerly a clergyman in the English church, and G. R. S. Mead, who has written some fine books on many subjects, is regarded as one of the most learned men in the world.
Origin of the Word.
The word "theosophy" is from the Greek and means "divine wisdom." The latter term is many thousand years old. The name theosophy dates from the third century of the Christian era and was applied by Ammonius Saccas, who started the electric theosophical system. Prof. Alexander Wilder, in his new Platonism, says the followers of that school were so called because of their practice of interpreting all sacred legends and narratives, myths and mysteries, by rule or principle of analogy and correspondence, so that events which were related as having occurred in the external world were regarded as expressing operations and experiences of the human soul. The object of this system was, first of all, to inculcate certain great moral truths upon its disciples, hence also the motto adopted by the theosophical society, "There Is No Religion Higher Than Truth." The chief aim of the founders of the ancient electric theosophical school was one of the three objects of its modern successor, the theosophical society of to-day, namely, to reconcile all religious sects and nations under a common system of ethics, based on eternal verities. The theosophists of olden times were large bodies and, like the modern, belonged to various religious philosophies. The mistake is often made that theosophy is a separate religion and antagonistic to other religions. This is not so, according to the claims made by the society. It is antagonistic to no religion. It teaches that all religions are streamlets of the one universal fountain of truth. Theosophy is a religious philosophy, universal in its scope and teaching and all inclusive. Its fundamental objects are: "To form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste or color; to encourage the study of comparative religion, philosophy and science; to investigate unexplained laws of nature and the power latent in man."
Basis of Theosophy.
The doctrine of the brotherhood of man is based on the belief that all men spring from the one spiritual source, and all bodies are from the one mother earth, but theosophy differs from other beliefs as to all men being born equal. Theosophy holds that the true evolution is the unfolding, the growth of intelligence or consciousness through physical forms. Consequently all men are not at the same grade of mental development or evolution, hence all are not equal. For instance, to compare the low intellect of an Australian bushman with the mind of an Emerson illustrates that idea of the difference of unfoldment and development. Spiritually all men are brothers and are from the same spiritual parent. In its study of comparative religions theosophy teaches that each religion has its own mission in the world, is suited to the nation to which it is given, and the type of civilization which it is to permeate. The failure to see these leads to unjust criticism, for an ideally perfect religion would not be suitable to imperfect and partially evolved men. Every religion in the course of time suffers from accretions due to ignorance. It is found in comparative religions that at base they are all one. In all ages of the world there have been great spiritual teachers — Christs or Buddhas — who gave out the truth essential to the demand of the stage of evolution and environment of the people of different nations. Christ was the latest teacher and Christianity the youngest religion. He came to the western world and gave out in a form suitable to the western mind the religion of Christianity. All religions are found to be clothed in parable, allegory, symbol and figure, and when once the key to those symbols and allegories is understood it will be found that there is no disagreement at all in the teachings of the religions of the world. The study of comparative religions naturally leads to a study of comparative mythology, in which it is found that the gods of the ancients are not the mere figures of weird and extravagant tales, but are the personification of forces of nature and intelligences, and that the stories themselves clothe great truths.
Miracles Not Supernatural.
The latent forces in man open a wide and deep subject for study. It is claimed that when once the latent forces are understood the so-called miracles of Christ will be seen not to be supernatural, but the result of the development of powers within the man that enabled him to overcome material forces external to himself. Man is an epitome of the universe, and all forces, powers and laws of the universe are centered in him. It is claimed that lying within the physical senses are senses still finer, more subtle, and that if man is made in the image of God he must possess spiritual faculties that are the root and base of all other faculties. Theosophy holds that the seeming miracles performed by the disciples of Jesus, who were only ordinary men, prior to the awakening of their spiritual faculties, were possible by reason of the development of these faculties by knowledge imparted to them by their master, Jesus. Intuition, it is claimed, is the sixth sense, now being developed to a greater or less extent by men of to-day. The surprises in store for the races are not so much in discoveries of the finer forces of nature, marvelous as they will be, but rather what man is going to find within himself, for there lies in man possibilities undreamed of by the western world. By a method of mental and spiritual training called yoga the Hindoos have developed powers that enable them to control physical forces, and which has caused them to be looked upon as miracle workers. The orientals have always studied these latent powers, while the westerners have studied everything else but themselves. If Bible statements are true men in olden times exhibited powers far beyond the comprehension of undeveloped spiritual man. Witness the statements of St. Paul and St. John, and the story of Daniel in the lion's den, and of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace.
What It Teaches.
Theosophy teaches the doctrine of reincarnation and karma. Karma is the law of retribution, the law of cause and effect, the power that controls all things, the resultant of moral action. It is the sowing and reaping, for as a man sows so shall he also reap. All thoughts and acts committed while here on earth are seeds which will produce a harvest for which the sower must return and reap. Reincarnation is the return of the soul time and time again into physical bodies until it has learned the lesson that earth can teach. It learns from experience. Hence the teaching of karma and reincarnation establishes justice in the world and exonerates God of partiality, and shows why one man is born in a palace and another in the slum, why one is born a genius and another a fool, why one is a saint and the other a sinner. It is held that man is the creator of his own destiny. To quote Sir Edwin Arnold, a believer in reincarnation:
"He cometh, reaper of the things he sow'd,
Sesamum, corn, so much cast in past birth;
And so much weed and poison-stuff, which mar
Him and the aching earth.
"If he shall labor rightly, rooting these,
And planting wholesome seedlings
where they grew,
Fruitful and fair and clean the ground shall be,
And rich the harvest due."
—The Anaconda Standard, Anaconda, Montana, Feb. 16, 1902, p. 19.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Faith Healer Does a Rattling Business in Indiana
Clymer, Indiana, 1911
Faith Healer Does a Rattling Business at Clymer
Hundreds of People Treated on Sunday, Most of Them Professing That They Were Cured. Some of Them Lift Their Crutches.
MANY INDIANA FOLKS TOOK TREATMENT
Miles Wall, a faith healer from Curwensville, is attracting considerable attention in this vicinity. He is said to have cured hundreds of persons at Clymer on Sunday. People who have been suffering from sundry ailments say that they have been relieved by the treatment, if such it can be called, given them.
Wall believes that he is endowed with the power of divine healing. Many instances of remarkable cures are recited by persons who have taken treatment from him. Twelve Indiana people went to Clymer on the 6:45 street car on Sunday morning and others continued to go all day to visit Wall. It is estimated that at least 100 persons from this town visited the man and took treatment from him. His fee is 75 cents per patient, and he claims he can cure any disease except those of heredity and deformities that were born with the patients.
One Indiana man had a child five years of age that would not eat. He took his child to Curwensville where he knew Wall could be found. The child had wasted away and was in a very bad condition. Wall handled the child and asked him if he wanted anything to eat. The little fellow ate enough for two persons and since that time has never uttered a word of complaint and is apparently healthy.
An Indiana woman suffering from rheumatism went to Clymer on Sunday and on Monday was working in her garden, claiming that her rheumatism had left her and that she had no traces of the former pain.
Another local woman suffered from a slight failing in hearing. Wall touched her ear and the woman claims that she never experienced such powers of hearing as she now enjoys.
Several persons from the surrounding country went to Clymer on crutches and after taking treatment from Wall left for their homes leaving their crutches in Clymer.
Wall began treating patients at 4 o'clock on Sunday morning and so numerous were they that he did not finish until about midnight that evening.
This is his second visit to Clymer, he having been there one Sunday previous when it is said that sixty persons were cured of sundry ailments and afflictions.
—Indiana Evening Gazette, Indiana, Pennsylvania, June 7, 1911, page 1.
Faith Healer Does a Rattling Business at Clymer
Hundreds of People Treated on Sunday, Most of Them Professing That They Were Cured. Some of Them Lift Their Crutches.
MANY INDIANA FOLKS TOOK TREATMENT
Miles Wall, a faith healer from Curwensville, is attracting considerable attention in this vicinity. He is said to have cured hundreds of persons at Clymer on Sunday. People who have been suffering from sundry ailments say that they have been relieved by the treatment, if such it can be called, given them.
Wall believes that he is endowed with the power of divine healing. Many instances of remarkable cures are recited by persons who have taken treatment from him. Twelve Indiana people went to Clymer on the 6:45 street car on Sunday morning and others continued to go all day to visit Wall. It is estimated that at least 100 persons from this town visited the man and took treatment from him. His fee is 75 cents per patient, and he claims he can cure any disease except those of heredity and deformities that were born with the patients.
One Indiana man had a child five years of age that would not eat. He took his child to Curwensville where he knew Wall could be found. The child had wasted away and was in a very bad condition. Wall handled the child and asked him if he wanted anything to eat. The little fellow ate enough for two persons and since that time has never uttered a word of complaint and is apparently healthy.
An Indiana woman suffering from rheumatism went to Clymer on Sunday and on Monday was working in her garden, claiming that her rheumatism had left her and that she had no traces of the former pain.
Another local woman suffered from a slight failing in hearing. Wall touched her ear and the woman claims that she never experienced such powers of hearing as she now enjoys.
Several persons from the surrounding country went to Clymer on crutches and after taking treatment from Wall left for their homes leaving their crutches in Clymer.
Wall began treating patients at 4 o'clock on Sunday morning and so numerous were they that he did not finish until about midnight that evening.
This is his second visit to Clymer, he having been there one Sunday previous when it is said that sixty persons were cured of sundry ailments and afflictions.
—Indiana Evening Gazette, Indiana, Pennsylvania, June 7, 1911, page 1.
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