God, Man, and the Devil.

Thames Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 8331, 23 April 1896, Page 2

God, Man, and the Devil.

The following is a synopsis of the lee ure on the above subject delivered at the Oddtellows' Hal by Mrs Harris ("Jenny Wren"):—• In the course of her remarks, Mrs Harris said •* Ho w can the thought of man fiod out God, or his word express the character of the piety he seeks ? We are taught that God is a spirit, that in Him we live and move, and have our being, therefore it must be that He is the universal spirit of Supreme Fatherhood who fills the universe with the manifestations of His wisdom, love, and truth, The mighty firmament spread above, around us, starred with Blowing worlds, reminds us of the divine law of order ; the glowing colours and fragrant odours of flowers, the iuscious fruits of orchards and vineyards, remind us of the universal laws of harmony; the whole universe, from g'owin r suns which centre wondrous systems, to the minutest creation of the vegetable and animal world, reminds us of the immutable wisdom of

the f'ivine Spirit of Good. When with our f aeble thouuht we strive to follow the presence of Him whom no man hath seen at any time, befo> c whose glory angels veil their faces, our soul's consciousness can attain but the most remote conception of His perfect wisdom, truth, and love. We must as little children accept the manifestations of our Father's love, truth, and wisdom, as declaration of His existence. i\pw has humanity forgotten the divine command. " Thou shalt have none other Gods but me," and. made itself Gods many and various ! Not only the heathen and barbarian, not only the idol worshippers of darkened lands,

but the professing Christians of to-day have failed to realise the sublime truth of worshipping a spirit of universal Fatherhood, the over-soul, the innersoul of all things : striving evermore to perfect the soul of roan, the masterpiece of nature, the thought of God incafna'e within human form. Throughout the vastness of space, His presence is revea ed in ever greater and more resplendent Vlory. The love lit spheres which surround our planet, as all others, are they not radiant with the expressions of God breathed through millions of happy, ever progressive sou's? And when we also awake, shall we not be found after His likeness? As for man, is he not designed to g'orify God? When we hear of the doctrine of original sin and natural depravity, are we not confronted with the facts of man's gradual unfo dment from the time of his first advent upon this planet, through all the stages of evolutionary progress, even until now?

Man, a cave dweller, only a little above the animnl world by which he was surrounded, as he is represented in the old Ea tern allegory assembling the atimils before him in order to give them names; men, in hia primeval statr, long, long before the time of Adan, aiakinu to him at If implements of warfare against the ferocity of the beasts, knowing naught else but the law of force, by wbioh be cculd prevail; maD, an infant in knowledge, yet immortality e*en then presenting its poasibilt'es to him through (he dim vista of futurity, burying hts dead with spear and chlabash of water, worshijjpiug the elements he feared, offering sacrifices to supposed deities in order to propitiate their wratb ; man, a little child, growing in strength, playing with toys, grasping after imaginary prowess, developing the love of possession, fighting mighty warfares with bis fellows, striving to overcome by fore, building cities, aeqairiug territories, Hill playing wih fate, knowing as yet nothing of the real warfare, the true victory to be attained ; kindling fires of martyrdom, instituting inquisitions of croelty, covering '.he land with blood and carnage in the name of the God of Lave. Yet stepping up slowly, painfully through many phases of religious thought, laboring through superstitions and error, bigotry and narrowness, ever onward towards the light of trutb, the universal brotherhood of the sons of God.

And what about the devil all this time, the spirit of evil,who?e name i-Luion, ever entering into man'd consciousness to tempt him to deny truth arjd jjood?

Surely the dear Christ knew well about these things when he taught the people of His time ia parables, and spoke to those who were possessed by dem>n3. The old bogies by which children of the past were frightened, in whose keeping souls were supposed to euffor in' fire and brimstone through endless a»»es —the creatures of Bupe'stion and fear—are they not known to-Jay as the passions and vices which tempt and hold souls in bondage vile ? Listen to the r jice of the Christ: " Get thea lehind me, Sit an, God only will I seive," and see the triumph of lore over fear, wiedom over ignorance, truth over error. Ignorance is the only devil, but he ba? legions of angels. Selfish greed, iouoteut hate, lies sud fr. uJs of many varieties follow iv his u&n, and create a bell within each human heart that will receive them; naught can vanish the dark-

ness of hades, but light and troth are the Saviour, the Christ of God, the Spirit of purity, and love the Bedeamer of the world.