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INTO MARVELOUS LIGHT
By LLEWELYN ST EP HENS.
(Continued from last week.)
“Julian, I must beg of you to answer me a few
more questions before we retrace our steps to the
main subject under consideration. You know that
we must stand on the right premise, or at any mo
ment our foundations may prove to be quicksand
and be easily washed from under us. You have ad
mitted that Jesus Christ is the most perfect charac
ter of the human race Put that fact down as the
corner stone of our structure. Next, from what
Source did he derive his perfection'? Could such
perfection have sprung from Satan, the author of
all evil?”
“You have me there, John. It could not.”
“Who is the author of perfection 1 ?”
“Upon your basis, God.”
“Then, from whom did Christ come 1 ?”
“ You force me to Say, from God.”
“I do not force you to so say. It is your rea
son, your growing insight, the light dawning into
your soul, which makes you see it and acknowledge
it. And if Christ came from God, must not God
have sent him into the world?”
“Presumably so.”
“And if God sent Christ into the world, he must
have had an object in so doing, would it not be the
only reasonable hypothesis?”
“According to your basis of reasoning.”
“ ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ Do
you accept this?”
“That is beyond my comprehension. That was
your text, the first time I heard you preach in this
very church ten years ago.”
“You are evading my question again. What
finite mind can comprehend Infinity? 0 the dwarf
ed, distorted soul which seeks to imprison God with
in human limitations! Can the finite mind compre
hend even the material universe? Can it compre
hend the continent of mind? Much less can it
comprehend the infinitude of God! Can even the
finite love, joy, hope, faith or aspirations of human
ity be measured by finite comprehension? Much less
that Infinite fountain which gave these birth. Jul
ian, answer my question, do you accept God’s gift
of his Son ?’ ’
“Intellectually, perhaps I could accept the Bible
theory a c plausible. From a personal point of view,
my embittered soul was forced to forever renounce
any system of religion, as you know.”
“Julian, tell me the meaning of religion. I do
not mean of Romanism, or Buddhism, or Mohamme
danism or of Protestantism, but tell me the meaning
of religion pure and undefiled?”
“Since you prefer Bible phraseology, I suppose
you would like me to say that religion is ‘To visit
the fatherless and widow in their affliction, and to
keep himself unspotted from the world.’ But no
man in this day and time adopts this as his faith
and rule of practice. And -without prolonging this
discussion further, John, if you are determinedly
bent on mv becoming religious to the manner and
extent of joining some church and swearing allegi
ance to some man-made creed, I swear to God, what
ever he is and wherever he is, that I’ll die and go
to your hell of fire and brimstone, before I’ll do
that. Do you think that fifteen years of church
was not enough for me?”
“I have never intimated to you at any time dur
ing our acquaintance that you should join some
church. My one prayer has been that you might
be joined to God. My despair has been over your
agnosticism. You have never denied that God exist
ed somewhere afar off, but your denial was of any
knowledge of Him. And the causes which brought
about this state can easily be traced to your train
ing under the Roman system. But you are too in
telligent a man, too broadminded a man, to allow
yourself to become a slave to prejudice to such a
degraded extent as to cause you to refuse to accept
truth or to acknowledge it whenever and wherever
The Golden Age for August 9,1906.
found. Truth cannot be imprisoned, cannot be
crushed, cannot be hid from any one who seeks it,
unless he cover his eyes with the veil of prejudice
and refuse to look upon it. The soul which discards
the weight of prejudice, and mounts on the wings
of desire for Truth, is like the eagle which soars
meet the sun, and is kissed by its rays ere he takes
his winged flight into the distant sky.
“Only that belief in God which is elevating to
us, can be accepted to Him. We cannot make God
the embodiment of highest thought, unless we live
and move and have our being in Him. This con
ception of God gives meaning not only to the uni
verse as a whole, but to the most infinitesimal part
of it, and helps man to realize that man’s pulse
beats as God’s heart throbs.
“And what you want to do in this great life
work, Julian, and what I want to do, is not so much
in exposing the errors of Roman Catholicism, or
Buddhism or Mohammedanism, or calling so much
attention to any disease, but to realize the impor
tance of uplifting the remedy for the cure; to pre
sent God in Christ in a form so true, so noble, so
beautifully pure, that all men will be instinctively
drawn unto Him. Give men a view of God so true,
so reasonable, so exalted, so in harmony with the
visible as well as invisible manifestation of Him
self in the universe as well as in man’s soul, so
worthy and npliftng. that they must believe, that
irresistablv they will he drawn to believe, as the
‘mind is drawn to truth and the heart to love.’
“God alone -within man can transform man. If
I really believe that God is my Father, what have T
to fear? Nothing except what might alienate me
from Him. Ts God is mv father, then
“ ‘Death is hut a, covered way ,
That opens into light,
Wherein no blinded child may stray
Beyond his father’s sight.’
“Ts we would find God and realize His presence,
we must do his will. Ts we would lead other men
to God. it must he through living according to His
will. Through the human to the divine! When
men lose faith in humanity, it is hut a short step
to lose faith in God, and in the power of God to
reelfim and save men.
“So. Julian, let us take men by the hand, and
lead them tn sincerity. tn justice, tn high aims, tn
pifv and svmnathv. tn duty, tn love and service:
pud our heavenlv Father, who is the source of all
these, will draw all men unto Him.”
Julian Deveaux was bowed in the spirit of a child
in pre ver hv its mother’s side when its heart was
conscious only of the love of God everywhere.
CHAPTER XXXVTT.
“Julian.” said John Marsden, verv tenderly,
resting a hand upon his shoulder, “I think we are
now ready to speak not only as man to man, hut as
brother man to brother man. T am convinced that
von are a changed man. hut I fear yon are still
looking at some things from an uncertain point of
view. To perform a worthv work, one must be
prompted hy a worthv spirit and have a worthy
motive. Ts revenge is the sole spirit which prompts
this vast work yon have in mind, may I ask first
from whence does the spirit of revenger come?”
“I see John. I see.”
“And do von think that hy human weight, and
through the power nf even countless wealth tn revo
lutionize the religions world? Has the Spirit nf
Gnd whisnered in vour heart, ‘thou art a chosen
vessel nntn me’? What man dare he so hold as tn
proclaim that he. alone, will wipe out som n great
curse, when lie has not been so called of God?
Without God’s guidance at every step, what could
Moses have done for the children nf Israel? And
would von. in vour own might, undertake tn avenge
anv wron<”? God mmht saw unto vou. ‘this night
thv soul shall he reonired of thee.’ And he says,
‘avenge not yourselves: * * ♦ Vengeance is
mine; I will repay.’ And, furthermore, ‘neither is
he that planteth anything, neither he that water
eth; but God that giveth the increase.’ Julian, what
is the spirit prompting, the motive impelling, and
the power acting in this vast undertaking you are
planning?”
“The devil through and through.”
“And you wanted me to work with you? Did
you think to buy your peace of mind, to cover the
sins of your life with money, and to banish all
wrongs with a golden scepter? Did you think to
tempt me with worldly power, Julian?”
“Before God, John, the amount I willed to yon
was placed at your disposal, except that it must be
used hy yon in New York City. You must not
leave New York.”
“What is the spirit prompting this restriction
yon place upon roe? Is it of God?”
“I think you will believe me, when I tell you that
I had only the best of motives. I know how your
work has been restricted from the lack of means
to enlarge it; and I had in mind a great institution
al work for yon in a more attractive part of the
city, with commodious buildings, and with a suffi
cient endowment to put yon at ease the rest of your
life. It is true that I did want the work to be most
strenuous in opposition to the system of Roman
Catholicism; but, knowing that you had renounced
it, as well as myself, I thought you would most en
thusiastically co-operate with me in my plan. I
think you have always had a specially wide open
hand and warm heart for Catholic priests who came
to this country in despair, and you have had hun
dreds of them as converts enrolled among the mem
bers of vour parish. It was at the death bed of a
converted Catholic that T was first impressed bv
VOU. Hence, it was quite natural, I think, that I
thought you would be in full sympathy with my
plans.”
“What you have said regarding my work is true
to a degree: but my gospel has been one of love,
of healing, of peace. My one aim has been to lift
un Christ, who said of himself: ‘uAnd T, if The
hfted un. will draw all mon unto me:’ and of whom
Paul said, ‘For T determined not to know anvthing
among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.’ ”
“But is it not just as important to expose evil as
it is to present purity? Should not the world he
shown the curse of sin as well as the blessing of
goodness? Should not the devil be photographed
and placed on public exhibition whenever pos
sible?”
Julian Deveaux arose, as he invariably did when
excited, and continued:
“It is Satan who has made this world a hell for
me. It is he who fills the drunkard’s grave, the
orphan asylum, the home for the friendless, adorns
the gallows, puts a dagger into some sleeping heart
under the cover of darkness, and blackens the pur
ity of a once happy home. Envious Satan would
see the purest heart made vile that it might keep
him company. The very air is contaminated with
his hreath, the sun is shadowed hy his wings, caus
ing the leaves to shrivel, the flowers to fade, the
heart of the oak to decay and the fountain to run
dry. The germs of disease which scientists strive
to catch the sun’s rays and say to them, ‘Shine no
cinders from Satan’s volcano in hell. As well try
to catch the sun’s ravs and say to them, ‘shine no
more.’ Oftentimes I seem to hear the world’s
combined moans and cries of despair; followed hy
ger, of disappointment and of despair: followed by
an inhuman sound—the echo of Satan’s laughter!
And yet vou would not count it worth while, John,
to use every effort in exposing such a monster!”
“Certainly it is necessary to condemn evil, but
more important to extol purity. Ts we look con
stantly at Satan, we have no opportunity to see
God,
(Continued next week,)
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