Part 5 (1/2)
The first of these was the physical universe. I had accepted the theory of evolution in a general way; yet I could not account for the marvelous organism of millions of worlds and suns and systems, of which our earth is but a mere atom, filling the infinity of s.p.a.ce, beyond all human comprehension, revolving and whirling thru s.p.a.ce, each in its alloted orbit, with such perfect order and regularity, and all in the most perfect harmony, governed by such immutable, perfect and universal law, upon the theory of the operation of blind, unintelligent force upon inert matter. Here was an effect. There must be a cause. The effect cannot be greater than the cause. Here is an infinite universe; there must be an infinite cause; and that cause cannot be less than Infinite Eternal Intelligence. This cause, for the want of a better name, we call G.o.d. I could thus easily account for the universe thru the processes of evolution, directed by eternal, intelligent will, operating thru eternal immutable and perfect law, upon eternal and indestructible matter. Whether correct or not, this satisfied my mind as to G.o.d and the universe.
I could sing with the Psalmist:
”The heavens declare the glory of G.o.d, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech and night unto night showeth knowledge. Their line is gone out thru all the earth and their words to the end of the world. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.”
As I have before said, I never had any doubt about the existence of a Supreme Being, and that the universe was in some way the product of his creative energy. I think the doctrine of evolution satisfactorily solves the ”riddle of the universe,” if it recognizes Infinite Spirit as well as Eternal Matter; and that this Infinite Spirit is in some way, tho beyond our comprehension, the real Force or Energy, both the Intelligence and Life, the Great Uncaused First Cause behind all phenomena, who, for the want of a better name we call G.o.d.
Perhaps it is impossible for any one to think of G.o.d without at the same time conceiving some sort of definition of him. Yet, G.o.d cannot be defined. He is infinite. And infinity cannot be defined in terms of the finite. Any attempt to define G.o.d is to limit Him. Our conceptions of G.o.d are at best limited, tho G.o.d himself is not. The finite mind cannot conceive unlimited s.p.a.ce, nor eternal duration. We can conceive of them as _existing_; but we cannot conceive what they are. We can conceive of G.o.d as infinite; but we cannot conceive what infinity is. If we could, it would not be infinite, unless we are infinite. So all attempts to define G.o.d in terms of the finite are futile. And yet, when we look back over the past history of the human race and see what ruin has been wrought by this very thing it becomes appalling! All religious controversies, wars and bloodshed have had their ultimate source just here. Certain men have formed certain conceptions of G.o.d, of his character, his attributes, his will, and his purposes concerning mankind. These they have labelled, patented, copyrighted, and declared to the world to be correct, final and infallible, and demanded that all the world accept them on penalty of death!
To quote, in substance, from a recent author, we might as well try to make a meal of the stars and contain them all in our stomach at once as to comprehend G.o.d in his fullness. G.o.d _is what He is_, no matter what our opinions may be of him. But what any one of us _thinks G.o.d is_, that is what _G.o.d is to him_. This is all the definition of G.o.d that need be given. G.o.d is his own revelation. ”The heavens declare the glory of G.o.d.” Nature reveals G.o.d in greater power and splendor than any book.
What is _my_ conception of G.o.d? Only this: G.o.d is the Life of the universe; and this includes the ALL. As what we call the spirit is the life in my body, and permeates the whole of it from the most central vital organs to the utmost extremities of nails and hair; so G.o.d--and He is Spirit--permeates the _whole universe_, and is the life of, or in it, as you please.
”'All are but parts of one stupendous whole, Whose body Nature is, and G.o.d the Soul.'”
He is manifest in the majesty of the universe and is seen in the beauties of the flowers. He is reflected in the painted wings of the birds, in the rippling leaf, in the blade of gra.s.s, in the dewdrop, in the snowflake, in all nature; and above all in man himself, in whom He dwells and lives. How n.o.ble and inspiring the thought that I, even I, am a part of the life of the infinite, eternal G.o.d! All this I take on trust--_by faith_--and confess freely that, while believing it I cannot comprehend it. But such a G.o.d must be eternally good. He could not be the monster that Jewish tradition and orthodox Christianity paint him, eternally hating his enemies, all of whom were his own creatures, and plunging into an eternal h.e.l.l of fire and brimstone the larger part of his own children, created in his own image and likeness. While I cannot understand the ”problems of his providence,” I am sure that ”the Judge of all the earth will do right.” As to the perplexities that have grown out of the ideas of G.o.d's _foreknowledge, foreordination_, etc., my view is that no such a thing as _foreknowledge_ can be attributed to G.o.d. To do so is to attribute to him time limitations.
To the Infinite G.o.d there can be no such thing as past or future. All is the ”_eternal present_” in which G.o.d is still at work, as much as ever before. I confess I cannot comprehend _how_ this is; but I can comprehend _that_ it is.
”Deep in unfathomable mines Of never failing skill, He treasures up his bright designs, And works his sovereign will.”
_MAN_
”What is man that thou art mindful of him?” So far as we know, as a pure animal, he is the highest product, the climax of the processes of organic evolution. In addition to this, he is the only known creature on earth, or elsewhere, endowed with those G.o.d-like faculties of mind, thought, reason, will,--_soul_. As far as man's moral character and destiny are concerned, it matters as little how he came to be here, as it does who Cain's wife was. We are confronted with the serious fact that _we are here_; and that we are endowed with these supreme faculties that differentiate us from the lower forms of life about us, and consequently entail upon us, not thru some supernatural revelation, but by natural instinct, certain moral and social responsibilities and obligations, not only to our own kind, but to all those myriad forms of life below us,--obligations and responsibilities which we cannot avoid or escape, except at our peril.
And as to these responsibilities, it is not material whether man is immortal or not. I once had serious doubts of this. But while I now believe it with a firm conviction that in my own mind amounts to moral certainty, yet I recognize that it is beyond the pale of ocular proof or physical demonstration. It pertains exclusively to the realm of faith.
”Strange is it not? that of the myriads who, Before us pa.s.sed the door of darkness thru, Not one returns, to tell us of the road, Which to discover, we must travel too?”
And yet this faith is one of the most comforting and inspiring of all the objects of faith known to man. But he that is governed in his life and conduct, solely by the fear of some dire punishment in the after-life, or some hope of bribing the Infinite to give him a comfortable berth in heaven, is at best but a little and weak soul.
No need to go into any argument here upon the question of whether, ”If a man die shall he live again?” Our social and moral obligations to live right with our fellowmen are none the less, whether there is an after-life or not. In fact no man can be right with G.o.d,--a part of whose life he is,--while wrong with his fellow-man.
_THE PROBLEM OF EVIL_
This brings us to a consideration of the problem of evil. ”Ever since human intelligence became enlightened enough to grope for a meaning and purpose in human life, this problem of the existence of evil has been the burden of man.” (John Fiske.) Out of some attempt to solve it, every religion on earth was born. I do not offer to solve this problem; but to try to take a rational view of it.
Good and evil are relative terms. How could we know anything about the one but thru its contrast with the other? If there were no such thing as evil, how could we be conscious of the good? How could we know that it was good? We cannot know anything except by its contrast with something else. Some element of unlikeness must appear before we can distinguish anything from something else. To quote again from Fiske: ”If there were no color but red, it would be exactly the same thing as if there were no color at all.” There could be no music except for variety and contrasts in sounds. If we had never tasted anything but sugar, could we know what bitterness is? But having tasted the bitter we then know what sweetness means. Likewise, if there was no such thing as moral evil in the world, we could not possibly know what moral goodness is. We could not know what happiness is if we did not have some knowledge of sorrow and pain. Just why this is so, I do not pretend to know. I am only stating facts as they are; and the great Creator, who is the author of both, if of either, knows; and we may know in proper time. Another pertinent question from Fiske may be asked here: ”What would have been the worth of that primitive innocence portrayed in the myth of the garden of Eden? What would have been the moral value or significance of a race of human beings ignorant of evil, and doing beneficent acts with no more consciousness or volition than the deftly contrived machine that picks up raw material at one end, and turns out some finished product at the other? Clearly for strong and resolute men and women an Eden would be but a fool's paradise. How could anything fit to be called _character_ ever have been produced there? But for tasting the forbidden fruit, in what respect could man have become a being of higher order than the beast of the field?”
The point is that the same law of evolution applies in the moral world as it does in the material. As the highest types of life have been developed only thru the processes of struggle with adverse elements, in which only the fittest, strongest and best adapted to its environment survived, so moral character is only developed thru the struggle with moral evil. Just as one cannot learn to swim on a parlor sofa, but must get in the water and struggle, so one must come in contact with, combat, struggle with, and overcome moral evil in order to develop the highest and strongest type of moral character.
”Heaven is not reached by a single bound; But we build the ladder by which we rise From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies, And rise to its summit round by round.”
The rise from a b.e.s.t.i.a.l to a moral plane involves the acquirement of a knowledge of both good and evil. The moral conscience thus developed plays the same role in the moral world that the consciousness of pain does in the physical. As this consciousness of pain is a monitor to warn us from physical danger, so the moral conscience is our monitor to keep us from moral evil. And the higher this moral conscience is developed, the more sensitive it becomes, the higher will its possessor rise in the moral scale. This is the law which Paul tells us is written in the hearts of all men, ”their consciences meanwhile accusing or excusing them.” This may seem a strange philosophy. But it comports with the facts of nature and life. The mystery of evil is not solved. But at least we have a rational, working hypothesis upon which to deal with it, as will further appear as we proceed.
_SIN_
Evil, at least in the physical world, exists separate and apart from sin. We will not speculate upon the metaphysical differences that may, or may not, exist between moral evil and personal guilt. But I wish to record briefly the views I ultimately arrived at concerning the nature and consequences of sin.