Suggestive Thoughts for the Mildly Skeptical

SUGGESTIVE THOUGHTS
FOR
THE
MILDLY SKEPTICAL. BY DR. J. X. ALLEN, OGDEN, UTAH. The reasons assigned by skeptics for doubting the existence of a Supreme Ruler of the universe are so many and varied that it would be impossible for me to attempt meeting them all in the brief space usually occupied by contributors to this journal. Neither do I intend to quote scripture to those who doubt its in- spiration. My object is to suggest a few thoughts for the conr sideration of thinkers. . First.
There is unlimited space. Second.
There is unlimited time. Third. There is unlimited intelligence. 'From due consider- ation of these three propositions, I conclude that there must be a Fourth.
Namely, unlimited power, wisdom and benevolence. The first proposition, I admit, is not demonstrable; but it is a hypothesis universally admitted. Should we say, There is a limit to space, the question would very naturally arise: What is there on the other side? I think we may consider this proposition set- tled, especially as I address myself to thinkers only. That there is unlimited time may not be so readily consented to. Of course, there is no one known universal measurement of time. Bat I opine that no well-read thinker will question the state- ment that all known, as well as all conceivable, parts of the uni- verse have tims, although their measurements are varied. This second proposition is much of the same nature as the first. Time is simply a measure of eternity. We cannot conceive of either a beginning or an ending. Perhaps
it would not be amiss to call attention to a few of

346 IMP BO VEMENT ERA . the various times of which we are cognizant. With us the civil day is from midnight to midnight. The astronomer's day is from high noon to high noon; while the scriptural day is from sunset to sunset: "And the evening and the morning was the first day," etc. A day on this earth is about twenty-four hours, while a day on the sun is some twenty-five times as long: while a day on Mars is but forty minutes longer than with us. Jupiter, although thir- teen hundred times larger than the earth, has a day but five- twelfths as long. This persistence of time is deducible from two ascertained facts: namely, the indestructibility of matter, and the universal- ity of law and order. From spectral analysis, philosophers conclude that the con- stituent elements of all worlds are pretty much the same, and that these elements are non-perishable. There is a oneness everywhere in substance and in the laws of motion. From these two propositions, we infer the third; namely, there is unlimited intelligence. Everywhere the same laws of attraction and repulsion obtain. There is universal order, no confusion. The same laws govern all worlds. From the preceding statements, it is reasonable to conclude that one and the same creator or architect has control of the whole. The oneness of the universe is detectable, not only in the anatomy of all the heavenly bodies, but also in their physiology, show- ing that they are presided over by one conscious, intelligent mind. Although I promised not to quote scripture, I think it would not be amiss to give a quotation from Cicero, as translated in Rol- lin's history: We ought, above all things, to be convinced that there is a Supreme Being who presides over all the events of the world, and disposes every- thing as Sovereign Lord and Arbiter: that it is to him mankind are in- debted for all the good they enjoy: that he penetrates into, and is con- scious of whatever passes in the most secret recesses of our hearts: that he treats the just and the impious according to their respective merits: that the true means of acquiring his favor, and of being pleasing in his sight, is not
by employing
riches
and
magnificence in
the
worship

THOUGHTS FOR THE MILDLY SKEPTICAL. 347 that is paid to him, but by presenting him with a heart pure and blame- less, and by adoring him with an unfeigned, profound veneration. This Roman scholar and philosopher, though not cognizant of the numbered worlds revealed by the instruments of precision called into requisition by modern astronomers, could see a oneness of design, a unity of arrangement, that precluded the possibility of chance. Discord, disorder, irregularity, contradiction and inconsistency may be the result of chance; but order, harmony, beauty, and con- sistency, when universal and persistent, must be and of necessity are the productions of infinite intelligence, wisdom and goodness. Tnis universality of law, commonly spoken of as the law of nature, is considered and spoken of by many as being the "Great First Cause," — self-originated and self-perpetuated; while more deeply reflecting minds conclude that, of necessity, there must be a something at the back of and beyond nature. Can there be a shadow independent of substance, or a result without a cause? One is almost induced to regard the doubting of the existence of an uncreated spirit of infinite intelligence and wisdom beyond nature, as savoring, if not of insanity, at least of a degree of men- tal imbecility. Instance: Recently an old friend of mine, a skep- tic by nature and a lawyer by profession, came into my office and said: "Doctor, I cannot see any need that we have for a God. Everything is governed by law, the planets move in their orbits by law, and the whole of the animal and vegetable kingdoms are governed and perpetuated by law. What is the need or use of a God?" Doctor: "True, the mineral, the animal and the vegetable kingdoms are all governed by law. Is not this city governed by law?" Lawyer: "Why, yes, certainly we are governed by law, or we would be in a bad fix if we were not." Doctor: "Is not the state governed by law?" Lawyer: "Of course it is, or it would not be a state; it would be simply a mob, a rabble." Doctor: "Are not the United States governed by law?"