Foundation Stones of Faith

FOUNDATION STONES OF FAITH, BY B. CECIL GATES. The youth just entering the field of theological investigation is often so bewildered by the many diverging lines of thought and theory that he can hardly decide what course he should follow, in order to find the coveted prize of truth. To solve the most important problems connected with our present existence, we should know something about the origin and purpose of life, but when by the light of reason we attempt to locate the end or the beginning we are at once conscious of our mental limitations; and, amid the endless tangle of incoherent and conflicting ideas, we are apt to feel as if we were adrift on the ocean without a chart or compass. In any process of reasoning it is impossible to arrive at true and sound conclusions, if the premises from which we start are false or unsound. To illustrate: as a basis of action my friend assumed that the object of life was to become acquainted with laws of good and evil that govern it, and that it was necessary to commit sin or break laws in order to understand the full force of their negative, as well as their positive, effects. Reasoning from such a hypothesis he decided to go to the very bottom of sin, in order that he might rise above it and be able to appreciate the good. I need only say that his life was a failure. His philosophy was dangerous and his conclusions unsound, not because his reasoning was weak, but because his premises were false. The young man who has an active mind is so anxious to find some base for his mental activities that he is apt to accept as fundamental truths certain thoughts and ideas which are in reality only approved theories, and which in most instances are regarded

i,F,0. IMPROVEMENT ERA. as such, not only by matured scholars, but also by the very men who have advanced the theories. , When we consider the relationship between fruit and seed, as applied to action and thought, we shall see at once that the embryo of character, and hence of destiny, is at first merely an as • sumption or hypothesis on the part of any individual. Then, how important it is that our thoughts or faith should have a firm foundation. Therefore, before accepting any theory which would tend to affect our course of thought or action, we should try to determine what the ultimate result or ending will be. This observation should be taken not from the low viewpoint of personal interest, but rather from the high plane of the public good . Suppose there was a much favored country of which you knew only by report, and you had a desire to reach that land, but found yourself adrift on the ocean without chart or compass and so far out that even with the most powerful field glass to aid your natural vision you could not discern any familiar object on either shore by which you could take your bearings or determine your course! What would reason suggest under such circumstances? Perhaps, that you follow some other vessel. It is not likely, however, that you would choose one just drifting around, bound for nowhere in particular but hoping perhaps to run into some "treasure island." Would not reason suggest that you follow an ocean liner whose prow seemed turned towards some fixed point in the heavens, and which, regardless of wind or tide, was holding to her course, as if the captain was familiar with the route? We drift out on the great ocean of life entirely unconscious of our surroundings, in quite the same way that we might be borne out to sea in the silence and darkness of night while we were still unconsciously resting in the cabin with the visions of dreamland floating around us. By the time the torch of reason is kindled, and we are awakened to the realization of the fact that we must assume the responsibility of directing our own life's journey, we find our finite vision is insufficient to define or locate even with the aid of the best telescopic theories any object in the past or future upon which we can safely base present operations, or determine the "way" which leads to the bright harbor of human happiness. Birth may look like the beginning, and death

FOUNDATION STONES OF FAITH. 853 like the ending, of the journey, but these points are just as elusive and uncertain as the horizon which seems to mark the bounds of sea-space. Young man, if you are about to lay your hand on the wheel and take charge of your own bark of life, be sure that you do not change your course because you are running counter to the tide of public opinion or because the wind of opposition may blow full in your face. Neither should you be too ready to follow the beautiful yachts and stately-looking crafts which may be crossing your path; for, after all, their object for sailing may be only for pleasure or for plunder. Reason would suggest that you consult the chart used by your father until you are able to distinguish between a pleasure yacht and a merchant vessel, or between a pirate skipper and a legally chartered steamer. Now to change both symbol and metaphor, let us ask the question: is there not towering somewhere above the fog of abstract ideas, scientific theories, conflicting philosophies and theological dogmas, some real example, some tested line of conduct, some great character who stands out like the fixed star of the north, some individual bearing the seal of legal authority, and holding aloft the flag of the kingdom of peace? There is without doubt such a light shining in the world. The gray mist of two millenniums is not sufficient to dim its brightness. The dismal oblivion of the remote past which has swallowed up nations and kingdoms, appears only as a somber background against which the name and personality of Jesus Christ stands out more boldly and brilliantly. According to his own teachings he is "the way, the truth, and the life." The experience of eighteen hundred years has served only to establish his high claims. For to the very degree that individuals and communities have followed "in his steps" have they found peace, rest, social contentment and national prosperity. So potent and uplifting has been the example and the precepts of this great character that even the infidel and the agnostic have, generally speaking, accorded to him the first place among ethical philosophers. Such persons, however, deny the underlying principles upon which he stood, and the overarching hope that stimulated and sus-