Again, the Creator must instruct his creatures in his laws and their
rewards and penalties to the full extent of his power. That is to say, he
must provide well‐trained educators of mind, as fast and as fully as is
possible in the nature of things, having in view the results of eternal
ages to guide his decisions.
Again, to secure voluntary obedience, he must add to the natural rewards
and penalties of his laws, the other class of motives which experience has
shown to be most effective. Thus, he must present himself to his creatures
as a being possessing all those qualities which call forth the delightful
emotions of admiration, reverence and love; he must show himself as a
constant benefactor, and as one who “does not willingly afflict or grieve
the children of men.” He must manifest his love to his creatures by word
as well as by deed. He must come personally to provide for their wants and
cheer them with his care. He must show his tenderness and sympathy in
their trials and sorrows as well as in their joys. And if they are exposed
to great dangers and evils from which they can be redeemed by self‐
sacrifice and suffering on his part, this highest and most effective proof
of love must be exhibited.(11)
To this must be added, a manifestation of his _chief __ desire_, so that
when love and gratitude ask, what can we do to please our benefactor in
return, the answer shall be, obey his laws, and work and suffer for the
good of all, as you see your Heavenly Parent does for you.
Finally, he must bring around each of his creatures the powerful social
influence, not only of his own sympathy and example, but those also of a
perfect commonwealth, where all shall be perfect as is the Father of all.
This is what we should evolve by the light of reason and experience, as
what the Creator must do to save our race. Whether he has done all this,
is a question that belongs to that system of religion which we can gain
only by revelation from God.(12)
CHAPTER XXX. HOW FAR REASON AND EXPERIENCE ARE SUFFICIENT WITHOUT
REVELATION.
The preceding chapters present the system of natural religion, as it may
be gained by experience and those principles of reason or common sense
with which all men are endowed.
Whether mankind ever have, or ever would, fully evolve this system of
religious belief without any aid by revelation from the Creator, is a
question which we can not readily decide—inasmuch as the claim of
Christianity is, that from the first, our race have been instructed by
revelations from God, which have been more or less preserved in traditions
and written records. It is certain that the elimination of this system, by
unaided humanity, is dependent on the development of both the intellectual
and moral powers, just as much so, as the physical discoveries of Newton,
Copernicus and Columbus were dependent on the intellectual progress of the
race.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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