Heart and Soul | Page 8

close to the hearts of so many people
and having so many variations and degrees in different individuals, in
different families, in different communities, in different churches, that
it is extremely difficult to discuss. It is largely a matter of private
sentiment, of vague personal feelings for which the average person is
unable to find adequate expression. No sooner is the subject broached
than the individual mind takes refuge in a defensive attitude. As it does
not intend to be disturbed in its own spiritual attitude and beliefs, it is
ready to seize the first opportunity to raise objections.
Let me reassure such minds by saying that I am quite willing to agree
with them concerning the good that is in their minister, or their church,
or any other church, or religion they may be interested in. To the best
of my knowledge and belief, the purpose and influence of all churches
and all religions has always been in the direction of higher thoughts and
more exalted motives of conduct. This is no less so to-day than it has
been in the past.
The change that has occurred is in the attitude of the new generation
toward the teachings of the church and the consequent weakening of its
influence.
Not much reflection or observation is required to arrive at a general
idea of the nature and extent of this tendency.
In most Christian homes it has been the custom to teach children to say
their prayers every night before going to bed. And in teaching them to
pray, the idea has been instilled in their minds that the all-wise Lord is
listening to them and watching over them. Mothers and Fathers have
accustomed them to the belief that no act of theirs--no matter how
carefully they may conceal it from the human beings about them--can
ever escape the all-seeing eye of the Lord.
Children have believed this from time immemorial and the Sunday
school and church have encouraged and strengthened this belief, at all
stages of their growth. And along with this, as we have observed, went
the idea of divine, everlasting justice and retribution--the punishment of
evil and the regard of good, if not in this world, then surely in the

greater world beyond. Heaven and hell have for centuries been pictured
as awe-inspiring realities, established by the Bible, expounded and
thundered from pulpits.
Children found, as they grew up, that the idea was accepted and shared
by mothers, fathers, neighbors--everybody in the community entitled to
respect or consideration. In trouble or sickness, they turned to the Lord
for comfort and help and those who yielded to temptation and ignored
His commandments were in danger of eternal damnation.
When people believe such a doctrine, when it is a living conviction in
their hearts and souls, no greater influence could be imagined for
controlling their material instincts and desires. We have only to refer
back to the days of the martyrs and saints to realize what the principle
is capable of when it is fully applied. As compared to eternal salvation
and everlasting bliss--how petty and unimportant are the temporary
experiences of the body.
The great mass of normal human beings, while accepting and believing
the doctrine, have never deemed it necessary, or practical, to carry it
too far. But always in the past, so far as we know, the average
individual has been influenced to a very considerable extent by his
religious beliefs. The more deeply and intensely he believed in the
teachings, the greater their influence in controlling his acts.
If we turn to the present generation, we find on all sides, evidences of a
growing notion that many of the statements contained in the Bible will
no longer hold water, when put to the test of scientific enlightenment.
A minister of the gospel in this church, and another in that, announces
from the pulpit that it is no longer possible for him to accept the
doctrines of hell's fire and eternal damnation. Others follow their
example and preach sermons, accordingly, to justify this stand. Next
the question of heaven is brought into question by a conscientious
divine, who expounds the conviction that it should be accepted in an
allegorical meaning, not literally--that instead of being a paradise
inhabited by the souls of the elect, it should be considered rather a state
of mind of living mortals who behave rightly.

Heaven and hell, a jealous and all-mighty Being, seated on a majestic
throne, watching and judging each act of mortal man, punishing and
rewarding, through all eternity--these and many other biblical teachings,
which for centuries awed the imagination and possessed the souls of
humble men and women, have gradually been brought into question.
Some people are inclined to lay blame for this on the churches and the
ministers. But that