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 She Sisnktrtent Chtlb of (Snh 
 
 OR 
 
 A PHILOSOPHY 
 OF LIFE 
 
 SUGGESTED BY 
 
 51I|0 |Jri*s0itt (danfnston of ^l^nitrilft 
 
 IN THE 
 
 GREAT WORLD WAR 
 
 Eventually Men Must Themselves Bring On 
 Peace and Righteousness 
 
 Copyright 1918 
 
 By ALFRED DIETZ 
 
 WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 PRICE 25 CENTS. 
 
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 Vat Sisobebtent ^hilb of iob 
 
 OR 
 
 A PHILOSOPHY 
 OF LIFE 
 
 SUGGESTED BY 
 
 5IIIP Pr^a^nt Confitsion of ^\\x\\\g):\\ 
 
 IN THE 
 
 GREAT WORLD WAR 
 
 Eventually Men Must Thetnselves Bring On 
 Pence and Righteousness 
 
 Coiryridht 1918 
 
 By ALFRED DIETZ 
 
 WASHINGTON, D C. 
 PRICE 25 CENTS. 
 
 V ^ . 
 
FOREWORD. •^^J^^ 
 
 This is called a "Philosophy of Life" insofar as a man or woman that 
 thinks must naturally form some general idea of life from its varied expe- 
 riences and vicissitudes, termed Philosophy. 
 
 Physically speaking, man is the highest form of animal life on earth, 
 while spiritually taken, he also is the highest form of intellectual life on 
 earth, for all through creation we notice these two main elements in nature 
 (spirit and matter) distinct and separate, yet closely linked and interwoven 
 with each other to express life and form organization, or living organism. 
 
 While one element is just as important as the other in the phenomena of 
 life, the spiritual element is the more important, in that it is the inner or 
 main spring of life — the sentimental, emotional part of nature and man, 
 the cause and design of organization, the why and wherefore of being, and 
 beginning and ultimate end of organism, while the material element is the 
 form that it is clothed in, or the shape and outer covering and manifestation 
 of the inner life, and is subject outwardly to changes that are taking place 
 forever and continually inwardly. 
 
 But let us not forget that both elements are subject to the immutable 
 and unchangeable laws of nature, caused by nature's originator — the First 
 Great Cause and Giver of Laws, which we call God. 
 
 While this, then, is mainly a philosophy of life, I have given it the title 
 and called it " The Disobedient Child of God " because of the fact that, like 
 Adam and Eve, our first parents spoken of in the Bible, showed disobedience 
 to God by eating of the forbidden fruit of the tree of good and evil, and 
 thereby lost a paradise forever, so man has ever after been disobedient in 
 not learning the higher wisdom from God and he is forever despoiling a 
 world of beauty and love through selfishness and ignorance, and must for- 
 ever continue eating from the tree of good and evil to attain that knowledge 
 and wisdom through bitter disappointment and experience that will or may 
 eventually open his eyes and make him see his own shortcomings and im- 
 perfections and learn the lessons which will redeem him and by which he 
 can make this world a better world to live in — a world of peace and beauty 
 and love instead of a world of horror and strife which he has made it 
 through his own ignorance, obstinacy and folly to accept the truth. 
 
 y c 
 
 
3 
 
 HOW SHALL WE KNOW THE TRUTH? 
 
 What is Truth, and how c:in \vc attain the higher \vi^(lonl tlial will make 
 us know and perceive it? 
 Only thrmisrh 
 
 The Wonderful Link of Thought and Power of the Mind 
 
 which man posf.csscs and binds him to deity lo prove that he was made in 
 the ima^e of his Creator, can man learn the truth and perceive the higher 
 wisdom of an Alhvise Creator. . , • , , • 
 
 God spako— but God speaks only through the minds oi men, and his 
 l-.inprua.fco is tlu- hintr.r'f !.■ r, i.atr.r<. What does He say? 
 
 Have you ever read His message in forest, field or glen? 
 Have you ever read His meaning in the ocean's wide expanse, 
 And then perceived His mighty wonders all through an azure hue 
 Oi other worlds that glisten in a firmament of blue, 
 And yet, of all the wonders of air and sea and land, 
 Man is himself the greatest— to think and understand. 
 
 Yes- by the power of thought and reason he has slowly but surely har- 
 nessed 'the forces of nature to his use. and he has answered the questions 
 which are presented to him in solving the riddles of the universe, and 
 while he has so far mastered the situation as far as his own comfort and 
 well-being is concerned as a creator in a smaller sense, he still has not yet 
 learned to control himself, to thoroughly curb hi:, animal instincts and 
 propensities, or to overcome his "human nature" which he is so proud o 
 and which lie olTers as an excuse for all his faults. He still has not yet 
 fullv learned the lesson that God would teaCh him, and the purpose of this 
 book is to impress this fact deeply into my readers, and, if possible, point 
 out where we have failed and what is necessary to regain the lost paradise. 
 
 WHAT IS THE WORD OF GOD? 
 
 The Bible is generally accepted as the word of God. It is the book of 
 r^ooks in that it contains everything of human interest from the creation to 
 man's salvation. It is the light that has been and is brightening up nany 
 d'lrk corners of man's downfall. It is the corner-stone and foundation of 
 the Christian religion, but we cannot deny it that the Bible was written by 
 men— by the prophets of old, who must have gained their knowledge direct 
 
 from God and nature. . . „ , j r /- . i . 
 
 I claim then, that the Bible is not originally tiie word of (.od, but a 
 man-made book,' containing the record of impressions received by men who 
 were leaders in their dav and time and were deep thinkers and searchers 
 •<fter truth and wisdom and who were also inspired by what they found. 
 
 I said, God spake— but God speaks only through nature— his handiwork, 
 and through man, who belongs to nature and creation. 
 
 We would not know or conceive of a God if it were not tor nature— the 
 creation, Mis handiwork. ,11 
 
 We know God only through His works, as we know men, also, only by 
 their works and deeds. 
 
 For b\ ihcir zvorhs \ou sinill Iciimc tliciii. 
 
 We know that the"crcation is— that nature is— that man is. If we want 
 to be fair v^^e could not think that it all came about except through an All- 
 vis« Intelligence in the universe that has caused it all— an intelligence that 
 is forever and continually at work in nature's workshop— the Great Master 
 Workman v.ho shapes all and guides all and keeps all. 
 
 Admitting that much, tlien, we admit God, and knowing man lo possess 
 
thought and reason and will-power, which are gifts of a higher intelligence, 
 we also realize that man was made in God's image, and that therefore all 
 men can be prophets and seers and anything else they want to be providing 
 they use the talents that God has given them, which lie dormant within them 
 and only need exhileration, development and practice to bring them forth 
 to bear fruit. 
 
 .You cannot be a doctor unless you study medicine, neither can you be 
 anything except through growth and development and exercise. Yovi can- 
 not be educated unless you train and study. You cannot know a trade or 
 profession unless you serve your apprenticeship. If you want to be a soldier 
 you must have training and schooling. Anything in life that you take up as 
 3'our mission or want to be fitted for requires thoughtful training and study, 
 and so it is if you want to find God and the truth you must search and find 
 it for yourself. 
 
 But nature is tlie only place where you will ever find anything you want 
 to know in all its original purity and beauty, and it is the fountain and thf 
 source of all knowledge. All we know has first been gathered from our 
 observation and meditation of nature itself. 
 
 NATURE THE ORIGINAL AND TRUEST WORD OF GOD. 
 
 Nature, therefore, is the original and truest word of God, and all the 
 knowledge that the prophets of the past and present have received to be 
 able to impart to others has first been gathered from nature's great store- 
 house of in.formation — nature's great workshop, where God is the Great 
 Master Workman and Guiding and Keeping Force. 
 
 But why is man still groping in the dark and still has not yet found true 
 happiness? Because 
 
 THE TRUTH IS HIDDEN AWAY FROM US 
 
 through long years of traditional teachings of sect and creed and a conse- 
 quent conflict of ideas of man's imagination. 
 
 Man's own selfishness and physical desires and his fears and supersti- 
 tion have obscured the light of truth like a veil, and he is simpiv sullerinr' 
 for his own misdoings and disobedience to the voice of God in nature. 
 
 I shall point out — 
 
 That we don't understand God, 
 
 That we don't understand nature, 
 
 That we don't understand ourselves. 
 
 Not until we do understand will man ever be free to be happy and 
 contented. 
 
 We don't understand because we do not think far enough. 
 
 So, first, let us contemplate this power of thought, and see what it is and 
 wliat it can accomplish. 
 
 THE POWER OF THOUGHT AND REASON. 
 
 The power of thought and reason gives man the ability and ingenuity to 
 himself be a creator of things otit of things he already finds here for his use 
 and comfort. 
 
 He cannot ndd anything or take anything awav from God's crreat work- 
 shop, but lie can by his ingenuitv make those things which will make his 
 earth and home a heaven, and I believe that is what he is to do. I believe 
 that is (he reason he possesses these attributes of divine favor, so he may 
 malce this earth God's footstool, and make for himself a dwelling-place of 
 peace and happiness while here. 
 
 Wl'.ile God is a name signifying rood, the highest spiritual expression of 
 an Allwise Author, Architect and Maker of the universe, man is himself 
 
cmdowcd. as made in His image, with wonderful creative power to shape the 
 lliiiips he already finds here to his use and purpose. 
 
 Man, through his wonderful ability to think, invents all that ever was 
 invented, writes all that ever was written, speaks all that ever was spoken, 
 and expresses in outer material form and workmanship and works and art 
 wliat passes in his inner soul. 
 
 Human thought is the means to bring human happiness and to achieve 
 by that the higher human destiny. 
 
 But thoughts will run at random unless controlled by reason, and reason 
 cannot be proper and right except through education and enlightenment. 
 
 Thought is voluntary and involuntary. It can be caused by meditation 
 and Ihoroughlv controlled by the mind" or will of man. If so. thoughts 
 should not be spoken or expressed until after mature reasoning, considera- 
 tion and understanding. 
 
 Thoughts can also be involuntary when caused by hypnotism, mesmerism 
 or shock? and. if involuntary, may cause temper or anger, which is thought 
 without reason, and may produce impulsively serious consequences and 
 even crime if reason or will are lacking. 
 
 There is also thought transference and mind reading and telepathy, 
 showing that the mind of man is sometimes under control of other minds. 
 
 Then there is also a spiritual side to thought, when it takes on a lofty 
 character through inspiration or aspiration, expressing high ideals of life 
 and mounting to prophetic vision to elevate men and bring them nearer to 
 the Infinite wisdom and Supreme Intelligence of the God of nature and 
 creation. — 
 
 Nearer, My '".od, to Thee. 
 
 THE DISSEMINATION OF KNOWLEDGE HAS BROUGHT PROG- 
 RESS, BUT ALSO A CONSEQUENT CONFUSION OF IDEAS. 
 
 It is this longing to know and understand which has caused the greatest 
 expansion and widest dissemination of knowledge among men on the one 
 hand, while, on the other, it also has caused the greatest confusion and 
 Rabvlon of thought that we are suffering from today and have been suffer- 
 ing from in all times past through wrong teaching and catering to the lower 
 appetites of man. 
 
 This has caused all the misery and suffering, all the dissension and 
 strife, all the destruction and warfare of human experience. It has caused 
 all divisions of thought among men which have divided them up into de- 
 nomination and creed, until some day finally all men shall arrive at a 
 common understanding and a better day shall dawn, when men shall be- 
 come more serene and peaceful; when nervous agitation shall subside, and 
 the high fever of pneumonia that mankind is swffering from will pass away 
 and men will become calmer and cooler in judgment, and make this earth, 
 not tlic dwelling-place of irrational beings like it would seem sometimes to 
 be today, but make it indeed a dwelling-place and habitation of men made 
 in the image of God. the highest expression of peace and harmony and 
 fTOod will among nion. 
 
 A TIME FOR MATURE REASONING. 
 
 It is predicted and said, not only by certain denominational and sec- 
 tional prophets, but by most men who are close observers and students of 
 human nature and events, and it is even felt by those who give no particular 
 thought to any of these things, but live only ordinary lives, that we are now 
 living in the last time of this human confusion and bewilderment, and that 
 human insaneness has reached its highest point at the present time in this, 
 the greatest of all wars in human history that is now raging and has en- 
 gulfed all the nations of the earth, including our own — the most peace- 
 
loving nation on earth — and agitated all peoples, and, surely, the crisis is at 
 hand and the fever must either destroy all or subside, and bring on the 
 better day we speak of. for we find the time is at hand for more mature 
 reasoning, for the abolishment of wrong and seliish ideas, and a coopera- 
 tive effort of man's uplift and betterment, and in this betterment this nation 
 is leading to show others the better way. 
 
 HONESTY OF LEADERS AND UNIVERSAL EDUCATION OF THE 
 MASSES WILL BRING ON THE EMANCIPATION OF MEN AND 
 ABOLISH SPECIAL PRIVILEGE AND AUTOCRACY. 
 
 The reason we have not yet attained uplift and betterment in its fullest 
 sense throughout the world is because, while all men can think, they have in 
 most cases, burdened by the struggle for existence which man's selfishness 
 has intensified as he has progressed, not had the opportunity or power to 
 impress the popular thought on problems of life for human happiness. 
 
 It was left for those who have the leisure and advantages of education 
 which their more favorable circumstances avail them to work out and regu- 
 late and control human social and economical conditions and environments, 
 and they constituted our governing class, something called the better class; 
 but history shows that in the past they did not always legislate for the 
 common good of all, but were controlled by that dominating trait of human 
 nature, selfishness, to only consider the interest of themselves and their 
 class, to the detriment mostly of the great mass of other people. 
 
 SELFISHNESS. 
 
 This dominating trait of human nature, then, selfishness, has been the 
 stumbling-block of progress v.-hich prevented the greater majority of com- 
 mon people benefiting in common with the minority in all advantages 
 afforded by a superior station in life, and, therefore, people were divided up 
 into classes, which caused laws to be enacted that had for their object, 
 mainly, that the great majority of men should be subservient to the will 
 and whim of a great minority of wealthy and influential men; that there 
 should be a strong contrast between rich and poor; that one class should 
 enjoy all the privileges and advantages of a freedom of action, while the 
 other class — the great majority — should be curtailed and serve and slave 
 and make and produce all that. is necessary for an earthly existence. 
 
 More and more this caused a clash of interests, which formed strong 
 political organizations to spring up in all countries trying to get control in 
 governmental affairs, and these political parties multiplied as the varied 
 interests of the people asserted themselves, until finally in this country the 
 people established democracy in place of autocracy, and a government of 
 the people, by the people and for the people in the place of those who would 
 audaciously assume such tremendous responsibilities unto themselves in 
 countries of monarchial traditions and forms. 
 
 Education has gradually, but slowly, then, brought enlightenment. At 
 one time only those whose circumstances permitted could go to college, but 
 now even those who are in moderate circumstances can avail themselves 
 of all there is to know in life, and education is now more general, especially 
 so in countries which are free and democratically governed, and where men 
 are not fettered by autocratic rule and limitation placed there by men who 
 think themselves rulers and believe themselves ordained by a higher power 
 (audaciously) to keep others in subjection. 
 
 People are freer and happier, therefore, in countries of democratic insti- 
 tutions than they would be in countries where their right of expression and 
 development is hampered and controlled by despotic institutions. 
 
 "Vox populi, vox dei" — The people's voice is the voice of God, and a 
 government of the people, by the people and for the people will eventually 
 
solve all human problems, and, I may add, as our great martyred President, 
 Abraham Lincoln, said, "Shall not perish from the earth." 
 
 What, therefore, is the object I may have in writing these pages: 
 
 To make people think and think aright. 
 
 A FIRST DUTY AND REMEDY— THINK ARIGHT. 
 
 To make people think and understand, first of all, that we must think 
 aright; that is, that we must be thoroughly impartial in our observation 
 and fair, and view things, not through the narrow spectacles of a special 
 creed or class, but in the light of unanswerable logic and fact. Wc must 
 recognize the truth when we sec it, and when it has been revealed to us 
 backed up by nature's book of facts. Also, education should be within the 
 reach of all and not limited to a few. It should be within the reach of all 
 alike — the greatest as well as the humblest — so it may bring nearer the day 
 of luiivcrsal understanding, and knowledge shall make you free, and, in 
 consequence, the whole human race shall be free and happy, and we shall 
 feel that we arc all kindred of a universal whole and a brotherhood of man 
 singing the praises of a Fatherhood of God. 
 
 Rut so far men have not yet attained this result, except just partially, 
 and the great world war, now raging in its fury, the greatest of all wars in 
 human history, attests the fact that men are not yet free, but still under 
 the control of agencies working for human destruction and enslavement in 
 countries that are controlled autocratically. 
 
 It is mainly because education and enlightenment have not yet been 
 universally disseminated that people are continually divided up in matters 
 of thought, causing difTerences of views and policies, and by the leaders of 
 thought taking one side or the other, they can sway the masses one way 
 or the other, and thereby have their followers continually opposing each 
 other to the bitter end, causing dissension and strife and sometimes warfare 
 and bloodshed. 
 
 You will perceive, therefore, that my purpose in writing these pages is a 
 desire on my part, if possible, to make us see and understand where and 
 how we have failed and erred, and clear the mind of many misunderstand- 
 ings and see if we cannot bring the truth into a clearer light. 
 
 If possible, I want to point out some very evident facts of general under- 
 standing which seem to be always hidden away and obscured by old dogmas 
 and teachings. It seems that the mind of man is fettered in by a maze or 
 web of thought which hold him enmeshed, like the spider does the fly, 
 because of many different schools of knowledge forever keeping him from 
 knowing the simple truth which nature shows him. 
 
 I'hc outstanding fact ivhicli I would like viau to sec is tlic fact that the ills he 
 coiii/'lains of. the misery that exists, the burdens he bears, the wars of bloodshed 
 iv.ui dcsl'uetion he wanes, and the suft'ering that is' caused, is not the zvorh or 7vill 
 />f nil Allti'ise Intellect that controls and guides the universe, but is the worl,' of 
 ;;.•(!» hiiuse'f — man's inhumanity to mar 
 
 MAN ALONE MUST SOLVE THE PROBLEM. 
 
 Tlierefore I would like to impress upon you, dear readers, the fact that 
 man. and man alone, must solve the problems of life as they are presented 
 to him, and as man in his disobedience to God has caused all wars he must 
 also, through a contrite heart and better way, find peace and righteousness 
 when he comes to know that that alone is necessary for his welfare and 
 happiness while here. 
 
 If God was a personal God, like some believe, with power to enforce 
 His will over all, He would never allow men to destroy each other as they 
 have done in the past and arc doing now, but would interfere at once and 
 stop this horrid carnage. 
 
 Cut (jod is not a King or ruler in the human sense. He is a God of love. 
 
8 
 
 and I would like you to see that God is good only, and does not interfere 
 with man's own solution of life's problems. He may have a plan in 
 creation, but that plan could only be good. It could mean only the salva- 
 tion of mankind, if anything, and if, therefore, man is still suffering and 
 struggling and inhuman, it is because he has not yet learned the higher 
 wisdom; because he still is groping in the dark, and has not yet reached the 
 light of full understanding and his own emancipation and freedom. 
 
 MAN STILL DOES NOT UNDERSTAND GOD. 
 
 God to him is a God clothed with human attributes. Instead of knowing 
 Him as the source of all life and being. He is a man-made God of human 
 fancy, who would rule the world much in the same way that man rules it, 
 and make a failure of it. He is the God of denomination and creed. 
 
 But in the newer light, God is everlasting good; He is the source of all 
 light and life, and while different religious schools of thought may limit His 
 powers to suit their teachings, God is the God of all. the great Author and 
 Architect of the universe, the Law-giver and First Great Cause of life and 
 nature — the source of light and truth, and human thought cannot fully com- 
 prehend or understand God's nature, because man can only think as man — 
 imperfect, striving ever onward to perfection. 
 
 Therefore, why should not all men believe in God, since He is not a 
 God of creed or dogma and denomination, but is the God of all — the God 
 of old — the God of truth and righteousness — the true and only God, and 
 it is not necessary for man to worship him through creed and dogma, 
 but he can worship Him. in truth, for God is a spirit and must be worshiped 
 in spirit and in truth. 
 
 I should like to show that man. being made in God's image, should learn 
 from Him the higher lessons He would teach us — that we should be 
 cooperative and brotherly, and live peaceful and happy lives while here, 
 making this earth His footstool and the human family one common brother- 
 hood, and bringing on this earth the heaven of happiness which man so 
 much desires, but which he is taught he cannot hope to receive until he has 
 passed away into an unknown hereafter. 
 
 I believe if man understood his lesson properly, he could, and should, 
 begin to make his heaven here instead of waiting for it hereafter. 
 
 MANY FAILURES IN THE PAST ARE BRINGING NEARER THE 
 DAY OF SUCCESS AT LAST. 
 
 Many times in human history it seemed that men at last had reached a 
 point where his longing for universal peace and happiness might be realized, 
 and each time it was found that men were not yet ready and willing to bring 
 in a reign of universal righteousness, because they were still divided up by a 
 confusion of thought and ideas. Instead of coming together into a common 
 human brotherhood, they went farther apart and made war upon each other, 
 so as to prolong the rule of special interests and keep far distant the day of 
 common understanding. 
 
 Today, again, we live in such a time, and it seems this great world war is 
 indeed the last struggle — the Armeggedon — before the time when men 
 will find the truth at last and get wiser and better, and refuse here- 
 after to despoil this beautiful earth and habitation of men, but make it 
 indeed the dwelling-place of a happy human family who have learned by 
 bitter experiences the lesson of an Allwise Creator and have profited 
 thereby. 
 
 It is for this that our brave boys are now fighting at the battle-front to 
 bring nearer the day that the peaceful "home, sweet home," of our land of 
 the free and home of the brave shall be carried to other lands, and bring 
 victory to our arms and our endeavors. 
 
9 
 
 A NEWER LIGHT. 
 
 It shall be my endeavor to point out that we suffer from many miscon- 
 ceptions of truth through long tradition and usage, and tliat what was once 
 understood to be true has often been found wanting, and we now look on 
 tilings in a different light of newer thought through experience and hardship 
 — the only way in which man ever has learned the lesson of his higher 
 destiny. 
 
 THE GREAT WORLD WAR. 
 
 And now I woidd like briefly to refer to the war, which is evidence of 
 the fact that man has not yet outgrown his animal nature, and this, the 
 greatest of all wars in human history, I believe to be the final struggle be- 
 tween man's lowest nature and his liighcr longing and destiny. 
 
 If it is not, it certainly should be, for man has groped in ignorance and 
 unrighteousness long enough in the past. From time immemorial his pas- 
 sion and anger have been let loose upon himself to destroy him and despoil 
 his home and Iicaveu, and he has destroyed the work and fruit of ages time 
 and again. 
 
 I need not refer here to the tremendous struggles and wars of the past 
 which have ])een waged for human progress, for my readers are all well 
 aware of what is past. But I will say that the American Revolutionary War 
 brought into being this great N'ation of man's emancipation; erected a 
 beacon light of man's brighter and better future on these blessed shores — a 
 light that shines brightly all over the world, and has guided all suffering 
 humanity of other lands to find here a refuge and a haven of peace and rest. 
 It was the beginning of the most progressive epoch for man in human 
 history. It uncovered the hidden meaning of God's plan in the universe — 
 the meaning that right and truth shall eventually triumph, though for a long 
 lime it may be crushed and beaten to earth by man's disobedience to God. 
 It was the light of hope that sent a new thrill into the hearts of men to 
 continue on for right and truth, and was a warning to despots and tyrants 
 that their arrogance and assumption will avail them not. 
 
 This nation was founded upon the rock of Christian love and human 
 hapjiness, and despite the unselfish service this nation gave the world, many 
 oth r nations still continued in their old way of aggrandizement and power 
 a*.n dynasty, caring not for the welfare of all alike, but only the welfare of a 
 -l)ecial class or interest. 
 
 And now this greatest of all wars has come upon us — the Armeggedon 
 of n.itions before the time when wars shall cease, and the sword shall be 
 turned into the pruning hook, and peace once more shall spread its benefi- 
 cent wings to encompass humanity within its folds and bring nearer the day 
 of happiness to man. and our brave bovs have gone fortli to bring this 
 newer lir.ht and newer truth at last and make true the prophecies that now 
 :ire mado and in the past. 
 
 HOW DOES WAR COME UPON US? 
 
 When the whole world was at peace and nearest a solution of the 
 problems to bring about ideal conditions for the human race — self-govern- 
 ment and co("iperation in place of class government and competition; order 
 and peace instead of confusion and anarchy — happiness that all men are 
 striving for — this greatest of all catastrophes in human history was precipi- 
 tated over nieht (like an eruption of \'esuvius) to throw everything into 
 confusion and chaos, shaking up all human foundations to the utmost in 
 this ereatest of all wars — the World War. 
 
 \\'c ask the question: "What is the matter with the world? Why this 
 great slaughter, this great turmoil and trouble — this confusion and Babylon 
 of old?" 
 
 W hat right have kings and rulers to suddenly interfere with God's well- 
 
10 
 
 ordered plan in the universe, forgetting Him and peace and putting them- 
 selves into an armor of Mars, a man-made god of war, to dictate their man- 
 dates to men and roll out their chariots and juggernauts of old, to grind 
 down all who oppose and challenge them? 
 
 We ask, Do people themselves bring upon themselves such a calamity? 
 And we answer, No; since the people have not the voice in the matter 
 except where the people's will is expressed by a people's government — ex- 
 cept where the people rule themselves. But man's genius, great as it is in 
 all things to evolve a proper and correct procedure, has not yet devised a 
 plan that will exempt the innocent from suffering with the guilty in a catas- 
 trophe like this; therefore we were also finally drawn into the fray after 
 trying our best endeavor to remain neutral, and now we are also in it, btit 
 with a purpose to make the whole world safe for democracy and bring 
 universal peace, and all our strength and resources are used in this war 
 against war — to make wars hereafter impossible, and for this our brave boys 
 have gone forth and over the top to battle for freedom and righteousness 
 for all mankind. 
 
 Only through such sad experiences as man is passing through now will 
 men learn to devise a plan that eventually will bring true righteousness, 
 true democracy and true fellowship. 
 
 There is nothing the matter with the beautiful world we live in. It is the 
 same world except for the destruction that is wrought by man. He still 
 must find a better way. 
 
 There is nothing the matter with God — the true God of nature and the 
 universe — except we have made of Him a God of denomination and creed — 
 a man-made God— and blamed Him too long and too much for our own 
 shortcomings 
 
 It is time for us to learn the lessons that God in His great love and 
 bounty would teach us and learn from Him the higher wisdom. 
 
 There is nothing the matter even with the fundamental principles of 
 righteousness and truth that have lived for ages, and of justice. They are 
 the same. But we have not yet builded them on bedrock foundations to 
 withstand the onslaught of audacious and ambitious men. We still must 
 learn properly to protect the commonweal. 
 
 What, then, is wrong? 
 
 It is with man himself. We are yet imperfect, though striving ever on- 
 ward to perfection through just such suffering and privation as man's dis- 
 obedience to God has forced upon us.. Men start out all right, with good 
 and correct principles to build on and good intentions, but make mistakes 
 and get confused. They quarrel in many tongues, like Babylon of old, and 
 find that they must build all over again on new foundations. Human insti- 
 tutions are yet imperfect and wanting. Again the "Mene, Tekel, Upharsin" 
 appears on the wall of the banquet-hall; the divinely-inspired Messenger of 
 God comes again with sound of trumpet and fiery steed and clanking of 
 spears and shields to announce the coming of the Lord. He warns them 
 that men have departed from the right and correct path; that they have set 
 up idols to be worshiped; that they are worshiping Mammon instead of the 
 true God, and therefore the old must pass away and the new order come 
 into existence. 
 
 It is the finger of responsibility pointing to man's greatest imperfection 
 and greatest failing, of what is so-called human nature, but which in reality 
 is only an inheritance of former primitive times, when man was still a 
 savage, and causes all " Man's Inlmmanity to Man." 
 
 Just as we thought civilization had reached a stage of development 
 which promised a solution of all intricate human problems and a realization 
 of the dreams and prophesies of our wise men and women of all time; when 
 human brains and ingcnuitj^ had wrought and perfected almost everything 
 imaginable to make this world again a paradise, this horrible nightmare 
 came upon us like a bolt from a clear sky to silence all tongues and call a 
 halt on all human progress. 
 
11 
 
 Hut men were not to blame except insofar as they are the innocent 
 victims of a system which they themselves have planted, fostered and 
 allowed to prow. They thoupht they had planted a tree imdcr whose 
 sheltering branches they could dwell forever in peace and security, but 
 found it was a hideous octopus tiiat stretched forth its niullitudinous fangs 
 to devour and destroy them. 
 
 While people were soothing themselves to sleep to dream of a grand 
 future Utopian existence, which poets and piiilosophers and scholars of all 
 time and dreamers had besung, besought and bespoken, men were busily en- 
 gaged forging tiie weapons of war which would soon come over them as 
 the juggernaut of old to demand sacrifices greater than ever had been 
 known before, and they were making guns and ammunition to destroy all 
 they had created at command of those in whose charge they had entrusted 
 their safety and security. 
 
 Men were the innocent victims of a system which they themselves had 
 devised — a system that had been weighed and found wanting, and now 
 their eyes were opened and lifted up in horror at the strength and power of 
 iheir own creation. They had been blinded and could not see, like they had 
 been blinded so ni;my times before. 
 
 But.— 
 
 Though now the sky is darkened by the cloud of war 
 The sun behind it shines as brightly as of yore, 
 
 And surely. — 
 
 Its rays will penetrate the mist once more 
 To shed its luster forth in radiance of former days, 
 And make the earth more beautiful to live upon 
 Than e'er it was before. 
 
 Let us hope so. 
 
 But what is necessary to bring about this lasting peace, "a cons\immatif)n 
 devoutly to be wished for?" 
 
 WHAT IS THE REMEDY TO BRING ABOUT PEACE AND HAPPI- 
 NESS TO HUMANITY? 
 
 A new awakening to facts in nature amply verified — a new understanding. 
 The shelfing of old ideas and dogmas which obstruct a clear vision and 
 viewpoint and a practical application of truth already made manifest and 
 revealed by unaswcrabie logic (which itself is old and never has changed, 
 but which must again be brought forth to the surface to shine as a new light 
 amid the darkening maze of time. 
 
 Also, a willingness and honesty of purpose to live up to the truth. 
 
 I do not mean that we shall forget the lessons and morals of the past, 
 but we shall present them clearer and more forcibly in a newer thought of a 
 more enlightened age and time. That we shall not stubbornly persist in 
 keeping people divided up in narrow confines of doctrine, belief or creed, 
 but bring them closer together with a clearer knowledge of more progres- 
 sive thought, and cement them in a felowship of principles which are 
 eternal and should be more imiversally recognized. 
 
 This makes me think of "In union there is strength — divided we fall." 
 
 If, therefore, in time of war we can forget all differences easily and hus- 
 band our whole strength in one united effort to bring the victory, we ought 
 to know and realize that this co(")peration is even a better thing in time of 
 peace to bring happiness and contentment to men, so they may enjoy the 
 fruit and blessing of their collective efforts. 
 
12 
 
 DIFFERENCE OF THOUGHT A DIFFERENCE IN VIEWPOINT 
 
 ONLY, WHICH DOES NOT CHANGE THE ETERNAL 
 
 PRINCIPLE OF TRUTH. 
 
 We find ourselves divided up into different denominations and sects of 
 thought in religious, political and social matters, but let us remember always 
 that this is only a matter of viewpoint or opinion determined by the height 
 or depth of our knowledge and observation in these things. The farther we 
 can see, the broader will be our vision. We do not see from a small mound 
 what we see from a high hill; neither do we behold from a high hill what 
 wc behold from the mountain top. What we believe in individually is a pri- 
 vate matter which should have nothing to do with doing our whole duty in 
 collective society. 
 
 THE REAL REMEDY IS NOT BELIEVING BUT DOING. 
 
 We must believe right if we do right, and only by doing right can we be 
 right. 
 
 Privately we may belong to different schools of thought, but collectively 
 we should not fail to recognize the great live principles of truth and right- 
 eousness that are forever the same and not bound by private opinion and 
 thought, and this should cement men into closer fellowship of cooperative 
 effort and harmonious feeling, and bring about better conditions among 
 men, for only when the simple truth is forgotten which even a child can 
 understand will calamity come upon us. 
 
 EDUCATION THE MEANS. 
 
 What we learn and know is a matter of education, and education is a 
 matter of thought. A man desiring to see more than his naked eye can 
 behold uses a glass or telescope. In that same sense, therefore, education is 
 a glass or telescope through which a man learns and knows still more to 
 broaden his vision. But he must not see only, but think. He does not 
 know his lesson if he does not think. 
 
 Therefore, the many wonderful things man sees in life should make him 
 think far enough to find that nature is just as beautiful right around in his 
 immediate vicinity where he stands than it is is far off' in distant lands. He 
 can find the all-seeing eye of God following him everywhere and the un- 
 changeable laws of nature governing all things the same universally. He 
 finds that education and thought will make him see where he was blind 
 before. It removes the bandage from his eyes, so he may see the naked 
 truth, and truth shall make him free. 
 
 Education and thought has produced all we know and all we have 
 wrought, and the pages of history abound with many illustrious names 
 of those who have delved deep into the recesses of nature and brought 
 forth the treasures thereof, and who have earned for themselves wreaths 
 of immortality for laying bare the wonderful facts and powers of nature to 
 make man master of the material universe and teach him to harness all the 
 forces of nature to his use. 
 
 Most of these services to mankind have been ill repaid, and many have 
 been martyrs to an overpowering ignorance of superstition and stupidity, 
 for these men lived ahead of their time, when the great mass of people 
 could still not grasp their meaning, and judged them with their own dark 
 judgments. 
 
 And so it is that ever and anon, — 
 
 Truth has been crushed to earth 
 To rise again, as surely as the sun, 
 When all the clouds have vanished 
 And the night is done. 
 
The search for truth is a most laborious undertaking. It is like groping 
 in llie dark for some rare jewel of light. Through narrow passages of time 
 \'ou go; as you crawl along you must often stumble and fall when doubt 
 enshrouds you; you may arrive at places of seeming light which prove to be 
 illusions. But finally your elTorls are cro.. ncd by success in finding the 
 truth revealed as a bright and shining star. 
 
 THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM. 
 
 I can imagine that it was this hope of human longing for peace among 
 men (this desire for a great human brotherhood) that shone in the hearts 
 of those who followed this bright, shining star which led the Wise Men of 
 the Mast to the stable of Hethlehem, wherein lay in a manger the babe that 
 was to be the greatest teacher of men. 
 
 Christ came as a Saviour to the world. He taught mei. truth and right- 
 eousness. He held up to them a mirror of their own crude coarseness and 
 extreme materiality, and pointed upward to higher ideals and loftier senti- 
 ments. He taught nun of Ciod and their relationship to Him and them- 
 selves, and lived Himself a life of excellent virtue and higher morality. He 
 was the most perfect of men, :'.s the- Bible records it, and He warned men 
 that all their scheming would avail them nothing if they forgot righteous- 
 ness. His teachings are just as true today as they were then, and it is 
 simply history repeating itself. 
 
 IJke so many other servants and teachers before His time and after. He 
 was not understood and was misrepresented and had to die a cruel death 
 as a sacrifice for the sins of men. 
 
 But Christianity has gone on and on, evidenced by the many countless 
 churches and temples pointing their high steeples and spires to higher love 
 ;.nd duty, and yet men are still engaged, like of old. in destructible warfare 
 and merciless competition for their own selfish motives of aggrandizement 
 and powers, and the very principles which men are taught from early 
 childhood to respect and defend and live up to as the correct Christian 
 I)rinciiiles for righteous living, are violated and forgotten, and men revert 
 l)ack again to barbarism and primitive animalism instead of applying the 
 Golden Rule and principles of good will to everyday life to make them 
 practical, and to live toeether in harmonj' and peace and constructive 
 coiiperation, as Christ had taught them. 
 
 WE DON'T PRACTICE WHAT WE PREACH. 
 
 Why is righteousness not so j^ractical today? Because we do not prac- 
 tice what we preach, and find it imimssible to serve two masters at the same 
 time. 
 
 We are taught to love God above all and our neighbor as ourselves, in 
 the churches and by our consciences, but outside of them we are serving 
 Mammon by practicing selfishness in business and in our daily intercourse 
 with men, and are upholding the system of everyone for himself and the 
 devil take the hindmost. We countenance a system whereby a small num^ 
 ber of men can control and monopolize all the means whereby other men 
 must live, making the great majority !)ear all the burdens and endure all the 
 sufferings that must be borne and endured by men, while a small minority 
 enjoy all the results of this labor and suffering and have all the wealth and 
 pleasures of an earthly existence. 
 
 Men get to be heartless exploiters, confiscating God's bounteousness in 
 nature, intended for all living beings, to themselves, depriving others of the 
 fruit of their labor. They strive by cimning and shrewdness, which they 
 call superior intellect, to own the earth and the wealth thereof, and then 
 build fences around it with signs of warning for trespasses 
 
 This is only ienorance in the extreme, and will avail not when once 
 education has e^dightcned the masses to know and understand. Mammon 
 
14 
 
 v.-ill then be dethroned and the true God will again live in the hearts of 
 men. 
 
 NOT MAMMON, BUT GOD, SHALL RULE, AND THE SPIRIT OF 
 COOPERATIVE HUMAN BROTHERHOOD SHALL PREVAIL. 
 
 Narrow is the path, but finally right shall triumph. 
 
 The second coming of Christ has been often predicted, and He Himself 
 has spoken of it with some vigor. 
 
 Not the individual Christ, but Truth and Righteousness which He 
 taught, and the coiiperative spirit of human fellowship which He lived and 
 exemplified will live again in the hearts of men, who will live down false 
 teachings and establish a system founded on equality for all — a universal 
 religion, based on liberty, justice and rigliteousness — a brotherhood of 
 men singing the praises of a Fatherhood of God. 
 
 I do not think that Christ intended men to be divided up into so many 
 sects and creeds of today; that He wanted men to make war upon each 
 other for merely a difference of opinion they may have regarding a trifling 
 subject. But He taught them truth which is universal to be universally 
 accepted by all. He was a lover of humanity, a lover of right, and wanted 
 to bring heaven here instead of waiting for it in an unknown hereafter. 
 
 A THOUGHTFUL STUDY OF NATURE WILL MAKE US SEE THE 
 
 TRUTH. 
 
 A thoughtful study of nature will evidence the fact that we can all be- 
 lieve in God, or good, not as a matter of special religious teaching prin- 
 cipally, but as a matter of fact in nature as the First Great Cause and 
 Abiding Good. 
 
 Then, men are brothers, not as a matter of sentiment, but as a matter of 
 physical and spiritual relationship in nature, and therefore should not de- 
 stroy each other. 
 
 Thirdly, this beautiful world, the handiwork of God — His eternal work- 
 shop — was not given man to destroy and mar, but wa.^ given to him to 
 make still more beautiful through his own creative talent and ability, which 
 proves that he was made in the image of the great Creator. 
 
 WHAT IS LIFE? 
 
 As we see it, it is a wonderful phenomena of continuous activity and 
 endless changes of form and organization — a process of never-ending 
 creation. 
 
 There is continuous growth, development, maturity, doath and decay, 
 and this seeming death is but a birth again, a change, a transition into other 
 forms of life. 
 
 There is a never-ceasing activity all around us of all things, and even 
 the seeming silence of the field and wood is to the searching eye and 
 trained ear of man a busy workshop of nature. 
 
 The seasons come and go, and with them comes alternating frost and the 
 white mantle of snow that nature wraps itself up into in fall and winter 
 when it sleeps, while in spring and summer the earth looks beautiful in its 
 dress of fragrant green and pretty, perfumed flowers. 
 
 Man himself comes and goes. Childhood, youth and old age. Love finds 
 a way. and men mate and multiply. What is it all? It is all vieaiil for hriiiia;' 
 happiness. It is the process of evolution that adds year on year and reaches iiv 
 ages and spells eternity. 
 
 And what is it composed of? 
 
 It is matter and material everywhere through which the life force or 
 spirit moves. It is the breath of God forever at work. Spirit and matter 
 
15 
 
 are closely interwoven, and yet they appear as two distinct and separate 
 elements in nature. One is the creative and molding; power and intelligence 
 in nature, the other the clay that is formed and shaped to what nature 
 intends. 
 
 .-Ml is in motion, regulated by never-changing laws of a higher, supreme 
 Intelligence, the First Law-Giver and Car.sc. and though the imperfect 
 mind of man cannot fully grasp or comprehend the vastness and immensity 
 of the universe or understand the Infinite Mind of God, he knows that he 
 himself is mind p.nd matter. He may find by deep contemplation the uni- 
 verse and univeisal order very wonderful, but he finds that he himself is 
 just as wonderfully made. His body is the outer form or covering of his 
 inner self. It is the house or temple in which his spirit lives, and therefore 
 should be held very valuable and be taken good care of; and when the body 
 gets worn out. and the time of parting comes, nothing in the universe can 
 be forever lost. It is only a transition — a change — a moving from one 
 habitation to another, which we still know little of. 
 But, as a poet once wonderfully expressed it, — 
 
 There is no death. The heavens may fall, 
 
 The flowers fade and pass away; 
 They only wait through wint'ry hours 
 
 The coming of the May. 
 
 There is no death! An angel form 
 
 Walks o'er the earth with silent tread — 
 
 lie bears our best loved ones away, 
 And then we call thein "dead." 
 
 Born into that undying life, 
 
 They leave us but to come again. 
 With joy we welcome them again 
 
 F.xcept in sin or pain. 
 
 And ever near us, though unseen, 
 
 The dear immortal spirits tread — 
 For all the boundless universe 
 
 Is life — there are no dead. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 In conclusion. I woiU.d simply remind my readers that the research and 
 spread of knowledge of the past and present time should now certainly 
 have left its impress on the human mind more universally, and we all should 
 be more enlightened now, and should think aright when we do think. As I 
 said before, we should recognize and acknowledge the truth when it is 
 borne out by unanswerable facts in nature, and this should make us even 
 more thoughtful when we consider what it is all for. In the light of this 
 modern thought, we should certainly know more now than to make war 
 upon another and destroy each other. It is time for us to discriminate be- 
 tween what is Tuan-made and therefore imperfect and what is God-made 
 or perfect. We should not blame God for man's wrongdoing, but put the 
 blame where it belongs. We should remember, also, that God is not a God 
 of creed or belief, but the true and only God — the spirit of nature and the 
 universe. 
 
 Men are brothers everywhere, and the earth with all its bountiful supply 
 of all things necessary for an earthly existence, was not intended by God 
 to be owned and ppntrolled by a few men, but was intended for a habitation 
 uv all men alike. 
 
16 
 
 If we realize the truth as nature reveals it unto us, we may make this 
 earth again a paradise and do away with war forever, and have a brother- 
 hood of men singing the praises of a Fatherhood of God. 
 
 So — 
 
 Let us battle on for freedom. 
 Let us battle on for right. 
 Through the darkness of the ages 
 And the coming of the Light. 
 
 Till our boys bring us the message 
 
 From the battlefield of strife 
 That autocracy is beaten 
 
 And Democracy is rife. 
 
 We will then unfurl the banner 
 
 Of Old Glory to the breeze, 
 And sing the mighty anthem 
 
 Of the Everlasting Peace. 
 
 I now bid this little work God-speed, and hope it may find sympathetic 
 souls, and do some good in the world. 
 
 If I am permitted to do so, I may later on attempt the publication of 
 another book which shall contain some of my earlier writings, etc., and a 
 further elucidation of philosophy; so this, then, is to be considered only a 
 preliminary to what can really be said on the great subject of life and its 
 wonderful experiences, and I hope this little book will bring success and 
 inspire others to bring out their views and ideas in all matters concerning 
 human interest and progression. 
 
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