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March 19, 1922 - Image 14

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Michigan Daily, 1922-03-19

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

.AN INTJ RNATIONA CENTEr ,ss. In the year of its operatimn
An Argunient for -RelginOF LEARNTNS AT BRUSSELS thirteen universitie haveth ases
sending professors from the various
(Continued from Page 1) countries to give lectures, and by
(Contributed by Hlope Steddard) path. I wonder which man fears sociations, the work being done by working, as much as they were able,
Maybe I don't need religion, but it more-degeneration through-the too- this organization is of inestimable in co-operation withi it. There have
bothers me to be trying to argue it feverish manipulation of his reason, value. Librarian Bishop says, "The been 57 courses given, each of about
y h m I n g or -implicit, unthinking faith in a scheme is thoroughly good and per- a month's duration, with an average
away all the time. If I couid-only get Power he fails to understand. fectly practical, but it needs more audience of 150 at each lecture. Most
it settled as a fact that there is no As for me, for my greater ease, for money to carry it out well than the of this audience is composed of stu-
God and then cease to think about it, my greater peace of mind, and for the institution has ever had." dents in the University of Brussels,
I'd do so at once. But puzzling ques- sense of security it gives me, I choose and of men working in laboratories
the belief in God. ' h ouetr nylpdanear by under the direction. of the
lions that keep my mind in an un- which is being compiled is to be the Bel y gover h diechonglish,
settled state are constantly coming up. most remarkable and complete thing Belgian governmento. French, English,
I ask myself definitely, "What's all Sinclair Lewis's "Main Street," of its kind in the world. The work pansh, and Esperanto hav beenthe
this hocus-pocus about anyway? The Frank Harris's "Life of Oscar Wilde," is comparatively recent. The encyclo-
Bible isn't true; any sensible person and MI. L. Mencken's "In Defense of pedia is arranged in a great filing All the work of the International
admits that. There is no placed called Women" are being translated into system of current information. News- Center has, up to the present time,
Heaven; Copernicus never found it German. paper and magazine clippings and been financed by the Belgian govern-
n ss dh n spamphlets are classified by the deci- ment, which, however, has not pro-
whnh ytmtzeh nvre mal cataloging system. There is a vaided nearly enough for the needs,
Hell, if it exists, is a delightful place, "Bataouala," the. novel which won Yl tound sujec. T oris and mcre mo is nees.
where kindred spirits mingle and are the t1921 Goncourt Prize in Paris, isguore than sibecs i af th p or f ony is neessary
able to think independently at last. promises to be a remarkable work in ne nmor hn i undr he proper functioning of the great
God? Obviously He does not exist. more than one way. It is written by drawers. Practically all have been work already started. A committee
There is no need for Him, at least, a negro and treats of the "unfettered ofthe League of.Nations recentiy ap-
sicew mn aa ecm s ws." lieof.teriitv Arias. M.printed since 1910. This work also is teLau fNtosrcnl p
since we men have become so ise." life of the primitive Africans. Mr' kept up in certain fields by various pointed to investigate the matter re-
After putting forth these statements, Rene Maran, the guthor, spent six scientific organizations, and it is pos- ported favorably on the proposition to
I come to the following conclusions: years in a native African village sible to obtain by means of the photo- subsidize the work. It is yet to be
I stall no longer believe in God. Such gathering the material for this un- stat very valuable technical informa- seen whether any action will be taken
belief is a weakness, and I do not wish usual hook. During that tIme he oh- tion which itwould be practically im- in regard to it.
to be weak. Moreover, I can get along served the life of the natives. Re has possible to obtain in any other way The contribution of America to the
quite as well without God. My friends recorded his observations, faithfully, without great expenditure of time and work is chiefly in giving valuable in-
will stand in a greater awe of me if refully suppresng his ow "el money. ,
I am an out-and-out agnostic. I shall intgs and reflections. The result "pre- 'frain nfctebs ato
Sbe able to pursue my studies unhan- sents a pulsing melodrama of a sup- The international university, com- the bibliographical collection has been
pered by religious traditions, pressed barbaric people." "Batouala" menced in 1920 by action of the uni- given by this country. But as -yet
is at present being translated into versity conference in September of America has given no money what-
But, in spite of all my efforts, these English. that year, has met with unusual suc- ever.
arguments lack finality. Maybe it is
because I lose my grit. At any rate a
change takes place in some such way
as this. I climb out on the roof some'
night for quietness and meditation. I
lool at the stars in'the dim, grey sky,
and the lights on the blacker earth.
The moon, a golden arc, slides behind
a clump of clouds. A soft, cool wind
blows past me where I stand. Every-
thing about me seems in tune to a
-chord of which I can only hear the
echo. I think-there is something in-
explicable behind the silence and vast-
ness of the universe.
On another day I take a long walk.
I smell the thawing ground, I slush
the mud, I let smooth pebbles trickle
through my fingers. I hear the dry
crackle of leaves. And fnally, I even
laugh. It is a laugh, rippling in the
treble, and booming in the bass, a
laugh to chase away frightful illus-
ions and sickly shadow thoughts. It
is like a blast of cold wind or a sight
of Gibraltar. "Well, well," I say to
myself, "mere thought often leads one
astray. There is something, surely,
behind all .this pulsing life that quick-ev r f1 T y p p
ens and inspires one to further ef- every MODEL has a message!
fort."
And then, there are iy friends l I
had a talk with one of my friends this
-smorning. In :some miraculous way,
wholly beyond my ken, we exchanged For Springtime wear Dame Fashion has decreed colors of
Ideas. Even philosophers cannot ex- brilliant hue. Even though straws may be black, a bit of horse-
-plain how two individuals, wholly'
separate from one another, can be- hair braid or lace adorns the hat and the flower ornaments are
come acquainted with one another's
thoughts. It seems not impossible certain to be of Spring coloring.
that there is a Something outside of
both individuals that aids in the inter-
communication. Special care has been ta/fen to provide a showing of Spring
Thus do I find myself believing in a
Something that I conveniently call Millinery that will .prove attractive to Madamoiselle. The
God. Say I do stoop to believe! To .
have faith in a thing may be a weak- Hai Shoppe on the second floor is filled wth models that wil
ness. But I grow weary of conceited
mess as well as of blind belief. I am become you and be pleasing as to price.
weak. I confess it and do not care to
deceive myself any longer. The de-
cision to believe in God against pure
reason is less of a weight on my mind
than the lie of constantly asserting
that I am sufficient unto myself.
Reason, after all, is not the whole
of man's make-up. Some say that
man is running too much to reason
and the so-called higher intellectual
faculties. Over-specializatlon in race
always means final extinction, and
man is said to be on that downward

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