“But enough of this. The time must come when the world will worship only one God and do away with the idolatry of the bible, of Jesus, of Mary, of the innumerable saints, the adulation of rites, rituals, ceremonies, and make righteousness and holiness consist in obeying the laws of God, as written in the hearts of men, and in maintaining clean, upright lives.
“We need a natural, not an artificial religion, one in harmony with the nature of God, not something manufactured by councils or religious tinkerers. I am well aware that most if not all the people in the churches would deny my right to have any opinion at all on these subjects except what they hold. I have known Christian ministers shocked at the suggestion of a doubt about any of the tenets of their faith, and yet I have heard these same men, well versed in Hinduism, attack it with such virulence and ridicule that the very heathen in front of them begged them for shame to desist.
“If Christian ministers in the bazars can preach against Muhamedanism and Hinduism; if they can write books to destroy these religions, why should they object to an investigation of their own creeds? They talk of the intolerance and bigotry of the Muhamedans, but who so intolerant as the Christians? Let one of their number leave their ranks with all honesty and good intention. He is then shunned as a leper, avoided as if he were a dangerous animal and treated with contempt, and reflections are made on his motives, until he is at length obliged in self defense, and for his own self respect, to give his reasons and make attacks in return, when but for the uncharitable treatment he received would have remained silent.”
I had asked frequent questions during the conversation, but do not consider them worth repeating. This accounts for the apparent breaks in Mr. Jasper’s remarks. It was no fault of his that he did not answer my first question, as I diverted him from it by a question. I again referred to it, and he said:
“Believe in God? Most emphatically I do. I came to conclude in the existence of God in this way. I see about me a world of matter. It is inert, dead, incapable of motion in itself or of moving other things. It could not therefore come into existence by itself. I observe that vegetable and animal life is above matter and has a certain power over it, yet I am conscious that this life did not create itself. Then comes man, supreme over all, with his varied powers and faculties. I know from my own experience, that though he can do much he is only a transformer. He cannot create anything, so he could not be his own creator. So on, from the lowest to the highest life I see no power of creating. I see what man can do, the transcendant harmony and adaptation of the things his mind can arrange but not create. I see the wonderful things in nature, their beauty and the universal harmony of all things, not only of the earth but of the heavenly bodies. Everything I see is according to law, nothing by chance. I see nothing on earth that can create the smallest thing, and that nothing is moved or transferred but by life, mind; and hence I infer that there must be a mind above all this to start it and continue it, and this mind I call God. I do not know what you think of my theory, but it is satisfactory to myself, and this is sufficient for me. It may not satisfy you or any other being on earth. I am not thinking for others; only for myself. I must believe and act for myself.
“This mind, spirit, Being above, I revere, I worship, I love. He is my light, my life, my peace and joy. I cannot but think Him infinitely wise, for I see proofs of His wisdom everywhere. I see His goodness in all He gives me to enjoy. I judge Him to be Almighty, for I see his power displayed everywhere. I know of His mercy, for if it were not for that I would not be permitted to live, violating what I cannot but see are His righteous laws. I see it is the evident purpose of life to be and enjoy. Should I wantonly wound a bird, I ask, what if some one should torture me in the same way? Should a man wrong my sister or my daughter, how would I feel? How then could I injure his sister? Why should I do anything which I would not have done to me? I believe in Providence, one who upholds and directs this universal all, from the largest planets, down to the drop of dew on a rose leaf. I see and feel all this, that as matter cannot act of itself, it must be acted upon, and with what wisdom, power and love!
“When I obey the laws of nature, and of my being, there is a satisfaction. When I violate the laws there is a sense of wrong, a knowledge that I have sinned, and remorse follows, warning me not to do the like again. If I fail to listen to the requests of the poor, the question always comes: ‘If you were in their place, how would you like to be treated in that way?’
“What more? I pray for light, for forgiveness, for strength, for wisdom. I thank God for all things, and when I come to Him in humility, when I make confession of my sins, throw myself upon Him, into His merciful arms, and feel that this mind, this Infinite being is my God, my Father, what a peace and joy comes into my life! I often like to sit in silence, not to think, but to feel with my whole being, after God. This is Heaven to me, to be in harmony with the Divine One above, around and within me, and I am supremely happy. I have no fears, no doubts, for I have done the best I know.
“Now you have read the thoughts of my soul. Good night, Mr. Japhet.”
He said all this with so much sincerity that I could not but believe that he had let me read “the thoughts of his soul.”