[Footnote A: The Conception of God—Le Conte's paper, pp. 70-71.]
This philosophy so earnestly asked for I trust is found in the New Dispensation of the Gospel, the light from the revelations in which, I believe, warrant the conclusions in the above paragraph of the Lesson text, and also the conclusions reached in the lessons of previous Year Books cited in note f. Then Professor Le Conte himself gives a reasonably good explanation for the existence of moral evil, which it is only just should be given here since I have quoted him up to the question of why evil exists. This is his answer: "It is that the existence or at least the possibility of a moral being like that of man [should exist]. There are some things which God himself cannot do, viz., such things as are contrary to his essential nature, and such things as are a contradiction in terms and therefore absurd and unthinkable. Such a thing would be a moral being without freedom to choose right or wrong. God could not make man eternally and of necessity sinless, for then he would not be man at all. To make him incapable of virtue, of righteousness, of holiness, for he must acquire these for himself by free choice, by struggle and conquest."[A]
[Footnote A: The Conception of God, p. 72.]
2. Things Seen and Known but in Part: One may not find the complete answer to all the questions of the second paragraph of this lesson, which make up largely the sum of difficulties for the theist, who believes in God Immanent in the world; but they are somewhat lessened by remembering that here on our plane of human life we know things but in fragments—"We know in part:" We see as through a glass, darkly; not face to face; and will have to await the time of more perfect knowing and seeing before we shall comprehend things as they are in their entirety.
A fine illustration of the mistaken conclusions men form by judging of things seen only in part is to be found in the Prophet Malachi:
"Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?
"Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?
"And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.
"Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.
"And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.