RELIGION ILLUSTRATED BY PHRENOLOGY.
By R. C. Farrar
THE science of phrenology proves conclusively that the seat of the mind is the brain; and so intimate is the connection between mind and matter, that any derangement of one produces a marked effect upon the other. How plainly the results of the fall can be traced in our feeble and shattered frames, as well as in the natural depravity of our hearts. My mind is carried back to the creation of man. When he came from the hand of God, how perfect he was, physically, mentally and morally. All the faculties of his mind were blended together in just that proportion necessary to the development of a perfect character. Benevolence, or love to our fellow-men, veneration, or religious reverence for the Deity, firmness, or fixedness of purpose, resolution, fortitude, conscientiousness, or love of justice and right, occupy the most elevated position of the brain, showing that they are to govern and control the rest of the faculties. When Adam partook of the forbidden fruit, he reversed this order of things very materially. Appetite is one of the lower faculties, and occupies a lower position in the brain. So do the domestic organs, love of home, family and friends, the principle of self-defense, love of property, &c. These faculties are all right in their legitimate use, but they are designed to be held in perfect subjection to the moral powers. Even our reason is not a sufficient guide in morals. Men of the mightiest intellects have gone fearfully astray from the path of rectitude. God has not made us self-sufficient beings. The faculty of veneration recognizes our dependence upon God, reason teaches us our obligations to him, and conscience enforces the decisions of reason. But does reason teach us what our duty is? I answer, No. We shall find, however, that man was not left to study out his duty by the light of finite wisdom. God's universe is governed by a perfect law. That law he gave to man as a rule of action—the perfect standard by which he was to develop a perfect character. But alas! man has fallen. His mind has lost the just balance of its powers. It has been degenerating ever since the fall, and, among the mass of men at least, the lower faculties assert their ascendancy. How shall we recover from the fallen state? The gospel holds out the only remedy. Jesus has died to redeem us from the effect of Adam's sins and place us again on probationary ground. But we are not perfect as Adam was. We are not capable of that perfect obedience which God's law requires. God cannot accept us on our own merits at all. O, how necessary then that there should be a mediator between God and us. And while we endeavor with all our ransomed powers, to conform to the holy law of God, he graciously grants us the aid of his Holy Spirit to help our infirmities, and through the intercession of Jesus we are accepted. God's law is our rule of perfection. And not only have we a perfect rule of action, but we have a perfect pattern or example to follow, which makes the way much plainer before us. To illustrate this more perfectly, we will suppose that a rule is given me for cutting out a certain article, and cutting by rule is something I am quite unused to doing. The rule tells me how long it shall be, how wide, whether curved or angular, long or short. I measure it this way and that, according to the rule, drawing from one point to another according to the best of my judgment.54But suppose I have a pattern that is cut in perfect accordance with the rule. How much easier to cut by a pattern. I shall not have to stop and decide how to mark it from one point to another, for there is the pattern right before me, perfectly agreeing with the rule, and I know if I cut the garment just like the pattern, it will be just right. Jesus is our Pattern. His character is in perfect accordance with the law of God. Here we have in his example, not only the ten principal points, but all the minute particulars. Here it is filled up with meekness, long-suffering and patience, and there with self-denial, compassion, and forgiveness of injuries. O, let us emulate our glorious Example! Let us truly in heart and in life keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. It is the design of religion to restore back the just balance of the powers of mind, that each may have just that development God designed at the first. We must not discard a faculty altogether, because its excessive development has led us into sin. We must curb and restrain it within just the limits that God prescribes. God's word is plain on every essential point. We may walk understandingly as long as we walk by God's truth. Paul says, "I will pray with the Spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also." Paul believed that his understanding, that is, his reason, or intellectual powers, had a part to perform in the worship of God. Let us endeavor to keep this truth in mind. Dear brethren and sisters, let us purify our hearts by obeying every truth in God's holy word. We are living in perilous times. Let us take heed to ourselves. Satan has spread his snares on the right hand and on the left, but with a right understanding of the will of God, and a willing obedience to the same, in the strength of Jesus, we shall at last get safely through. Kingston, Green Lake Co., Wis.