A PREVALENT MISTAKE by Rev. E. N. Kirk.

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 14, 1861

A PREVALENT MISTAKE.

By Rev. E. N. Kirk.

A sentiment that it matters not what a man believes, so that he is sincere, is as unscriptural as it is absurd. Sincerity of belief has no more effect in warding off evil in the spiritual than in the natural kingdom. If the teachings and persuasions of a reputed chemist should prevail on you that arsenic is harmless, would it therefore be harmless? Could you mix it with your bread, and you or your children eat it without injury to health and life? Oh no! Neither will the sincerity of your belief save you from the consequence of error in religious faith. Right belief—truth, God's truth, my brethren, is the only foundation on which you can safely rest your hopes. But true belief is not a mere act of the understanding, it involves exercises of the heart; the emotions are purified, and love pervades the soul.