,
invisible forces brought into visibility and subjection--a veritable
wonder-world of new phenomena and conditions heretofore unknown to man now
open to his uses and further investigation. The East and West can
communicate instantly. A human being can soar in the skies or speed in
submarine depths. The power of steam has linked the continents. Trains
cross the deserts and pierce the barriers of mountains; ships find
unerring pathways upon the trackless oceans. Day by day discoveries are
increasing. What a wonderful century this is! It is an age of universal
reformation. Laws and statutes of civil and federal governments are in
process of change and transformation. Sciences and arts are being molded
anew. Thoughts are metamorphosed. The foundations of human society are
changing and strengthening. Today sciences of the past are useless. The
Ptolemaic system of astronomy and numberless other systems and theories of
scientific and philosophical explanation are discarded, known to be false
and worthless. Ethical precedents and principles cannot be applied to the
needs of the modern world. Thoughts and theories of past ages are
fruitless now. Thrones and governments are crumbling and falling. All
conditions and requisites of the past unfitted and inadequate for the
present time are undergoing radical reform. It is evident, therefore, that
counterfeit and spurious religious teaching, antiquated forms of belief
and ancestral imitations which are at variance with the foundations of
divine reality must also pass away and be reformed. They must be abandoned
and new conditions be recognized. The morals of humanity must undergo
change. New remedies and solutions for human problems must be adopted.
Human intellects themselves must change and be subject to the universal
reformation. Just as the thoughts and hypotheses of past ages are
fruitless today, likewise dogmas and codes of human invention are obsolete
and barren of product in religion. Nay, it is true that they are the cause
of enmity and conducive to strife in the world of humanity; war and
bloodshed proceed from them, and the oneness of mankind finds no
recognition in their observance. Therefore, it is our duty in this radiant
century to investigate the essentials of divine religion, seek the
realities underlying the oneness of the world of humanity and discover the
source of fellowship and agreement which will unite mankind in the
heavenly bond of love. This unity is the radi