Greek finds his "wisdom," and tin "world moves." Definition of the Resurrection. The Yale professor attributes to Paul this, teaching of the resurrection: "Not the reanimation of the physical body, but the triumphant entrance of the whole personality of the Christian into the full measure of eternal life at some time after physical death. ' ' Paul is not here to resent this misrepresentation and this is a very pragmatis fact for the gain- sayer. Another Perversion. Rev. J. J. Mar- tin, of Chicago, in the Amer. Journal of Theology, affords us another instance of the misrepresentation of Scripture. He says that, * * Atonement is a person, matter belonging to the Fatherhood o. God." That is that God does not act in ' ' putting away sin " as the Kin and Judge of rebellious subjects in vii dication of universal justice, but as i Father out of the sentiment of patei na:l pity. " J e s u s ," he continue, "never operated in the juridical (in plain English the legal) realm. The terms 'legal,' 'penal,' 'satisfaction,' for example, are foreign to His life and discourse." They grew out of "theo- logical debate,'" and " do not belong to man's experience of the atonement," nor " t o the essential Pauline gospel." "These terms are forensic (legal) tech- nicalities." " To speak of the atone- ment as the work of a . subordinate par- ty in the Trinity to bring about a con- dition whereby a superior party in the Trinity can act favorably to men, is to exhibit a mind fettered by outworn and inadequate categories (terms)." This last remark is to ascribe a . " f e t t e r e d" mind to all the greatest theologians and most of the greatest preachers of the ages. What impertinence-. But Scrip- ture plainly teaches that God never acts as Father but as Judge toward men viewed as unregenerate. As Judge He pet? in righteousness, i. e. by law, as Fath er by grace. It is true Jesus did •not " o p e r a t e" in the realm of law in dealiTior with men, though He kept tho law Himself. It did rot belong to His nast manifestation. But He did teach that men would be judged by law and He would judge them at the last day. Also that He would shed His blood as <( a ransom," a term only to be under- stood by the terms of law. A s for Paul's teaching—"Those that are under the
And it has been and will be seen that those things which men have deemed of slight importance have a tremendous significance. For ' ' God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and the weak things of the world to confound the mighty and base things of the world and things that are despised, yea and things that are not hath God chosen to bring to naught the things that a r e ." I Cor. 1:27, 28. Paul a Pragmatist. A Yale professor is out with a current essay on the prag- matism of Paul (Amer. Journal of The- ology). That Paul's doctrines were practical we readily agree. But we dif- fer with the Pragmatist just here that all his doctrines are true and practical. Paul is here represented as having in- vented his doctrines because they worked well for his times and ends. ' ' Paul's main argument,' ? says our professor, " f o r the resurrection is that it is so valuable if true, that it is, it must be true . . . there must be a resurrection, for Christ must surely have been raised." " The apostle refused to give up his belief in the resurrection for then he would have to believe that all he had done and suffered had been in vain." The professor quotes: "Then is.our preaching vain," etc. But he does not refer to Paul's proof of the resurrection, not that it is a necessary inference, but that it is a his- torical and eternal fact. This is true pragmatism; for the professor quotes only what is useful to his purpose, which is to limit the power of the resur- rection to Paul's imagination. The doc- .trine of justification by grace without conformity to Judaic forms was so ef- fective in winning Gentiles that Paul concluded it must be true, or at least that it was pragmatic—useful. Pragmatism Pragmatic. We find this new philosophy (but it is very old) con- venient, i. e. pragmatic. Whatever strikes us as inexpedient in the old faith we may and should discard. Men have outgrown the old "superstitions," miracles, blood-atonement, divine judg- ments past, present, and to come; we must go to them with a "practical gospel." Some things were true for past ages, but we have become men and must put away these children's things. Thus our pragmatism is a very effec- tive working philosophy. Bv it the Jew escapes his "stumbling block," the
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