cendent and the supernatural be eliminated at once? Is God so unbearable, are His commands so galling, that anything is better than acceptance of allegiance to Him and His will? If the Old and New Testaments state any message unequivocally, it is that God desires, not the secularization of life, but the separation and sanctification of life to His glorious purposes alone. What is to be substituted for the heart-warm ing, soul-saving, and soul-ennobling fellowship with God? A secular theory? A leap in the theological dark? A well-rounded zero? Mark the logic: God? No! Jesus? Yes! Evidently, according to the new insight the only way to bring God back to life is to insert Him in the middle of our social, economic, racial, and poli tical problems. It is the social gospel with a venge ance, at long last come to its dead-end street. Have a God, but be sure He is useful for your own con ceived objectives. If ever there were a burial of logic, it is this word from Dr. Daniel Williams of Union Seminary in New York: “ There is no God, and Jesus is his only begotten son.” It is popular now to play on Nietzsche’s state ment thus: “God is Dead.” (Signed) Nietzsche. Nietzsche Is Dead! (Signed) God” (Time, Octo ber 22, 1965, p. 62). Mark Twain’s old comment is in point here. When told that it had been stated that he had died, Twain countered: “ The report concerning my death has been grossly exaggerat ed.” He who sits in the heavens must laugh, yet with a broken heart, at man’s puny rumors con cerning His death. When the lock washer — the inspired and in fallible Word of the living God — is relinquished, no position, however absurd or logically untenable, will go begging for followers. We have now seen it amply fulfilled before our very eyes. Shades of Thomas Paine and Robert Ingersoll! They now appear as first-class candidates for Protestant theological canonization as saints. Americans are adept at inventing new varia tions on the “God theme.” For a long time it was Father Divine. Now it is Father Dead. Believe it, the man of sin, the Antichrist (II Thess. 2), is going to find the way well prepared for him on his devilish arrival on the scene of world history. Be warned and beware! From Talbot Theological Seminary BULLETIN.
reader recall the life and death struggle of the Christian faith with Greek philosophy, Jewish legalism, Oriental mystery religions, political pa tronage o f the Roman Empire, and the introduc tion of soul-misleading paganism. From these all the Biblical faith came off victor and more en trenched than ever. Such, we are certain, will be the outcome of the present theological novelty. It has been well said: “ The living God cannot be imperiled by men who say he is dead, and he needs no defense by those who say he lives. Reality can not be threatened by ideological debates about re ality” (The Christian Century, December 1, 1965, p . 1468). Moreover, the present theological turmoil is a challenge. It has been stated thus: “Never has the burden of presenting historic Christian theism fall en so heavily upon the shoulders o f a vanguard of evangelical theologians. That the living, superna tural God has revealed himself; that he has made his ways known in objective historical acts and in objective truths about himself and his purposes; that the Bible is the authoritative norm of Chris tian faith and practice — these were elemental truths that the early Christians proclaimed to the pagan world. Today even some theologians teach ing in professedly Christian seminaries and uni versities, not only are in doubt about these truths, but even make their doubts the structure o f a counterfeit confession” (Christianity Today, De cember 17, 1965, p. 23). Scores of times the Scriptures refer to God as the living God. Covenants and oaths were made in the name of the God who lives (I Kings 17:1). There is a god who is dead, and he is one o f man’s own poor devisings. His demise is cause for jubila tion and not lamentation. The present discussion could not prove better, even if it tried, that any valid knowledge of God is by revelation and by that alone. Apart from the Word o f God man knows nothing o f the true na ture o f God (I Cor. 1:21). And faith must come by the Word of God (Rom. 10:17). Finally, it is the height of fallacy to read God out of the picture and then flee to Christ. How can one be held without the other (John 10:30) ? What meaning does the Father have without the Son or the Son without the Father (I John 2 :23 )? One need not be a Nicene theologian to arrive at a logic ally consistent answer here. Why must the trans
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NOVEMBER, 1966
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