April 1926
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
244
ages have been so imposed on by ridiculous stories of that kind that this very circumstance w^pld be a full proof of the cheat!” Verily, a Daniel come to Judgment! Here is a learned man, a prince among sceptics, who says in one breath that “ no kind of testimony for any kind of miracle can possibly amount to a probability, much less to a proof:” then, in another breath, concedes that "there may be miracles of such a kind as to admit of proof from human testimony, and be received by philosophers as certain;” and, yet in another breath, hastens to say that if such miracle be used as a sign of a divine religion we must again reject it! The Jewel of consistency evidently burns very dimly in the diadem of this deist: a miracle cannot possibly be cred ible, yet it may be credible; and again even a credible mir acle may be also incredible! The fact is Mr. Hume was bound to overthrow Christianity, and he would hesitate at no violation of logical consistency, or moral candor, to avoid giving the religion of the Bible a show of support. If one should descend to such unfairness in dealing with reli gious doubts and difficulties, he would be met, and deserve to be, by a pelting hail of hisses. Let one guard be put about what has been said, to pre vent perversion. Some, in arguing for the truth of Revela tion, start by proving miracles to be credible, and inferring the doctrine to be divine-because so sanctified. But this is by no means the whole truth. Our Lord Himself did not seek to force a faith or even conviction upon the minds of men whose hearts were hostile to Him and His work. If a man, by his bondage to his philosophy, or to an accusing conscience, or to selfish interests, is predisposed' and deter mined not to see that Christianity is of God, no amount of evidence will convince him. Light does not1reach a shut eye, which is for all purposes of seeing, a blind eye,. The heart makes the theology. If a man comes to the Bible with open eye he will find two influences operating together to produce conviction. First he will find such truth and such a person there as dispose him to expect divine credentials: and then he will And divine credentials disposing him to believe the truths and the person to be all that they claim, essentially divine; the written Word and the living Word of God. And many an examiner of Scripture scarce knows which way convic tion first takes hold of his mind, that Christ must be a divine being; whether from His teaching and life, or because His wonderful works reveal His divinity. You stand in sunlight and you are at the same moment dazzled by its brightness and thrilled by its warmth. Whether you were conscious of light or heat first, you scarce know. You approach the Bible; there breaks upon you a sense that you are walking in light: If there be truth anywhere it is here. You find a record of miraculous signB, confirming the teachings of the Book of God. Whether the signs lead you to look at the truth, or the truth leads you to expect the signs, you cannot tell. “ It becomes easier to believe in the miracles, because of our personal faith in Him as a being of whom such extra ordinary deeds might be reasonably expected, than to believe in Him primarily on the ground of His having exer cised miraculous powers.” Some have been drawn to the cradle of this wonderful child by seeing His star in the east, and being prepared to find the holy One, by the signs that herald Him. Others first found Him at the cross, and, when the precious drops fell on them with cleansing, heal ing power, could well believe the story of the magi. We have no hope of convincing a sceptic simply by mir acles. But, if in a candid spirit any man will search the Scriptures, he shall find that they testify of Christ, that
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Many Infallible Proofs
Arthur T. Pierson D. D, The writer of these pages once found himself getting into the deep darkness of doubt. Beginning at the foun dation. he searched for himself, till he found the proofs ample— that the Bible is the Word of God. It was like finding one's way out of a dense wood into the full light of. day. . . . , , * Others are still in the dark: and these chapters are the “ blazed” trees that mark the path by which one man got out of the forest. Perhaps some .pne else may try the same route, with a like result. Cloth $1.50
The Bible and Spiritual Life
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By Arthur T . Pierson •'The Bible as G od's B ook/* "The Bible as Man's B ook," "The Unseen W orld o f Spir its,— the M ystery o f H istory" — are titles o f some o f the ex cellent chapters in Dr. P ier son's volume. There are twelve pages o f diagram illustrations. One o f these gives "Planes of Prayer and A nsw er"— you will be interested in this— as you will in the entire book. Cloth $2.00
Perplexing Passages in the Four Gospels— By Keith L. Brooks The material in this book was gathered over a period of ten year*— for aid in private study. Search was made through'many commentaries for the simplest and clear est explanations of difficult passages in the four Gospels, and the compilation has saved the writer many a delay when the explanation of a perplexing point was imme diately needed. No writer attempts to explain very many difficulties, but in bringing together the wisdom of scores of writers, we are able to get light from many angles and to profit by the wisdom that the Holy Spirit has evidently imparted to many Bible students through prayerful study. Cloth $1.50; Paper $1.00 The World's Greatest Need .. By the Rev. Thomas E. H. Jones, B. A ., of Edinburgh This 298 page volume is attractively edited on beaut iful art paper, large clear type— green cloth binding with gold letters. The kind of book you love to own and read. It is filled with incidents, history and Scripture in a way which will make you enjoy quoting from this volume in your daily conversations. This book is an attempt, not to present any learned disquisition on the scheme of salvation, but to meet in a measure the need that exists for something to bring home to the heart, the more important points that are vital in the Word of God. There are great truths by which not only the child must stand or fall, but by which souls must either live or die: and there is a danger of just failing to make known adequately these very things which are of such supreme importance. Cloth $2.00 If money doss not accompany order, goods will be sent C. O. D., If goods are to coma by mail add 10% for poatago. B I O L A B O O K R O O M Bible Institute, Los Angeles, Cal.
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