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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
January 1926
Is There a God? Rev. O. R. Harding Wood, Vicar o f Christ Church, Bidcup, Kent, England
Dr. Harding Wood has here presented a cleai, convincing argument for the existence o f the God of the BiWe “ nd we heart- iljr commend it. We could wish that hundreds o f our young people in the schools and colleges » n W l b e « o '“ *™“ ®“ 1 to place the seal of approval to the truth contained herein and forever bid farewell to their disturbing doubts.
The result of all this is well known to all students, both of science and theology. To the orthodox theologians of that day it was a staggering blow. To us today, while the battle is still being waged, it means that we have refaced the old problem from a new point of view and with a new vindi cation for the truth of the Word of God, so that the removal of “ the first” has but meant the establishing of “ the second” — (Heb. 10:9). II. The Answer That is Up-to-date To recapitulate a moment,— the old-fashioned arguments were: first, from the cosmos; then from design within that cosmos; and, finally, from man as the crown of that design. , Today the emphasis is upon the last of these— Man— and, particularly, upon his soul (Or. psuche) hence, the Science of Psychology. The argument of today for the existence of God is based upon the three-fold character of the nature of man— a body that works, a soul that wills, and a spirit that worships. The central fact about the nature of man is that he wills— he chooses. This in itself would prove nothing. But—man is capable of choosing-between good and evil. That choice necessitates a conscience, a faculty that can distinguish between right and wrong. That distinction as made by man necessitates the existence of Someone (or Something) to Whom (or to Which) he is answerable for his choosing. But, above and beyond that, man) has a faculty by which he worships. In this be is unique in the animal creation. Man can pray, and prayer and worship necessitate two per sonalities— one who prays and another to Whom the prayer is addressed, one who worships and One Who is worshipped. But, even allowing the logic of all this, nothing is proved beyond a high probability. To say that the existence of cer tain spiritual faculties in man necessitates the existence of God is not enough. It is here, then, that the argument from experience, so ably taught by Professor James, comes in. The fact is that men have prayed, men have worshipped. The history of the Christian church is a history of the real ity of these spiritual forces. It is impossible to deny reality to the whole spiritual history of the race both past and present. In a word, it is impossible to deny the existence of God. We are driven by an accumulated evidence from all ages and all lands that God is and that He can and does make Himself known to men. m . Hie Answer That is Without Date We have already suggested this. It is the answer of the Bible, the answer of faith and of Christian experience. 1. The Evidence t f the Bible. Let the rankest unbeliever honestly take this Book in his hand, let him ask God to speak to him from its pages, and, however he may explain it, or however little he may ■believe in its inspiration, the Bible will be to him the Voice of God. God speaks to man in His Word. 2. Hie evidence o f Jesus Christ. Let that same unbeliever study the character, career, and above all, the cross of Jesus Christ, and, once again, God will manifest Himself. The God Who is audible in His Word is made real to the seeking soul in Jesus Christ.
HE Bible declares that the man who says: “ No God” is a fool; and, the Bible makes that declara tion not once but twice in the same book, namely in the opening words of both Psalm fourteen and Psalm fifty-three. There are no atheists today, for no one is so foolish as to declare that he can prove the non-existence of Gdd. But, there are many fools, in the sense in which the Bible uses that word. There are today more people than ever who say “ No God.” If they do not deny His existence, they deny His authority, so that, in the strict sense of the Word, they are "atheists.” They are very many in number and very varied in type. Some are vulgar and blatant, cheap and ignorant, but many are wistful and hungry— secretly ashamed and sometimes even afraid of their unbelief. They are often to be found in our churches and religious gatherings and they are there in the hope that they will find someone with sufficient sym pathy to whom they can unburden their hearts and ask to be led into the land of strong confidence. Let us who are sure— quite sure— ask for a baptism of sympathy and win someness that we may lift such on to the Rook. There are three directions in which we may look for an answer to the question: Is there a God? First, there is an answer that is now out of date. Second, there is an answer that is very much up-to-date. Third, there is an answer that is without any date. I. The Answer That is Now Out-of-date In the early part of the nineteenth century England was the home of Theism. Three main arguments held the field. 1. The Cosmological— the argument from matter; The existence of the cosmos necessitated the existence of a Cre ator as matter could hot be thought of as eternal. 2. The Teleological— the argument from design. Within matter was design of endless variety. Design necessitated a Designer. 3. The Anthropological— the argument from man. •The most complex of all designs in the world was Man. His existence demanded the existence of Someone capable of creating him, namely, God. To the early part of the nineteenth century these argu ments as outlined by Paley and others seemed absolutely final. Psalm 53:1 was abundantly vindicated.. All wisdom lay with the theists. Then came the naturalists of whom the Frenchman Lamarck may be said to be the first. According to him, all existing species arose from older species. All the various apes could be accounted for by the force of habits achieved through the ages. The ances tors of the giraffe ate from trees just beyond their reach, hence their long necks! Four great naturalists followed Lamarck, namely, Dar win, Wallace, Herbert Spencer and Tyndall. Gradually, under these masters, the theory of Evolution was enunciated in full. Darwin’s “ Origin of Species” was published in 1859. To Herbert Spencer we are indebted for the phrase: “ The Survival of the fittest,” and to Tyndall for the theory of the dual nature of matter— “ Spiritual” and “ Mechanical” __with its blow to the argument from design.
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