tunes and is one of the most cherished customs of the people. What is especially significant about the change is that it was changed by no express decree but by general consent. Something tremendous must have oc curred that led to this change. The Apostles asserted that what had occurred on that day was the resurrection of Christ from the dead, and that is the most rational explanation. In fact it is the only reasonable explanation of the change. But the most significant fact of all is the change in the disciples themselves, the rrufral transformation. At the time of the crucifixion of Christ, we find the whole apostolic company filled with blank and utter despair. We see Peter, the leader of the apostolic company, deny ing his Lord three times with oaths and cursings, but a few days later we see this same man, filled with a cour age that nothing could shake. These unquestionable facts are so impressive and so conclusive that even infidel and Jewish scholars now admit that the Apostles believed that Jesus rose from the dead. There is really but one weighty objection to the doctrine that Jesus arose from the dead, and that is, “ There is no conclusive evidence that any other ever arose.” To this a sufficient answer would be, even if it were certain that no other ever arose, it would not at all proye that Jesus did not arise, for the life of Jesus was unique, His nature was unique, His character was unique, His mission was unique, His history was unique, and it is not to be wondered at, but rather to be expected, that the issue of such a life should also be unique. How ever, all this objection is simply David Hume’s exploded argument against the possibility of the miraculous re vamped. According to this argument, no amount of evi dence can prove a miracle, because miracles are contrary to all experience. But are miracles contrary to all experi ence? To start out by saying that they are is to beg the very question at issue. They may be outside of your experience and mine; they may be outside the experience of this entire generation, but your experience and mine and the experience of this entire generation are not “ all experience.” Every student of geology and astronomy knows that things have occurred in the past which are entirely out side of the experience of the present generation. Things have occurred within the last ten years that are entirely outside of the experience of the fifty years preceding it. True science does not start with an a priori hypothesis that certain things are impossible, but simply examines the evidence to find out what has actually occurred. It does not twist its observed facts to make them accord with the facts as observed. To say that miracles are impossible, and that no amount of evidence can prove a miracle, is to be supreme ly unscientific. Within the past few years, in the domain of chemistry, for example, discoveries have been made regarding radium which seemed to run counter to all previous observations regarding chemical elements and to well-established chemical theories. But the scientist has not therefore said that these discoveries about radium cannot be true; he has rather gone to work to find out where the trouble was in his previous theories. The observed and recorded facts in the case before us prove to be a demonstration that Jesus rose from the dead, and true science must accept this conclusion and conform its theories to this observed fact. The fact of the actual and literal resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead cannot be denied by any man who will study the evidence in the case with a candid desire to find what the fact is, and not merely to support an a priori theory.
The night was still. It was a shop of carpentry Where Mary sat alone, and in the solitude Events of long ago coursed through her mind. How well did she remember angel choirs Announcing "Peace on earth" to shepherd bands. To her was given God's most honored place. She was to be the mother of the Christ, Conceived of Holy Ghost. She thought of how they fled cruel Herod's wrath; Of Nazareth; of ugly, evil words accusing her Of bringing forth a bastard son. She only knew Her part in God's all-wise, redemptive plan. Her thoughts flew by. This son was now of age, And to Jerusalem he went with them To worship and to sacrifice. She knew not then That he was born to die. She smiled a bit, as how with anxious love They found him in the temple with the wise; And of his mild rebuke, "What know ye not My Father's work I must begin to do? Therefore I strayed from thee." And Mary pondered once again The scenes of long ago. Through all those years Her people understood her not. For three and thirty years She sorrowed all alone. Her heart was sad, as through her memory sped Those three short years when even she misunderstood. Her son, announced as Christ the Lord, A wandering prophet? How could this be so? And yet she knew within her heart it must be true. She could not understand the ways of God, Nor did she try to comprehend His thoughts. She waited for the dawn. She wept a little now; the hours of dreadful gloom Swept rapidly before her eyes. Gethsemane— A rock-hewn tomb, and blood-stained Calvary. She stood beside him as he died. Her son. He came unto his own, but wicked hands Had lifted him on high. Was this the end Of Israel's consolation? And Mary once again Remembered. He was God! Five years have now gone by since Mary mused, Was from her native land. Had she but known, This meeting might have never taken place. "M y son," the stranger said, "died years ago. Within the very shadow of the prime of life; He died a death of shame." And Joseph's wife replied. " I had a firstborn son. He too was slain in early manhood life. He died upon a cross between two thieves. This One was born the Saviour of the world, And death nor hell could not contain Him long. My seed was Christ the Lord. Who was your son?" The woman bowed her head, and from a broken heart She cried, "Iscariot!" — S tephen Leetham And in the market place one day she met A mother such as she. This woman too
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MARCH, 1964
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