Bible and M odem Civilization Address Given at World’s Conference on Christian •Fundamentals, June, 1921 By don o. S helton
HE spiritual and m o r a l strength of a nation corre sponds to the Christian faith of the people. As the source
If a survey of the signs of the times reveals ominous and sinister tendencies the one who makes the survey need not be marked a pessimist. A man is not necessarily a pessimist because he is alert to find marks of decay and danger in the house he occupies. An engineer is not a pessimist because he listens alertly to the voice of his train, in order that no defective machinery may en danger the lives entrusted to him. A sea captain is not a pessimist when he establishes a continual outlook to pre vent catastrophe and wreckage. A Chris tian disciple is not a pessimist because he scrutinizes the signs of the times in the radiant light of the unerring Word of God that he may warn his fellow- men of impending peril. That the drift of our modern civiliza tion is away from God and His Word is overwhelmingly evident. In the light of the signs of the times, we may well ask: What has become of the philosophy of this world? What is the fruitage of the Christless philosophy of the Christless world leaders? The abounding evidence of moral de cline, the recent horror vof the world- war and the present world-chaos are lightning flashes revealing the desola tion which results when men reject the Word of God. Abandoning the moun tain heights of God’s truth, men find themselves floundering in the abysses of despair. . » Men have been trying to regulate their own affairs and the concerns of the world without reference to their duty to God. Priding themselves on the advance of science, the growth of commerce and the progress of clviliza-
of Christian faith is the Bible, the re ceiving with the heart of the Scripture as the authoritative Word of God is essential to the strength of the nation. The endurance and the highest welfare of civilization, therefore, are dependent on the hearing and obeying by the nation of the voice of God as He speaks through His Word. The source and vigor and welfare of civilization are contingent on Christian faith. This conviction Hr. Gladstone held from youth to age. He believed, says Mr. Morely, that the strength of the nation corresponds to the religious strength of the people. _George Wash ington recognized the hand of God in the remarkable beginnings of our na tional life. “No people can be found,” he said in his first inaugural address, "to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an inde pendent nation seems to have been dis tinguished by some token of providen tial agency.” The words of our Lord are as applicable to nations as to indi viduals, “ According to your faith shall it be unto you.” As by theirTruits nations are known, what do the characteristics of our mod ern civilization indicate as to the respect and reverence of the people for the Bible? Is the drift toward, or from, veneration for the Bible and obedience to its divine authority?
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs