Modern Philosophy. 99 The warning, therefore, should be sounded out, not only to the young men and women who are likely to be the direct victims of the “higher education” of the day, but to every dweller in civilized lands, to beware lest any man make a prey of them through philosophy and vain deceit. For the matter we are considering vitally affects the interests of every civilized community. NATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY. From the Bible and from secular history we learn that God deals not only with individuals on the ground of privilege and responsibility, but with nations also. Because of the extraor dinary privileges granted to the Israelites, a heavier responsi bility rested upon them than upon other nations, and they were visited for their unfaithfulness with corresponding severity. And now we are living in that long stretch of centuries known as “the times of the Gentiles,” during which the natural branches of the olive tree (Israel) are broken off, and the branches of the wild olive tree are grafted into their place; that is to say, the period wherein the Gentiles are occupying temporarily Israel’s place of special privilege and responsibility. The diminishing of them has become the riches of the Gen tiles (Rom. 11:11-25). In dealing with a nation God looks to its rulers or leaders as responsible for its actions. The justice of this is specially evident in countries where the people choose their own rulers and governors. In our day the people are all-powerful. Rul ers are chosen for the express purpose of executing the popu lar will. Likewise also the time has come when the people not only elect their rulers, but also heap to themselves teachers, because they will not endure sound doctrine (2 Tim. 4:3, 4). We may be sure, then, that the persons we find in the pro fessional chairs of our colleges are there by the mandate of the people, who have turned away their ears from the truth and give heed to fables which please their itching ears.
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