THE KING’S BUSINESS 943 One of the good by-products of this awful war is the discrediting of German Biblical criticism. Beside this, there seems -to have been a real 'awakening of faith throughout the nations at war. The Watchman
The Collapse of German Authority.
Examiner, of New York, has recently commented in an interesting and in structive way on the change in religious thought that is indicated by a com parison of the articles in The Hibbert Journal for June, 1913, with the trend of thought today. The Watchman says | ! One y e a r of b itte r conflict h a s driven th e c u rre n t religious th o u g h t so fa r from th e course of 1913 th a t few h av e realized th e v a s t change, in th is n um b er (i. e.f T he H ib b ert Jo u rn a l fo r Ju n e , 1913), th e opinions of G erm an sch o lars a re quoted w ith resp ec t; in fact, a s decisive an d convincing. A s it now read s, it is realized w ith som eth in g of a shock th a t th e view s of G erm an th eo lo g ian s an d philosophers a re no longer q u o ted a s au th o rity . T he read in g of th is issu e rev ealed afre sh th e fact, th a t th e ty p e of theology an d philosophy som ew h at d om in an t in p a s t y e a rs h a s been u tte rly d iscred ited by th e w ar. T he ascen d en cy w hich G erm an th in k ers h a d g ain ed an d m ain tain ed in th e la s t fo rty y ears, h a s been destro y ed by th e fa c t th a t th e ir theology an d philosophy h av e p erm itted th em to defend a w a r in w hich m illions of htim an lives a re bein g d estroyed, an d a larg e p a rt of th e e a rth laid w aste. . . T he n am es th a t h av e stood h ig h in sch o lastic an d theological circles a re no longer reverenced. T he ap o stles of th e ag e of dou b t a re bein g rep u d iated , an d th e people a re read in g th e B ible an d th ro n g in g th e ch u rch es in sim ple fa ith in God an d H is W ord, an d calling on H im fo r help in th is tim e of te rrib le woe. In th e n um b er of T h e Jo u rn a l re fe rre d to it is a sse rte d th a t th e Gospels are larg ely u n h isto ric a l; th a t b u t little is know n of th e real life of Jesu s, an d th a t Je su s w as m erely th e la te s t an d b e st of th e H eb rew p ro p h ets, belonging really to th e bid d isp en satio n , an d th a t th e Gospels should be considered a p a r t of th e Old T estam en t. W ho c ares fo r th a t so rt of sp ecu latio n now ? N o t th e people of G erm any! T h ey a re seeking th e S aviour a s n ev er before; n o t th e people of P ra n ce! G odless F ra n c e h a s becom e th o u g h tfu l. T he infidel w rite rs a re n e g lected or h av e th em selv es becom e religious, a n d th e people a re th ro n g in g th e fo rsak en ch u rch es. C ertain ly n o t th e people of R u ssia! T h ey a re m o re earn estly ad o rin g Je su s C h rist, w hom th e y now believe to b e V ery God of V ery God. A nd n o t even in E n g lan d is th e d estru ctiv e criticism of religion h av in g th e cu rren cy it h a d before th e w ar. T he realism of life in th e face of th e g re a t conflict h as b an ish ed all relish fo r sp ecu lativ e reaso n in g , an d tr u s t in God, a n d in H is W ord a re th e d om in atin g fa c ts in religious th o u g h t an d life. The Watchman Examiner goes on to say: “As the deluge swept the corrupt race of men from the earth; so this war is purging the earth of the doubt of the Word of God which has been eating like a cancer into the vitals of modern Christianity. At times of ease and safety men come to God because they realize that He alone can save. This lesson the world is learn ing today. Reliance on human wisdom is destroyed. Trust in God- is our only refuge.” We think that this-is altogether too roseate a view of actual conditions today, and yet there can be no doubt that German Destructive Criticism and philosophy and ideas generally, have been discredited in Scotland and Eng land, and to a certain extent in the United States, although we shall not feel it in the United States to the full extent until later, just as we did not feel the destructive criticism to the same extent as Scotland and England until some years after—the destructive Criticism in this country being for most part not merely an echo of Germany, but very largely an echo of an echo, a n . echo of the Scotch and English echo of the German voice. But even in the United States thousands of people have been solemnized by the war. One of the best known perverts from Orthodoxy to Unitarianism has boldly avowed that the war woke him up to realities and let him see the shallowness^and insufficiency of liberal thought, and brought him back to evangelical Chris tianity, which alone would meet the needs of man as he really is, and the needs of the hour.
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