STRONGHOLD OF TRUTH
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from Heaven or of men?" They saw at once what the reply to that would involve, and said: "vVe cannot tell." Quite so. The moral proofs of John's authority were such, that if they had answered truly they would have committed and condemned themselves. The authority of the Bible, therefore, is spiritual, because it reveals Christ as the Saviour, and produces spiritual results. Then this authority is supreme. The Bible is supreme over reason. Reason is human. The Bible, though pos sessing human elements, is guaranteed by what we believe to be Divine inspiration. The Bible is our guide as the light of reason and of human thought. Revelation, because it comes from God, cannot possibly dishonor reason, which also comes from God. Reason is the judge of our need of revelation. Reason examines the claims of reve lation; but once those claims are accepted, reason takes a subordinate place, and revelation is supreme. An illustration I read years ago on this point may help us to understand it: One morning in one of the prisons a warrant comes to the governor ordering that a certain criminal,. who has been condemned, should be executed. What is the governor to do? He has to examine the warrant. He has to look at its seal; he has to be sure of its signature; he has to take every possible precaution to see that it is genuine, that it is not a fraud, but that it actually does come from those in authority. When he has thus made sure of that warrant, he has to obey it. He cannot alter the elate of the execution; he cannot alter the form of the execution; he cannof do anything but submit himself to that warrant, of whose authenticity he has become convinced. That shows the place reason has in religion. Reason examines, tests, sifts, inquires, but the moment reason has become convinceel that this or that comes from Goel, then, like Joshua of old, it says: "What saith my Lorel unto His servant?" So though revela tion is supreme over reason, reason examines the creden tials of revelation and then submits to them. You have this illustrated in a well-known passage. Even an Apos tle was not accepted without his message being tested.
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