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certain his sp iritu al need, he promptly replied: “ I am going to join th e Roman Catholic church.” “And w hy?” I asked. “ Because,” he said, “ I have been a t tending a Sunday afternoon meeting in which th e preacher has been telling us th a t th e Bible stories are m yths; and th a t if Jesu s lived now He would know b e tte r th a n to say some things He said a t th a t time. I h ear th a t Roman Cath olics do n o t ta lk th a t way, and I am going to jo in them .” I trie d to con vince him th a t th e re were P ro te sta n t preachers and churches th a t did no t ta lk or believe th a t way, bu t he persisted in his resolve. There is a Roman Catholic order known as th e “P au list F a th e rs,” every one of whom is a perverted P ro testan t. Only men who have been P ro testan ts are adm itted to th e order, and th ey are usually sent to Rome for several years of prep aration for th e ir work. These “ P au list F a th e rs” hold - “m issions” which rem ind one of Moody and Sankey. They even use Gospel songs. W hile I was p asto r in Boston, Mass., they held such a "m ission” of five weeks w ith the cathed ral as its centre. No Catholic was adm itted who did not bring a P ro t estan t w ith him ; and th e larg e aud ito r ium of th e cathed ral was usually crowded. The daily press published the sermons, th e first of which was on “ God”—-just such a sermon as Phillips Brooks m ight have preached. The sec ond sermon was on th e “Deity of Christ” ; and Charles H. Spurgeon m ight have preached it w ithout changing a word. The th ird was on th e atoning blood of Christ; and D. L, Moody m ight have preached it. And th e fou rth was on th e full inspiration of the B ible; and it satisfied even those who believed in verbal inspiration. The whole city was stirred . . “H ere are Roman Catholic p riests,” we were told, “who preach a b etter Gospel th a n we have been h ea r ing in P ro te sta n t pulpits. We had been told th a t th ey depreciate th e Bible even
L et us look a t th e facts and th e fair inferences from them . The Lord Jesus believed in demons, we are told, no t be cause th e re were really any demons in existence, b u t because it was th e cur ren t belief of th e times. And He cer tain ly ta u g h t the existence of demons. The Lord Jesus is th u s presented to us as a teacher of things th a t are false; and th e ethical situation is made worse by th e claim th a t in th e “Kenosis” He became w ilfully igno ran t of th e things which He taugh t. Such a man we would no t select as a Sunday School teacher, nor would a comm ittee even of worldly men choose as a d istrict school teacher a man who is known to be wil fully igno ran t of the things he pro fesses to teach. When such a character as th is is of fered me as a Saviour, I remember th a t th e Lamb m ust be “w ithout spot or blem ish,” and I should be compelled to reje ct Him. I could no t even offer Him as an example to th e young; for good character cannot be b u ilt upon the basis of w ilful ignorance of th e things one teaches. The sto ry of George W ash ington and th e h atch et is b etter fitted for cultivating tru th fu ln ess and integ rity. The claim th a t Jesus Christ so emp tied H imself in His to ta lity as to be wil fully igno ran t of w hat He ta u g h t is a menace to Christianity, for it removes th e one foundation of our hope, th e In fallible Christ, th e faultless, spotless Lamb of God Who “ ta k eth away th e sin of th e W orld.” I t is impossible to hold th a t view of Christ and m aintain H is sinlessness; and when th e sinless ness of His ch aracter is surrendered, th e C hristian hope of salvation is wrecked. Again: th is in te rp re tatio n of the “Kenosis” is a g reat menace to P ro tes tantism . An in telligen t working man lingered for a conversation afte r a Sun day evening service in th e M etropolitan T abernacle; and when I sought to as
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