January, 1934
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
6
ably true that eminent men of science are insisting, and with a kind of strange enthusiasm at that, on the fact that science gives us but a partial knowledge of reality, and we are no longer required to regard as illusory everything that science finds itself able to ignore. That “science has ¿imitations” is now proclaimed from the housetops—and that by scientists themselves ! This is amazing, for it is not yet sixty years since Tyndall claimed that science alone was competent to deal with all man’s major problems. Certain it is that the attempt to explain nature in mere terms of matter and force has broken down. T he H oly S pirit And it is just at this point that that spiritual intuition which the Holy Spirit gives to the believer plays its part in the knowing of the will of God and the answering of the problems of man and the universe. There are some things that “flesh and blood” cannot reveal : they are made known alone by “the Father in heaven.” ¡There are some problems in life which “the natural man” cannot perceive ; they seem “foolishness” to him; but the man that is “spirit ual” is able to discern meaning where the natural man otherwise sees nothing but confusion and chaos. Here is room for the display of faith. Faith is a sixth sense. It is fallacious to assume for a moment that knowledge comes to us only through the five senses-—even science itself now disclaims that assumption (or presumption). TBles^d are they that have not sèen, and yet have believedTj/^j./^, (, That is not to say that Christianity is against scholar ship. Far from it! Christianity opposes no philosophy or science that accepts God in Christ. Any science or philosophy that opposes Christ is not true to fact, hence must expect opposition from Christianity. All theories of the universe and life must leave room for God in Christ. The Christian religion puts no premium on ignorance, t nor does it place a ban On intellectualism. What we are maintaining is that Christianity is not absolutely dependent upon intellectualism; that it recognizes the great dangers that come from the attempt to solve the problems of life and of the soul from the standpoint of mere science and philosophy. Riches in themselves are not wicked, but they often lead to wickedness.’ So it is with scholarship. Nor are we unmindful of the fact that ignorance, also, has its dangers. People perish for lack of knowledge. We know, too, that the glory of the kingdom of Christ is when “the kings of the earth do bring their glory into it” ; when such men as Saul of Tarsus—with his Hebrew passion for religion, his keen knowledge of thè Greek classics, and his Roman passion, for world domination— bring their wonderful accomplishments of intellect and lay them at the feet of Jesus Christ. Christianity needs the man of the university as well as, perhaps more than, the man of the slums, the intellectual as much as the “bum,” the college as much as the rescue mission. “Christ receiv- eth sinful men” ; we know that, for Zaccheus found the Saviour. But He receives Saul of Tarsus—university honor-man as well. It is a greater trophy of grace to save an “intellectual” than a “bum.” Sin may be mental as well as physical : “The carnal mind is enmity against God.” There are mental as well as physical strongholds that must be cast down. There are plans, schemes, philosophies, reasonings, that oppose Christ and rob the soul of its peace, power, and tranquility. Such mental activities must be “pulled down,” and re manded to their dungeon. High things, high brows, all high things that contend with and challenge Christ, are to be renounced: “Casting down imaginations [reasonings], and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5, R .V .).
jjt is reported that 75 per cent of the boys and girls who go from Sunday-school and church to college, return to their homes never again to darken the door of the church and Sunday-school. I affirm that if this is the result of such teaching—and the professor says it is— then evolu tion is not Christian. By its fruits it shall be known^^yA I do not say that a man who believes in evolution (in f some form, Theistic evolution for example, although that is a misnomer, for evolution proper admits of no outside help whatsoever, not even from God) may not be a Chris tian. It is not my place to say th a t; but I do say if evolu tion makes one think less of Christ, less of God, less of the Christian faith, and takes out of the heart the desire for God, the wish for prayer, and relish for the Bible, then evolution is a competitor of Christ’s supremacy, and a destroyer of faith in Him, and therefore is anti-Christian. F acing the I ssue What is there' in the whole world of education that can compensate for the loss of faith? In the last analysis, the choice is up to us. We must face the matter. We must not close our eyes to it. We mqst bring the claim of Christ face to face with the claim of modern education and mod ern thinking, and if we find that the books we are reading, the education we are receiving, the studies we are following rob us of our faith in Christ and our desire to pray, fill our minds with doubts, take away our hope and leave us without any firm, definite conviction of God and Christ, I say that there is no other thing left for us to do but to make the choice, and declare, “Lord Jesus Christ, thou art Master in my thinking.” God be in my head, And in my understanding; Even now, although it may seem to be at a late moment, we are finding quite a change—perhaps we might call it a revolution—in the realm of science. To our great amaze ment, science is about to discard Newtonian theories. ?Io longer are we to be held by the scientific dictum that “the scientific method of approach” is the only valid method of acquiring knowledge about reality. It is unquestion God be in my heart, And in my thinking.
m n o i h e r Q/< e a r Another year! The future path lies hidden, And shadows seem to fall across the way. Press on! A light before thee shineth
Yet more and more unto the perfect day. Another yearl The days are growing evil, And Satan’s threat’nings dark forebodings send. Fear not! Thy God hath surely spoken: “Lo, I am with you . . . even to the end!” Another year! The land is parched and thirsty; Our souls are faint; low droops the precious grain. Plead on! Elijah’s God will answer And pour, in mighty floods, the latter rain. Another year! We wait with eager longing; The hour is late; midnight comes on apace. Look up! Redemption’s day is dawning; Perhaps this year we’ll see our Bridegroom’s face. — M. D. A.
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