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There are many matters, however, in
which there are only two possibilities and one of them is
bound to be true. This is so with the fundamentals of
religion. Either there is a God conscious of our presence on
the earth or there is not. Either men are under law to God
or they are free to please themselves. Either there is a
final purpose in connection with human life or there is no
such purpose.
It may be suggested that we are merely
stressing the obvious and that everyone is aware of such
simple truths. There are many facts however, of which we may
be aware, while remaining singularly oblivious to their
meaning. We may be conscious of the logical consequences of
words or deeds and yet need much persuasion to look at the
matter with attention. It is certain that many people have
lost all faith in God without ever taking a good look at the
alternative belief to which they are logically committed. In
some instances this negativism, this partial and one-sided
reasoning, has led to a really astonishing incongruity. A
man has rejected Christianity because the evil in the world
has made him feel that he can no longer believe in the
Christian God. He has rejected the Bible because it presents
a view of life in harmony with history. Yet he cannot become
an atheist and so takes refuge in the conception of a God so
great and so far removed from us that He takes no notice of
humanity. Such a man cannot believe in a God who permits a
measure of evil for a limited time with a great and
benevolent object in view, but he ends by believing in a God
who permits unlimited evil for unlimited time with no object
of any kind. Such incongruous mental processes are the
result of mere negation, probably almost wholly based on
feeling. They would be impossible if care were taken to
emphasise the positive side.
When there are only two possible roads
for us to take, if we reject one we must choose the other.
We must not be so foolish and illogical as to reject a way
for reasons which could be urged with still stronger force
against the only possible alternative. Perhaps this
illustration is worthy of a little elaboration. It might be
urged that in the matter of the literal roads, it is not
necessary to take either way, and therefore if the
illustration holds good we are not necessarily committed to
any affirmation. It is quite true that the wayfarer is not
obliged to proceed either to the right or left even though
there are only two possible roads for him. He may lie down
in the ditch and die there, or he may turn aback towards the
place from whence he came. So on the mental plane it is
possible for a man to be content with mere negativism,
denying that one way can be right and yet refusing to move
along the other. Or he may turn back to the childish
ignorance which was at one time common to all of us. We do
not deny for a moment that on the mental plane it is
possible to return to the place from whence we started or
that it is possible to lie down in the ditch and die. We
only point out that such an end is undesirable.
If we wished to reach a city and all the
evidence showed that a certain road led to it, we should
move forward without hesitation, perhaps noting the mile
stones as we passed them and finding confirmation of our
faith in every sign post that named the city and pointed
still forward. If we reached a fork in the road where the
sign post had been removed, we might hesitate for a minute,
but we should realise that one of the roads ahead must be
the right one. If, therefore, we were convinced that the
road to the left was wrong, we should be logical enough to
conclude that the other road was right. In such an issue we
should be rather impatient with the man who confidently
denied and yet was not willing to affirm. We should be still
more impatient with the man who persistently rejected the
right road because it was rough, when all the while he knew
that the only alternative was still rougher.
Perhaps a thoughtful reader may think
that even this illustration suggests a justification for the
man who appears to be negative. One might say, "I do not
deny that there is a God who has given a law to men, I do
not deny that the Christian religion is true. I simply do
not know. In this matter I am like the man who reaches the
fork in the road and not knowing which is the right way,
makes himself as comfortable as possible at the corner, and
waits for further information.'
In answer to this we would point out
that we are on a road where we may find many travellers who
are confident, but none who can speak with unquestionable
authority. It is almost certain that no traveller will come
who will be able to help you more than those you have
already met. It is absolutely certain that as you wait the
hours are passing and "the night cometh when no man can
work."
Life is an affirmation and negativism
leads only to death. It is not true that "all things come to
him who waits." The only thing certain to come is death, the
"night" referred to, when "no man can work." Waiting at the
corner can effect nothing. A few miles of exploration may
yield evidence either that we are on the right road and must
press forward or that we are wrong and must retrace our
steps.
On one matter the illustration certainly
fails. It suggests a difficulty that on the mental plane has
no existence. On a literal road a traveller might fear to
explore, lest he should have the wearying journey back in
the event of his venture proving wrong. On the mental plane
there is no such wearying retracing of steps. You may
explore for any distance along the road of Christian faith
and yet if you finally decide to abandon it, you are back at
the corner with the speed of thought, or if the rejector
explores the other way, he can as quickly make the turn.
Some of the most confident of Christians are among those who
have explored both ways and have found that while the one
road is difficult, the other is impossible. It may be easy
to lie down at the corner and wait for the night, but that
is unworthy of manhood. If we cannot go forward with
confidence as on a well-known road, we will explore and try
to learn.
Laying aside the illustration and using
the simplest possible language, we would express a very
definite conviction that for anyone who has made a fair
examination of Christian fundamentals, while it may be
sometimes difficult to believe, it is still more difficult
to reject. We are confident that almost everyone will find
the way more interesting and far more certain with extended
study, always providing that the easy but unworthy attitude
of mere negativism can be avoided. We are convinced that
there are many lines of study in which the specialist can
help the general reader and bring forward facts that will
prove interesting and stimulating to all grades of pilgrims,
from the most confident of disciples to the doubtful
wayfarer, whose feeble faith is only revealed in a
willingness to explore.
We have positive convictions and a
positive aim. In these matters we do not subscribe to the
doctrine that "it is better to journey hopefully than to
arrive," but the hopeful journey is certainly better than a
supine indifference or deadly negation. We entertain the
hope that some who begin by coming with us only as
explorers, may find the way far more wonderful than they had
ever expected, and after a hopeful journey may at last find
that "City which hath foundations, whose builder and maker
is God." |
