The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-05-29 00:00:00

A BISHOP ON SCEPTICISM.

On Sunday last Canon Ryle (bishop-designate of
Liverpool) preached in New College Chapel, Oxford,
on unbelief. In the course of his sermon he said he
was content with the defirlitions of the Athanasian
formula, though he should be glad to see the day when
it was no longer obligatory to read the so-called creed
in the congregation.
After discussing the several phases of unbelief, he
said that, after all, it was some comfort to remember
that there was probably less of real downright un-
belief than there appeared to be. Thousands, they
might be sure, did not in their heart of hearts believe
all that they said with their lips. Many a sceptical
saying was nothing more than a borrowed article,
picked up and retailed by him who said it because
it sounded clever, while in reality it was not the
language of his inner man. Sorrow and sickness
and affliction often brought out the strange fact
that so-called sceptics were no sceptics at all, and
that many talked scepticism merely from a desire
to seem clever, to win the temporary applause of
clever men. That there was an immense amount of
unbelief in the present day he made no question, but
that much of it was mere show and pretence was to his
mind as clear as noonday. No man, he thought,
could do pastoral work and come to close quarters
with souls, visit the sick and attend the dying, with-
out coming to this conclusion. Alas, what a waken-
ing up remained for many the moment the last breath
was drawn. There was no unbelief in the grave.
Voltaire now knew whether there was a sin-hating
God, and
_David Hume now knew whether there was an
endless hell. The infant, by merely dying, acquired a
knowledge which the subtlest philosopher while on earth
professed his inability to attain. The dead Hottentot
knew more than the living Socrates. Surely a habit of
soul so absolutely and entirely confined to living man
might well be called marvellous. For another thing
unbelief was marvellous when they considered its arro-
gance and presumption. For, after all, how little the
wisest of men knew, and none were more ready to con-
fess it than themselves. How enormously ignorant the
greater part of mankind were if they came to the mea-
sure of their knowledge? The education of the vast
majority of the people was wretchedly meagre and
superficial. Most of them ceased learning at 21 and then
plunged into some profession, in which they had little
time for thought and reading, and were annually more
absorbed in family cares and troubles, and added
little to their stock of knowledge. Fifty or sixty years
after this their part was played out, and they retired
from the stage, rarely leaving the world a wiser world
thanit was when they were born. And did unbelief
become a creature like this? Was it seemly for him
to talk in a sceptical and sneering tone about the
revelation which the eternal God had been pleased to
make of Himself and the unseen future in that mar-
vellous book the Bible? He appealed to common sense
for a reply. Honest doubt was a fine thing to talk
about, and men were fond of saying it was better than
half the creeds; but when a man told them he was
troubled with sceptical and unbelieving feelings about
Christanity while he had probably never studied a dozen
pages of Butler, or Paley, or Chalmers, or Bishop Wilson,
and never thought deeply about religion at all, it was
impossible to avoid the conclusion that one of the
most curious things in much unbelief was its wonder-
ful self-conceit. Unbelief was marvellous when they
considered how the vast majority of those who pro-
fessed it dropped it and gave it up at last. Few of
them, perhaps, had the least idea how seldom any man
left the world an unbeliever. The near approach of
death had a mighty effect on consciences, and
brought into fearful relief the utter superficiality
of much that was called scepticism. The very
people who went through life sneering and scoffing at
Christianity continually broke down in their own last
hours, and were glad enough to send for the ministers
of religion and seek comfort in the old doctrine of the
despised creeds. After some further observations, in
the course of which the Rev. Canon said that it was
impossible to avoid one broad conclusion that of all
spiritual diseases by which fallen man was afflicted,
there was none so truly marvellous and unreasonable
as unbelief, he proceeded to say that he ventured a
strong suspicion that much of the scepticism of the
present day, if sifted and analysed, would be found to
a pring from utter ignorance of the primary evidences
O f Christianity. Systems ought to be judged by their
fruits and results. When the social systems of modern
unbelief, and scepticism, and free thought could point to
as much good done in the world by their adherents as
simple faith had done, they might give them some
attention, but until they did that he boldly said that
the simple old-fashioned religions of faith had the
first claim on their respect, esteem, and obedience, and
ought not to be despised. If there was more real faith
on earth he Suspected there would be less unbelief.
uSceitptaia.wcismfmxtvhoumldrink andorstawake
dwindle
and
dalive dme , and
antilvteswayand
stirring. If believers were more thorough and real,
and whole-nearted in their belief, there would be far
less unbelief in the wdrkl.