The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-12-02
Religious afltstellanp.
The Men IL Takes.

The Men IL Takes.
This passage shows the way in which
Christianity has always made its deep
est impressions. " Behold the manp'
Is the answer of Christ to all who ask
about his purpose and his work Nco-
demus said, " No man can do these
miracles that thou doest, except God
be with him" referring not to the num-
Der of the miracles, but to their quail
ity-tbeSe nirdcles-miracles of this par
ticular sort. Coniurors we have had,
and men who have done very astonish-
ing things, but this particular sort and
quality of miracle we have never had
before; these miracles do not come
within known lines or take the course
familiar to magicians; everything seems
to be in them-power, goodness, tender
pity, tears are in them, and hints of
something more and better than them
selves" No man can do these mir
acles that thou doest, except God be
with him." AT the very beginning of
his ministry the people were struck by
the quality of Christs miracles. The
people came to him from Jerusalem,
and from Idumea, and from beyond
Jordan when they heard what great
things he did," Here, again, the quail
flying word points to the quality rather
than to the number of the miracles
which Christ performed; this was no
tritler, no follower of small programmes,
but man who handled things as they
had never been handled before-as if
with lordship, as if with supremacy
that stopped to its work, and with a
rntifIrlnasc ,N1onfif,l xx,b
needed. Christ did not come simply to
add to the number of miracles which
the world had seen, but, so to say, to
heighten their level and refine and en-
rich their quality. We cannot be wrong
in making our impression upon the age
in the same way-that is, by quality of
work. There should be nothing like it
in pureness, in scope, in mysteriousness
and power, in tender humaneness, in
perception and grasp of human need.
Christian work and Christian workers
should claim the leadership of the world
When our " miracles cease to sug-
gest divine origin, our things"
cease to be considered "great;" we
shall be justly reckoned indiscrimin-
ately amongst others, instead of standing
in uniqueness of purpose and action.
We may, indeed, long continue to be
reputable, inoffensive, orderly; but the
age in which we live will have no vital
interest in our cold dissensions. In
other words, if the age does not behold
the healed man standing with us, it
may well dismiss our proposals as made
quate, or untimely, or worthless. Chris
tianity must stand or fall by what it can
do for man; not what it can do in the
way of perpleXing or bewildering his
mind, or storing his memory with mere
facts, but what it can do for him in the
sense of releasing him from the guilt
and burden of sin and making his soul
truly healthy with the very Spirit of
of God. " And beholding the man
which was healed standing with them,
they could say nothing against it,"
We have right to ask every religion,
What kind of man do you propose to
make? We must be very Jealous of at
tempting to perform mere experiments
upon man. Christianity is willing to
answer this great question and to be
judged by the result. If the Koran
produces better men than the Bible,
say so; if Confucius better men than
Christ produces, accept the fact. If
according to living member of parlia-
ment-nOrthern legend can provide a
higher type of humanity than the Scrip
lures, let us at once acknowledge the
happy result. We gain nothing by con-
troversial injustice Our contention is
that Christ can do more for man than
any other teacher can do; can produce
nobler character, can answer deeper
questions, can heal sadder distresses,
can go further on life's journey, and
can kindle and sustain nobler hopes
than any other teacher can do. This is
our bold and unmistakable contention.
The moral nobleness of this contention
exposes Christian results to easy tests
and judgments, and offers, am well
aware, to the mocker many opportuni-
ties to sneer and condemn. Still, that
Is the contention. Christ heals men,
makes men healthy, blesses them with
robustness, delivers them from death,
prepares men for immortal blessedness !:
if the healed man stumble, the mocker
will note the fall; if the good man slip,
society will be told of it; if the praying
man doubt, he cannot escape the
laughter of contempt. Still, that is
our contention; Christ heals men, and
by the healed man he is himself willing
to be judged. " If do not the works
of my Father, believe me not. Believe
me for the very works. sake" Here,
then, is the contention, and here is the
plain and easily-available standard of
judgment; and, as Christian teachers
and workers, we must not be afraid of
the scrutiny of the world.-Reu. Joseph
Parker, DID,.