Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1899-08-31
The Faith That Examines.

The Faith That Examines.
The Scriptures give no countenance
to the notion that faith and inquiry are
enemies, or that the intellect is less
the work of God, and is to be less safe
ly occupied with divine things than
any other powers of our human nature.
ut is worthy of especial considera-
tion," says Coleridge, that the Scrip
lures are distinguished from all other
writings pretending to inspiration by
the strong and frequent recommended
tions of knowledge and a spirit of in
quiry." The Bible nowhere presents
faith and the intellect or reason as
and the other tearing down the king
dom of Jesus Christ. 1t calls upon
men to exert all their God-given facul-
ties to the utmost in attaining knowl-
edge of God. 1t finds in man an enc
my to faith, but that is the flesh, the
baser self, which would exalt sense
above all higher powers, and thus de-
stroy the right order of God within
our own natures. 1t finds an enemy to
faith in the laziness and indifference of
mems intellects, which take up things
at secondhand, and judge not for
themselves the ching that is right. 1t
praises those who look for evidence
of the truth brought them even by an
inspired apostle, and calls upon them
by his word to example all things"
and hold fast that which stands the
test by being found good. 1t calls
upon them to prove the spirits" to as
certain which are of God, declaring
that, as Christians, they are invested
with the capacity to make such exam
ination for themselves. And nothing
of this is in the least a contradiction
of the principle of faith is the
master-key to the knowledge of God
All this proceeds upon the assumption
that spiritual truths are realities of
the universe, and not fictions of the
pious imagination; and that just as
search will bring us to reality in the
facts of the external world, so it will
bring us there in the things of the
spirit. Much that poses as faith. and
uses the language of faith, is nothing
but subtle skepticism, which at heart
fears that the truths of the gospel are
mere notions of pious dreamers, which
will not bear the test of investigation,
This skepticism shows itself in the
timidity with which new truths are
received, as though they must some
how lead to the overthrow of the
things most surely believed among us.
1t shows itself in the laziness with
which men substitute a dull acquies-
cence in traditions instead of testing
these traditions by the means God Of
fers for the purpose. 1t shows itself in
the intrusion of the will into the prov
ince of the understanding, as when
people make up their minds to believe
this or that, without regard to the evil
dence on either side. 1t shows itself
in the partisan rancor with which
every teacher of new point of view
is assailed, as one who is disturbing
the peaceful slumbers of his brethren.
1t shows itself in the craving after au-
thority with which men adopt the nur-
sery rule: open your mouth and shut
your eyes, and see what heaven will
send you" 1t is seen in the reversal
of the apostles maxim, in that many
who in malice are men are content to
remain children in mind. The result
of this obscuratism is to present the
gospel and the church in very I'M
fair light before the world. 1t is made
to appear as though free thought could
never be devout thought but must al
ways end in negation, and as though
every man must make his choice be-
tween accepting the truths of Chris
tianity on bare authority or rejecting
them altogether. Such positions are
very welcome to those who prefer, for
any reason, to reject them altogether.
They find great deal of comfort in
the conclusion that they can be Chris
tians only on condition of renouncing
half their human intelligence, and sub
hitting the rest to the guidance of
teacher who abdicates the best func-
tons of real teacher, and imposes
his own conclusions without attempt
ing to bring the mind to activity about
them. Unbelief is far more due to the
neglect of inquiry than to its USE Mic
odemus was the type of men who are
carried away from belief by the super
fetal objections which occur to alert
minds. Philips blunt advice, Come
and see" is the best prescription for
sIch minds. That wonderful discovery
that nothing good could be expected
out of Nazareth is just as worthy of re-
spect as most of the difficulties which
still keep men away from the gospel.
Nicodemus might have rested in it all
his days, and have gone about retailing
i over half Galilee, if Philip had not
acted on the supposition that faith and
inquiry are very good friends. and need
not get in each others ways. S.
Times.