The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1910-06-23

lty Of rich ard perfect personal God
life. an actual salvation from actual
sin: new life for men. a great ulti.
mate goal In Christ. AMI with these
to unlock every door in this universe
this Is the supreme task of the the.
ologian.
What is to be his relation to men?
he Is TO be a student Of all life and
or all literature. He listens-oh. so
| eagerly!-to every voice of humanity.
He studies intently it's deeds in order
70 understand what they all mean.
Thus he discovers that the very struc.
ture OF life, as it is. demands what
Christianity Offers. and that without
II. life is homeless enigma. His
great apologetic is that the closer Won
get to the centre of human life. the
closer you get to the need of Christ.
Inc real in life and literature comes
at last to one great yearning-some-
times an unconscious yearning, but a
yearning still-for Christ.
What is the theologian's relation to
Christian experience? This is the
central fact of his life and thought.
me faith has brought to him and to
others salvation. and in the radiant
llght or that fact he interprets It. To
express in all its relations the philoso
phy or the total Christian experience
or the church, is brief way of defin-
ing systematic theology. This inner
lie or the church is power in decid-
ing the great problems of theology.
and a necessary guide in the interpre-
tation of the Bible. The theologian
ever studies christian consciousness
that he may adequately express it.
What is his relation to the Bibleo
lt has vital. but not a mechanical
authority. The Bible is not his none.
lt Vindicates its authority as Gods
WORD. as Gods unique revelation. be-
cause IT, and 1T alone, brings the mes
sage winch gives complete peace and
leads humanity to its goal. The the
ologian must be true to the whole
biblical message about Redemption.
he must be true to it because it re-
cures all of it to meet fully the needs
or men. Reverent criticism has no
terrors for him. He gladly accepts it's
Justified results, but builds his own
work far below all criticism on the
great rock of certainty the met need
OF the race. which criticism cannot
touch. tentative criticism may
seem to put in doubt some fundamen
tai. The ultimate criticism will con-
firm them ALL
What is the theologian's relation to
phllosophy? He accepts the philoso-
pnlcal system which seems most per-
fectly to explain the data of exist
ence. But he demands that his philo-
sophy shall be as large as all life
all the Christian facts, as we'll as all
the other facts of life. His passion
for reality saves him from one-sided
adherence to any philosophical sys-
tenn at the expense Of truth.
What is' his relation to scienceo
AS a classification hn
1t. When it presumes to call a classi-
ncatlon an explanation. when it in
slsts that what is merely a description
Oh the method in which God works is
self-sustaining process, he parts
company with it. He knows that
science can classify. but cannot ex-
plain. Explanation is the task of phi-
losophy and theology.
NOW can we get conception Of the
greatness of the systematic theolo-
glans work? Christian experience,
the Bible. human life. the best phiIo-
sophy he can attai1-these he relates.
combines and fuses, and constructs a
living world-view. He sees life
steadily and sees it whole" Phillips
Brooks defined preaching as giving
truth through personality. The in
terpreter of Christianity is to give
theology through personality. All of
1t is TO be passed through his own
iife-life CT head, heart and will, and
IS to come forth as personal message
to the world.
Thus it is to be set on fire. and so
blazing and shining with power it
will secure the attention and eager
interest of men,
The theology Of the graveyard has
no message TO rany age. A dynamic,
living theology has a message for
every age. Our own age is busy and
prliliant, but 1t is doubling. suffering
and SHINING for all that. And when
the theologian speaks in a voice ring
ing with reality. it will listen to him,
and Will be guided to the Christ, who
alone can give it peace.