The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 1 — Section 38

I. THE CRRIBTIAN FAI'T'H 18 NOT A sPECUI,ATIVE SYSTEM. Man, left to hlmBeJr, Pvolves out of his con~ciousness e. system more or less complete, e.nd calls upon his fellt,ws to accept of it e.s their rdigious fe.ith, But such e.n evolution of rel.igion has proved e. failure. Into the interesting study of comparative religion we cannot here ent.er at any length, but two tendencies in specnlation may be noticed in passing. The first is the outward, or idealistic tendency, which may be found developed in the Indian religions; the second is the inward, or self-reliant tendency, which may be seen carried to its issues in Rellenism and the specuh,tious of the West. Thus the tendency of the Oriental mind was and is to contemplate Nature and to reverence her underlying forces; while the tendency of the Occidental mind was to contemplate man or human nat.ure, and to find in his individuality, his freedom, and his power the true unit and substance of thought. 'l'he Oriental mind consequently lost itself in speculations on the absolitte, which became to the dreamers ·of the East an abstraction without per- sonality, intelligrnce, or limitation, just as he has become of late to certain of our dreamers in the West; ancl the climax of being is in the Nirvdna, the utter extinction of human personality through absorption into the universal Spirit. The Western, or Grecian mind. on the other hand, held to man and human nature, cultivated a bound- less self-reliance, and a supreme confidence in human nature and its powers. His gods and goddesses were but deified men and women; Olympus only a Greece enjoying larger latitude and more abundant sunli~ht; and reason and self the ultimate objects of trust. The issue, as we might expect, was " intense worldliness of spirit, that dread of death, that doubt of immortality, that decay of the religious sentiment, which finnlly covered classical life with such deep gloom and despair." 1 The two tendencies, Oriental and Occidental-the one making man nothing, the other making man all in all-had, before Christ's time, ample opportunity to prove their insufficiency. They had in Buddhism and in Platonism checks, but they were unequal to the needful reformation. It remained for a better faith to furnish man with certainty. Hence we remark- IL THE CHRISTIAN FA.ITH 18 FOUNDED ON THE IDSTORY OF A PERSON. The gospel, as Luke here indicates, consists in the history of a Person whose advent is essential to the salvation of the world. Hence the substance of the Christian faith is historical, not speculative. Whatever certainty attaches to historical evidence as superior to speculation attaches, therefore, to the Christian faith. And here we have to notice: 1. That the history rests on. the testimony of eye-witnesses. This is asserted by Luke in ver. 2. Facts consequently appealing to the senses of the apostles constitute the foundation of the faith. And if it be insinuated that they were "interested witnesses," we reply with Luke: 2. That the witnesses gained nothing in the worldly sense by their testimony. As ministers of the ,vord. they were persecuted, in many cases killed; in all cases life was much less comfortable in consequence of their testimony than if they had said nothina about the Saviour who died and rose again. 3. Luke sifted the facts as carefully 0: he could. It is significant that he makes no claim to inspiration in his prologue. And this is the rule with the sa;cred writers: Som_e have_ 11uppo~ed ~h~t because the write1s do not each and all put m a categorical claim to 1nsp1rat1on, 1t 1s superfluous to suppose that they are all inspired.' But we reply that it is far better for writers to show that they are inspired than to say they are. Inspiration, like all utLer good gifts of God, is to be " known by its fruits." 'l'his prologue shows that many tried their hands at writing lives of Jesus; but there has been a." survival of the fittest" in this case at all events, to the great advantage of 01ank10d. Instead of .asserting his inspiration, Luke used his best endeavours to sift the material and pro- dL1ce a careful and "classic n work. Instead of the Spirit of God despising means, he owns them and blesses them. Ill THE HISTORY OF CHRIST HAS A PERSOl!fAT, llEARrNG UPON EACH ONE OP US. Tlieopliilus bad been taught this, just as we require to be taught it. Now, we may see tl,e application of Christ's life to our individual need by the two tendencies already referred to. The human mind is idealizing in its character. It can be shown that we owe even our scientific progress to the idealists, the Pythagoreane in Greece and the l'lawnist.s in Alexandria being the only men in the old wurld who really advanced 1 • The Secret of Christio.nity,' by B. B. Hebberd, pp. 54, 55. • Cf. 'Dit Stellung dee Chrietlichen Glaubens zur heiligcn Schrift,' zwei apologetieche Vortrii.ge, von Profos110r Dr. ller.lWl.llll Schultz, in Heidelberg (1876). CTT. T, J-80.] TIT~ GOSPEL ACCOilDINO TO ST. LUKE. 29