varieties of our race have the same anatomical structure; the same physical nature ; the same rational and moral faculties. The Bible teaches that man is a free, accountable agent ; that all men are sinners ; that all need redemption, and that no man can redeem himself or find a ransom for his brother. With these teachings the consciousness of all men agrees. All that the Scrip- tures reveal concerning the nature and attributes of God, corre- sponds with our religious nature, satisfying, elevating, and sancti- fying all our powers and meeting all our necessities. If the contents of the Bible did not correspond with the truths which God has revealed in his external works and the constitution of our nature, it could not be received as coming from Him, for God cannot contradict himself. Nothing, therefore, can be more derogatory to the Bible than the assertion that its doctrines are contrary to reason.
Faith in the Irrational impossible.
The assumption that reason and faith are incompatible ; that we must become irrational in order to become believers is, how- ever it may be intended, the language of infidelity ; for faith in the irrational is of necessity itself irrational. It is impossible to believe that to be true which the mind sees to be false. This would be to believe and disbelieve the same thing at the same time. If, therefore, as modern philosophers assert, it is impossi- ble that an infinite being can be a person, then faith in the per- sonality of God is impossible. Then there can be no religion, no sin, no accountability, no immortality. Faith is not a blind, irra- tional conviction. In order to believe, we must know what we believe, and the grounds on which our faith rests. And, there- fore, the refuge which some would take in faith, from the univer- sal scepticism to which they say reason necessarily leads, is inse- cure and worthless.
While admitting that the truths of revelation are to be received upon the authority of God ; that human reason can neither com- prehend nor prove them; that a man must be converted and become as a little child before he can truly receive the doctrines of the Bible ; and admitting, moreover, that these doctrines are irreconcilable with every system of philosophy, ever framed by those who refuse to be taught of God, or who were ignorant of his Word, yet it is ever to be maintained that those doctrines are unassailable ; that no created intellect can prove them to be im- possible or irrational. Paul, while spurning the wisdom of the
84 PART IE. Ch. XVI. -FAITH.
world, Btili claimed that he taught the highest wisdom, even the wisdom of God. (1 Cor. ii. 6, 7.) And who will venture to say that the wisdom of God is irrational ?
Knowledge essential to Faith.
A sixth question, included under the head of the relation of faith to knowledge is, Whether knowledge is essential to faith ? That is, whether a truth must be known in order to be believed ? This Protestants affirm and Romanists deny.
Protestants of course admit that mysteries, or truths which we are unable to comprehend, may be, and are, proper objects of faith. They repudiate the rationalistic doctrine that we can be- lieve only what we understand and what we can prove, or, at least, elucidate so that it appears to be true in its own light. What Protestants maintain is that knowledge, i. e., the cognition of the import of the proposition to be believed, is essential to faith ; and, consequently, that faith is limited by knowledge. We can believe only what we know, i. e., what we intelligently ap- prehend. If a proposition be announced to us in an unknown language, we can affirm nothing about it. We can neither be- lieve nor disbelieve it. Should the man who makes the declara- tion, assert that it is true, if we have confidence in his competency and integrity, we may believe that he is right, but the proposi- tion itself is no part of our faith. The Apostle recognizes this obvious truth when he says, " Except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood (evaypov Aoyov), how shall it be
known what is spoken ? for ye shall speak into the air
If I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian
unto me When thou shalt bless with the Spirit, how shall
he that occupieth the room of the unlearned, say Amen at thy giving of thanks ? seeing he understandeth not what thou say- est ? " (1 Cor. xiv. 9-16.) To say Amen, is to assent to, to make one's own. According to the Apostle, therefore, knowl- edge, or the intelligent apprehension of the meaning of what is proposed, is essential to faith. If the proposition " God is a Spirit," be announced to the unlearned in Hebrew or Greek, it is impossible that they should assent to its truth. If they under- stand the language ; if they know what the word " God " means, and what the word " Spirit " means, then they may receive or reject the truth which that proposition affirms. The declaration " Jesus is the Son of God," admits of different interpretations.