A SENSIBLE VIEW OF IT

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Sep 15, 1881

A SENSIBLE VIEW OF IT.

THE alleged philosophic and æsthetic religion preached from certain platforms, while so severely criticising the various established creeds, is not itself without a flaw. What does it give in exchange for the faith it would take away? Does it clearly define anything? Does it tell aught that was unknown before? Is not every high principle it advocates, to be found within the Christian philosophy? Does it give any hope for the future? When its exponents are asked concerning the mysteries of existence, what is their answer?

Words. A polished jargon of words. Words in character brilliant, showy, scientific, and metaphysical, but non-committal.

Is there a personal God? Æsthetic religion says in substance, “Perhaps.” Is there a future state? “Perhaps.” Summed up and simmered down, the entire answer to such questions amounts to this.

The entire scope and limit of æsthetic religion lies in what is termed the “ascendancy of reason.” A narrow domain.

In fact it is another way of endeavoring to make the creature greater than the Creator. It pleases the ear with epigrams wrapped in polished sentences, and explain these by other epigrams equally polished and unintelligible.

Is human salvation to be wrought out by good grammar and clever sayings? Because if the vital truths taught by Christ have, through imperfect human agencies, been misrepresented and misapplied, shall they be ignored? As if because of some stale bread or stale meat, we should utterly refuse all bread and meat.—Sel.