p. 547 | A Difference

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Sep 9, 1886

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 35.

A Difference.

THERE is a vast difference between breadth and looseness. A very narrow man may be loose, and a very broad man may be solid. But this difference is commonly lost sight of in the estimate of religious opinions. Many a man counts himself “broad” merely because he is “loose.” Holding no opinions with positiveness, he thinks that his theological sprawling is a result of his breadth of view, when it is really a result of his looseness. True breadth in religious opinions is desirable; but mere looseness in religious opinions is not to any man’s credit. A man with a clear head can take firm steps along a straight line in a broad avenue, or across the broadest open fields; but a man with a confused brain will stagger from one side of the street to the other, even in a contracted alley. Before you pride yourself on being a broad Christian, be sure that you observe the distinction between breadth and looseness.—S. S. Times.