CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jun 25, 1894

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 20, No. 33.

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION.*

(Continued.)

Now, BEFORE sin came in to darken the mind, it was not necessary to tell us that the lessons of God were manifest in leaf and flower, in tree and rock and streams and clouds. You see when man saw a leaf, he saw the lesson connected with it, and could read just as plainly on every leaf of the tree and of the forest as we can read on the printed leaf of God's word, and the revelation of God was printed there just as plainly. But when men's minds became darkened, so that they could not read the lessons, then God must bring the revelation of himself to them in some other way, and so he began to tell them what they meant. He began to say, "This is what that means; this is the lesson I would convey in that." It became necessary for him to point out to us the lessons we should learn; and so all through the Bible we have the lessons and operations of nature connected with God; and again and again is our attention called to these things as we read the Bible.

"But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee; or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee; and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this?"

Now take just what is brought out there. "Ask now the beasts"—there is the study of zoology, you see; as we would put it in our modern way, "Study zoology, and it shall teach thee." "And the fowls of the air,"—ornithology,—and it shall tell thee; "speak to the earth,"—geology, mineralogy,—"and it shall teach thee;" "and the fishes of the sea,"—ichthyology,—"and they shall declare unto thee." Who knoweth not that in zoology, in ornithology, in geology, and mineralogy, and in ichthyology, the hand of the Lord hath wrought all these?

But in the way those sciences are taught at the present time, there are few that are led into a personal experience that God has wrought in them, that the same power that wrought in them works in the Christian, that the same power which gives life to all that we see gives life to us, that the same power by which they were created creates us anew in Christ Jesus, and that the same word which speaks through them keeps us from falling. You see the knowledge of God as a personal Creator and Redeemer, as our Upholder and Saviour, as revealed in Jesus Christ in his word and in our experience, has been separated from the study of these things.

THE OBJECT OF TEACHING SCIENCE.

Now of what final value is it if we should know all that the books can teach us concerning the facts of these things, so that we should be able to pass a most critical examination upon these sciences, if we separate those things from God and his work? What are we here for? to build ourselves up in our own estimation, and indulge in the feeling of pride that we have made some discoveries, and lift up man because of it?—No, that is a mistaken view of it. The more we learn of God as revealed in nature, as he would have us learn of him, the more we are led to adore him as the King and Creator. And the humbler the views we get of ourselves, the stronger are the feelings of gratitude, adoration, and love. The more strongly are we bound

to him in loyal service when we recognize him and his goodness and love in everything with which he has surrounded us.

That is, just in the briefest way, the outline of the way it seems to me that the works of God should be taught. If it is necessary in order to do this that we should discard the idea that we must study this science and that science and the other science, it is all right. It seems to me that if we could in some way arrange a course of study in the sciences, in which from first to last it should be simply a progressive knowledge of God, we would simply take the face of nature as our study, and let it lead us where it would, let it bring in as it would all the principles and facts that are laid down in the text-books upon the different lines of study, but progressing simply in the knowledge of God and in the ability to read the handwriting of God in the material universe. Then the study of the sciences would be simply the study of God, and what we learned in science would not be simply certain facts, but we would read in those facts God's works continually.

Now it is just as true in reading and studying the Bible. There are many who read the Bible simply as an aggregation of certain facts in history. They do not really see the revelation of God in Jesus Christ in everything that is seen and done. From first to last there is a complete revelation of God in Jesus Christ. If people were taught to read the Bible in that way, there would not be a dispute in these days as to whether we should throw away the Old Testament or not. Does God ever become too old for practical use? Does Jesus Christ ever wear out? Are his virtues ever too old for us? They begin with the first chapter of Genesis, and they run all through to the last chapter of Revelation.

I have read somewhere that a copy of the Constitution of the United States has been so engraved and printed that, standing at a distance, you see a perfect portrait of George Washington, and coming nearer you are able to read the words and the Constitution complete. Every word, every line is so arranged that, standing at a distance and looking at it as a whole, it is the face of George Washington. So in the face of nature, when we are taught to read it aright, so in the Scripture, when we are taught to read it aright, there is one face that shines faithfully, a complete portrait of Jesus Christ. Many read the printed page and do not see Jesus as he is. They do not behold that face from which shine light and love and blessing for everyone, because their eyes have been blinded by the "god of this world," lest the "light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" should shine unto them.

Now the purpose of teaching science, as we call it, that is, the purpose of becoming acquainted with nature, is not simply to be able to know that certain things happen in certain ways, not simply to become acquainted with certain laws and certain facts as laws and facts, but it is to see the face of Jesus Christ in everything; it is to see in it the revelation of God; and when these things are taught in any other way, they are not taught as God would have them taught. When we learn that the laws of nature are but the operations of God, and when we look upon everything as a revelation of God and a reminder of God, there can nothing happen that shall not be an encouragement and help to us continually. We will get hope and courage out of everything.

ITS CONNECTION WITH THE SABBATH.

Why is it that such an attempt has been made to turn men's minds away from the Sabbath of the Lord?—Because that is the reminder of God, the Creator. Why is it that during the last half century in a special way this attempt has been made, and during this same time, in a special way, began this teaching of science that would lead men to forget God in nature and see only some unknown cause acting under some unknown impulse, but not observing in nature the constant operation of God? Now those two things go together. Here was the Sabbath reform to be brought in, but the Sabbath was a reminder of God, the Creator of heaven and earth. Now if out of men's minds could be gotten the idea that a personal God was the direct Creator of heaven and earth, that he spake, and it was done, he commanded, and it stood fast, that by his word the heavens were,—if men could be led away from this, then men would be prepared to reject the real idea of the Sabbath as a reminder of God, who is the Creator.

Now this is illustrated well in this way: One of our brethren was talking with a young man who was studying for the ministry, and he laid before him this instruction concerning the Sabbath and the spiritual nature of the Sabbath as a reminder of the creative power of God, and that by that same creative power in his word we were made new creatures in Christ Jesus. The young man listened with interest to his statement, and he said, "That would have much force to my mind if I believed in the literal idea of creation, and in the literal six days of the first chapter of Genesis; but science shows us that those were long periods of time, and that these things were not spoken into existence at once; and therefore that loses its power to my mind." And yet all true science is but the interpretation of the handwriting of God in the material universe, and the handwriting of God in the material universe does not contradict the handwriting of God in his Book of Revelation, so science never teaches anything contrary to the word of God. But do you not see the connection that, by turning men's minds away from the idea of literal time and the creation by the power of the word, their minds have been prepared to discard the idea of the Sabbath as the reminder of that power, and the Sabbath idea as being the revelation of God in Christ, just as the creation was the revelation of God in Christ?

And really I believe that as much has been done to undermine the word of God and the authority and power of the revelation of God in the hearts of men by this teaching of science (falsely so called) as by any teaching from the pulpit. It has stealthily undermined the very foundation, because when you take out of nature the literal idea of the personal Creator, who created all things by the word of his mouth, and upholdeth all things by the same word, and the idea that Jesus Christ was the Agent in creation, by whom all things were made, you take out of the Bible the very life and power of the revealed word, because the revealed word was only given to tell men in their own language what God had already told them in his language in the face of nature. Now you see when you take that idea out of nature you kill the very life and power of the Bible, which is the revelation to us in our language of the very same idea, thought, and character of God that he had already revealed in his language on the face of nature.

(Concluded next week.)