The Hope of The Infidel by Dudley Marvin Canright

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Dec 12, 1878

The Hope of The Infidel.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

THE hope of the infidel,—what is it that he should love it, and cling to it so tenaciously? Let us unmask it, and view its bald and hideous features, its grim skeleton. It is a hope that the universe is fatherless, without a ruler, without a guiding hand; the hope that creation has come by chance, and is governed by chance, that there is none higher than man himself to call the sinner to account; the hope that there is no judgment for the ungodly, no reward for the pious, that there is no hereafter for any one; the hope that our darling children whom we have laid in the grave have died like beasts, that we shall never see them more; the hope that in the hour of distress there is no rock higher than ourselves to which we can anchor for safety, that there is no loving heart in heaven to respond to our cries in trouble; the hope that there is no hereafter, no future life, no blessed immortality, no heaven, no angels, no Saviour, nothing but blank, cold dark nothingness.

This is the prospect which the infidel offers us in exchange for the Christian's hope. What a bargain! For this shall I give up the faith which sustains me through trials and sorrows, which lightens up the valley of the shadow of death, which gives me a loving, sympathizing, almighty, heavenly Father, which puts into my hands an infallible guide for my feet, which gives me a Saviour to heal the wounds of sin, and to cleanse my guilty heart; a hope which holds out to me an immortal life, a glorious heaven of light and beauty, and inexpressible joy, a reunion with my lost, cherished friends, redemption from the power of death; a faith which places an infinite, holy, and benevolent God at the helm of the universe?

The least observation will show that atheism and infidelity are simply systems of doubt, opposition, and fault finding. Infidels take no positive positions, themselves; they affirm nothing; they simply doubt everything and object to everything. They do not offer us any system of faith, any code of morals, any hope of a hereafter, any book of instruction, any remedy for sin, any redemption from death. No; they do not profess to have these to offer. They simply find fault with our house, and propose to demolish it without providing us any substitute for it, even so much as a scanty shelter to cover our heads from the scorching sun, or the pelting rain. No; they only give us doubt for faith, uncertainty for certainty, despair for hope, chance for the living God, and death for life.

Read their books; hear their lectures; talk with a thousand of them; and you will find that this is always the truth. Infidelity never satisfies the longings of a sin-burdened heart. With all their endeavors, infidels never feel at ease; they are dissatisfied, restless, and fearful; they are not certain of anything, but afraid of everything. "It has been usual for leading unbelievers to confess the excellent moral tendency of the doctrine of a righteous divine ruler. And ask any man of ordinary sense and observation, putting him on his honor and conscience to speak frankly,—ask him whether he does not really think that a solid faith in such a being would, on the whole, be a greatly better thing for his son and all connected with him than disbelief or unbelief would be,—what would be the answer? He might not speak it, but ere a moment could elapse he would think it. 'Practically,' he would say to himself, 'it is better that my child should believe. Whatever may be the abstract truth in the case, I cannot deny that such a belief is likely to be followed by better results to himself and to all within his sphere of influence than the absence of that belief.'"

I have myself frequently heard infidels say that although they did not believe in Christianity themselves, they wanted their children brought up under religious influences; for it would have a tendency to make them more refined and elevated, and to teach them good principles. Intelligent infidels, the world over, feel thus. Why is this so if there is no God, if the Bible is false, and if religion is a fable? Why do they prefer the influence of Christianity for their children? Why do they prefer a lie to the truth, if it be a lie, as they claim? It is because they see that religion is good for man even in this life.

WHAT HAS INFIDELITY DONE?

Infidelity comes to us, not only with the profession of a friend, but also as a great benefactor. When any system claims our patronage and discipleship, we naturally inquire, What is its object? what does it propose to do for us? what has it already done for others? If it cannot bring good credentials in this respect, we do well to give it a wide berth. We inquire, therefore, What has infidelity done for those who have embraced it in the past? what does it propose to do in the future?

The least investigation shows, that, so far as infidelity is a system at all, it is merely a system of doubt, of fault-finding, and of opposition to Christianity. Evidently it exists only for this purpose. It has no missionaries of its own, no code of morals, no rites of worship, no God, no hope, no hereafter. It has no scruples as to what means it employs, or whether it employs any, provided it accomplishes its object. Who ever heard of infidels sending out missionaries to enlighten the dark corners of the earth? What foreign missions have they established? What heathen nation have they ever been the means of civilizing? What apostles of infidelity have ever toiled and sacrificed in heathen lands for the enlightenment of its people, or spent their lives to elevate the barbarous nations of the earth?

The very question provokes a smile. They never dreamed of such a thing. For all their efforts to the contrary, cannibals might continue to eat their fellow-men; idolaters might continue to rule over millions of their fellow-mortals; and mothers might continue to sacrifice their children to bloody idols to the end of time. What churches or schools have they ever established in which to give moral or religious instruction and to reform the wicked? Not any. They have no burden in that line; they care for none of these things. Their only burden is to oppose the Bible and the work of Christians.

What does their system do for man? Does it teach him that he is in the image of his Creator, that there is a happy future before him, and a glorious hope of immortality in store for him? Oh, no; it teaches him that he is only one among the beasts that perish; and that at death he will utterly cease to exist, and lie down in the dust. It teaches him that all the enjoyment he ever has is in this life; that if he can here escape the penalty of the law which he has broken, he will never suffer hereafter. It quenches the highest aspirations of the human soul; it dethrones, blots out heaven, and blasts the most cherished hopes of the race. It mocks at our fear of the judgment, and sneers at our hope of eternal life. And after destroying our dearest aspirations and hopes, the apostles of infidelity offer us nothing to atone for this destruction.

"They promise to him who disbelieves the Founder of the Christian religion; to him who neglects and disdains the salvation of the gospel; to him who tramples under foot the blood of the new institution, and insults the Spirit of favor; to him who traduces Moses, Daniel, and Job; to him who vilifies Jesus, Paul, Peter, James, and John; to him who devotes his soul to the lusts of the flesh; who disdains Heaven; who deifies his appetites; who degrades himself to a mere animal, and eulogizes philosophy,—to this man they promise eternal sleep,—an everlasting death. This is the faith, the hope, the joy for which they labor with so much zeal and care and pain."

This is all that infidelity offers us. But there is no agreement among its advocates. How shall we know which one to believe? One promulgates one theory, another something essentially different. "There is no agreement among deists as to what their natural religion consists in, or as to the truth of what some of them consider its most fundamental doctrines. Their chief writers are altogether at variance as to whether any distinction between right and wrong, other than in the law of the land or the customs of society; whether there is a providence; whether God is to be worshiped in prayer and praise, or the practice of virtue is not the only worship required; whether the practice of virtue forbids or encourages deceit, suicide, revenge, adultery, and all uncleanness; . . . whether God has any concern with human conduct."

What, then, are the inducements to embrace infidelity? If it be true, it will do no good. If it be false, it will lead us to hell.

D. M. CANRIGHT. Dunkirk, Ohio, Nov. 24.