Men do not Reason on Religion.
By Sel.
The great mass of the world do not reason on religion. They are governed more by feeling and prejudice than they are by arguments and convictions of truth. You may prove a doctrine logically and sustain it by an appeal to the word of God, but if it is not in accordance with the pre-conceived opinions and prejudices of those who hear your argument and proof, little or no impression is made. Men will not be convinced against their feelings and prejudices. And this is one reason why there is so much error in the world, on the subject of religion. As Christ said of men in his day, "that they would not come to him that they might have life," so it may be said now, that they will not receive his instructions that they may know the truth. There is not that obscurity about the teachings of the Scriptures, and difficulty in understanding the doctrines of Christianity, that men imagine. The great difficulty lies in the depravity of the human heart, and in the power of that prejudice which governs human belief. If men would reason on the subject of religion, infallible as human reason is, and receive the plain and honest teaching of God's word, there would not be that diversity of opinions and creeds that are now to be found in the world. We have no very exalted opinion of the infallibility of human reason, but there is a clearness in Revelation in reference to the great doctrines of salvation that all may see. Yet men who are governed by their prejudices will not see, and if they do, they will not believe what is plainly revealed. We have heard them assert that they would not believe certain doctrines which they would not deny were taught in the Bible. And this is a species of infidelity which is wide spread in our day. It is the result of following human prejudices. They become so strong that they refuse to yield to the authority of Divine truth.—Sel.