PLAIN WORDS ON QUESTIONS OF THE DAY RESPECTING FAITH, THE BIBLE, AND THE CHURCH. I. We may, then, keep the Bible.-Yet, the thought must have occurred to others as well as to myself, in hearing all this talk about the philosophy we are told to reconcile with the Bible, though we cannot; what-in the estimation of these philosophers, and if their philosophy be true-is to become of poor, simple-minded and ignorant people, of the multitude, in short, who cannot understand all this wisdom? Or yet, of other plain, straightforward men, whose philosophy goes not beyond common sense, who therefore, will none of this new teaching at any price, but will have plain sound English sense, that they can understand, and sound old-fashioned doctrine withal; not only of the days of Jewell, Hooker, and of other such pillars of the Church, but even older than they-as old as the Apostles, the prophets, and the patriarchs? what is to become of them if this philosophy be the only right thing? Or, have these philosophers, perhaps, "taken away the key of knowledge" the Word of God1-"shutting up the kingdom against men, neither going in themselves nor suffering them that are entering to go in ?" Or, is it that they "desire to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm ?"—" But we know that the law is good, if 1 "Claves autem quibus aut claudere regnum cœlorum aut aperire possint, ut Chrysostomus ait, dicimus esse scientiam Scripturarum : ut Tertullianus, esse interpretationem Legis: ut Eusebius, esse verbum Dei.-Cumque clavis, qua aditus nobis aperitur ad regnum Dei, sit verbum Evangelii, et interpretatio Legis et Scripturarum; UBI NON SIT VERBUM, IBI DICIMUS NON ESSE CLAVEM." Apologia Eccles. Anglic. J. Juell. p. 15. a man use it lawfully." We know that there is, and that there can be nothing better than 'real' philosophy- 12000‡íα ń anons, as S. Chrysostom calls it—which, for a Christian, consists in searching, in thinking and in reasoning, as a Christian ought to search, to think and to reason, that is—not backwards, from himself to GOD, as heathens did, and as certain philosophers of the day will do; but forwards, from GoD as revealed in His Word, to himself. And this Christian philosophy as it is found in the Gospel of CHRIST is, at once, so deep that no human intellect can search it out-since even angels desire to look into it-and yet so simple, that "the common people heard gladly" THE FOUNDER of that philosophy, when He silenced Herod, rebuked lawyers, convicted Pharisees, and "preached the Gospel to the poor." Let us then, for awhile, leave those philosophers to their philosophy; and talk plain, common sense, for plain people. BELIEF AND FAITH. II. Aristotle tells us that 'good' is the end to which most things tend, the object most men set before themselves in their thoughts, and in daily life. They connect this idea of good,' some with one thing, others with another; so that, heathen and other philosophers did set about trying to find out, both wherein this idea of good consists, and wherein the 'greatest good' for man lies. Some placed it in the gratification of the senses and of the appetites; others in virtue; others, again, like Plato, put the supreme good for man, in drawing as near as in him lies to 'that which really is,' Tò ov, whereby he understood-GOD. But those men not having a Revelation, were so completely in the dark as to the actual fallen and degraded state of man's nature, that Marcus Varro2 reckoned two hundred and eighty-eight different sects of philosophers, either existing, or possible, whose object was to set this nature a task to fulfil in endeavouring to better itself, for which it has neither ability nor power. I need hardly point out that with those men, as with the philosophers of the present day, those who either could not or would not receive their teaching were altogether shut out from all hope of sharing in the benefits their philosophy was said to confer. The poor, the igno 1 De Sacerd. lib. i. c. 1 2 S. August. Civ. Dei. lib. xix. c. 1. rant, the renitent, therefore, had then, as they now have, no hope whatever, consistently with that teaching, if we are to receive it. III. But we do not. Common sense alone tells us that our human nature must be of two things one-either sinless or sinful; either in its original state of innocence, or fallen from it. Except we be past feeling or grossly ignorant, however, our own experience, every moment in the day, teaches us, apart from Revelation, that our nature is fallen very low indeed, from its exalted origin, to which it must be restored, or, if not restored, continue as it is, degraded. Our own sense, further, tells us also, that our human nature having thus fallen by depriving itself of certain powers and of certain attributes it had originally, cannot possibly of itself and with its own efforts, regain those lost privileges.-A broken limb cannot set and mend itself; and being of our nature" dead in trespasses and sins," we cannot be further" alienated from the life of GOD" than we are. Our fallen nature then, must receive from without power to restore itself, that is-from GOD; and thus be restored by Him. And here again, simple, unassisted reason teaches also that under such circumstances, a good, merciful, and gracious GoD, could not and would not so word His offer and promise of eternal happiness, as that few of His creatures could understand it; and so describe the way He has made for the restoration of our human nature to its former estate,-yea, even to a higher one—as that fewer still of those creatures should be able to make out that way and to walk in it; and thus be virtually shut out from the happiness promised. We believe, on the contrary, that, however men may either from conceit, ignorance or self-righteousness darken GOD's counsel with words without knowledge, GoD's offer of reconciliation, and His promise of eternal life, must be told in terms so plain, that the simplest and most ignorant may understand and receive them. IV. And so it is. As "the world by wisdom knew not GOD, it pleased GoD by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe; thus, practically "making foolish the wisdom of this world," that is-showing the plain and only way to eternal good, which the joint wisdom of the whole world had not been able to devise or to find out. Even Plato yearned after the very 1 Eph. ii. 1-3, iv. 18. 21 Cor. i. 21. 3 Ibid. 20. Word which is now preached to the poor, and, in his own way, sought the kingdom promised "to the poor in spirit." : For such is God's plain dealing with His people at all times. While He says: "I am the LORD that maketh all things that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish," He also says: "I am found of them that sought me not;"" to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word,"2 adding, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."3 And pointing to the way thither, He said, of old-"This commandment which I give thee this day, is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it to us, that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil."4 And in later times, no longer of shadows, but of light and of realities, those same plain words were made plainer still, and placed within the reach of all by the Holy Apostle, when he says: "The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the LORD JESUS, and shalt believe in thine heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."5 V. Here, then, is this plain way; not the "wisdom of words," nor "the wisdom of this world," nor yet 'philosophy,' but― "the word of faith," to be confessed with the mouth as an expression of the heart, gopopixòs λóyos, and believed with the heart-xapdía-" unto righteousness," by simple and gentle, ignorant and learned alike; "for with GOD there is no respect of persons."6 Faith,7 then, Tíos, is this principle brought to Is. xliv. 24-26; 1 Cor. iii. 19, 20. 2 Is. lxv. 1, lxvi. 2. Deut. xxx. 11-15. 6 Rom. ii. 11; 2 Chron. xix. 7. 7 I use the term 'Faith' throughout-except where otherwise explained—to mean what S. Paul does, “belief with the heart unto righteousness" in objective Truths revealed by GoD to us in His Word, delivered to the Catholic Church and necessary unto salvation, as distinguished from mere 'belief,' in the sense of assent of the intellect to things of the intellect,' vonrá and vooúμera. Like light by the Gospel, that was altogether unknown to the wise men of heathendom, and new to their wisdom. Why? because Faith, which is "a fruit of the Spirit," and therefore under 'spiritual' influence-or 'spiritual,' as distinct from mere intellectual assent or 'belief,' is said to be "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."2 These "things not seen," and these "things to be hoped for" then, must be made known ere Faith in them can exist. But we are told that "these are things which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, which God hath prepared for them that love him."3 Since then "these things never entered into the heart of man," man's heart or man's intellect would weary itself, as, indeed, it has ever wearied itself in vain, in trying either to devise them, or to find them out. Therefore must they be made known to man by some one else than himself, ere he can hear or think of them; in other words, they must be revealed' to him by GoD who has both prepared and promised them. 4 "Wherefore are we told," says Philo, "not that Abraham saw GOD, but that GOD appeared, or revealed Himself unto him; for it was impossible that a man should of himself καταλαβεῖν τὸ πρὸς ἀλήθειαν ὄν, comprehend that which really is,5 μὴ παραφήναντος ἐκείνῳ ἑαυτὸ καὶ παραδείξαντος, unless that Truth (GOD) had shone in his presence and had shown itself to him." Therefore also, is Faith said "to come by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God,"6 in which God has revealed to man the things He has prepared for him, and which He promises; together with the conditions on which His promise is to be ratified and those good things are to be inherited. wise are the terms 'spirit,' 'intellect,' 'soul,' and 'body,' taken here throughout in their plain and practical sense: 'spirit' (veuμa), as the feature in our nature most resembling the image of GOD, and the means of direct intercourse and of impressions from Him to us; and in this respect distinct from the "intellect,' (vous), which consists in our thinking and understanding faculties; while the 'soul,' (vxh), is understood in Aristotle's sense of it, and also in that of Philo, to include not only affections, feelings, and passions, but also the intellect; and lastly the flesh, ráp, or the body, oŵua, as the abode of the spirit and the soul. 1 Gal. v. 22. 31 Cor. ii. 9. 2 Heb. xi. 1. 4 De Abrah. p. 361, D. ed. Par. 5 Whereby Philo, like Plato, understood GOD, 8 lv. Rom. x. 17. |