The Sword and the trowel . ath, resurrection,and ascension of Christ, and, having stripped them of what he calls theirmythical dress, he would apply them to the human nature of our , for the Holy Spirit, he substitutes the higher reason of Chris-tianity; for the sinful heart the laxity of modern life; for regeneration,1 the beginning of nobler impulses; instead of Christs ascension, we havethe elevation of humanity; instead of personal immortality, we havecorporate immortality. The old words are very often so skilfully usedthat the superficial hearer thinks he is getting the Bible, and
The Sword and the trowel . ath, resurrection,and ascension of Christ, and, having stripped them of what he calls theirmythical dress, he would apply them to the human nature of our , for the Holy Spirit, he substitutes the higher reason of Chris-tianity; for the sinful heart the laxity of modern life; for regeneration,1 the beginning of nobler impulses; instead of Christs ascension, we havethe elevation of humanity; instead of personal immortality, we havecorporate immortality. The old words are very often so skilfully usedthat the superficial hearer thinks he is getting the Bible, and it is only thehungry heart which feels the want of living bread. There is, at thesame time, a constant repetition of scorn for traditionalism and Phari-saism, with a claim to superior enlightenment and culture. But it issimply the old rationalism aerated—Hegel in the pulpit instead of Wolf;and when it stands awhile, or comes from an unskilful imitator, it is asdead as such teaching was in the middle of the last 429 THE painful subject of leprosy has, of late, been forced upon publicattention. The united recognition of the heroism of FatherDamien will have the best permanent result if it moves the heart ofChristendom to compassionate the leper. Although unable to serve onthe committee, we can heartily co-operate in their main object; and wecan do so all the more freely when the subject takes a wider scope, anddoes not gather around a single individual. There were heroes beforeDamien, and many of them ; but as they did not happen to belong tothe Romish church, they were left to work and suffer without recog-nition. We do not envy the Catholic, but we feel aggrieved for theMoravian ; and we hope that henceforth philanthropy may receive duehonour, whatever the religious opinions of the man who, for its sake,makes a sacrifice of himself. The picture on the opposite page is a very terrible one, but it is thecopy of a photograph sent home by Mr. Potter, who went to Agra f
Size: 1235px × 2024px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauthorspurgeonchcharle, bookcentury1800, booksubjectbaptists
