VII.

CONTEMPORARY RELIGIOUS AND THEO

LOGICAL THOUGHT IN

GREAT

BRITAIN AND AMERICA.

BY THE REV. A. 8. WEBER, D.D.

CONSTRUCTIVE STUDIES IN CHRIST'S WORK OF
RECONCILIATION.

Aside from the changed views as to the place and nature of the Bible in Christian thought, the theological movement of the last quarter of a century has affected no doctrine more deeply, than that which centers in the Cross. For reasons easily understood, this has had a profoundly disturbing effect upon many devout souls. The unrest, anxiety and distress, which men feel when conceptions of religious truth, long regarded as impregnable and sound, seem to be giving way, is always pathetic and deserving of regard. The more so should this be the case, so long as nothing better and more satisfactory can be offered to take the place of traditional dogmas in which confidence has been shaken.

Within recent years, the situation with reference to the doctrine of the Atonement, was of such a character. The several ancient theories of it were more and more failing to command any longer the full approbation of thoughtful minds and conscientious hearts in the churches. Their clearly-reasoned and logically-consistent nature, their premises being granted, was indisputable. To a lower stage of development in religious and ethical culture, they had long been acceptable, satisfying, comforting. Loftier and enriched moral and spiritual attainments led to the discovery that, venerable though they were with age, belief in them was no longer justified, continued reliance upon them rationally impossible. Did it mean that

the foundations supporting faith in the gospel of the glory of Christ, had been undermined? Had the dearest symbol of that faith, the cross, to be given up? Would the most solemn Sacrament of the Church, henceforth have to memorialize something other than the Savior's death? Could that in which great and good men, from Paul down through the ages, rejoiced to glory in, no longer illuminate the understanding, enrich the imagination, soothe the conscience, and inspire the will, of men?

So it was asked, by devout men, wrestling in distressed faith. And for a long while, no adequate answer seemed to be forthcoming. Negations, relative to the old and discarded views, filled the air; positive affirmations of the truth in new and higher form, no one was prepared to make. Metaphors like ransom and "debt" and "lamb" had been put to theological service, as the exact equivalents of spiritual realities, and whilst admittedly that was not allowable, what was the true interpretation of the figurative language which both Jesus and His apostles employed in their efforts to convey to others, the deep and eternally important truths of the gospel? What valid explanation of ancient Oriental symbols could be given to the modern western mind?

Amid such circumstances, one thing, of course, was sure: Christian thought would not be allowed to remain permanently disturbed by negations; its earnest questions would be answered. Although perplexed, men of God were not in despair. Like John Robinson, speaking to the Pilgrim Fathers when they were about sailing for America, they were very confident that the Lord had yet more truth and light to break forth out of his holy Word." Their alert minds would have applauded also those other observations made in connection with the oft-quoted words just given, and equally to the point here, namely, that "the state and condition of Protestant churches, which will go no further than the instruments of the Reformation, is to be bewailed." "The Lutherans, for example," he continued, "can not be drawn beyond what Luther saw, and

the Calvinists stick where he left them. Those men were precious, shining lights in their time, but God had not revealed His whole will to them. And were they now living, they would be as ready and willing to embrace further light, as they were to accept that which was given to them." The spirit of confidence in an ever-growing apprehension of the revelation made in Jesus Christ, as breathed in these words, continues to live among men, and in recent years, when the dogmatic systems of earlier generations had lost their hold. of reason and conscience, it sent contemporary scholars to restudy for themselves the New Testament Scriptures, and the results with which they are returning are at once gratifying and reassuring. In reference particularly to Christ's work of reconciliation, which is now under our attention, the constructive studies that are being published, are certainly well calculated, not only to allay the anxieties and fears of hearts that were trembling and troubled because in their former forms important doctrines were abandoned as worthless, but to inspire anew and on a firmer basis, devoutest faith in, and gratitude for, the redemptive work accomplished by Christ Jesus our Lord.

Two of the more recently published studies of this character and on this special doctrine, are responsible for the present references to the subject. Both deal with it in an able, reverent, and enlightening, manner; and although one may not be able to accept all the conclusions reached, it is safe to say that no one can accompany them through their discussions, without having the heart warmed by new visions of the truth as it is in Jesus, and the life stirred with new zeal and energy for nobler work and larger sacrifice.

The first of them makes frank acknowledgment at the start, of the author's conviction that it is necessary to restate both the meaning and the message of Christ's redeeming work. The reasons he gives for this necessity, as seen by him, have their

"The Meaning and Message of the Cross," by the Rev. Henry C. Mabie, D.D. Fleming H. Revell Company, New York, 1906.

value in the fact that they are unquestionably true, and of authority, therefore, in the way of pointing out a path for Christian thought to follow. "Language," he says, "from its inherent weakness as implying too much or too little, is so capable of being misunderstood, that any statement made in a given generation, requires a somewhat altered phrasing for the generation following. Then, too, the very conceptions of Scripture being often paradoxical or symbolic, carry with them meanings which lie below the surface. The most vital implications of Scripture never clearly appear except to an insight born of a deep, spiritual experience. To real insight the mysteries of the Divine Word increasingly become open secrets." Holding these views, it is gratuitous to say, Dr. Mabie does not write in words that have lost their spiritual meaning and content, nor follow the paths beaten by those who in other centuries made contributions to the voluminous literature on the subject. He is thoroughly equipped with a knowledge of that literature, but for his purpose of serving twentieth century interests, he makes the Scriptures his specific study, their teachings, rather than preconceived philosophical notions, his basis and guide. He follows the inductive method in the pursuit of his aim, and the conclusions he thus arrives at, commend themselves accordingly, not for their speculative keenness, but for their practical and permanent religious value.

It does not fall within the scope and purpose of this notice, to indicate except in a general way, the particular form in which our author casts the various phases of the doctrine he has studied. Our present interest lies more especially in observing the principles by which he is guided and the materials he is using, in his work. From a knowledge of these it will be readily inferred that the atmosphere is cleared up by him of certain confusions of thought which too long have been widely prevalent. He helps us to distinguish clearly between the mere human tragedy and crime of the crucifixion, and the Divine Cross of reconciliation." The one is accidental, the other essential. That understood, one is prepared to see far

more clearly to the heart of the mystery of Christ's redeeming work, and why by God and man it must forever be regarded as the most stupendous and transcendently valuable reality in the universe. The saving potentialities inherent to that real work of reconciliation, and implying the necessity of human cooperation with them for their realization by individuals in personal salvation, and for giving motive and guidance to missionary enterprise, these are strikingly elucidated and convincingly enforced in the chapters of this timely treatise.

The second work,* above referred to, covers a wider area of inquiry than that which we are now examining. From the view-point of to-day, it treats of a number of fundamentally important questions of religious thought. Among these, it is the Atonement that is discussed in the second chapter, and to it our present observations must be confined. The chapter embraces less than thirty pages, and constitutes a sketch rather than an exhaustive treatise of the doctrine as formulated in the past and present. This should be remembered at such points especially where one feels disinclined to give full assent to views suggested, and not satisfactorily unfolded. It reviews rapidly the several most important theories by which the reconciling work of Christ has been interpreted in the course of the Church's history, points out the arguments by which they were once sustained and those by which they later came to be set aside, and then, in a constructive way, sets forth the doctrine as it is now held by a growing number of devout and competent Christian scholars, and sustained by an impartial examination and faithful interpretation of biblical teachings bearing on the subject. All this is done, as by the hand of a master. Within anything like a similarly narrow compass, one should be at a loss to know where to look for an equally lucid and informing, comprehensive and satisfactory, treatment of this particular doctrine. In the interest of its popular and practical design, technical theological terminology has *"The Main Points, A Study In Christian Belief," by the Rev. Charles R. Brown, D.D. The Pilgrim Press, Boston, 1906.