16. A STRIKING CHARACTERISTIC
no difference that is of any real value or practical importance. The essence, then, of the New Theology is the Deification of Man. Count the number, and it will be found "the number of Man."
A striking characteristic of the New Theology, as presented by Mr. Campbell, is that its doctrines are not supported by even the semblance of proof; and indeed, owing to the peculiar character of the system, they do not require such support. Those who accept the doctrines of Christianity do so (and have always done so) for the reason that those doctrines have the support of evidence deemed by Christians to be of the highest grade of proof, namely, the "testimony of God" given in His Word. But the essence of the New Theology is that "we know nothing and can know nothing of the Infinite Cause whence all things proceed, except as we read Him in His universe and in our own souls." In other words, we have no Divine revelation. In this passage the Bible is set aside by implication; but, as we will see later on, Mr. Campbell in express terms repudiates it; and this, of course, is absolutely necessary in order to make place for the distinctive doctrines which are now being introduced through various channels, including the "New Theology."
"It is," says Mr. Campbell, "the immanent God with whom we have to do"; and in lieu of proof of this fundamental proposition we are told that it is an "obvious fact" (p. 5). Of course, if the "fact" be
"obvious," proof of it would be superfluous. In order to ascertain, according to Mr. Campbell, whether or not a statement is true, one is always to appeal—not to the evidence, but- to the god within him. "Never mind what the Bible says about this or that, if you are in search for truth, but trust the voice of God within you."
It is important to note that Mr. Campbell makes many radical doctrinal statements, and makes them in the most dogmatic fashion, without the slightest attempt to support them by proof. In this, of course, he is entirely consistent. It would manifestly be quite unnecessary to cumber his pages with evidences of the truth of his doctrines, seeing that, according to the essential principle of the New Theology, every human being has within himself the only and infallible source and judge of the truth.
A good illustration of the operation of this fundamental principle is furnished by what Mr. Campbell says of the account of the fall of man contained in Genesis iii. He tells us that, while the narrative there given is a myth, "it does contain a truth," namely, that when the "Infinite" became the finite creation (for remember that God and the created universe are one, according to the New Theology) there was "a coming down from perfection to imperfection," and this coming down of God to become the finite universe was "of the nature of a fall." Thus Mr. Campbell
GENESIS CORRECTED sets the author of Genesis right in an important particular, telling us that the writer of that ancient document was correct in stating that there had been a fall, but was in error in saying that it was man who fell, the fact being (says Mr. Campbell) that it was God who fell. Man, says Mr. Campbell, is not a fallen creature, but is, and always has been, a rising creature—rising steadily to his true level, which is Deity.
We are not now concerned with the stupendous blasphemy of this doctrine, but only with the astounding fact that it is presented for acceptance without any semblance whatever of supporting proof. It is assumed that man, who professes himself unable to believe his own fall,—though that event be declared upon the authority of Scripture, and though it be confirmed by the manifold evidences of his fallen condition within and around him,—is bound to accept (or perhaps we should say is free to accept) unquestioningly the statement of Mr. Campbell that it was God who fell, although that stupendous assertion is unsupported by either authority or evidence.
But such is the logical result of the cardinal doctrine of the New Theology. If, indeed, man has within himself the infallible discerner of truth, it necessarily follows that proof of any proposition becomes wholly superfluous. But this convenient principle, if fully carried out, would logically be destructive of the New
Theology, as of every other; for so soon as the intelligent disciple learns that the source and arbiter of truth is within himself, and that the imaginations of his own heart possess the highest sanction that is to be had, he will certainly not be so foolish, so inconsistent, and so false to his cardinal principle, as to put aside his own notions, sanctioned by the god within him, for those of Mr. Campbell or of any one else. The moment the cardinal principle of this New Theology is accepted, every one not only may, but must, be the author of his own "new theology," and must reverently take all his instruction from, and direct all his worship to, "the god within." One who adopts the principle, "never mind what the Bible says about this or that if you are in search of truth, but trust the voice of god within you," will certainly understand, as a necessary corollary, that if he is not to mind what the Bible says, still less should he mind what Mr. Campbell says, "about this or that."
Thus the first lesson of the New Theology teaches its disciples to pay no heed to its other lessons; and that this first lesson will be generally heeded can hardly be doubted, because the time is fully ripe for its acceptance.
That man should come ultimately to worship himself was a foregone conclusion from the first transgression whereby sin entered the world and death through sin. The far-off goal which man started to