40. RATIONALISM OR IRRATIONALISM

substances he finds in and upon the earth? It is a true picture.

"And none calleth to mind, neither is there knowledge or understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh and eaten it; and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? Shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?" (ver. 19).

Is this rationalism or irrationalism? Shall man trust for his moral uplift to that which roasts his food and warms his body? Shall expedients of man's own devising be trusted to abolish the evils within and around him? Such is certainly the teaching which is acceptable to the modern man, and which, because it is acceptable to him, the teachers whom he supports are zealous to supply.

We should notice also the prominence given in the foregoing passage of Scripture to man himself as the agent who does all this. "He maketh a god," "he maketh it," "he burneth it," "he eateth," "he roasteth," "he warmeth," "he falleth down." It is all man's doings, and the grand result is that man eats and is satisfied; he warms himself and says, "I am warm, I have seen the fire." This is, indeed, the grand result of all of man's progress and civilization. Or rather it is the result at which they aim; for it must not be forgotten there be as yet but few who enjoy the coveted privilege of warming themselves at the fires which civilization and progress have kindled, and who have secured possession of the coveted places at the banqueting tables which these beneficent agencies have provided. The great majority of human beings are still shivering and hungry, notwithstanding all that civilization and progress have done. They are wondering when these miracle-working agencies are going to do something for them. They have for a long time been urged to do homage to modern progress and civilization, and to join in the anthems of praise which the modern man is for ever raising to himself and his doings. But these dissatisfied ones are now, as we have seen, beginning to clamour and crowd for seats at the table, and for places near enough to the fire to feel something of its warmth; and this crowding threatens serious disturbance to the arrangements which the leaders of the age have made for their own comfort and glory.

But our chapter very plainly declares that it is vain to look to human agencies for help and deliverance. God will accept no aid whatever from the modern man, or from his inventions, his sciences, and the other things wherein he trusts, and whereof he boasts. If it were otherwise, man would indeed have some ground for boasting of his own achievements, and flesh would have whereof to glory in God's presence, sayin, "See what science, invention, and human progress have

"JEHOVAH HATH DONE IT"

accomplished!" Deliverance and a glorious salvation shall surely come; but man's ways, his ingenuity and schemes of betterment, will have no part whatever in bringing it about. For God says, and this is the climax of the lesson here taught—

"Sing, O ye heavens, for JEHOVAH HATH DONE IT." "I am He that stretcheth forth the heavens ALONE, that spreadeth abroad the earth BY MYSELF; that frustrateth the signs of THE BOASTERS; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish" (vers. 23-25, marg.).

Yes, the scientific civilization, which has been spreading itself over the whole earth during the past century; which has developed into a vast system so complicated that nobody understands it, uniting peoples of different nations in economic relations of the most intricate sort; and which has at last aroused the long-slumbering millions of the East and taught them modern warfare, the white man's vices, and other civilized arts, will surely crumble at the appointed time into utter nothingness; and there are not wanting even now those who, without any help from the sure word of prophecy, very clearly foresee and plainly foretell the fast-coming catastrophe.

We would therefore most earnestly exhort God's people to be wholly detached in heart from the world-system, and from sharing, in the smallest degree, in admiration of the doings of this scientific age. "Little children, keep yourself from idols."

THE "GODS MANY" OF THE MODERN MAN

What, then, are the gods to which the men of the day are looking to bring benefits and blessings to humanity, to elevate mankind, and generally to do for them what they are unable to do directly for themselves? It is desirable that we should have the clearest information as to this; and we have not far to look in order to discover that there are "gods many." We hear on all sides, and our attention is called in all the multiform literature of the modern man, to the great things that are being done for humanity by Science, Evolution, Invention, Education, Federation, Progress, Liberty, Fraternity, Democracy, Reason, Commerce, Manufacture, Civilization, Art, Prosperity, Wealth, etc.

When the modern man looks back with pride upon the career and advancement of humanity, he gives to God no glory for any gain he recognizes, but says of these creatures of his own imagination, "These be thy gods, O Israel, that brought thee up out of the land of Egypt" (Ex. xxxii. 4). And to these he looks to bring him into the land of Canaan, where humanity shall enjoy peace and plenty for ever.

"GODS MANY"

Men are so blind and foolish as not to see that these imposing names, the sound of which they so delight to hear, stand for mere abstractions, creatures of the imagination, having no real powers, and indeed no real existence;—that they are but ideas, ideals, idols. These are, in the strictest sense, idols, in so far as they are credited with results that have been accomplished for man's benefit, or are looked to for further help and deliverance. It requires but little attention to the real significance of these names to perceive that they represent idols created in the manner described in Isaiah xliv.; that is to say, they represent the application of man's natural powers to the substances and forces of nature, for the production of things which minister to man's material welfare. And the energies whereby these lines of human activity are prosecuted, are derived wholly from food and drink. They are purely physical energies, yet with them man assumes to create spiritual agencies. Neither the natural powers, nor the substances on which they operate, nor the energies employed in such operation, are from man himself. Yet none calleth to mind, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, "I have burned part of it in the fire, yea, also, I have baked bread upon the coals thereof."

Neither is there discernment to perceive that all these abstractions have only a human origin; that they cannot rise higher than their source; and that in trusting in them and worshipping them, man is really trusting in and worshipping himself. Count the number of all these idols wherein the modern man reposes his confidence, and it will be found that their number is "the number of Man."

We have said that, in trusting these creatures of his own imagination (for outside of human thought they have no existence), and in crediting them with all the fancied gains of humanity, past and future, man is really trusting and praising himself. It is highly important for Christians to understand this, for their own safety. This trust in, and glorification of, Man, is the very essence of the religion of Humanism, which, as we have seen, is gaining ground in every direction. Whichever way we have turned our eyes, we have seen this religion making its appearance and taking definite form and substance. It is true that the worship of Man as really Divine is not often openly avowed; but frequently men engage in it quite unconsciously of what they are doing. The natural heart of man furnishes soil which is thoroughly congenial to the principles of Humanism, particularly to the idea that man is, in some measure, the agent of his own salvation. There is probably not a Christian denomination that is not more or less permeated by the leaven of legalism, or salvation through man's own works. We all, therefore, have need of the clearest warning of this danger.

"THE SOUL OF THE RACE"

But while Humanism is really the religion of many who are not conscious of it, some who understand their own attitude have already proclaimed its principles with a distinctness which leaves nothing to be desired on that score. For example, in the little manual of the "Religion of Humanity," from which we have already quoted, the commandments enjoined by this religion begin with the following paraphrase of Exodus xx., the main feature of the paraphrase being that in the place of God the writer has substituted the "Soul of the Race":—

"And the Soul of the Race, the great white sacred Flame which was born of Human Love and slept through the ages of Injustice, Cruelty, and Fear, awoke from its Phantom-haunted slumber, and seeing on high the Shining Star of Hope, spoke these words, saying—

"I am the Spirit of Altruism, which brought thee out of the land of Selfishness, out of the House of Want, and out of the Bondage of the Mammon of Unrighteousness."

This is the ground that the pioneers of Humanism have already reached; and this is the direction in which the New Theologians, Modernists, Christian Socialists, and others are leading their followers. Doubtless many of these advanced (and advancing) theologians of to-day would say that the foregoing represents an extreme view, and that they do not countenance it. Nevertheless, the position taken by the writer of the above passage, which represents Humanism as stripped of all disguises, was not reached at a bound, but by steps. Those who are as yet a long way from that extreme position, but are moving towards it, will surely reach it sooner or later if their progress be not arrested; and we have abundant reason for expecting that many will embrace to-morrow doctrines and principles which repel them to-day.

The religion of this outspoken Humanist does not differ in principle from that of many who, without having so definitely formulated their creed, are just as truly, in their hearts, giving credit to human genius, under the names of "Science, Evolution, Progress," and the like, and who are saying in effect, "These be thy gods, which brought thee up out of primordial slime, and out of primitive barbarism; and which are now bearing thee triumphantly forward to the golden age of human development, to the man-made paradise wherein perfect liberty shall be enjoyed by all humanity, and where man shall freely eat of every tree of the garden."

We have said that men of these intellectual and enlightened days need not to make to themselves figures in wood or metal, or pictorial devices to represent their gods. Nevertheless, they often do so; for our eyes are frequently greeted with figures of

A TEMPLE OF HUMANISM stalwart and symmetrical females, which, we are told, represent Science, Art, Justice, Manufacture, Invention, etc. At the very gateway of this idolatrous land of America stands a figure—colossal in man's sight—but oh, how puny and contemptible in the sight of God!—representing "Liberty enlightening the World." The "Goddess of Liberty" surmounts the Capitol at Washington; and the most admired building there, the Congressional Library, is a veritable temple of Humanism, covered with designs and inscriptions to the praise and glory of Man.

But it will be profitable to examine more closely some of these latter-day idols, in order that we may clearly understand of what they are composed, by whom they are made, and what claim they have upon our admiration and confidence.