That is the condition
of the mind of the millions.
Very well! What is the condition of the mind of the young minister? A
few years ago a certain man, with good opportunities for the
investigation and a probability of sincere answers, asked every young
preacher whom he met during a summer vacation these questions:
"First, Yes or no, do you believe in God, the Father; God a person,
God a definite and tangible intelligence--not a congeries of laws
floating like a fog through the universe; but God a person in whose
image you were made? Don't argue; don't explain; but is your mind in a
condition where you can answer yes or no?"
Not a man answered "Yes." Each man wanted to explain that the Deity
might be a definite intelligence or might not; that the "latest
thought" was much confused upon the matter, and so forth and so on.
"Second, Yes or no, do you believe that Christ was the son of the
living God, sent by Him to save the world? I am not asking whether you
believe that He was inspired in the sense that the great moral
teachers are inspired--nobody has any difficulty about that. But do
you believe that Christ was God's very Son, with a divinely appointed
and definite mission, dying on the cross and raised from the dead--yes
or no?"
Again not a single answer with an unequivocal, earnest "Yes.
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