Article March 10, 1951 Issue

Signs of the Times

with contributions from R. Meiklejohn, Earl L. Douglass

From a sermon by R. Meiklejohn,
Canon of Norwich Cathedral
Norwich, England

There was much about the nineteenth century which made for complacent optimism. The long peace after the Napoleonic wars; the vast increase of trade and wealth and population as the result of the Industrial Revolution; the many and profitable discoveries of science which were harnessed to new undertakings—these things all made for a sense of security and for the conviction that, with the years, man's onward march in peace, prosperity, and well-being would continue unchecked. In the popular mind, at least, the theory of evolution seemed to mean that progress was inherent in the very nature of things; and that mankind must roll gloriously and serenely along to the Utopia of its dreams.

As the result of bitter and humiliating experience, the twentieth century has been compelled to reverse this verdict. It has been discovered that progress is not a quality of matter, but of mind: that it has little or nothing to do with the cosmic process (whatever that may be) but everything to do with character, and with the spiritual substance of men and women: that it is something which arises out of the soul rather than out of the soul's environment. The center of gravity in these matters has now been shifted from what is without to what is within. No longer do we look hopefully forward to some inevitable unfolding of ultimate perfection. The "Lo here" and "Lo there" of our expectant forebears has been replaced by the recognition of the truth that the kingdom of God is within. Without God, without the Christian way of life, without character, all is vanity and vexation of spirit and the distant prospect is bleak and grim.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

Signs of the Times

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access