Signs of the Times
From an editorial in
The Florida Times–Union
Jacksonville, Florida
A thoughtful and much–read writer has asked: "What is the Christian religion if it is not a religion of miracles? Did not Jesus command his disciples to 'heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils'?" ...
Yet also has it been said that the miraculous to men is the natural with God. Or as the Apostle Paul asked of King Agrippa, "Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?" And it is in the acceptance of eternal truths, once incredible though they may have been to the many, that followers of the risen Lord this day memorialize the resurrection. On this day [Easter] do they renew their faith in the teachings and the assurances of him whose demonstration of immortality said to the world: "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore."
There is no darkness so dark as hopeless unbelief. It was St. Paul again who said, for himself and his fellow followers of the cross, that if Christ were not risen from the dead, "We are of all men most miserable." But for those who attribute not to God the weakness of men. the light of promise shines beyond the darkness of the tomb. In this light they walk who have come to understand and to know in what and in whom they believe.
Dr. T.T. Shields in a sermon in the
Gospel Witness and Protestant Advocate
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Let no one suppose that faith puts a premium upon ignorance. It does not. Faith is the issue of a spiritual intelligence. "How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?" They must hear and understand; for only as men hear and understand can they believe. God gave us intelligence. He made us above the brute creation. ... "Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee."
God never intended that men should be driven with bit and bridle, that they should act without intelligence, that they should be mere puppets, blindly obeying another's will. The gospel does not impose even a divine command upon the will of men without assigning a reason for its being obeyed. The true believer is a truly intelligent man. Faith is born, not of ignorance, but of full knowledge. We believe because we know whom we have believed. I believe a man when by some means I have come to know him, when I have proved his trustworthiness. So does the believer receive the gospel, because it is eminently—yes, pre–eminently— reasonable. A man does not stultify his intellect, or subject any function of the mind to any sort of humiliation, or expose it to the danger of becoming atrophied by submitting it to belief in the Word of God, to an acceptance of divine revelation.
Editorial in the Upper Darby News
Upper Darby, Pennsylvania
Men have always needed to know what is real, as distinguished from what is only apparent. And they have always wanted to live forever. And m most men these two needs have usually conflicted, because the things that seem most realthe visible, tangible, hard "realities" that they perceive with their senses—are also the things that die. It is only the unseen, invisible essences, like truth, goodness, and beauty, that seem to live and are not subject to the corruption and disintegration of the things of the flesh.
Consequently, wanting life everlasting, man has always been drawn toward the things of the spirit and been tempted to accept them as reality, rather than the visible, easily perceptible things of the flesh. But to accept the spiritual as the real requires strong faith, because it requires that we renounce the false reality of the things of the flesh and refuse to put any reliance upon them whether they attract us as money, power, or an atomic stockpile....
The crucifixion and resurrection symbolize and dramatize (and for some people realize) the triumph of the spirit over the corruptible flesh. The Easter story offers men an answer to the eternal contention in them. It tells those willing to listen that the spirit is reality, and that the only true faith and the only salvation is the way of faith in the truth of things unseen.
From an editorial in The Tustin News
Tustin, California
No doubt many people realize today that the world's real need is not for increased knowledge of matter and its explosive possibilities, but rather for a deeper understanding of Spirit. The Man of Galilee, whose resurrection we celebrate at this time, proved by what are called miracles the ability of spiritual forces to subdue the elements of earth. He walked on the water, the storm was stilled at his command, the five thousand were fed with but a few loaves and fishes, the sick were healed, the dead were raised.
Truly, there is much more in Jesus' teachings than the world generally has comprehended. But if the adversity of our day and the forebodings of the future are turning men toward a deeper study and practice of what he taught, these trials will surely prove to be blessings in disguise.
