FROM OUR EXCHANGES

with contributions from Robert W. Vankirk, S. G. Barnes, Frederick E. Dewhurst

[Robert W. Vankirk in The Standard.]

The Old Testament is the record of the religious experience of the best men among the Hebrew people. Their communion with God, their aspirations after holiness, their dreams and visions, their ecstasies and raptures, were all manifestations of the divine life in their souls finding outward expression. ... The New Testament marks an advance upon the revelation of the Old, because it furnished the record of this higher revelation. In the Gospels we have the story of Jesus' earthly life, his doings and teachings, through which he revealed the mind and heart of God. ...

In the Acts and Epistles we have the record of the religious experience of the earliest disciples of Jesus—those to whom Jesus had become "the way, the truth, and the life" in their search for God. If we seek to formulate from writings writings an external revelation or law, which is to be forever regulative and binding upon Christian life, we shall misconceive their aim and misdirect their message; but, on the other hand, if we shall see in them the records of an exalted religious experience which we are to seek to reproduce and even surpass in our own souls, and if we shall find in them an inspiration which gives a clearer view of God and a closer fellowship with Him, then indeed will they prove themselves to be a vertiable revelatin from God. [Rev. S. G. Barnes in the Hartford (Conn.) Seminary Record.]

One man there was who understood this, who reported himself as in heaven even while he was on earth. He saw the truth and beauty and goodness of things, the benignity of law and the beneficence of Providence, because he ever looked on the face of the Father. He embodied for us the fulness of man, being himself the universal man, combining in himself every human power and virtue, furnishing in himself the perfect and absolutely satisfying model for man, woman, and child, in all ages and countries. He embodied for us the fulness of God, making clear God's estimate of values, revealing the limitless and inexhaustible love of God, and bringing into human history all the power of God for our salvation. [The Christian Standard.]

That the publicist, rather than the theologian, leads today in preaching that righteousness exalteth a nation, but that sin is a reproach to any people, is a most reassuring sign of public health, however hard the situation may bear upon our ecclesiastical leaders. Men who are supposed to give themselves entirely to the ministry of love and truth should have a clearer spiritual vision and a more unerring ethical sense than their fellows in secular pursuits. But at the present time this does not seem to be the case. [The Christian Register.]

The effects of religious revivalism are beginning to be well understood in the churches of all denominations, and there is a growing tendency to set aside hypnotic influences and substitute for them the slower, but more permanent, results of steadfast efforts, training, and the building of character. [Rev. Frederick E. Dewhurst in The Congregationalist.]

The more you get beyond your narrow and selfish individuality, the more of an individual you become. Life everywhere grows in dignity and worth as it ceases to be ephemeral. In proportion as life is projected upon a large scale does it acquire interest and value.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit