Day 3

We stand today in the midst of a great worldwide religious struggle in which doctrines and dogmas are the chief issues.  It is a war of creeds.  And the strength of those who war on the Christian tradition lies in the definiteness of their creed and dogmas, however false or one-sided they may be.  Does anyone think that Communists are fuzzy in their beliefs?  But we have been, and are, as a people anti-intellectual, belittling the importance of creeds, neglecting serious study, wanting noble fruits without the beliefs that bore them.  “But,” says Dorothy Sayers, “if we want a Christian society, we must teach Christianity; and you can’t teach Christianity without definite and precise beliefs.”

 

People in every walk of life know our world is sick, and, knowing this, they want to know two things:

1) How did the modern world which had so much hope, enthusiasm, and promise get into this trouble?

2) Is there a way out?

 

Something is wrong, but what is it?  And since we are surrounded by superficial explanations, one of our tasks is to “out-think the fuddled, misled, hell-bent contemporary world.”  Don’t ever let anyone tell you that in this wild day in which “fierce groups contend about ultimates,” that the creed is not important.  Without God and a firm and clear affirmation about him, there will be nothing strong, nothing holy, nothing free, and no hope of peace.  Let me close this point with some words of P. T. Forsyth, “Christ, The Incarnation, The Cross, The Atonement, The Resurrection, The Spirit, The Church – what a vague, rambling, feckless religion we have without such things.”

 


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