"Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe."
John iv. 48.
WE are now celebrating the last great Festival in the course of Holy
services which began in Advent; the Feast of the Ever-blessed Trinity,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, whose mercy has planned, accomplished, and
wrought in us "life and immortality." And the present Festival has this
peculiarity in it,—that it is the commemoration of a mystery. Other Festivals
celebrate mysteries also, but not because they are mysteries. The Annunciation,
the birth of Christ, His death on the Cross, His Resurrection, the descent
of the Holy Ghost, are all mysteries; but we celebrate them, not on this
account, but for the blessings which we gain from them. But today we celebrate,
not an act of God's mercy towards us, but, forgetting ourselves, and looking
only upon Him, we reverently and awfully, yet joyfully, extol the wonders,
not of His works, but of His own {328} Nature. We lift up heart and eyes
towards Him, and speak of what He is in Himself. We dare to speak of His
everlasting and infinite Essence; we directly contemplate a mystery, the
deep unfathomable mystery of the Trinity in Unity.
Doubtless, from that deep mystery proceeds all that is to benefit and
bless us. Without an Almighty Son we are not redeemed,—without an Ever-present
Spirit we are not justified and sanctified. Yet, on this day, we celebrate
the mystery for its own sake, not for our sake.
On this day, then, we should forget ourselves, and fix our thoughts
upon God. Yet men are not willing to forget themselves; they do not like
to become, as it were, nothing, and to have no work but faith. They like
argument and proof better; they like to be convinced of a truth to their
own satisfaction before they receive it, when, perhaps, such satisfaction
is impossible. This happens in the sacred subject before us. The solemn
mystery of the Trinity in Unity is contained in Scripture. We all know
this; there is no doubt about it. Yet, though it be in Scripture, it does
not follow that every one of us should be a fit judge whether and where
it is in Scripture. It may be contained there fully, and yet we may be
unable to see it fully, for various reasons. Now this is the great mistake
which some persons fall into; they think, because the doctrine is maintained
as being in Scripture by those who maintain it as true, that therefore
they have a right to say that they will not believe it till it is proved
to them from Scripture. It is nothing to them that the great multitude
of good and holy men in all ages have held it. {329} They act like Thomas,
who would not believe his brother Apostles that our Lord was risen, till
he had as much proof as they, and who said, "Except I see and touch for
myself, I will not believe." And they are like the Jews whom our Lord reproves
in the text, saying, "Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe."
They call it an enlightened, rational belief to demand for themselves proof
from Scripture before they believe; and they think that any other admission
of the doctrine is blind and superstitious, and unacceptable to Almighty
God.
And when, perhaps, we have gone so far as to indulge them, and to profess
that we are willing to prove the doctrine from Scripture to their satisfaction,
and that, as a previous step to their believing and worshipping, then they
meet us with such shallow and high-minded questions as the following:—"Where
in Scripture do you find the word Trinity?" "Why do you insist upon it,
if it is not in Scripture?" Again, "Where is the Holy Ghost expressly and
plainly called God, in Scripture?" Again, "Where does Scripture speak of
One Substance, Three Persons, as the Athanasian Creed speaks? Where does
Scripture say that the Son and the Holy Ghost are uncreate? where, that
'the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one,
the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal?'" And so they go through the whole
of our Divine faith, carping, objecting, and traducing, even though they
do not mean it; and all for this—because they will be judges themselves
what is in Scripture and what is not; what necessary to salvation, and
what not; what words are {330} important, and what not; what sources of
instruction God has given besides Scripture, and what not.
Now, on such conduct, I observe as follows:—that they who think it unreasonable
to believe without proof, are surely unreasonable themselves in so thinking.
What warrant in reason, what right have they, to say that they will not
believe the Creed unless it is proved to them to be in Scripture? They
profess to act by reason. Well, then, I ask them, Is it according to reason
to say, that they will not believe the Creed without reasons drawn out
to their satisfaction from Scripture? I think not; I think I can prove
that it is not. I think a very few words will make it evident, that they
are unreasonable and inconsistent in refusing to believe before they see
the Scripture proof.
1. I would ask, in the first place, whether we reason and prove before
we act, in the affairs of this life? For instance, we are bound to obey
the laws; we know that we shall get into great trouble if we do not; that
if we break them, loss of property or imprisonment will be the consequence;
so that it is of great importance that we should obey them; and we know
that these laws are not always obvious to common sense; so that at times,
a person may break them with the best intentions possible, if he act upon
his own private notions of right and wrong. Accordingly, every now and
then you find persons, under particular circumstances, alarmed lest they
should be unawares breaking the law; and what do they then do? they consult
some one skilled in the law, who has made the law his study and profession.
It never occurs to a man so circumstanced to buy law books, {331} and to
make out the truth of any important matter for himself, though it is really
contained in law books. No; neither in ordinary nor in extraordinary matters
does he trust his own judgment how the law stands. In ordinary matters
he thinks it safe to go by the opinion of men in general; in extraordinary,
he consults men learned in the law;—feeling too vividly how much is at
stake to trust himself. It is not that he doubts, for an instant, that
the laws of the land are put into writing, and are to be found in law books,
and might be drawn out of them; but he distrusts himself. He distrusts,
not the law books, but his own ability. There is too great a risk,—too
much at stake,—his property, his character, his person, are at stake. He
cannot afford, in such a case, to indulge his love of argument, disputation,
and criticism. No; this love of argument can only be indulged in a case
in which we have no fears. It is reserved for religious subjects. Such
subjects differ from all other practical subjects, as being those on which
the world feels free to speculate, because it does not fear. It has no
fears about religious doctrine, no keen sensibilities; it does not feel,
though it may confess, that its eternal interests are at stake. It suspends
its judgment; for what matters it to the world whether it makes up its
mind on a point of religion, or no? It can afford to say, "I will not believe
till I see proof in Scripture for believing," though it does not say, "I
will not believe lawyers till I understand the law," because it sees clearly
and feels deeply that the law of the land is a real power, and that to
come into collision with it is a real disaster; but it does not see and
feel that "the {332} Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than
any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and
spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart." Men well understand that they will be sure to
suffer from human law, for all they cannot judge of it by themselves, on
the ground that they can, if they choose, get other competent men to judge
for them; but they cannot be made to feel that they will hereafter have
to answer for having been told the truth, however, or from whatever quarter
they were told it,—at Church, or from teachers, or from religious books.
They act as if it were no matter what they knew, unless they came to know
it in one particular way, through Scripture.
Now, surely, this parallel holds most exactly, unless one or other of
two things could be shown,—unless we have reason for thinking, first, that
it matters not what we believe; or, secondly, that no faith is acceptable
in the case of individuals which does not arise from their own personal
inferences from Scripture. Let, then, grounds be produced for either of
these two positions,—that correct faith is unimportant, or that personal
faith must be built upon argument and proof. Till then, surely the general
opinion of all men around us, and that from the first,—the belief of our
teachers, friends, and superiors, and of all Christians in all times and
places,—that the doctrine of the Holy Trinity must be held in order to
salvation, is as good a reason for our believing it ourselves, even without
being able to prove it in all its parts from Scripture; I say, this general
reception of it by others, is as good a reason for accepting it {333} without
hesitation, considering the fearful consequences which may follow from
not accepting it, as the general belief how the law stands and the opinion
of skilful lawyers about the law is a reason for following their view of
the law, though we cannot verify that view from law books.
2. But it may here be said, that the cases are different in this respect,—that
the commonly-received notions about what the law of the land is, do not
impose upon our belief any thing improbable or difficult to accept, but
that the Catholic doctrine of the Trinity is mysterious and unlikely; and,
therefore, though it is reasonable to go by what others say in legal matters,
it is not reasonable to go by others in respect to this doctrine.
Now, on the contrary, I consider that this mysteriousness is, as far
as it proves any thing, a recommendation of the doctrine. I do not say
that it is true, because it is mysterious; but that if it be true, it cannot
help being mysterious. It would be strange, indeed, as has often been urged
in argument, if any doctrine concerning God's infinite and eternal Nature
were not mysterious. It would even be an objection to any professed doctrine
concerning His Nature, if it were not mysterious. That the sacred doctrine,
then, of the Trinity in Unity is mysterious, is no objection to it, but
rather the contrary; the only objection that can plausibly be urged is,
why, if so, should it be revealed? Why should we be told any thing about
God's Adorable Nature, if incomprehensible He is, and mysterious the doctrine
about Him must be? This, it is true, we may ask; though can we ask it piously
and reverently? how {334} can we be judges what He will do on such a point?
how can we, worms of the earth, and creatures of a day, pretend to determine
what is most suitable to Him to tell, what is best for us to know, when
He condescends to reveal Himself to us? Is it not enough for us that He
speaks to us at all? and cannot we consent to leave Him (if I may so express
myself) to speak to us in His own way? Whether, then, He will reveal to
us any thing about His own Nature or no, our reason cannot determine; but
this it can determine, that if He does, it will be mysterious. It is no
objection, then, I repeat, to the doctrine, that it is mysterious; and
it is no reason, therefore, against receiving it on the general belief
of others, that it is mysterious. It is not more improbable that that doctrine
should be what it is, than that the law of the land should be what it is;
and as we believe the testimony of others about the law, without having
studied the law, so we may well receive the doctrine of the Trinity on
the testimony of our friends and superiors, our Church, all good men, learned
men, and men in general, though we have not learning, attainments, or leisure
sufficient to draw it for ourselves from Scripture. It is not stranger
that the testimony of others should be our guide as to the next world,
than that it is our guide in this.
This is the first answer that I should make to this objection; but now
I will give another, which will open the state of the case more fully.
I suppose, then, there is no one who has not heard of, and no one but
would be shocked at seeing, what is called an Atheist, that is, a person
who denies that there {335} is any God at all. We should be shocked, not
from any unchristian feeling towards the unhappy man who blasphemed his
Maker and Saviour, but, without thinking of him, we should feel that Satan
alone could be the author of such an impiety, and we should be sure that
we had close beside us a very special manifestation of Satan. We should
be shocked to think how very low human nature could fall, when it so yielded
to the temptations of Satan. Such would be our feelings, and surely very
right ones; yet, perhaps, the unhappy man in question, quite unconscious
himself of his great misery, as unconscious as persons who deny the doctrine
of the Trinity are of theirs (for this is the property of Satan's delusions,
that the men seized by them do not suspect that they are delusions), I
say, this man, altogether unconscious what a mournful object he was to
all believers, might begin to argue and dispute in his defence, and his
argument might be such as the following:
"You tell me that I must believe in a God, but I want this doctrine
proved to my satisfaction before I believe it. It is very unreasonable
in you to deal with me in any other way. Nay, you have gone against reason
in your own case, in that you believe. For which of you has ever set about
proving that God exists? which of you has not believed it before proving
it? You believe it because you have been taught it. But prove to me the
truth of this doctrine from the world which we see and touch, from the
course of nature and of human affairs, and then I will believe it."
Now is it not a very happy thing that men are not accustomed to speak
in this way? Why, if so, {336} all our life would be spent in proving things;
our whole being would be one continued disputation; we should have no time
for action; we should never get so far as action. Some things, nay, the
greatest things, must be taken for granted, unless we make up our minds
to fritter away life, doing nothing. But to return to the particular case
before us;—should we think ourselves weak and dull in not seeking proof
that God exists before believing in God, or the man in question miserable
in needing it? Yet, if he persisted, and was of an acute and subtle mind,
is it not plain, that abundant as is the evidence of God's existence, providence,
power, wisdom, and love, on the face of nature and in human affairs, yet
it would not at all be easy to prove it to him, not merely to his satisfaction,
but to our satisfaction either. Clearly as we should feel the evidence,
we should not be able to bring out the proof so as to come up to our own
notions what a proof ought to be, and we should be disappointed with our
own attempt.
For, let us see how this man would argue,—(after all, I scarcely like
to say what he would urge, lest I should speak in a way unsuitable to this
sacred place; and yet it may be useful to hint at one or two things, by
way of showing how much we should be bound in consistency to admit, if
we grant a man need believe nothing for which he cannot be given a clear
and convenient proof,)—he will say then thus:
"You tell me that there is but one God; and you tell me to look abroad
into the world, and I shall see proofs of it. I do look abroad, and I see
good and evil. {337} I see the proof, then, of two gods, a good God, and
another, evil. I see two principles struggling with each other." This shocking
doctrine has before now been held by those who were determined to prove
to themselves every thing before they believed; and when it is a question
of argument and disputation, blasphemous as it is, much that is plausible
can be said for it. For evil certainly has a kingdom of its own in the
world; it seems to have a place here, and to act on system. Even Scripture
calls Satan the god of this world; not meaning that he is really god of
it (God forbid!), but that he has usurped the power of it, and seems to
be god of it. If, then, every one is bound to prove his faith for himself
before believing, then he is bound, not only to prove for himself the doctrine
of the Blessed Trinity from Scripture, but he must first prove from the
face of the world the doctrine of the Unity; and, as in the first case,
he will, unless properly qualified, be in great risk of perplexing himself
and denying that God is Three, so will he, in the latter, run great risk
of denying that God is One. And it is to be feared that it is only because
men have the doctrine of the Holy Trinity to speak against, that they do
not speak against the doctrine of the Unity; they will doubt and cavil
about something or other; and were revealed religion not before them, then
they would speak against natural religion, as in other times and places
they have already done.
Again; the deluded man I am supposing will continue his bad arguments
as follows: "You tell me that God is almighty; now you may prove Him to
be mighty, but how do you prove Him to be almighty? You cannot {338} prove
more than you see, and you must be all-seeing to judge of what is almighty."
Again, "You say that God is infinite; but all you can know on the subject
is, that the Intelligence that created the world surpasses your comprehension;
but by how much, whether infinitely, you cannot know, you cannot prove."
Again, "You tell me to believe that God had no beginning; this is incomprehensible;
I do not know what you mean; I cannot take in the sense of your words.
It is as easy to believe the doctrine of the Trinity in Unity, as that
God had no beginning. And there is less proof for it than for the doctrine
of the Trinity; for, at least, there is proof in Scripture for that doctrine,
but what possible proof can you pretend to bring from the face of the world
that God was from everlasting?"
Now I do not see how such an objector can be answered satisfactorily,
if he is pertinacious. You meet, indeed, with books written to prove to
us (as they profess) the being of an Almighty, Infinite, Everlasting God,
from what is seen in the natural world, but they do not strictly prove
it; they do but recommend, evidence, and confirm the doctrine to those
who believe it already. They do not make an approach to a complete argumentative
proof of it. They are obliged to pass over, or take for granted, many of
the most important points in the doctrine. They are, doubtless, useful
to Christians, as far as they tend to enliven their devotion, to strengthen
their faith, to excite their gratitude, and to enlarge their minds; but
they are little or no evidence to unbelievers. And, in saying all this,
I must not be understood to say, that the course of the {339} world does
not justly impress upon us the doctrine of One True, infinite, and Almighty
God;—it does so,—but that the proof is too deep, subtle, complex, indirect,
delicate, and spiritual to be analyzed and brought out into formal argument,
level to the comprehension of the multitude of men. And I say the same
of the proof of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity in Scripture. A humble,
teachable, simple, believing mind, will imbibe the doctrine from Scripture,
how it knows not, as we drink in the air without seeing it; but when a
man wants formal grounds for his belief laid before him in a definite shape,
and has little time for reflection and study, and little learning or cultivation
of mind, then, I say, he can do little better than to fall back upon his
impressions instead of proof, on the belief of all around him, and on the
testimony of all ages.
Let us, then, learn from this Festival to walk by faith; that is, not
to ask jealously and coldly for strict arguments, but to follow generously
what has fair evidence for it, even though it might have fuller or more
systematic evidence. It is in this way that we all believe that there is
a God. A subtle infidel might soon perplex any one of us. Of course he
might. Our very state and warfare is one of faith. Let us aim at, let us
reach after and (as it were) catch at the things of the next world. There
is a voice within us, which assures us that there is something higher than
earth. We cannot analyze, define, contemplate what it is that thus whispers
to us. It has no shape or material form. There is that in our hearts which
prompts us to religion, and which condemns and chastises sin. And {340}
this yearning of our nature is met and sustained, it finds an object to
rest upon, when it hears of the existence of an All-powerful, All-gracious
Creator. It incites us to a noble faith in what we cannot see.
Let us exercise a similar faith, as regards the Mysteries of Revelation
also. Here is the true use of Scripture in leading us to the truth. If
we read it humbly and inquire teachably, we shall find; we shall have a
deep impression on our minds that the doctrines of the Creed are there,
though we may not be able to put our hands upon particular texts, and say
how much of it is contained here and how much there. But, on the other
hand, if we read in order to prove those doctrines, in a critical, argumentative
way, then all traces of them will disappear from Scripture as if they were
not there. They will fade away insensibly like hues at sunset, and we shall
be left in darkness. We shall come to the conclusion that they are not
in Scripture, and shall, perhaps, boldly call them unscriptural. Religious
convictions cannot be forced; nor is Divine truth ours to summon at will.
If we determine that we will find it out, we shall find nothing. Faith
and humility are the only spells which conjure up the image of heavenly
things into the letter of inspiration; and faith and humility consist,
not in going about to prove, but in the outset confiding on the testimony
of others. Thus afterwards on looking back, we shall find we have proved
what we did not set out to prove. We cannot control our reasoning powers,
nor exert them at our will or at any moment. It is so with other faculties
of the mind also. Who can command his {341} memory? The more you try to
recall what you have forgotten, the less is your chance of success. Leave
thinking about it, and perhaps memory returns. And in like manner, the
more you set yourself to argue and prove, in order to discover truth, the
less likely you are to reason correctly and to infer profitably. You will
be caught by sophisms, and think them splendid discoveries. Be sure, the
highest reason is not to reason on system, or by rules of argument, but
in a natural way; not with formal intent to draw out proofs, but trusting
to God's blessing that you may gain a right impression from what you read.
If your reasoning powers are weak, using argumentative forms will not make
them stronger. They will enable you to dispute acutely and to hit objections,
but not to discover truth. There is nothing creative, nothing progressive
in exhibitions of argument. The utmost they do is to enable us to state
well what we have already discovered by the tranquil exercise of our reason.
Faith and obedience are the main things; believe and do, and pray to God
for light, and you will reason well without knowing it.
Let us not then seek for signs and wonders; for clear, or strong, or
compact, or original arguments; but let us believe; evidence will come
after faith as its reward, better than before it as its groundwork. Faith
soars aloft; it listens for the notes of heaven, the faint voices or echoes
which scarcely reach the earth, and it thinks them worth all the louder
sounds of cities or of schools of men. It is foolishness in the eyes of
the world; but it is a foolishness of God wiser than the {342} world's
wisdom. Let us embrace the sacred Mystery of the Trinity in Unity, which,
as the Creed tells us, is the ground of the Catholic religion. Let us think
it enough, let us think it far too great a privilege, for sinners such
as we are, for a fallen people in a degenerate age, to inherit the faith
once delivered to the Saints; let us accept it thankfully; let us guard
it watchfully; let us transmit it faithfully to those who come after us.
Copyright © 2000 by Bob Elder. All rights reserved.
Used with permission. See the Newman website:
http://www.newmanreader.org/index.html
