Monday, February 04, 2013



  "Christian theology is not a stationary and finished, but a steadily advancing science; ever setting the truth of God in fresh lights and relations, discovering new harmonies in that truth, and thus building up, century by century, a temple of sacred doctrine, whose full completion it may not be given to mortal man to behold. To crystallize Christian doctrine into one final and irreversible shape, and then declare the process of evolution finished forever, would be to doom that doctrine, and the Christian church with it, to a death without a resurrection."
Prof. E. D. Morris 19th century, painting by Joaquin Pinto

2 comments:

Douglas Abbott said...

That is the problem with great numbers of Christian organizations; they assume that they have gathered all the relevant information and crystallize in their doctrines. I believe the Holy Spirit is more present when we are in an attitude of humility---when we are saying to God, "Lord, we don't have the knowledge or the wisdom we need. Guide us and go before us, Father." That's where I want to be, and in fact where I AM. I'm glad. In God's Looking-Glass economy, impoverishment is a season ticket to untold riches!

FCB said...

Yes, I think there is a lot of truth to that. Both individually as well as the corporate body. I ran across this quote which I think addresses this in principle.

“…..The character of the true philosopher is to hope all things not impossible, and to believe all things not unreasonable – He, who has seen obscurities which appeared impenetrable in physical and mathematical sciences, suddenly dispelled, and the most barren and unpromising field of inquiry converted, as if by inspiration, into rich and inexhaustible springs of knowledge and power, by a single change of one point of view, or by merely bringing to bear on them some principle which it never occurred before to try, will surely be the very last to acquiesce in any dispiriting prospect of either the present or the future destinies of mankind……” Herschel. Gems of Great Authors.

I think I'll post that soon. God bless, Fred