| Highlights of Dawn | June 1955 |
The Great Revival
“The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” —Isaiah 11:9
THE world has now passed through more than forty years of acute abnormality. Those born shortly before or since 1914 are unable by personal observation and experience to know by comparison with the past how upside-down the world has really been throughout this period. In all the years since the outbreak of the first global war, humanity has not been free from strife or threatened calamity of one sort or another.
The struggle which began in 1914 was hailed as a “war to end wars.” The one which started in 1939 was to “make the world safe for democracy.” By the magic of death-dealing bombs, the world was to be given “freedom from fear.” But none of these slogans has come true. War has not ended. The world has not been made safe for democracy, and a more widespread and terrifying fear grips the hearts of the people today than ever before.
Now the world knows not what day atomic and hydrogen bombs may start falling in a flurry of battle which will end only when the human race itself is dead. This, plus increasing crime, juvenile delinquency, graft and corruption in government, and all the other almost innumerable sordid evils which afflict human society, are causing millions to search for something that will give them a sense of stability in a world which all around them is topsy-turvy and mad.
In their heart hunger for assurance that all is well—or at least better than it looks—many are turning toward religion, with the result that there is today a much hailed religious “revival.” But just how far-reaching is this revival? How genuine is it? Are those who, in their desperation, are turning to God really finding him, or are they being side-tracked in their quest by evangelists and leaders who themselves are unacquainted with the true God of the Bible and do not know his plan for the blessing of all mankind?
There is much religious agitation in the world today—of that there can be no doubt. Paul Hutchinson, editor of The Christian Century, in an article appearing in a recent issue of Life, brings this very vividly to our attention. After mentioning the tremendous increase of church attendance, the phenomenal sale of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, and the increasing number of prayer meetings among the lawmakers in Washington, Mr. Hutchinson continued:
“But conspicuous devotion is by no means confined to official circles. In the Southwest Conference they start football games with prayer. I happened to be in Dallas when the selecting of a bathing beauty queen was begun under the same evangelical auspices. And the ‘Religion in American Life’ campaign which a layman’s committee, with the help of the Advertising Council, launched six years ago, is now receiving $6 million worth of free advertising from newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations, and billboards, for its annual month-long ‘Bring the whole family to church’ drive. Columns could be filled with instances, bizarre or impressive, of this much publicized ‘turn to religion.’ Once you begin to enumerate there seems to be no end.”
Mr. Hutchinson then mentions, in evidence, the tremendous audiences which flock to hear Billy Graham; Bishop Sheen’s popularity on television, the unprecedented box office receipts when theatres put on religious or semi-religious plays. In this connection he speaks of “Hollywood’s belief that any film spectacle combining a biblical or semibiblical theme with sufficient exposure of the fleshpots of carnality is sure to make a mint.”
We grant that there is this almost universal inner longing to make contact with and receive help from a higher power. This has been the normal attitude of the majority of the human race from Eden down through the centuries. It is one of the characteristics which sets man apart from and above the lower animals. Paul speaks of it as seeking “the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from everyone of us.”—Acts 17:27
But what is being offered to the millions of confused and frustrated people today? The answer to this question is of necessity itself confusing. The Catholic Church, holding to its dogmas and traditions, insists that there is no genuine peace of mind, no rest of soul, and no bright hope of salvation outside of its fold; while the Protestants are themselves confused and contradictory in the heart-balm they are offering to a distraught and perplexed world.
Some are confident that Billy Graham, and those laboring along similar lines, will very soon just about have the world converted. His ten, twenty, and thirty thousand audiences are impressive. But what the newspapers seldom explain is that these audiences are made up mostly of members from the churches in the large cities which sponsor him. How many actual “sinners” attend is a question. Certainly the number of those who do, and who as a result become regular church members, is negligible, as various polls have demonstrated.
After a Graham campaign in a city, and as a result, is there less crime? Has he really converted the city in the sense of reaching down into the dens of iniquity and lust, and into the hearts and lives of those in the underworld, bringing a healthy and lasting reformation? Probably most communities move along in about the same course of sin and selfishness after Mr. Graham leaves as they did before he came.
Mr. Graham is a “Fundamentalist,” which means that he believes all the basic doctrines of the creeds which have come down to us from the Dark Ages, including eternal torture for all those who die in unbelief. For those in the neurotic world who fear they might be tormented after death, or are susceptible to having such a fear implanted in them, Mr. Graham has a message of “comfort.” It is a simple message—“Believe in Jesus and escape hell-fire.” This, no doubt, gives some sense of assurance concerning the future, and thus leaves the nervous system free to cope with the problems of the present, but has the convert really found God?
Physical Healing
“Perennial religious interest,” says Mr. Hutchinson, “is at present showing up in so-called ecstatic sects, which specialize in faith-healing, speaking in unknown tongues, spiritualistic séances, or even practices as outlandish as snake-handling.” These groups, he says, “report a faster proportional growth than any other religious bodies.” “But perhaps,” he adds, “the most accessible evidence of religion’s appeal to our low-brow instincts is its capture of the juke box.”
It is not difficult to understand why the offer of divine healing and accompanying advantages appeals to many. After all, it is a wonderful thing to be well. Multitudes followed Jesus to obtain health, while others went along for the loaves and fishes. Naturally, in a world of frustration, those who can offer “all this and heaven too” are bound to have a following.
However, in the Protestant world the Fundamentalists and the faith healers are but a small minority. The Modernists and Liberalists are by far in the majority, and they too are enthusiastically beating the drums of religious revival. Just what one may believe, theologically, is of little importance to these. An editorial in Life puts it this way:
“Christianity is not the only framework of a truly spiritual life. The comparative study of the higher religions breeds respect for them all and has led learned men to find in all them ‘some truth.’ Toynbee, for instance, thinks they are variations on a single theme, so that if all the ‘components of this heavenly music of the spheres’ could be audible on earth simultaneously, and with equal clarity to one pair of human ears, the happy hearer would find himself listening, not to a discord, but to a harmony.”
Life does not say who wrote these words, but in any case they are a fair reflection of the Modernist viewpoint, which makes understandable the teachings now being made popular by the sponsors of what Mr. Hutchinson refers to as the “cult of reassurance.” Ordinarily the word “cult” is applied only to a small unorthodox, and generally fanatical group. However, Mr. Hutchinson used it to define the “movement” which has as its chief exponent the very popular Dr. Norman Vincent Peale. Dr. Peale gives ten rules for gaining self-confidence. They are:
“First: Hold in your mind a picture of yourself succeeding. Your mind will seek to actualize this image.
“Second: When a negative thought comes to mind deliberately cancel it with a positive thought.
“Third: Do not build up obstacles in your imagination.
“Fourth: Do not be awestruck by other people, or try to copy them.
“Fifth: Repeat ten times a day these words, ‘If God be for me, who can be against me?’
“Sixth: Get a competent counselor to help you understand the origin of your inferiority feeling which often begins in childhood. Self-knowledge leads to a cure.
“Seventh: Ten times each day repeat aloud the following affirmation, ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.’ Conceive of yourself as receiving this strength.
“Eighth: Realistically estimate your ability; then raise the estimate ten percent. Do not become egotistical, but develop a wholesome self-respect.
“Ninth: Through prayer attach yourself to the flow of spiritual power.
“Tenth: Believe that God is with you, for nothing can defeat that partnership.”
Critics of Dr. Peale, especially those among the Fundamentalists, say that such “rules” are in reality autosuggestion, or “bootstrap lifting.” He claims, of course, that the rules are workable only through faith in God. However, the mention of God in the rules seems rather sparse, and the Bible texts he uses are taken quite out of context in order to fit them into his rules.
To say that this concept of religion is “bootstrap lifting” and “autosuggestion,” while true, does not tell the whole story. The title of Mr. Hutchinson’s article in Life is, “Have We a ‘New’ Religion?” The answer is No, this is not a new religion, but simply the revamping of a very old religion, one that has come down through the ages, under various names, and not always as a “religion.” In modern times it flourishes in such movements as Christian Science, Unity, Rosicrucianism, and others.
There are many variations in the way the details are expressed, but the basic thought is the same. A number of years ago a Frenchman by the name of Emile Coue popularized the notion by his slogan, “Day by day in every way I am getting better and better.” Coue did not bring God into his rules at all, as Dr. Peale does; and the Christian Scientists insist that there is no personal God, that “good is God,” and that all have this goodness within them and can make it become operative if they only think so.
Dr. Peale, whom Mr. Hutchinson refers to as the “high priest of the cult of reassurance,” would probably disavow being a Christian Scientist, and of course he does present his views in quite a different setting from the “Scientists.” However, this “new” religion which is now sweeping the country is but another form of the “no-redemption-needed” philosophy, that no one needs a Savior, for all that is necessary is to exercise confidence in self and draft God to go along as a partner.
“To try to use God for any purpose, however noble, is always wrong,” said Dr. Eugene Carson Blake, in a speech as President of the American Council of Churches, in an obvious criticism of this newest manifestation of the no-redemption religion. Commenting on this statement, Mr. Hutchinson observes, “After all, those who share this misgiving would remind the reassurance cultists that most of the Hebrew prophets came to exceedingly uncomfortable ends and that Jesus died on a cross.”
The World Needs Help
With half the hospital beds in the country occupied by mental patients, and the number constantly increasing; with insecurity and fear haunting the whole world, there is no denying man’s need for a firmer assurance than is provided by a stockpile of hydrogen bombs. Mr. Hutchinson says:
“The response to the ‘cult of reassurance’ is a reminder of how universal is man’s hunger for hope. But hope will not survive long if it refuses to take account of the defeats, the heartbreaks, and the inevitable limitations of life. This is the critical point at which the ‘new religion,’ if it is not to fade out like another Cone fad, must have what psychological insights its possesses rectified and reinforced by that most profound of all religious insights, put into words by the Teacher of Nazareth: ‘For whosoever would save his life will lose it, but whosoever loses his life for my sake and the Gospel’s—in other words, in seeking to discern and serve the purposes of God—will save it.’ “
To save one’s life by losing it is quite a different rule from those laid down by Dr. Peale. Mr. Hutchinson interprets it as “seeking to discern and serve the purposes of God.” But the purposes of God cannot be discerned in the imaginary harmony which exists between Christianity and the heathen religions, as Toynbee claims. Toynbee and others are excusable, from their standpoint, for trying to include the heathen religionists in the fold of God’s care. The editorial in Life to which we have already referred quotes Jesus’ words, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” and then observes:
“That is surely a simple statement, yet few words present more difficulties for the modern mind. Does it mean that one church only, or one faith only, is the way to God? Taken literally, it would damn all those saintly men who have reached God through other religions—the way of Tao, of Hinduism, of Gautama, or Mohammed. A God so parochial as to exclude these alien saints from his kingdom does not sound like the God of mercy whom Christ preached.”
“Taken literally,” says the editorial, Jesus’ statement “would damn all those saintly men who have reached God through other religions.” We would like to amend this to read, “Taken creed-wise Jesus’ words would damn all those who have tried to reach God through other religions.” This editorial writer, in common with almost the entire professed Christian world, is trying to interpret the Bible in the light of the creeds which have come to us from the Dark Ages.
Fundamental to all the creeds is the mercy-restricting error that the opportunity for salvation is limited to the present short span of life, and even worse, that failure to obtain salvation means an eternity of torture in a fiery hell. The Bible refers to Jesus as “the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” (John 1:9) This includes the heathen, but the fulfillment of this wonderful promise is not limited to the present life nor to the present age.
Mr. Hutchinson wisely quotes Jesus’ words, “He that loseth his life shall save it,” to show that Christianity has a higher purpose than the development of self-assurance. However, like the promise that Jesus will enlighten every man that cometh into the world, his admonition to self-sacrifice can be understood only in the light of God’s great plan of salvation which carries over into another age.
Mr. Hutchinson points out that one of the basic principles of historic Christianity is the recognition of sin, and that redemption for sin had to be made before the sinner could return to God. The Bible reveals that Christ came to be the Redeemer, and he was virtually on the way to Calvary for this purpose when he made that statement, “Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the Gospel’s, the same shall save it.”—Mark 8:35
Jesus had told his disciples that he was going to Jerusalem where he expected to be arrested and put to death. Peter tried to dissuade him from what he thought to be such a foolhardy course. He said to Peter, “Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.” Then he added the statement about losing one’s life in order to save it.
Peter simply expressed the human viewpoint of self-preservation, but this was not the will of God for Jesus. He had come into the world to die voluntarily as the Redeemer of the sin-cursed and dying race, which he did. But how gloriously his life was saved when, three days later, his Heavenly Father raised him from the dead.
Most professed Christians understand that Jesus died for them and for the world, but few seem to realize that a further work of sacrifice was called for in the divine plan. They overlook Jesus’ invitation to his disciples, and through them to all believers, to take up their cross and follow him into death. The purpose of God throughout this entire age has not been to convert the world, but to call out from the world those who have been willing to accept Jesus’ invitation to join him in a life of sacrifice. To all such Jesus promised, “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”—Rev. 2:10
These, like Jesus, actually lose their lives in sacrifice. But through faithfulness they obtain that “great salvation” referred to in Hebrews 2:3. These are “beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God,” but they are raised to life in the “first resurrection” to live and reign with Christ a thousand years.—Rev. 20:4,6
Much of the confusion in religious thinking has been caused by an attempt to apply to mankind in general the many statements of the Bible pertaining to the sacrificial life of the true followers of Jesus. The world shies away from sacrifice. Dr. Peale’s books would not be best sellers if he advocated the laying down of life.
Jesus is the “way, the truth, and the life,” and the only “way.” (John 14:6) His way to life in this age is a way of sacrifice even unto death; but with this age of sacrifice ended, there will come a glorious new age in which there will be opened to the people a “way of holiness” and life from which the difficulties will be removed, and it will be made so plain that “wayfaring men though fools, shall not err therein.”—Isa. 35:8
Then all the legitimate joys of peace and security for which the world is now seeking, but cannot satisfactorily find, will be made available. And one of those joys will be a true knowledge of God—that loving God of the Bible who has promised to make a “feast of fat things unto all people.” (Isa. 25:6-9) The “all people” who will enjoy this “feast” will include those who have died, the whole unbelieving world—heathen and professed Christian.
With this glorious prospect in the offing, we should not be distressed over the apostasy of the churches from the true faith of the Bible. Indeed, Jesus indicated that this would be the case at the time of his second presence—“When the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) We can, instead, rejoice that the time is near when, as our text assures us, “The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”—Isa. 11:9
Many are now insisting that there must be a religious revival or civilization is doomed. They are hopeful that the present trend toward religion is it. But they will be disappointed. This “present evil world” will not survive. (Gal. 1:4) It will perish in the increasing severity of the present “time of trouble.” (Dan. 12:1) The whole symbolic earth will be destroyed by the “fire” of God’s “jealousy.” Then the Lord will turn to the people a pure “language,” or message, and they will all call upon the name of the Lord to serve him with one consent.—Zeph. 3:8,9
Then, through the agencies of the messianic kingdom—the personnel of which has qualified through faithfulness in sacrifice even unto death—the knowledge of God’s glory will be made to fill the whole earth,. Then the inhabitants of the world will “learn righteousness,” and will learn war no more.” (Isa. 26:9; 2:2-4; Micah 4:1-4) Responding to the blessings of understanding, of peace and security, of health and life, they will say, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him.”—Isa. 25:6-9
John, the Revelator, in vision saw this glorious consummation of the divine plan, and knew that the world would rejoice when they learned to know the true God. He wrote, “Who shall not fear [reverence] thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.”—Rev. 15:4