"Yes, but we are not told that it comes by the mere hearing of the ear! St. Paul was pleading with people whose business and duty it was to tell others what they knew. He was not talking didactic philosophy. And have we no sense of hearing but the outward one? How did Abraham know that he was to go out from the land he knew, to one of which he knew nothing? Just as you and I know that we are bound to help our suffering brothers! Don't we hear the voice, in the plea of misery! And don't you suppose that Abraham, of whom we have no reason to believe that he knew anything definite as to the great Redeemer of the world, was just as much saved by Him as Paul was? People don't let themselves think enough to put two and two together here, as they do in any other matter whatsoever!"
"Then what is your theory of the Atonement?" he asked.
"My dear fellow, I don't attempt a theory. A theory, to my mind, is an attempt to force into a rigid mould of human formulæ, mysteries which, because they belong to the workings of infinite Wisdom and Love, are quite beyond the compass of human thought. Every theory I know fails miserably somewhere. The central doctrine of Christianity is far greater than any human theory, or all of them together;—one proof to me that it never was of human origin! I hold that its essence is greater, even, than the story of Christ's life and death and human character, great as these were, and all-powerful as they are to uplift and strengthen. For it is as old as life itself. In the beginning was the 'Word'—the expression of the divine Will to man! 'That was the true light, that lighteth every man that cometh into the world.' The Christ-light and the Christ-life have, I believe, always brooded over poor humanity, to raise it out of the abyss of sin and death. But for that end there had to be, I can only faintly imagine why, Divine suffering. 'I believe in the forgiveness of sins'—believe in it as much for my sweet Grace, as for the poor despised outcast. For all that we are learning to-day in the direction of heredity, tends to make us realize the immense natural differences of original constitution. But what is our best, compared with Infinite Purity, Infinite Love, which is Goodness?—
'As this poor taper's earthly spark
To yonder argent round'!
And Divine Purity could not pass by moral evil lightly. I feel, as James Hinton said, that 'when I am most a Christian, I am the best man,' but I also feel that when I am the best man, I am most a Christian!"
"But then, the historical and literary arguments! Don't you find any difficulties there?"
"I have never had too much time to think of them," he replied. "I was thoroughly satisfied, on other grounds, before they came much in my way, and I've had my own work to do. I think, however, from what I have read on the subject, that they have been met, in a manner satisfactory to me, at least. But to my mind, religion is not a literary or historical question. Neither is it to be founded, as some tell us, on the witness of the intellect, which has neither compass nor rudder on that sea; nor, as others tell us, on emotion, which is variable and evanescent as these sunset hues."
"On what, then?" asked Roland, as he instinctively followed the direction of his eye.
"On something deeper than either; on the sense of righteousness, the deepest, truest consciousness of humanity. Speaking for myself, I want God—want the Divine Perfection, which is the same thing. I look for Him in Nature, but I cannot find Him there, except in hints and hieroglyphs. Nor can I find in Humanity the perfection I long for. I see imperfection and limitation in all, even the best! But what I want, I find in Jesus of Nazareth; nothing else satisfies me; that does. If I cannot see God there, I can see Him nowhere. I find in Him, as I see Him in the gospels, a moral beauty such as I could never of myself have imagined, but which, the more I know of men—even the best—the more I must appreciate and adore! It sometimes seems to me, that this age of ours is saying, like Pilate, and very much in his spirit, 'Behold The Man!' Well, the more it learns to truly behold the Man, the more it will be compelled to recognize that Manhood as Divine. I should have to become a different moral being, before I could cease to worship in Him the Christ, the only manifestation of the Divine that we are able to comprehend and grasp."
Mr. Alden had grown deeply moved as he continued to speak. When he ended, there was a thoughtful silence. After a little time he added: