And the breezes moan, as still they wave,
When man is powerless, heaven cannot save.”
—Charles Stevenson.
Other Worldliness.
It seems to some people selfish for one to attempt to live in the personal enjoyment of this world, but to lend all one’s energies toward gaining heaven is to them just right. Caring for one’s health and family is selfishness, but struggling to save one’s soul is the noblest work of life.
The truth is Christian doctrines are purely selfish. When man does certain duties, as they are called, because he wants to get to heaven, his conduct is intensely selfish. The gospel constantly invites the followers of Jesus to act, from the consideration that “great is your reward in heaven.” Very many Christians say that if it were not for the hope of future reward, they would not try to do right. In other words they confess that they do not act from moral motives. They are moved by the selfish motives of other worldliness. To act morally we must do right because it is right and for no other consideration. When we look beyond the act to see how much we are going to make out of it, then our conduct is not moral. He who is going through the performance of duties because he wants to get to heaven, has yet to learn the meaning of morality.
Christianity is Intolerant.
Revelation does not admit of two sides to religious questions. There is only one side, say the Moodys and Talmages, and that side is God’s side. We have no right to question Holy Writ. We must accept it. “Believe or be damned,” does not admit of the latitude of free thought, or the right of reason to question the authority of the Bible.