The Search After Reality: Thoughts on Hinduism, Buddhism, Muhammadanism and Christianity

1. Christ rose in the same body in which He was crucified. It is sin alone that brings corruption to the body and makes it unfit for entering heaven. But Christ’s body was without fault and spotless, and after He had conquered death it was changed into a glorious body; and, in that glorious body, He is seated with God on His throne (Revela- tion iii. 21). The wounds on the Gross in glorified form are engraved on that glorious body, that when the saved see them they may always call.to mind His boundless love, and realise how He has suffered on the Cross to save them, and to give them the right to share in His eternal glory.

2. God is a Spirit. Beside spirits He created lifeless matter. (Because He created matter, i.e. a thing indifferent to His nature, it does not mean that He also is matter, or like it.) But if God, being a Spirit, could by His perfection of power create matter, which is not spirit, then why by the same power could He not make alive his avatar (that is, Christ’s physical body), and make it into a Spiritual and glorious body? He surely could, and in truth He has done so.

As we sleep for ous awakening, so we die for our rising again. As- night closes down we sleep in weariness and weakness, but in the morning we rise fresh and vigorous. In this way we die in weakness and corruption, but we rise again in life and glory (1 Cor.

xv. 42)-, and enter that life where there will be neither death nor sin any more.

3. Some put forward this objection. If God is a Spirit, then how could He be clothed in a material body? But they forget this, that man has also a spirit, and how can a human spirit be clothed in a body? If a created spirit can be clothed in a human body, then why is it impossible for a Creator to clothe Himself in a body? We may say that this is possible for a human soul because it is limited, but not for God who is Infinite. This is true of God, but we must remember that an Infinite God has infinite power and infinite possibilities, which are beyond the range of human intellects.

This is the object of the incarnation: that He might bring again, through physical death and resurrection, into glorified bodies like His own, those whom He had made in His own image, and who, because of their sin, have fallen from their original state; and also that He might honour them with admission into His fellowship and eternal kingdom.

1. One*of the practical proofs of Christianity is that in all ages and nations, and to all sorts and conditions of men, it has brought peace to their hearts, and has satisfied the longings of their souls. Only those have failed to find this peace who “ seeing, see not, and hearing, hear not ”, in other words those who, amid the beauties of earth and sky, are blind to its colours; or who have ears but have no * ear ’ for the appreciation of the most soul-ravishing music.

2. Experience has shown that if a man gains the whole of his ambitions, and becomes possessed of wealth and luxuries, still his heart is not satisfied, nor is he at peace. It is otherwise with the man who finds his peace in God, and is obedient to His will. For if the world, and all the pleasures that it can give, are snatched away from him, and even if he has to endure suffering and persecution, yet he has in his heart that true joy and peace “That the world can neither give nor take away ”. ^

He does not have this joy merely because he hopes to receive reward in the next life. He receives his nourishment and strength from “the hidden manna” (Rev. ii. 17), which the world knows nothing of, and in its strength is able to bear his cross and endure the suffering. It is this same spiritual food of communion with God that strengthens Christian believers. Hope of reward alone would never be strong enough to enable them to bear the sufferings they have to endure. Some indeed for a time might be able to withstand the suffering, but could never endure it for a whole lifetime.

But enough has.been said. The fact that the life of the true Christian is in every circumstance calm and*joyful, and to the end victorious, is the result of the filling of the Spirit, and of the presence of God in his life, and it is a clear and practical proof of its reality.

3. As the sweetness of sweets is not for the sweets but for the enjoyment pf those who have a taste for them, so God is not only for Himself but for those in whom He has created th.e desire to enjoy the sweetness of His fellowship. Reality is described in many religious and philosophical works, but the way to enjoy communion with God is not found in them, but in man himself. For God has created man that they may continue in fellowship together, therefore He has also endowed him with a sense of the Reality and with the capacity to enjoy Him. The fact of His having given these spiritual feelings is the proof that Reality means man to enjoy His fellowship; hence the touchstone by which to distinguish the real and the unreal, and the true and the false, is itself present in man. Although this conscience is the Godgiven touchstone by 8 which to test the false and the true in life, yet through sin it may become deprived of feeling and dead. But when by the grace of God it is awakened, it cannot be deceived; and when man realises the presence of Reality in himself, then his daily experience of Him proves Him to be a living power. For if we have in us this experiential proof, then, though thousands of books may be written against this spiritual experience, and filled with the strongest arguments of worldly philosophy and logic, yet they can never shake its proof, for the knowledge of the Reality rests in our own inner selves and not in the arguments of philosophy. It is clear to us, then, that the necessary discernment for recognising the sweetness of the sweets is not in books, but is present in a man’s own tongue.,

4. It is possible that, because of illness, some defect may appear in the sense of taste, and that some may be deceived about the sweetness of the sweets. But there never was, and never will be, such an illness by which millions of people lose their sense of taste. So it is possible that the spiritual feelings and perceptions of a few people may be defective, but millions, nay countless people of every race and country, and of every condition in life, who have found Salvation and peace in Jesus, bear witness tj> Him. Thousands, on account of giving witness to that Reality who has benefited and blessed them, have been burned, torn by wild beasts, cut to pieces by the sword, and they endured their trials with joy, and to their last breath continued to give their witness. Why? Was the spiritual perception and feeling of all defective? Never! This kind of talk is the same as calling the blazing sun of midday the darkness of night. It is clear proof that he who is able to make such a claim is himself lacking in spiritual feeling and in powers of discernment.

5. In the Himalayas I once chanced to come across a wild man living naked in a cave. He had never seen, or tasted, a sweet, and had no word for it in his language. When a friend of mine gave him one, at first he looked at it with suspicion, but, when he had tasted it, a look of wonder and a smile of pleasure showed how much he enjoyed it. Before he had tasted it, its existence or non-existence was immaterial to him. He had, indeed, in his tongue the sense of taste to enjoy the sweetness of the sweet, even before he had knowledge and experience of its sweetness. It was necessary^ to explain about the sweet, not about the sense of taste. In the same way man has a sense of Reality. Reality is a being separate from his own, but the power to perceive Him is present in him.

It is possible that because of sin this perception may become dead, so that a man may even deny the existence of God. Yet if he repents, and seeks God with a pure heart, then the Reality will be sure to reveal Himself to him, and he will be benefited and blessed; and afterwards, although, like a dumb man, he may not be able to describe his taste-experience of sweetness, yet his life and works will continue to prove its existence.

Whenever a man who has this personal experience of Reality finds his hidden thoughts and feelings expressed in the writings and speech of an experienced and spiritually-minded man, then, filled with joy, he exclaims, “ This is the very truth that I have been wishing to express to others.” Thus do all lovers of truth unanimously join with one another in giving to the world the proof of Christianity from the individual experiences of God which they have had in their own lives.

6. Before Christianity was preached throughout the world, although some good and right-minded men had attempted to alter conditions, they had not been able to do much for the progress and betterment of mankind. Women were looked on as slaves, and slaves were treated like animals, and no special provision was made to help the aged, or the sick, or the orphan, or the leper. But Christianity has changed this, and we see the fruits of its teaching on every hand. Women are counted as equal to men, and slaves are looked on as brothers. ^Hospitals, orphanages and leper asylums are to be seen everywhere; for the followers of Christ are taught to love others as they love themselves, and to look on the whole world as one family.

In Rome slaves and prisoners were made to fight with wild beasts for the entertainment of the crowd, and, to satisfy their blood lust, the spectators at the arena used to demand that gladiatorial combats, resulting in bloodshed and deaths, should be provided for them. There was no real sympathy between men in those days. But a Christian hermit, called Telemachus, felt compelled by his love for these sufferers to try to put an end to this savage lust for blood. While the slaves and prisoners were fighting, he jumped down into the arena. The spectators in rage stoned him, and those whom he had tried to save killed him with their swords. Though he was unable to do much on that day, yet he had sown a seed of love for men which grew in the hearts of the serious -minded, until by degrees this cruel custom was stopped. So the life pf the Christian hermit triumphed.

7. In the world no nation nor religion can endure if continually torn by internal dissensions and harassed by attacks from outside; and no fort, nor city, can stand if it is bombarded both from within and without. Yet Christianity is such a religion. From the outside come attacks from Afgnosticism, Infidelity, ffom world kingdoms and the powers of darkness; from within, heretics by false teaching,.' and nominal Christians by their bad lives, make unending attacks; but in spite of all these attacks and great obstacles Christianity has established itself, and is conquering in the world. What is this if it is not a practical proof of its being a true, living and soul-satisfying religion?

I. The Bible and Christianity have been attacked and criticised in every age; and the form of attack has been fashioned by the state of the civilisation of that age. In their own day these attacks seemed formidable enough, but they have seldom outlasted the generation that produced them. In spite of all forms of criticism by atheists and other critics, Christianity has continued to progress steadily. The opposition of its enemies, instead of destroying it, has only served to root it more firmly. Their efforts have failed because they could not withstand the Life and Power which were working in the lives of all true believers. The attack of critics in modern times is known as Higher Criticism, or Modernism. It is possible that it does shake the faith of weak, nominal Christians who have no spiritual experience and life; but it can never cause any kind of harm to Reality, or to those who believe in Reality. On the other hand, it is a means of strength and progress to true believers, for, as a short-lived epidemic carries away the infected, who spread the disease, and so help it to work itself out, so the critics who spread their rationalistic disease will gradually pass away, and their disease will die with them.

2. The criticisms and objections of scholars are frequently dependent on their own guesses and speculations, rather than on real facts. It does not follow, because a critic is a scholar, that his criticism is always scholarly. It is often based on hypotheses and speculations and is therefore not worthy of acceptance. It is possible that some of their theories may be reflections of the light of heaven, but it is also possible that they may flash back the reflection of the fire of hell. Then, too, learned critics may quite often be entangled in their own error and illusions. Their very earthly wisdom and philosophy are sometimes a stumbling-block to their understanding of the deep spiritual meaning of the inspired writers of the Bible. They too often examine minutely the outer shell, that is to say the style, or the internal evidence for dates, or writers’ traits, and leave unexamined the kernel, which is Reality. But fiow differently the real seeker after Reality approaches the Bible! He wishes only to be in communion with Reality, and it matters not to him when, or by whose hand, any Book or Gospel was written. He knows that he has here the Word of God, written by prophets and apostles as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter i. 21); the proof of whose truth 1 is not based on history and logic — because Truth is neither new nor old: it is eternal. Further, such a seeker for truth wants spiritual food and eternal life, and he cares not if he learns it from Moses, David, Isaiah or Jeremiah, or from Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. He wants Reality only, and in communion with Him he finds the life of his life, and finds always abiding satisfaction in Him.

3. To say that Christianity has been a failure in Europe and America and in the East is altogether foolish and mistaken, and is not based on experience. It is not Christianity that has failed, but it is those people who have not understood the heart of Christianity who have been failures.

In my travels in Europe, America and in Eastern countries, I ''have seen that people are so busy in their factories, and in their laboratories and libraries, that they have no time to receive the blessings of Christianity. Some of them even confessed to me that they had made their lives so complicated that they were tired of them. If any man bacomes weak from not eating food, or dies from not drinking water, then can we say- that food and water have been failures to him? Not at all! It is purely a matter of a man’s indifference and neglect. And if a man dies without making use of the medicine that is at hand, then there is in this no proof that the medicine has been a failure. Without doubt those who have whole-heartedly accepted Christianity, and have received its blessings, have aroused the world from its sleep of death, and have done work for the Salvation of mankind the effect of which will remain for ever.

4. The work of labouring men keeps them in the open air, and their food, being simple things — such as flour, rice, milk and vegetables — they are usually healthy; but those who forsake these simple healthful foods for a rich and highly seasoned diet, and who shut themselves up in offices and in studies, are apt to suffer from indigestion and other maladies. In the same way men of simple faith fcat simple spiritual food. They get their strength from God’s Word, and from the Holy Spirit. They spend their lives in helping and uplifting others, and continue to live in perfect health, happiness and peace. But those are likely to suffer indigestion (i.e. doubt, unbelief, etc.) who leave this simple universal truth and reality, and make it into an involved and philosophical teaching. For this philosophical teaching, attractive and alluring as it may be, is yet over-rich as a spiritual food, and they themselves and others who eat it become sick and finally die, without ever enjoying the experience of fellowship with the Reality.

5. Among lawyers there are law-learned and educated criminals who for their own gain unlawfully use the law and injure their own and the public morality. For although they know their ^client to be guilty, yet by their clever use of the technicalities of the law they save him from his proper punishment, and thus encourage him to commit further crimes. Hence, instead of the reform of the guilty and the good of the State,* these civilised and refined criminals secretly injure the community. So also there are criminals of Bible scholarship, who use their Godgiven ability and learning improperly. They seek not His glory nor the good of His people, but by unjust criticisms and uncalledfor objections they injure the peace of heart and spiritual life of believers, and become themselves the agents of destruction. Our Lord has said of such, “Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered ” (Luke xi. 52).

6. Some critics, drawing a deduction from the parable of the Prodigal Son, say that no Mediator is necessary for our meeting with the Father, for the prodigal went straight to his father without a mediator. But they forget that the cases are not parallel. The^ prodigal had no need for a mediator because, before leaving the father, he had lived with him, and knew him well. There was no need for any one to tell him about the father. It was the experience of his father’s fellowship alone which brought him home. Had he not had this, he could not have come back to the father without the help of a mediator.

So too it is with the Christian, who, after having lived in fellowship with God, has for some reason or other gone astray into sin. The very barrenness of his life has at last forced him to remember his past Christian experience, and when in true repentance he comes back to the Father, he comes knowing that the Christ and the Father are one (John x. 30), and that he can come without any other mediator. But no other sinful man except the Christian who has strayed can know the Father, or go to Him without the mediation of Jesus (Matt. xi. 27; John xiv. 6).

The prodigal and, his elder brother are alike in one respect: neither made a right or profitable use of his share, for while the younger brother squandered his share, the elder did not use his at all. So there are many Christians who, through carelessness, make no use of their riches in Christ, snd get no profit from their God-given gifts and blessings.

7. Soma critics hold that the Gospel writers were guilty of exaggeration in writing about Christ. Let us remember that Christ’s disciples were mostly simple, uneducated fishermen, who had no special literary ability; and who, in their accounts of His life, instead of exaggerating did not even mention numberless real facts about Him. We can estimate their limited understanding from the fact that after three years of companionship with Him, and after having over and over again heard His life-giving words, they could not understand the meaning of His kingdom, nor of His rising from the dead after three days. Can we believe that such stupid men as fjiese could, from their own imaginations, have added to the facts of His life? It is impossible to think so when we recollect that, in all nations and ages, all classes of people have been so influenced by the mere reading of His life-story that they have been completely changed, and have become new creatures. This story is the work of* God alone, Who knowing the needs and cravings of men’s hearts, has * satisfied them. Besides this, if there had been in the disciples any literary ability, they would have arranged the subject-matter of the Gospel in more precise order, e.g. first — the Life, Birth, Death, Resurrection and Ascension; second — His Teaching and Parables; third — His Supernatural Power and Miracles; and fourth — their own experience and views of Him. But they could not do this, because in accordance with the guidance of God they tried, in their own simple way, without nicety of style and without attempting to add anything, to put the Reality before the world as they had had experience of Him (i John i. 1-2).