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TOPIC: Gordon, Samuel Dickey - Quiet Talks on Life After Death (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 32. Bad Pendulum Swings
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Bad Pendulum Swings
It was quite the natural thing that there should be a decided swing away from such teaching.
The human heart naturally revolted from such a picture. And almost always when the pendulum of teaching starts the other way it goes to the extreme. This swing-away took three forms.
Universalism "taught that all men would be saved finally._ There would be no others. A proper retribution for wrong would be disciplinary, and corrective. And when the discipline had done its work the man would be saved. By a skillful swinging into view of some Scripture statements, mingled with suitable logic, a strong case is made out, especially for those who want to think that way.
The fair criticism of this teaching is that it takes what statements of scripture suit its purpose, and ignores the -rest. fhat's rather a favorite method. Anything can be proven from the Bible by that method. There's another theory that has had wide swing, and has had many exponents. It is called conditional immortality. It teaches that only those in touch with Christ have eternal life; the rest simply cease to exist. Annihilationism is another term for the same general teaching.
This is built up chiefly by a skilful playing on the language of Scripture. The plain common meaning of certain words is ignored or slurred over, and the words are restricted to the meaning preferred. Much is made of certain Greek words which are used in the same restricted way as English words.
The bother with this teaching is that it is unphilosophical, illogical, and un-Biblical. It is unphilosophical because spirit cannot cease to exist. It is of the essence of God. It is illogical because it twists and plays with the plain accepted meaning of common language. It is un-Biblical because it plainly ignores certain Scrip ture statements not suited to its purpose.
A third sort of teaching has had a wide swing. It is called final restorationism. It teaches that at some time in the far future, after certain stages of retribution are passed, disciplinary, corrective, and so on, there will be a complete full restoration of all, men, angels and even Satan himself, all restored to perfect touch with God again.
Like the other two, this teaching is based on certain statements of Scripture, certain skilful playing with the meaning of words, certain at-tractive use of logic, and a careful ignoring of other Scripture statements; a rarely compounded blend of all four of these.
But the commonest idea since the war is what might be called, the continuance teaching. That is, there is said to be no real difference, morally or inregard to character, as one crosses the line of death. Death itself, of course, makes a certain radical difference. But apart from that there is no difference, it is said.
The untold thousands who have died in the war, are pictured as wandering about the earth, disembodied, floating through space. They continue the old habits of this life, smoking, drinking, using the same sort of profane, and semi-profane and vulgar language. There is no radical moral change, no suffering connected in any way with their former life. And there's no change of attitude toward Christ, or good, or sin. This is the commonest teaching of the present day in the vast cheap literature of books and magazines that the crowds are devouring.
Let it be noted carefully that the first and third named are very attractive teachings. A very plausible case can be made in each instance. There is a tremendous emotional appeal in them. One could most earnestly wish that they were full true.
May I say, very reverently, that I have no doubt it is the devout wish of God that they might be true. For anything else is a break in His cherished plans. But they all fail to take account of two fundamental things, man's utter freedom of choice, and the real character of the thing commonly called sin.
We all laugh at the ostrich for hiding its small head in the sand so as not to see the danger threatening. Yet to ignore any facts, and to ignore plain teaching of God's Word, clearly is as much playing the fool as does the poor small-brained ostrich. One fact, just one, left out of reckoning, completely changes the conclusion. Such conclusion, however skilfully and logically worked out, is quite worthless, and worse yet, dangerous, because misleading.
As a result of the wide spread of these and like teachings, there has come a most marked swing away, among adherents of Protestant churches of all shades, from the old teaching. And the loosening hold of the Catholic Church upon its people comes to much the same thing.
The boast of certain so-called liberal axiominations is that they have not increased in numbers, but that their teachings have permeated all the other Churches. And all observation tends to confirm their contention.