'STAND FAST IN THE FAITH'

New Zealand Tablet, 9 January 1913, Page 3

'STAND FAST IN THE FAITH'

(A Weekly Instruction specially written for the N.Z.. Tablet by ‘ Ghimel.’) THE DIVINITY OF OUR LORD: HOW A DENIER CAME TO BELIEVE IN IT. In estimating the significance of the claims to Divinity put forward by Christ Himself, we met our opponents on their own ground. We took the historical records of the New Testament and we examined them in order to find out what impression Jesus, considered only as a man, makes upon us. Those who deny thatHe is God are forced to admit the singular excellence, the perfect symmetry of His human character; our point then was that one cannot admit so much and then stop short: if He is all even they allow He is, then He must be taken at His word when He claims to be God—tie must be God. It may be of interest to see how this line of argument has appealed in recent years to a very distinguished professor in Germanyperhaps the most distinguished convert since Newman,and * led him back to Holy Church.’ Albert von Ruville was born of Protestant parents in 1855. After serving with great success as an officer in the German Army for thirteen years, he studied at Berlin University, and in 1896 was appointed Professor of Modern History at the University of Halle-Witten-berg, one of the most famous centres of thought in Germany. After years of doubt and patient study he was first brought to a belief in the Divinity of Christ, and later- on, in 1909, accepted the Catholic Church as the Church of this God-made man. Curiously enough this Protestant, who had for many years rejected the Godhead of Jesus, recovered his faith by reading the works of Professor HarnacL, easily the most learned writer among Protestants throughout the world, and by weighing the admissions made by him in respect to the Person of Christ, Whose Divinity he denies. Professor von Ruville may best tell his own story ‘I was brought up,’ he writes in his book, Back to Holy urch, in the strictly orthodox Protestant faith, but in spite of this subsequently passed through all the phases of thought usual for an independent youthful mind. I began by doubting the teachings inculcated during childhood; then I was assailed by a succession of materialistic, pantheistic, modernistic thoughts; but beneath them all I retained an under-current of real positive faith and participated, habitually and not insincerely, in devotional practices’ (p. 2). ‘I was in the habit of reading liberal theological books, whenever they came to my notice, and of occupying myself sometimes with the study of larger works of this kind; therefore, though not accepting everything, I gradually drifted into this channel of thought. In the summer of 1901 I read Harnack’s The Nature of Christianity. In this book I was struck, chiefly by the author’s sublime conception of the Person of Jesus Christ. This leader of the “liberal” theologians, this penetrating, exact man of research, attributed to our Lord a nature, a character, and an importance, which far transcended all earthly stature ’ (p. 3). Fie found Harnack giving expression to the following ideas. ‘ One ray of His light changes the inner life of man ’ (p. 1); * His Gospel cannot be replaced by anything else’ (p. 3); ‘ And is capable of broad and deep development ’ (p. 7) ; ‘ His Gospel stands above all controversies of that time, yea, of all time’ (p. 11); ‘ He has done many wonderful deeds, which are partly inexplicable to this day ’ (p. 19) Without, scientific teaching, without inner struggles He has displayed a mighty, original teaching power, and poured forth truths in abundance solely from His own rich mind ’ (p. 21); ‘ With perfect peace of mind Fie lived and breathed in a Religion, ths» inner kernel of which Fie had Himself created, and His feelings and thoughts existed in constant relation to God (p. 22) ; ‘ In liberty and serenity of soul He surpassed all the prophets ’ (p. 23); ‘ His sermons always exhausted the main thought, and yet let it appear inexhaustible. They have lost nothing of their

freshness during the centuries ’ (p. 33); The personality of Christ is and remains the only foundation of all moral culture’ (p. 78). And this is how the • reading of this book struck von Ruville: Considering that all these.- utterances . . . proceed from a scientist who desires Jesus Christ to be regarded only as man, I could surely take it for granted that they described Him in a light, not more favorable than strict science absolutely demands, and that they contain only the minimum of those eminent qualities which must be conceded to our Lord.’ Yet ‘ these utterances represented a superhuman personality, free from all earthly weakness, rich in sublime virtues, unsurpassed in importance; then is it not unavoidable to explain the appearance of such a 'personality in the world as a miracle of the highest order, a direct mission from God V (pp. 4-5). And of course if the very appearance of this Person in the world is a miracle, if Tie comes with a direct mission from God, He must be God Himself, for He has claimed to be God, and God would not, could not, work a miracle in favor of, or send one, who was an impostor. So this pilgrim found his way back to God in Christ. Later, he found in the Catholic Church the * community in which Jesus Christ is best loved and adored, and in which He is most accessible.’ Peace of mind and true happiness of soul followed. ‘ I was filled with a joy and happiness such as worldly successes had never given me. . . , Many things which I had formerly considered devoid of all inner meaning became precious, and a spring of pure joy; while others, which I had considered necessary or desirable, sank down into nothingness. Purity, holiness, association with God were henceforth my standard of value even for earthly things (p. 7).