WHAT IS INTELLECTUAL HONESTY REGARDING RELIGIOUS QUESTIONS? These were more noble than those in Thessalonica in that they received the word with all readiness of mind and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore, many of them believed also of honorable women, which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.-Acts 17:11-12. NOT OTHING so inspires a public speaker as a responsive audience, a congregation of thoughtful men and women who receive his message with open minds. And nothing so thrills the soul of an audience as a speaker who recognizes their mental alertness, and discovers at once their intellectual plane. What inspires the thought of the speaker, as a rule, stimulates the thinking of the hearer; and all other things being equal, eloquent hearing makes eloquent speaking. That was a supreme hour in the experience of the apostle Paul, when at Berea he stood before an audience of men and women with open minds. They brought to the occasion a frankness and an alertness which thrilled his soul. They received his message with readiness of mind, and examined his utterances to ascertain whether or not they squared with the teaching of the scriptures. It is not supposed because they received his message with readiness and willingness that they accepted his teaching without question. They took nothing for granted, but sifted the facts with open minds and impartial judgments. In matters of faith and religious opinion they reserved the right to private judgment, and were unwilling to yield their intellectual autonomy to any individual. Their mental attitude toward any man's teaching was that of frankness and open-mindedness, and instead of accepting dogmatic assertions, without question, they examined the facts for themselves. This is intellectual honesty in the settlement of religious questions. And this is the disposition which is most in harmony with the spirit of our time. The age in which we live is a critical one, and the scientific method by which the truth is tested, in any department of thought whatsoever, demands that we examine the facts before we draw our conclusions. There are two classes of people in every community; and there are two methods of dealing with truth. One class receives it by acquiescence, and swallows the conclusions of others, without thought or investigation. The other class accepts nothing for which it cannot see some reason, and suspends its judgment on any question until the facts have been examined. I remark first: One mark of intellectual honesty is to approach religious questions with an open mind. Every man ought to be eager to know the truth, and ought to open his mind to new light from any source. This is always the attitude of the thinking mind. The thinking man is not afraid of new light, from any source whatsoever, and he always looks facts squarely in the face. Only the ignorant man is content to rest in his ignorance. Children may be awed into silence by tradition and authority, but thinking men, never. The alert man wants to know; and he should know, if it is possible for him to know. No man can act intelligently who does not think sanely. Whoever declines to admit new light on subjects of religion, or allows himself to be blinded by prejudice in drawing his conclusions, commits intellectual suicide. Inane credulity is more dangerous than intellectual skepticism. We should never forget that no system of thought is yet perfect or complete, and there is no finality in our conception of the great doctrines of religion. The profound truths of religion are neither apprehended nor comprehended in a day. We do not perceive God's mind, nor apprehend his plan, at a single glance, though they be revealed in a book. With all our boasted learning, the race is still standing back in the twilight of knowledge. No subject is exhausted on which there is difference of opinion. It takes time for the race to grow to the level of some great ideas. On questions where difference of opinion is possible, honesty demands that judgment be suspended until all the facts are in. Where truth may be seen from different angles, each man's opinion must be tested by its viewpoint. Narrowness, as a rule, results from want of light; and want of light is, not infrequently, |