With God in the World: A Series of PapersBrent, Charles Henry
Religion
With God in the World: A Series of Papers
Brent, Charles Henry
Christianity
But Christ enabled men to achieve what before they had only sighed
after, not by releasing from, but on the contrary by adding to human
responsibility. He saw the inspiration of responsibility, so by making
the latter great He made the former reach its height; He equipped man to
do the smaller duties of life by giving larger ones. It will for ever
hold true that to bring men up to their best, we must call them to the
highest. They are to be won, not by the promise of a gift, but by a
ringing call to duty, not by something to eat, but by something to do.
One reason at least why Christianity is bound to supersede all other
religions is because of the supreme largeness of its demands on human
character and the supreme inspiration that those demands contain. The
fault of most modern prophets is not that they present too high an
ideal, but an ideal that is sketched with a faltering hand; the appeal
to self-sacrifice is too timid and imprecise, the challenge to courage
is too low-voiced, with the result that the tide of inspiration ebbs
low. The call to each soul to contribute its quota toward the
realization of the most remote ideal so far from being depressing is
stimulating, and a necessary goad to the promotion of individual as well
as corporate development. Mr. Kipling's prophetic voice rings out above
the Babel of a garrulous age and inspires men in the only way they can
be inspired, by pointing out human responsibility and bidding men take
up their burden.
_Go to your work and be strong, halting not in your ways,
Baulking the end half-won for an instant dole of praise.
Stand to your work and be wise--certain of sword and pen,
Who are neither children nor gods, but men in a world of men!_
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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