Theological Propaedeutic

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: the present time. Some date it from the day of Pentecost, when the Christian Church first appeared as a distinct and separate organization. But the miracle of Pentecost has no meaning without the preceding miracle of the resurrection and ascension, which is the consummation of the life of the Founder of...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: the present time. Some date it from the day of Pentecost, when the Christian Church first appeared as a distinct and separate organization. But the miracle of Pentecost has no meaning without the preceding miracle of the resurrection and ascension, which is the consummation of the life of the Founder of Christianity. The relative goal of history is the time of the historian, the absolute goal is the end of time and the beginning of eternity. The historian is a retrospective prophet, but the future is only known to God. CHAPTER CXLV. AGENTS OP HISTORY. History in general is the product of divine, human, and sa- tanic agencies. 1. On the part of God, history is his revelation in time, as nature is his revelation in space. It is his epos. It gradually unfolds an eternal plan of wisdom and goodness for the redemption of the human race and the triumph of his kingdom. Man ought to do all for the glory of God; God does all for the good of man. As nature reveals God's power and wisdom, so history reveals his justice and mercy. The recognition of God in history is the first principle of all sound philosophy of history. God is no God unless he is almighty, omniscient and omnipresent. In him we live, and move, and have our being (Acts 17: 28). He is immanent as well as transcendent in his relation to the world. He made it and he upholds it continually by the all-pervading presence of his power. He rules and overrules even the sins and follies of man for his own glory and the good of his people. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing ? and not one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father: but the very hairs of your head are all numbered (Matt. 10: 29, 30). We know that to them that love God, all things work together for good (Rom. 8:29). This is th...