and withal so simple, so transparent. In the class-room or out of it, in society or in the home, his bearing was always that of a refined Christian gentleman. He never varied, he never changed, except to show more and more to those who knew him the beauty of his richly endowed nature. Great as our loss is, yet our gain is greater in having been the last class to sit under his instruction, and to receive the parting benediction of a life that was so full of God and Christ. His dying message to us was in these words: "Tell my dear Middle Class that nothing is of importance to them except to know Jesus Christ as their divine Lord and Master."

We who so recently were accustomed to meet him day after day can testify that the ineffable charm of his character lay in the fact that he lived so near to Christ. His Saviour was a living, ever-present Saviour. He drank deeply of the water of life, and always seemed to be overflowing with the great, joyous truths revealed by God in Christ. There was something spontaneous in every word that he uttered. The prayer, offered at the beginning of each recitation, never failed by its simple directness to impress us with the solemnity of the work before us. And so everywhere, whether in the class-room or prayer-meeting, his strong, earnest words came from the abundance of the heart. His words, but more than all, his spirit, inspired us with more love for our Saviour, with a higher conception of the responsibility of our calling, with a more fervid longing in the prayer, "Thy kingdom come." He taught us that breadth of view was to be obtained only by prayer, and by a deep, searching study of God's Word. In a word, by his own unselfish life and his teachings he helped us to realize the noble possibilities of an ideal Christian manhood.

The subject of this brief sketch was very dear to me both for his mother's sake and his own. Had he been my son or younger brother, I could hardly have loved him better. His letters, always bright, scholarly, affectionate, and full of high aspirations, were to me for years a solace and refreshment. Intercourse and talk with him revived the pleasantest memories of his father and of Henry B. Smith, his father's friend and my own. I never doubted that he would survive me a score or more of years, and would yet render invaluable aid to the

good old cause, which in their day and generation those two admirable men served so well. But visum aliter Deo. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are His ways higher than our ways. He knows when it is best to call His children home to Himself. It is a very blessed thing to follow Christ by faith here in time; but how much more blessed still to see Him face to face, and to follow Him, whithersoever He goeth, in the life everlasting!

The present volume was written three or four years before Dr. Stearns's death. It aims to set forth and discuss in popular form the leading doctrines of Christianity. Had the author's life been spared the work would doubtless have been carefully revised by him, if not rewritten. Just before his death he directed that the MS. should be submitted to his brother-in-law, Dr. Sewall, of Bangor. Dr. Fisher, of New Haven, and myself; and that, if we so advised, it should be given to the public. The following letter from Dr. Fisher expresses our common feeling and judgment:

NEW HAVEN, December 14, 1892.

MY DEAR DR. PRENTISS: My first particular knowledge of Professor Stearns was obtained from the reading of his Inaugural Address at Bangor. The address struck me at once as having "the true ring." Here, I said to myself, is a theologian who looks at things with an open eye, sees clearly what are the fundamental questions, and is capable of bringing to the discussion of them a sincere Christian spirit, and a refined, cultivated intellect. His subsequent publications have fully borne out this first impression. His work on the "Evidence of Christian Experience" is one of the most noted theological productions of our time. The learning at the basis of it is unobtrusive, but broad and accurate; the reasoning is careful; the religious sentiment that pervades the book is deep and genuine; the style is appropriate. The paper which Professor Stearns read at the Congregational Council in London was a difficult one to prepare. He had to touch upon

questions which were warmly controverted among Congregationalists in this country. He spoke with frankness, without the slightest attempt to take refuge in ambiguities, and yet he spoke so fairly and judiciously as to win universal commendation. In his life of Professor Henry B. Smith, Professor Stearns illustrated his admirable qualifications as a theological critic. There is thorough insight and genial appreciation. Yet the author's reverent regard for the character and teachings of the subject of the biography, subtracts nothing from the independence of his judgment. Wherever he finds occasion for dissent, he does not hesitate to express it.

Professor Stearns was one of the few men among us, still comparatively young, who took up from choice and pursued with acknowledged ability and success, the branch of dogmatic theology. Of late, exegesis and history, along with Biblical theology, have exerted an unwonted attraction. Professor Stearns did not fail to lay a strong foundation by making himself well acquainted with these favorite departments of study. But his chosen field was dogmatics. He made it his purpose to set forth, in a systematic form, and to defend on scriptural and rational grounds, the doctrines of the Christian faith. This circumstance renders his departure from life, at an age when his task was incomplete, a loss which is most keenly felt. A conservative, he was, nevertheless, the foe of obscurantism. He appreciated the value of that reasonable liberty of religious thought, without which intellectual life in the church languishes, and progress in the understanding of Christianity is impossible.

The opportunity which I have had to peruse, in manuscript, the work of Professor Stearns, which is now to be given to the press, has convinced me that, although it is not all that he would have made it to be, it deserves to be published. The comparative lack of catechetical instruction in families and churches in these days is insufficiently supplied by Sunday-schools. There is a need of works that shall present in a clear and orderly manner the doctrines of the Christian system, and the grounds that justify belief in them. This benefit, I am persuaded, the proposed volume will confer.

I always thought of Professor Stearns, while he was living, with respect and affection, and now that he has gone, I cherish for him a tender regard. But you, who knew him so well, are best qualified to do justice to his personal traits.

Very sincerely yours,

GEORGE P. FISHER.

PRESENT DAY THEOLOGY

I.

THE NATURAL REVELATION OF GOD

Is there a God? and can He be known? These are the two great questions which challenge us, as we stand upon the threshold of theology, and demand an answer. They are questions which the majority of men never ask. The unsophisticated mind, whether in heathen or Christian lands, believes implicitly in the existence of God or of the gods, and has some conception of the divine nature. It is only when men begin to philosophize that they become sceptics.

It is our lot to live in an age and a land where philosophizing is all too familiar. About us, on every side, are those who deny or call in question the two fundamental facts of religion and theology, the existence of God and the ability of men to know Him. We must therefore be ready to give a reason for the faith that is in us. It will not be enough to declare that religion is universal and that the postulate of religion is God. We must marshal our proofs. and justify our faith to the reason of our fellow-men. This much even the sceptic has a right to demand of us.

What, then, is the proof that God exists and that He may be known? Paul has declared it-"Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of

him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse (Rom. i. 19, 20). We know that God is and what He is because He reveals both His existence and His nature to every man, even to those who do not accept the revelation. Over against the atheist's denial and the agnostic's ignorance we set the Apostle's "what may be known of God,” τὸ γνωστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ over against τὸ ἄγνωστον.

The object of this chapter is to set forth the proof of God's existence and the knowledge of His nature which are furnished by His universal revelation of Himself.

I. First, then, the proof of God's existence is the revelation of Himself which He has made.

1. Let us stop a moment to inquire what is meant by revelation. And here the etymology of the word shall be our guide. It is from the Latin revelare, to draw back a veil. Revelation is God's unveiling of Himself, Iis withdrawal of the curtain which hides Him from men. Mistaken conceptions obscure the simple idea. We have been used to think of revelation as the communication of a system of doctrine or of a moral and religious code. Now, undoubtedly these ideas are included in the complete conception of revelation. But in its highest and truest sense the term implies not so much the giving of knowledge about God, as the knowledge of God Himself. It implies an activity on the side of God and a corresponding receptivity on the side of men. God manifests Himself. He makes Himself known. Men know Him because He comes near to them and causes them to realize His presence.

2. To proceed, when we prove God's existence from His self-revelation, we do not employ any unfamiliar or illegitimate method of reasoning. In the same way we prove the existence of the three other great realities which share with the knowledge of God the possession of