Page:Heralds of God.djvu/71

THE PREACHER'S THEME theme. This was the characteristic kerygma of the Church. And its power was irresistible.

I have dwelt on this, because it bears so directly on the contemporary situation and on our own work as preachers. There is an extraordinary amount of vagueness, even among enlightened people, as to what Christianity really is. One recalls a striking passage in Galsworthy where Jolyon and his son are discussing things together and the talk turns to religion. "'Do you believe in God, Dad? I've never known 'What do you mean by God?' he said; 'there are two irreconcilable ideas of God. There's the Unknowable Creative Principle—one believes in That. And there's the Sum of altruism in man—naturally one believes in That.' 'I see. That leaves out Christ, doesn't it?' Jolyon stared. Christ, the link between those two ideas! Out of the mouths of babes!" But you will find to-day that, even where Christ is brought in, the vagueness is apt to persist; and in many quarters there are only the haziest notions of what it means to be a Christian, The Gospel is regarded as a codification of human ideals and aspirations; religious instruction means teaching the ethic of the Sermon on the Mount; Jesus is the noblest pattern of the good life. This, it is assumed, is basic Christianity: anything which goes beyond it is "sectarian theology," mere debatable theory. What this view fails utterly to realize is that the Christian religion is not primarily a discussion of desirable human virtues and qualities—not that at all—but a message about God: not a summary of the 65