Page:Psychology and preaching.djvu/180

 l62 PSYCHOLOGY AND PREACHING

last with furled sails stranded in stagnant waters which have been cut off by the drifting sands from the deep currents and strong winds of the open sea.

If the preacher s mission is to get the truths of religion believed, it is essential that he should present them in such a way as to render them accessible to the perplexed and questioning minds of this age. At the same time it is equally important that he, while apprehending and appreciating the difficulties of the doubter, should hold and present his beliefs with the positiveness of assured conviction. The doubter is not assisted in the attainment of mental unity by discovering that the preacher has question marks paren thetically inserted after all his more important statements. The preacher should certainly be a believer, a genuine and enthusiastic believer ; but an open minded believer. His beliefs should not be of the hot-house variety, whose life can be assured only by keeping them in an atmosphere arti ficially warmed under a glass cover, with roots protected from the chilly soil; but should have the health and hardi hood of the plant that thrives and grows amidst the winds and frosts of the open air. It is only thus that he can secure the confidence of the doubter; and this is a matter of the first importance. When the doubters have become convinced that he is a brave and intelligent believer who has not shrunk from looking squarely in the eye the most frowning difficulties, a believer whose crown of confidence is lustrous because it has been fairly won upon the battle field, their hearts more readily open to him, and the firm ut terance of his conviction stirs deeper depths in their souls. The preacher is too often insulated from his doubting hearers because they think that he does not understand them and can not sympathize with them, and they too often have the impression that he would have less assurance if he had more knowledge, and would be less dogmatic if he had more courage. But the preacher who can convince his hearers of his open-mindedness, his absolute sincerity and his intellec tual courage, and yet proclaims his message with a sure

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