THE CHRISTIAN AND THE GREAT IDEAS
by Gerald Richards

From earliest times men have wrestled with the great problems of the world. Wondering about the meaning of human existence, they have asked, “What is man? Where did he come from? Where is he going?” They have puzzled over the conditions about them. Such questions as why there is pain and suffering and why evil have entered their minds. They have attempted to pierce beyond the visible world asking, “Is there a God? If so, what is his nature?” They have searched for the true, the good, and the beautiful.

As different men spent much time in serious thought searching for the answers to these great problems, they came up with partial solutions for themselves and for others. Eventually these ideas found their way into literature. Literature of one people found its way into the hands of other contemporary peoples and of subsequent generations. As more thought was concentrated on these problems, more light was shed upon them. As different ideas were shared by different individuals, there developed over the years what has been called the Great Conversation.

The Great Conversation is based upon the accumulated thinking of mankind about the most difficult problems. The Great Ideas are the thoughts which make up the Great Conversation. Whether they come from king or peasant, if they be serious attempts to solve the problems of human life, they are great ideas.

These ideas are important by virtue of the fact that they do deal with the great problems of human existence. For this reason alone they should be important to the Christian. Too often the Christian has neglected to examine the noble attempts of man to discover the good, the true, and the beautiful. If an examination of the Great Ideas would do nothing else, it would vividly portray to the Christian the stirring drama of man’s search for the meaning of reality. It would help the Christian to appreciate more fully his heritage-the fact that he lives this side of the Cross. It would humble him to see that through past ages God has not left Himself without witness but has filled the hearts of many with gladness. (Acts 14:17)

THE GREAT IDEAS AND CHRISTIAN MORALITY

One of the amazing discoveries that one makes as he examines the moral statements of great literature written before the Christian era is the substantial agreement between these great moral ideas and the teachings of Christ. A striking example of this agreement is a comparison of statements from different non-Biblical sources with some Biblical statements concerning the subject of brotherly conduct among men. Statements such as the following come to us from the ages preceding the Christian era: “Utter not a word by which anyone could be wounded”—Hindu; “Slander not”—Babylonian; “Terrify not men, or God will terrify thee”—Ancient Egyptian; “Never do to others what you would not like them to do to you”—Confucius; and “Men were brought into existence for the sake of men that they might do one another good”—Roman, Cicero. Compare with these statements the utterances of the Old Testament: “Love thy neighbor as thyself” and “Love the stranger as thyself”. Then consider Jesus’ statement, “Do to men what you wish men to do to you”.

Such striking similarities could be given concerning kindness, duties to parents, duties to children, justice, truthfulness, mercy, etc.¹ However, we will not detail these similarities further. Our only desire here is to point out that there is substantial agreement between these great moral ideas and the teachings of Christ.

This observation causes one to reconsider his ideas concerning God and His dealings with mankind.² A common Christian idea is that God, prior to His revelation through Christ, was concerned only with the Jews and was not interested in the other peoples of the world. But, in the light of a common morality existing among all peoples, we should revise our thinking. Possibly God was and is interested in all peoples. Could it be true that the image of God in man, though marred by sin, can be seen as a law of conscience or law of human nature in all men? And that men acted and wrote in agreement with one another when they yielded to this external law? The answer to these questions we believe to be yes.

In the light of this agreement between men’s great moral ideas and the teachings of Christ,³ we might consider anew the Christian revelation. Some have come to the conclusion that Jesus was nothing more than one in a line of great moral teachers, saying some old things in new ways and adding some eccentricities of his own. On the surface this view may seem plausible. The view is weakened considerably, however, in the light of the claims of Jesus as recorded by New Testament writers. For Jesus claimed to be the Divine Redeemer of the world. And it is here that we see the significance of Christianity. The Christian religion, although completing and perfecting all of man’s efforts at morality, was not given to the world primarily as a moral code. Its uniqueness rests in the nature and work of its Author, Jesus the Christ. Who Christ was and what He did are the relevant questions in the matter. The vital facts are that Jesus was Divine and that He provided for the redemption of man-kind through His crucifixion and resurrection.⁴

In addition, the agreement among moral codes helps us to see that an appeal to morality is not groundless. There is a common ground between Christians and non-Christian. We should appeal to the law of conscience in our efforts to help our fellow-men see their moral responsibilities. The laws of human nature should be set before scientist, politician, laborer, and educator alike.⁵ Making men morally sensitive should be one of our great aims. To be sure, a Christian would not be satisfied in making men sensitive to the moral law without leading them further to the One Who is the Alpha and the Omega of the moral law itself, to the One “in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” But begin we must. Let us use the groundwork that is already there.

CICERO, PLATO, AND RIGHT ATTITUDES

Pre-Christian writers, surprising though it may seem, quite often lay stress on important matters which contemporary Christians neglect. It is not the case that we Christians have not been given guiding principles in the Scriptures concerning the values of life. We have either willfully or ignorantly overlooked them. We are all moving so fast in the business of existing that pleasure, convention, material things, and trivialities have captured undue portions of our time and energies. So then, in the hope of finding encouragement for fearless living, let us take a look at life from a different viewpoint. Let us examine some pre-Christian statements concerning the significant things of life.

Cicero (106 B.C.-43 B.C.), a famous Roman orator and statesman, has some interesting things to say to us concerning right attitudes toward life in his treatise, On Old Age. Cicero writes this treatise to a friend to encourage him in old age. He speaks of noble character as stemming from the inner man and not being dependent upon circumstances or material things. He writes, “Men who have no inner resources for a good and happy life find every age burdensome.” He says further, “I have often listened to the complaints of old men . . . who lamented that they had lost the pleasures of the senses, without which life is nothing. . . . In all complaints of this kind, the fault is in the character of a man, not his age.”

We think that Cicero was influenced by the great Greek thinker, Plato (428 B.C.-348 B.C.). In Plato’s account of Socrates trial before an Athenian jury (in the work called Apologia) on the charge of not recognizing the gods that the state recognized, there are statements that point out the importance of the inner life. Socrates, in his defence, reminds the jury that he will continue his teaching even if set free. He says, “ I shall never cease from the practice and teaching of philosophy, exhorting anyone whom I meet and saying to him after my manner: You, my friend, . . . are you not ashamed of heaping up the greatest amount of money and honor and reputation, and caring so little about wisdom and truth and the greatest improvement of the soul, which you never regard or heed at all? . . . For I do nothing but go about persuading you all, old and young alike not to take thought for your persons or your properties, but first and chiefly to care about the greatest improvement of the soul. I tell you that virtue is not given by money, but that from virtue comes money and every other good of man, public as well as private.”

These statements from Cicero and Plato (and Socrates) are quite impressing. Character is dependent upon inner resources! The greatest improvement of the soul is of first importance. The pleasures of the senses, money, property, honor, and reputation are of less importance and even not to be taken thought of. How thrilling! Men living in environments weighted down with pagan gods and worldly emphases dig through the dross to find some golden gems! Or are they gems? Perhaps we are speaking too soon. Upon further reflection we doubt whether Plato, Cicero, or Socrates would be received in our twentieth century. After all, one of the “accepted truths” of psychology is that persons should conform to existing social patterns if they would avoid traumatic experiences. And further, we do want to win friends and influence people. And I must find an occupation that will bring me money and prestige. And what’s wrong with pleasure? I believe that we are supposed to enjoy ourselves in this life. Gobbledygook! As a Christian we believe that Plato, Socrates, and Cicero did uncover spiritual gems. And they did it without our unfailing guide, special Divine Revelation. How much better we should do!

It would be so helpful to us a Christians if we could grasp the significance of these truths, especially since Christ and His Ambassadors set these truths before us as necessary to the well-being of the spiritual life. Christ continually sets the life of the spirit above the life spent in being overly concerned about food, clothing, and shelter. And the life of Christ is a living testimony of His statements. Also the Apostle Paul learned to be content in whatever condition he found himself.

We as Christians desire to follow Christ and to do His bidding. We accept as true His statements concerning the importance of the spiritual life and the relative unimportance of the life of the senses. What is it, then, that keeps up wrapped up in trivialities and un-concerned about serious matters? Or if concerned, how are we to break the bonds that bind us and to live victoriously the life of the spirit?

We must return to our “first love” for Christ. We must renew our pledge to Christ that we would follow wherever He would lead. Coupled with this must be a continued struggle to forget ourselves and to be concerned less and less about what others do and think. If we would just “let go” and daily pray, “Lord, I cannot do it, but You can. Help me to care less and less about the non-spiritual things of life,” our desires would weaken, we would find ourselves being less concerned about conforming to this maddening world, and we would take up anew the serious task of cultivating the soul.

There is a logic behind the unimportance of the things of the senses and the importance of the spiritual life. The things which we see, touch, hear, smell, or taste will perish with this world. Only will the spirit remain. If the spirit has not put on love, mercy, peace, kindness, goodness, and so forth-then what remains? If these traits have not been supplied us, how can we dwell in God’s presence?

If we are tempted to spend our time and energies with trivialities and neglect the cultivation of the soul, let us take courage in the face that others, guided by much less light, saw some of the true values of life and sought to put them into practice.⁶

THE GREAT IDEAS AND HUMAN NATURE

Most of those who write about the great problems of mankind are keen students of human nature. They seem to possess a deep insight into the workings of the human mind. This is as would be expected, for how can one think and write ably about man’s problems unless he knows man himself. Some of these writers did not stop at observing human nature, but they wrote of the needs of human nature as well.

We would do well to see the relevance of these great ideas concerning human nature to the Christian and to contemporary religious problems. Many of these ideas become most practical under our present stress.

One of the problems of modern Christianity which is becoming more and more evident to thinking people everywhere is that of division and sectarianism. People have grown weary of the fighting and bickering resulting from religious division. And further, as a result of the rise of totalitarian communism, we are beginning to see the dire need of a united front.

Most problems develop over a long period of years as a consequence of the thoughts and actions of many individuals. They are complex in nature. No simple answer acts as a panacea. Discovering answers involves the expending of much time, energy, and thought. They are usually only found as an outgrowth of the sharing by different individuals of their findings. We doubt that the problems of division and sectarianism in Christendom will be solved any differently.

Several attempts have been made in search of a solution to this problem. Most of us are familiar with some of the efforts of the World Council of Churches in this direction. Many of us are familiar with various religious groups each of which claims that unity can be brought about by yielding to its doctrines and to its doctrines alone. The present writer labors under the conviction that the unity which our Lord speaks of in the New Testament can only be brought about by a restoration of the principles and ideals of primitive Christianity.

One of the common objections to the thesis of the restoration of primitive Christianity is that it will not work (it is not practical) in this day and time. This objection is made not only by those who disagree with the thesis but also by many of those who give lip service to it. Many who accept the thesis are satisfied in substituting a partial restoration of New Testament ideals for the restoration of primitive Christianity itself. Even agreeing that a New Testament practice is not being followed, they rest content in the reply, “It just will not work today.”⁷

Such an answer involves more than just the practicality or the effectiveness of a particular principle. The involvement goes much deeper. It embraces the questions of authority, obedience, and faith as they apply to the New Testament revelation. But we will be concerned now only with pointing out that some vital New Testament practices, which are neglected by modern Christianity, are not only considered practical but also are thought necessary to the mental and moral well-being of men by great thinkers past and present.

One of the vitalizing principles of New Testament Christianity is the principle that every Christian is a minister, that he enters the ministry the moment he becomes a Christian. It logically follows that the relationship among Christians will be one of mutual ministry. First century Christians had the opportunities of exhorting, edifying, and comforting one another. Out of love for their fellows they accepted these opportunities as responsibilities. And at what times could they discharge these responsibilities and take advantage of these opportunities more effectively than when the assembly met as a body of worshipers? And so, when the early Christians assembled for worship, the members were given opportunity to edify one another. Each was permitted to express his individuality and to declare freely his opinions.

God knows human nature better than we do. Therefore we have a clue to human needs in the principles set forth by God through the apostles for the life and worship of the Christian. Individuality and freedom of expression are necessary to spiritual maturity. Especially are individuality and freedom of expression necessary for progress in the direction of restoring primitive Christianity to this earth.

WHAT FREEDOM MEANS

John Stuart Mill, English philosopher (1806-1873), has some interesting things to say along these lines. In his Essay on Liberty he argues ably that liberty of thought and discussion and individuality are two of the elements necessary for the intellectual and moral well-being of man. Concerning the freedom of opinion and the freedom of the expression of opinion, he argues thus:

First, if any opinion is compelled to silence, that opinion may, for aught we can certainly know, be true. To deny this is to assume our own infallibility.

Secondly, though the silenced opinion be an error, it may, and very commonly does, contain a portion of truth; and since the general or prevailing opinion on any subject is rarely or never the whole truth, it is only by the collision of adverse opinions that the remainder of the truth has any chance of being supplied.

Thirdly, even if the received opinion be not only true, but the whole truth; unless it is suffered to be, and actually is, vigorously and earnestly contested, it will, by most of those who receive it, be held in the manner of a prejudice, with little comprehension or feeling of its rational grounds. And not only this, but, fourthly, the meaning of the doctrine itself will be in danger of being lost, or enfeebled, and deprived of its vital effect on the character and conduct: the dogma becoming a mere formal profession, inefficacious for good, but cumbering the ground, and preventing the growth of any real and heartfelt conviction, from reason or personal experience.

Only in those congregations of Christians where individuals are free to express themselves will there be any progress toward the realization of restoration ideals. For if members do not have the opportunity to share their thoughts, ideas, and interpretations there will be little growth.

Not only will the restoration of primitive Christianity be approached through freedom of expression but also the spiritual well-being of saints will be cared for. With each generation examining the ground on which it stands, questioning custom and tradition, seeking the whys and wherefores of its religious practices, and opening old ideas to the light of new evidence, there will be developed individuals whose religious practices will rest upon heartfelt convictions founded upon reason and personal experience and not based upon pre judice or custom.

In congregations where the individual is not free to express himself in edifying, exhorting, and comforting his fellow-Christians (which includes most modern congregations) there results a stagnation of talent, a loss of spirituality, and the development of a performer-spectator relationship. People exchange personal piety for church attendance and personal ministry for church business. They are told so often and so loud that this is Christianity that they fail to see that there is, in itself, no virtue in church attendance and that church business may become sinful by taking the time and place of more vital ministries.

MUTUAL MINISTRY WILL WORK!

Although the absence of mutual ministry tends toward decline and its presence toward growth, we still hear in the background the cry, “But it won’t work today. It’s not practical.” (Whatever that means) It would help us if we were to examine the modern laymen’s movements. Most of these movements began because someone saw the need for giving the common member opportunity to express himself. That these movements have produced good results cannot be denied.

Again a great thinker comes to the front. This time he is a contemporary philosopher, Elton Trueblood. In one of his books he sets forth the thesis that the preservation of Western Civilization from decay and destruction can be brought about by a redemptive society patterned after primitive Christianity.⁸ In this society, he says, every member will be a minister (The distinction between clergy and laity will be abolished.). Mr. Trueblood not only thinks that mutual ministry is practical, but he deems it necessary to the revitalization of Christianity.

The present writer never ceases to be amazed when he compares this philosopher with those who claim to be restorers of New Testament Christianity. Mr. Trueblood looks for that society which will save Western Civilization and comes up with a society patterned after the primitive congregation of Christians! Those who claim to be restorers of New Testament Christianity look at some of the practices of the primitive congregation and say, “It won’t work today.”

Why won’t it work today? Could it be that we don’t want it to? Could it be that we don’t care whether it works or not? Or is it that we just don’t want to pay the price inherent in a work of reformation? If the plea to restore primitive Christianity will not move us, perchance the plea to save Western Civilization will!

SUMMARY

The great ideas are relevant to the Christian In many respects. In the moral realm they give us a larger picture of our God and His dealings with mankind, cause us to reflect upon the significance of special revelation, and help us to see that there is common ground between Christian and non-Christian. The great ideas concerning attitudes toward life and the important things of life encourage us to fight more strenuously the temptations that face us and to live victoriously the life of the spirit. The great ideas relative to human nature show us that God’s program for the church is in harmony with the well-being of man and that His program can be practical and effective.

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Gerald Richards is presently studying at the University of Kentucky, after which he will enter the teaching profession. His address is Route I, Versailles, Kentucky.