Rationalism, Skepticism and Philosophy


Rationalism, Skepticism and Philosophy

Sadhu Sundar Singh speaks about rationalism, skepticism and philosophy in this article



Experience must precede reasoning. In the snows of the Himalayas he showed a fellow-traveller a hot-water spring. The man began to argue and to reason that the thing was impossible, when the Sadhu invited him to put his hand in the water. On discovering for himself that the water was really hot as the Sadhu had said, the man now began to adduce many reasons as to why it should be hot. Asked what he thought of Higher Criticism and Modernism, he replied that it was all "spiritual influenza" -- it would pass away, but not before killing a good many people.

He thanked God that he had been enabled to go to the West. Before he went, he thought that there must be something in Modernist theories, otherwise so many men would not write so many books. Besides, Christianity had been in force for so many centuries in the West. But when he discovered how busy these scholars were and how much of their knowledge was second-hand and not the fruit of their experience with Christ, he announced that all their speculations would not move him an inch from his faith.

"It is not by education or philosophy that we know Him. When I was in Australia, I was asked, 'What do you think of our civilization?' -- I said, 'Do you mean your education or your manners of society? In that case I say, you are trained animals, trained to do a certain thing in a certain way.' "Man, know thyself" -- and he who knows God knows himself. He is the truly civilized man in the image of God in which he was created..."

"Trying to understand spiritual truth through the intellect means increase of self. Men search for God and find Him unknowable... But: He is known through the heart, not through philosophy. The only way for us to understand the infinite God is by becoming infinite and that is impossible. He must become finite and He is so in Jesus."

"How are we to deal with people who are utterly indifferent to religion?"

He replied, "God Himself can do nothing with such people so what can you and I do? Orthodox and strict Hindus and Mohammedans are better than many of the reformed liberals. The latter are stones in their own community and if they come over into the Christian Church they will be stones there too. Far better a man who is strict in the observance of his own religion."