The two faiths

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THE TWO FAITHS

BY

JAMES O. MURRAY, D.D.

DEAN OF PRINCETON COLLEGE

NEW YORK
ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH AND COMPANY

(INCORPORATED)

182 Fifth Avenue
1893

Copyright, 1893,
By Anson D. F. Randolph and Company

(INCORPORATED).

SBmbfrstfg 19rfS3 :
John Wilson and Son, Cambridge, U.S.A.

THE TWO FAITHS.

Jesus said unto him, Thomas, because
thou hast seen me, thou hast believed.

John xx, 29.

THE TWO FAITHS.

/^VF the personal history of the
twelve apostles we know but
little. Like the prophets, their per-
sonality seems sunk out of sight, and
their great office only looms up to
view. Judas, the traitor, is known by
his crime. Peter and John are better
known than any of the rest. They
figure largely in the subsequent his-
tory of the church, and they have left
writings. But what shall be said of
the rest? We have their names; in
a few instances we have passing allu-
sions in the gospels, which give a
glimpse of their personal characteris-

io The Two Faiths.

tics. For a few, some dim, uncertain
traditions cast doubtful light on their
career. It is at best a scanty record
of men who, taught and inspired by
their Great Master, wrought the
greatest moral revolution known to
history. Reticence is indeed a dis-
tinguishing feature of Revelation. The
silences of Scripture are most signifi-
cant ; like the silence of Christ at the
bar of Pilate, they carry a profound
spiritual lesson. In the case before
us, the reason for reticence may not
be far to seek. The object of the
gospels is to unfold the divine person-
ality of our Lord and Saviour. The
evangelists with one accord obey this
principle. Nothing in their narrative
distracts attention from the central
object ; no intervening characters
come between us and the Supreme
Blessed Vision.

The Two Faiths. 1 1

Still we cannot repress the desire
to know all that can be gathered up
from incidental allusions or concluded
by wise inference, that pertains to the
personal history of the twelve. Some
years since Brycnnius, Metropolitan
Bishop of Constantinople, discovered
the tractate known as the "Teaching
of the Twelve Apostles," " the most
important discovery of modern times,"1
in connection with which more than a
hundred treatises have been written.
Should some future discovery throw
light on the career of any apostle, it
would be hailed with a kindred joy.

I propose in this discourse to set
forth what can be known of the
apostle Thomas. Apart from any
general considerations of interest in
his career as an apostle, he is of
special interest to us in this time of

1 Harnack.

12

The Two Faiths.

unsettled beliefs, as a man who came
to full and assured faith in Jesus
Christ against opposing tendencies of
mental constitution and habit. He is
familiarly called the doubter among
the apostles, and in the Book of Com-
mon Prayer the collect for Saint
Thomas Day addresses God as " hav-
ing for the more confirmation of the
faith suffered His holy apostle Thomas
to be doubtful in His Son's Resur-
rection."

It sometimes happens that a few
brief incidents in life may reveal
character more fully than years of
routine existence. The whole Judas
comes out in the snarling exclamation
over the anointing at Bethany,
" Why was not this ointment sold for
three hundred pence, and given to
the poor?' An entire side of Peter's
character is seen in his rebuke of

The Two Faiths. 13

Christ, when he said, " That be far
from Thee, Lord." Of such incidents
there are three in the story of Thomas,
each strongly characteristic of the
man. To these let us turn.

I.

Jesus had withdrawn from Jerusa-
lem into the solitudes beyond Jordan,
the place where John at first baptized.
That seclusion was sought by Him
just before He entered on the final
scenes of His ministry. Thence He
had been summoned bv a message
to Bethany, where His friend Lazarus,
His dearest friend outside the imme-
diate circle of the apostleship, was
sick. To obey the summons was
to face death at the hands of His ene-
mies. " Master, the Jews of late
sought to stone thee, and goest Thou

14 The Two Faiths.

thither again ? " is the alarmed remon-
strance from His disciples, as He
announced His purpose of going to
that sorrow-smitten home. It was no
shadowy peril which strong nerves
could despise. The disciples knew
well the fast-rising storm of rage and
hate against the Master. It seemed
to them, it could in fact, have worn
no other aspect, this purpose of His,
than a voluntary exposure to a sudden
and violent end. That meant the
extinction of all their hopes, the over-
throw of the Messianic plans, which
in their gracious compass and divine
meaning were daily becoming more
clear to them all. Why not linger
beyond the Jordan, till the rage so
recently roused had spent its fury?
It was no waste of His holy works,
for many came to Him even in that
seclusion, and believed on Him there.

The Two Faiths. 15

But all in vain their expostulation.
When was appeal to the heart of
Christ ever unanswered? Unshaken
by their remonstrances, He calmly
adhered to His purpose, and set His
face toward what, to Him, seemed the
duty of the hour, to them, a journey
to swift and untimely death. It is
Thomas now who speaks. " The
Master must not go alone. Let us
also go that we may die with Him."
The words spring to his lips from
inner depths of his soul. They
reveal his character. John is silent,
and Peter and James. We may well
imagine a momentary hush of disap-
pointed pleading, as Christ's final
words fell upon the little group,
" Nevertheless, let us go unto him."
The words of Thomas, " Let us also
go that we may die with Him," break
the silence, and they follow the Lord

1 6 The Two Faiths.

over the path of peril. What do
these words signify of his character ?
From what do they spring ? First of
all, they signify what loyal, deep-
rooted affection for the Lord centred
in his soul. The temperament of
this doubter was no cold, phlegmatic
spirit, incapable of lofty, self-sacrific-
ing devotion. He cannot live apart
from the Master. He will go to
shield the beloved Teacher, if he can.
If not, then he will die with Him,
content in this supreme devotion to
his Lord. If they " cannot save
Him, they can at least share His fate."
If the words of Thomas mean no
more, they at least signify that no
heart among the twelve beat with a
more manly, loyal, sincere affection
for Christ than his. But they do
have another, and in some respects a
more characteristic significance. They

The Two Faiths. \y

mark a nature prone to despondency,
apt to take the darkest view of things.
It is the language of despair and van-
ished hope. Hear Christ's noble
words — dense indeed they are with
loftiest ideals of duty. " Are there
not twelve hours in the day ? If any
man walk in the day, he stumbleth
not, because he seeth the light of this
world. But if a man walk in the
night, he stumbleth because there is
no light in him" — words which, as
applied to this case, must mean, "fol-
lowing the will of God, which leads
Me into Judea again, I am walking in
the light. I cannot stumble, whatever
may befall Me there ; ' words never
to be forgotten by us when called to
face a solemn duty, involving personal
risk, exposure, death it may be, —
these words kindle no serene and
steadfast hope in the soul of Thomas.

1 8 The Two Faiths.

He sees no light. The temperament
of doubt lies hard by that of despair.
It may consort with a heart of most
loyal affection, but this will not guard
it from the bitterness of despondency
and the paralysis of gloom.

II.

The next scene in the life of
Thomas has about it a still more
engrossing interest. Christ had been
at Bethany and had brought into that
home an unspeakable joy. He had
emerged safely from contact with the
Jews. Thomas had seen His word
verified that He should not stumble,
since the light He followed shone
from above. The path of duty had
been the path of perfect safety. A
few weeks pass, and the gathered
storm was about to burst. The Jew-

The Two Faiths. 19

ish enmity against Him came to its
head by reason of that visit to Beth-
any. From that day forth, they, the
chief priests and the Pharisees, took
counsel that they might put Him to
death. The end draws nigh ; the
traitor has made his bargain ; the
money lias been paid, and He,
the Victim, will be delivered up ;
the last Passover has been kept ;
the last Supper has been insti-
tuted; the last words only remain
to be spoken. The eleven disciples
are with Him in the little upper
room, as the evening shadows begin
to fall. The traitor has gone out.
Christ sees in their faces the pain of
the anticipated separation. He reads
in their countenances the dismay
under the gloom of which the light
of hope was dying out fast. So His
words must be words of inspiration

20 The Two Faiths.

and good cheer, hopeful words, uplift-
ing words, ringing words. They were
spoken, and He told them of the
Father's House, many mansioned; of
the place He was going to prepare
for them ; of their final re-union and
co-dwelling. It was a wonderful out-
burst of glowing revelation, of inspir-
ing prophecy, of eternal promise, end-
ing with the words, "And whither I
go, ye know, and the way ye know."
The response comes from Thomas,
— and what a response! It is an ut-
terance of despondency ; it seems
to take the very life out of Christ's
glowing assurances ; it seems to
sound a knell to hopes which those
assurances had begun to kindle.
" Lord, we know not whither Thou
goest, and how can we know the
way?' Not know whither Christ
was going? Not know the way?

The Two Faiths. 21

But was such ignorance possible ?
That He was going away from them
to be once more with His Father,
that the way for them was simply to
follow Him, — surely all this had been
taught them of Christ, and Thomas
had known it. What then is the se-
cret of his word, " Lord, we know not
whither Thou goest, and how can we
know the way ? ' The mood is that of
the man who can walk only by sight.
His despondent temperament has
been busy breeding doubts. If Christ
could have indicated to him the
Father's House, so that he could see
it, as he saw with his bodily eye the
temple on the summit of Mount Zion,
if Christ could only point out the
way to that Heavenly Home, so that
he could see it as he could see the
way wind from the city over the
mountain to the home at Bethany,

22 The Two Faiths.

then his soul would be at rest. The
hour, the surroundings, the Master
Himself demand faith, and Thomas,
in his despondency, asks that sight
may take the place of faith. In
short, he has sunk into that mood
which in the third scene of his life
brings him to his extremity of spirit-
ual life, which is God's opportunity
for his final recovery.

III.

The scene just described occurred
on Thursday evening; the betrayal,
arrest, condemnation, crucifixion, and
entombment that night and the day
following; the resurrection on the
Sunday morning. The disciples, all
but Thomas, were there together,
Why was he absent ? It is evident
that his faith had received a shock.

The Two Faiths. 23

All seemed dark to him. Christ had
been crucified. Thomas had evi-
dently seen Him hanging on the
cross, pierced also by the spear of the
Roman soldier. He knew of His
burial at the hands of Joseph of
Arimathea. No outward si^n of anv
victory had been seen by him. He
was walking by sight. And so he
went about the streets, restless,
moodv, despondent, — yet with a true
affection for that crucified Master all
the while asserting its power over
him. Doubtless he felt that he could
gain no help from the other disciples.
He was not with them. Such a soul
is solitary, bears its burdens in soli-
tude, flees from human intercourse,
broods and broods and broods over
its own troubles. In this mood he is
most probably found on the day fol-
lowing that first interview with Christ

24 The Two Faiths.

by the other disciples. It is easy to
reconstrttct the meeting. We can read-
ily suppose John to have said, " Ah !
Thomas, why were you not with us
last night ? ' "I was not with you»
fellow disciple, because I could see
no ^ood in such an assemblage. Our
strono- staff is broken and our beauti-
ful rod. The Hope of Israel is slain,
and we shall see Him no more." "Ah,
but you could not say that had you been
present with us ; for the Master came
and manifested Himself to us, gave us
His salutation of Peace, breathed on
us that Holy Ghost of which you re-
member He spoke to us so gloriously
in His last talks around the table just
before He was arrested. Nay, He
showed us His hands and His side."
" Showed you His hands and His side !
Except I shall see in His hands the
print of the nails, and put my hand

The Two Faiths. 25

into His side, I will not believe." Can
Thomas not then trust the testimony
of his fellow disciples ? Must there
be an evidence more direct than this
before his old faith in Jesus will
resume its power? It seems so; and
it is this point in his history which
Thorwaldsen, the sculptor, seized
when he carved that statue of
Thomas in the church at Copen-
hagen, with the measuring-rule in
his hand. So passes over his head
another week of restless doubt. What
a week it must have been in his life !
The days come and go, but bring
him no further proof to satisfy his
tossing soul. What will be his fate, —
to doubt on, to live in this blank,
hopeless uncertainty; or to go back
to his old Judaism, confessing himself
the dupe of his own imagination re-
garding one whom he once thought

26 The Two Faiths.

to be the Messiah ? But when the
disciples are again together, Thomas
is with them. It has been noticed by
scholars that Saint John never speaks
of Thomas save to add his other
name, " Didymus." It is impossible
to think that the Evangelist translates
the word for the mere purpose of
mentioning that Thomas had a Greek
as well as an. Aramaic name. The
man appears in the name. He had a
double nature. Side by side with
this true and deep love for the person
of his Lord, was this obstinate, un-
yielding tendency to doubt. Obey-
ing the last, he had laid down his
strange test ; obeying the first he
had again joined himself to the little
band of Christ's followers. Then oc-
curs that wonderful scene. Picture it !
The eleven disciples gathered at night-
fall in some obscure dwelling, the

The Two Faiths. 27

doors shut, a hush on the group, or
the talk carried on in half whispers,
when, lo ! once again unannounced,
suddenly the Lord appears gives the
old salutation ; and then, oh then ! he
singles out one from that awe-stricken
group. " Thomas, reach hither thy
finger and behold My hands, and
reach hither thy hand and put it into
My side, and be not faithless, but
believing." Did Thomas accent the
condescending, patient invitation ?
Did he, could he touch that wounded
side, those scarred hands ? Nothing
leads us to think that he did. His
last vestige of doubt has vanished.
Instead of this verifying touch, in-
stead of this physical contact, we
have the burning confession of his
believing, adoring soul, — It is, it is my
Lord and my God! A confession of
his faith not simply in His resurrec-

28 The Two Faiths.

tion but in Him whom he sees before
him in all the Divinity both of His
Person and of His work.

IV.

We may learn some wholesome
lessons from this life. First of all,
that faith may be endangered by
false tests. Evidently God does not
want from man blind, unreasoning
obedience. His service is to be
a reasonable service, to quote Saint
Paul's phrase. Nor does Christ seek
from man credulity, but insists rather
on intelligence in the exercise of
faith. Superstition counts for nothing
in the gospel, as a spiritual value.
But in the record of the gospels twice
we find apostles putting their faith to
the strain of false tests. When Peter
would fain walk on the water to come

The Two Faiths. 29

to Christ he was substituting a reli-
gion of romance for one of reality, was
trying his faith by abnormal stand-
ards ; when Thomas substituted the
evidence of eyesight and touch for
what should have satisfied him, the
evidence of testimony, the witness of
his brethren, he was running a terrible
risk. Suppose Christ had refused to
submit to such prying, and had said,
11 If he will not believe without seeing,
then he must take his chosen course."
Would this have been unjust in the
Master ? Oh, no ! not unjust ; it could
be amply justified. But the Lord in
His patience and condescension did
that for Thomas which saved him ;
and yet mark the significant word,
" Blessed are they that have not seen,
and yet have believed." Under that
benediction this apostle could not be
sheltered. Yes, we may be tempted

3o The Two Faiths.

sometimes to insist on a kind of
evidence for the truth of religion
which is not a legitimate demand ; and
because we do not find it, be tempted
to fling up our belief in the truth of
this gospel. We may be tempted
sometimes to insist on a degree of
evidence beyond what God has been
pleased to furnish, and beyond what
has satisfied thousands of earth's
clearest minds and purest hearts.
We may subject our faith to the
strain of false tests. Every man does
who insists that all difficulties in the
way of belief shall be cleared up,
before he will act on what lieht he
has. He stands just where Thomas
stood when he said, "Except I shall
see in His hands the print of the nails
and put my finger into the print of
the nails, and put my hand into His
side, I will not believe." With this

The Two Faiths. 3 1

difference, Christ for exceptional
reasons complied with Thomas' hard
demand. It was a marvel of patient
love, and consideration for a great
weakness. But now, faith which
courts and insists upon false tests
must run the terrible risk of finding
them unmet. No one will rise from
the dead, no voice will peal from the
opening heavens to assure us that
Christ is the Son of God. It has
been done once, sufficiently and for
all time.

Again, it should strengthen our
faith that disciples like Thomas so
often emerge triumphantly from a
conflict of doubt into a clearer and
stronger believing. Assuredly the
Church of England is right when in
her beautiful collect God is wor-
shipped as " having for the more con-
firmation of the faith suffered His

32 The Two Faiths.

holy apostle Thomas to be doubtful
in His Son's resurrection." Is it not
a help to us to know that among the
apostles was one whose natural scep-
tical tendency asserted itself, satis-
fied itself, and finally gave place to
a belief as deep and intelligent as it
was rapturous and controlling ? Could
what was not genuine have been
palmed off on him by any possibil-
ity ? We catch one glimpse more of
Thomas, before he fades into the
mists of tradition regarding his life
and labors. We see him with the dis-
ciples at Jerusalem waiting for the
descent of the Spirit. No more doubt,
no more wavering ! He has verified
for himself beyond all possibility of
doubt the truth of the gospel, and so
also has verified it for us. Chris-
tianity has been sifted alike by its
friends and by its foes. The records

The Two Faiths. 33

of Christian biography reveal many a
conflict of faith, through which the
soul pressed onward to surer footing
and a larger vision beyond. Thomas
is but one of a class. Let us beware
of judging them too harshly. Let us
remember rather how Christ, after all,
loved and prized this disciple. The
group of the apostleship would seem
very incomplete without him. Amid
all his struggle, under all his doubt,
he was sound at the core. His love
for the Master was a steady and true
affection throughout. That saved him,
because he could not wholly disbelieve
so long as he loved so deeply. The
exquisite lines of Keble on Saint
Thomas Day are full of meaning
here : —

We were not by when Jesus came,

But round us far and near
We see His trophies, and His name

In choral echoes hear.
3

34 The Two Faiths.

In a fair ground our lot is cast
As in the solemn week that pass'd
While some might doubt, but all adored,
Ere the whole widow'd Church had seen her risen
Lord.

Is there, on earth, a spirit frail

Who fears to take their word,
Scarce daring, through the twilight pale,
To think he sees the Lord?
With eyes too tremblingly awake
To bear with dimness for His sake?
Read and confess the Hand Divine
That drew thy likeness here so true in every line.

For all thy rankling doubts so sore

Love thou thy Saviour still,
Him for thy Lord and God adore
And ever do His will.
Though vexing thoughts may seem to last,
Let not thy soul be quite o'ercast, —
Soon will He show thee all His wounds, and say,
" Long have I known thy name — know thou my
face alway."

Finally, we cannot fail to note how
this experience in the life of Thomas
gives point and power to Christ's
new beatitude; for if He gives a

The Two Faiths. 35

new commandment, He gives also a
new beatitude, " Blessed are they that
have not seen and yet have believed."
Yet the blessing comes straight upon
an allusion to the faith of Thomas
resting upon its basis of sight, —
" Thomas because thou hast seen Me,
thou hast believed. Blessed are
they that have not seen, and yet
have believed." It is sometimes
our dream, that if Christ were only
upon earth, and we could go to Him
and tell Him what are our struggles,
and see His face and hear His voice or
feel His uplifting hand, difficulties
would vanish, our hearts would be
anchored forever in unbroken certi-
tude, and our loyalty to Christ would
flame out into undying sacrifice for
Him. Possibly we know not what
manner of spirit we are of. Possibly
we might find far greater disadvan-

36 The Two Faiths.

tages to faithful life and service, then,
than now. Assuredly Christ spoke
truth when He pronounced a blessing
on those who not having seen, yet
have believed ; whose faith does not
rest upon outward evidence, but upon
spiritual apprehension of that to
which testimony is borne, of that
which the Lord is in Himself, as the
embodiment of the Divine. " The
more we penetrate through the out-
ward to the inward, through the flesh
to the Spirit, through communion
with the earthly to communion with
the heavenly Lord, the more do we
learn to know the fulness that is in
Him, in whom dwelleth 'all the ful-
ness of the Godhead bodily,' and in
whom we are complete."

When that painful summons to
his sudden death smote Dr. Arnold
on a Sunday morning, his wife, we

The Two Faiths. 37

are told, observed him " lying still
but with his hands clasped, his lips
moving, and his eyes raised, as if
engaged in prayer, when suddenly he
repeated firmly and earnestly, ' And
Jesus said unto him, Thomas, because
thou hast seen me, thou hast believed ;
blessed are they that have not seen,
and yet have believed.' "

To Dr. Arnold the character of
Thomas had been always of deep
interest. There were points of sym-
pathy between the apostle of the
first and the distinguished educator
of the nineteenth century. Both had
their struggles and their victories.
But it was this last beatitude of Jesus
which shed its holy and blessed light
over that dying bed and into those
dying eyes.

THE END.