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But the difficulty is not solved by the hypothesis of a First Creature, by whatever
names we may call him. As the Author of the Mizanu'l Mavazin tells us that no
creature can comprehend or reveal the Creator, then it follows logically that this
imaginary First Creature, being himself a creature, cannot do so. However much he might be
superior to man, yet there would still be an impassable gulf between him and his Creator.
Hence, if this philosophy be accepted, we must admit that God can never be known by men.
This would overthrow all religion. To adore the First Creature would be to put a creature
in the place of the Creator. This would be even worse than Shirk
(الشِّركُ), which the
Qur'an1 says is the one unpardonable sin. Hence the theory of a First Creature does not help us at all.
Here the Injil comes to our aid, and reveals to us what wise men of old had failed even
to imagine, the existence of the Kalimatu'llah (Word of God), who is one with God His
Father by Nature (John x. 30) and yet has become one with man through His Incarnation. The
Book which reveals this one Manifestation of God must have God as the source of its
teaching. The difference between the doctrine of the Bible and that of Muslim philosophy
as above quoted must be noted. In both cases the need of a Mediator
(مُتَواسِطَ) between God and
man is recognized. But the philosophical view (taught, for instance, in the Mizanu'l
Mavazin) speaks of an imaginary Being, who is neither God nor man, who owes his
supposed existence to the conjectures of Jews, heathens, and heretics, adopted by some
Muslims. The Christian view is founded upon the Revelation given us by God Most High. In
that Revelation we are told of a real Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is both Perfect
God and Perfect Man, who has revealed God to us by His holy life and character as much as
by His oral teaching, and who has atoned for our sins by the
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sacrifice of His own life on the cross. If we have to decide between the two views, it
is not difficult to say which of the two it is the more wise and reasonable to acceptthat
which has been invented by men, or that which God has revealed through His holy Prophets
and Apostles in the Holy Scriptures.
3. The Gospel is evidently from God, because it satisfies the yearnings of the human
spirit for the knowledge of God, for justification before God and remission of sins, and
for pureness of heart and life. (1) The Gospel declares God's eternal purpose regarding
mankind, and reveals to man the reason why he was created, the sinfulness into which he
has fallen, and his need of holiness. (2) It tells us how we may obtain forgiveness of our
sins through faith in Christ, and may thus become justified in God's sight. (3) It shows
how through faith in Christ our hearts may be cleansed, and how God's Holy Spirit may make
our hearts His shrine and purify our thoughts and desires. As our love to God grows more
and more, we are strengthened in fighting against sin and the Evil One. (4) The Gospel
shows us how through the Lord Jesus Christ we may become God's adopted children. Filled
with peace and spiritual joy, we then can look forward with the full assurance of hope and
love to the joyful day of the Resurrection and to eternal happiness and holiness in God's
presence. As man's spiritual needs are thus satisfied through the Gospel, therefore the
Gospel must be God's message to man.
It is known by experience that the sacred books of other religions do not produce this
effect. Which of them removes fear of the Resurrection Day? Which of them enables man to
know and to love God? Which of them demands purity of heart and life? Which of them tells
of a Paradise into which nothing sensual or impure can enter, and in which the saved are
free from all that is vile, and that is therefore contrary to the Will and Nature of the
Holy One? These books do not show how salvation from sin and
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