I feel it a duty to bear my solemn testimony against the spirit of the day we live in, to warn men against its infection. It is not Atheism I fear so much, in the present times, as Pantheism. It is not the system which says nothing is true, so much as the system which says everything is true. It is not the system which says there is no Savior, so much as the system which says there are many saviors, and many ways to peace! It is the system which is so liberal, that it dares not say anything is false. It is the system which is so charitable, that it will allow everything to be true. It is the system which seems ready to honor others as well as our Lord Jesus Christ, to class them all together, and to think well of all.
It is the system which is so careful about the feelings of others, that we are never to say they are wrong. It is the system which is so liberal that it calls a man a bigot, if he dares to say, “I know my views are right.” This is the system, this is the tone of feeling which I fear in this day, and this is the system which I desire emphatically to testify against and denounce. From the liberality which says everybody is right, from the charity which forbids us to say anybody is wrong, from the peace which is bought at the expense of truth – may the good Lord deliver us!
~ J.C. Ryle
Knots Untied, “Only One Way of Salvation” [Cambridge, England: James Clarke & Co., 1977], 30, 31.
Amen!
Wow. Isn’t it amazing that he wrote that in the 1800′s? Because how appropriate for today. There truly is nothing new under the sun.
Amen and Amen!! Apt description of the situation facing the church today.
[...] I feel it a duty to bear my solemn testimony against the spirit of the day we live in, to warn men against its infection. It is not Atheism I fear so much, in the present times, as Pantheism. It is not the system which says nothing is true, so much as the system which says everything is true. It is not the system which says there is no Savior, so much as the system which says there are many saviors, and many ways to peace! It is the system which … Read More [...]
[...] ~ J.C. Ryle [...]
Powerful, prophetic insight into our day and into the tendency of wo/men’s hearts.
I seriously learned about most of this, but never the less, I still considered it had been beneficial. Excellent job!
I believe so many Christians are drawn to the quotes of J.C. Ryle because he truly wrote through inspiration of the Holy Spirit which is evidenced by the timeliness of his words for the time spoken and for the timelessness of their effect on the human heart.