Irrational Roots of Unbelief and the Gospel's Freedom

Unbelief is not intellectual; the trouble is not the cause of it is not intellectual. What is it? Well, I make bold to say that unbelief is always the result of irrationality. In other words, it's the exact opposite of intellectual. Irrational unbelief, I say, is irrational. It's entirely a matter of feeling and of prejudice. [00:25:57]

Instead of adopting the science, the truly scientific attitude, which would be this: surely to say, well, we can't dispute the facts. Facts are facts after all, and these things are happening, and it's obvious that it isn't these men. There must be something else. What is this? Let's watch this. Let's see what it's going to lead to. [00:27:22]

Look at modern men. Look how tolerant he is. He's so tolerant now that he's prepared not only to excuse but to legitimize moral perversions. You see, he says we've done these, we've judged these things with passion in the past. We've regarded men as criminals. We've called certain actions sin, these perversions. [00:28:12]

The bir of the Modern Men is that he's so fair, he's so tolerant he'll tolerate even perversion, he'll tolerate even foulness, but he won't tolerate the gospel. Look at these tolerant gentlemen who tolerate things like that. You listen to them speaking about the gospel. Listen to them doing it on the wildest. [00:29:27]

Why can't people talk quietly and calmly about the Christian faith? Why can't they write about it in a decent manner? Why must they always scuff at it? Why must they jeer at it? Why must they always poke fun at it? Why this feeling? Why this passion? Why the absence of a calm rational attitude? [00:34:19]

The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared. It is good news. It is a gospel. This is the amazing thing to me, but if the message of the Gospel was that God was a great Tyrant waiting to pounce upon us and to crush us and always keeping us down and stultifying our minds and our spirits and our souls. [00:41:00]

I am come that they might have life, life, and that they might have it more abundantly. Life, my dear friend, this is what you need. The world can't give you life. Does drinking alcohol give you life? Life, that's slavery, that's cutting out your highest faculties, that's crippling your mind, that's interfering with your morals. [00:49:17]

Here is life which is life indeed and life which is eternal. I'm simply putting it to you to reject this and to reject it with feeling and passion and scorn and indignation is nothing but a sheer demonstration of utter irrationality. And if you want to know the final proof of the irrationality is this. [00:50:14]

But there it is, that's Christianity, this butt that comes in, this blessed but what God power of God but the angel of the Lord by Night opened the prison doors and brought them forth and said go stand and speak defy them do the thing they're telling you not to do here it is. [00:51:52]

He is not only rejecting the most glorious person the world has ever seen, he's not only rejecting the most glorious teaching the world has ever heard, he's not only rejecting life and the author of Eternal salvation, he's mad enough to defy the Living God. He thinks he's got the power, the power of knowledge. [00:52:52]

They have sometimes tried by the force of the sword and by the stake and by hanging and other physical ways to do it. They've tried intellectual ways as they're doing today, but you know it's all futile. It's all coming to nothing. [00:53:52]

The irrationality of unbelief is highlighted by its opposition to the very thing that offers true life and fulfillment. Rejecting the gospel is not just a rejection of a message but a rejection of the life and freedom it offers. [00:54:52]