But one of their opinions
subverts everything they grant to orthodoxy. Christ was not, according
to their view, the Messiah in the sense foretold by the prophets and
preached by the apostles. We must judge him apart from all poetry,
speculation, and human judgment. The Christ of the present church is the
creation of theologians, not the character portrayed by the evangelists.
Unfortunately for our correct view of him, Paul speculated entirely too
much upon his nature and work. The resurrection of Christ never took
place, because there was no necessity for it. It was a good thing for
the apostles to believe that such an event took place, for it encouraged
them. Christ never showed himself to any one after his death, and the
belief that he did appear arose purely from the excited nerves,
imaginative temperament, and strong desire of his followers to see him.
His spirit did not die with his body, but entered upon another stage of
existence.
Jesus did not work miracles, for he had not the power. He was eminently
a moral man, the very personification of the truly religious character.
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