fest belief. It is
important that we should have a definite knowledge of these doctrines;
that we should study them in relation to the Scriptures upon which they
profess to be founded, and that we should be in a position to defend
them against assailants. Thus faith will gather strength, and believers
will be "ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh them a
reason of the hope that is in them with meekness and fear."[016]

SECTION 2.--GOD--[017]

The existence of God is the basis of all religious belief. If there is
no God, there is no moral obligation. If there is no Almighty Being to
whom men owe existence, and to whom they must give account, worship is a
vain show and systems of religion are meaningless. Theologians,
therefore, from the days of the first Christian apologists to our own
time, have endeavoured to establish by proof the doctrine of the Divine
existence. To those who accept the authority of Scripture the existence
of God is a fact which no argument can overthrow; but as there are many
who reject this authority, evidence has been sought elsewhere than in
Scripture to establish the doctrine. The arguments for the Being of God
are mainly threefold, being drawn: (_a_) from the consciousness of
mankind; (_b_) from the order and design that are manifest in the
universe; and (_c_) from the written revelation which claims to
have come to men from God Himself.

(_a_) (_Consciousness_) There is a wonderful agreement among men as
to the existence of a great invisible Being by whom the world was
created and is governed, and who charges Himself with the control and
guidance of its inhabitants and concerns. In a land such as our own, in
which Christianity has held place for many centuries, belief in God,
however it may fail to produce holy living, is almost universal. This
belief exercises a strong influence, and has contributed not a little to
the formation of our national character. It is an atmosphere always
around us, sustaining and promoting the healthy life of those even who
are the least conscious of being affected by it. The belief is indelibly
impressed upon our laws, our literature, and even our everyday
occupations. It is stamped upon the relations men sustain to one
another. It is this which for one day weekly suspends labour that
Christians may have leisure to worship God and to meditate upon the
duties they owe to Him. It is in recognition of this that we see tall
spires pointing hea