y the unaided
working of the human mind. Does a comparison between the sacred books of
the Hindus and the Bible support this view? Listen to a Sanscrit
specialist like Professor Max Mueller, who has spent years in the study
of the Veda, and who has every conceivable motive to say everything he
can on its behalf: "That the Veda is full of childish, silly, even to
our mind monstrous conceptions, who would deny? But even these
monstrosities are interesting and instructive. I could not even answer
the question, if you were to ask it, whether the religion of the Veda
was polytheistic or monotheistic. Monotheistic in the usual sense of the
word it is decidedly not." The dreamy, vague teaching of the Veda has
hardened into the unmistakable polytheism and pantheism of modern
Hinduism. In no country in the world has mind been more active than in
India; in no country have the learned had such abundant leisure, such
full opportunity for quiet, sustained thought--and you see the result.
We follow with deep interest and sympathy the straining of these minds
to understand themselves and the world around; as they grope after God
we find they occasionally obtain a glimpse of the highest truth, but
the darkness, though for the moment relieved, is not dispelled. The
truth has continued to elude them. They have not arrived at the
knowledge of even the first principles of a theology worthy of God, and
fitted to direct, purify, and guide man. Excellent, high-toned
sentiments are no doubt found in Hindu writings, but these do not alter
their general character. The Bible, by its teaching regarding God and
man, above all by its record of the peerless excellence of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and of the provision made through Him for the supply of
man's deepest wants, presents a marvellous contrast to the Veda, to the
great epic poems of the Hindus, to their philosophical treatises and
their Puranas. I know a good deal of what has been said to show that the
characteristics of the Bible may be accounted for on merely human
principles, but the certain facts of the case refute, to my mind, the
arguments adduced. Max Mueller says in one of his writings--I cannot
quote his exact words--that we are not to look in the songs of the Veda
for anything so advanced as we find in the Psalter. Why not? Had not the
Pundits of India far more cultured minds than David and the hymnists of
Israel? Their works are different, for their teaching came from
different source