TURNING WORLD

I have been reading The Growth of the Spirit of Christianity by George Matheson, written in 1877. This was given to me as a fortieth birthday present by my friend Jonathan Le Tocq - a good present!

In his discussion of the influence of 'Mohammedanism' Matheson makes the comment that,

His religion still nominally stretches over 130,000,000 of souls - still nominally comprehends a vast geographical extent of the earth's surface. But even from its votaries the fervour of youth has departed, and the earnestness of the ancient belief exists no more. On the other hand, there is an outside world which has renewed its spring-time, and left Mohammedanism in the mists of winter; the Cross has outgrown the Crescent.


A couple of years back I posted a very similar quote from Spurgeon, and both men reflect the muscular and confident Christianity of the Victorian era. Todays rather different global scene might make it seem that it is now the Crescent that is in the ascendency, but that would be to succumb to the insipid, gutless 'Christianity' of the 21st century. It is the Cross that will triumph, for it is by the Cross that "the many will be made righteous" (Romans 5:19).