Men that work by doctrines are men that think they have found
out the universe; they have not only got it, but they have
formulated it; they know all about the Infinite, they have
sailed around eternity, they know all about the Eternal and
the Everlasting God, and you will hear them discuss questions
of theology: “No, God could not, consistent with consistency,
do so-and-so.” They know all His difficulties; they know how
He got round them. One might easily come to think that God was
their next-door neighbor. Well, after all, whether it is true
or false--their systematic views, their dogmas--the pedagogic
views are very important to teach young and middle-aged and
old to attempt, by philosophic reasoning, to reach into these
unfathomable depths. They produce a power upon the brain of most
transcendent importance; they, in their way, may not increase
the sum of human knowledge, but they increase the capacity
of the human brain for profound thought and investigation.
(Text.)--HENRY WARD BEECHER.
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