“All proper defence of truth must
aim after this positive result: more clearly
to define and more accurately to set forth, that which is certainly believed
among us. And this, in the good guidance of
our God, is the higher meaning and issue of theological controversy. As every schism and separation indicate some truth which
had been neglected, or temporarily ignored, by the Church, so each controversy marks some point on which the teaching of
the Church had been wanting in clearness, accuracy, or fullness. And so every controversy, however bitter or threatening in
its course, ultimately contributes to the establishment of truth—not merely, or even principally, by the answer to
objections which it calls forth, but by the fuller consideration of what had
been invalidated, and the consequent wider and more accurate understanding of
it. . .We may have only partially succeeded
in our effort; we may have even failed of success. But every defence and attempt at clearer elucidation,
unless wholly ungrounded in reason or criticism, at least shows that defence
and a clearer and higher position are possible, even
though we may not have reached to it; and it
points out the direction which others, perhaps more successful than we, may
follow.”
~ Preface to Prophecy
and History in Relation to the Messiah, by Alfred Edersheim.
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