"WHAT do ye think of the Son of Man?" This is
the religious question of the age. The result of
the renewed struggle cannot be doubtful: in all
theological controversies, truth is the gainer in the
end. Though nailed to the cross and buried in
the tomb, it rises again triumphant over error,
taking captivity captive, and changing at times
even a bitter foe, like Saul of Tarsus, into a devoted
friend. Goethe says:
"The conflict of faith and
unbelief remains the proper, the only, the deepest
theme of the history of the world and mankind,
to which all others are subordinated." This very
conflict centres in the Christological problem.
The question of Christ is the question of Christianity, which is the manifestation of his life in the world; it is the question of the Church, which rests upon him as the immovable rock; it is the question of history, which revolves around him as