56 QUAKER ASPECTS OF TRUTH 



evolution of religious thought ; whilst to God it must 

 for ever stand as the record of man*s ignorance* There- 

 fore Friends have always refused to limit the Truth of 

 God by creed or dogma^ believing that God has still 

 many things to reveal to those who are willing to be 

 taught by Him, and that as yet we do but wade on 

 the shore of the vast ocean of God^s Truth, which 

 remains still comparatively unexplored. 



Moreover, much of the Truth of God with which 

 theology concerns itself is not only unexplored but 

 unexplorable. For surely it is obvious that God is only 

 knowable just where He comes in contact with human 

 life and human experience* 



Someone has truly said that ** wise men investigate 

 whilst fools explain/^ And where investigation is 

 impossible, as, for example, in abstruse metaphysical 

 questions regarding ** The Trinity,'^ we shall best show 

 our wisdom by a frank acknowledgment of our ignorance* 



And now let us consider the question. What is the 

 difference between religion and theology ? *' 



A man*s religion is his knowledge of God and his 

 relationship to Him* 



A man*s theology is what he knows, or what he thinks 

 he knows, about God* 



There is all the difference in the world between 

 knowing a person or thing, and knowing about that 

 person or thing* For example, the astronomer may 

 know a great deal about the sun* He may know the 

 meaning of the sun spots, the distance of the sun from 

 the earth, and something also of its chemical composition* 

 But his very study of the sun may cause him to forget 

 to rejoice in the sunshine, and happier far is the little 

 child who, in blissful ignorance of all these things, lives 

 joyfully in its warmth and brightness* 



Or, to use another simile — the chemist may know a 

 great deal concerning the chemistry of food* He may 



