Dangers Facing Youth
247
and work of God to meet their finite comprehension, but it is all a
miserable failure.
True science and inspiration are in perfect harmony. False science
is a something independent of God. It is pretentious ignorance. This
deceptive power has captivated and enslaved the minds of many, and
they have chosen darkness rather than light. They have taken their
position on the side of unbelief, as though it were a virtue and the sign
of a great mind to doubt, when it is the sign of a mind too weak and
narrow to perceive God in His created works. They could not fathom
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the mystery of His providence should they study with all their power
for a lifetime. And because the works of God cannot be explained
by finite minds, Satan brings his sophistry to bear upon them and
entangles them in the meshes of unbelief. If these doubting ones will
come into close connection with God, He will make His purposes clear
to their understanding.—
Testimonies for the Church 4:584, 585
(1881).
Destructive Power of Doubt—There is no excuse for doubt or
skepticism. God has made ample provision to establish the faith of
all men if they will decide from the weight of evidence. But if they
wait to have every seeming objection removed before they believe,
they will never be settled, rooted, and grounded in the truth. God will
never remove all seeming difficulties from our path. Those who wish
to doubt may find opportunity; those who wish to believe will find
plenty of evidence upon which to base their faith.
The position of some is unexplainable, even to themselves. They
are drifting without an anchor, beating about in the fog of uncertainty.
Satan soon seizes the helm and carries their frail bark wherever he
pleases. They become subject to his will. Had these minds not lis-
tened to Satan, they would not have been deceived by his sophistry;
had they been balanced on the side of God they would not have be-
come confused and bewildered.—
Testimonies for the Church 4:583,
584
(1881).
Failure to Put Acquired Knowledge to Practical Use—But,
young men, if you gain ever so much knowledge and yet fail to put that
knowledge to a practical use, you fail of your object. If, in obtaining
an education, you become so absorbed in your studies that you neglect
prayer and religious privileges and become careless and indifferent to
the welfare of your souls, if you cease to learn in the school of Christ,
you are selling your birthright for a mess of pottage. The object for