Islip Collyer: "the two trees"

THE TWO TREES.

There are many ways leading to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The tree is in fact to be found everywhere, always alluring with fruits of almost infinite variety, and always yielding good and evil. Family life and children and the dreadful curse of sexual abuse, foods of many kinds giving health and strength when properly used but leading to greedy indulgence, over-feeding and degrading some while starving others; wonderful forces discovered to increase man's power over nature and give to him a fuller life, but used to blow fellow men to pieces and threaten the extinction of life altogether. Men very rarely make proper user of the knowledge yielded by the great tree, they cannot possibly co-ordinate and understand it all.

There is only one way to the tree of life and that is guarded, to prevent the intolerable evil of immortal rebels against God. This is a first principle of the Bible that men are very unwilling to accept. So often in presumptuous defiance of all reason men will insist that either the tree of life has no existence or else it must be found in every garden! A lover of science will often be more reasonable. He will admit the existence of a supreme Creator, but deny that there is any reason to suppose that man is of any interest to Him. In the most dispassionate way such a reasoner will suggest that men may be of no more value to God than earthworms, they may only be playing a very insignificant part in the preparation of a soil for the use of more worthy creatures yet to be evolved. When the same man turns to the Bible he usually loses all his cold logic and we presently find him denouncing the Scriptures for representing that "all nations before God are as nothing and altogether vanity." That it is of the divine mercy that we are not consumed, and that if men are to be saved from perishing it will only be on the basis that God has seen fit to provide. In short, when men deal with scientific subjects they are prepared to face ugly truths and with dispassionate patience try to classify all that they discover. When they turn to religion they want feeling to rule and a man's conviction is regarded as the expression of his desires. A Christian who thinks that "few will be saved," is regarded as a narrow minded and uncharitable bigot. A scientist who does not think that anyone will be saved is recognised as a brave man who fearlessly expresses his painful convictions.

— W. Islip Collyer, The Bible and Modern Thought - dare you face the facts? ALS, Birmingham, undated pamphlet