Old Errors and Worthless Changes – Sunday, September 28, 1941
There are prevalent among us two extremes of thought, neither of which must be allowed to dominate our thinking. One faction supposes that age itself is a virtue, and that time can give the authority of truth to things that are not true. Those who thus contend fail to perceive that an error, even though it has become traditional, is still an error, and that time alone cannot make truth of anything that is less than truth.
There is another element who believe that old things are outworn without consideration as to whether they be true or false—that there is virtue in change for the sake of change itself, and that, as a matter of principle, the established order should be done away. But those who think thus, fail to perceive that that which is new may be easily be wrong as that which is old.
Those who would exchange new lamps for old—the counterfeit for the genuine, and those who would completely black out all new light are equally to be shunned. It is written in the record of scripture: “for ever O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven.” (Psalm 119:89) And being thus established it matters little whether a given truth comes to our knowledge now, or in generations to come, or from long ages in the past. Truth has nothing to do with age. Truth is ageless. And neither the cobwebs of tradition nor the glitter of novelty can make or unmake a truth, nor give the dignity of truth to that which is inherently false. Our generation has need to learn this lesson before we cling to old errors on the one hand, or before we grasp too eagerly for worthless changes on the other.
September 28, 1941
Broadcast Number 0,632