The Light of Nature
IllustrationMen strike their knives into the Bible, and say that the light of nature is sufficient. Indeed! Have the fire-worshippers of India, cutting themselves until blood spurts from their bodies—have they found the light of nature sufficient? Has the cannibal of Borneo, gnawing the roasted flesh from human bones—has he found the light of nature sufficient?
Has the Chinese woman, with her foot cramped and deformed into a hoof—has she found the light of nature sufficient? Could the ancients see heaven from the heights of Ida or Olympus? No! I call upon the pagodas of superstition, the tortures of Brahma, the infanticide of the Ganges, the bloody wheels of Juggernaut, to prove that the light of nature is not sufficient.
A star is beautiful, but it pours no light into the midnight darkness of a sinful soul. The flower is sweet, but it exudes no balm for the heart’s wound.
D. L. Moody, Anecdotes and Illustrations (©1898, public domain)
The point
A litany rejecting the sufficiency of natural religion, pointing to the self-destructive practices of fire-worshippers, cannibals, and foot-binding as proof that the light of nature alone brings no true guidance.