THE ANALOGY PRINCIPLE underlies the entire Word of God. It is used by the Holy Spirit for purposes of proof and of revelation. After once its astonishing frequency of occurrence is observed, its importance cannot be logically questioned. Some philosophical writers have gone so far as to declare that reasoning from an analogy is not an acceptable proof of any point in any realm of thought. With this extravagant view we most heartily disagree. The analogy, employed intelligently and under the proper limitations, is of inestimable value. God uses it throughout the Inspired Book.

Although philosophers, logicians, and scientists decry and belittle the value of the analogy for purposes of argument, yet the theory of evolution, so blindly accepted by the lesser lights and would-be great men of the philosophical and scientific world rests upon nothing else than a supposed succession of analogies. But alas, their studied succession has in it countless breaks or “missing links” and the alleged analogies themselves are strained or grossly imaginative. What consistency, that the so-called culture of today should demolish the analogy, and forthwith build upon the wreckage the idol of evolution and call upon the “kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man” to come and pay homage to the lying farce they have builded. If evolutionists could produce a true and complete succession of scientifically demonstrated analogies to support their contention, their theory would be proved. But the succession of analogies which their cause requires does not exist.

The Bible is God’s Book, but it is given to and for man. Although its message is infinite, it is addressed to finite beings. God fully knew the capabilities of the mind of man. Hence God’s Book is so written that it fits the mind of man as the waters of the sea fit the variations of the seashore. Man's mind naturally and normally turns to analogies. Emerson has said, with striking aptitude,—“Man is analagous, he studies relations.” ‘The God Who created man, and consequently knew the tendencies of man’s mind, is He Who inspired the Book. In the Book which He has given us He has placed abundant evidence that He fully knew and understood the tendency of the human mind to reason from analogy's. ‘The marvelous examples of the Analogy Principle lie scattered through Holy Writ from beginning to end, thus showing that God has prepared the Book for man, the creature of analogy. ‘The Bible is not only God’s revelation, but God’s recognition of man’s limitation, In recognizing man's limitation, God does not seek to reduce infinite truth to the level of the finite, but simply unveils the infinite, in order that the finite may be given a fair opportunity to believe. ‘The Bible invites the mind of man into a vast field of beautiful and convincing analogies, and in every instance the analogies present some mighty truth of doctrine or prophecy which can only be received by faith.

Those who argue against proofs which are based on analogies are right when the points of an analogy are in the realm of the commonplace. For instance, 1 cannot prove that I saw the same man my friend saw because I saw a man with a nose, and hair, and two eyes, and he saw a man with exactly the same characteristics. Certainly there is an analogy between the men we saw, but every point in the analogy is so commonplace as to be valueless when used to prove that we saw the same man, ‘There are too many men with noses, and hair, and eyes, for such an analogy to carry any weight. It certainly docs not prove that we saw the same man. It is such vapid. examples of reasoning by the analogy that have caused certain men to take up the cudgels in wholesale fashion against it. Such a course, however, is in accord with neither common’ sense nor Scripture.

But if the points of an analogy are in the realm of the unusual, the unexpected, the unique, then they take on tremendous’ value for purposes of proof. For example, my friend and I have visited the city and upon our return trip begin to compare notes. 1 tell him that I saw an interesting couple on one of the main streets. ‘The man was over seven feet tall, wore a battered stove-pipe hat and a dilapidated Prince Albert coat and carried a huge gold-headed cane. He was accompanied by a small weazoned-up little lady who had spent a small fortune on peroxide and “make-up.” Her bepowdered face was surmounted by a huge picture hat which was decorated by a gigantic henna plume. She wore a cream-colored taffeta silk dress and was leading a water spaniel by a pink ribbon. My friend instantaneously claps his hands and cries out, “I saw the same couple.” His mind has performed the analogy as rapidly as the words of description have left my lips. His conclusion is that we have seen the same couple. He is justified in his conclusion because all of the points in the analogy are in the realm of the unusual. ‘The mind of man naturally takes to analogies and comparisons. The analogy is a dependable, yes, reliable method of reasoning when held within the limitations we have indicated.

The definition of the Analogy Principle is:

The Analogy Principle is that principle of divine revelation under which God embeds the wonderful truths concerning Israel, Jesus, and the individual believer in some apparently remote Biblical incident, making these truths demonstrable by an extended series of similarities or contrasts.

The Bible fairly teems with these analogies. Some of them, as in the case of the one just set forth, present Jesus in some phase of His character or work; some of them reveal prophetic truth concerning Israel; while others un fold the deeper personal truths so greatly needed for the rightful growth-of the individual soul. Many passages which would otherwise be dark and obscure are made to glow with light upon the application of the ubiquitous Analogy Principle.

Copyright 1923, Clifton L. Fowler