When they are talking about Ralph, they are not talking about Grandpa Calkins or Cousin Ralph. They are talking about Ralph Waldo Emerson, the famous American poet who uses the word "Pentecost" in a peculiar way in a famous poem he wrote called "The Problem." The problem with Ralph is not that in this poem he thinks himself not called to be a priest or bishop even though filled with sentiment at the sight of church and pew. Lots of Christians in heaven were just ordinary people. Although Ralph was quite the genius wordsmith, the real problem with his poem is found in a line near the end of the poem, when he says, "The Book itself before me lies!" These words make the reader think that perhaps Ralph is merely wallowing in religious sentimentality, his fond regard for the picturesque sight of cowls and priestly vestments being not based on any foundation of Scriptural truth or personal faith or relationship with God, but only because of some vague notion of religiosity. And yet earlier in the poem Ralph almost seems to understand what Christianity means. He says:
Ever the fiery Pentecost
Girds with one flame the countless host
Trances the heart through chanting choirs
And through the priest the mind inspires.
In this context he almost seems to be talking about the Holy Spirit which is how God is manifesting Himself in humanity in this present day and age, according to the Bible. Jesus, Lamb of God slain for our sins, has ascended to heaven and now sits at the right hand of God but He has left with us on earth a Comforter, breath of God, the Holy Spirit. However, because Ralph interchangeably talks about the spirit of pagan religions of the Greeks and Romans, we are not sure that Ralph knows of what he speaks. The pagan spirit and the Holy Spirit are two very different spirits and manifest very differently in the fruits of humanity. Ralph's poem is so vague that we cannot be sure from this poem alone what Ralph's understanding of salvation and the Gospel actually is. Maybe he went to church and heard a lot of sermons but he does not share the full Gospel truth in his poem and seems to be of skeptical mind. Anyway, while these poems are interesting expressions and interpretations of human thoughts and aspirations and hopes and fears and longings and dilemmas, which we can take or leave either way, we don't need them but often they are required reading in school because the world did not arrive at this present crossroads devoid of context which we ignore perhaps at our own peril, yet these poems are not the true source of our faith which is found only in the Word of God, the Bible. Only in the Word of God, the bread from heaven, will we find what our souls crave.
