The Union and eastern journal. [volume] (Biddeford [Me.]) 1854-1858, 1857-08-07
Mn. EDrroa The followin /; is copy

young sea captain, VINO had embrace
dcistical sentiments fyou should dec
!. it worthy ofpublicity You arc at liber'
to insert it in your columns. WINE.
Biddgon, Auyast sIs57. 's
My DEAR SrR:-Whilc thinking o
the uncertainty of mortal life, and tn
possibility that We might not be privilege
to meet again. on the nnrroW isfhmas {
time; and more especially while refectin
on our much conversation when We me
last; / have often { 1t dcsirous to see yol
again, and 10 have some further conver
sation on the subject Of the Scripture
and the Christian religion. But as il i
quite uncertain whether / shall have thu
! opportunity soon, If ever, deem it expe
saient to pen a few thoughts for you
1pef,lsal and candid meditation.
Waving the custom of the polite
world, offer no farther apology for these
reflections than this, sense of duty
And in the first place, | would say, il
Christianity be true, and the Scriptures a
divine revelation, then we can never es.
innate the consequences Of receiving OF
rejecting them, unless We had line to
fafhom eternity itself. ! recollect that in
our conversation YOU bore down upon
several passages in the Old Testament ;
and from their obscurity attempted to in
validate the truth of the Scriptures, by
saying they were absurd, ridiculous, and
inconsistent. But when we recollect that
the habits, customs, and manners Of the
ancients were in many respects entirely
different from ours-whcn we consider
the lapse of time which has intervcncd
since the events recorded in the old Tcs-
lament transpircd-moreovcr, when we
reflect that in the flight Of time many
changes have been made, both in names
and places, it is no marvel, that to the
superficial reader many passages should
be obscure, appear absurd, and seeming.
" inconsistent: Yet to the ingenious
and candid, there is no event of impor-
tance to us, but what may be solved and
clearly proved. l rccollect you also stat
ed that the account given by the evangcl-
ist Of the LABEL, or supcrscription over
our Saviour's cross was contradictory
But not so-therc is some immaterial diff.
ference in the relation given, but the inn
port is the same.
Now, then, having corrected your dead
reckoning in these objections, | observe
that ifthe Scriptures arc of divine origin,
and Jesus Christ the son of God; AM il
it is indispenSably necessary tiat We be-
licvc in Him in order to ohS )Oternal
life, then nothing can justify. man in OPP
posing or rejecting the gospel but abso-
lutte demonstration Of its falschood. II
the Christian had not more sure word
of prophcsy he would be justified if he
bclicyod and acted on probability. But
he who discards Christianity, and rejects
the Scriptures, cannot be justified on any
ground short of decisive evidence that they
are not OF divine origin. las any such ev-
idencc ever been produced! II then the
Christian is weak in his faith; the unbe-
lever, Tor dcist ifyou please, is mad in his
unbclict, and it the Christian should have
strong evidence why he believes in the
gospcl-the Observation-Disclosures strong
or proof why he rejects it. For the
christian adventures nothing in this enter
prize, all the hazard is on the part Of
him who disbclicves. Should the gos-
pei prove false, he eventually loses moth
ing by his faith; but should provctrue,
the unbclicvcr is like the mariner caught
in gale, completely embayed, destitute
of cable or anchors, and rapid current
setting him toward an iron boundlee shore +!
There is no life boat. His ruin is newt
able! Ny dear sir, had time, and did |
know your particular objections against
the Scriptures, | think | could answer to
your satisfaction, any reasonable objcc-
ton YOU could urge against their authen-
ticfy,unlcss your heart is impcrvious, and
shielded against the truth. But ! have
not time. One thing, however, permit
me to repeat, viz: To the candid mind
it is no wonder that the Scriptures, a book
written so many ages ago, should contain
some things obscure and hard to be un-
dcraood. According to the custom Of
the East, and the genius Of those days,
many of the prophecies were written in a
tigrrative and metaphorical language, and
are in their own nature obscure, until ex-
plaipcd by the events. Moreover, there
are n the Scriptures many illusions to
customs anciently existing, but unknown,
only in history. Hence, many passages
may be dark and appear absurd to those
unaequaintcd with the usages and customs
of those days. But still, whatever is es-
scntial for us to know and practice, what
ever is essential to our present hope or
future salvation, is plain and easy to be
understood. And, moreover, nothing OF
importance is made to depend on sin
gle passage, for IL one text cannot be un-
dentood there arc many parallel passages
that may; and the doctrine or duty
taught in one doubtful sentence may be
discovered in many plain ones.
Now in respect to the account given Of
the supcrscription over our Savior's cross,
the difference, (if there is any real differ
ence,) does not effect the import Of the
fact. And il it were granted that the
Evangclists in writing from their own
memory, or from intelligence, received
from others related some unimportant cir
cumstanccs differently, the truth would
not thereby be invalidatcd. The English
Historians in their account OF the cxecu-
ton Of Charles l., place the time OF his
his execution at different hours Of the
day. But would any man in his sober
senses, for this difference reject the whole
narrative, and deny that there ever was
such King as Charles /, and that he
died on the scaffoldi There never
'ranspircd any important event in the
world, which can be sustained with clear
er demonstration than the account Of our