Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1871-12-06

/ that belong to the husks of religion.
Men are cast out and taken in on the
letter, and PharaseeisIn is rampant in
/ the Church. 1t is as if ship going
down under the guns of the enemy
were nelected by the men on board,
who are disputing about the last brand
of powder. There are thousands of
men who are in such a state of un-
certainty that the power of the Bible
/ is broken for them. Some men say,
I of what use Is a book interpreted
differently by so many? What is the
use of a guide that guides men in
different ways? 1 hold that the only
part of Scripture valuable is the part
that all men must agree upon-the
part that forms good life. All honest
men agree in the parts of the Bible
that 90 to build up character. Men
must use the Bible for what it was
made for. If man should try to put
his gloves on his feet he would soon
be dissatisfied with his gloves. The
Word of God claims just this, that it
contains body of rules that gives to
men an idea
HOW TO LIVE
benevolently and against selfishness,
and the man who wants to know how
to trust his neighbOr, how to serve
his God, can find enough in the Bible.
The Bible is given to show how to
perfect manhood, and every man
knows that it is as good a guide in
that respect as can be had. There the
authority is planted. All the church
es stand together to-day on the SUBJ
stantial teaching Of the Bible. The
external history of the Bible is be-
yond your reach except as you receive
il from scholars, but the internal you
can know, and il is your fault if you
don't know il. Opposite to the scep-
tic is the deyOtee who refuses to in
vestigate anything. Now, men who
won't be led by the nose won't take
the Bible this way. The Bible was
never made to go against nature.
God made the outward world as well
as the Bible, and if anything conflicts
something must give way-facts
won't. Once astronomy was fixed
out of the Bible. By-and-by one of
these men, who read Gods outward
revelation, came to overturn the he
reditary opinion of the Church. The
fact killed the theologians. and at last
it was confessed that the letter must
be interpreted by the outside fact.
Then came the biologists, who said
the world has been'made
MORE THAN 5000 YEARS.
The whole Church thundered
against the geOlogists. There was
the old rock record, and men have
read it, and the rocks haven't chang
ed, but the Interpretation of Genesis
Is changed. Now that the days are
called periods geology substan til
ates the Bible. Did the Bible give
way? No; the interpreters gave way.
Men say to young men, "It is dan
gerous 10 read" What isn't danger
GUS? Everything that 1 know Of is
dangerous except dying. 1 say to
young men, "Don't make haste.
Don't read, but study. Let the light
of science shine, but don't abandon
the Bible for the sake of science /;
that only touches the outside of it.
In this world there must be ehaff
around the wheat, A truth must
have husks that will fall off. The
spiritual elements of the Bible are
better understood in every genera
tiOn. 1t is
FATALLY UNWISE
in our day to refuse thought to men.
There is a great field of thought
opening, and thank God for it. 1
do not believe that anything will ever
permanently disturb the hold of the
Bible on mems minds. Ibelieve that
when we rise to the other life this
whole world will be but a punctua-
tion point on the scheme of the uni
verse. Paul, that intense believer
and intense sceptic, said, "I know in
part, but there are three that abide I"
And what are they?-
FAITH, HOPE, LOVE,
and they are not equal-the greatest
of these is love. This he knew. If
the Bible won't stand science it won't
stand anything. l invoke science;
1 invoke philosophy; l know what
the Bible is, for l have tasted the
fruit that grows on that tree. Nobody
knows anything about the Bible un-
till he uses it as a chart in storm,
az medicine in sickness