The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1872-01-18
The Bible and Mental Growth.

By the study of the Bible, the mind Of man
is brought into contact with the mind of God
Being designed to be the means of the highest
intellectual culture, as we'll as the means Of
eternal salvation, the directions it contains are
not usually given in the form of specific rules,
but in the form of principles. The Bible con-.
tains system of doctrines, but these doctrines
are simply the principles of duty. From the
doctrines as principles, we deduce rules of duty.
From the doctrine of the divinity of Christ, we
deduce the duty of paying Him homage. From
the doctrine of the atonement, we deduce the
duty of trusting in Christs merits for accep-
tance with God.
These doctrines or principles are not isolated.
They are parts of a system, and taken together
form perfect whole; no one doctrine can be
perfectly understood when viewed by ITSELF
The student of astronomy may know that the
moon revolves annually around the sun, but he
cannot understand the form of her orbit, and
the times and circumstances Of her revolution,
unless he understands the relation of the moon
to the earth, and to other portions of the solar
system In ike manner man may know that
certain doctrine is found in the Bible, and is,
therefore, true; but he cannot understand that
doctrine till he understands the system of which
it is part.
The doctrines contained in the Bible are not
man would arrange them. They are not set in
order, so that they can be approached and ap-
pretended with the least possible exercise of
thought. They are embodied in facts, just as
the natural sciences are embedded in facts.
There is in nature perfect system of as
tronomy, but it is not so arranged that the
careless observer may see it. To careless and
superficial observer, nothing can be more con-
fused than the apparent motions of the heaven:
ly bodies-the facts from which the science Of
astronomy is to be deducted. When observa-
ton has found the right standpoint, and the
principles are deducted from the phenomena,
then all confusion ceases, and perfect harmo-
NOUS system appears.
In like manner there is a perfect system of
theology in the Bible, but it is not at once ap-
parent. 1t lies underneath the facts of the
Bible. These are made up of narratives, and
precepts, and psalms, and prophecies, and epis-
ties. Nothing, at first view, seems farther from
system than the teachings of the Bible. But
careful study reveals system comprehensive
and perfect.
So far as we can see, God has constructed
both nature and the Bible in this way, in order
to exercise the mind, and thus develope its.
power. Intellectual growth is thus promoted
BY the study of the Bible, in the same way in
which it is promoted by the study of the natural
sciences. ~.
1t is also promoted by the peculiar nature Of
the truths which compose this divine science,
and BY the fact that they come fresh from the
mind of God. If truths have tendency to
quicken the soul, the truth of God must have
this tendency in the highest degree. 1t does
not, like the science of mathematics, address
the intellect alone; it stirs the deepest feelings
of the soul. Efforts of pure intellect now do
not call forth the highest intellectual power.
That is called forth, when the highest intellec-
tual efforts is stimulated by intense feeling;
this is the very condition of mind which the
truth of God is adapted to produce.
Truth relating to the natural sciences Is ad-
mitted to be powerful instrument of mental
growth much more then should we expect
that truth relating to conscious immortal intel
ligences should have similar power. Ga
The study of the wisdom of sages and states.
men, as shown in the formation Of constitutions
and in acts of legislation, gives power to the
mind; much more must be the study of the di-
vine constitution of the moral universe, and
the legislation of the King of kings.
We have thus viewed one of the many aspects
in which the value of the study of the Bible IS
apparent. It's great value consists in making
us wise unto salvation, in teaching us the way
of deliverancs from sin; but these are inciden-
tai benefits resulting from its study, to which
we do we'll to refer from time to time. 81,