The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1873-03-07
INVESTIGATE.

great interest your articles with the
above title, in THE News of the
21st and 2SIh of February, and
although approving of the general
aim and purpose of your remarks,
and admitting it as truth that the
human mind is running, more now
than it has at any other period
recorded in history, into the inves-
tigatlon of all things, would sag
gest the necessity of care, while at
tempting to free the mind from
error, lest the truth be elected along
with 1t. If christianity be true it
is founded upon the Bible; and
anything that may be said having, "a
tendency to weaken confidence in
the latter, will also tend to destroy
the superstructure at the same time.
If a fear exists that when John was
telling the story of those streets of
'tpure gold" he was drawing heavy
drafts on the banks of his imagina-
rion," what confidence will there be
in the other parts of the same story !?
And if this freedom of thought is
exercised in regard to one por-
ton of what we have been
wont to consider the Word of
God, will not the remainder I'M
dergo the same ordeal? Most
assuredly it will. 1t may be
said that in the investigation error
alone will be rejected, while the
truth will remain unsulIied and un-
furnished. This at first sight ap-
pears plausible and assuring, but
will it bear Investigation? What
security for truth is there in merely
human opinions, without the light
of revelation? And what is reve-
lation unless it be wholly true in
every part Some say, "the truth
is in it but it must be culled out"
If this is so what is it and how
shall we discriminate between truth
and error? Is it Romanism, or
Episcopalianism, Calvinism, Ar
menianism, Methodism, Spiritual
ism or Mormanism If none of
these then it must be something
else. All profess to derive their
dogmas and creeds from the Bible,
by this culling process, yet how di-
verging their views are. Some ease
their minds by saying the different
views are nothing more than like
the variations of color caused by
the rays of light passing through a
prism, or the same truths seen in
different aspects. If this is true
discord would cease. Shades of
difference would rather be agree
able than otherwise. There would
be variety in harmoney. But to
prove that this is not the case it is
only necessary 10 mention the wide
difference there is between them,
and they are seen to differ as much
as black and white, rather than like
the various shades in coIoE.s One
class of persons believe in eternal
punishment, while another class
teach universal salvation, and they
both think they find ground for
their beliefs in the Bible. One part
of the christian world believes THAT
the Bible teaches there are three |
persons who together make one
God, the other that there is bat one
person in the Godhead, but who |
this person is they have not yet de-
cided. Some have not been able to
determine whether God has a per-
sonal existence or not. These are
only part of the differences. They
are innumerable.
The Bible is either q revelation
from God, and as such is o safe
guide to heavenly life, or it is a
merely human composition, with a
mixture of truth and error, SO in
termingled as not to be easily dis
one from the other. I
believe il to be q revelation from
Gond, true IN every part, without
the slightest exception, and being
such it is greatly misunderstood and
misinterpreted. The causes for this
are not to be found alone in either
the Bible or in man. It is not the
only book that shares the same lot,
The book of nature itself is treated
in the same way. II is only by
that the truth can be
found in either of them. They are
both full of truth without any ad-
mixture whatever. Because it is
act found at once it viii not do to / /:
loubt the inauthenticIty,
When revelation Is made by the
Lord to msn It can be made only {
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