The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1875-04-29
For the Home Journal
The Conflict Between Science and
Religion,
NUMBER Tw o.

GOdf
Necessity compcls him TO rely upon
miracles. But before miracles can be
admitted rs evidence, the Thcologian
must prove that miracles have occurred.
To do this, he can appea! only to the
Bible. But the declarations Of the Bible
upon the subject are entitled to no re
spcct. Let us see If we can sustain this
assertion. The only miracles in which
the Jewish people have any faith are
those mentioned in the Ola Testament
The Creation Of Adam and Eve; the
Dcluge; the miracles OF Moses IN
Egypt; the Sun standing still in ODE
dienco to the command of Joshua and
the remarkable exploit Of Balaam's ass,
are found in the Pcntateuch md seem
TO us to be very wonderful But who
was the author Of the Penta,euci I
What does Hilkiah say about in Hi
kiah was High Priest when Josiah, a
child eight years old, became King OF
Judah, about 800 years after the death
Of Moses and about $50 years before
the birth Of Christ. Now, what does
Hilkiah say about the Pentateuch lie.
saws that he fonnd it in the temple,
(See II Chronicles, chapter 3l.) But
what proof is there that he found ~
We have nothing but his bare asser'
ton. How long had it been in his
possession before he sent 1t 10 the
KingY He does not say. Whose wrI
ting was it? He does not tell US; he
only SAYS, tie Book Of tie Low. This
is remarkable. Would Hilkiah have
suppressed 50 important circumstance
if Moses had been the authorI And
furthermore this manuscript mnst nave
been a roll Of papyrus or veIIum, ana
more than 800 years old when llIIkial
SAYS he found it. Surely in that length
Of time it would have been destroyed
by worms and dust in such a climate
as that Of Judca. Bat if it escaped the
worms, the writing Itself must have
been different, and many of the words
obsolete; for "thcre is no example OF
a language and II form Of writing haV
inc remained unaltcred during eight
hundred years" Yet the Secretary,
S~haphan, reads the manuscript to the
King at first sight without any trouble,
The King affects to be surprised and
anrighlcd, rcnds his garments, and
sends IIilkiah and SharlIan and Ach
Der and other priests to inform Hulda
the prophecies of the discovery Of the
Book, and to get her to inquire OF the
Lord concerning it. Then all the PEG.
pie of the city are assembled together
in the temple, and the King reads to
them the Book Of the Law with great
solcmnity. Now, what shall we say OF
these things? Evidently there was II
secret covenant, a combined plan. be.
tween the High Priest, the King, the
Secretary Shaphan, the priest Achbor,
and the prophecies lluldah, to palm
this book upon the Jewish nation.
Jeremiah, too, was probably one OF the
%conlidants. because his position as a
priest, and Sol Of a priest, brought him
into intimate relationship with HiIkiah
and enabled him to see what was going
on, But IN pcrpGtratlng this fraud
what motive acLuutCd these cOnsplra
tors? 1t has been suggested that their
motive was the salvation Of the nation
from the imminent danger Of absolute
destruction, or approaching dispersion,
The country was being over run by
m~arauding bands of Scythians. Their
cavalry had ravagcd all the level coun-
try fcrociously and the mOuntainous
country, invested on all sides, WAS in
dire distress. a great struggle was
also impending between Egypt and
ChaIlea, which threatened the Jewish
nation with dissolution. Nothing could
save it but a union of sentiment. Hill
kiah realized this fact, and we have
seen what means Le adopted to excite
the political and religious prejudice of
the people in favor of the country
which they Inhabited.
There can be no doubt that IIilkiah
was the compiler of the Pcntatcuch and
probably the author Of II large portion
of it. First, because there is not the
slightest trace Of its existence before
the time Of King Josiah. Secondly,
because if it had existed before that
time it would have been known to the
higher classes And thirdly, because
since the epoch of Il;lkiah the Pcnta,
tcuch has been habituallv styled among
the Jews he Book Of tie Law. After
Ezra, the Doctors called it indiifcrcntly
the Book Of the Law, or Book of Mo
SEES, and this expression introduced the
custom Of looking upon Moses rs its
author.
But why did llilkiah use the name of
Moses to impress certain political and
religious IDEAS upon the Jewish people 7
We get an explanation of this from In
dia. "The wisest and honcstest Brah
Minis confess that the Hindoo writer's,
(anl Asialic writers in general, on &C
count Of the corruption of the manners
OF the age, have for a long time con-
tinucd to make use of the respect in
which ancient personagcs are held, and
the idea entertained that they possessed
the faculty of forctelling futurity, to
attribute to them at one time moral
lessons, at another warnings and pre-
dictions of future eDents which ctterward
came 20 pass" Hilkiah initiated this
practical practice common to all the
ancient world-knowing that the for
gerry could not he detected. The fables
of the six days work of Creation, Adam
and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and
the Delugc, which were derived by
Hilkinh from the Claldcans, Assyrians,