The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1882-06-28
THE LNSPLRAT TON OF THE
BIBLE

BIBLE.
1t is not necessary to claim for inspi-
ration more than this: that the sacred
writers never erred in regard to any truth
that they aimed to communicate. OF
course this includes all religious truth
No one whose views are worth consider
ing would deny that these writers were
infallible as to matters of faith. The
point made by some very good Christians
IN our day is that there are errors of
statement in the Bible with regard to
non-rehgious matters; that there are mis-
takes, for example, in astronomy, geolo-
gy, geography, history, topography, nat
ural history, etc. We admit that this
might be true without invalidating the
authority of the sacred writer as reli-
gious teacher, provided in any particular
case he has not undertaken to instruct us
on the point in hand. A mere casual
statement that the distance from Emmaus
to Jerusalem is "about three score fur
longs, Luke xiv: Is, need not be strict
ly accurate. The writer merely means
to give the popular estimate, which may
have been erroneous. So when Paul asks
Timothy to bring him his cloak, which,
ne says, he left at Troas, it may be, that
Paul was mistaken in thinking that he had
left the cloak at Troas-he may have left
it at Asses. If such were the fact, we
should not regard it as derogating from
Paul's inspired character as a teacher of
Gods method of salvation. He was not
undertaking to teach anything with re-
gard to the cloak. In the first chapter
of Genesis the writer undertakes to tell
US how the world and man were created;
he goes into details; to give US this in
formation in pictorial and symbolic Ian
guage, was evidently the object of this
chapter. Therefore, if it is found to con-
tain error, it must impair our confidence
in the value of inspiration, just as the
want Of correspondence between an event
prophesied by Isaiah and his prophecy,
you'd destroy in our estimation his char
acter as a prophet.
We premise this much-concedlng that
there may be errors about matters (Which
the sacred writer's did not intend to speak
of automatically in the Bible. But We
are not aware that any such error has
ever yet been detected. Apparently,
where the text remains interrupted, there
has never been found, in either the Old
or the New Testament, any error of state
ment of any kind. From time to time
many such have been heralded, but later
investigation has always vindicated the
accuracy of the Biblical writer. One OF
these, which has been given up by Bib
lical commentators, and by other Chris
tian writer's, to be an error, is the state
ment made by Solomon in Prov vi: 6-9,
Xxx 25, to the effect that the ants store
up their food in summer for winter use.
In Smiths Dictionary of the Bible, art.
Ant (Appendix) it is said, speaking of
Solomon's declaration, that this opinion
IS erroneous" No recorded species Of
ant says this learned authority, lis
known to store up food Of any kind for
provision in the cold seasons, and GER
tainly not grains Of corn, which ants do
not use for food.
Kittos Biblical Cyclop~dia is even
more emphatic. 1t speaks OF the belief
that ants hoard up grains Of corn as a
most inexcusable error ut is now
also ascertained almost beyond a doubt
that no European ants, hitherto properly
examined; feed on corn, or any other kind
Of grain They will not touch corn
Nor has any species Of ant been yet
found with food Of any kind laid up in
IT'S nest. The truth is, that ants are
chiefly carnivorous, etc. Huber not