Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1882-07-02
DAILY POST IEfELLIGEHOER..
rur PuYslCAL CAUSE OF CHESTS
DEATH.

" PuYsICAL CAUSE OF CHESTS
DEATH.
A writer In a recent number OF the
Churchman attempts to summarize IN
the space of a short notice the leading
theories which have been advanced re-
specting the physical, not the theoio2i-
cal or metaphysical, cause OF CHRIST 9
spssdy departure from life after tenn
porary suspension In full health upon
the irous Of his sross- Among those
that have written on the subject are Az
thouy .Bynaeus, who died about a. =.
100. and William Stroud, N. d. the
seoond edition Of whose treatise was
publiahed az Late "a 1871. According 70
the latter writer, many explanations
have been offered regarding the cause OF
death. He himself mentions the four
urinoipal theories. One is the divine
compassiG pstifully shortened the BAY
ior's suI lerinRs, az he himself said 1t
sometimes shortened the course OF time
Matthew, xiv: 22). Another u that q
state Of nervous exhaustion was foi-
lowed By such . collapse, az frequently
oocure in the cholera and other violent
diseases. and that this FASTENED his end
with irrspressible rspidity. Yet another,
thst he died Of the wound inflicted In
the region Of the heart by the Roman
soldiers spear. And still another (which
II DR.. Stroud's) that he died Of actual
heaxtbusst, the result Of untold and i'm
measurable sgony. "As to the first
theory" the writer in the Churchman
saws, at il abundantly clear that our
Lord did not expire from involuntary
or Outside causes outside, that Is OF his
personal consent and will. He distinct
" claimed the highest attribute OF d.
vinity self-existence. His self-e1ist-
ence, a. he said. was precisely like, was,
in fact, the exact counterpart OF his
Iathsr's and in claiming such an attn
butte he offered q proof Of his positive
divinity and his divine supremacy
HIGHER than that which the Bible has
never ascribed to the great and insfier-
able i am The second theory repre-
asnts our Savior's death ~ tho mere is-
sue of a physical exhaustion. Cues
tionless he was physically overborne.
He sank under the weight Of his cross.
He accepted indeed few drops OF vino
gar 10 moisten his parched lips; but q
Simplifying drauRht, which might have
rendered him insensible, he instantly re-
jectsd. The pains Of crucifixion did
not al all affect his self-possession. All
poes 10 show his entire fortitude. seren-
ity and self-posssasion till the supreme
moment, when he exclaimed. My God,
my God. why hast thsu forsaken me r
That was the acme Of his agony; he ut
tered ono wailing cry, bowed his head,
and expired. But for such a crisis it
might have been necessary to crush his
limbs, as we'll as those Of his lingering
fellow-suferers The third theory, that
his death was the consequences of ruth
less wound made by soldiers spear, is
tho result Of q misconoeption and mis-
translation. st. John is the only evan
Qelist who describes the soldiers wilful
act. But he was present whom it OCCUR
red, was close observer, and could not
be mistaken about conduct at once bold
and palpable. Nevertheless, it is main
tanned that the soldier actually slow his
victem. And, as ID too often the case,
10 owe tho idea to the fastidiousness or
sslf-conceit of a professed critic. Such
An authority insists upon changing
conjunction, and reading for instead of
but in tho language, but one Of the
soldiers pierced His side 1t is an in
stance among o hundred in Christian
Scripture whore very slight change in
phraseoloey may issue in strange conss-
qusncss. The fourth theory is that of DR..
Stroud himself-viz., that our Savior's
upliftsd cry and immediately dropping
head were owing to an actually bursted
heart. He brings forward abundant
and even thronging testimony to show
that agony, which is conflict between
profound emotions such as often occurs
in . lower or in a very acouto degree be-
tween ones feelings and his Judgment.
his hopes and his disappointments, his
faith and his apprehensions-has often
producsd this singular and fatal issue;
and he explains its operation like genu-
Inc medical philosopher.