The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-10-29

books that were well known at that time and
worthy OF credit. But their compilation did not
include the book of Daniel or Esther or Zacha-
rlah or Malachi, ana probably not the books that
bear their respective names. What thenf AT or
about this time there Instituted the "great
synagogue" succession of priests and scrihes
which assumed the right TO decide what later
books should be ADDED to the canon OF Ezra, aud
they exercised this prerogatiVe for "A hundred
years or more-well into the centuries
known in Hebrew history as the time of
the Maeeabees. These included the book of
Daniel and others, and the book OF books thus
constituted, was known in the time of Christ as
the sacred Scriptures, and were frequently re-
ferred to by Christ and his apostles, together
with other prophecies and histories now UNI
known, but at that time held to be as sacred and
authoritative as any other Scriptures. what has
become of these lost sacred writings is wholly
imnlaterial to this discussion and equally imma-
terial to the cause of truth-as immateral as
copy of Weems's Life of Washin gtOn VIII he
Thousand years hence, to comprehension OF
the scope of our American institutions.
The New Testament takes up the theme where
events from the standpoint of a believer in the
one God. Its first sentence announces this faith
and attributes omnipotence to HIM, and every
song and every prayer and every proverb ana
every prophecy. as well as every
scrap of history contained in the book
is instinct with this idea, while
the spirit OF the whole. as we'll as those specific
utrerances which claimed to he prophetic, all
pointed to a prophet that should be greater than
Moses and king that should be greater than
David, rung in equity and Of whose dominion
there should be end. In the fullness of
time this wonderful character came, and the
New Testament Is d collection of writings,
partly historical ana partly eXpositOry, relating
to this central figure of the Old, and differing
from the Old only in this: that it records hs!Or-
ically what had been only family adumbrated in
the writings of the former ages, and 1t thus
becomes a part of that one great chapter of the
worlds history which bears upon Christ Jesus
and His mission among men.
But, more specifically, what ie the New Tesla
mentl Ib claims TO be only collection of four
very brief accounts of most eventful life
of moro than q third of century,
written by different authors, without col
lusion; also, mere mention of few
of apostolic preaching. 1t is in no sense his
tory of those years. for it contains fewer words
than an average biography of any ordinary man
whose public life extends through like period.
Then follow several epistles, then the Apoca-
lypse. Now can any man show wherein one part
of the book, composed of so many separate
books, each interlocking with every other,
should have more authority than any other
part2 One might as well separate the colonial
history of our country from the pOst-revOlution-
arv and assert that IL is without authority. to
belittle the early writings which relate to the
character that shines out in all. Viewed from
the stand point of the Bible itself, there is no
authority for any such position, and it never
could have had the semblanee of authority
but for the understandable tradition which
was foisted upon the church in the
days of priestly usurpatton and general
superstition, when, in order to maintain the
supremacy claimed by the church, it became
necessary to invest religion with mantle of
mystcism and to claim for the priesthood di-
more successfully to accomplish this they in
vested the Bible with pretense of authority
in every word and every line. claiming for it
plenarv inspirations and visiting all who dared
to question this claim with the most dreadful
anathemas In time and to all eternity. This alb
surd claim made the Bible as expounded by the
priesthood. ultimate authority on philosophy as
well religion, and 1t sent Calico to prison
and thousands to the stake-a spirit which
comes down so near to our own day that many
yet live who have felt the ecclesiastical lash. if
not the curling flames, for daring to maintain
that possibly the earth is older than literal
reading of Genesis would Indicate, lot 10 men
tien other departures from the faith of the
fathers. One need not cease to sing
"HOly Bible, book divine,
Precious treasure, thou art mine,"
because he claims for it only the inspiration
that it claims for itself. The truth, as stated by
ture is profitable for doctrine" IL then becomes
a question of Importance to know what Scrip
prophecy came not in old time by the will of
man, bn5 holy men of God spake as they were
moved by the Holy Ghostn Repeating the
:"'The prophets VINO pTopesied or the grace which
should come unto you, searching what or what
manner Of time the spirit of Christ, which was
In them did sghify.' That this was the opin-
ion of the Jews of thar period, and much later,
is clear from contemperaneOus history.
Josephus- speaking of the prophets, says: zine
ffrovfeSs fetaf4ied theihighest and most ancient
things by the inspiration that Is from God"
This IS not only all that the Scriptures claim
for themselves. hut it is all that needed in
der that the precepts aud doctrines of the sa
cred book may have their utmost authority with
man. No inspiration was needed TO record the
simple historic facts which are contained in the
Bible, and none was ever claimed for them until
it became necessary to invest the Bible with a
cloud of mysticism and to pun 1t forth as divine
authority on matters of history and philosophy
and social and political economy. as to silence
all disputers by Thus saith the Lord,'' a
method of argument now utterly repudiated by
all Christians except remnant of Hardshells
from the mountains of Hepsidam. You never
hear now in cultured Christian circles, that
fba pfh W. r. 1NVO
later the sun, moon and stars were
made and hung about the earth for its
later there flood that covered the tops
of the Aeghenys and.the Rockies as well as the
top of Ararat. Why shonld any believer in God
and in His son Jesus Christ, bring his religion
into contempt BIZ attempting TO defend the in
defensiblei This claim of plenary inspiration
has not the merit of being even u respecta BILE
OUTPOST to the impregnahle ciradel of our faith
Certain writings, in the time of Christ, were
held sacred, but no one claimed inspiration FOR
any OF them but the prophecies. This invest
ment of special sanetity for those and certain
later writings might be tolerated in an age OF
churchy superstition and priestly domination,
but all attempts to fasten it apon the Bible to-
daV drive thousands from the central saving
truths of that precious book who would gladly
accept Chri st as divine, and conform to His pre-
eepts and trust in Him.
Even to coneede that Ezra and Nehemiah
were divinely qualified TO sift out and preserve
of the Hebrew people, Incorporating the
poem of Job, which is probably
not of Hebrew origin, and preserving
some of the pious songs Of David in a collection
of Hebrew songs, some of which were written
long before David's day, and some five hundred
years later than David, and to decide that GER
tain prophesies were to be preserved through
the ages leaving others to perish with their full
filment in Christ-concedlng all this to those
devout men, it must follow that the great
synagogue" an ever-changng body of men
through more than hundred years, and later,
that the priests and scribes of the three hundred
years which follow ed-such priests ana scrihes
as are introduced to us by the New Testament as
blind leaders of the blind-were all inspired.
This staggers faith, and needlessly weakens all
arguments which bear upOn the divine authority
of the Scriptures.
The claim for special inspiration of the New
Testament is equally detrimental TO the authority
OF that part or the Bible. IL Is we'll known TO
Bible scholars that, for two hundred years or
more, the church relied chiefly upon the
only one intervening generation with the apos-