Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1884-02-12
THE BIBLE AND IMMORTALITY.

The prayer meeting room Of Plymouth
Church was full Friday night, and the in
terest was greater than has been displayed
in months When the question" time ar.
rived Sunday School Superintendent Thos
j. Tilncy asked Mr.. Beecher what he
thought the present cutting system was
| going to leave Of the Bible. Faith was being
| shaken by the recent utterances of the Rev.
| Heber Newton. If so much of the Old
Testament must be given up something oi
| the New would haveto 90. and where were
| men 10 find hope Of another life. us this
life all, asked Mr.. Tilney, ''and if not all
what can VIC base y reason OH that we have
got another life 10 live that is better than
this 2:
"Well, you have set me pretty large
stint said Mr. Beecher "In the first place,
| don't believe you arc going to lose any
thing of the Bible, because rot one Christian
in five hundred reads it--they take pinch
here and there. Here and there there is q
man who reads the whole Bible through
and yet seems to be in good health.
THE questions that Mr.. Newton are rising
really do not involve in the slightest degree
the question of the spiritual life of man, nor
do they involve in the slightest degree the
results Of the experience of the soul under
Gods inspiration through ages past nor
touch any one Of the great spiritual elements
that came into moral teaching. The things
that he is reecting-sometimes properly and
sometimes as not well informed on those
mattcrs-are simply the framcworks, the
mechanical elements that are in the Bible.
What difference does it make whether
Moses wrote II thing that we know from the
whole experience Of human kind is :rue? 1t
is the nature Of the truth that gives it its po-
tency The question with the Old Testa-
ment is whether there is anything III it that
will feed modern Christian want. On that
ground say there never was time when
| think that the Old Testament was so
likely to feed the actual spiritual wants of
men IS to-day.
Sin regard to the New Testament, as the
world has grown ripper and ripper, so the or
dinary truths OF it are more near to the ed
ucatcd wants Of our age than the Old Testa-
mcnt was. / don't think the New Tes-
lament is going TO suffer from histori-
cal criticism one whit. OF the 100000
changes in the Revision. | think it may
he said that 1000 don't amount to that
(snapping his lingers), except for mere lit
eral accuracy. While | am in general SYM
pathy with the progressive thought Of pru-
dent and spiritual minded men in regard to
the ordinary construction OF the Bible,
don't fear that they are going TO take 1t
away from Us. | am d great deal more
afraid that in all our Sunday schools on this
continent. if we refuse 10 tell our children
the truth in regard 10 the Bible, they will
find il out outside and will then turn around
and kick over the Church, because they will
say, we have been deceived AS to losing
our Bible, any Bible that can be lost in that
way had better go.
Now, dis to the question of Immortality.
put the question 50 every man. What's
| tho use OF trying 10 get rid of it? Of what
earthly good is it to disbelieve in immor-
talitv? Even If it prove to be an illusion
is it not Il light all the way through? I
have gone through what any atheist and
| agno5tic has gone through, but l stand
| to. day substantially where my father stood
i know that my Redeemer liveth.' l
shouG say to the great mass of people who
have just enough reason to get them into
trouble and not enough to get them out, be.
ieve. Your happiness comes from 1t, and
your misery will come from unbelief.
"What we call new theology, which is
soaring SO many men, is nothing but an at
tempt, uDou higher level and with supe-
| rior class OF Instruments, to elucidate the
great practical truths of Christianity: to give
them better position; to cleanse them OF
misrepresentation.
Il thank God for the very scepticsm that
is rolling over the world. thank God that
the scientific world is banging and battering
away at the doors You never can persuade
an oyster 10 open himself by kicking him
YOU have got to 20 at him with knife. The
rough knife Of scepticism is prying open the
shell and bringing out the refreshment that
otherwise would be hidden. Don't be afraid
of inlidelitv. 1t has got no mark on it but
the death mark. 1t is sure to go under. 1t
is Il great deal better to believe something
that is not true with all your heart that to
believe nothing.
"I.et's sing Shining Shore /"