The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1885-06-18
DENIES DIVINE INSPIRATION.

Last Sunday Mr.. Beecher preached
his third sermon on evolution, as ap-
piled to religion. He began by saying
that the sacred scriptures still have a
relation to the highest moral con-
seriousness, and to the profcundest
religious expressions of the best
men.
"The divine revelation" said he
interpreted by evolution, will in my
judgment free the sacred scriptures
from fictitious claims made by man,
and from clouds of misconception
The Bible has been held in captivity
by a false and unwarranted theory of
inspiration which prevailed against a
thousand obstacles, and well nigh
turned commentators into. intellec-
tual dishonesty. Men have eXerted
their ingenuity, and have INDUCED in
all forms of reasoning, for the sake of
maintaining what they believe to be
literally the word of God. The Bible
has value, and it's history has Ger
tain value, but much which may
have been necessary for it's produc-
ton ceases to be needful for our faith
in the way it has been produced. No
wheat can grow without the straw,
but when the straw has brought it
forth both straw and stubbIe perish.
The wheat does not mean that the
Bible will De destroyed, for sooner will
you pluck the stars out of the heaven
than one star out of, that divine book"
Science" Mr.. Beecher continued,
chad forced certain notifications of
statements in the Bible, changes had
been made in the book, and changes
would be made again. But if ana
chronisms and dates had been chang
ed the finely developed fruit of the
spirit recorded in the book could not
be changed. God and humanity would
be the same. The theory of plenary
inspiration had already been set aside"
No honest man." he continued, Gin
making himself thoroughly familiar
with the word of God, and believing
that the book was spoken by God di-
rectly, as man speaks to man, and that
every word in it is divinely and di-
rectly authorized, can, if he be consist
ent, keep himself from going head first
into the gulf of infidelity. If he
don't 90 there it is because he is too
stupid. The ingenious efforts of men
to reconcile facts with fiction would
cease if the false and vicious theory
of verbal and plenary inspiration was
abandoned. There is no definition in
scripture of inspiration. The way in
which the Bible was inspired is not
stated. "There is q theory of inspi=
ration which not only saves the book
by reconciling it with the other reve-
latiops of God in natuIe e, but which
frees it from a thousand Criticisms and
objections. That is, that the Bible is
the history, the record, in part, Of
what the effect of Gods spirit moving
in human consciousness has brought
to pass along the line of one national
history. 1t is the record of that uni
versal and continuous action of the
divine will on human consciousness,
that has raised man from the lower
depths step by step, unfolding morali>
ties, unfolding all laws OF social life,
unfolding all reason, all treasures of
moral nature and all spirituality. 1t
is the human race that has been in
spired. The Bible and every part of
it was lived first and the record made
of it afterward. While the race was
at its lower stages some proof of eX-
perience would now and then become
so widespread that man of large ma
lures feeling the impulse of divine in
splration, was able to give it out as a
truth. 1t had never before been put
in regular form, or spoken, but it was
found to be something really authori.
tative before he declared it. And so
the word of God is the record along
one line of a grand experiment, name
" the development of man from the
lowest point of human existence. A
book which undertakes to register the
stages through which man has passed
may be an inspired book, and book
OF God. Monogamy was tried after
wards, commanded, but if the Bible
is the word of God according to the
old theory of plenary direct inspira-
ton, why then Mormonism is right.
This is its stronghold to-day. Its ad-
herents believe in the Old Testament.
They believe in it like thunder. Nor
moniSm cannot be wrong if God
taught it in His book. Slavery, too,
must be right if God Is the direct
author OF the Bible" In conclusion
Mr.. Beecher said: The doing away
attempt to indorse upon God
things which we know to
have sprung from the weakness of
humanity, though the record of them
is made in the Bible. would take away
the very weapons of infdelity."
This series of sermons is again max
ing Plymoth Church most popular.
While Mr.. Beecher was preaching this