The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-06-09

full the sinful. This is the flaming book which
men fear will be destroyed. But sooner wilyou
| pluck the stars out of heaven than one star out
| of this divine book All theories of the nature
of the sun may be assaulted, but the sun shines
| on and doesn't care for them. All theories re-
specting the history and the structure OF the
Bible may be mooted and disputed but there 1t
is book whose fruits rise higher, smell sweeter.
! taste more favorsome inspire more hearts than
! any or all others that have ever been produced
| upon the plane of human life. What has the
revelation of Gods method Of unfolding creation
in it that can touch the inward life of the sacred
| Scripture. What if miracles be set aside?-as
| do not think they need be. What if there be
| anachronisms to be foundl-as think unques-
tionaby there are. What if dates do conflict
what II the early notions OF astronomy are
| proved to be erroneous?-as they are. What II
SIX literal days of creation be no longer tenablei
| and they are not except by dishonest twist
| ing of mems intellectual faculties. What if the
| poem OF Eden prove but poem and the legends
OF our first parents be shown to be but the
imagination of child-like ageG How
| will all the divine developments and fruits of
| the spirit recorded in this book be changedl God
will be the same: humanity will be the same.
| These are facts exterior to the Scripture, and
| the needs of man will DO the same and the sup
| ply provided will be the same. All that which
! the Bible has gained and set forth to the world
is untouchable by any skeptical science.
VERBAL INSPIRATION DENIED.
"a true science the science Of real knowledge
in the hands of honest men, so far from setting
aside the word of God, step by step corroborates
that which is its interior life and its real power
On the theory OF the plenary inspiration of the
book, the Bible is already set aside don't be-
| lleve that any honest man, making himself
| thoroughly acquainted with the word of God
| and believing that this book was spoken by God
directly as man speaks to mani don't believe
that any honest man believing that God in
spired the thoughts and the feelings, originated
them in Himself and then thrust them out of
| Himself into the minds of the prophets and holy
men, that spoke as they were moved of old-any
man that believes that, and that, therefore, be-
| lleves that every word, and every text, and
| every statement of the Bible is diviney autho-
| rized-no man that is honest and conscientious
! can keep himself from going head-irst into the
| gulf of infdety. In times Of ignorance
men were saved by inconsistency-they
are yet very largely but any man that takes
the old theory of the absolute plenary and YER
| pal inspiration of the Scripture is bound to
inhdelity, and if he don't go there it is because
he is too stupid. The Copernican system GER
tainy set aside the statement of Scripture
| think there can be no rational doubt that the
| men that spoke the world as the center of the
| universe-that the men who heard the fact that
the sun circulated around the earth and did
obesance to it have doubt that the men
who first spoke these things believed it-and the
| church afterward, both Jewish and Christian,
believed it; but when the geocentric theory de-
veloped, when Copernicus brought in a new
| view, making the earth mere satellite and the
sun standing still, and the earth whirling
around it, the two things could not co-exist.
| Astronomy fatty contradicted the understand
ing of the men who believed in these theories,
| and gave expressions to them in the Old Tesla
ment. You might just as well own it honestly
and not make Jesuit of yourself by twisting
| around and around in all manner of curious and
| ingenious ways to get rid of obvious fact
There can be no question that the disclosures
| OF geology respecting the six days of creation
have ended the popular apprehension in regard
| to the account of creation in the early chapters
| OF Genesis. AS propose to treat that more in
extenso, shall only alude to it here. 1t may
be said that, generally speaking, the scientific
| world set ruthessly and without moments
hesitation aside tho whole of the history
| OF the creation. There are some moral results
from the declaration in it of the unity of God,
the creator of the whole world, that will be pre-
served. And then there are great many
Christian geologists-lke Professor Guyot, late
| of Princeton Colleges like Professor Dana, now
| of New Haven-that undertake to harmonic the
statements of the early chapters Of Genesis with
the facts that geology has laid bare and made
| absolute and apparent. But even Professor
| Dana takes the ground that if we are to refuse
science the half of exegetica, interpretation--if
| you stand on the ground of exegesis alone--he
comedies that everything is gone, and that the
revelations of science will end the declaration Of
say the intellectual dishonesty, of men to recon
ce facts with fctions would cease if a false and
vicious theory of verbal and plenary inspiration
were abandoned. What, then, is the Bible idea
of the inspiration Of Scripture! You will bear in
mind that the Bible itself never gives any def
milton of what inspiration is. 1t recognizes the
fact that Scripture has proceeded from the infiu-
| ence, the inspiration. of God; but in what way?
1t recognizes that holy men, prophets of old.
spoke as if moved by the Holy Ghost. But how
| they were moved, through what instrumental
ties, never has been settled by sacred Scripture.
l believe that holy men of old spoke as they
were moved How did the Holy Ghost move
! them?
| GOD AND THE UNIVERSE.
| There is a theory comes in which is simply
impertinence, as it the only way III which God
came to results was by thrustine out a voition
| or flashing out an idea from His own mind into
another mind, kindling in that mind the thoughts
| that it would not otherwise have had. But there
is no such declaration in Scripture, and it is not
| a declaration that will bear inspection in the
| light of the way God has unfolded the whole Of
creation. There is another theory Of inspiration
! which not only saves the book by reconciling it
with that other revelation of God in nature, but
| which frees it from thousand criticisms and
objections and is valid. and is sufficient to main
tain the integrity of this book. 1t assumes that
God is the life UNIVERSAL that whatever has life
or activity is directly Or remotely connected with
the nature of Gods own being How God in
| fuses Himself no one knows. 1t is somewhat
| parallel although by small measure of COM
| parison, with that which every man is conscious
! Of We know that we are creatures of intelli-
| gence. and we know that our intelligence and
! our volition-all that which makes the upper
| man in ourselves-coheres in, is in some way or
other within, the organization Of the human
body. Can anybody tell what the principal of vi
| tally is? Nobody can Can any man tell what the
condition is between my mind operation and the
| brain any of the organs of the whole human
| bodyq Not at all. We know that we have
| physical body. subject to great physical laws,
| and we know that IN that, pervading it somehow,
| somewhere, there is also something that is not
| matter. and that is the most effectual and char
acterstic element in US. This is not pantheism
F.! that makes the universe in it's totality God
| AS poetic dream, / can conceive of its having
liberation, but as an explanation of difficulties,
| l cannot conceive how a man should hold sober
| face aud enunciate it, because the. thing that is
] in exclamation is more unexplainel exnlicahlY