Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1886-02-15
DID GOD MAKE A BOOK :?
A Notable Sermon on the Divine
Origin Of The Bible,
Preached in the First Presbyterian Church.
Last Evening, by Rev. Dr.
Cunningham, D. D.

A large congregation assembled in the
Fi-st PRESBYTERIAN Church last evening to
listen 10 Rev. Or. Cuuninghsms sermon
on the origin Of the Blble-the first OF 3
series Of FIVE special discourses to be de
Evered BY him. The reverend gentleman
took for mis- text II. Timothy, ill.,, l6: All
scripture is given BY inspiration Of God.
BE began by saying
The Bible claims 10 be Gods book.
The men who wrote it were inspired by
God to do so. The canon or table OF
books received as genuine gives US work
that opens with Genesis and closes with
Revelation, and bears the name, The
Bible That is the book And did God
make q book? Yea; why not? What Is
there improbable in that? Man is cres
ture of God, and If he can De an author OF
books, Why may not the same be true o.
thu author OF his miEd and being2 NC
modern criticism has oyerthrown the fac'
that the earlier pages Of this book were
written by Moses, who doubtless possessed
traditions and documents Of still earlier
date. ard who, by direction Of Heaven
has given Us the only account We have o
TIRE CREATION Of THE WORLD.
Since We learn from the life of our Savior
that Moses wrote the opening pages Of thu
Bible, We must be careful, lest in disown
ing Moses We disoRn Christ. The Jewish
canon of the Old Testament books names
those tina. the Christian church receives
The Jews preserved these books with their
uroverbial attention to detail. The New
Testament has been preserved with equs
care, and from its pages the unity OF the
one work in two parts is clearly proven
The 6rst association Of, Christians Of whom
we have any knowledge accepted the ga
cred writings Of the Old Testament, quoting
them more than two hundred and fifty time:
in manner TO cover all the essential parts.
Christ always spoke of the Old Testament
as the Word OF God; the New is the sequel
to the Old Christianity Is the full uG
folding Of Judaism.
As 10 our assurance that the books
forming the New Testament are genuine
We have solid ground on which to base the
claim that they were written aud published
to the world more than eighteen hundred
years ago, by the venerated
FOUNDERS o. CHRISTIANITY,
10 whom they we're attributed By quota
lions from the writings OF the authors Of
those times, the scriptures are found as We
have them. There ls sn unbroken chair
OF evidence. beginning with writers who
lived in the very time Of Christ and the
Apostles, and extending 10 the present
writer's who enjoyed the opportunity o.
knowing the truth, and whose character
for veracy is unimpeachabls-all testify
iog that thus New Testament Is the work
OF the primitive Disciples of Christ
Proceeding, he said that God might have
written the proof tina, Inc Bible ia His
book with pen OF FIRE in letters across
the SKY, but he chose rather to give US pre-
ciseIy the same evidence thai
we have oil the genuinenes:
Of other early books. The writer:
OF The first centuries sllude to the Gospe
AZ coming from the pens Of different mel
inspired by God. There WAS lreneus
Orgen and Justin Martyr, from whose
works the whole New Testament could be
gathered By question These fathers
could not be deceived, ,SsT had no OBJECT
10 deceive othSrs
An sbsurdity, SAID he, is involved in
the assertion that the book was OF hu'
nan invention. u claims to Be from God;
the several writers declare they wrote by
Gods direction. If they speak falsely, they
are unworthy of being considered good
men. II they are good men. they cannot
deliberately lie II they were fools, their
words would not read as wisely Us they do;
and II they we're faHaic9, such