The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1889-12-18
THE BIBLE.


Facts Which Conclusively Prove 1t to BE
the Revelation of God to Man.
1. The Bible was not all written at
once nor by one man; but is made up of
86 books by over 80 authors, written
during about 1850 years-extending
from near the beginning Of the Jewish
national history down to A. ID. 95 or 81.
2. Although thus written, itis pervaded
by such unity of design, thought, pu.
pose and doctrine that it is really one
book instead Of many.
3. The fraudulent construction Of such
book is, from multitude Of consider
atoms, . natural impossibility. Nothing
like it ever has been made or ever can
be. The Bible must be what it processes
to be.
1. No fraudulent book could have been
imposed upon the world, even If written.
Searching criticism would long ago
have exposed the fraud. But no subject
in the world has been SO searchingly in
vestigated, by friends and foes alike, IS
the Bible; and every investigation es-
tablishes more firmly its truth. We are
scientifically compelled by the evidence
to accept it.
5. The Bible is, errors Of copyists and
translators excepted, the book of revela-
ton from God to man Of those facts of
history, prophecy and duty which he
needs as an inhabitant Of earth and
candidate for eternity.
8. There is no other book entitled to
be called Bible, in any such sense as
we use the term. Only six of the scores
Of historic heather religion, we believe,
have any sort of books considered sacred.
These range in size from the Koran,
probably the largest) which is one
fourth as large as the Bible, to the
works of Confucius, which are about
one-twenty-third as large, and the
Zend Avesta and Egyptian Book Of the
Dead, which are perhaps one-fftieth as
large as the Scriptures. None Of them
are historically reliable to any extent;
not one Of them has any such scope as is
necessary to man in revelations; all are
as rubbish compared with even some un-
inspired writings Of the present age;
their teachings concerning God, man,
the future and the family are as whole
false and valueless guesses and groupings
in the dark. ft
z. On the contrary the Bible can easily
be proven to be neither fiction, legend
nor myth, but historically true. There
are over 1900 extant manuscript copies
Of the New Testament in whole or in
part, dating from A. D. $50 down, while
of the old classic authors, whom no skep.
tic thinks Of questioning, there are only
from one to twenty; back Of this date
there are abundant quotations in other
writings, several translations, lists OF
its books, and other statements, show
ing the New Testament to have been in
general circulation at very early date
and to have been written by the apos
ties themselves with claim and evidence
of inspiration and with certain personal
knowledge of the facts they were record
ing. The record thus found is record
Of facts as to both the words and works
of Christ and the apostles, and not .
myth or legend or an imposition, as il
the case with all other sacred book,
which claim to be of historic charac
ter. Christ being thus divine the doc
trines of the New Testament, all O
which come from Him, can not be other
wise than true. Both Christ and thu
apostles taught that the Old Testament
also was true, inspired book of revela
ton from God.
s. At two distinct periods in tn,
worlds history the entire civil powe
over the entire region of the earth WHERE
tine Bible was known first under thu
Syrian Antiochus Epiphanius in B.
los. next under the Roman emperor Die
cletiad A. d. S0S-31D, has set itself t.
exterminate the Bible, making its pos
session an offense punishable by death
And for the first 800 and the last 20
wears of the Christian era the Bible ha
been the object of the most virulent at
tacks of infidel opponents of every kim
and degree. Societies have been organic
ed and papers published and books b.
! tIt uuuuItu WlltttH, w ViSpIoNC, ICiutt
and overthrow the Book of God and witt
it the convictions of conscience and tn
necessity of the humiliatng confession
of sin and abjuration of self which it re
quires for salvation. The new born bah
Science was even sought to be srraye
against his mother, Christianity, tina
he might commit matricide. But tn
result of all has been to stir up investi
cation, and thus to fix immovably an
forever the conviction that the Bible i
the only, Divine, true book of revelatio
from God to man.
Q. The internal and experiments
evidences of the truth of the Bible ar
not touched upon above, but are stronge
! if possible. than these which have bee
! noticcd.-Rev. J. ID. Nutsing, in Flo
Every Lcdy.