St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-04-10
IS MR.. BRIGGS HETERoDox
An Important Church Question
He Doubts the Inspiration OF the
Bible

New York Sun.
The views as to the Bible and inspir
alton expressed by Prof. Briggs in his
inaugural address have shocked the
newspapers of the churches known as
Evangelical. Baptists. Methodists, Con-
gregationalists and Presbyterians unite
in regarding them as destructive of faith
III the Bible as the revealed Word of
God, and therefore SubverSlVe of the
very foundations of the orthodox belief
and theology.
If-sO they argue-the Bible is the
fallible book which Prof. Briggs de-
ScribeS, with errors that human reason
and knowledge must separate from its
truths. the Scriptures are brought
down to the level of religious literature
generally. Thus the Bible becomes
human production, marked by the i'm
PROJECTIONS of humanity, and not the
Word of God indiSputable i'll its
tru. thus its utteTanceS are
the utteranees Of men inspired only
so far as all men are inspired who write
what the reason accepts as true. Moses
David and jeremiah were no more in
sDired OF God than Plato, Socrates and
Seneca. the authors Of the Neda. and
the writers upon religion at the present
day. Thus they did not write under
the divine dictatiOn. but in their own
language and in their own way; and
their thoughts and perceptions were
limited by human capacity to appre-
bend and explain truth. Hence, III
stead of approaching the Bible in
spirit of worship, Prof. Briggs would
have the student go to it in a critical
mood to discover and accept such of its
teachings as seem to him true and
reasonable, and to reject those which
reveal the ignorance and superstition
of writer's conditioned by the false con-
ceDtions and restricted knowledge of
their time.
The Biblical theology which Prof
Briggs eXpOundS TO the candidates for
the Presbyterian ministry in the Union
Theological seminary is based on that
theory of the Scriptures; and as it is
utterly suDverSive OF all the standards
of orthodoxy the evangelical papers
are asking whether the Presbyterian
church as a whole ought not to deal
with a subject so tremendously impOr
tant. revolution so complete, they
think, should not be made by a single
individual and single institution on
their own impulse only. Ii these are
to be the doctrines preached in the
Presbyterian churches the general as
Sembly and not merely Prof. Briggs
and the Union Theological seminary
ought to say whether they shall be APP
proved and established.
The views Of Prof Briggs properly
should come I'D for grave consideration
at the next meeting of the general
assembly The subject is likely TO
even drive the discussion of amend
mentS to the Westminster confession
1,,fD RNs,a 4 r.frTa. ttxr
should be settled before any of the pro-
posed changes are made, for if his views
are sustained the whole comics sion
must be wiped out, and none can be
| constructed in its place. Its very toun-
dation is the doctrine that the Script
ureS are given by inspiration from God,
to be the rule of faith and life If the
Bible is a fallible book, partly true and
partly false. as human reason may de-
termine, it is not inspired. and it has no
such authority. Reason is the rule and
| not the Bible.
We do not see how it is possible for
the general assembly 10 avoid this
question and escape the responsibility OF
deciding whether Prof Briggs shall be
allowed TO continue as a professor OF
Biblical theology in Presbyterian di
! Yinity school. But suppose it decided
against him, what will be the effect:
VIII the trustees of the summary turn
Prof. Briggs out of his chair? Will
they not rather throw off the subsection
of the institution to the authority of
the assembly, and go on in their owl
course and according to their own the
cries?
The next meeting of the general as
sembly Will be very interesting.