St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-01-26
The ORTHODOX BIBLE.
Rev. Vail breaches a Sermon
Based on Gail Hamil-
toms Book.
The Old Bible Has Lost It's
Power, But the Real Book
Is Firm.
st. Paulites at Every Turn
Are Opposed to the San
born Charter.
Some Individual EXpreSsi ons
That Show the Trend
Of Opinion.


odox Bible" am here to speak OF 1t
because we have come to the day when
the smothered thought and feeling that
have been kept below the surface for
long time have burst through the sur
face, and when the whole question of
the relation of the Bible to mans prac-
teal life must be once more discussed.
And to bring the matter clearly before
this congregation. let me say that my
propositions will be elaborated from the
fundamental positions of Gail Hamll-
toms book recently published, and on
sale in the city at a small price, and
called "A Washington Bible Glass"
The book is thoroughly representative.
Representative, because the members
of this Bible class were ladies belong
ing to the various evangelical denomina-
tons. Representative, because the author
is member of the orthodox church,
hailed in any communion as person
VINO has the interests Of the evangelical
cause deeply at heart. Representative.
because she has received as an inherit
ance a New England training in
thought, literary association. and is
familiar with every important move
ment from Edwards to the present day.
Representative, because she has broad
ened its association by a large kn0wl-
edge Of the movements outside OF the
church, is in touch with the great mag
azines and that large life and interest
that is represented by this new pulpit
of the present century. And represent
alive, above all, because she is abS0-
lutely fearless, and dares to plunge be-
har
conditions, and to fearlessly mark out
the line of march her more tiinid follow
ers will walk in when little time has
been given for the consideration of the
conditions.
In tine brief sentence put into the
mouth of the Hebrew priest, who, view
ing the interest stirred by the teaching
of Jesus, said. HE or we must de-" we
have the first great departure. 1t is a
vision. 1t reveals to us the establish
ment of the tabernacle IN the wilder
ness, where at the dawn of the day the
mingled voice of priest and Levite rose
with the
Songs Of Wild Birds
in the neighboring forest; where the
smoke from the affairs curled up above
the trees. 1t brings with IL the picture
of the Hebrew woman, dark-haired,
dark-eyed, musical and enthusiastic,
who with timbrels Joined the sisters of
Moses and sang of the Lord. "who
hath triumphed gloriouSly. and the
horse and his rider hath thrown into
the sea-" 1t brought the humble temple
of the returning people and the more
magnificent worship of SOlom0n's time.
when in the midst of white robed
priests, of tuneful Levites, of the
smoke of ascending sacrifice, the
people gathered in the precincts of the
temple and offered up their gifts of
various kinds. But opposite to this
was the picture of man without home
and without reputation, driven from
synagogue and Watched-a criminal in
the temple saying: Il am come to
superSede this. You had the instruc-
ton of children in your childhood, but
you have now passed that period. The
world has moved, and this idea of sacri-
fee must be supplanted by the higher
one of a real character developed in
the storm and stress of life. We are to
live in the midst of this, and our real
religion is to discover our real selves
and their relation to God and to our fell
low man."
And this is the real mission of Christ.
Is it, therefore, a wonder that they said
quite logically "He or we must die?"
After his death his best friends brought
much of the older forms of religion
into Christian churches. The sacri-
fetal idea remained exactly the
same. only now it was Christ
who became once for all the sac
rifice, and by his death we are re-
lieved from the idea of the sacrifice of
animals. Gail Hamilton says the old
idea is as much better than the new
one as the slaughter of an animal is less
harmful than the slaughter of man.
She denounces the hymns that celebrate
the ideas of substitution. She says that
the hymn declaring There is fount-
ain filled with blood'' is pagan and not
Christian. 'Reconciled by the death of
His son. redemption through His
blood are all relics of Judaism and of
the pagan element in Judaism" This
is the most important fact, because we
come TO 1t by the very center of the
question at issue, We have cleared
away the things that are shaken and we
are making ready to give better heed to
the things that remain and cannot be
shaken. Certain 1t is that we will never
be able to go back to the idea of
The Bible as Unit.
We have already come to consider it as
an evolution. We see that at a certain
stage in the growth of religion the
mind was so poor that it could only
grasp the ideas connected with animal
sacrifice. We see in the present cen
fury minds that have not progressed be-
You'd this idea. But it IS crude con-
ception, and will not live as the world
advances, therefore we have first the
altar, then the temple service. and final
ly the intellectual service that concerns
our spiritual growth.
If the Bible is looked upon as an
antique vase, belonging to a past
generation. perfectly made and per-
fectly understood, then it has but a
| limited influence, for your Intelligent
reader.sees that Christ did contradict
and supersede nearly all the ideas of
| the earlier ages, and all attempts at re-
Cancellation are fruitless. But if
| it is the history of one long day of
battle in which primitive men with
| limited minds did all they could to solve
the problem of their relation to the un-
| known, and as the hours advanced steps
! forward were taken, rude worship and
| rude morality went hand in hand; and
If the day found in the prophets a
| promise of what was to come, it also
| found in Jesus of Nazareth the full
| glory of life that had conquered the
worlds difficulties and was satisfied to
see the result. If this is our view of the
Bible then every struggle of the ordi-
nary man or even of the most limited
| man was invested with a marked in
terest. If the Bible has value it is to
give US view of the struggle of flesh
| and-blood men like ourselves, with the
real problems of an everyday life, and
to help us by their failure as we'll as by
| their success
To Solve Those Problems.
But here l must justify the Iconoclasm
that tears down a time-honored struc-
ture. There is hesitation in pulling up
anchor, unfurling the sails, and heading
for distant port unknown and beyond
an untried sea. There is hesitation, un-
less man has the true pioneer blood,
when we are called to go with the Gov
cred wagon beyond the boundaries OF
civilization. Still if we feel that the