, 1891-10-27
THE BIBLES WORTH
What Modern Criticism Says Of
the Good Book.
How it Should ne Read and stud-
ied--A Book Worthy OF the

1.-The worth OF the Bible in the light O1
modern criticism, was the subject of Rev
Napoleon Hoagland's sermon at the Uni.
tartan services at Tacoma hail. He called
attention to the fact that many people re-
gard what is called the higher criticism as
calculated to give the death blow. This
notion is held by two widely different
classes of people, namely, the ultra-ortho-
dox and the ultra-liberals. Of course, each
class views the supposed tendency of critt-
cism with different emotions one with
satisfaction, the other with alarm. The
two theories of the Bible, roughly repre-
sented by the two classes named, are that
the Bible is either a pack of lies and old
wives fables all through, or else that every
word in it Is Gods truth. The one atti-
tude shows the lack of good horse-sense
about as much as the other. A horse let
loose in a pasture does not pretend that
the picking is equally good all over. He
does not pretend that the weeds are Just as
good as the grass, though he finds them
mixed up with the grass and the good man
turned him in there to eat. Nor does he
allow the weeds to cheat him out of the
grass that is there. Both find the grass
CYCu dLAOIlS G11G WGGllS anu accepts grace
fully and grows fat.
THE HIGHER CRITICISM
teaches people to exercise horse-sense in
regard to the Bible The two classes which
regard the Bible as either all good or none
good, all true or none true, though occupy
ing positions OF extreme polarity, are
closely related in character.
The bigoted disbelieYer in the Bible is,
in nine cases out of ten, the same person
who once was the bigoted believer in it.
He is probably Just as dogmatic in his dis.
belief as he was in his belief, Just as intoI-
Grant towards people who differ from him,
just as prejudiced and just as conceited as
he was before. He has merely. changed his
position, not his character.
I People have been told so often from the
pulpit and elsewhere that all of the Bible
must be accepted or none, that thousands
have taken these teachers at their word,
and since they were unable to accept all of
1T, they accept none. So it turns out that
the really obstructive criticism'' is not
criticism at all, but the blind dogmatic as
sumption that every word in the Bible is
the word OF God and is of absolute author.
ity. The "higher criticism" means that
the Bible is to be read and studied
LIKE ANY OTHER BOOK,
1t means that the rules of literary criti-
cism that apply elsewhere are to be used
in the study Of the Bible. Criticism is
simply a process of seeing things as thew
are, and surely no friend of The Bible
ought to object that it should be looked at
in the best light obtainable. The "higher
criticism" is not study of what the creed
makers or theOlOgians say about the Bible.
it is study Of the Bible itself in the light
OF It's own history and and by well estab-
lished rules of literary study. The speaker
said he knew of no student of lierature of
established reputation who has named any
other book as superior to the Bible as a
whole. Many of the leading liberal think
ers Of modern times have spoken Of tie
Bible as book worthy Of the closest
study, not because it is the Word of God
but because its words through the words
Of men are the words Of genius and power,
the words OF men who wrote "better than
they knew, !" because Divine Wisdom ut
tered itself through them. Prof. Huxley
and Matthew Arnold have recommended
the Bible as text book of eloquence and
literature In the English schools,
just think what the Bible is The auto
biography OF nations life for fifteen hun
dred years. And that nation the Hebrews,
a nation whose genius was religion and
whose passion was morality. Their prose
IS poetry and their everyday business
rules have passed into moral proverbs.
Ihe1r fiction is philosophy and their his
tory reads like drama. Their love songs
nave been mistaken for religious poems
S'AAa 0iO WalI14lSS OF nef statesmen have
Deen read as far-reaching prophecy, and
their description Of a restored Israel have
been thought to tell what heaven is like.
Some Of the songs Of their temple service
are q; still used to voice the deep feelings of
the heart before
THE THOUGHT OF GOD,
even in the most enlightened communions.
What real and inspiring revelation the
Bible is when we look at as a record of the
historic growth Of a lofty-minded people in
their age-long struggle towards God and
human duty. Rising from the barbaric
thought Of God, which represented him as
deliighting in the smell Of flowing blood
and the odor Of roasting flesh, Isaiah's
word and Micahs, uttered on nobler
heights Of clearer vision, declare that the
blood Of goats and burnt offerings are an
abomination. The cruel, heartless God Of
deuteronomy assumes more paternal
kindness in some of the Psalms, until
finally the thought blossoms in the heart
OF Jesus and He teaches us to say: 'tOur
Father which art in heayenl''