The sun., 1891-07-04
The Summer Bible Glasses.

| The Summer Bible Glasses.
Brother MOODY opened his Summer School
for Bible Study at Mortified last Saturday.
More than one thousand people wero in at
| tendance, thrcc-quarters OF them being
women, and the evangelist preached to
them on Conviction of Sim" 1t was SER
mon OF the old-fashioned sort, proclaiming
the necessity OF conversion as means Of
entering into the celestial Kingdom and
escaping from the terrors OF hell.
The school proceeds to tho study Of the
Bible with unquestioning faith in the Scrip
| lures as the infallible Word OF GOD, setting
| forth the only way OF salvation. The in
struction, therefore, will not be critical after
the fashion OF DR.. BRIGGS. Its purpose will
be to interpret the Scriptures OF both the
Old and the New Testament to discover more
clearly their meaning. not to determine
whether and wherein they are supernatural
revelation from Heaven. Their absolute
and Divine authority is assumed. To ques-
tion it is with Brother MOODY sin which
bars the gates OF Heaven. Accordingly.
throughout the sessions OF the school, tho
Bible will DO studied and expounded in
the reverential spirit which Dr. BRIGGS has
ridiculed as Bibliolatry, fetish worship. 1t
will be regarded and treated as the veritable
voice OF GoD, rs truth, perfect, complete,
and eternal. The students will bow before
the Volume as if thoy were an audience
listening to the actual and awful words
spoken in person by the Almighty Himself
simultaneously the Chautauqua Assembly
and fifty branch assemblies at as many
camps in all parts OF the Union will be study
ing the Scriptures in the same devout spirit.
Bibliolatry, as Dr. BRIGGS calls 1t, will pre-
vail in them all. Bible study will Transcend
in its seriousness every other subject OF
study. There will bo Bible classes, lectures
on different books Of tho Bible. readings
from 1t, e1positons Of its teachings, and SER
mons with texts taken from it rs thu one abb
solute and indisputab!e source OF Truth.
At Asbury Park and at hundreds OF other
camp meetings which will be held during
the next three months the same Bibllolatry
will be displayed. The Bible will be wor-
shipped as the Word OF Cop. the only COM
mandmcnt of Heaven for men. Every SCI
ence and every speculation OF man will be
tested by 1t, and Biblical expounders who
have been affected by the human philosophy
OF our generation will seek t. reconcile
science with revelation. They will contend
that. rightly interpreted. all the knowledge
acquired by man in his Investigations of tho
laws OF nature Is only further confirmation
OF the truth OF the Scriptures, whose light
illumnes every mind and makes clear every
path. II science demonstrated contradiots
the undemonstrable declarations of tho
Bible. the conflict, they will say, is In the
seeming only. 1t Is because the Bl BILE is not
fully understood. Hence they will argue
that at this time more than any other the
Scriptures should be studied with the most
painstaklng thoroughncss and sounded TO
their uttermost depths to discover their
whole moaning. Understanding tho heav-
enly wisdom Of tho Bible. they will declare,
the humblest and the weakest is stronger
than tho mghtiest in nero human learning.
He has the whole truth as seen by GOD, who
is truth. and the philosopher can SEQ only
the small part OF 1t within the range Of the
vision OF mortal man.
We find, then that, so far, the modern
school OF Biblical critics who make OF the
Scriptures merely human book. inspired.
but inspired only as men OF genius arc In
spired. have produced no effect on the Evan
gelcal Christians, 80 called. who will study
tho Scriptures at Brother MoooYs school
and at tho hundreds Of camp meetings which
will take place this summer. Questioning
the absolute perfection OF the Bible seems to
them the very summit OF profanity. With
out the Bible and Bibliolatry they could
have no foundation for their faith. They
would be swept away into hopeless inaIcl-'
ity. for the conviction that tho Scriptures
point out the only road to salvation and
contain the only infalllble truth directly
communicated from GOD, is the solo basis OF
their faith.
Hence DIR. BRIGGS and his school Of fBibli-
cal critics are doing more for the spread OF
Infdeity than has been accomplished by the
whole host OF avowed inhdels from the tine
II CONSTANTINE until to-day. The seeds OF
doubt sown by these theologians have not
taken root To any greit extent In the minds
OF the simple Lay believers, but unIuestona-
bly, they are growing vigorously In the
minds of ministers and students OF theology
The real ground OF complaint against DR..
BRIGGS Is not 30 much that he denies the
infallibIlity of the Bible as that he has pro-
claimed his opinions to all the world. He Ia
denounced as q rash teacher who propounds
doctrines for which the people are not yet
prepared, and at period when tho ten
dsncy to religious skopticism makes them
D culiarly dangerous. Such conclusions a5
his, argue his critics, are for the closet Of
the scholar. secret of learning, to be kept
from the popular knowledge. and retained
as ono OF the mysteries guarded by tho
prlcstly class. DIR. BRIGGS has simply
blurted it out; for he told nothing which
was not we'll known to every learned theolo-
CLAN OF this day.
Once out, the sscrst win be made knownto