The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1891-11-30
THE REASON AND THE BIBLE
PROF. BRIGGS oy THE GREAT FoUy-
TAIN OF Divine AUTRORITT.

PROF BRIGGS Oy THE GREAT FOUy-
LAIN OF Divine AUTRORITE
The Brble Higher rA.s P-esest.sti.-.. the
| thurch Higher Than Romanisu,. anA The
Reason Higher than RstiosaIism.
| Tho subject chosen BY Prof. Charles A.
| Briggs for his lecture last night in the Church
| OF the Covenant was The Reason as q Great
Fountain of Divine Authority and It's Relation
to the Bible and the Church" DR.. Briggs
| started By saying that the Reason is histori.
cally great fountain Of divine authority.
do I contradict the Westminster Confess
sion." he asked. when I take this positionf
Doubtless there are some who think that do;
but these overlook some very important state-
ments In the Confession Of Faith OF our
Church. The Westminster Confession sets
forth the great Distinguishing doctrine Of the
Reformed churches that the divine grace Is
not confined to the means Of grace but may
use other channels in communicating itself to
men: that while the Holy Spirit ordinarily
uses Bible. Church. and sacrament. He somss
times works apart from them.
1t is on this ground that tho WestminsteR
Confession bases its doctrine OF the salvation
Of elect infants and elect inca pables. who from
their age and constitutional defects are In
capable Of being outwardly called by the min
istry OF the Word Such:are saved by Christ
through tho spirits who worketh when and
where and how he plesseth.' This doctrine
opens a gate upon q wide territory which
the Westminster divines themselves did
not explore: but which they left for
US to explore as region Of liberty and extra
confessional doctrine. The Westminster
divines did not themselves go ar urther than
elect infants and elect incapables. but modern
Presbyterians have with unaninnity extended
their doctrine Of elect infants and incapables
to all infants and incapablcs: and have also
added the class Of elect heather. II any class
OF persons can be saved by the divine spirit
apart from Church and sacramento. how else
can they bs saved except by the direct contact
OF the divine spirit with their souls in the form
OF the Reason2
"Iazree with the westminst Confession in
all its essential and necessary articles. but I
claim the right Of going beyond it into fields
UNEMPLOYED and underlined by it. Iagree with
4 N %aintainine that the light Of nature is
insufisient Tor saiy S but advance be-
doctrine. where they have made no definitions
whatever; when say tina. the Light Of re-
Word n sRe
not exclusively Through Church and Bible:
use The ehurck and the sbiei PUSH t. aectrins
tsle fq IT. maintain II e., that SNd does not
Church. but IN His sovereign grace also s uses
the human Reason as q channel Of grace. q
source Of suthority throne room OF certainty:
NOT and God in the Bible and in the Church.
are tbs tbs aos IL
lation to the Scriptures themselves Unless
we We can never be assured Of the divine authori-
ty OF Scripture There can be no rational faith
God. Those. therefore. who deny that God
speaks to msn through the Reason destroy the
spas. q ss ss sss . &. Esasds
great fountain of divine authority The Wis
and the sacred writings Of Israel. They appeal
Throughout to the human reason: They are
human reason as means Of access to God.
il Of to hs Of t sSa fn
st forth il these writings; the soul posssssses
the iorms Sc" Of the e Reason. ~ ''le 'l'''' "'
Sc Biblical history shows that the Reason has
Unless God approach men through the Reason,
the whole human race prior to the advent OF
oss RE R 5 ct asss
h ssS 70 IAy have and s a with oss
Grecian sases through the forms Of the Reason
sa 9s sh o ru2
The entire history Of the Church shows
thority. Unless the " divine Spirit had Worssd
In the forms 2t the Reason there could have
Deen no CnUrCu OrGEhlZhCiCU. no lltTSles, NO
creeds and confessions.
What are these but products Of the human
mind guided By the divine spirit in tho forms
of the Reason The reformers rescued the Holy
scriptures from the domination OF the Church
and maintained the rights Of the Reason. The
second reformation made n still further ad-
vance. but these times were followed by reac-
tons which reduced the Reason and the Scrip
ture to bondage. Rttonalism is historically
OF tho conscience and the Reason, and
OF immediate communion with God. IL
rationalists do not seek Cod through the
Church. may not the ecclesilstcs who gnveri,
the Church be somewhat to blame Irrational
lists do not seek God through the Billie. may
not Protestant SchOlastics 30 somewhat TO
blame? For they have too often required an
i'm pllcit faith and an absolute and blind OBJ"
dlence to dosmas about the Bible that destroy
DIR. Briggs concluded with these words:
" The Bible is higher than Professionalism. TN,
Church is higher than itomarism. anG Fs
Reason Is higher than rationalisUl. ant God IL
supreme over all. Have any Of you thought
what n light be the result il all parties might
rise above their preiudices and seek God
aud divine gertrude in the three ways. THE
fences and barriers that have so long divided
would be reduced I? faint lines
II has been the will OF God that these parties
should exist side By side TO- centuries.
We may be sure that no one will conquer the
other. and in the end fraternat recognition
will be the result. II will icrome manifest
that the variations ~ Chrstendon IRE as con-
sistent with the unity OF Christ $ Cnur"h as the
colorS OF the rainbow are consistent with the
pure bright light Of the world that gives them
BIRTH