New-York tribune., 1891-12-28
DIR. LYMAN ABBOTTS VIEWS.
THE EVOLUTION OF THE EIBIIE.
,r :, NOT 1Sr,LrIrLE, nE SAYS, FOR MAN Is

| Fpp.yT-WUAT IS TO BE LEARNED FROM H.
Tho soventb in the course OF thirteen sunday eve
ming lectures on "The Bible and Modern Thought, nov
| I'm progress at the Church Of the Covenant, l"rs
6fth.st and Park ave, vas delivered last evening W
| the Rev. Dr. Lyman Abbott pastor of the Pymou.h
Church prookIvn His subject was "The Evolution
| of the Bblcs Dr. Abbott prcfaced his address oy
referrng to the danger experienced by cergyeh "0'o
| speaking to strange congregations on d'S?u'cu W
lions OF being misunderstood, or having wrong III
terpretaton put upon their language. u whh' 'ctc
| fore 70 saw I'm the OUTSET he continued, tnao o0
| lieye in the Bible as the inspired word OIL uou' ar"
! os containing a revelation from God 10 man, oehe'o
that God has made man his offspring; that "ou anu
| man are OF kin, and that there Is a spiri''n'i '
| mun!on between them believe God Drooueu u'e ,,
! brew patriarchs that he stirred their sPr'V''
| ouickcned their minds, aud inspiration ma"e
| clear TO them, and through them !" W"
and IL We are faithful, through Us TO the "'"'c 49,
| tbo Truths which we could not arrive at eSc>pt ny
| long and slow processes OF spiritual deVeiopm0"'
| Tho Bib.o has been for eighteen centuries , :,
| hook in the Christian Church 1t mas caiilc' WV
| a comfort and strength which no otier co'ieeN ,.
books ever has equallcd, paraileled OF even APP
u whot we call higher criticism and new theoioss
n going 10 close this book and set 1t aside or Is gon
to take the light ont Of It's pages II TINS bDie "'oO
| any longer be on the pillow OF the SICK or oci'i0 ~
cvcs ~ those who are in the dark, and carry ',n
| vlcon to souls-then want nothing more !" uo "''''
| highcr criticism new theology
"In many circles the Bible has been iesaf"ot 10 "
compot, md perfect revelation, without error IN any
| ~ IFS parts 1t has been declared by an ON "iiO
| that every sentence, word and leuer was p... iep
| I believe there rabbnical SCHOOL WHICH "o ~ w
| every note Of punctuation, every comma IS as ~ ~
| given by God. We have gone 10 IL "r c'eiS ..
7, has bccn regarded not only an inspired DOOR, o"0
as a complete and perfect book, so tlat there wa" o
error or falliblIty In IT, I believe there are rev
| ncople who hold this opinion today. lhey 'nnA
! they hold II, but if they taHe tio o
| and examine IL with care, what DO they liiu a . W
opens his Bible and reads the first chapter Oh "'l''
and find, that the world created In SIX DAYS anu
20 emphasize the fact that they were SIX uA'9 "
twenty four hours each We are t0d thaC 'ho e'e"n
| and the morning were the first day. lie mas al7o
that slavery and polygamy Dauiarchal hsu'u4o',
lie opens II to look at ecclcsastlcal Nj" a"u iiS ~
circumcision. Now, II he thinks that tis ID uIe iA
| be should circumclse his boy. lie finds system oi
| sacrifices but all this system has been chahho0' "
knows that man may keep every one OF u'o ien e0n
uandmcnts and vet not be allowed In decent society al
! Nav York lie may not commit adultery, but ne may
10 cllty Of leering and Of evil imasngS. iheo 'no
som. o, the difficulties which meet Us III the Deel u''
| the Bible IL q book without mistake Iroih "e"' "
| Revelations. / want 20 say that beHeVo uio i''
| g., AN inspired book but l do not believe that Al
| uf,luble We may believe that Moses Vas iiai"o'0
,ut ". do not believe that the copysts or the t'a'o'
mann in,alble The value OF the Bible Is not Ill re
intaulb,lty II Is something Of great deal oe 'po
ance and value than that. We DaVe one lniniiDio o
| written long before the New Testament anu ''a1 IL
| rrcpd,s Geometry. believe there has never Deor
ouv error fonnd in that. But 1t mas never Occh Va
tho value OF the Bible II is the Dlyiaity and not the
f.lubnItv that makes the Bible sacred; because 1t
r,s written by men who had God In their hear6
and the power Of communicating the HSh1 vi t'o
! Bible 10 other men. II our Higher CHtcism OF 'e"
| Theology /, plucking God ont OF TINS DooR ana TO
ducing IL 10 men systems OF theology. then 1t Is baa
hut IL IL IS bringing nearer 10 the hearts OF men
and making the truths OF uod citiicr' t"ell ~ - " "
/ acoo opted and welcomed
| .Cod has come 10 humanity as lie comes to the
! earth I'm the spring little By little. Moses under
| stood Him better tLan other men, but DAVID uldcr
| stood Him better than Moses, Isaiah better uhf
David and Paul better than either. The Bible Is the
| history OF tho way God has grown Into the human
| soul-tho way men have approached God and learned
! about Him. and they have given to us
| what they have learned. As Paul SAID '"o
| know IN part and prophcsy In part For now we
zee through glass darkly but then face TO face no"
| know In part but then shall Know
| even as also l am known The Boie
! Is the selected religious literature of selected
religions OF selected religious race. II may be re-
c,red AS a book Of history, of laws for the state
r Church or for the individual OF spiritual light ana
| revelation. IL WAS the result OF gradual dawnng
upon men, through their great writers, that there Is
God WHO rules the world. Tbcy dld not lhlallDN SEQ
and interpret wlnt they some times they mis-
understood but there was this about them they were
olnc for lod I'm human llfe On the whole, with all
its mistakes Chronicles Is better than New-i orh
daily newspaper because Chronicles looks for God and
find, Him IA human history, and the daily newspaper
does not .
Dr. Abbott explained tho nature or sacrihces III tlo
dsy, OF hc Patrarchs and their gradual
ContnuIng he said: But after all this Christ came
and YOU d not need longer 10 sicrnce, Tor ,hFist
has sao,thced for you. Tho sacrifices under the old
! Mosaic laws were swept away III tho cross Oh the
saviour and the teachings OF bis apostles. Thus God
hns led the people III step by step: Inc len
| Iommandmcnt, were not Christs deal. lle was
asked by @ Jew what the Jewish law was lie told
him hut he added commandments: Thou shalt
! love God with all thy heart. with all thy MIND
with all rhy soul and with all thy strength and then
| he added, 'nnd thy nelghbors As thyself,' ana M
! these two commandments hang all the law and the
prophets r,,, , - a.. A.
truth has been growing from Genesis 10 Rcveations
| nearer and brighter and better every day ana
believe that the Higher Criticism and the new thcNogy
arr going 10 make tho Bible clearer, and that We sha
get nearer TO God