New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-06-28

ference of the courts, civil ecclesastical' ana
without the intimidation of mobs, clerical or lay
| II is high time to have the boundaries petween
| scholarship and Christianity clearly defined, SO
| that professors and preachers may each KNOW
| their nroner place. and mind their own business
| The business of the scholar is the pursuit OF
| truth He is to find out and formulate the
| facts regardless of crceds, teachings OF radl-
tions. DEGREES of councils, votes of Assemblies
| II he does less than this, he is coward ana %
| deserter II he does more, he is demagogue
| and charlatan And any man or body OF men
that try to force the scholar to do either more
or less than this, the scholars bounoen duty' III
so doing make public confession Of their own
utter inability to appreciate the nature OF the
scholars vocation, and their consequent incom-
petence to pass Judgment on the worth OF his
conclusions.
We have no space to do more than refer briefly
tn another point made by Professor Fisher. the
cradualness OF revelation. First the blade, then
the ear then the full corn in the ear" is not only
The method of nature but of natures God, as
we'll The Bible, from the first page to the
last represents a continuous advance, an evolu-
ton. If YOU please, from lower to higher con-
ceptions of God and morality. The old thought
ia not DESTROYED but it's elements Of truth are
woven into the new. And all through the
wondrous record of it's pages men are seen 10
rise on stepping-stOnes of their dead selves TO
higher things Revelation is progressive; the ola
conception of Jehovah the tribal god OF the
nation gradually gives place to that SUD-
lime conception Of Jehovah as uhc
only God of the universe formulated
by the Prophets. The old conception OF religion
as an elaborate system of ritual and burnt offer
ings melts into the higher conception of religion
as righteousness. The old conception OF duty
as compliance with certain external require
nents. is replaced by that thought of religion
as life, Of which Christianity is the supreme eX-
preston. And the old, low, imperfect, and er-
roneous moral standards which find an utterance
in the earlier books of the Old Testament are
gradually raised. until they reach the Divine
altitude of the Sermon on the Mount. Always
we see the operation Of the Divine law Of devel-
opment that holds sway in the world of nature
In every age God has had many things to say
to His children which they could not bear. And
so it has been preoept upon precept, precept upon
preccpt line upon line, line upon line here little
and there little until the full efulgence OF light
at last broke the world, when the true Light OF
the World appeared. Not even then indeed, was
the full significance of Gods Revelation under
stood; and therefore. through all the cen
turtles since, the Spirit OF God, the COM
forter, has been teaching the hearts
of men. and guiding them slowly but surely into
all truth From the call of Abraham to the pres
ent day. the horizon of mans spiritual life has
been continually widening, in accordance with the
law of development unfolded in the Bible. apd it
will 60 on ever widening and ever unfolding. not
because the revelation of the Bible Is insufficient,
hut because men can only gradually understand
its meaning. its truth and its Divine beauty.
We have been able to present, only. i'm
perfectly the scope of Professor Fishers argu-
ment: hut we trust have said enough to indicate
its value and importance at time like this. when
the Bible is, to speak, in court, and when so
many foolish and erroneous things are said about
il by its friends. as well as foes. Professor
Fisher is entirely competent TO speak oil all the
questions raised concerning its origin and char
acter. He is at once a sincere Christian and a
great scholar, and cheerfully commend this
little book of his to all who desire TO know how
the Divine character of the Bible as n Rcvcla-
ton from God may be maintained without run
ming counter to the settled conclusions of Chris
tian scholarship.