Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1891-02-19
A Very Important Question.

The views as to the Bible and inspi-
ration expressed by Prof. Briggs in his
inaugural address, have.shocked the
newspapers of the churches known as
! evangelical. Baptists, Meth0dists,
| Congreg ationalists. and Presbyterians
unite in regarding them as destructive
of faith IN the Bible as the revealed
Word of God, and therefore subversive
of the very foundations of the orthodox
belief and theology.
If-so they argue-the Bible is the
fallible book which Prof Briggs de-
scfibes, with errors that human reason
and knowledge must separate from its
| truths, the Scriptures are brought
down to the level of religious literature
| generally. Thus the Bible becomes a
human production, marked by the inn
perfections of humanity, and not the
Word of God, indisputable in its truth
thus its utterances are the utterances of
| men inspired only so far as all men are
Inspired who write what the reason
accepts as true. Moses, David, Jere-
miah, were no more inspired of God
than Plato. Socrates, Seneca, the auth
ors of the Veda, and the writers upon
religion at the present day. Thus they
did not write under the divine dicta-
ton, but in their own language and in
and perceptions were limited by human
capacity to apprehend and explain
truth. Hence, instead of approaching
the Bible in spirit of worship, Prof
Briggs would have the student go to
it in critical mood to discover and ac-
cept such of its teachings as seem to
him true and reasonable, and to reject
those which reveal the Ignorance and
superstition of writer's conditioned by
the false conceptions and restricted
know ledge of their time.
The Biblical theology which Prof.
Briggs expounds to the candidates for
the Presbyterian ministry in the Un-
ion Theological Seminary, is based on
that theory of the Scriptures; and as it
is utterly subversive of all the stand
ards of orthodoxy, the evangelical pa
pers are asking whether the Presbyter-
ian Church as whole ought not to
deal with subject so tremendously
important. A revolution so complete,
they think, should not be made by a
single individual and single instItu-
ton on their own impulse only. 1fI
these are to be the doctrines preached
in the Presbyterian churches, the Gen
eral Assembly. and not merely Prof.
Briggs aud the Union Theologica
Seminary, ought to say whether they
shall be approved and Established.
1t appears that under rule adopted
by the General Assembly in 1870. that
seminary was put "on the same foot |
ing as that of the other seminaries of
the church, and that, if majority of
the Assembly disapproves, no appoint |
ment of professor in such an insitu-
tion "shaIl be considered as a complete
election" Therefore, the views of
Prof. B iggs properly should come up
for grave consideration at the next
meeting of the General Assembly.
The subj ct is likely to drive even the
discussion of amendments to the West
minister Confession into the back
ground. Logically it should be settled
bef"re'any of the proposed changes are
made, for if his views are sustained,
the whole Confession must be wiped
out, and none can be constructed in its
place. Its very foundation is the doc
trine that the "Scriptures are given
by inspiration from God, to be the rule
of faith and life" If the Bible is fall
lible book, partly true and partly false,
as human reason may determine, it is
not inspired. and it has no such au-
thority. Reason is the rule and not
the Bible.
We do not see how 1t is possible for
the General Assembly t. avoid this
question and escape the responsibility
of deciding whether Prof. Briggs shall
be allowed to continue as professor of
B blcal theology in a Presbyterian
divinity school. But suppose it de-
cides against him, what will be the
effec,? Will the trustees of the SEM
mary turn Prof. Briggs out of his
chair? Will they not rather throw off
the subsection of the institution to the
authority of the Assembly, and go on
ia their own course and according to
their own theories?
The next meeting Of the General !.
4 ssen bly, will be very interestipg.-
NcaU York Sun.