Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-05-17
who would refuse these rationalists a place
THE COMPANY OF THE FAITHFUL.

But they forget that the essential thing is
| to find God and divine certainty, ana if
these men have found God without the me-
! diation of church and Bible, church and
Bible are means and not ends; they are ave-
nues to God, but are not God. We regret
| that those rationaliStS deprecate the means
Of grace so essential to most of us, but we
are warned lest we commit a similar error,
| and deprecate the reason and the Christian
| consciousness"
Under the third head he had this to say
about the Bible: 1.-The Bible has been
treated as if it were baby, to be wrapped
| up in swaddling clothes, nursed and care
! fully guarded, lest it should be injured by
| heretics and skeptics. 1t has been shut up
| in fortress, and surrounded by breast
| works and Notifications as extensive as
| those that envelOp Cologne and StraSburg.
No one can get al the Bible unless he force
| his way through the breastworks of tradi-
tional dogmatism, and storm the barriers of
| ecclesiasticsm."
| DR.. Briggs was especially severe in his
handling of the dogmaticians who have, he
| thinks, built barriers around the Bible,
| shutting out the light of God, obstructing
| the life of God, and fencing in the authority
| of God" The first barrier which he pro-
| ceeded to demolish is superstition. And
| this is the way he did it: 1.-THE first bar
rier that obstructs the way to the Bible is
superstition We are accustomed to attach
latry, hagiolatry, and the use of images and
| pictures and other external things in wor-
ship. But superstition is no less super
stition if it takes the form of Bibliolatry.
II may be all the worse if 1t concentrated
itself on this one thing. But the Bible has
no magical virtue in it, and there is no halo
enclosing it. 1t will not stop bullet any
better than a massbook. 1t will not keep
off evil spirits any better than a cross. It
will not guard home from fire half so well
as holy water. If you desire to know when
and how you should take Journey, you
will find safer guide in an
almanac or a daily newspaper. The
Bible is no better than hydromancy or
witchcraft, if we seek for divine guidance
by the chance opening Of the Book. The
Bible. as a book, is paper, print and bind
ing-nothing more. 1t is entitled to rever-
ent handling for the sake of its holy con-
tents, because it contains the divine word
OF redemption for man, and not for any
other reason whatever"
The author has appended note to this
quotation which is interesting: II am far
from any disposition to treat with disre-
spect the religious convictions OF pious Ro-
man Catholics or Protestants. Roman
Catholic divineS recognize that there are
superStitiouS uses of the mass book, the
cross, and holy water, that are not justified
by Roman Catholic doctrine and usage. My
argument is against those ProtestantS who
exhibit the same superstition toward the
Bible that some Roman Catholics show in
the ceremonies of their religion. Supersti-
ton is just as bad in the one as in the other.
The only difference is in the forms of its
manifestation. In my experience, those
who make the loudest outcry against Ro-
man Catholic superstition, are the very
ones who are most guilty of the supersti-
ton l am condeming in Professionalism. The
criticisms that have been made upon this
address, especially in religious journals
noted for their hostility to Roman Catholic
ism, show that Bibliolatry is more prevail
emit in Professionalism than had supposed"
The second barrier to divine authority, says
DIR. Briggs, excepting men from the Bible,
is the dogma Of verbal Inspiration" The
divine authority, he thinks, is not in the
style, ''or in the words, but in the concept.
And so the divine authority of tho Bible
may be transferred into any human lang
uage."
TIE THIRD BARRIER
is the authenticity of the Scriptures. And
on this point. he says: SIT may be regarded
as the certain result of the science of the
higher criticism that Moses did not write
the Pentateuch or Job: Ezra did not write
the Kings or Lamentations; David did not