New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-06-28
"THE WORD OF GOD"
PROFESSOR FISHER UE THE BIBLE.

nv George Park Fisher d. D.. Ii. D., Titus street
Professor of Ecclesiastical History In Yale Uni
yersty. svo., PIP. xiii, col. Charles ScribDer's
Sons.
professor Fisher needs no introduction to
scholars and thinkers. What he has to say on
the topics he has chosen for his own will always
command the respectful attention of those who
can appreciate ripe scholarship combined with rare
modcsty in manner and singular charm in style.
1t would be difficult to imagine anything more
feeitous than his treatment of the great question
which he discusses in this volume. He is care
full In his statement of facts not only to state them
correctly but TO diTerentiate them from differences,
guesses and theories about them Briefly, his OBJ
Jet is to show, first what sort of revelation the
Bible is, and secondly, under what human limi-
tations and historical conditions it was made
A great subject truly, and one that is intensely
and vitality interesting to vast numbers of Christ
ians of every name to-day, when old traditional
conceptions of the Bible undergoing such
radical revision. II would not be true to say that
Professor Fisher gives the last word Of the critics
in regard to the Bible, for the critics have never
yet united in deciding what the last word is. And
so long as our knowledge of truth is progressive,
il is pretty safe to say that they never WILL In
deed we may remark in passing, that the oppo-
ncnts of the modern scientific criticism Of the Blble
make their most serious mistake in assuming
banded together in sort of oath-bound society TO
overthrow the Bible Such an assumption is gro
tesquely aside from the truth. There are all sorts
Of critics, good bad and indifferent, no two
of whom exactly asIee in every par
ticular And the worst critics of the critics are
the critics themselves. Ii is indeed true
that all critics worthy the name now work in ac-
cordance with certain wellre"ognized methods.
But men who follow the same methods in investi-
eating any body of facts WILL as we know, come
TO very diverse conclusions in regard to those facts
So it is with critics of the Bible. Not only are
they obliged to meet the great army of conserva-
tives, but at the same time they exposed to a
cross-fre from men in their own camp who dispute
their individual conclusions. The result of all
this is a little confusing to the onlooIer; much
so. that some theologians who begin by assuming
that the critics are united in their opposition TO
the Bible, end by Boosting that no two of them
agree Both statements in a sense true. The
critics are indeed united in recognizing the prln-
ciples of scientific and historical criticism, but
they quite apt to differ in their individual con-
clusions. And in this fact lies the safety Of crit
cism. The bombardment of the conservatives
does not generally DO much damage; for a rule
they use only blank cartridges that merely make
good deal Of noise. But when the conclusions of
an acute critic are assaied by of his own col
leagues, it is a serious matter for him unless his
position is mpregnable. For his whole super
structure is certain to fall. Therefore when
critical conclusion finally passes the gauntlet of all
the critics. it is pretty safe TO that it will
stand.
And Professor Fisher simply aims to present some
Of these tried conclusions of criticism. lie begins
by creating an atmosphere for his topic, so to
speak He breaks the Bible up into the writings
Of which il is composed. These writings are
found to be very diverse in character consisting
of histories, some of them traversing the same
ground, and with striking differences in their
point Of view; poems, comprising devotional
lyrics, dirgeS, an crotic mctrical drama and
ddactic drama; proverbs yaIions letters, and a
book Of visions. These writings the work
Of various men in different ages, and reflect the
characteristics of the time in which they were
written, as well as the idiosyncracies of the
writers IT seems little thing to say this; but
IL involves the very existence of criticism, for
only such theory of the Bible can the in
VestigaionS of the critic be justified The Bible
is indeed a Divine ReveatOn-nO one will main !
tain that more stardily than Professor Fisher but
it is also n piece of human literature, and such
must he stabbed in the same way that any other
piece OF literature would be studied. TO the con-
sentative, this proposition will SAVIOR Of sacrlege
for, according 10 his thinking, the Bible is an
cNh1-nnlhaN supernatural production, no more 10
be doubted questioned or investigated than if
it the audible voice Of the Almighty In
real sense. it is indeed His voice, and all that
His creatures have to do is to hear il and obey
But, whether for good or i'll, that conception of
the Bible is rapidly becoming Untenable even
among orthodox theOoPians who grudgingly it
may be, are slowly coming 20 admit nearly all the
positions of modern Biblical criticism. Not even
general council of all the Churches in Christen-
dom, were such gathering possible, could stop.
or even hinder the critical investigation of the
Bible by Christian scholars.
Having made il clear that the Bible is piece |
OF literature, Professor Fisher then reminds lis
that in the final analysis Christianity is not |
founded on the Bible, but on Jesus. TO whom the |
Bible bears witness. II was not the Scriptures |
that made the religion but the religion that made
the Scriptures. The Bible was a necessary in |
cident, perhaps. of Christianity but still an in
cident. Aside from the need of written record |
owing to the present limitations Of man. there is |
no inherent reason why Divine Revelation should |
he Book, rather than a Voice or a Person And |
We can conceive of time when men will have |
advanced so far in spirituality that, instead of |
painfully making out Gods meaning from book |
they will listen to and obey His Voice in their |
hearts. John the Baptist wrote nothing. Jesus |
wrote nothing, though ne gave the world new |
religion, and as the vast majority of Christians |
believe, founded Divine Society for the propa- |
CATION of that religion. The Churches to which |
so many of the EpiStles addressed, were, of |
course, founded before these EpiSles were writ |
ten In a word, Christianity was an actual liv |
ing fact in the world. with body of traditions |
and welldeined organization before il had a |
word Of Sacred Scriptures. Humanity speaking |
II may be said without at all calling in question
the Divine character Of the New Testament writ |
lngs that they were an afterthought, written to |
meet special needs. Ia measure. the same thing |
is true of the Old Testament writings The pr |
mary object of the prophets for instance was not |
TO contribute 10 inspired book but TO preach |
righteousness. The Bible is indeed n precious |
heritage; but greater than the Bible is the |