Telegram-herald. ([Grand Rapids, Mich.) 18??-1892, 1891-05-25

students Of the Oriental languages. His
knowledge Of the Old Testament scrip
lures Is thorough and critical. The
other supporter is DR.. Joseph Thayer,
of Harvard, professor OF New Tesla
ment Interpretation and probably the
hlghest American authority on New
Testament subjects. The support which
these two dlvines, of the Baptist and
congregstionaLst DENOMINATIONS re-
spectively, afford Dr.. Briggs at the
present time cannot fail TO impress ali
thinking men as very significant.
Prof. Harper. IN recen. lecture at
Yale on "rhe historical element in
prophecy and psalnody and It's relation
20 the divine element" acknowledged
some errors and discrepancies III the
Bible, but he insists that they are
merely human. He said: at must he
allowed that there are errors and dis
erepancies III the Bible. Ii Was COM
piled with total disregard of what
seems to be the standard of history
writing today; yet is the divine Word.
Ii is what Almighty power, acting in
consistency with His other divine attri-
butes, could inspire in nation Of semi
tic blood, living in that period Of the
worlds history. God in His wisdom
did not see ut to make it impossible for
Israel to sin; nor did He see fit TO make
It impossible for Israels writer's to
sometimes blunder on questions Of his
tory or science; though never in ques-
tons OF a religious character. God
gave these men His word to be de-
clared by them to man, but there were
limitations to their powers" But he
sees no reason for wasting time in
idle lament over those things while the
book, Gin spite of limitations, in spite of
imperfectlons, contains such indubitable
evidence that it is the Word of God"
The acknowledgement of these errors
does not necessarily destroy the force
Of the Bible As the Word Of God. This
- DR.. Briggs position. lie deems it
better and more honest to admit the
discrepancies and explain them than to
attempt to cover them up. Young
preachers should be taught now to &C.
count for them and to meet them. Says
DR.. Briggs: 81 reached the position long
ago, when knew that there were dis
crepancies, inconsistencies, contradic-
tons, mistakes, call them what you
will. in the Bible. No man can read the
Bible thus and fail to find the discrep-
ancy. No man with any sort Of mind
at all can fail to see the errors and mis-
takes it contains. They are there" He
says, also, that DR.. Briggs 10 no pioneer
in this field of thought. He has simply
begun An immense movement, whose
continuance and whose end no man can
foresee. He regrets the commencement
now. as he does not deem the time ripe
for it, but he does not think the move
ment can now be stopped. The old view
of the Bible was that GCd worked OBJ
jectively, putting words into the
mouths Of men, while the new view is
that God worked through men.
DIR. Thayer, who is warm personal
friend Of DR.. Briggs. IN an interview
said of the same subject: "Of course
there are errors in the Bible. There is
nothing new in that statement, how
ever strange and unpleasant it may
sound today. Luther recognized them;
so also did Calvin, and DR.. Briggs is
simply one in his generation of a long
line of church teachers, from Origen
down, who have held these views and
boldly declared that there were mis-
takes and discrepancies in the Bible.
Or. Briggs has my sincere sympathy in
his fight with the dogmststs. He
knows my views on tho subject. In
fact they are fully set forth in little
book recently published by me entitled
The Change of Attitude Towards the
Bible.'" In that work DR.. Thayer
shows the necessity Of recognizing the
distinction between Christianity itself
and the records of Christianity. With
particular reference to the New Testa-
ment Scrptu res, he says that they "aro
by no means free from the traces of
the imperfection that cleaves to ali
things human, bu: by admitting that
there are errors in the written records
of Christianity, we do not in the least
discredit the truth of Christianity it.
self" 1t will be seen that he finds the
discrepancies and errors only in the
human part Of the records. He does
not hesitate to say that American Pro-
testantism has adopted an exaggerated
view of the relative importance of these
Biblical writings, and that it Is only on
account of that exaggerated view that
DR.. Briggs is now IN trouble. The
mode in which the books of the
New Testament were written, judged
and selected from the mass of religious
writing shows that tho church made
the Bible, and roth Bible the church.
He sums up as follows: "The critics
have agreed that the view of the Scrip
lures which has been prevalent here
for generations Is untenable; and We
may convince ourselves that they are
thoroughly in the right. How, then,
can we Justify ourselves as public reh-