The sun., 1892-12-23

The Rev Dr.. LAMPE said very truly. in
his argument against Dr. BRIGGS on We'd
nesday. that the theory Of tho higher criti-
cism, as IL is called. puts the entire Bible
under suspicion and distrust.
This theory was unknown to all except a
very small part OF the religious public un-
til it wus brought before them by the
famous inaugural address OF DR.. BRIGGS.
1t had remained in the comparatively OBJ
scure field OF professional theological con-
trovcrsy. Tho run OF the laity. and prob
ably the majority Of the ministry not re-
comfy graduated from divinity schools.
were ignorant of It. They believed. as their
fathers had done. that the Bible is all
true Of necessity because it is the Word
of GoD. Suddenly they learned that there
is IL large and influential body Of Biblical
critics in the Church itself occupied in pick
ing flaws in the Bible. and even going so
far as to present evidence. which they
affirm to be scientific that it is u Book of
false pretenccs, Of fraud. forgery. and fab
rication. 1t is partly true and partly false.
according to these coldblooded and irrev-
ercnt critics. How. then. ask the simple
people who had believed in the inspiration
That is what DR.. LANIPE meant when he
said that the higher criticism puts the
whole Bible under suspicion and distrust.
How for instance. can you prove. the people
ask. that MOSES was not the author of the
first five books of the Eibe but that they
were compiled or produced centuries after
his ay.without proving that CHRIST and His
Apostles were in error in testifying to the
Mosaic origin of the Pentateuch How,
they ask further. can you prove them in
error without denying to them the super
natural knowledge upon which the faith OF
Christianity depends: If defects in the
Bible are discovcrable by men. why were
they not discovered and pointed out by
JESUS Himself?
Tho Biblical critics who teach men to ask
these questions teach them to distrust the
Eiblc wholly. and with it the entire fabric
of Christian theology. The people will
say with DR.. LAMrE that If CHRIST and His
Apostles were deceived as to some parts Of
Scripture. there Is no certainty that they
have not made similar false or erroneous
statements in other directions
That is what makes the trial Of DR..
BRIGGS SO important. SO momentous in
him merely. but more essentially of a
method Of Biblical criticism which Is doing
more TO propagate inildelity than has been
accomplished by all the avowed infdels
since the beginning OF the Christian era.
The authority of the Bible as Divinely
inspired book is on trial The prosecutors
of DR.. BRIGGS insist that that is the issue.
and the people agree with them.
Whatever tho verdict of the Presbytery.
moreover. he will have been successful
in planting The seeds OF doubt in thousands
of minds IN which before they had never
taken root. He will have made known to
them that high and severe Christian schol.
arship has surrendered the faith in the
Bible to which millions OF people have clung
for 50 man. centuries as their only
ark of safety. Whether convicted or
his views. for he cannot give them up ex-
ccpt under the compulsion of proofs as
scientific as he regards the evidence on
which they are based. With him the i'm
perfection OF the Bible is matter OF
demonstration, not OF opinion. He feels
that he is contending simply for the truth.
and that If dogma IS against him. so much
the worse for the dogma.
1t is not surprising. then. that DR.. BRIGGS
regards himself as the leader of great
theological revolution now only just begun.
and that consequently he looks ON his trial
as furnishing him with welcome forum
from which to command the attention OF
the whole religious world.