The Waco evening news. [volume] (Waco, Tex.) 1891-1894, 1893-04-08
Easter Sunday Echoes.

brates its grandest festival and its
pulpit proclaims its central truth.
Easter sunday symbol;zss the
worlds hope, and increasingly the
faith of humanity. That tran
scendant event which the angels
declared, which the disciples saw,
which ten distinct and separate ap-
pearances Of the risen Christ in
widely divided places sat the un-
mistakable seal OF truth upon-that
is today memorialized throughout
Christendom by pealiDg organs and
jubllant choir- and exultant pulpit
GERS, and heapedup towers, and
thror - Of adorirg worshipers, be-
ginning in Jerusalem in the Church
of the Holy Sepulcher and travelii G
with the sun from shore 10 shore
until it STA compass the land and
the sea and return to melt final Y
away upon the side OF Mount Zion.
Christians. of course, recognl:
the vital Importance of the resur-
rection, and rest everything upon it
as the article of standing or Of
falling church. See what St. Paul
says in /. Corinthians XIV, l2-l9.
Skepticism too, has been keen
and quick to discern this fact. and
accordingly it has directed it's terc
est attacks at the resurrection.
Four notable theories have been az =
vanced to account for it and explain
it away:
First-There is the hypothesis
of myth. But in order to the
growth of the myth there must be
time and remoteness from the scene
and the witne' ses. In this case
there is neither. Tis now conce ded
tina. the sacred narratives 20 back
nearly if not quite to the event, and
that the accounts were written right
there on the scene and in the pres
ence Of eye witnesses and by eye
witnesses. Strauss mythic al the
DRY has long been discredited at
Tubingen, where it was first trinm
phantly proclaimed
Second There is the supposition
of fraud. This had never made
head way. Its progress is barred
by the character of Jesus and of
the disciples. He whom Richter calls
"the purest of the mighty and the
mightiest of the pure" it is in.
stinctively felt, could not have
stopped to practice a vulgar impo
sition. And band of men noted
for plainness. simplicity and sin
cerity, and who actually sealed
their evidence with their martyr
blood, would not have gone to
willing death in defense of a con.
scious lie.
Third There is the theory tina,
Jesus did not have an actual resur
rection. but that the disciples were
deceived by visionary appearances
BY whom? Could there have beer
10 distinct and separate visions il
10 distinct and separate places, be
fore different spectators of various
moods, but all we'll acqua nted with
the Christ who had been cruc.hed
Jesus ate, talked, held long con
versations with the men and womer
who loved him most and knew him
best during the 40 days that inter
vened between his resurrection anc
ascel sion. Do visions 10 such
things? Whoever heard of a spec
ter's counting investigation and
suffering his form to be handled a;
Galilean did,.
Fourth We have the suppose
tion that Jesus did not really die OF
the Cross; that His apparent death
was real Y swoon from which he
eventu ally recovered, so that He
and His friends really supposed
there had been a resurrection. The
answer here is short and sharp
Grouped around the cross stood
those who hated the Nazarepe and
who had comprised his death. Il
is suppo able that their hatred could
be Aoodwinke d-that they did not
satisfy themselves that he was life
less? Then, too, it was the bust
ness of the Roman guard to execute
the sentence. They were experts.
They examined the body. rc
make assurance doubly sure they
thrust into His left side (probably
rupturing the heart the crael spear