The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1893-03-24
future epoch aud provided with new bod

a future epoch aud provided with new bod
Wv 'nfagunent.,,
In soncusior, no demonstration or explana
ton Is here attempted; we do what IL high
or act OF our nature, we believe fArchdea.
con Farrar In North American Review.
The Present State Of Old Testament
Criticism old Testament criticism, con.
cerned rs 1t Is with the literary structure,
| date, authorship. and historical credibiIity of
| the books OF the Old Testament, has shown
that they are essentially complications. With
the exception of a few who still maintain The
Mosaic authorship and unity Of the Penta-
touch, or, with the Book OF Joshua. the Hex
ateuch, the consensus of scholars favOrs the
view that !, IL a complication from three II
not four original sources known as the Priests
Code, the narratives of the Jahvist and Elo-
hist, and the Code OF the Deuteronomist. In
respect 10 the date of these documents
scholars differ widely. Some endeavor to
crowd them all into the Mosaic period of 40
years. But there are strong reasons against
the documents all originating IN their present
form during che sojourn In the wilderness In
their literary and theol0.ieal differences the
documents suggest greater length Of time
to explain their origin. 1t IL Improbable that
single legislator within the short space of 40
years should give to the same people differ
emit codes Of legislation. all embracing the
same essential laws, and yet each having
marked pecuarlties. Nearly all scholars
agree In regarding the documents as post
Mosaic. The Jahvlst and EIohist are allowed
to be the Oldest. The only real question In
dispute is whether the Priests Code Is earlier
or later than Deuteronomy. The prevailing
view now ia that 1t Is the latest document.
and belongs either to the exile or post.exilic
period. On this assumption the Pentateuch
In Its present from the fifth century, II. c.
More important than these differences are the
differences among the critics respecting the
age of the UNDERLYING teaching and laws of
the Hexateuch. The question at this issue is
that OF the germ of the Old Testament rellg-
Ion. The advanced school, while giving Moses
place as 'the founder of the law" regard
all the special features of Israeps religion as
OF later growth. While DENYING that 1.-THE
religion OF Israel from the outset was one OF
specifically moral character. they hold that
1t may be traced from the lowest stages of
anmistic worship IN to ethetlc monotheism,
and from custom up to the authorized divine
law, within the period embraced distinctive
ly Ia lsraeFs history as people, The dis.
tinctive religious Ideas and institutions of l 4.
rael thus being of relatively late date. all
those portions Of Scripture which portray
them must be OF equally late origin. But this
View OF Israel's history, which denies to any
great creative epoch att is beginning and al!
lows no parallel to be drawn between Christ
and Moses, Is hardly tenable. While the ten
dency OF the advanced criticism Ia to post-date
the literature of the Old Testament by cent?
ries. arcb1 ology IL antedatlng the origin of
Ssmile culture by mllenniumI. This conser.
vstive theory allows place for low stages OF
belief. for customs rising into law ;but the be-
licf In a moral diety, the one ruler of the |
world, aad law diviney given, are there in
germ and substance to start with at the
threshold Of the nations life. But while we |
can atlll maintain the essential correctness Of |
the Old Testament as record of Israeps re.
ligion, our conception of these writings DIFF |
fers widely from the traditional ore in the |
Protestant church. According to this view |
these DOCKS were superpsturaIly inspired and |
are practically without any error of any kind. |
Elrlv history Is essentially artistic. SO, too,
The Old Testament histories were written not |
primarily to give record OF human events. |
but to give religious instruction, to lead men |
through repentance and faith into 8 new and |
higher life; and thus while the great underly-
ng facts OF these writings are Trustworthy
md reliable records, yet In the presentation
)t those facts they assume at times what may
,e called an ideal character. I. e., their au-
hors are not kept from viewing the past In
he spirit of the age In which they lived. But
his method of historical composition does
rot impair the Old Testamant as an embod,-
nent of divine revelation. The divipeness
ioes not reside in historical accuracy; It lies
n religious teachings. The moral quality of
ne Ten commandments remains the same. at
whatever time. or under whatever circum.
tances they were first uttered. Modern cri
ci-m does no. affect thai. -IDr. Edward l.. |
Curtis in the March Century