Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1893-06-29
For the Herald and Tribune.
Orthodoxy Versus Higher Criticism.

the opinion of men, and not the exam
ination of things, must be its meas
ure. Locke.
The action of the General Assembly
recently held at Washington, in the
now celebrated Briggs trial, furnighes
both the religious and secular press
with much food for thought.
In this age of progress and advance
ment, admist the effulgence and glare
of the discoveries of the 10th Century,
the accumulated experience of all
ages; when, with the facilities afford
ed by scores of institutions of learn
ing scattered throughout the land; of
curret and recurrent periodicals, both
foreign and domestic; when knowledge
is acquired by patent process that
brings into use all the agencies of
electro magnetic telegraph, steam en-
gine, Keely motor, Eddison light, and
microscopes with lenses Of double
micro o-millimetre power, so wonderful
ly constructed, that the observer may
look through them with one eye shut,
land more frequently both, his minds
eye and his physical eyel, , and discover
anything, known or unknown to an
cient or modern science, it seems, ex-
cept it be q nude fact, or n simple
truth. Here, then, the question asserts
itself-whither are we tending? What
rule shall be formulated for Scriptural
exegesisp What age or sect shall say,
I'VE are the people and wisdom shall
die with us?" Moreover, what version
of the Scriptures will be given us as
the canonical or orthodox law Shall
we hang our faith on the dogmas of
Calvin, or the utterances of the Ponti-
ficate? Will we accept all, or none of
the different translations extant? and
shall the individual ministers render
their texts from the original, or be con-
fined to some approved" rendition?
If the latter, why educate them in the
dead languages?
The position of DIR. Briggs and his
congeners touching the Bible rs a
book is, that the same laws of criti-
cism and common intelligence be ap-
piled to the Bible as to any other piece
of literature, and that it is in no way
impaired thereby. For this he was
taken to task, and test case made of
it, The General. Assembly in deliver
ance on the case pronounced it heresy.
This savors much of the prejudice that
obtained among the Jews ut the time of
the Savior's ministry on earth, when
condemned by the Sanhedrim for bias.
phemy. The other questions in the
Briggs case this article does not pro.
pose to discuss. Let us take an
analytical view Of what constitutes
the Bible. The word Bible is name
given to those sacred writings
adopted by the Christians as the
records of Divine revelation. II
consists of two parts-the Old and New
Testament, or as the words mean both
in Latin and Greek, "Old and New
Covenant" There is a historical col
lection intervening between tht
, Old and New Testaments repudiated
by Protestants, and collectively termed
the Apocrypha-"d doubtful" Th'
times of which these writings relat'
were during the second and first centur,
, b. G. The Romish Church recognises
q them, and the collection is retained IL
> the Septuagent The church of Eng
land uses them for instruction, bu
not for the establishment of doc
Q trine."
, There is also a series OF Apocrypha
writings connected with the New
Testament, affording an interesting
8 and instructive portion of Jewish liter
t ature of this age.
). The Old Testament (39 books, writ
ten, some in Hebrew. and some il
u Chaldel, closes about the middle of tn
/, second century B. G. This Is styled by
d the Jews as Scripture, and also as 18th
Law and the Prophets" The law EN-
braces the Pentateuch, the Prophet
Z were divided into earlier and later, an
II the Scriptures the miscellanous sacre'
10 writings (hagiographa). The Jew
/, had only 90 books, one under each LEI
ter of the Hebrew alphabet. There 81
IL lists, among the Jews themselves, an
IF also the Fathers of the Church, a di
l. ferent order of arrangement of thes
:, books. There is positive evidence e'
20 tant that the Law and the Prophets Q!
'f listed in regular order among the Ale,
,s andrine Jews about 100 b. c., an
q Josephus gives list Of the sacre
books or Scriptures-he died about II
:" A. d.
10 There has been much discussion
modern times as to the writers aI
II validity of the Old Testament. II
a consensus Of opinion is, that the diffe
J" ent books we're written originally
10 the person whose name is attached
IN 1t, with the exception Of Judges (Sar
g. uel), Ruth Samuel), Esther Moro
"A cal), Kings and Chronicles Ezra an
III JeremiahJ, and Job probably b
ne Moses; but the originals were lost
Sc the destruction Of the first tempt
n The Talmud positively states that II
=. Great Synagogue rewrote the o
10 Testament acting under divine con
go mission, and included in 1t the boo
80 of Ezra and Nehemiah, they beil
at members of this body.
:. The Samaritans, who were at enmi
VI with the Jews, acknowledge only q
he Pentateuch, and a corrupt copy Of t
ed book of Joshua, as orthodox. 7
"a Egyptian Jews, who had the Ale
- andrine version, accept as canonical
's' number Of apocryphal books, whi
ire were rejected by the Palestine Jew
an From the time of Luther, the Prot
tants make the same distinction
M held lin the Old Testament) by I
w. Palestine against the Alexsndri
nj Jews and regard this version "a w
To- as the Latin Vulgate as non canonic
ta- Martin Luther translated the Apoci
rd pha with the rest of the Bible, b