The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1893-09-29

Lev LII NODG VIII Lt1OcG WHO DCl1C9C III
the Holy Scriptures Men believe
other things with half the evidence
required to believe in the Bible. The
distinguished Abner Kneeland rejected
the Scriptures, and then put all his
money into an enterprise for that
Hocus-pocus Captain Kids Treas
ures," Kneelan's faith for doing SO
being founded on a mans statement
that he could tell where those
treasures were buried from the
looks of a glass of water dip
ped from the Hudson river. The in
ternal evidence of the authenticity of
the Scriptures is so exact and SO vivid
that no man, honest and sane, can
thoroughly and continuously and
prayerfully read them without enter
ing their discipleship. So I put that
internal evidence paramount How
are you led to believe in a letter you
receive from husband or wife or child
or friend? You know the handwrit-
ing. You know the style. You recog-
nize the sentiment. When the letter
comes you do not summon the postmas-
ter who stamped it and the postmaster
who received it and the letter-carrier
who brought it to your door to prove
that ii is a genuine letter. The inter-
nal evidence settles it, and by the same
process you can forever settle the fact
that the Bible is the handwriting and
communication of the infinite God.
Furthermore, as have already inti-
mated, we may increase our faith by
the testimony of others. Perhaps we
of lesser brain may have been over
acceptance of a hollow pretension. So
/ will this morning, turn this house
into courtroom and summon wit
nesses, and you shall be the jury, and
now l empansl you for that purpose,
and / viii put upon the witness stand
men who all the world acknowledge to
be strong intellectually and whose evil
dence in any other courtroom would
be incontrovertiblc. / will not call
to the witness stand any min
lister of the Gospel, for he
might be prejudiced. There are
two ways of taking an oath in court
room. One is by putting the lips to the
Bible, and the other is by holding up
the right hand toward Heaven. Now,
as in this case. it is the Bible that is on
trial, we will not ask the witness to
put the book to his lips. for that would
imply that the sancity and divinity of
the book is settled, and that would be
begging the question. So / shall ask
each witness to lift his hand toward
Heaven in affirmation. Salmon p.
Chase, chief-justice of the supreme
court of the United States, appointed
by President Lincoln, will take the
witness stand. ''Chief-Justice Chase,
upon your oath, please to state what you
have to say about the book commonly
called the Bible The witness replies:
''There came a time in my life when /
doubted the divinity of the Scriptures,
and resolved, as a lawyer and judge,
/ would try the book as / would try
in the court room, taking evil
dence for and against. 1t was long
and serious and profound study, and
using the same principles of evidence
in this religious matter as / always do
in secular matters, / have come to the
decision that the Bible is a supernat-
ural book; that it has come from God,
and that the only safety for the human
race is to follow its teachings" Judge,
that will do. Go back to your pillow
Of dust on the banks of the Ohio" Next
put upon the witness stand a presi-
dent of the United States-John
Quincy Adams. president Adams,
what have you to say about the
Bible and Christianity" The presi-
dent replies: 81 have for many years
made it practice to read through the
Bible once a year. NV custom is to
read four or five chapters every
morning Immediately after arising
from my bed. 1t employs about an
hour of my time, and seems to me the
most suitable manner of beginning the
day. In what light soever we regard
the Bible. whether with reference to
to history or to morality, it
Is an invaluable and inexhaustibIe
mine of knowledge and virtue" Next
[ put upon the witness stand Sir Isaac
Newton, the author of the Principal
and the greatest natural philosopher
the world has ever seen. 'Sir Isaac,
what have you to say concerning the
Bible?" The philosophers reply is:
1--WE account the Scriptures of God to
be the most sublime philosophy"
Next / put upon the witness stand
The enchantment of letters, Sir Walter
Scott, and when 1 ask him what he
thinks of the place that our Great
Book ought to take among other books
ne replies: There is but one book and
hat is the Bible" Next put upon the
stand the most famous geologist of all
lime, Hugh Miller, an elder of Dr.
5uthrie's Presbyterian church, in Edin-
Durgh, and Faraday, and Kepler, and
hey all testify to the same thing.
They all say the Bible is from God and
hat the mightiest influence for
rood that ever touched our world
s Christianity. chancellor Kent
What do you think of the Bible?'
Answer: mo other book ever ad-
dressed itself so authoritatively and so
to the Judgment and moral
sense of mankind Edmund Burke!
What do you think of the BibleP' An
'wer: 81 have read the Bible morning,
noon and night, and have ever since
been the happier and the better man
or such reading" Next ] put upon
he stand William e. Gladstone, the
head of the English government, and /
near him saying what he said to me in
January of 1890, when, in reply to his
telegram: pray come to Hawarden
/ visited him. Then
ind there I asked him as to
in the passage of years.
lis faith in the Holy Scrip |
ures and Christianity was on the in
.rease of decrease, and he turned upon |
ne with an emphasis and enthusiasm |
81, NJ o,a x.yb, boc Mt i