The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1894-12-15
CRITICS AND CRITICISM.

The Church Standard has more than
once had occasion to speak Of the folly OF
IiScouraging the critica study OF the Holy
Scriptures, which simply cannot be stop
ped. The discovery Of manuscripts and
the uncarthing of monuments within the
present century have furnished the Christ
ian student with facilities for asccrtaining
the true text and for investigating the
Method, of composition, and also the con
temporaneous history, Of the sacred writers
which former age Possessed. These appli
anrcs of critical study will be used by
scholars without the slightest regard to
nyhody's wish. 1t i, foolish to attempt
@ discourage Investigations vhirh cannot
ne prevented.
Rut it is not less faithful than foolish
Why should Cht:>tian people dread any
results of critical study Of the Holy Scrip
lures? only for the one o. the other of
these two reasons: Either because they
fear that Il thorough Investigation would
destroy the authority Of tn Scriptures, or,
in other words. because their faith in the
scriptures is weak and halt hearted. or else,
because they fear that a ycracous investi-
cation may disproyc some OF their own
cherished notions and beliefs, in which
case it is evident that they prefer their
talse notions to the truth which they dread.
\ firm faith in the Holy Scriptures would
welcome everything by which the teachings
of divine inspiration may be most perfectly
understood.
Notwithstanding these considerations.
the 'hgher criticism has severely strained
the patience of many earnest people. In a
good deal of the work Of 80 called critical
students, there has been certain juvenility,
conclusions, childish love of the destruc-
TONS sake an almost impish delight in the
dismav caused by their alleged discoveries
AMI in critics of much greater sobriety
there has been an arrogance in assertion
and cotemptuOuS SupcrcillouSncsS OF bear
ing-defects which have proved them to he
destitute of that faculty of sympathy which
is indispensable to the highest criticism,
because it is indispensable to insight. Add
to this the fact that not little OF the So
called criticism of the scriptures has been
the work of profcssed unbelIevers in the
Christian religion, and the instructive aver
sion of the uncritical Christian world for a
study in which there has been so much OF
rashness, so much annoyances and so much
irrevcrence is not surprising.
For all that, the study must go on. 1t
is only by means of profounder more
sympathetic and more reverent criticism
that errors can be confirmed, and that the
authority of the word of God in Holy Scrip
tlre can be established. While we have
not one particle of sympathy with the
destructive criticism which has justly often
ded the Christian mind, and precisely be
cause we are utterly opposed to it, we have
steadily maintained that Christian scholars
must carry on the work Of biblical research
until the whole truth shall be made mani
fest. That the ultimate result must he "the
greater confirmation of the faith" we have
never for one moment doubted. On the
contrary, we hold that since the providence
of God has supplied the Church of this age
with means of studying the Scriptures
which no former age has ever possessed, it
is the manifest duty of the Church to use
these means with an assured conviction
that their right use will subserve some pur
pose of God in his guidance of the Church.
Church Standard Episcopal.